This week was a reflection week in which I looked back at how far I have come, I am so proud of what i have managed to achieve and learn about not only learning spaces but also the online world of learning in general. I have found the engaging in online learning has help me to become a more reflective learner and has challenged me to deepen my own thoughts, knowledge and understanding. I am looking to further solidifying myself as an online learning in the last few remaining weeks.
Week 6
Collaborative, Cooperative and Group Learning
http://vocaroo.com/i/s08vhnUb3dx6
Pantiz, T., (1999). Collaborative versus Cooperative Learning: A Comparison of the Two Concepts Which Will Help Us Understand the Underlying Nature of Interactive Learning. Retrieved from http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED448443.pdf
Week 5
The Electronic Learning Space
A major benefit to the incorporation of electronic learning spaces into a classroom environment is that these spaces are particularly valuable as tools to facilitate collaboration. Great deals can be gained by collaborating and this can take place through the use of online forums, WEB2.0 tools, PLN’s, apps and an ever increasing number of educational and learning enhancing tools available online. Incorporating these into a classroom design can provide a scaffold for students to access information, share their knowledge and skills with peers, produce high quality presentations using various forms of multi-media and help teachers to facilitate all of these learning experiences from a remote and observatory position. Face-to-face teaching often becomes relatively scripted, however by incorporating online learning spaces into classrooms this allows learning to be varied and differentiated to a much further extent than traditional teaching does.
The problematic issue with this type of school wide technological integration is that unless you are an expert, or very capable hobbyist, in the field of IT, it could be difficult for any one of us to stay abreast of ever changing gadgets/devices/apps/software programs to be used to enhance our own and our student’s educational experiences. Another concern is that it is widely criticized that there are many apps labeled as “educational” that actually do little other than practice drill-and-repeat tasks (Murray. 2011. p.46). Because of this is of paramount importance that any program or app that is being regularly incorporated into a classroom for educational purposes must be thoroughly screened by qualified teaching staff to first ensure both its educational relevance and secondly the classroom teachers knowledge of how to appropriately use and incorporate this technology within a program.
Electronic learning spaces within the classroom are inevitably valuable, however to ensure their educational success it is crucial to ensure that educators take a joint approach and work collaboratively in the implementation of such an environment. Many teachers will feel more comfortable and confident when having had some background support prior to embarking on a new technology task To provide this support classrooms and schools need to be sharing technology and new electronic experiences with peers regularly so that staff can learn from one another as well as demonstrating ourselves as competent, capable and willing to learn users of electronic environments to students within our classroom.
Week 4
Beyond the Classroom
I do believe that the incursion and excursion experience leads to creativity and passionate learning by talking students from their regular classroom setting and putting them in a foreign and somewhat more exciting learning environment.
Incursions and excursions are memorable to students because they are an exciting break from the regular routine. I firmly believe that they create a valuable learning experience where students see the subject matter as something of more value, therefore when supported by teachers they achieve a shared learning goal more readily.
Because students may see leaving the classroom as a cue that what they are learning is more valuable than their everyday content, this promotes them to become more connected and engaged in the learning process than they would be if they were to study the same thing within the regular classroom setting. This strengthens the relationships between student and content, helping students to connect knowledge with skill.
Week 12
My five Key Learning Moments in EDFD459
When did I have an ahha! moment…
WordPress
Being required to use website creation and other online tools was very daunting to me as someone who would not consider herself web or technology savvy at all. I am very pleased to now be confidently using my wordpress as a means of communication. I am often surprised at how familiar I have become at using something I would’ve never considered a possibility 12 weeks ago.
Web 2.0 Technology
Before this course I had only heard of web 2.0 Technology in a core subject for EDFD last year. In that course we created a very basic website using Weebly surrounding an imaginary topic, I got to the end of that 12 weeks still not understanding really what Web 2.0 Technology was. I’m very pleased to say that this time around I do know what it is, and am actually embracing and enjoying using it.
Communities of practice
Through this course we have learnt about communities of practice by becoming one ourselves. Our in depth discussions, blogs and PLN communications have been interesting and expanded our knowledge on the subject at hand.
Liminal Spaces
The concept of liminal spaces are very interesting and I believe have been essential in understanding how we can create our own learning spaces that engage all learners, despite where they may be.
The Learning space
Learning that learning spaces are all around us, some created intentionally, some not. Right now I am sitting on my lounge typing away with my dog curled up next to me, I now know that this is a learning space I am in, because I am learning and engaged in what I am doing.
