18. Barriers to the effective use of technology in education.
I love the way that a web search sends you off on tangents - it forces you to do lateral thinking whether you want to, or not. I started wanting to know about barriers to the effective use of technology, but found myself wasting time looking at mostly irrelevant pages and blog posts.
That said, you do end up learning things even if they're not the right things. So, I found myself looking at an online trade magazine called Installation, which is aimed at the people who sell hardware to colleges and schools.
Holographic screens? Amazing, but not relevant to what I'm about here. What is interesting is an article title 'Education Technology Trends 2015', which looks at what is likely to sell well this year. By the way, knowledge sharing and video are the magazine's top tips.
But it also talks to educators about what is most important to them and says that reliability is the No.1 issue. One interviewee stresses that teachers don't have time to waste on tech that doesn't work and adds that they must see benefits in something new, or they won't use it.
It got me working on this octopus of a mind map using Coggle. It's a big subject, but only part of it has a direct bearing on someone in my situation.
I think I can do something about at least three of the items at the end of those arrows. By 'teacher attitude' I mean that resistance to change can be a barrier, so my openness to change and readiness to try new things can make a difference.
That can also play into what I've termed the 'institution's attitude to change'. Much of that will come from a college's leaders, but staff views and opinions will also make a contribution.
Lastly, there's 'teacher confidence'. How confident - or not - I feel about using technology is partly about how well I've been trained to use it.
But it's also about putting in the time to find my way around whatever that new tech is (like I had to do with this blog a few months ago). Being ready to make a few mistakes, but to learn from them.
Sources:
Installation, www.installation-international.com (Accessed 21.1.15)
4. Mind maps, on paper and not
Quite a learning curve here. I'm in a group that's completely at ease with the idea of mind-mapping - who isn't?
So it's a bit embarrassing to be the one who has to ask what a mind map is. Time for some catch-up.
Reading around the subject today I've discovered that the original mind map lightbulb moment is claimed by a UK psychologist called Tony Buzan and that it happened more than 40 years ago. Maybe they were around when I was last in education (about three decades ago) and I've just forgotten all about them.
Before coming to any judgement about the usefulness of mind-mapping software I felt I needed to go right back to basics and try it out for myself with paper and pen. As my starting point I used an Open University how-to guide.
And to make the exercise as real as possible I applied the technique to a 'real world' test of a current work project, a commissioned article on the Highland midge. The publisher has asked for breadth rather than depth, so it seemed like a good way to gauge my existing knowledge and identify where I'll need to fill gaps with fresh research.
What I've come up with is scruffy, but it took hardly any time to assemble and the experience has overcome my initial scepticism. Is it better than the simple list I would usually start with? I think it is.
For example, I'd have put 'farming' on a list but when I added to the map it prompted questions about other outdoor workers. That resulted in the addition of forestry workers, who might not have figured in a list.
Would the process have been better if I'd used an online tool? That's for the next 'experiment'. In the meantime I've looked at a few and found they have strengths and weaknesses.
At the moment these are my frontrunners:
Bubbl.us
Coggle
Popplet
But before I'm ready to unleash them on students I'm going to have to feel more comfortable with the tool - and the concept. As a first step I'm going some of the way by planning in a session with Padlet.
It's not a mind mapping tool, but does share some of the features. It is more like an online pin board that allows students to collaborate - I've had a go at putting a wall together for one of my favourite destinations.
It looks like this:
On the face of it I think it's just the thing for my Leisure & Tourism group to work with on their capital city project. Searching for facts, images and video and then prioritising what should go where should be a useful learning experience.
Source:
Tony Buzan www.tonybuzan.com (Accessed November 10, 2014)
Open University, Information Skills for Researchershttp://www.open.ac.uk/infoskills-researchers/developing-mindmapping.htm (accessed November 10, 2014)
