Current Issues and Applications in Educational Computing

Quote Source: http://edtech.guhsd.net/video.html

Photo Source: http://pro.corbis.com

I just thought this photo was interesting because the child is obviously far more engaged with the game than the bookwork. Is this a sign that as teachers we need to adapt our teaching methods?

 Photo from: http://pro.corbis.com/

Download Video: Posted by scotty643 at TeacherTube.com.

In years gone by videos were only able to be watched at home or at movie theatres. These days there is the internet, computers, phones, ipods, PSP’s, in car entertainment systems and many more. We can watch on trains and buses and in coffee shops and there are even some train platforms that have TV projected on to a big screen!

For education this creates many opportunities. Teachers can create movies for students to watch for homework, or if a student moves to a remote area they could watch lessons via a webcam. Students could also load some of the teacher’s material on to their video ipods or phones. The possibilities really are endless!

I thought Michelle’s post on this topic was very interesting and very true! Michelle spoke about practicing what you preach in relation to blogging but I think it also holds true for the whole area of technology, students and education. If we, as teachers, are not using the technology or programs we want the students to embrace, how can we expect them to embrace it?

We really must dive in at the deep end and practice what we preach!

Photo Source: http://pro.corbis.com

Veen and Vrakking describe Homo Zappiens as “a generation that has grown up using multiple technological devices from an early age.” (2006, p 10) All of the students that we will be teaching in future years fall into this category.

So how do these Homo Zappiens learn? According to Veen and Vrakking they learn by “playing, exploratory play. Their learning starts as soon as they play simple computer games and learning soon becomes a collective activity as problems will be solved collaboratively and creatively, acting in the global community interest.” (2006, p 11)

This has applications for me as a future teacher. I need to ensure that when I’m teaching something new with technology I provide students with enough time to explore it and ‘play’ so that they gain the most from their learning.

Veen, W,. & Vrakking, B. (2006). Homo Zappiens – Growing up in a digital age. Network Continuum Education. Cornwall, UK.

Following on from my previous post about ‘digital natives’ this very professional teacher tube video which was created by pre-service teachers at an American college highlights that students are in the digital world of learning but many teachers are still using old methods. These students ask their college lecturers to change their style and allow assignments to be done using video and podcasting.

It is a very interesting (but in some places repetitive video) Check it out!

Download Video: Posted by marottam at TeacherTube.com.

Bransford, Brown and Cocking (1999, p206) suggest it can be used in the following five ways:

• Bringing exciting curricula based on real-world problems into the classroom
• Providing scaffolds and tools to enhance learning
• Giving students and teachers more opportunities for feedback, reflection and revision
• Building local and global communities that include teachers, administrators, students and parents
• Expanding opportunities for teacher learning

I particularly like the first point and the fourth point, when I’m on my next prac I would love to somehow get my prac class talking and sharing ideas with a class of similar age overseas. Perhaps using instant chat software, or even create some videos and upload them to teachertube where the other class could watch them. Finally I think that if we are unsure of whether we should be incorporating a new technology into our lesson, we should ask ourselves does the reason we are using it fit into any of the 5 points above.

Bransford, J., Brown, A. & Cocking, R. (1999) How people learn: Brain, mind, experience and school. National Academy of Sciences, Washington, DC, USA.

I believe that Amy makes a very valid point in her post sharing is caring. As teachers we often get some of our best ideas off others, or borrow parts of other teacher’s lessons to incorporate into our own lessons. Now with so many teachers across the globe connected via the internet we have the advantage of pooling together thousands of great teaching ideas for others to use.

Narelle recently created a post about Google Earth. I also think it is a great tool for education. It virtually has the power to show you anywhere in the world, and Google is also constantly improving it and adding new features (mainly for the US). As teachers we can show students a birds eye view of the area we might be looking at in HSIE, or use it to show a more realistic view of how far certain places are apart.