Using Blogs in Education

A way of using a blog with learners is in regard to Engagement Theory's Relate component, that is, Collaboration. I am thinking in terms of motivating high school learners to learn, or supporting high school learners in their learning. For my purposes today, students needing motivation would be those who are disengaged from the traditional school environment - those who do not like school but are still wanting to learn, but wanting to learn about their chosen career directly. For my purposes today, learners needing support are those who require extension, that is, advanced learners.

I would use the Collaboration element of a blog as the communication backbone for all related activity. Collaborating on a blog can have these learners working with others from different backgrounds, with multiple perspectives. This is an extra something they could not otherwise learn from and about in the high school context. Additionally, collaborating on a blog can provide a meaningful link between the learner, the subject, and the practical outside-of-classroom context, in this case, the particular career. Incidentally, this is the Donate component of Engagement Theory.

My learner would involve him/herself in a university or TAFE course via an established blog (by the learning institution or its learners), or via one established by him/herself and connected to the institution. A couple of TAFE career choices I am considering presently are hospitality and mechanics. Bloggers - lecuturers and learners - can swap, discuss, and debate ideas, in an intellectual way, in this case about food science or mechanical systems. The discourse is purposeful and meaningful. It is challenging. My learners are involving themselves with lecturers who are direct from the hospitality and mechanics industries, and older learners with the different backgrounds and multiple perspectives.

My intention is for my learners to stay in school and not drop out because they are bored by the predictable and uninspriring nature - how they perceive it, anyway - of the learning there. My intention is to have them see they have options and are not condemned to a school life of frustration. The blog is a tool where I can have my learners collaborating with like-minded people. The blog can open up a collaborative world of interest and wonder to them which they would otherwise not experience. I would hope my learners can persist with school, then, using school as a stepping stone to this other, more exciting world.



Kearsley, G., & Shneiderman, B. (1999). Engagement theory: A framework for technology-based teaching and learning [Electronic Version]. Retrieved July 18, 2009, from
http://home.sprynet.com/%7Egkearsley/engage.htm

Using WIKIs in Education

Daniel Nations (About.com Web Trends) points out that what makes a WIKI tick is collaboration. It pools together the knowledge of a group of people to create the best possible resource. In other words, a WIKI is a medium in which networks and partnerships can be established and learned from. Along with many other things, with Wikidot (Wikidot in Education) a WIKI may be used to create and edit pages with others, and start common-created projects and collaboration. You can upload files, images, and documents, and organise the site with categories, lists, and menus. The underlying theory applicable here is Engagement Theory. My class would use the WIKI technology to Relate (the learning would occur in a collaborative group context), Create (the learning would be project-based), and to Donate (the learning would have an outside, authentic focus). I envisage my class running a newspaper on a WIKI using all these attributes and components. Importantly, the authenticity of the learning is intended to contribute to deep learning in and better understanding of all elements, that is, of journalism and the ICT used.

Taking on roles such as editor and reporter, my learners would collaborate with outside-of-the-classroom experts. Here, I am thinking about editors of newspapers like The Morning Bulletin to collaborate with the learners as 'guest editor' and mentor. Learners may invite real reporters to 'guest report' and mentor, also. learner reporters would post their stories to the WIKI pages, adding images etc to support the stories. Links would be established also to support stories. The learner editor would design the categories, lists, and menus.

I can envisage this being done with journalism learners of high school age, particularly. Along with learning skills before beginning a university journalism program, they can begin establishing important networks and partnerships with those already in the field earlier than they otherwise would have, that is, before university.



Aldred, S. (2007). Why should schools develop networks? Posted December 6, 2007, in Gladstone industry-school partnerships. Retrieved July 24, 2009, from
http://gladstoneschoolpartnerships.blogspot.com/

Kearsley, G., & Schneiderman, B. (1999). Engagement theory: A framework for technology-based teaching and learning [Electronic Version]. Retrieved July 18, 2009, from
http://home.sprynet.com/%7Egkearsley/engage.htm

Nations, D. (n.d.). What is a wiki?. In About.com web trends. Retrieved August 5, 2009, from
http://webtrends.about.com/od/wiki/a/what_is_a_wiki.htm

Nations, D. (n.d.). Wikis in a nutshell. In About.com web trends. Retrieved August 5, 2009, from
http://webtrends.about.com/od/wiki/p/wiki_nutshell.htm

Nations, D. (n.d.). A wiki is collaborative. In About.com web trends. Retrieved August 5, 2009, from
http://webtrends.about.com/od/wiki/a/what_is_a_wiki_2htm

Wikidot in education. Retrieved August 5, 2009, from
http://www.wikidot.com/learnmore:education

Using YouTube in Education

This YouTube clip is Chris Brown apologising for being violent toward Rihanna, his girlfriend at the time.
The address also has pictures of Rihanna after the incident. She has bruises over her face.

I would use the clip for relationship studies, addressing domestic violence in that context.

I would aim the clip at year levels 7 - 12, and both genders.
This is a good clip to show the real consequences of domestic violence - the emotional and physical consequences, and the consequence, among others, being a damaged career. Chris Brown and Rihanna are music stars who learners of ages 12 to 17 would know of. This story was heavily publicised so many, if not all, learners are aware of it.



The medium of video gives learners a real and meaningful connection to the subject matter. My learners can see, first hand, behaviour and consequences. It is real. They can see all the emotions involved as well as related physical consequences. Video, then, is more effective than I when simply speaking or showing pictures.

I relate this scenario and context to Interpersonal, Intrapersonal and Emotional Intelligences. My outcome, here, is to have my learners realise domestic violence is wrong. I want them to be moved to distaste for domestic violence, and sympathy and pity. Learners who do have Interpersonal, Intrapersonal and/or Emotional intelligence/s are likely not to even need to see a video to achieve this outcome. They are already sensitised to and aware of their own feelings and concern for others. It is my learners who do not have these Intelligences that this video can stimulate mostly. It is so emotive it makes the viewer aware. When such thinking is unnatural, the video can be a catalyst for thinking in Interpersonal, Intrapersonal, and Emotional ways.



Birmingham Grid for Learning. (2009). Multiple intelligences. What are multiple intelligences. Retrieved July 18, 2009, from
http://www.bgfl.org/bgfl/custom/resources_ftp/client_ftp/ks1/i...

Test your emotional intelligence (EQ). Retrieved July 18, 2009, from
http://quiz.ivillage.co.uk/uk_work/tests/eqtest.htm

Using Avatars in Education

I am targeting very young learners in year levels 1 and 2 with this Voki Avatar. I would use it in the Engage phase of Problem Based Learning. My intention is to engage the very young learner with the talking and moving cartoon, and appeal to the very young child's fascination with dolphins. The dolphin is a likeable creature of the ocean which I am confident the very young would want to protect. Learners are engaged by this authentic (meaningful) setting for learning.

I give the learners a defined problem as a statement, then a question. Confronted with a real-world situation, I am placing the learners in an active role of 'problem solver'.

In this case, I would incorporate the Voki Avatar in a WebQuest which learners would work through to solve the defined problem. Learners would encounter this Voki Avatar at the very beginning of their Inquiry quest to hook them in.



Kearsley,G., & Schneiderman, B. (1999). Engagement theory: A framework for technology-based teaching and learning [Electronic Version]. Retrieved July 18, 2009, from
http://home.sprynet.com/%7Egkearsley/engage.htm