Module 9

In learning about this module on Scootle and Second Life I must admit that the opportunities for varying the learning methods for students with access to computers is appealing. The Learning Federation is a reputable entity that provides self paced and interactive learning for students that can be started in the classroom and finished at home, providing all students have Internet access and capacity. Creating learning pathways allows teachers to design inter-connected and specific outcomes based learning modules. Sharing this with other teachers, again, allows for consistency for students across multiple classes, although I'm not sure how this sharing can occur between schools.

Second Life is less attractive to me, because it was initially established for entertainment purposes prior to finding an educational use. I think that that for subjects like History and Geography, and maybe even Business, immersing students is an excellent way for them to learn. The problem is that after a little while, the students will want to use Second Life more for what is was designed for - entertainment! I attended a lecture with Dr.Torsten Reiners from Hamburg University who explained how virtual worlds work and how they can be used in teaching and learning. While it was interesting, the opportunity for users to disengage from their real life in favour of their Second World life could cause social problems ranging from addiction to bullying. This was probably not what Kevin Rudd had in mind when he announced his Education Revolution in 2007.

This brings me to an issue that has been getting some airtime lately. Do learning standards improve with allowing students access to Web 2.0 tools like Second Life?? I have my doubts, because there is an overriding assumption that students will be naturally drawn to to the educational elements more than the entertainment elements. Kids haven't changed that much! The distracting elements for students have just grown exponentially and some major thought needs to be put into this. The major newspapers carried a story on the effectiveness of public dollars being spent on putting laptops in front of school students on 20 July, 2009. See the link below:

http://www.theage.com.au/technology/technology-news/rudds-laptops-send-standards-backwards-20090719-dpkv.html

This article claims that the key component of Kevin Rudd's educational revolution, the laptop rollout to students, may be not derive the benefits that were first thought likely. Studies in the US show that literacy and numeracy standards have actually gone backwards. This seems to clash with the Federal Government's focus on Naplan and the intention of using this to provide information for school league tables. Skeptics might say that this reflects a poorly thought out national educational agenda, and one that is currently being driven by the political scrutineers that advise the PM on the best way to secure votes. Some educationalists are maybe swayed by the large amounts of money available. Have a look at the Four Corners report that announced the laptop rollout program 18 months ago. Some of the issues raised then have still not been addressed.