Just got to share this visual tool.

I currently add my shortcuts to learning tools etc on my iGoogle page the following pick will give the general idea.

But there is a useful alternative Symbaloo is a bookmarking service that creates visual bookmarks, lets you organize them and you can also share them. You can access your bookmarks from any computer.

David Andrade blogged the following addition information on this. A free account is available. For more features, you would have to sign up for one of the fee accounts.

As seen above in the Symbaloo Edu page, you can organize your bookmarks in different categories. The Symbaloo Edu page has lots of great links for teachers to use, organized by subject and topic.

SymbalooEdu can be used by teachers to create their own bookmark webmix for classes and for themselves. Students can use it to create bookmark webmixes for their classes.

There is also an EduTools page with links to lots of great resources, an educational news page, and a widgets page with calculator, stocks, tasklist, notepad, and more available to add into your webmix.

It is very useful for education and free.

Brought to my attention by David Andrade who posted most of this on his Blog but I wanted to make sure I had access to this later so apologies for the blatant copy but I am at least acknowledging you as the source.

http://educationaltechnologyguy.blogspot.com/

Technology in the classroom, 'An example'. Part 3

So why am I the only one using these panels then?

Well this is  not strictly true but since the implementation of panels across many classrooms in the college, why do I see them in use so little? In fact in some classrooms the position of the panel completely contradicts its use.

Here the panel is correctly positioned enabling the teacher to face the class the image is projected behind for all to see. But I have seen panels tucked away in the corner being used as mere computer screens facing away from students and in fact encouraging the teacher to talk whilst looking away from the students. So what barriers have been put up here by my colleagues

Training has been provided, tools and resources made available to prepare at their desks and a number of videos to help accelerate the learning yet still they are not used?

Reasons I hear for this range from:

• I don't get on with them
• I can't be bothered with this new technology stuff 
• Whats wrong with my board work
• I haven't got time for this

The list goes on. To say I am disappointed is an understatement, as far as I see it a small investment in time has reaped rewards in my classroom. 

• The ability to print board notes and save several pages of board work to review at the end of the lesson or later on in the course.
• Being able to prepare flipcharts in advance in little time at all.
• Review lessons at a later date or indeed use an old flip chart as preparation for a new lesson.
• Its actual fun too.
• The list goes on

Talking to students, I am often asked why other lecturers don't use these facilities, what can I say? They are laggards who can't be bothered to spend a little time learning, they don't need to their board work is great, or make some other lame excuse. Well needless to say I remain professional but to be honest they are missing out as far as I am concerned  missing a good opportunity to improve the learning experience for the students.

Technology in the classroom, 'An example'. Part 2

I thought I would follow up my previous post with some more detail on the panels. Some time ago I was asked to share my experience of using the panels with my colleagues and I created a number of short video demonstrations to help them get started so I thought I would experiment with uploading them to youtube and embedding them into my blog. This means that the quality is reduced but the size is also reduced. The videos aren't brilliant I basically put them together over a weekend, but it should give an idea of how the panels can be used.

The first video is just sets the scene and gives some quick examples.



The second demonstrates the use of the flipchart facility.



Additional videos
Flipchart Demonstration 2
Active desktop demonstration
Promethean and Powerpoint used together

Technology in the classroom, 'An example'.

I would like to discuss the use of Promethean panels employed in a number of classrooms at my place of work. Many years ago I was the first lecturer to purchase a panel and now due to my efforts these panels are now widespread however a number of fellow educators don't seem to use them why I cannot understand.

Panel at the front of the classroom

They work in a similar way to interactive whiteboards but you sit facing your class and as you write it is projected behind you more details can be found on the Promethean website.

What do you think is the likely impact of this technology on the students’ perceptions of the quality of their modules, their approaches to studying and their academic performance?

From my experience of using this tool most students enjoy the enrichment offered, powerpoint presentations come to life a number of whiteboards can be completed and saved for future reference giving a record of the lesson contents. Students still like to make notes of their own but they are more likely to listen if they realise they don't have to make notes. The lessons have a more professional feel to them.

What do you think is the likely impact of this technology on the teachers’ perceptions of their teaching context and their approaches to teaching?

I am more confident facing my audience and watching them rather than facing away from them writing on a board. The fact that lesson contents can be saved enable a truer reflection after the event and a change to go back over past lessons at a later date. It is also possible to prepare whiteboards prior to the lesson helping with those rather difficult derivations or mathematical manipulations that sometimes present a challenge in front of students. So I guess it makes me feel more confident and enables a more structured lesson to be prepared.

Do you think this technology embodies particular assumptions about the nature of teaching and learning in higher education?

Well it assumes a face to face didactic classroom session, but it also offers student interaction most students jump at the opportunity to play with my toys. I wouldn't go so far as to say it offers student centred learning but I have used it for group work activities in a similar way to presenting a group of students with a flipchart to complete.

Are these assumptions likely to promote more positive perceptions, more desirable approaches to studying and better performance on the part of the students?

Yes students like to see lessons that are polished and effective and I believe this tool helps to make this so and printing off copies of the flipcharts instantly is a useful aid to the students, most appreciate any extra help that is available. The lecturer faces the students and is able to quickly pick up on body language and visual signs of confusion. My personal experience has lead me to feel that students are more attentive and tuned into the lesson as a result of this particular tool.

