Interactive Whiteboards

So… interactive whiteboards is the new topic. 

From what I have read about interactive white boards, it seems to be quite advantageous and useful to both the teacher as well as he learner. This forms part of the various aspects of the digital pedagogy system. It makes teaching much easier and in some ways convenient as it alleviates the factor of the teacher having to stand in front of a computer screen for a whole lesson and allows for much more natural movement from the teacher’s side, within the class room. These interactive whiteboards, as I have read, are a must have in K-12 schools (K-12, a term used in education and educational technology in the United States, Canada, and possibly other countries, is a short form for the publicly-supported school grades prior to college. These grades are kindergarten (K) and the 1st through the 12th grade (1-12)). 

Moving on (as I hope South Africa does as well, with regards to technology in schools and maybe protesting), it is said that the fundamentals of the interactive white board include a dry erase whiteboard, with an LCD projector which has been mounted to a wall, or floor stand. It becomes computer screen viewable to the entire class. Bear in mind that anything that can be done on a computer, can also be done on the white board. Teachers who might have a concern with regards to privacy, (for example, the thought of not being able to hide anything inappropriate you have saved on the computer from the class) can be set at ease. Mr/Mrs teacher, you control the content with literally a tap of a finger darling! So fear not, you’re still in control. Awesome! 

Aaaaand… the not so awesome part is the pricing there of. If the government can possibly offer some extra funding to direly needy schools (those that are found in poverty stricken and rural areas for example) then it would have many advantages for the children and teachers, who make use of the legendary black board and chalk (not that I have anything against this method, it still rocks, but seems to be a bit out-dated with regards to/as compared to contemporary digital pedagogy practices in schools worldwide).

Meaningful involvement of learners

Aaah… the fifth blog, I am so frustrated with all these unnecessary little things of PGCE; it is driving me crazy! This week has been one of thee most hectic weeks, and still, I’m unable to see the light at the end of the tunnel. Anyway moving on, this blog has got to do with effective pedagogy. 

The video by Shannon Foley, (Teaching the world) on YouTube (with a few spelling errors lol), basically focuses on pastoral care, effective teaching practices along with available resources that make up a good teacher. What I am able to understand and grasp from this video, is that teachers ought to be some kind of “super being”. I understand that there are many valid points being made in the video such as facilitating effective engagement with learners, nurturing their well-being and creating an open environment for communication of learners but in a way I feel that this expecting too much from the teacher and leaves almost no responsibility for the parent. I do understand that as a teacher one has to take on the role of the parent, but I mean, where does one draw the line? It’s not like the teacher gave birth to the child or something, (and I mean this in the least harshest way possible) but let’s be realistic here for a second. What they are basically saying in the video is that the teacher has to take full responsibility for the child, which in my opinion, is a bit ridiculous. It is a wild expectation. No teacher is going to honestly say that they love the children they teach, the same way or to the same extent as they would love their own kids. I know the video means well, But hey, that’s just my 2 cents on it. 

Riiiiiight …. 

Next up we have Mindfulness in the classroom, by Wills. This blog post is quite nice. I actually enjoyed the little story of how she got the students to stop causing a ruckus in her classroom by getting  them to be mindful. If I was her I would have probably lost my mind with all of that noise and not being able to deal with it. Her strategy was quite effective. I like the fact that she stopped blaming herself for what had being going on, but rather found an effective strategy to get the learners to take responsibility for their actions.  This goes to show that teachers always have to try to be one step (or even 20 more steps, for that matter) ahead of the learners. TouchÈ teacher Abby Wills…

Social Media in the Classroom

In the light of using social media as an educational advantage, I think it is quite creative and also in a way a little threatening to attendance of students in classroom. Okay, so let’s use Sunlearn as an example. In the case of a lecturer posting all the work that they have done in class such as slides and notes, as well as assignments that need to be handed in; students tend to feel that there is no need to attend these classes. I do not want to sound negative and say that technology (through digital pedagogy) is going to take over the teaching aspect and at the end of the day students would not require a teacher, but rather emphasize the manner in which it is used.

