Assignment - The positive use for Facebook

Through the constant reminders of how positive social media and technology can be to advance learning. We as a PCET class devised a private page in which we can all chat, give advice and help each other with our academic work. We have all been sharing our teaching experiences with each other, congratulating and helping each other on our journey's to becoming qualified FE lecturers. It is a great tool.

I urge anyone to join a support group when in any form of academia as they really are helpful and reassuring. I hope you find them as useful as we are! 

Assignment - How technology has changed the way we learn

Through the latest advancements in technology, it has completely changed the way in which we learn over the last few years. According to Dutt (2012), the system of eductation can be upgraded and is constantly being upgraded as technology advances. This is supported by Carbonara (2005) who states that technology is altering the educators think about teaching and the way in which students consider their learning. Carbonara (2005) also goes on to state that it is vital that teachers have a detailed understanding of methods in which technology can be involved within the topics that are being taught in order to meet the needs of the ever-changing/ expanding technological community. Since many students are already familiar with technological advancements as the have grown up with technology, it is promising that technology will be a very large influence on the way in which students learn/explore new topics and subjects.

Education Secretary Michael Gove (2013) highlighted three ways in which technology has had an influence on the teaching and learning of students in today's society. It is clear to see that Gove (2013) is in favour of technological advancements within the classroom. Gove (2013) highlighted that technology has aided us to learn. Gove (2013) managed this by explaining that learning does not have to be confined to the classroom, it can now be open to anyone of whom has access to the internet. Gove (2013) also illustrated that technology has also altered the way in which educators teach. For example, teachers are still at the from of the classroom presenting a particular topic or lesson, however with the integration of interactive white boards,online discussions, quizzes, games and educational social media networks, students can access their educational work from any device anywhere, presenting student with a larger scope to succeed as there are very few limitations to educational access 24/7. Technology has also placed large advancements on the ways in which teachers are able to monitor and assess students work. This can be completed through online submissions, using software which scans for problems such as plagiarism and cheating, and can allow  for all students to interact in classroom activities through the use of handheld devices, such as using them for online live discussions.

Technological advancements have changed the way in which people learn and want to learn, it is very exciting to see what the future holds for future of technological education. working within an era in which places great emphasis on the positives of technology is a great opportunity for anyone beginning a teaching career. Being able to entice students to learn using the  handheld devices that they love can only be a good thing.  However, teachers must never forget their importance, they are the facilitators of learning!

References 

Carbonara, D. (2005). Teaching Literacy Applications in Learning Environments. London: Information Science Publishing,

Dutt, S. (2012). Changing the way we learn. Chennai: Kasturi and Sons LTD.

Gove, M. (2013). Technology is changing the way we teach, learn and assess, Education Business, The Business Education Magazine for Education. [ Accessed on 8th December 2014]

Assignment - Barriers to the effective use of technology in education

As mentioned in an earlier post, the inclusion of technology within the classroom setting can be a controversial subject within the world of education. While we have some teachers that prefer the traditional way of teaching with no technology, we also have others who are perhaps new to the role and have dived straight into the technology shift straight away. Although there are many positives of integrating this new method of teaching, there are also many barriers.

Combining technology and teaching can be a very daunting thought for many teachers, old and new as many barriers can arise. Through a study conducted by Butler and Selbom (2002) in Ball State Univesity in Indiana, several faculty interviews were conducted aiming to investigate the teacher's thoughts on technology proficiency, barriers of technology and the reliability of it. The study revealed a number of barriers that were mentioned through the investigation regarding the adoption of technology within the learning environment. The most common barriers are pictured below in the table which was presented after the study was conducted.

It can be seen that through the study conducted by Butler and Sellbom (2002), that the main concerns are that the equipment may malfunction or fail, that they do not have enough time to learn new technological skills, that there is difficulty in using the equipment as the equipment may be different across classrooms and that there is a risk of the software being out of date. 

According to Bingimlas (2009), the technological barriers that seem to cause problems for educational purposes often do not come from the technological devices themselves, but from the teachers. Several researchers have found that the main barrier that prevents the integration of technology within the classroom isn't due to the reliability of researchers but down to the lack of confidence of the teacher delivering the lesson (Dawes, 2001, cited in Bingimlas, 2009). 

Another barrier which as been highlighted regarding the problems that teachers are faced when aiming to include such advancements is that of the lack of competence from the educator and their resistance to change teaching styles. This can be a very large factor in terms of how it affects the shift and  integration of technology.

There are many other factors which affect the involvement of such advancements such as negative attitudes, lack of time, lack of effective training, lack of accessibility. 

Barriers to the successful integration

References

Butler, D,L., & Sellbom, M. (2002). Barriers to adopting technology for teaching and learning, Educause Quarterly, 2(1), pp. 22-28.

Becta, L. (2004). A Review of the Research Literature on barriers to the uptake of ICT by teachers, British Educational Communications and Technology Agency, 1(1), pp. 1- 28.

Bingimlas, K. (2009). Barriers to the successful integration of ICT in teaching and learning environments: A review of the literature, Journal of Mathematics, Science and Technology education, 5(3), pp.235-245.

Assignment - The value of Mobile technology in teaching and learning.

The value of mobile technology within the learning environment is a topic which is constantly up for discussion. There are educators that disagree with it and are slightly frightened of using it, alongside teachers that enjoy using it and integrating it within their lectures to illustrate the message in an 'out of the ordinary' fashion.

