Personal Blogs

1. What is your experience of being a learner?
As a learner I’ve acquired different skills in different ways. The internet plays a big role in my learning skills nowadays.
Resources:
the internet, books (informal learning), colleagues, friends
Tools:
See my revised PLE here
Where:
Home, School, when traveling professionally (train, plane)
When:
Basically when it suits me, sometimes in the evening, sometimes in between classes, sometimes in the weekends

2. What tools and resources do you use?
I mainly use tools from the internet, see my PLE. The internet is one of my biggest resources. Besides the Internet I still use books for learning as well. I either get them at a library or order them on the internet (Amazon)
I also use my colleagues as a form of resource, communicating in meetings and reflecting education is always very helpful to me!

3. What are your views on different technologies?
I try to critically engage in using new technology for my learning. I have experienced through H800 various new technologies which I was not familiar about. Some I found useful, some I have strong doubts about. In general I believe that technology can enhance my learning. However, I still believe that some web 2.0 applications are not useful for my learning, but might be useful for others. In week 21 & 22 I found Sclaters argument about using a default tool for learning a valid one. If we don’t use a default tool, we might miss-communicate with one another.

4. Can you think of examples where technology has made a significant difference to the way you learn?
Informal learning:
preparing my songs I have to learn for various performances with my band. I used to sort them out by ear, but since the internet and numerous of online bass player communities, it is easy to get the transcription.  Makes me lazy though!
YouTube is a fantastic resource. The most difficult bass lines played in front of you on your screen and presented to you step by step.

Formal learning:
Having access to online libraries for my OU study has made a significant difference
Having e-books as pdf files
Using my Smartphone to access my forums and blogs in which I participate

5. Can you think of counter examples where you had a bad experience of a particular technology?
Not necessarily a bad experience but I would prefer to call it a less useful tool in my learning process. I still can’t see the benefits of Twitter as a learning tool for me. It only made sense to me when others from my H800 course participate, but other than that I can’t see the benefits at the moment. I still try to Tweet, but find it sometimes very useless. I can find relevant links on other websites as well, I don’t need to use Twitter for that. I would say that Twitter is my least favorite learning tool at the moment.

6. What did this do to your motivation for learning?
It made me look for other options if I hadn’t one already. When I don’t like the tool, I search for other alternatives and look for tools that suit my needs in another way, a better way.

7. How did you deal with the situation?
See answer from question nr. 6. When it doesn’t suit me I continue to search for better options which suit my needs better.
Google Docs is another example. I like the idea and I’m using it a lot, but our reports are made in massive excel files, which Google Docs couldn’t handle but Office Live could. So I use for my report excel files Office Live, for anything else, Google Docs is fine for me.

Part 3&4 are about the implications for teachers:

Part 3:
Conole says on page 9 that the implications for teachers and others are less radical. She continues on page 10 to mention the fact that lack of participation by staff members in peer networks: “... students are in peer networks. The same is not true for academics; currently the majority of teachers are not connected in this way and hence the potential benefits of such networks are not apparent to them. Participation in the blogosphere or via microblogging services such as twitter or immersion in 3D-worlds such as second life, only have true value if others are contributing and if what they are saying is of interest to you as an individual, i.e. if it adds value to your practice. Academics currently struggle to see the practical benefits of these tools, being overwhelmed by the sheer quantity and potential possibilities and intimidated by the fact that incorporation of these new approaches will require a fundamental change in their role as ‘teacher’ and associated lose of authority.”

This is quite true I’m afraid. In our school the majority of teachers are not participating in peer networks and therefore gain no new knowledge. The most frequently heard argument is that they are afraid of violation of privacy. In my opinion it is the fear of using new technology because they haven’t experienced it yet.  I participate in a couple of peer networks for teachers in which one shares knowledge, materials and even problems. It is quite interesting and very different to other social network sites. A good example of an English version is the following website: http://teachade.com/

Part4:
How do we get teachers to be less afraid of web 2.0?  Perhaps we have to provide opportunity for them to participate and experience web 2.0, facilitate proper training and then give them a gentle push over the edge!
I have found, in my opinion, a very good website that helps people to get acquainted with web 2.0 tools. It is a an online learning program by the California School Library Association 2.0 team
http://classroomlearning2.blogspot.com/

It presents a very good example of bringing web 2.0 INTO the classroom. What is also important to note is that as a teacher, you can train yourself in your own pace and time!

Hi All,

These are my notes for assigment 1D with the Conole paper integrated and some web 2.0 websites or tools that are relevant to me. I have split my notes up in 4 parts otherwise this Blog Post is much too long. Enjoy reading and feel free to comment.

Part 1
Since 2002 our school organisation has made a massive shift in its use technology. It was the first year we had a proper ICT Budget and at last we could invest in our IT structure. We set up our school network and connected the kindergarten, primary school, secondary school and the administration department to it. Since then our school has changed drastically and become almost fully digitalised. (There are now computers in classrooms, IT rooms, smartboards, an email system, online admin tools, a website, digital video cameras, photo cameras, use of software in class, digital assessments, a digital follow up system, digital reports and the use of Office as a standard in our school)
In the same way that Conole described in her article, there were a couple of triggers that forced our school to make a swift change in its use of technology.  The triggers were the increasing use of internet and email, the sheer development of Windows based PC’S (we had old Macintosh computers) and the continuous development of our direct competitors (International Schools in the area).
I would conclude that up until 2005 we made good progress, but then things seemed to plateau. However, the current use of web 2.0 based applications by students and some teachers are triggers for our school to take the next step in IT development: creating an online or electronic environment to communicate with students (Moodle, StudyWiz) and installing Wi-Fi in our school to provide more teaching facilities for staff members and the use of laptops in school by students.