How technology has changed the way we learn

I have discussed how mobile technology has become embedded in the learning process in other posts on this blog. What I didn’t address is exactly how we now learn with the new technology.

The days of searching libraries for information, using typewriters, or even…..handwriting essays (the horror!) have long been superseded by the use of technology, much of which was unheard of until recently. The impact of mobile technology has further altered the educational paradigm, with the teacher moving away from the traditional position at the front of a bricks and mortar classroom to a more modern role as a facilitator of online lessons, or as the star of video tutorials. This shift has definitively changed the way we learn. The infographic shown below from Shift Learning summarises the changes rather well.

Source - www.shiftelearning.com

The main ways in which technology has changed the way we learn are:

Increased access to resources

Gone are the days of not knowing anything. Information is perpetually available online, covering any subject that can be imagined, and accessed by a few mouse clicks, or swipes of a screen. This sounds wonderful – doesn’t it? Like anything new, there are positives and negatives which need to be considered.

 The positive effect of this technology is that educators and students have access to a vastly increased bank of knowledge and information. They can conduct extensive research, collaborate and communicate in real time with others near and far, access information from around the globe instantly, and benefit from a diverse range of media delivery of information.

This instant access to information could be said to impede the development of investigative skills and the development of natural curiosity. With so much information so readily available, do we lose the ability to deduce and critically analyse what we are seeing and hearing online, and become dependent on technology to do the work for us? Information overload, and the need to be able to distinguish between appropriate and relevant information, particularly in HE are issues which need to be considered. I found an article written by Nicholas Carr entitled "Is Google making us stupid?", which explores this premise in more detail - it's an interesting read.

Erasing Physical Boundaries

Research on successful teaching and learning involving ICT identifies the importance of learning environments which facilitate meaningful learning experiences and help to build relationships between learners and learners, learners and educators, and learners and the content itself  (McConnell, 2005). These environments may be physical or virtual, and technology has had a massive effect on both.

Technology now allows once insurmountable physical boundaries to be overcome with increasing ease. Remote study, be it at home, or on another campus is now possible, with the learner and educator able to communicate via a range of methods, asynchronously or in real time. Educators can use VLEs, video and picture sharing channels, podcasts, blogs, and social media sites to upload information and assignments which the student can download. Laurillard (2005) describes how:

 "the learning experience can be culturally, intellectually, socially, and practically enhanced if the learning environment is planned and designed to utilise these powerful tools appropriately."

Here in the UK, many HE institutions have been quick to recognise the value of virtual environments for learners and educators. Browne et al. (2006) reported  that 95% of HE institutions in the UK were using used a learning management system, such as Blackboard or Moodle to deliver learning resources and administrative information, as well as to mark assignments and provide feedback as far back as 2005.

The natural extension of this is the online school / college, where everything is delivered online. The obvious example is the Open University, but I found another example of this here in Wales – Interhigh, an online secondary school. These types of institution are not bound by the number of learners a room can hold, and can reach any number of learners across a wide area. I’ve embedded the video from their website below.

Massive open online courses (MOOCS) such as FutureLearn, the flipped classroom, and even virtual worlds are ideas which could be considered to have evolved from technology erasing physical boundaries. These concepts have huge potential to radically change how learners learn, and present educators with a whole new set of challenges with which to grapple.

Changing Communication Rules

The written medium is no longer the accepted norm for communication. Nowadays, a Facebook “like” or a retweet are used to show approval or agreement with someone, and the concept of letters is considered a quaint and old fashioned one, used mainly by the older generation. Most people now use electronic communication, such as texting, with the younger generation developing their own abridged version of the language, supported by emoticons and symbols. Many experts feel that this is to the detriment of what they call “proper” spelling, grammar, and speech – the harsh reality is that this trend shows no sign of slowing down, never mind reversing, and educators will have to keep up with trends in order to keep up with their students. 

On the positive side, electronic communication is instant and allows educators to provide feedback and guidance far quicker than they could before. Learners can get support with issues as they arise, not only from teachers, but their peers, and other learners around the world. 

Differentiation

Every learner has different learning styles and abilities, and technology allows the educator to address these requirements far better than in previous situations. Lessons can be tailored, assistive technology can be used, and individual support to target specific areas can be given.

