Presenting and learning with digital pedagogies: A transformed classroom

 

Image source: https://www.pinterest.com.au/pin/458241330840549863/

Hello and welcome to the final installation of my blog series tackling ICTs and how they can be used in assisting teachers in developing new and improved pedagogies that deliver education in a modified way that transforms the traditional classroom into the contemporary environment needed in today’s world. In previous entries, I have discussed how students and teachers can use internet spaces to change how students use the information and how to interact with it. In this blog, I will be reflecting on how this information can be presented using modern software that steers away from the ’this is a template’ feel. Ultimately, allowing for better collaborative opportunities between students and better creative instances allows learners to feel completely in control of their education and internet experience whilst in school. The chosen medium I will be discussing is the application Google Slides which is accessible through Web browsers, iOS, and Android.

So, what is Google Sides and how can I use it to benefit myself and my classroom?

In short, Google Slides offers an alternative to the standard presentation tool PowerPoint. The application offers refreshed templates better catered toward a modern audience with more appealing colours, transitions, layouts, and styles. Also available are blank layouts which can be customised from the ground up to create a visually attractive, and engaging document whilst still having the capabilities of PowerPoint such as hyperlinking and video embedding. The main improvement that Google Slides offers over older presenting tools is the documents created on the tool are online and uploaded to the cloud allowing for multi-author opportunities. As well as this, the presenting tool is available for free and can be accessed from both laptops and phones making the program better suited to classes where computer labs may not be available, or laptops cannot be provided by the faculty or by caregivers. This means all learners are given the same opportunity to grow their ability and express their knowledge in a collaborative multimodal scene.

How is it used to create presentations?

Google Slides is better suited to learners of today's world as the device is more technologically capable when compared to the more familiar PowerPoint. PowerPoint is an effective presenting tool for transferring knowledge from an expert to a new learner however, beyond this, quickly becomes less effective as an educational tool when applying the SAMR Model. As mentioned before, Google Slides offers users more freedom in how information is presented and is more easily accessed, allowing for better augmentation and modification of traditional lesson structures. As well as this, being an online document students can simultaneously amend and alter information without having to resend emails to each other allowing for a more streamlined approach for students to complete tasks. Being free and online means the class can be targeted holistically by the educator as some students may not have laptops, however, normally students will at least have phones that can connect to their own data or schools’ data. With the application accessible from all devices, this opens the opportunity to learn for all students. Below are just some of the features that Google Slides offers:

 

The presenting tool shows an easy-to-understand and interact with home screen, displaying blank and predesigned presentation layouts as well as its suggested target audience.

Here you can see where all of your own presentations can be found that you have saved to your google drive.

If scrolling through your presentations is too big of a task, a search bar allows for easy access which can also be used to find presentations that have been shared with you all from one place.

Being a Google product, the app is linked with its counterparts that are also offered by Google which include, spreadsheets and word documents again creating a centralised application where future lesson plans can be made and shared with other educators, or where relative information to students can be pooled for students.

By selecting the yellow share icon, the user can share their presentation with other google users simply by entering their email. As well as this below is an option to restrict the documents viewers to only people who have had the document shared with them rather than others being able to find it. This allows a safe space for adolescence to use webspace’s and share information with each other whilst being in an online environment.

The red box highlights that this presentation was edited seven minutes ago, by selecting this, students and teachers can identify who has altered what and when. For students, this provides an opportunity for them to discuss why changes were made to learn from each other and collaborate more effectively. For educators, this makes it easier to identify how effectively students are using their time on Google Slides to ensure members are participating equally rather than some students being less engaged with the content.

How can I as the teacher use the presentation tool more effectively?

As discussed in previous blog entries, today’s learners are more likely to cement their knowledge when learning collaboratively and all learning styles are accommodated in the lesson plan. As educators, teachers can use Google Slides and its extensions (word documents, and spreadsheets) to pool resources to facilitate the learning of individuals in a modified classroom where the student oversees their own learning and display of knowledge. This tool can also be used to present information like PowerPoint, however, can be accessed by students in their own time when needed to review notes from home as the share document feature is easily found and used. This tool when in groups allows for a collaborative environment to take place encouraging peer-to-peer engagement and as seen above, can be monitored by educators, as well as keeping students safe and information about them private on the internet.

