Blog Review:- Richard Branson "Bring Back the Pen"

I recently read a blog by Sir +Richard Branson, yes the Virgin tycoon, who has openly embraced technology. Who, has built an empire in the record industry and aviation and who, is a considerable backer in many tech start up businesses, see Tech start ups for an interesting look at some of these businesses.  Richard Branson, has voiced his concerns and thoughts on an article written in the Daily Mail regarding the Death of letter writing. Branson, makes reference to the fact that texting by teens is killing the art of letter writing.  He is shocked to note that one third of teens has never written a letter and that one in ten 13 to 19 year old's do not own a pen.  All of this is through the rise of technology and texting in particular.

Branson, finds this shocking and refers to the rise of the Ipod as a reason for the demise of his Virgin Megastore business. Could the rise of mobile phones and texting in particular be the demise of the pen? We are so influenced by technology and how it can help us in our daily chores, routines and education, that we are forgetting the basics! The true skill of hand writing.  More often than not, teens talk in text speech, which is proving detrimental to writing skills, like spelling and grammar.

The art and skill of writing should not be left to fade away in favour of smart phones, tablets and computers.  I am not an advocate of the technological devices available and believe that within my lectures, seminars and teaching we revert to true old fashioned pen and paper.

There is nothing wrong, in note taking, gathering thoughts and information to assist you in education and then type this up for assignments, this is now the norm! The type writer has been replaced by the computer. Don't let the smartphone replace the Pen!  Don't let hand writing and letter writing become a thing of the past either

There is a time and place for technology, however it should never be allowed to replace the fundamental skills we so desperately need to maintain. There is a need for the education hierarchy to stand up and take notice, that whilst we live in a technological age, we must maintain the true art of writing.

Richard Branson's blog is something, I will look to discuss in future lectures, along with the article in the Daily Mail and the campaign by Bic The Mission.

So lets begin, to go backwards and resurrect the PEN.... In the name of Education!  The irony of this blog, is that I am using technology to identify the PROBLEM!

http://www.virgin.com/richard-branson/bring-back-the-pen
http://uk.businessinsider.com/18-tech-startups-backed-by-sir-richard-bransons-billions-2015-11
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3294452/Texting-teens-killing-art-letter-writing-never-pen-paper-rise-online-messaging.html
http://www.bicfightforyourwrite.com/mission

Appropriate applications to support my teaching experience

I recently completed a module in information communication technology (ICT). Within this module, I was introduced to many applications designed to aid the teaching process. A week or so later. I had to carry out a micro teaching session to my fellow students, ironically, without the use of any of these new fandango apps. At first I thought you what? You have me use these apps in class, become familiar with them and not let me use them!  That's like giving a child a lightsaber and not allowing them to pretend that he/she is Han Solo or Darth Vader and wanting a battle, its the first thing you want to do!

However, saying that, for someone who is a lover and hater of technology, I was not too despondent. It gave me the opportunity to use true old fashioned class room interaction, communication and experiential exercises.

Would I use any of these apps in a classroom environment in which I would be teaching? Possibly, but very doubtful. This is not because I do not like them or that I am not tech minded.  If you have read my previous blogs, you will have discovered, that I believe technology is used too much in our lives already.  My current cohort of students are 1st and 2nd year undergraduate students and I do not believe that these applications are suitable for the this audience,  The cohort I am currently teaching prefer good old fashioned PowerPoint,  That said, I would not rule out using any of these to test the water so to speak.

I would suspect that these applications would be more appropriate for secondary schools, colleges and distance learning. There needs to be a time whereby we use the greatest tools we have been blessed with, speech, listening, sight and the ability to interact, visualise and experience. Something, that seems to be getting lost in the classroom!

Experiential learning for me is essential. That said, as we now live in a technological and digital age, whereby applications, software and devices rule, I will now attempt to promote and be enthusiastic, toward some of these applications I have encountered, bu as yet not had the privilege of using!

Neopod, is a mobile multimedia interactive teaching tool. Designed for students and teachers to interact using mobile presentations in an effort to revolutionise the classroom with interactive presentations.  These presentations are created and downloaded and then shared with students.  Students have no control of the presentations, classes or lectures, thus, controlling the student’s activity in real time.  This, does appear to be quite a unique piece of technology and useful if used in distant learning, However, I fail to see the purpose of this in a classroom environment.  What is wrong in a PowerPoint presentation and asking good old fashioned questions and answers?

