Web-spaces and classrooms? Can they benefit our students and create 21st century learners?

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What are web-spaces and how can teachers incorporate them in the classroom?

If you asked me my knowledge of web-spaces three weeks ago I would tell you I know how to google something, shop online and I may be slightly addicted to social media but create my own blog or website, no way! Now today here I am writing my second blog post with new found knowledge and amazement about how I will incorporate technology into my classroom in the future.

So if you are like me you might just be asking yourself what exactly are web-spaces and how do they benefit students and teachers in the classroom? There are three main types of web-spaces that can be used in the classroom: websites, blogs and wiki.

The first is websites, let's be real we all use websites daily, who doesn't have an online shopping addiction these days, but did you know that websites weren't always as interactive as they are now. This is because websites are static and viewers can not contribute to the content displayed on a website it is purely there for viewing or interacting with if the website allows.
The second is blogging, blogging allows individuals an online voice, think of it like a digital diary or reflection journal. blogs are normally single-author and publish the authors posts chronologically while also allowing interaction with others through comments and likes.
The third and last web-space is wiki, unlike blogs and websites wiki allows multiple authors to edit the page, think of this as an online butchers paper that allows interaction and each persons thoughts or ideas to be added to the page. This means unlike a blog there is no chronological order users can simply edit the page through erasing, amending or adding.

Now you are caught up with what a webspace is, you might be thinking that sounds great but how does this help students learn? Web-spaces can benefit students learning in many ways previously not possible.

Some of these benefits include:

• Giving students access to alternative resources outside of the classroom
• Allows learner-centred, authentic collaboration and flexibility of achieving a task in variety of ways
• Moves the teacher to become a facilitator no longer just an expert of knowledge
• Learners become creators and publishers of knowledge that can be shared with a wide audience no longer restricted by the 4 walls of a classroom.

Even though there is a multitude of benefits that come with in cooperating web-spaces in the classroom teachers must also be mindful of ensuring students remain safe while working online. It is our job as teachers to ensure that students understand the risks associated with sharing their life online and that we show them safe ways to engage and learn online. Matthew Riddle has a great article showing how communication is vital and it is our responsibility to talk to students about cybersecurity helping kids meet cybersecurity challenges head on.

What I have learnt about blogging so far:

Flickr: https://www.flickr.com/photos/somewhatfrank/251789400

If you asked me how to blog three weeks ago I would be reaching for the above book, I had no idea! The first challenge I faced was how to create a user-name and what to call my blog. Overall creating a blog is a simple task all it takes is an email address, lucky for teachers all students generally have a school email address to use. Now the fun or challenging part I soon discovered is how many different layouts and themes you can add to your blog to make it individualised. Choosing a theme is a simple task with blogger having serval pre-made themes ready to select. Changing the layout also easy however can be confusing as I found if you do not understand what each part of the blog is called or represents. This is something I am still navigating my way through.
So how can blogs further support students in the classroom. There are multiple benefits to using blogs in the classroom the first is how it could improve student's literacy and standard of writing, as they are now required to post their work online for others to see. The second added benefit is that students can now share their ideas and knowledge with people outside of the classroom by simply sharing their blog URL. The third and most valuable benefit for students is the ability to receive feedback from not only other students but also individuals from anywhere in the world! Lastly one of my favourite benefits of blogs for students is the ability to make it individualised, students can choose to add in images, videos or articles they have found along the way while creating their post giving it an authentic feel but also allowing them to explore concepts further.

So how will I be using blogs in the classroom?

Using the SAMR model to design a task that incorporates web-spaces into a unit a work could look something like this:

Unit topic - The Periodic Table

SUBSTITUTION: Use of PowerPoint to teach content knowledge, allowing students to research an element on the internet instead of using a textbook.

AUGMENTATION: Allowing students to take notes on their laptops, students to create their own PowerPoint slide on an element from the periodic table. This allows students to use functions such as spell check, add in images.

MODIFICATION: Get students to create a blog post on their element and provide feedback to other students.

REDEFINITION: Create a class google site page with each student designing and adding their element from the periodic table so that every element from the periodic table is represented on the webpage and can be shared as a revision tool for students over the unit.

As you can see there are multiple ways to include web-spaces in the classroom, it comes down to having the confidence to give it a go, you never know how it may benefit your students and help them become the 21st century learners we need in the future.                                                        

The contemporary teacher and learner

One of the biggest questions of education - Are teachers up to teaching and making an impact on the contemporary learner?

As a preservice teacher currently in my last semester of studies, I myself am currently a contemporary learner and teacher, but let me tell you school has change a lot since I graduated in 2010! Students these days have access to any information they desire on the internet at the click of a button on their smart phone. 
This adds an additional level of pressure for teachers to find ways to keep students motivated and engaged while in their classroom.

So how do we keep our students engaged and interested in what we have to say?

It all comes down to the delivery, relevance and ensuring our students are prepared for the 21st century. Technology may just be one answer to ensuring school stays relevant and engaging. ICT can make an impact on not only your students but how you can deliver a lesson to students.  The use of ICT in classrooms gives students access to learning through a variety of ways and from experts all around the world that previously would not have been possible.

We all know that as incredible as technology in the classroom can be it is not without it's challenges. Using ever advancing technology in the classroom can be intimidating for teachers as students can know so much more than them. However this does give us teachers an advantage of allowing students to become the leaders of their own learning, it can give them the confidence they need to lead from the front and actively get involved in their learning. 

Myself as a Contemporary Teacher?

Myself I am excited to implement digital learning and teaching into the classroom where possible. I am looking forward to continuing to build my knowledge in digital learning and how I can include this to ensure students have a positive experience with ICT in my classroom and hopefully learn a skill or two that will help them on their journey as a 21st century student.

An important part of being a contemporary teacher is having the ability to change, adapt and continue to improve both my digital and creative pedagogy. Completing the unit Digital Learning and Teaching will help to build my skills and confidence to implement digital pedagogy in the most effective and successful way in my future classes. I also hope that throughout this unit I can learn how to utilise technology to it full capacity in my classroom, more than taking a teacher centred approach of simply using PowerPoint presentations and YouTube videos.

My current view on technology overall is it is amazing and necessary until it doesn't work then everything become so much harder! There never seems to be a back up plan for when technology fails us! However when looking at including technology in the classroom the benefits far outweigh any negatives there is. However like everything there is a time and place for technology and it's important that teachers learn to get the balance right on how often and when to use technology is used in the classroom.

Who is the contemporary learner?

Introducing Gen Z! 

Gen Z learners have access to any information they want at the click of a button, this means they come into the classroom with greater knowledge than previous students, the ability to fact check what teachers tell them, but also a reduced attention span. This means the traditional view of teachers hold all the knowledge is no longer the case and students can know as much if not more than teachers. For teachers this means they need to find ways to keep students engaged and continue to grow their curiosity while in their classroom.

When looking at how linear and progressive single learning outcome the curriculum  is, we need to ensure that as teachers we allows students to follow their interests and bring creativity into the classroom all while meeting the increasing demands of high content delivery and specific assessment in a compressed 10 week school term. This challenges teachers to be creative enough to bring the curriculum to life through real world examples and experiences so students can connect what they are learning with their future and current interest and knowledge, all while meeting the demands of the curriculum.