The Face of Things To Come

Today, in the lecture, the core topic of Past, Current and Emerging Technologies was dealt with.
In light of the approaching national curriculum being implemented, as well as continued technological development, especially being made in regards to computing. This can appear fairly disturbing. Especially in regards to what and how we teach. This is made considerably more complicating when one takes into account potential ethical and social issues. Where do teachers stand? How should teachers teach?
How are students prepared for tomorrows issues by today's teachers?

In regards to Past, Current and Emerging Technologies teachers can use this core topic as a way to prepare students for what will be introduced soon, by appreciating previous developments and trends.
The video below is a brief summary of computing developments up to and beyond today.

Video available from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iEgLwKTsgEo


In lieu of this, it is interesting to reflect upon my practicum placement and what subjects are available for students to participate in there. Teachers have commented that Multimedia is increasingly at the forefront of interests for year 9 and 10 students, while, interestingly graphics technology is in decline. Both subject areas have something in common - the use of computers. Increasingly graphic communication of designs and ideas are being done through the use of computers, to greater ease and accuracy.

However, the question is where will it go from here, and how can we as prospective teachers be ready for developments that are at this stage, unknown.

Multimedia, Authoring, Hardware and Presenting

This week the lecture dealt with the topic of Hardware and the main focus of how Hardware is looked at within the IST Syllabus. Meanwhile, in tutorial the presentation topic (option 2) was multimedia and authoring.

This week myself and another student presented this option topic to our class. Here is the link to our option topic unit of work presentation and following class activity:

Multimedia and Authoring Presentation

Effectiveness of Multimedia Lesson

It was interesting to hear comments made by other students in the debrief following our presentation. Wow comments included:

• Gender Relevant Activity
• Comparison of different multimedia
• Good task
• Ease of access to link provided
• No reading off slides
• Classroom management
• Bushfire Presentation (relevant to students in bush fire prone areas)

Wonder comments included:

• Why seperate activities for girls and boys?
• Explanation could have been more detailed regarding the task
• Why weren't software options included?
• What are you going to do with the completed worksheets?

These comments were helpful in reflecting upon both parts of the lesson. Thinking about how this would work in school it was noted that having electricity, computer and internet access, as well as remembering passwords to access the learning task and associated resources in crucial. Any future task must be prepared with failure of technology in mind, with backup planned for the lesson.

In other work this week, developments in the world of social media present more issues for teachers to consider.  Viral media, as Leanne covered in the lecture, can be very effective for marketing and spreading information, however the way it is used is important to consider. Detrimental use of the wealth of media available fails to appreciate the responsibility a user has for their actions on line.


The issue for teachers lies in how can we get students to be responsible for their "virtual actions" and be ready to face the consequences of abusing the privileges they have given them through computing and the internet.

Also this youtube video available from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8cbvyt5Cmv4, looks at the generation of students going through our schools, how they are gathering their information and what can we do about it?

How are you going to challenge students to learn whilst taking responsibility for how they use computers?

The Internet and Website Development, maintaining a presence in the classroom

This week's option topic was on the Internet and Website Development. The main scope which I gained from the presentation was that the Internet's development has a longer history than just when ARPANET was developed in the late 1960's. It was clear through the presentation of a timeline, as well as the activity that followed that many different people, from all over the world, not confined to time and place have contributed in many different ways. Not just computer technicians and those who worked for US government departments, but also mathematicians and logicians.

In regards to presentation, it was clear that maintaining a class' interest is a key component to running an effective lesson. Both during the peer presentation and the activity that followed. Students need to be kept on task, especially during group work, whether this involves moving (patrolling) around the classroom where noise levels are too high or asking students questions on the spot where disruption occurs, to get them back on task. Classroom management is important.

Also, the fact that the class in the activity is formed of students who have known each other for a considerable amount of time meant that friendship groups tended to often get in the way of classroom learning. Those presenting the lesson may need to be more vigilant in maintaining classroom focus, so that students do not drift from their work. I do like the idea of moving to parts of the class which are being disruptive, by maintaining a presence to maintain a focus.

