Sharing Ideas

I am concerned about research that uses teacher perceptions about something they do not do, have not done, or ar against doing. However, there may be a place for it in identifying the problem but I just don't think we know how to use new technology to be able to form useful comments. It takes a long time to perfect practice and find a place. When the telephone was invented it was optimistically predicted that one day every town would have one!

New technology research ought to focus upon what happens when......
How is it best used........
What is the learners experience and how can we make it better by using the qualities the technology give us?

Well those are my thoughts

It's interesting to read about new technologies and students'/people's reactions to them. I thought I was relatively clued up with IT; it has its uses, it fills in gaps, but I have to say this distance learning is a strange concept. Never before have I realised how much information is taken in by auditory, visual means and discussions with other students. I'm not convinced that I like the feeling it brings, remote, out of control, not quite knowing if I've understood - so a great deal of insecurity comes with new technologies -

I do use computerised programs in my teaching, one to one Dyslexia specialism, which are extremely good and clever. Many students have commented on how they benefit from being to use visual, and auditory clues whilst also word processing answers that the computer checks. There is still the need to for face to face teaching and meetings with others following a similar learning curve. Jackie Andrews

I think there is a lot of potential in ICT. At the moment we are trailling Lexia for helping us to identify dyslexic children and also providing a programme that cuts the learning into small chunks and helps the child to learn at their own pace. We are testing it against another class using a maths programme as a control to measure the effectiveness of using the ICT programme because it is very expensive. It has the very useful aspect of quickly tracking the children but I think ot could be over-used and become boring. On another note, I've seen the whiteboard being used as effectively as the old "chalk and talk" method and the pressure on some teachers to use it can actually be counter-productive. Sorry if I'm rambling.. it's been a long day!!

e just don't know enough about where new technologies take learning.

We would hope that new technology research does not simply replicate the past-why do something we already do well? It should give us something added, better in some ways, for a different purpose.

I am therfore intersted in ideas about learning that is more creative, analytical, inciteful, collaborative, networked, community based, has an authentic audience, uses differnet modes (visual, audio etc), interrogates more accessible data, infomation.

It strikes me these things are possible with new technologies more than old ones. To me, research should be based on these things and not whether the learning can be the same.

the MLE can allow pupils to construct knowledge

Can we see your own research?

Hi - have no idea if this is the right discussion. However - I have noticed some really interesting things since launching the MLE as a virtual out of hours classroom with my year 11 top set German group, which I inherited from another teacher back in late September. A lot of things have been to do with the way I adapt as a teacher.

I have been marking less because i have been engaging in direct dialogue with pupils through the forum.
Pupils are supporting each other and reminding each other of things we have covered in lessons if they see mistakes others are making on the forum
Pupils are really experimenting with German and a whole deep dialogue has been taking place about creativity without losing accuracy - a pleasing consequence of this has been that they are now pushing their writing to AS level standard, incorporating intellectually interesting ideas, rather than the usual tedium of the colour of their bedroom walls.
THey are hypothesising through the forum and asking questions to extend their learning and really move it on.
I can identify in minute detail where pupils still have gaps in their understanding of key concepts. THis means that I can now run really effective starter activities to address these. I am also gearing my teaching around what they are producing.
Because it is like engaging in a one-to-one dialogue with these pupils I have a much more accurate picture of where they are at. I can plan group work and activities more accurately in lessons.
I also used the facility to run an on-line coursework workshop last sunday morning. Over half the class participated with 135 postings, and many pupils fed back that they had learnt loads through the experience. Interestingly, most have also started the habit of note-taking during lessons, which we have never done before. I am sure that this is because they keep notes of what is discussed on the forum. I have watched the performance of some pupils really take off. Fascinating!