Week 1

Introduction to this course:

This course initially seemed very overwhelming for me, full of new, unfamiliar concepts and technology. I have technology skills in various Microsoft Office programs and Bookkeeping programs. However, other technology, especially blogs, web pages, interactive whiteboards and many more programs are foreign to me and I find them very intimidating. 

I am approaching this course with an open mind, ready to become more familiar with various technologies and how I can incorporate them into my classroom. It will be exciting to learn about the new technologies, but am aware that as I have little prior knowledge and confidence with these topics, I will have to take a lot of time with this subject, to gain a greater understanding. 

Know Your Learner:

Learners are all unique. It is important to take time to get to know the different learners in your classroom; their interests, needs, how they best learn and what affects them emotionally and physically. 

After completing the learning style inventory it was clear that I have a moderate preference for reflective learning over active learning. As a learner, I use an even balance between, sensing and intuitive, visual and verbal, as well as sequence and global.  

It is effective for all learners to have an even balance between all learning styles (between 1 - 3 on the result scale). This provides them with the skills and strategies necessary for them to be an effective learner.

Learning Style Results

In the multiple intelligences questionnaire the results showed that the following is how the 8 intelligences were ranked for me: 

1. Kinaesthetic 

2.  Logical & Intrapersonal and Linguistic

3.Visual/Spatial, Naturalistic and Interpersonal

4. Musical

Before taking this multiple intelligence questionnaire, I thought that I was kinaesthetic learner. I found this out in previous subjects, as well as just by understanding that I enjoy more hands on activities. I found that during my placement in a kindergarten setting I learnt a lot more then just sitting in a classroom at University and the knowledge that I was taught during university classes I was able to try out and expanded on while at placement. 

Multiple Intelligence Results

As a learner; being aware of the your learning styles & multiple intelligences can improve how you understand information you read or are taught. This provides the learner with knowledge of how they can best use their study time and even make them aware, of how they can improve the use of different learning styles, that they are not comfortable with. 

However, as a teacher; when planning learning experiences, it is important to plan for all different learning styles and the different multiple intelligences, not just how the teacher or a particular student learns best. It is not necessary for every lesson to cover all different learning styles, but is important for all learning styles to be covered in a number of different lessons. By having different ways of teaching new information, helps all learners become competent in learning new information, in a variety of different ways. 

Creativity and 21st Century Learners:

The reading "Engage Me or Enrage Me"; What Today's Learners Demand, by Marc Prensky, was an intriguing read.  It made me consider different ways to keep children engaged throughout the day; how lessons are presented to the class and what sort of activities the students are asked to do. I think this article links well with Managing e-Learning, as we will be taught the different technological literacies that we are able to use in the classroom, to keep our students engaged throughout the day. "Students certainly don’t have short attention spans for their games, movies, music, or Internet surfing. More and more, they just don’t tolerate the old ways—and they are enraged we are not doing better by them."   This is a quote from the article; assuming that the student does not have the attention span to sit through a whole lesson, activity or story. However, they may just not be interested and think that they are wasting their time listening or doing a certain task. 

I have read; Digital Native or Digital Immigrants, by Marc Prensky.  The question asked in this article that I found interesting was 'Should the Digital Native students learn the old ways, or should their Digital Immigrant educators learn the new?'  I don't think it is as simple as either the digital natives or digital immigrants learning the 'old' or 'new' ways. To have an effective classroom, teachers need to consider the different needs of the students in the classroom and different ways to engage different learners, as they are all unique. Not all learners in the classroom will have the same skills; this will be influenced by their home life situation and their interests. It is unfair for Digital Immigrants to assume that all students have grown up using or having access to multiple ICT's.  It is also an unfair assumption to say, all Digital Immigrants struggle with ICT's. Every person is their own individual and learns in different ways. However, in saying this, I do think all teachers need to be able to incorporate some ICT into their lessons. Communicating the information in various forms allows students to understand the information in their best learning style. Each classroom will be different, with how much ICT's are used and this should be based on the student’s interests, not the interest of the teacher.  Content in the classroom needs to cover both 'Legacy' and 'Future', as I believe both factor in the real world and all students need to have the opportunity to learn all content areas. Legacy content includes reading, writing, arithmetic, logical thinking, understanding the writings and ideas of the past. Where as future content includes digital and technological. 

After listening to the YouTube clip of Sir Ken Robinson: Do schools kill creativity? I feel very strongly about supporting students in celebrating their talents and their creative side in learning. A well-rounded education is needed for all students, from Maths and English, right through to The Arts. Every student is different and should have the opportunity to explore what they enjoy through education. If we as teachers, allow them the time to be creative and explore their talents will further engage them in the learning process. I have copied a part of Ken Robinson's closing statement as I think this summarises what I will strive to do for the children in my classroom '....seeing our creative capacities for the richness they are, and seeing our children for the hope that they are. And our task is to educate their whole being, so they can face this future -- by the way, we may not see this future, but they will. And our job is to help them make something of it.' I believe in Early Childhood Education ‘play based learning’, with natural materials and real life experiences, as well as allowing the children to explore the world around them and not be 'bubble wrapped' - is a great starting point for their education. It allows them to explore their interests, talents and give everything a go without being afraid of getting hurt or of failure. 

Learning Theory: 

Learning Theory Mind Map

(To display my new knowledge of learning theory, I created a concept map using Popplet. This website was easy to use and I was able to clearly set out my knowledge of learning theories. This program would be useful for a teacher to help plan units or gather their knowledge on a topic. As this program is simple and basic to use, students of various ages would also be able to use this website, to gather their ideas or knowledge of a particular topic or plan work. Users of this program have to be aware that they only receive 5 free mind maps, then they will have to sign up to a monthly or yearly plan). 

I believe there is not one learning theory that is more useful then another. It is important to use all the learning theories in the classroom at different times during the unit/term/day/lessons.