Conclusion

It is fair to say that technology has irrevocably changed education and the way we perceive it. The digitalisation of education will continue, irrespective of personal opinion or resistance from individuals or groups. Whether or not these changes are all for the better remains to be seen. The short term benefits and drawbacks can be observed and evaluated now, but the long term effects? The jury has not yet reached a verdict.


References

Browne, T., Jenkins, M., & Walker, R. (2006). A longitudinal perspective regarding
the use of VLEs by higher education institutions in the United Kingdom. Interactive
Learning Environments, 14(2), pp. 177–192

Laurillard, D. (2005). E-Learning in Higher Education. In A. Paul (ed.), Changing Higher Education: the Development of Learning and Teaching. London: Routledge

McConnell, D. (2005). Sustaining networked e-learning through collaborative pedagogies. In A. Paul
(ed.), Changing Higher Education: the Development of Learning and Teaching. London: Routledge

Barriers to the effective use of technology in education

As classrooms continue to fill up with all manner of exciting and innovative technology, and students become more familiar with using it, the need to identify and overcome potential barriers to the successful integration of this technology becomes increasingly important.

Many academics acknowledge that the role of technology in the classroom is no longer the issue – the issue is how to ensure that educators are confident and suitably equipped with the skills to integrate the technology into the curriculum and that student learning is enhanced by its use. This view is supported by researchers such as MacCallum (2010) who states that the successful integration of mobile technology into teaching and learning will depend upon the attitudes and support of the teachers involved. Balanskat et al. (2006) found that the vast majority of educators are keen to incorporate technology into their lessons, but face a number of barriers when trying to do so. Becta (2004) identified these barriers as being either at teacher level (lack of time, lack of confidence, and resistance to change), or at institution level (lack of access to training or a lack of access to resources). Groff and Mousa's 2008 framework (below) identifies similar barriers, and groups them into six categories.

Source - http://www.vteducation.org/

Lack of confidence was cited by many educators as a major barrier in the Becta research. This often stems from a lack of specific technological knowledge, and is exacerbated by the fact that students are often more adept at using the technology available. Even when the technical knowledge is present, educators may struggle with how best to exploit it in the classroom. The ideal situation is when the educator is not only proficient in the use of technology, but understands how to meaningfully integrate it into the curriculum. I have seen and experienced this lack of confidence, where you find yourself in a world where students are completely at ease with, and use technology without a second thought – it is a daunting situation, and one which requires input from institutions, as well as a shift in personal attitudes towards professional development and training. I know that my lack of confidence comes from inexperience, and that professional development and more time spent in the classroom will help me to overcome this barrier.

Resistance to change can present another barrier, and is often seen in educators who have been teaching in a more traditional style for many years, or who do not feel that technology can improve their subject areas. This resistance can be linked to a lack of confidence and/or skills. As a new educator, I welcome the changes that technology can bring, but can empathise with those who may not be so accommodating.

It is understood that training and planning are crucial elements when helping educators to be able to integrate technology into the classroom – issues such as a lack of time to deliver such instruction, or to investigate and evaluate resources are often cited as barriers. The institutional structure often does not allow sufficient time for either, leading to a situation where educators are reluctant to make the changes. Timetables usually allocate a block of time for ICT, rather than weaving it into the entire curriculum, and it is rare to see institutions with access to technology in every classroom, or even access to the internet, so mobile technology can be used. This lack of access to resources is ubiquitous in many schools and colleges, and is a barrier which needs to be addressed by higher authorities such as finance departments, institution management, and, more importantly, funding bodies of local and national government.

UPDATE

I found this article on the Times Higher Education website, which looks at the findings of the 2014 NMC Horizon Report. The article focuses on some of the issues raised in this blog post.

References

British Educational Communications and Technology Agency (2004) A review of the research literature on barriers to the uptake of ICT by teachers [Online] Available at: http://dera.ioe.ac.uk/1603/1/becta_2004_barrierstouptake_litrev.pdf (Accessed 29th November 2014)

Balanskat, A., Blamire, R., and Kefala, S. (2006) A review of studies of ICT impact on schools in Europe. European Schoolnet.

