My Question Assessment 1!!!

How can we overcome and/or work around lack of access to reliable computer technology and support?

It's interesting to me to see just how trivial the question now appears locked in as it is to the technical/logistical side of what Web 2.0 actually means.  It is both very narrow and limiting but reflects my understanding interest and experience at the time.

So here goes!

Some of the Issues:

From a teaching perspective there is nothing more frustrating than technology that doesn't work.  Whilst learners are generally understanding and forgiving it is far from an ideal situation to be faced with a teaching session that achieves nothing in the hour spent because of problems with technology not working.  It can be as simple as a powercut that disrupts settings so that the interactive whiteboard won't work or the firewall blocking access to sites because it mentions the word "boy" or because the printers are down.  The end result though, is endless frustration and a feeling of 'why bother'?

The answer now, as I see it, is also different than 6 weeks ago.  Persevere, be creative,  think laterally and look beyond computers to other Web 2.0 technology.

Several years ago a collegue and I used webquests widely with our learners.  We created resources and he was viewed as a leader in the field, providing workshops at conferences and visiting schools to take inservice courses on the "how to' of computers in classrooms.

A year later it had died - at our place of learning anyway, because it was no longer possible on an antiquated computer network that had been tweaked once too often, and in the face of more restricted access to the outside world!  And this is at the very heart of the problem of use of technology in some learning environments though certainly with a wider range of options provided by Web 2.0 technology it is not as limited as in the past however, some of the same challenges remain.

 Access to computers continues an issue for schools in particular, where according to UK findings (Becta, 2008) they are under-utilized especially in institutions that provide specialist IT courses which makes it difficult because of timetabling for teachers of other subjects to access.  Booking time is seldom straight forward as there are more teachers wanting access than spots available and sending students off in 'dribs and drabs' relying on them to use tools wisely is fraught with dangers in a school environment. Software applications too are  limited and therefore limit what can be achieved.  Another barrier is lack of student motivation to use technology for learning, when students are more interested in checking e-mails and social media.  Perhaps surprisingly confidence and skills can be significant barriers; just because we assume teenagers are savvy with technology doesn't mean this is the case and while some will be experts and able to assist other learners many have a realitively limited appreciation of technology.


Teachers too, have to make changes to pedagogy as lack of skills and confidence hamper effective teaching and can create a 'boredom' factor for learners as does the relatively "primitive" nature of some Web 2.0 tools.  And how do we overcome lack of access to Web 2.0 technology for a sizable number of the population who lack the resources?

Solutions

According to (An & Williams, 2010) to help overcome the reluctance of learners to embrace the openness and possibilities of Web 2.0 takes time and careful mentoring through clear instruction and examples on how to use the technology.  It is important to allocate time to learn and manage new technologies even if these appear to impinge on learning time for content.   It is also important not to introduce too many new technologies in one semester and to avoid using muultiple technologies that perform the same function.  Creation of learner centered learning such as blogs for critical reflection is seen as vital as is feedback on how to find and use resources on the web.

While all this of course assumes ready access to technology (especially computers) in the first place it can be achieved via other Web 2.0 tools such as mobile phones and the tried and true face to face teaching that this technology supports.


Even as I write this a news item on Radio New Zealand calling for free computers in low decile schools echoes a 2009 article I blogged from the UK on the provision of computers and free broadband to underprivileged students to stop a widening of the achievement gap in schools.


 The issue of lack of access to reliable technology and support remains and there are no simple solutions, just ways of working smarter and trying to minimise the impact of lack of reliable access to a tool that is an integral part of the wider educational landscape.

References:

An,Y., & Williams, K. (2010) Teaching with Web 2.0 Technologies: Benefits,Barriers and Lessons Learned.
International Journal of  InstructionalTechnology and Distance Learning, March.  Readings in Online Teaching and Learning 169005.

Becta (2008) Research Report:  Implementing Web2.0 in Secondary Schools: Impacts, Barriers and Issues. Retrieved from http://www.becta.org.uk  Doi dera.ioe.ac.uk/1478/becta_2008_web2_useinschools_reportpdf

Davis, N., &  Fletcher, J. (2010) E-Learning for adult literacy, language and numeracy: summary of findings.  Retrieved from http://www.educationcounts.govt.nz/publications/tertiary_education/...

Illinois Online Network (2010) Weaknesses of Online Learning.University of Illinois.  Retrieved from   http://www.ion.illinios.edu/resources/tutorials/overview/weaknesses.asp

Findings from the Questions Explored - My Buddies Second Question

This entry is intended to support issues identified and discussed in some of my earlier blogs.

The question I chose from my buddy related to my own first question that  looked at technical issues associated with the delivery of technology, then focused on the vexed issue of what constitutes appropriate - legitimate assessment in a Web 2.0 world where it appears the only constant is change!.

My partner Camilla's Question 2 which I modified  became:  What is the most effective way to test students' progress using online learning tools and how is this different from traditional forms of assessment? 

