Digital Age Learning Matrix

As part of a doctoral thesis I have been thinking about how to measure learning activities in a way that is appropriate for the digital era. I wanted to find a model that included the ideas of connectivism, creating knowledge and included critique and evaluation. I didn't find an existing model that fitted my purpose so developed one that I have now tested and used with different groups- it has proved to be a useful tool to use when discussing lesson, unit and year plans with teachers. I have found it can lead to interesting professional conversations about personal beliefs about knowledge and learning in the digital age.

The matrix includes 6 levels of activites given to students:
Doing
Thinking about connections
Thinking about concepts
Critiquing and evaluating.
Creating knowledge.
Sharing knowledge.
A learning activity will commonly be at more than one level.

The matrix explores different ways that digital technologies are used in learning and how each use has different levels. the different uses in the matrix includes:
Accessing information
Presenting
Processing information
Gaming and interactive programmes
Communicating

I am interested in any feedback about the matrix; either email me or add to comments below.
Link to paper to download: acec2008 (apologies I couldn't figure out a way of including the matrix clearly in the blog!)

Starkey, L. (2008). Evaluating Learning in Classroom Activities using Digital Technologies. Paper presented at the ACEC 2008, Canberra.

Is Google making our kids stupid- I don't think so!

Tommy Honey on Nine to Noon today was talking about two books and an article in the Atlantic monthly which each focuses on the negative side of the widespread use of the internet.
The article in the Atlantic Monthly by Nicholas Carr “Is google making us stupid?” compares the rise of information with the invention of writing or the printing press. The article focuses on changes to the way that adults access information- rapid skims. I am not sure that this is so different for children. They need to be taught to think about authenticity of information as they are not critical of the information that they read and stop looking as soon as they have found information. I would suggest that pre- internet children were less likely to look for the information, it took a lot more effort to go to a library or find another source of information (Mum/Dad!! Or Teacher!!) and then the source of information was rarely encouraged to be critiqued.

Mark Bauerlein (the dumbest generation)- notes that while the current generation has a lot of leisure time, money and technology, they are not engaging in deep learning through the internet.- again how does this really compare with previous generations as far as learning goes?

Maggie Jackson- distracted- the erosion of attention. This book looks at multitasking- always a subject of him vs her banter. Maggie points out that you can multitask with things that use different parts of the brain, otherwise it is not efficient (and can be dangerous) to multitask. Maybe it is more about filtering information and metacognitive processes- learners being aware of when they are trying to do multiple tasks which require the same part of the brain to operate (eg. Responding to a text message while answering a question in class).

Complexity and change.

In Seb Schmoller's blog "fortnightly mailing", is a post about a recent newspaper article that blames "teacher technophobes" for 80% of schools failing to make full use of the 1bill pounds spent on digital technologies in British schools in 2007. The 80% figure appears to come from BECTA though I haven't found how this was measured. I am interested in how 'full use' is measured.

Schooling and education is complex. Larry Cuban (2001) pointed out that pouring money into technologies in schools does not mean pedagogical change, change in education has always taken longer. Applying complexity theory to schools can help to explain what happens when digital technologies are introduced, an idea that was used by BECTA in their 2006 report.

There are many reasons why pedagogical practices don't change immediately when digital technologies are introduced (and thinking logically- why would anyone expect them to?). One that I have found interesting is the resistance to change by learners themselves who want to know the facts and information they need to learn for the exams or for a named tangible future life. The perception by students and the wider community of what is learning and what is the purpose of schooling is another aspect in the complex web of change in the digital era.

Cuban, L. (2001). Oversold and underused : computers in the classroom. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press.

Twining, P., Broadie, R., Cook, D., Ford, K., Morris, D., Twiner, A. and Underwood, J. (2006) Educational change and ICT: an exploration of Priorities 2 and 3 of the
DfES e-strategy in schools and colleges.The current landscape and implementation issues
Retrieved from http://partners.becta.org.uk/page_documents/research/educational_change_and_ict.pdf

Photo: showing my photography skills of child jumping into water- missed again- but maybe illustrating the idea of complexity?

A view of students today

Mark Wesch from Kansas State University has posted another video that makes a good point about the reality for tertiary students. In this video he uses his students to make key points. It is worth watching- not a new message but put across clearly, and interesting to see the perspectives shown in the video- as some of the comments state, this doesn't reflect the reality for all students.


An alternative view- "a view of lecturers today".

Curriculum integration.

I have long been a supporter of curriculum integration at middle school/secondary school level. Most examples of curriculum integration that I see at this level tend to be a couple of subjects (commonly two or more of English, Social studies, Outdoor education, health and science). The integration is based around a theme.

Kath Murdoch and James Beane support involving students as learning plans are developed for integrated teaching. I think what is missing from most models is the planning to teach for conceptual understanding. At the start of the planning process (and based on students interests and questions and curriculum guidelines) key concepts should be identified. The concepts can then be examined in a number of contexts to help students to really understand and apply them. The concepts should be explicit to the students and the teachers through learning activities and form the basis of student research plans.

Some reading or a starting point on curriculum integration:

Beane, J. (1991) Middle School: The Natural Home of Integrated Curriculum. Educational Leadership, October 1991.Beane, J. (1995) Curriculum Integration and the Disciplines of Knowledge. Phi-Delta-Kappan.

