Blogging as an Educational Tool

At first I found it hard to identify areas in which blogging would be useful in the teaching of secondary science.  There is a lot of declarative knowledge to be taught in secondary science.  And blogs didn’t really appear to provide a particularly good platform for teaching this sort of knowledge.  To use a blog with correct technological pedagogy, it needs to provide more than just presenting the same information from a textbook on a new media.

One of the potential uses of blogs, as suggested by Stephen Downes (2004), is as a class web page.  This could initially provide information such as class assignments, rules and homework.  For science, I could envisage a blog site containing a plethora of additional educational tools.  As the term progresses the teacher can provide additional online links to help with learning by placing these in a blog relating to each topic, week or class.  There are many online science tools that a teacher could embed into the blog but may not have time to cover during the formal lesson.  This way the students can review the additional material when convenient and easily return to the appropriate blog when needed.  Many of the sources used during a class could also be linked or embedded onto this type of blog.  Gone are the days when the only information that a student can take from a lesson is what they remember or manage to write down in notes.  A blog could provide the one-stop shop needed by a student to access to all the information relevant to their studies.

It could be argued that this online class-related information could also be posted on a website, and it can be.  However, as Downes (2004) argues, blogs tend to be easier and quicker for the user to modify or add content, and allows for students to leave comments or questions relating to a particular posting.  Also, it can be hard to identify when new information has been added to a webpage.  Whereas, a blog easily allows each student to identify when new information has been added, as each post is dated and displayed in reverse-chronological order.  The student simply needs to scroll down the page until they find the last posting they read.  All new postings will be displayed after this (or above it).  Postings within a blog can also have relevant “tags” attached to them, allowing the students to search for a particular or similar posting.

A more student-centred approach to blogs would be to get students to post their own work on a personal blog (Downes, 2004).  This could include homework, assignments or lab reports.  Anything that might be used to reinforce the new concepts could also be posted, e.g. drawing a concept map, construction an event sequence, answering homework questions.  However, blogs by their nature are for sharing information and ideas between people, so this would only be appropriate for tasks where it was appropriate for ideas to be shared amongst the students.  Assessment tasks in which the content needs to be the students own work are probably not suited for posting on a blog.  There are options available for teachers to be able to restrict who sees a blog (Downes, 2004).  So, it would be possible for a teacher to only allow themselves to see each student’s blog, however another form of technology would probably be better suited to these types of assessment e.g. submission of files via email or an online school website. 

Blogs lend themselves to reflective writing.  This is a good way to support constructivist learning (Fasso, 2013).  A reflective activity that could be undertaken would be to get students to blog after each lesson.  In their blog they would have to include at least one thing that they understood and one thing they didn’t understand.  Then each student needs to read their fellow students’ blogs and see if they can help anyone else with their questions by posting comments on each other’s blogs.  This would give all students an equal opportunity to reflect on their most recent class, voice their opinion and learn from each other.

One of the criticisms of students blogging raised by Downes (2004), is that the student might only be writing for the teacher.  However this statement could be made of many other forms of writing and assessment pieces, including the traditional essay.  And so, is not a new issue or solely linked to student blogging.

Another issue that arises from using blogs is whether or not the blog should be an ‘open’ blog (i.e. able to be viewed publicly on the internet) or a ‘restricted’ blog (i.e. protected by a password and only able to be accessed by students, teachers and parents).  According to the National Copyright Unit (n.d.), the answer to this can be quite complicated as it depends on the type of information being posted and what its copyright restrictions are.  Basically, if the blogs are only going to contain the students’ own work or free for education material, then it can be open.  But if third party material protected by copyright will be used (covered by fair dealing), then it needs to be protected.  These rules will also vary according to each school’s own web publishing guidelines, whether or not personal student information is being published, student could be identified by the information and what sort of parental consent has been given (Education Queensland, 2012).  This can create quite a headache for the teacher.  It might be difficult for the teacher to predict what sort of material the students will be using.  To be safe, it would be easier to simply restrict access to the blog, something that is recommended by Education Queensland (2012), especially if there is the potential for personal information to be included through which a student may be identified.  But then this removes the global element that becomes possible when people from all over the world are able to comment on a student’s blog. 

