My Understanding of Learning and Teaching in the 21st Century

Competencies and e-Portfolio

Having seen this week's task about creating an e-portfolio relating to the progress I have made during my stay in Linz, I was immediately interested in trying out one of the suggested tools.  However, upon registering and attempting to create an e-portfolio I realised that it would take me some time to get to grips with the process. Whilst I would like to explore these tools further, for the time being I will simply explain how I would intend to demonstrate my progress using a portfolio.

 

The most significant area of progress for me has been the development of my communicative skills.  Through participating in classes with students from many different countries (Austria,Turkey and Spain to name a few), I have had to adapt the ways in which I communicate with people in order for conversations and co-operation to occur.  One of the classes I attended, entitled Innovative Teaching Strategies, involved participating in various activities that are intended to develop communicative skills and encourage co-operation.  Therefore, on my e-portfolio, I could display some examples of activities I have participated in from this class.

 

Additionally, my communicative skills were developed through the experience of school practice.  Having had the chance to plan lessons for a 4th grade class of native German speakers with limited English, this enabled me to develop the skills necessary to support these pupils' learning.  Through the use of visual aids, drama and gestures, myself and my fellow students were able to provide instructions to pupils to enable them to understand what they were being asked to do.  This also enabled us to engage in conversations with the pupils, supported by the use of gestures and visuals.  To provide evidence of this, I could perhaps post some lesson plans and pictures of the materials used and of myself teaching during lessons.

 

On a personal level, my self-confidence and independence have increased greatly since I arrived in Austria.  As someone who would have considered themselves to be a rather shy person who was somewhat set in their ways,the process of living alone, travelling to many different places and meeting so many new people has pushed me to break out of my comfort zone and try new and exciting things.  Perhaps including details of some of my experiences from my stay in Linz, details of my travels and photographs would demonstrate this growth.

 

In summary, having experienced the use of paper based portfolios, I can see the advantages of using an e-portfolio as an alternative. It is easier for both students and teachers to access.  If there are changes to be made, this is much easier to do on an e-portfolio as opposed to a paper based portfolio.  Finally, technology is advancing so rapidly, and features heavily in education, it seems appropriate to take full advantage of the tools available and extend your skills with online tools at the same time as displaying learning in other areas.

Perhaps? Source

Open Learning Environments

I believe that my first experience of open learning came when I started university.  Whilst there are specific topics I need to learn and write about, the process by which I find information and write is very much left up to me to decide.  Furthermore, as I only had, on average, 13 hours a week in university, the emphasis was on independent learning. The university shares some resources on our online Moodle forum, however, this is not the only method I use to support my learning.  I quite often use online communities to share and find resources. Some of these communities are on Twitter, another is the TES forum and finally, the Facebook group for my university year group can be helpful in sharing resources. 

Participating in this Learning and Teaching in the 21st Century course has been the most extreme case of open learning I have encountered.  I have enjoyed the process of creating a blog, and exploring different web tools that can support learning.  However, one difficulty I have found from open learning is that, occasionally, I can struggle to find motivation to complete tasks.  Whilst I am interested in the topics being raised, and enjoy the tasks when I get started, I sometimes find it difficult to prioritise the tasks compared to other courses I take.  I believe this is due to the fact that the tasks are completely web-based and there is no tutor continually reminding me to complete tasks, it is a course that requires a lot of self motivation.  However, the main aspect that enables me to complete the tasks is through speaking with fellow students.  Discussing these key topics with my peers prompts debate,allowing me to see the importance of what we are learning and this in turn encourages me to try and be a more active participant.  Therefore, I would argue that for open learning to be successful,there must first be strong networks created, whereby learners can support each other through the process.

Source

Personal Learning Environment

Learning Contract

Topic - I would like to learn German.

Purpose - I believe that in today's multicultural society, teacher's should be at the very least bilingual, as in most cases there will be bilingual pupils in their classrooms.  Languages are something I have always enjoyed learning, however, I have never reached a level of good fluency in any of the languages I have studied.  Therefore, my aim is to become a fluent speaker and writer of German.

Resources - There are a number of different ways I plan to learn German.  Firstly, whilst I stay here in Linz I am taking a German for Beginners class at the university, where I have been learning the basics of the language.  Secondly, through meeting people during my stay in Linz, I am trying to learn from native speakers by asking questions and listening to conversations.  With regards web based resources, I have downloaded a Babbel app on to my Android tablet.  Here I have been taking a different section each night and trying learn some key words and phrases.  I would like to enroll in a class when I return home to continue learning, as I feel I will learn best from face-to-face teaching.

Strategy - Whilst I stay in Linz, I will learn from my university class, and from the people around me.  However, when I return home I will need to commit myself to working my way through the Babbel app at a consistent pace, and I will search the internet for a tutor who can offer German lessons.

Outcome evaluation - I am aware that this goal will take some time to complete, however, I believe I will know I have been successful if I can return to Austria at some point in the future, and maintain a conversation with native speakers, and have the confidence to do so.