Day 6 - Review

This course has certainly opened my eyes to the capacity of IT as a learning tool to incorporate in my tertiary teaching activities. As I am a PBL (Problem-based learning) tutor of Yr 1 Med students, I can see the potential of this in my group. The seeds already planted in the past week during our tutorials, I hope may motivate the students into using these tools to help them in their learning. I plan to review these activities with them in the coming weeks. I have introduced to my group the concept of " Dropbox" , an ability for them to share their documents (Learning Objectives research including an Exam Question Bank) from every computer that they log onto. Have a look at the video discussing this online sharing facility https://www.dropbox.com/
This really makes sense when the students have to access their information at university including from home computers. The ease of loading up these documents including during tutorial time can be easily and effectively done in real-time rather than having to do it later, hence saving time and effort.
To my amazement, many of the students that I have spoken to about the course I have just done did not have the skills nor the knowledge of how to create blogs or wikis. Some of them, even the more technologically sound people in the group did not know about wikis. I am surprised because I thought I was a dinosaur in this aspect but I am pleased that many of the younger generation, even though they had grown up with this technology do not seem to know many of the Web 2.0 technology that is available nor know how to use them.
Thank you Matt and UNDA for allowing me this opportunity to spend a week focussing on these skills and the interactive and hands-on , plus positive attitude that encouraged me in wanting to learn more about these IT tools really benefitted me immensely. Thank you too to all the participants, who made the course really enjoyable....knowing there are other academics in similar IT knowledge states is a real comfort that I am not alone in my struggle to learn these new skills!
Hope to keep in touch with some if not all of you at some point via our wikis and blogs. You would have noticed, I have added those who have sent me links to my favourite links. I commend you to check Dianne Chambers link on Borroloola-GP Aboriginal experience . For those who wonder what this is all about, our practice , Inner West General Practice www.iwgp.com.au was involved in supporting an Aboriginal Medical Clinic in a remote centre Borroloola, a town in the Northern Territory of Australia. It is located on the McArthur River, about 50 km upstream from the Gulf of Carpentaria. Dianne was the initiator of this project and many of our doctors including others went to work at that medical clinic. I went up there in July 2009 and found it an extremely rewarding and culturally interesting experience.

Day 5 Starting to plant the seeds of Integrating IT into the Class

This is my first day back to University after 2 weeks of semester break. This morning our Clinical Debriefing group discussed Abortion laws in different States including effects of Alcohol, Smoking and Folate deficiency affecting fetal development. One of the students reflected on his GP Clinical Placement on how to assess Capacity i.e. assessing capability of a person with either mental or intellectual disability to make decisions on their health issues. We went through the mental state examination, the mini-mental state examination including the GP mini-cog assesment tool. This student brought his Portfolio in for marking...it weighed almost 10 kg! Yes, no kidding, there was so much work that he had included in the term that it would be impossible for him to add more documents into his fat portfolio and there is another Semester to go! He asked me if he was going to use the same portfolio to put all his Yr2-4 work in and I was stunned. I actually did not know the answer to this question, however, I posed the question to the group to see what they thought of having their portfolio rather in hard copy be saved on the computer and that can be given to me via USB to mark. They were extremely keen on this idea as the thought of lugging their portfolio around for the 4 years did not tickle their fancy . They were keen to save documents and research papers or journals relevant to their learnings and reflections straight into the computer portfolio. I have suggested that they discuss this with the Year Coordinator and put that forward as a suggestion for the Student representative to take it up with the Head of Department. Their suggestion seems utterly sensible, they also suggested that anything they needed to handwrite or draw could be scanned into the file. They pointed out that the 12 areas of competencies that they had to accomplish could be headings of Folders and their reflections for each plus learnings and research or resources they collected could be filed under the respective competency folder headings.
Brilliant!
In my next tutorial, my PBL group started working on our new case scenario, entitled "Blue is for Boys". It is an authentic case study about a young child who presented with peripheral cyanosis (blue fingernails on the extremities) due to a congenital heart problem that had affected the oxygenation of Haemoglobin. They started brainstorming the hypothesis but it occured to me that the discussions could be a lot more effective if they could have used an IT based tool to help them map the issues and to note down the important mechanisms. Time was wasted cleaning the board and the 4 triggers that we covered threw up many issues and learning objectives. One person wrote on the board, whilst another person was scribing so that can be then sent via email to all the group members. Whilst looking at the ICT materials introduced to us in our GCUT ICT course, I discovered this one called " Mindmeister". There is a subscription to this tool for ongoing use, is the University keen to take this up as a teaching tool for PBL? I think it might be a very useful task...check out the video on this link! http://www.mindmeister.com/?first=true

