Encouraging Higher Order Thinking Skills

The concept of "Googleable vs Non-Googleable" questions was mentioned to me many months ago but I again stumbled over the reference to this brilliant concept.

Thanks to Ewan McIntosh for this insightful read:
http://notosh.com/lab/googleable-vs-non-googleable-questions/

Here is an example I conjured from a from a Year 6/7 unit on Ancient Mediterranean History I taught this year:
Googleable Questions
Who was Julius Caesar?
Did lions really kill Christians in the Colloseum?
How far and wide did the Roman Empire spread?
When were the pyramids of Eqypt built?
What food did they eat in Ancient Greece?
....you get the point!

Non-Googleable Questions
Why were killings of Christians allowed in Ancient Rome and wouldn't be allowed in 2013?
Which ancient society's legacies (inventions) have had the greatest impact on modern society?
Why are modern buildings not built in such a decorative manner as they were in ancient times (e.g. Greek Acropolis etc.)?

You can start to see why the internet itself is not innately a tool for deeper thinking, but it relies on the teacher to structure the unit appropriately. Use the internet for sourcing information and build upon that to reach that higher order thinking that we all strive for in our classrooms. Gone are the days of "integrating ICT" purely on the fact that students are using a search engine to retrieve information. The unit above could include an assessment in the form of a blog that students post their persuasive arguments and allow comments and rebuttal from their peers.

Youtube in the Classroom

Many teachers (or Principals more often than not) are anxious about the dangers of YouTube. What if little Johnny watches a naughty video or little Sally stumbles across some foul language?? Ban YouTube!

My previous school banned Youtube (on the Principals orders) and I'm sure its happening elsewhere.

Check out the following resource developed by Youtube that is a series of lessons aimed at educating students to use YouTube responsibly. It is aimed at ages 13-17. As the lessons are Google Docs you can open, then save a copy and modify as you see fit for your own setting. The lessons have links to videos to further enhance the message:

Curriculum: Understanding YouTube & Digital Citizenship
http://www.google.com/edu/teachers/youtube/curric/index.html

Another resource created by Google that is more broadly aimed at cyber safety/citizenship:

Google Digital Literacy and Citizenship Curriculum
(targeted at Grade 6-8)
http://www.google.ie/goodtoknow/web/curriculum/ 

Reflections on Web 2.0 Tools

Web 2.0 tools are here to stay and the big question is this...will they be used to do "old things new ways" or "new things, new ways"?  

( I did steal that quote from someone, but can't recall where or who!)

I think that there are so many amazing, engaging, exciting and interesting Web 2.0 tools, but unless they are used to actually change the focus of pedagogy, they are not fulfilling their potential. These tools are the medium that we, as educators, can use to actually change the fundamentals of how a 21st Century classroom operates. How can it be different (and in lots of cases already is beginning to be)?

Some key ideas to be considered...each one could have a thesis written:

• collaboration
• student engagement
• critical thinking
• student centred, personalised learning
• constructivism
• teacher as facilitator
• flipped classroom (very interesting TED talk by Salman Khan)
• global classroom

Learning Communities & Constructing Knowledge Together (Module 10)

Google Sites provide your one-stop-shop for collaboration and learning communities!

Students can easily create their own Google Site and use it as an ongoing "digital portfolio". For easy access (both for fellow students and the teacher), I create a page on the class site with link to each students individual Google Site: 

What about Wikis I hear you ask?

Well, a Wiki is just a webpage that allows multiple authors....this can be easily done using permissions and sharing in Google Sites. You can even specify "page level permissions" so that within a whole site, just one specified page can have multiple authors/editors (therefore you have a wiki).

What about Blogs?

Blogger.com is fully integrated with Google, therefore the they can work in perfect unison (see my previous blog post on Blogger)

Social Networks in Education (Module 9)

The possibilities for using social networks in education are limitless!

One major consideration is age restriction- Facebook, Twitter and Ning are all superb tools but are not suitable for Primary school use as they have a 13+ age disclaimer. I have included Edmodo as an excellent alternative for Primary school classrooms. Edmodo is a "closed" social network that has an interface very similar to Facebook but is password protected and can allow a classroom teacher to control the content.

A social network can also be established using Google Sites. With a class site, a variety of pages can be added to allow comments, discussions, links, uploaded documents etc. In this way a Google Site can operate in very much the same way as a "social network".

Scootle (Module 9)

Scootle is a brilliant collection of digital resources that encompasses every area of the curriculum. One of the best features is the ability to search by Australian Curriculum Year Level/Learning Area/Outcome. Teachers are required to create an account to access Scootle but then it is very easy to allow students to access these resources- by creating "learning paths". Learning paths are a collection of custom resources that can be accessed via a PIN (no login required, which is perfect and easy for student access). Here is a video that explains how to utilise Scootle learning paths and have students access them through a class Google Site:

RSS and Feedly (Module 8)

RSS feeds (Really Short Syndication) can be embedded onto a site (e.g. classroom Google Site via a RSS widget) which will display the latest news/stories from that website/blog. This could be a good way for students to be kept up to date with latest local/national/international news (e.g. RSS feed from ABC News, Sky News etc.). Students can also create an RSS feed for their own blog to allow others to follow.   

Feedly is a place to keep all your RSS feeds in one place. Once you create your account (login with Google), you customise your homepage by choosing sites/blogs etc that you want to include in your news feed. Think of it like your Facebook news feed but just for seeing new activity from websites you choose. As a teacher this can be a perfect way to keep up to date with the latest trends, ideas, innovations in your field of education. There are so many interesting and insightful educational blogs and sites that are worth following.  If a teacher wants to follow their student blogs, Feedly provides the most time efficient way to do this (you don't have to actually go and visit 30 different blogs to see what's new....the posts get delivered to you!).

Why use Feedly?
Instead of you having to go and check your favourite blogs/sites regularly to see if there's any new content....with Feedly, the content comes to you in one place!