Monday, July 19, 2010
Week 2: Jason's Brain!
After looking at everybody's blog, I can see that many have done some stuff on learning styles and multiple intelligences. I have decided to follow the group so watch this space; mine is coming when I get time.
Sunday, July 18, 2010
Week 2: Jason's Soapbox!
This week I learnt how to add links to my blog. It was not easy as the "configure link list" is a bit confusing but with persistence (good “Habits of Mind”) I eventually got to the bottom of it. For those who are having trouble with this I have put instructions at the bottom of this blog!
This week has been a catch-up week for me; I have lots happening in my life at the moment but no good excuses to go with. I am going to (if I have the time) put any instructions that I write for applications onto my blog. I like to write instructions for things I do as that way I can keep my brain clear for important things. This also helps me to rationalise and streamline my thoughts. I have also made it my prerogative to use my “Jason's Soapbox” section of my blog to outline my thoughts in a rather disorganised and informal way (should make for better reading than all that formal stuff surrounding it). So expect these types of entries to be chaotic and somewhat like a self gratifying therapy session.
I want to use my blog as a form of art as well as a platform for formal discussion. I hope to merge my studies, professional experiences, thoughts and experiences onto one platform, “isn’t that what a blog is all about”?! I know that we can all copy from each other and produce verbatim blog pages but is that what a blog is about. I am also exploring this new medium (blogs) and from what I can see so far a blog needs to be fun and highly individual if they are to be fun to do and read.
How to add multiple links:
1: Select design in the top right corner of the blog page (after you have logged in of course). This takes you to the “add and arrange page elements” page.
2: Click on “add a gadget” and the "add a gadget" page loads.
3: Click on “link list” and the “configure link list box loads”.
4: The title is the name of the box in the “add and arrange page elements” page. I decided to call mine Jason’s links, it is not called this in your blog (this name is for editing purposes).
5: The “new site name” is the name the link will take in your blog.
6: “New site URL” is where you paste the web address you want a link with (I copy and paste web address I like into a word document titled "web addresses").
7: The part of this that I had trouble with was adding multiple links. When you need to add multiple links, go to the little spanner that appears on the bottom right of your links box and click it.
8: Do not change the “title”, instead type the name of the new link name in the “new site name” box and paste its address into the “new site URL” box and click the “add link” tab then the “save” button.
9: Now you should have a new tab with the link. My links are at the top of my blog.
This week has been a catch-up week for me; I have lots happening in my life at the moment but no good excuses to go with. I am going to (if I have the time) put any instructions that I write for applications onto my blog. I like to write instructions for things I do as that way I can keep my brain clear for important things. This also helps me to rationalise and streamline my thoughts. I have also made it my prerogative to use my “Jason's Soapbox” section of my blog to outline my thoughts in a rather disorganised and informal way (should make for better reading than all that formal stuff surrounding it). So expect these types of entries to be chaotic and somewhat like a self gratifying therapy session.
I want to use my blog as a form of art as well as a platform for formal discussion. I hope to merge my studies, professional experiences, thoughts and experiences onto one platform, “isn’t that what a blog is all about”?! I know that we can all copy from each other and produce verbatim blog pages but is that what a blog is about. I am also exploring this new medium (blogs) and from what I can see so far a blog needs to be fun and highly individual if they are to be fun to do and read.
How to add multiple links:
1: Select design in the top right corner of the blog page (after you have logged in of course). This takes you to the “add and arrange page elements” page.
2: Click on “add a gadget” and the "add a gadget" page loads.
3: Click on “link list” and the “configure link list box loads”.
4: The title is the name of the box in the “add and arrange page elements” page. I decided to call mine Jason’s links, it is not called this in your blog (this name is for editing purposes).
5: The “new site name” is the name the link will take in your blog.
6: “New site URL” is where you paste the web address you want a link with (I copy and paste web address I like into a word document titled "web addresses").
7: The part of this that I had trouble with was adding multiple links. When you need to add multiple links, go to the little spanner that appears on the bottom right of your links box and click it.
8: Do not change the “title”, instead type the name of the new link name in the “new site name” box and paste its address into the “new site URL” box and click the “add link” tab then the “save” button.
9: Now you should have a new tab with the link. My links are at the top of my blog.
Week 2: Productive Pedagogies.
