Teaching and Teching

Teaching and learning with the brain in mind.

2008-11-16T19:51:00.001+10:00

I recently listened to an Educause podcast from their 2008 annual conference. The presentation was by Dr. V.S. Ramachandran who is the Professor and Director of the Centre for Brain and Cognition at the University of California. This speech offered an insight into brain function using what we consider abnormal function as the stimulus.

In one section of his speech, Dr. Ramachandran speaks of patients who experience a phenomenon called synesthesia. This is a condition where there is a cross linking of the senses. I encourage you to download this podcast and listen. What had made this significant for me, follows on from my blogpost about Amanda Baggs. In this post I mentioned an old friend who has inspired my practice. This speech on synethesia reaffirmed the concept that not everyone thinks the same way. But even more significant, is that not everyone interprets the same stimulus the same way.

If I apply this to my classes, I know there are a variety of thinking strategies and learning behaviours existent. I am aware of a variety of teaching strategies I employ to ensure I am providing a productive learning experiences to as many students as possible. Dr. Ramachandran's speech however, pointed out to me that the specific stimulus can be interpreted many ways. How often has this resulted in a misunderstanding of what I required in an assessment task? How often has this resulted in a misunderstanding in regards to behaviour? How often have I confused my students and others?

It would be ridiculous to expect that I could tap into the brains of each and every person I interact with in order to understand the best way to present information to them. Yet this speech has pointed out to me that when I deal with learning in groups, the stimulus (learning) material may be interpreted in different ways. This has me thinking about my interactions in class and noticing (more) the body language and hearing (more) the verbal language of my students as I attempt to interpret understanding as I intend it.

Moving

2008-11-16T19:18:00.001+10:00

Unfortunately I've had to end my relationship with blogger. Simply because the site is blocked through my organizational filters. From this point on the blog will continue at My Journey with Digital Pedagogy - http://shanetechteach.edublogs.org

Inspiration

2008-11-01T12:33:00.001+10:00

There are rare occasions where I stumble across something that is so inspiring and emotional to me as a teacher. Amanda Baggs video "In my language", and subsequently her blog, is one of those moments. Looking at the dates on the video, this is not a recent web addition, however its recent in my experience, hence the seemingly belated blogpost. The video is eight (8) minutes, but well worth it in my humble opinion.

A close friend who worked with what we call 'special needs' students (RIP Robyn Durrginton) taught me the most significant thing that has informed my teaching and relationships with people in one clear statement - "Its difficult to find the good in someone when you don't look for it." These words live with me to this day. Amanda's story has reinforced this significantly. This will be a video I show my students, as I endeavour to learn with them about tolerance and diversity in modern society.

Amanda's story has me thinking, "How often has my push to have students produce the assessment item, and use ICTs, created an understanding divide?" Food for thought.

A new gadget, iPod Touch.

2008-10-26T20:49:00.000+10:00

Toys, toys, toys. I'm unashamedly like a kid at Christmas when I buy a new gadget and look at ways it can further enhance learning in my classes. Latest acquisition – iPod Touch. And I'll assume you'll ask the same question most others do, why not an iPhone? Quite simply, this was a purchase with funds allocated to me through various grants and activities but needs to be used on educational gadgets. An iPhone was a possibility but then I would have needed to pay the monthly subscription, and that wasn't necessary in my current situation.

As I explore all that the iPod Touch can do, I don't think I'm missing much by not having an iPhone. Sure I'm reliant on wireless networks I have access to, but the 2 main places I'll use this have them. So for now the big exploration is how to sync all my existing services to the iPod Touch. As I learn, I'll record it here.

Some inspirational teachers I'm looking to learn quite a bit off include Jonathan Nalder and Toni Twiss. See their blogs for a range of great ideas in mobile learning.

Linux learning.

2008-10-26T20:48:00.000+10:00

Its been an eventful week for my development in all things ICT. Steep learning curves abound with adventures in linux, iPod Touch and other wonders.

I've often thought of learning linux, as my only OS experience is in Windows. To this extent I had even downloaded a couple of live CDs, but hadn't played with them yet. This all changed early in the week when a student brought her laptop into me complaining it wouldn't start. I don't have a computer repair business but do a lot of repair work for friends. This laptop was by far the most difficult problem I had worked on. Despite having worked on a few computers, I'd never had to deal with a bluescreen of death. Well, this is where the fun began.

Some research into the stop error resulted in a couple of suggestions that required deletion of a hidden file. However this was no ordinary hidden file that could be accessed through normal interfaces. It needed command line work. Now this was exciting. Not since the days of running around in DOS 6 have I done any command line work. And never had I done it in linux. So I tried my live CDs (Knoppix and Ubuntu) and explored the OS while I had the chance. However neither of these systems would find the required file, and at times had difficulty mounting the drive volume.

Some further research saw me download the System Rescue CD, and at this moment I don't even know what linux distro it is!! However, this allowed the drive volume to be mounted and found the offending file. End result – Shane played a lot with simple command line work in linux, and flash looking laptop works again!

This has me inspired. I will soon receive a laptop as part of Queensland's Computer for Teachers program, so I might return control of my EeePC back to linux. Its something I'd love to show students, so they can experience it and understand there are more than 2 OS options out there.

Concept maps.

2008-10-20T05:01:00.003+10:00

As mentioned in an earlier post, I am exploring the world of concept maps. Currently my software of choice is CMaps. Its simple to use, and if I can get the server component running, it has a discussion thread. Now that could be really useful in class.

So how am I using them. At the moment, I'm building concept maps as a planning stage for my units of work. I'd like them to be clear enough to be presented to students in conjunction with the unit outline, but I fear my use at the moment is not as sophisticated as it should be. The key bonus, is that concept maps will more clearly represent the complex inter-relationships that are common fodder for study in Health Education.

There are many other concept map programs out there. My school site has Inspiration installed locally, and of course there are many web versions. CMaps is the first one I've trialled and for now is all I need. Plus it runs as a portable app, which as you know is important to me.

What is notetaking for today's student?

2008-10-07T04:55:00.003+10:00

I've recently read a blogpost about the importance of note taking as a skill for independent learners. You can read the original here. This got me thinking, what is note taking for today's learner. To respond to this I've reflected on my own approach to independent learning and practices I attempt to develop in my classes.

