Sunday, September 19, 2010
Sunday, August 22, 2010
YouTube Phonics Song
After searching YouTube and coming across so many clips I finally picked one that I believe would serve an important purpose in the early year classrooms (prep-2). I believe this video could be used for both engagement and learning. If I was to use this phonics video in a prep class I think would use it to engage the students firstly then later on when the student became more familiar with the phonic sounds and the name of the letters I could use it again for group time, reflection and or transitions (something fun and light). This clip could even be uploaded onto the classroom website/blog/wiki for students to share at home with their families.
Reflective Synopsis
Throughout this e-learning journey I have experienced moments of frustration, feelings of exhilaration, satisfaction, success and a whole lot of learning. When I first read the course profile and explored on Moodle I felt confident that being a digital native I would be competent enough to complete the task successfully. However, I soon discovered that this course would lead me along a journey of digital discovery, exploring the big wide world of technology. I feel I can finish this course having achieved my goals and expectations.
What I have learnt along this journey is that there is a wealth of resources and endless possibilities through the use of technology. The digital tools I explored for this assignment can be effectively utilized in the classroom. From image manipulation to the more complex pod/vod casting, a Learning Manager can engage their students on a whole new level. Sure some of the tools were tedious and at times frustrating to use but most were relatively user friendly. As an extra bonus they were all free to create an account, making them accessible to ALL.
We live in an ever changing technological world, and if we are to continue to grow and learn, we need to evolve along with it. We the digital natives and evolving digital immigrants are the ones who need to embrace and utilise these resources and develop. E-Learning will play a key role within education for my students to become lifelong learners, develop transferable skills and become meaningful, contributing citizens of society. This is why I need to fashion and arm myself with the skills to pass on to my students. If educators have limited knowledge of the digital age and the vast collection of gadgets it brings with it they can only pass on limited knowledge. Just in all areas of teaching and learning educators need to make the effort to reach and advocate for their students.
'To effectively participate in this future, students are required to be lifelong learners, develop transferable skills that enables them to contribute to a meaningful society (Qld College of Teachers 2006).'
Prensky (2001) explores engaging students. He suggests that today’s students are being presented with stale Learning material from the past. What I gathered from what Prensky was trying to say was educators are preparing students for yesterday instead of readying them for tomorrow. Students of today need to be engaged at their own level in many areas of learning including the curriculum (Pensky, 2001). We as Learning Managers need to find ways to engage learners and this most defiantly includes e-Learning. Technology is all about engaging the learner to the world around them. The internet has made the big wide world accessible to almost everyone. Why not use such a powerful tool in the classroom.
The Big6 (2007) considers student involvement in cognitive processes such as Task Definition, Information Seeking Strategies, Location and Access, Use of Information, Synthesis and Evaluation (Eisenberg, 2007). This in turn connects with the Productive Pedagogies and Dimensions of Learning (Marzano & Pickering, 1997) in that lifelong learners develop into complex thinkers, creative individuals, active investigators, effective communicators, reflective and self directed learners, participant in an interdependent world and a knowledgeable person. This is achieved by engaging students and motivating them to learn through the use of meaningful, authentic activities and learning environments based on the Big6 six step processes.
My Ultimate Classroom
During this assignment I have learnt and used many technologies. Some I would not use in my classroom without further exploration and understanding. In my ideal classroom I would incorporate the use of ipods for enhancing learning with the implementation of pod and vod casts. I would most definitely have an interactive while board and a number of up-to-date classroom computers and a printer/scanner. . I would use a classroom blog, wiki or website to support and encourage communication and partnerships with my students, their parents and other important stakeholders. Research has show that family involvement in the classroom increases student achievement (Caplan, 1998). Vygotsky (1978) confirms that relationships and cultures impact on a learner’s cognitive development. By engaging the students in relevant and reflective experiences, students will extend and refine their knowledge and understandings (Marzano & Pickering, 1997). So as an active Learning Manager I anticipate encouraging interactions and partnerships between the classroom and home environments.
Some of the technologies that I have found worthwhile and valuable for future use in my classroom are the following:
-Blogs There is many uses for blogs it all depends on what the need and purpose is. Classroom blogs are an engaging and valuable tool to boost communication between student and parents. Blogs are a way of connecting the students to others and incorporating collaborative learning experiences. Classroom blogs allow teachers to post learning material for students/parents to access and provide students with the chance to include, express, reflect, evaluate and further explore their classroom tasks.
-Wikis Like blogs, Wiki’s encourage collaborative learning in the classroom. A classroom Wiki provides parents, students and other stakeholders the chance to contribute to the Wiki content contributing to and enhancing the learning journey. However this is where the teacher must be careful in checking the information for safety, appropriate and credible reasons. When used effectively Wiki’s enhance development skill such as teamwork, drafting, editing, collaborative writing and negotiation. Wiki’s would be a valuable tool to employ when constructing and displaying a unit of work in progress in the classroom (mapping out the learning journey).
-Podcasts Podcasts would be a valuable tool to implement in the classroom having many purposes. Being in audio form they would cater for those auditory learners, it is also possible to access or create vodcasts which would cater for both audio and visual learners. There is a large selection of educational and other types of pod/vodcasts available on iTunes, so no need to re-invent the wheel, but re-creating a whole new pod/vodcast is also possible depending on the intention. Podcasts can be uploaded to classroom blogs, wikis and websites, making them accessible to parents and students (those who have access to those digital tools where they can effectively contribute to the learning content. Podcasts could be used when assigning and explaining homework/assessment tasks and offering optional and or additional learning material for those fast finishers and extra support for more complex concepts.
-Avatars (Voki) Voki’s are a marvelous gizmo they can be quickly created to make those less intriguing lessons much more engaging. Learning Managers can use Voki’s to present learning material to hook their students in. Teachers can use avatars to commune with students via blogs. Students can use voki’s to assist in situations such as public speaking, creating characters and online privacy and safety issues.
-PowerPoint The trusty PowerPoint has multiple purposes in the classroom. PowerPoint can be used to present information, tutorials, displays and photo stories just to name a few. PowerPoint is a very simple program to use and majority of students will be familiar with and have access to it at home and at school. PowerPoint presentations can also be uploaded to blogs, wiki’s and websites by way of a simple online program called SlideShare.
-Digital Video (Movie Maker & YouTube) Videos allow the Learning Manager to engage, explain and illustrate tasks to students to help them develop clearer understandings. By providing students with the opportunity to create their own digital videos the teacher is encouraging higher order thinking and catering for different learning styles. Videos can have many functions within a classroom environment for instance they can be used for creating learning resources, supporting non-English speaking students, recording assessment pieces, experiments, performances, special guests and events. Videos can also be uploaded to the classroom blog, wiki and website.
I am aware that these digital tools are only a speckle in a very large digital galaxy, but at this point in time I feel I could successfully incorporate these in my teaching. No doubt I will incorporate many other wonderful technologies in my teaching career.
As with everything there are always some disadvantages. The major drawback with this kind of technology is availability to students. The school may have adequate facilities but what do students have access to at home? We need to take into account different learners within our classroom, and the available resources. There is also a risk when allowing students to access the internet and safe websites. With many concerned about how to protect students when using the internet at school, the Australian Government has developed The National Safe Schools Framework and is already addressing these issues.
Our attitudes and perceptions greatly influence our learning. Positive attitudes and perceptions means our learning is enhanced; learning suffers when our attitudes and perceptions are negative (Marzano & Pickering, 1997). I do however believe that incorporating e-Learning should not just stop with the Learning Manager it should also be just as much an important responsibility of the whole school community, the state education system and the upcoming national curriculum.
This e-Learning journey has made me realise that I have so much more to learn and I am intrigued and eager to continue learning. On a more professional note I am aware that my open mindedness and enthusiasm to continue learning will enhance my teaching and enhance the engagement of my students, thus ensuring their success.
So with all these fabulous tools literally at our fingertips and made available for use in the classroom education almost seems like fun for all.
