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I feel inspired after reading Idit Harels ‘The Three X’s‘. Prior to reading the article i was unaware of what the three X’s were. They are desribed as the most important skills we can foster in our children aside from reading, writing and arithmetic. (I know i was also a bit taken back by that description!) It just truly emphasises the importance of technology in the environment.

The Three X’s:

• eXploring

• eXpressing

• eXchanging

Exploring – Takes advantage of kids nautral passion for learning and discovery.

Expressing – Learning how to use a vast palette of tools to become designers, builders and architects of your own ideas.

Exchanging – The sharing of ideas with others.

Idit explains that the Three X’s can all be achieved through the use of the Net. The Net is described as the ‘ideal learning environment for such open-ended discovery, the kind that creates a passion and desire for learning itself’.  I agree that the Net can let children create, work and play in a way that they never could beofre. I think its important for kids to know how to share ideas creatively and believe that a child’s learning opportunites can be opened up through interactive online exchange. I feel the Net has a lot of beneficial and positive effects on children. It encourages research skills and they can access every library of the world at their very own door step however i feel appropriate actions NEED to be put into place to ensure the safety of children using the internet. We all should know about the dangers of unwanted predators on the internet so i feel it is highly important to provide a safe learning environment on the internet where sites and links can be controlled. For more information towards online safety for kids please click here.

In conclusion, i believe that the three X’s will help children become masters of change in a world in which change is all that is certain.

“We must give our kids the tools they need to develop and learn these skills so they can grow and succeed”.

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‘Stuffing Technology into Curriculum’ explores the idea of the government pushing technology onto classroom teachers to prepare the young for jobs in the knowledge economy, even though few of the activities promoted would actually accomplish that goal. It discusses that the global stuffing of technology into the curriculum shows little resemblence to sound instructional design.

It was interesting to see the quote saying: ‘Technology for the sake of technology’. This quote is a modern phenomenon related to various presumptions that new things are almost always better… something i am guilty of sometimes thinking. The article argues that for successful teachers with long careers of achieving good results with classical tools and methods have good reaon to ask why they should stuff new technology into their programs when there is so little evidence of value and so little time for fashion and fads. This article regarded technology as a ‘new tool that added little value therefore they deserve little place in the classroom’.

I would have to say that i disagree with this article. Firstly i do not think technology is a ‘fad’. Fad meaning ‘temporary’ gives off the notion that technology may only be around for a short amount of time. Technology has been growing for the last 20 years and is definetly not going to go anywhere but to continuously grow. Technology can create income and is a major part of the economic business world in which we live and function in. If technology were to dissappear, some would have to their whole lifestyle. I can understand if people see technology as a ‘fashion’ due to the fact that it is constantly growing, changing and getting re-modelled to keep up with the latest styles and trends however i feel unfortunate for the people who hold these views as technology is a part of daily life now for billions of people and to view it as a ‘fashion’ can be placing a huge disadvantage on you and your opportunities in life. I dont feel that the government should be viewed as ‘pushing technology’ onto classroom teachers. I feel the word pushing is an inappropriate word as it suggests a strong force with a strong resistance to it. Technology, sooner or later, would always have to enter the curriculum due to the ever-growing human dependance on it. As teachers we have to prepare students on how to live in the world and contribute to the economy through working and earning money. Every job these days involves a computer in some form, wether its writing up your CV to apply for the job, being on the pay roll, entering in data or checking your pay online. Therefore, for us to do our job correctly as teachers,  we must integrate technology into the classroom.  

I like this article as it challenges you to think about the issue of technology…Do we really need it? Why?

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It was interesting to read Claires response on Blogging with Kids by Angela Kilikowski . The blog was about  a personal and interesting read about a teachers struggle to involve her class in online blogging. She was under the impression that the children would be ’totally into it’ and responsive to the idea but was set back and demotivated when their response was less than interested. She found that though the majority of the children in her class were techno savvy, they has little to no idea what a ‘Blog’ was, let alone its purpose. 

I actually liked reading this article as it is realistic and honest in dealing with introducing new technologies in the class. This is an example of what can happen when you introduce something new… not all kids might be into it and it may not be as ‘peachy clean and simple’ as everyone (who knows how to use it may i add) suggest. To solve the problem Angela sent out an email to her class outlining the simple rules and processes of using a blog and has had major success with the majority of her class.

I agree with Claire in that I believe Angela has done a great job in getting her children motivated to use different programs and feel she has breached an important aspect of integrating technology in the curriculum.

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Nyssa’s blog posting “Growing up Digital” looks at how web changes work, education and ways people learn. Nyssa discusses how John Seely Brown uses a comparison between the production of electricity over the 25 years ago to the emergence of the World Wide Web.  The purpose of this is so the reader can better understand the transformation.  Brown believes that ‘the Web will be a fundamental of society as electrification has’. The implications for education are that it fosters learning thats discovery based. I agree with Nyssa in saying that as teachers we should engage our students in their ideal way of learning and this can be done through the use of technology. This will ensure student engagement and motivation within lessons.

“The energy of the mind is the essence of life.” 

