e-learning experiences

Jared wrote an interesting post on a topic that has aroused much controversy in terms of e-learning–the value of video games in an educational context. The arguments for video games having a place in education are of a constructionist nature, and, as Jared states, has the potential to enhance childrens’ planning and critical thinking skills. I think that video games may have a place in the classroom provided they are integrated in a meaningful way. Tokenistic use of education is never good, and I’m sure that if a teacher wanted to have students author their own games they would need to have a sound justification for this.

According to the Australian Communications and Media Authority, a recent survey undertaken has indicated that almost all Australian families with children have a computer, nine out of ten of which also have access to the internet. This is not surprising to me, since having been out on prac thus being able to speak with primary school students, I noticed that many of them are very experienced with email and programs such as myspace and msnmessenger. Even more impressive was the fact that the year 2/3 class I had last year were able to write, save and show powerpoint presentations to their classmates as well as email copies of the task to their teacher.

The study stated that the amount of time spent using the internet by students increased as they got older, which was not surprising. Parental attitudes towards children’s internet usage was mostly expressed in terms of educational value, with some citing communication with friends–I personally believe communicating with friends is a big one for upper primary aged children, a few of which asked me for my email address while I was on prac! I think the almost blanket access to the internet of primary school aged children has many implications for the classroom, since by the time I am teaching my own class it will be assumed all students will have access at home as well as school. This opens up a wide range of possibilities for setting online homework or online submission of assignments.

Digital narratives are something we will be making over the last few weeks of our e-learning course this semester. I came across this article on digital story telling which asserts that in order to make sense of the information children are bombarded with on a daily basis, it is important that teachers provide students with activities–like digital storytelling–in order to develop their analytical skills. The article suggests using digital story telling in lessons by moving beyond students creating their own narrative and towards using non-fictional events and presenting them from a different perspective–for example, writing a digital story in the first person which describes the feelings of someone who experienced something at a given historical event. I like the idea of using digital narratives in this way since it integrates the technology in a meaningful and relevant way, by integrating the story telling with a number of KLAs, in this example HSIE and English.

The article emphasises the idea that students are actually engaging with information in a more personal and meaningful way, rather than presenting cold, hard facts. I particularly like the way the author concluded the article: We want students to be able to artfully use the digital media in ways that dance ideas together into illuminated understandings — digital storytelling is a powerful process that taps into these skills.

So do I!

Providing schools with the equipment they need in order to incorporate effective e-learning into the classroom is a hot topic for the Australian Federal and State governments, according to this SMH article from early last month. In my experience during prac over the last two years, I have been to two public schools and the disparity between the availability of technology between the two could not have been more apparent. From what I have seen in the classroom, the comment Bob Lipscombe makes in the article that “the use of computers for all age groups is now embedded in the delivery of courses from maths to literacy, science and human society” is a flawed generalisation that does not apply to many schools which do not have the resources to use technology in this way.

I do agree however, with Alexander Roche who argues that technology in the classroom is only beneficial if used in a meaningful way. Part of the struggle for teachers in implementing technology in the classroom is finding time and justification for including new techniques and learning methods in classrooms that are already bursting with crowded curriculum. However I do believe that in time and with carefully thought out and implemented strategies, technology may be used in the classroom in an integrated and beneficial way… I have one idea for using technology in the classroom integrated with one KLA which I will speak about in my next posting!