Monday
E -Portfolios (My Portfolio) a NZ perspective
With E portfolios in mind I set about to find something that we could use in our school, as alot of the research into e-portfolios was based in the USA and I wanted to find a beginners guide or something along those lines that I who is technically challenged could use without too much trouble. Through research I found that My Portfolio an e -portfolio software programme was established in 2006 and was formerly known as the Mahara Project. Mahara, meaning 'think' or 'thought' in Te Reo Māori, (My Portfolio, 2010) The Ministry of Education supported the initiative as a means through which an education system that was responsive and flexible could be developed in New Zealand (My Portfolio, 2010).
My Portfolio is student centred in such that students are able to develop a personal learning space in which they have the opportunity to present themselves and their achievements to others. Content and layout can be developed by the students which meet the specific, differing needs of student progressions yearly as well as across school levels. (My Portfolio, 2010)
My Portfolio plays a key role in developing, facilitating and collecting evidence of the five key competencies that form part of the vision of the New Zealand Curriculum. It is a valuable tool for both teachers and student alike as it personalises learning, identifies areas for self improvement and enables reflection across of the learning process. (My Portfolio, 2010)
"Personalising learning involves thinking about knowledge as an active process. Students get to be informed, active participants in their own learning, they contribute to decisions about what learning can work best for them, and they have a much better understanding of how they are progressing." (My Portfolio, 2010)
My Portfolio works as a reflective tool by which students can participate in reflective activities through blog functions and the creation of “Critical incident diaries” in which students have the opportunity to reflect on their learning and achievement throughout a unit of inquiry or over a set period of time. This could be in the form of a two way process whereby a teacher or peer provides feedback to the student on their work or individually whereby the student can reflect on their own learning in relation to processing information and how they felt they learnt and processed the new information (My Portfolio, 2010).
“My Portfolio provides a student centred and personalised space to bring together formal school learning activity and informal learning experiences. It will help students reflect upon: what they have achieved, where their ambitions are, what they need to get there and how learning can help them do that” (My Portfolio, 2010).
My Portfolio takes the hassle out of setting up your own e-portfolios for your students and provdes the framework for use and manipulation to suit your own needs.
My Portfolio can be found by typing in My Porfolio into a Google search and the best thing is that it is free for NZ schools to use.
My Portfolio is student centred in such that students are able to develop a personal learning space in which they have the opportunity to present themselves and their achievements to others. Content and layout can be developed by the students which meet the specific, differing needs of student progressions yearly as well as across school levels. (My Portfolio, 2010)
My Portfolio plays a key role in developing, facilitating and collecting evidence of the five key competencies that form part of the vision of the New Zealand Curriculum. It is a valuable tool for both teachers and student alike as it personalises learning, identifies areas for self improvement and enables reflection across of the learning process. (My Portfolio, 2010)
"Personalising learning involves thinking about knowledge as an active process. Students get to be informed, active participants in their own learning, they contribute to decisions about what learning can work best for them, and they have a much better understanding of how they are progressing." (My Portfolio, 2010)
My Portfolio works as a reflective tool by which students can participate in reflective activities through blog functions and the creation of “Critical incident diaries” in which students have the opportunity to reflect on their learning and achievement throughout a unit of inquiry or over a set period of time. This could be in the form of a two way process whereby a teacher or peer provides feedback to the student on their work or individually whereby the student can reflect on their own learning in relation to processing information and how they felt they learnt and processed the new information (My Portfolio, 2010).
“My Portfolio provides a student centred and personalised space to bring together formal school learning activity and informal learning experiences. It will help students reflect upon: what they have achieved, where their ambitions are, what they need to get there and how learning can help them do that” (My Portfolio, 2010).
My Portfolio takes the hassle out of setting up your own e-portfolios for your students and provdes the framework for use and manipulation to suit your own needs.
My Portfolio can be found by typing in My Porfolio into a Google search and the best thing is that it is free for NZ schools to use.
