Where you can find my comments...

ICT currents trends
http://elearningbysalima.blogspot.com/2010/07/ict-current-trends.html

Digital native debate
http://ed6114charlenesblog.blogspot.com/2010/06/digital-native-debate.html

Higher Education in a Web 2.0 world
http://gersholdonblog.blogspot.com/2010/06/higher-education-in-web-20-world.html

Analysis of learning styles and ICT
http://sheenaselearning.blogspot.com/2010/07/learning-and-teaching-styles.html

Thank you for a great course. I really enjoyed the week and learnt a lot.

Review of two other blogs

The blog’s I have reviewed were developed by:

- Rebekah Wilson
- Charlene Caspersz

I am not quite sure what is required of me in reviewing a blog, but the approach I have taken is to simply outline the blog, and make some comments about any aspect of it that made an impression on me.

Rebekah’s Elearning blog
http://rebekahelearning.blogspot.com/

ICT current trends (Literature Review)

Rebekah reviewed the article “ Computers as mindtools for engaging critical thinking and representing knowledge” by David Jonassen. Rebekah made two pertinent points, firstly, that teaching students to use computer mindtools may take up too much class time, and secondly, she questioned whether there was any great benefit in completing mindmapping style activities online rather than with pen and paper (besides the ease of digital communication of the final product).

I agree with Rebekah that the need for such activities being online needs to be assessed before taking up such elearning tools. I can see that in some circumstances it would be better to use online tools eg. if a group were working collaboratively (it is difficult for students to gather together outside class due to schedule differences).

Learning Styles

Rebekah had a strong read/write preference, and was quite happy as an external student to read through reams of information. She noted that having an aversion for the auditory mode has made her a more inventive lecturer, and she has never been drawn to delivering traditional ‘talky’ lectures.

She mentioned that asking students to complete the VARK survey in their first class may raise their awareness of their learning style, and that including a range of different activities to appeal to various preferences would be beneficial for students. She noted the potential for ICT to cater to various preferences

Digital Natives Debate

Rebekah pointed out that the reading on this topic assumes a particular profile for younger and older students, and that these assumptions do not fit in Broome. She writes that teaching online collaboration is essential, as it is a skill required for employability in the 21st centrury. Rebekah uses Elluminate, but has found that some students have difficulty making it to the assigned session times, and do not have easy access to the supporting technologies. She notes that all her Broome students have access to Blackboard however, and that using blogs and wikis may help provide better access to ICT tools for some students.

Web 2.0 learning in HE

Rebekah pointed out that in the readings there were assumptions about learners being school-leavers, with access to enough bandwidth and technology to easily use ICT tools. She wrote about needing to have plans in place to overcome barriers to technology for her students if she wanted to introduce the use of ICT tools in her classes.

ED6114 Charlene’s blog
http://ed6114charlenesblog.blogspot.com

ICT current trends

Charlene read the ‘Horizon report 2010’, which predicts emerging technologies which will have an impact. ‘Near horizon’ technologies (in next 12 months) were mobile computing, and open content; ‘Second adoption horizon’ (next 2-3 years) were e-books, and simple augmented reality; and “far term horizon” (next 3-4 years) were gesture-based computing and visual data analysis.

Charlene wrote that after reading the report she was finally excited about ICT. She was especially keen on the ‘far term horizon’ technologies, which she can imagine being applied in the medical field.

Comment – I am very glad to have also now learnt of the Horizon report through reading Charlene’s blog.

Learning styles – Day 3

Before taking the VARK survey Charlene predicted she would high in Read/write and low in auditory. After taking the survey she found she was V=1, A=3, R/W=7, K=5.
Charlene wrote of incorporating various teaching styles to cater to the range of preferences that exist, but noted that we need to accept that some people prefer to work alone rather than in a group. Charlene wrote that her teaching is based on actual demonstration, and so ICT tools may not be as appropriate for her classes as for other lecturers.

Digital natives debate

Charlene wrote that she found the terms ‘digital native’ and ‘digital immigrant’ distasteful. She wrote that the people who developed the initial web technologies are now of the age usually classified as ‘digital immigrant’!! (Good point Charlene). She wrote that labelling by age was counterproductive, and makes many assumptions about socio-economic circumstances, and previous exposure to technologies.

Higher Education in a Web 2.0 World

Charlene wrote that she had an increased need to be aware of new technologies, due to all the changes afoot. She writes of the benefits of elearning, but notes that the tools must be used only when appropriate. Charlene raised the question of legal issues arising from using networking tools, also mentioned that the extra work involved in setting up an elearning program for students would add to the extra unscheduled hours she already works.