This question was of particular interest to me because of the ongoing debate around assessment practices and the need to create tasks that assess what is important in a changing world where individualism is less important than flexability, collaboration, creativity and teamwork (Gillen & Barton, 2009).  The question also had to acknowledge the speed of technological change which traditional assessment practices are poorly attuned to.  That there is a time lag between what is discovered,what is taught and learned, and how and what is assessed is becoming more of an issue than ever before in a Web 2.0 world.

What I discovered:

Using Web 2.0 technology requires different methods of assessment and types of questions than those that have traditionally been used.  Types of questions that might to be considered when assessing using Web 2.0 tools are  -  Has the learning brought about a change in behaviour?  Has it lead to greater learner independence?  Has the learning enhanced confidence and self perception? Has it brought about greater collaboration?  Is there evidence that personal competencies have been enhanced?  How has this judgement been made?  Is the assessment task one that is content based such as mastery of facts or is it more flexible than that?  Does assessment rely on traditional definitions of literacy as reading and writing or is it more creative and flexible and reflect its changed nature? (Gillen & Barton, 2009).  Is the 'test' in a traditional  form with objective assessment criteria or is it more subjective relying on teacher observation and judgements? 

Personalisation of learning is an important component in Web 2.0 learning and is achieved through communication and collaboration with  learners who actively participate in the process of tailoring it to meet their needs (An & Williams, 2010).  Knowledge is viewed as an active process and happens in a less structured environment than in the past and outside 'experts' might be involved rather than the traditional teacher whose skill base may well be less than the learners in front of them.  Assessment practices must reflect that.

An effective way to minimise the risk of assessing in the 'wrong way' is to use a personalised learning approach (so much a part of a Web 2.0 environment)  where so much of the teaching and learning is collaborative and aimed at developing confidence and self perception.  In this context assessment might take the form of portfolios and ongoing observation of personal growth, confidence, dexterity with use of tools, and be far more collaborative in both its form and structure than traditional forms of individual assessment.

Other important considerations in Web 2.0 assessment are the provision of authentic contexts (Gillen & Barton, 2009, p5) the creation of tasks that change attitudes, behaviours and lead to greater learner independence, the realisation that teachers will not necessarily be the possessor of the most relevant knowledge and avoiding using pen and paper assessments for Web 2.0 learning as these invariably assess different skills and knowledge than is intended.

This list is far from exhaustive but gives I believe a 'feeling' for how assessment might be approached in the second decade of the twenty first century.

References:

An, Y., & Williams, K.(2010) Teaching with Web 2.0 Technologies: Benefits, Barriers and Lessons Learned.  International Journal of Instructional Technology and Distance Learning.  Retrieved from http://www.itdl.org/Journal/Mar_10/article04.htm

Barrett, H. (2004) Differentiating Electronic Portfolios and Online Assessment Management Systems.
Retrieved 19 August from http;//www.electronicportfolios.com/systems/concerns.html


 Gillen, J.,  & Barton, D.  (2009, 12 -13 March 2009).  Digital Literacies.  Paper presented at the meeting of the teaching and Learning Research Programme-Technology Enhanced Learning, Lancaster University.

Teenager's Everyday Literacies

This article examines the context of new communication technologies as a kind of everyday literacy and how written features of "texting" function paralinguistically as cues to how the writing is to be understood.

It identifies and discusses how four features in particular - eye dialect, slang, emoticons and meta-markings work to clarify meaning.

Whilst clearly an academic treatise it is a very approachable piece to read.  What it has helped develop for me is greater insight into the world of digital communication, particularly some of the nuances of texting and ways of expressing emotions in print (though I've not yet entirely changed my position).  In so doing it assumes a degree of familiarity with the unwritten conventions of the medium  - something possibly lost on many over 40's brought up using pen and paper!

From an academic perspective it raises interesting issues about the models of teaching and the curricula we use and of course the ever present issue of what actually constitutes literacy in a multimodal world. 

In its conclusion, the article draws on Thurlow (2006) who suggested that "it appears that language and technology is (once again) ...being scapegoated for a range of adult anxieties about newness,change, and perceived threats to the status quo". [lowering of standards] when in fact teenagers are simply taking advantage of the technology available, and in actual fact writing more than than they did with traditional media because of its immediacy, while pushing the boundaries of what adults accept - just as teens always have!

References

Haas,C. Takayoshi, P. Carr, B. Hudson, K.& Pollack,R. (2011) Young Peoples Everyday Literacies: The Language Features of Instant Messaging  Researching in the Teaching of English, 45(4), 378-404

Thurlow, C.(2006) From statistical panic to moral panic: The metadiscursive construction and popular exaggeration of new media language in the print media. Journal of Computer Mediated Communication, 11(3), 667-701



                 

Digital Reality in Schools

This extensive and interesting research report from 2008 titled Implementing Web 2.0 in secondary schools: impact, barriers and issues  looks at practices in UK schools and can be accessed from the Becta website.  But first some background:

