Wow, what a steep learning curve this subject has been. As a 42 year old single mum, who last studied 22 years ago, almost everything in the first five weeks of this course has been totally foreign to me. Add to that, my incredibly frustrating internet service, which drops in and out every couple of minutes, and quite honestly, I'm amazed I got this done. Thank goodness I have an 8 year old son, who is far more technologically savvy than I am. His awareness of technology and extreme interest in it, made me realise that if he is representative of children his age, I really need to get on the technology band wagon if I'm going to make it as a teacher.
Although, I have found this course very hard going, and extremely time intensive, I can see that I have made extensive progess in my technological skills and knowledge in this short period of time. This is due to the scaffolding that has been provided throughout each week's topic. There was always a clear path to follow, so I was aware of what was required of me (although links not working made the task very frustrating at times). From being a mother, I was already aware of the requirements for clear and precise directions being given, but that has been reinforced by this study. Particularly, when something new is being learned, appropriate scaffolding is essential to ensure learners are aware of what they need to do, how they need to do it, and to make sure they stay on track. I found de Bono's thinking hats to be a particularly effective scaffolding. This type of scaffolding would be invaluable when you want to ensure your class are involved in higher order thinking, and not just giving a yes/no or `off the cuff' answer.
The first compulsory posting utilised de Bono's thinking hats, in a wiki based exercise discussing the use of mobile phones in the classroom. Please check out my posting via the link below:
http://suzannejmorgan.blogspot.com.au/2013/03/reflection-on-wiki-activity-regarding.html
I loved the collaborative nature of the wiki, and have been thinking of ways that I could utilise this in my classroom. My first prac is with a grade 4/5 composite class at Wamuran State School, which is a relatively small, more rural school (it is only 15 minutes west of Caboolture but most of the families living in Wamuran live on small to medium sized acreages, and live a quite rural lifestyle). One of my cousins is a teacher in an International School in Taipei and he is currently teaching grade 4, so I have been thinking of ways that I could utilise this relationship to promote global collaborative learning, and a Wiki seems to be the perfect choice. My class are focusing on SOSE essential learning `Physical features of environments influence the ways in which people live and work in communities' next term and after talking with my cousin, that is something that his class will be looking at as well. My plan is to construct a wiki where students from Wamuran and Taipei International School can collaboratively discuss environmental issues relevant to their locations, and try to formulate ideas for how these issues can be addressed. To look further at my views of wiki's, feel free to check out the link below (nb: this is not one of the four additional postings)
http://suzannejmorgan.blogspot.com.au/2013/03/reflecting-on-wikis.html
The group 1 digital technologies - blogs, wikis and websites - were a great place to start, as all of these technologies would be able to be used extensively in the classroom. In all honesty, the only time I had heard the word blog before was in relation to celebrity blogs, such as Perez Hilton's blog, but I had never actually checked any of them out, so I had no idea really what a blog was. My layman's terms for a blog is that it is an online journal, but one that can be publicly accessed and commented upon, so there is an interactive element to it. When a blog is used as a student's reflection tool, it gives the teacher
access to the student's thinking process and the progress they are
making in this area. Blogs are very easy to use so even younger students could utilise them, and most students would appreciate the fact that you can embed links, images, videos etc into the blog. My main concern with blogs is that they would need to be carefully monitored to ensure that appropriate language is being used both by the blog creator and anyone commenting on the blog.
Wiki's are a very collaborative online tool and I like the fact that they are more private as only those invited to participate in the wiki are able to view the information and contribute to the wiki.
Creating a website was so much easier than I thought it would be, and it was FUN! I only had time to create a very basic website, but the link for my website is here: http://suzannesgdltwebsite.weebly.com/
I think this tool would be extremely useful in the middle to upper primary year levels, especially when creating a project. I think students would really become absorbed in the task if they were creating their project online rather than using the traditional cardboard paper. This tool is the one I have chosen from the Group 1 technologies, and my blog is linked below:
http://suzannejmorgan.blogspot.com.au/2013/03/reflecting-on-websites.html
The group 2 technologies that I investigated were resizing and uploading digital photos, digital audio recordings, podcasting and digital video. My resized and uploaded digital photo can be viewed here http://suzannejmorgan.blogspot.com.au/2013/03/resizing-photo.html. This was a great activity from a personal perspective as I'd always had trouble sending photos to friends and family in the past, so now I know how to resize images, I won't have these issues in the future. This would be a very useful and fun tool in the classroom, being able to embed images into student blogs, glogster etc.