Along this e-learning voyage my knowledge and understandings has been enhanced through shared online learning with other e-Learning students. Below are the links to my collaborative learning:
Comments posted on others blogs:
Barry
Digital Immigrants Diary
Digital Immigrants Diary
e-learningwendys
e-learningwendys
e-learningwendys
e-learningwendys
Comments made by others and myself to my blog:
PowerPoints - The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
Talk about a Digital Immigrant....
My Weebly Website
The Big6 Learning Design Framework
Mind Map Madness
Begining my E-Learning Journey
References
Caplan, J. (1998). Critical Issue: Constructing School Partnerships with Families and Community Groups. Oak Brook, Illinois: North Central Regional Education Laboratory.
Eisenberg, M. (2007, October 9th). What is the Big6? Retrieved August 22nd, 2010, from The Big6 Information & Technology Skills for Student Achievement: http://www.big6.com/what-is-the-big6/
Marzano, R. J., & Pickering, D. J. (1997). Dimensions of Learning (2nd Edition ed.). Aurora, Colorado: McRel.
Prensky, M., 2001, Digital natives, digital immigrants, On the horizon, vol. 9., no. 5., October 2001, University Press.
Queensland College of Teachers, 2006, Professional standards for Queensland teachers, Queensland College of Teachers, Brisbane, QLD
What I have learnt along this journey is that there is a wealth of resources and endless possibilities through the use of technology. The digital tools I explored for this assignment can be effectively utilized in the classroom. From image manipulation to the more complex pod/vod casting, a Learning Manager can engage their students on a whole new level. Sure some of the tools were tedious and at times frustrating to use but most were relatively user friendly. As an extra bonus they were all free to create an account, making them accessible to ALL.
We live in an ever changing technological world, and if we are to continue to grow and learn, we need to evolve along with it. We the digital natives and evolving digital immigrants are the ones who need to embrace and utilise these resources and develop. E-Learning will play a key role within education for my students to become lifelong learners, develop transferable skills and become meaningful, contributing citizens of society. This is why I need to fashion and arm myself with the skills to pass on to my students. If educators have limited knowledge of the digital age and the vast collection of gadgets it brings with it they can only pass on limited knowledge. Just in all areas of teaching and learning educators need to make the effort to reach and advocate for their students.
'To effectively participate in this future, students are required to be lifelong learners, develop transferable skills that enables them to contribute to a meaningful society (Qld College of Teachers 2006).'
Prensky (2001) explores engaging students. He suggests that today’s students are being presented with stale Learning material from the past. What I gathered from what Prensky was trying to say was educators are preparing students for yesterday instead of readying them for tomorrow. Students of today need to be engaged at their own level in many areas of learning including the curriculum (Pensky, 2001). We as Learning Managers need to find ways to engage learners and this most defiantly includes e-Learning. Technology is all about engaging the learner to the world around them. The internet has made the big wide world accessible to almost everyone. Why not use such a powerful tool in the classroom.
The Big6 (2007) considers student involvement in cognitive processes such as Task Definition, Information Seeking Strategies, Location and Access, Use of Information, Synthesis and Evaluation (Eisenberg, 2007). This in turn connects with the Productive Pedagogies and Dimensions of Learning (Marzano & Pickering, 1997) in that lifelong learners develop into complex thinkers, creative individuals, active investigators, effective communicators, reflective and self directed learners, participant in an interdependent world and a knowledgeable person. This is achieved by engaging students and motivating them to learn through the use of meaningful, authentic activities and learning environments based on the Big6 six step processes.
My Ultimate Classroom
During this assignment I have learnt and used many technologies. Some I would not use in my classroom without further exploration and understanding. In my ideal classroom I would incorporate the use of ipods for enhancing learning with the implementation of pod and vod casts. I would most definitely have an interactive while board and a number of up-to-date classroom computers and a printer/scanner. . I would use a classroom blog, wiki or website to support and encourage communication and partnerships with my students, their parents and other important stakeholders. Research has show that family involvement in the classroom increases student achievement (Caplan, 1998). Vygotsky (1978) confirms that relationships and cultures impact on a learner’s cognitive development. By engaging the students in relevant and reflective experiences, students will extend and refine their knowledge and understandings (Marzano & Pickering, 1997). So as an active Learning Manager I anticipate encouraging interactions and partnerships between the classroom and home environments.
Some of the technologies that I have found worthwhile and valuable for future use in my classroom are the following:
-Blogs There is many uses for blogs it all depends on what the need and purpose is. Classroom blogs are an engaging and valuable tool to boost communication between student and parents. Blogs are a way of connecting the students to others and incorporating collaborative learning experiences. Classroom blogs allow teachers to post learning material for students/parents to access and provide students with the chance to include, express, reflect, evaluate and further explore their classroom tasks.
-Wikis Like blogs, Wiki’s encourage collaborative learning in the classroom. A classroom Wiki provides parents, students and other stakeholders the chance to contribute to the Wiki content contributing to and enhancing the learning journey. However this is where the teacher must be careful in checking the information for safety, appropriate and credible reasons. When used effectively Wiki’s enhance development skill such as teamwork, drafting, editing, collaborative writing and negotiation. Wiki’s would be a valuable tool to employ when constructing and displaying a unit of work in progress in the classroom (mapping out the learning journey).
-Podcasts Podcasts would be a valuable tool to implement in the classroom having many purposes. Being in audio form they would cater for those auditory learners, it is also possible to access or create vodcasts which would cater for both audio and visual learners. There is a large selection of educational and other types of pod/vodcasts available on iTunes, so no need to re-invent the wheel, but re-creating a whole new pod/vodcast is also possible depending on the intention. Podcasts can be uploaded to classroom blogs, wikis and websites, making them accessible to parents and students (those who have access to those digital tools where they can effectively contribute to the learning content. Podcasts could be used when assigning and explaining homework/assessment tasks and offering optional and or additional learning material for those fast finishers and extra support for more complex concepts.
-Avatars (Voki) Voki’s are a marvelous gizmo they can be quickly created to make those less intriguing lessons much more engaging. Learning Managers can use Voki’s to present learning material to hook their students in. Teachers can use avatars to commune with students via blogs. Students can use voki’s to assist in situations such as public speaking, creating characters and online privacy and safety issues.
-PowerPoint The trusty PowerPoint has multiple purposes in the classroom. PowerPoint can be used to present information, tutorials, displays and photo stories just to name a few. PowerPoint is a very simple program to use and majority of students will be familiar with and have access to it at home and at school. PowerPoint presentations can also be uploaded to blogs, wiki’s and websites by way of a simple online program called SlideShare.
-Digital Video (Movie Maker & YouTube) Videos allow the Learning Manager to engage, explain and illustrate tasks to students to help them develop clearer understandings. By providing students with the opportunity to create their own digital videos the teacher is encouraging higher order thinking and catering for different learning styles. Videos can have many functions within a classroom environment for instance they can be used for creating learning resources, supporting non-English speaking students, recording assessment pieces, experiments, performances, special guests and events. Videos can also be uploaded to the classroom blog, wiki and website.
I am aware that these digital tools are only a speckle in a very large digital galaxy, but at this point in time I feel I could successfully incorporate these in my teaching. No doubt I will incorporate many other wonderful technologies in my teaching career.
As with everything there are always some disadvantages. The major drawback with this kind of technology is availability to students. The school may have adequate facilities but what do students have access to at home? We need to take into account different learners within our classroom, and the available resources. There is also a risk when allowing students to access the internet and safe websites. With many concerned about how to protect students when using the internet at school, the Australian Government has developed The National Safe Schools Framework and is already addressing these issues.
Our attitudes and perceptions greatly influence our learning. Positive attitudes and perceptions means our learning is enhanced; learning suffers when our attitudes and perceptions are negative (Marzano & Pickering, 1997). I do however believe that incorporating e-Learning should not just stop with the Learning Manager it should also be just as much an important responsibility of the whole school community, the state education system and the upcoming national curriculum.
This e-Learning journey has made me realise that I have so much more to learn and I am intrigued and eager to continue learning. On a more professional note I am aware that my open mindedness and enthusiasm to continue learning will enhance my teaching and enhance the engagement of my students, thus ensuring their success.
