Module - Course Reflection and Feedback

In this module, I learnt about the iLE@RN model and Blooms Digital Taxonomy that was revised by Andrew Churches.

This final module asked me to reflect and consider the following questions which I will now answer.

(ii) Consider the following:
the iLE@RN skills that need to be addressed prior to students using Web 2 tools:

• communication and collaboration skills
• questioning skills
• reflective skills
• creative thinking skills
• critical thinking skills
• multimodal literacy skills

Web 2 tools and joint knowledge construction

• creating new knowledge
• it's not about disseminating topic content
• drawing together existing knowledge to create a new understanding

Below is the iLE@RN model





I have looked at the iLE@RN model and have applied it to my subject area Food Technology. The iLE@RN model will be now analysed according to the Design Cycle that is used in my school for Years 7 to 10. All students work with this model.

The Design Cycle

The iLE@RN model fits in perfectly with The Design Cycle.  The Design Cycle has five steps, which are Investigate, Design, Plan, Create and Evaluate. In the iLE@RN model, the Investigate stage would be the questioning skills, the design stage would be the critical thinking and problem solving skills and also communication and collaboration skills. The critical thinking and problem solving skills also is in  the planning and in the create stage, where students plan their time with an Excel gantt chart and a table then create and make their product. Finally the evaluation stage is the reflective skills in the iLE@RN model. The multimodal skills in the iLE@RN model would be where students use a range of digital technology to create their product and also to evaluate their product.

Students can use Web 2.0 tools such as Survey Monkey or Kwik survey to obtain information on their finished product. The survey can be shared and sent to the target market to find out whether the student has achieved a product that satisfies this market.

Students can show the process of the creation of their product by using digital media such as using a video with a voice over and text. This can then be shown to the class. This is again fulfilling the iLE@RN model of a community of learners. Students can share their videos with each other using links and email and a wiki site.

Students have shown photos of the creation of their products using the camera on their mobile phones. This was sent to other students and also to family members as students have people in their lives that they want to share their success in learning with.

I have had students in my Year 10 class take photos on their mobile phone and send them straight to their parents. There were cake photos being sent around the room using mobile phones.
 Students want to share their finished products such as a decorated cake or a salad they have made in class. The feedback is instant. The student is engaged in their learning space  and this is what the iLE@RN model aims to achieve. Their success has been shared with others using Web 2.0 tools such as Flickr and Twitter.

Cookie Monster cake made by a Year 10 student in my class.

Multimodal Literacy according to Wikipedia is the new literacies made possible by digital technology. Its definition according to Wikipedia is below:




The multimodal literacy of students include the use of forums for discussing and questioning and investigating the design brief (the task given for students to design) and blogging to document their journey with their designs throughout the design cycle. Students can use Google Docs to share and collaborate information on their design ideas.

The creation of a final design requires students to be "knowledge creators and managers".  They reflect and obtain feedback on their final products that they have designed by using Web 2.0 online surveys and also teacher feedback. The teacher can also monitor the blog that students write as they progress through the design cycle. The teacher can comment on the blog as well, which gives students instant feedback.

Web 2.0 applications can be accessed anytime, anywhere as long as there is an internet connection or wifi.  Students have access to knowledege and resources online and can access research from a wide variety of sources.

The only problem that I have that I can see that is missing from the iLE@RN model is that there needs to be a section where students are critical evaluators of sources of digital information. The model needs to include a section where students are active and engaged learners of critically analysing appropriate sources of information. Having digital literacy skills of sifting through information on the internet and determining which information is valid and true can be of a concern to educators as students (although they are digital natives) may not have the skills to distinguish information that is relevant and information that based on opinion. Educating students on how to distinguish information that is sound and relevant is important. Not everything that is read on the Internet is necessarily true and students need to be educated to be able to source appropriate sources of information.

I would like to see students still use the library and be able to look up relevant books written by experts on the field that they are studying rather than just look up everything on the Internet.

While students are Global Citizens (as they are now called "digital natives" a term referred to a person that has grown up with digital technology and has never known life before the digital revolution), I believe that they need to educated and practice morals and values of their Catholic faith as do other people of their faiths around the world. What is appropriate content on the Internet may not be appropriate in other cultures. Students need to be educated on appropriate content of their postings as to not offend other cultures around the world.

There therefore needs to be education on how to become a Global Citizen and etiquette on the Internet regarding the postings and comments that reflect the students values and the teaching of the Church.

Web 2 and Bloom's Taxonomy - Blooms Digitally

(i) Please review to the following professional resources (see the properties in left-hand column of this course):

Bloom's Taxonomy - Blooms Digitally
Bloom's digital taxonomy map

• Do you find this adaptation of Blooms to digital technology helpful in planning your curriculum? Where would you place other tools such as Second Life, Flikr or Mind mapping on this map?

