A great way of allowing students to share their voice and value the work they produce is digital storytelling. Students are able to see the importance in producing a task that the world outside school values and so they put effort and creativity into their projects. It is a great way of sharing stories and using ICTs in the classroom. It is also a different way of sharing teaching ideas with students. It embraces diversity and different learning styles. It is a great way of relating, creating and donating.
Thursday, May 6, 2010
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Reflective Synopsis
Do not train a child to learn by force or harshness; but direct them to it by what amuses their minds, so that you may be better able to discover with accuracy the peculiar bent of the genius of each.
Plato (Glogster, 2010)
The idea written above by Plato is very powerful. When students are taught in a way in which they are amused, or engaged, they will be more likely to remember the information and experience and use it in their own individual ways. How then, do we teach to engage? One effective way is to meet the students where they are at; talk a language they understand. Studies by the Australian Bureau of Statistics show that 72% of households have access to the internet and computers (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2009). With this in mind it can be seen that learning managers should use this valuable resource to help cater for the learning needs and preferences of the students. ICTs for learning can be used and embedded throughout many different learning experiences and can be used for instruction, elaboration, research, direct feedback and assessment for and of learning. The ICT resources I have reflected on could be used in many different ways including those outlined above to facilitate and monitor the students learning throughout a unit of work. The technologies I have been exploring for the past 8 weeks have impressed and inspired me to be more creative in planning learning experiences that will engage my learners.
Although it is not possible to talk about all the ICTs that I have been researching and experimenting with, there are a large number that I would like to use in my lesson plans. I'm sure this list will continue to grow as our world is forever changing and moving toward an unknown and exciting future filled with ICTs. I never would have thought or imagined in primary school that one day I could have a touch screen mobile phone (iPhone) that works like a phone, computer with internet access, word processing tool, and music playing device all in one! What a wonderful and convenient communication, research and leisure tool. I can only imagine what the primary learners of today will be seeing in their futures.
Even though learning can be enabled in many other ways, ICTs create an engaging platform for the learning to occur. In their Learning Engagement Theory, Kearsley and Schneiderman (1998) state, “While in principle, such engagement could occur without the use of technology, we believe that technology can facilitate engagement in ways which are difficult to achieve otherwise”. The following report will identify some of the ICT learning tools I have explored throughout the course that I think could be used very effectively to engage and facilitate learning in my present and future classrooms.
e.Portfolios (Mahara)
The first ICT tool is the e.Portfolio. e.Portfolios are a great way for primary students to demonstrate, reflect on and present work and achievements in ways that cater for each individual’s needs. In my blog post http://tonijordan.blogspot.com/2010/03/hi-everyone-i-have-been-thinking-bit.html I have explained the ICT in more detail.
This ICT is a great way of organizing and presenting students' work rather than storing it in physical folders in the classroom. Mahara and other E.portfolio sites allow students and teachers to upload their files into an online storage device and create ‘views’ displaying work, links, information etc. with individual privacy settings. This learning tool makes it is possible to study the improvements made by students in their work, encourage students by leaving learner-specific feedback, in the form of comments or private messages, encourage students to work together, by leaving each other messages or comments providing points of view or information peers might have missed out (ACU Adams Center for Teaching Excellence, 2000), create blogs (weblogs), lessons, appropriate research link pages, create documents for projects and embed other material from the internet into the ‘views’. This learning tool could be used effectively to monitor and direct student progress through the learning sequence.
Interactive Whiteboards
Another valuable ICT learning tool is the Interactive Whiteboard. IWBs are touch screen whiteboards used via computer and projector connections. They are practical, physical and actively engage students in their learning which is essential for effective learning (ACU Adams Center for Teaching Excellence, 2000). They allow teachers to scaffold information sourced from simple Internet searches or specific IWB programs which incorporate the purposeful and relevant resources required for effective and efficient student learning according to the Learning Pyramid (ACU Adams Center for Teaching Excellence, 2000). As the students are able to physically engage with the IWB, the kinesthetic learning styles are catered for (LdPride.net, n.d.) . Students are able to see the consequences of actions on the board immediately and the feedback is direct, purposeful and relevant to their learning experience (ACU Adams Center for Teaching Excellence, 2000). Many programs on the IWB encourage problem-solving and higher order thinking which help students build thorough understandings of the knowledge and skills they are learning (Oliver, 1999).
YouTube, TeacherTube and SchoolTube.
The last learning tools focused on are the YouTube, TeacherTube and SchoolTube websites. Finding relevant and engaging videos is a lot easier to do using these sites. With new videos being uploaded to the sites daily, it’s not hard to find a video relating to any subject area. Students are engaged through both visual and verbal resources that help to cater for the visual and auditory learning styles of the students (LdPride.net, n.d.) . According to Active Learning Theory, the more active the students are in the learning, the more relevant information they will retain and use in their own lives (ACU Adams Center for Teaching Excellence, 2000). Videos are also great learning tools as they can be paused to check student understanding and allow the students to ask questions or try out the tasks identified in the video. It is important for students to feel as though their work relates to real world, authentic situations (Kearsley & Shneiderman, 1999). If the videos the students view are based on real world situations the students may be able to connect more easily with the learning. Kearsley and Shneiderman (1999) suggest that students engaging with others, in a collaborative setting on a project based task with an authentic focus are more likely to learn effectively. This tool could be used as a part of the donate phase of a task where students could create a video and upload it to share with others around the world.
Glogs
Glogs were an ICT learning tool that I had not yet encountered in the study of the coursework. However I came across them while observing and commenting on a peer’s blog and found them interesting. After exploring the tool, I found that it could be used as a substitute for cardboard posters. As well as information and picture texts, Glogs can include videos, website links and audio files to showcase student learning or be used as a basis to implement learning experiences which encompass a wide variety of activities, information and resources.
