A Reflection on my UBIKO Experience.

A week or so ago I had the privilege of attending the UBIKO (which stands for ubiquitous technology enhanced learning) school in Oulu with my classmates.

UBIKO – for those of you that don’t know – is a pedagogical development project that uses many approaches in order to adapt school life to the needs of 21st century learning. The UBIKO project seeks to: develop the curriculum, find effective methods to promote self-regulation in primary school pupils, develop teamwork among teachers and enrich multi-locational learning in school context.

Question 1: How do you perceive/see the UBIKO environment?

As someone who is very much a novice teacher, I believe my original perceptions of the UBIKO environment would of been very shallow if it wasn’t for the pamphlet and presentation we were given. It was only due to the guidance and teaching of an expert that I was able to see all the underlying changes to traditional school life and understand what their purpose was.

However, after following up the tour with self study at home, I feel confident that I can somewhat analyze the changes to the traditional school environment made by the UBIKO program.

The first thing I noticed was that there were many communal places in the school: there was a ship filled with cushions where the students were able to sit in groups comfortably, there were also two more traditional rooms that contained a circular table with chairs and, finally, in the classrooms the desks were able to be easily rearranged into whatever order the students wished them to be. Hence, due to the many communal places at hand, the students are given many opportunities to think and reason together in environments that they find the most stimulating (which promotes co-regulation).

Secondly, I realized that students were actually given a lot of choice when it came to learning. Not only were they able to choose the location and modify the environment, but they were also able to choose whether they wanted to work in pairs, groups or alone in a technology enhanced environment (which promotes socially shared regulation).

Finally, something that I found really interesting, was how the emphasis on the teachers’ role in supporting the pupils’ self-regulation processes – rather than merely traditionally teaching facts at the front of the class.

Personally, as someone who was taught in a traditional manner, it was easy to notice the changes that were present in the UBIKO school. Although my original understanding of how the changes could benefit the students was pretty shallow – after guidance and self study I feel that I am better able to evaluate learning environments.

For example, when evaluating learning environments, I must pay attention to the extent with which students are able to modify and shape their environment (which supports the promotion of SRL), their opportunities to work collaboratively together (shared regulation) and how easily/effectively students can receive feedback/help on their work (teachers fostering self-regulation). If I can see that the learning environment is meeting such criteria,  I would be able to suggest that students’ SRL was being facilitated. Due to this, the students’ future learning in higher education might improve as they would become better self-regulated learners than those taught with only traditional methods.

Question 2: How are the UBIKO ideas transferable to other context? Choose the context.

It is important to mention, as Bransford and Schwartz (1999) highlight, that previous knowledge learned is not always directly applicable to other contexts. We must do more that simply replicate knowledge (“knowing that”) or apply knowledge (“knowing how”) to new contexts – we must think, perceive and judge with everything that we have learned before when faced with a new problem (“knowing with”). Therefore, it would be erroneous of me to directly apply the UBIKO ideas to a different context. However, I can use what I have learned from the UBIKO program to help me approach other problems.

For example, I could use the ideas of the UBIKO project to tackle a problems in a work place context. I could consider how UBIKO provided many different places for students to work together collaboratively (promoting co and shared regulation) and then see if the same approach (providing multiple places for people to meet) would also work in helping to promote a good community amongst work colleagues.

Another example, could be allowing workers to construct/modify their working environment. By doing this we could see if it has any affect on the quality of work being produced, the speed with which the work is produced or the happiness of employees (much in the same way that allowing a flexible environment promotes SRL in students).

Final Statement.

All in all I found my trip to the UBIKO school to be very enlightening. Although I am still very far away from being able to call myself an expert in such things  – I feel that after my visit and following self study – I am better able to perceive what constructs a positive learning environment and how to manufacture a similar learning environment in the future (paying attention to students’ opportunities to moderate their environment and regulate their own/each others learning).

