Power of storytelling in education

 Tell me a fact and I'll learn. Tell me a truth and I'll believe. But tell me a story and it will live in my heart forever.

                                      - Indian proverb.

I must confess, as a child my special bonding with my grandparents was mainly due to their ability to weave wonderful tales. There were so many of them and were full of various characters like brave kings, princesses, demons, wise sages, evil landlord, hardworking peasants....... Though the storyline varied every time, yet they all never failed in captivating my attention. Besides that they taught me something significant at the end. I didn't realize their deep impact on me and their role in building up my personality until I grew up.

Everyone loves to listen to or read a story. They teach us and we don't mind to learn from them!  Stories are a form of oral history. They tell us about different cultures. If anyone wants to have a look at the richness of any language of the world, then stories are the perfect resource. The proverbs, idioms, metaphors add unique flavor to them.

Storytelling is an art.  The moment a teacher announces in her class that she will tell a story, silence falls right away signifying the hundred percent attention granted to that poor teacher who would otherwise be trying so many 'different methodologies' (that she learned in a workshop and must incorporate in her lesson ) to 'gain' the attention of her learners. Have a look at this short video and watch for yourself the power of storytelling:

To tell or write a story, one has to be creative. Storytelling demands from a person to be imaginative. Hence learners must not only listen, but also be encouraged to tell/write the stories in the class. Telling a story would make them think at a higher cognitive level and build up their vocabularies. The teachers' endeavor to inculcate creativity, writing and public speaking skills amongst them (especially the shy ones) will be fulfilled so simply.

Kid Cartoon by Andertoons

Stories cast tremendous influence on the affective domain of the learner (which plays a vital role in learning experience). The personality of a learner is shaped largely by the way he/she makes some sense of his/her world. Stories are entertaining, motivating and inspiring & each learner constructs his/her own meaning from a story. 

Usually we all think that stories hold significance exclusively in elementary classes where they help in building language skills amongst the young ones. But this is not so; they have epochal role to play in higher education also. Have a look at another video which explains it better than I can.

References:

• Koki.S, (1998) Storytelling: The Heart and Soul of Education. Retrieved November 11,2011 from http://www.prel.org/products/products/storytelling.pdf

• Storytelling as a Teaching Strategy in Higher Education.[Video] Retrieved November 11,2011 from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kvj11DuppPA

• The Power of Storytelling.[Video] Retrieved November 11,2011 from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KGsnz1eUK5I&feature=related

• Quotation. Retrieved November 11,2011 from http://www.dailycelebrations.com/storytelling.htm

Web 2.0 Tool Tiki-Toki

As a part of my grad course, while I was reviewing some media sharing resources, I came across a wonderful web tool named Tiki-Toki.  Since this was totally new to me, I got curious and started exploring it. I found that Tiki-Toki is a web application that makes it easy for anyone to create interactive timelines in their browsers. Variety of  images, text and even videos from YouTube, Vimeo.... can be embedded in these timelines. We can share our timelines  too. If we sign up with their paid-for accounts, then we can embed our timelines on our own blog or websites.

I signed up for free account to explore it further and created one timeline on 'History of Indian Education System'.(Click on it to view it!) I used videos from YouTube, picked images from Flickr Creative Commons to go along with the text, chose a background image for my timeline and filled in the text details for each title. The sliding bar at the bottom allowed me to choose the date or year of the event.  After creating my timeline, I found few limitations with my account:

1. Free account provides full functionality  but we can create only one timeline.

2. We cannot embed it on our website or blog. (That's why I provided a link for mine)

3. We cannot activate 'group editing' that allows our friends and colleagues to add to our timelines.


So, in short, the free account is aimed primarily at giving people a  chance to try this software and its features with the hope that they will like it so much that they will want to upgrade their free accounts. There is also an Education Account ($100 a year) for individual school teachers and this account can be used only for educational purposes. The features of this particular account seem to be quite interesting. 

I think this tool has amazing potential for a classroom. Science teachers as well as learners can use it to make interactive timelines on topics such as evolution, extinction of variety of species,formation of earth, solar system, continental drift....... But the history teachers will find it more useful because the details which are found to be boring otherwise by the learners, can become fun with the usage of images, videos along with the text. I think this tool will help in making the history more lively subject. After all we educators have to keep this fact in our mind that our learners are Generation Z kids who love to create and want everything to be FUN!

