In today's class Linda has finished the explanation about media for teaching and curriculum implementation and in the end of class she has explained our weekly task.
We have discussed the second variable which influences the curriculum implementation: the design. About the design, it was very interesting the explanation talking about the fact that there is not a compulsory part you have to start working from. For example, you can start to design from the assessment and then you can put the other things around it, but always taking into account every element: teacher, student, time ... The basis point to implement something is to coherence between the different elements. For example, it does not have any sense to evaluate using a test if you have based your design on processes. In our case, Linda says that she normally plans around activities and then she puts the other things around it. Also she said that she gives us difference roles to make sure that all of us have responsibilities.
Finally, she talked about the last variable that you have to take into account to implement curriculum: media technologies. This is the final part of the process. First of all you have to think in subjects, institutions and design. You could think in the use of media- technologies only when the other elements are clear. Even sometimes it is more important not to follow the design of the curriculum and trying to solve the situation of students and the institutions. This is happening nowadays in Valencia. When you are going to work with media technologies there are some characteristics that need to be analyzed to use one or another.
- Efficiency: means achieving your goals with the least possible effort. You must think not only about the cost but the time needed for learning to use them, if they are easy to handle, your students, the class... For example: blogs are very efficient because they can be used for different things.
We have discussed the second variable which influences the curriculum implementation: the design. About the design, it was very interesting the explanation talking about the fact that there is not a compulsory part you have to start working from. For example, you can start to design from the assessment and then you can put the other things around it, but always taking into account every element: teacher, student, time ... The basis point to implement something is to coherence between the different elements. For example, it does not have any sense to evaluate using a test if you have based your design on processes. In our case, Linda says that she normally plans around activities and then she puts the other things around it. Also she said that she gives us difference roles to make sure that all of us have responsibilities.
Finally, she talked about the last variable that you have to take into account to implement curriculum: media technologies. This is the final part of the process. First of all you have to think in subjects, institutions and design. You could think in the use of media- technologies only when the other elements are clear. Even sometimes it is more important not to follow the design of the curriculum and trying to solve the situation of students and the institutions. This is happening nowadays in Valencia. When you are going to work with media technologies there are some characteristics that need to be analyzed to use one or another.
- Efficiency: means achieving your goals with the least possible effort. You must think not only about the cost but the time needed for learning to use them, if they are easy to handle, your students, the class... For example: blogs are very efficient because they can be used for different things.
- Affordances: technology has its own affordances. For example: the big affordance of a blog is the chronological thing.
- Flexibility: depends on the topic, on the age of students... Sometimes you can’t be flexible. For example, when you are teaching how to read and first you have to explain vowels and then some consonants.
- Availability: it is essential. If most of your students don’t have certain means it does not make sense to work with them. For example, we can not ask our students to perform the classes using computers if they don’t have them.
- Flexibility: depends on the topic, on the age of students... Sometimes you can’t be flexible. For example, when you are teaching how to read and first you have to explain vowels and then some consonants.
- Availability: it is essential. If most of your students don’t have certain means it does not make sense to work with them. For example, we can not ask our students to perform the classes using computers if they don’t have them.
- Code and cognitive strategies. For example, if I usually use slides in my class I can not ask my students in the evaluation to do a practical exercise if they have not done it before.
- Motivation (Novelty Factor): the final thing you must take into account is motivation. Clarks, in 1983 proved by experiments that the novelty factor is a good factor of motivation. There is a graphic which shows how motivation changes when I introduce something new in a class. First, it increases; then, it decreases below its original; and then it establishes. The research about “the white horse” of the teacher Antonio Bartolomé shows as well the influence of novelty factor.
Task
The weekly task consists on finding information online about the work done by teachers who are innovating in the field of education. These works must be analyzed from the two perspectives from which technologies can be included in our classes: TPACK and Curriculum implementation. Then we have to make an oral presentation in class. On Monday Linda will explain how to make a good oral presentation because making an oral presentation is easy but it is not so easy to do a good one. Besides, she has uploaded some videos in the virtual classroom to introduce us to this topic. On Monday, after this explanation we will begin to work and will prepare a pechakucha of 20 slides of 20 seconds each one. The pechakucha will be explained by the star of the previous and the following week. The presentation will be broadcast live. There were eight projects to choose from and we chose the SOS Gymkhana de animales en peligro de extinción, about which we started looking for information that same day when classes end. First, we briefly review the objectives of the task and you can see our faces in the image.
We finally decided that each one will search information individually. On Monday we will talk about it and start to work after Linda’s explanation. We will see how next week goes.
No comments:
Post a Comment