I do not want to be boring, but further to the video I posted this morning entitled Mobile Learning, please see also this video. It contains some amazing statistics but more importantly it contains a solution that we teachers might very gladly welcome. How many of us complain that the students just shut off when we start explaining and we repeat theories over and over again to no avail? How many of us complain that the students are more interested in their mobiles than in our lessons? The content of this video might be our salvation!
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Sorry to be a wet blanket, Doreen, but this video was already uploaded by teacher as a link to topic one in the forum page. Still, hats off to you for the genuine effort!
ReplyDeleteI was watching this video... very simply presented but to the point. I got curious about the point where it mentioned web quests, here is what I found:
ReplyDeleteWebQuests are among the most fascinating applications on the Internet. Student centered and inquiry based, a WebQuest challenges students to explore the web for information and it is an excellent way to integrate the Internet into the classroom. Traditionally WebQuests have an introduction, a process, a task, a list of resources, a conclusion, and an evaluation.
If one searches the word "WebQuest" in any search engine, thousands of online lessons from various teachers around the word result. A WebQuest is an inquiry-oriented online tool for learning. This means it is a classroom-based lesson in which most or all of the information that students explore and evaluate comes from the World Wide Web. Beyond that, WebQuests:
• can be as short as a single class period or as long as a month-long unit;
• usually (though not always) involve group work, with division of labor among students who take on specific roles or perspectives;
• are built around resources that are preselected by the teacher. Students spend their time USING information, not LOOKING for it.
I agree that teachers should use creative methods to reach their students, but I still believe that if the student is not intrinsically motivated to learn, no method will deliver no matter how creative or innovative.
ReplyDeleteI don’t mean to sound pessimistic to the ideas mentioned in this video since I am all for using these methods for teaching, but one situation which I came across this year with some students was that they preferred NOT to work on their computer since simply switching on their computer would give rise to too many distractions which they find very difficult to avoid. The video suggested the use of mobile learning and podcasts, which I agree are good methods of learning, but again, if not intrinsically motivated, students may easily decide to use their mobile phone/iPods for listening to music, play games, or anything else that is not related to course material.
I agree with Caroline when commenting that if students are not intrinsically motivated they might use their mobiles etc for different things other than studying. Sometime students just are not interested to learn, no matter how you present the subject, no matter of what technology you use.
ReplyDeleteI might be a little old fashioned however I believe that although technology should be used whenever possible to enhance teaching; it should not be considered as an unavoidable part of teaching. A good teacher should be able to reach his students without the use of technology. When I was at University a couple of years ago, some of the best lecturers managed to deliver their lessons with no use of technology whatsoever, and they managed to do so very efficiently; they managed to engross us in the subject by explaining to us the importance of the subject and how this knowledge could help us in our future employment. But most importantly, these lecturers managed to capture our attention by their knowledge and passion about the subject.
A friend of mine last year did some voluntary work with small children in a third world country. She did not have any resources and she had to teach them pretty much everything. The lessons used to be held under a tree with no tools other than her voice, her knowledge and know how. Now I am not comparing our situation with that, but the point I want to make is that if students want to learn, they will do so.
Everything is changing and I think that we should adapt to this change and move forward. I believe that technology is becoming an integral part of our educational system, and this is a positive thing. I do agree that technology makes lessons more attractive; however, I don’t think that we need to go to the extreme of using technology like mobiles and iPods to deliver a lesson successfully.
In my opinion technology is very useful to support learning but I do not think that it is essential. I think that what is essential is the knowledge and the know how of the teacher and the motivation and the effort of the students. Despite all the advantages of the use of technology in teaching, if a student is not interested in the subject s/he will not want to learn no matter what. Technology could also distract the student in certain cases. It is also important not to take it for granted that all the students and all the teachers are able to use technology.
ReplyDeleteVery good points have been mentioned in the previous comments. What Caroline said about students and their motivation made me reflect about the type of students that we encounter in our classes. Some of our students may not be all that motivated to learn. Here we have to remember that they may have been failure in other educational systems before entering in vocational education. However, I strongly believe that we, as teachers can make a difference. If we make lectures interesting and more interactive, students' interest is raised. However, I also hold firmly the idea that a mixture of e-learning and face-to-face larning should be used.
ReplyDeleteThe transformation of Teaching in form of effective learning is a result of good communication. I feel that this video is too much biased that makes me feel that today’s students learn principally through digital learning. I have started practicing my engineering profession in the transition from hardcopy to digital formats. I appreciate and am convinced of the advantages of the digital technology, but it is not the only survival.
ReplyDeleteIn past times, the Sumerians used impressions on clay tablets; Egyptians used papyrus scripts, Romans scrolls.....to preserve their learning. The means of learning evolve according to the culture they need to address. E- Learning, digital technology is the tool adequate for our times.
My opinion is that the digital era students get bored very quickly, irrelevant of use of technology or otherwise. They are living in a multi-instructive multi-cultural world, bombarded from everywhere and by every means of communication, in a culture that pretends immediate successful results, otherwise ‘Sir, I am no longer interested, I have to look for a quicker solution’.
As expressed in this video, they spent long times, engaged with the computer, mobile-phone.... Sometimes I ask to myself, do they actually find space to reflect and think deeply, do they dedicate time to revise!
It is true; they feel lost without their mobile in their hands this proves how dependent they are of the digital world. It is addictive.
How many of the licensed drivers do know where the jack of their car is located? The reason is very simple; “oh I have a punctured wheel” – First reaction – “Mobile phone”, second reaction call towing motor service provider. ... Get wheel fixed. Do I have a motivation to learn how to replace the wheel, there is no need, and there is the above alternative less involved solution? Some may express that is today’s way of life.
