Scenario Planning can be Beneficial

Scenario Planning can be Beneficial

Benefits:

Scenario Planning allows participants to use forward thinking, creativity, creative and critical thinking and the opportunity to look at the context, whether business, country or service, through another lens. Taking time to step back from the day to day business, specific tasks and targets, to widen our view to include potential changes, whether intellectual, natural, social, political, economic, cultural or technological, and to then create scenarios which will assist us in preparing for the effects of possible potential futures, is beneficial and possibly crucial to the future of the context.

Disadvantages:

The process while seemingly simple would require people with a variety of skills, attitudes and experiences to develop a scenario plan. Viewing the wider world and coming up with a situation that would impact your context, may require firstly, people with certain knowledge, for example, current global trends, and secondly, creative people who can look at the trends and create a potential future scenario. Finally you may require people with more systematic thinking to prepare for the effects of these possible events. In large businesses, having a variety of people may make this process easy, however smaller groups may struggle to come up with as comprehensive a scenario plan.    

Usefulness in My Context:

As this unit progresses I am sure I will have a better understanding of how scenario planning could be useful in the life of a primary school teacher. At this time, I still see scenario planning as a big picture concept. I have seen the value of it when used by large companies. I could see curriculum development groups from the Ministry of Education using it. However I’m a little unsure as to when it would be used by teachers, staff or Board of Trustees. Perhaps the writing of the school charter could provide the opportunity for scenario planning.

For this online workshop I would like to learn anything that is applicable to primary schools so I can positively contribute to my next teaching situation.

Scenario Planning Can't Predict the Future, So What's the Point?

Scenarios can’t predict the future, so what’s the point?

The point is the preparation. The preparation we undertake in case of natural disasters can change the quality of our lives if an event should happen. The plans made, and the resources stockpiled, with different contingencies in mind demonstrate the importance of preparation. And while the illustration does not technically relate to scenario planning, it does highlight the importance of preparation. Scenario planning allows us to plan or prepare for the effects of potential futures. As demonstrated by the Shell company, scenario planning enabled plans and preparations for a possible future, that were extremely valuable.  Scenario planning can provide the opportunity to allow for carefully thought out decisions or action plans for potential events, with considerations for all factors. When faced with an unexpected situation, there is added pressure and stress is increased. Decisions made under these conditions are what I consider reactive decisions, and are not always the best decisions. The Shell company didn’t just get through a difficult situation, they grew and increased their business. While others may have been scrambling around, they already had a plan, and could continue to work with confidence and efficiency. The preparation they undertook was extremely worthwhile and had a significant impact on their company.

(Funnily enough when writing the above the ground started shaking!)

Introduction for Micro Open Online Course

Hi my name is Donna-Marie.

I am studying full time for a post-graduate diploma in education - e-learning. I have moved to Wellington this year, after my school closed down in Marlborough. I have been a primary teacher for eight years. The first four years were spent teaching at a newly merged school on the West Coast of the South Island. I taught middle to upper primary. I then moved to Blenheim and taught in the junior room at a two-teacher country school outside of Picton. 

I think this blog can be a great way to keep a record of ideas, learning and experiences gained through this course as well as giving the option for discussion or receiving comments or questions.

Looking at the future of education and looking at how we can prepare for that is exciting, and I will be looking for practical applications for my teaching.

Arena of Change relating to my research context.

Implementing Voice Thread into a writing programme
I have created a mind map to show the ecosystem and the links to my research context. The yellow box is the research context: Implementing Voice Thread into writing. The blue box is bureaucratic relationships or pressures. The green boxes are the professional relationships or influences. The orange boxes are the commercial relationships. The blue boxes are the political pressures or influences.

From Nicki Davis' Arena of Change, I have identified relationships between my research context and the current pressures, influences from the wider ecosystem. The commercial area benefits from the implementation of Web 2.0 tools in education. The sales of equipment for the school generates income for the IT companies, as well as the servicing of those items. The data required to use the software generates income for the telecommunications companies, along with the implementation of fibre-optic technologies to upgrade services.
The professional aspect of the arena is influenced by research which is demonstrating the value of implementing Web 2.0 tools in writing. Another other influence coming from the professional aspect is the Teachers Council Registered Teacher Criteria. As teachers, we abide by those professional guidelines and standards. It is our duty to keep up to date with current best practice, to do our best to engage the students, and to increase their knowledge and skills. More IT-proficient inclined teachers have shared their experiences, ideas and provided support to their colleagues through the blog medium.
Another aspect which has some influence on our teaching is politics. T he current government have instigated National Standards, and are publishing the results of student achievement publicly.
The bureaucratic relationship with the context I've chosen is possibly the largest influence. The school sets out it's vision, it's policies, it's targets, and it's programmes of work based on the curriculum, the needs of the students and the community's input. The teacher aims to achieve those goals, and follow the procedures set out. On a national level, the Ministry of Education relates to the teacher by it's curriculum, not only the achievement levels but also the values and opinions underpinning the new curriculum. The ministry offers action plans to increase the use and effectiveness of e-learning. The ministry offers initiatives, like the professional development programmes offered to schools in the area of e-learning.
As Davis (2008) points out while teachers are leaders of educational renewal, the interactions and agendas on a local, national and international scale all have an impact on the teacher, and the process of educational renewal.