My PLE

 Whether we realize it or not, we learn every day; in fact till our last breath. With each passing day there is an addition of skills, knowledge, outlook,competences.....We usually associate the word 'learning' with the one taking place only in formal environment. But this is not true, learning can take place in informal way also. In fact according to the Institute for Research on Learning,at most, formal training only accounts for 20 percent of how people learn their jobs. We learn by building up a learning environment around us and harnessing it. This environment is termed as Personal Learning Environment (PLE). According to the definition given in Wikipedia,  Personal Learning Environments are the system that help learners take control of and manage their own learning. PLE supports lifelong learning along with informal learning which forms a major chunk in gaining knowledge. Hence, the personal learning environment seeks to provide the necessary tools to accomplish lifelong learning.

PLE stresses this fact that we do not learn from one source only; there are multiple avenues for gaining information. Now a days, with the widespread use of technology, it has become much more easier to assemble the sources of learning. It has also been possible to use PLE to learn at one's own pace.

Apart from this ,we all have different learning styles. The latest pedagogy stresses this fact and tries to utilize all means to cater to different learning styles of the learners. Differentiated instructions, flexible learning.... all these are attempts to teach the learners in their own unique way. PLE comes to our rescue once more and ensures that we build our learning environment according to our own learning style.Thus, PLE has greater power to reach and teach maximum number of enthusiastic learners.

After reviewing and exploring the PLE/PLN diagrams on EdTech Post’s wiki I found that I could relate to couple of diagrams. They are the ones by Gabi Witthaus and Jaime Oyarzo. The diagram of Gabi shows 'what she wants to do in her PLE' and this diagram is very clear & simple to follow. Jaime's diagram shows her in the center and the web tools used to do various activities form the PLE around her. When I looked at the diagrams, I related to them immediately because most of the elements shown there are also used by me. Before joining this grad program, I had signed up for some of these networks but had no idea about their potential use in the field of education. For example, I thought Facebook was purely for sharing few pictures and staying in touch with friends all over the globe, but CI 484 provided me a totally new perspective of looking at it.

Although there are many more connections that I would have liked to add on to my PLE (like my community,various educational organizations...from where I get lot of information) but I think for the time being, these are enough to show as they are used more consistently by me now a days. I would like my PLE to expand more in due course of time because I understand that a strong PLE is a necessity to survive and thrive in future.

I created my PLE with the help of Prezi. I have seen most of my classmates using it extensively to present their work and wanted to use it, so I thought this is the right opportunity to use it! My PLE would fit under Use/Action Oriented as I’m using these web tools/networks to connect, reflect, curate, search..... I also use them to create, present and share my work.


My PLE diagram shows ‘me’ in the center and the networks/web tools used by me are around me. All these tools help me to stay informed and connected with the rest of the world. I wanted to keep my diagram simple so that it is easy to discern the different tools and their uses. The connections shown in my PLE are very much 'active'. I want to gain 'Digital Wisdom' by utilizing my PLE because I agree with what Marc Prensky stated in his article H.Sapiens Digital: From Digital Immigrants and Digital Natives to Digital Wisdom that: Digital wisdom is a twofold concept, referring both to wisdom arising from the use of digital technology to access cognitive power beyond our innate capacity and to wisdom in the prudent use of technology to enhance our capabilities.

My Personal Learning Environment on Prezi

 References:

• Attwell,G.  Pontydysgu (Jan.2007) Personal Learning Environments-the future of eLearning, Volume 2, Retrieved November 4,2011 from www.elearningpapers.eu
• Prensky,M. (Feb.2009) H.Sapiens Digital : From Digital Immigrants and Digital Natives to Digital Wisdom.Retrieved November 4,2011 fromhttp://www.innovateonline.info/index.php?view=article&id=705

Exploring Tools of Curation

 

For a moment visualize this: What would an earthquake- hit library look like? Pile of books everywhere. They all are rich source of information and knowledge .Even though you may pick any book but will it help you in getting desired information?

 

‘Curation comes up when search stops working’ says NYU professor Clay Shirky. People start curating in order to synchronize the information because the content abundance on the net is overwhelming. I think that of all the advantages of curation, few important ones are:

1. It helps in organizing good resources on a particular/specific topic in one place.

2. It helps in gathering the resources on same topic with different perspectives. So finding out pro/con on same topic becomes pretty easy.