Reading:

Bransford, J. D. & Schwartz, D. L. (1999). Chapter 3: Rethinking Transfer: A Simple Proposal With Multiple Implications. Review of Research in Education, 24(1), 61–100. DOI:10.3102/0091732X024001061

Schempp, P. G & Johnson, S. W. (2006). Learning to see: Developing the perception of an expert teacher. Journal of Physical Education, Recreation & Dance, 77(6), 29–33.

Global Perspectives on the Educational use of ICT

Today we were put into groups where we each presented articles we had read in our spare time. The articles all discussed the global perspectives on the educational use of ICT. After presenting the articles within our groups, each group collaboratively made a SWOT analysis poster (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats) – which we then presented to the whole class.

My groups poster:

We started by defining a few strengths that ICT brings to education:

• open source software makes the cost of using EdTech very cheap – as open source software is quite literally free. Meaning that institutions only need to pay for the technological equipment in order to take advantage of the software.
• with the use of the internet it’s easier to perform collaborative learning globally – as students anywhere in the world are able to communicate with each other instantaneously through such applications as Google Drive.
• feedback in on work/ideas is facilitated with EdTech – again thanks to the internet easing communication between students and teachers via the use of e-mail or dedicated school/university websites or web mail.
• software can be created to suit the needs of the learner – for example, a dyslexic university student could be given a program facilitating their essay writing. Such things would allow students with learning problems to progress without the need for assistance from others – which they may tend not to accept as they find asking for help embarrassing.

Afterwards we considered what opportunities ICT offers education:

• education is more accessible world wide through the net – as online courses make education available to students who may live in remote locations.
• if open source software increases then educational technology will spread faster as the software is free – meaning that, once again, beneficial educational tools reach more people which then promotes and allows effective education to be taught.
• as educational technology spreads the internet will allow students to test their ideas against other cultures – which will help to promote growth and understanding around the world.

After tackling the positive aspects of ICT in education we took time to look at the negatives that come with it. Starting with the weaknesses:

• teachers may know how to use technology but do not understand how to use technology – but they don’t understand how to use it pedagogically. This can be seen as a weakness as teachers may use technology inappropriately, which in turn may hinder or even hurt the learning of the students.
• not only teachers but students themselves might use technology inappropriately. As, for example, students might use the technology assigned to them to play games or check facebook – instead of using it to complete the task at hand. Which, again, would hamper or hurt their learning.
• there might also be problems when it comes to providing the same level of educational technology between urban and rural areas due to lack of technology/infrastructure in the more rural locations.

Finally we took a look at the threats technology poses when integrating it into education:

• the current economical climate around the world means that – in the future – educational ICT might not be properly supported if another recession occurs. For example, technology previously purchased could break and schools would not be able to afford the maintenance costs in order to repair it.
• the benefits of ICT might be misunderstood when it comes to learning. Meaning that we might end up discovering that we have misused it in some way.
• we could also end up impairing our ability to learn effectively without technology in the future – if we become too over reliant on its use.

Personally, I believe that the potential benefits technology brings to education are far too great to be ignored. Speaking as someone who was bed ridden for a lengthy period of time at one point in my life – the correct use of educational ICT allowed me to finish my studies and graduate from my previous institution on time due to the online facilities that my university had. Without them, it may have taken me up to an extra year or two to reach where I am today.

Although I can admit that weaknesses are indeed present when it comes to the educational use of ICT – I feel that most of them are fairly easy to remedy. For instance: teachers themselves can be taught the best way to use ICT pedagogically, students can be monitored when using technology to make sure they do not misuse it and if a funding plan is properly produced by the government – technology could be distributed adequately between both rural and urban areas. However, I still harbour some concerns that the overuse of technology could result in some unavoidable negative effects; I fear that people may become too reliant on technology and there is also the very real threat that, by introducing technology to schools, students may come to physically harm themselves from over using technology if they use it both at home and in school (indeed, eye strain is something that I myself suffered from during the time I was bed ridden).

Regardless, as long as EdTech is used appropriately and in moderation – I think it is very beneficial to the future of education.

Updated Mindmap:

My Growing Understanding on EdTech and the Pedagogical use of ICT.