There are many note taking applications available - OneNote, Evernote, Google Notebook to name a couple. Each of these provides a way of taking notes and linking to information on the web. Personally I use Evernote, however encourage my students to use Google notebook. Why, I want students to access their notes regardless of equipment and I need to take notes when offline.

But, think beyond physically typing or writing notes. There are other processes I believe could be considered part of note taking. Tagging and bookmarking, if done productively, can be a powerful method to organise your information. There are social sites that allow you to learn from others in this regard. Some sites take it beyond simple tagging and allow a level of interaction with the information. With my Diigo account, I can highlight and comment on web information, and other Diigo users can view and respond to my highlighting and commenting. This provides a powerful way to engage learners with research and notetaking.

Stephen Downes refers to the use of images for note taking. This could be as simple as photographing the whiteboard / learning in class (something I do regularly), or storing pics of objects that relate to a concept or thought process. Extend the concept of photographing the whiteboard, and use an electronic version (interactive or online) and save the whiteboard as an image. This can be stored and tagged.

Concept maps are also a method of representing information. I am only now beginning to realise the potential of a concept map / mind map.

I believe note taking has moved well past the traditional thought of one place to store typed / written text. What needs to catch up is a teacher's concept of notes to allow this multiple faceted approach. When we say a student can bring notes into the exam room, what do we physically allow them to bring?

Health Ed 2.0

2008-10-03T20:17:00.003+10:00

I'm embarking on a particularly exciting personal trial in my senior Health Education class next term. I have been promoting to them all year the benefits of collaboration and persistent communication in development of knowledge. Although I've not yet specifically discussed connectivism or networked knowledge, the concept is becoming familiar to the students.

I am incorporating a number of web technologies to enable greater learning within our group. To do this, I am using a number of tools for specific processes that will increase their interaction with each other in then learning. To the students, learning a new tool will no doubt be exciting, however it is the purpose behind the tool that is important.

Firstly, the course will be outlined on a public Google Calendar. The calendar will identify lesson occurrences and what is to be covered in that lesson. If files are uploaded to web spaces, links will be provided here. My planned absences from the class will also be highlighted. My intention is that during an absence students access the course calendar and relevant files so they can continue to work. Eventually I will open the calendar so the students can edit, adding in their known absences or other important dates I may need to consider.

I will be using Diigo to allow collaborative research. I love the Diigo Educator account, I only wish I had known it was a possibility before I sat the class through signing up. (This is a difficulty at our school as student emails are disabled, and popular webmail blocked by filters.)

I've established a public Netvibes page as a central portal for our information. Blog feeds are the most common items here. I'll create tabs for each unit we study, and add blogs that are relevant. I will also set up an RSS feed for the lesson materials.

A more personal blog, with thoughts of teaching this class in particular, will be accessed on the front page of the public netvibes. This is a chance for me to discuss with them my plans and reflections without taking up valuable learning time. They can read and respond to this as they wish. Their comments are not able to be viewed by the public for safety reasons.

Finally, I'm going to use dabbleboard as a psuedo-back channel. This will be a space for them to post questions and comments, and at the same time allow all of them to respond to the questions or comments. Any unanswered questions will be answered by me after the lesson, and the board saved.

My ultimate plan is to have us as a group learning regardless of time or space, and independent of me identifying next actions. Only time will tell if this is successful or not, however in my early discussions with the students they seem excited by the developments.

I'm currently building a slideshow and concept map to represent these ideas, and will post them as they are finalised. For interest, the map at this stage is below;

Its too much!!

2008-09-29T14:17:00.002+10:00

The web has its stranglehold on me. I'm struggling to keep up with what I want from it. Aaaarrrgh! How do I handle it.

Ok, settle down. This is simply a matter of prioritisation. I have yet again taken on more than I can handle. Most is voluntary, personal learning and the sort. Reading blogs, trying to comment on blogs. I need to find ways to fit all this in.

I don't have the answer yet. I'll let you know when I do.

What it does highlight is that there is no way to keep up with everything as it evolves. Impossibility. I just need to let some stuff go.

Initially, this will be FOC08 and CCK08. These will both be useful courses but I am not keeping up with the requirements within them. I'm also trimming my blogroll. This will be reflected in the sidebar soon enough.

I'm getting more involved in Diigo and can see how this may make me slightly more productive.

Further exploration of facilitation - Web 2.0 in my classroom

2008-09-25T05:14:00.003+10:00

I have been reflecting on my role as a teacher versus my role as a facilitator, and how these may differ. I understand my role and place when teaching is required. I know who I am teaching yet realising this may be a different group of people who wish to learn from me, different in group definition anyway. I have tried to represent this in a concept map, below;

The left hand side represents what I am referring to as teaching. The right, facilitation. As I develop this the key component that I realise is in a facilitation relationship, the learner holds the power. They determine whether to engage in the learning / interaction / action, the level of engagement, and perception of quality is based on their prior experience and expectations. This says to me I need to "let go" when facilitating. I needn't be in control of direction, pace or outcome. However my knowledge can still be useful.

In my concept map I have only considered two entities, myself and the learning community as a whole. I know communities will interact within themselves, however as a newbie to concept maps I am not ready to represent that yet. Consider this a work in progress.

I am now attempting to implement some real facilitation within the boundaries of one of my classes. (As I said, little steps.) I am still restricted by assessment criteria and somewhat by timelines. But I can "open" the remainder of the learning. I'm attempting to establish a Diigo classroom where we can share research. Vicki Davis (teacher extraordinaire) is attempting something similar and you can read her dedicated post here.

I have established a netvibes universe that will provide RSS feeds for relevant information including lesson materials. I intend to include materials developed by the learners which could be anything from text to whiteboards to photostreams to video etc. This universe also provides a blog feed on my thoughts about the class, which the learners will be encouraged to respond to and therefore have input into activities and direction of learning. I intend to have them all sign up to netvibes, and then become owners of the universe also.

Facilitation, a new challenge.

Expanding my mind - What is a community?

