Abstract:

Pre-service student teachers at the National Institute of Education, Singapore (NIE) acquire a range of professional attributes through their training. These include values related to learner-centeredness and teacher identity, subject and other forms of knowledge, and an array of skills. Among these are skills in reflection, communication, and technology (A Model of Teacher Education for the 21st Century, 2010). Student teachers gain exposure to new forms of technology for teaching in a variety of ways, including through blended courses or tutors' use of information and communication technology (ICT) in traditional lessons. One such use of ICT in a face-to-face lesson could be an online discussion space, where it serves as an important component for expanding and enhancing interaction among participants.

In a literature course, ICT can provide opportunities for task design to help promote commentary and analysis of literary texts (Towndrow and Vallance, 2004). In a Children's Literature course for primary student teachers at NIE, two different online discussion spaces have been integral parts of face-to-face lessons, used by course participants in various ways, but especially to comment on and analyse selected texts during tutorials. Edmodo, an online networking application for teachers and students, was used for several runs of the course. Padlet, a virtual 'bulletin board', was used for the first time in the most recent run.

This presentation aims to:
1) describe how online discussion spaces have been used in the Children's Literature course, and
2) summarise course participants' feedback on end-of-course surveys in which they compared the two types of spaces for enhancing their learning the subject material and for developing their skills in technology for teaching and learning.

References:
[1] National Institute of Education (2009) A teacher education model for the 21st Century. Singapore: National Institute of Education (NIE).
[2] Towndrow, Phillip and Vallance, M. (2004). Using IT in the Language Classroom: A Guide for Teachers and Students in Asia (3rd edn). Singapore: Longman

Keywords:

Online discussion spaces, pre-service teacher training, ICT skills, children's literature.