Reflections – A Novel Idea

ETL 523 – Assessment Item 2 – Part C – Reflective Blog Post

The collaborative online learning environment created by myself, Judy and Christy I feel, overall, was successful.

Our process began with the initial teething problems: working from two different Google Docs – one that Christy had already done some work on that she shared with us via email and another one that Judy had started. The email trail proved challenging for myself and Christy so I suggested moving across to Microsoft Teams. The advantage of Teams was that all our messages were streamed on one screen and you could see replies to various threads.

The newest piece of software that I was unfamiliar with was Zoom. It timed out well however, as the move to online learning happened around the time we started collaboration and I had heard that this was a good tool to use as an alternate to Adobe Connect which I was more familiar with.

I found the online meetings most helpful. This would be a “norm” for collaborative learning that I believe should be present in a digital learning environment. Locke (2007) talks about the various spaces that are user-centred and have various functions and behaviours that are present in that space such as “group” and “participation” spaces.

In the case of our group project, it provided an opportunity to get to know each other personally and to discuss the ideas we had all had individually about how we wanted to approach the project. It was an opportunity to ask questions and get clarification on understanding which I felt was important if we wanted to create a cohesive module. This was particularly important as at one key point in the process there were differences in understanding as to who our audience would be and how evaluation using the Quality Teaching Framework was going to be embedded into the modules. To combat this Christy adapted the template that Julie had provided for us as a Google doc to help get clarification and streamline what each of us was doing which I felt was a good strategy.

In terms of the school environment, online meetings would be vital in building relationships to ensure that students can feel as though they can be open and learn from one another as “co-learners” safely and responsibly (Rheingold, 2016, para 1). This is fundamental in a face to face context so developing those parameters online would also be important.

Building the online collaborative learning into a school environment would also need to be collectively designed by the school community – executive, teachers, students and community to ensure there is some consistency across the digital learning environments, a fluidity between formal and informal learning spaces and enough room for personalisation both for the teacher and student.

Individuals are always going to have a preference as to what they like to use in terms of digital tools and the ways in which they prefer to collaborate (just like learning styles) so it may be difficult to make everyone happy all of the time. As evidenced by our recent move to online learning, the diversity of tools and the variety of styles we have used should, hopefully, in the long term, make our students (and teachers) more versatile in their online collaborations and therefore better able to learn from each other within a digital world as long as collaborative discussion is embedded within this practice.

References

Locke, M. (2007, August 10). Six spaces of social media. http://test.org.uk/2007/08/10/six-spaces-of-social-media/

Rheingold, H. (2016, December 13). Practicing the principles of connected learning. http://educatorinnovator.org/practicing-the-principles-of-connected-learning/

Globally Connected Educator – Apps I Already Use

15th April 201925th May 2019karla_oINF 532 / Reflections1 Comment

As part of our learning in INF532 we are expected to select, test/trial and evaluate the use of online tools that we are unfamiliar with. I thought I would discuss the ones that I already use to help me get started on this. The list of tools I would like to try includes:

Diigo
Google Maps
Symbaloo
PearlTrees
Nings
QR Codes
Project Gutenberg
Tumblr
Reddit
Paper.li

The ones I am already using are:

Facebook – I am part of several networks on this social media site. English Teachers’ Association, Library Matters NSW and Drama Peeps are the main ones I engage with but I do have a few smaller groups that I follow. The way I connect with other educators is by writing posts when I have a question about something or I contribute an answer to someone else’s question. In evaluating the benefit of these networks I would say I have found them very useful. You often receive replies quite quickly. That immediate help often makes me feel quite relieved because I have been agonising over how to do something and often go to the network as a last resort rather than as a first option. I think I should engage with them much sooner before that.
Listservs – I joined the OzEdTL Listserv after it was recommended to us during one of my subjects last year. I can’t say I love it. It floods my inbox at work and it is not visually appealing. I often end up deleting a good majority of the emails because I just don’t have time to read them. If I adjusted my email preferences to not receive them that often I think I still wouldn’t read them. I’m not sure if one of the curating sites could help with this. I tend to find my answers in other ways or I will save ones that I want to come back to and read later but I often find I don’t make time to do this so I’m not sure it is the most effective tool for me personally.
Pinterest – I curate a whole range of things and have two categories one for books and library ideas. I like the function of making some boards private. It’s particularly good for visuals. I find you still have to click on some links to check that they’re credible but it’s amazing how many resources you can build up. The search terms have a lot of sub-categories many of which I had never thought of. That is quite helpful. Most of the links are to blogs so I’m not sure that it would be the best type of curation site for research in an academic capacity but it could be used as a good model to connect students to concept of content curation.

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Network Literacy

13th April 2019karla_oINF 532 / Reflections / Uncategorized1 Comment

For this blog post I need to address the following questions:

How do McClure and Rheingold’s views on network literacy differ? What do you see as having changed between these authors’ definitions of being ‘network literate’?

