digital lifeboat

As I have been working on my draft specification, I have been thinking around the subject of how to engage the motivation of the teacher students on the courses I will be developing.

In my report last term and in the project specification, are lots of questions which focus on identifying the problem to be solved. The answers are biased towards the technical, and practical issues. Work is already in progress to identiy the gaps in knowledge that the training materials need to address.

There needs to be a corresponding Why? to the What of all the above.

I want to make sure I give attention to the motivational areas, the needing and wanting area as in Race. If the teachers gain a few skills, but do not gain any concepts which they find personally relevant to their own teaching I feel I will not have served them well.

I have been thinking in general terms about the introduction areas of the courses. Here is where I think I should focus on motivation, by making sure that the relevance of the topic in question to their own teaching and learning is explored.

Christopher Sessums extensive research into teacher education leads him to this observation

“I have seen teachers absolutely panic over having to learn how an application works (unlike their students who willingly push buttons to see what happens) rather than looking ahead to see how such a medium might be useful.”

He also askes the question

“Is it possible or realistic to expect teachers who do not want to enhance their basic computer skills to be compelled to do so without any incentives? What’s in it for them?”

Cultural Implications of Social Software Teaching and Learning, Ready or Not

http://eduspaces.net/csessums/weblog/144604.html

In his blog post “Web Learning about Web Learning for Teachers”, Terry Anderson notes

But I wish we could learn to spark interest in the most exiting and revolutionary technology ever to be used for formal instruction, in ways that were just a bit more designed to fire the imagination and engagement of users – both as learners and as teachers.

http://terrya.edublogs.org/2008/09/08/108/

Here is my motivation if any were needed to ensure that the benefits of understanding how to use a particular piece of software or employing a particular tool are stated very explicity in the course materials. Now to think about the means of achieving that.

Results are in from the EELIP unit and the high standard of all was mentioned in dispatches so well done to all.

Having had a few weeks off study I am itching to get back down to it and move forward again. Work is incredibly busy and saps my mental energy with the number of different areas I am trying to resource.

Since I last posted I have been trying to negotiate myself a path through next year. Had some good meetings where I was able to present the case for implementing my report. However the response to this is still unknown and I am prompted to begin to muse on what if…I am not able to pursue the project I outlined in the strategy report? What other question would I address as my research project for next year?

It’s hard to think where to focus my energy in the abstract. I do see a rich supply of questions arising from the blogs I follow in educspaces and elsewhere. Perhaps something will hit a spark.  I am going to start reading back over the past two years entries of this blog as well to try and collate some ideas about questions I have asked.

Christopher Sessums (if you do not read his blog weekly you are missing a deep well of resources) reflects on

So what are you blogging for? Why is it your business to blog? (Pssst… pass it on.)

http://eduspaces.net/csessums/weblog/339519.html

So I thought I would look back to my first blog post, two years ago.

I started blogging to ensure that my “notebook” was on line and accessible everywhere. It seemed to me that if I was going to study on line I should where ever possible work on line.

I then got interested in reflective writing and reflection as part of the learning cycle. A new concept to me and a missing link in my personal development particularly in my work.

The next phase was moving from a personal journal in an institutional VLE plus personal blog,  to joining an online community and the cross fertilisation of ideas from commenting and reading other blogs.

So where now for this blog at the end of the second year. Why is it my business to blog?

The learning journey is not over and the reflective process is embedded in my routines now. The resources of the past two years are readily accessible in my “digital lifeboat” and ready to be mined again in the future when needed.

It is now a significant part of my learning process. The video on Sessums post above gives lots of good reasons why blogging is a process of personal self discovery. Bloggers speak of their compulsion to read and comment on the reflections of others. One talks about self disclosure and privacy. Another of learning from their students reflections on them.

I think one of the greatest appeals is that it is a creative form of communication. This semseter I have made little effort to augment my blog with video or graphics. That is something to develop in the future

I found this today working on some materials for the next Moodle training day at school. This time I will have a group of 10 fairly young support staff. I wanted to introduce them to Moodle making particular emphasis on the range of tools available, and the potential for collaboration in the classroom.

 I thought I would survey them for their ICT skills and how they might be using web 2 tools socially, building a survey into Moodle as one of the activities for the day.

 Looking for a taxonomy of web 2 tools stumbled upon

http://edorigami.wikispaces.com/

Andrew Churches from New Zealand ’s wiki left me breathless with the detail of his research. This is a huge resource for teachers of ICT.

 Superb work on mapping digital activities  to Blooms Taxonomy. 

http://edorigami.wikispaces.com/Bloom%27s+Digital+Taxonomy

Friday 29th Feb

Visited Maureen today at Highbury College where she is the E-Learning Manager. Good to meet and discuss our project work on Organisational E-Learning Strategy and to see her work at the college developing Moodle.

 Highbury have had Moodle for 16 months and now have 60% of courses at the college represented in a presence on Moodle.

The layout of Moodle was familar to me and Maureen kindly allowed me access so that I could look at the VLE in detail and so that we could work together in that environment.

Reading back through her blog in Eduspaces I can see that her work has touched on many issues that I am thinking about.

http://eduspaces.net/maureenh/weblog/

• Recently used CamStudio for podcast. I plan to use this to develop some training materials as part of the E-Learning Strategy.
• “with the technology changing so rapidly, e-learning technologists will have employment for quite some time to come, at least until the current crop of lecturers have retired and they are all replaced by digital learners….”- Maureen H. I think this also applies in schools.
• Teachers enjoyed a hands on style of training. I found this too at our first training session.
• Different levels of training (4) with a certificate. Been thinking about rewards and acrediation for all IT training for our staff.
•  ”students who are digital learners don’t necessarily see Moodle, they see their online space extended. “This is a very exciting point worth remembering for the future….

We have set up an area to work together on our group project within the Highbury Moodle as we are both quite comfortable in there. We will have to copy work into Victory from time to time.