As can been seen, the use of blogs in education contains many benefits as well as hazards.  However, I believe that through proper planning and monitoring, blogging can be a beneficial educational tool with very little negatives.

References

Downes, S. (2004). Educational Blogging. EDUCause Reviewi, 39(5). Retrieved from http://www.educause.edu/ero/article/educational-blogging

Education Queensland (2012).  Web publishing for schools – Risk management.  Retrieved from http://education.qld.gov.au/web/schools/riskman.html

Fasso, W. (2013). A brief overview of learning theory. Retrieved from CQUniversity e-courses, EDED20491: ICTs for Learning Design, http://moodle.cqu.edu.au

National Copyright Unit .(n.d.). What can a teacher do on a wiki or a blog? Retrieved from http://www.smartcopying.edu.au/scw/go/cache/offonce/pid/946/ctnscroll_guidelinesContainer/1_1

Socrative - An educational mobile phone app

Just found a review about the educational mobile app Socrative:



As I was watching this review, my mind was ticking over with all the different ways this app could be used.  It's primarily an assessment tool.  Once set up, it would be a really quick way to assess what the students have learnt from the lesson and it could be used during the lesson, at the end of the lesson or even as a part of homework.  It works on all web enables devices including smart phones, tablet devices and computers.  So even if some students don't have a smart phone (or your school doesn't let them in the classroom), they can still participate on their laptops.  The best part is that's it's free!

Here's where to find all you want to know http://www.socrative.com

Well I'm off to investigate this further.  I hope this is useful for someone.

Mobile Phone Wiki

Wikis are a ‘website’ of sorts, where all participants possess the authority to contribute and modify the content on the site.  Here is a simple explanation on how wikis work: 

The activity assigned required each person to consider the use of mobile phones in the classroom.  We were to think about this topic using de Bonos Six Thinking Hats and then add our comments to a class wiki.

My first reaction to using the wiki was quite negative.  I found the initial process to be quite messy.  The participants’ names did not line up with their comments because of the design of the table.  There were a lot of comments to read and many simply re-iterated previous ideas.  There was also the issue of lost contributions, either through them being accidentally deleted or not being saved by the wiki because someone else was working on the site at the same time.  As being one of the final participants to contribute to the wiki, I also found it difficult to think of unique ideas to add to the discussion.

As I navigated the wiki more I gradually found it easier to use and found ways to combat some of the drawbacks.  For example, I learnt to save my comments in an external document first and then copy and paste in my comments.  This way my information could never be ‘lost’ and easily put back into the wiki if removed for some reason.

I also realised, that I had become more focused on the issue of using mobile phones in the classroom and how de Bono’s six thinking hats worked than on how wikis actually worked and their potential teaching benefits.  As I stood back and thought about wikis in general and how a complete task using wikis would work (i.e. a task that included the summarising and analysing), my view on wikis began to change.

The benefits:

• Everyone gets an opportunity to voice an opinion and be heard 
• All opinions can be read by all other participants and the teacher
• Many novel suggestions may be made (more than one person could have thought of by themselves)
• Participants can add their contributions at a time suitable to them (i.e. doesn’t have to be done in class because that is where the butcher’s paper is)
•  Initial responses don’t need to be ‘perfect’, as contributions can be easily altered as more information on the topic is discovered
• Once all contributions have been made, they can then be sorted/summarised/analysed into a working document
• Common or favoured ideas are easily identified by the number of times they are listed
• A group activity that allows for participants to be in different geographical locations
•  Lost/deleted contributions can be retrieved through the history log
• Allows for the teacher to be able to check what sort of contribution each participant is making and how the project is progressing
• All information is located on the one site 

The drawbacks:

• Can’t be worked on at the same time by more than one person
•  Other participants’ contributions can be accidentally or deliberately deleted
• The initial contributions can appear messy with duplication of information
• Although a collaborative tool, there still needs to be an appointed moderator to ensure all the participants stay on task and to oversee the wiki’s development

There is a certain amount of trust given to the participants.  Not to delete or alter anyone else’s comments.  This can be quite empowering for the participant.

