Students as professional developers - Sylivia Martinez (ACEC 2010, Day 2)

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Sylvia Martinez keynote speaker on the second day of the ACEC 2010 conference, spoke about teacher development. She was keen to suggests that students can train ans support staff and teachers, provide technical support, develop resources and communicate for schools, and help peers. This was an inspirational presentation, which continued to reinforce the message that appears to be coming through as a key theme at this conference - empowering students and valuing what they have to contribute to learning. It is giving learners and learning purpose, authenticity, and space for students to take responsibility. Scaffolding and guidance are still important, but the students are helped to so something that they are passionate about, and something that enables them to embrace 'citizenship' of learning communities. It's what the students and the teachers do that counts.

The idea is to build a technology ecology where the student is doing something authentic - giving them real problems to solve - one of which is using technology in schools. So, the mantra is waste nothing, including talent, energy and passion. Students can provide informal technical support, for example drop in sessions for staff. Students need to know something and to take ownership and responsibility, an increased sense of purpose. It is not just about the technology it is about the philosophy - student-centered and focussed.

There are a lot of kids and adults who have things to share in the form of ideas and passion. Students care about their education, and rise to the challenge of leading events for teachers. It is worth looking at the Tomaz Lasic 'Catch a teacher day' initiative (Perth). Also, the Media Smart days which were organised by students, where there were student and teacher run workshops on media and technology topics.

Sylvia Martinez emphasised the importance of projects, and the key associated notions of tech support, professional development, and student technology fluency. She suggested that projects are graded by a peer-mentor - this gives different types of kids opportunities to shine and to show off their talents.

http://blog.genyes.com/

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ePortfolios: showcasing student voice and choice (ACEC 2010)

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Christine Haynes - ePortfolios: showcasing student voice and choice

Christine showcased some of the work that students (reception to year 6) are doing with multmodal texts, digital storytelling, and ePortfolios. She shared some rich examples of student work and comments. Students used either their own photos or images from places such as the "Australian photo library". In addition, the class created the podcasts using their own voices as well as others from interviews.

Visual explanations were used a lot to encourage oral literacy. Students themselves created much of the resources and explanations too. Data was translated into graphs and charts, which were shared with and commented on by peers. Awareness was raised of audience and appropriacy as well as creation of resources for authentic audiences. As such the students created artefacts and images around concepts such as, for example, peace. Animation, and other hands-on creation were seen as really important.

Reflection was encouraged, and students were assisted in reflective practice. For instance, commenting on book chapters as they read them. Students were also asked to explain choices around images, colours and backgrounds. Parents could also visit the resources, and leave comments.

The link with Alan November's keynote was strong, with ePortfolios being populated by student created resources, which were then shared. The primary years examples shared were indicative of the creativity and engagement of learners once they are given the choice and forum to share.

Alan November: ACEC 2010 Conference - Day 1

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Alan November - keynote

Alan November started with an anecdote about his first trip to Australia, and students who were involved in doing research for the NASA space shuttle - and how motivating it was for the students involved. He moved on to use Poll Everywhere to engage the audience.

Alan started his career by teaching math and oceanography. He was teaching students who were incarcerated on an island. He offered extra help with both subjects, but only had requests about oceanography - especially tides and hypothermia (that being the escape route). Early on his career he realised you could be a great teacher for anyone who is desperate!

"Before we talk about technology we need to talk about teaching and learning" - we need to stop spending money on stuff. The question is are we doing things right without the technology, because just adding the technology to a system that is broken is not going to fix it. Alan showed a video that had Harvard graduates being interviewed about the question around where the mass of a tree comes from. The response to getting the answer wrong is as interesting as the answers themselves. The graduates had all studied photosynthesis, but did not know the answer was CO2 - and in fact found the actual answer 'disturbing'.  Another video showed younger kids answering the same question - they gave the same answer as the Harvard graduates.

In the US they have a problem - it is very difficult to apply what you learn in school outside of school. A third video was shown from You Tube about Professor Mazur. He received a lot of positive student feedback but was worried that students were passing exams without understanding the underlying concepts. Mazur got an iPod touch - he decided that he was going to immediately test students as soon as he teachers (but isn't this just glorified clickers...hmmm). He asked a simple question and the majority of the students in his class do not get it right. People learn in social groups - when you actually track students it is how and where they learn, it is the conversations that they have outside of class where the learning actually takes place. What he did was stop all lectures and stopped giving content. He also swapped what was happening in face-to-face sessions, so that what was homework was now classwork, and what was classwork was now homework.

The most important things about learning is how students process knowledge, that is the most important aspect. What is the most important aspect of a classroom - is it the knowledge of the teacher? Or is it the processing of knowledge to the point where it becomes synthesised, internalised and then externalised, and personalised. The building of mental models and sharing of ideas around their conceptions is central to effective learning. November believes that there must be much more testing for misconceptions. The knowledge and misconceptions of children therefore become available during the actual learning cycle, and therefore give the teacher immediate feedback about how children are learning.

What are the most important relationships in learning? Teacher to teacher? Students to students? etc. Learning is social - sitting without engaging with other people is not the best way of learning. Lessons and lectures often just introduce the initial, surface concepts, and it is once the students leave the classroom, where students ask each other for help. Tutorials made by students for other students (especially in the form of multimedia) - Alan showed an example of a student-made tutorial about prime factorisation. The last words of the student were "thanks for listening". It took the student 2 hours to design a tutorial like this. The teacher does not a give a grade, he helps with the quality, and everything is voluntary - but this is an option rather than homework (homework would take about 7 mins). When she designs a tutorial to help her friends she feels that is important, whereas homework, she feels is not important as it was just for her.

Is it, therefore, more effective to have students developing tutorials for other students? This however will require a massive shift in control toward a team approach to learning. It is easy to underestimate children.  Immediate feedback is central to success. The education system has failure built-in because there is such a delay between making an error and receiving feedback. ICT can help reduce the time-lag for feedback to zero.

What is the role of children in school? Is it to figure out what the teacher already knows? Or is it to contribute, to create, to help, to play an active, meaningful role? Alan showed another video where children were working together to make a podcast - one child goes around and takes photographs, and another interviews people. Every week the students produce a podcast that reflects on their learning, and they work in a self-directed team. They sort out the subject, roles, process etc each week - the students are 7-8 years age range. The children are joyful about creating the content that helps other children, and they have a global voice. People around the world can access their stuff. Usually, when students have finished work it goes nowhere. Even children who cannot read or write can take photos, and make a contribution - to add value to the effort of their classmates.

Education as a concept needs to change before learning is centralised, and students actually learn in a way that is relevant and that celebrates their input into their community, as well as other communities around the world.

The Amazing Web 2.0 Projects Book!

"The Amazing Web 2.0 Projects Book" is a collaborative initiative (coordinated and edited by Terry Freedman) that brings together ideas and experiences from 94 contributors around the world. The hands-on practical aspect of the eBook means that, rather than just talking about Web 2.0 tools, there are how-to suggestions and guidelines, as well as reference to benefits and pitfalls and challenges to be prepared for, and how to handle them. The resource is free, and can be downloaded by clicking here (it's a 2.09 MB .pdf file).

Some of the comments that Terry has received about his book include:

David Kapuler: "This is one of the best collaborative resources I've seen on Web 2.0. It covers everything from wikis, blogs, to digital storytelling and podcasting. Terry Freedman...does a masterful job of organizing the content which has been included from such high esteemed educators from around the world, such as: Kim Cofino, Silvia Tolisano, and Shelly Terrell".

Paul Hamilton: "Any teacher with an interest in effectively reaching every learner in his or her classroom–with meaningful, accessible, and engaging learning activities–would do well to take a look. The book is well organized, with activities categorized according to the general age range of the learners involved".

Stephen Downes: "It's pretty light and breezy, but the information is well-structured (using a template that identifies things like age ranges, applications used, reactions and outcomes) and the content is clearly and well written throughout".

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Teaching in virtual space: An interactive session demonstrating Second Life simulation for haemorrhage management (Ascilite, 2009)

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This was a presentation given at the Ascilite conference in 2009, hosted in Auckland, NZ.

Michelle Honey, Scott Diener, Kelley Connor, Max Veltman, and David Bodily began by introducing the ‘virtual’ presenters who were present in Second Life, and then gave an overview of what they were planning to present. It was interesting that while they were using cutting edge virtual world technology, they had the plan on a piece of paper which was placed under a document camera, and which was almost impossible to read! What does this suggest about the use of technologies here…?

Beginning with learning outcomes, the presenters then articulated some of the strategies they applied (such as ethics – the subject was not an exam subject, just in case it was not effective).

Once something is built in Second Life (SL) it is pretty easy to modify and add to it. This particular project was an international, collaborative effort and is an open environment where people are invited to come in, and can ‘take away’ the simulation to install it on another island should they wish to.

It was interesting to bring in presenters through SL although there were issues with feedback to begin with, and obvious relief that the technology was working ☺. The time lag was a little difficult to begin with, but was fine once the presenter got going, although the sound broke up a little bit. It was odd to listen to someone presenting and watch the avatars on the screen, shuffling around, looking ‘awkward’ apparently with nothing to do. It’s almost as if the visual was beside the point, and brought home again how much we rely on visual cues, or meaningful visual input while listening.

There was some discussion about the issues of collaborating internationally, where it is not possible to bump into each other in the hallway for a quick chat. However, they did use the Second Life environment to meet, and get a sense of each other. Several of the developers have not met except through SL.

It was fascinating to hear about some of the limitations, or specific requirements of the environment such as requiring a lot of space in the ‘patient room’ so that the avatars had plenty of space to move around without “jumping all over each other”, and enough room to move the ‘cameras’ around. In the future, they are also going to ask students to set up an avatar with their first name and middle initial rather than pseudonyms to avoid confusion etc..