E Portfolios
The e-portfolio is altering learning pedagogy and for some creating a truly learner-centric knowledge environment. (Tosh& Werdmuller, 2004). Reporting to parents and encouraging learning through reflection should be one of the fundamental aspects of any educational environment. As educators, it is essential that we put in place a method of assessment and learning management that fully encapsulate the ideal of a child centred classroom.
E Portfolios have become increasingly popular within educational settings and have grown out of the print based portfolios of the mid 1990s (Lorenzo & Ittelson 2005). There are three broad categories of e-portfolios: student e-portfolios, teaching e-portfolios and institutional e-portfolios. For this report we will focus on student e-portfolios. (Lorenzo & Ittelson 2005) “The e-portfolio is altering learning pedagogy and creating a truly learner centric knowledge environment, where learners can engage with their learning individually and in collaboration with others which greatly enhances the experience and the outcomes” (Tosh, & Werdmuller, 2004).
E-portfolios recognise the importance of integrating e learning into our teaching practice and acknowledge the importance of learner centred and personalised forms of learning, prompted in part by the e-Learning Action Plan for schools. According to the e-Learning Action Plan for schools, Enabling the 21st Century Learner, e-Learning means “learning and teaching that is facilitated by or supported through the smart use of information and communication technologies” (Ministry of Education, 2006, p. 2).
E- Portfolios can be developed in two ways. The first of which involves generic tools, such as word processing, HTML editors, multimedia authoring tools, portable document format (PDF), and other commonly used productivity tool software. The second involves “information technology” customised systems approaches that involve servers, programming, and databases (Gibson, & Barrett, 2002). For this report we will focus on the second, which in this instance will be My Portfolio which is the software which we are proposing to implement within Willow Park.
Key aspects of e-portfolios
• Reflection – where the student can reflect on their work by writing down ideas, thoughts and experiences throughout the learning process.
• Communication – the student can communicate his or her reflections to other
students, and teachers.
• Sharing – the student can give selected other users access to their digital objects.
(Tosh& Werdmuller, 2004)
“E Portfolios are a valuable learning and assessment tool which has the potential to enhance current practice by organizing a collection of digitized artefacts which can include resources, and accomplishments of an individual and can comprise of text based, graphic or multimedia elements archived on a Website or electronic media such as CD-Rom or DVD” (Lorenzo & Ittelson 2005).
Weblogging
A weblog is a frequently updated website, organised in a diary form. Students are able to add individual posts and update these as new learning or experiences occur.
Students have the opportunity to reflect on new learning and share learning with others. For example, they can add digital text as well as videos, multimedia and podcasts.
Social Networking
Social networking allows people to discover new friends, contacts or groups of interest through online interaction, which encourages students to build online relationships with like minded peers.
Creating a sense of community
Students are able to engage in learning communities which encourages them to create meaning from their own learning as well as improve engagement. Learners have the opportunity to use this for talking to friends, discussions in groups in areas of interest to the student, finding resources and sharing their experiences with each other. (Tosh& Werdmuller, 2004)
Reflection:
Reflection is essential for deep learning, as the reflective process includes synthesis of knowledge through re-evaluation of the experience by undertaking association, integration, validation and appropriation (Boud, Keogh, & Walker, 1985).
E Portfolios have become increasingly popular within educational settings and have grown out of the print based portfolios of the mid 1990s (Lorenzo & Ittelson 2005). There are three broad categories of e-portfolios: student e-portfolios, teaching e-portfolios and institutional e-portfolios. For this report we will focus on student e-portfolios. (Lorenzo & Ittelson 2005) “The e-portfolio is altering learning pedagogy and creating a truly learner centric knowledge environment, where learners can engage with their learning individually and in collaboration with others which greatly enhances the experience and the outcomes” (Tosh, & Werdmuller, 2004).
E-portfolios recognise the importance of integrating e learning into our teaching practice and acknowledge the importance of learner centred and personalised forms of learning, prompted in part by the e-Learning Action Plan for schools. According to the e-Learning Action Plan for schools, Enabling the 21st Century Learner, e-Learning means “learning and teaching that is facilitated by or supported through the smart use of information and communication technologies” (Ministry of Education, 2006, p. 2).