Looking at how I would try to make use of social media in my classroom, I would take into account the main aspect of not giving/ too much information on the topics that have been discussed in class, for example, Life Orientation and the topic teenage pregnancy. I would post the basic and essential parts of the lesson on social media, however, I would not make a post regarding an assignment or task that needs to be handed in. For that part of the lesson they would have to come to class in order to gain better understanding of what is required by the task.

I do agree with both blogs that social media can be seen as an advantageous tool when it comes to education in order to ease the way in which information is distributed rather than viewing it as a platform of distraction. But then again, how does one monitor what every student has to say on social media such as Facebook/twitter? If it is seen as tool that applies to the masses in the form of distributing information, then I think it is quite useful. However, there are students who sometimes post things on these social networking sites that can become controversial and end up causing havoc rather than focusing on what a specific lesson was about and drift of the topic.

Basically, the message that I am trying to get across, is that … I am not against social media in the classroom, neither am I a fanatic. I am merely pointing out aspects that need to be taken into account when using social media in the classroom. The control thereof becomes questionable. To what extent are you willing to allow social media to be used in your classroom? ….

PGCE Decoding Digital Pedagogy

Okay. So looking specifically at pedagogy and the online article “Decoding Digital Pedagogy”, I have come across the fact that PEDAGOGY is not only meant for the classroom as most individuals would think. I mean I am one of them who has been found guilty in just assuming that PEDAGOGY relates only to teaching in the classroom. I totally understand where this person, who wrote write the article, is coming from, and I find it very enlightening that he so critically, broke everything up in order to make it understandable in terms of everyday life. I like how he refers to pedagogy as a lifelong trait or characteristic that one acquires and states that leadership is the essential part of it, thereby making it clear that it is not only teachers who are “PEDAGOGUES”.

In any case, moving back to the beginning of the article, where he also tries to clarify that online teaching is not the same as digital pedagogy; in some ways he is right. However, I do feel that most of the aspects that fall within online teachings territory is also the same as digital pedagogy, so I would have to say they are very similar.

The second article by Jesse Stommel, tends to explain more intricately the meaning of digital, in terms of learning from one another and moving away from the notion of viewing digital as merely electrical/electronics. I understand where he is coming from in this regard and it makes things a bit clearer in terms of tools that are being used in the various methods of teaching.  Quoting Fyfe, he defines digital pedagogy as “adapt[ing], manipulat[ing], and mak[ing] productive use out of a given technology or technological context or platform.”, and this seems to be the part where I tend to get a bit confused. And by confused I mean that technology is usually something one associates with electronic devices, etc… but can technology refer to something else rather than this?

Anyway, the author then goes on further to state that “Digital pedagogy necessarily involves both teachers and students” where as compared to the author of the first article (Sean Micheal Morris, who I failed to mention above, (that I notice now)) who says that this is not the case. I agree more with the first author due to the fact that he seems a little more realistic in his approach to things and I am able to relate and identify with that. 

Digital Pedagogy

Digital Pedagogy according to myself, and what I have read from the article, is basically making use of technology in order to change teaching in a various number of ways. This would mean using the technology that one has at their disposal to their advantage to ensure effective teaching. This also means that it does not specifically refer to electronic devices but the many other tools used in a classroom such as a chalk/Black board. 

I would say that digital pedagogy has developed rapidly over the many years just by looking at the technological advancements that are being used in the classrooms today. Children in contemporary society are so technologically advanced that some of them cannot bear the thought of living without their cell phones, I Pads, laptops and various other electronic devices. In order to use this to a teacher’s advantage, he/she would have to figure out a way in which they could use these devices in a positive manner in the classroom. Many of the teachers in the article have attempted to do this and have succeeded, and therefore this would mean that it is not actually an impossible task.

Taking a step back, and looking at the past, the word “Digital” meant; Things operated or done with fingers. This tends to give us an idea that there is a form of practicality involved. This means that there are aspects of a situation that involve the actual doing or experiencing of something rather than placing the focus on theories. This then gives rise to interactive learning whereby the student is then not regarded as merely an empty vessel that just receives information but rather someone who already has precious knowledge and is able to engage in conversations and activities on an operational level.

There was one particular heading in the article that caught my attention, which was “Teaching Naked”. I thought that, that would have been about literally teaching naked which would possibly also have been effective (in the wrong way). Haha! Just kidding.