2008-09-16T05:11:00.005+10:00

After a recent email discussion and a direct comment on my misunderstanding of the Facilitating Online Communities course (FOC08), I have retreated to the corner for some quiet reading and thinking time. As our facilitator had stated and challenged, teachers were hesitant to step outside their experience of education to contemplate community facilitation in a broader context.

So I've chased some reading and listening, and some thoughts, to expand my understanding of what Leigh Blackall is attempting to get us to consider. These thoughts below are not inter-related, but have stemmed from my thinking, reading and listening.

Firstly, I should consider the concept of community similar to what is my PLN. There are a range of connections I utilise to provide me inspiration and knowledge, but I do not manage them. The information they generate is independent of me, however they form a significant part of what is me. My facilitation of these is simply seek, sort and utilise. It was when I considered this that I began to understand (hopefully) what Leigh is talking about. So what roles exist in this community. Certainly I am the moderator, selecting to digest and utilise only the information I deem important or interesting. My moderation does not extend to influence over what information is published or posted within the PLN, simply what is attended to. In regards to facilitation, I believe this relates to the environment I establish for the PLN. For example, I use a netvibes account to aggregate the blogs I read and juice for podcasts. Times of aggregation and distribution from there is my facilitation. Do I have a teaching role in this community, I don't believe so.

Secondly, I reflected on my experience within my son's soccer team. As the coach I have a direct role for teaching, and this is obvious. I then thought of community as how the parents interact. We organise outings to the park, volunteering for reffing and washing jerseys, collecting match payments etc. No-one takes control of this, is just happens. This to me represented the community aspect. A group coming together under similar interests, and interacting within the environment. Each person offered to contribute, and the others supported the contribution. Again, within this community there is no teaching and I perceive we all facilitate to a degree. With this particular community I perceive moderation would be personal and internal.

To delve back into my world as a teacher, I can see how this developing understanding could produce interesting learning experiences and outcomes within my classes. It certainly ties in with my beliefs about connectivism and transformative learning.

I believe I am beginning to develop a true understanding of community and how their existence and function does not necessarily have to end in an educational goal.

Connectivism

2008-09-12T05:50:00.003+10:00

As I embark on the massive open online course that is Connectivism and Connective Knowledge, I reflect on what the concept of connectivism is for me. Its important to note as I explore ways of working and experiment with my practice that my understanding of connectivism and its application to education within my context is fluid.

Firstly, my practice is based in beliefs of three (3) learning theories; constructivism, connectivism and transformative learning. Within my practice they are entwined and do not exist without the others. I have explained this through an analogy of the body's energy systems. There are three chemical systems that build ATP within the body's muscles (ATP is the chemical broken down to provide energy for muscular contraction). These three systems work simultaneously to provide energy dependent on the activity undertaken by the body. At any one time, a specific energy system is dominant but this will change with activity change.

This is how the three learning theories I follow are implemented into my practice. At any particular time they are all present, however a specific one will be dominant. The dominance is managed by me, but not necessarily decided by me.

Within constructivism, I am particularly emphasise social constructivism, which aligns with connectivism. Clearly within a constructivist environment the learner is building their own knowledge. Its important to teach them how to connect to the knowledge of others (I term this collaborative knowledge in my classes, although networked learning possibly describes this better) and therefore not rely on themselves holding all knowledge - an important lesson for teachers!!

I am yet to facilitate a completely open environment where learners seek and make their own connections, as I have been concerned with the productivity of such connections (social friends vs critical friends). This does however work against transformative learning theory where the power in the learning relationship is passed to the learner.

I've used a connectivist approach to vastly increase my pool of knowledge for a range of things. Technology has enhanced my ability to do this, exponentially increasing the connections I can make and maintain. Yes connectivism is possible outside of technology hardware and software, its potential is however limited.

Podcasting in education

2008-09-08T05:02:00.004+10:00

Well, I managed to get through my first full day professional development offering (me as presenter) unscathed. Despite forgetting a critical piece of equipment and having to rush home (return trip of 40 minutes) to get it, I really enjoyed the day. It has reinforced to me though that there are a worrying number of teachers out there that have little knowledge or ability with technology - even basic technology. This has reaffirmed that our targeting of PD at this level is warranted.

An unexpected outcome from the day was the interest in my Asus EeePC. Many people were both interested in what it was, some more significantly in how I used it in my teaching. I've posted here previously on the EeePCs usefulness, and as I develop greater competence with it more will come.

My section on the day was podcasting, and essentially the basics of music creation and voice recording. There was a little time for editing and mixing. Many ideas of mine for podcasting in education were related to the group, and they offered as many interesting ideas and uses also. During my presentation, two ideas came to me that I had to try.

When discussing RSS and its ease of use, I related my posting of lesson content which parents and students could set up a feed for at home and be readily updated on lesson materials. As the group was discussing how this could relate to students I thought, why can't the students contribute to the creation of lesson materials. I use an online whiteboard so I can save the work completed, why not have a second one open that the students can contribute to. I could use the end of the lesson to record student interviews where they summarise the lesson and material. I need to think more about involving the students. I'll let you know how it goes.

Then, when showing the groups equipment that can be used, I pointed out that most students carried a voice recorder in the form of a phone. My brain then ticked back to my year 8 class where I was asking them to script and record an interview using either my EeePC or a Sony Voice Recorder I had purchased. At this (inconvenient) point I thought "Why not get them to use their phones at home, then bluetooth it to me?" So I did.

First of all, why bluetooth? Simple, they don't need my phone number to do this. Also it can be done from their phone to my desktop computer.

The most interesting occurrences were;
1. The number of drafts I received increased.
2. All submissions were punctual.

This was a first for me with this class. Some students even recorded a video, one girl interviewing her stuffed toys! I thought I was tapping into their digital lives, but this has taught me I need to let go of my traditions even more and allow them space to experiment. Now I'm off to change that boring workbook assessment item they are to complete next.

