Feel the fear...and blog away

Hi

My name is Rachel and this is my first ever blog..

The learning contexts and environments that ITC’s are incorporated in have become augmented with the demand for more ITC skills in the work force. The benefits of being a digital immigrant and a student teacher in a school environment is that my learning is just as valued as the students and my interest and curiosity can be explored together with the students. The main difference is the 'coping with change' concept that is coupled with being a digital immigrant. Being aware of how hard ‘change might be’ for myself and then determine solutions to get through that inner battle of fear of failure – not unlike how some students might react to work they don’t know how to complete.
Giving students the mental steps to overcome these inner barriers must go hand in hand with teaching any new or unknown concepts or skills for the first time. Time is also a factor for digital immigrants learning a new process or function in the land of ICT’s.
Completing my first blog will mean more to my sense of success than the actual content that I am trying to provide – I see this also reflected in how students attempt tasks that are difficult for them, using that sense of success to motivate them forward giving enough motivation to attempt to complete the next task. That sense of success is paramount to all learning; I am becoming aware of that need to succeed in order to move forward in my ICT learning.
‘Feel the fear and do it anyway’ is the stage I am up to now – and the ‘BLOG’ being the first e-learning task to undertake has understandable and relatively straight forward progressive steps to take. From what I am able to comprehend – blogging appears to be an ideal tool to explore and utilise in educational and many other contexts which I hope to explore more of.
Personally, my interests lie in the process of integrating the process of change, new technologies and the educational curriculum to produce a learning paradigm that will enable learners (including me) to succeed in the knowledge economy of now and the future, what do you think?
Wow what a journey! Blogging has become part of my life as a educational student and I can see many benefits and reasons for using a blog in many educational contexts.
Now I have more of an informed perspective of using ICT's and motivated to apply these techologies in my educational endeavours.
Free the Fear and BLOG Away .. how we change...
As a digital immigrant, blogs were an unknown entity in my world. Through blog surfing, and the unexpected download of educational discourse, my exploration of ‘why?’ and ‘how?’ and ‘what for?’ was inspired.
A blog is similar to a journal – somewhere that is valued by engaged and interested others , a collaborative platform to write your thoughts, research, ideas or seek to enquire. Images, soundtracks, videos and technological applications unknown to me at present (but I know they’re there!), can be uploaded to display or represent information, understandings and uncertainties.
A blog can be created by an individual, company or organisation and can only be edited by those that created it. People can follow a blog and receive any updated entries via a RSS feed.
Participating students who are following or responding to a blog can comment, offer feedback, and reiterate their own understandings.
This reflective element is valued amongst educators in today’s learning paradigm. Blogs offer a 21st century way to share ideas, communicate with others from diverse learning situations and can clarify students understanding of a topic or concept by the proactive and autonomous learning structure it provides.
The functionality and worthiness as in a classroom context includes the application of technological learning frame works like the Big 6. Essential learnings can also be applied for student learning outcomes to be scaffolded and achieved.
“ICT ‘s make it easier for students to show versions of an essay, comment on how they changed things and why, record the social interactions that influenced their ideas and assess their own progress towards the learning goal” Hedberg (2006).
Wait there’s more:
Blogs can be used in many educational environments. Students can set one up for their own learning journey with or without direction from educators, a lower year level class could collaboratively with the students design a blog to showcase school presentations, learning experiences and school learning objectives.

Communication between parents, caregivers and other students further links school communities and creates more informed networks.
Blogs are free to set up which make this an excellent learning tool in the classroom as it provides a safe and supported environment to utilize .
Blogs have been used in higher education for some time and could easily be used in a more considered way in primary schools. As a pre service teacher I found this website very helpful and informative.
http://www.det.wa.edu.au/education/cmis/eval/curriculum/ict/weblogs/ Personally, blogs represent the future and an intelligent way to discover, explore and understand information in the new knowledge economy. To see alist of comments of people followiing and commenting on my blog, go to my comments page.

References:

CMIS 2010: Blogs In Education. (2010). Retrieved 25 August, 2010, from CMIS web site: http://www.det.wa.edu.au/education/cmis/eval/curriculum/ict/weblogs/

Frangenheim, E. (1998). Reflections on Classroom Thinking Strategies. Loganholme: Rodin Educational Consultancy


Hedberg, J. (2006). Searching for Distruptive Pedagogies: Matching Pedagogies to The Technologies. [on-line]. Retrieved 10 July, 2010, From: Curriculum Leadership Website; http://www.curriculum.edu.au/leader/default.asp?id=18898

The state of Queensland (Department of Education, Training and the Arts). (2007). Essential Learnings Retrieved August 2010 from http:// education.qld.gov.au
To go back to my Synopsis