eLearning PLD. Addressing the Specific Needs of Learners

Our third session looking at learner need vs technology. We wanted to carry on with the theme that we are trying to change teacher mindsets away from 'I have this technology I want to use' to 'I have these learning needs, I wonder what technology can help enhance this learning'. It's easier said than done.

After discussing the reading (see blog post), we thought it was important to re-introduce the idea of the SAMR model. Its not new, but the message that we can be using the technology for more than just digital worksheets is an important one. We quickly took the staff through a learning activity (publishing writing) at each step of the SAMR model. Again, nothing earth-shattering, but it showed people that with a little thought a common learning activity can become much more collaborative, creative, and be more readily shared outside of the classroom. We used Explain Everything as the technology as it is something our staff are familiar with.

We had asked them to bring along some use of e-learning from their everyday practice. Not the fancy, awesome one-off thing that had been amazing...just something that they do often. In pairs we discussed these...the person had to share the learning need, and explain how the technology helped address that need. We then discussed against the SAMR model, where was the learning sitting. This was good, it made people think about what the actually did...and make some judgements around that.

We then shifted the conversation to be more future-focussed...how could we take the same learning, same use of the technology, and more it further up the SAMR Model. The example I had brought along was using Padlet for generating and brainstorming words, and ideas, in writing. We thought that as it was able to be accessed from anywhere, and that the kids had made sentence examples for each of the words that it was probably A on the model, augmentation. Better than paper, but not heaps.

The next steps for me are to try and use video/audio in the padlet to show how the words sounded, or to illustrate the words better. And to think about embedding the padlet in the boys blogs so a) they can access it readily, and b) their audience can see the types of words/ideas they should have been attempting to use.