My 1st Assignment - Learning Design Brief

What is eLearning? How is it seen as an effective pedagogy and design in the 21^st Century? Why is it necessary to use ICTs in the classroom? These are just some of the questions challenging and manifesting around effective pedagogy and learning design in the 21^st Century with the employment of ICTs in the classroom.

ELearning is comprised by three components, digital content, digital pedagogy and eLearning spaces (Education Queensland, 2008, “What is eLearning”, p.2).  It is about engaging a new digital era and most importantly engaging a new digital generation, the digital natives, who want to be engaged rather than enraged through effective eLearning design (Prensky, 2005).

In order for this to happen there is a range of learning theories and learning styles that have been developed over the years which have all impacted on the way in which we learn; they are behaviourism, cognitivism, constructivism connectivism and Gardner’s Multiple Intelligences.

How do we engage students? As teachers we have to be aware that all learners have strengths and weaknesses in certain learning styles and we have to cater for all learning styles so there are successful learning outcomes. In taking Gardner’s Multiple Intelligences test, I know that I have a strong learning style in interpersonal learning and I am weak in logical learning (Smith, 2008). As a teacher I think that promoting a range of learning styles will help learners to discover how to work in different learning environments and gain confidence within them. Learning styles can be integrated and can be used at the same time for the most effective learning outcomes to occur and having the choice of eight intelligences to teach can be ultimately freeing.

How do we get learners to learn? Even though, all learning theories inter-relate and cannot survive alone and need the support of other learning theories to flourish and be richly involved within the development of learning, there are two core learning theories that have been successful in supporting eLearning design and they are constructivism and connectivism.  

Constructivism (Mergel, 1998) is one of the core learning theories that has been embedded within each course activity and reflection in ICTs for learning design. Constructivist acknowledge that this particular learning theory is “actively attempting to create meaning … create knowledge as they attempt to understand their experiences” (Driscoll, 2000, as cited in Siemens, 2004, p. 2). It is a complex learning theory that allows learners to actively become involved and enriched within their learning environment through the use of ICT rather than being passive participants to learning development.

When relating constructivism to eLearning design, it is an extremely important learning theory because the learner is actively involved in their learning and can relate the knowledge to real-life situations and personalise it. This enhances the 4^th dimension of learning (Marzano & Pickering, 1997) in being able to create a deep and meaningful understanding of the knowledge and employ the knowledge in ambiguous circumstances. It lends the opportunity for students to take charge of their own learning and it promotes collaboration between learners exchanging and commenting on their ideas. Learners become independent and have a sense of autonomy and ownership of their work. For example, in the past two weeks I have been participating in Wiki and Blog activities. There have been three main activities where these learning theories are illustrated in action:

ÿ         The Profile Wiki – I created a personal profile page which reflected on who I am and why I want to do this course

ÿ         The Learning Theories Wiki – is where I joined up with a partner to collaborate on a reading about Gardener’s Multiple Intelligences and used the thinking routine PMI to promote high order and complex thinking

ÿ         The Mobile Phone Wiki – used De Bono’s Hats as a scaffold to evaluate and analyse the use of mobile phones in the classroom.

These activities enabled me to gain knowledge through experience, I found I was actively involved in my learning and that my work was more authentic and developed in the high order thinking category of learning.

Connectivism (Siemens, 2004) is a more recent learning theory designed in particular to suit the digital age. It is defined by Siemens as to where “learning can reside outside of ourselves (within and organisation or a database), is focused on connecting specialised information sets, and the connections that enable us to learn are more and more important than our current state of knowing” (Siemens, 2004, p.3). Connecting starts at the individual then gradually feeds to networks and organisations; this amplifies “learning, knowledge and understanding through the extension of a personal network … the epitome of connectivism” (Siemens, 2004, p.4).  In fairness, what Siemens is trying to portray is that connectivism is about networking and gaining knowledge through connecting with sources and he believes that accessing the content and maintaining knowledge flow is far more important than the content itself. I agree with his views on connectivism and valuing the importance of being able to access and find information these days rather than knowing all of the content. We cannot experience everything so by interacting with other people’s experiences “my knowledge in my friends’ is an axiom for collecting knowledge through collecting people… people become the surrogate for knowledge” (Siemens, 2004, p.3). We are a global entity and there is no escaping the fact that we need to teach students on how to communicate in this global space. ICTs in the classroom are the key for enabling students to participate effectively within the global workforce, it is vital for connections to be established and nourished in order for knowledge economy survival.  

When relating connectivism to eLearning design, it encompasses ultimate value and meaning in being able to connect and engage with information communication technologies (ICTs) without having to relate to personal experiences and internal, individualistic activities. “Connectivism provides insight into learning skills and tasks needed for learners to flourish in a digital era” (Siemens, 2004, p.4) and promotes strong links with ICTs and other learners to succeed in learning. For instance, working within the Wikis and Blogs, there was a connection with ICT and human engagement which allowed me to collaboratively construct my knowledge and analyse my personal experiences.

Being able to connect and collaborate with other learners participating in the online Wikis and Blogs improved my own personal learning and experiences. I recommend exercising the constructivism and connectivism learning theories in eLearning design because it allows you to work actively in your work, establish a networking strategy which creates deep critical thinking of the knowledge through discussion with peers and evaluating and reflecting on your experiences.

For effective learning and teaching to take place there are three key learning frameworks that support eLearning design, they are:

ÿ         TPACK

ÿ         Revised Blooms Taxonomy

ÿ         Learning Engagement Theory – “is intended to be a conceptual framework for technology-based learning and teaching” (Kearsley & Shneiderman, 1999, para. 1).

The Wiki activities all had strong ties to the development of complex reasoning processes and high order thinking.

In focussing on the Revised Blooms Taxonomy framework, high order thinking is a mechanism used from the revised cognitive domain of Blooms Taxonomy where remembering, understanding and applying correlate with lower order thinking and analysing, evaluating and creating are associated with higher order thinking (Anderson & Krathwohl, 2001). This particular framework must resume and be sequenced in consecutive steps where one must remember information before being able to understand it, understand it before applying it and so forth. The use of employing Blooms revised Taxonomy as a conceptual framework supports the success of eLearning design. It does this by emphasising the importance from simple reasoning to complex reasoning and it promotes high order thinking. This in turn leads to deep analytical thinking and understanding of the content that can be stored in the long term memory as it has been through the cognitive ladder of Blooms Taxonomy.

The Learning Engagement Theory (Kearsley & Shneiderman, 1999) is a key learning framework which integrates well with Blooms Taxonomy, it gives the basis for blooms taxonomy to work from and create a nourishing learning environment because it is addressed as “setting the valued learning context for learners” (Readings: Effective e.Learning Design, 2011). There are three components within this framework that are essential for effective eLearning design; they are RELATE, CREATE and DONATE (Kearsley & Shneiderman, 1999).

The relate component emphasises collaboration between learners where they facilitate their own learning, problem solve and make decisions. It is all about communication and collaboration of ideas which gives learners the motivation to participate and become active and present participants in a collaborative learning context. The relate component was highly valued in the Wiki activities, ICTs was essential for being able to communicate and collaborate with other Flex students.

The second component is create which “makes learning a creative, purposeful activity” (Kearsley & Shneiderman, 1999, para. 7). It gives learners the opportunity to control their learning and perform activities which challenge the mind and inspire creativity through project-based activities. In the Wikis you could create you own content which challenged the mind and produced critical thinking and reflection.

The third component is donate, where authenticity is ignited and projects are applied to a real-life context that can be useful and relevant in today’s society for an outside customer or organisation. The reason why I believe learning engagement theory is a relevant learning design framework for the 21^st century is because it promotes engagement not just “individualized instruction and interactivity” (Kearsley & Shneiderman, 1999, para. 9) with a piece of technology but engagement with humans through technology. These researchers state that “the difference between engagement and interactivity reflects the shift in thinking about computers in education as communication tools rather than some form of media delivery devices” (Kearsley & Shneiderman, 1999, para. 9). We are gradually indentifying with the use of ICTs in the classroom as effective pedagogy and communication tools rather than just outlets for delivering information.

In basing these conceptual frameworks around my eLearning design framework will have positive outcomes for my learners and promote development in complex reasoning processes within the classroom. Hopefully my students will carry these frameworks through life and be able to not only recognise and interpret knowledge but be able to comprehend, apply, deconstruct and investigate how it works. That is where using thinking routines like SWOT, PMI and De Bono’s Thinking Hats are useful in scaffolding these conceptual frameworks within eLearning design.

How do we participate in high order thinking and develop complex reasoning processes? The scaffolding thinking routines such as the use of PMI and De Bono’s Thinking Hats (de Bono, 1992) were successful in supporting and enhancing the online spaces such as the Wikis. These thinking routines shift the activities from becoming descriptive pieces of work to highly analytical and academically advanced pieces of work. The use of the PMI thinking routine in the Learning Theories Wiki activity enabled my partner and I to think at the complex end of the Blooms Taxonomy framework while the De Bono’s Thinking Hats changed my views on the use of mobile phones in the classroom by critically assessing each individual hat and drawing conclusions from them.

The learning theories, the learning styles, the thinking routines scaffolding online spaces and the learning design frameworks have effectively supported and enhanced eLearning design and I intend to utilise and nurture these theories and conceptual frameworks for my future eLearning design frameworks which will engage and have a positive impact on the lives of our 21^st Century learners.

References

Anderson, L., & Krathwohl, D. (2001). Bloom’s introduction: Bloom's Revised

Taxonomy. Retrieved from http://edorigami.wikispaces.com/Bloom%27s+-+Introduction

De Bono, E. (1992). Edward de Bono's Six Thinking Hats. Retrieved from

http://www.kurwongbss.eq.edu.au/thinking/Hats/hats.htm

Education Queesnland. (2008). Smart Classroom Bytes. Retrieved from

http://education.qld.gov.au/smartclassrooms/pdf/scbyte-elearning.pdf

Kearsley, G., & Shneiderman, B. (1999).  Engagement Theory: A framework for

technology-based teaching and learning. Retrieved from

http://home.sprynet.com/~gkearsley/engage.htm

Marzano, R.J., & Pickering, D.J. (1997). Dimensions of Learning: teacher’s manual

(2^nd ed.). Colorado, America: McREL.

Mergel, B. (1998). Instructional Design & Learning Theory. Retrieved from

http://www.usask.ca/education/coursework/802papers/mergel/brenda.htm#The%20Basics%20of%20Behaviorism

Prensky, M. (2005). Engage me or enrage me, what today’s learners demand, 60-64.

Retrieved from http://www.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/erm0553.pdf 

Readings: Effective e.Learning Design. (2011). Australia: Moodle CQU university.

Siemens, G. (2004). Connectivism: a learning theory for the digital age, 1-5.

Retrieved from http://www.elearnspace.org/Articles/connectivism.htm 

Smith, M.K. (2008). Howard Gardner, Multiple intelligences and education.

Retrieved from http://www.infed.org/thinkers/gardner.htm  

My eLearning Design Framework

In my learning design I wish to underpin the two core learning design frameworks of the revised Blooms Taxonomy and the Learning Engagement theory.

The coginitive domain of Blooms Taxonomy is a framework which promotes low order thinking and high order thinking through a set of consecutive steps that begin with remembering knowledge to understanding it, understanding it to applying it and so forth. At the end of the cognitive ladder a degree of high order thinking has taken place which means that learning outcomes has been successful. The last three components of high order thinking are analysing, evaluating and creating.

I will profile my students and guide them through the process of gaining knowledge to be able to use knowledge in a complex and in depth way which promotes the 4^th DoLE learning theory of deep and meaningful understanding of the knowledge.

