Designing & Developing a Blended Learning Course by Josmar Borg

EDU5651: Final Project

Designing & Developing a Course using a Blended Learning approach

Use the experience gained during the DiTEL course and the resources designed in the various course units to develop a blended course within an identified area of specialisation

Josmar Borg Sam Cefai

TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction .............................................................................................................................................................3 Course Structure ....................................................................................................................................................4 Our Contribution in the Course Design .......................................................................................................5 VLE (Edmodo) .........................................................................................................................................................6 Instruction to Access our Group on Edmodo .......................................................................................6 Computer Basic Skills (Welcome part) ...................................................................................................6 Class Forum..........................................................................................................................................................7 Course Evaluation Poll ....................................................................................................................................8 Explanation & Evaluation of the Lessons Designed ..............................................................................9 Sub Topic 2.3: Using Sensors .......................................................................................................................9 Topic 3: The CPU, CPU Speed & Performance .................................................................................. 11 Topic 4: Secondary Storage ....................................................................................................................... 13 Sub topic 6.3: Roles in an IT Environment ......................................................................................... 15 Sub Topic 7.1: Malware ............................................................................................................................... 17 Sub Topic 7.2: Cyber Ethics. ...................................................................................................................... 19 Conclusion â&#x20AC;&#x201C; The Way Forward! ................................................................................................................. 21 Bibliography .......................................................................................................................................................... 22

INTRODUCTION We are creating this write-up to explain the main purposes and our intentions behind the course design and dynamics, the activities designed to complement the topics being covered and the teaching pedagogies aimed to be used throughout the completion of this course. First and foremost, it is important to point out that the creation of the VLE (being Edmodo in this case) with all the material within was based on a collaborative and team effort approach. Josmar Borg took it upon his shoulders to set up the VLE in relation to prior discussions that we did as a group. Due to the nature of this assignment we felt that it was pertinent for us to meet face-to-face for a good number of times. During our meetings we discussed about the course subject and theme, the course syllabus and structure and how to delegate the workload between us so as that everyone will have an active part and contribution. We cooperated together and shared certain resources among us so that we could start developing the different parts of the course. Whilst making a list of the resources we ought to include in this course, we looked through our available resources that we use with our students and those that we created throughout these last two years of DiTEL course. However, we were limited due to the fact that most of the material we had available was related to our main teaching subjects, being Computing and Business Studies, rather than ICT. As a group, we decided that the topics to be covered should be related to ICT as this is the common subject that we all teach. Later, our discussions focused on what resources we shall use in order to meet our teaching objectives by means of the different teaching pedagogies that we think fits properly for the different parts of the course. The main intention of creating a VLE was to create a Blended Learning environment. By Blended Learning we mean creating an environment that allows for some lessons that take place in class using face-to-face meetings, other lessons to be totally managed online and also other lessons which are based on a mixture of the two. We prefer this approach because, although we teach students who are digital natives, yet most of them prefer to use technology for their free time and entertainment and are not aware that such tools can be used for learning. Schools, to some extent, enforce this belief when students are required to unplug all their devices once they step into the school premises.

One must appreciate that this teaching and learning approach is

rather innovative in the local scene. A blended approach gives us, as educators, the chance to support our students and promote technology as a beneficial tool for educative purposes.

COURSE STRUCTURE Topic

Sub Topic

Resources

Activities Class Work

Homework

1. Computer Basics

*Main parts of a PC (Hardware) *Software

PowerPoint Presentation

IWB Activities

ePortfolio

2. I/O Devices

2.1. Input & Output Devices

PowerPoint Presentation

Online Activities: Word Search, Group Devices & Word Search

Wiki

2.2. Special I/O Devices 2.3. Using Sensors

Video Clips presented in Wiki

3. CPU & Primary Memory

*Task (Word Document) *Online Worksheet Online Quizzes

Task (Word Document)

3.2. Primary Memory

*YouTube Video Clip *PDF Hand-out Online PowerPoint

3.3. System Bus

PDF Hand-out

Online Quizzes

*Word Document Task (Online Submission about the whole topic) *Class Forum (Post Session) *ePortfolio

