Emotional intelligence skills

Emotional Intelligence (EI) is important for businesses as it have been associated with good leadership/management, workplace satisfaction and happiness in one’s personal life experiences. It was first described as a form of social intelligence. EI traits that are aspects of effective managers/leaders in the workplace include maturity, integrity, business acumen and social skills. Traditionally employees were recruited based on their intelligence quotient (IQ) measures rather than their EI measures. Emmerling and Goleman, (2005, p.9) stated “even in entry level positions, IQ can’t reliably distinguish average and star performers” Employers are now looking for people who will fit in with the firm/company by having good verbal communication skills, appear enthusiastic and are mature. These people are required to deal with staff issues including their needs, conflicts, a person who can listen and they need demonstrate good leadership skills. Today “many organisations and researchers are recognising that emotional intelligence skills are critical to success. (Akers & Porter, 1003, p. 66) The end result is a good working environment.

References:
Abraham, A. (2006) The need for the integration of emotional intelligence skills. Wollongong, NSW Faculty of Commerce papers.

Emmerling, R. J., and Goleman, D. (2005). Leading with emotion. Leadership Excellence 22(7): 9-10

Akers, M. D. And Porter, G. L. (2003). Your EQ skills: Got what it takes? Journal of Accountancy 195(3): 65-69

Communities of Practice

For many years people have been collectively learning in a communal place. They all share their ideas and thoughts to enable themselves to have a better understanding of information and to help others. "Communities of practice are groups of people who share a concern or passion for something they do and learn how to do better as they interact regularly” (Wenger, 2006, p. 1) Relationships are built where members learn from each other. This is how my learning journey through the GDLT course has progressed via the on-line forums. The support all the students provide for each other is amazing and very valuable. Without this community of practice I do not know how I would have managed to get this far- university week 6! Blogs and wikis are examples of places/platforms where people can share information and ideas about their interests. Blogs in particular are an excellent way of keeping track of friend’s new postings as you can use an aggregator feed to alert you to these.

Reference:
Wenger, E. (2006). Communities of practice a brief introduction. Retrieved March19, 2010 from http://www.ewenger.com/theory/

Mode 1 and Mode 2 knowledge.

Mode 1 knowledge is historically the traditional way of teaching. Teachers during the 19th century possessed the knowledge enabling them to teach students but they lacked the skills to deliver it effectively. Mode 1 knowledge is seen as authoritative and teacher-centred in the way students learn.

All schools, universities and educational institutions now incorporating Mode 2 knowledge. Teachers are now educated to be able to adapt to change and make the learning experience more student-centred.

References:
Gregory Heath RMIT University Retrieved March 9, 2010 http://www.aare.edu.au/01pap/hea01582.htm

Knowledge Economy

Today, society is changing and we all need to change with it. We are now using technology for learning, communicating and organising our lives. New learning theories, like connectivism, are emerging as these are based on the digital age, unlike other theories, such as behaviourism, cognitivism and constructivism (Seimans, 2004). Over the last twenty years, technology has reorganized how we live, how we communicate, and how we learn.

We are now living in a knowledge economy. Knowledge can be shared and transferred around the world at lightning speed due the emergence of new technologies in the last 20 years. This knowledge is virtually free and easily accessible. “The rising knowledge intensity of the world economy and our increasing ability to distribute that knowledge have increased its value to all participants in the economic system” (Houghton & Sheehan, 2000, p. 1) Companies need to keep up with changes or they will be left behind. Today we see global competition and production as firms operate in more than one country. This results in firms being highly competitive. “Many firms are becoming multi-technology corporations locating around centres of excellence in different countries” (Houghton & Sheehan, 2000, p. 13). This has sped up globalisation. We are able to make knowledge public by use of the internet and other technologies, such as blogs, facebook and twitter. Once this has occurred there is a small cost to adding more users. “Because knowledge does not wear out and people can duplicate it practically without cost, it is a source of supervalue and superproductivity. Knowledge alone can add value to an otherwise closed, zero-sum system of value” (Houghton & Sheehan, 2000, p. 14). Businesses must provide learning opportunities for all employees so they can keep abreast of new technologies. All businesses are always looking at new ways to reduce costs and technology can help with this. For Example bar code scanners in shops for buying, selling and ordering goods via the internet, emailing instead of traditional posting of documents, the list goes on. People in existing and emerging jobs are affected by the speed at which technology is changing. Therefore we need to better prepare our students for their life after formal education. As Siemans (2004) states "The pipe is more important than the content within the pipe".

