The role of theory and technology in learning video production: the challenge of change.
Shewbridge, W. & Berge, Z. (2004). The role of theory and technology in learning video production: the challenge of change. International Journal on E-Learning 391), (Jan-March 2004), 31-40.
I recently read Maree’s post on the controversy of using cell phones in the classroom. The use of cell phones has definitely been one of the debates in schools ajnd still something that hasn’t been resolved entirely.
The article that Maree commented on makes a lot of good points about the pros and cons of allowing children to take cell phones to school. For example, parents can let their children know of any changes to plan if they can’t pick them up after school anymore. On the flip side, one point made in the article was that since cell phones are so small, students can text or play games without the teacher knowing.
I personally didn’t have a cell phone till I was in uni, and I don’t think it made me disadvantaged at all. I guess parents these days are much more concerned about their children’s safety. But I think what’s important is that also the article is written dfrom an American perspective, which would be different from an Australian view. Another good point that the article picks up is the need to keep up with technological advances, whether they are good or bad.
So what do we need to consider as educators? In my prac school last year, students that did bring mobile phones to school had to drop them off at the office at the start of the day and collect them at the end of the day. I think that especially in the primary school context, students don’t need mobile phones at all. However, if parents must insist that they must be brought, I think this school had a good practice. It stops disruptions, but also stops them being lost and kids crying over lost phones!
Generation Z was a new term for me – I know I am one of the Generation Y, but what is Generation Z?
A research company website that I stumbled across gave a detailed explanation of Generation Z.
WHO ARE GENERATION Z?
Generation Z are those people born from 1995 to the end of 2009.
They are the next generation after Generation Y (today’s teenage and twentysomethings).
They are largely the children of Generation X.
They are in their childhood although at the oldest edge they are approaching their teenage years.
They are today’s children and students, and tomorrow’s employees and leaders.
They are the world’s first 21st Century generation – the digital natives, the
dot com kids, Generation Media.
They are today’s emerging generation who resemble children of any era
past, yet they personify our future.
WHAT DEFINES GENERATION Z?
Generation Z are demographically distinct from every previous generation.
They are numerically the smallest of any other living generation.
They were born the year Australia’s annual births dropped below 300,000.
They were born in an era where the total number of births per woman fell below 2.
They were born into smaller families – and they have the fewest siblings of any era.
They were born to older mums – whose median age is now approximately 33.
They will live longer than any generation in history: as of 2005, the life expectancy at age birth is
78.5 years for males and 83.3 years for females.
They have the lowest infant mortality rate ever: just 5 deaths per 1,000 babies, compared to
two to three times that rate in 1974.
They are the most formally educated generation in history – starting education younger
than ever, and projected to stay in education for longer than ever.
As a generation they are the most financially endowed generation in history.
They are the most technologically literate generation of children ever.
As the children of older, wealthier parents with fewer siblings and more entertainment
and technological options it is likely that they will be the most materially supplied generation
of children ever.
They are the most technologically and socially empowered generation ever. In this era of YouTube
and My Space and User Generated Content it is fitting that Time Magazine’s Person of the Year
for 2006 was … YOU!
WHY ARE GENERATION Z UNIQUE?
Generation Z are differentiated from any generation by 3 factors: age & lifestage (ontological
factors), times & technology (sociological factors), and events & experiences (historical factors).
Age: they are the youngest generation but are being parented by older parents (the median age
of mother at birth of 1st child is approaching 31) and taught by older teachers (the median age of
a school teacher is 42) than ever before.
Lifestage: they are the up-ageing generation. They are growing up faster. They are in education
earlier. They are being exposed to marketing younger.
Times & Technology: This internet-savvy, technologically literate generation have been shaped to
mult-itask. They move quickly from one task to another placing more value on speed than accuracy.
They have only known this wireless, hyperlinked, user-generated world where they are always only
a few clicks from any piece of knowledge. Welcome to the open-book world of Generation Z.