So with all these fabulous tools literally at our fingertips and made available for use in the classroom education almost seems like fun for all.
Along this e-learning voyage my knowledge and understandings has been enhanced through shared online learning with other e-Learning students. Below are the links to my collaborative learning:
Comments posted on others blogs:
Barry
Digital Immigrants Diary
Digital Immigrants Diary
e-learningwendys
e-learningwendys
e-learningwendys
e-learningwendys
Comments made by others and myself to my blog:
PowerPoints - The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
Talk about a Digital Immigrant....
My Weebly Website
The Big6 Learning Design Framework
Mind Map Madness
Begining my E-Learning Journey
References
Caplan, J. (1998). Critical Issue: Constructing School Partnerships with Families and Community Groups. Oak Brook, Illinois: North Central Regional Education Laboratory.
Eisenberg, M. (2007, October 9th). What is the Big6? Retrieved August 22nd, 2010, from The Big6 Information & Technology Skills for Student Achievement: http://www.big6.com/what-is-the-big6/
Marzano, R. J., & Pickering, D. J. (1997). Dimensions of Learning (2nd Edition ed.). Aurora, Colorado: McRel.
Prensky, M., 2001, Digital natives, digital immigrants, On the horizon, vol. 9., no. 5., October 2001, University Press.
Queensland College of Teachers, 2006, Professional standards for Queensland teachers, Queensland College of Teachers, Brisbane, QLD
Friday, August 20, 2010
Digital Video Used in The Classroom
We live in a multimedia world and students have the opportunity to experience the vast variety of technology in their learning environments. Students find a mixture of text, still images, sound and video much more interesting and engaging that the old chalk and talk approach. The chart below gives an indication how much information a person remembers(Lightbody, 2007).
Videos allow the teacher to not only tell students what they need to learn from specific tasks but illustrates to help develop student understandings. (Synergy Broadcast Systems, 2008). In addition to this by allowing student to participate in and or produce their own digital videos the Learning Manager is encouraging higher order thinking (Lightbody, 2007). Lightbody (2007) adds that teachers and lecturers have found that students find videos motivational and enjoyable; they have greater control over their learning (being able to start, stop and replay video segments). The use of digital videos in the classroom provided Learning Managers with more resources to effectively advocate for individual learning styles.
Possible uses in the classroom:
-Creating learning resource videos
-Prepare educational segments on instructions and or information
-Assist non-English speaking students (other languages)
-Record students for specific purposes e.g. assessment and reporting
-Record school performances, excursions, events, special guests
-Record science experiments for further analysis and evaluation
-Compile still images and video clips to explore movie making
-Assist in the introduction of mainstream tasks to disable students
-Show skills that are easier to learn by observation
-encourage attention, hook and engage students into new or complex topics or concepts
-encourage post discussions
Some Advantages of Digital Videos in the classroom (Larkin, 2010):
-Provides educators and students with an opportunity to be creative
-They can apply skills they have gained in planning, writing and art in a new area
-Storyboarding and digital video production can assist in student cognitive development
-Encourages motivation and engagement
-Provides empower opportunities for students (Designing, Decision Making and Creating)
-Complex processes or concepts can be illustrated and become more manageable
-Accommodates for diverse groups of students
-Creates meaningful, supportive and authentic learning environments
-Provides a wide range of experiences in the use of technology
-May employ prior knowledge and experiences
Here is an insightful and remarkable quote that I found during my research.
"...video production in the classroom enables the development of media literacy, higher order thinking skills, project based learning experiences, real world relevancy experiences, and a deeper connection to the curriculum being explored. But while all this is essential, it represents only half of the potential of using video in the classroom.
The other half to all the skills and experiences being developed is the experience that students receive in communicating their own original ideas to others, and in listening to others communicate their ideas to them. It’s that speaking and listening thing." Nikos Theodosakis, 2002
References
Larkin, J. (2010). Digital Video in the Classroom. Retrieved August 19th, 2010, from www.larkin.net.au: http://www.larkin.net.au/024_podcasting/02_vodcast/02_Storyboarding.pdf
Lightbody, K. (2007, March 5th). DIGITAL VIDEO IN EDUCATION. Retrieved August 19th, 2010, from Keith Lightbody's Technology in Education Web Site: http://www.zardec.net.au/keith/digvideo.htm
Synergy Broadcast Systems. (2008). Using Video in the Classroom. Retrieved August 19th, 2010, from SlideShare: http://www.slideshare.net/synergybroadcast/using-video-in-the-classroom-1075794
Videos allow the teacher to not only tell students what they need to learn from specific tasks but illustrates to help develop student understandings. (Synergy Broadcast Systems, 2008). In addition to this by allowing student to participate in and or produce their own digital videos the Learning Manager is encouraging higher order thinking (Lightbody, 2007). Lightbody (2007) adds that teachers and lecturers have found that students find videos motivational and enjoyable; they have greater control over their learning (being able to start, stop and replay video segments). The use of digital videos in the classroom provided Learning Managers with more resources to effectively advocate for individual learning styles.
Possible uses in the classroom:
-Creating learning resource videos
-Prepare educational segments on instructions and or information
-Assist non-English speaking students (other languages)
-Record students for specific purposes e.g. assessment and reporting
-Record school performances, excursions, events, special guests
-Record science experiments for further analysis and evaluation
-Compile still images and video clips to explore movie making
-Assist in the introduction of mainstream tasks to disable students
-Show skills that are easier to learn by observation
-encourage attention, hook and engage students into new or complex topics or concepts
-encourage post discussions
Some Advantages of Digital Videos in the classroom (Larkin, 2010):
-Provides educators and students with an opportunity to be creative
-They can apply skills they have gained in planning, writing and art in a new area
-Storyboarding and digital video production can assist in student cognitive development
-Encourages motivation and engagement
-Provides empower opportunities for students (Designing, Decision Making and Creating)
-Complex processes or concepts can be illustrated and become more manageable
-Accommodates for diverse groups of students
-Creates meaningful, supportive and authentic learning environments
-Provides a wide range of experiences in the use of technology
-May employ prior knowledge and experiences
Here is an insightful and remarkable quote that I found during my research.
"...video production in the classroom enables the development of media literacy, higher order thinking skills, project based learning experiences, real world relevancy experiences, and a deeper connection to the curriculum being explored. But while all this is essential, it represents only half of the potential of using video in the classroom.
The other half to all the skills and experiences being developed is the experience that students receive in communicating their own original ideas to others, and in listening to others communicate their ideas to them. It’s that speaking and listening thing." Nikos Theodosakis, 2002
References
Larkin, J. (2010). Digital Video in the Classroom. Retrieved August 19th, 2010, from www.larkin.net.au: http://www.larkin.net.au/024_podcasting/02_vodcast/02_Storyboarding.pdf
Lightbody, K. (2007, March 5th). DIGITAL VIDEO IN EDUCATION. Retrieved August 19th, 2010, from Keith Lightbody's Technology in Education Web Site: http://www.zardec.net.au/keith/digvideo.htm
Synergy Broadcast Systems. (2008). Using Video in the Classroom. Retrieved August 19th, 2010, from SlideShare: http://www.slideshare.net/synergybroadcast/using-video-in-the-classroom-1075794
Thursday, August 19, 2010
Video Killed the Radio Star
I had a lot of trouble trying to use the upload link within blogger; my video just wouldn't finish processing in order to publish in my post. I didn't want all my efforts to create my video go to waste, and I am not one to just give up. After multiple attempts to fix the problem and multiple draft posts later I came up with another idea to upload my video to my blog. YouTube did the trick I uploaded my video to YouTube simply by selecting the link found in the top right hand corner of the tool bar in Windows Live Movie Maker. I could not have found the patience to finally complete this blog with video included if it weren’t for my partners help. Thank-you, Billy.
