Where do we draw the line between what is considered "useful” and what is “useless"?

“The production of too many useful things results in too many useless people.” 

- Karl Marx

When the interactive whiteboard (smart board) was introduced, it seemed to show a lot of promise in the technological reform of the classroom environment. That is to say: teachers were now able to write on the board without the use of a pen or chalk and record their lesson... all at the same time. Evolutionary? I think not. 

I thought the idea of coming up with new technologies and implementing them into the classroom was to initiate change and promote moving forward amidst global innovation. How is this being achieved with the new and “innovative” interactive whiteboard, which is essentially a glorified (and need i mention - ridiculously pricey) upgrade to its perfectly effective predecessor. 

I went to the trouble of asking the opinions of a couple of my colleagues who have had access to teaching with this gimmicky pedagogical aid for the past few years. It seemed as though the general consensus was that the boards were mildly helpful and reformative, but that the teachers were largely using them as projection screens and certainly not to their full capacity...does this imply that the boards are not as useful as they are made out to be, or does it hint at the age-old myth that we cannot teach old dogs new tricks?

From the moment I started my undergrad study at university, I have been constantly aware of these reformed whiteboards and how they are rarely in use. Having matriculated from school prior to implementation of the new board’s technology, I was actually quite excited about getting stuck in and figuring out what they were all about... and now (after years of exposure) I am beginning to lose sight of their former intrigue. I believe that teachers would be happy to make use of interactive whiteboards if they were able to see a possibility for potential and the chance to make a difference in reaching out to their learners.

So perhaps the education departments and technological institutes are getting ahead of themselves - trying to develop modernistic and experimental products that are of no significant value to the enhancement of our lessons. While for now I’m happy to pass this off as a technological brain-fart, I will wait patiently and in peace for the perks and tweaking of the latest upgrade to be perfected...because, let’s face it, there is bound to be a version 2.0.

 

Oh, the Places You'll Go, When You Know What Will Flow...

"You have brains in your head.
You have feet in your shoes.
You can steer yourself
any direction you choose.
You're on your own. And you know what you know.
And YOU are the guy who'll decide where to go." 

- Dr. Seuss

In order to create an environment that encourages learners to participate, we need to be mindful of what makes them feel comfortable, interested and welcome to share their views and opinions. Building a good rapport with your learners will aid you in identifying when they are losing interest, why they might be feeling uncomfortable and what would make them hesitant to participate. If you are able to succeed in this, you are likely to gain your learner's trust and support, which will ultimately enhance your teaching and their learning experiences.

So how do you achieve this relationship of mutual understanding between you and your learners? Foley and Wills offer similar and yet very different methods of obtaining this goal. Foley suggests that you should always be available and accessible to your learners when they are struggling to understand certain concepts, This creates a space where your learners feel welcome to share their thoughts and ideas, because they know they will never be shut down. 

You should be motivating your learners to keep trying. 
Rather than saying:

"No, that's not right. Who has the correct answer?" 

Why not try:

"Interesting idea, why do you say that?"

It is possible that this will enable learners to think critically about the way they answer questions and still feel safe if their ideas are not 100% accurate. They will understand that if they get something wrong, you are there to guide them in the right direction, providing them with the necessary tools to move forward.

On the other hand, Wills encourages us to recognise when certain teaching methods are not working with a group of learners. When these moments happen (which they certainly will), you should not stress, get worked up and end up taking your frustrations out on your learners. Instead, go home, take a deep breath and think about how you could approach the situation differently next time.

Throughout our PGCE course so far, we have learnt that there are numerous different pedagogical tools and practices. All of these methods will assist us in times when we feel as though we may be "losing" our learners... But the key to success will be identifying which methods work for a certain group of learners and which methods will be a less effective. 

Should We Encourage Independent Learning?

“There are always going to be people that are nay sayers to stuff because it rocks the boat, it upsets the status quo. How do we know that you are actually doing something meaningful...” - The Independent Project

What makes an environment conducive to learning and what incites leaners to work hard, is finding/creating a space where they feel comfortable and fanning the flame of their developing passions and talents. The Independent Project was created by students for students inciting students to venture down the path they want to follow and lead them to the holy grail of learning. The project hit the nail on the head. Students are more likely to work hard for something they truly want and are passionate about as opposed to being forced into confined learning areas, where knowledge is jam packed into their minds, culminating in fading pits of imagination. When people find their niche, they are faced with an emporium of opportunity, which encourages them to strive for the best. This allows imagination and creativity to dance and flourish, climaxing with exceptional work that exceeds any and all expectations.