Aristotle

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After reading the article ‘Teach from Home’ im left with a feeling of amazement. Bob Sprankle is an Elementary Technology Integrator in Wells, ME USA. The article is about how his daughter was at home sick and he had to stay home to look after her – missing a few days of work. Bob talks about his worries about his subsitute teacher being able to do his job and carry out his lesson plan- he finds it hard enough himself! He feels ‘days are spent trying to catch up when one day is missed…curriculum takes a hit…students take a hit’. Bob describes his feelings of being anxious and worried about how the plans are going, how the students are going and wondering how he will ever catch up when ever he misses a day. Bob quotes “I hate, hate, HATE being out’.

Bob takes us through his experience of teaching whilst being at home. He explains how he logs into a program called ‘ichat’, an audio tool and allows him to call his class and be in control of the screen back at school. Bob tells us how he was able to talk to the students, hear the students, ask them questions, and show everything on the computer as if he were sitting there right with them. He explains that it was all done using Macintosh software that comes with the computer, bit similar solutions also exist for the PC.

“It was, in short, wild.” – Bob.

The main point that really grabbed my attention in this article was the notion of “Distance Learning”. Bob is glad his students got a little taste of it as he states ‘there is going to be a whole lor more of that in their futures’. According to Clayton Christensen, author of Disrupting Class, “by 2019 about 50 percent of high school courses will be delivered online (p.98)”. Bob explains that this will happen for the same reasons that he had to do it: we can do it, its easy, and – for many scenarios – it makes perfect sense. Like it or note, its coming.

I think learning online is an exciting and scary new technological advancement. This article has really opened my eyes to a whole new level of teaching. This tool can really help a teacher and her students when a teacher cannot come in for the day. Reading Lee-Anne Pattersons response to this article made actually made me realise how important it is that we have a tool like this available for us for example she explains how she lives in Hong Kong and with the SARS virus going around schools had to close for 3 weeks – even more – so she had to use this tool to teach her kids, which is vital. I didnt even think of stuff like that!!

This article has really made me aware of the scary and exciting truths and realities of the world and how we have no idea what will be around the corner and what we will soon be relying on next!

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The article i have read is an overview of the LAMS (Learning Activity Management System) software. It talks about how you can create a visual ‘drag and drop’ authoring platform in which the formation, supervision, distribution, storing, sharing and remixing/repurposing of a wide range of online educational activities is possible. The LAMS software can provide teachers with a ’round-the-clock’ point of access to student online contributions. According the LAMS website, the software is intended for ‘designing, managing and delivering online collaborative learning’.

I had never heard of LAMS before starting e-Learning. Throughout the subject we had a LAMS assignment to do in which we had to design and come up with our own online learning task for children. This task was very challenging as i was unfamiliar with the software. However once i discovered how it worked and what the functions could do i found the whole experience to be really enjoyable. I’ll admit i wasnt looking forward to completing the task as i thought it was daunting, but i feel that was only caused from my lack of experience and confidence in the area. The only other downside is that it can be quite time consuming as there are quite a few fidgity things that have to be done – clicking from one thing to the next but you do soon get used to it.

This article made me realise that LAMS is used worldwide (in 80 countries!). I feel the main strength of the LAMS software is that it encourages the sharing of freely available digital lesson plans and the exchange of experiences. The article reinforces the teachers role within the classroom when using LAMS. The teachers role in this environment is designed to act as a facilitator of learning rather than a dictator. LAMS is designed for students to learn online rather than face to face however the teacher is there to guide the learning experiences and deal with any questions or problems that may arise. I believe that using ICT in particular, LAMS, challenges the stereotypical learning environment and as a result motivates students in a positive manner.

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I have just read Emilys Blog on the article “Building Software Beats Using It“. I agree with Emily in that students need to be educated in a way that maximises their learning, they need to be participating in interactive activities where they have opportunities to learn things for themselves. Emily stated that this could be in the form of research or also developing their own ideas using computer programs. I would like to know what computer programmers reccomend the amount of time a child should spend on the computer should be.

I like the notin of kids building their own software, i think this would really benefit them in the future and living in todays world. For example rather than children using the computer for a multiple choice quiz, have students use the computer to design their own activities and actively use the computer…’kids were able to program the computer, rather than let the computer program them!’ If students can do this, i believe students can design their own destiny.

     “Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world.”  – Albert Einstein Quote

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Matthews Blog: The Use of Video Medium highlights one of the new flexible roles of media. Matthew talks about digital story telling and how video production is ‘enjoying widespread popularity in all levels of education’. The aspect i really value of using video mediums is that it can be used across all Key Learning Areas.  I agree with Matthew in that various genres of video offer ‘exciting new opportunities for learning’.

I believe there are many benefits that kids can receive from the process of making a video. By using video cameras in school, we can teach children the truth about what they see on television. Experimenting with video cameras can teach a child that what he or she sees on TV isn’t always real, which is extremely important growing up in a society where children can be strongly influenced and targetted by the media. I believe that giving children exposure to communicative tools like video cameras will allow children the freedom of experimenting with their own imaginative growth. Using video mediums can improve communication skills for students and give them a sense of responsibility and ownership as they publish their work.

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Matthews blog informs us of his recent attendance at Bernard Garcins presentation of the collaborative project he has been doing with 30 schools around the world. He talks about how online technology supports their language learning. He highlights that students have ‘more sophisticated web based tools through the foundations in email. Matthew goes into explaining one of Garcin’s interesting techniques – the use of ‘online pools/surveys’ to ‘initiate interest and spark debate amongst students’. This is a technique that i will strive to incorporate into my teaching practices. Matthews blog made me think about all the possibilities that the internet can create. For more on internet possibilities click here.

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