Becoming a digital teacher!

Thing 23, final blog post :D, asked us to think about what it means to be a ‘digital teacher’ and answer the following four questions…

1) What does it mean to be a digital teacher?
2) What does it mean to be a digital learner?
3) How you can help develop ‘digital literacies or capabilities’ in your students, through the way in which you teach and use technology?
4) What have you most enjoyed learning about on this course, that will support your teaching in the future?

As we move further into the information age we are starting to see that more and more professional learning is occurring digitally. As educators we have two options: either live in the past and continue stuck in our old ways while slowly becoming obsolete or embracing this change and becoming digital teachers.

A digital teacher is a teacher who is open to using and trying new digital tools that can be incorporated into a classroom environment. A digital teacher should be  capable of integrating digital skills into everyday life. Nowadays, teachers are faced with an increasingly diverse student population and one size just does NOT fit all anymore! It is becoming increasingly important to develop and adopt more flexible approaches to teaching an learning that can better accommodate the diverse student population which we are faced with today.

Most students nowadays have been born into a world of digital technologies such as mobile phones, laptops, tablets etc. and are considered to be digital natives. Students today are often more digitally literate than their teachers!!!

A digital learner is more than just a student with a laptop. Today’s learners do not follow the traditional linear thought process but are capable jumping around multiple sources of information and piecing all the information together. Digital learners have the ability to easily shift their attention from one task to anther and tend to switch off when the information presented to them does not interest them. I have seen that my students tend to learn better through their own discovery rather than being lectured. Today’s students tend to be more visual and prefer to see images and videos rather than have to read through large chunks of text.

The best way to develop digital capabilities in students is to include digital learning within the curriculum. I will be introducing more photos, videos, collaborative group projects, mind maps and digital storytelling within the course curriculum and lecture delivery. This course has introduced me to a number of new new digital tools, and where relevant I will be trying my best to incorporate these into my classroom.

A big THANK YOU to Jane, Craig, Lynne and Chris I have really enjoyed the course 🙂 !!!

Tagging and hashtags

Thing 22 asked us to read Clay Shirky’s essay ‘Ontology is Overrrated’ . After reading over it these are my thoughts:

I feel that tagging is becoming an increasingly important tool that helps users to organise information and makes it easier for them to find the content that they are looking for. Tags ultimately represent a way of categorising and classifying which I feel are more beneficial than the traditional hierarchical or structured methods of organising information.

Even though tagging does sometimes result in information overload I am not in full agreement with Clay Shirky’s view that the ways in which we are trying to apply categorisation to the electronic world are a bad fit.

I tend to agree with what was said by Joshua Schachter, the creator of Del.icio.us, in the Technology Review article “Tagging Is It” (http://www.technologyreview.com/article/404210/tagging-is-it/):
“The information you get [through tags] is always going to be somewhat imperfect and fuzzy… but a bunch of people doing ‘okay’ tagging may actually have a higher net value than an authoritative organization telling you how information should be organised.”

In light of this weeks task I have gone over my previous blog posts and added the appropriate tags 🙂

Managing Information: Zotero and Mendeley

I am constantly preaching to my students about the importance of referencing their work as referencing is essential to successful research. So far I have always guided my students to use the referencing system inbuilt within Microsoft Word and have always seen good results.

I have never heard of nor used Zotero or Mendeley but for the purpose of Thing 21 I have explored and experimented with Zotero. As with all other new software I am sure that there is a learning curve and I initially found it very difficult to use but after spending some time experimenting I started to get the hang of it.

From my experience today I think the best thing about Zotero is that it automatically senses content and allows you to add it to your personal library by just clicking a button. It even allows you to save entire webpages for future reference – which means that even if a web page is deleted you can still find the page archived on your computer. I even managed to create a reading list with Zotero which it seems students would be able to access very easily.

I found the following video tutorial on using Zotero by Alli Buehler & Stephanie Willen Brown really helpful:

Online storage and sharing – Dropbox, Onenote and Evernote, Google Drive

Thing 20 deals with online storage and sharing of files. With people now owning multiple devices such as mobile phones, laptops and tablets the need is felt for having files available when and where we need them from whatever device we choose. These cloud storage tools also allow for the sharing of large files which is not always possible via email due to size limitations.

I currently use Dropbox and Google Drive for managing my own personal files and sometimes even for sharing large files with family and friends. However, I do not use these tools at work. At St. Martins Institute we have a dedicated Moodle platform set up for each subject which enables lecturers to share all course material with our students and even access these from any computer with an Internet connection. This completely eliminates the need for using cloud storage to share readings, presentations and other course material with students.

