Embedded Files
21st Century Learning
I have just discovered a new MOOC platform it is called EMMA
http://platform.europeanmoocs.eu/
Just check online and you will learn what Emma can be or can become for educators:
http://www.openeducationeuropa.eu/en/project/emma-0
It was presented as a " European Multiple MOOC Aggregator (EMMA)" that " aims to showcase excellence in innovative teaching methodologies and learning approaches through the large-scale piloting of MOOCs on different subjects and in different languages. "
I started to follow the MOOC about 21st Century Learning and it was well-planned and organized.
These are the interesting things I have learnt.
INTRODUCTION TO THE MOOC
TEACHER OF THE MOOC : Grainne Conole
UNIVERSITIES : FEDERICO II and BATH SPA
LEARNING OBJECTIVES:
- Describe current learning technologies, resources and practices.
- Analyse their own learning practices.
- Incorporate new practices into their own teaching
WEEK 1 INTRODUCTION AND DIGITAL LITERACY
The course began with a nice introduction about the history of education and it was an interesting overview about the main changes we have had and how culture has been influenced by such changes:
We had to reflect on what we still use today in education, and I wrote " paper" others wrote " pen", since although we have technology we still use old objects to work.
We were provided with this blog post before writing about our experience:
An interesting weblink for further studies is this one:
DIGITAL LITERACY
Digital Literacy- this is the definition
“Digital Literacy is the ability to use information and communication technologies to find, evaluate, create, and communicate information, requiring both cognitive and technical skills.” (See more at: http://connect.ala.org/node/181197#sthash.Hqct4LGc.dpuf )
Why is it important today ? There are skills that overlap abilities, they make ICT proficiency and provide digital identity and wellbeing:
· Information, data and media literacies
· Digital creation, innovation, scholarship
· Communication, collaboration and participation
· Digital learning and self-development
See in particular the following link:
https://www.jisc.ac.uk/guides/developing-students-digital-literacy (2015)
Some more features are the following ones:
· Information literacy
· Media literacy
· Digital scholarship
· Communication and collaboration
· Career and identity management
· Digital learning and self-development
· ICT literacy
· Learning skills
A third characterization is represented by these keys.Check on line http://www.newmedialiteracies.org:
1. Play (experimentation)
2. Performance (adopting roles)
3. Simulation (understanding models)
4. Appropriation (remix content)
5. Multitasking
6. Distributed Cognition (using cognitive tools)
7. Collective Intelligence (working with others)
8. Judgment (assessing information)
9. Transmedia Navigation (understanding the whole from its parts)
10. Networking (passing on understanding)
11. Negotiation (effective communication across culture)
DEVELOPING DIGITAL LITERACY
Digital literacy begins with the curriculum and it involves many skills and students, teachers and people involved in education should all be aware of them.
Check this link provided by the tutor online:
https://www.jisc.ac.uk/guides/developing-digital-literacies
Next step- reflecting on my experience as a teacher
I had to open the file “Developing Digital Capability: Institutional SWOT Analysis”, created by JISC (opens as a Word document). Select the area that fits best with my own circumstances:
1. Strategic environment (Leaders)
2. Organisation (Management)
3. ICT environment (IT)
4. Curriculum (Teachers)
5. Student experience (Learners)
I was aware of the bad situation in the school where I am teaching, mainly because technology is not working and my students have a low profile. Most are not Italian and do not speak the language well, others have had unsuccessful experience at school and are demotivated. Education is not a priority. As a teacher, I am aware that we do need to change the situation, but most teachers do not have the tools and the support to work well.
References for week 1
Jenkins, H. (2009). Confronting the challenges of participatory culture: Media education for the 21st century. MIT Press.
https://www.atomiclearning.com/selfassessment
I completed the survey at https://www.atomiclearning.com/assess-yourself and I was sent a report with details about what I got and in which elements I need to make progress.