It is important to note that just like other ICTs, Google Slides isn’t intended to replace the teacher but to aid in the teaching process, enhancing pedagogies in the classroom allowing for better engagement, use of information, and formative assessment. Not only this, but when combined with other ICTs discussed in previous blogs can consolidate the individuals’ digital citizenship as a 21st-century learner or educator, giving students the tools to have knowledge on using technological aids that will likely be used in their futures.

Image source: https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1127639.pdf

The above figure outlines the approach educators should take when looking to apply technology to benefit the class and assess learning when implementing said applications. An example of using Google Slides following Bloom's SAMR model can be seen below for a biology class.

Substitution – Students will be introduced to how body functions operate in their body (digestive system as an example)

Augmentation – Class, and teacher will discuss other examples of body systems and their function/importance in the body by looking at sources together. The teacher will show students how to interact with Google Slides and its uses. In students' own time, they can create a google account to access Google Slides to learn how to interact with the site and find teachers' resources for more information they may wish to use.

Modification – Students work in small groups and pool resources together on a Google Document to show an understanding of using ICTs, working collaboratively, and evaluating data under the supervision and guidance of the teacher.

Redefinition – Students work in groups using their own resources to create a presentation on their choice of a body system and include diagrams, videos, and audio clips that they believe will assist in understanding their body system for the class to see.

 

References

Holbeck, R., & Bergquist, E. (2014). Classroom Assessment Techniques: A Conceptual Model for CATs in the Online Classroom. Journal of Instructional Research, 3-7. Retrieved April 09, 2022, from https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1127639.pdf

 

 

Digital Media: Adapting the classroom to enhance learning

Image source: http://bwdisrupt.businessworld.in/article/The-Future-of-News-Four-Digital-Media-Trends-That-Will-Shape-Journalism-in-2017/22-05-2017-118644/

Welcome back! 

In this week's instalment of using technology to improve pedagogies for the contemporary classroom, I will be reviewing how media can be brought into the classroom to enhance learning experiences and fully engage different learner types to improve content understanding. Not only this, exposing students to digital media in educational contexts will improve individuals’ digital citizenship to adequately equip them for post-graduation life.

What is it?

Broadly defined, digital media is normally information displayed and associated with non-text communication, however, can include text at times (text boxes, subtitles, etc.) (Central Queensland University, 2022). Media has evolved over the past 200 years, initially beginning as newspapers before transforming to be digitally available to millions of people around the world. With this accessibility, digital media is an untapped tool for educators of the 21^st century to harness to (like media) transform the classroom to improve their contemporary classroom.

What about fake media though?

Yes, with media becoming so easily accessible, this has led to many media outlets reporting on fake news to fit personal agendas and impact the consumer's views, however, with proper practice, this can be minimised.

How can I protect myself and students from fake media?

Protecting students from fake media begins with protecting yourself as the educator from exposure to fake media. By teaching educators digital citizenship, teachers can identify how to interact with media sources safely, ethically, and responsibly for educational purposes. To do this, educators should be informed on their topics, as well as ensure sources intended to be used in the classroom are cited and/or coming from experts. Once this is achieved, students can then be introduced to using digital media, how to interact with it, and how to ensure the information they are seeing is not distorted.

How can digital media aid in classroom learning?

Media can be used by educators for direct instruction, active learning, and student projects. Available digital media can be used in class lessons to facilitate expert knowledge being provided to new learners. Although a teacher-centred approach, this stimulates student interest and develops knowledge of the material being taught, however, should not be the sole use of existing media in the classroom. Active learning is learning involving more of a social approach to teaching lessons. This is where the class lesson can be split between teacher and student input, this promotes cooperative learning in groups or class discussions on different media examples experienced in the lesson. This is also where students can build on their own digital citizenship by reflecting on how useful or effective the source can be. This learning approach also encourages deeper learning with aspects of problem-solving embedded into the lesson structure. Finally, student-created media such as projects involves a high level of engagement and when implemented correctly targets, the three main learning styles identified in students (visual, auditory, and kinaesthetic). This aspect of media use in the class is customisable for teachers by setting safe boundaries such as topics and sites accessible, and for students who have the freedom to choose how to display information and what they can create with their content understanding creating a student-focused learning environment.