Technology has opened the doors and shone a light of possibility to enhance student-directed learning. Hamilton claims that "just in playfully experimenting with digital stuff, discoveries are happening, inquiry is happening, learning is happening. Knowledge is happening, and that knowledge cannot quickly or rightly be categorized as reading or art or science or any of the core subjects to which this knowledge is meant to supplement.” When learners are exposed to new and exciting technology, they funnel their interest into understanding how their new laptop, tablet, phone (or any other technological product) functions. If this interest is then carried through to gaining a better understanding of a topic that spikes their interest, according to Hamilton it can be considered learning... We just need to find a link that will tie this technological interest into developing the necessary skills for success in the future workplace.

If we can find a happy medium between old pedagogical methods and student-directed, technology-based learning, we will be on the right path to meeting the needs of an ever-changing world. If The Independent Project was able to provide a successful learning environment, where students were able to learn whatever interested them and come out with the skills to produce a decent quality project, then surely this is a sign that this is a successful method of education. I do, however, still believe it would be essential to have some form of teacher-figure in this educational environment. They provide a blanket of guidance, encouragement and leadership, where a simple nod of approval may instil a sense of confidence in a student’s ability to complete a task.

 

Why don't we socialize at school?!

"If we teach today as we taught yesterday, we rob our children of tomorrow." 

- John Dewey

In the hopes of keeping my primitive technological background under wraps, I will start by saying I matriculated before Facebook was in full swing. It was the time when MySpace was still the go-to social media platform and (needless to say) Twitter and Instgram were still unborn ideas in the minds of their creators. It is with these premises that I have always imagined school as a technologically challenged domain... But it has no reason to be! With technology and DigPed tools readily available on so many levels, we are able to integrate social media techniques into even the most technologically deprived school environments. I believe it is important to guide our learners and enable them to use networking platforms to their advantage.

From Day 1 of the PGCE course, we have been encouraged time and again to "clean-up" our Facebook and Twitter profiles, in order to create a more "hirable" persona for the profile-stalking job sharks. This could imply that we use a pseudonym for our social profiles or simply ensure that we keep our current profiles free from any undesirable content. Whatever the case may be, if it will aid our learners to excel and succeed in the technology-driven modern world, why shouldn't we encourage and therefore teach our learners to be techno-savvy (is this term even used anymore) from the get-go?!

Take it from someone whose friend experienced a real-life "catfish" situation. The techno-generation need to learn how to identify falsified personalities when they encounter them and how to protect themselves against them. With this in mind, I am all-in for teaching with social media if it means assuming the 'in loco parentis' role and improving the cyber-safety of our learners.

Let's address the "Social Media Myth"... As a generation Y teacher-in-training, you cannot deny that you browse your Instagram, Facebook or Twitter newsfeed at least once in a day filled with  lectures from dawn to dusk. How then can we expect the next generation to leave this at the metaphorical classroom door?! Because, let's face it, it's going to happen one way or another, whether we like it or not. Then, since it's going to happen anyway, why not benefit from it and use social media as part of your DigPed tools? And while Facebook, Twitter and Snapchat may not necessarily be the best tools, there are educational equivalents available to bridge the communication divide and build a connection between you and your students. This will hopefully provide learners with the essential tools required to stop and think before posting an impulsively overcritical comment or status on their preferred social media platform.

Provenzano and @coolcatteacher suggest numerous benefits for using social media in the classroom, but I personally loved the demonstration @kijiaoshou gave us. I think it will be highly advantageous for you to be able to test your students' knowledge by having them tweet answers to contextual questions using an allocated #hashtag. This will enable you to check their understanding of the subject matter. 

These are just a few examples of how social media could be effective in the classroom and we shouldn't hide from it purely because we were not taught in this manner... We should rather embrace change and teach our learners to to use these social media platforms in a careful and thought-out manner.

