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22437 results in Education

Page 356 of 1122

  • Enabling Voice: Aboriginal Parents, Experiences and Perceptions of Sending a Child to Boarding School in Western Australia

  • David J. Mander
  • Journal:
    The Australian Journal of Indigenous Education / Volume 44 / Issue 2 / December 2015
    Published online by Cambridge University Press:
    28 September 2015, pp. 173-183
    Print publication:
    December 2015

  • This study explored the experience of having a child educated away from home at boarding school for Aboriginal parents living in regional and remote communities in Western Australia (WA). In-depth interviews were conducted with 11 participants and thematic analysis found the following major themes emerged from the data: (1) Access, Standards and Quality, and the subthemes of Declining Local Schools, Opportunity, and Worldliness; (2) Parental Agency and the subthemes of Parent-School Connection, Parenting Style, Communication, and Milestones and Siblings and; (3) Cultural Heritage and the subtheme of Maintenance and Transmission. The findings are described and then discussed in terms of practice implications relevant to boarding schools in WA. Limitations of the current study are acknowledged and directions for future research are proposed.

  • Foreword

  • Edited by Michael Henderson, Monash University, Victoria, Geoff Romeo, Australian Catholic University, North Sydney
  • Book:
    Teaching and Digital Technologies
    Published online:
    07 February 2021
    Print publication:
    25 September 2015, pp v-vi

  • Summary

    My last week has included both a dinner with an education minister and a live media interview. What characterised both these events was a shared question: What is the single most important thing about teaching with new technologies? And of course therein lies the problem: there is no single uniquely important thing, no silicon bullet. Schools and other institutions of learning are complex places - single events like a road accident, or a windy day can and do change the nature of the school community. Students are all individuals and yet cohorts have their own character too. Teachers themselves also vary, and thank goodness; our best learning memories usually have a unique teacher as part of the mix. None of this is simple.

    And, underpinning all this, the conveyor belt of innovation whisking us further forwards into this millennium accelerates in both the power and the choices we are offered year on year. We face, as has often been observed, the certainty of uncertainty and some kind of constancy of change. It is hardly surprising that in among all this, politicians and others ask for simple answers for ‘the single most important thing’, or revert philosophically to an earlier and less complex era, or to childhoods remembered. It is no help at all that companies also often suggest that they actually have ‘the most important thing’: adopt our solution, trust our anecdotes, keep taking our tablets . . .

  • Chapter 2 - Digital natives and other myths

  • from Section 1 - Being critical of our assumptions: learners, learning and digital technologies
  • Edited by Michael Henderson, Monash University, Victoria, Geoff Romeo, Australian Catholic University, North Sydney
  • Book:
    Teaching and Digital Technologies
    Published online:
    07 February 2021
    Print publication:
    25 September 2015, pp 11-21

  • Summary

    Introduction

    Students are mistakenly assumed to have a high degree of skill in using, and affinity for, digital technologies. Within primary, secondary and tertiary sectors, students have been labelled ‘digital natives’, deemed to have different capabilities to that of previous generations. In addition, use of technology is often claimed to lead to addictive and socially isolating behaviours. This chapter problematises these kinds of assumptions and aims to leave readers better equipped to critically appraise popular discourse and, in some cases, the hype surrounding technologies and young people. The chapter presents a number of ‘myths’ and describes why they are mythical but explains why they have become points of contention within education. Consideration is given to different ‘myths’ and the chapter provides a number of suggestions for future reading both within this volume and further afield.

    CRITICAL QUESTIONS

  • What constitutes good teaching? Does this teaching involve using digital technologies? If teachers do not use ICTs in their teaching, are they poor teachers?

  • What might be barriers to using technologies in schools?

  • What misbeliefs about teaching with technologies might be causing these barriers?

  • What labels are used to categorise people? Are they useful, harmful or simplistic?

    • Many myths and fables

    The main section of this chapter specii es a particular myth, explains why it is mythical, and what has led to these kinds of (mis)beliefs permeating modern day thought and discourse.

