What is the purpose of GAFE in the classroom?

Image Courtesy of Shena Macdonald

Our use of ICT in the classroom facilitates are more interactive style of learning.  This is called blended learning and flipped classroom theory.  These theories govern how one applies ICT to a classroom setting.  However choosing an online learning management system saves you time and focus your experimentation.  As mentioned previously it also helps if your choice of ICT fits in with your school's’ online learning plan.  

We have decided to work with Google Apps For Education (GAFE) so my review will focus on how this learning management system benefits me.  I will write a separate review on how our application of blended learning and flipped classroom theory has improved our results.

Some reasons why we choose GAFE are:

• GAFE is FREE! This is super important! It means learners can access it from home without incurring extra costs.
• GAFE is USER FRIENDLY. It builds on skills learners and teachers are familiar with such as Word, Powerpoint and email.
• GAFE is UNIVERSAL! Google works in most countries and it works well! This means learners are equipped with skills that they can apply to other contexts as well as future work environments. GAFE is compatible most devices, which is important in a BYOD setting. [BYOD stands for Bring Your Own Device]

There are 3 main aspects to incorporating GAFE into the classroom.  

1. GAFE facilitates sharing educational content with learners.

2. GAFE allows learners and teachers to generate content.

3. GAFE streamlines administration and record-keeping.

There are numerous benefits to each of these functions so here is a Link to an explanation of the 3 main aspects of GAFE

Reducing the Fear of ICT through training, planning and reinforcing the need for teachers over computers

Photo Courtesy of Shena Macdonald

If you prefer a less anecdotal style of writing click on here: Link to Summary of this Post

Below is a story style version of the summary:

Sometimes teacher training, feels like being hustled by taxis in Warwick triangle- everyone is in a hurry with not enough time and the way taxis drive you are just waiting for the pending disaster. However, I hope this blog shows you that introducing technology into the classroom is a much slower paced journey. 

One of teachers' biggest fears is that the computer will replace the teacher. I don't think this is the case. For computer-supported learning to work you need good teachers... I have learnt so much from how Mrs Moore organises her lessons and this skill is very evident in the way she arranges her blog posts! Sometimes my posts tend to be too long and overcrowded, but Mrs Moore's posts are to the point and broken into measurable chunks. It just goes to show that very experienced teachers know exactly how much information to put on a page! So creating a blogpost follows similar principles to planning a lesson or composing a worksheet.

Another fear that prevents teachers from introducing technology is the perception that technology is actually bad for learning. I watched a short clip by the Epipheo team and Nick Carr that tackled this notion in such informative way (see link below). Carr speaks about how developing incredible ideas takes focus and time. Carr maintains that the distractions of a multi-tasking internet environment prevents ideas moving from short-term to long-term memory. My personal perception is that technology can be a wonderful way to facilitate focused work and idea development, but learners need teachers to show them how to use computers in a focused manner. Using links is a wonderful way to direct learners' attention to specific texts or articles/ videos. Surfing the internet or bouncing through social media updates is definitely not focused learning.

Another common misconception amongst teachers is that online learning forums are very complicated and their knowledge of computers is too basic. The thing I like about using Google Apps For Education is that it builds on skills I am comfortable with- such as creating a word document, email and powerpoint. Starting with computer skills you are familiar with will make you feel more confident. Learners may be excited about online learning, but they are also afraid. Thus a teacher confidence acts as the learner's safety net that encourages them to explore new territory.  

I thought I would crash and burn in front of my learners when I introduced my online classroom, but I discovered my online classroom actually began functioning like insurance for unlikely events. Just today Mrs Moore was telling me how she forgot it was theory and had prepped for practical, but working off her online classroom archive made constructing a lesson on the spot much easy.

In fact I started working online to save face! My handwriting is so terrible that my exploration into online learning was fuelled by a need to be able to type everything!

When I realised how little the learners knew about working online, I felt a lot bolder in venturing out in a new direction. You see learners are competent at navigating social media but working online is still a challenge for them. Also working online is about learning not being computer whizzes. Thus students need teachers to guide them in answering questions. The feedback opportunities that working online offers enables teachers to encourage and inspire learners. This personal encouragement is vital to learners' development! It is something only skilled teachers can offer- not a cold machine!