References:
Houghton, J., and Sheehan, P. (2000). A primer on the knowledge economy. Centre for strategic economic studies. Melbourne Victoria

Seimans, G. (2004) Connectivism: A learning theory for the digital age Retrieved March 14, 2010 from http://www.elearnspace.org/Articles/connectivism.htm

Message Stick "Voices from the Cape"

I enjoyed watching Voices from the Cape and it made me understand the difficulties, teachers in the Cape, have teaching indigenous students. This is often due to their home life where they have little family support to encourage then to obtain an education. A group of media trainers were invited to Arukun to engage young people in new ways of learning. Some notes I made while watching the video are listed:
1. A different technique for teaching the students was used whereby they became engaged in their learning.
2. The media trainer greets the students with "Good morning" and asks them their names so he can learn them and give the student a sense of identity. He makes this humourous to gain their attention and "break the ice"
3. The children are encouraged to use their voice so they can express who they are and what their identity is
4. The children have 6 weeks to tell their stories (which come from within) and learn to use/operate camcorders to record their story
5. Their voices guide the learning process
6. In 6 weeks after the media trainers have left Arukun, these children will need to be able to teach others
7. Music is something they all know and used in a medium where they can get a sense of their own identity. More withdrawn students will tend to express themselves when music is used
8. Previously behaviour management was a large part of the lessons and the boys and girls were separated so they all remained on task
9. When children are engaged in drawing or animation they were busy for 20-30min.
10. The children became excited about the task and were enjoying school
11. The media trainers visited parents and elders about the program and explain language and culture are a part of the project. And the Western Education outcomes which will benefit
12. Groups are working together and communicating
13. Students are totally engaged in the classroom activities
14. The children are now attending school and enjoy this form of student-centred learning and using ICTs
15. This project empowered students to take control of their own lives

With these students then teaching others how to tell their story using a camcorder makes the task student-centred.

Sugata Mitra- Hole in the Wall project

I was very interested to see the way these children learnt to use a computer. This video really opened my eyes as to how important self instruction is for children. It was amazing that one computer could generate so much interest and all the children were able to learn how to use it with one operator and others giving instructions. Sugata's comment they are "learning as much as watching" is definitely correct. Teaching themselves English over a three month period by using a "hole in the wall" computer really opened my eyes as to the way young children can learn. Having 200 words they could use in the correct context after three months (even though the prounuication was not correct) demonstrates how quickly children are able to learn new concepts and teach each other. Sugata states "learning is a self-organising system" and this presentation definitely portrays this.

In this course, ICTs for learning design, there have been many technologies I have not felt young students would be able to use given the limited hours they have using computers each week. I am assuming from the video these children had continuous access to the hole in the wall computer, used it everyday and spent many hours experimenting with it and this enabled them to grasp how to use a computer in a very short period of time.

Music can help students remember...

Looking at the INCOMPETECH website, I was not inspired to consider using music in science lessons. While trying to think of ways to use music in a Science class, I looked at the link on Natalie's blog to Songs for teaching website, where Chris Brewer lists using music to help students remember lesson content. I have never considered using music in a science class but after looking at this website I was interested in the types of music Chris suggests using and then ways to use it. He suggests using it for learning journeys, for example an imaginative journey related to an academic topic- take them around the solar system or through the digestive tract. Chris also suggests having the students relax while the music is playing and then the teacher describes a process slowly and with a calm voice. He states "students love these quiet reflective times and the journey information will be securely bonded into their memory" I will be keen to try this with some of the students I teach and see how effective this may be.

Most children of today, are spending large amounts of time listening to music and seem to able to relate to it. Mind you, the music used for science lessons may not be similar to what the usually listen to, but it may result in them enjoying the lesson more. Some children come out of their shell when music is playing and this would be a good technology for those who are shy, have low self-esteem and lacking in confidence.