These ICT tools along with countless others could be used to create and implement effective, engaging learning experiences. By using these technologies, students have more opportunities to explore topics through different mediums. As Learning Engagement Theory suggests, students learn best through opportunities to work as small groups on authentic real world tasks using a range of tools and activities that cater for their individual needs (Kearsley, G. & Schneiderman B, 1998). As a future learning manager I plan to embed many different ICT learning tools in my unit planning to engage and teach my future students. I think ICTs are an important and valuable learning resource, which should be explored and included in all key learning areas, where possible, to ensure the students learn effectively and are engaged in learning through the use of authentic learning tasks.
Reference List:
Aldred, S. (2008). Learning Design. Retrieved April 29, 2010, from SlideShare: http://www.slideshare.net/Scot.Aldred/learning-design-1103898
Australian Bureau of Statistics. (2009, December 16). Household use of Information Technology Australia 2008-2009. Retrieved April 29, 2010, from Australian Bureau of Statistics: http://abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/mf/8146.0/
Glogster. (2010). Glogster. Retrieved 2010, from Poster Yourself: http://edu.glogster.com/
Kearsley, G. & Schneiderman B. (1998). Engagement theory: a framework for technology-based teaching and learning. Retrieved 29 April, 2010, from http://home.sprynet.com/~gkearsley/engage.htm
Oliver, R. (1999). The learning design construct. Retrieved 29 April, 2010, from http://www.learningdesigns.uow.edu.au/project/learn_design.htm
The Abilene Christian University Adams Center for Teaching Excellence. (2000). How does active learning work? Retrieved 29 April, 2010, from http://www.acu.edu/cte/activelearning/howdoes.htm
Here is a list of blogs that I have commented on:
Computer Rooms in Schools
I had my second day of Embedded Professional Learning today (Prac Teaching) in a primary school here in Bundaberg. I am excited to say the school is quite up to date with their technologies and I have already seen one class use the Interactive White Board in Maths!
One issue is that the school does not yet have an IWB in the learning support room. I believe this is one place where students would really feel comfortable using such an interesting tool and learning support teachers would benefit greatly by having the added excitement in their lessons. As I am spending a lot of time with a mentor teacher in the learning support room at the school, I understand that there are a range of students who use the facilities there. Students with Vision Impairment, Physical Impairment, Behaviour Management Issues and students requiring simple learning support all use these facilities. As almost every other classroom has an IWB I'm not sure why one hasn't been installed in the learning support room yet... I brought forward the argument to the learning support teacher who is actually going to look into that for me! Sometimes, half the battle with some of the children using this facility is poor engagement and inability to interest the child. IWBs certainly help these issues.
Another really exciting thing in my school is that in the computer rooms, there is a program installed on the teacher's computer that allows the teacher to access every computer in the room. From the teacher computer, the teacher is able to see the active screen of every student, what programs they have open and they are even able to lock all student computers so that the students have no choice but to avert their attention back to the teacher. The screens at the school I'm at read 'ATTENTION PLEASE' when this happens. I love this. This means that the students are always safe, respected but also observed incase they are straying off topic or behaving badly.
Just a few exciting things about my EPL school for you.
Toni
One issue is that the school does not yet have an IWB in the learning support room. I believe this is one place where students would really feel comfortable using such an interesting tool and learning support teachers would benefit greatly by having the added excitement in their lessons. As I am spending a lot of time with a mentor teacher in the learning support room at the school, I understand that there are a range of students who use the facilities there. Students with Vision Impairment, Physical Impairment, Behaviour Management Issues and students requiring simple learning support all use these facilities. As almost every other classroom has an IWB I'm not sure why one hasn't been installed in the learning support room yet... I brought forward the argument to the learning support teacher who is actually going to look into that for me! Sometimes, half the battle with some of the children using this facility is poor engagement and inability to interest the child. IWBs certainly help these issues.
Another really exciting thing in my school is that in the computer rooms, there is a program installed on the teacher's computer that allows the teacher to access every computer in the room. From the teacher computer, the teacher is able to see the active screen of every student, what programs they have open and they are even able to lock all student computers so that the students have no choice but to avert their attention back to the teacher. The screens at the school I'm at read 'ATTENTION PLEASE' when this happens. I love this. This means that the students are always safe, respected but also observed incase they are straying off topic or behaving badly.
Just a few exciting things about my EPL school for you.
Toni
Royalty Free Music
Music covered by the Creative Commons licence is great for use in
- Slideshows
- Videos
- Use on blogs
- Background music for classes
- For student use in their own projects.
- For dancing
Marzano and Pickering (p.23.1997) suggest frequent and systematic use of activities that involve physical movement. This allows students to release tension built up from remaining in one position for a long time, which is common in classrooms today. When students are comfortable they are able to learn more efficiently.
There are many different uses for music in the classroom and using music that requires only crediting back to the composer is a very simple way of accessing this tool. I have bookmarked this site!
Regards,
Toni
Reference:
Marzano, R. J., & Pickering, D. J. (with Arrendondo, D. E., Paynter, D. E., Blackburn, G. J., Brandt, R. S., … Whistler, J. S.). (1997). Dimensions of learning teacher’s manual (2nd ed.). Alexandra, VA: ASCD
Using Slideshare to Share Slide Presentations
Warming up our voices presentation
Warming Up Our Voices Presentation (With Audio)
View more presentations from Toni Jordan.
It is actually quite an easy task to record audio into slide presentations and organise where each slide will fit into the audio timing. This website will be very useful for sharing and distributing slide presentations with classes, on the internet or even just for use in class.
It is very much a 'hands on' activity and students would be able to use this to ad audio to their own powerpoint presentations. It reinforces my point about engaging the learner through their senses in my previous post about YouTube.