Day 4 ICT Current Trends

Inaugural PBL J Med 1000 at UNDA Darlinghurst 2007

Reflecting back on how it all was back then , new
problems to solve, making sense of Problem Based Learning techniques. Learning style analysis could have been helpful , knowing whether the students are VARK learners might be useful ...integrating ICT in that learning environment could have made it more interesting and dynamic. I can see the benefit of authentic learning in the ICT environment, we do a lot of that already in the PBL cases but I found the article on http://www.elearnspace.org/Articles/Preparingstudents.htm
a good resource to help students and teachers prepare for elearning. As PBL is supposed to encourage self-direction in learning and critical thinking in a group situation, integrating ICT into the PBL is a great learning and teaching medium. Using a wiki to build up the PBL case as a mind mapping exercise may be a way of engaging and motivating students eg. each student researching or working on their specific Learning Objectives (LO) might add to the wiki set up to teach the PBL linking to different websites and journals for up to date and relevant information.

Day 3 - Quest-ions

So little time, so much to do
Whats the deal, my friend
The more I learn, the more I fear
The world is coming to an end
I found my death date
much to my chagrin
Nov 11 twenty forty one
learnt how to blog and wiki
but can this become...
an opportunity to change
the dates to further plunge
into the depths of 2.0
for who can tell what
lies ahead in the years to come?

Achieve Work / Life Balance with Web 2.0 Strategies

Day 2 Life Balance Web 2.0

6 year olds owning a mobile phone and video gaming addiction.....we are definitely heading into the digital era and pushing the boundaries even further and further

Another illuminating but scary day reflecting on the rapid changes that will soon hit us in the coming years. Sink or swim...take a deep breath, I dont think we have a choice here.

Digital natives and digital immigrants, certainly something to think about. As academics we definitely have to learn the various emerging technologies and at the very least know what they do and how they can help us in improve our teaching and the learning of our students. I found Prensky's article http://www.marcprensky.com/writing/Prensky%20-%20Digital%20Natives,%20Digital%20Immigrants%20-%20Part1.pdf
very illuminating however, I disagree partly with his assertion that "Our students have changed radically. Today’s students are no longer the people our educational system was designed to teach." The reality is that yes, the world is changing but our students may or may not be embracing this technology as quickly as we think they are. Many of the students that I canvassed since doing this course have not been able to use many of the Web2.0 that I have been introduced to in this course. Its however good to stay one step ahead of the current students I suppose. Like Ben in his blog where he posted his contrary view about how he has doubts about the "inevitability" of technology, I too think likewise. As long as we view technology and the fast pace of this progression as a tool for us but remember that again we need to be cognizant of its effect on us as social beings and human beings. We still need a connection to our community, I doubt whether the community generated by Web 2.0 technology can be truly an authentic community if no human touch is communicated. That sense is still a vital need in human communication. I would challenge that technology can supersede this need wholly. I would also challenge the presumption that e-learning can be totally effective. I think people learn by modelling and this aspect of teaching cannot be easily replaced by technology alone. I wonder if others think differently?

I feel this is an exciting time for us, as teachers, we are learners as well, dont forget this technology helps us too, as Ben said, research now is relatively easy with the wealth of information at our finger tips. I too remember the days of microfiche and spending endless time at the library searching for non existant books...I'm always ending up not reserving the books and the ones that I want are usually out! What about storage...I used to be up in my ears in my study with books and papers, now I have neat folders categorised in my computer files with ability to Search. I think I have embraced some aspects of new technology but have more to learn, hence that is why I am doing this ICT course.

Whether we are digital natives or digital immigrants, I think doesnt matter. What is important at the end of the day is balance and self-care. Its not what we do but how we do it. At the end of the day, reflecting on the process is important and the person behind all this is important too...dont let the Machine Use Us, lets Use the Machine wisely. see video in next blog post

Day 1 Frustration100

I have spent half an hour yesterday after class posting a blog about Web 2.0 and I just cant find it today. IT and me , we are doomed and this will never be a happy match, so Matt, watch out!

However, seriously, I really like the challenge of learning a new skill and I hope that this ICT course will help me apply more emerging technology into helping my students learn and for me to apply it to my teaching.

Some thoughts about yesterday's Web 2.0

Blown away by Second Life! Fancy being a doctor on this site , no need to worry about being sued or making a wrong diagnosis or treatment because after all aren't they cartoon people?

I really liked the Michael Wesch's video Web 2.0 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6gmP4nk0EOE However, I could feel my pulserate rising, must be the adrenaline rush or as a doctor, I am perhaps more aware of my sympathetic nervous system responding. Certainly the stress related to these new technologies and the pressure that goes with the immediacy of this is extreme. The video is aptly named " The Machineis Us/ing Us"