Post 3: Online Learning Communities

Date December 6, 2016

Posted by Ashok

Comments1

Learning in a traditional classroom community is based around knowledge and collaboration, allowing children to access information in order to develop their own understanding of through talk, play and various activities.

Image result for traditional primary classroom

Developing this learning environment through the use of online communities, educators need to take the basics of this established teaching pedagogy and create learning environments using computing technology and software to form a more modern day teaching practice.

Image result for computer in primary school

Learning online enables students and educators to access information, their work and that of others, thoughts and ideas through the web and being connected to each other rather than in a traditional classroom setting with often text and conversational based material only. The influence on the digital world in modern day life is evident through most peoples work, play and the carrying out of routine daily tasks, utilising technology available within a learning environment has established the term The Virtual Learning Environment (VLE)

Watch this small video to find out more about VLEs and maybe you will realise that you are already involved in one.

In the main stream school however there may be barriers to entry to overcome as is often the case in progressive and forward thinking changes to the status quo. Ofsted (2009) proposes that the use of VLEs within education appeared at the beginning of the century and that government emphasis on their inclusion in transforming education was advocated in 2005 with their vision that by 2008 all children should be able to have access to an online learning environment (DfES, 2005). In reality this is hard to see in many schools, there are computers in many schools even iPads and laptops, however, seeing children using them within their own personalised learning environment has not be evident for me during my experiences in school.

Kim Deskin’s article is a great read and it discusses the benefits of the VLE. Click here to read.

Accessibility to information and resources and the benefits of online communication.
Collaborative learning outside of the classroom
Assessment opportunities and the centralisation of work and grades.
Catering for different learning styles

To name a few

The concept of the VLE seems logical and straight forward and my main experience of VLEs is evident through our learning at university, the use of Moodle,

our development of Google Classroom

and through engaging in blogs has enabled us to work both independently and collaboratively, while also widening my understanding of the advantages and disadvantages of being online. Centralised and accessible grading, feedback, resource availability and communication has indeed been a benefit in my development through the course, however, there is has often been frustration in being referred back to Moodle to many times when I feel more human interaction would have been more beneficial for myself. My learning style does vary from others, and more than not I refer to hard copies of books, information and verbal feedback rather than the online options provided for me.

Image result for google classroom logo

There is a certain amount of self discipline needed and this may not suit all types of learners and age groups (Macpherson et al, 2004). The use of social media and children’s online experience outside of school can only be a benefit in embracing the VLEs however making that transition successfully may be limited. What is interesting is the benefits for inclusion with children who have autism for example where their affinity to technology can be embraced to suit their different learning styles Rajendran (2012)

I see the cost of VLEs, accessibility to being online and connected as a significant part of it being successful to many and not just the privileged. With school’s ever diminishing budgets in real terms, such emphasis on expenditure must be analysed in line with a school’s priorities, and create barriers to be able to implement successful. Even producing the software that really works is a costly experience for companies, and potentially the returns available in education are apparent in the lacking of many VLEs compared to other software where there is a greater financial gain. Google classroom for instance is very limited from my experience but has great potential but at what cost does Google want to apply themselves with something that many schools may never embrace.

I have witnessed many schools starting out with good intentions, but will often lack the right leadership, teacher skills and necessary persistence to be able embrace such learning fully. Here however is an example of a school thinking consciously about VLEs which you can download and read.

Virtual learning can often be seen as children just sitting in a computer suite for one hour per week, however the emphasis needs to be on the children accessing their learning remotely and collaboratively. Access out of school is not taken into account, parents enthusiasm and the risks of e-safety are all factors which seem to could prohibit the success of VLEs. However, parents potential involvement with their children’s VLE should be seen as a positive and be encouraged. Although daunting to many teachers, the use of VLE’s should be seen as increasing children’s engagement in their learning. Navigating through the vast array of software and online sites will be problematic for teachers but with the right support from senior management, utilising the potential of this developing area of teaching and learning should enable those that embrace the technology to see the benefits of this existing yet new style of education.

Have a look at some sites below to help develop your understanding and the advantages that a VLE can bring while also realising that to embrace it might be easier said than done.

Click here.

Image result for bbc Click here.

Click here.

References List.

