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Writing a hypothetical for Business Studies – use Wikis of course

Nov 5th, 2008 by

Our methods class discussed writing a hypothetical case study today as a great way to tie business concepts and link the Key Business Functions. This came about because the BOS syllabus for Business Studies asks that students refer to relevant case studies. The problem is, the available case studies aren’t always relevant and in the business world, things change constantly. You don’t want students to be quoting information that is 7 years old!

Made available under Creative Commons 2.0 Attribution Licence: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/ Available here.

To overcome this in classes, we can write hypothetical case studies and work it so that it suits our purpose. A great tool to use would be Wikis. Students would be able to work collaboratively and construct a hypothetical scenario, adding to it as we progress in the topic. When we get to effective employment relations we would have a strike in the business and implement the different management styles to deal with the situation. The hypothetical business grows as we gain more knowledge and students take ownership of the business and gain an insight on how the business functions.

Here is a transcript of an interview with Stuart Mader on how wikis can be used in education. He talks about the underutilisation of wikis and how it can be a powerful tool, particularly in education.

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Blogging as a pedagogy … KLA specific

Nov 4th, 2008 by

We’ve all been frantically trying to do assignments and complete tasks the past couple of weeks and every now and then I get hit with a lightning bolt of inspiration. Unfortunately, just as quickly, the moment dissipates and I’m left charred as I struggle to remember what the great spark of thought was. For some reason, my best work is done at the most inconvenient times in the most inconvenient places.

On one of the few occasions I’ve managed to hang on to a thought and put pen to paper, I thought about using blogs in a class context, specifically for the teaching of Economics.

I’ve observed during prac that students struggle to keep up to date with current economic events. They are encouraged (read nagged) to read the newspaper and synthesize the information, establish links, causes and effects. We could encourage them to use a blog to demonstrate their knowledge and show evidence of reading articles, watching relevant programs and listening to interviews or podcasts. It gives students (particularly in smaller classes) a chance to work collaboratively and to critique each other’s thoughts. It also offers teachers an opportunity to see if what we are teaching is actually being applied by our students. This Washington Post article talks about listening to the students to spur learning. A definite shift in the teaching paradigm.

Nothing spurs students on more than having someone else comment on a post. This is not an original idea at all, teachers all over the world have used blogs as a learning tool for years. I just read this article about an English teacher (Will Richardson) who transformed the way his school uses blogs.

Papert talks about how important it is to have a public artefact to stimulate social dialogue in the constructionist way of learning and a blog is a fantastic way to make thoughts “public”.

Made available under Creative Commons 2.0 Attribution Licence: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/ Available here.

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What should we be teaching our students?

Nov 1st, 2008 by


I’ve posted before about “what” we should be teaching students. Should they be required to memorise “stuff” or should they be taught to synthesize, analyse and judiciously select information that is readily available out there?

I know there are fellow student teachers who think that the internet is not the best place for information but I know that is the place I go to first for information. Let’s face it, students don’t use books much anymore. If you give them a project, they go to the internet. Yes, they read but they select what they read from the internet. The information is up to date and current. My KLA is Commerce, Business Studies and Economics and the students need to keep abreast of information, books often don’t provide up to date information, whereas the internet does. Data changes all the time, so is there a point to remembering stuff that is just going to change?

Here’s a video by Dr. Patrick Dixon on youtube. He talks about how the research techniques employed by people in business today is frowned upon in schools. He says some things that make a lot of sense particularly for my KLA.

His website has a host of videos that we could use to teach Business Studies and Economics.

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Technologically illiterate teachers…should we be concerned?

Oct 30th, 2008 by

Just a comment on Kristine’s post on teachers who are “technologically illiterate”. This is a real issue in my opinion. It’s all fine and good to have the newest whiz-bang toys in the classroom but what if the teacher genuinely doesn’t know how to use it? Even worse, if the teacher doesn’t want to learn how to use it.

On prac, I heard so many teacher’s say “it’s too hard, I’m no good on the computer” or ”I don’t use the computer room, that is Ms XYZ’s job”. It’s one thing to not be able to use technology because its unavailble but to not use it because the teacher can’t be bothered learning how is just ridiculous.

My son’s primary school is getting new buildings and the principal wants the P&C to put in 1 interactive whiteboard in every classroom. That’s great but I know a couple of the teachers will not use it simply because they can’t be bothered learning how, perhaps they are close to retirement age? Other teachers can’t wait to get to use it in classes.

Is the $5000 smartboard going to used as a wall hanging? I can think of much better looking works of art than that!

This is exactly what Karl Fisch was talking about in his “award-winning” post (sheesh…do we have awards for everything??). He is completely right. Computers have been around for a long long time now and sadly education has been the slowest on the uptake. It’s called the digital age for a reason … Wake up and smell the CPU!