I would use wikis in the classroom.  I think it would be a great group homework device.  Sometimes group work can be quite time consuming for the participants because a time and place needs to be arranged for all the participants to meet.  However, using a wiki would mean the participants could add their ideas at a time and location that suited them.  It negates the effect of participants forgetting to bring work to the group session or being absent, as all the work is on the wiki.  It also provides a great way for teachers to check to see what sort of contribution each participant has made (using the history log).  I’m sure everyone has memory of a group assignment where one member didn’t do his or her fair share of the work, and yet, still gets the same mark. Ggrr!

So while wikis do possess some of their own issues, they solve many of the problems associated with traditional group work.

What is TPACK?

Attempting Productive Pedagogies

To explore the use of productive pedagogies in planning a lesson, I devised a lesson plan to instruct students how to eat at a dinner table.  My initial thoughts were that this type of information was very applicable to the students’ real life, and so would fulfill many of the productive pedagogies’ criteria.

My initial attempt at creating a short learning sequence and then linking it to the productive pedagogies resulted in a step-by-step explanation of how a formal dinner would function.  I quickly discovered that very few of my steps actually linked to any of the productive pedagogies.  Productive pedagogies is not primarily about what type of content is being taught to the students.  It is about how that information is being delivered, what you are asking the students to do with that information and what is the real-world and world-wide importance of that information.

Here is my altered short learning sequence with linked productive pedagogies:

Source: http://moodle.cqu.edu.au/mod/page/view.php?id=115340

To address the problems in my first attempt at the learning sequence, I first looked at the way the content was going to be presented to the students.  My original design had the teacher simply telling the students what they needed to know.  I added in a class brainstorming session so that information could be gathered from the students’ background knowledge.  There was also no narrative aspect, so I included the use of a guest speaker to tell stories from their childhood.

I then had to look at what I was asking the students to do with the information they were being given.  I added a role playing session, which would allow the students to practice the types of behaviours required in real life, show that had gained deep understanding on the topic and hopefully create substantive conversation between students during the activity.  I also added in the utensils and food chart so the students would have an opportunity to problem solve.

A major deficiency in my original design was that it did not address the “Recognition of Difference” dimension at all.  This was fixed by simply adding an activity on the end of the lesson that required the students to research the same information but from other cultures.  By adding a reflective piece the students also had to identify how they could personally apply this new information to their own lives, covering the inclusivity, group identity and citizenship aspects of this dimension.

Going through this activity has taught me that there is much more to teaching than simply being able to identify the type of content the students need to learn.  It has also shown me which productive pedagogies I don’t fully understand.  I especially had difficulties trying to find a way to link “higher order thinking” and “deep knowledge” to the lesson plan.  Productive pedagogies provides a framework for lesson planning to ensure that the students will learn much more from a lesson then simply how to eat politely at a dinner table.

Reflection on Connectivism

Connectivism is a learning theory proposed by George Siemens for the way the new digital student will learn.  Siemens (2005) states  "Learning (defined as actionable knowledge) can reside outside of ourselves (within an organization or a database), is focused on connecting specialized information sets, and the connections that enable us to learn more are more important than our current state of knowing." 

I see Sieman’s point of view.  There is too much information to be able to ‘know’ everything.  And so, in current society, the channels that allow us to access information have become much more important.  However, I do not believe they have become more important than the information itself.  As teachers, we want our students to become someone who fixes the world’s problems and makes new discoveries.  However, if a person has to cover all the basic information about a topic every time it is encountered, then they will never end up at the solution or new discovery because there will not be enough time.  This is where the “knowing” and “recalling” remain an essential part of learning.  Learning needs to be a continual building of information in our minds rather than just on a computer network.