DfES, (2005) Learning platforms Primary Making IT personal. London:

Available at: (Assessed: 01/06/2017)

Rajendran, G. (2013). Virtual environments and autism: a developmental psychopathological approach. Journal of Computer Assisted Learning 29(4) pp334–347. DOI: 10.1111/jcal.12006

Available at: (Assessed: 01/06/2017)

Gillespie, H., Boulton,H., Hramiak, A.J. & Williamson, R. (2007) Learning and Teaching with Virtual Learning Environments. Exeter: Learning Matters.

Macpherson, A, et al (2004) “E-Learning: Reflections and Evaluation of Corporate Programmes”, Human Resource Development International, Vol 7, No 3, pp 295-313

Available at: (Assessed: 01/06/2017)

Ofsted., (2009) Virtual learning environments: an evaluation of their development in a sample of educational settings. London: Ofsted.

Available at: (Assessed: 01/06/2017)

Post 2- Reading 2: The partners programme in Northern Ireland

Date December 5, 2016

Posted by Ashok

Comments3

Designed to promote community cohesion and assessing the role ICT can play to encourage collaboration, the report based in Northern Ireland discussed a project that could work for many schools. The geo-political issues that Northern Ireland faces brings the question up of how children can interact with each other in light of their pre determined differences. A common curriculum for all schools of different faiths in Northern Ireland seems an obvious way to promote cohesion, although one teachers comment about education not being the sole responsibility of schools is an important point to note. If children are taught with encouragement of cohesion in schools, then this attitude needs to be replicated outside of school, however this is not always the case.

It is interesting that the project’s theme of collaboration is based around food, meals and cooking, something we all share a connection to and where Northern Ireland’s and in deed Ireland’s differences seem to fade away. A collaboration of pupils their teachers and university students, FRONTER was brought into the classrooms, interestingly time was allocated for the project, it was not an after school experience or squeezed in between other lessons but treated as a solid learning experience.

Through the use of this Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) the children started to engage with other pupils from other schools. Have a look at the video below to understand more about VLE’s

It is interesting that the VLE designed for business’s can be thought of as an educational tool. The pupils were clearly enthused by the project and surely this is key to children’s learning. Although as practictioners this environment clearly brings a whole new aspect of behaviour management into practice, this has been evident during my placements so far especially within the context of shared resources. Although it is highlighted that pupils using the web collaboratively showed more tolerance for other pupils of different backgrounds, the wider implications of the exercise are much more profound. Children were collaborating together with their work, there was opportunity to assess each others work remotely, ideas were transferred and bounced around without the peer pressure of the classroom environment which can often stifle children’s participation. The importance of real life activity within learning is paramount, the skills needed to participate in the project are all life skills that children will need to possess in their adult lives, collaboration with people we have differences with, working remotely from each other and being able to collectively produce work for a meaning. Yes the children were learning about food, but embedded within this was their learning about time management, general computer skills and how they could use the ICT to develop.

Another side to this all is the learning experience of the teachers and university students. Without the students specialism knowledge would the teachers have been successful other own? Again social contructivism is at the heart of the projects, more knowledgeable others helping teachers to understand how ICT can be set up, ideas and structure of lessons etc. A great learning event for the university students to understand the frustration and lack of knowledge most teachers and schools actually have ICT. As trainee practitioners we will be taking our ideas to a school to show them what is possible with VLE’s and you can read about this in my later blogs.

As for the problems Northern Ireland face with their education, I hope that this has helped to enable change for the better, there certainly is an appetite for it as shown in the article from the Belfast Times in 2013.

Post 1 – Reading 1: Sir Tim Berners-Lee

So our first reading of the year, and what a person to think about. Understanding the difference between the internet and the world wide web can help us understand how our digital lives work. Being connected to everything is taken for granted and we assume we are all better for it, however as Sir Tim points out “any really powerful thing can be used for good or evil”. The online world is seemingly a benefit for all of us, we can source information, communicate through words, pictures and video, we can work anywhere and share it with anyone. Yet much time is spent consuming digitally for our own personal enjoyment and with this thought maybe we underestimate what the benefits it can bring to learning. Being slightly older then many of my peers, I can recall much of my life where there was no such digital world. bbc-micro Yes in school we were shown the BBC Micro, but in a non connected world these did not seem relevant, what could it do for me, how could it change my life? Home computers created games for a new generation, but for most of my generation this was not an era of using technology to learn, but more the fact that is was a new area in our lives to have fun with. Whilst at university in the late 1990’s I discovered the web, emails and communication changed everything and from then on and now, like many, it is part of my daily life.

