Designing the Classroom Curriculum
What caught my attention was the election project that Venosdale ' s students organized in November ( with some artful facilitation by their teacher ). Using Skype , Twitter , blogs , Google docs , and other digital tools , they coordinated a mock presidential election (# KidVote ) that involved 30,000 students from all 50 states .’ ( Boss , 2013 )
The Connected Classroom ’ s internet connection , video camera , microphone , speakers , electronic whiteboard and computer combination extend the classroom beyond the confines of its four walls and limited static resources . Direct and live connections with authors , subject specialists , other schools and live events can all be built into the planning stages of lessons and extend the learning environment without leaving the classroom . The example from Krissy Venosdale ’ s classroom quoted above clearly demonstrates the possibilities that become available with a teacher ’ s imagination and planning , coupled to available communication technology . This also demonstrates the place for ‘ TPACK ’ within the modern teacher ’ s toolkit . This type of lesson makes the teacher aware of the inadequacies of the standard desks in a row seating arrangement . The classroom setting would hopefully become a changeable area fitted and set for the teaching situation of the moment . Of course , transforming the classroom is not a new concept ; for quite a number of years , teachers have been moving the furniture around to create different work areas ( e . g . consider drama lessons and music lessons ). Indeed some teachers have moved the actual location of the lesson outside the four walls of the classroom ( e . g . Biology lessons on the beach or by the river bank and photography lessons in the school grounds etc .) Relocation of the lesson is a recognition of the importance of the location of the lesson on it educational value and success , but also demonstrates increasing student involvement in the development and direction of such learning . Note in Boss ’ blog “ If they come up with a project question that requires the expertise of an astronaut , space engineer , or Egyptologist ….” ‘ they ’ is referring to the students who are taking an active part in selecting the content of the lesson , thus becoming more engaged with the lesson and creating a desire and an atmosphere of learning . It is also a start of the recognition the advantages of a cooperative learning environment . Once again the technology is point the move towards co-operative learning and therefore a move away from the individual desk row configuration of the classroom , with a sit up straight attention to the front mentality .
Personal
Learning Environments
Moving the idea of the learning area from the purely physical classroom setup to a more educational creative level will introduce the concept of ‘ Personal Learning Environments ( PLEs )’.
“ Personal Learning Environments ( PLE ) are systems that help learners take control of and manage their own learning . This includes providing support for learners to :
o set their own learning goals ( with the support of their teachers ) o manage their learning , both content and process o communicate with others in the process of learning ( Lang , n . d .)”
This definition is taken from the Innovative Methods for Award Procedures of ICT Learning in Europe ( IMAILE ) a joint project undertaken by a consortium of ten different European educational institutions aiming to develop PLEs for their students within schools . They see several benefits from the development and introduction of PLEs with a child ’ s educational setting . For instance PLEs can ;
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