with the theme Raising standards and teaching better with digital technology, the conference aimed to enhance the teaching and learning environment.
The conference program is here.
Surfing the Digital Education Revolution into the 21st Century is the first of my contributions. Just how I might introduce this puzzled me for a while. Certainly I have many examples of digital pedagogy employing both Constructivist and Connectivist approaches, but where to begin.
Fortunately I attended the Google Apps For Education Community Conference in Sydney last April. This conference showcased the new suit of Google Apps for Education (GAFE). Here I met Russell Burt, Principal of Pt England School, Auckland, and active member of the Manaiakalani Schools Cluster. Russell introduced an exciting example of a whole school approach to digital pedagogy.
Apart from the immediate interest and importance of his presentation I was impressed, as an educator of some 42 years standing, that he was certainly not turning his back on the accumulated pedagogical knowledge that we have acquired through the 20th century, far from it. This started me thinking about the best way of introducing my first workshop at the IWBNet Third ITL Master Class Conference.
My workshop takes a practical focus on just how we respond pedagogically to all of the essential elements of the constructivism/connectivism interaction. It will be supported by real world teaching and learning resources.
The conference program is here.
Surfing the Digital Education Revolution into the 21st Century is the first of my contributions. Just how I might introduce this puzzled me for a while. Certainly I have many examples of digital pedagogy employing both Constructivist and Connectivist approaches, but where to begin.
Fortunately I attended the Google Apps For Education Community Conference in Sydney last April. This conference showcased the new suit of Google Apps for Education (GAFE). Here I met Russell Burt, Principal of Pt England School, Auckland, and active member of the Manaiakalani Schools Cluster. Russell introduced an exciting example of a whole school approach to digital pedagogy.
Apart from the immediate interest and importance of his presentation I was impressed, as an educator of some 42 years standing, that he was certainly not turning his back on the accumulated pedagogical knowledge that we have acquired through the 20th century, far from it. This started me thinking about the best way of introducing my first workshop at the IWBNet Third ITL Master Class Conference.
Blended Learning
Blended learning is something that good teachers and schools have practiced for many years. It uses a variety of tools and recognises a variety of abilities and learning styles amongst students. Searching for a convenient diagram to represent this pedagogical process I came across one in German. Using Google translator, I quickly decoded it and produced this diagram.
Source http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Blended_Learning.jpg
I like this diagram because it is so simple and it covers most of the bases. Essentially, the methods and theories addressed in this diagram have been well executed in the 20th century.
20th century media
For the most part of the 20th century media was predominantly, print media. Of course their was radio, strip films, movies, slides, television, video and so forth, yet print remained dominant. Towards the end of the 20th century some text books actually came with CDs. What education tended to lack in the 20th century was contemporaneity and immediacy. Books and electronic media were largely retrospective.
A new focus on constructivism and connectivism
Constructivism has been with us for a long time. For me some of the best constructivist pedagogy I encountered during my own education was in the Scouting movement. Walking through trackless country with only a map and compass is a great way to learn about topographic maps and navigation. So, constructivism has always been something that has engaged my professional interest.
In the 21st Century constructivism will be greatly assisted by the increasing contemporaneity and immediacy afforded by the Internet, by Web 2.0 tools in particular. This opportunity for a connected future can only enhance the constructivist approach.
At its heart, connectivism is the thesis that knowledge is distributed across a network of connections, and therefore that learning consists of the ability to construct and traverse those networks. Steven Downes
Connectivism is, in a sense, the digital dimension of social constructivism.
My approach has been to begin building a framework of digital tools that are intended to scaffold students from simple constructivism and point them towards new learning opportunities characterised by diversity, autonomy, openness, collaboration, creativity and connectivity.
Blended Learning in the digital era
Blended learning will continue to be an essential and holistic tools, but now it will be supported digitally. In the following diagram I have attempted to modify the 20th century possibilities in blended learning to reflect what is emerging.
My workshop takes a practical focus on just how we respond pedagogically to all of the essential elements of the constructivism/connectivism interaction. It will be supported by real world teaching and learning resources.