Murdoch, Kath (1998), Classroom Connections Strategies for Integrated Learning. Eleanor Curtin PublishingMurdoch, Kath and Hornsby, David (1997) Planning Curriculum Connections Whole-School Planning for Integrated Curriculum. Eleanor Curtin Publishing

Books by James Beane.

Photo: what seems impossible can sometimes happen. A Macrocarpa tree growing on the Southern coastline of Wellington.

creativity in the digital age.

I am still thinking about creativity and what it might look like in schooling in the digital age. I have gone back to Plato's idea (Plato, 360 BCE, as cited in Anderson, 1959, p. 57) that a real artist is someone who shows a different/new reality, rather than manipulating tools to render the current reality (show what we already know). Other definitions include this idea; Stephen Downes (2007) recently defined creativity as ‘the manipulation of one’s experiences using the tools at one’s disposal’. The inclusion of a person's experiences' aligns with the idea of originality-the NACCCE definition ‘Imaginative activity fashioned so as to produce outcomes that are both original and of value’ (1999, p. 29) that includes originality of ideas. The latter definition also includes the concept that creativity needs to add value.

I wonder how many students in school get the opportunity to demonstrate creativity? Where they can use their own ideas, develop them to show a new reality and add value. I have seen this with senior students carrying out technology learning activities, planning projects for Geography where third parties are involved in the solutions and collaborative visual arts or drama productions.
In the current digital world, some students may be doing this outside the classroom as they develop their own movies, podcasts etc and upload them to the internet. This is certainly happening in increasing numbers (Lenhart & Madden 2005, Grunwald Associates 2007). The value added could be measured through the number of links, comments made and hits to the creative product. Maybe few would be showing a new reality- maybe many do. The Youtube video about boyracers in Christchurch I think shows creativity.

How many learning activities using digital technologies in schools could be classified as creative? How many align with the types of online creative activities students are currently using in their informal learning?

References:

Anderson, H. H. (Ed.). (1959). Creativity and its cultivation. New York: Harper and Brothers.
Downes, S. (2007). Half an Hour: Creativity Retrieved 10 August 2007, from http://halfanhour.blogspot.com/2007/08/creativity.html
Grunwald Associates. (2007). Creating & Connecting: Research and Guidelines on Online Social and Educational Networking. Retrieved 17 August 2007, 2007, from http://www.nsba.org/site/docs/41400/41340.pdf
Lenhart, A., & Madden, M. (2005). Teen Content Creators and Consumers: More than half of online teens have created content for the internet; and most teen downloaders think that getting free music files is easy to do. Washington DC: Pew Internet and American Life Project.
NACCCE. (1999). All our futures: Creativity, culture and education. . Retrieved 17 August 2007, from http://www.dfes.gov.uk/naccce/index1.shtml
Robinson, K. (2006). Do schools kill creativity? . Ted Talks Retrieved 13 May 2007, 2007, from http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/view/id/66

Image: Global sculpture in Majestic Centre, Willis Street, Wellington.

Supporting beginning teachers

A beginning teacher's professional learning is very important. In a study by Denis Rose (1994), it was found that "regardles of the perceived quality of pre-service experience, if the teacher was not immersed in a culture of ongoing professional development once they began teaching in schools, within 3-5 years they would revert to teaching in ways that they remember being taught".

With this in mind I have developed a Ning site for beginning teachers. Please join up if you are a beginning teacher, or you may want to pass this on if work with/are responsible for newly graduating teachers. This network can be used for support, sharing of the great ideas, questions and the wonderful experiences that beginning teachers have.

http://newteacher.ning.com/

ref:
Rose, D. (1994); The effect of practice on the acquisition and maintenance of teaching skills : a thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the University of Canterbury

Social inquiry- using Youtube to understand values.

One aspect of learning in social studies in New Zealand, is students carrying out inquiries that include looking at people's values. A relevant topic for this is boy racers- young men in cars who like to race and do burnouts in the cities on Friday and Saturday nights. In the past we have got students to ascertain the different values by reading newspaper articles. Today, the boy racers themselves are developing classroom resources through Youtube. Watching the attached video students should be able to clearly identify boyracer values from a boyracer source.
A bit of a dilemma may be that some of the students may become boyracers as a result of this!!!

Which picture to use on your profile?

A big decision I face when joining social networks is what to say about myself and what image to use. This is possibly an even more difficult decision for an egocentric teen. I have come across a couple of interesting ideas in the last week that students may enjoy using as they grapple with the what photo/image issue. The image on the right is me as a Simpson! there are two places to develop one of these- the first Simpsonise me you develop your own choosing different options. The second site also called Simponize me, the one I used, you upload a photo of yourself and the aliens turn you into a Simpson.

xtimeline- develop a timeline collaboratively.

xtimeline lets your students create a timeline on any subject, linking in information and resources. They can work collaboratively on a project like a wiki.

Of interest to the teacher:

'There are privacy settings for the timeline creator, determining who can view a timeline, who can contribute to a timeline, and who can comment on a timeline. The layout for these timelines is clean, readable, and easy to navigate, which are all key functions to having a useful timeline on the Internet. The information for any given module on a timeline can be viewed along side the timeline, or as a full page, which has the formatting functionality of a blog entry.' (from http://mashable.com/2007/07/05/xtimeline/)

There are some interesting ones on the site including a timeline for the crisis in Darfur, history of music in the USA and various wars and historical events. A class or group in a class could develop one to show historical events, this could be added to over successive years...

Many thanks to Pam for letting me know about this tool.