Final Blog – Reflection, reflecting, critical reflection, self reflection ......

I have come to loath this reflecting activity. Why? Because it is time consuming and the chapter of my life at the moment does not have much space between the paragraphs of action for this! I wish it did. Reflecting and critical reflection became a component of my learning journey when I entered the hollowed portals of UWA in February 2007 and was obliged in no less than 7 undergraduate units and all the postgraduate units to engage in some form of reflection, be it in the form diaries, essays, tutorials or workshops. The blog's final entry is a new method of delivery! It is enough to send anyone to TAFE and take up an apprenticeship where one deals with the practicalities of life.

I shall therefore go back to basics and review what I am to do, as set out by the Australian National University (http://www.une.edu.au/tlc/alo/critical1)

Reflection

The process of reflection is an integral part of teaching practice. Reflection underpins all your learning at university, and it will be a vital part of your later professional practice. What is reflection? In an everyday sense, reflection is a ‘looking back’ on experiences; in a university and professional context, it is a looking back on experiences so as to learn from them. Therefore reflection is a means of constructing knowledge about one’s self and about the world.

Critical reflection

Critical reflection is the process of analysing, reconsidering and questioning experiences within a broad context of issues (e.g., issues related to social justice, curriculum development, learning theories, politics, culture, or use of technology).

I was relieved that the Master in Primary Teaching programme had incorporated this unit into the course. Naturally I wanted to be familiar and competent whilst using IT in the classroom. I wanted to get away from silly little games and quizzes on the net and below par educational programmes. I want to get away from putting on a video or dvd and settling the children down in front of it, as a time filler.

So what has the course achieved for me? It has demonstrated through research that I can professionally argue that those three dusty computers at the back of the classroom need to become 30 and they should be in my classroom not in the laboratory across the hall way. Why? Because computing becomes a weekly lesson that the children regard as a reward or give IT undue status. I want my students to be blazé about IT and not obsessed by it or addicted to it. Also I need them to be critical and as I constantly say to my daughter, Susannah, be 'savyy,' safe and sophisticated. In other words the pedagogy is critical thinking when working with technologies that have some 'wow' factor.

A personal musing: will we become victims to Repetitive Index Finger Syndrome or RIFS?

My blog began its life on the platform EDUBLOG. Restrictions on the playful interaction due to financial constraints moved it to WORDPRESSS, which in my opinion is delightful and the 'world is your oyster' but not really user friendly. I did want to cut down on “frustration time”. However Cindy persevered and has a great blog. So Google reeled me in and I settled down to work with BLOGGER. Blogger is slow, sometimes painfully slow,a little lacking in imagination and has to do much “thinking.” 

Another reason I wanted to go with Edublog is that I believe I would benefit from all the resources they would direct towards me for my teaching career. It is after all a site for Educationalists and why re-invent the wheel? Hopefully my school will have access to a server where I can use the Edublog platform in my classroom.

This blog is full of clichés...... does a cliché like a picture represent 1000 words? I hope so! Each week several questions were posed and I deliberately chose only one to answer. Whilst this may seem churlish, lazy or indifferent. It is not. We led busy lives in this fast paced OECD country.  This is a sad aspect of our lives today in the 21st century and I am not sure this pace is sustainable.

I have enjoyed tremendously learning from my colleagues and been amazed and gobsmacked by the individuality of each blog. I picked up numerous tips and had some fuzzy thinking clarified through their explanations. This is THE community of practise as discussed by Wenger.

I deliberately remained neutral and you are unlikely to find out much about me through my profile though the Saga might give a clue to my name as will the comments posted by my colleagues. I preferred to use a neutral approach and was in admiration for those of my colleagues who had strong opinions and wrote them down. Well done. I do not think it is the lack of courage on my part. I am just exhausted by justifying my position. It is possible that I gave courage to others to stand up for their beliefs either through my antagonism or my praise.

The Saga served as device to illustrate my reluctance to engage at times but like the device of the Wooden Horse I knew that I would conquer and be triumphant in my battle with IT. There is a caveat as there is in the cliché “Beware of Greeks bearing gifts,” one has to be informed when using IT.

A blog in my personal life? Would I use it? Yes if I wanted to record something extraordinary that I was engaged in - such as living for a year in Outer Mongolia or going to the Moon or it would make me debt free! In the classroom? For sure. This tool will hook the whole community in - colleagues, teachers, parents, grandparents and students. Go for it! Bring it on!

This has been another interesting unit, now completed and the only criticism would be that the workshops in the computer room were extremely frustrating. There needs to be another way. Perhaps the Education Faculty should approach the Geographers - they really have got computer teaching technologies sorted out. Good luck!