DID YOU KNOW - Dr Howie DiBlasi

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wRRKiRYzA_o

Above is a link to a youtube I discovered that I highly recommend us (as future learning managers) view. It is very powerful and gives insight into moving towards the 21st century as teachers and people of society. It is American based but the key points can be transferred to anybody no matter where they are located.

Please watch it (runs for aprox 9min) and comment wht your thoughts are after viewing it.

I felt empowered and that I have an obligation as a learning manager to give my students the best possible opportunities to learn and be ready for the real world, it is upto me how I prepare them, so why not to it properly!

Check it out.

B

More on Prezi

Ok So I have learnt that you can not upload photos in blog comments, just on blog posts. I have been discussing Prezi under the post heading, 'Powerpoint' but this pic is a screen shot of me creating my first Prezi!

I have also used the PMI analysis to review the use of Prezi in the classroom for presenting.

Plus

-Interactive

-Can be used to zoom in on an image or diagram, such as particular parts of the human body.

-Digital way of creating and presenting a mind map and diagrams.

-Easy to embed and show a youtube.

-Stimulus for a topic, present what will be learnt and what needs to be done.

-Have a vocab wall running while the students are working that they can refer to.

-Way of introducing yourself.

-Used for reflecting.

-Provides help for you to use the tool.

-Provides another presentation option for students to use.

-Caters for visual and spatial learners.

Minus

-Like anything it needs to be balanced, do not over use this tool or it will not be as effective.

-School may not have access to this program.

-Could become a distraction because of the movement and direction of content.

-Found it tricky to upload sound to cater for auditor learners as well.

-Time consuming to create, need internet access.

Interesting

-Should not be used entirely instead of powerpoint as they both offer different things and have pros and cons, use each tool where and when appropriate.

-It is on-line, can be viewed by anyone.

-Best displayed on an interactive whiteboard or projector, not all classes may have these.

B

Google Earth & Maps

Anything Google is sure to spark interest in the classroom. When the students are using google earth & maps, they don't even think of it as learning because it is interactive, fun, meaningful to them and allows you to explore.

I did not realise that Google offered an educational site targeted towards teachers to give ideas and information for use in the classroom. This is a fantastic tool, it even has lesson plans and tuturials if you are unsure.

Exploring this tool has made me think outside the square. Google Earth offers a lot more than just locating a town and showing a live visual representation, in a classroom you could explore:

• effects of natural disasters


• geography


• animal kingdom


• earthquakes


• climate change & global warming


• maps


• own town/house


• how google offers this service


• astronomy


• growth of cities


• other areas of the world


• maths and scale


• flight simulation


• 3D buildings


• Oceans

Google maps is very similar to earth but you do not have to download specific software to use this application, so it maybe more user friendly in a school.

As a learning manager I would even let the students lead this topic and decide what they want to investigate using earth or maps as a main tool, they may come up with something exciting and different that you would not have thought of but possible due to using such technology.

Go, look up your house and see what you find!

B

Animations and Stimulations

Wow! Even as an adult you can get sucked into these things and before you know it...time has passed by!

As a learning manager it is important to choose these tools wisely and that they have a purpose.

Having the curriculum exchange takes a lot of the hard work out as a teacher and allows a refined search to be taken place. You know the things on the site are safe and secure for use in a classroom. It allows you to save time on researching and finding such things, a great site to have access to.

These sort of animations and stimulations are good hooks to engage the learners and good to break up work. As this generation of students are use to having interactive stimulation, a purposeful and topic related learning object combined with the general content of the topic is a good balance for student and teacher.

B

Movie Maker

In a classroom context how can you use video to create, present, communicate, summarise or evaluate?

• 
  
  To make a video you have to go through each of the above steps in order to complete it.


• 
  
  Have students present homemade video for show & tell instead of talking infront of class.


• 
  
  Set a task/topic, have students plan and create the video to present to class then evaluate the movie afterwards.


• 
  
  Make and send movies to pen pals.


• 
  
  Introduce yourself using a movie.


• 
  
  Re-inact a scene or movie, then review the movie making process and compare the two movies.

