Reflective Synopsis
Technology is constantly changing. Society as we know it depends on this fact. That which we take for granted today would have been the stuff of science fiction as little as fifty years ago (Alison Sheldon 2002, p.1.).
Technology in the classroom is assisting both learners and teachers, it can be extremely beneficial. Students are continuously using technologies outside the classroom, so it is no surprise that there are high expectations of success when technology is brought into their classroom learning. Electronic whiteboards, PowerPoint’s, video conferencing, laptops and virtual classrooms are all a part of students learning now. But with all this technology are teachers using these resources as an aid or suppressing their responsibilities. Students learn differently, technology may not be an appropriate learning style for each individual.
Over this course I have explored a variety of effective teaching tools, including Blogs, Wikis, PowerPoint’s and Digital tools.
Blogs
This is the first electronic tool I have used to reflect on my learning, I have found it easy to understand and useful in collaborative learning with my peers. Blogs are a journal that allows the owner to post entries. Blogs provide communication between students and teachers and teachers with each other. This tool is useful for people to become engaged in the activities and interact with people online. There are many types of blogs like; personal, genre, corporate and media. There are advantages and disadvantages of blogs (OEB 2009, p.1.):
Advantages of Blogs
- Blog sites can be developed with the help of simple procedures.
- A blog post goes public, in other words, it can be accessed and read by almost everyone who have an access to internet.
- The usage of blogs are very convenient, hence people tend to use them more frequently.
- Students tend to improve their writing skills as blog articles should be reasonably good enough and free grammatical mistakes.
- Students get into the habit of writing, which helps them in all their future endeavours.
- Blog sites used as online class forums enables students with various personalities to participate in a discussion far more effectively than they can otherwise.
- Individuals learn to express their opinions and exchange their views on topics of common interest, which not only keeps them updated but also effective contributors of new ideas.
- Individuals get a chance to read other blogs, which indirectly helps them to improve upon their skill of writing.
- Instructors of online classes get an opportunity to know what students feel about the class and its presentation quality and help to find ways to improve upon drawbacks if any.
- It is place for students and individuals to share their articles and opinions with people outside their community.
Disadvantages of Blogs
- It involves a lot of time to update and post an entry on the blog site
- Regular writing may give rise to slangs and sloppy way of writing spoiling the quality of proper usage of language.
- One major drawback is that not all information can be shared on blog sites. Hence may not be useful for everyone.
- The need to have a computer may not be feasible for everyone.
- Individuals and students may have reluctance is getting used to the technological advancements.
- Blogging cannot be trusted upon students who are hardly interested in reading and replying to the post.
- Blogging on day to day issues is different from writing on the subject. Hence it may not be a practical idea to force them to do it.
- We were talking individual blogs linked to the group’s website; while it is good for students to have their own blog sites, remember not all may be able to participate, unless, all the comments are seen in one common blogging site.
- There is no confidentiality as it is a public forum.
- It can no way be related to conversation, as there is always a time gap in the replies received.
- It is not suited for issues requiring immediate solution.
- Blogs create a sense of students competing with each just for posting entries. The fear of students getting diverted away from the subject is an issue of concern.
- The moment students open to the web; it is not just the blogging site that they can have access to. The whole world of information is before them, hence there is every chance that they may get diverted away from the discussion.
Refer to comments on attached website for more information.
While blogs are controlled by their owner, a wiki is a type of website that allows multiple users to collaboratively create and edit pages. There are both disadvantages and advantages of incorporating Wikis in and outside of the classroom (Fuller P 2007 p.1.):
Advantages
- Easy to use and has a step by step technology which guides students through using Wiki.
- Students are able to develop communication skills develop communication skills within class using the computer
- Wiki products are immediate so there is no need to wait for a publisher to create a new edition or update information.
- Anyone can edit and it is easy to use and follow. This gives students the potential for being authors, not just researchers.
- It provides opportunities for "active-learning" activities in the classroom.
- People located in different parts of the world can work on the same document and add their own parts. This builds a community of learners.
- Teachers can view ‘recent changes’ on the student’s Wikispaces which assists the assessment processes.
- Widens access to the power of web publishing to non-technical users
- Wiki has no prearranged structure - it is a flexible tool which can be used for a wide variety of applications.