The Productive Pedagogies is a framework produced by the Department of Education in Queensland and is a reflective framework for teachers. It allows teachers to reflect on and align what they are teaching with important pedagogical practices.
The State of Queensland (Department of Education) (2002) notes that,
“Teachers should use the Productive Pedagogies framework to consider:
1: Are all the students I teach, regardless of background, engaged in intellectually challenging and relevant curriculum in a supportive environment?
2: How do my teaching and assessment practices support or hinder this?
3: What opportunities do I have to critically reflect upon my work with colleagues?”
The Productive Pedagogies are broken into four main pedagogical practice headings including:
1: Intellectual quality:
Does what teachers teach produce in students a high level of academic quality and make them think and consider what they are learning.
2: Supportive classroom environment:
Does the classroom and teacher function as a supportive and fair platform for students to work and learn in?
3: Recognition of difference:
Does the learning environment provide learning for everybody and support diversity in learning and student population.
4: Connectedness:
Is the knowledge taught relevant to the student and the world outside the classroom? Can students use their knowledge meaningfully and are appropriate linkages with other subject areas and topics realised through good teaching practice.
Reference:
The State of Queensland (Department of Education). (2002). prodped.pdf.
Retrieved July 15, 2009, from The Department of Education, Training and the Arts web site: http://education.qld.gov.au/public_media/reports/curriculum-framework/productive-pedagogies/pdfs/prodped.pdf
Here is a link to a good site:
http://education.qld.gov.au/public_media/reports/curriculum-framework/productive-pedagogies/pdfs/prodped.pdf
The State of Queensland (Department of Education) (2002) notes that,
“Teachers should use the Productive Pedagogies framework to consider:
1: Are all the students I teach, regardless of background, engaged in intellectually challenging and relevant curriculum in a supportive environment?
2: How do my teaching and assessment practices support or hinder this?
3: What opportunities do I have to critically reflect upon my work with colleagues?”
The Productive Pedagogies are broken into four main pedagogical practice headings including:
1: Intellectual quality:
Does what teachers teach produce in students a high level of academic quality and make them think and consider what they are learning.
2: Supportive classroom environment:
Does the classroom and teacher function as a supportive and fair platform for students to work and learn in?
3: Recognition of difference:
Does the learning environment provide learning for everybody and support diversity in learning and student population.
4: Connectedness:
Is the knowledge taught relevant to the student and the world outside the classroom? Can students use their knowledge meaningfully and are appropriate linkages with other subject areas and topics realised through good teaching practice.
Reference:
The State of Queensland (Department of Education). (2002). prodped.pdf.
Retrieved July 15, 2009, from The Department of Education, Training and the Arts web site: http://education.qld.gov.au/public_media/reports/curriculum-framework/productive-pedagogies/pdfs/prodped.pdf
Here is a link to a good site:
http://education.qld.gov.au/public_media/reports/curriculum-framework/productive-pedagogies/pdfs/prodped.pdf
Week 2: The Dimensions of Learning.
The Dimensions of Learning (DoL) is a learning framework that is considered to be a compendium of our latest understandings of best practice pedagogical practice. The DoL is a ready reference that is particularly useful for planning and unit development. It is a reflection of what good teaching practice should utilise in giving students the best chance of achieving learning outcomes.
The central concept of the DoL is that teaching should be rich, diverse and build on prior knowledge and also provide links with other knowledge and the real world. Critically, the DoL is peer reviewed and authored by teaching professionals.
The DoL is constructed from 5 interlocking dimensions, “the dimensions of learning” and include the following:
I am going to discuss the dimensions from a teacher’s point of view!
Dimension 1: Attitudes and Perceptions:
The DoL argues that the first dimension in the learning process is making sure that the students firstly; feel comfortable in their learning environment, and secondly; feel comfortable with what is being taught and how it is being presented (Marzano and Pickering, 2006).
Dimension 2: Acquire and Integrate knowledge:
The next thing a teacher needs to do is help students acquire and integrate knowledge. The DoL suggests that this is done through breaking knowledge into declarative and procedural components. This is done as these two knowledge types are acquired and integrated differently and modern psychologists think that knowledge as, “declarative and procedural” is a primary distinction the brain makes when taking on new knowledge; this is a cognitive process (Mclnerney & Mclnerney, 2006) & (Marzano and Pickering, 2006).