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Project-based learning

Oct 28th, 2008 by

After reading this article by Esther Shein, I am beginning to feel that all of us can effectively use project based learning to enhance our teaching. The article highlights examples for the teaching of History and Business Studies.

We can’t hide from the fact that teenagers today want different things from their educators but on a whole we are failing to provide them with an effective learning atmosphere. So how do we keep students “engaged”?

GIVE THEM A PROJECT!

Project-based learning and Problem-based learning are 2 different things. Essentially Project-based learning produces an artefact at the conclusion of the project and the “project” is geared towards applying knowledge and solving problems that may arise during the project. Students are responsible for planning, managing and decision making throughout the creation of the artefact. Whereas Problem-based learning occurs where students are given a problem to solve and the end product is a recommendation or a conclusion. There may or may not be an end product. Here’ s a link to an article with research on the effectiveness on student engagement and achievement when Project-based learning is used in classrooms.

The article gives examples of how a teacher encouraged students to use podcasts throughout the year to record what they learnt. Imagine what a welcome relief this can be for students revising for the HSC? Instead of reading notes, they get to listen to their own and their classmate’s podcasts for information.

I’m convinced this is the way to go to encourage deeper knowledge and keep the natives engaged. I don’t want my students to look like this …

Made available under Creative Commons 2.0 Attribution Licence: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/ Available here.

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Can I use my mobile? PLEASE???

Oct 22nd, 2008 by

I just read Rodd Lucier’s (aka the clever sheep) post about the use of mobile phones in the classroom. There is a real point here. I know Chris Betcher has also posted about a similar topic and raised whether we need to have kids memorise facts and figures when there really is little place for it in the “real world”.

Most students come to school with mobile phones anyway and let’s face it, it is a real struggle getting them to keep in their bags, regardless of what school policy is. I found a student with his hand in his pocket texting a friend during class. They clearly have some skills with these protable devices!

Perhaps if we encouraged students to use mobile phones as part of the lesson (sometimes, not all the time), it would make them more likely to make productive contributions in class.

Just a thought.

 

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Response to Linda’s post – interactive whiteboards + use of technology

Oct 20th, 2008 by

Like Linda, I was very inspired by this lecture.

Talk about the possibilities of using technology to enhance learning was inspiring to say the least. The best thing is knowing that the DET is embracing and encouraging the use of technology in classrooms. Finally we are becoming one with the digital generation we are trying to teach.

My first experience with the interactive whiteboard left me feeling a bit underwhelmed. It appeared to be a techy extension of the normal whiteboard and I thought, “what a waste of time”. It was used as a presentation tool. Much like using powerpoint and a data projector, no “INTERACTION” at all.

Later on I was given the opportunity to use one myself and the full capability was unleashed before my eyes. A teacher showed me the tools available and basically said ‘you have 3 hours before it is being used next. Play”.

I was truly immersed in the Constructionist theory of learning. A fellow student teacher and I created a geography lesson for year 9. I had a project that everyone could see, I had the social interaction with my fellow student teacher, I could see how relevant this would be for me. All the boxes were ticked. Although I didn’t get the chance to try the lesson out on my class, the possibilities were enough to keep me going!

Made available under Creative Commons 2.0 Attribution Licence: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/ Available here.

It is so important to be able to use the tools (particularly technology) available to us effectively. The use of visual aids is so important in the classroom and we cannot discount this. If your students are looking at the board, engaged, they are listening to you and figuring out how this applies to them. Beats listening to Good Charlotte on their iPods in my class anyday. They can listen to Benji and Joel in their own time :-) .

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I think I’m a digital learner!!

Oct 15th, 2008 by

This is a little long (4+ minutes) but I think it is worth looking at.

It really impressed me. If we can get our students to submit an assessment task this way, how keen would they be? It’s got all the hallmarks of a standard piece of assessment, even a reference list at the end. Heck, I’m thinking about submitting my 6 artefacts for the Portfolio subject in more creative ways than a white A4 sheet of paper!

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Bringing youtube to DET schools

Oct 15th, 2008 by

Here’s a link to a fellow teacher, Jose Picardo, in the UK who is passionate about using ICT in lessons. He’s a language teacher but there are many tips we can all use. Worth taking a look for inspiration.

The link is to a post about a way to bring youtube videos to your lessons in school if the site is blocked.

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Tread carefully…

Oct 15th, 2008 by

I found this on youtube and am taking this opportunity to try embedding…

Take care when using ICT…we might be creating a monster! It is important to be judicious in our use of technology. The consequences may not be that dire but it is useful to bear the reasons for the use in mind. Too many teachers only skim the surface when ICT is used in the classroom possibly because they aren’t confident in their ability but if you set a task and give the students some leeway, quite often you will be surprised by the creativity of your students.

 

 

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