The audio recording was also a fun and easy to use tool, which would be useful in the classroom setting. My audio recording can be listened to here http://suzannejmorgan.blogspot.com.au/2013/03/check-out-my-audio-recording.html.
Podcasting is another technology that I had only heard of in passing prior to this course. I was aware that some radio stations had podcasts available of particular segments of their shows, but had never listened to any before. The major benefits that I could see of podcasts are that anyone with
access to a computer, smart phone, ipad etc is able to access them. You
find information in much the same way that you would find any info
online, by searching using a keyword or words. The fact that they are
audio only has it's pro's and con's. Students may find it difficult to
maintain interest in purely listening to someone speak, so I would not
envisage that a lengthy podcast could be used, particularly in the lower
grades. However, the advantages are that they are free, and because
they are audio only, you can continue doing other things while you
listen, much like listening to the radio, except with a podcast, you've
got your very own `call-in' line especially set up for what you're
interested in listening to. I'm planning to investigate whether a podcast could also be used with my wiki idea for collaborative learning between my prac class and my cousin's class in Taipei. A podcast could be a very useful way of the students introducing themselves to each other. It would make it seem more authentic if they actually heard the students from across the other side of the world communicating with them, rather than just reading what they have written in the wiki.
Making a video was the group 2 technology that appealed to me the most, so I have done my analysis on this technology. Please check it out at:
http://suzannejmorgan.blogspot.com.au/2013/03/my-first-video_28.html
The group 3 digital tools were Powerpoint, Prezi and Glogster. I found both Powerpoint and Prezi very user friendly and would be technologies that could be used every day in the classroom (particularly if your handwriting isn't that crash hot). I think though that students would find Glogster the most fun, as you can really unleash your creative side and have some fun with this tool. I did have some trouble embedding images into my glogster, but I'm sure with practice this would be a very simple and straightforward procedure. Please check out my analysis of this tool here:
http://suzannejmorgan.blogspot.com.au/2013/04/reflection-on-digital-tools-group-3.html
The group 4 digital tools were animations and simulations. I chose to investigate Google Earth, Google Maps, some interactive learning objects and online concept mapping. Google Earth had absolutely fascinating information which would be invaluable in a geography or SOSE lesson. I particularly enjoyed the volcano site, and my children (grade 1 and grade 3) also found this fascinating so I've been using them as a bit of a litmus test as to what students would find engaging. A picture tells a thousand words, and this site certainly delivers. I used Google Map to show the route that Anh Do's family took on the voyage to Australia, as his book `The Little Refugee' is one that I would love to do a unit plan on. Check out the map here https://maps.google.com/maps/ms?msid=217710217957730612448.0004d97f2339740c74e08&msa=0&ll=1.230374,159.257813&spn=111.73835,187.910156&iwloc=0004d97f528d1f31ff386.
The interactive learning objects that I explored were fascinating. One that blew me away was the science lab where you could dissect a frog online. This would be so useful in the school setting, as it would allow students to take part in an activity that they may not otherwise be able to do if their school did not have the resources available to do this activity in reality. Also, many people (myself included) have a phobia about frogs and would not be able to partake in this activity, thereby missing out on a valuable learning opportunity. This tool would allow those students the same opportunity as their peers. The Darfur is Dying interactive game is a brilliant blend of video game
and information about a very real and current issue happening in the
world today. This would absolutely appeal to kids but would also
provide valuable information about the topic. This is the ultimate
`learning is fun' tool.
The online concept mapping tool was the technology that I thought most useful out of this group. Our online moodle course for week 1 when talking about cognitivist learning theories said that `using online concept mapping tools is a valuable tool for information organisation, chunking and linking for transfer to long-term memory'. My analysis of this digital tool can be viewed here:
http://suzannejmorgan.blogspot.com.au/2013/04/group-4-digital-technologies.html
All of these technologies would have their place in the classroom, as long as an authentic learning experience is the result, not just using the tool for the sake of it. Students and teachers need to be aware of legal, ethical and safety concerns with online tools, and ensure that no private information is uploaded to an online source. Students need to be made very aware that they should never disclose any personal information online that could lead to them being identified by outsiders. Photos of students should not be uploaded online without parental consent. Copyright and plagiarism laws need to be upheld and the teacher needs to educate students about these legalities. Appropriate Netiquette needs to be taught and modelled by the teacher, and continual monitoring of student's use of online tools needs to take place in order to ensure Netiquette is being followed.
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