  • Preface for teacher educators and professional learning leaders

  • Edited by Michael Henderson, Monash University, Victoria, Geoff Romeo, Australian Catholic University, North Sydney
  • Book:
    Teaching and Digital Technologies
    Published online:
    07 February 2021
    Print publication:
    25 September 2015, pp x-xi

  • Summary

    This book is designed as a resource that enriches pre-service teacher education and in-service professional learning – helping teachers to critically question and evaluate the reasons for using technology. It is important to note that this book, while adopting a critical perspective of digital technologies, believes that such technologies can benefit education. However, rather than focusing on what buttons to press, each chapter aims to empower the reader to understand why they should (or should not) use digital technologies, when it is appropriate (or not), and what new implications arise.

    In the context of teacher education the text is equally applicable for university subjects that have a discrete focus on digital technologies, as well as subjects that deal with digital technologies in an integrated fashion. The authors of the chapters are notable figures from across a broad range of Australian universities, giving the text a uniquely strong relevance to Australian education. It directly engages with policy, curriculum and other issues particularly relevant in an Australian context. This text provides a resource that assists specialist and non-specialist teacher educators (lecturers and tutors) to incorporate suitable discussion and activity into classes to ensure students engage with many of the key critical issues and debates.

  • Chapter 26 - Ongoing professional learning

  • from Section 5 - Professional learning
  • Edited by Michael Henderson, Monash University, Victoria, Geoff Romeo, Australian Catholic University, North Sydney
  • Book:
    Teaching and Digital Technologies
    Published online:
    07 February 2021
    Print publication:
    25 September 2015, pp 332-345

  • Summary

    Introduction

    Teachers are professionals who work in complex environments that are constantly evolving, within unique contexts, requiring consistent action, evaluation and reflection. A defining characteristic of any profession is the imperative to participate in ongoing professional learning in order to ensure that practice is conducted on a solid foundation of current knowledge in the field. For example, we expect doctors, lawyers or engineers to be familiar with the latest practices within their fields of expertise, and likewise teachers should also continue to update their knowledge so that their teaching practice continually improves. Some consensus is emerging in relation to the types of professional learning that are most salient for improving teacher practice with new technologies. In this chapter we discuss these key aspects and develop a model to illustrate the components of effective professional learning for teaching with technology.

    There is a growing body of literature concerning the most effective methods of professional learning for teachers, recognising that ‘teacher learning and development is a complex process’ (Avalos, 2011, p. 17). This chapter focuses on current, research-based practices to support the professional learning of teachers. In particular, it highlights how professional learning is most effective when teachers are engaged with other teachers in conversations about both the task of teaching and how students learn; for example, within an inquiry-based or action research framework. With regard to educational technology, while teachers can be trained to use software or hardware, several decades of failing to meet expectations has proven that simple technical training does not lead to effective use of the technology in the classroom. Teaching is an intimate interaction between the identity of the teachers, their values and beliefs about students, learning, the curriculum, the content, and more. It is also dependent on the school culture, the students, access, and other factors. Obviously, if we expect technology to be used in the classroom we need to accept that the most important role of professional learning activities is to help teachers find a meaningful place for the technology in their professional practice. Clearly, this takes time. As a consequence, professional learning is arguably best facilitated when it is ongoing and involves other teachers, such as in learning communities. Research has also shown that inquiry-based learning, when teachers become researchers, is particularly powerful in reshaping their practice.

  • Chapter 9 - Breaking boundaries

  • from Section 2 - Technological affordances: what’s so special about digital technologies?
  • Edited by Michael Henderson, Monash University, Victoria, Geoff Romeo, Australian Catholic University, North Sydney
  • Book:
    Teaching and Digital Technologies
    Published online:
    07 February 2021
    Print publication:
    25 September 2015, pp 104-114

  • Summary

    Introduction

    This chapter explores the potential role of digital technologies in reshaping the activity that goes on in, and out of classrooms. In particular, this chapter addresses the potential for digital technologies to break the commonly assumed boundaries of the classroom, which include time (for example, in-class time), location (for example, the classroom), and people (teacher and students). As an illustration of this, students can still work together using internet technologies such as Google Docs outside of class time. Such technologies also enable us to ‘break boundaries’ by not restricting participants to a particular location; for instance, being able to simultaneously collaborate on a document while at a museum or at home. Finally, online technologies can also change who participates and/or contributes to learning and teaching; for example, experts or other classes can be ‘beamed in’. In these and other ways, commonly assumed boundaries can be broken, or at least redefined.