Regards,
Toni
It is actually quite an easy task to record audio into slide presentations and organise where each slide will fit into the audio timing. This website will be very useful for sharing and distributing slide presentations with classes, on the internet or even just for use in class.
It is very much a 'hands on' activity and students would be able to use this to ad audio to their own powerpoint presentations. It reinforces my point about engaging the learner through their senses in my previous post about YouTube.
Regards,
Toni
Wikipedia
Wikipedia is a free, online encyclopedia built collaboratively with users all around the world.
When searching in Wikipedia for Music, I am bombarded by many different resources. To say the least, there is a mass of information on my subject area. Naming many different topics within the music subject within the search is easy. On the first page of 20 results out of 365,874, Rock Music, Popular Music, Country Music, Composer, Electronic Music, Classical Music, Folk Music, Singing, Dance Music, Hip Hop, Alternative Rock, Contemporary Christian and Record Producer are available!
This would definitely be a resource I would encourage students to make use of. Many arguments have been made for using Wikipedia as a valued source of information as anybody is allowed to give their input to pages, however the guidelines for doing so are quite strict.
Allowing students to find their own information can sometimes be a scary task. Teachers are never really safe in knowing where the learners are looking for their information and whether the sites are safe and reliable. I believe if Wikipedia was available to students, the information found can almost certainly be both safe and reliable, as the information is presented in a professional and organised way.
As the website is available on the internet, open to the general public, the students are able to use this site in schools, libraries, at home on computers as long as they are connected to the internet. Students in lower primary would probably have some difficulty in searching for relevant information, but upper primary students would find this resource very useful for class projects etc.
The teacher could plan activities using the program. They could also preview the information that students are required to search for to ensure it is relevant, safe and appropriately worded. In doing this, the teacher knows exactly what the students will be looking at, and how the students will be able to use the information in projects and class tasks.
When used responsibly I think Wikipedia can be a fantastic ICT tool.
Regards,
Toni
When searching in Wikipedia for Music, I am bombarded by many different resources. To say the least, there is a mass of information on my subject area. Naming many different topics within the music subject within the search is easy. On the first page of 20 results out of 365,874, Rock Music, Popular Music, Country Music, Composer, Electronic Music, Classical Music, Folk Music, Singing, Dance Music, Hip Hop, Alternative Rock, Contemporary Christian and Record Producer are available!
This would definitely be a resource I would encourage students to make use of. Many arguments have been made for using Wikipedia as a valued source of information as anybody is allowed to give their input to pages, however the guidelines for doing so are quite strict.
Allowing students to find their own information can sometimes be a scary task. Teachers are never really safe in knowing where the learners are looking for their information and whether the sites are safe and reliable. I believe if Wikipedia was available to students, the information found can almost certainly be both safe and reliable, as the information is presented in a professional and organised way.
As the website is available on the internet, open to the general public, the students are able to use this site in schools, libraries, at home on computers as long as they are connected to the internet. Students in lower primary would probably have some difficulty in searching for relevant information, but upper primary students would find this resource very useful for class projects etc.
The teacher could plan activities using the program. They could also preview the information that students are required to search for to ensure it is relevant, safe and appropriately worded. In doing this, the teacher knows exactly what the students will be looking at, and how the students will be able to use the information in projects and class tasks.
When used responsibly I think Wikipedia can be a fantastic ICT tool.
Regards,
Toni
Google Earth
Google Earth is a program which lets you see anywhere in the world, quite clearly. I played around with it tonight and literally saw my country, state, town, street and house. Very impressive.
Using Google Earth is something I have never really considered, as I hadn't used it before now. I can see many different uses for this program in classes.
Using Google Earth is something I have never really considered, as I hadn't used it before now. I can see many different uses for this program in classes.
- Confirming geographical ideas and seeing where countries are in relation to Australia.
- Allowing students to display where they have travelled, and where they would like to travel.
- Tracking places in stories where characters have been, or creating a scenario or story together with pictures or a tour to support it.
- Studying history and typical features about countries.
- Measuring the distance between places or objects.
- Finding new areas and land to build cities.
- Conducting research about a particular place, or places by adding layers.
- Look up places mentioned in movies, news or video clips.
- Learn map reading and navigation.
- Biology: Track routes of chimpanzees in Tanzania's Gombe Forest. See the Jane Goodall Institute Chimpanzee blog here.
- Ecology: Create a short quiz like this one.
- Environmental Science: Have students check Alaska's global warming problems. See how the Sierra Club used Google Earth to depict this problem here.
- Geology: Find images, links, and descriptions, with information about thousands of volcanoes around the globe, thanks to organizations like the Smithsonian Institution's Global Volcanism Program.
- Global Awareness: Study the Crisis in Darfur with the US Holocaust Memorial Museum's unprecedented project.
- History: Explore Tutankhamun's Tomb.
- Humanities: Have your students scout film shoot locations like this teacher did with The Golden Compass.
- Literature: Bring class or contemporary tales to life with Google LitTrips.
- Math: Explore distance, velocity, and wave properties of tsunamis.
Google Earth could be used in many different ways to engage classes.
Regards,
Toni
Regards,
Toni
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
YouTube, SchoolTube & TeacherTube
There are many different uses for videos in the classroom. Students love watching familiar clips, videos that relate to what they are learning or clips that actually teach the students information. The following video is an example from YouTube which shows 10 reasons why teachers should use YouTube in the classroom.
YouTube is a great resource for the classroom. You can search for so many different topics. SchoolTube is a great site, which has similar ideals but also focusses specifically on students and teachers. Another similar resource is TeacherTube. With the same idea as YouTube, the site provides many different search results for school topics - but this time they are specifically built for use by teachers and students. The site also includes Docs, Audio, Photos, Blogs etc and is a wonderful resource for teachers to keep in mind when planning lessons and searching for content to fill their lessons and teach the learners in an engaging way.
