Project, Problem or Inquiry Based Learning?

I came across an interesting Blog post today that articulated the difference between these three approaches.  Many use the labels interchangeably.  I have used all three - noting the subtle differences, however found this post to be short and succinct in articulation.  There is a distinct difference between the three that makes them suited to different tasks and subject areas, with at times, quite different outcomes.

If you have ever wondered what the difference is, that a look at this blog post on Fluency 21

http://fluency21.com/blog/2013/03/14/should-i-teach-problem-project-or-inquiry-based-learning/

Babysitting versus Deep Learning

In travelling around and talking to people I see a variety of technology use.  There is some great stuff being done around the traps, and some wonderful ways people are starting to describe the categories of 'great stuff' and then I hear about the stuff

Apple have been promoting  Ruben R. Puentedura's SAMR model for technology integration, aiming for transformation with Modification and Redefinition of the task after integrating technology.  see http://rde.nsw.edu.au/tpack-samr for a fuller explanation and links to Puentedura's weblog.

Kathy Schrock has used Bloom's Taxonomy to sort and classify technology tools....ipad apps and google apps are two worthy of looking at.  See : http://www.schrockguide.net/bloomin-apps.html

I came across this article in THE Journal today...it combines the higher order with the tech integration with some simple yet very tranposable activities.

5 Tech-Friendly Lessons to Encourage Higher-Order Thinking

In reading it, I found I could transfer nearly every lesson to at least one KLA - regardless of the developmental stage of students.  What it requires though is Teachers being aware of what can be considered, getting away from TEXT based assessments and laying some groundwork beforehand - ie you wouldn't want to do the 5 photos activity the first time you gave the devices to students.  So PLANNING is the key.  

Why Wikipedia does belong in the classroom

It's amazing how many times I've heard teachers talk of Wikipedia in negative terms.  Common complaints surround the student plagiarism and direct 'lifts' from Wikipedia sources.  These days it's fairly easy to spot...type a key phrase into Google and see what happens...:-)  I also wonder in these cases if the assessment/assignment is appropriate.  If a student can answer with straight plagiarism - what HOTS are being used?

Another criticism commonly leveled is the reliability of information on Wikipedia.  Well....I think the statistics start to kill that one fairly quickly.  

The link below takes you too an article that supports the use of Wikipedia in the classroom.  It answers these types of criticism well and focuses educators on a question - do you ban it, or do you teach how?  It really comes back to that.  If we don't use it, how do students learn the skills of assessing reliability and validity?   If we really embrace Wikipedia by incorporating it into teaching learning practices, we assist students to see the power of public intellectualism, broaden their audience and contribute to the public good...all worthy aspirations from my point of view.

Read the blog that started this in full
http://readwrite.com/2012/09/20/why-wikipedia-does-belong-in-the-classroom

Social Media Policies and using Social Media

With the increasing use of social media in all age groups, it is necessary for school leaders to keep on top of current resources and practices for policy in their fields.  Google and FaceBook have recognised some of their responsibility in assisting educators in creating ethical and responsible digital citizens and have created resources for School Leaders to assist them in this process.  Unfortunately unless you yourself are cued into social media and contemporary forms of communication (blogs, twitter etc) you can miss some of the links to these resources.

In order to understand, you need to look, see and feel contemporary forms of communication.   I joined FaceBook to watch what my children were doing.  I joined Twitter to understand how it might be used.  I have a LinkedIn account for the same reason.  I don't post on these every 5 minutes as some avid users do, but I do have accounts, I have 'friended' and 'followed' and 'connected' through these means.  I do see the messages, settings, updates and changes.  I'm not as adept as my teenage digital natives, but I have some understanding of how it works, what it can be used for and some dangers of misuse.  As a forward looking educator, can I recommend you do the same - my word I do...to do, is to understand to some level - far better than hiding your head in the sand and saying 'I don't have time'.  Obviously...be careful who you 'friend'; explore the settings and tabs and don't say anything on them that you wouldn't stand up and say at a school assembly to staff, students and parents in any other public setting.  I'm not suggesting you connect with students, staff or parents, nor am I suggesting you should teach with it/them.  Having a look around though is very beneficial.

Can I recommend this blog...for those that are looking at social media policies in schools....follow the links to the resources written about.

http://blogs.kqed.org/mindshift/2012/08/facebook-and-youtube-offer-guidelines-to-help-schools-and-parents/#more-23078

2011 ICT Literacy Report - National Assessment Program

It has been a while since my last post....a conflict of Google accounts has finally been resolved and I can again post, but now in my new account.  A word of warning....if you have a personal Google account, make sure it does not use your corporate email account...if so, change the email connected to the account - this way you preserve things far more easily than I have.

The National assessment Program ICT Literacy Years 6 & 10 Report for 2011 has been release.  This assessment program was conducted last year.  Not all schools or all Year 6 and Year 10 students in 
each school participated in the ICT Literacy Sample Assessment —only about 6400 students of the total 
national cohort for each year level will took part. This figure is the outcome of a rigorous random sampling 
process undertaken in consultation with state and territory authorities.



Students were presented with ICT tasks on screen and responded using only computers. These tasks consisted of items in the following formats: 
• Multiple choice
• Drag and drop (matching information)
• Simple software commands (such as saving a file to a
location)
• Short constructed text responses
• Construction of artefacts.

The full report can be found at : http://www.nap.edu.au/_Documents/PDF/NAP%20ICTL%202011%20Public%20Report%20Final.pdf

Some interesting points to note - that while we might conclude anecdotally, the research firmly supports:
- There is a substantial difference in ICT Literacy between Indigenous and non-Indigenous students.
- There is evidence of differences in ICT Literacy among geographic locations - higher scores in both Year 6 and Year 10 were recorded for metropolitan students than for provincial areas, who in turn were higher than remote areas.
- Females recorded higher levels of ICT Literacy than males.
-Students used computers more frequently at home than at school
-Student indicated a high level of interest and enjoyment in using computers.

How does this relate to the current state of affairs in your school?

Are you doing all you can to make sure that these future decision making citizens will be ICT Literate so they have access to appropriate information, skills and opportunities in the future?

School Policies on the 'openness' of devices

I've been a participant in quite a few discussions surrounding this topic recently.  Sometimes it refers to staff and their rights install and update software on a provided device or devices in their classrooms.  Other times it surrounds devices given to students.  Chris Betcher posted a pertinent blog piece this morning that articulates the core issue - trust!

If we lock down things for students and staff to such a level that they don't have any ownership - what message does that send?  With the increasing need for updates to be installed - software, plug-ins etc - not allowing the using to have this privelege dictates that some administrator needs to touch the device or control it in some way....is this really what we want? 

Read Chris' blog post here:
http://chrisbetcher.com/2012/05/in-none-we-trust/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+betchablog+%28Betchablog%29

Digital Classrooms and Computer Coding

I found myself listening to this broadcast on ABC Radio National recently.  It details some of the issues many of us are grappling with in the classrooms - one to one; management etc. 

The second half of the broadcast explores whether we are disempowering students when we don't teach them the computer coding we once did.  With all the pull-downs, icons, wysiwyg editors that hide the programing - do users understand how things work? 

Another interesting piece was Sydney University's program for introducing/energising/mentoring female high school students into the world of computer science and the breadth that such study can give you.

Well worth a listen if you have 20 minutes or so.

http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/futuretense/digital-classrooms-and-computer-coding/3969160