Events & Experiences: While today they are not in the workforce, within a decade they will
comprise 10% of the workforce. And they will be entering the workforce in an era of
declining supply: more people exiting the workforce than entering it. And so for Gen Z
the skills shortages, the ageing population and the global demand for labour will
continue to empower them.
It is fascinating to see that the children that, as teachers-to-bes, we are going to teach a generation whose demographic is totally different – I imagine the challenge that we would be facing is far greater than any teachers in the past. Talk about teachers only have to be ‘one step ahead of students’ – it would be immensely difficult and challenging for teachers to be only ‘one step’ ahead; personally I think the future offers a much wider path of learning. Perhaps we’ll find it impossible to keep up with students someday… We’ll need to be on tip-toes for the challenge!
Source:
http://www.generationz.com.au/index.html
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I find Kelly‘s post on visual literacy skills for teachers fascinating! So I did a little research on the internet and I found a conference paper that was published in 1995 titled ‘Visual Literacy: What Do Prospective Teachers Need To Know?’.
This paper stresses on the importance of teachers to be fluent in visual literacy as the children that they are teaching are more and more visual-oriented than before. The invention of television has boost the aveage IQ of children yet the number of children who has learning-difficulties has increased. So how do teachers tackle this problem?
Cochenour and Box(1995) suggests that it is time for teacher to be trained in visual literacy. The skill and knowledge in visual literacy are beneficial in improving the teaching and learning process as teachers are able to communicate in multiple ways other than words alone.
It is interesting how visual literacy is so important to teachers but we do not have a subject for it… Hmmm.
I have been talking to my friend Michael (from another class) recently about e-Learning, and things we had learnt and discovered from this course. One conversation, he went on about a blog post he did awhile ago titled ‘Blue Whale.’ All I had was the title, and probably the subject, of the blog post. I was interested in what it was all about. So here is a reactionary post to his blog posting.
He talks about how students these days are using new media to present assignments compared to the way we ourselves did about 10 years ago. Instead of simple handwritten, drawn or word-processed assignments, students these days are handing in assignments done by technologies such as videos. Although it was simple, it shows a lot. These new technologies are something that we would’ve dreamed of using, and probably never gotten the chance. I remember on prac last year, one of the students in year 3 (yes year 3!) made a powerpoint for an assignment, and it was really amazing. He got a lot of praise from the teacher as well!
My view on what this post raises is that new technologies, or even just technologies in general, should be embraced by teachers. Technology is advancing so fast, that it is something that we cannot escape, something we cannot hide behind (even if we have no confidence in teaching with technology). Students these days are so technology-literate and will show this across in their work. It is unfair for teachers to deny them these opportunities to use technology, and even more so to deny them the opportunity to learn new and exciting technologies.
I like the last point the Michael makes in his blog – technology has definitely changed the classroom, and is definitely shaping the future of classrooms where we as teachers like it or not. I think it’s quite exciting!
Image made available under Creative Commons 2.0 Attribution
Ruby has shared her experience on practicum with the use of interactive whiteboards and she has posted a video of the debate in America on whether they are worth investing in by schools.
I have seen the amazing power of interactive whiteboard myself – in the past two practicum, both teachers had smartboards in their classrooms. But these two experiences has offered me insights into how the interactive whiteboard can be well-used or’under-used’. My first supervising teacher had a year one class and because smartboard is such an motivational and engaging tool to use, she almost used it for every chance that she could. Since younger kids learn better with visual stimulus, using the interactive whiteboard has enabled teachers to present concepts with greater ease and clarity. In contrast, my second supervising teacher has not used the board to its full potential – ‘It is the skill and professional knowledge of the teacher mediating interactions with pupils that are the crucial factors in determining how much ‘value’ is gained from interactive whiteboards.’
Imagine during class time, students take out their phone and they are working quietly on their phone.. Well this might be our future! (for teachers)
An American wireless industry trade group, Mobile Learning 09, CTIA, a , plans to start making its case for the educational value of cellphones. This article on The New York Times advocates for cell-phones as an educational tool that can be used in the classroom, pronouncing that the only difference between smartphones and laptops now is that cellphones are smaller, cheaper and more coveted by students.