Disadvantage:
- Anyone can edit so this may be too open for some applications, for example confidential documentation. However it is possible to regulate user access.
- Students become easily distracted and use the computers for purposes other than course-related activities.
- Open to SPAM and Vandalism if not managed properly. There are easy ways to restore a page however, and on Wiki Educator you must be logged in to edit pages so this reduces vandalism by automated spam bots.
- Requires Internet connectivity to collaborate, but technologies to produce print versions of articles are improving.
- The flexibility of a wiki's structure can mean that information can become disorganised. As a wiki grows, the community plans and administers the structure collaboratively.
Wikispaces is a collaborative tool that students and teachers can both use in the classroom and at home. This tool allows group work and flexible studies to be easy and time manageable. Wikispaces creates a constructivist learning experience for all students.
PowerPoint
PowerPoint is an effective learning and teaching tool that can be an effective exciting hook to captivate and excite students. It is a collaborative tool and an exceptional teacher’s aid. PowerPoint can be used in many ways in the classroom such as activities, assignments, group activities, investigation (data and image recording) and teacher planning. PowerPoint is an effective teaching tool when relating to all learning styles. There are advantages and disadvantages of PowerPoint (TeAchnology 2007, p.1.):
Advantages:
- PowerPoint is fun to watch and fun to make.
- Used correctly, PowerPoint can accommodate all learners' needs.
- It has a spell-check function! Something our black boards and overheads lack.
- It motivates students when used in moderation.
- It motivates staff.
- PowerPoint allows you to reflect on your lesson and correct any needed changes. Finally, you can create the perfect lesson!
- Imagine being able to print out what you did in class for students that were absent. Better yet, turn the accountability on to students and post your presentations on-line.
- PowerPoint is not hard to learn. Our technology staff rates it a "B+" for ease of use. It should take about one hour to learn the basics.
Disadvantages:
- Content can sometimes take a back seat to flash. Watch-out for triple "P."
- Computers crash, networks go down, viruses can plague computers! Always have a back-up plan!
- Overuse can bore learners and diminish PowerPoint's effectiveness.
- Classrooms need large monitors or projectors to display presentations. Make sure your technology plan furnishes this. With simple TV-out cards or VGA-TV converters, this can be easily accomplished.
- A successful presentation can take several hours to develop.
Students enjoy PowerPoint as they are able to create their own pieces, view their own work and add animations, sounds, colours and formats to suit their personalities. PowerPoint’s are regularly used for memorable personal events which students can create and share with friends.
Digital Tools
Digital videos are a great resource for visual learners. Employing digital video in the classroom
can furnish the following advantages for the teacher and the students:
- The process encourages motivation and engagement (Larkin 2010, p.1.):
- The process can be empowering
- They need to exercise decision making skills in the
- Capturing of scenes and later editing of the video
- Complex tasks become manageable
- Complex processes or concepts can be illustrated
Digital video tools give students a chance to present their work in a personal, different format. This tool is often used in older grades and tertiary courses. Teachers can also benefit from presenting their lessons by providing new ways to help the students have a better understanding of the concepts.
In conclusion technology is a fast expanding and developing resource. Technology in the classroom creates classroom independence and platform independence (Peter Brusilovsky 2010, p.1.). Every ones learning style is different and if individual learning experiences are accounted, for the content of the lesson will be further productive for the learners.
As I required an extension on this assignment, comments and reflections on comments will be of short quantity.
References to comments
http://mahneymaree.blogspot.com/2010/11/how-atre-blogs-useful-to-both-students.html#comments
References
Advantages and Disadvantages of blogging platforms. (2010). Retrieved 20 December 2010, from
Blogs-Advantages and Disadvantages. (2009). Retrieved 18 December 2010, from
Blogs in Education. (2010). Retrieved 18 December, 2010 from
http://www.det.wa.edu.au/education/cmis/eval/curriculum/ict/weblogs/
Digital Video in the Classroom points to consider. (2010). Retrieved 19 December 2010, from http://www.larkin.net.au/
Digital Video in the Classroom points to consider. (2010). Retrieved 19 December 2010, from http://www.larkin.net.au/
The connected classroom. (2010). Retrieved 15 December 2010, from
TeAchnoloy. (2010). Retrieved 15 December 2010, from