    Whether traditional classroom boundaries should (or should not) be broken or redefined is contestable and it is beyond the scope of this chapter to critique this. However, it is something that should be more fully explored as you gain more of an understanding of what educators are doing. To assist with this, three examples of ‘breaking boundaries’ and redefining traditional learning environments are presented. These are: using the ‘flipped’ classroom approach to teach a class, using massive open online courses (MOOCs) and the Flat Classroom Project. Each example has been chosen not to convince you of the efficacy of a particular strategy, but rather to increase your knowledge of how digital technologies can break boundaries, reveal possibilities, and highlight issues and potential problems. This will help you to make more informed decisions about how you organise learning and teaching in your classroom.

  • Chapter 15 - Never believe the hype: questioning digital ‘disruption’ and other big ideas

  • from Section 3 - Policy: curriculum, values and agendas
  • Edited by Michael Henderson, Monash University, Victoria, Geoff Romeo, Australian Catholic University, North Sydney
  • Book:
    Teaching and Digital Technologies
    Published online:
    07 February 2021
    Print publication:
    25 September 2015, pp 182-194

  • Summary

    Introduction

    Digital technology is a big part of Australian schools and schooling. Schools are now awash with digital devices, learning systems, software and applications. The Australian Curriculum advocates developing ICT capability across the curriculum. This is also an area of schooling that is decidedly creating ‘big business’. Spending has grown to the point that the Australian market for education IT is estimated to be $3.2 billion (Lee, 2012). Understandably, it is an area that is characterised by big ideas, big hopes and big claims. Digital technologies are regularly talked about as ‘game changing’, students are often described as ‘digital natives’, and even federal government policies are presented in emotive terms such as the ‘Digital Education Revolution’.

    It is easy for teachers to roll their eyes at such talk. After all, none of this accurately reflects the prosaic, mundane nature of everyday classroom technology use. One does not pay billions of dollars to be frustrated by wi-fi passwords, tangled cables and unpredictable internet filters. ‘Revolutions’ do not involve lengthy consultation periods and central purchasing arrangements. Yet the ‘big’ claims that surround the use of digital technology in education are worth taking seriously and giving some thought. Just why are so many people outside the immediate education community framing digital technologies in dramatic terms of wide-scale change and reform? Is there any substance to the claims that digital technology might do away with the need for teachers and schools altogether? Do digital technologies really pose fundamental challenges to everything that we have come to know as ‘education’ over the past 100 years or so?

  • Chapter 19 - Project-, problem-, and inquiry-based learning

  • from Section 4 - Student learning
  • Edited by Michael Henderson, Monash University, Victoria, Geoff Romeo, Australian Catholic University, North Sydney
  • Book:
    Teaching and Digital Technologies
    Published online:
    07 February 2021
    Print publication:
    25 September 2015, pp 240-252

  • Summary

    Introduction

    Inquiry-based learning and related approaches such as project- and problem-based learning respond to the increased availability of information in a networked world by emphasising the location and application of information by the learner rather than its transmission from teacher to learner. The role of teacher necessarily shifts toward being a designer and facilitator of projects through which students learn rather than the primary source of knowledge in the classroom. That shift is facilitated by the application of digital technologies to initiate learning activities, access and process information, and present results. It confronts teachers with challenges in relation to the relative emphases on content and process in learning and assessment, and the role of learners in deciding what is learned and how.

    CRITICAL QUESTIONS

  • What are some potential benefits and disbenefits of inquiry-based approaches to education?

  • What similarities and differences are there among various inquiry-based learning pedagogies?

  • What are the theoretical foundations of inquiry-based learning?

  • How can digital technologies be used to facilitate inquiry-based learning?