Here is my very first video. I must admit when I discovered that I had to create a video for topic 5’s blog post I was a little unenthusiastic. I thought that making a digital video would be a painful, complex and fiddly mission. I have had to create videos with others in the past for university assignments, in fact I recently helped conducted a number of interviews which were edited and used in a video to support our group presentation. However, I have never actually had to put together a video on my own.
So to make it a little easier on myself I decided to use the instructions for the paper plate butterfly art and craft activity as I used before in my previous podcast. I thought using this particular idea (Paper Plate butterfly) for both the podcast (audio) and digital video (visual) would be useful for different preferences (learning styles). This backed up approach would work in many other circumstances in the classroom, catering and supporting individual student learning needs whilst they undertake a particular task.
I found Windows Live Movie Maker enjoyable and very user friendly, well at least from a digital native’s point of view. I had no trouble working out how to use the many features the Movie Maker had to offer to tweak and perfect my video. I did however have trouble adding music to the video as I have a new computer and this means I no longer have my vast music and sound clip collection, until I transfer them over. So I decided to use a sample music file that came with the computer. Although for just a sample file I think it is a rather groovy tune.
Windows Live Movie Maker can be found on most Window operating computers, making this program ideal for classroom use. Therefore Windows Live Movie Maker is a program that is straightforward and accessible to anyone in and out of the classroom.
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
Creating My Own Podcast
Okay so I finally mustard enough courage to record and make my very own podcast. I get nervous when it comes to public speaking, filming and recording myself, but I was able to move on from this insecure feeling and make a recording in my home ALONE.
I wasn’t sure on what to speak about, I decided I would give a recount of the steps taken to create a paper plate butterfly. I am currently a Group Leader in the 2-3 age group, at a local day care centre. In my room we are currently learning about insects this theme is based on the children’s interests. We have been reading factual books about different bugs and on Monday (16th August) the children wanted to paint butterflies. I thought instead of just paint a butterfly on a piece of paper, we would create a 3D butterfly. The podcast explains how we did this.
I did come across a number of challenges when creating a podcast. Firstly MyPodcast was no longer taking any new members, so I continued on using Podomatic to create and publish my podcast instead. After reading through the tutorial that was provided I began the creation process. I found the tutorial straight forward enough but once I got passed the uploading part I got lost, my new podcast did not show up in My Podcast Page. Where to now? I had to play around in my podomatic account for a while before I figured out that after uploading my audio file I had to edit the details following a process (Title, description, audio/video, photos and tags, review and publish) eventually leading to publishing the file as a podcast on my account. I was also quite pleased with myself to discover that i could embed a link (from my Podomatic account) to place a audio player within my blog posting to play my podcast right then and there. Here is the link to my Podomatic page http://eva-7771.podomatic.com/. Enjoy.
Friday, August 13, 2010
Images in the Classroom
Images can be used for many purposes in the classroom. I have thought of two (2) occasions when an image would be an effective tool in the classroom.
1. Children go through stages of development where they learn about, practice and explore art skills. Children begin by drawing scribbles and lines but this will eventually lead to realistic representations of the world around them.
Prep aged students should have explored the scribbling and preschematic stage and are moving on to the schematic stage, where they are now attempting to create realistic representations. (Lipoff, 2010). Drawings in this stage also tend to have a strong narrative element.
According to Piaget and Inhelder (1963) preschoolers draw what they know about the world, rather than trying to capture a photograph of reality. That is why we see drawings illustrate both the outside and inside of an object at the same time (transparencies or x-rays) and everything is rainbow.
This is where I believe the use of images would come in handy, displaying and discussing the realistic representation of objects with children before hand will ensure the children are aware of the object and create a mental visual note of what that particular image looks like in real life. The use of google images or Flickr would make finding and accessing appropriate images quick and efficient for a Learning Manager. For example, last year in my prac class (prep) the students were learning about animals from around the world and their habitats. When discussing the animals and their homes factual texts with realistic representations were used to enhance the students understanding. The children enjoyed identifying the actual colours of the animals.
As you can see from Zacks drawing (age 5) he is beginning to use color realistically to represent things. The chick has a yellow body, orange legs and beak, and a brown eye. He has separated the head from the body, this indicates that he has already progressed past the scribbling and preschematic stage. Zack's chick floats in space on the page (Herchenahahn, 2005).
2. Children rely heavily on picture cues while learning to read and write. A picture helps a reader/writer connect the ideas in the text with past experiences and knowledge, confirm the message being constructed from/for the print and help the reader/writer acquire new information to enhance comprehension (Mcmackin, 1993).
Using images during literacy (reading & writing) lessons can help engage and enhance student learning. For example students in 1A are presented with this image and asked to construct and write (type) 2 simple sentences about the image. The Learning Manager can guide the students through the process by posing key questions such as:
-What do you think could be happening in this picture?
-What might the fairy be saying to the lion?
-Look at all that food, I wonder what they are doing with all that food?
References
Herchenahahn, M. (2005, April). Drawing Development Timeline. Retrieved August 13, 2010, from Drawing Development Timeline: http://mary-h.com/timeline/index.html
Lipoff, S. (2010). Art Development in Young Children. Retrieved August 13, 2010, from eHow: http://www.ehow.com/about_6130190_art-development-young-children.html
Mcmackin, M. C. (1993). The Parent's Role in Literacy Development. Childhood Education , 69, 10.
Piaget, J., & Inhelder, B. (1963).The child's conception of space. London: Routledge.
1. Children go through stages of development where they learn about, practice and explore art skills. Children begin by drawing scribbles and lines but this will eventually lead to realistic representations of the world around them.
Prep aged students should have explored the scribbling and preschematic stage and are moving on to the schematic stage, where they are now attempting to create realistic representations. (Lipoff, 2010). Drawings in this stage also tend to have a strong narrative element.
According to Piaget and Inhelder (1963) preschoolers draw what they know about the world, rather than trying to capture a photograph of reality. That is why we see drawings illustrate both the outside and inside of an object at the same time (transparencies or x-rays) and everything is rainbow.
This is where I believe the use of images would come in handy, displaying and discussing the realistic representation of objects with children before hand will ensure the children are aware of the object and create a mental visual note of what that particular image looks like in real life. The use of google images or Flickr would make finding and accessing appropriate images quick and efficient for a Learning Manager. For example, last year in my prac class (prep) the students were learning about animals from around the world and their habitats. When discussing the animals and their homes factual texts with realistic representations were used to enhance the students understanding. The children enjoyed identifying the actual colours of the animals.
As you can see from Zacks drawing (age 5) he is beginning to use color realistically to represent things. The chick has a yellow body, orange legs and beak, and a brown eye. He has separated the head from the body, this indicates that he has already progressed past the scribbling and preschematic stage. Zack's chick floats in space on the page (Herchenahahn, 2005).
2. Children rely heavily on picture cues while learning to read and write. A picture helps a reader/writer connect the ideas in the text with past experiences and knowledge, confirm the message being constructed from/for the print and help the reader/writer acquire new information to enhance comprehension (Mcmackin, 1993).
Using images during literacy (reading & writing) lessons can help engage and enhance student learning. For example students in 1A are presented with this image and asked to construct and write (type) 2 simple sentences about the image. The Learning Manager can guide the students through the process by posing key questions such as:
-What do you think could be happening in this picture?
-What might the fairy be saying to the lion?
-Look at all that food, I wonder what they are doing with all that food?
References
Herchenahahn, M. (2005, April). Drawing Development Timeline. Retrieved August 13, 2010, from Drawing Development Timeline: http://mary-h.com/timeline/index.html
Lipoff, S. (2010). Art Development in Young Children. Retrieved August 13, 2010, from eHow: http://www.ehow.com/about_6130190_art-development-young-children.html
Mcmackin, M. C. (1993). The Parent's Role in Literacy Development. Childhood Education , 69, 10.
Piaget, J., & Inhelder, B. (1963).The child's conception of space. London: Routledge.
Sunday, August 1, 2010
My Voki
This is my very first Voki, I created it using http://www.voki.com/ . I had heard about Voki’s from my fellow Emerald uni students who completed e-Learning last year. But I had never used one myself. I had so much fun making my Voki; I tried to make it look as much like myself as possible there were so many options to choose from. There are so many possibilities that Voki’s could be used for, I would definitely use this easy to use tool in my own classroom and recommend it to others as well.