Groff, J., & Mouza, C. (2008). A framework for addressing challenges to classroom technology use. AACE Journal, 16(1), 21-46. [Online] Available at: http://www.editlib.org/d/24421 (Accessed 29th November 2014)

Mac Callum, K. (2010) “Attitudes of educators to the introduction of mobile technology.” Paper presented at the 1st annual conference of Computing and Information Technology Research and Education New Zealand (CITRENZ2010), Dunedin, New Zealand

The value of mobile technology in teaching and learning

Source - www.teachthought.com

In recent years, mobile technology has become ubiquitous in modern society in a way no-one could have imagined. Rheingold (2003) described this emergence of the “connected society” as the beginning of the next social revolution. The ability to communicate and share with anyone, anywhere, and at any time is one which we take for granted, and is something which can have an immense impact on the way we learn. The challenge for educators is how to harness this valuable resource and to explore the rich potential it offers.

As well as becoming more prevalent, mobile technology is becoming more affordable, allowing more learners to access digital information and increase their learning potential. Add to this the undeniable fact that the vast majority of learners already use mobile technology in their personal lives, and it is not difficult to see that the next logical step is to employ the same devices to personalise and improve the learning process.

Research has shown that mobile technology is well placed to support situated learning. Nyiri (2002) describes knowledge as information in context, and the portability of modern devices certainly facilitates the delivery of such information. Learners can individualise their own learning experiences on their own devices in any number of settings, leading to an increased feeling of ownership and responsibility for their own output.

Source - http://www.tidesinc.org/

Activities which utilise technology have been found to facilitate increased peer collaboration, higher levels of learner engagement and retention of information (Naismith et al., 2004). Mobile technology allows the educator to intersperse theory delivery with short research activities, supporting recommendations that lessons should be broken down, with different activities and regular recaps to maximise learner engagement (Reece & Walker, 2007, p. 311). Learners can create presentations and collaborative documents, or contribute to blogs and wikis in real time as the lesson progresses. Learner comprehension can be enhanced with access to video and image sharing sites such as YouTube and Pinterest.

Learner feedback is crucial to the reflective practitioner – it helps to focus evaluation of the success of teaching strategies, and informs the future direction of the learning experience (Crawley, 2011, pp. 184-185). Mobile technology can be used in a variety of ways to support this. Information can be gathered via classroom response applications such as Qwizdom, TodaysMeet and Socrative, which allow the educator to assess learners’ progress, as well as providing an overview of ideas and opinions on particular subjects. Questions can be differentiated, with multiple choice answers to challenge learners of varying degrees of ability. The anonymity of the responses allows learners to be bolder in their answers with no fear of being identified as being wrong or different to their peers.

Source - http://www.classlink.com/

Integrating mobile technology into the learning paradigm is not optional – it is imperative. The move towards a truly collaborative and seamless learning experience, one in which learners play an active role in their own education is one which cannot be stopped. The sooner the role of mobile technology is acknowledged and embraced, the sooner we can begin to use it to its full potential. However, there is a  major stumbling block to successfully introducing mobile technology into the classroom - and that is the widespread implementation of a "no mobiles" policy in the classrooms of schools and colleges. In my own placement college, even the HE slideshow presentations from USW begin with the "no mobiles" icon on the first slide.

I can see how this policy has evolved, particularly with the BTEC and A Level classes, where the expectation would be for students to be distracted by their devices and disengage with the lesson. My own experience with this particular student group, although brief, has shown me that I would need to be far more confident in both my delivery and planning to incorporate mobile technology into my lessons. It is a challenge I am willing to address, as I think that this student group already have the skills - they just need to be redirected into a learning capacity. It remains to be seen whether this challenge will be picked up by other lecturers around the country.

The HE classes have been easier to experiment with. They have been able to undertake research, retweet and comment on posts from the HE group that I and another lecturer administer, and access links relevant to the lectures with great success. We are planning to use the social media channels to relay more information in real time during lessons.

This post has extolled the value of mobile technology in teaching and learning, but it is important to remember the role of the educator in this new paradigm. Their importance cannot be forgotten, and technology should be seen as a tool to be integrated into current teaching practice not as a replacement. .

You can read my earlier post about mobile technology here.

Bibliography

Crawley, J., 2011. In at the Deep End. 2nd ed. New York: Routledge.

Petty, G., 2009. Teaching Today - A Practical Guide. 4th ed. Cheltenham: Nelson Thornes.

Naismith, L.; Lonsdale, P.; Vavoula, G.; Sharples, M. (2004). "Literature Review in Mobile Technologies and Learning". FutureLab Series (11).

