An interesting article about technology and education

Technology and Education - by Antony Funnell

I heard a snippet of this speech last week on ABC RN and had to find it to share. I love Antony's emphasis on the human aspect of technology in education. He talks about exercising caution in the consumption of technology, just as we should in the consumption of fast food. He credits a Melbourne teacher with succesfully moving to a fully digital classroom, not necessarily because of the technical leap but because she judiciously chose the technology and its application in the classroom.

Hope you enjoy!

Connectivism

Connectivism is the learning theory that I can imagine would really come alive in the classroom.

I think of my two-and-a-half year old niece who looked at me with frustration when she couldn't get the screen on my digital camera to swipe across, because, that is, after all, what all screens must do. That's how you get to the next photo or video. Obviously.

So today's students are tech-savvy and experienced at getting information via technology. Our role as teachers is to facilitate their journey and assist them to understand how best to get information and interaction that is high quality and appropriate.

My first thought when I read about connectivism is the example of astronaut Andy Thomas who, when in space on the Mir Space Station, spoke to a group of school students in Australia. I haven't been able to find video of this (I remember seeing it on TV at the time) but I thought it was such an effective and memorable way of bringing the reality of space travel into the classroom.

Whether this interaction was sought out by the teacher or the students, the traditional walls around the school were broken down to facilitate engagement with somebody not just outside the school, but in space. The resourceful nature of whoever organised the interaction is good example of connectivism, using networks to understand where to get information when required.

Here's a link to ABC's website with an article on How to become an astronaut. I love the step-by-step explanation in the article, but my favourite part are the comments at the bottom. Where Chris asks how astronauts go to the toilet in space, Erin, who is in year five, responds very matter-of-factly explaining that they wear a nappy. No fuss, no further elaboration required, and ever confident. Oh to have had that kind of online confidence and presence in year five... or indeed now!

Why teaching?



Taking a well-earned break from the classroom, me,
my mum Donna and my sister Amy attend a wedding

As with so many pre-service teachers, I too get asked "why teaching?" Happily, my answer is simple. I've always wanted to be a teacher. If you were to consult the time capsule that my sister, my cousin and I put together as children you would see that I was destined, at some point, for a career in the classroom. The time capsule (a Flora margarine container "hidden" in the concrete breeze blocks at our holiday house) states clearly that I was going to be either a teacher or a farmer. Oh and I was going to marry somebody tall and incredibly handsome. And have either two or four children. Just so you know. Hopefully I'm on the way to at least one of those. My cousin, on the other hand, has not done so well. She had plans to be a trawler operator.

So afternoons in our household growing up were spent with me covered in purple risograph ink, feebly attempting to pass on my day's learning to my sister. Whether it was my pedagogical design, an ergonomically challenging classroom or the fact that my sister was three, I struggled to get her to understand the core curriculum. She refused to fill in the worksheets, played with the chickens while she should have been listening to the story and showed little regard for the demands of her end-of-term assessment.

Thrown from the path of the Flora container, I instead took up a career in communication. For ten years, I was blessed to work with great people on some really exciting major projects. I was surrounded by teachers of all disciplines, they often wore high-vis and hid their frustration when I asked for the fourteenth time the difference between a tunnel and an auger bore. I learned a little about teaching environments when I saw rooms full of our new inductees leaving their natural habitat of an excavator cab and sitting still for full days in a classroom, doing the same induction they had done on their last three sites, just with a different background on the Powerpoint slide.



One trick pony: Proving that you can change "If you're happy
and you know it" to suit any learning environment!

 I was ready to change something in my life and a special opportunity to work at Eagles Wings in China (a foster home for disabled orphans in rural Henan Province) drew me back to working with kids and gave me a glimpse of the satisfaction I receive when helping to develop their skills. There was nothing selfless about my couple of weeks at Eagles Wings, I was there to cuddle babies and make rice-filled maraccas from drink bottles, and it was one of the best experiences of my life.

It's time to put my money where my mouth is and make this long-term career plan come to life. Already I have drawn excitement and support from our CQU academic team and our cohort. I admit to being overwhelmed by the use of wikis, hesitant to pipe up in forums and completely unsure of how I actually study best (have I forgotten or have I just never done it well?!). I fear that this one thing that I have so longed to do, may not come naturally to me. But I will just have to keep working at it. After all, it says so in a margarine container.