Teaching Math With Advanced Learning Blocks

1. Teaching Math With AdvancedLearning Blocks TIME2010, Malaga, July 10th, 2010

2. Matija Lokar, Matija.Lokar@fmf.uni-lj.si with Primož LUKŠIČ and Boris HORVAT Teaching Math With AdvancedLearning Blocks TIME2010

3. http://www.wearethepeoplemovie.com/ http://www.wearethepeoplemovie.com/ TIME2010

4. Individualization • We live in a society, where everything is individualized and personalized and : • computers built to our exact specifications • You choose the color of your car • Ford, model T – any color as long as it is black one] • we personalize our cell phones with ringtones, wallpapers, and skins • … TIME2010

5. Individualization • Video: • The public education system nowadays continues to insist that a one-size-fits-all, full time classroom-based model can and will effectively serve all students • Education needs customization as well • Just part of this: customization of the resources TIME2010

6. Main challenges • Appropriate usage of technology • Personalitization and customization • Different role of teachers TIME2010

7. The 21st century teacher • Change in a teacher's functions • We are not “walking encyclopedias” or “talking textbooks” anymore TIME2010

8. Teacherofthe 21st century • Instead, teachers are: • Planners, strategists, researchers, pedagogical diagnosticians, work organizers, counselors, tutors … • Task: • Guiding a learner through pieces of information (teaching resources) towards knowledge • With the requirement to • Concretize educational content and adapt it to the interests and abilities of a particular learner TIME2010

9. Organizing and using teaching resources • One of the fundamental steps in the learning process • In this step wetake into theaccount the class we are teaching, the day, the pedagogical situation … • So we • Choose a certain textbox and stick with it from the first page to the very last one • Of course not (or very rarely at special circumstances) • Making a selection of different materials • Choosing workbooks, choosing tasks, choosing pages on the Internet, choosing ... • Thus: TIME2010

10. Paththroughresources • "Pile" of resources • Necessary to provide the learner with a path through resources • Prescriptions are given: • Let's start with page 15 in textbook Y • Follow the explanation and then turn to page 21 for exercises • To see how this knowledge can be used in "real life" see handouts you were given • Then continue with page 12 in textbook X … • Or else technology is used: TIME2010

11. Prevailing technology … Source: www.freefever.com/freeclipart/tape.html Source: www.cksinfo.com Source: simplepress.wordpress.com TIME2010

12. Is making combinations of resources really necessary Why an IDEAL RESOURCE FOR ALL OCASIONS does not exist TIME2010

13. Reasons • Authors of resources consider a hypothetical pedagogical situation with hypothetical students • The actual teaching process is always at least slightly different • And never the same • A good teacher • Uses resources in the most appropriate way • So s/he is “forced” to adapt the resources TIME2010

14. Whatabout “modern” e-materials combine • Could teachers … use …them more effectively? • Unfortunately not! (most of the time) • Lots of teaching e-materials are prepared in technically "closed form" • Hard to change • Complete portals, web pages with embedded flash animations, usage of frames, applets without the source … TIME2010

15. Teacher • is the one who must adapt the resource to concrete teaching situation and to a particular student • So the teacher takes from the various resources and reorganizes and adapts author's ideas and models in his/her own way • Various studies on teachers attitude towards teaching resource • Among the first three ones – always possibility to change the resource • Even though the majority never changes the resource TIME2010

16. s/he should have control over the content s/he uses to teach the student THE Teacher “comes first” TIME2010

17. Teacher is the one "responsible" for learner's educational outcome. We are talking about resource to be used! A why not the learner? TIME2010

18. Putteachers “back intothe game” • E-resources should be flexible • Allow the teacher to adapt them, combine in his/her own way ... • Resource authors should prepare: • Basic “building blocks” • Pre-constructed models • Instructions / tools for making new combinations Source: http://www.lego.com TIME2010

19. More than Lego • Basic blocks should be adaptable, too • Thus the teacher should be able to reword a question, • change the explanation slightly, • add a link to another material on the topic in the feedback … • Change the order of questions • Make a Jack in the story into Mike • Instead of cars we could count baloons • ... TIME2010

20. More than Lego II • The teacher should be able to use a particular building block in different shapes. • For example: to use an exercise (a question) as • a text (e.g. as part of a test written with the help of a word processor), • a question in a Moodle virtual classroom, • in the shape of Java assisted interactive question on a web page • … • So the teacher would be able to use the technical form that is best suited to the given moment • PDF • Format suitable for Interactive whiteboard • iPad • ... TIME2010

21. Re-using resources • Author creates the resources for an ideal situation, teacher teaches in “real world” • Teacher should gain control over the resource • Author should merely be an initiator of the resource in various forms • Teacher is the one who upgrades the idea, adapts it to a certain pedagogical situation, his/her beliefs, … TIME2010

22. Andtechnologynowadays … • allows this! • Using standards • Small, flexible units covering small pieces of subject taught • Available in different formats • Additional advantage • Ready for the future • New devices, new technology … • Content is mostly still appropriate, there are merely changes in (re)presentation TIME2010

23. The NAUK research group • NAUK (advice / study) • NApredne Učne Kocke – NAUK • Advanced Learning Blocks TIME2010

24. NAUK projects • Aim: to create a computer-powered system for managing and serving e-learning content that will be extremely suitable for teachers. • Instead of the author-learner relation, we want to introduce the three-way author-teacher-learner relation. TIME2010

25. Everything starts with an idea • The teacher should be able to take teaching materials from different online sources, and change and combine them to make a lesson that suits his or her style of teaching and the current situation in the classroom. • Using the resulting content in different situations. • Different ways of export, that conform to the most important up-to-date standards. TIME2010

26. http://gradiva.nauk.si TIME2010

27. E-learning CONTENT should be EASILY ADAPTABLE BY THE TEACHERS TIME2010

28. Contacts • Matija.Lokar@fmf.uni-lj.si • http://www.nauk.si • http://gradiva.nauk.si • http://am.fmf.uni-lj.si Gracias por su atención! http://test.nauk.si TIME2010