The Learning Engagement Framework promotes the Relate, Create and Donate processes which give a basis for blooms taxonomy to work from and create a nourishing learning environment. The first principle is to be able to relate to other people and be active and present in a collaborative learning context. The second principle is to create and perform activities which challenge the mind and inspire creativity through project-based activities. Then there is donate, have an authentic setting in which you can apply the content to a real-life situation which would be relevant in today’s society.

In basing these conceptual frameworks around my eLearning design will have positive outcomes and promote a complex development in gaining and using knowledge within the classroom. Hopefully students will carry these frameworks through life and be able to not only assess and describe knowledge but comprehend how it works. That is where using thinking routines like SWOT, PMI and De Bono’s thinking hats are useful in scaffolding these conceptual frameworks for eLearning design.

Your Learning Design Framework (which may not be relevant to all of the headings)

I learnt that learning design frameworks are essential for creating successful learning outcomes. My learning design framework relates to the Blooms Taxonomy (Anderson & Krathwohl, 2001) framework and Learning Engagement theory (Kearsley & Shneiderman, 1999). These two conceptual frameworks help to promote an effective learning environment.

Drawing on personal experiences which demonstrate the way in which I design my framework.

Using and accessing the internet and emails helps the learning design framework to emerge and be fulfilled. Previous experiences with forums and peer evaluations help to design my learning framework.

Have a learning design framework that not only teaches content to learners but engages them as well. An effective pedagogy is designed through effective learning design frameworks.

My learning design framework will be expected to cater for a diverse range of students, this makes it an essential and vital component of teaching, making sure everyone and anyone can benefit from my learning design framework.

It led me to understand what makes for successful learning outcomes. The need to create an effective learning design framework is essential for a flourishing supportive online learning environment.

Anderson, L., & Krathwohl, D. (2001). Bloom’s introduction: Bloom's Revised

Taxonomy. Retrieved from http://edorigami.wikispaces.com/Bloom%27s+-+Introduction

Kearsley, G., & Shneiderman, B. (1999).  Engagement Theory: A framework for

technology-based teaching and learning. Retrieved from

http://home.sprynet.com/~gkearsley/engage.htm

Scaffolding the blog reflections in this way

The blog gave me somewhere to post my activities and gave me a supportive foundation to showcase my findings for others to see and provide feedback and guidance.

Constructing your own content to fit in your blog rather than just reading information and regurgitating it, you apply it to your own personal learning site.

A blog goes through a cognitive stage developing each memory through the use of the revised Blooms taxonomy; remembering, understanding, applying, analysing, evaluating and creating. 

Repeat use of the blog and posting information creates a sense of achievement within the blog and promotes more postings which is a behaviourist learning theory.

Blogs can easily connect the learner to other links within the blogs and other student blogs, which is a scaffolding technique that supports your learning and can connect you with the accurate content.

Allowing students to be creative within their blogs but still acknowledging certain theories and educational patterns. The blog is a scaffold for being able to openly collaborate on ideas with other students.

You get to scaffold your own blog reflections in your desired way, some people scaffold videos and links while others use diagrams and pictures.

Scaffolding reflections in a blog enables students to put there ideas across and share them without anyone else changing their work which the wiki’s can do.

Mobile phones wiki reflection

The mobile phones wiki helped me to grasp certain ideas from a reading and develop them through the use of De Bono’s thinking hats (de Bono, 1992). This scaffolding thinking routine enabled me to critique and evaluate at a high order of thinking. This was an extremely valuable learning activity because throughout reflecting on the questions of the De Bono’s thinking hats my perceptions were changed and influenced to think outside the box.

Constructivism is evident in this particular activity because I drew on past experiences where mobile phones were seen as a distraction and only used for social uses. Now, I have reconstructed my knowledge and changed my thoughts and created new experiences where I can see mobile phones being a useful and important educational tool in the classroom.

Once again, through acknowledging new evidence and ideas I have revamped my schemata and through such a drastic schemata change from negative to positive thoughts surrounding mobile phones in the classroom, I now have a better chance of storing these changed schemata’s in my long term memory.

By using different scaffolding techniques and acquiring more analytical content through the wiki, I believe this behaviourism of learning is moving me in the direction of finding the relevant facts and relating them to a high order of thinking.

Going to the source to find the correct information is crucial, in regards to the e-learning space, you are constantly connecting with information which needs to be filtered and/or reflected upon.

De Bono’s thinking hats is an excellent tool for establishing high order thinking and creating a deeper understanding of the knowledge been illustrated. I would definitely introduce the De Bono’s thinking hats in the classroom because for it to change my perceptions of mobile phones in the classroom through connecting with each of the six hats is an excellent reflective, thought provoking tool. For instance, I believed that mobile phones in the classroom were a distraction and social device until I got to the creative hat in De Bono’s theory and started to reinvestigate my thoughts and see the purpose of mobile phones in the classroom as a positive learning experience.

The mobile phone wiki relates to the majority of learners, nearly every student would have a mobile phone and can see the benefits and negatives of using them within a classroom. Most people can relate to having a mobile phone and what they are used for in their own lives. I know I only use my phone for texting but I know if I learnt how to use the internet and to download off them I would be using the device more effectively.

Once again the activity is a wiki, this time you can see all responses on the wiki at once. For me, the benefits of participating in a wiki like this, is that there is a range of critique and analysis which leads to informed understanding but I found that when everyone was posting to the wiki it just made the page look so busy that I didn’t know where to begin to even start reading. I am a sequential leaner and I like to see answers to questions in order. Also, I struggled to upload my responses to the wiki due to there being so many responses, so I uploaded my responses to my blog. Wikis are a great way to navigate through the content and ideas of the theory but this particular wiki was just too disorganised on the page which created confusion and frustration.