4. Secondary Storage

Types of Secondary Storage

Video Clips: *Primary vs. Secondary Storage *Computer Data Storage

5. Network

5.1. Internet 5.2. Internet Connection Services

IWB Activities

6.1. Health Issues

Links Provided

6.2. Online Communities (Podcast / IM / VOIP / RSS / Blogs) 6.3. Roles in an IT Department

PowerPoint Presentations

6. ICT in Everyday Life

7. Security & Law

3.1. CPU Speed & Performance

Case Study and ePortfolio WIKI

7.1. Malware 7.2. Cyber Ethics

8. Revision

Web Quest

Fishbowl activity

PDF Hand-outs Video clips

Online games

Task Worksheet

Picture Hunt Fishbowl, ePortfolio, Forum

Online Activities: Multiple Choice Questions, Crossword & Quiz Online Activity: Crosswords

Blog

Visit to local IT Companies

Forum, Presentation & Word Documents

Online Activities: Word Search & Crossword

WIKI

*ePortfolio *Forum

*dPBL Activity *Online games Scratch game

OUR CONTRIBUTION IN THE COURSE DESIGN This project was designed in collaboration with the secondary track course mates being Josmar Borg, Sam Cefai, Redentine Cini and Sonia Spiteri Swain. At first we worked together until we decided on all the aspects that make up this course and certain parts of the course were developed in collaboration between all the members of the group. But, eventually, we regrouped into two groups so that each group could focus on a number of activities to be included in the course structure. From here onwards, our group (Josmar & Sam) focused on specific lessons and activities as shown in the table below. In this document we will be explaining the activities pertaining to our group because the other group (Redentine and Sonia) will develop their own documentation that relates to the work they have completed.

Josmar Borg  Creation and organisation of the VLE (using Edmodo)

Sam Cefai  Computer Basic Concepts (Welcoming Part)  Sub Topic 2.3: Using Sensors

 Computer Basic Concepts (Welcoming Part)

 Sub Topic 7.1: Malware

 Topic 3: CPU and Primary Memory

 Course Evaluation Poll

 Topic 4: Computer Secondary Storage

 Extra Resources:  Crossword puzzles: online communities; input devices; identify the threat.

 Sub Topic 6.3: Roles in an IT Department  Sub Topic 7.2: Cyber Ethics  Course Evaluation Poll  Extra Resources: Flip Charts as resources to be used on the Interactive Whiteboard about Topic 1: Computer Basics

 Word-search puzzle: input/output devices; security threats online.  Matching game: group the devices.  Multiple choice questions: health issues.

VLE (EDMODO) This course is posted on Edmodo, the virtual learning environment (VLE) used to implement this course.

INSTRUCTION TO ACCESS OUR GROUP ON EDMODO My students will be using EDMODO as virtual learning space and are enrolled to the group named ICT- Basic Concepts. To be able to see the course activities as posted on Edmodo:

1. Join the Group through the link: http://www.edmodo.com/home#/join/b52847c68f395421f2 164d56b1107936 2. Using the code:dy17wt

The structure of the online course was categorized according to the course structure as shown above. Apart from the different topics, it also includes other sections as listed hereunder:

COMPUTER BASIC SKILLS (WELCOME PART) This is an introductory part where we explain to our students:  the teaching methodology being adopted (BLENDED LEARNING);  the learning objectives and what students are expected to learn at the completion of the course;  the use of the Class Forum;  the purpose of creating an ePortfolio as a learning journal.

We wanted to stress the fact that their ePortfolio will be assessed on an on-going basis. Our students are still young. Most of them are still not sure what they want in life let alone what they really need. By assessing their ePortfolio, we are quantifying the fundamental purpose of this tool. We trust that by doing so they understand the use and the benefits of ePortfolios.

Throughout the development of their ePortfolio, students will:  gain further digital skills and competences;  have an online record (evidence) of their learning achievements;  have a reference point to help in their revisions;  have ample opportunity for reflection. All this, in return, will entice the students to own their learning; a great way to instil a culture of life-long learning.

CLASS FORUM In this section of the VLE we have created a forum. This will be the platform where students can share their questions, reflections, extra research material, and also complete specific tasks assigned by the teacher throughout the course. This way collaboration is promoted through:

 Intellectual exchange;  Learning new ideas and refining old ones;  Enjoying community membership;  Influencing the forum's evolution;  Contributing to others;  Students are more likely to use critical thinking as they have time to absorb what others are saying and how they are going to respond;  Shy students can get a say;  Students can develop a stronger class community;  Students are more likely to cite class research and class readings;  Students achieve greater cognitive and exploratory learning; and  Ideas are documented and can act as a source of reference for revision purposes.