Below is a screen shot of Bloom's Revised Taxonomy.

Above : Blooms Taxonomy

The Bloom's Taxonomy model shows a heirarchy from lower order to higher order thinking. The lower order thinking must be achieved before the higher order thinking levels are acquired.

I will now apply Bloom's Taxonomy to making cakes as I am a Food Technology teacher.
The student can start off by remembering, listing and naming types of cakes, then he/she can understand and explain how cakes are made. After that, the student can apply his/her knowledge and make a cake,  analyse the result, obtain feedback and evaluation. This evaluation will enable the student to reflect on their knowledge and understanding of cake making.

When the process of lower order to higher order thinking has been experienced by the student, the student can then apply all that he/she has learnt about making cakes to make the best cake possible. He/she can come up with further solutions that are the most appropriate (based on previous learning).

The next model that I will comment on is Blooms Digital Taxonomy model that has been revised by Andrew Churches.





The revised Bloom's Digital Taxonomy by Andrew Churches is good in that he has followed the ideas of Bloom's Revised Taxonomy and included verbs that describe digital lower order thinking skills to higher order thinking skills.


I do not agree with his model by placing the key term of creating at the top of Bloom's Digital Taxonomy. In the Design process that I have applied previously, you can see that creating is before evaluating. Based on the Design Cycle, evaluating should be throughout the whole process (from lower order to higher order thinking). Each level of thinking digitally needs to be evaluated before the next level is achieved. The top of the heirarchy in Bloom's Digital Taxonomy should be evaluation.

Creating and evaluating are higher order processes of thinking, however, once a student has created their digital product or code (programming, filming, animating, blogging, podcasting) then they need to analyse the results of this creation.

I think Bloom's Digital Taxonomy is helpful in planning the curriculum in that there are lower order digital thinking skills that need to be achieved before higher order ones can be reached. For example, students need to know how to use google and bookmarking before they can obtain and compile research for their digital projects.


Where would I place Second Life, Flickr or mind mapping? 

I would place mind mapping in the "Understanding" stage as it involves coming up with different ideas from your googling, searching and bookmarking.

 Flickr involves uploading photos, tagging and catergorising photos and videos. It also allows people to comment on your photos and videos after you have shared them. You can also comment on other people's photos. I would put Flickr in the "Applying" stage in Blooms Digital Taxonomy.

Second Life involves higher order thinking and evaluating. I would put Second Life in the "Creating" stage of Bloom's Digital Taxonomy. It involves analysing and evaluating and creating. For example, in Second Life you take on the identity of an Avatar. You create the role of the Avatar, step into the shoes of this Avatar and analyse situations and evaluate results. You could be flying around the St Marks Basilica in Venice, looking at the mosaics, analysing the colours and evaluating the artists work.

Create a final blog post about your learning discoveries and reflections 

 The Web 2.0 course has introduced me to many new Web 2.0 tools that I did not know existed. I have learnt about free Web 2.0 tools such as Glogster. I even got a comment on Module 5 from a person from the Glogster EDU team! That means my blog reached far and wide. It's my first time that I have written a blog and I learnt how to set up a blog and resize the width of the writing area so it is wider. I researched this using You Tube. I find that videos are much better than just written instructions for me when I am learning.

I also found the videos that this course had were very good. However, I did supplement the videos, as you would have read in my blogs with further videos to enable me to clarify my understanding.
I learnt how to do a mind map using Bubbl.us and also make a Prezi presentation.

I thought the course learning Web page should be updated to include 2012 course blogs (or blog of the week) after all, it should be up to date in this digital world. The course sample modules of work to comment on were from 2010 and 2009.

I learnt about RSS feeds and how to include up to date information on websites and blogs that I am interested in.

I have been happy to learn that a blog can take lots of images and writing and does not say "no more space or GB's left" as an error message when I have tried to write or send a large file on the internet via email.

I have enjoyed communicating my journey of Web 2.0 and my learning with blogging. I have always enjoyed writing and have heard about blogging but didn't know how to start. It was all very simple by just joining.

I will now able to pass my learning of Web 2.0 onto my students. They of course teach me a lot as well as they are digital natives!

I am very eager to develop my skills at making my website. I hope to have my first website that I can share with family and friends and then apply these skills to making a website for teaching and learning for my students.

Thank you for enabling me to do this course as I am a contract and casual teacher and I often miss out on courses. I am grateful that this course will be of benefit both to me and my students now and in the future.