This tool could be used in the classroom:
Student blogs - students can explore, communicate and project themselves, they can express themselves and or even become a whole new character and still keep student identities confidential.
Provide opportunities - to those students who may not be so confident in operating videos and or vodcasts.
Engage (hook) students – Students will find creating and sharing their own personal Voki challenging, interesting and very enjoyable. When students are very engaged in classroom tasks, they learn much more (Marzano & Pickering, 1997).
Advocate for different learning styles – students who are audio and visual learners would benefit for the use of an online Voki. Students have individual learning styles, a Learning Manager needs to be taking these into account and cater to each student’s needs. When students learning styles are supported learning and motivation are enhanced (McInerney & McInerney, 2006).
References
Marzano, R. J., & Pickering, D. J. (1997). Dimensions of Learning (2nd Edition ed.). Aurora, Colorado: McRel.
McInerney, D. M., & McInerney, V. (2006). Educational Psychology Constructing Learning (4 ed.). Frenchs Forest, NSW: Pearson Education Australia.
A Closer Look at "Hooked on Phonics"
Hooked on Phonics is a reading program that is approved by the Children’s Reading Foundation. The program is designed to give each child a strong foundation in phonics and reading readiness skills. Hooked on Phonics has 4 levels Pre-K, Kindergarten, First Grade and Second Grade, the learn to read program has been designed for easy use in the home and within school settings with a small group of students or one on one.
-The Kindergarten edition focuses on short a, i, o, u and e words, and adding s to nouns and verbs.
-The First Grade edition covers beginning and ending consonant digraphs and blends, two-syllable words and words ending in ing, er, ly, es and ed.
-The Second Grade edition focuses on long vowels, words ending in y, two-syllable words, complex consonant belds, wr and kn and soft c and g.
Each edition is specifically adapted for use in the classroom with daily reading lessons and over 40 reading activities for individual, pairs, group and whole class participation (Smarterville Productions LLC, 2010).
The Hooked on Phonics iTunes channel provides free activities, songs and other great resources to teachers and parents to help their learners read and improve reading skills using phonics. There is a total of 68 free learn to read pod/vodcasts. Hooked on Phonics can also be followed on the Hooked on Phonics website, facebook, bogger and twitter. The link to all the Hooked on Phonics pod/vodcasts can be found on http://itunes.apple.com/au/podcast/hooked-on-phonics/id318331495
References
Smarterville Productions LLC. (2010). Learn to read in the classroom. Retrieved August 1st, 2010, from Hooked on Phonics: http://learntoread.hookedonphonics.com/in_the_classroom
-The Kindergarten edition focuses on short a, i, o, u and e words, and adding s to nouns and verbs.
-The First Grade edition covers beginning and ending consonant digraphs and blends, two-syllable words and words ending in ing, er, ly, es and ed.
-The Second Grade edition focuses on long vowels, words ending in y, two-syllable words, complex consonant belds, wr and kn and soft c and g.
Each edition is specifically adapted for use in the classroom with daily reading lessons and over 40 reading activities for individual, pairs, group and whole class participation (Smarterville Productions LLC, 2010).
The Hooked on Phonics iTunes channel provides free activities, songs and other great resources to teachers and parents to help their learners read and improve reading skills using phonics. There is a total of 68 free learn to read pod/vodcasts. Hooked on Phonics can also be followed on the Hooked on Phonics website, facebook, bogger and twitter. The link to all the Hooked on Phonics pod/vodcasts can be found on http://itunes.apple.com/au/podcast/hooked-on-phonics/id318331495
References
Smarterville Productions LLC. (2010). Learn to read in the classroom. Retrieved August 1st, 2010, from Hooked on Phonics: http://learntoread.hookedonphonics.com/in_the_classroom
Podcast put into Practice
I have hear a lot about podcasts but I never really knew what they were exactly or how easy they were to access for that matter. I have had iTunes and used it for so long but never acknowledge the podcasts application in the iTunes library until this week’s topic of images and podcasts. After briefly browsing the podcasts on the iTunes store, can you imagine my sheer delight when I came across a whole range of Triple J podcasts? Now I can simply download the Triple J podcasts and it’s ready instead of searching and downloading song after song to add to my jogging playlist. I use my ipod to play all my favourite playlists, I was unaware of the educational advantages that ipods have.
So if you were a little confused like I was about what exactly a podcast is according to Apple Inc. (2009) a podcasts is a program delivered via the internet with the publisher broadcasting the episodes to a web server. Podcasts can include the more common types of media and can be used to offer a diverse range of programs.
There are many advantages to using podcasts in the classroom. One of the podcasts in particular that I feel could be beneficial for the early years students is the educational podcast program “hooked on Phonics” , this program could be used by teachers and teacher aides working one on one with a student. “Hooked on Phonics” could also be sent home to parents and students to subscribe and peruse in their own time in the comfort of their own home.
Podcasts can be integrates into many of the Big6 skills for example Skill number 4 Students will use the identified information by engaging with the podcasts by listening and then extracting relevant information (Eisenberg, 2001). There is substantial research that suggests that university students who download a podcast lecture obtain higher test results and grades by replaying the difficult parts of their lectures and taking better notes (Callaway, 2009). I believe this approach to new learning material may be effective in any classroom environment. Transforming face to face lessons into podcasts also would allow those students with different learning styles another avenue to gain and achieve the most from a learning experience. Podcasts would also be an effective tool in the classroom if any student were away, or for those who want clarity on the lesson and require some further help, they can simply access the podcast 24/7.
It is important for a Learning Manager to remember that not all students will have access to technologies such as ipods, computers, iphones and even internet so it is essential to modify lessons to suit all learners. Prensky (2005) argues that education needs to be engaging, and that students of today have access to a vast variety of technologies. So how do educators further engage students who do not have the technology in their lives due to socio economic backgrounds? So were to from here? According to the Department of Education and the Arts Inclusive Statement (2004) "Inclusive education ensures that schools are supportive and engaging places for all students, teachers and caregivers. It is about building communities that value, celebrate and respond to diversity. It is underpinned by respectful relationships between learners, teacher and caregivers. It is about shaping the society in which we live and the type of society to which we aspire”.
References
Apple Inc., 2009, itunes, http://www.apple.com/itunes/whatson/podcasts/fanfaq.html, viewed 1st August, 2010.
Callaway, E., 2009, New Scientist, Itunes university better than the real thing, http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn16624-itunes-university-better-than-the-real-thing.html, viewed 1st August, 2010.
Eisenberg, M. (2001, November 19). The Big6 Skills Overview. Retrieved August 01, 2010, from The Big6: http://www.big6.com/2001/11/19/a-big6%e2%84%a2-skills-overview/
Prensky, M. (2005). Engage me or engrage me: What today's learners demand. [electronic copy]
Department of Education, Training and the Arts, (2006). Inclusive education policies. Retrieved March 20, 2009 from http://education.qld.gov.au/studentservices/inclusive/index.html
So if you were a little confused like I was about what exactly a podcast is according to Apple Inc. (2009) a podcasts is a program delivered via the internet with the publisher broadcasting the episodes to a web server. Podcasts can include the more common types of media and can be used to offer a diverse range of programs.
There are many advantages to using podcasts in the classroom. One of the podcasts in particular that I feel could be beneficial for the early years students is the educational podcast program “hooked on Phonics” , this program could be used by teachers and teacher aides working one on one with a student. “Hooked on Phonics” could also be sent home to parents and students to subscribe and peruse in their own time in the comfort of their own home.
Podcasts can be integrates into many of the Big6 skills for example Skill number 4 Students will use the identified information by engaging with the podcasts by listening and then extracting relevant information (Eisenberg, 2001). There is substantial research that suggests that university students who download a podcast lecture obtain higher test results and grades by replaying the difficult parts of their lectures and taking better notes (Callaway, 2009). I believe this approach to new learning material may be effective in any classroom environment. Transforming face to face lessons into podcasts also would allow those students with different learning styles another avenue to gain and achieve the most from a learning experience. Podcasts would also be an effective tool in the classroom if any student were away, or for those who want clarity on the lesson and require some further help, they can simply access the podcast 24/7.