Creating digital textbooks, is about adapting curriculum content to suit your classroom! Yes that content can be shared with lots more people- but it still needs a teacher to unpack it in a way that their learners relate to! I love the way online learning empowers me to create and alter content in an immediate, professional manner. I think many departments at Durban Girls High have years worth of incredible content combined with valuable work experience!

I love creating content and assessment and watching how it enhances learners' understanding, but I find that my time is often limited by administrative tasks. I am so grateful for the time Mrs Moore has given our department to invest in finding computerized tools that decrease teaching admin. For example we have created our own online bank of comment codes for marking projects, which saves typing time. We have used subject meetings to explore apps that mark for us- unfortunately most of art theory is essay writing but I am sure automated marking of multiple choice questions would benefit other departments.  

Machanic (2001) says that many online learning experiments are sabotaged by lack of time and resources devoted to staff training. Yes, working with a computer may be different-like changing from a manual to an automatic car, but if we give ourselves time to enjoy each pitstop and road sign then we will find that in the long run the computer will become the administrator and this will free us to do what teachers do best- TEACH!

Mrs Moore and I have slowly been integrating online learning tools into our teaching environment. It certainly wasn't an overnight migration! Many of our experiments were birthed in subject meetings and hours of discussion. Some of that discussion was subject specific and other discussions were with other educators, ICT professionals and the school management team. Which brings me to another important point on successfully navigating the world of online learning! ICT Training must be scheduled into your department's year plan. There are so many different online learning systems that learners and educators are going to get confused if everyone is doing their own thing. Working as team will make sure your department grows together and will save you many hours of travelling down dead-ends. Collaborating with Mrs Moore has been a treat and I would have been very lost without Mrs Moore's enthusiasm and strategic thinking skills.

Of course no-one can think clearly in a traffic jam! If you want to learn to drive a car- you have to find a quiet place with a good instructor who is happy to let you blunder along trial and error style. And don't worry getting a drivers licence may come with a few hours of practise but the freedom it brings is well worth the effort. So if you are interested in embarking on your own unexpected ICT journey...clear out the taxis and browse through the blog or pop in to our art studio and we'll help you plot out a map.

Interesting Links:


Link to epipheo video on what the internet is doing to our brains

Reference:

 Carr, N. and Epipheo Studios, (2013). What the internet is doing to our brains. [online] YouTube. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cKaWJ72x1rI [Accessed 14 Jul. 2014].

Machanic, M. 2001. [online] 11.3 Faculty Development in Higher Education: "Best Practices" Review and Planning Recommendations for Technology-Rich Learning Environments; Mindy Machanic. Available at: http://www.ed.psu.edu/acsde/deos/deosnews/deosnews11_3.asp [Accessed: 11 Feb 2014].

Picking your Tools..

Photo courtesy of Shena Macdonald

When one trains educators to incorporate technology in their coursework, Machanic (2001)  with reference to Eastmond and Lawrence and Horgan (1998) notes that it is important to emphasise how technology supports pedagogy practices rather than the showbiz qualities of technology presentations.  Thus, Machanic (2001) proposes the notion that including technology in one’s course development is more than an aesthetic presentation element but rather a useful format that can be used to increase access to learning.  I would agree with this practice, as I have found that exploring the vastness of technological applications can be overwhelming and time-consuming.  Thus, basing one’s use of technology within a pedagogical context can provide a framework for one’s exploration and selection of technological tools.

Consequently, we have realised that our art department has subconsciously developed various criteria that influenced our selection  and use of information communications technology.  In my Master’s paper I will discuss how we reached a consensus on our criteria and selection of technological tools.  I will also explore how learners responded to the various tools and how their experience influenced our development of our online classrooms and implementation of technological tools.

Firstly we selected a learning area that we would like to present digitally, such as assessment and self evaluations.  We then discussed what we would like to achieve in that area.  We then looked at a variety of online tools that others were using and choose our own tools based on the following criteria.

Some of the Basic Criteria we used for selection of information communications technologies (ICT) were as follows.

Digital tools/ programs/ICT should be:

• free!
• easy to share (e.g tools should be link friendly)
• accessible to learners and educators (hence the emphasis on free)
• save educators time by mechanising administration
• improve presentation and record keeping
• speed up rate of communication between educators and learners
• allow dialogue/collaboration between learners and educators,
• easily edited (adaptable) as our online classroom is experimental
• build on basic computer skills (sharing between programs , microsoft office, editing images)
• save the environment by saving paper
• improve pedagogical practice
• optimise Visual curriculum requirements
• work well the school infrastructure (infrastructure is a major hinderance to online learning but I shall write another post about this)

I will expand on these criteria further as this blog grows. 

