This semester in Professional Experience 3, the unit focused on the aspect of “Integrating Learning Technologies”in relation to the K-6 Education. At the beginning of the unit, I didnt feel that technology would play a major role when teaching primary students. Spending one semester studying this unit really did make me aware of how important technology is for the students from such a young age, as they are the ones who will be improving our future. By having literature circles each week with the focus based on different aspects of technology and the research to back it up made it evidential and extremely appealing to me. The importance of the e-learning in K-6 was becoming extremely obvious to me and I eventually began to realise this as a well known fact. I felt that as a pre service teacher, I was finding it tremendously interesting learning about various dimensions in terms of specific learning aides. These reflected back with the use of technology and also because my pre- requisite knowledge was limited at first.
In the first lesson, I was very nervous in terms of my abilities and when using technology. My concerns and fears were overcome by taking part in the weekly based literature cirlces. One of the readings that stood out to me was “The influence of classroom blogging on elementary student writing” by Davis and McGrail (2011). https://devashnasharma25.wordpress.com/2012/03/16/thursday-16th-march-2012/. This was one of the readings that my group members and I focused on. It simply stated the importance of blogging within elementary schools in regards to collaborative learning developed amongst the students and teachers. The article stated the vitality of using blogs not only for communication but also the fact that the students are empowered in regards to taking ownership of their writing. The article has proved the essentials of blogging as a powerful tool within the learning environment and in result a collaborative and meaningful learning. This can be shown through muttiple images, URL’s, and texts and a perfect example is https://devashnasharma25.wordpress.com/.
Technology today has made a huge difference within our rapidly growing technology based society. Another reading that really immersed me within my curiousities and interests was “The Horizon Report (2011).https://devashnasharma25.wordpress.com/2012/05/31/thursday-31st-may-2012/. The research provided various statistics in terms of how fast technology is changing the society. I was amazed when I had learnt that in a year or less, the usage of mobile phones will double tremendously. The week before this reading, “A schools’ duty of care for students to whom it gives access to cyberspace” was another piece of information that was vital to absorb which really made me aware of of the dangers.https://devashnasharma25.wordpress.com/2012/05/24/thursday-24th-may-2012/. I was astounded and disappointed with the fact that children under the age of 15 have facebook accounts without knowing the consequences . It is scary because they don’t understand the fact that there are too many dangers in relation to the use of the internet. The common ones are paedophiles with false identities preying on children who have no clue about what they are doing and also cyberbullying. The video that was shown in class made it obvious and “spine chilling” to see the reality of what people do to children by using false identities via the use of social networking. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_o8auwnJtqE showed a re-enactment of what happens in the world of social networking, therefore it is important for us as teachers to begin shaping the future of students by educating them and warming them about the dangers of cyberspace and was a real eye opener.
As a pre- service teacher, I believe that after completing this unit of study, it is crucial to keep in mind that when teaching children, there should be a variety of technology immersed within the learning to create a depth of collaboration and purpose of the learning. This has proven to me that I can imply these sources within a classroom to generate a rich learning environment. Not only will the children benefit from the variety but also it will allow space for motivational learning through engagement within the classroom. I believe that implementing the excercise of blogging will really encourage students to express themselves regardless of where they are. This form becomes accessible to the students whether they are at home or at school sharing information or news with their peers. I feel that this can also be an excellent tool for the teacher to keep up to date with the individual progress within the class and also a way to monitor any signs of dangerous cyber usage. This is why K-6 e-learning is critical within our teaching career.
References
Davis, A., & McGrail, E. (2011). The influence of classroom blogging on elementary student writing. Journal of Research in Childhood Education, 25(4) 415-437.
The Horizon Report 2011 Edition. Retrieved from http://www.nmc.org/pdf/2011-Horizon-Report.pdf.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_o8auwnJtqE
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