Davis, N. (2008). How may teacher learning be promoted for educational renewal with IT? In J.Voogt and G. Knezek (Eds.), International Handbook of Information Technology in Primary and Secondary Education, (pp. 507-520). New York: Springer

Annotated Bibliography Book Chapter 1

Davis, N. (2008). How may teacher learning be promoted for educational renewal with IT? In J.Voogt and G. Knezek (Eds.), International Handbook of Information Technology in Primary and Secondary Education, (pp. 507-520). New York: Springer

This chapter first discusses, at a global level, the different approaches and agendas of groups internationally. Some for the good of education; non-profit initiatives, partnerships and organisations, and some for the profit they will make, with one study finding that use of IT in the classroom resulted in an 70% increase in ownership of home computers. While these groups influence the adoption of IT in education, it is the teachers who are the leaders of the educational evolution. The chapter discusses research that identifies circumstances, supports, models, hindrances and so on,  in the adoption of IT in education. The stages of change, based on maturity modelling, are not always reached, with stagnation and even some reversal identified in different circumstances. Influential factors like the attributes of innovations are discussed and conditions essential for IT integration are listed. These attributes and conditions demonstrate what is needed for teachers to successfully implement changes in the adoption of IT in the classroom. Educational renewal when supported by simultaneous and corresponding development of pre-service teacher education and pre-existing teachers and their pedagogy could move at a much greater pace, and therefore have a far greater effect.
This source is considered reliable. This chapter provided valuable information regarding the circumstances and criteria for effective adoption of technology tools in the classroom, as well as evolution of pedagogy and policies.  

Annotated Bibliography Journal Article 1

Andes, L., & Claggett, E. (2011). Wiki Writers: Students and Teachers Making Connections Across Communities. The Reading Teacher. 64 (5), 345-350 

Description:

Improving the writing skills of sixteen special education and at-risk literacy students in second grade through meaningful and integrated technological applications was the focus of a year-long program that included students, parents, teachers, and university graduate course members. Parent, student and teacher surveys as well as assessment data and work samples were collected. Reading benchmark exams were administered. At the beginning of the year 0% of the group were at, or above expectation. By the end of the year 50% of the group were at, or above expectation. By comparison the other students in Grade 2 had a 30% increase of students working at, or above. Another assessment showed similar improvements.  The opinion of parents, teachers and students was that students had an increased enthusiasm for reading and writing.

The technology applications were chosen by educators and a technology coach for best fit with their writing goals.  With the number of technology applications out there, it is possible to maintain the rate of introduction of new tools however this study urges educators to purposefully integrate technology in literacy instruction.
Evaluation:
This article comes from a peer-reviewed journal published by JStor. This article is one of many which discuss and investigate the integration of Web 2.0 tools into writing programmes to engage students and raise achievement. This research supports the context for my research for this course. Knowing that the end result of the changes will bring about positive impacts on achievement levels or motivation of students will be more likely to ensure persistence throughout the process. There is a mixture of opinion and fact with qualitative and quantitative data included in the article. 

Research Topic

Proposed Research Topic:
Change and the implementation of a web 2.0 tool in a writing program.

As part of another course (EDEM627 E-learning and pedagogy: effective strategies for the classroom) I reviewed international research investigating web 2.0 tools when implemented into writing programs. I then planned and implemented a mini action research project which involved Voice Thread and the writing program. This was the first time the students had used Voice Thread. Increasing the achievement levels in the area of writing is the goal of many teachers and it is of great interest. Engaging students often leads to an increase of learning.  

Learning the theories of change and then applying to the above context will be a great way to then think through how I will implement change into my classroom teaching to make it as smooth and effective as possible.

There are many peer reviewed journal articles that research the interaction between motivation, Web 2.0 tools and writing with evidence to show that use of Web 2.0 tools does increase motivation and engagement of students with some links to increased achievement in the area of writing. Articles were published in The Reading Teacher, Journal of Information Systems Education, Educational Research Review, Australasian Journal of Educational Technology, to name a few.

Some of the journals that I read raised the point that technology for technology's sake was of little or no value and that the tool chosen should be the best fit for the activity, learning outcomes and needs of the students. This has also been discussed in depth in Technology, Pedagogy and Content Knowledge (TPACK) articles. Another issue is that the links between web 2.0 tools and increased achievement levels have some evidence, but require more robust research. 

This topic fits locally, nationally and internationally. Research in this area is happening on the international level. Increasing student achievement is of local and national importance. It is the goal of teachers and schools.

This topic is a current issue. While increasing student achievement has been an focus for many, many years (probably since the beginning of education!), the use of Web 2.0 tools to influence that achievement is a recent development as the technology has been created and improved. 

This is my initial research topic and I am very aware that it will continue to develop and change.

EDEM630 DM's Introduction and Reflection on Creating A Blog

Hi my name is Donna-Marie.

I am studying full time for a post-graduate diploma in education - e-learning. I have moved to Wellington this year, after my school closed down in Marlborough. I have been a primary teacher for eight years. The first four years were spent teaching at a newly merged school on the West Coast of the South Island. I taught middle to upper primary. I then moved to Blenheim and taught in the junior room at a two-teacher country school outside of Picton. Here is a photo of me with two kids after our school production of SuperKids, (don't underestimate the power of vegemite).

I enjoy music, dancing, reading, movies, baking, driving, walking and spending time with family and friends.

I think this blog can be a great way to keep a record of ideas, learning and experiences gained through this course as well as giving the option for discussion or receiving comments or questions.

Creating this blog was eventful for me. The actual creation was easy, and I chose blogger because of its reputation for being simpler and easy to use. However when you're creating something to meet someone else's specifications there's an additional tension when you work. The links on the instruction page didn't work so it was harder to follow, and when I you-tubed it, the interface was different so the videos were showing a different version of blogger. I didn't realise that they had updated it, hence the different look. So I persisted and voila. My first personal blog.

Two of the resources I used:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rKVQKQxxUlk

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7kE_kyXao_o

I am looking forward to learning more about digital technologies and being able to apply what I learn to the classroom setting.

Test Post

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