So, three months into my PhD and I think I need to find another way to procrastinate...well sort of. Let me tell you part of my story...
I became interested in the use of
technology when I was studying for my Master of Teaching. We had to take a
short subject in digital technologies to finish our degree. We learned things
like how to use PowerPoint and make stop animation videos. These programs
weren’t complicated and some students complained about already knowing how to
use PowerPoint. What I really enjoyed about this subject was how we learned to
use these programs in different ways. PowerPoint could be used to make an interactive
game and my own photos became a movie. I was also struck when the lecturer
recommended a video illustrating Sugata Mitra’s work. I couldn’t believe how a
shared computer could lead to children learning so much when faced with a difficult challenge - working the computer in a language they didn't understand.
Fast forward to 6 years of teaching secondary school in Australia. I have actively tried to keep up my interest by
playing around and trying to structure project work for students that allows
them to be exposed to and present with different technologies. I am amazed at
the work many of them produce. Today I watched as some students used Powtoon to
create an animation about a body system they’re studying. I love having
conversations with students about their use of technologies and enjoy learning
about their interests and struggles with technology in school.
I became increasingly interested in the
potential agency that students can develop while using digital technologies for
their learning. This might be researching with the Internet, creating a tool
for their learning and thinking, reorganizing what they have learned into a
presentation or logging in to learn from/with their peers. In a small study for
my research certification I was struck by the identities students adopted when
using Edmodo and GoogleDocs in the class. Interestingly, students seemed to be
passive users of the technology. They identified an I-for-others identity (Bakhtin), I hope what I post is of use to other people,
but they didn’t see their posts or others’ posts as beneficial to their own
learning. Some students said that we weren’t using the technology in a
different way because they were expected to use it and post their work on
Edmodo or in the GoogleDoc.
Since that time, my teaching practice has
evolved but I keep coming back to the idea of learning with others. I am
interested in developing students’ research skills so that their ideas of the ‘other’ can expand to encompass the wider community of teachers and learners
beyond the classroom. Our school has a bring your own device (BYOD) program
and the students have the autonomy to choose which device to bring. This and my
own desire to become proficient across a number of devices has spurred more
experimentation that yields interesting opportunities in the classroom.
My students are working on creating videos
to explain a body system. First they need to do some research. While doing
this, I am excited to help them develop their skills to use key words to seek
out and find appropriate materials. We work together to critically evaluate
information found by sharing on Edmodo. “Did you know about the export as a PDF function you can use on
your Mac?” I ask the class. The students haven’t seen this before and I am
amazed by responses like “that’s so cool” when I show them how they might use
this feature. “There’s got to be a similar function for other devices, we just
need to work it out,” they are advised. In addition, the students need to create
a Harvard style bibliography for the project and one has found and shared a
site that allows them to easily create the list much like my use of
Endnote for my own studies.
I began this initial post as an exercise to
help me focus my research question for my PhD study. It’s coming along, but
Maxwell (2013) advised students to think about personal, practical and
intellectual goals. I think my personal goals for studying students’ use of
technologies as part of formal education stems from wanting to understand their
potential agency – the power to act autonomously – in personal meaning making. If by slim chance you are reading this, I would love to hear some of your thoughts.