E- Portfolios can be developed in two ways. The first of which involves generic tools, such as word processing, HTML editors, multimedia authoring tools, portable document format (PDF), and other commonly used productivity tool software. The second involves “information technology” customised systems approaches that involve servers, programming, and databases (Gibson, & Barrett, 2002). For this report we will focus on the second, which in this instance will be My Portfolio which is the software which we are proposing to implement within Willow Park.
Key aspects of e-portfolios
• Reflection – where the student can reflect on their work by writing down ideas, thoughts and experiences throughout the learning process.
• Communication – the student can communicate his or her reflections to other
students, and teachers.
• Sharing – the student can give selected other users access to their digital objects.
(Tosh& Werdmuller, 2004)
“E Portfolios are a valuable learning and assessment tool which has the potential to enhance current practice by organizing a collection of digitized artefacts which can include resources, and accomplishments of an individual and can comprise of text based, graphic or multimedia elements archived on a Website or electronic media such as CD-Rom or DVD” (Lorenzo & Ittelson 2005).
Weblogging
A weblog is a frequently updated website, organised in a diary form. Students are able to add individual posts and update these as new learning or experiences occur.
Students have the opportunity to reflect on new learning and share learning with others. For example, they can add digital text as well as videos, multimedia and podcasts.
Social Networking
Social networking allows people to discover new friends, contacts or groups of interest through online interaction, which encourages students to build online relationships with like minded peers.
Creating a sense of community
Students are able to engage in learning communities which encourages them to create meaning from their own learning as well as improve engagement. Learners have the opportunity to use this for talking to friends, discussions in groups in areas of interest to the student, finding resources and sharing their experiences with each other. (Tosh& Werdmuller, 2004)
Reflection:
Reflection is essential for deep learning, as the reflective process includes synthesis of knowledge through re-evaluation of the experience by undertaking association, integration, validation and appropriation (Boud, Keogh, & Walker, 1985).
E Portfolios - Assignment 2
I was thinking that I would do my assignment 2 on IWB and implementation into my school but I didnt want to repeat myself or my findings from assignment 1.
E Portfolios seesmed like a great idea as we have been looking into how we can improve the reporting process within our schools as our portfolios have been termed "reporting folders" rather than in their true sense portfolios. I had no idea to begin with what e portfolios are but I will attempt to outline what they are in this blog and how you as a school can effectively use them within your school or educational institution.
E Portfolios seesmed like a great idea as we have been looking into how we can improve the reporting process within our schools as our portfolios have been termed "reporting folders" rather than in their true sense portfolios. I had no idea to begin with what e portfolios are but I will attempt to outline what they are in this blog and how you as a school can effectively use them within your school or educational institution.
what are the effective ways to encourage change using ICT to help improve learning?
I think the most simple way to encourage effective change in ICT is to ensure that training, and resources are made available for teachers. I have been on many ICT courses and have thought woohoo these ideas are fantastic I can use these only then to realise that what we simply lack is the computers or the technology to fully integrate these ideas into practice. Maybe we first need to assess how we can get more computers into schools. I would love to have a class that was an e classroom where every child had their own laptop which they could bring out at a moments notice look up information themselves, create blogs, webpages and type their writing straight onto word programmes. Wouldnt this be a sure fire way to get teachers to use the technology. Who has ever tried to use their class computer and found that it doesnt work or gone to the ICT suite only to find that there are not enough computers for your entire class and then what do you have, 30 kids who are fighting about whose turn it is and how much time the other person has had that they havent. By simply ensuring that all children had access to "working" technologies then I think teachers would be more likely to give it a go. A school that I taught in, in London had 2 portable laptop stations which had 30 laptops on each. This was fantastic as each morning before school children would come in read the daily news,, we would then do maths games on them, online reading, research from the internet, and publications. These worked so well as it was moved around between 2 classes and I found that in the time I was there I used the computers more with the kids than I had ever done when you had a set time to go to the ICT suite which meant that from week to week skills that were taught were forgotten or they simply didnt get a turn as they had to share the computers.