Teaching or Facilitating

2008-08-31T07:59:00.002+10:00

This discussion has particular relevance to me. I recently submitted a portfolio for an accreditation titled "ICT Pedagogical License Advanced" which required engagement in a specific online community and writing of a belief statement about my practices. The community discussed and blogged about Theories of Learning that are relevant today. I focussed on the theories of constructivism, connectivism and transformation. Transformative theory, as proposed by Mezirow (Mezirow, J. (Ed.). (2000). Learning as transformation: Critical perspectives on a theory in progress. San Francisco: Jossey) outlines a shift of power in the learning relationship. It goes beyond the concept of connectivism where the teacher is no longer the "holder of all knowledge" to a concept where the learners' have significant input and influence on the learning processes and management. Below is an excerpt from my belief statement within the submitted portfolio:

Based upon my understanding of the inter-relationships between constructivism, connectivism and transformation, I believe learning is the progressive development of a person's capability to effectively utilise knowledge and skills productively within and across their experienced contexts. This results from both cognitive and social processes based within the three learning theories. I expect and encourage learners to develop higher order thinking skills. Information is manipulated and knowledge is constructed in a learner centred environment. Higher order thinking, and hence transformation of learning, depends on deep knowledge, knowledge being seen as problematic, and a problem based curriculum. ((2001) Retrieved April 15^th, 2008, from http://education.qld.gov.au/corporate/newbasics/html/pedagogies/intellect/int.html))

It has been suggested that transformative learning processes require higher levels of cognitive functioning that most adults do not achieve (Merriman, 2004). I disagree, and believe my initial constructivist approach allows for development of higher order thinking skills and cognitive functioning that ensures learning can be successful.

To lead into transformational learning from constructivism negates a significant concern with transformational theory. Transformation theory does not address the role of power relationships in the learning process, yet transformation often disrupts power relationships (McDonald, Cervero, & Courtenay, 1999). Initially my constructivist approach allows the establishment of power relationships, whilst my planned progression of learning results in a progressive (controlled) transfer of power within the learning relationship. My initial constructivist approach facilitates the development of a safe, trusting learning environment which is essential for transformation in group learning. (Tisdell et al. in Wilson & Hayes, 2000).

These statements reinforce the need for me to initially construct the learning environment. They also support the notion that even when the teacher isn't the central point of the learning environment, they are still a key figure in its effectiveness and direction. Indeed information and content are useless unless people have skills to disseminate these. Exchange and interaction with information and content is important. This will facilitate the transfer of learning across contexts, and the wider application of ICTs in the learner's lives, as indicated in the productive pedagogy of connectedness to the world, by providing value and meaning beyond the immediate education context. ((2001) Retrieved April 15^th, 2008, from http://education.qld.gov.au/corporate/newbasics/html/pedagogies/connect/con3a.html))

Through this process, involving constructivist, connectivist and transformative approaches to learning, I provide the means for students to independently and collaboratively learn from others and to collaborate to build knowledge. Student learning initially occurs within networks that I have determined are appropriate, relevant and safe. As my learners develop the skills for safe and effective networking and collaboration, I provide them with the opportunity to continue learning outside of the classroom boundaries.

This creation of the learning environment needs to include the development of intellectual quality, as referred to in the productive pedagogies. Within my learning environments this includes the development of deep understanding of content, concepts, skills and processes. Within Health Education, this can be based on substantive conversation, in particular sustained exchange. This sustained exchange is enhanced with ICTs, continuing outside classroom boundaries with non-class members. Due to the nature of Health Education, and the need for safety and trust in a transformative learning environment (as discussed previously), I endeavour to create a supportive classroom environment, another aspect of the productive pedagogies, with a particular focus on social support. This can also be enhanced with the effective use of ICTs, in particular their ability to provide some anonymity and access to knowledge outside the classroom and its occupants. Development of social support within a supportive classroom environment enables the substantive conversation required for deep understanding and intellectual quality. ((2001) Retrieved April 15^th, 2008, from http://education.qld.gov.au/corporate/newbasics/html/pedagogies/intellect/int.html))

Teaching in modern society requires shifting between traditional roles and understandings to transformative learning where the teacher adopts the role of a facilitator. As Leigh Blackall has mentioned in his blog (http://learnonline.wordpress.com/2007/10/12/to-facilitate-or-to-teach/) this can cause conflict in some educators. We are traditionally not comfortable relinquishing the power in our learning environments yet when we do the learning we can both witness and experience is beyond what we could have planned. However, the teacher (as in position) must still control (as a concept) the learning that occurs. This does not necessarily mean restricting the content and comments of learners.

eLearning Innovation Expo - Brisbane

2008-08-20T05:39:00.002+10:00

I had the opportunity yesterday to attend the Smart Classrooms eLearning Innovation Expo at the Brisbane Powerhouse. What an experience. I always come away from days such as these inspired to do more in my teaching practice, and this time is no different. However my inspiration this time is not generated from teachers doing wonderful things in their classrooms.

We were fortunate to have Michael Furdyk as a keynote speaker. Michael runs the online space TakingITGlobal. What this man has achieved is absolutely amazing. His commitment to education worldwide is astounding. I took most inspiration from how he has connected students across the world and encouraged them to take action to address social injustices that other populations experience. Phenomenal achievements and caring shown by students working within this space.

This inspires me as my pet subject, Health Education, has at its core the recognition of social injustices and development of actions to address these. Michael has opened my eyes to a world of possibilities, and potential learning that I am simply not capable of within my current practice.

I urge you, read a bit about Michael and be amazed at what human compassion and commitment can achieve.

http://www.furdyk.com/bio.html

Thanks Michael, you've had an impact on me already. My brain is racing with ideas and a thirst to know more.

What are my online communities?

2008-08-18T05:05:00.003+10:00

Please permit me to reflect on the concept of online communities from a purely personal perspective.

The Facilitating Online Communities course has caused me to reflect on the communities in which I engage and changing my habits to move towards greater contribution and effectiveness of use. The most significant change that has occurred is hunting down the profiles I had set up within various virtual places and deleting them if I did not use them. A dead space about me would probably tell people things I did not intend.

First and foremost, I deliberately separate my online professional life from my online social life. This does not mean that I won't interact socially with people within (what I consider) professional online communities, but I deliberately will not provide personal information relating to my family and family life in these environments. The reverse situation is also true, I leave (as much as I can) of my professional life outside of my social online communities.

DISCLAIMER: I know some of you reading will debate my use of the word "social" here, arguing that any interaction can be considered social. My use of the word in this context is to draw a differentiation between engagement with family and friends from engagement for work or education purposes.