For the purpose of this exercise I also explored Onenote and Evernote. As such these are very similar to Dropbox and Google Drive so I have no particular use for them yet. However I will keep them in mind for when I run out of storage space on Dropbox and Google Drive :).

Using communication tools in teaching

Granted – Laptops, mobile phones and tablets are often a distraction for students in a classroom environment. However, I feel that banning these in the classroom would ultimately prove to be counterproductive!! These devices often facilitate the learning process as students can follow course notes, look up information that they are not familiar with online and also increase the speed of note-taking.

I have used Skype in the classroom once before. This was when I had a student who had undergone surgery and was not able to attend lectures but did not want to miss out on the important topic being covered that week. It took some time to adjusting angles and settings but once everything was set up properly this student was able to follow and participate in all that weeks lectures even though not physically present. In this particular situation Skype proved to be very useful but I feel that it should only be used in exceptional circumstances. If given the opportunity some students may take the lazy option and take advantage of this, resulting in students not physically attending lectures thus reducing the overall value and student experience.

I know a few of my colleagues have also used Skype as a tool to answer students questions and difficulties from home. So far i have not seen the need for this as  we have daily lectures and small classes, therefore, I am regularly available to answer questions in person or via email.

I have never used KwikSurveys in class before but I have used Survey Money  for my own research – but never in the classroom. My first thought was to use these for feedback regarding lecture delivery and quality – however, this is all already done through our schools Intranet system.

Collaborative projects with students – using wikis and Google docs

Thing 18 deals with collaborative writing tools which can be used as an aid to student learning. Document collaboration generally refers to situations where you have more than one person co-authoring and editing a document. Through such document collaboration different people using different computers can work on the same document all at the same time.

Wikis
The most common and well known wiki is Wikipedia the free encyclopedia. This is a free access and free content encyclopedia. All those who have access to the site are able to edit most of the articles. Unfortunately, this means that Wikipedia is not always a reliable source of information and therefore cannot be cited in a reference list as it is not a credible source. Notwithstanding this, Wikipedia is always a starting point for me when I am researching something as it helps me to gain a general understanding of an unfamiliar topic before carrying out further research.

I often encourage my students to use Wikipedia as a starting point for research too but I also instruct them to be cautious and always use their judgement to evaluate the reliability of the information presented. In order to do this it is usually a good idea to look at the reference list in order to be able to find the same or similar information from a more credible source. It is important to always keep in mind that just because it is on the Internet it does not mean that it is true…

Google docs
Till around a year and a half ago I had not heard about Google docs… That all changed when my HOD started to experiment with them. Although I was a little hesitant at first, once I started using them I really understood and felt their value.

At St. Martins Institute we currently use Google docs for administrative purposes as a tool for student tracking, report writing and record keeping. This has made our administrative tasks a lot easier and much more efficient. Through Google docs all lecturers are able to edit student tracking reports and other administrative documentation. These updates can be viewed by other lecturers instantly. This  has allowed for better and more efficient information sharing between members of staff… and the best part about it is that all these records can be viewed using any computer that has access to the Internet.

I feel that collaborative projects an excellent way of promoting team spirit, encouraging creativity as well as helping students to develop different competences. Throughout the academic year I often promote group-work and students must undertake a number of group assignments each year.

So far I have never used wikis or Google docs for collaborative projects with students. Since I am very fortunate to have small class sizes where students meet on a daily basis I have never seen the need for these…. but I am very interested to read about how others are using or planning to use these tools in their classes 🙂

Going beyond the PowerPoint: Prezi and Slideshare

I have always used PowerPoint for the preparation of presentations. Although PowerPoint tends to be a little bit mundane I have found it to be very effective. Thing 17 asked us to explore Prezi and SlideShare as tools for presentations. I am writing this short blog post with my thoughts on both of these tools.

Prezi – Prezi is a presentation software which allows you to “tell a story” through the use of a visual canvas. What I liked most about Prezi is that it allows you to zoom in and out. When faced with long sections of text in classes this function can really help you to show students what is important. You can even use the zoom function to expand the meaning of a particular word. This could be particularly useful for foreign students who are often not familiar with all the terminology found in class presentations. It also seems very easy to incorporate images and videos into Prezi presentations. I really liked the concept of Prezi, however, I will definitely not be adopting it in class as after 10 minutes of viewing Prezi presentations I felt completely dizzy and sea sick!!!