Dimension 3: Extend and Refine:
Students need to take the knowledge that they have just acquired and link it with other knowledge they have, they need to compare, contrast, and analyse for anomalies. This helps students better understand and use their knowledge and allows them to be more versatile with their knowledge; applying it to unique situations (Marzano and Pickering, 2006).
Dimension 4: Use Knowledge Meaningfully:
Students need to apply the knowledge they gained to solve problems in the real world. They need to decide how to use their knowledge and whether their application is appropriate. They also need to use their knowledge to make decisions, formulate, and solve problems that may not be immediately obvious (Marzano and Pickering, 2006).
Dimension 5: Habits of mind:
Students need to have and use good habits of mind to learn and utilise their new knowledge. This dimension is about how students think and should be taught to them so they can learn better. Good habits of mind are what good thinkers display when they apply their minds and knowledge to a problem (Marzano and Pickering, 2006).
Reference:
Mclnerney, D. M., & Mclnerney, V. (2006). Educational psychology: constructing learning (4th ed.). Frenchs Forest, NSW, Australia: Pearson Education Australia.
Marzano, R. J., Pickering, D. J. (with Arredondo, D. E., Blackburn, G. J., Brandt, R. S., ... Whistler, J. S.). (2006). Dimensions of learning teacher’s manual (2nd ed). Heatherton, Victoria, Australia: Hawker Brownlow Education.
Here is a link to a good site:
http://www.mcrel.org/dimensions/whathow.asp
The central concept of the DoL is that teaching should be rich, diverse and build on prior knowledge and also provide links with other knowledge and the real world. Critically, the DoL is peer reviewed and authored by teaching professionals.
The DoL is constructed from 5 interlocking dimensions, “the dimensions of learning” and include the following:
I am going to discuss the dimensions from a teacher’s point of view!
Dimension 1: Attitudes and Perceptions:
The DoL argues that the first dimension in the learning process is making sure that the students firstly; feel comfortable in their learning environment, and secondly; feel comfortable with what is being taught and how it is being presented (Marzano and Pickering, 2006).
Dimension 2: Acquire and Integrate knowledge:
The next thing a teacher needs to do is help students acquire and integrate knowledge. The DoL suggests that this is done through breaking knowledge into declarative and procedural components. This is done as these two knowledge types are acquired and integrated differently and modern psychologists think that knowledge as, “declarative and procedural” is a primary distinction the brain makes when taking on new knowledge; this is a cognitive process (Mclnerney & Mclnerney, 2006) & (Marzano and Pickering, 2006).
Dimension 3: Extend and Refine:
Students need to take the knowledge that they have just acquired and link it with other knowledge they have, they need to compare, contrast, and analyse for anomalies. This helps students better understand and use their knowledge and allows them to be more versatile with their knowledge; applying it to unique situations (Marzano and Pickering, 2006).
Dimension 4: Use Knowledge Meaningfully:
Students need to apply the knowledge they gained to solve problems in the real world. They need to decide how to use their knowledge and whether their application is appropriate. They also need to use their knowledge to make decisions, formulate, and solve problems that may not be immediately obvious (Marzano and Pickering, 2006).
Dimension 5: Habits of mind:
Students need to have and use good habits of mind to learn and utilise their new knowledge. This dimension is about how students think and should be taught to them so they can learn better. Good habits of mind are what good thinkers display when they apply their minds and knowledge to a problem (Marzano and Pickering, 2006).
Reference:
Mclnerney, D. M., & Mclnerney, V. (2006). Educational psychology: constructing learning (4th ed.). Frenchs Forest, NSW, Australia: Pearson Education Australia.
Marzano, R. J., Pickering, D. J. (with Arredondo, D. E., Blackburn, G. J., Brandt, R. S., ... Whistler, J. S.). (2006). Dimensions of learning teacher’s manual (2nd ed). Heatherton, Victoria, Australia: Hawker Brownlow Education.
Here is a link to a good site:
http://www.mcrel.org/dimensions/whathow.asp
Week 2: Learning Frameworks
As an education student I have had experience with Dimensions of Learning and Productive Pedagogies. Both of these are excellent frameworks that are good lesson planning tools. They are particularly good for orientating and embedding content in relevant ways. While very good they are broad in their scope and as such can be applied to many different learning situations. As part of this course there is a need to look at frameworks that are more related to embedding Information Communication Technologies (ICT’s) particularly as I am an education student.