About Digital Literacy :
http://www2.futurelab.org.uk/resources/documents/handbooks/digital_literacy.pdf
DEVELOPING DIGITAL SKILLS
https://www.jisc.ac.uk/guides/developing-digital-literacies/top-tips
WEEK 2 OVERVIEW OF LEARNING TECHNOLOGIES
Computer-based learning technologies are now a reality in education, at work and at home. Smartphones, tablets, pcs and internet mark most of the activities that we do. Working and studying online are now a reality thanks to the modern devices and the low costs.
The “world-wide web” of hyperlinked text began in 1989, by 2000
search engines like Google and Bing became popular and working
online was faster.
Social media and media sharing are now a reality : FB, Twitter but
also file storage online with DROPBOX or GOOGLE DRIVE are now
a reality.
File sharing can happen thanks to new tools Flickr, Youtube,
Vimeo,Slideshare.
Collaboration online is a reality and we have e-tools and e-assessment tools that help us work better.
We also have VIRTUAL LEARNING ENVIRONMENTS ONLINE.
A virtual learning environment (VLE), sometimes called a learning management system (LMS), is an online platform that brings together a number of learning technologies to support (or provide) a structured course. Typically, a VLE will provide:
· course materials (e.g. presentations, documents, web pages, video)
· activities (e.g. sometimes collaborative activities with other learners)
· tests (e.g. automated multiple choice questionnaires - MCQs)
· social media (e.g. discussion boards, chat rooms, messages, blogs, wikis)
I am familiar with Moodle as I have done some courses online supported by ZANICHELLI.
Personal Learning Environments
A personal learning environment (PLE) is not a specific thing. It refers to the collection of internet-based tools, services and communities (not technologies) that each person uses to support their learning. Each person’s PLE may be different, and will include things like Facebook pages, blogs they follow, discussion groups and videos they are commenting on.
I have my community online and I have a lot of educators that I follow on Twitter.
I was also introduced to VIRTUAL WORLDS and AUGMENTED REALITY but I need to learn more about them.
WEEK 3
WEEK 4 SOCIAL MEDIA
Importance of social media in education
CONSTRUCTIVISM AND SOCIAL INTERACTION
Today we live in a complex world and as a result also the world of work has changed. What has been presented is a new approach to teaching and learning. MOOCs and 21st-century digital skills are part of our life as teachers and educators and the same should be for students.Not to mention real life, where everybody has to do with e-Government and everything is now almost in the cloud.
Constructivism sees learning as an active process, where the learner works to integrate new information with existing knowledge. Learners are presented with different views of the topic to be learned and invited to explore, experiment and discuss.
From the Mooc course webpage :
"The learner’s task is to examine the information provided and fit it into their existing understanding of the world. The teacher’s role is to encourage learners to follow their own thoughts and explorations, highlighting areas of information they may have missed and generally guiding, but not directing, the learner’s attention."
For this reason social media are important in education and in MOOCs: in cMoocs peers play an important part in the course.Peer evaluation is part of the score in most Moocs and social platforms play an important part in interaction and in sharing ideas.
Resources
http://ruby.fgcu.edu/courses/ndemers/colloquium/experienceducationdewey.pdf
INTRODUCTION TO SOCIAL MEDIA
After 2000 broadband became available to a large number of people in North America and Western Europe,as a result the web was used widely as a learning platform.According to a JISC report from 2007 there six key ideas that came to the fore around this time:
1. Individual production and User Generated Content
2. Harness the power of the crowd
3. Data on an epic scale
4. Architecture of Participation
5. Network Effects
6. Openness
This revolution is now known as Web 2.0. Important social media which are used also in education:
- Facebook (the largest social network - in terms of users; sharing of text, users’ photos and videos; groups)
- Twitter (specialises in sharing of short,text-based messages that are easily reshareable)
- Linkedin (professionals’ network for jobs and career )
- Google plus
- https://www.youtube.com/
I know most of them, I like Twitter and Linkedin, Google plus has groups and I think that
Youtube can offer useful materials online and it can be used for editing videos and creating online materials to be shared.