    • Learners and learning at the centre

    Traditional understandings of education centre on teaching. A typical image is of a teacher delivering content to a class. Over the past 50 years that image may have evolved from a man at a blackboard to a woman with a tablet and smartboard, but despite changes in technology, the essential paradigm remains. Teaching is telling.

  • Chapter 1 - Why focus on big issues and critical questions?

  • Edited by Michael Henderson, Monash University, Victoria, Geoff Romeo, Australian Catholic University, North Sydney
  • Book:
    Teaching and Digital Technologies
    Published online:
    07 February 2021
    Print publication:
    25 September 2015, pp 1-8

  • Summary

    Introduction

    The use of digital technologies in education, and more specifically for learning, is complex. Digital technology cannot be simply applied without consequences; effective use requires teachers and leaders to be aware of the underlying big issues and to ask critical questions. This is particularly important with the Australian Curriculum (and state derivatives) mandating the effective integration of digital technologies (ICT as a general capability) for all students Foundation to Year 10 (F–10) and the introduction of digital technologies as a compulsory subject for all students (F–8). Not only do we need to understand what the curriculum is asking of us as teachers, but also the reasons for the curriculum pressure, and the implications for our practice and for student learning.

    Pre-service, graduate, and in-service teachers need to use digital technologies in their practice, but are they being exposed to the debate about if, when and why and given the opportunity to ask probing questions about the efficacy of existing, emerging and new technologies in the classroom?

    It is important to note that this book and its authors, while adopting a critical perspective of digital technologies, contend that such technologies can benefit education. However, rather than focusing on what buttons to press, each chapter aims to empower the reader to understand why they should (or should not) use digital technologies, when it is appropriate (or not) to do so, and what new implications arise.

  • Chapter 10 - Using social media: assumptions, challenges and risks

  • from Section 2 - Technological affordances: what’s so special about digital technologies?
  • Edited by Michael Henderson, Monash University, Victoria, Geoff Romeo, Australian Catholic University, North Sydney
  • Book:
    Teaching and Digital Technologies
    Published online:
    07 February 2021
    Print publication:
    25 September 2015, pp 115-126

  • Summary

    Introduction

    Social media (for example, blogs, Twitter, YouTube and social networking) are claimed to provide positive learning opportunities for students. However, there is little consensus and relatively little school-based research that confirms the most effective use of these technologies and their impact. Moreover, the potential of social media for learning is often based on assumptions about student preferences and inherent benefits that need to be critically considered. At the same time, these technologies also generate considerable professional, public and media concern in terms of cyber safety, particularly predatory and harassment behaviour. Teachers need to also consider broader concerns such as identity theft, legal risks, as well as professional ethics. This chapter will (a) define social media and social networking, (b) critically consider some of the assumptions underlying the claims of potentiality, (c) describe a set of conditions for successfully using social media in the classroom, and (d) outline a range of critical issues that teachers need to consider before and during implementation.

    CRITICAL QUESTIONS

  • Can the use of social media in the classroom improve learning?

  • Do teachers have the moral, ethical or pedagogical justii cation for appropriating social networking technologies for the classroom?

  • Are the risks to students and teachers manageable?

  • Chapter 14 - Digital technologies in the curriculum: national and international

  • from Section 3 - Policy: curriculum, values and agendas
  • Edited by Michael Henderson, Monash University, Victoria, Geoff Romeo, Australian Catholic University, North Sydney
  • Book:
    Teaching and Digital Technologies
    Published online:
    07 February 2021
    Print publication:
    25 September 2015, pp 169-181

  • Summary

    Introduction

    To fully engage with the teaching of the digital technologies curriculum, it is helpful to undertake a critical examination of Australian national and state computing curricula within a global context. This chapter includes a commentary on 21st-century skills and digital literacy. There is a case study that looks at the way in which the computational thinking concept has grown in international markets with its own agendas and how this is now shaping the Australian computing curriculum. Confusion over terminology and challenges to teachers and curriculum developers are discussed.

    CRITICAL QUESTIONS

  • What has shaped the Australian digital technologies curriculum?

  • How do ICT, 21st-century skills and digital literacy challenge existing curricula and coexist with the digital technologies curriculum?

  • Why is computational thinking used as an organiser for the digital technologies curriculum?