De Bono, E. (1992). Edward de Bono's Six Thinking Hats. Retrieved from

http://www.kurwongbss.eq.edu.au/thinking/Hats/hats.htm

Learning theories wiki reflection

Within the learning theories wiki we had to choose a partner and examine a reading in great depth. This was a really helpful learning task for me. I realised why we had to proceed with this task because we could work with others and discuss our ideas in depth. It was an expert jigsaw; I could compare and evaluate my scaffold of ideas with my partner which established deeper meaning around the reading. I found that working online with a partner was flexible because we worked over email and by phone but I still found it difficult to not be face to face with my partner and interact instantaneously with my partner.

I believe that working online doesn’t support all learning styles and needs, because it only corresponds with some visual and auditory learning needs. Social interaction and human contact I still think is an invaluable learning experience which benefits most students in a learning environment.

The PMI thinking routine is an excellent scaffolding technique. It helped me to extend my learning from lower order thinking to higher order thinking which is a learning design framework created by Blooms taxonomy. The PMI thinking routine provoked an analytical process rather than just a descriptive process which helps to identify key points within the reading. 

The value of the learning theories wiki is learning how to work with a fellow student who lives 500 miles away. The PMI scaffolding technique we used is helpful in promoting high order thinking rather than just recalling information from the reading. My partner and I used the PMI on the multiple intelligence article developed by Gardner (Smith, 2008). I really enjoyed collaborating with a fellow student and felt I understood the theory better through discussing it with someone else. This was an extremely efficient and valuable task because I learnt that there are many different view points and concepts that my fellow student conveyed. Other wikis enabled me to scaffold my ideas on other learning theories. This saved time and I got the essence of the learning theories.

Working together with a fellow partner, discussing ideas and being able to adapt to different ideas and view points. Organising and sharing critical analyse with one other develops a sense of pride and motivation.

My partner and I constructed and evaluated information from the reading using the PMI thinking routine. To obtain thought provoking analysis we related the knowledge and content of the reading to a real-life situation in the teaching realm or school realm and from there we gained a comprehension of the knowledge and could apply it.

When we read the multiple intelligence reading, we used our sensory memory which then shifted into our working memory where we gained comprehension of the ideas within the reading. By applying the knowledge to a real-life context enabled us to shift certain ideas and concepts to our long term memory.

For instance, I can acknowledge that each learner has a learning style and teachers need to be able to embrace, cater and nourish a range of them to create successful learning outcomes for their learners.

Following on from the profile wiki, I felt more comfortable with editing this wiki and this is due to repetition and external experiences surrounding the development of a wiki.   

Through been able to connect with a partner, we were able to discuss and comment on each other’s ideas. I used many ICTs to finish this task. For a start I emailed my partner, I found her email address on the moodle site. Then, once we agreed to be each others partners, we drew up a table each using the PMI scaffold, we each emailed each other our table and from there my partner rang me and we discussed our ideas before we posted them to the wiki. It was about connecting to your partner but to ICT’s as well, such as email and the same learning space, the wiki.

Yes this is a valid exercise that reaches a range of diversities and when different diverse backgrounds are grouped together many positive and conversant ideas are introduced. My partner is from America and I am from NZ, so when we discussed our ideas and concepts surrounding the reading, there was great debate on what country did it like this and which country did it like that. The wiki gives students a base structure and foundation but still allows them to give their own opinions and thoughts rather than make the wiki rigid and forceful like traditional methods.

Learning to work with a partner through telecommunication and via email is essential for an online e-learning strategy. As the learning engagement theory suggests that an e-learning design and space is not about interacting with a machine or ICT but engaging with other students through the use of e-learning strategies like the wikis and email. This supports learning by establishing time management and organising times to ring each other and get tasks completed through ICT.

Smith, M.K. (2008). Howard Gardner, Multiple intelligences and education.

Retrieved from http://www.infed.org/thinkers/gardner.htm  

Blog Reflections as a Journal

The blog reflections, as a journal, allow people to view my blog and provide relevant feedback to my work which helps me self-assess my ideas and concepts. I like the style of a journal blog because it is informal and not all in academic writing which gives my fellow peers’ a quick and easy read, but still engages the main ideas and concepts of the theories. I also, found that using a journal style blog has been very rewarding in the fact that I can read others and make sure that I am on the right track with my work.

Also, I can critique what others thought worked and what didn’t work for them. However, I do find that there are many distractions while working on a blog or on a webpage, there are links to too many different sources and that sometimes caused me to procrastinate and not focus on the task at hand. Although, the benefit with the blogs and moodle site is that everything is accessible and easy to use, it is right at your fingertips.

Contructivism is used in the blog reflections; I applied new information and knowledge to my own personal experiences and collaborated with other students which in return helped me to comprehend this new knowledge. I found that I constructed my own learning and knowledge by using the blog as a reflection journal.

I used cognitivism in this activity by reading the course materials and participating in the activities which has provided me with the relevant content. Within my blog I can evaluate and reflect on the knowledge that I have learnt. The blog allows me to develop a cognitive constructivism approach, gaining schemas and then applying the knowledge to form experience with it.

With behaviourism, I found that the blog was my own personal journal which, through constant logging in and clicking on the tools to get a desired result, helped me to learn how to use my blog. Through repetition to discover the links within my blog, this developed my knowledge in what I can do with my blog.

Connecting to the material and finding the vital information was critical for my reflections on activities and tasks within my blog. I still think that the other learning theories are vital for learning new information. Even though I can find the right information, I still need to be able to understand and respond to it.

I believe that using a blog as a journal of your learning journey meets the diverse range of students because each student can create their blog to suit their learning style; whether it is appealing to their learning style of visual and/or auditory. Students can refer back to previous discussions and students can demonstrate within their blog an understanding of their learning experiences. A great place to vent.