Why am I so interested in separating the professional from the social. Two main reasons exist. Firstly I am protective of my children, and concerned about how much information and pictures of them I post online. I would hope in future as they grow more independent that this will teach them to protect themselves. Unfortunately, as much as there are many online communities that pose no threat, this allows me to feel some control over who has knowledge of my family. I am not naive, I do realise any published information online is susceptible to "intruders", but I can limit this.

This is why you will find no information on my family here in my blog, or on my Diigo profile, or on my Google profile etc etc. All my family information is stored elsewhere.

The second reason is to assist me in my friendships. As a teacher, you gather many teacher friends and conversation can ultimately be dominated by teaching. Separating my professional life from my personal social life encourages me to interact with my friends and family about happenings outside the workplace. I think the one negative is that this has reduced the amount of online interaction with them, which is a sad reflection of the domination of work and learning in my life's schedule. People who originated in my life as friends before they became colleagues know little of my professional life. My family knows a bit more, but not all. They are not aware of this blog or know little of the online groups I'm involved in. Should they be? This is currently a thought I am battling through - how do I include them if I think they will be interested without crossing my own boundaries.

So for me, management of my online communities is paramount. I don't believe it limits my engagement with communities, so feel no need to change.

How do you manage your online interactions?

Further enhancement of my Portable Office

2008-08-18T04:36:00.002+10:00

Since my last post on this subject at the end of July, I've discovered some gems of software that I've installed on the USB stick and so far find them very handy. As I discover software, it will sometimes result in deletion of previously installed software due to improved functionality. Where this occurs I will advise what I deleted and why.

The first new addition to the USB drive is Kompozer, which is the unofficial update to the last release of Nvu. Kompozer is a WYSIWYG editor for creating web pages. Its similar to what most people would know as Microsoft Frontpage or Adobe DreamWeaver. It won't build a content management system like Joomla can, but I'm not at that stage yet. I use Kompozer to build autorun start pages for resource CDs or USBs.

The second addition is more for fun than function. Magix Music Maker allows me to create my own music by simulating instrument sounds. It moves beyond Hammerhead Rhythm Station which only offered drum loops. To me the beauty of this is students can create music for presentations without being concerned about copyright, which is a needed lesson in any case. Its a big download so I'm glad I got the 4GB USB stick. There is a free basic edition available here.

I've also added Scribus. Scribus is a desktop publishing program similar to what most people know as Microsoft Publisher. I have not used it too much at this point so hope to provide some further information about it in a later post.

The one deletion that has occurred is a Firefox add on that I did not use. Shareaholic seemed like a great idea when I installed it, but it doesn't integrate with Diigo so I ditched it. I'll just run with the Diigo toolbar instead and continue with the del.icio.us tagging button.

Finally, I've decided to use my H drive at school (personal HDD space) more effectively by installing some of the more frequently used portable apps to it. For me, I decided to install Firefox, VLC media player and Foxit Reader. The network has Windows Media Player but as we all know sometimes we need to install a codec to play a file. I don't have admin rights so need a way around it.

What is an Online Community?

2008-08-12T20:34:00.000+10:00

I have followed with interest the conversation that has occured within the google groups email, and followed links suggested from other networks I am associated with. This research has lead me to the following belief of what an online community is.

Firstly, I believe that as educated people we tend to get caught up in the expanding nature of the english language. New words and conjunctions of words are developed at a rapid rate, often without significant attempt to define the emergent terms. When we are fronted with a task of presenting what we believe the definition of a term is, like terms are suggested for contemplation and debate. I do not want to enter into the discussions over the differences between communities, networks or groups. I am not interested in exploring the range of community types that exist and whether they relate to researched models. Rather I want to as simply as I can express what a community is, and then offer thoughts on how online communities differ from face to face communities.

In any community there is a buy in, some action to become involved. This suggests that the individual member has some desire to be involved initially, with depth of involvement to be realised at a later date. This is true for my online communities also. I need to subscribe to the blogs, enrol in the course, follow people on twitter and befriend them on Facebook. I actively seek inclusion within the community. However I also choose the level of interaction.

To me the vast difference between online and face to face communities is the pressure for action. It is difficult to be a lurker in a face to face community. Community members would be suspicious of the person sitting and simply gathering all the information but not contributing. Yet this occurs readily in online communities. We will all see many more visits to our blogs than comments posted. Anonymity is an advantage to some in the online communities. In any community members will have individual goals. Anonymity in online communities allows the uninterrupted (and not embarrassing) gathering of information without contribution.

Another significant difference is the ability to "switch off" interaction with specific community members, or whole communities. If I decide someone's tweets are of no use to me, I can simply switch them off without needing to front the person and asking them to stop sending them. This unlimited ability to build of each community exactly what we desire is specific to online communities. This cannot occur face to face without much emotional strain. Similarly, someone can switch me off and I don't necessarily know about. This has the added effect of reduced feedback to me as the contributor, I don't know I am no longer of interest let alone why.

The benefits of online communities are expressed many times over by many people. To me, how else can I readily communicate with people in other parts of the world as easily (and at the same time) as people in my own neighbourhood.

So what is an online community? It is a unique experience where the individual member can build the environment they desire, contribute at a level they are comfortable with and have complete control over what interaction they experience. I guess this is why some online communities fail, as members with vastly different goals ultimately don't collaborate. Unless there is a motivated group that continue facilitating contributions, the commnity will stagnate.

Ramblings

2008-08-10T08:48:00.001+10:00

What I've thought:

I need a better portable start menu for my portable office, one I can manipulate.
How do I get through all these blogs I am interested in?
How will I cope whilst all computers are down at school this week?

What I've done:

Enrolled in an open online course "Facilitating Online Communities".
Begun to develop a PD session on podcasting as a literacy tool.
Conducted PD sessions on Audacity and MovieMaker.
Conducted PD sessions on blogs and wikis in education.
Started to use the Diigo tools to my advantage.

Site / Tool of interest

www.jamstudio.com

Characteristics of an online community.

2008-08-08T05:45:00.002+10:00

The question has been posed, what is a online community? At first reflection I wondered whether I was thinking deep enough on the issue. Was the concept of "online" and "community" as simple as they were obvious?