At the moment my Mentor Teacher is taking some upper primary students through Microsoft Publisher. This is a great tool used to create many different documents including resumes, certificates and cards. The class is using Publisher to create a brochure and this is why I chose the second YouTube video which introduces the program and shows how to complete some functions when
creating a brochure.
I would use this video to guide students through the introductory phase of Publisher. Students would be able to be guided both visually and verbally by this video and as the video can be paused, I would be able to stop the video to check student understanding and allow the students to ask questions and try out the tasks demonstrated in the video.
These are some reasons why I would use YouTube, SchoolTube and TeacherTube clips in my teaching.
With so many different topics and points of view projected in the videos it is possible to find almost anything using these sites. It is important for students to feel as though their work relates to real world, authentic situations (Kearsley & Shneiderman, 1999). If the videos they watch are created by someone else, about the very same topic, they may be able to make more of a connection by watching the video.
"Studies show that the more senses we can involve in the learning process the better we can get learning to 'stick' and by bringing in video we add visuals and music and sound effects along with the information and its better for the learning" (Mrs Schurg, 2009).
Sensory Stimulation Theory is based on the premise that effective learning happens when senses are stimulated. Our five senses are Sight, Hearing, Touch, Smell and Taste. With video broadcasting using audio and visual stimulants, the sight and hearing senses are stimulated.
It is important to teach the students what they need to know in a way that they will remember, understand and apply the information. Learners in our classrooms are being exposed to these types of technologies every day from elsewhere, and loving it. Why not use this to our advantage? It is necessary to engage the learners, and if they are already engaging in this technology why not use it in the classroom?
Kearsley and Shneiderman (1999) suggest that students engaging with others, in a collaborative setting on a project based task with an authentic focus are more likely to learn effectively. So according to these authors, if using a tool which so many people use to complete a task or problem that is publicly available on the site the students might be able to learn effectively. The students may not even realise they are learning...which is even better!
YouTube, SchoolTube and TeacherTube are great for classroom teachers and students.
Regards,
Toni
References:
YouTube is a great resource for the classroom. You can search for so many different topics. SchoolTube is a great site, which has similar ideals but also focusses specifically on students and teachers. Another similar resource is TeacherTube. With the same idea as YouTube, the site provides many different search results for school topics - but this time they are specifically built for use by teachers and students. The site also includes Docs, Audio, Photos, Blogs etc and is a wonderful resource for teachers to keep in mind when planning lessons and searching for content to fill their lessons and teach the learners in an engaging way.
At the moment my Mentor Teacher is taking some upper primary students through Microsoft Publisher. This is a great tool used to create many different documents including resumes, certificates and cards. The class is using Publisher to create a brochure and this is why I chose the second YouTube video which introduces the program and shows how to complete some functions when
creating a brochure.
I would use this video to guide students through the introductory phase of Publisher. Students would be able to be guided both visually and verbally by this video and as the video can be paused, I would be able to stop the video to check student understanding and allow the students to ask questions and try out the tasks demonstrated in the video.
These are some reasons why I would use YouTube, SchoolTube and TeacherTube clips in my teaching.
With so many different topics and points of view projected in the videos it is possible to find almost anything using these sites. It is important for students to feel as though their work relates to real world, authentic situations (Kearsley & Shneiderman, 1999). If the videos they watch are created by someone else, about the very same topic, they may be able to make more of a connection by watching the video.
"Studies show that the more senses we can involve in the learning process the better we can get learning to 'stick' and by bringing in video we add visuals and music and sound effects along with the information and its better for the learning" (Mrs Schurg, 2009).
Sensory Stimulation Theory is based on the premise that effective learning happens when senses are stimulated. Our five senses are Sight, Hearing, Touch, Smell and Taste. With video broadcasting using audio and visual stimulants, the sight and hearing senses are stimulated.
It is important to teach the students what they need to know in a way that they will remember, understand and apply the information. Learners in our classrooms are being exposed to these types of technologies every day from elsewhere, and loving it. Why not use this to our advantage? It is necessary to engage the learners, and if they are already engaging in this technology why not use it in the classroom?
Kearsley and Shneiderman (1999) suggest that students engaging with others, in a collaborative setting on a project based task with an authentic focus are more likely to learn effectively. So according to these authors, if using a tool which so many people use to complete a task or problem that is publicly available on the site the students might be able to learn effectively. The students may not even realise they are learning...which is even better!
YouTube, SchoolTube and TeacherTube are great for classroom teachers and students.
Regards,
Toni
References:
Kearsley, G., & Shneiderman, B. (1999). Engagement Theory. Retrieved from A framework for technology-based teaching and learning: http://home.sprynet.com/~gkearsley/engage.htm
Schurg, M. (2008). 10 Reasons for Using YouTube Videos in Your Classroom. Retrieved April 28, 2010, from YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0r1SRJCViUY
Sunday, April 18, 2010
Using Picnik
Picnik is a an online application much like the computer programs Adobe Photoshop, FireWorks, PaintShop Pro and Corel Paint. Picnik however is a free tool that does not even require a registration to the site, although registration is free and easy! Although the abilities of the program are fewer in Picnik, the capability of the program is fast, easy and accessible from any computer connected to the internet!