COURSE EVALUATION POLL We decided to create a course evaluation process to critically scrutinize the course through the collection and analyses of the information obtained. As a result, we will have the students’ feedback on which to build our “judgments about a program, to improve its effectiveness, and/or to inform programming decisions” (Zint) The aim for developing such a course evaluation is to:  Improve course goals, objectives and dynamics;  Better understand our students’ needs and how to meet these needs;  Design objectives that are more achievable and measurable;  Monitor progress by means of proper assessment methods; and  Increase the course productivity and effectiveness to enhance the learning experience.

We tried to design short evaluation questions, of an objective nature, to pinpoint important aspects of the course. Streich, M. (2013) pointed out that “the great danger of high school end of course evaluations rests in subjective questions and comments that do more to intimidate teachers rather than producing good facts”. Hence, we wanted to avoid posing questions about the personality of the teacher, such as ‘Was the teacher fair to all students?’ or ‘Does the teacher respect and tolerate the opinions of all students?’ Thus, we limited the possibility that ‘angry’ or ‘not interested’ students use this activity as a weapon against the teacher.

The multiple choice replies that we provided for each question include an array of options, with terms like ‘Waste of Time’ to ‘Extremely Interesting’ or ‘Strongly Disagree to ‘Strongly Agree’. We tried to refrain from using generic terms such as ‘Excellent’, ‘Average’ and ‘Poor’ “which imply very little meaning and turn the vehicle into a sterile document” (Streich, 2013). Moreover, we wanted to give the students the freedom to write further comments that reflect their own insight and constructive opinions. This gives the teacher additional data on which to evaluate the course integrity.

EXPLANATION & EVALUATION OF THE LESSONS DESIGNED Hereunder, we intend to explain the lessons in detail, while giving an evaluation of why and how we decided on the teaching approach, the resources included and the tasks assigned for the different topics.

SUB TOPIC 2.3: USING SENSORS Some teachers, who are starting off with this activity, might feel quite confused upon discovering that homework is handed out before class work. Rest assured there is no misprint here. In fact this strategy is a specific type of blended learning known as a Flipped (or inverted) Classroom. The technique is a pedagogical concept whereby technology is used to move lessons outside of the classroom and move practice inside the classroom (Strayer, 2012). Teachers have been flipping their classrooms for years - issuing reading-lists prior to starting a topic; following subject-related television and radio programs. The internet has added an interactive experience to this pedagogy. Some teachers are now recording their own lessons and uploading the videos for the students to watch at home on their desktop computer, laptop or mobile device. But flipping the classroom isn’t only about uploading videos. As Bergmann and Sams explain, “it’s about how to best use your in-class time with students” (2012). Being around in class and helping the students with their homework after they have acquired the basic concepts at home, changes the role of the teacher from the instructor (departing knowledge) to that of a coach, i.e. helping students deepen their understanding of the topic at hand. So, in order to get more time working with equipment that is only available in the classroom (i.e. the NXT Lego robots), a website has been created (using sites.google.com) that offers students links to resources that they can surf through at their own pace at home (or any other place, be it the classroom for example). Prior to the classroom activity, students will be directed to the relevant website. To engage students in their learning while surfing the website, students will: participate in a forum; play an online word-search puzzle; and use an innovative web 2.0 tool (www.padlet.com) to contribute their ideas towards in-class activities. Students will finally work through worksheets in the classroom, employing what they have learnt online. The forum will offer an online space where students will be able to write down their thoughts about how, they think, robots manage to move around. A forum not only offers teacher-student communication, it can also foster student-student communication whereby they can learn from

each other (Northover, 2002). Northover (2002) highlights a series of advantages for forums, including: 

queries and answers are available to all;



information is equally shared;



postings are permanent;



forum fosters collaboration;



comments can be thought through before actually posting them; and



an archive for assessment.