Nyiri, K (2002). Towards a philosophy of m-learning. Proceedings of IEEE International Workshop on Wireless and Mobile Technologies in Education (WMTE 2002), Vaxjo, Sweden

Reece, I. & Walker, S., 2007. Teaching, Training and Learning - A Practical Guide. 6th ed. Tyne and Wear: Business Education Publishers Limited.

Rheingold, H. (2003). Smart Mobs: The Next Social Revolution. Cambridge, MA: Perseus

TEDTalks - Brian Cox

Source - www.telegraph.co.uk

Physics - it amazes, inspires, intimidates and excites me. As a child, I was always fascinated by how things worked, how did we find out how things work, and who was asking the questions in the first place. Physics attempts to answer these questions, and the people who work in the field have my enduring admiration.

Professor Brian Cox is a physicist based at Manchester University. He also works on the ATLAS experiment at the Large Hadron Collider at CERN in Geneva. Famed for his "rock star" image and his ability to make complex topics accessible to many, Professor Cox has appeared in a range of television programmes, radio shows, and has written a number of books. Patrick Moore and Sir David Attenborough have both hailed Professor Cox as their natural successor - high praise indeed.

I have chosen one of the talks Professor Cox gave on the CERN Supercollider as one which has inspired me. Particle physics can be a mind boggling topic, but somehow, Professor Cox makes it a little easier for the layman to understand. In doing this, he does not, in any way diminish the topic itself, or patronise the listener. Instead, he identifies the complexities involved, and breaks them down, using humour and his own extensive personal knowledge. The listener does not come away with an encyclopedic knowledge of physics, but does have a better understanding of something about which they previously knew nothing.

As a trainee teacher, this ability to explain and inspire is one which I am working to acquire. Professor Cox is engaging, knowledgeable, and accessible - traits which, if developed, can be invaluable in the classroom. It is no wonder that the media have lavished such praise on Professor Cox, and crowned him as the next big thing in science programming on television.

Of course, there are those who see Professor Cox as no more than a media puppet, chosen to spearhead the current movement of scientific programmes being produced to feed the public's newly discovered appetite for physics, astronomy, and science in general. They argue that he merely caters to people with an "interest" in science, rather than those who wish to truly understand, and improve the field. To them, I say that if his media appearances inspire just one child to pursue a career in physics, or one of the other sciences, then surely it is worth it?It only takes one person to make a world changing discovery, and that person could be the one person who was inspired by Professor Cox. There are many people who have inspired me throughout my academic life, and I hope that I can also be the inspiration for a student in the future.

You can find out more about Professor Cox by visiting his website, Apollo's Children. There is also a link to another TEDTalk by Professor Cox entitled "Why we need the explorers", which you can find here.

Tools with potential - the amber lights

Some of the other tools Mandy introduced were interesting, but I felt that they either didn't meet the needs of the learner groups I will be working with on placement, or that there were other issues, such as subscription charges to be paid. That is not to say that they cannot be used in the future - who knows where my teaching adventure will take me?  I will be keeping an open mind for all of them.


Explain Everything is a whiteboard and screencasting tool which allows you to integrate content from myriad sources and incorporate social media for easy sharing. It allows teachers and learners to create multimedia projects to explain concepts, or to illustrate tutorials.

I never got to grips with this app, but I can see the potential, particularly with younger learners.





QR codes - I had seen these, but did not know how they worked. Now I know, they are great for linking to masses of information without diluting the main message on a poster, or page. I found this page, which generates codes which can then be embedded into posters, webpages, blogs, and many other places. I can see this being a useful tool for posting links to articles and websites which may be useful for students to access when researching or completing assignments. QR codes could also be placed on presentation slides to be scanned. You can see some examples of how QR codes can be used here. Although these are primarily marketing examples, the potential for use in other areas can be seen. To read a QR code, you need to download a QR reader, which are free in most app stores.


Phoster is a simple design tool which allow you to create posters, invitations, and cards by using images, QR codes, and other types of media. There are preloaded templates to use, and features such as font select and visual effects to produce a slick and professional looking piece of work. Phoster is limited in what it can do, but can be a great starting point for those who want to use their devices to create posters. As with all such tools, the level of creativity is up to the user. More information on how Phoster works can be found here.