How important are networks? For professional educators? For students? For rethinking teaching, learning and assessment?

McClure (1994) defines network literacy as “the ability to identify, access, and use electronic information from the network.” He says that it consists of knowledge and skills. The knowledge required is that of being aware of a range of networked information resources and services, understand the role of this information in problem solving and performing basic life activities as well as an understanding of how information is generated, managed and made available. The skills required include being able to retrieve specific types of information using information discovery tools, manipulate information by combining it with other existing information so as to increase the value of the information for particular situations and analyse and use information to resolve workplace and personal decisions and obtain services that will enhance their overall quality of life.

Rheingold’s views on network literacy are a little bit different. He draws on several researchers to convey his argument. The key points from Lesig that he highlights are that structure matters. Programming codes are created and evolve once created. Governments have power over these structures. Architecture (programming and legal) confers control. He considers whether or not the networks will be centralised or decentralised and therefore what kind of content is being made available to people. This connects with McClure’s definition as he states that being aware of a range of networked information resources and services is important however what quality of information resources and services can be accessed may impact on the ability to make workplace and personal decisions. The key points from Reed that he highlights are: that the value of networks changes with the way that networks are used. Reed refers to Sarnoff, the creator of the Radio Corporation of America, who said that the value of the network is dependent upon the number of receivers. That the few to many principle means it has more significance, that the collective of networks has more value than a network on its own. This then links to creating social capital which Rheingold sees as being the ease at which people can get things done together unlike a more individual approach by McClure’s definition. Rheingold’s definition sees a merging between social networks and technical aspects. It focuses on the collective and how having mutual interests is also key to ensuring that networks grow faster. From this the value and quality of the content changes so then networks are producing better resources.

In thinking about the importance of networks for educators and students it is evident that aspects of understanding and application can only improve when part of a wider collective. By reconsidering the value of networks there is potential for greater connection with others which could change the dynamic of learning and assessment.

Connected and Social Learning

12th April 201925th May 2019karla_oINF 532 / Reflections2 Comments

To finish off the module there were some questions about connected and social learning:

How important is connected learning to you?
How do you blend the ‘social’ with the ‘educational’?

This module has helped me to reconnect with the reasons why I started a PLN way back in 2011. It has helped me to reflect on my reasons for closing my PLN down. Ultimately though, I do believe, being connected to other educators outside of your school helps to keep you fresh and innovative. I think about the three years since I closed my PLN down and I wonder if the feelings I have had of not being inspired by my work would have been alleviated if I had remained active in my online community. It’s hard to say because life happens, but it may have. I do worry now about blending my social online world with my educational one. I think that was what was happening somewhat for me. I had a personal account on Facebook but I also had one for my blog. My personal time was being taken up with online social interactions for work and I was resenting how much time this was taking. Upon reflection, perhaps by making clearer boundaries with which platforms I am using for my PLN and which are being used socially, may make me feel better about starting a PLN again. Also, setting a specific time per day to work on my PLN might be useful but as we’re talking about very fluid technologies and times I’m not sure how practical that will be. I will keep experimenting and see.

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4 Big Ideas Around the Connected Educator

12th April 201925th May 2019karla_oINF 532 / Reflections1 Comment

The next reading I had to look at was a slide show by Tolisano (2014) and a blog post that was connected to it. In this she discusses four key ideas about the connected educator:

Local Isolation
Gaining Perspective
Data Crowdsource Resources
Model for Students

From this, I need to address a couple of questions. They are:

How essential are the 4 ideas around being a connected educator and how do they relate to being a globally connected educator?
How would you present this to your colleagues/staff in your school/institution?
What reaction would you get from them? Why?
Is there anything you could add?

From my understanding of Tolistano’s reading, the four ideas she explores relate to becoming a globally connected educator in several ways: the nature of teaching is that we are often isolated in our classrooms. This feeling can act as a catalyst to either seek out connection or not. I think for young, tech-savvy staff, reaching out online for resources at least is second nature. Collaborating through those tools may not be as common. For older staff I think this would be challenging. It would be important to try to pitch this idea as not being extra work. I’m not sure how much buy in they would have initially. I have often found though, that if you chip away and particularly if you model successful strategies and guide them through how to do it they may be able to emulate it in their classroom. There are so many demands on teachers that they need to feel like this is worthwhile. When the pressure is on to achieve results sometimes these kinds of tasks get left by the wayside for more traditional methods that will ensure they learn the content for the exam. At the same time, I think we’re losing sight of the skill set students need and as such becoming a globally connected educator and modelling some of these strategies in the classroom would be helpful to preparing them for the real world.

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The Connected Educator – Reflections

12th April 2019karla_oINF 532 / ReflectionsLeave a comment

There were a series of readings and activities in Module 2 that I was required to complete. Here are my thoughts:

Nussbaum-Beach & Hall Reading:

Have you moved beyond co-operation? What role is collaboration playing in your professional learning and your practice? What’s new and different about collaboration for 21st Century learners?