It is important to set a clear assessment in a forum. Students might not feel the need to post comments in the forum. That is why I included an assessment for at least one personal comment and a comment to someone else’s postings. The aim of the online word-search puzzle is for the student to recall some of the basic input/output devices that have been covered in earlier years. Padlet is a type of forum, but it does not allow the possibility of threads. Participants post their contributions to a wall (check the link >>What is padlet?). Contributions can include text, links, pictures, audio and videos. Moreover, students can read what others have posted. Hence, Padlet can offer a quick way for students to engage in learning and contribute to the group. Wrapping up this learning activity, students will come to the classroom to work out tasks prepared on worksheets. The students, in groups of up to 4 members (group numbers depending on number of robots) will be expected to follow the worksheets to build robotic tasks and also add their own personal touches. Adding that personal touch will help students feel ownership of the activity, thus helping in their learning.

TOPIC 3: THE CPU, CPU SPEED & PERFORMANCE During the unit EDU5644: Learning through Designing I: Designing Experiences and Resources, we had a module about Online Learning Scenarios. During this module we came across the different types of learning outcomes and the levels of interaction with the students as listed below:  Verbal Information (Facts)  Intellectual Skills 

Discriminations



Concept



Relational rule



Procedural rule



Problem solving strategy

 Psychomotor skill  Attitude  Metacognitive skill

Now that the emphasis is about conceptual learning and problem solving skills, I wanted to cover this topic through eliciting the students’ intellectual skills by designing a Concept Activity. While recalling that the students have already learned, in previous years, basic computer system concepts and certain CPU keywords such as CU, ALU, Cache Memory (Verbal Information – Facts); therefore, during this course the aim is to build on previous years and focus more on the concepts of the CPU as the brain of the computer. This topic involves teacher–students interaction, students-students interaction and also students working on individual basis. The lesson delivery proposed is tackled within three class lessons (45min each). This way, the student can learn different aspects of the CPU separately while having ample time to deeply focus on each aspect and to sustain their work from school to home. From one lesson to another the students are expected to finish their research and activity provided. This gives the teacher the possibility to assess the students gradually on all the different parts throughout his topic.

Different resources are used for the learning phase and hands on phase as listed below:

Learning Phase

Hand-on Phase

 YouTube Video Clips  PDF Hand-out Notes

 Document Worksheets (.doc so that students can fill in the worksheets and submit on the VLE)

 Online PowerPoint Presentations

 Online Worksheets

 Online Games

 Class Forum (posting of difficulties and of extra research done)

 Class Forum (comment and give feedback to other students’ posts)

As noticed, a variety of resources are included so as to increase the students’ motivation and instil awareness that certain tools can be used for learning, unlike what they might believe. For instance, I made it a point to stress about the use of online games as a way of learning. There is substantial literature promoting this interpretation, and that this is one way how to engage the students to participate, get involved, and gain motivation to learn in their own pace and ability. Students are given a choice of two games to play and revise certain concepts following their research and other activities that they completed. The use of the class forum shows the students that similar to their contributions in other forums such as online multiplayer gaming forums, the class forum can also be used for the same purpose but in relation to their learning. Moreover, I made it a point that their work remains soft-copied so that it can be shared and most important included in their ePortfolio. I truly believe that this is important since a cultural change is needed among both the students and educators to appreciate the benefits that technology can offer in the educational sector. Moreover, students feel more at ease knowing that they are using the tools that they have been nurtured with, without being punished or banned for doing so. Such a teaching/learning perspective mitigates the problem of losing the students’ interests and engagement because of the fact that schools are ‘powering down’ the students while prohibiting the use of such tools.

TOPIC 4: SECONDARY STORAGE Subject

ICT

Audience

Form 3 Students

Topic

Topic 4: Computer Secondary Storage

Mode of Delivery

Interactive posters (using Glogster)