Before I comment on specific frameworks it is important that one considers the audience of the frameworks; some frameworks are aimed at students and others are aimed at teachers. I would argue that for any framework to be successful both parties need to have a particular understanding of the framework. The Dimensions of Learning is a framework that teachers need to have a thorough understanding of, though students need to have a good understanding of certain parts of it like the Habits of Mind. The Big Six seems to be centred on what students need to demonstrate to acquire information in a digital world. Of course the teacher needs to know the Big Six in order to ensure students are utilising it and also for their own information problem solving processes. When writing about frameworks I write generally with the assumption that their application is generic.
Before I comment on specific frameworks it is important that one considers the audience of the frameworks; some frameworks are aimed at students and others are aimed at teachers. I would argue that for any framework to be successful both parties need to have a particular understanding of the framework. The Dimensions of Learning is a framework that teachers need to have a thorough understanding of, though students need to have a good understanding of certain parts of it like the Habits of Mind. The Big Six seems to be centred on what students need to demonstrate to acquire information in a digital world. Of course the teacher needs to know the Big Six in order to ensure students are utilising it and also for their own information problem solving processes. When writing about frameworks I write generally with the assumption that their application is generic.
Week 1 Concept Map Comming and discussion on learning theories.
Keep an Eye on this space!! Hey I have finally put up my concept map. It is far from complete or logical as I have had problems with Bubbleus2, see what you think, sorry.
Saturday, July 17, 2010
Week 1: So What is a Blog?
Weekly blog topic: What is a blog, its usefulness in education and what is a concept map?
Establishing my blog was easy though I am having trouble formatting and editing it. The Blog as I see it is a place halfway between a wiki and a web page. Blogs allow the author to have control over its functionality and content while allowing other people to leave their thoughts and ideas. Given the nature of the middlephase learner I think that blogs are a brilliant tool for teaching and learning. Blogs allow freedom of expression while also giving the teacher the ability to drive and manage the topic contents. This week is my first experience with blogs and I can definitely see the benefits of their usage. One must be ever mindful to the fact that many students are either not as digitally literate as we assume them to be and that many “at risk” students do not have access to computers or simply do not care about computers. This places them at risk before the learning has even started and will divide a class into those who move forward with access to computers and those that fail and lack access to computers. The trick is to make the blog accessible, highly usable and fun. Providing alternate platforms for learning and assessment is critical as part of good inclusionary procedure.
A concept map is a schematic of one’s ideas, particularly how these ideas relate to each other. The concept map has an application in helping students link new and old ideas and also attach meaning to these ideas. For me personally concept maps are not my preferred method of understanding. I find that simply adding meaning to terms is enough for me to create links. I say this to highlight the fact that different people will have different methods of forming links to gain understanding and insight. The concept map is a simplification of often complex interconnected ideas that are cognitivistic and constructivistic in nature. People firstly gain an understanding of concepts through high level cognitive functions and then construct their reality of the concepts and their inter-relativity through constructivist mechanisms. Finally one cannot understate the variability and complexity of the individuals mind and its understandings and interpretations of the real world.
References:
Ashman, A., & Elkins, J. (2009). Education for inclusion and diversity (3rd ed.). Frenchs Forest, NSW, Australia: Pearson Education Australia.
Baron, R. A. (1998). Psychology (4th ed.). Needham Heights, MA, USA: Allyn & Bacon.
CQUniversity. (2010). Fahe11001_2102: practical activity: week 1 - blogs and concept maps. Retrieved July 14, 2010, from the CQUniversity Moodle web site: http://moodle.cqu.edu.au/mod/resource/view.php?id=99043
Snowman, J., Dobozy, E., Scevak, J., Bryer, F., Bartlett, B., & Biehler. (2009). Psychology: applied to teaching (1st ed.). Milton, Queensland, Australia: John Wiley & Sons Australia Ltd.