ICT current trends

The article I read was written in 2006, and predicted changes in e-assessment and use of ICT from 2006-2016

The four changing faces of e-assessment 2006 – 2016, Martin Ripley, 2006

http://www.xplora.org/ww/en/pub/insight/thematic_dossiers/articles/e_assessment/eassessment2.htm

Ripley predicts a much stronger role for e-portfolios in the near future, for tertiary but also for secondary students. He predicts that e-portfolios may be used by secondary pupils as the basis of their university application. Even more remarkably he predicts that earning from outside school will be allowed to be included in the e-portfolios, this allowing much more scope for self-directed learning! This gem of information prompted me to reflect.

There is something about new ICT technologies which allows less formal interactions to be recognised as containing valid, weighty content. I’m not sure if this is a result of, or simply parallel to, similar changes in attitude in the social sciences.
With technologies, it is as though the speed of our communication technologies is catching up with the quicksilver, subtle, intuitive way in which we communicate in real life. Older technologies (eg. letter, telegraph) forced us to slow ourselves and conform our communication style to what suited the technology. Ordinary expression and technology use were separate. Now they are merging. The effect of this runs deeply.

It is as though there has long been an assumption that our ordinary, real life experiences and understandings are informally significant, but must be translated into something more formal (eg. essay, exam result, degree) before they can be recognised (and made truly formally valid).
This assumption that formality equals validity seems to be changing.

An example of this change is in the new emphasis on group collaboration skills. In this unit we focused on the use of e-learning tools to enable collaboration between group members. Ripley predicts that skills in online communication and group collaboration will soon actually be assessed at Baccalaureate level.

Ripley also predicts that simulations will be in wider use in e-assessment by 2016. Simulations have a much greater emphasis on authentic tasks, and I see in this a further blending of real life with learning.

Other predictions by Ripley include a) changes to formal exams, and also b) the use of handheld devices. Handheld devices which allow instant feedback are already changing teaching styles. The use of instant formative feedback can allow teaching to be much more responsive to student learning needs. Ripley predicts such devices will continue to change pedagogy. I see this as another example of technology ‘catching up’ with the way humans actually communicate.

The somewhat artificial weight of formal exams will be lifted to some extent, predicts Ripley, as institutions will subscribe to e-assessment providers, who will provide practice tests (on demand) to students, who will then sit their ‘formal’ test when they feel ready. This is active learning and would allow student sot really learn from their mistakes.

Analysis of learning styles and ICT

VARK is mainly meant as a tool to raise students’ personal awareness of their modal preferences for learning.

The preferences are:

V= Visual = preference for graphical and symbolic information

A = Aural = preference for heard information

R= Read/Write = preference for information as printed words

K = Kinesthetic = preference for learning through experience or practice (or to somehow connect the teaching to reality, even just through the use of examples)


Research has show that teachers find it difficult (if not impossible) to cover all their students modal learning preferences in the way they teach. It was decided by the inventors of the VARK test that it was better to raise students’ awareness of their own learning styles, so they could tailor their study tactics to their preferences, no matter how the teaching was presented.

How will VARK change how I learn or teach:

§ In general?

Reading about VARK at first made me feel anxious that I needed to take a multimodal approach to each point I needed to convey, or to every learning activity I devised. Then I read that this was not expected of teachers (Mills as quoted in Fleming and Mills, 1992 – ‘Not another inventory’) and felt very relieved.

However, I think that reading about VARK has made me more aware that there are very different preferences for learning, and has inspired me to think about how I could alter my teaching to cater to various modal preferences. It has also made me more aware that my own preference (Read/Write) may bias the way I am teaching.

Of course, another approach would be to conform to the approach of VARK, and ask students to take the test and become more aware of their own learning preferences.

§ And in ICT environments in particular?

In ‘Learning styles again’ (Fleming and Baume, 2006) it is stated that most education is mono or bi-modal. The authors warn that e-learning may just replicate this, but include a shift from Aural to Read/write. I think it is important not to use the computer screen just as the page of a book, ie. to be filled up with text. There are more possibilities with new e-learning tools for multimodal experiences to be offered, than ever before.

VARK has made me more curious to see how I could produce multimodal teaching/learning activities use e-learning tools.

Do I agree with my profile?

My profile was:
V= 9
A= 10
R= 14
K= 7

I agree that I am predominantly Read/Write, though I think I tap into other modes in non-academic settings. It is as though I have been trained to use Read/Write mode for study, and the other modes for when I am being creative in a non-academic way.

In the study notes for Kinesthetic (?) a reference was made to lectures being times during which the teacher moves around a lot and makes dramatic gestures. I found this comment gave me insight into my own preferences, as I hardly notice how the lecturer moves (or at least I attach no relevance to it), and mainly notice what they have written on their PowerPoints, followed by what they say. If they jumped up and down to emphasise a point, this would be like ‘white noise’ to me, I would not perceive it as effective an emphasis as merely highlighting some text.