Transformations and Innovative Pedogogies (Lisa)

It is obvious in today’s society that digital technologies have fundamentally changed and continue to change the world in which we live. Students today live in a world where communication and information is instant and participation in information gathering and forming is obligatory (Oblinger, 2008). The generation of students who we teach are described by some as ‘digital natives’ (Prenskey, 2001: Whitby, 2004) and have never known life without access to mobile media and internet. Being both an educator and mother of two ‘digital natives’, I have witnessed how these new types of mobile media technology which are available to learners, both inside and outside the classroom have changed the way in which they acquire, use and produce information.

To reflect on how mobile media has influenced and transformed my teaching practices and pedagogy, I need to address two main areas:
• My role as an educator
• My role as a teacher librarian


My role as an Educator

Teaching as a profession is dynamic therefore as an educator it is essential for me to constantly review my teaching practices to ensure the best outcome for both my students and myself as a professional. As Douch (2009: 34) states the role of teaching is changing, shifting towards influencing the learning behaviours of the students, not controlling information. Transforming my curriculum practice to include mobile media is essential, as I need to ensure that I provide opportunities for students to become discerning users of this technology. In turn they will have the opportunity to develop effective information literacy skills. They will then be able to use these skills to effectively and proficiently interact with knowledge in a variety of contexts and geographical locations.

As pedagogical approaches and teaching tools ‘catch up’ with the technology available, I too must evolve. Evaluation and renewal is a central facet of teaching and learning. I must therefore reflect upon my own confidence in using mobile media and the influence this has had on my ability to effectively integrate them into my teaching practice. My beginning attempts to integrate these tools into lessons were at the time thought to be successful. However, in hind sight I used them more as an ‘add on’ or fact finding tool to a traditional lesson. Since then, (as a result of many Uni assignments) I have been able to integrate mobile media and web tools into my teaching units successfully, so that it enhanced the learning in an environment that was stimulating and creative for the students. One such example was last term’s unit where the Year 6 and 7 students created book trailers on the CBC books through Prezi, Animoto and Movie Maker using the laptops, iPads and iPods. These were then displayed during our book week and as daily infomercials on the Library TV and IWB during lunchtimes.

At the foundation of my transformation are the students I teach. Therefore, I must consider and understand their needs in a world where they are ‘always on’ in continuous state of media experiences. I know my own two ‘digital natives’ do not go anywhere without their phones and iPods (I have to admit I too feel lost and naked without my phone). The participatory nature of the students offers great potential for both individual and collaborative learning. Therefore when planning I need to consider the social and collaborative nature of knowledge acquisition and production today. Students do not interact with knowledge in isolation. They need to use a variety of mobile media tools in order to circulate information in a variety of formats to a wide audience. Students need to be provided with opportunities to negotiate and collaborate with peers on tasks. As Cobcrofft , Towers, Smith and Burns (2006) point out, learners engaging collaboratively through the use of mobile devices leads to building distributed networks of diverse participants, which important for today’s 21st century learner.

I need also to continue develop an understanding of the role that mobile media tools play in the day to day lives of the students. The learning environment I create has always been based on student centred pedagogy and therefore mobile technology plays and integral role. As Schuler (2009) highlights, mobile media assist in bridging the gap between home and school environments. Introduction of technology, however, is not just a matter of providing the latest and greatest tools for student to use; it must be authentic and meaningful for students. Consideration of what it is that I want the students to learn, and in what context comes first and then look at which tools I believe will best assist students in achieving these goals.

Little encouragement is needed for students to embrace any form of new technology; they pick it and run with it. As shown by our Preps teaching their teachers how to use the iPods during literacy groups. I foresee the biggest challenge for my learning environment is to use mobile technologies to transform learning seamlessly into daily life, to the point where it’s not seen as ‘learning’- the ultimate goal. For some of my colleagues the concept of student coming to school with nothing but the mobile device may be seen as a futuristic idea. After reading and researching (thanks to this unit) it may be closer than we think. My son’s school are in the process of a 1:1 roll out of iPad 2’s, with this very idea as one of its motivators (something I am watching with great anticipation).

My role as a Teacher Librarian

As an educator I am aware that I need to be proactive in acquiring relevant technological skills - keep up or be truly left behind. As a teacher librarian the acquisitions of these new skills are only half the job I must also be proactive in sharing this knowledge with teaching colleagues. Having participated in my school’s ICT journey from the beginning (that being ICT becoming a major focus 2 years ago), the development has been quite remarkable. As always when there is any form of change we had a number of teachers who needed encouragement to move away from their traditional teaching practices and become more flexible and innovative. Their biggest challenges came in terms of time management, productivity and their lack of knowledge and experience. I am pleased to say that we as whole staff have moved beyond this and are well along the continuum to complete integration and success.

Many factors have attributed to this growth, with time, professional development and resource allocation (money) beginning the key attributors. In my shared role as teacher librarian it was important to support school staff in effectively planning and implementing curriculum in which mobile media technologies are truly integrated. We found the more teachers who use technology; the more they recognize and value the positive effect it has on student learning and engagement. We have now reached a point where we open our weekly staff meeting with a ‘show and share’ session by any member of staff who has found something new and exciting or has a success story to share (extremely beneficial).
I see my role as teacher librarian as having an ‘overall big picture’ of mobile media within in the school. With this comes not only the acquisition of the resources themselves but the management of the devices. It is important that I actively promote authenticity and equability within my school community. I need to ensure that teaching staff have equitable access to these tools in order that they have opportunities to explore and learn about potential benefits of using such tools to enhance their own curriculum practice (especially for those who have a tendency to shy away from change).

As educators we are entrusted with guiding our student’s futures, therefore, we must be at the forefront of changing the culture of learning. We need to inspire and empower our students to be confident and competent uses of technology, so that they can participate effectively and ethically in the participatory culture in which they live. With this as my aim, I am working towards transforming my own teaching practice using the new knowledge and understandings I have gained through my study this semester.


References
Cobcroft, S, Towers, S, Smith, J,& Burns, A. (2006). Mobile learning in review: Opportunities and challenges for learners, teachers and institutions. In Proceedings Online Learning and Teaching (OLT) Conference 2006. Brisbane, Australia: Queensland University of Technology.

Douch, A. (2009). Redefining classroom . Teacher Learning Network 13 retrieved as at 30th September 2011, A+ Education database.

Oblinger, D. (2008). Growing up with Google: What it means to Education. Emerging Technologies for Learning

Prensky, M. (2006) Adopt and adapt: 21st century schools needs 12st century technology. Teacher Learning Network 13 retrieved as at 30th September 2011, A+ Education database