Similar situation resulted with the permissible use of calculator in mathematical subjects at a younger age. Some students are highly dependent on the calculator, even for the old termed “simple addition” they rely on the calculator. I hope that this is not the route of our education methods.
Rephrasing my original statement- Effective Learning is a result of good communication. Supporting Claire’s point of view, the means matters less, while the engagement of the student prevails.
Nowadays students expect to receive anything at the click of a button. When I started teaching Marketing, I immediately noted that my lectures had to be much more creative than traditional lessons. I don't use all the technological stuff that was mentioned in this clip however I would like to include some of them such as: podcasts,
ReplyDeleteI believe that students need to be given something creative such as an interesting video clip which makes them think and reflect. I usually use such exercise at the beginning of a new topic. It is very evident that students nowadays do not spend time thinking because as I said before they just want everything at the click of a button and this is leading to less creative essays.
In Marketing I found out that students find it difficult to discuss in depth and relate a theoratical point to the business environment. I hope that through such interaction and different way of learning, they will learn and remember more.
One of the benefits of blogging is that it is public, and we are more attentive to the quality of our work when it is public than if it is just viewed by one other person. Plus, blogging creates a person-centered discussion, as opposed to the topic-centered discussion But students become much more invested in their work when blogging, and thus are more engaged with the material.
ReplyDeleteKris Kelly notes that blogging encourages higher levels of reasoning because the “focus is not necessarily on the content of the blog, but more on the process of constructing and evaluating knowledge helping us reach the sometimes elusive upper levels – analyzing, evaluating, and creating – of Bloom’s Taxonomy” (http://tinyurl.com/mtj6kf).
One simple way to incorporate blogging into nearly any course is to create a single class blog and post case studies, news items, or topics for commentary. Another option is to assign students to post notes on each class along with their thoughts on the material, and assign other students to comment on the postings.
I agree with all the points mentioned above that elearning is a very powerful tool and that it can have a good impact on students. Infact I have personally experienced it myself, when I started using powerpoint presentations with the Foudnation Cetificate Students.
ReplyDeleteThe biggest problem I had was lack of resources, because I had to share a projector with an other lecturer.
Also it is important that although the students use a lot of online applications, they are not using the right spelling and is grammatically wrong. So instead of do good they and learning things the wrong way.
I strongly believe that the face-to-face lesson must stay and only be enhanced by elearning applications.
As most before me have already expressed, the methods behind e-learning and the ways in which we can reach out to our students are always increasing. Now if only we had the resources...
ReplyDeleteIt is essential that as teachers we are provided with the technological support and framework to make full of use of e-learning possibilities, after all most of us are still fairly green and with new technologies basically mushrooming around us, there is the need for a continuous investment in us educators. This will ultimately benefit us, our students, and everyone else we come in contact with in our modern society.
The issue of motivation will always be at the forefront, whether using e-learning or not. If students have successfully motivated themselves NOT to learn ("The Will to Learn: A Guide for Motivating Young People" by Martin Covington, 1997), there are a number of reasons why. One is that they do not identify with what is taught in the educational system, or how it is taught. Remember that our students are "digital natives". Do our classrooms appeal to digital natives? Any 17-year old in the year 2010 lives in a world that has included technology for his/her entire life. The first home computer game – Pong – was released in the early Seventies, years before these teenagers were born. These are teenagers who have used technology (breathed and exhales it!) in all aspects of their lives include learning, playing and socializing. Technology is native, and natural, to these teenagers.
ReplyDeleteOn the other hand, "digital immigrants" - the majority of most educators can be put in this category - may not see the need for technology, or perhaps as a distraction. This situation may cause a rift (at this stage in life) between the educator and the learner, and may alienate the learner from formal educational communities (as opposed to informal learning which learners engage in on a daily basis).
What really surprised me was a student of mine - and I admire her for it! - is that she has posted a series of educational homemade clips on Youtube to teach Maltese and Maltese culture (eg. making figolli). And believe me, I was pleasantly surprised, because in class, she did not strike me as the type to videorecord herself and post her productions to a potential audience of millions of viewers (with nearly 20,000 views to date). To me, that shows courage and assertiveness, familiarity with the current technology, besides planning WHAT to show her viewers with a pedagogical view in mind. She is an example of a "digital native".
Now what can I learn from this experience? How can I tap into students' "native knowledge" to make learning more meaningful to them?
For students to be motivated to learn there needs to be something for them to gain from the experience. It is not the first time that I came accross a student who wanted to learn something very badly becuase he was sure he needed it for his hobby. If only were it possible to motivate all students in this way. But in order to do this we need to know our students extremely well which is not always possible becuase of work load, curriculum etc.
ReplyDeleteI strongly suggest that incorporating technology in vocational education is of utmost importance. For instance, using calculators with dynamic geometry software in mathematics not only makes the teaching of concepts such as congruency easier, it also empowers students to discover other geometric relationships they wouldn't ordinarily uncover when more traditional methods of instruction are used.
ReplyDeleteFor example, instead of drawing 20 different diagrams on a whiteboard by hand, teachers can create one diagram on a computer and manipulate it using the dynamic geometry software. Without the software, the teacher will have to draw 20 different variations of the same diagram, which can get very boring very quickly.
Thus, the powerful thing is that integrating technology in the classroom allows teachers to provide students more opportunities for learning, which gets students thinking about mathematical ideas in a new light.