Create your own word search

My daughter and I love Word Searches, so finding out that you can create your own on line, is brilliant. It is so simple to create and they can be tailored to suit any topic or subject. Here is one I created containing words associated with technology in learning, hope you'll have a go.

This word search was fun and easy to create, I am definitely going to make up a couple of these that my daughter and I can do together. If you would like to have a go at creating one for yourself it can be accessed by clicking here

Blog Appreciation

When I first began this blog, I wasn't really sure what a blog was. I did a little research and had the direction from the my tutor, but it was a completely alien concept to me. I started to explore other blogs, mainly educational, to see what types of things people were concerned or passionate about, because that seems to be the main point about a blog; sharing things you are passionate about with like minded people.

One of the blogs that I have looked at and now follow is Learning with 'e's, a blog written by Steve Wheeler. Steve is an Associate professor in learning technology at the Plymouth Institute of Education at Plymouth University. His blog is about learning technology and all things digital.

I really like Steve's blog, being new to both technology and teaching, I find that I am learning a lot from him. As well as being educational, some of his posts are quite humorous and I really like his style of writing.

Some of his posts have really struck a chord with me and give me an idea of the kind of teacher that I aspire to be. In his post 'Looking Ahead', he discusses the importance of encouraging students to prepare for some of the challenges that may lay ahead of them, he poses that simply teaching children about what we know, will not equip them with the skills to meet the challenges of the world that they are growing up in. We must encourage them to discover the answers to what so far are unwritten problems, for themselves. I agree with Steve's view that "learning through exploration and problem-solving should replace the largely passive education models of the last century", meaning that as educators we should be encouraging learners to be curious and innovative. A 21st Century learning strategy for dealing with 21st Century issues.

I have already learnt a lot from reading this blog and intend to keep following Steve Wheeler, I highly recommend it.

Google Drive

Since beginning this course I have discovered many new apps and really fun and useful stuff. Some I can see have excellent potential for use in teaching and learning. One of the best so far is Google Drive. It is an online storage system and then some. You receive 15GB of storage free, but if you feel you require more then there are various plans that you can get for a monthly fee.

Google drive allows you to store documents, photos or email attachments, as you would imagine it is built to work with Google and so from within Google applications you can save easily to your Google Drive, but you can store just about any file, even Microsoft files. Your files are safe and secure until you decide to share them and then you can allow others to view, edit or comment on your files as you see fit. This would enable a group of people to work collaboratively on a project using a live document, editing and commenting as you go. Everyone with permission can then see those files.

When I created my on-line questionnaire in my blog post Using Google Forms the responses went directly to my Google Drive everytime someone completed it. They are then stored there for me to view and collate results if required. This would be really useful if you used Google Forms to create a course evaluation for your students to complete, their responses would then go straight to your Google Drive for you to reflect on. This means that all of your evaluations would be collated and stored in one place.

I am really starting to enjoy using Google Drive and exploring the possibilities that it offers. I am still learning when it comes to ICT and how it could benefit me in my teaching, but really enjoying every minute!!

Has technology changed the way we learn

Technology has definitely changed the way I learn! In just the first few months of the PCE (PCET), I have learnt so much surrounding technology, to say my learning curve has been steep would be an understatement. I have gone from being a 'semi-technophobe', i.e. only using the technology that I needed to carry out my role as a Coastguard Officer, to someone who is actively searching for new technological experiences. This blog is one of them...

During the 1990's massive investment in technology in education promised a revolution in how we would learn, But as Cuban (2001) stated this investment actually produced "disappointingly meagre changes in classroom practices". I totally understand this observation when I reflect on my lessons in computers, when I was in school in the late 80s. The image of 3-4 pupils crowded around 1 computer for a 35 minute lesson, was less than futile. If you managed to touch the keyboard 5 times in the course of the lesson, you were doing well.

Fortunately things have changed and I believe for the better. My daughter is in primary school and she comes home from school everyday and tells me about the "really cool" things that they did on ipads and computers. Her school is now moving towards an almost 1:1 ratio for tablets and computers which is phenomenal. This seems a long way from my rather disappointing and boring IT lessons.

But then technology figures very highly in my daughters life on a daily basis, She has literally grown up using it, I still remember being amazed at her chubby little fingers finding their way round my iphone when she was only 2 or 3. Then it was a fantastic way of keeping her amused but now looking back and also as a result of my studies, I can see that she learnt so much too. It developed her motor skills by finding her way round the various apps, the apps themselves helped with her speech, reading and letter forming. When I downloaded apps for her, I was amazed at the variety that was available. They were fun, colourful and sometimes noisy so that children were immediately drawn to them, but they also helped them learn in a fun and engaging way.

It is still important to consider how technology is going to be used and to ensure that using it will enhance learning and teaching. Petty (2009) highlighted that " It is what students do that creates learning, not what technology does." (p391)

With this in mind, I find it really encouraging that technology now features so prominently in education, in a digital age that is exactly how it should be. I believe investment in resources and training for teachers has improved considerably, which has allowed teachers to become more engaged with technology and its potential benefits to enhancing learning.

Technology is certainly changing the way I learn and with a chasm of unexplored technology at my fingertips, I hope that my new found love affair with all things 'ICT' will continue for a long time.


Cuban, L. (2001). Oversold and underused: Computers in the classroom.
Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press
Halverson, R, & Smith, A. (2009). How New Technologies Have (and Have Not) Changed Teaching and Learning in Schools, Journal of Computing in Teaching Education, 26, 2, pp. 49-54, Education Source, EBSCOhost, viewed 6 December 2014
Petty, G. (2009). Teaching Today: A Practical Guide. Fourth Edition. Cheltenham: Nelson Thornes Ltd.

