Week 7.0 Assignment 1 : Reflective Synopsis

Because the majority of new technologies and Web 2.0 tools emerge quickly and are not designed specifically for educational purposes, individual educators need the skills and knowledge to determine how these tools can be used to support learning. To do this effectively requires an understanding of the goals of education within our particular context, the pedagogy that support these goals and how this pedagogy can be enacted through the technologies available.

Goals of Education in the 21^st Century

Simply put, the ultimate goal of education is to produce learners who successful members of society. This involves students applying literacy and numeracy skills to become self-directed, “productive and creative users of technology”, who are able to solve problems by working independently and/or collaboratively (MYCEEDYA, 2008).

A Practical Pedagogy

Outlining a personal pedagogy that supports these goals led me to examine a number of contemporary pedagogical frameworks. I found it extremely difficult to define my personal pedagogy and found my focus alternated between departmental documents and specific activities rather than formulating an overarching pedagogy. Eventually it was through the process of thinking about specific activities enabled by specific technologies and working backward (Asking :  Why this is a valuable activity ?  How would I justify its use?) that finally led me to an understanding of the pedagogy I feel is valuable in supporting the educational goals expressed above. These are drawn from a number of different frameworks and expressed in my affordance table headings.

Technology and Pedagogy

An analysis of the educational potential of particular technologies involves a close examination of the overlap between the technology and pedagogy spheres of the TPCK framework (Mishra & Koehler, 2006).

In making decisions about how technological tools can be used to support my pedagogy I was influenced by two readings in particular:

1.   Refreshing my understanding of the SAMR model (Puentedura, 2012) led me to reflect on the type of tasks and activities I included in my analysis to ensure I had included tasks that transformed learning as well as those that enhance it.

2.   Koehler & Mishra’s Keynote address (2008) illustrated that the technology we use to communicate influences our relationship to information. This highlighted for me the importance of thinking carefully about the tools we choose for organising and sharing information as these will shape the thinking (and learning) that occurs.

Affordances of Specific Technologies

When analysing the affordances of technologies for education I have endeavoured to keep the goals of 21^st Century education at the forefront. This logically leads to an emphasis on providing opportunities for students to act as producers of digital content rather than consumers.

Online Spaces:  Wikis and Blogs

Wikis and blogs are online spaces that house digital content and have the potential to provide access to authentic global audiences. Although boundaries between these online spaces may be blurred, I found it useful to view each space as a separate entity. Essentially blogs are designed for single authoring and supporting individual learning and reflection while wikis are specifically suited for multiple authors and are well designed to supporting group consensus and collaboration.

 Media: Audio, Images and Video

Web 2.0 is an undeniably powerful force for communicating. This is partially due to the ability of the participatory web to support multiple means of expression. After exploring the educational uses and potential of audio and images, I eventually chose video as the focus of my analysis. Video is arguably the most powerful medium for expression, as it encapsulates images, text and audio. It is also the medium where advances in technology (increased bandwidth, greater storage capacity, mobile devices) have had the greatest influence on the accessibility and prevalence of this form of media.  

REFERENCES

Koehler, M., & Mishra, P. (2008). Thinking Creatively: Teachers as designers of technology, pedagogy and content [Video]. Retrieved January 18, 2014 from http://punya.educ.msu.edu/2008/03/18/site-2008-keynote/

Mishra, P., & Koehler, M. J. (2006). Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge: A new framework for teacher knowledge. Teachers College Record 108 (6), 1017-1054. Retrieved April 11, 2014 from http://punya.educ.msu.edu/2008/01/12/mishra-koehler-2006/

MCEECDYA. (2008,).  Melbourne Declaration on Educational Goals for Young Australians | Redirect. Retrieved July 7, 2013, from http://www.mceetya.edu.au/mceecdya/melbourne_declaration,25979.html

Puentedura, R. (2012, August 23). Ruben R. Puentedura's Weblog: The SAMR Model: Background and Exemplars. Hippasus. Retrieved July 21, 2013, from http://www.hippasus.com/rrpweblog/archives/000073.html