By using a blog as a journal and reflecting on activities and tasks can be very helpful for gaining, applying and analysing work. Also, collaborating with other students through a learning space, that is their own, can give them the opportunity to experience independence and autonomy within their learning. It promotes High Order Thinking and I can create home work tasks for them to post on their blog and this will engage the digital native.

As an online e-learning strategy this is a useful tool for engaging and collaborating ideas with others. It gives students a space to express and reflect on their learning’s. Without a running blog it would be extremely difficult to collaborate on ideas with others and get a sense of teamwork. You would feel very alone within the course.  

Profile Wiki Reflection

This week I had to create my own profile wiki. It was a simple and effective activity that made me feel comfortable in starting my learning journey through scaffolds like wikis. Firstly, I watched the instructional web video on how to edit a wiki. This was my first engagement with ICTs and I was excited because it was different to any learning design that I had used before. This communication tool was my teacher.  Once I got to edit my wiki there were blurbs that prompted me in what to say. For my own personal experience, I was able to reflect on why I am doing this course and how valuable it is to share my story with others so we can help each other progress thorough this course, keep on the right track and give each other support. It was a great way to personalise my work and relate the activity to a real-life situation.


There are many links from the profile wiki to the leaning theory. I have discussed, evaluated and made judgements on how these learning theories have developed within this activity. The use of the learning theory, constructivism (Mergel, 1998) is evident in this activity. This learning theory bases the learning experience around internal experiences that each person has had. Through my own personal experiences I have endured, I drew knowledge from those experiences to make sense and meaning of the questions that were in the profile wiki. I felt highly involved and active in the wiki.


The learning theory cognitivism is visible as well. I learnt by reading and collecting knowledge through other profile wikis. I processed their information on their profile and by using this thinking process it helped me to relate some of my personal experiences back to my answers. I drew information from my own schemas and made connections to the profile questions.
Behaviourism is a learning theory which uses external experiences to produce a set of learning outcomes. There are external consequences for my learning. This particular activity was a part of the requirements of the week’s work. This wiki introduced me to how I can interact and share my profile with fellow students. My reward in doing this wiki is to meet other peers in my course who share the same interests as me and through this learning behaviour I now can receive and give support to other students throughout the course. Connectivism (Siemens, 2004) is the learning theory that I drew upon to connect and network with other learners profile wikis. It was so easy to access other people’s profiles they were all in the one online space which easily aided me in getting to know other learners. In order to answer my profile wiki blurbs, I drew on schemas that have been challenged, refined over due course that related to my own experiences and views on values and beliefs. I did not need to get information from a source or do any readings to answer the questions in my profile wiki. The comment I can make in regards to connectivism is that I viewed other peoples profile wikis to view their answers which helped me facilitate my own answers.


I feel that this profile wiki meets a wide range of diverse students. This particular eLearning design caters for all students.  Everyone can relate to the questions. It is about detailing and documenting your very own personal information and experiences. Every student has a story to tell about themselves and through the wiki all students can connect and collaborate within the profile wiki. This wiki, I believed may have helped shy people to come out of their shell and disclose their answers freely. An online space like a profile wiki, doesn’t force people to be impulsive, you can answer the questions in your own time, save it as a draft and think about your answers before posting it.

The design of this activity as an online eLearning strategy has been an important scaffolding technique towards learning and developing connections to other students. We have been able to connect with people that have similar interests or that have extraordinary interests. We are making connections with our fellow peers, this helps to form a sense of camaraderie and trust, and also, we have a support network within the course.

I was not concerned with my privacy, I am naturally an open person, so expressing and disclosing my life with my peers was not daunting as such. From this I have gained great course friends and learnt that a small task, like a profile wiki, has its benefits. What a great way to express who I was and relate to others in my course.

Mergel, B. (1998). Instructional Design & Learning Theory. Retrieved from

http://www.usask.ca/education/coursework/802papers/mergel/brenda.htm#The%20Basics%20of%20Behaviorism

Siemens, G. (2004). Connectivism: a learning theory for the digital age, 1-5.

Retrieved from http://www.elearnspace.org/Articles/connectivism.htm 

21st Century Learners

21^st Century Learners - Engage or Enrage

What is your belief and understanding of the nature of today's learners?

I believe and understand that the nature of today’s learners is diverse, innovative and involves ICT. All learners want to be engaged with exciting content that relates to real-life situations, explore this content through innovative and entertaining pedagogy and this occurs when ICT is embraced and is used as an integral part of learning.  

Is there substance to the "engage or enrage" argument?

Yes there is. These day’s learners expect to be engaged otherwise they become bored and enraged. Through the “arrival and rapid dissemination of digital technology” (Prensky, 2001), learners are becoming accustomed to instant information, diverse information, a digital language. They use “computer games, email, the Internet, cell-phones and instant messaging as integral parts of their lives” (Prensky 2001). They are the digital natives. Their thinking habits and patterns have changed compared to their predecessors, their digital immigrants, and they have formed a new language, a digital literacy. Learners from today expect to be engaged rather than the kids back then who were “less rich in media, less rich in communication, much less rich in creative opportunities for students outside of school” (Prensky, 2005).

There is a widening gap between the use of ICT in personal and social settings to formal educational settings. As discussed by Kukulska-Hulme & Traxler, “the rapid adoption of social technologies has resulted in a widening gap between the culture of the educational institutions and that of learners’ social lives” (Margaryan and Littlejohn, 2008). We are noticing and recognising that outside the formal setting of the classroom students are actively learning and participating “their way through complex multimodal environments, while in school they are expected to submit to a pedagogic

regime” (Margaryan and Littlejohn, 2008).

Students are using ICT as a social tool, however are integrating them into a educational environment by using texting as an interactive device with other students. When they will meet for study group, they also email each other their work for proof reading. ICT is changing the perceptions of students learning styles and patterns. They can gather and create their own knowledge which promotes High Order Thinking and are able “to make sense of their complex technologically enriched learning environment” (Margaryan and Littlejohn, 2008).