Prezi is a fantastic alternative to Powerpoint. It's a cloud based presentation tool, which uses a single canvas rather than a series of slides to tell a story, or present an idea. Text, images, video clips and other types of media can be used to create a digital, non linear presentation, parts of which can be zoomed in and out of, according to the needs of the audience. I have to say that I adored this tool when I first saw it, particularly the non linear aspect. I can see this being incredibly useful in HE, when in tutorials, or when introducing complex concepts which may require repeated explanations or reinforcements. As with so many excellent tools, there is a subscription fee, which can be a disadvantage. The dynamic nature of the canvas, and the zoom tool can be disconcerting for viewers, and care must be taken not to overuse this feature.There are some great examples of how Prezi has been used to create presentations here and here.


SpicyNodes - a lovely way to present hierarchical information. Adam, one of my fellow student teachers showed us how to use SpicyNodes in one of our ICT lectures, and it was a very visual and logical way to present information. His presentation is here.
As with Prezi, I can see potential with SpicyNodes, and will be exploring it further.







Glogster is another multimedia tool, which allows you to create interactive posters containing video clips, images, speech, hyperlinks, and text. I used this to create a page on debates for a homework activity, and I thoroughly enjoyed using it. Unfortunately, as with Prezi, it is a subscription based tool, and I created my page using the free trial option. I have posted a screenshot of the page, but the interactive elements are unavailable. There are a huge number of images and themes to choose from, and again, you are only bound by your own imagination. The Glogpedia contain thousands of posters created by users from all over the world which can be interacted with to show the many features available.

It's a real shame that you can't see all the elements I added to the poster. There was an audio clip of the definition of debate in the top right hand corner, a link to a Youtube video, hyperlinks to to other websites in the question mark and the pinboard images, text from other websites on the Post-it notes, and images which expanded as you clicked on them. Glogster is very similar to Explain Everything in many aspects, but the fact that I was able to manipulate Glogster far easier than Explain Everything gives it the edge for me.

What we have learnt so far....... the green lights

I have been waiting to upload this blog post, as I wanted to digest all the information given to us by Mandy during the ICT lectures. I'm going to try and give a brief overview of what we looked at, and how (if at all) I think they would be useful in my teaching practice. An important thing to remember when reading this, is that their relevance to teaching practice is based on my subject, learner group and personal preference - other people will have differing opinions, based on their own requirements.

The Internet Detective tool is an interactive online tutorial which helps the student to identify legitimate and credible sources of information on the web. Research at university level requires higher level skills than those needed for school work or personal research. Critical analysis and synthesis of information are demanded, as well as evidence of the use of a wide range of credible sources.

Source - http://www.vtstutorials.ac.uk

The ability to discern between the various sources is crucial when researching for assignments or dissertations, and being able to avoid the potential pitfalls is the first step to producing work that will not only get good marks, but will instill good research habits for the future. This tutorial provides examples of good and bad sources, information on where to find credible information, as well as interactive exercises, where the student has to analyse examples and assess their authenticity.

I think that this will be a useful activity for a tutorial class with my HE students, many of whom have limited experience of academic research methods, and why they are important. There are still students who use and reference Wikipedia, and don't understand why it is not a suitable source, and this exercise should help them to understand the need to develop a discerning nature when researching online. I dug a little deeper into the vts tutorials website and found a business studies specific tutorial for information sources, which I have already used with the first and second year HND students. They also offer tailored resources for a wide range of other subjects.

Delicious is a free bookmarking tool which allows you to save, organise, and share links you find on the web. As you can imagine, it is incredibly useful when undertaking research for university writing, as all your sources can be kept together for convenient and easy access. Links can be tagged with keywords, which allows them to be found by other users and vice-versa. As with all research, a degree of care must be involved when searching for and using other people's links.

I have already discussed bubbl.us in a previous blog post - you can find that post here.

TodaysMeet is a tool which can be used by teachers to set up online discussion rooms where students can contribute in real time. Rooms can be set up for different lengths of time, and with varying degrees of privacy. Once the discussion is complete, a link to the room can be generated and used to embed the discussion into a webpage, a blog, or a class page.

Todaysmeet is a great way of encouraging student engagement and participation. It does rely on everyone having access to technology, which can be an issue in some establishments, but if it can be used, it can generate some lively discussion and debate. You can find out more about Todaysmeet here.