One point to take home from the presentation was how information is presented. It was reaffirmed that it is best to be as engaging and interactive as possible when content can tend to be somewhat bland. The use of videos and multimedia can be effective in getting student attention. Steering away from using large blocks of text in presentations is also a good choice, however hard this can be when preparing and conducting an overview of a subject which students may easily get lost in.

This historical and somewhat humorous video highlights both bad and good methods of classroom management:

Video retrieved 13/03/2012 from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gHzTUYAOkPM

Reflections on Copyright and Social Networking

This week as core content is explored, many of the issues that were discussed in week one, relating to acceptable use have cropped up again. This time in regard to what is accessible in regards to data security.  The consequences this can have especially when integrating technology and computing for effective teaching have influence over where one retrieves, gathers and distributes electronic resources. For instance, in my many of my industrial technology subjects, such as woodwork, metal work and often in engineering foundations, there are many resources one can access at home which could potentially be blocked from access within a school's computer network.

It would be beneficial to investigate what options a school gives, or restricts in regard to internet access for a start before settling on any form of internet resource. 

Commencing my group assignment for EDST447, which has a great bearing on teaching the Technology Mandatory Curriculum has presented new resources available for future teaching, such as work using enquiry through a Webquest. 

The issue of Copyright again touched upon this week, has led me to ponder it's importance. In my own university work, whether assignments or week to week tutorial work the issue of Copyright has far reaching consequences, which mean one has to be forever vigilant in making sure that absolutely everything used as a resource is used. In creating the Webquest for my other subject, this presents an opportunity to build teaching resources, but also an opportunity to review how our group makes sure we use appropriate material. 

Issues concerning the use of social media also relate to the policies that exist within a school, this can have  penetrating consequences like those in Copyright issues. This video deals with misuse of social networking:

Video retrieved 13/03/2012 from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dtst_Ysx--M


However, depending on a school's policy and leadership views, social networking can be looked at in different ways. However, no matter what school's policy a teacher is under the jurisdiction of, the privacy they hold as a member of society and as a part of the teaching profession can be a difficult one to maintain, especially as the SMH refers in the following link: http://www.smh.com.au/technology/technology-news/teaching-the-facebook-generation-20110227-1ba19.html

Integrating the design process with students and students with their learning community

Each week it is increasingly apparent that Technology Teaching involves a great deal of integration. This week’s link involves the design process, while it is a cross disciplinary/subject process, it is highly tied to the curricula that we must teach. Looking back to last year’s day-a-week prac, this was visible through all the classes I observed. In a similar sense the content orientated subjects to date have all incorporated the same thoughts and processes into the projects student’s had to complete as part of their work.

This leads me to ponder how I can incorporate the same ideas and concepts in my future lessons, in a broad sense. One way could be to structure lessons in a consistent fashion, drawing student’s attention to what problems they have faced in class on this day, how they are working to solving them and evaluating how their solutions are satisfying the requirements. More specifically a point that Leanne made this week was to have a question box in the classroom, where you encourage students to write their questions which they feel too embarrassed to ask in class (they may feel like they don’t know something). Not only does it give students a time to ask these questions, it also allows you to assess where students are at with their learning. This could also be used as a method of regular assessment for classes.

Returning to previous mention of the design process, students within a class with a feedback/question box could be encouraged to put their own thoughts into how they could tailor it to their own ways of thinking. This could also be done using a database orientated software, such as Edmodo or PBWorks where students not only have their own online identity but have the ability to share their ideas and thoughts with the learning community they are a part of.

In regards to being a part of a larger learning environment, group work could be used to encourage student interaction and sharing of ideas more freely. This could be incorporated in various ways, project work, peer review (marking of work), these two ways alone can lighten a teacher’s load, if well prepared and structured/scaffolded. It is important to integrate group work, which is more highly valued today as a skill by employers than ever before. Not only does it benefit teachers, it benefits students when approached in the appropriate context and situation.

To end this week here are two videos which put forward in detail some of the notions I have touched on, regarding integrating ideas, solutions, the design process and students being part of a larger team.

Video Retrieved Tuesday March 6, 2012 from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NsndhCQ5hRY&feature=related

Video Retrieved Tuesday March 6, 2012 from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ISMO7M3-UV8&feature=related