Much of my daily life exists from being online, from listening to the radio to reading the newspapers. From communicating with people to accessing my learning whilst at university. Functional duties from banking and dealing with the services that I use, even whilst on placements the online world is ever present. Through social media fellow students discussed things we were doing, swapped ideas and feedback, all in a way that we were learning more about us as practitioners and more importantly reflecting on our progress, where we are now, where do we want to be and how are we going to get there. During placement planning was done online, resources were researched online and of course this would all be shared around the school. In my reception class all observations of children were carried out using an iPad and dedicated software.

Here staff could collaborate with comments and notes and were able to quickly assess the children in a non obstructive way linking it to the Development Matters framework.

So what of the children’s learning experience of the web. Last year I was involved in teaching Scratch to year’s 1 and 3, social constructivism at its best, the class worked together to discuss and refine their own projects, looking at others efforts, asking questions to more knowledgeable others and building on their prior experiences to further their own efforts. The National Curriculum in computing clearly states “A high-quality competing education equips pupils to use computational thinking and creativity to understand and change the world”, yet ICT in schools does vary, with many not even having a dedicated room for children to explore and embrace.

Whilst assisting in the computer club, it was evident that many children used this experience to learn how to use computers and the web potentially not having this facility at home. Yes many have access to phones and tablets, but these are often purely recreational attractions (or distractions some may say), where as a school enviroment more structure to learning can be apparent. Here children were designing fact sheets based on their class topics which could be put on the school websites for parents to view. Not only learning about the operational side of software and the computer, the focus was on safe use of the internet, the ability to use search technologies effectively and more importantly the collaborative nature of the task as this was carried out in pairs.

Of course there lies the behaviourist elements of children on computers in schools, we looked at programmes such as Skoolbo, where children are rewarded for their efforts, this can be seen in basic phonics games as well. Margaret et al (2001) comment on the fact that children do well in learning phonics with the aid off computers to help them learn by association where there is a focus on practice rather then memorisation. At the other end of children learning through games is the much publicised Minecraft

Children construct their own worlds, they are free to explore, experiment there is not right or wrong. Problem solving, collaboration, maths and science reasoning all play a part in such games yet educators often seem put off by such activities in the classroom. Michael Hammond in his article ‘Introducing ICT in schools in England’ discusses the fact that teachers lack of confidence in ICT, yet without such confidence of creativity in children’s learning how will this bring about a change in the idea of teaching ICT as a worthwhile subject and not be seen as it often is a fill in subject.

As for the use of the IWB, this has been disappointing, bad positioning worn out lamps meant the IWB was used for little else apart from showing small video clips of uninspired content. Children were not able to use the board themselves to interact with the amazing plethora of resources available, I showed a few to them and their eyes lit up but with the projector behind them causing shadows how could they use the boards themselves.

Conclusion: The web is almighty for most of us, yet in many schools it seems not to be fully grasped in its capacity to help children in their learning. As a future practitioner I am determined to integrate it where possible and push the boundaries of my schools to embrace it more the ever. Im looking forward to this years BETT Show ( I went last year) to see what there is on offer and to meet those professionals who understand the web and the learning both adults and children can benefit from.

Lecture 1: The Internet as a resource for learning.

Date December 4, 2016

Posted by Ashok

Comments1

The internet is many things to many people, and after we discussed what we all use the internet for it became apparent that we all hold different opinions. Is the internet a go to resource, does it feed our curiosity to understand, communicate or consume? Most will use the internet for its collosal amount of information, accessible by a finger tip and available at an instance. So how can children learn from the internet both at home and at school? Unlocking and understanding how children learn and realising this within an online enviroment should be at the forefront of education. The design of the world wide wide should enable the classroom to be limitless and indeed there are many resources in existence, but are they fit for purpose? It is easy to see how resources may sit within and between the behaviourist and contructivist theories of learning, and indeed this blog is the evidence of social contructivism at its heart. We discuss, we research, we learn and evaluate our learning from each other. Just the fact that I am struggling in my design of this site, I have looked at others for inspiration and discussed with these peers about how to get what I want (work in progress of course) shows how my collaborative learning is taken place via the internet.

Year 2

Date December 4, 2016

Posted by Ashok

Comments1

Second year starts now and a new emphasis for our specialism. Looking forward to see where the module takes us all, the new experiences we will explore and developing out understanding of where the internet, computing and virtual learning can sit within a modern day classroom.