e-Learning as relevant to me

This year I am studying to complete a grad dip in special education, specialisation in vision impairment. I have really enjoyed my study this year and chose this paper as I needed an extra to complete my course. For that reason it has been difficult for me to take what I have learned this year and apply it to my class, since I don't have one.

However I have enjoyed learning about all of the different technologies available to learners who are blind and vision impaired this year. From technologies that help braille learners, to technologies for enlarging, to technologies that allow learners to customise different devices:

Optical aids

• monocular
• dome magnifiers
• stand and hand held magnifiers

Non-optical aids

• lamps
• reading stands
• video magnifiers
• computers
• CCTV
• anti-glare aids

Different options of course come with different issues to consider:

• size
• portability
• cost and funding
• preferences
• teacher skill
• appropriateness

Learning about DAISY and how this can open up learning opportunities for learners with a vision or print impairment has been really beneficial. Understanding how DAISY talking books can be used and the ease with which learners can navigate through books in a similar manner to their sighted peers, shows an exciting future for these learners. A DAISY textbook pilot study conducted in NZ outlines the potential benefits of DAISY talking books as well as issues with DAISY production, implications and considerations when looking at the use of these digital talking books in NZ.

Visible Learning - J. Hattie

Although computers have been part of classrooms for a number of years, there are studies that look into how they contribute to student learning. Most tend to be about how teachers use them as part of their instruction and teaching.

This article highlights that in a number of cases computers are used effectively for student learning including peer learning, student controlled learning and when learning is enhanced through effective feedback.

Peer Learning

• more effective when used in pairs
• problem solving is increased as well as suggesting and trying new strategies
• allows students to learn through exposure to different perspectives and other ways of thinking
• larger groups can hamper learning as students may be unable to explore their own ideas
• less opportunities to explore alternatives
• dominant and submissive roles more likely in larger groups

Student controlled learning

• student control of issues such as pace, time allocation, practice items used etc has positive benefits to learning
• examples of students learning using word processing programmes showed an increase in writing quality when compared to writing using pen and paper
• writing was also enhanced with struggling writers
• an increase was noted in revision, quantity and fewer errors

Effective feedback

• feedback can be less threatening
• different forms of feedback are more effective such as explanations and remediation
• tasks that are challenging are positive for providing feedback

Growing up Digital - John Seely Brown

This article starts with a brief history of how electricity was first produced and it's subsequent impact on the world and the change that took place as a result. This links well to the following discussion about the World Wide Web and its impact on the world. Of particular relevance in this article is the reality that although with the web we are already able to email, find info and shop, what we will be able to do using the web in future, is inconceivable. This has a clear impact the education and the best way of planning and assessing learning activities now and in the future.

Through the learning possibilities presented by the world wide web, we are able develop a much more interactive role in learning, which has not always been an option in the past. The ability with which people are able to come together from all over the world is noted, for a range of reasons, from mentoring through to providing help and guidance to young learners.

There are a number of positive implications for learners: their increasing ability to multitask, learning how to navigate their way through different forms of multi media and to develop knowledge through working together.

Schacter & Fagnano

Having been in primary teaching since 2002, computers have always been part of the learning process. However I've moved around a fair amount since that time so have not ever really taken the time to sit down and ask what the thoughts/ideas are behind the inclusion of computer technology at the particular schools I have worked. So the Schacter & Fagnano reading gave me things to think about in this area and again stressed the importance of ensuring that decisions regarding education - in many different areas, not just technology - are firmly based on theories and pedagogy. Not only does this ensure the learning follows a particular style, format or framework, but it also ensure that everyone who is part of this process understands the reasons behind it and can articulate and discuss this when needed. I enjoyed reading about the computer-supported collaborative learning (CSCL) based on Piaget and Vygotsky's theories, which involved learning about manipulation, text, 3D objects and graphics while also promote collaborative learning and the importance of reflection.

e-Learning in ECE - Jo Colbert

I really enjoyed reading about this storytelling journey at Westmere Kindergarten. I have always found it great to see easy it is to entice young children into learning situations, but to use simple technologies such as digital cameras to do this is such a fab way of making learning meaningful. It is great to see digital cameras being used in a way with young children that allows them to develop skills not only in the use of technological equipment, but then using these skills in another curriculum area.

The link between this storytelling process and the learning stories assessment framework also provide an excellent way to keep parents, families and whanau informed and involved in the learning taking place during kindergarten sessions. This was evident when one of the children took the camera home to show his life outside of kindergarten, and returned with 108 photos, video footage from on top of a remote control car and a flat battery. Such a great example of hooking children into learning at an early age.

Assignment 1

I found the first assignment quite full on. I really enjoyed the actual task but found that the more I thought about it, the more options there were available. I would really have liked to have done a paper about how digital cameras are used for visually impaired learner, but since this is still a relatively new resource for these learners, it was difficult to find studies and articles that related to this area. I personally know how valuable they are, particularly for low vision learners who are having trouble accessing information on the whiteboard, but it was difficult to find information to back support my hands on experiences.

So I choose to look at digital cameras in a more general way. There was a great deal of info out there about how these are used so I then narrowed it down to digital storytelling, which was great. Not only did I see how the use of digital cameras can benefit learners at a secondary level, they were also hugely beneficial when being used with children enrolled in kindergarten. I also enjoyed considering how these can be used within Web 2.0. Not only can learning develop through the use of cameras on a basic level (learning to actually use the camera) and specific skills relevant to particular curriculum areas but they can also be used to develop e-learning skills further.

More on this later.

Reading

I have spent a good deal of time this week reading about different aspects of

e-learning and now am delighted to have a greater understanding of RSS, blogs, podcasts, wikis and how these all differ from each other. As someone who really just stumbled onto the net, I was really interested to read that the wiki is best example of what the web was intended be and how the web has progressed from Web 1.0 to Web 2.0 and the Read/write concept. When thinking about it in this way, the scope for learning is just enormous.

Due to the fact that I am quite transient this year and am spending time in lots of different places, I am looking forward to seeing what different and amazing things are happening in schools and early childhood centres.

Cheers Karen