Trust Family

How can a teacher use digital tools in pedagogically meaninful ways?

Today, we would like to show you how a coach can use digital tools in a pedagogically meaninful way. Is it possible? Yes! But it will demand lots of time for planning. So, we spend some time thinking about a good example for you. We made a collaborative ThingLink together to start the process and try to use this tool to motivate and to engage students through the learning process.

Openning

We proposed a central theme to integrate different areas and subjcets to explain our students how “Artificial Insemination Module” will be organized and how the teachers would assess students’ learning outcomes. At the end of this module, students must show specific competence (see below) when perfoming an artificial insemination.

Target of assessment	Criteria of assessment
	Satisfactory (1)	Good (2)	Excellent (3)
Planning an artificial insemination process, selecting correct supplies and tools	works according to requeriments, needing ocasional supervision	works according to requeriments, mainly independently	works independently according to requeriments, avoiding to waste supplies
Etics, health, safety and ability to take action	works according to etics and safety guidelines of the work environments, needing guidance	works according to etics and safety guidelines of the work environments, mainly independently	works independently according to etics and safety guidelines of the work environments
Good hygiene practice during the artificial insemination process	works according to hygiene requeriments, needing ocasional supervision.	works according to hygiene requeriments, mainly independently.	works independently  according to hygiene  requeriments.
Using softwares to mannage the artificial insemination process	uses the information technology needed in his/her work, needing occasional supervision	uses the information technology needed in his/her work, partly independently	uses the information technology needed in his/her work independently

Running the project (example)

Presenting the project to students

Dear students, at first you must explore the Thinklink below. There, you will find tips for help you out to learn about Artificial Insemination and some themes related, such as hygene, planning and fertilization process. After that, we will perform this at the lab, using sperm and cows. For you enjoy this experience, you must improve your learn basics subjects.

One assessment for you, is going to be a competence demonstration of your learning outcomes using a social media. Be creative!! You must communicate by a  video or post in a blog demonstrating you performing an artificial insemination in cattle. The other one is cow getting a pregnancy!

Artificial Insemination in Cattle (click here)

I suggest you to keep in touch with your group using the WhatsApp. Making Groups is important for your future and is a good way to improve communication skills and make a virtual place where students can follow the timetable of activities related to the module, receive reminder of the tasks they need to do during the module and also to the students schedule a meeting with teacher and ask for help.

Closing

Now, after you reading our idea and feel yourself as a motivated student, think if you (as coach) could show your students developing their competences and creating a dialy on Instagram, where you could publish students’ competence demonstration and other thoughts. Lets try new things! Your students will live in a digital world and you should help them in this pathway.

Antônio, Conceição, Leonardo, Rita, Rodrigo Alves, Rodrigo Rossi

Competence Demonstration - Digital Tools

Buscapé Family - 17/05/2015

We, as #VET3 students, received the task to develop our competence related to the usage of digital tools.

When we think about learning-doing it is necessary to “move our body” and try to show how the digital tools can help us during our teachers life!  There are differents digital tools available online, which are easy and free.

So, our family demonstrates in this post how teachers can use two (2) digital tools in pedagogical ways, wiki and instagram. Wiki is shown as experiences constructed with real learners. On the other hand, we constructed with instagram one example of how teachers can integrated it in their practie.

EXAMPLE 1: WIKI

Competences focused

• Use Portuguese sign language in scientific  text;
• Building  knowledge  in a digital collaborative environment;
• desing learning process in authentic learning environment utilizing wiki.

Teaching Approach:

• showing compentences should be achieve;
• Group formation;
• Flipped classroom strategy;
• Discussion and feedback;
• Follow the learning process

Assessment:

• The learner was evaluated according to the formative assessment design. When the period of self-study and groupwork went to the end, the teacher accessed the theme and gave online and in classroom feedback. It was possible to the learners demonstrate their development learning summarizing and prensent their knowledge about the topic.
• The digital tool wiki was used for the student as learning portfolio.

http://metodologia-cientifica.wikispaces.com/

http://patriciajosiane.wikidot.com/

EXAMPLE 2 - INSTAGRAM

Theme: Landscape

At the first time, we tried to define some competences and skills, but we had some difficulties because we didn’t know exactly what’s the difference between them. So, we tried to work in another way. First of all, we defined the theme that we would propouse to the students learn about, and we tried to suggest some competences and skills to develop using Instagram as a learning digital tool. Again, we had problems. Each one of the Buscapé Family has one different and divergent concept about what is competence and skill. So, we couldn’t easily find a convergent point of view.

Competence/Skills focused

• building knowledge about Landscape as part of social richness.