This company has conducted a trial with year 9-10 math students, who were given high-end cellphones running Microsoft’s Windows Mobile software and special programs meant to help them with their algebra studies. This is an extract of article:
‘The students used the phones for a variety of tasks, including recording themselves solving problems and posting the videos to a private social networking site, where classmates could watch. The study found that students with the phones performed 25 percent better on the end-of-the-year algebra exam than did students without the devices in similar classes.”
But Janet Bass, the spokesperson of the American Ferderations of Teachers was against the idea of using cell-phones as classroom aids and view it as ‘distractions’- other mocked ‘I’d like to see if they can improve writing skills with a cellphone’.
In our tutorial we had a discussion on whether cell-phones are able to be an educational tool – including the proposed introduction of iPod touch into classrooms. So I went on their websites to check iPods out! This is the file that I read which explores the educational uses for teachers and students of the iPod and iTunes combination in the classroom. I was amazed at how early this concept was developed! This document was actually written in 2005.
The benefits of using iPod in the classroom was abundant – it has the ability to let teachers record lesson, teach languages, podcast course materials, deliver informations and use for assessments. As for students, they are able to listen to podcasts, create digital stories and documentaries and more. I’m actually very skeptical because I haven’t see it put into action in a real classroom… But perhaps it just might work. Let’s see.
What do you think?
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‘A large majority of teachers believe there are educational benefits: 91% thought they developed motor and cognitive skills, and 60% believed they would develop thinking skills and acquire specific knowledge,’ says BBC news after conducting a survey that questioned 100 UK teachers.
Do virtual games have a place in classroom? I find it very interesting reading Matthew’s post about game-based learning – a lot of teachers would not consider ‘gaming’ educational at all. Professor of Education at the University of Bristol, Angela MacFarlane is a reasearcher and advocate of ‘gaming’: “Early research has shown some powerful outcomes in the classroom, but we need to understand how, when and when not to use games to support education.’
Claus Due, market development manager for Electronic Arts Europe, concurs with MacFlarlane on this point. “Computer games engage the brain like no other media,” he said. “We believe that children can and already do learn a lot through them.”
As computer games and the internet are a part of children’s daily life, maybe it is important for us teachers to learn more about the “complex learning” which games could facilitate and use it at our advantage. Educational game developers are working their way in classrooms also – perhaps one day gaming would be considered as formal education!
This is a reactionary post to Playfullearning‘s post “The wiki way of learning”. The discussion of the article Playfullearning has posted describes wikis as ‘true collaboration in learning, and a real learning community can be achieved through use of wikis’. People might think wikis are not as ‘real’ as textbooks, but wikis are actually very educational and are an useful tool in classrooms! As a matter of fact, I have experience how true that statement is!
On my practicum, my supervising teacher happened to be the ‘techno lady’ – anything about the technology side of things in school, she is the one to go to. Hence she has put a lot of effort in ensuring her students to be fluent in computing literacy. The part that surprised me most during my practicum was the wiki page that she set up for her students. Last term, an local ecostudy collaborative project was conducted between the high school and the primary school yr 6s.Their project was focusing on the local Blue Gum Tall Forest environment which is within the High School’s grounds.
Using the shared wiki page, students from both high school and primary school can collaborate online, upload photos, informations and links to form their own ‘page’ – for teachers, it is easy to read and assess students and also monitor the progress of each group. Students are free to post constructive comments and share ideas on other groups’ page as well, forming a student-centred learning environment. Wiki places students in an active role of learning. Being an authentic assessment, project-based and cooperative learning tool, wiki is recommanded to you teachers!
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This is a reactionary blog to the blog post ‘Social networking rots your brain‘ by someone called James Clay. I found him while doing some research for my previous post on computer games damaging children’s brains. James Clay writes blogs commenting on e-Learning, ILT and techical stuff…
I decided to do this as a podcast in reaction to hte podcast found in the comments on this post. Enjoy!