In our last Introduction to Learning and Educational Technology lesson we were organized into groups where we each took turns to present our selected chapters (1, 3, 6 or 9) from the book “How People Learn” by Bransford, Brown and Cocking (2000) to the rest of the group.

Unfortunately, after getting quite lost in the University, I arrived a bit late and ended up joining some group already in progress. Luckily I had chosen Chapter 1 – so I didn’t miss much as I joined halfway through Chapter 3 being explained. However, by the time we were finishing Chapter 6 I realized that the group I joined had no one who had read Chapter 9! Coincidentally, the chapter which most covers the use of EdTech…unlucky! So, after reading the chapter myself, I will proceed to reflect upon what I’ve learned about EdTech.

From what I gathered during my reading, technology has many uses in facilitating learning which I will try to organize into key points:

1. Technology can be used to bring real world problems into the classroom. For example, by using computer simulations and electronic communications, students can be connected to practitioners in all types of different academic or work related fields whilst being provided with virtual simulations in which they have to solve actual problems. So, unlike typical school classrooms, where you spend the majority of the lesson learning facts from a lecture or text before doing problems at the end – technology can be used to create an active learning environment in which students are given the chance to tackle realistic problems. In doing this students can come to better understand workplaces (via contact with practitioners) and are also given the chance to revisit the learning environments in order to test new ideas and/or receive feedback; which, again, produces an active learning environment.

2. Technologies’ ability to function as a scaffold and tool to help students solve problems. These “technological scaffolds” can be anything from spreadsheets or calculators to modeling programs which create and test complex models of phenomena. In having these extra tools students become less reliant on teacher assistance and are able to enhance their academic performance in a subject. However, the mere presence of these tools in a classroom does not mean that student performance will improve; for they need to be integrated into the curriculum and used properly.

3. Technology makes it far easier for teachers to send students feedback on their work and to help students revise their thinking. I feel the first point is self-explanatory to a certain extent: teachers are far more able to communicate with their students due to the internet. Whereas before feedback might solely be confided to the classroom or from receiving teacher comments on essays or homework – now, for example, most schools and universities have their own e-mailing systems which provide a constant source of contact between teachers and their students. In addition to helping teachers keep in contact with their students the internet can also help students to reflect/revise on their work/thinking. E.g., there can be webpages dedicated solely to the discussion of work done in class or on the course for the students. This allows for a close knit community to be formed where students can bounce their ideas off each other or share their work in order to receive feedback on it from other students (which promotes reflexive thinking amongst students and also allows them to revise their work without assistance from he teacher).

4. Technology helps to connect classrooms to the community. Much as discussed in the paragraph above – where technology can help to set up online groups/websites where students can discuss their work – technology can also be used to set up similar groups/websites for parents so they can also be included in their child’s education to a greater extent (allowing them to be informed on school events, assignments and other important information). This is important as student achievement in school also depends on what happens outside of school (if their learning in school is being supported at home).

5. Again, in the same way that technology helps students and parents communicate and reflect, it can also provide the same medium for teachers to interact. By use of technology teachers can set up online workshops, share documents and conduct collaborative investigations; hence, teachers themselves are able to improve the manner in which they teach as they reflect on their own work and receive feedback from their peers.

From these points we can see that technology is an important tool in helping to facilitate learning. It should also be noted that the points I’ve discussed above are very brief and that there are many more ways in which technology can be used to enhance learning.

However, at this current point in time, technologies’ main function in education seems to be in creating information networks and not necessarily in its ability to be used as an effective pedagogical tool. Certainly from my education thus far I’ve encountered few times in which technology was implemented in the classroom as a pedagogical tool (other than being used as a whiteboard or projector). Mostly technology has been used in my own educational progress as a platform in which I was able to find information, receive feed back, discuss ideas whilst reflecting on my own work with other students. So, my growing understanding is that I believe technology still has a long way to go before its usefulness is fully utilized as a pedagogical tool; although I maintain that technology still plays a very large and useful role in helping to facilitate learning at this current point in time.

A quick mindmap on the topic: