Week 3 – The Roles of ICT in Education

This week we take a look at the different roles ICT’s can play in the classroom. As we transition from Web 1.0 to Web 2.0 a shift in the way ICT’s are used in 21^st century classrooms has been quite prominent in Australia. Smith, Lynch and Knight (2007) argue that this shift is important as students need to be provided with opportunities that are relevant to their everyday encounters with ICT.

Sourced from: Google images

To understand this shift we must first understand the terms Web 1.0 and 2.0. Web 1.0 is content on the web that is added by a webmaster and changed by the same person. It is usually in a ‘read only’ format meaning other people cannot contribute to the ideas on that webpage. Web 2.0 on the other hand is a highly interactive web experience that allows groups or individuals to add their own content in a ‘read-write’ format. This is usually done through tools like wiki’s, blogs, youtube and social media that have been pre-fabricated for you.

So what is the difference between a Blog, Wiki and Website?

Websites are usually just read only sites that provide information about a topic. Wiki’s and blogs however are owned by individuals meaning they have the ability to add their own content and ideas. Blogs usually have a single author and Wiki’s are known for their multi author capabilities.

An Early Childhood Context

While blogs and wiki’s initially bring to mind copious amounts of text with some interesting pictures and a brain just busting to share its knowledge with the rest of the world, I can’t help but get excited about the prospects for this kind of tool in an early childhood classroom. I think younger children would absolutely love the opportunity to have a go at something that was already set up for them. I can picture a year two student writing about their weekend and picking out pictures that go with those activities. How much more exciting than writing in the notepad every day! While it’s a great tool that I’d love to play with I also think that achieving the right balance of the use of ICT’s in the classroom will be another factor I will have to keep in mind.

Check out the link to my PMI below, it shows my interpretation of the usefulness of blogs in general. The one I’ve used comes from a website called pmitool.com

Blog PMI

The Wiki Project

Sourced from: Google images

This week we were also asked to create our own Wiki. Thank goodness for the technical manual we were given to assist with creating one….it was tricky! While I’m sure I would have worked my way through it I can definitely see why some digital immigrants are so resistant to using ICT in their classroom. It’s definitely an area that professional developments can help with. Once created, I spent some time navigating my way around my Wiki and exploring the capabilities and functions of the space. I must say I was impressed! It was easy to navigate and allowed me to create groups (of my selection or by random). I can see it having so much value in an upper primary class but really had to think outside the box for an early childhood class. This is what I came up with….literacy groups. It would be a really handy tool for literacy rotations, especially something like a cloze activity or spelling groups. Obviously they might need a teacher’s aide to assist them but I think it would keep them really engaged.

Websites

As part of our engagement tasks this week we were also asked to create our own website! Weebly was the weapon of choice and wow…it was simple! I was really surprised at just how easy it was to create. What a great tool to use in the classroom. You can add to the site as an ‘outsider’ and have the class interact daily or weekly with whatever tasks this outsider has set. It’s fun, it’s interactive, it’s colourful…basically it’s just a fantastic ICT.

I’ve included a SWOT analysis below. I found this tool online at http://i-swot.com/tool/

It’s really handy and easily exported.

Created through www.fodey.com

So this week we’ve looked at blogs, wiki’s and websites. The stand out factor that all of them have when it comes to the classroom is that they are all student centred. This is a really important factor that needs to be considered when planning how students will engage with ICT’s. We also got the opportunity to try out fodey, wordle and voki in class. I have included a Voki at the top of the page and my Fodey is below. They are both really handy tools that take ICT use in the classroom to the next level!

The use of these three types of ICT has me thinking back to the last few weeks and how learning theories have interconnected with our engagement activities. Connectivism has played a large role in our learning this week I think. A large part of connectivism is the use of sensemaking (Downes, 2012). This week we have done almost nothing else as we understand these new technologies and really think about how they apply to our own pedagogy and teaching context.  

I look forward to seeing what exciting things next week brings.

Tarina

References

Downes, S. (2012) Connectivism: Downes on Connectivism and Connective Knowledge.

            Retrieved from: http://www.connectivism.ca/

Managing E-Learning (2013). Week 3: Digital Technologies. Retrieved from

         CQUniversity courses, FAHE11001 Managing E-Learning,

         http://www.e-courses.cqu.edu.au

Smith, R., Lynch, D., Knight, B.A. (2007).  Learning Management - Transitioning Teachers

For National And International Change. Frenchs Forrest, NSW: Pearson Education Australia Incorporated.