Slideshare – Slideshare is a large community for sharing knowledge such as presentations and other professional content. I have already used slideshare before and find it an excellent way of getting ideas for my own presentations. I have found the following presentation about different learning styles which was posted by BrentVAn3 onto Slideshare:

Video making tools

All students learn in different ways. However, most students seem to remember more when visual aids such as videos are used. Videos can help to illustrate points and improve retention of information. Videos can help us to show students how things work or how to do something. If we restrict ourselves to using just written text in PowerPoint presentations it becomes harder to explain and leaves more room for misinterpretation.

I personally have not used many videos as a learning tool in class but tend to resort to images, flowcharts and diagrams to aid explanations. However, I feel that this is something which I need to work upon. I feel that videos can be a very useful tool for students to use to reinforce principles learned in class at home. Videos allow students the possibility to pause and even re-visit important or unclear material which is not always possible when in a classroom environment.

Digital storytelling is another useful tool which is worth looking into.Through the use of digital storytelling students can share information and experiences with students from all around the world.

It is important to remember that nowadays there are courses which are held entirely online, through the use of videos and other on-line tools. We are living in a digital age and the learning process is constantly changing and evolving. Will classroom learning one day become obsolete and be replaced by videos?

Although videos can be a very useful aid to learning, I personally think that videos should not replace the invaluable contact hours with the teacher. I think videos should be used as a tool to illustrate and highlight particular parts of the learning content. I feel that videos should be prepared  with the intention of reinforcing the principles learned in class rather than replacing delivery of content and class discussion.

Finding scholarly videos and podcasts for teaching

Thing 15 asked us to explore videos and podcasts that can be used in class as an aid to teaching. I started off by exploring the TED website where I did not find any videos which I thought were relevant to my particular subject areas. I then explored Khan Academy where I found a number of very relevant and interesting videos and podcasts.

The biggest problem which I face throughout the academic year is that although the material in the accounting subjects is so vast and detailed, the academic year is so short. This means that it is always a race against time to cover all the required material. Although we have a significant number of lectures and tutorials I always feel that students would benefit from hearing explanations of important lectures a second time over – however, there isn’t always enough time for this.

When exploring the Khan Academy I found a number of very good videos which I will be recommending to my students in order to reinforce the concepts that I will be teaching in class. The best thing about these videos is that they can be replayed over and over again. Apart from this they can be paused and students can even re-watch the parts which they did not understand or found to be unclear. The BBC, The Guardian, LSE Public Events also seem very useful especially when it comes to examples and the practical application of theories.

This summer I will be exploring the videos and podcasts which are available online and will start looking into creating my own videos where there are important topics where I do not find appropriate videos available.

Mind maps and flowcharts

“The magic of connecting dots is that, once you learn the technique, the dots can change but you’ll still be good at connecting them.” (Godin, 2012)

Mind maps are an ideal tool for learning as they help us to connect ideas and plan work. Mind maps help students to map out their thoughts using connections to trigger new thoughts and ideas. A mind map is a way of putting ideas on paper in a visual and structured way.

A number of studies have highlighted the the benefits of mind maps in a classroom or learning environment. The study by Holland et al (2003/2004) found mind mapping to be a useful tool which helped students plan and structure their essays and projects more effectively. Goodnough and Woods (2002) found that students viewed mind maps as an interesting, fun and motivating way to learn.  Farrand, Hussain and Hennessey (2002) proved that mind maps helped to improve the long-term memory of students.

So far I have used mind maps in class to help students to brainstorm and come up with ideas when planning out essays. I feel that the mind maps really help them to build ideas and structure essays. I have always received positive feedback from students who have followed the mind maps in class and even build their own mind maps at home.

My use of mind maps has been restricted to pen and paper or prepared on the whiteboard in class. However, thing 14 has got me exploring different online tools for the preparation of mind maps. I explored Coggle (www.coggle.it) and bubble.us (https://bubbl.us/) and hope practice using these in the hope that I will be able to adopt them as a classroom tool.

Below is a screenshot of a simple mind map which I prepared using Bubble.us:

In my opinion the biggest benefit of using online tools for the preparation of mind maps is that these can be sent to students who can use these and continue to build upon them at home.

References:

Farrand, P., Hussain, F. and Hennessy E. (2002), The efficacy of the ‘mind map’ study technique. Medical Education, Vol. 36 (5), pp 426-431.

Goodnough, K. and Woods, R. (2002), Student and Teacher Perceptions of Mind Mapping: A Middle School Case Study Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of American Educational Research Association, New Orleans, 1st to 5th April 2002.

Holland, B., Holland, L. and Davies, J. (2003/2004), An investigation into the concept of Mind Mapping and the use of Mind Mapping software to support and improve student academic performance. Learning and Teaching Projects 2003/2004, pp 89-94.