Module 7 - Activity 11 - 21st century learning spaces

Teachers have come to realize that it is not business as usual in respect of 21st century learning.  More and more, teachers are expected to change the way in which they engage students, construct their classroom for learning and assess their roles in an evolving educational system as it pertains to learning spaces.

The students are engaging regularly with technology and the changing classrooms must allow for students to become more involved in their learning (seld-directed).  Ideas of the flipped classroom, social media, real world projects and adequate technology tools are in themselves agents for change in learning spaces.  As spaces change there will be change in practice for teachers as this will cause their roles to change.

How soon this will be realized in our country depends on us as practitioners to advocate for the change and the political directorate to have the will and give the level of priority needed for this to happen.

Module 7 - Activity 10 - Sharing (publishing) online

In this activity, I was exposed to various online sharing tools which one can use for project product ideas.  From my review, the use of some product ideas would depend on the age, skills sets and maturity of the students.

Module 7 Activity 9 - Learning and collaborating on line

I see collaboration adding value to the learning environment.  Workplaces require its workforce to collaborate in teams to complete tasks and in order to get our students to this level where they be ready for the future and can function in a society that requires teamwork it requires that they be equipped with the skills necessary for collaboration to take place.  Collaboration causes individuals to work together for the common good as everyone learns through this common experience and takes what is relevant to him/her and applies this to their specific learning situation.

In working together it requires the development of specific skills to include communication, problem solving, critical thinking, active listening, respect for the opinions and ideas of others and reflection.

In this type of experience there is sharing and learning taking place through constant communication.  Everyone brings their strengths to the learning environment and no one feels threatened as each person is given a voice.

Module 7 -Activity 8 Communicating online

Communication tools have value in the connected classroom once one understands how they are to be used to achieve the desired results.  Sometimes, the unfamiliarity of the tools and the fear of failure in their use cause individuals to restrict using them.  This was quite evident when we conducted our in-group session and became frustrated along the way.  We are very much aware that this could be the same scenario for our students.

Knowing that our students are technologically driven should inspire us to incorporate these into our classrooms and to narrow the gap between those students who will participate in class and those who would not and also for those who might require a different strategy for learning. 

Teachers will need to become familiar with these tools and teach students to be responsible in their use and use them for good and not as distractors. 

Module 7 Activity 7 - Learning through social media

Social media, once used properly, can be of benefit to students in enhancing learning.  The most commonly used is Facebook and for the most part, is used for socializing.  Teachers are encouraged to use it with their students to further educational goals and to build student knowledge and capacity.

How can teachers use social media to enhance learning?  There are quite a few benefits to its use but first it calls for the will to move beyond the negatives associated with its use and to embrace the good and the potential that there is to engage our students.  Teachers need to recognize that in a given day students are at school for approximately 5 hours and after school our students will become engaged with social media for more than 4 hours bearing in mind that within the 5 school hours, there is no evidence of the use of social media for learning.  There is an inbalance here which speaks to the issue of teachers using more of what seems to be of interest to students, but  are we, or our system ready for this?  The changing dynamics of the classroom demands a change in how students are educated.

Infusing social media in and out of the classroom for learning purposes in a structured and controlled way will be beneficial to students in this era. 

Module 7- Activity 6 - Real world collaboration

Projects are used in modern classrooms to develop 21st century skills in students.  One expects that by providing the interesting stimulus will make leaning real and come alive for the students.  In order to make leaning meaningful, connecting to other subject areas means that there will be no limit to the amount of knowledge students will acquire.
In the past, teachers have been asking students to reproduce content for projects instead of having them investigate an issue which encourages knowledge building.  I have learned that by identifying an issue of importance to the community is an excellent way to use projects for knowledge building and developing 21st century skills.