Pinterest is a tool where you can gather images, links to video clips, and your own documents onto "boards", which are named according to their content. My initial thoughts on Pinterest were that it was a rather pleasant way of keeping track of hobby ideas and that it was what I call a time eater - a way of spending hours on the internet looking at things without having anything to show for it at the end. Oh, was I wrong. 

Pinterest is a fantastic way of not only gathering resources, but can also be used as an alternative to Powerpoint. I first saw this in action when the lovely Dave used it during his first micro teach session. I loved the fact that it was non linear, and that he was able to jump back and forth to different things seamlessly, without the endless click-click-click of Powerpoint. I found it highly engaging, and went on to use it for my second microteach on PEST Analysis. I shall be using it for HE lectures in the future.

You can follow my Pinterest boards by clicking here.

Mobile Technology in learning

Mobile technology is now ubiquitous in our society, and to not incorporate it into learning would be missing the boat. Many teaching environments still recoil in horror at the thought of pupils using mobile phones or tablets in lessons, yet this is where it can have a huge impact. My own children, and others about to enter primary school are completely at ease with technology, and do not know a world without it. Secondary and further education students are often good indicators of future trends in technology. They are incredibly adept at seeking out alternatives to popular apps once their use spreads to other demographic groups - very few teenagers are comfortable with their parents liking their every post on Facebook, for example!

This familiarity with technology needs to be redirected from a purely social use into a more educational paradigm. "Chalk and talk" can have its place in a scheme of work, but a broader range of learning styles can be catered for if the tutor can access video clips, online seminars, charts, images - the list goes on. Students can participate in real time, by writing blogs, or commenting on material posted by the tutor. Assessments can be recorded as a video for those students who may struggle with the more traditional methods of assessment and evaluation.

Source - http://www.educationnews.org





Rather than opposing, or even banning technolongy in classrooms, as appears to be the case in some instistutions, educators need to work with what technology has to offer. Primary schools seem to have grasped this  - it now needs to be embraced by secondary and further education to ensure a seamless transition through the system.

On a personal note, I have seen both sides of the coin. As a parent, I have always tried to encourage my children to use mobile technology to complete homework assignments, either as a research tool, or by recording work to submit. This has not always been met with enthusiasm, with some teachers insisting on written submissions, and refusing to accept work that my children (particularly the youngest) have spent a lot of time doing on their tablets or laptops. Others have been incredibly supportive and have embraced the different ways of presenting work. I do appreciate that there is a need to produce handwritten work for some lessons or for specific assessments, but surely if a child has worked hard to produce a poster or a diagram using technology, then this should be accepted as a satisfactory method of completing homework? The disparity between primary and secondary attitudes towards technology needs to be addressed, as I mentioned earlier in this post. 

My Microsoft experiences

Over the years, I've danced the dance with many Microsoft applications, some more successfully than others. The most frequently used has to be Word, due to the need to produce assignments for  university over the years. Initially, I just used the basic features such as underline, centre text, and insert picture, but as my confidence grew, I began to explore many other features. I mastered the art of inserting charts, hyperlinks, and other visual elements, and began to produce pieces of work which looked far more professional than my initial efforts.

The latest gadget I've discovered on Word is the referencing tool, and I have to say that this will become my new best friend. The ease with which I will be able to properly reference my writing is a revelation, and will save me countless hours. You can find a guide here.

I have also used Excel to complete specific modules during my degree, in particular the Accounting modules and some of the ICT assignments. My experience with Excel is by no means extensive, but I am able to produce and manipulate basic spreadsheets to a reasonable standard.

  The other applications I have used regularly are Powerpoint and Publisher. Powerpoint has long been the go-to application for presentations, and I used it frequently during my degree. Training to become a teacher, and understanding the importance of engaging the students has made me reassess my relationship with Powerpoint. I think I now need to try and take it to the next level, and start learning how to make my presentations more interactive and innovative. There has already been some useful tools and tips from Mandy on how to do this, which I hope to be able to incorporate into my lesson planning.

Publisher creates flyers, leaflets, and other such documents from preloaded templates, which can then be adapted and personalised to suit the user. I used this in my last job to produce staff booklets for the internal training course I was delivering, but I would not say I was proficient, merely competent.