Week 2 of teaching

My second week of teaching has gone well. I feel that the lessons I have given have been relatively well structured and have seemed to keep the students engaged. I aim to try and use different methods of teaching whenever possible rather than me just talking at the class. I feel a lot more comfortable in front of the students now and I think this has helped to improve my teaching.

TedTalk - Ken Robinson: How Schools Kill Creativity

I found this talk form Ken Robinson and found it to be very interesting. He talks about how schools are restricting certain children's creativity. The points he made really made me think about certain issues in a different way, on a subject that had never even crossed my mind previously. I enjoyed the way that he used humour during the talk as I think that this helped to keep my attention and made me want to hear more. I wouldn't say that I completely agree with everything that he was saying, such as creativity being as important as literacy, but I did enjoy the way that his points made me think more in depth about the issue.

Has technology changed the way we learn?

The world of technology has had a significant impact on many aspects of our lives, including our education. According to Heick (2012), there are two main changes that have occurred. The first, being the access to resources. Any information that a teacher or student may need can, in the majority of cases, be found online. However, this can have both a positive and negative effect. On the plus side, it gives teachers a far greater depth of information from which to practice, however, the drawback is a lack of investigation needed to find the information as well as an over reliance on technology. The inclusion of technology in learning has also helped to erase all physical boundaries, meaning that students can now study from their homes, access assignments at any time as well as submit their work electronically.

Due to the reasons spoken about, technology has played a very large part in the development of both blended and distance learning.

“A typical distance learning implementation may utilise information technology to provide audio, video and graphic links between two or more sites, therefore using multimedia for communication” (Webster & Hackley, 1997).

Devlin, et al (2008) also state how the use of computers in distance education is helping to connect students from rural communities across Australia, whether they are located at pastoral stations, remote community schools or are on the road, travelling with their parents or carers.

Thomas (2013), reinforces that distance-learning providers are using virtual learning environments (VLEs) to enable students to engage in a multitude of different areas.  This also, due to the ever increasing poularity of mobile technologies, has lead to Universities now producing specially made apps to cater for these devices and to make the experience even more accessible for the students.

In conclusion, the author believes that there is strong eveidence to suggest that technology has changed the way that we learn today, making the experience easier and far more accessible. Whilst there are some institutions that may be further behind in relation to their level and inclusion of the technologies, every one of them would have been affected in one way or another.

Reference List

Devlin, B., Feraud, P. & Anderson, A., 2008. Interactive Distance Learning Technology and Connectedness. Education in Rural Australia, 18(2), pp. 53-62.

Heick, T., 2012. A Primer: 3 Ways Technology Has Changed Education. [Online]
Available at: http://www.edudemic.com/a-primer-3-ways-technology-has-changed-education/
[Accessed 2 November 2013].

Thomas, K., 2013. Students stuck in remote parts? There's an app for that. [Online]
Available at: http://www.theguardian.com/education/2013/feb/18/distance-learning-through-technology
[Accessed 27 October 2013].

Webster, J. & Hackley, P., 1997. Teaching Effectiveness in Technology-Mediated Distance Learning. The Academy of Management Journal, 40(6), pp. 1282-1309.

The value of mobile technology in teaching and learning

It was inevitable that with the popularity of mobile technologies within our culture today that they would then find their way into our classrooms as well. The ready availability and use of these devices has changed human communication, socialising and entertainment to such an extent that is it rare to find a person in western society who does not own at least one such device (Herrington et al, 2009). This shows that the majority of us are regularly using mobile devices in everyday life anyway, so is there the potential for this to be successfully integrated into the learning environment?
According to Walker (2013), the use of mobile technologies in education is becoming more widespread with each year that passes. For example, teachers in higher education in the UK have already made use of SMS (short messaging service) as prompts for course requirements, polling classes and pop quizzes with some universities experimenting with phone exams where the user’s voice print identifies them as the test taker (NMC and Educause, 2008).

The ‘‘Tablets for Schools’’ project published some initial findings online from a study of ‘‘Children’s Perceptions of One-to-One Tablets’’ with the following results:

·      ‘‘greater motivation to learn’’; ‘‘more fun’’; ‘‘creative’’; ‘‘variety’’

·      ‘‘collaborative’’; ‘‘feedback from their teacher’’

·      “classroom environment has improved’’

·      ‘‘improvements to communication’’; ‘‘closer to their teachers’’; ‘‘friends are supportive’’ (Tablets for Schools, 2012).

Another study, carried out by Walker (2013), attempted to find out whether pupils used their mobile devices to help their learning and if they thought that the inclusion of mobile devices in the learning environment could help them further. The study found out how much pupils are already using mobile devices whether allowed by their school or not. There is clear evidence that many pupils feel that they are deriving educational benefit from the use of their devices. They are using many of the features of their devices and often finding creative ways to employ these features in their schoolwork, both at home and at school. The study also shows that pupils themselves believe that mobile devices help with their learning and that they are convenient and useful. However, pupils also acknowledge their potential for disruption and for harm (Walker, 2013).

The author believes that there is definitely potential for mobile technologies to be used more extensively within the learning environment. They are an obvious tool to enhance the learning experience for certain people. As already spoken about, there are risks and certain issues that need to be overcome, however, there is strong evidence that the use of mobile technologies in teaching and learning can be valuable.

