MODULE 3: Google Docs

I've finally moved away from Module 2!

I enjoyed exploring Google Docs. I did use a couple of the templates provided. I used the document template for a paper I wrote on Instructional Leadership and I played around with some of the templates in Albums and Flipbooks. I liked this one:

It could be used with a class to review the year that was. Students could add their memories throughout the year by uploading pics and text to the album and then publish the finished product for a variety of audiences. Nice!

Still on MODULE 2

You have to watch this!!!

Mmmmmmmm . . . . . . a digital immigrant or a digital tourist or . . . .

poor love!

I can relate!

Still on MODULE 2 - Digital Natives and Digital Immigrants

I’ve been doing a bit more thinking about the digital divide and have done some internet research on the topic which then led me to a whole ‘new’ area to think about - that of digital natives and digital immigrants.

So, What Are You: A Digital Native Or A Digital Immigrant?

And what exactly, is a digital native?

Well, they look like normal people. They’re the kids in our classrooms. They’re probably aged between 0 and 20. You can tell who they are by their mode of communication(s). “Got ur text” “Saw your post on Facebook.” “Hey! zat a new phone? Got any pix?” “Yeah – it’s on my blog.” “Downloaded it last night.” They were born to do YouTube, I-Tube, What’s new Tube? They aren’t quite as impressed with the new stuff as maybe two years ago. They’ve already viewed it, bought it, borrowed it or seen it on their iPhone.

I came across an eye-opening article by Marc Prensky (2001) "Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants". He says that the arrival and rapid dissemination of digital technology in the last decades of the 20th century has ensured that today’s students are no longer the people our educational system was designed to teach. They have spent their entire lives surrounded by and using computers, videogames, digital music players, video cams, cell phones, and all the other toys and tools of the digital age. As a result of this ubiquitous environment and the sheer volume of their interaction with it, today’s students think and process information fundamentally differently from their predecessors.

Our students today are all “native speakers” of the digital language of computers, video games and the Internet. Those of us who were not born into the digital world but have, at some later point in our lives, become fascinated by and adopted many or most aspects of the new technology are digital immigrants.

The importance of the distinction is this: As digital immigrants learn – like all immigrants, some better than others – to adapt to their environment, they always retain, to some degree, their "accent," that is, their foot in the past. The “digital immigrant accent” can be seen in such things as turning to the Internet for information second rather than first, or in reading the manual for a program rather than assuming that the program itself will teach us to use it. Today’s older folk were socialised differently from their kids, and are now in the process of learning a new language. And a language learned later in life, scientists tell us, goes into a different part of the brain. The single biggest problem facing education today is that our digital immigrant instructors, who speak an outdated language (that of the pre-digital age), are struggling to teach a population that speaks an entirely new language.So what do we as teachers need to do in order to bridge the digital divide in education? Prensky suggests that teachers must learn to communicate in the native language and style of their students and change the instructional style accordingly. This includes using more multimedia-based learning objects and also providing opportunities for multi-tasking, networking and interactivity.

Another article, "Part II: Do They Really Think Differently" looks at the socialisation affects on the brain and examines if young people today actually think differently due to their digital upbringing.

And finally, I came across this blog - http://www.committedsardine.com/blog.cfm

It's definitely worth a look!

Still on MODULE 2 - The Digital Divide

Do you get a whole lot of ‘junk’ email in your inbox? Some of it you look at, some you download and some – well, you just press the delete button. I recently opened up an email entitled: SCHOOL BUS. The pictures attached took me aback.

school bus in Japan

school bus in Pakistan

The sheer juxtaposition of a school bus in Japan and a school bus in Pakistan got me thinking about the digital divide and how this affects education. The term digital divide has been coined to describe the division between those that have access to technology and those that do not. In March 2009, an estimated 1.5 billion people, some 23.8% of the world's population (6.7 billion), had Internet access (Nielson Online). It is sobering to reflect that the majority of the world’s population does not have access to the technology that promises to make learning opportunities more widely available than ever before. The vast majority is effectively excluded.