Although I do already own Photoshop, I have begun to play around with Picnik. The site is easy to navigate and very simple compared to other photo editing software. After taking 30 seconds to create my account, I uploaded a photo to explore the capabilities of the site. I am impressed. I am even able to 'Gooify' my pictures. This is one thing I did to the second one - note the eyes. :D
Before
After
Picnik doesn't store the files for you but it is possible to save them to a computer or upload them from the site straight to a Flickr account (see previous post). After resizing and cropping a photo (so easily) I click on the Save and Share tab. I can either save the file straight onto my computer of upload it onto my Flickr. The file I was playing with can be seen here. It used to be a full screen High definition photo. Now it is much smaller. :D
Using Picnik in the Classroom
Using Picnik to manipulate images (changing colours, sizes and effects of existing photos and pictures) is a powerful way to empower students. An idea that I would like to test out is this: Give students a picture/photo to upload into Picnik and allow them to manipulate it in order to highlight a certain point of view. For example, providing a photo of a city and asking students to manipulate it to show what they think about cities. They may enlarge the photo to show cities are big, brighten the photo with crazy colours or neon lights to show that cities are buzzing with excitement or they may take all the colour out of the photo to show that cities are polluted. There are many different points of view and all students should be able to highlight an aspect to suit their own perspective. Even students at a young age could use simple elements of this site.
Engaging Learners
Learning Engagement Theory (Keirsley and Schneiderman) identifies the need for students to engage with relevant learning materials and projects, developing student choice. When students are able to decide on a particular direction for their learning, they are able to make connections between the content and the relevance to their life. This tool is engaging and also encourages the use of complex thinking in order to express a particular meaning through a picture.
Happy editing!
Although I do already own Photoshop, I have begun to play around with Picnik. The site is easy to navigate and very simple compared to other photo editing software. After taking 30 seconds to create my account, I uploaded a photo to explore the capabilities of the site. I am impressed. I am even able to 'Gooify' my pictures. This is one thing I did to the second one - note the eyes. :D
Before
(Photo courtesy of Flickr)
After
(Photo courtesy of Flickr)
Using Picnik in the Classroom
Using Picnik to manipulate images (changing colours, sizes and effects of existing photos and pictures) is a powerful way to empower students. An idea that I would like to test out is this: Give students a picture/photo to upload into Picnik and allow them to manipulate it in order to highlight a certain point of view. For example, providing a photo of a city and asking students to manipulate it to show what they think about cities. They may enlarge the photo to show cities are big, brighten the photo with crazy colours or neon lights to show that cities are buzzing with excitement or they may take all the colour out of the photo to show that cities are polluted. There are many different points of view and all students should be able to highlight an aspect to suit their own perspective. Even students at a young age could use simple elements of this site.
Engaging Learners
Learning Engagement Theory (Keirsley and Schneiderman) identifies the need for students to engage with relevant learning materials and projects, developing student choice. When students are able to decide on a particular direction for their learning, they are able to make connections between the content and the relevance to their life. This tool is engaging and also encourages the use of complex thinking in order to express a particular meaning through a picture.
Happy editing!
Using Flikr
These are a few of my wedding photos taken by James Day at 3words.com.au. I have uploaded them into Flickr, a free photo uploader and online organiser. Flickr then easily allows me to embed those picture files into my blog. Ta da!
Flickr and other photo uploaders, such as Photobucket, make it possible to share photos online with other users. After easily and quickly creating a free account with Flickr I have searched in the easy access toolbar for 'students using Flickr'. I found this photo named 'Even Students Love Flickr' which suits my next point.
For example, a primary school teacher is planning a lesson on whales. When searching for photos, she finds that the copyright of most photos restricts her from copying and uploading the photo into her teaching blog and wiki. Searching for 'whales' on Flickr brings up 553,367 results at the present moment. Although many are not exactly what the teacher is looking for, there are definitely some useful pictures in the search.
(Photos Courtesy of Flickr)
Flickr and other photo uploaders, such as Photobucket, make it possible to share photos online with other users. After easily and quickly creating a free account with Flickr I have searched in the easy access toolbar for 'students using Flickr'. I found this photo named 'Even Students Love Flickr' which suits my next point.
Students who are writing an educational webpage are using flickr to store photos they've taken.
(Photo Courtesy of Flickr)
Students and Teachers can use technologies like Flickr to find photos (without restricting copyright) to use in lessons, projects, assignments, blogs, webquests, wikis and more! As so many people around the world are uploading photos, it is possible to get a whole range of views, through photos, on the one topic.
For example, a primary school teacher is planning a lesson on whales. When searching for photos, she finds that the copyright of most photos restricts her from copying and uploading the photo into her teaching blog and wiki. Searching for 'whales' on Flickr brings up 553,367 results at the present moment. Although many are not exactly what the teacher is looking for, there are definitely some useful pictures in the search.
(Photo Courtesy of Flickr)
Students are able to search for photos to use within presentations, assignments, blogs, stories etc. The picture above mentions that students creating websites can use Flickr to store the photos they have taken themselves. Students are able to upload their own individual photos of themselves, class work and classroom topics to use in later projects. This allows students to use a very 'hands on' approach to their learning and content. This method encourages creativity and allows students to understand that they have input to their work. These are useful elements for student engagement, according to Greg Kearsley & Ben Shneiderman, creators of the Learning Engagement Theory. This technology can provide useful ways of adding flavour to school projects, presentations, blogs, creative writing stories etc.
An example of this can be found from Reversing The Norm, a blog created by a pre-service teacher. Here the author explains a use for using Flickr:
'It could easily be used to upload important images taken of the students work during the span of a unit to be used in a final assessment piece. This kind of use could be especially useful for science based units of work which involve collecting pictorial data over a period of time, for seed germinating etc.'
The following quote is from my course ICT's for Learning Design notes compiled by Scot Aldred.
Smith & Lynch describe Learning Management as:
"the capacity to design pedagogic strategies that achieve learning outcomes in students".
