Blended learning is a new instructional strategy/model that is quickly increasing in popularity with education systems and educators across the world and country. This educational form could be defined as a combination of online learning and face-to-face learning (Itslearning Marketing, 2013). Students use computers for a minimum of twenty-five percent of their day but it is important to remember that during the time on computers in this learning model students are using technologies as a tool and learning from computers rather than learning about the computers (TEDx Talks, 2014). Blended learning does not have specific guidelines or rules as to how it should be worked into the classroom or what it should look like because there is no ‘best practice’ or ‘right way’ of incorporating blended learning in the classroom since it is such a new educational practice (TEDx Talks). This results in teachers being able to use this strategy in many different ways depending on what works with their students and how comfortable they feel with this educational model. The most important consideration for implementing blended learning in the classroom is that the teacher must find the perfect mix of online learning and face-to-face learning that promotes success and achievement in the classroom for both themselves and their students (Itslearning Marketing, 2013). I hope to show in my following points how crucial it is for blended learning to be implemented in the classroom and how I plan on using this educational model in my classroom.
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This week in my Digital and Media Literacy class, we took a close look at advertising. As a class we were asked to complete two of five activities that focused on deconstructing commercials and examining our own personal views on the implementation of technology in the classroom. Although both activities were very different from each other, the activities allowed me to think critically about how technology should be used and taught in the classroom.
In the first activity I was instructed to critically examine four advertising campaigns created by Dove that promotes the discussion of body image. I would then use these advertising campaigns to analyze the message using the 5 P's - product, purchaser, pitch, placement and presentation - and the key questions from R. Hobbs' work - authorship, purpose, message, meaning, representation, and reality. An example of one of these advertisements includes, the Dove Real Beauty Sketches - You're More Beautiful Than You Think. This activity is an excellent to show students as the process of deconstructing advertisements is an important skill for students to learn. When students are able to identify the persuasion techniques that are applied in advertising messages than students are increasing their critical and reflective thinking skills. By including this activity in my own classroom I would be providing a safe learning environment for my students to gain new understandings about how the internet and advertisements are used. The second activity was my favourite from the class. Here we were asked to complete a the Digital Learning Horoscope quiz, which provides you with a brief overview of your beliefs in regard to teaching students media in the classroom. After completing the quiz I was left wondering what this meant for how I would include media in my own classroom one day. This test provides information that I can use to challenge my own beliefs and forces me to reflect on why I have these beliefs. After taking this test I am left wondering how I could change my beliefs in order to improve my scoring while still staying in my comfort zone for implementing media literacy in my own classroom. Below are my results from the Digital Learning Horoscope quiz. Technology has become increasingly prevalent in our society and its growing presence is something that needs to be embraced in the elementary classroom setting. Teachers need to understand that technology is not going to disappear anytime soon, rather it will only develop and expand further into new technologies in the future. With this in mind teachers must realize that it is vital for students to have experience with current technologies and become media and digital literate in order to be able to succeed in the future. I hope to show that although the future of technology is unpredictable there are ways to prepare students for the future by re-imagining instruction and learning strategies.
It is our responsibility as teachers to prepare our students with the tools they will need to flourish in and out of the classroom both in the present and future. This can seem very overwhelming for educators because as Kurzweil explains technology is developing and changing at an increasingly rapid rate (2007). Along with this, Kurzweil points out that it is impossible to fully be able to predict what will be the technology of the future or how our students will be using technology when they are adults (2007). By integrating the current technology into the classroom it shows students that it is possible to use technology in new and creative ways which is something they will have to be able to do as technology advances in the future. In my opinion the best way to prepare students for the unknown is through an inquiry approach where teachers allow students to play around with technology and be creative; seeing how their imaginations lead them through the technology available. |
AuthorA teacher candidate exploring ideas from my education classes Archives
March 2016
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