A few months on

It is interesting how some ideas take hold and some we move away from.

I have moved away from thinking I should be developing podcasts - where I deliver information to students and moving towards web 2.0 tools where students can construct and co-construct thier own knowledge in a community of practice.

This semester I have changed the course I teach to reflect the digital now. The tools I played with last year in the DIL project led me to reflect on how best to move forward with my students. I did a little informal research as to the types of DIL tools early childhood teachers are beginning to use: eg blogs, wikis, and google docs as communication tools and decided to build them into the assessments and therefore the teaching and learning for my course.

It may not sound like much to those of you who are more experienced than me, however it is only four years since I surveyed all our students and found that only half had a personal computer. This year everyone in my classes has access to a computer and only one can not access the internet at home or work - of course all can use the internet at the Institute. It seemed like an appropriate time to introduce these tools.

Only one student in my classes works in a centre where these tools (in this case google docs) are currently used as a communication tool for teachers, children and parents - so it is also an opportunity to provide leadership in this exciting area.

There is some fear and resistance about using new technology tools.
I started by requiring students to use the digital drop box in Blackboard for their first assignment due last week (week 3 of the new semester). It took me a while to convince everyone it was safe and that their assignments would not be lost in cyberspace. All except 2 managed to use it successfully - one handed in a hard copy - did not trust the computer, and the other had no access to internet at home so asked her partner to email it in for her. Of course using the drop box meant I had to learn some new skills - electronic marking is something I have been doing for a while - It gives me a permanent record of the feedback I have given to students and it is easier for them to read - however this is the first time i have done everything electronically and I needed to learn how to move all the assignments into folders on my computer instead of one at a time. I don't think I'll go back to requiring hard copies for written assessments.

The next task I set my students was to develop a wiki to document their group project work. There was quite a buzz in the classes when students created these - quite a few had great ideas on how they could use wikis in other areas too. We talked a little about cybersafety and how to protect their work from wiki vandalism. I found the youtube video "Wikis in plain English" very useful to help to students understand the basic commands - edit, save and link - see http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-dnL00TdmLY (Thanks O, for showing me this). Every time they work on the wiki I get and email message showing what has been done. This is such a great way to get a feel for student progress. It helped to be able to demonstrate a wiki B and I have developed for a collaborative research project we are working on - field based teacher education - funded by AKO.

For the next assignment students will have the option of creating a blog rather than the more familiar PowerPoint or book form of documentation. Blogging has to be optional as students need consent from parents and the early childhood centres they work in for the documentation they produce. The documentation also has to be effective for their particular centre, and if parents and teachers can not access blogs easily then it would be ineffective for that community. I anticipate cybersafety will be a concern and have developed information sheets, consent forms etc to help the students negotiate this.

I have not quite given up on transmission as a possibility. I have also trialled recording parts of my classes and have put these as sound files on Blackboard. I will ask students how useful they are before taking it further by putting them on the institute media streamer. I have the feeling that I might be better pre-recording snippets on particular topics, or breaking up the classroom recordings into small sections. I have just got Audacity put onto my work computer so will give this a go next week. I noticed that I restructured my class so I spoke for longer periods - virtually a lecture because I wanted to keep the recording length down. I need to reconsider this delivery and break it down into smaller segments as I would normally do. This means I have to remember to press stop and record as needed. I guess I'll get better. While the sound quality was OK - next time I'll use a boundary mike.

If the students do not find it helpful then I will reconsider this approach. I need to know if and how they use the recordings and when they are useful.

My next task is to start using the Wimba tools that are now available through Word and Blackboard