I am a member of twitter, delicious, facebook and diigo. Each of these services allows me to put something on display for others to see. I can achieve the same process in other ways. I could send SMS or email messages containing the exact same content and push them out to everyone in my contact list. I could spend the time to call people on the phone and advise them what I was thinking or doing. However this requires me to seek the connections and push the information.

To me, the key characteristic of an online community is we seek the connections and information we desire, it is not pushed to us. Any updates I receive through the services I use has required me to "buy in" and agree to updates. I have sought the information that others have posted in the space. If I find a particular person's updates irrelevant I can ignore them or even request no further updates from them. Each individual builds their own online community depending on the tools they use and the people they follow.

This then sparks the thought of tools as enablers for the community. As my repertoire of tools has expanded, my community has expanded. However with that I feel I have also lost regular contact with some people. There are then tools we can use to gather, sort and present the information from the services we subscribe to. I can use Twhirl to view and manage twitter posts. I can establish personal portals (eg. netvibes) and install a facebook widget. The possibilities are never ending.

So what is an online community. At its core it is a personal community constructed by the individual. It is often thought online communities cross boundaries, however boundaries as constructed by the individual still exist. The potential for them to grow beyond control is immense, therefore the ability to facilitate an online community and the skills I learn in this course will enable my personal community as well as any learning communities I endeavour to manage.

(FOC08) - Where will this take me?

2008-08-02T07:03:00.001+10:00

As mentioned in my last post, I've undertaken an open, online course hosted on wikieducator. The course is entitled Facilitating Online Communities. In this first week, the active members of this course have been having many discussions within the google groups email forum. These email conversations have opened a new world of thought for me.

How do you facilitate a community to encourage participation by many, when open registration will result in a range of abilities and needs? There needs to be the chance for lurking if that is what the participant wishes, but the facilitator would no doubt want engaged interaction to enable learning. I know that in any group situation there will be members who dominate the conversation, how do we encourage the "shy" to contribute. As a teacher in face to face environments this is a little easier. You can "see" the people not engaging. Whereas online, are they lurking, or are they not there at all?

The other train of thought the course has inspired is the old question of which tool is best. In this first week we have been exposed to wiki, blog, email forum and RSS aggregator. These are not new concepts to me, but to many in the course they are. So the thought is which tool is the best for open online communication. I will hold my judgement on this until the course completion.

What excites me about this course is the opportunity to engage and network with a range of talented and knowledgeable individuals. I am yet to be involved in a network or community where I did not learn. This is connectivism at it rawest.

Have you been involved in online learning before? Leave a comment about your experiences.

A venture into open learning

2008-07-30T21:24:00.002+10:00

I've been thinking about my ongoing education recently, and in particular searching the web for learning specific to pedagogical application of ICTs. It has disappointed me that such courses are rare in Australia. I have fortunately stumbled across 2 open courses being offered by generous individuals. The first of these is Facilitating Online Communities conducted by Leigh Blackall of Otago Polytechnic. This has spiked my interest as it is based within WikiEducator which promises free e-learning content. At this point there seems to be about 70 people enrolled which will no doubt encourage wide ranging discussion. I am concerned about keeping up with the input from so many people, but I will develop a system.

The second open course I've found is the Connectivism and Connective Knowledge course offered by George Siemens and others. There are currently 1200 people signed up to participate in this course. How it progresses will be interesting.

So I've set myself new challenges. I hope my work life will permit these to occur.

Enhancing my Portable Office

2008-07-30T05:25:00.002+10:00

I've blogged before about my "portable office" which began as a 4GB USB flash drive with some handy portable applications installed. For that blog refer to here. Since that post less than a month ago, I've made some changes for the better (I believe anyway). The most significant change is the use of a 4GB SD card in my EeePC which will hold portable apps I only need on this machine. I use the EeePC much like a PDA, it stores my calendar, contacts and tasks. However it offers the the extensability to function as laptop.

I removed Lightning (the Thunderbird calendar and task manager extension) from the USB drive. I've discovered, and thus far like Task Coach (portable) which handles my task management. I've installed Rainlendar as my calendar. I used rainlendar previously and find it very useful. Using GCALDaemon, I can sync Rainlendar with my Google Calendar. This has forced me to update my google calendar, which is a good thing. I've then installed my phone software on the EeePC which allows synchronisation to my phone. This suits my need for task and calendar management.

I also discovered a great little "how to" for reducing the Windows footprint on a HDD. This is particularly important for the EeePC as it only has 4GB onboard storage. Following instructions at "I am not a geek" I've been able to reduce windows storage to 2GB without any issues. In the future I may even delve further.

As many tech savvy people would experience, I get called on a lot to fix computer problems. This has encouraged me to research tools and tips on the web. I've downloaded quite a few free tools that seem to work so far. I'll explain these further in a future post. However the best advice I can give for this is to subscribe to the Podnutz podcast. Steve Cherubino is a laptop technician, but offers a range of free and useful advice for a variety of problems. Podnutz has taught me more about computer care, maintenance and repair than I've been able to gain through reading web posts.

Ramblings

2008-07-30T03:57:00.002+10:00

What I've thought.

Why is it so difficult to get wireless connection at my school?
How can I voice record my lessons effectively?
I am such a nerd.
Its time to incorporate something similar to "Cool Cat Teacher" and highlight useful web tools I've used.

What I've done.

Established a professional development schedule for ICT accreditation in my school.
Conducted an information session on blogs, podcasts and wikis for teachers.
Promoted my team's first regional ICT workshop.
Reduced the Windows footprint on my Asus EeePC to a respectable size.
Installed, tested and quickly deleted Madotate (desktop bling)
PASSED the ICT Pedagogical License Advanced!!!!!

The beauty of social bookmarking.

2008-07-24T05:11:00.002+10:00

I've blogged briefly before about using del.icio.us to store my bookmarks, and there are other just as useful sites. I've recently set up an account on diigo.com, where I am connecting with similar minded groups and being notified of what they are tagging -a great way to discover new resources.

However I'm still a big fan of del.icio.us, and use it to tag sites that would be useful reference material for my students. This makes it very easy for them to navigate to an approved list versus open searching. Most recently I'm tagging websites that discuss road safety campaigns that address the social injustices we have discussed in class, much easier for me to find initially and then allow them to explore through the provided links and extended networks.