According to Keengue (2013), mobile technology has a large potential to transform the way in which students learn providing that the technology and devices are used within the lectures to benefit the subject area or topic in hand. This view is supported by the works of Sharples, Taylor & Vavoula (2010), who state that children are constantly developing new skills since the technology in education shift, and these are enables through the use of mobile devices. The fantastic possibilities and avenues that are introduced through mobile learning allow for educational services and media to be matched to the specific learner's interests and contexts. This then leads on to even better engagement in the learning process (Sharples, Taylor & Vavoula, 2010).

The multiple input approaches of mobile technology creates an inquisitive approach to learning enticing students to experiment. According to Sharples, Taylor and Vavoula (2010), the ability to take pictures, record sounds, record videos and key in text to aid with learning can be used conveniently, and frequently with a lot of fun if used correctly and wisely. It is through these views, that the view of mobile technology being of great value within the classroom can be established.

A study conducted by Lai, Uang and Liang (2009) on two classes of fifth grade elementary school students in China found that technology in learning is of great importance. The study found that technology in learning aids students through the experimentation aspect and entices the students to engage, as supported by Sharples, Taylor and Vavoula (2010).  The researches within the study separated the classes and gave 34 students in one group a task to complete with PDA's and the other group of 32 students using no forms of mobile technology. Through the findings of this study, it was displayed that the PDA group of students enjoyed and engaged and performed better at the task than those who did not. The aim of this study was to display the importance of mobile technology and how it can be used for educational purposes.

With studies being conducted in order to display the importance of moving with the technology advancements, it is clear to see just even through this short evaluation of the value of mobile technology in learning, that there are strong positives to be gained through it's integration within the classroom.



References

Keengue.J. (2013) Mobile learning and integration of mobile technologies in education, Education and Information technologies. 19(4), pp.737-746.

Sharples. M., Taylor. J., & Vavoula. G. (2010) A theory of learning for the mobile age, Meidenbildung in neuen Kulturraumen. Wiesbaden : VS Verlag für Sozialwissenschaften.

Lai, C., Uang, J., & Liang, J. (2009). Mobile technology supported experiential learning, International Journal of Instructional Media. 36(1), pp. 41-53.

Assignment - A great TED Talk.

This video was introduced to me within my first week of my PCET course. My tutor Mandy Peace showed it to the class and I would be lying if I said I haven't watched it a good few times since. I think it's fab. I also just like Rita as a person (from what I can see). I could watch her all day. Rita here speaks about the importance of the influence of a teacher on a child. It is a very touching video which I'm sure will empower most educators, and reminds them of the influence we have on learners. 

'Rita Pierson, a teacher for 40 years, once heard a colleague say, "They don't pay me to like the kids." Her response: "Kids don't learn from people they don’t like.’” A rousing call to educators to believe in their students and actually connect with them on a real, human, personal level.' 
The sentence above can be found on  Rita's Tedtalk video link, underneath the video, and describes in a nutshell what it's all about. It is a powerful but inspiring video for teachers and for anyone who wants to be a significant other in somebody's life.

Take a watch! Enjoy!

Assignment- My personal experiences with Microsoft Applications

When I think of Microsoft Applications, I often only consider the 'Office' package. Due to the fact I am not very experienced when it comes to any other applications other than the 'Office' package, I will discuss my experiences with a few of these.

Through my educational journey, I have only scraped the surface of the abilities the 'Office' package. I haven't even used all of the applications within the package. The main ones that I have used include, word, and powerpoint. I have touched upon, excel and outlook previously, however I have no real experience using these. I hope to advance my experiences and knowledge in the near future.

My experiences of these...

Microsoft Word - I have found this application to be increasingly useful. It is a great tool that helps students, teachers, or anyone wanting to create a word document at ease. The strip (pictured below), allows users to change fonts, sizes, and the look of the text quickly and easily. This application has many tools which aid the user to create an effective piece of work. I have personally used many aspects of it, from the word art tool, to the word count, to the referencing tool. It is a great piece of software that I believe is an essential application for any student and teacher, and I would recommend any computer user to have it installed. This piece of software has helped me create essays, complete my dissertation, open pre-written documents, edit documents, and re-vamp work. I wouldn't have been able to complete my under graduate degree without it!

Microsoft Powerpoint - An application I seem to use very often these days while presenting lectures. Using this application along with an Interactive SMART board leads for an effective, interactive lecture which gets all students involved. The abilities of powerpoint are huge, however I don't use many of the animations, colours etc (just to name a few). I like to keep my presentations simple, with simple animations. This application has the ability to distract viewers from WHAT the presentation is displaying, to HOW it looks.This completely misses the point of presenting. This is a great tool to get information across to a large audience, and can also act as a cue to the lecturer as to where to go next with the presentation. I will continue to use this application, as it is extremely useful for my career as a lecturer. ( see a previous post on the pro's and con's of powerpoint presentations also!)

Assignment - The website called 'delicious'

Where has 'Delicious' been all my life? What a fantastic tool to keep all your research and internet links together without saving numerous word documents, that you forget about after a week or two. This site allows you to store 'markers' for all your favourite sites where you find the most relevant information for a particular topic, and then also sort them into sections, like your own personalised library. 

This website is a fantastic tool to store all the information you use from the internet without the risk of losing any links. You can also follow other members and search their links, which is super handy, especially if you decide to follow someone of whom has the same topic interest as you. 

I have created an account, and I definitely intend on using this website to store articles, links and relevant information to help me on my FE lecturer journey. It is a great tool to find links that perhaps you wouldn't have thought of whole trawling through Google.

Take a look at this video below on how to use this website. Create an account, it's really handy!