It is important for a Learning Manager to remember that not all students will have access to technologies such as ipods, computers, iphones and even internet so it is essential to modify lessons to suit all learners. Prensky (2005) argues that education needs to be engaging, and that students of today have access to a vast variety of technologies. So how do educators further engage students who do not have the technology in their lives due to socio economic backgrounds? So were to from here? According to the Department of Education and the Arts Inclusive Statement (2004) "Inclusive education ensures that schools are supportive and engaging places for all students, teachers and caregivers. It is about building communities that value, celebrate and respond to diversity. It is underpinned by respectful relationships between learners, teacher and caregivers. It is about shaping the society in which we live and the type of society to which we aspire”.
References
Apple Inc., 2009, itunes, http://www.apple.com/itunes/whatson/podcasts/fanfaq.html, viewed 1st August, 2010.
Callaway, E., 2009, New Scientist, Itunes university better than the real thing, http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn16624-itunes-university-better-than-the-real-thing.html, viewed 1st August, 2010.
Eisenberg, M. (2001, November 19). The Big6 Skills Overview. Retrieved August 01, 2010, from The Big6: http://www.big6.com/2001/11/19/a-big6%e2%84%a2-skills-overview/
Prensky, M. (2005). Engage me or engrage me: What today's learners demand. [electronic copy]
Department of Education, Training and the Arts, (2006). Inclusive education policies. Retrieved March 20, 2009 from http://education.qld.gov.au/studentservices/inclusive/index.html
Saturday, July 31, 2010
Picnik Psychosis!
Image before Picnik manipulation
Image after Picnik manipulation
So here is my image manipulation on a photo of my beloved dog “Sammy”. He is my baby and is very, very spoilt. I had a fun time playing around with the wonderful features on Picnik, it’s not my first time using Picnik to edit my photos. I do have to mention I did well this time to stop myself from getting carried away with the many editing features the site has to offer. There are so may tools and features to edit photos I just want to use all of them at once, but alas sometimes they end up turning out a big mess. I guess that is why the saying goes “less is more”.
Picnik can be used in the classroom:
-Introduce the many wonders of photo editing to students.
-Edit photos for specific purposes e.g. slideshows, school newsletters and classroom displays.
-Photos can be saved from Picnik straight to Facebook, Picasa, Flickr, Photobucket and more.
-Edited photos can also be saved directly onto the computer hard drive.
-Edit photos for upload and publishing to classroom websites, wikis and blogs.
MobaPhoto
MobaPhoto is a free program, which helps in the creation of photo galleries for webpages. MobaPhoto is a simple to use program making it user friendly for anyone to use. The program allows digital photos to be resized, cropped and correct red-eyes helping manage digital photos and galleries. This can be done in batches making the process quick, efficient and ready for website upload. The MobaPhoto program being only 1.6MB can be downloaded on USB (Mobatek, 2008) making it portable and possible to manage and upload galleries anywhere on any computer.
Benefits of MobaPhoto in the classroom:
• MobaPhoto can be used to manage upload and publish classroom photos and galleries onto the classroom website, blog and or wiki.
• The program can be saved onto students USB sticks. The portable application can be taken and used on any computer within the school environment (computer lab, library) and even used on the computer at home.
• MobaPhoto can be used to introduce photo editing to student. Allowing students to crop, resize, correct red-eyes, rename and create photo galleries using the application’s tools.
References
Mobatek. (2008). MobaPhoto. Retrieved July 31, 2010, from MobaPhoto the portable toolbox for digital photography: http://mobaphoto.mobatek.net/en/
Benefits of MobaPhoto in the classroom:
• MobaPhoto can be used to manage upload and publish classroom photos and galleries onto the classroom website, blog and or wiki.
• The program can be saved onto students USB sticks. The portable application can be taken and used on any computer within the school environment (computer lab, library) and even used on the computer at home.
• MobaPhoto can be used to introduce photo editing to student. Allowing students to crop, resize, correct red-eyes, rename and create photo galleries using the application’s tools.
References
Mobatek. (2008). MobaPhoto. Retrieved July 31, 2010, from MobaPhoto the portable toolbox for digital photography: http://mobaphoto.mobatek.net/en/
Thursday, July 29, 2010
To Flickr or Not Flickr? That is the question.
I had a peak around Flickr, as a guest. I did not want to sign up for an account mainly because I do not have a Yahoo ID (email) and I doubt I would use the program much at the moment apart from this very e-Learning blog posting. But as a guest I was still able to experience the vast collection of images and videos Flickr had to offer, guests can access 80% of the images (National Library of Australia , 2005). Usually when I need images for any reason or a specific purposes I just use Google Images, which anyone can use without an account. I found after comparing my Google and Flickr image searches on Great Danes both produced very similar images. Why Great Danes? Because my beloved dog Sampson (Sammy) is Great Dane breed. I love dogs, especially Shetland Ponies (Great Danes).
Flickr is a popular website for users to share and embed their personal photographs; the website contains more than 4 million images from contributors all over the globe. Flickr is commonly used by bloggers to display images they embed within their blog postings (Wikipedia, 2010). Anybody can add their own images to Flickr, marking them with descriptions and even tags for archiving and retrieving purposes. Of all Flickr’s users, two million of them add a new image to the site every four seconds (National Library of Australia , 2005).
References
National Library of Australia . (2005). Flickr. Retrieved July 29, 2010, from Picture Australia: http://www.pictureaustralia.org/contribute/participants/Flickr.html
Wikipedia. (2010, July 24). Flickr. Retrieved July 29, 2010, from Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flickr
Flickr is a popular website for users to share and embed their personal photographs; the website contains more than 4 million images from contributors all over the globe. Flickr is commonly used by bloggers to display images they embed within their blog postings (Wikipedia, 2010). Anybody can add their own images to Flickr, marking them with descriptions and even tags for archiving and retrieving purposes. Of all Flickr’s users, two million of them add a new image to the site every four seconds (National Library of Australia , 2005).
References
National Library of Australia . (2005). Flickr. Retrieved July 29, 2010, from Picture Australia: http://www.pictureaustralia.org/contribute/participants/Flickr.html
Wikipedia. (2010, July 24). Flickr. Retrieved July 29, 2010, from Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flickr
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
RSS
RSS stands for really simple syndication and it was easy enough to set an aggregator in Google Reader, but I think I will just stick to the section in the blogger dashboard. The Reading List within my blog dashboard allows me to see a list of blogs I follow and updates on any recent posts and additions made to those blogs. I have the option to add and manage the blogs within my list, to suit my purpose. To add to the convenience of this Reading List (Blog Dashboard) it is possible to view my followed blog items using Google Reader, simply by clicking on the link View in Google Reader at the bottom right hand corner of the Reading List. I preferred to view blog updates in the Reading List in my blog because it seemed to be easier to follow and comprehend.
Monday, July 26, 2010
Have You Used SlideShare?
SlideShare, just a little program I came across while looking for a solution to upload my PowerPoint (Webquest) to my blog. SlideShare is the world’s largest community for sharing presentations (LinkedIn Corporation , 2010). SlideShare is a free online program. If you sign up for an account you can import presentations for a much larger viewing audience (worldwide). Plus if you Sync your SlideShare account with your Facebook and or Linkedin account your uploads will show up on all three networks.
SlideShare allows the user to (SlideShare Inc., 2010):
-Share presentations and documents with LinkedIn and Facebook networks.
-Upload portfolios, resumes, conference talks, PDFs presentations and more.
-Supports many document formats for example ppt, pps, pptx, pdf and doc.
-YouTube videos and audio files can also be embedded within the presentation.