My Personal Learning Spaces – A slideshow
Teachers Without Borders
‘Teachers are the largest professionally trained group in the world – the key local catalysts of change and hope. Teachers Without Borders connects teachers to information and each other in order to bring about social change—worldwide‘.
Comment on this statement.
There is not one country in the world without teachers of some kind, it is because of this that we as teachers will always be relevant and hopefully beneficial to the people and their needs wherever we may be. Socially teachers have a huge impact on children’s perceptions, views, beliefs and context of where they belong in this would. Other than parents, a child may spend more time in their teachers care than any other adult in their life; therefore our role is one of great responsibility.
What do teachers do to reduce the load of this responsibility? They work together to achieve common goals, this may be one a day, week or year, regardless of the time frame teachers need to connect, talk and debrief with each other. This is exactly what Teachers Without Borders has done and is doing; they are connecting students through connecting teachers. Sharing ideas and helping each other to make their missions easier in the smallest of ways, which can have the biggest impact on their own and each other’s students lives.
Week 9
Liminal Spaces
I understand liminal space to be a stage of changing, it is as though you are farther from where you were and closer to where you would like to be yet still far from where you would like to end up. I see it as the in-between stage where you are still discovering and being assessed before moving onto something that you see as the end result. A liminal space is one with no boundaries, this allowing a learner to experiment and obtain a form of freedom, without actually being free. Liminal spaces allow one to experience as the experience occurs and working with that experience to move forward in a safe and supported way. Using liminal spaces in learning environments will both support a student whilst testing their boundaries, the idea that students may be both tested and supported at the same time in their strengths and weaknesses is one that I like, allowing for a more independent style of learning.
Week 7
My Personal Taxonomy
When preparing to do an assignment or piece of work these are the steps I often try to take, sometimes I am better at following them than others, but when I do I find it is very helpful in keeping me on track.
- Create an environment where you will work best– I find that I need to be in a very quiet and distraction free area in order to work effectively, therefore uni or a lecture theatre is not the place where I will retain information or create my best work. This space for me is at my kitchen table at 10pm, where it is quiet and I have access to tea!
- Organise what needs to be done – Read all the information that is available and make sure that you know not only what needs to be done but also all that is required and what you what the learning expectations are.
- Decide how this information can assist you in real life learning– Relate information back to you and make connections as to how this learning can benefit your work/study/life in some way. This makes the task more relatable and therefore enjoyable to you.
- Find information to assist you in completing the task –research and read about the topic to get an understanding of the concepts, gather information and have it in one spot to refer back to later – either electronic or hard copy.
- Ask for input from others –Often talking to people who are involved in the same project can be helpful to determine if you are on track or not, but also speaking o others who are not involved can bring to light new perspectives and understandings you may not have considered.
- Step away from it, take time to think – Create time to process the information and create a response that is personal to you. Reflect on key ideas and develop your own perspectives before resuming work on the project. This is important as it gives you time to create something unique and personal to you as a learner.
- Be kind to yourself – Often I will finish an assignment and think why did I not begin sooner, work harder, do more, stress less etc… it is important to remember that everything we do takes effort and energy and to respect the process while always looking for ways to improve next time, without being overly critical of ourselves or what we have achieved.
Week 4
Communities of Practice
My understanding of communities of practice is that they are groups of people who share a concern or a passion for something they do and learn how to do it better as they interact regularly. A person may be very involved or involved infrequently yet through working within a community and learning from activities and experiences you engage in as a common interest you create a community of practice. Communities of practice are not interest or hobby clubs or a geographical community, they require both passion and learning to come about.
The idea of a community of practice can be incorporated when developing physical learning spaces by arranging the space to encourage collaborative learning where students may share their own experiences with their peers as well as work collaboratively and problem solve as a team, in order to maximize learning experiences in the space.
My own PLN may be used to engage with others of the same interests, form ideas from prior experience and new findings and use these insights to take action and challenge issues.
Transformative learning is the process of the evolution of our already set mindsets by frames of referents; being the cultural and linguistic structures by which we construct meaning and own perspectives and how they change to become more inclusive by being susceptible to change.
This theory encourages me to consider the reading materials this week as I am interested by the idea of a community of practice and am considering how the new information I have not previously been exposed to may imprint my thoughts, despite having already been influenced by prior experiences. I am particularly interested in how this information can transform the process of curriculum planning and influence my own pedagogy as a teacher.
Exploring Learning Spaces 