Interactive Whiteboards - Forging forward or holding teaching and learning back?
The IWB.
The last 20 years has seen rapid technological advancement. Hall & Higgins (2005).Teachers and educators are at times being left behind by this rapid succession of new technologies as educators are tending to use the same applications and tools that they used 20 to 30 years ago. Sousa (2001) and Walker-Tileston 2004). Children today are far more technologically advanced and digitally literate and so too should our teaching. Webb &Way (2005). Web 2.0 applications, the internet and new technologies are taking a hold in our society and as educators we need to prepare ourselves to adapt and adopt new pedagogical practices to reflect this. Sousa (2001) and Walker-Tileston 2004). The IWB is one such technology that is forging a name for itself as fast becoming one of the most popular new technologies in schools around the world. The IWB is popular with teachers and students alike and its potential is yet to be fully realised. Kennewell (2006).
I have taught in London for 2 years and as far back as 2006 when I first went to London to teach the IWB was commonplace in all primary schools. Planning, teaching and assesment were all conducted on the IWB and flip charts were created for each lesson of the day and teachers were expected to incorporate IWB into their daily lessons over all curriculum areas.
I found it difficult coming into this system as I had never even heard of the IWB before let alone having to use it for teaching. I think that what it became was a replacement for the whiteboard in the more traditional sense. Almost instantly I had a fear and distrust of this new technology as my limited ability to use it stopped me from really exploring its capabilities.
On my second trip to teach in London the IWB phenomenon was even more widespread. Traditional whiteboards had completley disappeared and everything that was now written was done on the IWB.
I could see the benefits of the IWB for use as as a whiteboard , a projector screen, a copy board, or a computer projector. Children can write on the screen with pens and or use the computer to add or alter images. Internet can be viewed, movies played, and programmes used to integrate material from the internet , word programmes, photos, videos clips as well as teacher and student annotations into new presentations or existing work. (Glover et al 2005).
With all these possiblities in mind I could still not get to terms with it. I found it ever so difficult to go into a well established system whereby all teachers were fully trained and those beginning teachers were being taught the necessary skills during training. What therefore could I do other than muddle through.
Teachers in England I felt over used it. They used it for handwriting, which created an unrealistic view of the handwriting process, they used it for alot of whole class teaching which changed learning from child centred to traditional methods of teaching, whereby the teacher was the transmittor of knowledge rather than the facilitator. It also created more work for the teacher as each lesson was lead through and planned on a flipchart where the teacher would teach with the set of notes on the IWB. I felt this truely restricted the engagement in learning.
My first assignment was on the IWB as I felt that I never really used it the way I shouldve. I wanted to see if there was any educational benefits for children and what the theory was behind its widespread use in England and what things if any had NZ done to implement IWB use.
I found that Project Activate was funded by a grant from the Digital Opportunities project, which is a joint initiative between the New Zealand Ministry of Education, ICT related businesses and enterprises and state and integrated schools. (Digital Opportunities Project, 2005). The project was implemented in two stages with a study of schools looking and how IWB could be integrated as an effective teaching tool. The second stage involved looking at the findings from the first study and assessing if changes needed to be made and if so where and how the project could improve learning and teaching. Five Auckland and 10 Southland schools and colleges were involved in the pilot. Teachers were trained on an ongoing basis to use the whiteboard through workshops, face-to-face and video conference meetings between schools. (Digital Opportunities Project, 2005).