Digital Pedagogy - The Times They Are A-Changin’

“Come mothers and fathers throughout the land and don’t criticise what you can’t understand. Your sons and your daughters are beyond your command, your old road is rapidly agin’. Please get out of the new one if you can’t lend your hand, For the times they are a-changin'” - Bob Dylan

My previous blog dissected my understanding of digital pedagogy and everything I have come to learn over the past few weeks in the PGCE course at Stellenbosch University. Today I was confronted by two articles that gave me a deeper insight into the term "pedagogy". Of course to me, pedagogy was an unheard of term before i enrolled in the PGCE programme and has since been thrown around in almost every sentence of every lecture, such that I was convinced I was becoming a pedagogue and that all forms of teaching were considered pedagogy. And yet, @slamteacher suggests that one need not be a pedagogue to be an effective teacher.

Recently, online-based learning platforms have been popping up left, right and centre to suit the new technology-driven generation. I do believe a great deal of these digital learning platforms have shaped the mould for a possible future in easy-to-access education, but many have also allowed for lazy teaching methods. Yes, it is fair to say that providing students with information and later testing their knowledge on the topic is “teaching”. HOWEVER, in order to thoroughly relay material, you need to think creatively and use innovative methods to grab your students’ attention. This will stimulate your students’ interest, encouraging them to go beyond what’s taught in the lesson and assist them in remembering what they’ve learnt in the long run... because, let’s be honest, a lot of what we learnt in school (and even university in some cases) went in one ear and swiftly blew out the other.

The thing is, certain pedagogues and teachers have absolutely hit the nail on the head in their conversion to teaching with digital media, while others are failing miserably to deliver the goods using online aids. It seems the only way to make it work is to connect with digital pedagogy such that your digital tools assist you in building an interactive network, welcoming students to form part of the technological development. 

I believe technology holds a bright future for education. My main and only issue with online-based learning is that in this day and age, people are already engrossed in their mobile phones, tablets and laptops. When these instruments of communication are laid to rest many people reach for the television remote or open their “Netflix” tab, vegetating in front of the latest TV shows and movies (I don’t exclude myself entirely from this stereotype)...but I want to know (education aside) how we will ever be a generation that communicates comfortably without the safety of an interface separating us, if we continue along this path. Surely a happy medium between broadcasting with modern technology and discussions within the old-school classroom can be met?

Hacking the Pedagogical System and Teaching Naked

A good teacher, like a good entertainer first must hold his audience’s attention, then he can teach his lesson - John Henrik Clarke

It can be said that digital humanities in relation to digital pedagogy does not require the use of technological resources. If teaching is considered the transfer and development of knowledge between two minds, in which students are motivated to learn, the lesson need not even be presented in a classroom environment. Indeed, computers and other technological resources (although excellent for storing and sharing of both social and personal information) can detract from the information being relayed by the teacher. That being said, these “machines" are sometimes the key in capturing the attention of your learners.

As technological reform lures the youth of today into its web of universal connectivity and exposure, it is beneficial for us to incorporate new technologies into our lessons in order to communicate with our learners in a language they are willing to understand. This DOES NOT mean placing your students in front of a laptop/tablet/cellphone, expecting them to stare mindlessly into the black hole of the Internet with the hope that they might grasp concepts discussed. It could however suggest that a YouTube video, 9Gag meme or Tumbler GIF (where applicable) may be used to assist you in introducing an academic topic, spiking your learners’ interest or enticing a desire to find out more.

The goal for the teacher should be to think out of the box, initiating unique and creative methods for delivering new material and using whatever resources are available. Ultimately, you should be prepared for technology to fail and ensure there is always a Plan B to carry out the lesson when it does. However, it is possible to assume that lessons may be more effective if we strip away all additional technologies and teaching aids, such that the learners focus purely on the lesson at hand. This could further encourage students to learn independently, researching topics discussed for enlightenment at a later stage, and broadening their knowledge thereof.

For every task learners and teachers require technology, there is almost always an equivalent non-digitalised form of carrying out that task. If not, one might think how on earth information was passed on before the rise of the digital-era. The modern world is constantly travelling at the speed of light, with people expecting instant gratification, screaming at their “machines” whenever they fail to deliver immediate solutions. Removing the technological components of a lesson will force learners and teachers to take their time in considering the importance of material under investigation, enabling discussions to take on a deeper meaning. 

We need to hack the current pedagogical system and strip our lessons of every unnecessary aid, using technology in a wise and thought-out manner. Embrace the technological reforms in future schooling environments! It will be beneficial to everyone concerned. It will ensure the underlying messages of lessons are conveyed to the youth of today as well as the youth of tomorrow, such that each of our subjects are naked and exposed to every type of learner.