Researchers suggest that “students do not posses “a deep knowledge of technology, but

have a good understanding of what it can or cannot do for them” (Margaryan and Littlejohn , 2008). However, 21^st Century Learners expect to be taught in a traditional manner at school, they believe that when they enter a formal educational setting that they have to conform to the ideas of formal education. We are not teaching students how to use their ICTs in an educational setting which does not have to be rigid and serious but fun and exciting. If ICT motivates our learners in a social setting, why not incorporate it into a educational setting where students are exited and motivated to learn. “Students appear to be slower in developing adequate skills in using information technology in support of their academic activities" (Margaryan and Littlejohn, 2008), we need to engage our learners and make students aware of the educational benefits that ICTs can have on their learning.

I agree with Margaryan and Littlejohn that students are not participating in all technologies, they use technology as a way of sourcing information but most students do not share or collaborate online. This suggests to me that as teachers we have a duty to introduce wikis and blogs as a learning tool. Even though, students are not using blogs and wikis, doesn’t mean they don’t want to, they need to be taught how to use these functions and how these ICTs can improve and enhance their learning. Yes, there are low levels of usage within blogs and wikis but how come there is such high usage within ICT where social networking is concerned? It doesn’t mean students are not still enraged or just passive learners, they need to have the opportunity to participate in blogs and wikis. I have just been introduced to my first blog and wiki two weeks ago. I would have never used one before and never intended to. Now I realise how useful they are, how easily accessible they are and how students can share and become active in their learning.

Are the Engineering students more technologically-savvy and do they use technologies in more profound ways than Social Work students?

This particular statement has made me think and evaluate that there should be different learning styles to cater for when using ICT.

I am considered to be a digital native, born after 1980. I have only used the likes of Blackboard at university in my first degree and I only used it to link to online readings. I have never been shown how to create and use information communication technology, only access it.

The thing I find demanding about ICT is there is so many options, so many forums that you become overwhelmed. I have to be strict and just pick out the learning tools that help me learn because I understand that a VLE, virtual learning environment has to cater for a range of learning styles.

I have felt with the tasks however that there is support for all students with sharing and collaboration of ideas but with so many ideas you can become confused and frustrated that you are not on the right track or haven’t grasped a concept as well as you thought. This can be daunting.

“The findings show that many young students are far from being the epitomic global, connected, socially networked technologically-fluent digital native who has little patience for passive and linear forms of learning (Margaryan and Littlejohn, 2008). We cannot assume that all digital natives have access or understand this new ICT language and literacy.

Margaryan, A. & Littlejohn, A. (2008). Are digital natives a myth or reality?: Students’ use of

             technologies for learning. Retrieved from

            http://www.academy.gcal.ac.uk/anoush/documents/DigitalNativesMythOrReality-MargaryanAndLittlejohn-draft-111208.pdf

Prensky, M. (2005). Engage me or enrage me, what today’s learners demand, 60-64.

Retrieved from http://www.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/erm0553.pdf 

De Bono's Hats and Mobile Phones Wiki

Colour Hat Names of students adding ideas The colour perspective Your ideas, research, perspectives and arguments

Judgement:

What is wrong with this?
Why will this not work?
Is this safe?
Can this be done?

Question 1: Who will be paying for the phone usage and who will be maintaining and inspecting the use of the phones for educational purposes rather than personal use?
The screens are too small to work on and very hard to attract high order thinking. What happens if some are not charged? Also, mobile ringtones going off every 5 sec.

There are issues surrounding the privacy and security of the information held on the mobile phones which can be posted onto blogs.
There is “fear of distraction in class, cheating, inappropriate video recording of students and teachers, and the publication of captured material on sites like YouTube.” (Hartnell-Young and Heym, 2009).

Question 2: Teachers have little resources to control the content that can be filmed in the classroom, unless the teacher checks each phone before they leave the class which is time consuming.

Question 3: No, there are serious concerns surrounding privacy and security issues, someone in the class could post videos on YouTube. Privacy of content is a serious concern. Learners can engage with cyber-bulling within the classroom.

Question 4: I believe there is a way to advocate positive learning environments with the use of mobile phones in the classroom.
“If mobile phones are to be used in schools, certain issues must be addressed, including leadership and school culture; the attitudes of teachers, students and other influential parties; appropriate curriculum activities; professional development; technical integration and support; and a new approach to mobile phone policies.” (Hartwell-Young & Heym, 2009). Parents have to be involved as well for the success of mobile phones in the classroom.


The Process:

Where are we now?
What is the next step?
Where have we been?
What sort of thinking is needed?

Question 1: We are at the stage where we are introducing the mobile phone into the classroom little by little to acknowledge the phone as an educational tool rather than a social tool.

Question 2: As teachers we understand that our learners are apart of digital world and we must engage and recognise their needs for ICT and the mobile phone is just another tool to enhance their learning environment. Using mobile phones on a regular basis as educational tools during set tasks will definitely be the next step for teachers and schools.

Question 3: Exploring the benefits and negatives surrounding the ideas of using mobile phones in an educational context within the classroom. Teachers are realising the importance of technology and ICT and how phones have the capacity to improve and ignite learning.

Question 4: Way the pros and cons of mobile phones in the classroom. Way up the educational value that the mobile phones will create during set tasks. We need to have a clear and open mind and seek support from school members, staff and parents.

Creativity:

What new ideas are possible with this?
What is my suggestion for success?
Can I create something new?

Question 1: Mobile phones could be the start of more developed interaction and communication between teachers and students. Reminding students of important deadlines. Give learners a sense of autonomy and self-independence for their own learning.
However, teachers need for students to take on their own responsibilities because in the real-world no one is going to be reminding you every second of the day on what they should be doing.

Allowing students to access information freely and instantly within the classroom and providing a tool that helps them to proof read their work and engage with other ICT. It is a wonderful portable device.