Your quite welcomed to have a look for yourself it’s a very handy program, especially for Blogging. SlideShare.net
References
LinkedIn Corporation . (2010). SlideShare Presentations. Retrieved July 26, 2010, from Linked in: http://www.linkedin.com/opensocialInstallation/preview?_ch_panel_id=1&_applicationId=1200
SlideShare Inc. (2010). SlideShare Home Page. Retrieved July 26, 2010, from SlideShare Present Yourself: http://www.slideshare.net/
SlideShare allows the user to (SlideShare Inc., 2010):
-Share presentations and documents with LinkedIn and Facebook networks.
-Upload portfolios, resumes, conference talks, PDFs presentations and more.
-Supports many document formats for example ppt, pps, pptx, pdf and doc.
-YouTube videos and audio files can also be embedded within the presentation.
Your quite welcomed to have a look for yourself it’s a very handy program, especially for Blogging. SlideShare.net
References
LinkedIn Corporation . (2010). SlideShare Presentations. Retrieved July 26, 2010, from Linked in: http://www.linkedin.com/opensocialInstallation/preview?_ch_panel_id=1&_applicationId=1200
SlideShare Inc. (2010). SlideShare Home Page. Retrieved July 26, 2010, from SlideShare Present Yourself: http://www.slideshare.net/
Sunday, July 25, 2010
PowerPoints - The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
Recycling
View more presentations from evadodds.
I completed a Webquest for my SOSE assignment in my first year (2008). A Webquest is basicly an interactive powerpoint so I thought it would be perfect to upload a sneak peak of my Webquest for those interested. The Webquest is about Recycling it was designed for 7-8 year olds.
Microsoft PowerPoint is one of the most frequently used program in the world, many use it because it is versatile, simple and easy to use, making it possible for anyone to create an interactive multimedia presentation (Central Queensland University, 2010). PowerPoints can be used for interactive presentations containing text, art, animation, video and audio clips. If your computer came pre-loaded with Microsoft Office the great thing is that you will most likely have PowerPoint too.
Daniels (1999) states that the PowerPoint presentations allow for students to use the visual differentiations to their own benefit. Each slide allows the student to stay on track and if a printer is accessible printing out the slides as a handout helps to cater for the varied learning styles within the classroom (Daniels, 1999). PowerPoints with audiovisual elements allow students with different learning styles and ESL students to grasp the information required (Daniels, 1999).
PowerPoints could be used in the classroom for:
• Enabling students to construct creative presentations for classroom tasks.
• Students develop meaningful technology skills.
• Creating & completing Webquests
• Present information, procedures and or instructions to the class
• Create tutorials, reviews or quizzes for students
• Display students work – Parent teacher night
• PowerPoints can be changed, updated and used again and again for those particular lessons
• Learning Manager can create many activities such as:
o Flash Cards
o Interactive Stories/Reports
o Group or individual Slide Shows
o Photo Stories – Learning Stories – e.g. Science Investigation
o Classroom Slide Show – e.g. Field Trip Story (for parents, peers and other teachers)
PowerPoints can be a Learning Manager’s and a student’s best friend however if they are not used correctly they will not be as effective as they could be.
Here are some PowerPoint Weaknesses (Kaminski, 2003):
•It’s easy to get carried away making slides. Making too many sides then are required for the presentation
• PowerPoint can be a time waster. It can become very time consuming tweaking a presentation.
• It is easy to begin a presentation without the plan or ideas first. PowerPoint works best when reinforcing the ideas or information.
• PowerPoint’s can have too many bells and whistles. Making an ugly and confusing presentation
• Too much text with each slide, even incorrect spelling and grammar can become a hindrance
• A presenter can become dependent on the PowerPoint presentation.
It is crucial for a Learning Manager to remember that students can become lost, confused or distracted when a whizz bang PowerPoint presentation is used during a learning experience. So when using a PowerPoint make sure it is used effectively.
Have a look at this Youtube clip "Life After Death By PowerPoint" (McMillan 2007), it paints a clear picture of when PowerPoint goes wrong.
References
Daniels, L 1999, Journal of computing in higher education, Introducing PowerPoint in the classroom: PowerPoint as the first step, vol. 10, pp42-56, http://www.springerlink.com/content/3628423174085807/, viewed 25th July, 2010.
McMillan, D 2007, How not to use powerpoint, YouTube,http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cagxPlVqrtM&feature=fvst, viewed 25th July 2010.
Central Queensland University. (2010, May 30). Practical Activity: Week 3- PowerPoint, LMS and RSS. Retrieved July 25, 2010, from FAHE11001 - Term 2, 2010 Managing E-Learning: http://moodle.cqu.edu.au/mod/resource/view.php?id=99697
Kaminski, S. H. (2003, January 16th). PowerPoint, however, has notable weaknesses. Retrieved July 25, 2010, from PowerPoint Presentations: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly: http://www.shkaminski.com/Classes/Handouts/powerpoint.htm#weaknesses
Saturday, July 24, 2010
My Weebly Website
Finally created my very first website. I decided to create the website for hints and tips for beginning teachers. I am planning on adding more information to my site in the future. Being a student teacher I have been fortunate enough to come across many helpful handy resources to use in the classroom, creating a website seemed to be a smart and great way to share these hints and tips with others.
My website address is http://teaching-tips.weebly.com/
The World Wide Web is an important tool to present information for others to access. Creating a web page/site for a classroom allows a Learning Manager to cater for your specific audience in this case it may be the student, parents and other teachers, by creating a website it pretty much makes the audience limitless. A Learning Manager enables the teaching and learning material to become interactive when using a website to present various material such as learning tasks, information and assessment packages to students. Websites also allow other information and resources to be included by simply adding hyperlinks for others to click on and open.
After brain storming some ideas of how a website might be effectively used in the classroom, I came up with a list of ideas. My research after then kept my list growing; my brainstorming and research lead both lead me to believe that classroom websites would be a valuable tool to incorporate into the classroom. The concept map displays my thinking and additional research.
References
Lowe, P. (2006, August 7). Creating Classroom Web Pages. Retrieved July 21, 2010, from Teacher Designed Web Pages As A Classroom Tool : http://my-ecoach.com/online/webresourcelist.php?rlid=5742
Mulder-Slater, A. (2006). Top Ten Reasons to Create a Classroom Web Page. Retrieved July 21, 2010, from KinderArt® Stuff for Teachers: http://www.kinderart.com/teachers/webpage.shtml
Queensland University of Technology. (2010). Advantages of Web Pages. Retrieved July 21, 2010, from Catalyst: Using Technology to Communicate: http://www.lib.uts.edu.au/catalyst/07/07e1.htm
Monday, July 19, 2010
Wiki Creation
First I thought I would begin this post with a little background information about Wikis. Wikibooks (2010) states that the word Wiki comes from the Hawaiian word “wiki-wiki” which means quick. The very first wiki was created by Ward Cunningham in 1995, He used the word wiki-wiki as a substitute for "quick", his website Wikiwikiweb was created and designed for programmers to share and explore their knowledge and information about software development. Most people are familiar with the popular wiki network Wikipedia (encyclopedia).
This is the link to my experimental Wiki; it was created in Wetpaint http://jungle-animals.wetpaint.com/page/Animal+Profile. I found this online program was user friendly and was self explanatory to create and edit a wiki site. I did however find it a little time consuming and it is only just a simple example (test), but it did give me a good idea on the set up and some of the possible uses of Wikis. I decided to create/design this Wiki to suit the theme/unit my last prac class explored – Prep. Their unit focus was Animals Around the World, looking at different types of animals for example Farm, jungle and Antarctic animals. Wiki’s are an ideal way to communicate, collaborate, add and change learning material with and for student’s, my idea was to use this tool to allow students to learn and contribute to their learning over the course of the unit. Students would do this by working individually or with others to share and explore each other’s ideas, questions, information and answers. I believe “everybody has a voice” would be a great way to describe the use of a Wiki in the classroom.