Task

Web Quest …https://sites.google.com/site/ictmod1quest/

Mode of Work

Individual Work

The activity will start with a brief introduction about the topic, i.e. Computer Secondary Storage. Firstly the teacher should make sure that the students have understood that Computer Storage is classified as Primary Memory and Secondary Memory. Students are given the time to watch a video to understand the distinction between both. The lesson proceeds with an explanation of how Secondary Storage is classified into different technologies being Magnetic, Optical and Electronic. The final part of the lesson is then dedicated for the explanation of the task assigned. I wanted to provide a different activity for such a topic. Designing a Web Quest was a natural choice as this helps students discover facts and knowledge in an active way and so the students become active participants of their own learning process. This makes more sense when noticing that such a topic does not require deep explanation of certain difficult concepts where the teachers’ constant monitoring and explanation is needed. In addition, through a web quest the concept of scaffolding is elicited as students are directed to search for information and produce background and foundational work prior finalizing the task. Enough time is provided for the students to scheme through the web quest, and then it is briefly explained to be sure that the students have clearly understood the task at hand, while, at the same time, allowing the students to independently work through it at their own pace. It is important to note that I wanted to provide a storyline within the web quest so as to make sure that students are learning throughout a context (Contextual Learning). According to Karweit (1993), through contextual learning the students “carry out activities and solve problems in a way that reflects the nature of such tasks in the real world”. In my teaching experience I have found that by seeking meaning in context, the students show more participation and engagement that results in a higher standard of the work they produce.

The aim of this web quest is to let the students autonomously research and find out appropriate resources and content to:  Understand why storing information in computer systems is necessary.  Learn how data is stored in Hard Disk drives, Floppy Disks and Magnetic Tape.  Learn about Optical media (CDs, DVDs & Blue Ray)  Distinguish clearly between Optical and Electronic storage.  Learn about Electronic storage media. (USB memory, Flash memory)  Distinguish clearly between serial/sequential and direct access. The students are given ample time to finish this web quest and they are encouraged to post on the class forum if they have any query. Also, students are encouraged to attend the Computer Club (during mid-day breaks), especially if they have problems to access technology at home. It is good to note that, as with any other teaching approach, using web quests can have their drawbacks too. The fact that students become dependent on the Internet to find information, then students might lack from reflecting and analysing their own work. Therefore, plagiarism should be enforced and so students should be credited, through the assessment, for their original work and references included. In the web quest I wanted to provide a specific and detailed assessment rubric of how the student will be assessed for their work. Practically, all the components during the whole process are valued together with the students’ final production. Hence, the students can produce the work according to what I am expecting from them and autonomously can roughly get a picture of the standard of their work.

SUB TOPIC 6.3: ROLES IN AN IT ENVIRONMENT For this topic, my aim was that of putting reflective practice on the forefront of the objectives. I did not want the students to simply learn the different roles that exist in an IT Department but I wanted them to think and reflect about themselves, their abilities, and their attitude towards their future career. The task is designed in a way that involves significant reflective thinking in order for the students to successfully complete it. The assessment rubric provided gives clear indications that descriptive work does not earn them a good grade. This is not a usual practice for our students and so I tried to make it as motivating as possible. I decided that a Distributed Problem Based Learning (dPBL) approach would deem to fit properly as it gives the students a real context to work through, and the time and the autonomy to work on their own, while sharing and helping each other to instigate deeper thinking. This can be quite challenging for the students, while knowing that a dPBL approach requires minimal to no teacher involvement. I can recall my experience that I had when working with the Norwegians to compete the tasks that the tutors gave us a for the EDU5645 DiTEL unit. It was hard at first to react and collaborate with the other members of the group without the frequent support of the tutors. However, we managed to work without having a structure to follow and this resulted in a better learning experience and we assimilated what we learned to an even higher degree. For this reason, I gave the students certain checkpoints before they actually finish the task. Upon every check point the students would be finishing a part of the task that can be assessed and the teacher can provide feedback. This way the students wonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t feel lost and uncertain about their work even though the learning does not occur in a totally structured way as what usually happens in traditional teaching. Personally, such a twist to dPBL is needed (creating checkpoints) because teenagers might not have the maturity to sustain their efforts when they feel lost. The first part of this topic involves an online session while students are at home. Students are given a video to watch and evaluate prior to a thirty minutes Skype group-call is done to discuss the topic. This is very interesting, because students have to use Skype as a communication tool to follow and participate during the lesson. This does not only instigate more participation, especially from those students who lack participation during face to face lessons, but it gives the students a different approach of how lessons can be done. This gives them a hand on experience of an online course. Then, each group is assigned a task that portrays a real scenario. They have to create an interview sheet to use when they interview various professionals in different local IT

Companies. Through the information and resources gained during their visits, the students have to create a video portraying their ideas and reflections about the career they are interested in. This video should also display the working environment of the company they have visited. This is in fact the aim of using a problem based learning approach. Students are presented with a real problem and they have to solve it. Our students are not accustomed to work in such a learning scenario. However, through this group exploration, students “…should locate the gaps in their own knowledge and skills in order to decide what information they need to acquire in order to resolve or manage the situation.” This way, the focus is on “the inquiry process rather than transmit subject-based knowledge”. (Savin-Baden et al; 2006: p3) As one can notice, students are not only gaining knowledge through their interviews and video development but they are acquiring other social skills. For instance, communication skills are developed while the students conduct the interviews. Moreover, students gain real experience of the learning content since the learning process occurs in the setting that actually involves the knowledge. This might result in the students being engaged in deeper thinking and evaluation of their work. This is in fact the idea behind Situated Learning, in which “learning as it normally occurs is a function of the activity, context and culture in which it occurs” (Lave & Wenger, 1991), unlike what happens in other teaching pedagogies in which learning activities involve knowledge which is out of context. Through Situated Learning, the students get involved in a “community of practice which embodies certain beliefs and behaviours to be acquired” (Lave & Wenger, 1991) Students are also learning how to convey knowledge using different forms of resources, in this case being a video production. Moreover, students are learning different digital skills required to produce a video. This is done through online tutorials form YouTube video clips and from the teacher’s help during the Computer Club (mid-morning breaks). Such an activity gives the possibility for the students to share their work not only with their class peers by means of the class forum but also using social media. Students feel proud of their work and the fact that they can expose it makes it an even more interesting and a more engaging task. Throughout all the stages of this topic, students are expected to provide their reflective journals on the class forum which can be analysed and critically evaluated by the teacher and their class peers. All the steps involved are assessed and so an assessment guideline sheet is provided as indication of what level of work is expected from them.

SUB TOPIC 7.1: MALWARE This activity starts off with a word-search puzzle for the students to complete individually or with another student. The activity will introduce the students to the main terms that will be covered throughout this learning activity. No definitions are given at this stage, just factual information - the first type of learning. The website offers students a repertoire of links about the topic, i.e. malware. In groups the students will delegate the readings amongst each other in order to produce a summary of the main points which they will then share amongst themselves. Rather than collaborating, they will be cooperating, i.e. sharing resources amongst each other without much discussion. “Students will encounter differences within a group” (Smith and MacGregor, 1992), so I thought that instead of putting the students immediately into a possible conflict situation, they could start of by sharing a few resources. Reading, although not a digital skill, is still an important skill that students should practice. The second task involves the students to create an online poster using edu.glogster.com at home. This innovative Web2.0 tool offers the students to create their own work on the web for others to see. Such a task exposes the students to certain digital skills, such as creating an online account and linking resources to their work. During the next lesson in class, the students will read through case studies about malware on a wiki. Case studies narrate “a real life situation that sets up a problem or unresolved tension for the students to analyse and resolve” (p.4, Smith and MacGregor, 1992). Using knowledge that they have acquired through their summaries and after creating the online poster, the students will answer a set of questions associated with each case study. The questions will lead (i.e. scaffold) the group of students to remember the important terms and definitions and how they can use this knowledge to tackle the situation. Using a wiki, the students can edit the page to write their answers. The last and final exercise is a crossword puzzle where students are presented with definitions of online threats and they have to write down the correct corresponding terms. This activity can serve as evidence that they have participated in the previous activities and understood the terms.

Link to wiki: http://computinggozo.wikispaces.com/project/manage/Internet+Securi ty+-+viruses+and+malware

