What I have learned from EDC3100

This has been an exhausting semester!! There is no doubt in my mind that I am well and truly ready for a holiday.

In terms of this course I think it is fair to say that I have learned quite a lot about how ICTs can help students learn better. I am now able to understand how ICTs make learning for students more engaging and this was something I saw in the flesh on professional experience (though not a lot). I think I will leave this course with a better understanding of the importance of making learning relevant to students and will endeavor to use ICTs in my classroom to its full potential.

Thank you to everyone who has taken the time to read my blog posts and good luck with your future studies 🙂

A challenging Prac Anyone?

Even though I have not officially finished my placement yet I feel confident enough to start reflecting on what I have learned so far. Like Hayden I too have had a challenging prac with difficult students. While each day would be a challenge it was a great experience in terms of learning new behaviour management strategies and what approaches will work for me in the future. In terms of ICTs it was definitely a challenge to implement them effectively in the classroom, particularly when the school only had a projector and library computers. I can now see the importance of thinking outside of the box and doing the best you can with the ICTs you have available to you. I have seen, in small glimpses how beneficial ICTs can be for students and how learning can become more relatable for students by using technology that is relevant to them. I think this is important in order to keep students engaged and willing to learn.

Talk about distraction!

Who knew ICTs could be so distracting!!

Throughout this course we have been taught how to use ICTs to our full advantage and provide the best learning opportunities for the students. Even though I am currently still on prac, I have observed some interesting things concerning ICTs in the classroom. My year 7 class that I have been teaching, all have their own iPads under the BYOD (bring your own device) initiative. While one would think that this would be great and beneficial for the students it is actually the complete opposite. The first lesson I observed this class the students were on Snapchat, messenger and playing games on their iPads. They were completely and utterly distracted by their devices. So my question is, how do we stop this? I feel that banning the iPads in the class takes away a great opportunity for the students learning to be transformed, yet to keep them in the classroom the students become distract and are constantly asked to put away their iPads.

Heres some food for thought- Are ICTs always the best way to teach?

Still no placement

I’m not going to lie- I’m starting to freak out. I still don’t have a placement and I’m worried how everything will turn out with the assessment for this course.

What if they cant find me a school to go to?

How will I do the assignment?

Will I fail the course if I don’t do placement?

I have 10000000 questions and concerns that I hope will disappear as the prac office resumes their search for my placement on Monday.

The only negative about starting later is finishing later- but with all universities out on placement at the same time I can understand how hard it must be to find placements for everyone.

Until then I guess all I can do is sit and wait and stress eat…. a lot….

Can technology give students the wrong information?

So.. we’ve all done those google searches where we try to self diagnose our illness and end up finding information that tells us we’re dying or have some life threatening disease. And while most of us (I hope) have the skills needed to distinguish reliable information from unreliable information, some students wont have these skills and if they see information like that their reaction might be similar to this…

So as teachers it is important to teach students how to tell the difference between reliable and unreliable information. Hannah discusses using cliff notes in her blog as a means to locate background information to books studied in English courses. As a future English teacher I think it is important to make sure students know that the information on these sites are not always correct and to use them only to generate ideas. This is similar to information that is found on Wikipedia. Teachers are responsible for helping students develop the skills to distinguish reliable from unreliable information. While the internet has a vast array of information it is important to be able to filter through all of the dodgy information to find sources that are correct and reliable.

CLEM to the rescue

For some of us, this prac will be a struggle- particularly if your prac school has little or no ICTs. However, for the lucky few who are able to see new ICTs being used in the classroom it may be a little overwhelming. This is where the CLEM framework comes into play- a framework Hayden describes in his blog post here.

The CLEM framework is broken down as follows:

C- Community: If you are one of the lucky ones who get to use a new ICT and you’re unsure of how to use it, use your teaching community to help you out. These teachers (most of them) have been using the ICT for some time and may have a greater understanding of how it can be implemented into the classroom.

