Podcasting

I have cheated a bit and taken a broadcast from ABC radio as my podcast. Thought it may be of interest to anyone considering begining a "Facebook" page.


Click here to get your own player.

Session 3 - Skype chat

Session 3 was our first verbal chat session via Skype. Although only 9 participants were able to be involved in the conference call at any one time I feel that most people who wanted to contribute were able to and therefore, it is a suitable teaching tool for a small group. However, it did become rather messy with people forming and joining various conference calls at the same time - at one stage I had been "invited" into 3 different conference calls.



The course moderator/teacher would need to set very clear boundaries and "rules" for Skype to be used successfully in teaching.



I have had exposure to Elluminate in online learning and feel it is a far better tool because only one person had access to the voice function at a time. The "teacher" has the ultimate control of the microphone thus being in a better position to direct the discussion threads. (The whiteboard function is main benefit of Elluminate over Skype).



The main benefit gained in our class Skpe session was that it appears that we are forming more of community.

The virtual generation

Today "The Age" newspaper printed a lengthy article about how technology has impacted on "life at 15". Here is the link to the complete article and various related forums.

I find the following quote to be particularly thought provoking: "It is another country, their country. Teens are digital natives, so at home with MySpace, iPods, MSN, text messaging and mobile phones, they barely notice the technology at all. They are young with a sense of invulnerability, but experts are not so sure how this uncontrolled liaison will work out"

The article makes no mention specifically to "studying online" but does quote the assistant principal of Mckinnon saying " Curriculum and pedagogy has to change to accommodate their expectations, and research capability. She is not persuaded that they are any smarter, though they are able to locate information very quickly".

In my experience at a TAFE, I agree that the majority of my students barely notice the technology and are able to locate information quickly but very much disagree that "they have enhanced research capabilities." I am still finding that in the majority of cases their "researching" is limited to the first google response or occasionally wikipedia. As a teacher this concerns me as "researching" is essential to gaining knowledge. As I parent it concerns me because I believe it is an indication of how vulnerable our children are to accepting the "internet" as a reliable and trusted source of all information.

Skype

There was some discussion in our chat session about Skype, coincidently "Choice magazine" has published an article about it in this months issue. Here is the link to the online version of the article.

For more information you can go directly to Skype.

Session 2

Another interesting chat session - a community began developing with participants keen to share knowledge.

I have just finished delivering a lesson where I couldn't operate the video player and had to ask a student for assistance. I am definitely not in the category of a "Digital Native" and although can happily blog I can't operate a video player - go figure!

But what to do when technology fails as it did for many participants as we attempted to move into the virtual classroom during our online chat session? In the "good old days" if you broke your stick of chalk you could just dictate your notes to your students or more commonly send a student to the office to get a replacement stick! Lectures are cancelled in my workplace if the globe in a data projector needs replacing.

Is technology really necessary to deliver quality programs to our students and just because the students now coming through into the TAFE sector would be considered to be "Digital natives" do they really gain more knowledge if the material is delivered (and in many cases assessed) online?

Session 1

I have started this blog as I have found blogging to be a convenient way to organise my thoughts.


Our first chat session for my Online Education and Training course was held this week with just a few teething problems. I think I prefer the format of the "Skype chat" and looking forward to trialing the "virtual classroom" on the blackboard platform.

I am making my way through the readings for this lesson. Because I am currently teaching in a TAFE I have found Marc Rosenbergs article "What lies beyond e-learning" particulary thought provocing particularly his predictions for the next few years being

• e-learning with become more than "e-training"



• e-learning will move to the workforce - very relevant to TAFE



• blended learning will be redefined - the "buzz" word at my workplace is now "blended learning" but what does this actually mean?



• e-learning will be less course-centric and more knowlege-centric - this will greatly affect our current funding models



• technology will become a secondary issue - many staff at my workplace believe that elearning is "too difficult" because they are still not comfortable with the technology
  

Rosenberg's conclusion that "we should think of e-learning and learning technology as enablers, not a strategy" is the reason why I am studying this subject. I feel that in the race to embed elearning into our teaching practices and therefore appear "innovative" (and thus remain competetive in the ever increasing education market) we could be loosing focus on "the how and why" students learn.

I welcome your comments.