The digital age has arisen into the education system providing exciting and innovative ways of how our current and future students will immerse in learning. Digital exploration in education is displaying slow development due to unknowledgable educators who require a lot more support in the understandings in the evolution of this digital age. Today's students are being labeled as a "Digital Native" - those who are knowledgeable and fluent in digital technology and understandings (Prensky 2001). In comparison teachers are perceived as "Digital Immigrates" - pre-digital age new borns, curious to explore what this new world has to offer(Prensky 2001). The Challenges for today's teachers is to equal and advance their knowledge to that of Digital Natives and provide a level of engagement by integrating what the digital age has to offer for the learners that is both stimulating and up to date to achieve successful learning outcomes (Thrupp 2010).
Integration of information and communication technologies (ICT's) are an important tool to consider when analyzing the different types of learners based around learning theories. The theories of behaviorism, cognitivism and constructivism can be stimulated through selecting ICT tools that relate to particular charcteristics of each theory causing engagement across a diverse field (Mergel 1998). A site created by Kelly Lein 2009: Elearning Pedagogy, displays different types of ICT tools that have been designed, connecting characteristics of different learning theories. Discussions about Lein 2009 came to conclude that having an example of an ICT tool created by theory characteristics strengthened understandings of ICT creation for learners based on learning theories.
Selecting and applying ICT tools in the classroom can be seen as challenging yet rewarding task if learning outcomes are achieved via this path. The student generations in schools today are evolving in a world filled with technology and require the teachings and understandings of these technologies to carry students through into adulthood. Eisenberg, Johnson and Berkowitz (2010)state that students "need to be proficient in technology" and that technology in schools needs to be integrated in a way that students find meaningful and not set aside as a separate subject. To ensure teachers are integrating ICT's correctly, a framework should be selected to ensure the tools are being applied correctly to achieve purposeful outcomes. These frameworks include Dimensions of Learning (Marzano and Pickering 1997), Bloom's Taxonomy (Frangenheim 2006), Productive Pedagogies (Department of Education 2002) and the Big Six (Eisenberg, Johnson and Berkowitz 2010). These frameworks are able to be used to construct activities that require high order thinking, the ability to create, evaluate and analyze and extend and refine knowledge and apply it meanfully.
Each framework functions in different ways but all achieve the same outcome of higher order thinking. Bloom's taxonomy was the selected framework that was used when analyzing selected digital tools for the subject areas of Science and HPE. Bloom's focuses on thinking strategies beginning with lower levels of remembering, understanding and applying through to higher thinking levels of analyze evaluate and create (Frandenheim 2006). It has been observed that most teachers only apply the lower levels of thinking in the classroom and students are lacking higher order thinking skills when applying to problems (Frangenheim 2006). ICT's can be integrated into higher order thinking activities to gain a better stimulation and connection between student and material to what is trying to be learnt. Research suggests that the digital generations are displaying new ways of thinking reflecting different learning styles (Margaryan, Littlejohn 2008), therefore the need for higher order thinking activities applied through ICT's in the classroom is crucial to stay connected with out current students and develop and advance their cognitive abilities.
The following digital tools have been selected that I would find useful to integrate in the classroom that will engage the learner and assist in higher order thinking skills. Each digital tool heading can be clicked on to provide research found including a blog reflection when investigating each tool.
Blogs
Regardless of subject area, blogs can be integrated into work very easily and be used to incorporate higher order thinking skills. Blogging can provide students with the opportunity to reflect on a task and create a sense of ownership as they design and present their own visual text. Students engaging in construction of visual text such as blogs, supports literacy development and demonstrate that students are motivated to work on literacy skills due to the popularity of what blogging has become today (Constanti 2010). The down side to blogging is keeping control of the types of comments that are poster on blogs. It would be encouraged for teachers to enforce and teach etiquette rules for blogging and monitor comments. Please click here to view ideas in the classroom.
Concept Maps
Using concept maps is a great way for brain storming for any year level and any subject. Using a concept map allows the student to make connections between ideas and how the learner makes the conceptual link to the main concept. Fragenheim (2006) discusses how concept maps provide the know and learn elements to a unit and are closely linked to the thinking strategy of K.W.H.L. Constructing a digital concept map allows the student to personalize and make alterations and additions which can reflect what the student has learnt. By students identifying the key points then elaborating linking points can start constructing a flow of how the unit can link. Students can see where there journey is heading towards and identify what they must know to achieve outcome.
