Reflective synopsis learning e.journal

Reflective synopsis learning e.journal

Whilst preparing for this reflection, I pondered, how can one be an efficient and effective learning manager (LM) in the 21^st century without information communication technologies (ICT’s) present in their lessons and learning environment?

Do we today create a lesson experience plan (LEP) and then incorporate ICT’s into the LEP or rather do we align our LEP with the essential learnings, focus on one or several technologies and by creating an LEP around the use of the ICT’s chosen for the task and projects.

Perhaps the rapid rise of ICT’s available for today’s LM and their students has opened the classroom up outside of the traditional 9 to 3 school room. A competent LM can weave into the lesson the use of ICT’s and allow the students to continue learning after school hours, continue interacting in work groups without the need to be physically located together and allows the LM and parents to view work progress easily. By setting work tasks available to be progressed online, using technology such as Wiki, many students can contribute simultaneously, each at their home and by sharing the web address with the LM and parents all three parties can keep abreast of the tasks.

It is considered that the traditional setting of homework that includes textbook reading and answering a number of questions is looked upon by today’s students as being boring and unappealing. Today’s technologies allow a LM to set homework utilising an ICT, thus gaining the interest of the students, and provoking interest in the subject. When students are interested, their attitude to the subject is far more cognisant to learning and long term memory than if they are not engaged. Perhaps a quick quiz students access via a webpage, and the answers are there for them at the end of the test, quizzes where students can utilise a form of online chat to work through the questions as a team.

My brief experience during EPL has highlighted that todays students enjoy the lessons most when it involves hands on, active participation, interacting, fast moving activities. By incorporating ICT’s into lessons the LM can hold students attentions more efficiently by allowing students to utilise mediums they have grown up with and often used for personal relaxation or enjoyment.

Many communications today occur via cyberspace. It seems easier today to SMS someone than to make a telephone call and speak with them. Many friendships are maintained (to some degree) via interactive web pages and personal networking sites. I know this is the case with my own family and friends, especially if you are geographically distant to each other. With this in mind, todays students are connected in ways that were not even developed when their LM was a school student. Hence, today’s LM needs to keep abreast of technologies and be mindful of how quickly students adopt new technologies.

Technologies such as PowerPoint, are still very useful tools in the learning environment. PowerPoint software, especially late model versions, can be enhanced by the addition of photos, images, sound, video and weblinks, thus creating a leaning portal with a live window to the external world, easily accessible via a PC. Then the presentation can be uploaded to a website, where students can access whilst doing homework outside of school hours, with links to a blog for inter-student communication to enhance and extend learning and offer an option to donate back into the world what the class has created. I created a powerpoint and embedded it into my blog with some reflections on using this software technology in the classroom.

During EPL, I have been able to utilise an interactive whiteboard in science classes. This technology, which is very new to me, opens a new dimension of learning into the classroom. Fancy a board that ‘talks’ to a computer and allows students to interact with it, and this year 9 class has quickly adopted the interactive whiteboard into their learning journey and have indicated, the more lessons that incorporate it, the better.

EPL has highlighted to me the need to utilise various technology mediums during a lesson. By incorporating different technologies into a lesson, the students have had higher rates of attention, and at lessons end, have expressed their appreciation of ‘an interesting lesson’. When a student is engaged in their learning journey, they retain much more knowledge and are more likely to share the experience gained in the lesson with others outside.

The myriad of web based ‘gadgets’ available that can be utilised in a students learning journey is amazing and more amazing is the rapid pace of development of internet based software tools that can be tailored for student use. During this course Mahara, Wiki, Voki Avatar, (including comments on Ken Page's blog April 8^th and 11^th), Picnik, You Tube (comments to Saidah Betts blog April 29^th), Teacher Tube, Google Earth, SlideBoom and Flickr and blogs (Comments to fellow student Ken Pages blog site) (to name a few) have all been taken for a test drive and comments made on my blog about most. Each of these tools can be utilised in the classroom and already during EPL I have incorporated some of them. These are the tools I will be utilising in the classroom throughout EPL and into my career as a 21^st Century LM.

I view ICT tools as being crucial to connecting and engaging with generation Y students and the generation following Gen Y, holding their attention, helping them to be motivated learners, creating a thirst for knowledge and create a learning environment where they retain the knowledge. The ICT tools perused over this course and new ICT’s not yet developed, will be interweaved into lessons throughout my career as a LM. Thus, I will always be maintaining a philosophy of learning new knowledge and skills, as new technologies are developed and become available online.