In NZ there were broadband issues, and it was not easy for students at home even if they had broadband. Scaffolding was provided for students to set up via multimedia. Also, they had a ‘sandpit’ room for students to go an try out the environment so that once they got involved in the simulation it was about the learning, rather than trying to figure out SL.

The highlight of the session was a demonstration of the simulation, although the sound was awful with a lot of feedback, mainly because of the strange set up of ‘presenting’ the simulation. It was strangely compelling to watch the simulation, which was set up as a role play with the new mother, father, and nurse played by the presenters. It was almost as if the drama of the simulation drew us in, although the fact that when, for example, a couple of the physical checks were underway, the avatars do not actually ‘touch’. The debrief at the end (‘attended’ by other members of the ASCILITE conference) was a great way of showing the guided reflection process that learners would experience having been part of the role play. After the debrief, if things need to be reinforced, the students can go through the scenario again.

In the situation with real students, students worked in threes, as it was hoped that there would be some teamwork. Students’ feedback to the simulations resulted in, for example, the development of the sandpit room where they could work out what they could and couldn’t do in the SL environment. The students were overwhelmingly positive about the simulations. Being able to participate from home was seen as a real benefit. Also, students really like the microphone rather than the text chat facility, which they found frustrating, and it also interfered with the feeling of realism – which was vital for the simulation to work. I wonder also if it because learners were having to use dual channel processing (visual input as well as written and spoken words) which interfered with the problem solving capability? Students were really enthusiastic, and often would not want to leave, and would want to stay in SL to discuss things further, and came up with ideas for other simulations.

Another take on this presentation written by the SLENZ team can be accessed by clicking HERE.

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Karen Day and Stewart Wells - Adapting social media as a scaffolding tool for teaching health informatics (Ascilite 2009)

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This presentation was given at the Ascilite conference 2009 hosted in Auckland, NZ. The full paper can be accessed by clicking HERE.

This presentation focussed on the principles of how information is managed in health care, and included a very brief overview of the necessity for scaffolded learning. The presenter discussed the ‘digitally minded’ nature of students entering the programme, but the difficulty of getting students to talk.

A survey indicated that 100% of students owned a mobile phone, 81% used all their fingers to type, and only 29% had done a basic course in computer science.

One of the strategies they used was discussion forums with very specific instructions, and expectations. A group activity involved selecting an article; one student had to summarise the article, another to review the article positively, the final negatively. The students had a marking rubric to access. They then had to comment on other postings. Average grade was between 3 and 5. The students fed back that “Discussion were really good prep 4 exams. 1) made sure that I started early, didn’t procrastinate, 2) helped to know that you were (or weren’t) on the right track. Tutors made ongoing formative feedback throughout the process. One risk was cheating: “Online discussions became sort of an easy way to put together assignments. Many would copy and paste under heading from discussion and not sure if this is a good or bad thing.” Tutors used Turnitin, and copy/pasted discussions to see if students were copying someone else’s, or their own, work.

The following year the group decided to use http://www.hive.org.nz/content/telemedicine-unseating-tyrannies-time-and-distance, and opened the discussion up in the global world. Students were asked to contribute to the forum, with a max of 150 words, and have a reference. The forum was open to all comers, and included responses from, for example, a CIO. It was a dynamic, interactive discussion. One drawback of the software was that they could not comment directly to any response.

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ICTs in the daily lives of Australian students – Matthew Riddle (ASCILITE); 9th Dec 2009

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This presentation was given at the Ascilite conference 2009 hosted in Auckland, NZ.

Matt Riddle started by giving a bit of background to the study (which was funded by Blackboard). He advised he used the ‘day experience method’, which followed the use of technology in students’ daily lives. Students were given a kit which they used via their own mobile phones. The idea was to build up a picture of students’ lives – a day in the life of…as opposed to the institution expectations of what a student’s life actually comprises. Data included photos, notebooks, videos etc.

To the question ‘what are you using?’ – the use of technologies and techniques was very broad – pen and paper (53%), and face-to-face (38%) – only 17% mentioned laptops, but 100% said that they had their mobile phones with them at all times. One example…a student using a laptop in the bookshop to search for an item. Power points were mentioned as an issue where people wanted to use their laptops but could not as their battery would run out, and this could be a reason that they didn’t use as much technology as they might otherwise do so. Comfort (e.g. people smoking in non-smoking zones where there is wireless, meaning that students would go home to study). Some students were reluctant to bring laptops on campus, in part because the wireless coverage was too restricted – in coverage, and they could only access the intranet rather than the internet. The policy has since changed, and students can access the wider internet, but the physical coverage has remained the same.

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Feelings were mainly positive with ICTs (64%), with only 14% feeling frustrated. In summary, students are using technologies throughout their day and everywhere, on campus, in transit, at work at home. Institutions need to a better job in providing comfortable spaces – with power - in which to study.

Not really surprising results…and perhaps suggesting that the reason tertiary education institutions are not seeing more ubiquitous wireless mobile device use around campus is practical rather than philosophical.