I have applied digital concept mapping in my year 8 science class for their unit on adaptation. For their final assessment students are to construct a vehicle that can go in water applying specific characteristics of a dolphin, sea snake and jelly fish. To arrive at the final assessment piece , digital concept maps can be applied through the unit. This particular concept maps that would be used would be formulated on bubbl.us where students are able to continuously add to the map and can be altered at any time.
Wiki
Analyzing how a wiki functions can allow for many opportunities for students to make use of a digital tool in the classroom. Discussions on wiki's came to conclude that this tool can improve skills of evaluating and making judgements which are critical in high order thinking development (Frangenheim 2006).
An example of wiki integration in the classroom could be applied to group assignment tasks. It is very common that students participate in group all through schooling and the concern for both the teacher and student is that not all members of group contribute the same amount of effort towards the assignment. Integrating the use of a wiki to use as a research tool for group assessment is a great way to monitor how much each student student is contributing to the group. At the conclusion of assessment, wiki's should be included with assignment to support proof of research and individuals mark.
Power Point
Power point presentations are possibly the most used digital tool in the classroom of today. As technology advances there is no longer a need for teachers to write on the board or for students to create a simple poster to support their speech. Schools are now being equipped with data projectors and students have easy access to computers so the support for power point presentations is increasingly high.
This digital tool does support a students learning by allowing the teacher to spend more time working with students than countless hours writing on the board and students can always have access to presentations if schooling is missed. The main concern with this tool is creating a presentation that us stimulating and effective to the student. Discussions have identified that power point could be the new chalk and talk and that teachers and students lack the skills of creating a stimulating and engaging presentation.
Another type of presentation that could be more engaging for learners who connect well with listening to information is a Voki. This is a very different approach for engaging the learner but the outcome of engagement could be very rewarding.
Nintendo Wii
Digital tools should not only be resorted to the world wide web but be applied in the many digital technologies we have around us. The Nintendo Wii is the new technology that gets the body moving and has proven that the same activity done on the game can improve fitness to the activity done in a natural environment (Anders 2008). These results are promising as this tool could be applied in school subjects such as HPE in schools that have limited resources, disability students or schools that deal with harsh weather conditions.
Technologies are advancing at a staggering rate, what was new today will be old tomorrow and a more advance model will be created by the time the current model has been released. It is crucial that teachers engage themselves in new technologies to keep the connection with students and not lose touch with how students are developing cognitively through the use of technology.
Reference
Andrew, M. (2008). As Good as the Real Thing. Retrieved from : www.acefitness.org/getfit/studies/Wiistudy.pdf
Constanti, G. (2010). Why Bother With Blogging. Marrick Metro, NSW: Primary English Teaching Association
Education Queensland. (2002). Productive Pedagogies. Brisbane: QLD
Eisenberg, M & Berkowitz, B. (2001). The Big6 Skills Overview. Retrieved from http://www.big6.com/
Frangenheim, E. (2006). Reflections on classroom thinking strategies. Loganholme, QLD: Rodin Educational Publishing
Margaryan, A & Littlejohn , A. (2008) Are digital natives a myth or reality?: Students’ use of technologies for learning. Retrieved from http://www.academy.gcal.ac.uk/anoush/documents/DigitalNativesMythOrReality-MargaryanAndLittlejohn-draft-111208.pdf
Marzano, R.J., & Pickering, D.J. (1997). Dimensions of learning. Teacher’s manual. Colorado: Mid-Continent Regional Educational Laboratory.
Mergel, B. (1998). Instructional design and Learning Theory. Retrieved from http://www.usask.ca/education/coursework/802papers/mergel/brenda.htm#The%20Basics%20of%20Behaviorism
Prensky, M. (2001). Digital natives, digital immigrants. 9(5), 1-6. Retrieved from http://marcprensky.com/writing/Prensky%20-%20Digital%20Natives,%20Digital%20Immigrants%20-%20Part1.pdf
Thrupp,RM. (2010). ICT Created Diversity in the Classroom: The Contemporary Learner. Digital diversity conference: Melbourne. Retrieved from http://moodle.cqu.edu.au/file.php/4033/ThruppAcec.pdf
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