3. It helps  in building ‘community of learning’. (While curating we get to know other bloggers and curators)

I had the opportunity to curate the information (in my last graduate course) in my Twitter feed to get Tweeted Times and Paper.li. At that time, out of the two, I found Paper.li much better because of its aesthetically appealing layout.  It gave me a feel of reading a newspaper.  But when I signed up for Scoop.it, and explored how to use it to curate, there’s no looking back! It’s just like scooping any information that I may find interesting on any website. The Paper.li curates the information  in the Twitter feed (based on who we choose to follow) whereas  Scoop.it provides ample freedom to personalize the information from any website.

I chose Scoop.it for curation because of approbation it received from some of my classmates in my grad class. They had used it extensively and found it much better than other curation tools. I was eager and curious to use it since then. So as soon as I got an invite from my professor, I jumped at the opportunity. I found that scoop.it not only allows us to scoop extensively from variety of websites; it also allows us to ‘explore’ the information from variety of curated topics’ pages. After curating with scoop.it I feel I’ve more control over my topic page. On the other hand, I find Paper.li a better option than going through all tweets on my twitter. It provides a visual, summarized version of information, which is quite easy to glance through and decide which one to read in detail. For me, both are very good resources  for the classroom. The students can use the teacher curated information quite appropriately to work on their projects or complete other assignments.  I don’t think that students should be given a free hand in this sphere, as chances of inappropriate use are high.

Irrespective of the curation tools usage in the classroom, it is known to us that creation and curation go hand in hand. We all also know that the Gen. Z learners are creative and  believe in sharing their creation with the whole world,therefore curation tools will come in handy for all of them.




References:

• Clayman,M. (2011) Let's Talk About the Advantages of Content Curation.Retrieved Oct. 27,2011 from http://www.margieclayman.com/lets-talk-about-the-advantages-of-content-curation
• Information Overload [Picture] Retrieved Oct.27,2011 from http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/images/results.aspx?qu=overload&ex=1&ctt=1#ai:MC900234649|
• Rosenbaum,S.(2010) Why Content Curation Is Here to Stay. Retrieved Oct. 27,2011 from http://mashable.com/2010/05/03/content-curation-creation/

Web 2.0 Resource for Science Class

 Robert Fritz comments that " The most important developments in civilization have come through creative process, but ironically, most people have not been taught to be creative".

   

I understand that Gen Z students are fond of creating things. They love to create because it gives them a sense of accomplishment and control. They produce wonderful things that we can't even imagine or expect from them.  I think that web 2.0 resources have the capability of unleashing the captivated imagination of all learners. 

As part of my new assignment when I had to look at variety of web 2.0 resources for my class, I found  Xtranormal (movie maker) very interesting. I had never used any movie maker earlier for assigning projects to my students. This tool is simple to use; who so ever can 'type' can create a movie using this movie maker. After one signs up, some virtual points are given to create and publish the movie. Later on if one wants to create any more, then there are charges, but I think the initial free virtual points are enough for couple of times. There are many features (such as number of characters, background, emotions, movement, angle of camera, voice and so on) which provide ample freedom to customize.

This tool can be used to assign small projects to the students where they can create short movies on different topics to express their understanding of the content. It can also be used to assess their knowledge. I think it will be more appealing to the students who are visual learners. It offers another option to them other than creating slides.  A rubric along with this movie making activity will help in directing the students as to how they have to use it to create effectively. 

I have created a short movie on 'asteroids' as an example so that the learners get a fair idea of what is expected from them.  

Asteroids
by: cter_2

References:
Morris,W. Creativity in Education (Feb.2006) Retrieved Oct. 13,2011 from http://www.jpb.com/creative/Creativity_in_Education.pdf 

What to Keep and What to Change

Constant development is the law of life, and a man who always tries to maintain his dogmas in order to appear consistent drives himself into a false position.

                                                                           -M.K.Gandhi

We all know that change is necessary for growth, yet some of us have a tendency to cling to old ways. Whether we like it or not, the scenario of future learning spaces is going to be very different from what it is today. In future, more and more learners will opt for online learning in order to let their learning fit in their busy schedules. Learning will be mobile, learner-centered and it will not end after school or college because life-long learning will be a need of everyone. The teachers will take on the role of a facilitator; they will no longer be an epitome of absolute knowledge. The vast amount of knowledge will be managed by curation. Moral ethics of using the information will also be very important and copyright issues will be hot (or should I say hotter) topic of debates. Personal Learning Networks and Connectivism will help in the enhancement of knowledge. Amongst the subjects, Science and Technology will share the platform along with Art and Music. Creativity in all the spheres will be of  utmost importance as it will ensure the job status of a person.