A Government initiative (approximate cost NZ$600 million) has provided the most needy students in the UK (270 000 families identified as qualifying) with free laptops which they can keep, and one years freebroad, in an attempt to 'close the achievement gap' between rich and poor.  To qualify a students have to be those eligible for free school lunches but even then there is no guarantee.  It is however, official recognition that students need access to resources at home as well as at school.  British P.M. at the time Gordon Brown said 'there were educational,economic and social benefits in being online at home and that computers were no longer a luxury for a few but are as essential a part of education as books, pens and paper".  This news article and the research report both resonated with me as I was teaching in England at the time and saw the social situation being targeted.  It also coincided with schools identified as leaders in their fields recieving extra funding so that they exhibited  'best practice' and attracted students .   I taught in a specialist technology school which prided itself on its IT status.  The only problem was that the interactive whiteboards had been vandalised and the school couldn't afford more than 5 hours technical support a week so that computers didn't work and the firewall/filter didn't allow access to sites anyway!  The reality was less use of technology in teaching and learning than was happening in my NZ teaching!    Political rhetoric fell well short of the realityin that specialist school at least. 

The Becta article was based on field studies of 27 schools (mostly specialist schools) and looked at the adoption of Web 2.0 tools and the establishment and sustaining of collaborative learning communities.  It looked closely at the use of social networking, blogs, wikis, conversational arenas and media sharing.  It then touched on pedagogy  before identifying the impact and benefitsWeb2.0 learning can have on learning at school and in the community.  Four potential benefits identified were: stimulation of new modes of enquiry, new opportunities to engage in collaborative learning activities, engagement with new literacies and confidence and skills gained from publication of content.

Finally the report identified the barriers and tensions, opportunities, choices and visions, and implications for policy makers.

The study's findings are I  believe be equally valid in New Zealand and make interesting and informative reading  for anyone involved in education at any level.

Digital Literacies

This 2009 paper delivered in a workshop on digital literacies by its authors Gillen and Barton.  In it they define digital literacies as "the constantly changing practices through which people make traceable meanings using digital technologies"  for example blogs,wikis and podcasts, and enthuse over the new opportunities  and possibilities this offers, new digital identities being one.  They promote the increase in use of Web 2.0 in schools and by implication in adult education too.

They make an important point about the multiple sources people draw on to learn new and changing literacies and how the skills acquired form  part of everyday living beyond the context of where the learning occurred and how Web 2.0 technologies saturate this world.

The paper then goes on to pose some challenges that this wave of new technology creates - that they are reshaping the global communications environment, Is it a means of asserting power and control or will it work the other way and encourage greater participation?  Just look at the uprisings for democracy in the Middle East fuelled at least in part by instant communication through texting and other social media, or the recent London riots.

At school literacy (literacies) too are affected,  while schools can provide peer support, collaboration,teamwork and meaningful tasks within tasks and for learners when it comes to assessment it is a different story as assessment practices tend to follow traditional lines of individual success or failure.  They therefore emphasise the need for schools to change so that students 'online and offline worlds' (p.6) can meet.  However; whether all students will want such a close school - leisure relationship is another matter and the article acknowledges that there is conflicting evidence on this aspect of technology.

Gillen, J & Barton, D. (2009, 12-13 March, 2009). Digital Literacies.    Paper presented at a meeting of the Teaching and Learning Research Programme - Technology Enhanced Learning, Lancaster University.

'Now Is the Hour of the eReader'

A recent Maimi Herald article investigated how the old order of bookshops and publishers is responding to the 'attack' of technology on the traditional bookselling world, readers and reading. ( As a discussion point it seems to sit nicely with the interesting comments some of us have been making about ebooks in the blogs, as opposed to the traditional form where smell and feel of real texts is so important. )

At first glance it seems like a disaster.  Borders Bookstore chain gone in the US, 400 stores closed and 11000 employees out of work.  But is it really that bad? Will the art of reading die, and what of the very concept of literacy?    What it certainly is is a real shakeup for the publishing industry as it has existed.  No longer will limited store hours and out of stock items be a problem.

But what is the situation?  The ereader, that little device that you read on, buy books on, allows for a multimedia experience and in February this year outsold  all other book formats for the first time.  All this has happened since 2007 when Amazon Kindle and Sony reader both appeared replacing the existing clumsy and fringe product that they had previously been.  Ebook sales are in fact expected to break the billion dollar mark this year in the US alone. They have changed the book industry forever and it is dffficult to comprehend just where it will all end.

E-Learning and Practical Application - Some Musings

From everything I've so far read (and I admit to be coming from a position of relative ignorance) it would appear that e-learning is some great panacea that will change the educational landscape as we know it or is it just that I'm being hyper-sensitive to change?  So does another theory (connectivism) really change the face of education?  Do new technologies in practice through philosophies in practice really make a difference?  Or is it much more complicated than this?  What of the learners who shy away from technology and social media and those for whom technology is inaccessible?   It seems to me that there is an absolute assumption that without the latest gadgetry and wizz bang technology individuals and society will be the poorer yet a significant number of learners don't access technology and some avoid it intentionally as they see it depersonalising education and superfluous to their lives.   I raise these points advisably, and don't want to appear a Luddite, but I still think we have to accept that not all learners automatically embrace or practise the things that we appear to espouse when we endorse e-learning without a critical lens.

I look forward to any responses and am open to your valuable and considered opinions that may sway my present thinking.