Schools were encouraged to use the technology to aid and enhance cooperative, distance and inquiry-based learning. It was believed that the IWB could provide a tool that could help these pilot schools to use an enquiry based approach to teaching and learning, whereby students could orchestrate their own learning and work collaboratively with each other. The project encouraged using the IWB to provide greater interaction with teaching materials and as a means of communicating with other schools on the project. Teaching were encouraged to think beyond the square to new and innovative ways of using the resource which could then be shared with other schools on the project to create a new and exciting learning environment. The study found that in every school involved in the project student engagement and motivation was at a high level. Encouraging words for a newly introduced technology (Digital Opportunities Project, 2005)
I found that indeed the IWB carries with it many educational benefits for children but without proper training and use it simply replicates existing teaching pedagogies. Teachers need to therefore having pre-service training and then ongoing PD throughout their teaching practise.
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The last 20 years has seen rapid technological advancement. Hall & Higgins (2005).Teachers and educators are at times being left behind by this rapid succession of new technologies as educators are tending to use the same applications and tools that they used 20 to 30 years ago. Sousa (2001) and Walker-Tileston 2004). Children today are far more technologically advanced and digitally literate and so too should our teaching. Webb &Way (2005). Web 2.0 applications, the internet and new technologies are taking a hold in our society and as educators we need to prepare ourselves to adapt and adopt new pedagogical practices to reflect this. Sousa (2001) and Walker-Tileston 2004). The IWB is one such technology that is forging a name for itself as fast becoming one of the most popular new technologies in schools around the world. The IWB is popular with teachers and students alike and its potential is yet to be fully realised. Kennewell (2006).
I have taught in London for 2 years and as far back as 2006 when I first went to London to teach the IWB was commonplace in all primary schools. Planning, teaching and assesment were all conducted on the IWB and flip charts were created for each lesson of the day and teachers were expected to incorporate IWB into their daily lessons over all curriculum areas.
I found it difficult coming into this system as I had never even heard of the IWB before let alone having to use it for teaching. I think that what it became was a replacement for the whiteboard in the more traditional sense. Almost instantly I had a fear and distrust of this new technology as my limited ability to use it stopped me from really exploring its capabilities.
On my second trip to teach in London the IWB phenomenon was even more widespread. Traditional whiteboards had completley disappeared and everything that was now written was done on the IWB.
I could see the benefits of the IWB for use as as a whiteboard , a projector screen, a copy board, or a computer projector. Children can write on the screen with pens and or use the computer to add or alter images. Internet can be viewed, movies played, and programmes used to integrate material from the internet , word programmes, photos, videos clips as well as teacher and student annotations into new presentations or existing work. (Glover et al 2005).
With all these possiblities in mind I could still not get to terms with it. I found it ever so difficult to go into a well established system whereby all teachers were fully trained and those beginning teachers were being taught the necessary skills during training. What therefore could I do other than muddle through.
Teachers in England I felt over used it. They used it for handwriting, which created an unrealistic view of the handwriting process, they used it for alot of whole class teaching which changed learning from child centred to traditional methods of teaching, whereby the teacher was the transmittor of knowledge rather than the facilitator. It also created more work for the teacher as each lesson was lead through and planned on a flipchart where the teacher would teach with the set of notes on the IWB. I felt this truely restricted the engagement in learning.
My first assignment was on the IWB as I felt that I never really used it the way I shouldve. I wanted to see if there was any educational benefits for children and what the theory was behind its widespread use in England and what things if any had NZ done to implement IWB use.
I found that Project Activate was funded by a grant from the Digital Opportunities project, which is a joint initiative between the New Zealand Ministry of Education, ICT related businesses and enterprises and state and integrated schools. (Digital Opportunities Project, 2005). The project was implemented in two stages with a study of schools looking and how IWB could be integrated as an effective teaching tool. The second stage involved looking at the findings from the first study and assessing if changes needed to be made and if so where and how the project could improve learning and teaching. Five Auckland and 10 Southland schools and colleges were involved in the pilot. Teachers were trained on an ongoing basis to use the whiteboard through workshops, face-to-face and video conference meetings between schools. (Digital Opportunities Project, 2005).