I think the the aspects of current environment that I'll prefer to keep will be learner-centered teaching, differentiated instruction, project-based learning, use of technology to enhance the understanding of contents and collaborative work (Finnish schools are a perfect example of collaborative work success). I understand that these aspects will be relevant in future also because they help in making the learning meaningful and applicable to real life.


Thinking of aspects that I wish to change regarding current environment are letting go of teacher role and  taking on the role of a facilitator. This would mean letting go of 'absolute control' and providing the 'scaffolding' to the learners so that they are able to perform to their maximum potential. Thus future education will transform the teachers into facilitators; learners will have more autonomy and room for creativity and educational institutions will still be a place of learning. The video given below depicts how we can teach for the future using digital technology and student centered learning.

References:
Rhonneiful (Aug.31,2009) Teaching Tomorrow Today, Preparing for the Future [video] Retrieved October 6,2011 from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CF2xT_PEL0M&feature=related

Time for teacher to become a learner !

Today I read an interesting blog written by Josh Sternberg , titled: Social Media's Slow Slog Into the Ivory Towers of Academia.  In the beginning of the blog he quoted Howard Rheingold, a professor teaching virtual community and social media at Stanford University as,"If you took a soldier from a thousand years ago and put them on a battlefield, they'd be dead. If you took a doctor from a thousand years ago and put them in a modern surgical theater, they would have no idea what to do. Take a professor from a thousand years ago and put them in a modern classroom, they would know where to stand and what to do." 

This crisp observational statement made me think. Well! everything has changed (our ways of living,farming methods,dressing styles,communication methods.....) and the change is still going on. But why hasn't pedagogy changed so drastically over the time period ? Afterall  our present education system was designed to suit the needs of a different era. As Sir Ken Robinson also said in one of his talks, that our present public education system was designed and conceived for a different age.It was designed in the intellectual culture of enlightenment and economic circumstances of Industrial Revolution.

We all know that advent of digital age created a digital divide. So,how do we fill in the gap of this digital divide? Of course, by learning new ways to reach and teach the Digital Natives. Yes, it's time to learn their language! With the exponential growth of technology and its applications in almost all the spheres of life, educators have to learn, in order to move on! Our students are mobile learners. They think in different ways compared to the way we used to think when we were young. They think differently because their environment is different than ours. As Lev Vygotsky, a Russian psychologist, stated  in his Social Development Theory that 'social interaction play a fundamental role in the process of cognitive development'. According to him, humans use tools that develop from a culture (such as speech and writing) to mediate their social environment. 

                             http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/images

We have observed that more and more  kids  appear unmotivated to learn in the traditional classrooms and all this baffles us. Think for a second, why is it so? Times have changed. Our kids are moving in an age of  ULearning (Ubiquitous Learning) where the podcasting, handheld computers, tablets, smartphones are  the tools of learning. It is a prediction that mobile phones will become the dominant handheld device for mobile learning in next 5 years and 'Moblogging' is in vogue. But some  schools where learning via information sharing  is supposed to take place, appear to be cut off from these realities.

I  must say, our present educational setup needs complete overhauling in order to teach  Generation Z learners. By overhauling , I mean not just the infrastructure but the pedagogy also. We are standing at a crucial juncture where the beginning of New Future is taking place. If we don't get ready to move on, we'll be left behind. But that's not all! By remaining aloof from dynamic technological environment and trying to teach with an archaic methodology, we'll be doing great injustice to the future citizens of this world. 

References:

• RSA Animate-Changing Education Paradigms [Video] Retrieved Sep.2,2011 from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zDZFcDGpL4U
• Social Development Theory (Vygotsky). Retrieved Sep.3,2011 from http://www.learning-theories.com/vygotskys-social-learning-theory.html
• Sternberg,J. (2011) Social Media's Slow Slog Into the Ivory Towers of Academia [Blog] Retrieved September 3,2011 from http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2011/09/social-medias-slow-slog-into-the-ivory-towers-of-academia/244483
• Technology [Picture] Retrieved Sep.12,2011 from http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/images/results.aspx?qu=technologies&ctt=1#ai:MP900289583|mt:0|

• U Learning: Educating a Mobile Generation. Retrieved Sep.3,2011 from http://www.slideshare.net/timbuckteeth/u-learning-educating-a-mobile-generation-presentation-637794

• Wurzel,G.(2011) Time to adapt to teach the 'digital native' generation. Retrieved September 4,2011 from http://www.statesman.com/opinion/time-to-adapt-to-teach-the-digital-native-1819844.html