If you are thinking of introducing technology into your classroom, perhaps you should think about how what you want to achieve in your classroom? 
What criteria list would you create?  

Having an end goal in mind will help you stay focused when presented with a vast range of apps and fancy magic tricks.

Reference: Machanic, M. 2001. [online] 11.3 Faculty Development in Higher Education: "Best Practices" Review and Planning Recommendations for Technology-Rich Learning Environments; Mindy Machanic. Available at: http://www.ed.psu.edu/acsde/deos/deosnews/deosnews11_3.asp  [Accessed: 11 Feb 2014].43 (6), pp. 51--54.

Grounding experiments in ICT theory & experience

Photo courtesy of Shena Macdonald

Although our online process seemed very spontaneous it was actually grounded in Mrs Moore’s years of research style teaching as well as her vast collection of articles on current developments in education and online courses.  Moore has also presented numerous projects for Microsoft and Google on blended learning, flipped classrooms and catering for a variety of learning styles. Mrs Moore has been working with integrating ICT into education for many years- in fact she was making me laugh the other day when she said she had no idea how the first computer that arrived in her classroom worked and the principal just smiled at this panicked teacher and said- "you're a bright person I am sure you will figure it out!"...Well, Mrs Moore has certainly used her intelligence to mastermind many successful computer-supported projects!

We recently did a strengthsfinder course at school and Mrs Moore’s top 5 strengths are in the ideas category, which explains why we are constantly trying new things in our studio classrooms! We seem to never stick to the same curriculum content and are constantly adding new links.  Being a young teacher, who likes to appear in control, I have adopted the strategy of smile and nod, and scrabble to research various terms at the end of any discussion with Mrs Moore- I often feel like the duck who is gliding along but its' legs are paddling like crazy underwater.  Although in reality I think I appear more like a toddler with a million questions. What follows is some of the pearls I discovered from Mrs Moore’s presentations, our departments research, and various discussions with lecturers and colleagues. Our move to online learning is not only about using computers in the classroom.  

It is all about incorporating Flipped classroom and blended learning theory.

Harvey Singh ( 2003, pp. 51-54) in a Journal Article titled “Building Effective Blended Learning Programs” states that first generation e-learning courses where too similar to their classroom counterparts in that their single mode of instructional delivery did not provide sufficient choices, engagement, social contact, relevance, and context.  According to Singh, studies have proven that combining multiple delivery modes in a blended learning environment facilitates greater learning and performance.  Blended learning is when one merges a variety of learning tools as well as events-based activities (Singh, 2003).  Thus an example of blended learning is combining a classroom based discussion with a digital worksheet that learners can complete in their own time.  

Thus Singh proposes that digitally delivered learning needs to be more than an online presence for it to be effective.  Singh (2003) reinforces the notion that catering for a variety of learning styles and allowing learners to collaborate with educators in a various manners will boost course outcomes. As our journey in e-learning has progressed, Neith and I have spent considerable hours discussing a variety of learning styles and delivery modes that we could translate into a digital classroom.

For example digital mindmaps cater for visual learners whereas practical application benefits kinesthetic learners. Thus I will set up a digital worksheet for those who enjoy writing, and other learners will create a mindmap on A3 card and others will use prezi. I also set up a practical hand-generated element that stimulates the kinesthetic learners. It may sound like a lot of work, but once it is done you just copy and paste the links for the next year and learners enjoy the work so much more that it makes the extra effort worth it.



Link to PPT discussing our application of blended learning

Link to PPt on Flipped Classroom Application at DGHS

Early Discoveries: Online Discussions using Blogger Comments

During 2012 and 2013 we (Neith Moore and Shelanna Sturgess, visual arts educators at Durban Girls high School) began posting  briefs and links online and testing various hand in formats.  We wanted the learners to interact with our blogs so we experimented with using the comment function on Blogger to create online discussions.  

This photo by Carey-Anne Dooley captures my mom laughing as she engages with an Indian lady on a bus in Jaipur. It brings back many happy memories of our India travels and reminds me how important is to engage with people around you which is something we have tried to increase in our visual arts classrooms. Sometimes it is online conversation and other times it is in the here and now.

Link to Project using Comments