I used the microsoft movie maker. The screen shot above is when I was using this program to make a quick slide show movie for a presentation of images. After playing a bit I decided to use powerpoint to best display the images as the presentation we are using is already using powerpoint, it just makes it easy to only have to open one program when performing infront of an audience. Also when using images, you really do need to make sure they are good quality and big enough to best produce a quality movie.

I did however quite enjoy fiddling around with the different apps in the movie maker process. I could see that children qould really enjoy making a movie. If it could be incorporated into what they are learning about and used as a way to document their learning or present their information it would also provide their peers something they could engage with.

B

Powerpoint

Benefits of using a powerpoint presentation in a classroom (if correctly made):

• Engaging for students.



• Interactive.



• Short, sharp facts.



• Holds student attention through appropriate use of graphics, sound effects, music and video clips.

Using powerpoint as part of your pedogogy allows for students to become workplace ready and familiar with presentation tools that they will use for life or be able to transfer to other programs.

This prac I used an interactive powerpoint with lots of photos, music and dot points to introduce myself as a student teacher in their class. I found it was a better way of introducing myself rather than just talking. I found that the students were engaged and remembered what was in the powerpoint, therefore meaning that they had a clear idea of who I was and what I was doing in their classroom right from the start.

B

Website

http://jessbreanna.weebly.com/ (my website created using weebly-as I had no purpose for a site at the moment, this was just created for the purpose to be able to know how to upload a pic, make new pages and add titles etc, so the content is not there but it shows I know how to make one)

Using weebly to create a website was very user friendly and free!

In a classroom context this site could easily be used by students. If they are quite tech savy they may become a bit frustrated with the limiatations and set templates it has but as a basic starting point it is a good site to use.

A student created website provides another option for the student to present information or for the learning manager to set a task. The student can continue to check the website to gather information on the task they are completing. As a learning manager it is a way of integrating ICT into a summative task.

Being a tech savy learning manager allows for your class to grow and learn together in a highly growing economy and provides greater opportunity for them to expand their on-line and computer skills.

B

Wiki

http://melassignment.wikispaces.com/ (wiki I started to create ) http://alyboyce.wikispaces.com/ (wiki we actually used for group presentations)

A blog is like an on-line diary/journal and is operated and added to by the author. The owner of the blog can determine the audience and followers of the blog can post comments. A wiki can be added to by anyone, it is an on-line editable website. The most commonly known wiki would have to be wikipedia.

Designing a wiki reminded me of designing a webquest, quite similar.

The idea behind a wiki is great. It would be so good being able to access a 'uni based wiki' that focuses on our assignments. One topic/question that includes ideas, answers and information from people that can help, often talking in a similar language that makes it easy to understand and very useful.

In a school classroom context I can see the benefit of a wiki but as with all wikis the information that is published needs to be accurate. Some ways a Wiki may be used in the classroom are:

-For group projects.

-Reading groups and reviews.

-Presenting work for peers to review and give feedback on.

-Glossary/word walls.

-Exam revision.

-Study guides.

-Organising ideas.

-Virtual field trips.

-Giving and displaying teacher instructions.

-Offering information to parents, providing school notices etc.

-Reflecting on and showcasing work

More ideas can be found by visiting the Smart Teacher website and viewing the article, 50 ways to use wikis for a more collaborative and interactive classroom, (2008).

Wikis in an educational context are starting to be recognised as having potential in leading the way into a knowledge economy and becoming lifelong learners (Grant, L; Using Wikis in a School:a case study; (2006); retrieved from http://rhazen.edublogs.org/files/2008/01/wikis_in_schools_futurelab.pdf on 10/07/10). Having a class wiki could help bring the students close together as a cummunity. They are all working together to build a website full of information. As a teacher it would be important to know your students as some maybe immigrants to this concept and to the use of computers/internet. Therefore scaffolded learning would need to take place for this tool to be used successfully in the classroom, which also means as a learning manager your skills would have to be upto scratch.

B

Mind Mapping

A very simple to use on-line tool to organise information. i must say, having instructions and web addresses does take a lot of the hard work out of finding these tools.

Concept/mind mapping, bubbles, clouds what ever they are called in your class, this tool can be used to create them on-line. It produces a professional end result and you can change the colour and layout to suit you.