L- Literature: After getting advice from teachers about using a particular ICT and you’re still not sure of the benefits of using the ICT (because ICTs are never used for no reason…) do some research. If the ICT doesn’t have many student benefits except for replacing the way students copy out notes then maybe you should consider using a different ICT.

E- Examples: Unsure about how to operate the device? Do you feel that if you touch it you’ll break it? Find examples online of how to use the device. A simple Google search will undoubtedly bring up a break down of how to use the device or even a YouTube clips- what’s even better is if someone who knows how to use the device shows you how to use it- then you can practice using it before you have to show it off in your next class.

M- Model: Try and have a basic understanding of the model of the device- Understanding the technicalities of the device and how to fix a problem if it should occur. There is nothing more embarrassing then standing in front of a class and not knowing how to operate the ICT or how to fix a problem. If you have any doubts… have a back up plan… or three.

Digital Footprint

Have you ever googled yourself? Have you ever found information about yourself online?

Does it have you feeling…

Well… while it may seem really cool that you can be seen be others online it is important to understand the implications of having what is called a digital footprint. As Rossco has pointed out in his blog post being able to be found online is not always such a good thing. Most of us are on facebook, instagram or twitter and sometimes we don’t exactly think before we post things online. As future teachers it is important to consider this, especially when bosses can facebook stalk you to get a taste of what you are like as a person- and while this may not be an accurate representation of you, you can still be held accountable for what you post online. It is important to think to yourself before posting online ‘is this something I would like my boss to see?’ If not, maybe your post should be reconsidered.. Nothing can ever be truly erased from the internet.

Respect and responsibility online

Another connect.ed module down..

I thought this module did a great job at defining what cyber bullying is and how teachers can play a role in ensuring students are safe online. As a future teacher I think it is impossible to stop cyber bullying with it being so far out of your control physically but in terms of education there are so many ways we can teach kids to be cyber safe.

This would include teaching students how to behave appropriately online – that regardless of being behind a keyboard that everyone still deserves to be treated with respect. It is also important for students to be able to stick up for their mates and not be a bystander. It is the teachers job to teach students what is acceptable behaviour- we cannot assume that all students know how to behave in online environments- if they did cyber bullying would not be as prevalent as it is now. Students need to be equipped with the skills to identify when cyber bullying is occurring, how best to deal with it and who they can turn to for help. This above all is the teachers responsibility to ensure that at least while in the school setting cyber bullying is not occurring.

Are students English skills decreasing because of technology?

I have started working my way through the Connect.ed modules and have found an interesting point which I feel is necessary to raise here. Throughout  module 1 a student revealed that she did not learn the correct spelling of ‘please’ until she was in year 3- she always thought it was spelled ‘pls’. This is particularly concerning here and I feel that because students are so interconnected with their technology that sometimes it can effect their literacy skills. I have seen similar incidents when I have been out on prac with students writing essays and using texting slang to write academic phrases. This isn’t something that concerns me purely as a future English teacher, but it is concerning because students are not learning the correct spelling of phrases and thinking that the slang version is correct. This not only effects a students ability to write but also to read- both concepts that will be necessary in the future to get a job.

So what can teachers do about this?

I feel that it is the teachers job regardless of the subject area to teach correct literacy skills. It is important that students are practicing the correct spelling of words so that they are able to be proficient readers and writers. I know that most of us will often shorten our words for convenience sake- it is when they are shortened because the correct spelling is unknown that we must recognise that we have a problem.

A blog post to end all blog posts

….about apps used in HPE to transform learning.

This is, I hope, the last time I will reference apps that can be used in the classroom to transform student learning. While I have looked quite extensively at apps that can be used for HPE I am using this last app blog post to discuss how apps can be used in an English context- this is something similar to what Joshua recently blogged about here.

There are many apps that can be used in the English context that can at the bare minimum replace and amplify traditional teaching approaches. This website here lists a few apps that are available but does not offer any that have the ability to transform learning in the classroom. There are however other apps here that if given more thought, could have the potential to transform learning in the English classroom.