Teaching Approach

• Create an account in Instagram App;
• Guiding the learners in how to use the app;
• Construct the #buscapevet3;
• Guide the student to take pictures of differents landscapes;

• Post some informations about Landscape on Instagram;
• Interaction between the students by comments in Instagram`s post;

Assessment

• Datas that the learners collected and the interaction according to the competence/skills focused.

Below, there is all post from our group about the theme worked.

#buscapevet3

P.S.

After the task done, we realized the necessity to be clear the ability and skills to reach the goals of the activity and define the criteria to assess.

 

Applying Digital Tools in a Pedagogically Meaningful Way

Meaningful Learning refers to a learning way where the new knowledge to acquire is related with previous knowledge (Ausubel 2000).

Within the cognitive theory of learning, based on the theory of human information processing, the 3 core processes of learning are:

1. How knowledge is developed;
2. How new knowledge is integrated into an existing cognitive system; and
3. How knowledge becomes automatic.

Ausubel (1967:10) focused on meaningful learning, as "a clearly articulated and precisely differentiated conscious experience that emerges when potentially meaningful signs, symbols, concepts, or propositions are related to and incorporated within a given individual's cognitive structure".

Based on this concept we can use digital tools to enhance the engagement and motivation in the learning process. With these tools we can verify and teach the skills and the competencies required from the students.

For example, the group chose one digital tool to motivate student participation and sharing of their prior knowledge about one subject:

• Observe the pictures of the city of Dubai. There have been huge transformations in the past 28 years. This transformations changed the economy of Dubai.

We created a fast survey using the service of www.directpoll.com. After observing the photo students should answer the question posted bel.

http://etc.ch/AQVw

After viewing the results on the link: http://directpoll.com/r?XDbzPBd3ixYqg8gJLsiF8lsdc3wOETrWwVBbmQtS0

We can introduce the case of the island in Tatuoca, Pernambuco state, in Brazil where an island was reconstructed due to the construction of a shipyard. For collecting ideas and creating a learning diary of the students progress we chose the application provided by www.padlet.com

Using the link: https://padlet.com/rosangela_melo/bookmarks students can see some pictures and a movie about Tatuoca island, and post ideas about positive and negative impact about the construction of a shipyard in a natural island.

For demonstrating the learning achieved we use two tools to demonstrate, register and give feedback of their activities. At this point students should create small groups (3-5 sutdents) and make presentations using tools such as www.prezi.com to show the conclusions of their work. Using www.blogger.com students shoud publish the links to their presentations and give at least one positive comment on each other group presentation.

Conclusions:

At first we decided to use free digital tools. This decision was important because everyone can use it in anywhere and don’t need pay for it. Another important issue is that our students are producing knowledge and making it available on the internet for others to see and share.

We used the directpoll.com to investigate the prior knowledge of the students. With this tools is possible to make direct questions and with the answers we can have a perception of the class' understanding. It’s so important for the learning process because we can focus on the skills that the students have and which they have to improve in order to achieve the competences required.

In the second phase we decided to use the Padlet. For us, it was used to do a brainstorming and a learn diary for they see their evolution. With Padlet we can let students speak freely and without the pressure of exposing their ideas directly to their colleagues.

With Prezi tool you can create presentations on an unique physical structure. In this tool is possible to insert figures in different formats [e.g. JPG, TIF, GIF], videos and sounds. Prezi also allows making presentations for the use in web, and download this material.

One important part of the learning process is the guidance provided by the teacher. With the use of digital tools we can document, evaluate and orient all the development of the students' work. 

At the final stage, where they post their results, the blogger tool unite the groups material and allows them to give feedback on others work. It is also used by the teacher to give them feedback on their activities.

        How a teacher can use digital tools in pedagogically meaningful ways?

A digital tool itself is not a guarantee of a pedagogically meaningful approach in the teaching-learning process, but it may help a lot the teachers in their activities for the student based learning. The process also depends on the teachers planification to take advantage of the tools to facilitate the student based learning, the interaction among students (considering a given group) and between teachers and students.

In this context, one of the uses of the digital tools is to make previous knowledge assessment in which each student is free to write his/her own impressions about a given issue. This tool can be applied in both big or small students groups, and allows the assistance of the individualized progress of the students.

In a world surrounded by many digital tools for helping the learning process, Facebook has excelled against the others because it is a virtual meeting place that encourages authentic interaction, sharing and collaboration.

As Facebook is "the most used social networking site globally, for a variety of reasons—its low barrier to participation, and ease of use (Pew Research, 2014)", it is easier for students to follow the teachers's posts and interact with other students, promoting a collaborative work and experiences sharing.

The use of Facebook in Electrical Engineering classes

Subject: Environmental Sciences

How this tool can be used?

• Some auxiliary material is made available for the students;
• A previous knowledge assessment is performed;
• The results are analyzed;
• The teacher makes the planification based on the results;
• Groups can be formed in accordance to the previous knowledge level;
• A new assessment is made based on the acquired skills and competence evidence provided for the students or groups;
• Based on this results, the teacher can plan the next steps, and seek for individualized teaching.

