e-Learning is a really broad subject that can be described as any electronic technology
based tool or environment utilised for learning. It has a multitude of uses for
children in the classrooms of today including simple playful educational
applications, social networks communication, research engines and the option of
learning to create spaces on the internet. In this synopsis I will discuss
the main topics required when teaching with technology today such as safe,
ethical and legal practices, collaborative learning and the importance of
pedagogy. Simply put, pedagogy is the art of teaching children.
When
working with children there is a great responsibility within that role. To not
impose ideals and beliefs onto them can sometimes be difficult, especially when
we, as adults have grown up in a world that has this everywhere. The next step
is to ensure the safety of every child, by understanding the legal and ethical
guidelines are followed. Confirming “…the individual, student (or the parent /
carer of the child if under 18) has given permission before using their copyright
works unless the use of the works is permitted under a statutory education
licence or copyright exception”. (The State of Queensland (Department of
Education, 2012) Refer to the National
Copyright Guidelines. And also the importance of presenting
to students the effects of using the internet due to the publicity it has.
Say
for example my class has a wiki where all the students link their wikis, blogs
etc. and the work supplied by or for the student that has the student’s contribution,
personal information or photos in it, would require fist permission from their
guardians to allow them to show their work in or on a public site or even
within the school community.
Social interaction
has a great influence on learning “The range of skill
that can be developed with adult guidance or peer collaboration exceeds what
can be attained alone” (Vygotsky. L, Culatta. R, 2013 )
What Vygotsky
outlines feels true because the more we communicate in the society the more we
accomplish. That can be extended within the classroom environment with the
facilitator using scaffolding or a framework to guide the students as they
collaborate with each other to come to a solution or complete an assessment,
that way when a student becomes confused, they feel supported. This modals the
society we live in today.
As I haven’t had
experience in a teaching environment I could use such technology as Google
docs, Wikis, Prezi and podcast or videos to enhance this
collaborative construction environment. By using the digital tools in this way
the students contribute to a group understanding of the activity. “The biggest impact of ICT on
learning outcomes is where you are working towards complex outcomes, such as
analysis, synthesis and evaluation.”-Moodle The social constructivist modal
recognises collaboration to have the best effect within a learning environment.
Over the last six weeks of learning a range of digital tools the importance of
effective pedagogy emerged as a recurring theme. And underlining that theme was
the framework of TPACK. The basis of TPACK framework explains that to use
different technologies in pedagogically sound ways to make learning of specific
content effective. Due to the amount of information that is incorporated in the
new Australian Curriculum is very heavy and the amount of knowledge that is
required for teachers to transfer to students needs to be learnt quickly and
effectively so the pressure of the work load does not build to high.
”We have moved from
a relatively slow pace of change to an exponential rate. The rate of
technological change is estimated to double every decade.” (Wishard,
2008)
The world seemingly getting quicker and the future work force will need
to understand and be able to communicate effectively within a global context.
So the use of technologies are important in pedagogy, such as visiting online
museums to view a specific topic or researching a place or trip with Google
Earth/Maps for an assignment can be ways I would implement technology into the
pedagogy so that the students gain a greater understanding of the world and
develop higher order thinking skills.
In Conclusion when working with digital
tools I found it is of greater benefit for the students outcome where the
scaffolding is there to guide or to question the students and their results
which contributes to a high level of thinking and gives them a greater
understanding. The importance of incorporating e-Learning into the pedagogy is
paramount due to the large effect technology has on the world we live in now
and in the future. From the knowledge and understanding I have gained with in
this course Managing e-Learning, I will forever be looking for opportunities to
use digital technology tools in my classrooms.
Reference
The State of Queensland (Department of Education,
T. a. (2012). Obtaining and managing student and individual consent. Retrieved
from Policy and Procedure Register:
http://ppr.det.qld.gov.au/corp/commmark/Pages/Obtaining-and-managing-student-and-individual-consent.aspx
Vygotsky. L, Culatta. R. (2013 ). Instructional
Design. Retrieved from http://www.instructionaldesign.org/theories/social-development.html
Wishard, V. (2008). World Trends Research.
Retrieved from http://www.worldtrendsresearch.com/major-trends.php
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