Socrative is another application / Website, I believe is better suited to secondary schools, whereby in class testing can be assessed in real time. It is versatile, in so much, it can be accessed on any device or browser. Instant feedback is available, personalised content, whereby assessments can be designed for the target audience and reporting is easily accessed and designed to gather students understanding of given tasks,  This all seems wonderful, and possibly makes a teachers life a little easier, With the benefit of an excel spreadsheet hat colour codes correct answers to tests or assessments if theses are in quiz format!  This provides a teacher with instant notification of how a student is learning and what needs to improve etc.  Sounds pretty cool, if your students are assessed in test format,

Haiku Deck is an app that makes your presentations simple.  You can design presentations to be fun, and beautiful, using an array of images, plus adding content.  Is designed for you to present and transform the class to be interested and engrossed.  It is an alternative to PowerPoint, as you can create presentations professionally, with ease.  Haiku Deck has been described as a painless alternative to PowerPoint. I have to agree.  I have used this app, in one lecture to emphasise stress. It was painless and powerful.  It is free and all your presentations are stored and easily shared,  It does not have all the professional qualities of PowerPoint, however, this is no great loss as you do not need to spend hours attempting to get the animations right. A picture paints a thousand pictures.  Check Haiku Deck out, you will be impressed. Presentation.  You may also like to visit the link to understand better Haiku Deck from freelance writer Yardena Arar. 

For me, PowerPoint, is the best  for creating professional presentations, whether for business or in a university environment. I have used PowerPoint now for a considerable number of years and completely happy to continue doing so.  Students are happy with it and recently my students have been presenting using PowerPoint as part of an assessment, despite having the opportunity of alternatives such as Prezi and Haiku Deck, It seems, that, using an appropriate application or software you are comfortable with, is the answer and if that is PowerPoint why change?  I do not believe in reinventing the wheel, why complicate things?  Stick with what suits and let the techno's worry about other applications!!  Simplicity is what is necessary and not bombarding us with alternatives,

Word, is probably the most versatile and used software used in a university environment, from creating lesson plans, to ad hoc handouts etc.  Word is used for practically everything from writing reports, assessments and even note keeping.  I use it widely and have done throughout my professional life and will continue doing so.  I have even used it to ensure that when I write a blog, i do not lose my work, which as already happened once.  Sometimes, the technology we use has glitches and as a consequence, results in a breakdown and subsequently, all your good work is lost!  Therefore it is always wise to have a backup.

Throughout my experience of the teaching profession.  I have come in to contact with many versatile applications and software.  All designed to enhance the teaching and learning process, for me, Microsoft applications are the best, so why change. if it’s not broken?

https://www.haikudeck.com/presentations/DMJUMwU6Ad
http://www.pcworld.com/article/2148203/haiku-deck-a-painless-powerpoint-alternative.html

Experience of mobile technology: How Technology Has Changed The Way We Learn

As I awoke this morning, I had a thought of what it was like, when I was at school, (when I went of course) a few years back, I might add.  My education, was throughout the 1970's and 80's.  I'm now giving my age away also! How bizarre, that as I attempt to write this blog, I am back in education and my memory is not as good as it once was.  I find myself, using the Internet to remind me of what it was like back in the day, oh those were the days!  So, has technology changed the way we learn?  I certainly think so.  But, has technology really changed, how we learn?

I do wonder, that with all his technology at our finger tips, do we really need an education?  By that I mean, venture out into the cold, to go to a place of education, when it would be so easy to stay at home!  Everything we need to know can be obtained instantly, through the wonders of Google.  Back in the day, if you wanted or needed to know something, you'd ask your Dad your Granddad, Mum,or Grandma, who were, to you the font of all knowledge and if they didn't know, you'd have to go to the LIBRARY, or ask an uncle or somebody else.  That's how you learnt back then. the image to the left is of the library, I used to go.
I remember the days of overhead projectors, cassette recorders  and television. Floppy discs came a little after my education  But, I do  remember quite well in my history class watching the raising of Henry V111 flag ship the "Mary Rose" on television.  Little did I know then, that I was witnessing and a part of the evolution of technology in the classroom.  The television, was I guess, today's version of You Tube.  The difference being, the TV I was watching had a 12 inch screen with a pretty fuzzy picture, and, has you watched, you would be huddled around it to capture every moment.