Blogs
They consist of discrete articles, or “posts” which are usually text-based, optionally with images. Blogs can be subject-based, personal thoughts, diaries or, indeed, any content one wishes.
Resources
http://www.teachhub.com/50-ways-use-twitter-classroom
COLLABORATIVE LEARNING
Collaborative learning can support a constructivist approach to teaching and learning by requiring learners to interact with each other as well as the learning materials.
TYPES OF TOOLS USED IN COLLABORATIVE LEARNING
General file sharing: Dropbox, Google drive, Microsoft Onedrive.
Sharing specific file types
Images. Examples: Flickr, Picasa, Pixabay.You can typically search for images by their tags (descriptions) and search for images that can be reused due to their Creative Commons license.
Video. Youtube, Vimeo, Dailymotion. Uploaded videos can be made private, non-searchable, or publicly available, and may be embedded in other web sites (as used in this MOOC).
Audio. “Podcast” is a portmanteau of "iPod" and "broadcast", and refers to files containing “shows” or self-contained presentations or episodes. Usually a podcast is an audio file, but it can be video, PDF or other media.Teachers can give feedback on student work easily Examples: SoundCloud, Podfeed, iTunesU.
Presentations. Examples: Slideshare, Authorstream, Prezi. These websites allow presentations to be shared publicly. Generally, presentations may be embedded in other web sites and usage statistics are available to the owner.
Collaborative creation
Examples: Google docs, Microsoft Office Online, Hackpad. Collaborative creation refers to applications where several people can edit one document simultaneously, seeing each other's’ typing appear in real time.
Serious games. Serious games allow learners to interact with learning materials and peers in a 3D game environment. Examples: Gazillionaire (business simulation), WolfQuest (wildlife), Betwixt Folly and Fate (social history).
Virtual worlds. Virtual worlds use 3D game technology but are devoid of any intrinsic game elements. This allows teachers and students to create their own environments, such as simulations, virtual field trips, role play, or, indeed, games. Examples: Second Life, Open Simulator-based worlds such as Kitely, Minecraft.
Mind maps / concept maps / cognitive maps
Examples: Bubbl.us, Freemind, Xmind.
Social bookmarking / referencing
These are tools for collaborative research, allowing groups to build a shared database of information links. Book mark examples: Delicious, StumbleUpon, Digg. Referencing examples: Mendeley, EndNote, F1000.
Communications
Computers have the ability to make, what was at first called, free phone calls. These calls now include video and multiple callers, Examples: Skype, Google Hangouts, VSee
Wikis
Wikis are websites that can be created and updated by any number of users. Wikipedia is perhaps the best known wiki. Wikis allow for group working in the classroom that may be continued at home or on a field trip. Students who are ill can continue to participate. Examples: WikiSpaces, PBWorks, Cloudworks.
Description of the platform Cloudworks:
MORE RESOURCES ABOUT COLLABORATIVE LEARNING
http://www.ied.edu.hk/aclass/Theories/cooperativelearningcoursewriting_LBH%2024June.pdf
PROMOTING DISCUSSION ONLINE: e-tivity
The model of an “e-tivity”, or electronic activity - is a term coined by Professor Gilly Salmon.
( see the book presentation online hhtps://www.routledge.com/products/9780415881760)
An e-tivity includes the following basic elements:
- ‘Spark’ - resource (e.g., image, video or audio) that aims to generate interest in the topic of the e-tivity. Sparks strive to light the fire for the topic. (The spark in this MOOC is usually a video and following text.)
- Objective - purpose of the e-tivity. Use active verbs when articulating the objective and make sure it is directly linked to the outcomes for the course
- Task - clear instructions and the ‘place’ where learners’ output is expected (e.g., discussion forum, wiki, blog or another online space). Specify what to do and where to do it. If you find you have more than one major activity, divide the e-tivity.
- Response - prompt to start the dialogue. Require learners to comment on the work of others (thus generating interactive loops) or answer additional questions. Many students go online to see if others have read their contributions and responded. (The response in this MOOC is amalgamated with the task.)