With this, educators can create a sequence of lessons that allow for a traditional explicit teaching model to be transformed into a digitally adapted method capable of better engaging students. This can be achieved when a teacher shows new information, from this, students and the teacher discuss topics and the credibility of sites before finally flipping the classroom to the students giving them the freedom in class to create their own digital media such as videos or storytellings of their newfound knowledge. This pedagogical approach allows for better enquiry-based and constructive learning as well as promoting problem-solving skills by giving students information and allowing them to create something with that. By incorporating digital media into the classroom, a more collaborative environment is created where students can showcase their work targeting the major learning types. This method outperforms traditional pedagogical approaches where evidence has shown that students on average retain 90% of information when teaching others which occurs during active learning and student-created media as mentioned earlier (Hobdell, 2022).

An example of this approach in practice that follows the Blooms SAMR model can be seen here for a geography sequence of lessons:

Substitution – Direct instruction – Students are exposed to selected digital tools to enhance content such as pictures, sounds, videos, graphics, or if available visual augmented reality to show land formation processes.

Augmentation – Active learning – Students can use the learned knowledge to source their own information in groups for land formations and earth processes involved, assessing the credibility and validity of media found.

Modification – Active learning – Students and teacher discuss how real-world land formations have occurred using digital tools such as google earth. This allows the teacher to facilitate learning to ensure content is being understood before turning the class into a student-centred environment

Redefinition – Student-created media – Students create a short video for class viewing and interaction with or create a story through Pecha Kucha. The aim should be to show how plate boundaries interact to make land formations and the earth processes that are involved. Their videos can be presented using clay models, images, or embedding short clips of processes involved and explaining the processes taking place. From this, students can reflect on their knowledge and draw from peer discussions on how this can be improved.

By including digital tools to enhance traditional pedagogies, new teaching methods derived can better coincide with learning styles identified in the Kolb and Honey Mumford model:

 

Image source: https://bonlinelearning.com/learning-styles-in-elearning/

By using digital tools in classrooms, the overall learning experiences for students can be enhanced and better adapted to the modern world while accommodating different learning styles. Teachers must recognise that just like themselves, young adolescents are surrounded by mediascapes that impact their lives and should be capitalised on by educators as a tool for engaging with contemporary students in the contemporary classroom. Moreover, improving the classroom's cumulative digital citizenship will help a student use technology responsibly well beyond the scope of the school environment.  

 

References

Bonline Learning. (2021). Accommodating Learning Styles in eLearning. Retrieved April 04, 2022, from Bonline Learning: https://bonlinelearning.com/accommodating-learning-styles-in-elearning/

Central Queensland University. (2022). Topic 4: Digital Tools 2 - Simple digital media. Retrieved April 03, 2022, from Digital Pedagogies in Secondary Schools: https://moodle.cqu.edu.au/mod/book/view.php?id=2413587

Hobdell, G. (Director). (2022). EDSE12024 Digital Pedagogies Tutorial [Motion Picture]. Retrieved April 05, 2022, from https://moodle.cqu.edu.au/course/view.php?id=36139&section=9

 

Web Spaces: What are they and how can we use them in the classroom?

Image source: https://www.mccormick.northwestern.edu/news/articles/2019/05/artificial-intelligence-at-northwestern.html

Welcome back to another installation of my blog. In this episode, I will be discussing my understanding of what web spaces are, and how they can be implemented to better educate students. The goal of including technologies in the classrooms is to keep up with the digitally advancing age we find ourselves in, as well as to enhance traditional teaching pedagogies to create more adaptive and engaging learning experiences.

Firstly, I wanted to demonstrate my own understanding and use of technologies by showcasing how I have enabled comments to google accounts and changed the theme of my blog by using the snipping tool to screen capture, how cool. 

So, what are web spaces?

If you are like me and attended a school with more of an 'old-style' teaching approach where the teacher put up notes on the projector to write down notes or just have not been in the school environment in a while, then you may be unfamiliar with what web spaces are in educational contexts. Web spaces are any form of online content that uses the internet to access said content such as google sites, wikis, even this blog for example. This information is easily accessible when understood how to use effectively and that is where the role of the teacher comes into play when using web spaces to transform traditional pedagogical approaches.

