Profile information

Saunil Hagler's profile picture

I am currently an E-Learning Specialist at Cyclone www.cyclone.co.nz where I work with schools to develop their e-learning capacity.  I have been in this position for a short time now, but already I am thoroughly enjoying it and feel like I'm working in the right job for me.  

Learn more about my experience on http://nz.linkedin.com/in/saunilhagler/

Read more about my views and opinions on teaching and learning on http://www.iseeteaching.com/

A bit about me

Posted on the Social Forum: http://stream.massey.ac.nz/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=148634

 

Kia Ora everyone

My name is Saunil Hagler and I am very excited to be continuing my postgraduate studies within the exciting area of e-learning. I am passionate about the opportunities that technology provides both teachers and learners, and I look forward to developing a broader perspective on e-learning in education as a result of this paper.

I am currently teaching at Albany Junior High School (AJHS) on Auckland’s North Shore, where I teach a range of subjects including PE and Health, ICT and Digital Technologies; however my main teaching area is Year 8 Homeroom (English, Social Studies, PE and Health, Technology (ICT)). I enjoy teaching, but feel that I need to grow within the job if I am to carry on in it at all. I look forward to developing further with regards to the use of technology in my teaching and learning. In particular, I am very passionate about the use of Google Apps for Education within my practice.

Prior to AJHS, I taught in the UK (or is that “attempted to teach”?) which was quite an experience, and before that I taught Science and Biology for about 6 years at Birkenhead College.

I try to be active within social networks, but my main method of getting myself out there is on my blog: http://iseeteaching.blogspot.co.nz/. You can connect with me on Twitter etc using the links on the blog. I will follow you back smile

I look forward to working with you all more closely.

Regards

Saunil

What do I hope to accomplish in this course?

Posted on 01 March 2014, 14:56
Last updated 12 June 2014, 10:15
Tags: 261.766

As a result of completing this course in teaching for e-learning, I aim to achieve several goals related to both improving my skills as an educator of students in years 1-13, as well as developing my skills and knowledge to help teach teachers how to better use e-learning in their practice.

The field of e-learning in education is rapidly changing and fast leaving many teachers and some students behind; especially with regards to how the technology is being used in the classroom to achieve learning objectives. Many people assume that students, as digital natives, somehow innately know how to use technology in their learning experiences and/or can quickly pick up the necessary skills to use the tech.  In my experience, the latter is somewhat true although often exaggerated in its extent, whereas the former is most definitely not.  Students do seems to be less wary of technology (especially when compared to many of the adults with which I work); however they still experience varying levels - and often high levels - of difficulty when attempting to learn skills associated with the tech and especially how to use the tech to support their learning.  Therefore teachers need to be educated in how to better utilise e-learning in their classrooms, so as to scaffold the learning for individual students so that they can acquire the skills and knowledge in a meaningful way that makes sense to them as individual learners.  I advocate for an integration of e-learning in school systems so that students use the tech regularly in their learning, developing the skills in tandem with interacting with meaningful subject material.  This is a better reflection of the realities of technology in life outside of school, especially in the workforce of 21st century learners.

Teachers play a crucial role in facilitating the use of technology in teaching and learning.  Unfortunately many teachers are slow to keep up with the rapidly changing technology that’s available, as well as the changing use of the tech in the classroom.  Technology has always been there in the modern setting; however its current ubiquity means that it is unavoidable in the classroom (smartphones, tablets etc) and is also a tremendously powerful tool which should be taken advantage of.  Therefore, teachers need careful training with regards to using the tech appropriately to support existing and new learning objectives.  

In my job as a teacher at a junior high school, I am responsible for coordinating the use of e-learning in teaching and learning.  I have identified a talent for this within myself and I’ve been recognised by my peers and managers as a leader in this area.  Teachers such as myself, who have demonstrated skill with using tech in the classroom, need to work with less ICT-able teachers to help them develop in this area, and consequently improve the teaching and learning taking place in the school.

Rapidly changing technology is having inexorable, dramatic effects in classrooms.  I hope to make sure that those effects are all positive and support enhanced teaching and learning outcomes.

Course Objectives

The aim of this course is to help students to examine and critique the principles and practices of teaching with new educational technologies, with a strong emphasis on awareness and understanding of the implications for online learning and teaching. 

 

Learning Outcomes:

Students who successfully complete this course will be able to:

  1. Demonstrate in-depth understanding of the central concepts, theories, and current areas of debate in the study of teaching in online environments;
  2. Identify, discuss and analyse the roles and responsibilities of the teacher in E- learning situations and demonstrate their application in practice; and
  3. Define teaching challenges arising from the use of educational technologies for distance and distributed teaching in their own educational setting and develop, discuss and implement ways of meeting those challenges in that setting. 

Course narrative

Click here to read the narrative of my experiences and learning in this course.

Reading Log Entries

Click here to read reflections and critical thinking I engaged in during course readings.

Personal Reflections

Click here to read personal reflections undertaken in this course.

Course Assignments

Follow the links below to view the work I submitted for each course assignment:

 

Assignment One:  Formal Reflection

Assignment Two: Critical Elements

Assignment Three: Online Seminar

Assignment Four: Learning Portfolio Submission (You're already viewing it Laughing)

Other Artefacts

Click here to view other artefacts of significance for me in this course.