When using Flickr to upload or find photos, enhancing learning management and learning experience planning, it is important to remember that the techniques used should allow learning outcomes to be achieved by students. If the reason for using the technologies are not important and students find no connection of using Flickr and their lesson they will not be engaged and will not be inclined to participate in the lesson.
This site also provides some effective uses of Flickr in the classroom.
As this website (teacherworld.com) so beautifully shows, Edgar Dale's Cone provides a reference for what our learning experiences should include and the general percentage of what people remember from each experience.
Dale's Cone orders from the lowest and least effective teaching method to the highest and most appropriate level for teaching and learning at the bottom of the cone; planning and implementing Direct, Purposeful Experiences. According to teacherworld.com, people remember 90% of what they do compared to 10% of what they read, and 20% of what they hear. Allowing students to take their own photos, analyse and justify their photo choices and evaluate the best positioning and location for those photos allows students to be a part of a direct purposeful experience.
Regards,
Toni Jordan
Interactive Whiteboards
I can't wait to use one!!!
As I have not been placed in a school just yet, I am unsure whether I will have access to an Interactive Whiteboard. From what I have researched, these whiteboards are very useful for engaging learners and allowing them to interact with technology to learn. In a time where technology is booming and students are able to find information from many different sources, the interactive whiteboards allow teachers to scaffold the information sourced.
An interactive whiteboard is a whiteboard used via computer and projector connections. The touch screen allows teachers and students to engage directly with the technology effectively and efficiently. Learning the technology may take some time but engaging students in the way they prefer to learn is invaluable. Many reviews of the technology describe the students as eager to get their hands dirty using the whiteboards themselves. It is important that students feel ownership of their learning.
This video shows one example of how to use an interactive whiteboard.
This video shows some of the features of the whiteboards.
As I said... I cant wait to use one!
As I have not been placed in a school just yet, I am unsure whether I will have access to an Interactive Whiteboard. From what I have researched, these whiteboards are very useful for engaging learners and allowing them to interact with technology to learn. In a time where technology is booming and students are able to find information from many different sources, the interactive whiteboards allow teachers to scaffold the information sourced.
An interactive whiteboard is a whiteboard used via computer and projector connections. The touch screen allows teachers and students to engage directly with the technology effectively and efficiently. Learning the technology may take some time but engaging students in the way they prefer to learn is invaluable. Many reviews of the technology describe the students as eager to get their hands dirty using the whiteboards themselves. It is important that students feel ownership of their learning.
This video shows one example of how to use an interactive whiteboard.
This video shows some of the features of the whiteboards.
As I said... I cant wait to use one!
Power Point for Teachers
I have just created a simple Power Point presentation. The primary focus is on educating upper primary students in one simple way of taking care of their voice: Warming up. I really want learners to understand that warming up the voice is important, why its important and that not only singers do it! This slide presentation could be used in a music, choir or HPE context, focussing on good vocal practices. I have included questions in the Power Point, which allows students to contemplate answers in their own time before responding.
Power Point & Teachers
Power Point can be used by Teachers to scaffold the learning of all students especially those with a preference for visual teaching styles. It can be used as a teaching tool, a note providing tool, an assessment tool etc. Students can also use the program to create their own slideshows. It can be a very rewarding assessment if students feel that they have purpose and creative input into a task. This can be a great way to engage learners!
We know that in order for the presentation to be engaging, the content has to have the three components of Greg Kearsley & Ben Shneiderman's Learning Engagement Theory. Using the three components 'Relate, Create and Donate' provides a great way of organising the content into experiences that are exciting, relevant and authentic to real life situations. The learning has to have purpose. There is no point making a Power Point presentation that has no relevance to students and nothing worth learning in it!
If the content is meaningful, there are so many ways of making the slides more interesting than just simple words on a page. Embedding videos, animation, pictures, songs and sounds in colourful and creative slides creates an engaging platform for students to take in and devour desirable information. The possibilities are endless for teachers using this program in the classroom.
The use of slide presentations through Power Point can be adapted to any learning situation. It can be a solo effort by a teacher or student, can be easily incorporated into a small group situation or even a large group effort. Working alone or together, each with different or similar tasks (such as researching and organising information) to find a solution to an authentic problem with purposeful direction will allow students to create, relate and retain meaningful information.
The Power Point program makes it possible to deliver selected information in an engaging way that suits the context of the learning developing and encouraging meaningful learning, whether by the teacher, student or whole class.
Warming Up Our Voices Presentation
I uploaded my Power Point presentation into my Blog with Slideboom.com. I tried using another program called Slideshare.net but the extra animations, effects and sounds were disabled. There has also been an uploading issue where the slide containing point 4 has a box above it. This text box is supposed to be under the text. Pausing will allow you to read the text.
Power Point & Teachers
Power Point can be used by Teachers to scaffold the learning of all students especially those with a preference for visual teaching styles. It can be used as a teaching tool, a note providing tool, an assessment tool etc. Students can also use the program to create their own slideshows. It can be a very rewarding assessment if students feel that they have purpose and creative input into a task. This can be a great way to engage learners!
We know that in order for the presentation to be engaging, the content has to have the three components of Greg Kearsley & Ben Shneiderman's Learning Engagement Theory. Using the three components 'Relate, Create and Donate' provides a great way of organising the content into experiences that are exciting, relevant and authentic to real life situations. The learning has to have purpose. There is no point making a Power Point presentation that has no relevance to students and nothing worth learning in it!
If the content is meaningful, there are so many ways of making the slides more interesting than just simple words on a page. Embedding videos, animation, pictures, songs and sounds in colourful and creative slides creates an engaging platform for students to take in and devour desirable information. The possibilities are endless for teachers using this program in the classroom.