Education and technology certainly has moved on, however, when you look back during the 1800's black slate was used as a means of writing and recording words

math and sentences.  Today we are using android tablets, Ipads etc. The early 1900's saw the black board in wide use and is probably one of the early stages of technology in education, today we use the white board, not much difference really?  Then, from around the 1920's we saw film projectors, overhead projectors and videos introduced to the classroom.  All deemed revolutionary at the time.  Technology, doesn't stop there,  

Can anyone remember carbon paper?  You what? What's carbon paper, I hear you ask, well for some of you too young to know.  Carbon paper was paper coated in loosely bound dry ink.  It was, what was used if you wanted to make more than one copy of your work simultaneously.  It was placed between the paper you wrote on and a second sheet. Revolutionary in its demise was the photo copier and now by computers.  Then there was the slide rule, remember those, used for long multiplication and division, eventually replaced by a scientific calculator.
Today, education is primarily technology based, there is a plethora of devices, applications, devices all used both in the classroom to aid in the learning experience and at home.  All designed to make our lives simpler and some would say more beneficial.  Others, may argue that there is too much, and that, it is far easier to search the world wide web for information.  Is that any different to travelling to the library to obtain a book?  Or seek out a wise person for knowledge?  Granted ,it is quicker to search using our new best friend Google, but are we being educated?  I will leave that for you to decide.

What is obvious today, is that if you enter any classroom in the UK, you are likely to encounter a computer, projector, white board, and an android tablet of some design.  On reflection, this is not much different to the good old days of slate, black board, TV and videos, slide rules etc,  Yet when you look at this way, innovation has changed the way education is taught.  Technology has only advanced, the learning experience and made it simpler for us all to educate ourselves whether at school, college or at home.

With the development of innovation and technology, the question I pose is. Is the educator becoming just a guide in the classroom?  With the use of such devices, like laptops,tablets,You Tube etc, it certainly appears to be the case.  The introduction of new technology, only allows the student to have greater access to devices like a laptop or tablet and less time of the teacher according to (Richel, 2011).  You can read the full Article here.  Education is radically changing, Jane Wakefield technology writer for the BBC, certainly thinks so and stresses that, teachers are becoming guides over teachers.

My previous blog identified the value of technology in learning and suggested that within it, it is making a difference to the way we learn.  However, when you consider many of the great scholars, for example, Sir Isaac Newton, William Shakespeare, Socrates and many others, were not privileged or possibly had the misfortune of technology to aid them in their education, it never prevented them either, Food for thought maybe?

Technology, certainly has the power to transform the way we learn, Thomas Edison, predicted that thanks to the invention of projected images, "books will soon be obsolete in schools.  Scholars will soon be instructed through the eye"

I will leave you with this thought, in 1925, millions of students received lessons simultaneously in what were once known as "schools of air".  There was no Internet available back then, so how was this achieved.  Over to you, you can search this through the method we all know so well, yes Google or whichever search engine you prefer, you could also pop down to the library or ask a wise person you know, it is up to you.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/04/technology/technology-in-schools-faces-questions-on-value.html?_r=1
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-30814302

The value of mobile technology in teaching and learning

The year 2013, saw research, determine that mobile technology does in actual fact make a difference to the learning experience.  Project Tomorrow (2013) conducted a study whereby both students and teachers received android tablets and wireless connectivity to further enhance student education, from the comfort of their own home. Really! In the comfort of our own home?

Two schools in Chicago were monitored for 12 months, whereby results indicated that both students and teachers benefited.  Increased communication and student behaviour improved, despite the fears to the contrary, teachers were able increase their productivity and develop new opportunities for developing students.  A similar study conducted by Edinbugh1:1 (2013) also revealed similar results. Engagement and motivation increased, plus students became more autonomous in their learning.

Forgive me for questioning the use of mobile technology, but do we not have enough technology in our lives?  Is this, just another method of homework, whereby technology is yet again the tool in which we turn to today, for information and support?  Don't get me wrong, whilst I encourage the use of technology in the learning process, I believe that teaching should remain in the classroom. Homework as always been a part of education, but are we not going too far with this?

I am not an advocate of 24/7 learning, there is a time when schooling ends and recreation takes over. It is difficult enough, trying to get today's children off their mobile phones or tablet, never mind the static technology that is Xbox and Play Station. When will it end? No sooner do we awake, some form of technology is used, then at school college or university a computer is used, and then as soon as we get home its  Repeat, Pause and Repeat!

I believe that teaching and schooling should be conducted at a place of education.  We are in danger of having 24/7 learning.  Which, in my opinion can only be overkill for many and if we continue, there will be no need for a place of education, The comfort of the home will be the place, with no need to leave the house. What sort of life would that be?

If mobile technology in teaching and learning, is the future, we are in serious danger.  Not only of forgetting true values of education, which for me is social interaction, experiential learning and play!

https://thejournal.com/articles/2013/11/20/mobile-study-tablets-make-a-difference-in-teaching-and-learning.aspx http://

digitallearningteam.org/2013/10/24/edinburgh-11-mobile-evaluation/