Price hits me with a 'Quasimodo' moment, 'Esmaralda she loves me'

Here I am reading yet another paper, and up pops 'quasi-experimental design' I won't write what popped into my head but a vision of  Esmeralda being taught by Quasimodo didn't help. What an earth is a quasi-experiment. This has been the case so many times this year, with many new terms and definitions and in some cases the use of extravagant  words which just complicate matters. What happened to the desire to speak/write good old plain English. So off I go to find what this means before I read what Price et al (2007) has to say about face to face versus online tutoring.


I find refreshing thoughts on Quasi experimental design care of the web centre for social research methods 'quasi-experimental design is one that looks a bit like an experimental design but lacks the key ingredient -- random assignment'.  There, that clears that up, lol.

Back to Price et al and the topics for discussion on H800.


Do you agree with Price et al. that online tuition is a pastoral activity and not a purely academic activity?
Yes  I can relate to this as I have first hand experience having nurtured hundreds of students through distance learning courses over the years. As I write I am planning a tutorial for tomorrow and I have just replied to a students cry for help via email, this will be followed up with a supporting phone call early next week and perhaps a message for all in the conference to help support others that will be feeling the same way at the moment. It happens every year around this time suddenly the workload is visable for the summer months and panic sets in. Some students want a cuddle and a bit of reasurrance that they are on track and can do this. Others are struggling and show signs of failure, part of me wants to say, 'your being unrealistic and haven't got the time or writing skills to complete this course', but of course I can't say that I have to be supportive and try and actively encourage their development which of course I do.


So yes this is a pastoral activity and only one example. Another example that further supports the suggestion is  that of feedback required by the OU because students in some cases never see you there is a requirement to provide copious amounts of feedback, don't get me wrong its required and a recent TMA of my own was returned with a great deal of useful supportive and accurate feedback (Thanks Janet) so it does have its place. But in a face to face environment feedback can be offered verbally and it's a two way thing, it's very rare that a student challenges or comes back to me to follow up their feedback in the same way as they would in a face to face environment.


Do you agree that the absence of what the authors call ‘paralinguistic cues’ in an online environment can limit the effectiveness of online tuition?


Again Price at el (2007) has this spot on nonverbal elements, such as intonation, body posture, gestures, and facial expression, that modify the meaning of verbal communication cannot be  seen during an online meeting. However, this is one area that I believe is improving all the time. One day I believe elluminate or an equivalent online tutorial tool will be as good as face to face. How? Because I believe the technology will be good enough. Being able to see and hear all members of the group at the same time on one screen will one day be possible. The latest game consoles are introducing the ability to detect hand movements so this is another hurdle that will be overcome. Move the online tutorial into 2nd Life and we have a 3d environment. Again the technology and bandwidth  are not good enough yet but all the signs are there that mean eventually the online experience could be as good as the face to face. Am I over optimistic, naive or in gaga land here,  if I said to you 50 years ago that I have a sat nav system that will guide me from A to B avoiding all the road works and accidents and predict my arrival time accurately, you would have thought I was mad. Well I now have one.


Price, L., Richardson, J.T.E. and Jelfs, A. (2007) ‘Face-to-face versus online tutoring support in distance education’, Studies in Higher Education, vol.32, pp.1–20; also available online at http://libezproxy.open.ac.uk/ login?url=http://dx.doi.org/ 10.1080/ 03075070601004366 (last accessed 20 December 2010).

Questionnaires, questionnaires and more questionnaires.

Having read Richardson (2005) I found I could relate to a lot of what he has to say but I am pleased his research is not solely based on questionnaires, he actually took the time to interview a large number of students as well.

My experience of some of these questionnaires presented to students is not good and I would not like to think that course content and indeed teacher performance is measured or based on comments and scores from questionnaires. Having watched a number of students race through the online forms paying very little attention to the questions, I am sorry but unless the students take care and time to complete properly they are not worth doing.

Back to the findings and a couple of questions to ponder over this week.

Do the concepts, theories and evidence described in my paper fit your own experience as a learner?

They most certainly do I can particularly identify and relate to the ‘Deep approach’ v ‘Surface approach’ both in my learning style and that of my students. I find myself switching between the two methods depending on time in fact I think it is fair to say that many students fluctuate between the styles depending on the teaching methods.  Does learning just happen though? Yes it is possible if many exercises or group work activities are interesting enough to absorb the student, I have sat back and watched the activity unfold and I am confident that in some instances the students don’t actually realise what they are learning but they are engrossed and come out of the activity with the key learning points. It’s great to see and satisfying when I occasionally get this right.

Which of Säljö’s five conceptions of learning best fits your own definition?

An interesting question and I am torn between 1 and 3, ‘Learning as the increase of knowledge’ and learning as the ‘acquisition of facts or procedures’. If I had to pick one it would be the first. However I am a strong believer in the application of real learning and when you truly understand something I believe you are able to take its meaning to a new level. Therefore ‘Learning is the abstraction of meaning’, and certainly in HE this is more likely to be possible whereas the less seasoned student may well see learning as a case of memorising something.  If you think I am sitting on the fence here a bit I am, it’s not an easy question to answer.

Well I am off to see what my fellow students thought about this.  

Richardson, J.T.E. (2005) ‘Students’ approaches to learning and teachers’ approaches to teaching in higher education’, Educational Psychology, vol.25, pp.673–80; also available online at http://libezproxy.open.ac.uk/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com.libezproxy.open.ac.uk/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=18786906&site=ehost-live&scope=site