Reference List

Herrington, J., Herrington, A., Mantei, J., Olney, I., & Ferry, B. (2009). Using mobile technologies to develop new ways of teaching and learning. In J. Herrington, A. Herrington, J. Mantei, I. Olney, & B. Ferry, New technologies, new pedagogies: Mobile learning in higher education (pp. 1-14). University of Wollongong: Faculty of education.

New Media Consortium and Educause. (2008). Horizontal Report 2008: Australia - New Zealand. Austin: TX: NMC.

Tablets for Schools. (2012, July ). Key Findings, Stage 1. Retrieved October 5, 2013, from Tablets for Schools: http://www.tabletsforschools.co.uk/?page_id_680

Walker, R. (2013). Research in Learning Technology. "I don't think I would be where i am right now". Pupil perspectives for using mobile devices for learning , 21, 1-13.

Barriers to the effective use of technology

Technology has played a big role in changing the education environment in the establishments across the UK which have chosen to implement it. However, not every school, classroom or learning environment has had the opportunity of using technology in their education system. At times technology can be complex, so, some educators find it difficult to integrate it into their existing curricula. In the majority of cases technology is delivered as an additional subject but they do not integrate it in already existing subjects. Refusing to learn technological tools and how to use them in the classroom can leave many establishments backward and this can also effect on the grades of students (Ramey, 2012).

(Bengimlas, 2009), reviewed the literature on barriers to the use of information and communication technology across a variety of teaching and learning environments. He points out that there have been various schemes for classifying barriers. For example, they can be classified as extrinsic or intrinsic barriers, as teacher-level barriers versus school-level barriers, and as material or non-material barriers. He concluded that the major barriers can be classified as lack of confidence, lack of competence, and lack of access.

Focusing more on the barriers to the effective use of technology within higher education, (Johnson & Maddux, 2010) state that through their experience it is clear that the use of technology in the classroom is highly valuable. However, they believe it to be constructive to think about the opposing pressures or tensions within institutions of higher education that pose problems and impose barriers. An example of this would be the separation of technological from academic roles in the organisation of the typical university.

“Typically, information technology (IT) departments exist completely separately from academic departments. This separation is understandable and may be unavoidable, but the degree to which the two groups of professionals are isolated from each other is the problem. This isolation often results in very little communication between IT professionals and academic professionals.” (Johnson & Maddux, 2010).

In conclusion, the author believes that for technology to play a more thorough role within the classroom, teachers and academics in all fields need to be educated on its importance and its advantages. From the research undertaken, it appears that the cause is in need of someone to take the lead and be brave enough to push it into all curriculums and classrooms across the country to enforce the change.

Reference List

Bengimlas, K. A., 2009. Barriers to the Successful Integration of ICT in Teaching and Learning Environments. Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science & Technololgy Education, pp. 235-245.

Johnson, L. & Maddux, C., 2010. Information Technology in Higher Education: Tensions and Barriers. Computers in the Schools, pp. 71-75. Ramey, K., 2012. Barriers To The Effective Use of Technology In Education. [Online]
 
Available at: http://www.useoftechnology.com/barriers-effective-technology-education/
[Accessed October 2013].

My First Week of Teaching

I feel that my first week of teaching at Neath Port Talbot College has gone well. My biggest concern was that the lessons I had planned would not run for as long as they should. However, so far all of my lessons seem to have been timed very well. This may be more luck than judgement at this stage but it has shown me not to worry too much about this certain aspect of the teaching and to focus more on providing interesting and interactive content. The first week has given me more confidence towards the forthcoming lessons and I think this is mostly due to the fact that I now feel comfortable with the students and groups that I have.  

Micro-teach No.2

On Friday (31/10/2013) I had my second experience of delivering a micro-teach session to my peers. The difference with this second session was that we were not allowed to use a presentation  (PowerPoint) to aid us. I initially thought that this was going to be difficult due to the fact that I tend to favour this method, however, after thinking further into it I decided on doing a discussion and role-playing exercise. I also decided to include an exercise that focused around a video that I would show to the class but as it turned out this had to be changed on the day due to further technical issues within the University. On the day, because of the issues, I had to adapt my session so that I met the 30 minute mark but without my planned material. The way I decided to get around this was to engage the students into discussions as well as hear opinions and experiences on the topic form each person. As it turned out, I actually over compensated for thinking that my session wouldn't last the whole 30 minutes and didn't manage to fit the role-play activity in because I had run out of time.

I feel that this micro-teach experience has shown me just how quickly time can pass once you get the group involved in a topic of discussion. I have also, once again, experienced how frustratingly unreliable technology can be and that you should always have a back up plan.

Learning enviroments and techniques - Swansea Waterfront Museum

During our field trip to the Swansea Waterfront Museum I experienced many different learning techniques within different environments. The exhibits ranged from very simple displays of text and pictures up to more much interactive and personal experiences. This meant that a range of learner types are catered for within the museum. One of the elements that I found most interesting was how the museum could stimulate the whole range of human senses from the obvious sight and sound as well as smell, touch and taste. I particularly enjoyed the display in which you had to smell different changing room lockers and then guess the aroma. I think this was an excellent strategy to engage younger children into the learning experience.