Kiss the Mirror

This TED talk, while not strictly about education as you'd think of education, really struck a chord with me. I always suffered from low self esteem growing up and listening to this I could see aspects of myself in things that she was saying. However it definitely was a simpler time then, we were not subjected to the digital onslaught of today, where, as Meaghan Ramsey says, young people of today seem to be constantly connected to social media. They simply cannot avoid the messages that are being passed to them and I believe that bullying seems to have grown as a result of social media. If a young person is experiencing a particularly hard time at school this will then often continue when they get home. Home; a place where our kids should feel safe and protected, but it seems that through social media they just can't find that safety and protection, free from judgement and are simply able to be young people.

I am a mother to an 8 yr old girl, who is bright, funny and yes, very beautiful. I tell her all the time that she is beautiful and it scares me to think that in a couple of years she is going to face confusion over who to believe; her mother or the young people around her who feel it's acceptable to make others feel so bad about themselves, that they contemplate the unthinkable.

I'm afraid that I don't have the solution, the problem is too big for just one person to solve; unfortunately. However there are things that I can do to try and make a difference. This video has really impressed on me the role that I have to play in ensuring that not only my child feels valued for who they are, but all young people, that I may have contact with in the course of my life.
Give the right messages, promote the right values and yes, educate the world; then hopefully our young people won't have to experience such feelings of low self esteem, that they don't belong and they can just concentrate of growing up into healthy, happy adults. Because lets face it people, our children really ARE the future.

Barriers to the effective use of technology in education

We are living in a digital age where technology seems to be at the forefront of everything that we do, from working to shopping and keeping up with news and society. We all need to have the skills to be able to play a part. It is absolutely vital therefore that technology plays its part in learning and teaching. But how do we effectively integrate technology into education so that it not only teaches students the vital skills that they will require throughout their future careers but also enhance our teaching and learning? And what are some of the barriers to ensuring that we use technology effectively?

By studying the Barriers, educators may be able to overcome them and ensure that ICT is successfully integrated into learning and teaching in the future (Bingimlas, 2009). There has been a lot of research carried out and articles written about successful integration of ICT into education and they have mostly arrived at the same conclusion when it comes to highlighting some of the barriers that educators face.

The Barriers
During my research into this topic, all of the articles that I read were unanimous in the benefits and opportunities that ICT offered to both students and teachers alike, but as Dawes (2001) stated "problems arise when teachers are expected to implement changes in what may well be adverse circumstances" (p.61).

• Lack of training - This applies to effective training for teachers. This does not just include teachers individual ICT skills, but also to the training provided to effectively use ICT in the classroom to enhance their teaching and the learning of their students. 
• Lack of confidence - The lack of effective training can also lead to a lack of confidence in teachers to try new technology in their teaching. Some teachers may feel reluctant to attempt new things, especially in front of students that may be considerably more tech savvy than the teacher. I know that I would feel uncomfortable using technology to teach someone that in theory could probably teach me more. Let's face it, young people these days spend more time in front of computers and tablets than most adults ever did at their age. 
• Lack of resources - It seems like everything these days comes down to time and money. Technology can be expensive and ensuring that ICT is used effectively in education relies on adequate resources being made available to students and teachers to fully realise the benefits that ICT can provide. But, it's not just money, that can be an issue. Teachers time is precious and they may feel that they simply do not have sufficient time to plan lessons properly or research, explore and practice the new technology (Becta 2004).
• Lack of technical support -  Providing teachers with excellent technical support in all of their ICT endeavours is paramount in ensuring that teachers have the confidence and ability to use technology in their teaching. Most of the studies carried out highlighted technical support as a major barrier to success. Sicilia (2005) found that obstacles such as internet connectivity, waiting for websites to open and hardware problems were major obstacles that teachers faced; he stated "Technical barriers impeded the smooth delivery of the lesson or the natural flow of classroom activity" (Sicilia 2005, p.43).

By examining some of these barriers, hopefully institutions and teachers can find workable solutions to ensure that all learners, teachers included, can realise the huge potential that ICT offers them. This will begin a technological journey for many that will equip them with the lifelong skills that living in a digital age requires. My technological journey began with the PCE and in particular this ICT module, so far, so good. 

References

Bingimlas, K. (2009). Barriers to the Successful Integration of ICT in Teaching and Learning Environments: A Review of Literature. PHD thesis RMIT University, Bandoora, VIC, Australia

Dawes, L. (2001). What stops teachers using new technology? In M. Leask (Ed.), Issues in Teaching using ICT (pp. 61-79). London: Routledge. 

British Educational Communications and Technology Agency (Becta) (2004). A review of the research literature on barriers to the uptake of ICT by teachers 
http://dera.ioe.ac.uk/1603/1/becta_2004_barrierstouptake_litrev.pdf  (24.11.2014)

Sicilia, C.(2005). The Challenges and Benefits to Teachers' Practices in Constructivist Learning Environments Supported by Technology. Unpublished master's thesis, McGill University, Montreal.

Although BECTA is now defunct it's still a very useful resource.

Using Google Forms

The quick questionnaire above was created using Google Forms. It is so user friendly, allowing you to create questionnaires or forms, the questions that you ask can be laid out in various ways and have a choice of multiple choice, check boxes, paragraphs etc. You can even mix up the question types.





Once your form is complete, you can decide on a design or colour scheme and allow people to respond directly to you.

I can see lots of potential in using Google Forms in teaching. They would make an excellent course evaluation or critique, allowing students to reply directly to you. The forms can be embedded as I have done here in my blog. They would also be useful for establishing prior knowledge before starting a course. They could also be used as an assessment method by creating a quiz on a recent lesson and get students to complete the quiz, allowing you to establish that learning had taken place.

The results can then be saved on your Google drive, allowing to keep all the responses in one place. I really like Google forms for its ease of use and its versatility.