Simple and easy, I like it!

B

Blogs

I have created my first blog!

I found the creation process quite self explainatory, once I knew what site to use. I have never used a blog before as have preferred to just bulk email the people I wish to contact but I can see the benefit of blogging. My only reservation would be that it needs to be private and only available to the people I allow.

A blog is a one stop place, you publish what needs publishing and then you are done. You do not have to worry about sending it to seperate people or re-writing things, you only have to do it once and make sure the people you wish to follow your blog are receiving it.

In a school context I can see the benefit and some downfalls of using a blog in a classroom.

Creating a class blog is a way of capturing the interests of the students, it is on-line and getting updated often which captivates them. In order for it to be successful, strict rules need to be enforced. The teacher would have to monitor the posting and address any inappropriate postings. As well as the members of the class, I would open it up to the school community and parents of the students but not to the public. Instead of the students being on or wanting to check their facebook or twitter, they would move towards checking and participating in their school blog. In order for it to work well, it does need to be updated often with information that is relevant to the audience and that will spark conversation.

When seetting up a class blog I would profile and survey the audience to find out what they would like to read about on the blog. Therefore it would consist of relevant and informative data that keeps the students coming back and adding posts.

From a students point of view, it could really help with their learning. If someone is struggling with an aspect of their work, they can blog about it and their peers can post back to help not only the student that published their problem but also the ones that did not publish the problem but may also need help or benefit from an idea.

With their being millions and millions of blogs being created and followed in the world and even educational blogs available on secure and private sites such as The Learning Place, it is another form of communicating in the 21st century which is easy to use and easy to follow. As a learning manager this tool of communication should be considered if it fits with your intended audience and purpose (save paper and sending notes home, just blog about what you want them to know!)

B

PS- Information on on-line safety can be found in the third comment.

21st Century Learners

As time goes on I believe parents, education facilities and kids are heading to a place that is quite unkown for all.
Technology is moving at such a rapid speed, who can keep up?
As teachers we are expected to entertain, engage and educate students but this is no easy task for the generation of students we will be teaching. They have certain expectations and their own definition as to what it means to be entertained, engaged and educated and we as teachers are the ones who are having to conform.
After reading the article, Engage or Enrage Me, Prensky, (2005) it highlighted to me there are real challenges and decisions to be made when planning how to teach in the 21st century.
My first thoughts were, yes kids these days expect flashing lights, cool graphics and interactive games in order to pay attention but then I thought, hang on, what about years ago when all this stuff wasn't about, kids were just happy to hang out, use their creativity and PLAY not just be sucked into a screen.

I think like with everything there needs to be a balance.

This article also pointed out to me that this generation of kids can stay on task and engaged in something. As we know it is often a struggle to get them off msn, their ds or ipod but why and what is it that makes them turn off in a classroom?
On a computer they can be downloading music, bidding on something on ebay, uploading photos on their facebook page, googling something, listening to their ipod and watching tv and this is just normal but ask them to copy what is written on the whiteboard in silence or complete a comprehension sheet while listening to audio and they struggle to do it.
Is it their attitude towards learning or school, the tools used when teaching and learning, the person informing the learning or because it isn't stimulating and interactive enough for what they have become accustomed too............

I am about to learn and engage is some new elearning tools that I hope will aid in my delivery as a learning manager and help keep those kids stimulated...so stay tuned to find out what tools i'm discovering!

B

The beggining

Hi there
My name is Breanna and I will be adding to this blog regulary, mainly for the purpose of a uni assignment focused on elearning tools. I do hope to learn some personal technological things along the way both for myself and for the classroom.
At the moment my head is still a bit overwhelmed and spinning with information. First week back at uni and it was information overload!
Each different subject is going through my head and slightly getting mixed together with the others. For example, Ensuring Student Success discussed the option of taking away the option of failure when completing work at school. This got me thinking, if I could complete each activity in this course and continue to blog about my learning without having to conform to a criteria sheet, I think I would enjoy it a lot more and learn a lot more because I could step outside the box and not be afraid of failing and really embrace it.
So that's my welcome over and done with and now it is time to get back to the books!
B