  • What challenges exist to the implementation of the digital technologies curriculum?

    • Introduction of digital technologies into the curriculum

    The introduction of the digital technologies subject into the curriculum has been a significant step in Australian computer education. When computing was first introduced as a subject area in the 1960s, it focused largely on understanding how the technology worked because that was what was needed at the time to make any effective use of the technology. In the 1970s, some educators (for example, Papert, 1980) saw in this new technology the potential for new ways of thinking and understanding the world through the study of programming.

  • Chapter 22 - Digital technologies in early childhood education

  • from Section 4 - Student learning
  • Edited by Michael Henderson, Monash University, Victoria, Geoff Romeo, Australian Catholic University, North Sydney
  • Book:
    Teaching and Digital Technologies
    Published online:
    07 February 2021
    Print publication:
    25 September 2015, pp 282-292

  • Summary

    Introduction

    This chapter considers the use of digital technologies in early childhood education, which covers the period from birth to eight years. The use of technologies in early childhood education has been characterised by debate regarding the extent to which technologies should be used with young children. This is because historically early childhood education values hands-on, active play-based learning for children and using digital technologies has not always sat comfortably with this view of learning. Recent research has focused on understanding the concept of digital play so that technologies can be used in early childhood settings in a way that aligns with existing ideas about children’s play-based learning. This chapter begins with an overview of the ‘to use or not to use debate’ regarding digital technologies with young children. It then considers how digital technologies can be integrated in early childhood classrooms and the role of digital technologies in international early childhood curriculum frameworks. Finally, the chapter considers the concept of digital play and how this is likely to influence the use of digital technologies in early childhood education in the coming decade.

    CRITICAL QUESTIONS

  • Do digital technologies provide appropriate play-based learning experiences for young children?

  • How can digital technologies be effectively integrated with the provision of play-based learning environments in early childhood settings?

  • What is digital play?

  • Chapter 11 - Gamification and digital games-based learning in the classroom

  • from Section 2 - Technological affordances: what’s so special about digital technologies?
  • Edited by Michael Henderson, Monash University, Victoria, Geoff Romeo, Australian Catholic University, North Sydney
  • Book:
    Teaching and Digital Technologies
    Published online:
    07 February 2021
    Print publication:
    25 September 2015, pp 127-141

  • Summary

    Introduction

    Teachers want their lessons to be enjoyable, immersive, productive and full of learning. In this regard, digital games have everything they want. Successful digital games maintain players’ attention, require them to solve problems, acquire new knowledge and learn new skills. Moreover, despite the considerable amount of learning, emotional investment (including frustration) and often monotonous labour (for example, working back through levels each time you ‘die’), players will not only persist but also call it ‘fun’. It is not surprising then that the idea of incorporating digital games into the classroom has taken hold of teachers for decades. More recently, educators have realised that they can also learn from the success of digital games and use game principles to ‘gamify’ learning activities. However, digital games are not a ‘magic bullet’ for education. Giving students a digital game does not ensure that they will be learning in the classroom; the teacher will still have to resolve behaviour management and motivation issues. This chapter aims to explain how digital games and gamification can be used in education, while also pointing out some related concerns.

    Digital games and gamification

    It is important not to confuse digital games and gamification. They are not synonyms. Gamification is the use of game design (mechanics and dynamics) in what is typically considered non-game environments such as the classroom. Some of the elements we might use when applying gamification to curriculum activities are: levels, badges, points, competition and status. There are many more but, importantly, gamification is more than simply changing the age old ‘gold star’ reward in a classroom to a ‘badge’ or changing the name of lesson to ‘level 1’. Time and ultimately iterative design need to be invested into the mechanics (for example, levels) and the dynamics (for example, when those levels are unlocked). In addition, deeper considerations of game play need to be imbued into the instructional design including notions of ‘permission to fail’ – in games students ‘die’ all the time. Students need to be able to have choices and strategies for success – in games they have immediate feedback on their success or failure and can hypothesise on how to succeed the next time. Another consideration is how to encourage curiosity, imagination and a state of flow (a state of full immersion in a feeling of energised focus).