The approach presented is not new to me and I like it. I am trying also to follow this pattern when I teach and present a video which is later followed by the students working from home in my class. I like the idea of having a forum and a blog because we can learn from the others.
BYOD
Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) is a term used to describe the use of learners’ personal technologies (such as smartphones and tablets) in formal educational settings (such as school classrooms and university lecture halls).
ISSUES FOR DISCUSSION
- Security
- Access
- Disruption
- Teaching
BYOD is only useful for the learner if what they are asked to do is something that the technologies can support.
My personal experience: since technology is part of our daily life we can use it also in class but we do need to choose the materials and teach our students how to work with it. I am aware that I need to set strict rules. But if the students have a mobile phone, we can use it for working well in class and carry out interesting researches for further projects.
RESOURCES FOR WEEK 4
WORLD'S FIRST SMARTPHONE ( 1999?)
WEEK 5
Virtual Worlds and Augmented Reality
An interesting week but also a week which is far from the world I belong to. I have tried a game online and I would like to learn more.
GAMES FOR CHANGE
http://www.gamesforchange.org/
See also the blog http://www.gamesforchange.org/blog/
Games usually facilitate learning through the problem-solving, creativity, collaboration and acquisition of skills necessary to reach the goal – the goal itself is unlikely to have importance beyond the game.
Serious games have great potential for inducing positive behaviour-change (such as for environmental issues and health) and for learning through play.
USEFUL LINKS
http://theplayniceinstitute.com/mindlight-2/
http://www.gamesforchange.org/play/
http://www.gamesforchange.org/play/mission-us-city-of-immigrants/
This is the game which I tried to see in terms of usage for my students and in order to teach them more about the rights of people.
LINK TO THE PRESENTATION OF THE GAME
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ny0gxd-jVEw
GAMIFICATION
Gamification involves adding game elements (features usually associated with games) to otherwise non-gaming activities in order to encourage desired behaviours.
Game elements include:
- Fun (the most important game element)
- Points / Tokens (game money)
- Prizes (real objects / money)
- Turns / Transactions
- Quests (journeys)
- Challenges / Puzzles / Resource collection
- Combat / Competition
- Teams / Cooperation
- Chance / Random events
- Social graph (comparison to others)
- Levels (progression)
- Points (measures of achievement)
- Rewards (completion – badges / trophies / medals)
- Leaderboards (direct comparison with others)
Virtual worlds and Virtual Reality
Virtual worlds and Virtual Reality
Virtual Worlds
Virtual worlds use the technology of modern, advanced 3-dimensional video games, such as World of Warcraft and Project Cars, to create an environment, or world, but without the game itself
Virtual worlds allow teachers and students to create their own environments, such as simulations, virtual field trips, role play, or, indeed, games.
Virtual reality
Virtual reality can, at present, be described as virtual worlds experienced through a wearable visor-style headset, or head-mounted display (HMD). According to Gartner, virtual reality is a technology that is beginning its pre-productive phase; this can be seen in the large variety of HMDs now available.
Virtual reality uses a first-person view; there is no avatar, the person sees the world as the avatar would see it.
INTRODUCTION TO SECOND LIFE VIRTUAL WORLD
Augmented Reality
Augmented Reality
Augmented reality (AR) is a live direct or indirect view of a physical, real-world environment whose elements are augmented (or supplemented) by computer-generated sensory input such as sound, video, graphics or GPS data. It is related to a more general concept called mediated reality, in which a view of reality is modified (possibly even diminished rather than augmented) by a computer. As a result, the technology functions by enhancing one’s current perception of reality
SOURCE
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Augmented_reality
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What I think about such new worlds:
My life and my way of working is undergoing changes, but I am not afraid. It will be a new world and I need to cope with such changes. Most are in relatinship with the world of science and working situations but schools need to be equipped to teach about these new realities and the ways technologies are changing the way we live.
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