Schools were encouraged to use the technology to aid and enhance cooperative, distance and inquiry-based learning. It was believed that the IWB could provide a tool that could help these pilot schools to use an enquiry based approach to teaching and learning, whereby students could orchestrate their own learning and work collaboratively with each other. The project encouraged using the IWB to provide greater interaction with teaching materials and as a means of communicating with other schools on the project. Teaching were encouraged to think beyond the square to new and innovative ways of using the resource which could then be shared with other schools on the project to create a new and exciting learning environment. The study found that in every school involved in the project student engagement and motivation was at a high level. Encouraging words for a newly introduced technology (Digital Opportunities Project, 2005)
I found that indeed the IWB carries with it many educational benefits for children but without proper training and use it simply replicates existing teaching pedagogies. Teachers need to therefore having pre-service training and then ongoing PD throughout their teaching practise.
l
E learning in the NZ Curriculum
E-learning and pedagogy
What is is learning like in NZ and what has been done to ensure that our children are as equipped as other children around the world. We want to have the finest children with the most skills in using technology effectively so that they can go forth into society with the tools, skills, knowledge and attitudes to succeed.
I had never seen the e learning action plan or even heard it mention. Im still in the days when ICT was taught as a stand alone and im not too proud to say it. Throughout this course I have learnt so many new things and had my eyes opened to new possiblities one of which is the way in which NZ has recognised the importance of e learning for developing our students.
I will attempt to outline some of the key points in relation to e learning in NZ.
According to the e-Learning Action Plan for schools, Enabling the 21st Century Learner, e-Learning means “learning and teaching that is facilitated by or supported through the smart use of information and communication technologies” (Ministry of Education, 2006, p. 2).
In 1998 the New Zealand government introduced the first ICT strategy for schools. Ministry of Education (1998). It aimed to build infrastructure and school capability. In 2002, a new strategy “Digital Horizons Learning through ICT” was released. This strategy focused on the challenge of integrating ICT fully into curriculum practice, highlighting the increasing importance placed upon ICT teaching and learning in New Zealand schools. Ministry of Education (2002). The E Learning action plan (2006) aimed to revolutionise technology education in New Zealand and to outline the outcomes and actions for e-learning in the New Zealand school sector for 2006–2010. Ministry of Education, (2005).
The strategy encourages the use of Web 2.0 applications ‘e-learning may enhance opportunities to learn by offering students virtual experiences and tools that save time, allowing them to take their learning further’ (Ministry of Education, 2007, p.36).
The focus of learning in New Zealand has slowly evovled and will contuniue to do so In the past subjects were taught based on achievement objectives and focused on students acquiring knowledge of a subject. There has been a gradual change in focus for education, in which emphasis is given to essential skills, values and key competencies. Inquiry based learning is a reflection of the changing nature of educational theory. Ministry of Education (2007). Students need new skills, including information literacy, visual literacy and technological literacy as what they are taught now will serve as a foundation for skills needed in the workplace and in society for the future.
E Learning and Web 2.0 applications have opened up possibilities in teaching and learning that have been limited in the past. Children have far greater opportunities to interact and collaborate with others within the classroom and the wider community. (Ministry of Education, 2007)
Information and communication technology (ICT) has a major impact on the world in which young people live. Similarly, e-learning (that is, learning supported by or facilitated by ICT) has considerable potential to support the teaching approaches outlined in the above section.
For instance, e-learning may: assist the making of connections by enabling students to enter and explore new learning environments, overcoming barriers of distance and time
facilitate shared learning by enabling students to join or create communities of learners that extend well beyond the classroom assist in the creation of supportive learning environments by offering resources that take account of individual, cultural, or developmental differences
enhance opportunities to learn by offering students virtual experiences and tools that save them time, allowing them to take their learning further. Schools should explore not only how ICT can supplement traditional ways of teaching but also how it can open up new and different ways of learning.
The NZ Curriculum has outlined that they want teaching and learning to become more child centered and new skills, and or key competencies to be developed rather than set topics of study being explored(Ministry of Education, 2007) Technology has been seen to encourage these deeper cognitive processes, like problem solving and critical thinking, that evolve as a result of technology use.