Usernames and passwords to access the different groups: Username

Password

ditel01josmar

tiwrac

ditel01sonia

frioph

ditel01redentine

liocra

ditel01sam

wiohio

SUB TOPIC 7.2: CYBER ETHICS. The topic of Cyber Ethics can be quite ambiguous for the students and so my first intention when designing this topic was to make sure that the students collaborate together in order to learn from each other and get to know certain facts and analysis that they might not have thought about. This is done by setting up different groups, with each group being made up of four members. The students are encouraged to refrain from delegating specific parts of the work among themselves. For this reason, I decided that a Collaborative Learning approach should be used. This is different than Cooperative Learning where students delegate different parts of the work and then finalize the product through frequent teacher involvement. “When people collaborate, the group works together to solve a problem or make a decision about something”. (Field, 2009) To emphasize on collaboration rather than cooperation, I accentuated on proper planning before the commencement of the actual working on the task assigned. Hence, Mind Maps where introduced. While the use of Mind Maps “offers a structured way for note taking and note making” (Mind Maps in Education - Where it all Started..., 2013), it leaves space for the students’ creativity. This may seems quite contradictory, nevertheless, “…with Mind Maps, these two powerful forces [structure and creativity] work together in a synergy that is hard to reproduce in any other way”.(Mind Maps in Education - Where it all Started..., 2013) All the members of the group have to conduct their research about cyber ethics (as a whole topic) and together they share their interpretations to collaboratively create a mind map. This task has to be done as homework by means of online communication through the use of Skype, FaceBook or any other tool of their choice. The Mind Map will serve as a plan for the groups to carry on with their work and complete the task. Apart from this, my plan was that each member of the group has a specific role. This gives the students a particular identity within the group and encourages further engagement. Also, this reduces the problem that some members rely on their peers to develop and deliver the work assigned to them. In fact, one of the tasks involved in this topic is for the students to: 1. Decide with whom to work (groups of 4 members) 2. As a group, the students should decide which roles each member will represent (roles are LEADER, RESOURCER, DEVELOPER and DIRECTOR)

3. Each group should make a self-presentation of the group and the roles that each member has been assigned to. This task was provided so that the students are given the freedom to create the groups on their own and to reflect on their decision of how the roles are assigned. This is interesting because “active learning requires reflection” 1 . Tasks that involve reflective practices should be continually emphasized and assessed because reflective skills promote “the development of independent learners.”1 Finally, the students should produce a PowerPoint Presentation that covers the various aspects of Cyber Ethics. It is important to note that the work produced should be available online. Therefore, the students are guided into using specific Web 2.0 tools such as slideshare.com to publish readymade Power Points online. The reason behind this is that apart from learning new digital skills, the students can also share their work among their peers with ease. Each group can eventually evaluate each other’s work and provide feedback. Submission for this task has to be done online on the VLE so that the VLE will remain the backbone platform throughout the whole course. Together with their presentation, each group should present a MULTIMEDIA COMPONENT TABLE that includes a list of all the resources they have used together with proper references in order to credit others’ work. This couldn’t be neglected, as plagiarism goes specifically against the topic itself (Cyber Ethics) This topic is designed to be covered in three separate lessons. From one lesson to the other the students are required to produce certain parts of the assignment. Even though one of the objectives of the design is to leave the students to work on their own as much as possible, I wanted to create certain checkpoints for the students to rely on and for the teacher to prompt and guide the students in the right track. This task is assessed gradually throughout the different parts of the task assigned. Students can determine their level of success through the assessment criteria rubric that they have available online on the VLE. The ePortfolio should be updated to include the material used, research done and the reflections throughout this topic.

…taken from the Power Point ‘DESIGNING FOR REFLECTION’ used during lectures for unit EDU5650

CONCLUSION – THE WAY FORWARD! It seems that there has never been a better time for learning. The advances in technology – the likes of blogs, wikis, mobile technology, tablets – offer curious individuals new ways to engage in and manage their own learning. The Maltese authorities have invested heavily, and continue to invest, in ICT technology within formal education. This policy is pointed out by the EU Kids Online study, carried out between 2010 and 2012, which remarks that “in Malta, diffusion of formal ICT education and internet access in primary and secondary schools has resulted in a very high proportion of children using the internet when compared to the EU27 average” (Safer Internet MT SIC, factsheet). Internet access is also on the rise at home. A research study carried out by M. Fsadni & Associates in May 2012 commissioned by the Malta Communications Authority about the use of ICT by minors (between 8 years and 15 years) in Malta revealed a rise in internet usage at home across different devices: not only the traditional desktop computer and laptop, but also including usage of tablets, games consoles and mobile phones. The study displayed an increase in the use of the internet (most notably social networking, chatting and email) amongst the younger and older age groups. With these research studies in mind, it’s high time that more teachers embrace technology enhanced learning in their daily activities. Policies that ban the use of technology at schools only give out the wrong message to teachers, students and parents – that technology is a fad. With the use of a blended learning methodology we have designed a holistic course in ICT. Covering various topics in the area of Basic Concepts of ICT, we have demonstrated how blended learning can be implemented within the local setting. This assignment has offered us with an opportunity to employ the knowledge and skills that we have acquired during the DiTEL course. It was a true opportunity for collaboration and sharing.

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