There are many benefits of using wiki’s in the classroom:
• Providing the Learning Manager with a valuable opportunity to communicate with the students on a different level (individually and as a whole group)
• Students are able to communicate with the Learning Manager at any time in any place (at home on the weekend)
• Students can communicate, contribute and interact with their peers (develop positive rapport and support each other throughout the learning journey). This would also encourage the students to develop a sense of ownership, meaning and value for the task/s.
• The opportunity to plan and involving students and even parents in the unit content
• Providing the parents with the opportunity to post any queries or comments onto the blog
• Wiki’s are a different and engaging way to implement learning experiences and assessment
• The use of Wiki’s develops skills such as teamwork, drafting, editing, collaborative writing and negotiation.
If there are Pro’s there is always Con’s:
• Public Wiki’s are not checked for accuracy so it is important for students to ensure they check for reliable, truthful and valid information.
• The possibility of vandalism, being a public site there is the possibility that someone could post inappropriate content (there is the option to add a posting and editing password but this generally has a fee) (Wikibooks, 2010).
• Ensure all students have equal opportunity to access a computer and internet to explore and contribute to the Wiki.
• A Learning Manager needs to be able to give up some control (pedagogical issues) of the content and allow students some independence.
• It is more than likely that a Learning Manager will need to comply with school policy and receive parental permission to publish student’s work/pictures on the web.
References
Wikibooks. (2010, May 12). Change Issues in Curriculum and Instruction/Wikis in the Classroom. Retrieved July 19, 2010, from Wikibooks- Open books for an open world: http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Change_Issues_in_Curriculum_and_Instruction/Wikis_in_the_Classroom
This is the link to my experimental Wiki; it was created in Wetpaint http://jungle-animals.wetpaint.com/page/Animal+Profile. I found this online program was user friendly and was self explanatory to create and edit a wiki site. I did however find it a little time consuming and it is only just a simple example (test), but it did give me a good idea on the set up and some of the possible uses of Wikis. I decided to create/design this Wiki to suit the theme/unit my last prac class explored – Prep. Their unit focus was Animals Around the World, looking at different types of animals for example Farm, jungle and Antarctic animals. Wiki’s are an ideal way to communicate, collaborate, add and change learning material with and for student’s, my idea was to use this tool to allow students to learn and contribute to their learning over the course of the unit. Students would do this by working individually or with others to share and explore each other’s ideas, questions, information and answers. I believe “everybody has a voice” would be a great way to describe the use of a Wiki in the classroom.
There are many benefits of using wiki’s in the classroom:
• Providing the Learning Manager with a valuable opportunity to communicate with the students on a different level (individually and as a whole group)
• Students are able to communicate with the Learning Manager at any time in any place (at home on the weekend)
• Students can communicate, contribute and interact with their peers (develop positive rapport and support each other throughout the learning journey). This would also encourage the students to develop a sense of ownership, meaning and value for the task/s.
• The opportunity to plan and involving students and even parents in the unit content
• Providing the parents with the opportunity to post any queries or comments onto the blog
• Wiki’s are a different and engaging way to implement learning experiences and assessment
• The use of Wiki’s develops skills such as teamwork, drafting, editing, collaborative writing and negotiation.
If there are Pro’s there is always Con’s:
• Public Wiki’s are not checked for accuracy so it is important for students to ensure they check for reliable, truthful and valid information.
• The possibility of vandalism, being a public site there is the possibility that someone could post inappropriate content (there is the option to add a posting and editing password but this generally has a fee) (Wikibooks, 2010).
• Ensure all students have equal opportunity to access a computer and internet to explore and contribute to the Wiki.
• A Learning Manager needs to be able to give up some control (pedagogical issues) of the content and allow students some independence.
• It is more than likely that a Learning Manager will need to comply with school policy and receive parental permission to publish student’s work/pictures on the web.
References
Wikibooks. (2010, May 12). Change Issues in Curriculum and Instruction/Wikis in the Classroom. Retrieved July 19, 2010, from Wikibooks- Open books for an open world: http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Change_Issues_in_Curriculum_and_Instruction/Wikis_in_the_Classroom
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
The Big6 Learning Design Framework
After examining the TPACK framework, Learning Engagement Theory, and the Big Six Framework, I have chosen to use the Big Six Framework. Throughout this blog I will explore a range of learning technologies and evaluate their effectiveness with respect to this conceptual framework. The Big6 framework is used in thousands of schools; it is practical and can be used whenever someone needs to use information. The framework uses a systematic approach to enable a person to find, use, apply and evaluate information for a set task. The Big6 incorporates information search, skills and technology tools in order to work through the 6 step process. I believe it would be effective in the classroom for many reasons some of which are:
1. Each individual learner will travel along at their own pace during the learning process. The Big6 allows the learner to complete each stage in a time frame suitable to them and stages can be completed in any order they choose. The Framework is very structured leading the students in a step-by-step process throughout the task.
2. The Big6 can be used as a set of life skills. The skills developed whilst using this framework can be applied in any situation e.g. School, home and work. The Big 6 can be used when information is needed to solve a problem, make a decision, or complete a task.
3. The Big6 also integrates a diverse selection of computer and information technology skills e.g. When students are using the web to search for information they are using Big6 No. 3 - Location and Access.
4. The Big6 framework can be directly integrated into classroom curriculum and activities.
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
Mind Map Madness
Choosing from the two programs Bubbl.us and text2mindmap to create a concept map was easy for me; I found both programs very user friendly but that may be because I am a Digital Native (Prensky 2001). I didn’t even have to read the user guides provided, so I made my decision based on presentation (what mapping appealed to me visually). My choice may have been influenced by the fact that I am very much a visual learner. How could I use this in my classroom? Concept mapping help students organise information, they help students recognise and use patterns in information. Mind Mapping can aid students in figuring out what is important and link relationships among the pieces of information. This process is said to facilitate students in understanding, using and retaining the information (Marzano & Pickering, 1997). The free concept mapping programs which are available via the internet would make it possible for students to use this organisation strategy anywhere at any time. They could use this tool at home or in school to help them quickly and easily break up any new or even old steps, processes and information with homework, projects or assignments. Online concept maps can be done on paper but getting the students to use the computer program may just interest and entice them that little bit more being digital natives and all. Making these programs available to students in class will provide them with the opportunity to practice and use these skills anytime they feel they need to. Student knowledge of these mapping programs can also provide the students with the chance to use them at home and include their parents in organising their learning.
References
Marzano, R. J., & Pickering, D. J. (1997). Dimensions of Learning (2nd Edition ed.). Aurora, Colorado: McRel.
Prensky, M 2001, On the horizon, Digital natives digital immigrants, University press.
Monday, July 12, 2010
Blogging +ve
There are many positive and negative aspects to blogging that could be useful in the classroom. Blogging can be an innovative way to communicate with students. Some of the positives of blogging in the classroom are:
1: It connects all students with others all around the world at any point in time.
2: Students can learn from one another via their blogs. The students can participate in collaborative learning opportunities.
3: Blogging can engage learners in the learning experiences, because they are dealing with digital technology (digital natives).
4: It can assist students in identifying the relevance of the learning content and create responsibility, value and ownership for students.
1: It connects all students with others all around the world at any point in time.
2: Students can learn from one another via their blogs. The students can participate in collaborative learning opportunities.
3: Blogging can engage learners in the learning experiences, because they are dealing with digital technology (digital natives).
4: It can assist students in identifying the relevance of the learning content and create responsibility, value and ownership for students.
Sunday, July 11, 2010
Begining my E-Learning Journey
I am a student of CQU currently studying a Bachelor of Learning Management (Early Childhood). This is my third year of study. The purpose of this blog is to meet the requirements of my current uni course Managing E-Learning. I am excited about what new and useful tools this course will introduce to me. I believe i could call myself a 'Digital Native' and technologically savvy but i am certain there is much more for me to learn. I have never created a blog before but i guess Facebook and emails can be classed as blogging, i have also created a webquest. I have used this technology throughout my life and more so now to complete my studies. It can seem at times that technology can have a mind of its own (Google: Did you mean: _ _ _ _ _?), but it is said that it's not the computer it's the user. I can't wait to find and learn more about the wide range of educational technologies during this course.
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