Okay, so web spaces are just the internet, big deal?

Well, yes, web spaces are the internet but there is a lot of stuff out there, some useful, some not so much. As an educator, using web spaces in lessons is a great tool to improve the engagement of students and better check for understanding of class content as the lesson can be ‘flipped’ when appropriate, to create a student-centered learning environment.

So, a teacher can make the internet the educator? When is it appropriate to flip the class?

Not quite, web spaces can be better employed in conjunction with other teaching approaches in lesson sequences where students can have the opportunity to complete case studies on class topics. This way the teacher is facilitating class learning with the use of web spaces rather than letting students run rampant on the internet. An example of this is teaching a class about volcanoes and the forces behind them (tectonic plates, magma chambers, etc.) before letting students identify a volcanic eruption of their choice, the events that led to the eruption, and the implications of the natural disaster had (economical, environmental, cultural, etc.). This way, the teacher has explained the concepts of volcanoes and can give students the freedom to do their own learning and research, expanding on the foundations the teacher has given them. This gives the educator the ability to better assess the learning of the students individually and is more engaging than a written exam which I am sure everyone can agree on. 

But what can a teacher do to better facilitate the use of web spaces?

When students use the internet, students quite literally have the power of the world at their fingertips. To ensure that learning is taking place, and resources are being used appropriately teachers should educate their pupils on:

- What information is useful and how to determine the legitimacy of sites (showing students peer-reviewed articles, government websites, and referenced sites)

- How to use resources and their information appropriately (preventing plagiarism and promoting academic integrity)

- How to interact in digital spaces and the repercussions of improper use of technologies (using first names or aliases and cyberbullying)

Well, how can I use technologies in the classroom to better enhance pedagogies?

Implementing digital devices to enhance learning potential can be divided into a model known as the SAMR model which takes the traditional classroom model and transforms it into a contemporary classroom with technology integrated into the lesson structure.

Image source: https://learningandteaching-navitas.com/samr-model-innovate-assessment-design/

 

An example of the SAMR framework model use can be witnessed as follows.

Substitution - The teacher shows the students websites relevant to the class topic. Showing appropriate sources and how to use them.

Modification - The teacher then allows students to find similar sources at their own pace to browse. 

Augmentation - From here the teacher facilitates the student's engagement with resources, activities, and interactive experiences to enhance digital learning.

Redefinition - Students use these resources and learnings in their assessment showing reference to sourced information. Students can submit their work to a blog site giving access for students to appropriately interact with each other's work, allowing for self-reflection, digital interaction, and peer-assisted learning. Creating sound self-directed and collaborative learners in digital spaces.

When the SAMR model is employed, it encourages students to become lifelong learners, a common goal amongst all teachers.

In simpler terms, the SAMR framework provides an outline for teachers to take the technology available to them as educators and use that to deliver interactive lessons and give students the ability to do something or create with that information. This transforms traditional pedagogies to better mould social, self-directed learners who understand how to appropriately use technologies to advance their own learning.

The goal of all of this?

Overall, by embedding web spaces in the classroom activities, teachers can transform lessons, providing more effective learning experiences which resonate better with the technologically adapted individuals coming through the education system. This also opens the door to more adaptive classroom environments where education and learning can take place beyond the scope of the traditional classroom. Students can engage with digital learning anywhere from their laptops and phones. This external learning can be further aided by students being encouraged to interact with content collaboratively when using blogs or zoom sessions with peers, creating self-directed learners who can explore and expand on their understanding in a safe and engaging setting. 

 

The Importance of Digital Pedagogies

Hello readers,

A bit about me!

I'm Declan and I am in my second year of educations (secondary) where I am focusing on science and humanitites with specialisations in biology and geography. While completing these studies I work part time at a public school as a teacher aide up in Cairns where I work in their science department. This blog is to educate myself and its readers on the importance of digital literacy in secondary education settings, as well as offering mild entertainment with my current digital illiteracy. 

With that being said, this is my first attempt at a blog and I will have three installments after this introductory blog. Each of these will be based on a weekly lecture which will inlcude; Web spaces, Digital media, and Presentations. 

Cumulativley, these will highlight the importance of including digital aids and ICTs to imporve pedagogical apporaches to learning experinces in a digitally adaptive world.

Until next time,

Declan