Another important term that I felt should be outlined was that between Information literacy which is the “life-long ability to locate, evaluate, use and create information” (Ministry of Education, 2006, p. 2) and digital literacy is “the ability to use digital technology, communication tools, or networks to locate, evaluate, use and create information” (Ministry of Education, 2006, p. 2). These terms are important as we are wanting our students to become literate for a world in which the skills and tools that they will use in the workplace havent even been developed yet.
What is is learning like in NZ and what has been done to ensure that our children are as equipped as other children around the world. We want to have the finest children with the most skills in using technology effectively so that they can go forth into society with the tools, skills, knowledge and attitudes to succeed.
I had never seen the e learning action plan or even heard it mention. Im still in the days when ICT was taught as a stand alone and im not too proud to say it. Throughout this course I have learnt so many new things and had my eyes opened to new possiblities one of which is the way in which NZ has recognised the importance of e learning for developing our students.
I will attempt to outline some of the key points in relation to e learning in NZ.
According to the e-Learning Action Plan for schools, Enabling the 21st Century Learner, e-Learning means “learning and teaching that is facilitated by or supported through the smart use of information and communication technologies” (Ministry of Education, 2006, p. 2).
In 1998 the New Zealand government introduced the first ICT strategy for schools. Ministry of Education (1998). It aimed to build infrastructure and school capability. In 2002, a new strategy “Digital Horizons Learning through ICT” was released. This strategy focused on the challenge of integrating ICT fully into curriculum practice, highlighting the increasing importance placed upon ICT teaching and learning in New Zealand schools. Ministry of Education (2002). The E Learning action plan (2006) aimed to revolutionise technology education in New Zealand and to outline the outcomes and actions for e-learning in the New Zealand school sector for 2006–2010. Ministry of Education, (2005).
The strategy encourages the use of Web 2.0 applications ‘e-learning may enhance opportunities to learn by offering students virtual experiences and tools that save time, allowing them to take their learning further’ (Ministry of Education, 2007, p.36).
The focus of learning in New Zealand has slowly evovled and will contuniue to do so In the past subjects were taught based on achievement objectives and focused on students acquiring knowledge of a subject. There has been a gradual change in focus for education, in which emphasis is given to essential skills, values and key competencies. Inquiry based learning is a reflection of the changing nature of educational theory. Ministry of Education (2007). Students need new skills, including information literacy, visual literacy and technological literacy as what they are taught now will serve as a foundation for skills needed in the workplace and in society for the future.
E Learning and Web 2.0 applications have opened up possibilities in teaching and learning that have been limited in the past. Children have far greater opportunities to interact and collaborate with others within the classroom and the wider community. (Ministry of Education, 2007)
Information and communication technology (ICT) has a major impact on the world in which young people live. Similarly, e-learning (that is, learning supported by or facilitated by ICT) has considerable potential to support the teaching approaches outlined in the above section.
For instance, e-learning may: assist the making of connections by enabling students to enter and explore new learning environments, overcoming barriers of distance and time
facilitate shared learning by enabling students to join or create communities of learners that extend well beyond the classroom assist in the creation of supportive learning environments by offering resources that take account of individual, cultural, or developmental differences
enhance opportunities to learn by offering students virtual experiences and tools that save them time, allowing them to take their learning further. Schools should explore not only how ICT can supplement traditional ways of teaching but also how it can open up new and different ways of learning.
The NZ Curriculum has outlined that they want teaching and learning to become more child centered and new skills, and or key competencies to be developed rather than set topics of study being explored(Ministry of Education, 2007) Technology has been seen to encourage these deeper cognitive processes, like problem solving and critical thinking, that evolve as a result of technology use.
Another important term that I felt should be outlined was that between Information literacy which is the “life-long ability to locate, evaluate, use and create information” (Ministry of Education, 2006, p. 2) and digital literacy is “the ability to use digital technology, communication tools, or networks to locate, evaluate, use and create information” (Ministry of Education, 2006, p. 2). These terms are important as we are wanting our students to become literate for a world in which the skills and tools that they will use in the workplace havent even been developed yet.
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