It would be a powerful tool for cutting down time for instance, from drawing images to taking a photo and providing more time for evaluation and analytical processes to transpire.

Question 2: Only have mobile phones in the classroom purely for educational purposes and supervise the content on mobile phones closely. Create activities and tasks that engage the learners, so they want to participate in an educational manner. Use collaborative design to let learners discuss and evaluate their ideas.

Question 3: I can create a new way of assessing learners work and enabling them to use ICT tools such as spreadsheets, GPS, stopwatch, pdf files and capture still and moving images.

Feelings:

How do I feel about this?
What do I like about the idea?
What don't I like about
the idea?

Question 1: Firstly I felt extremely against the idea of mobile phones in the classroom because I believed they were disruptive and were crossing the fine line of the privacy realm for teachers and all students in the classroom.

Question 2: The opportunity to record certain data like science experiments and now I feel a mobile phone has the capacity to involve students in a range of tasks and can apply to certain stages of the learning process. Right from finding the facts to evaluating them.

Question 3: I can see the point of having spontaneity with the use of the phones and being able to record still or moving images in science projects but other ICT’s like, a digital camera, can do the same thing. I believed that it will take a while before students see mobile phones as an educational tool rather than a personal communication device. Texting in class could be an issue as well, not concentrating on the task at hand. How can teachers effectively assess the activity or task?


Benefits:

What are the good points?
Why can this be successful?
Why is this a good thing?

Question 1: Being able to use mobile phones for spreadsheets, GPS, stopwatch, pdf files and capture still and moving images.

Question 2: If there are strict guidelines on the use of mobile phones in the classroom then there can be reason for action and success within the development of learners and their learning.

Question 3: Involve and engage your learners and give them access to real-life situations and prepare them for the workforce and how they can use mobile phones as not only a social network but as an educational and business orientation.

Information:

What information do I have?
What are the facts?
What information do I need?
What do I want to KNOW?

Question 1: I have read the statistics and relevant readings on the topic of mobile phones in the classroom which have enabled me to evaluate, analyse and reflect on this issue.

Question 2: The facts are leading towards gradually introducing mobile phones in the classroom. There is reason to consider using mobile phones in the classroom.

Question 3: Empirical evidence is still insufficient and there needs to be more study done in this debate on whether mobile phones should be introduced into classrooms. It is a trial and error procedure and through one study there was a finding that older students were more open to using their mobile phones for educational purposes but younger students needed more encouragement.

Question 4: How teachers and schools are going to be able to control the data that enters the phones without breaching privacy laws and creating situations such as cyber bulling?
What activities and tasks can be performed on a mobile phone and how it will serve our learners success in their learning outcomes?

Gardener's Multiple Intelligences

P=Plus (All the benefits of the ideas presented in the readings)	M=Minus (All of the dangers/problems associated with the ideas in the readings)	I = Interesting (Elements that are ambiguous, difficult to make a decision on or elements that are outstanding and work)
I agree; that when we are born we have a range of multiple intelligences rather than a blank slate that could be trained anything. So, I agree with Gardner, that all eight intelligences are needed to live life well. It is good for learners and teachers to engage and connect with all intelligences from a holistic point of view and to be able to understand that all learners have strengths and weaknesses within these multiple intelligences. Teachers need to attend to all intelligences and develop new approaches to the classroom to meet the needs of a range of learners.	Gardner made the comment that these multiple intelligences were quite independent of each other. I disagree with this comment because I believe we learn by using many different intelligences at one time. For instance, when a lecturer is speaking and showing a powerpoint we are learning on both a visual and auditory platform which I believe enhances the opportunity to comprehend the content. Further on in the reading, he then describes that multiple intelligences “rarely operate independently. They are used at the same time and tend to complement each other as people develop skills or solve problems” (Gardner). This I agree with.	We have a unique blend of intelligences and we are required to cater and take advantage of all these intelligences in one classroom. Teachers can revise and reflect on their curriculum assessment and pedagogical strategies. It enables teachers to learn about their classroom dynamics and about their learners who are ultimately the fundamental key to teaching effectively.
This theory has made educators at least question their teaching practices and compelled them to revise their methods of assessing and pedagogical practices within the curriculum. They have questioned and there is “success in implementing practices that attend to the multiple intelligences theory.” Curriculum and assessment should not be rigid for multiple intelligences practices to work.	Robert Sternberg (researcher debating Gardener’s theory) does not look strongly at the particular material that the person is processing. Instead he looks to what he calls the componential, experiential and contextual facets of intelligence. I believe that it is still important to have valid and sound material to teach, this is where PCK takes form. Learners want to be interested by the material which enhances engagement and motivation within the classroom.	What is an intelligence? 'An intelligence' had to satisfy a range of criteria and must include, as a prerequisite, the ability to resolve 'genuine problems or difficulties' (ibid.: 60) within certain cultural settings. Making judgements about this was, however, 'reminiscent more of an artistic judgement than of a scientific assessment' (ibid.: 62). Who decides what an intelligence is? It seems that multiple intelligences rely on judgements rather than specific empirical evidence. There is not a properly worked-through set of tests to identify and measure the different intelligences.
I agree that educators should use multiple intelligences (MI) as a tool for promoting and encouraging a high standard of work within the classroom. The more students we can engage by connecting with MI’s the more high order thinking succumbs rather than using the theory has as an end in and of itself.	Sternberg argued that “musical intelligence and bodily-kinaesthetic intelligence are better approached as talents (they do not normally need to adapt to life demands).” I believe people to learn by rhythm and rhyme and by movement. I remember in science class we used to sing the mineral song to indentify certain minerals. Also, many people learn by physically doing and applying a theory or concept to a real-life situation.
I agree, that rather having eight intelligences to teach as been a constraint, it can be ultimately freeing to have a choice and to try mobilising different teaching styles.