Closed Facebook group with participation of the teacher and the students

       In the facebook group are posted reports of issues related to subject, activities, as well as the schedules of technical visits

 

   The above figures are examples of the use of Facebook as a pedagogical digital tool. However, other activities that require the direct participation of students can and should be employed, because the students in online learning environments are more likely to engage with classmates on social platforms.

     

    References:

 Pew Research Centers Global Attitudes Project RSS (Rep.). (2014, February 13).http://www.pewglobal.org/2014/02/13/appendix-4/

Engaging Teaching and Learning

Our journey in Finland is a journey of engagement. As committed teachers we tailored a project to participate in this 3-month enterprise facing an unknown culture and leaving our families back home. Some of us didn’t even know with they would have the funds to pay for their expenses. That’s engagement in its purest form.

We started the course forming a group. The groups had to choose names and a fast and safe choice for our homegroup’s name was Modern Family, because of the TV series, and we have identified ourselves with it. In the beginning of the group we were so afraid, shy and the discussions were so fast. When we were discovering each other, the things started to change, we really behave as a family. The debates started to be more effectives, we could identify the skills and defects of each one. We could do self-reflections about it and in this way improve our qualities and change our defects.

Rosangela is from Recife, Pernambuco, an Electrical Engineer, and a so sweet girl. She seems to us so patient and good mother. She has a daughter named Sarah, who she loves a lot. About Wlamir, Kalango, or Little Leather, he is from Aracaju, he’s is an Architect. He give us, each day, a new nickname, lol. He has a band and play a bass guitar. He’s a great father, he has two beautiful daughters. Miguel, Micael, Micaeli, etc is from Rio Grande, He’s a Geographer. Everyday Miguel teach us a new popular sentence, stories and jokes. He add happiness in the group. Jorge, José or Falcon is from Rio, he’s a Geographer too. In the family, he speaks English better, so he must be patience with us to teach us. He likes playing boardgames a lot. He also plays guitar in the dorm. Flávio, A.K.A. Sid, is from Vitória, he’s a Electrical Engineer too. He’s the smartest, the most handsome, gorgeous and modest of the family, it’s my opinion about me, LOL. So, we are a team with competents professionals. Each one is here to learn and change ourselves and change our job environment.

We all have difficult to speak and talk in English, it was one of the first impressions of the group. So, we had to enhance our English. Therefore, we created a rule, everyone have to speak in English all the time in classes, the result was a better increase in vocabulary, speaking and talking. In this way we can engage with each other and help ourselves. It’s our own PBL in practice, learning by doing.

During the activities in the classes, we are perceiving what is student centered learning. Because our teachers use it. The focus is on us, we can participate actively and make decisions, share experiences. All the time we notice it, and we always are reflecting about how we are teaching. It’s the most beautiful experience we had. The same idea have happened in the visits. We could perceive the PBL applying in practice.

In Valkeakoski we learned about the real value of labour. When we first came to Finland we saw hair salons charging 30 euros for a haircut. 30 EUROS FOR A HAIRCUT ?? After we saw that in vocational school students do a 3-year course to be a hairdresser, we changed our minds. In PROACADEMIA we experienced how autonomous students can get with a PBL approach and how engaged they are in managing their own business.

The Kiipula visit touched us so much, because it is a vocational school for students with special needs. Applying PBL and assessing this students were so impressive for us. So in this visit we saw how the engagement is in practice.

The students are engaged with themselves and teachers. And teachers are engaged with themselves too. The PBL is so important in this process of engagement. The engagement is important in learning process, and for students with needs, it’s primordial. One of the teachers play games with the students at their free times, it shown us that the engagement can be in informal ways too. For example, Irma invited us to see first of May in Helsinki. It was a learning outside of the classroom. It was very nice to knowing the Finnish culture.

As a group we can notice the importance of the engagement in the teaching and learning process. In our homegroup we have been doing that in the classes, in our trips, in our social meetings and with the other colleagues. We arrived in Finland with a mind and now our mind expanded, so it can’t contract back.

Engaging Teaching and Learning

Hello everybody!

This is "Less is More" Homework Group, composed by Alexandre, Fernando, Gabriel, Paula e Marize.

Below is a link to a single presentation we made about Finnish Education and all the tools and techniques we managed to learn and discover in our first month in Hämeenlinna, Finland.

It was made in Prezi. So, please, click on "see prezi" icon (if it appears) and then go to the right arrows to follow the slides.

https://prezi.com/-uj0iwbnoekr/present/?auth_key=b855kst&follow=lc_juokfpyhg

I hope you enjoy it!
See you next time!

Less is More Group.
04/05/2016