If bandwidth is a problem, you can achieve a similar outcome by creating a text file (notepad or similar) and storing hyperlinks under headings within. Not as functional, but a suitable alternative.

Ironically, I need to take my own advice!

2008-07-20T07:19:00.003+10:00

Feedback form the moderators of my advanced license portfolio requests more details to support my claims of learning enhancement. When I reflect on this comment, it seems they are requesting evidence to demonstrate the students are digitally literate, not tech savvy. Timely feedback considering my recent post.

So its off to the portfolio for some modification.

To stress or not to stress?

2008-07-17T20:17:00.003+10:00

D-day approaches. I have submitted a portfolio for my ICT Pedagogical License Advanced and was advised I would know the results by the end of our first week back (which is tomorrow). Now I know that these deadlines are regularly missed, it must be a logistical nightmare to coordinate the number of moderators this requires. However, one can't help but wonder - if I don't hear anything does this mean bad news.

Stress?

Technically proficient or digitally literate?

2008-07-14T10:18:00.001+10:00

There has been a lot of discussion around the concept of "digital literacy" in recent times. Whilst the terms may be relatively fresh, the underpinning principles have been present in explorations or educational possibilities throughout time. It is however a very important and relevant conversation.

I took the time to attend to a presentation by Grainne Conole from Open Univerisity UK regarding the pedagogical use of web 2.0 technologies. The presentation is available here - http://ithinked.com/archives/2008/07/disruptive-technologies-or-new-pedagogical-possibilities/

Grainne explores the idea that the advent of web 2.0 technologies present a significant challenge to educators and administrators. These technologies, which are appearing at a very quick pace, contain a range of great potential uses that can enhance pedagogy if we as educators pay particular attention to plannning their inclusion in learning experiences. She states that these new technologies can be so exciting that many of us can be driven by what the technologies can do, neglecting the pedagogical potential. This is a fear I have expressed in portfolios I have developed for accreditation within my employing organisation. If you are interested in how I see this, navigate to this site and use the log on details below. This is a portfolio I submitted for accreditation with the ICT Pedagogical License Advanced as part of the Smart Classrooms Professional Development Framework.

username - shanerobe001

password - password08

In my Belief Statement I express the fear that ICTs can often be relied on as entertainment within classrooms, which can have a valid place in education with specific planning and linking to pedagogy. Any teacher can get a student to blog, but it takes work to use blogging as an educational tool with specific pedagogical outcomes. After completing my portfolio for the ICT Pedagogical License Advanced I can now appreciate that this is something my employing organisation is attempting to address. The professional development framework requires teachers to use ICTs with pedagogical function.

I agree with Grainne's statement that effective learning does require some dedicated time for reflection that is not catered for in the fast-paced web 2.0 existence. Does this mean we need to have some time "unplugged" or do we use the tools in a manner that serves this purpose?

The main benefit of the presentation to me is the demonstration of tools to map use of ICTs to pedagogical principles. This forces us to ask what we deliver, how we deliver it and how we assess it. This assessment of web 2.0 application is something I am doing a lot of thinking about lately. Within my educational system we are constrained by set syllabus criteria for assessment and application of achievement ratings. These criteria do not necessarily provide opportunity to assess the skills of collaboration and knowledge creation. Within my pet subject of Health Education I am aiming to develop a method to include these in assessment. This will need to satisfy external review that happens for year 11 and year 12 work within our system. I'll let you know how I go. This fits with the concept of digitaly literate as it will require the use of web 2.0 technologies specifically integrated with pedagogical principles.

I have recently been provided the opportunity to work with other ICT innovative educators within my region to provide professional training to teachers in pedagogical use of ICTs. This has shown me the tension between "technically proficient" and "digitally literate" exists at the heart many teachers. Many teachers believe they need to be technically proficient before they can develop digital literacy. Is this so? My thoughts on this are still not clear enough to share here. What do you think?

Ultimately, we need to move from a concept of "technically proficient" to "digitally literate" to enable the inclusion of web 2.0 tools and skills in evidence and assessment. This may begin with training of teachers but also requires education of students. They may be technically proficient with a lot of web 2.0 tools, but we can still teach them how to apply these for their own development.

Weekly Wrap

2008-07-10T13:09:00.000+10:00

What I've thought?

Do I really need a flash looking 3d dektop manager?
What applications are necessary on my EeePC?
Would a digital voice recorder be useful? Can I get one with a microphone input?
How can I ensure my blogs and podcasts for teaching teachers are useful?
Why is my desktop making that noise?

What I've done?

Developed a plan with my Regional Faciitators team for our first full day workshop.
Deleted Xandros, installed Windows XP on EeePC - this won't be where I stop.

Creating a toolkit for teaching, learning and management.

2008-07-06T15:05:00.000+10:00

I've spent a lot of time researching and testing a range of software and web technologies in an effort to develop a functional suite of tools for my varied work life. I recently purchased an Asus EeePC (7") as my portable computing device. I already utilise my Nokia 6210 also, so connection between the Nokia and the Asus will be implemented.

However, the Asus is not my main work computer and not my preference for working when at home. Therefore consistency across devices is important, as is synchronisation of data. The lack of onboard storage on the Asus predetermines the need for removable memory. So ultimately what I have done is develop a set of offline tools and a set of online tools. What they are and the purpose they serve are outlined below.

Offline:

I have two (2) usb flash drives that I have set up with all the software I require. One is a 1GB drive set for media consumption and creation. The other is a 4GB drive with all other software needed and all my working data. Having experienced flash drive destruction previously, I have two (2) backups for each stick. Both drives have the Portable Apps auto-menu and a range of portable applications on board.

The Media Stick - applications include Audacity - for recording podcasts and other voice material, GIMP - for image manipulation, and VLC player - for playing video and audio files. The only problem I've had is that VLC player can't play movies built in Windows MovieMaker. However all windows computers have Windows Media Player installed that can handle this.

The Work Stick - applications are many, so I will provide info in a list to enable greater understanding of why I have chosen them.

Mozilla Thunderbird - email client. This allows me to email on any computer with a live internet connection whilst providing ability to work within emails when offline.

Lightning extension (for Mozilla Thunderbird) - calendar.