The use of slide presentations through Power Point can be adapted to any learning situation. It can be a solo effort by a teacher or student, can be easily incorporated into a small group situation or even a large group effort. Working alone or together, each with different or similar tasks (such as researching and organising information) to find a solution to an authentic problem with purposeful direction will allow students to create, relate and retain meaningful information.
The Power Point program makes it possible to deliver selected information in an engaging way that suits the context of the learning developing and encouraging meaningful learning, whether by the teacher, student or whole class.
Sunday, March 28, 2010
What Do Kids Really want?
A fellow blogger Jacina Walker posted this video on her own blog. I really enjoyed it. Thanks to Jacina for finding this!
Cheers,
Toni
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Voki Avatars in Learning Design
There is a website called Voki, used to create the avatar above, which specialises in creating voki avatars. The website describes itself as a "free service that allows you to create personalised speaking avatars and use them on your blog, profile and email messages".
Avatars for teachers?
These avatars can be used in many different ways in the classroom. I am already getting excited with the number of ideas I have for this resource! Teachers can create and use avatars to introduce courses or topics, include in blogs, wikis or emails that assist students to complete classroom tasks, assessment items, homework tasks and larger tasks that require several steps. Vocal prompting from avatars may help students to check they are on the right track, understanding the questions properly and gain clarity of the tasks at hand.
Through choosing different characters (animals, anime, politicians and other random selections) you can easily personalise avatars for every purpose! Telling stories, sharing facts, instructing, providing direction are all great uses for avatars in the classroom! With changing accents, backgrounds and characters you can even make a smiley face in front of the Eiffel Tower speaking with a Japanese accent! Many are the possibilities!
Avatars for students?
What are the benefits of students using this resource to create their own avatars? A great deal of relevance would be in reflecting their views and responses to learning tasks/experiences. The use of avatars could encourage group work, commenting and reflecting on learning experiences and peer use of the resource. When used for authentic tasks, making use of real life problems and solutions in group situations that benefit others the learning experience begins to utilise the Learning Engagement Theory created by Greg Kearsley & Ben Shneiderman. The theory uses three components to encourage and engage learners. These are Relate, Create and Donate. The theory is basic but essential; learners in group settings, creating something that is of particular use and then donating it to someone else that will benefit from it. Through doing this, students see more purpose in the activities and are more likely to become and continue to be engaged in the learning. When combined with Lynch's 8 Learning Management Questions, the learning experiences developed should be planned according to what the learner already knows, what they should know by the end of the lesson and how they best learn, making sure to check they have arrived at the end of the learning experience. Classroom activities using voki avatars could easily be planned to incorporate these theories. When engaged, learners take responsibility and ownership of their learning ensuring a deeper understanding of the content. Therefore, students are further encouraged to become independent learners.
This tool may encourage students of all learning styles to write, be creative in their responses to tasks, use audio effectively and create an accurate visual representation of their characters, engaging them in the learning. As the Voki site is user friendly, free and easy to navigate, primary students would not need much help in creating avatars. The process would of course need to be monitored. The great thing about these voki avatars is that shy students, ESL students, vocally impaired students or simply those students who find it hard to express themselves will gain an easy way of sharing their opinions. Students can also create avatars to express different points of view, for example creating avatars to resemble characters from a story book which share their thoughts on the major events in the story.
Feel free to comment, especially if you want to share any of your ideas!
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
Using ICTs to Support & Enhance Learning
Entering the course ICTs for Learning Design this semester, I knew a bit about using the internet for personal recreation and how to find my way around the web. Being a regular Google searcher, facebook junkie, myspace user (for my music website), email reliant, online shopper etc. I am well aware of proper netiquette and how to get what I need out of my computer!
So to extend my knowledge as a part of the course I created a professional blog here on Blogger, a Wiki through WetPaint, a professional teaching e.portfolio through Mahara CQU and an RSS aggregator through GoogleReader to manage my blog subscriptions.
I found the process of setting up these new technologies straightforward and simple with one exception for Mahara which I accidently signed up for the wrong account... outside of the CQU domain. Oops... But all has been resolved through a quick email.
Blogs for Learners
I had heard about blogs before. How they were useful for writing up personal web logs and information on various topics. I had even read some but had never considered the possibility that I would create one for educational purposes. I began thinking about how blogs can be used for my education and reflection. My blog would become a great place to express ideas, reflect on my learning and interact with fellow bloggers (students and other influences). Blogs would be important for not only my educational purposes but for the students I would eventually be teaching. The ease in setting up a blog and commenting on others is very encouraging when thinking about Primary aged students as well as Secondary. Obviously the content in the blog would change with audience but the ease and usability would remain.
The accessibility of a blog would be of use in everyday classroom activities and also for directing learning for assessment. As a teacher I would be able to provide clear instructions, links and useful content for my learners to develop high quality work through both independent and collaborative learning situations. Ease of communication through commenting, reflecting and personal blogging would allow students to provide feedback for their peers, receive appropriate answers and for teachers to monitor what work is being completed and the quality of it.
Scot Aldred, our lecturer for this course provided a perfect example of a blog used to tutor a Math student, allowing more time to complete activities without face to face contact. Commenting and reflection are key to effective communication.
Also, this example of a child's creative writing are displayed in a blog. Children take pride in their work especially when it will be published. Blogs can be shared or kept private, so showcasing student work may be effective in the learning process.
The following website makes some great points about using blogger in the classroom.
RSS Aggregators
Creating my RSS aggregator was an easy process because I already had a Google account. Therefore, using GoogleReader seemed to be the most obvious choice. RSS aggregators basically collect all the blog information from the blogs you wish to follow (keep up to date with) and send it to you, instead of having to check for new material yourself! I didn't know this was possible, being new to blogging myself. But this makes it even more easier to manage.