 Simone Benoit

P=Plus (All the benefits of the ideas presented in the readings)	M=Minus (All of the dangers/problems associated with the ideas in the readings)	I = Interesting (Elements that are ambiguous, difficult to make a decision on or elements that are outstanding and work)
Firstly I agree with the main premise that a child can be at different stages of intelligence.  When a child comes to school certain areas of their intelligence may be higher as they have had more input to that area from their home culture.  One child may be more musically inclined than other child who has a higher reading skill	I question the idea about moral judgement coming into this theory as you can be a highly intelligent person who makes a bad moral judgement more due to an emotional decision rather than intellectual decision.	If I understand correctly is he saying that people with only base intelligence are the ones who can get led astray (amoral) if not properly educated.
Agree that a person will use a number of different intelligences at once to learn and solve problems	Howard Gardner even says “We must figure out how intelligence and morality can work together”, so even to him this is a grey area.	If we teach based on his Seven Intelligences theory we would allow children to think more freely as they are not constrained to one mode of thinking.  We need to allow them to grow their seven areas of intelligence which will make them greater human beings with better moral judgement.
Agree that if we are educated in all the intelligences we will have a better life as we are better rounded individuals.	Spiritual and Existential Intelligence – how is it measureable?  How can general education cater for this – a Catholic School can with religious study and provide spiritual, but not everyone goes to a Catholic School.	Moral Intelligence – if we are in touch with our seven intelligences and are using them to a greater capacity is moral intelligence a natural extension of them.  We are highly thinking individuals and from this we achieve moral intelligence?
Agree that education needs to be more flexible in approaching these learning needs.	Existential Intelligence would have to be taught through philosophy as an example.  But, this may not be seen as a core need and therefore not encouraged in teaching.
	The point is well taken in how do you measure these intelligences as they are more subjective, so therefore how can you really prove them?	I can see the point of Naturalist Intelligence because it is from cultural values which can be somewhat measureable. Does this relate to social/situational orientation to learning?

Referring links:
Learning Theories - what do they mean?

Profile wiki

Descriptor My name is Nadine Newman-Dempster and I am a GDLT student studying full time in secondary. My two teaching areas are English and Media. My previous degree was a Bachelor of Communications majoring in TV production.

My Age I am 23 years old

My family I am over here with my partner. I come from NZ. I have been here for 2 years now. But, all my family live in NZ, thank god for technology, so I can keep in touch.

My Involvement with ICT My involvement with ICT is fair, but I am going to need support in some areas. I am a digital immigrant. I feel I struggle with its jargon and I still like to see things in hardcopy.

Where do I live? Town, country, city? I live 30mins out of Bundaberg at the moment, so I am really keen to meet up with fellow Bundabergians for Tim Tams and a chat.

My hobbies? My hobby is horses. My partner and I run our own business in the horse industry, so it has to be our hobby, our passion, our lifestyle. Other hobbies I enjoy are singing; I sing within a trio of girls; and i enjoy going to the gym when I get time.

Work outside university? Hours I work? I do not have set hours to work when running our own business, but businesses are unpredictable so my hours can increase overnight, depending on what is happening.

My skills - how can I be of help to everyone? I feel I have a creative flair, and am a good problem solver. I try my best to make the situation positive and fair for everyone. Another skill I have is having a Mum who has worked in the education industry as a secondary teacher for over 40 years. Yey!!

Am I highly social or like learning on my own? Or something in-between? I am a highly social learner and feel I learn best by discussing problems and ideas with others. But around assignment time I like to put my head down and get it done without many distractions. I already feel a tad lost with all the links and URLs. It is overwhelming. I have to try and keep up.

My learning style - am I visual, kinaesthetic (hands on learner), auditory (like to listen to words, which includes reading because we read inside our heads!!) I am a visual leaner, so the multi-intelligence test says. But I feel that I do like to be hands on as well. I feel the understanding of the knowledge sinks into my long term memory better.

The subject matter I wish to focus on during this course. I wish to focus on all subject matter within the course in order to understand how I am going to become a secondary school teacher and also to obviously get good grades. I probably will focus on a particular subject if an assignment is drawing near.

I would say that this would be my most challenging course within the program because it can seem so foreign and takes me twice as long to understand things.

My favourite ICT tools I really enjoy using the internet, it helps with buying things online without stepping out of the house and also, I LOVE internet banking. So, easy and accessible. One of my must haves. I sound like a nerd.

Email contact My university email is S0209353@student.cqu.edu.au

Multiple Intelligences Test and learning design

Multiple Intelligences Test
Nadine Newman-Dempster


My learning style strengths are Musical - Music Smart, Interpersonal - People Smart, followed by Intrapersonal - Myself Smart.Logical - Number Smart was my weakest learning style but I believe that I use a range of learning styles for different learning circumstances. I believe as a teacher you have to cater for all learning styles to ensure that students are engaged with the content and that learning outcomes are successful.

As a teacher I think that promoting a range of learning styles will help learners to discover how to work in different learning environments and gain confidence within them.

I know as a learner I like to learn in a particular style but as a teacher I need to engage and provide a range of learning styles for all learners.

My learning design framework would include for:

Music Smart – turn on a stereo and get students to engage with the beat and rhythm of the music. When, I was at school, in my science class, we learnt the periodic table of elements in song, which helped me to remember the order of the elements.

People Smart – organise group work and discussions.

Myself Smart – give learners activities like quizzes and worksheets to complete which can then later on be discussed in a group.

Number and Logical Smart – give the class a case study and allow learners to solve problems within the case study and follow certain procedures.

Body Smart – physically role play the case study.

Word Smart – read text and draw mind maps using key words surrounding the case study

Nature Smart – allow learners to leave the classroom setting and sit outside on the grass under a tree.

Picture Smart – make sure visual representation is accessible and learners can gain content from graphs and photos.

As you can see all learning styles can be integrated and many of these learning styles can be used at the same time for the most effective learning outcome.