I would say much of our faculty planning looks like co-operation but probably gets labelled as collaboration. That being said, the characteristic of working together to solve a problem I think is something that is being done at a faculty level. But the loss of group members, and utilising individual talents does not have an impact on programming.

For a time I was collaborating when I had my previous PLN but I consciously shut it all down about three-four years ago after I had a bit of a professional crisis in relation to it and questioned the value it had for me professionally. Despite my reservations, at the moment I am working on rebuilding connections but in a new field – Teacher Librarianship and trying to learn from my previous experience and mistakes. I am finding it hard as I want to create a delineation between my work and home life but I am still dipping my toe back into the water nonetheless.

Social media creates a bit of a safety barrier to approach other teaching professionals about areas in education you would like to discuss. The irony is, that once those barriers are crossed they come down completely and it is quite easy to communicate with relative strangers about topics of common interest. I made friends with an educator in St Louis, USA. He came out to Australia for the Google Educators Conference and I hosted him in my home as a result. It was a cool experience!

Are you multiliterate? Of these literacies, which is most surprising to you? Which do you find least and most challenging?

The literacies that were identified in the survey taken were:

Facilitate and inspire learning and creativity
Design and develop digital age learning experiences and assessments
Model digital-age working and learning
Promote and model digital citizenship and responsibility
Engage in professional growth and leadership

To some extent I am multi-literate. I am doing some of the things needed to promote digital tools and collaborative learning but I could be doing more. The most surprising to me was engaging in professional growth and leadership. In terms of how the questions were phrased and my current practice I thought I was doing an OK job at this but apparently I am not advocating for these skills and tools. However I am only a term into the TL role so this may change over the course of the year.

I think there are several challenges relating to these literacies. The syllabi and the time given to develop meaningful teaching and learning activities that incorporate these skills. The inequity of access to computers, laptops and portable devices. The levels of competency and willingness amongst staff to get on board with using the tools. In theory the statements are rather idealistic and do not necessary reflect the capabilities of all school contexts and systems.

We’ve described how we think about the connected educator? Take a moment to reflect on your understanding. How are our perspectives alike? How are they different.

I would concur with much of how this reading portrays a connected educator (2012, pg 19):

Is a co-learner, co-creator, co-leader
Is self-directed
Is open-minded
Is transparent in thinking
Is dedicated to the ongoing development of expertise
Commits to deep reflection
Engages in inquiry
Values and engages in a culture of collegiality
Shares and contributes
Commits to understanding gained by listening and asking good questions
Explores ideas and concepts, rethinks, revises and continuously repacks and unpacks, resisting urges to finish prematurely
Exhibits the courage and initiative to engage in discussions on difficult topics
Engages in strengths based appreciative approaches
Demonstrates mindfulness
Displays a willingness to experiment with new strategies

How this differs is that these bullet points characterise an ideal connected individual. The challenge is getting staff on board with this model and up skilling them.

INF 532 – A new culture of learning reading

12th April 201925th May 2019karla_oINF 532 / ReflectionsLeave a comment

The next reading I had to look at was Thomas and Brown’s Arc-of-Life learning from A new culture of learning. Cultivating the imagination for a world of constant change. The question I have to address is:

How does Thomas and Brown’s ‘new culture of learning’ reflect your own experiences as an educator and learner in the past two-three years? Identify those aspects that are similar, and those aspects that are different?

The key ideas that stemmed from this reading for me personally were that learning is happening everywhere. That it has changed from the stable infrastructure of the 20th Century and is now much more fluid. It is constantly being created as a response to change. We have access to near unlimited resources but also have the ability to connect with others at the same time. Many examples given in the reading do just that. They have been cultivating minds, seeing other students as resources and have been figuring out how to learn from each other. As such there is now a bridge between two worlds: the public and information based and the personal and structured. It was the connection between personal motivation and resources that led people to cultivate their imaginations and recreate the learning space in a new way.

In thinking about my own learning journey in relation to this, I think I was doing this earlier than two or three years ago. If anything I have been in a stale mate these past few years. As far back as 8 years ago was when I think I started doing things like what was mentioned above. When I signed up for the Edublogs Teacher Challenge. I was craving connection with other educators as I was the only one in my school teaching my subject area. It was through the establishment of my first blog and making connections on Twitter that I developed my confidence as a voice for drama and theatre education. I did question my immersion in it at one point however. The boundaries between work and personal time became very blurred and it started not to sit well with me as I wanted to make a distinction between the two. I still do in some ways but I appreciate that much of the professional development I need will require me to go out and look for this myself as schools are just too time and fiscally pressured to be able to give you time to learn new things. In some ways, I think it is through PLNs that you develop far better as a professional anyway because you are learning from others who are just like you.

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