For more information on how this works see the video:
Wiki's for Learners
Similar to blogging, Wikis provide a great online resource for learners. My initial thought when setting up my own Wiki was that using Wikis for student projects requiring collaboration and all student input would be perfect. You may have used or heard about a massive Wiki called Wikipedia. This site is basically a collaboration of knowledge to provide worldwide info. Very much like an online encyclopedia. Students could create their own mini informative websites, use Wikis as portfolios - showcasing work and assessment journeys. A great thing about Wikis is that they provide an environment where sharing and learning is the focus. I would suggest that using Wikis and blogs to stimulate learning encourages communities of learners to interact, share tools and provide constructive feedback.
All online resources can be used as effectively, if not more, as those we are familiar with in schools. (Books, pencils, etc.) The question about effective learning remains the same - the tools should not be used for the sake of it.... learners should be provided with purposeful learning experiences as demonstrated in Dales Cone. If students see and understand the importance of the tasks, they will be able to dive deeper into the learning experience. The online community of learning would be very effective in the Relate, Create, Donate aspects of Greg Kearsley and Ben Shneiderman's Learning Engagement Theory.
It has been a very interesting and exciting learning journey so far. I am excited to see what technologies will inspire me next!
Using E.Portfolios in the Primary Classroom
Hi Everyone!
I have been thinking a bit about the relevance of the e.portfolios in the primary classroom (particularly because GDLT students are required to have one through a site called Mahara). In amongst thoughts and strategies to use this particular tool I remembered something!
When I was in primary school each student had a folder that showcased their best work, drawings and test scores etc. This was our work portfolio and we took pride in adding our work to it. As the teacher kept it in a store room, we were not allowed to keep it after our schooling had been completed. I'm sure it would be very interesting to look at it now and reflect on my learning from that time in my life, if I had it!
To me, the e.portfolio is a much better way of organising our students' work rather than having to store everything in physical folders. Instead of each child having a folder, you can upload the files into a site like Mahara, where students would be able to share this work with others through at the discretion of the teacher, parents etc.
Also, the students can use e.portfolios to complete assessment tasks, reflect on their learning journeys through blogging etc. whilst creating their own personalised "views" to make their sites look unique. What primary aged student wouldn't love having their own website!? Through Mahara students may create their own blogs, resumes, upload pictures, word documents and other artefacts and include links to other blogs they may wish to remember. Although some of this takes a little navigating, the classroom tasks would define how much the students need to understand about using their e.portfolio.
There are a few problems with the physical folder portfolios such as the one I had: you cannot share it with people, cannot take it home and it is not really the property of the student though it is their work. Students may be able to feel more ownership of their e.portfolio sites. I'm sure this would empower them to take great pride in their work. In contrast to myself, those students may also be able to have access to it after their schooling.
E.portfolios are a great way for primary students to demonstrate, reflect on and present work and achievements in ways that suit each individual.
Regards,
Toni
I have been thinking a bit about the relevance of the e.portfolios in the primary classroom (particularly because GDLT students are required to have one through a site called Mahara). In amongst thoughts and strategies to use this particular tool I remembered something!
When I was in primary school each student had a folder that showcased their best work, drawings and test scores etc. This was our work portfolio and we took pride in adding our work to it. As the teacher kept it in a store room, we were not allowed to keep it after our schooling had been completed. I'm sure it would be very interesting to look at it now and reflect on my learning from that time in my life, if I had it!
To me, the e.portfolio is a much better way of organising our students' work rather than having to store everything in physical folders. Instead of each child having a folder, you can upload the files into a site like Mahara, where students would be able to share this work with others through at the discretion of the teacher, parents etc.
Also, the students can use e.portfolios to complete assessment tasks, reflect on their learning journeys through blogging etc. whilst creating their own personalised "views" to make their sites look unique. What primary aged student wouldn't love having their own website!? Through Mahara students may create their own blogs, resumes, upload pictures, word documents and other artefacts and include links to other blogs they may wish to remember. Although some of this takes a little navigating, the classroom tasks would define how much the students need to understand about using their e.portfolio.
There are a few problems with the physical folder portfolios such as the one I had: you cannot share it with people, cannot take it home and it is not really the property of the student though it is their work. Students may be able to feel more ownership of their e.portfolio sites. I'm sure this would empower them to take great pride in their work. In contrast to myself, those students may also be able to have access to it after their schooling.
E.portfolios are a great way for primary students to demonstrate, reflect on and present work and achievements in ways that suit each individual.
Regards,
Toni
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
Response to Social Capital Youtube Video
As a part of the first topic in ICTs for Learning Design, students were asked to watch the following video and comment on the validity of the speakers ideas about social capital and family values in today's children.
This is my response, please feel free to comment or reply! Happy reading!
The speaker made several valid points regarding the changes in social capital and family values and the effect they have on student learning inside and outside of the education system. 20 to 50 years ago children were more socially interactive and involved in the community, whether through simple interactions and incidental learning, or through discussions with and participation in, or at least involvement in, the wider community. Children were engaged in a large variety of learning experiences, both incidental and purposeful, in everyday life, which are not as evident in the current community environment. The importance of these social learning experiences is supported by Vygotsky’s social constructivism theory, in which he theorizes the fundamental role social interactions play in a child’s cognitive development.
I also believe that these changes in social and family values have changed the way behavior management is view in schools. In previous generations teachers received a great deal more support from parents and community members when it came to monitoring student behavior and learning. These days teachers receive less support from parents to correct misbehavior and often find that parents side with their children which leads to further and often more serious incidents of misbehavior.
I think the speaker has made a number of very good points about how changes in social capital and family values have influenced the need for continual change in the way children are taught in schools. With students coming from such diverse cultural and social backgrounds pedagogy must be developed to create the best learning opportunities and environments possible for each individual learner.
Regards,
Toni
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