http://www.internetworldstats.com/stats.htm

Surveys of internet use, points to the digital divide as an increasingly important feature of the growing economic and political gaps within and across 'developed' and 'developing' countries.There are various arguments regarding the impacts digital divide have on society and economy. DiBello (2005) addressed the implications of the digital divide and categorised concerns into four main themes:
Educational and Employment Advantages: Some believe that students who are technologically savvy have significant advantages over their peers. They are ahead of the learning curve, and can focus more on the objective issues. Those on the other side of the divide, however will need to focus on technological issues, such as how to create a table in Word, how to use the mouse, how to use a search engine, etc. This in turn will affect their job prospects as employers prefers workers who are technologically competent and are willing to pay more for their services compared to those without.
Economic Growth: Some think that not having access to digital resources might hinder the opportunity that people in undeveloped countries have for economic growth. With much of the world economy currently driven by information and communication technology sectors, countries that are not part of this sector are disadvantaged.
Opportunities for Social and Civic Involvement: Some believe that people who regularly use the Internet are better aware informed about national issues and developmental matters. Therefore, they are given a voice to participate, whether it is in civic activities or on a global scale.
Equity and Civil Rights Issues: Some think that access to technology is often readily available for those in a higher socioeconomic group, while leaving behind those in the lower socioeconomic groups, resulting in equity and civil rights issues.

Do you have any ideas, thoughts, viable solutions to the digital divide? What are some implications for us as teachers? for students? for international education? I welcome your comments to this blog.

Cool Websites

Ok, I pretty much finished Module 2 and have given some thought to starting Module 3 and finding out more about GoogleDocs. But again, I got sidetracked. While further exploring a range of web 2.0 tools and related websites, I came across 21st Century School Teacher. This site has great resources for teachers and lists recommended websites for teachers and students. I had a peep at a few of the suggested sites and I really liked ToonDoo. This site allows you to create your own comic strips. Then you can publish them, share them through emails or even embed them in your blogs or wikis.

This is my first attempt!

Another interesting site is Tikatok™. This is where kids can channel their imagination into stories – and publish those stories into books to share with others. Students simply type in their story, scan and upload their images and add personal touches such as a custom cover, photo and author biography! There is no software to download or install. They can then purchase a hardcopy of their own book.

Now, onto Module 3!

MODULE 2: Exploring the use of blogs in K -12 learning spaces {Glogs}

Module 1 - Today I had a bit of a play and had a look at some web 2.0 tools at the new tools workshop wiki. But what was really interesting was the way they were presented - in a glog:

So, what is a glog? Basically it's an online poster. A glog can have text, hyperlinks, images, audio, and video. It's a techie way for students to create and share virtual posters. Glogster is a free website where teachers and students can create glogs and it doesn't require any paper, markers, or glue. Glogs and can be shared with the world because they are published online. Unlike physical posters, glogs can include audio and video. Glogs can be easily edited and changed at anytime and it has an embed code so it can be used as a widget on your website, blog, or wiki.

Recently, Glogster added an educational component at Glogster.com/edu. There are lots of ideas for teachers to use with students.

This glog tells some of the basics about using glogs in education.

To tell you the truth, I started this blog as part of a Web 2.0 0nline course that I am participating in with a group of teachers in Sydney. The course was created by Helen Christou and Diane Brook at Sydney CEO Leichhardt in 2009. It provides a scaffold for learning and a basic introduction to the potential of working in the world of Web 2.0 for all teachers and interested staff. It's a dynamic course in that we get to engage in our own time and at our own pace. To ensure we use lots of web tools, we're expected to create our own blog and participate in the wetpaint wiki for the course learning community. We also need to consider the potential of Web 2.0 tools to enhance student learning outcomes in physical and virtual learning spaces.

Now, I already have a blog {sue-in-sydney} which is pretty eclectic to say the least. I posted a bit about education and then I got a bit sidetracked and blogged about my dog (my gorgeous cocker spaniel named Dudley, who was recently hit by a car - but that's another story!), my recent trip to Bali, things that I like and am hooked on, interior design . . . . you get the idea. Anyway, I think having a blog exclusively on education, will ensure I focus on education and not get railroaded by other musings.

Now, how did you get here, Dudley???!!!