Establishing my blog was easy though I am having trouble formatting and editing it. The Blog as I see it is a place halfway between a wiki and a web page. Blogs allow the author to have control over its functionality and content while allowing other people to leave their thoughts and ideas. Given the nature of the middlephase learner I think that blogs are a brilliant tool for teaching and learning. Blogs allow freedom of expression while also giving the teacher the ability to drive and manage the topic contents. This week is my first experience with blogs and I can definitely see the benefits of their usage. One must be ever mindful to the fact that many students are either not as digitally literate as we assume them to be and that many “at risk” students do not have access to computers or simply do not care about computers. This places them at risk before the learning has even started and will divide a class into those who move forward with access to computers and those that fail and lack access to computers. The trick is to make the blog accessible, highly usable and fun. Providing alternate platforms for learning and assessment is critical as part of good inclusionary procedure.
A concept map is a schematic of one’s ideas, particularly how these ideas relate to each other. The concept map has an application in helping students link new and old ideas and also attach meaning to these ideas. For me personally concept maps are not my preferred method of understanding. I find that simply adding meaning to terms is enough for me to create links. I say this to highlight the fact that different people will have different methods of forming links to gain understanding and insight. The concept map is a simplification of often complex interconnected ideas that are cognitivistic and constructivistic in nature. People firstly gain an understanding of concepts through high level cognitive functions and then construct their reality of the concepts and their inter-relativity through constructivist mechanisms. Finally one cannot understate the variability and complexity of the individuals mind and its understandings and interpretations of the real world.
References:
Ashman, A., & Elkins, J. (2009). Education for inclusion and diversity (3rd ed.). Frenchs Forest, NSW, Australia: Pearson Education Australia.
Baron, R. A. (1998). Psychology (4th ed.). Needham Heights, MA, USA: Allyn & Bacon.
CQUniversity. (2010). Fahe11001_2102: practical activity: week 1 - blogs and concept maps. Retrieved July 14, 2010, from the CQUniversity Moodle web site: http://moodle.cqu.edu.au/mod/resource/view.php?id=99043
Snowman, J., Dobozy, E., Scevak, J., Bryer, F., Bartlett, B., & Biehler. (2009). Psychology: applied to teaching (1st ed.). Milton, Queensland, Australia: John Wiley & Sons Australia Ltd.
Week 1: What have I been doing this week?
Over the course of the rest of the week:
I spent this week preparing for my learning journey by over viewing the course structure and content. There were a number of issues that I needed to sort out before I could start looking at the topics. The first thing I needed to do was establish an understanding of the first assessment item which includes establishing a blog primarily to journal my learning journey. I have found it useful to create a word document that I have cut and pasted specific course requirements like the assessment overview from the course profile and the blog reflections summaries from each weekly topic on the moodle website. This allows me to see at a glance the requirements of the assignment and the reflections that need to be considered. I am using the blog reflection notes from moodle as the primary driver for my reflections.
The second thing I needed to do was establish the key topics and content. After considering my options I have decided to produce a study guide that outlines the content in a format that I find useful (this is in contrast to formulating a concept map). This will help me to organise information that I collect from different sources and pinpoint specific content. Producing a study guide also helps me to learn the topic and link topics together.
I spent this week preparing for my learning journey by over viewing the course structure and content. There were a number of issues that I needed to sort out before I could start looking at the topics. The first thing I needed to do was establish an understanding of the first assessment item which includes establishing a blog primarily to journal my learning journey. I have found it useful to create a word document that I have cut and pasted specific course requirements like the assessment overview from the course profile and the blog reflections summaries from each weekly topic on the moodle website. This allows me to see at a glance the requirements of the assignment and the reflections that need to be considered. I am using the blog reflection notes from moodle as the primary driver for my reflections.
The second thing I needed to do was establish the key topics and content. After considering my options I have decided to produce a study guide that outlines the content in a format that I find useful (this is in contrast to formulating a concept map). This will help me to organise information that I collect from different sources and pinpoint specific content. Producing a study guide also helps me to learn the topic and link topics together.
Week 1: What was I doing for the first couple of day in this course?
Jason’s first couple of days in E-learning.
I spent the first couple of days calibrating the course content to my learning needs and style. I spent a good deal of time organising my course data and files and have now settled into my learning and information gathering mode.
I spent the first couple of days calibrating the course content to my learning needs and style. I spent a good deal of time organising my course data and files and have now settled into my learning and information gathering mode.
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
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