Mozilla Firefox - web browser. I've used this for a while so am more comfortable in this program than Internet Explorer.

Add-ons for Mozilla Firefox - Evernote web clipper, Fireshot, Shareaholic

7zip - compression and archiving of files.

Foxit Reader - PDF reader (smaller alternative to adobe reader)

KeePass - password management program

SyncToy - synchronisation software

Evernote - information management software. Allows you to store anything, I use it to keep notes on active projects and teaching ideas.

OpenOffice - a free alternative to Microsoft Office.

Online:

I am a heavy user of del.icio.us for storage of bookmarks. My collection is here. I direct my students to use my existing web research to assist theirs.

In combination, these tools are all I require on a regular basis. There are a range of other programs I use less regularly that I choose not to occupy space on these two important drives.

If you want to know anything further about the technologies mentioned, click on the links or email me here.

Weekly Wrap #2

2008-06-25T20:11:00.000+10:00

What I've thought:

Miro - not now.
Why won't my EeePC update?!?
How can I manage my time to contribute to the communities I want to

What I've done:

Resolved a sound issue in Vista on an Acer laptop.
Battled a virus / spyware infection that presented as an antivirus software program.
Ran a PD session on Blackboard e-learning.

Weekly wrap #1

2008-06-15T07:31:00.000+10:00

What I've thought:

Is Miro worth downloading and installing on my home computer.
How can I get involved in more online chats / meetings.

What I've done:

Prepared a professional development schedule for my school.
Had initial online meetings to plan professional development schedule for my region.
Moved my email client to a USB stick, for portability (much easier than carrying a laptop!)
Searched YouTube for videos on effective presentation skills (for my class).
Provided students with installer files for OpenOffice, Audacity and Wax.
Moved all my teaching files to my EeePC.
Restored files on the network after they were deleted by a student hacker.

A response to George Siemens

2008-06-09T15:25:00.000+10:00

Response to George Siemen's article - Pedagogy first? Whatever.

This was posted a couple of months ago on the connectivism blog, but it raises some pertinent questions about the interaction of pedagogy and ICTs in the educational space. This is particularly relevant to me at the moment as I have recently completed and submitted my portfolio for the ICT Pedagogical License Advanced where there is significant focus on this interaction.

There is certainly a smorgasboard of "educational" research which will support any notion or implementation of pedagogy in the modern classroom. This in itself has confused the idea of sound pedagogy, and the understanding of what sound pedagogy is. I have had discussions with my principal on what our understandings of sound pedagogy are. The discussions are generally a result of conflicting viewpoints, yet neither of us is incorrect. Should this mean we end the search for sound pedagogy, I think not. I fear the situations described in Dr. Siemen's original post of the "instinct to nod viciously is enacted by everyone" when the statement of pedagogy first is uttered. Pedagogy is certainly important, but it should not be the sole concept underpinning learning.

However Dr. Siemen's point is to argue against pedagogy being the precursor to ICT selection within the learning environment. I agree with his sentiments, as this would effectively negate experimentation and exploration within a learning environment. However, I think his representation of pedagogy can be misinterpreted. This is evident in the range of reply comments to the blog post. As with any blog post there will be readers who agree and readers who don't. In this case, there may be many readers who misinterpret. Of course, this is only my interpretation of the blog post and the replies offered.

Was Dr. Siemens arguing against the development of pedagogy as a pre-cursor to the selection of ICT tools, or is it the fear that consideration of ICT tools is absent when developing pedagogy. Certainly the experience and knowledge of the educator, resources available in the school or learning environment and copyright restrictions are essential considerations within context. They should be considered within pedagogical development, and not separate. This is what I believe was the intended message of the post.

However, one of the replies to the post was particularly thought provoking. Doug Holton (Edtechdev) stated that many conversations about pedagogy tend to ignore the learner, and in particular the modern learners' ability and desire to actively engage and influence the learning environment. This suggests there will be certain unchartered territory within any leaning environment (that allows active engagement). This concept is similar to transformative learning theory presented by Mezirow, in particular the transfer of power within the learning relationship. In my experience, engaging students in active manipulation of the learning environment is challenging, and definitely a skill that requires practice. What it does do very effectively is incorporate the current learning theories of connectivism and transformative learning into pedagogy. Students can bring their own knowledge and skills into the learning environment, and then manipulate the environment to achieve agreed goals.

However I can't ignore the attraction of ICT use to students. It has a great power to capture and maintain attention. As I've expressed in other blogs and forums previously, my main fear with teacher use of ICTs is that of entertainment. Not that entertainment has no place in a learning environment, but it can't be the focus. I use ICTs to capture and maintain attention, but they support the learning goals and pedagogy. Jorge Goncalves (How to keep students motivated and attentive) states a learning platform with social networking and intelligent software will keep students’ attention. I certainly don't advocate for open social networking (as would occur in facebook) within a learning environment for my context (high school), however the concepts of social networking can be implemented to enhance learning. Sharing and collaboration are essential concepts that I attempt to incorporate within my learning environments. From the outside this will occasionally look like a dysfunctional learning environment if observers are traditionalist in nature. From within, the building of trust and knowledge exceeds traditional learning environments.

The development of ICTs and the collaborative knowledge of their use and application within a range of environments are exceptionally dynamic. New discoveries and uses are discovered and shared at a rapid rate. We cannot consider our knowledge and experience of ICTs in completion when initially planning and developing pedagogy. However, is pedagogical development also dynamic? Even before the advent and integration of ICTs in education, productive teachers would have manipulated learning environments in response to the needs and abilities of their learners.

So, which comes first? The pedagogy or the ICTs?

Who am I, why am I here?

2008-06-06T04:35:00.000+10:00

Who am I?
I'm a secondary school HPE teacher with an intense interest in ICTs. My main passion with HPE is the senior Health Education course.

Why am I here?
This is not just another blog about technology in the classrooms. This is specifically a blog about the enhancement of pedagogy through the use of information and communication technologies. This enhancement could be through improved self management and planning processes, research of technologies to discuss pedagogical applications or tried and true examples of pedagogy utilising ICTs. Ultimately I feel I have a lot to share that may help others in their practice.

Why learn from your own mistakes if you can learn from mine?!