  • Chapter 17 - Making learning visible through digital forms of assessment

  • from Section 4 - Student learning
  • Edited by Michael Henderson, Monash University, Victoria, Geoff Romeo, Australian Catholic University, North Sydney
  • Book:
    Teaching and Digital Technologies
    Published online:
    07 February 2021
    Print publication:
    25 September 2015, pp 214-228

  • Summary

    Introduction

    For most of us, when we start as a student in a new course or class, the most important information we want to know is on what we will be assessed and how this will be achieved. This interest in assessment starts from a relatively young age, with concerns about ‘what is in the test’. Most teachers, when planning for a new course or class, start by thinking about what they are required, or want, to assess, and how they will go about doing that. It could be argued that assessment drives pedagogy and the curriculum of schooling. Therefore, if schooling is to meet the needs of students (by engaging them) and meet the needs of the community of today and the future (by being relevant), then assessment practices should align with the curriculum to meet these needs. This chapter addresses this concern by initially discussing the nature of assessment and alignment with the curriculum, with particular reference to the problems concerning validity and reliability of assessments. This is followed by a discussion of the ways in which digital technologies could be used to address these problems. Finally, a range of digital forms of assessment is presented, along with a discussion of the potential of learning analytics and tips for getting started with e-assessment.

  • Chapter 21 - Digital literacy in theory, policy and practice: old concerns, new opportunities

  • from Section 4 - Student learning
  • Edited by Michael Henderson, Monash University, Victoria, Geoff Romeo, Australian Catholic University, North Sydney
  • Book:
    Teaching and Digital Technologies
    Published online:
    07 February 2021
    Print publication:
    25 September 2015, pp 266-281

  • Summary

    Introduction

    The increasing ubiquity and use of digital technologies across social and cultural life is a key challenge for educators engaged in helping students develop a range of literacies useful for school and beyond. Many young people’s experience of communication and participation is now shaped by almost constant engagements with digital technologies and media, as well as with global digital cultures. This increasing access and use has given many young people the opportunity to engage deeply with global media cultures via popular music, television and film franchises, the worldwide computer games industry, or countless other subcultures that connect fans and interested others from around the world via the internet. ‘Digital literacy’ is often the term associated with the ability to traverse these, and other, online and offline worlds; the notion has long been synonymous with the idea that digital technologies now mediate perhaps a majority of our social interactions. These forms of engagement with the world have important implications for educators and school systems which have historically recognised only a very narrow set of legitimate literacies.

    CRITICAL QUESTIONS

  • What is the relationship between new technologies and literacy?

  • What concepts and tools can educators use to understand the role digital literacies might play in formal education and in young people’s out-of-school lives?

  • Chapter 18 - Learning with digital technologies

  • from Section 4 - Student learning
  • Edited by Michael Henderson, Monash University, Victoria, Geoff Romeo, Australian Catholic University, North Sydney
  • Book:
    Teaching and Digital Technologies
    Published online:
    07 February 2021
    Print publication:
    25 September 2015, pp 229-239

  • Summary

    Introduction

    Understanding how digital technologies might be used to support learning depends upon first understanding the nature of learning. Ideas about what can be learned, what should be learned, and how people learn are important as foundations for thinking about theories of learning and how they relate to digital technologies. Over the past seventy years digital technologies have seen major increases in storage capacity, computational power, and accessibility. During that same period there have been parallel developments in our understanding of learning. Although newer digital technologies have supplanted the old, newer approaches to learning with digital technologies are better viewed as complementary rather than complete replacements.

    CRITICAL QUESTIONS

  • What do you understand by learning?

  • What theories of learning are there and how are they related?

  • How can theories of learning be applied to learning with digital technologies?

    • The nature of learning

    Before we can consider the relationship between learning and digital technologies we need to clarify what we understand by learning. A simple definition of learning from the perspective of educational psychology would refer to a change in behaviour that results from the interaction of an organism with its environment.

    The behavioural change might be manifested immediately, as when even a simple organism responds to something in its environment by moving toward or away from a light source. Such responses can be considered to be learning at its simplest.

Page 356 of 1122