Week 5 - PowerPoint

PowerPoint and its many uses. 

http://marketing-works.net/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/logo_powerpoint_2007.jpg

PowerPoint practicals 

The web site linked below has been beneficial in my understanding on how to use PowerPoint in a variety of productive ways. Before the week 5 engagement activities I had just used PowerPoint as an aide for presentations and had not even realised that there are multiple ways to utalise PowerPoint. Instead of just using PowerPoint for the purposes of teacher centered instruction, students can use PowerPoint to enhance their learning using creative methods that are engaging and versatile. Students can create slide shows from photos they have taken while on field trips for to collect in visual form an overview of historic sites and places of interest. For English lessons interactive book reports can be a fascinating look inside the otherwise tedious method of report writing.

http://www.online.tusc.k12.al.us/tutorials/pptclass/pptclass.htm


PowerPoint can also be utalised as a Collaborative learning tool by using mouse-michief
http://www.microsoft.com/multipoint/mouse-mischief/en-us/default.aspx
This whole class interactive tool can benefit younger grades although it could be used in high school I have not seen how this particular tool could benefit outside of an introduction or prior learning technique. Mouse-mischief could be an engagement tool used at the beginning of a lesson to gain the attention of the whole class by using a question and answer multiple choice exercise to discover prior learning or help build from the basics of the content you may be teaching.

I have designed PowerPoint for classes that I have taught but I have never used PowerPoint to create an outline. After using this I have decided that this would be a time saving way of creating PowerPoint's for presentation purposes. Likewise English students creating multimodal assessments will be able to design storyboard PowerPoint's to aide their presentation.


During my experimentation of PowerPoint (which needs a lot more time) I was able to make a moveable PowerPoint here is the link.
http://www.slideshare.net/ShaneDoyle1/presentation4-13820843
I find a lot of these ICT's confusing with linking and creating multiple accounts and needing quite a lot of time to explore and work out how to use a  lot of these electronic tools. I have spent quite a number of hours in reading through the instructions and trying to work out how to use PowerPoint  with quite a lot of frustration because I get so far and cannot work the rest through. I am learning and wish to learn more about ICT's in order to better my classroom lessons though I am fully aware that some of these tools I do not 'get' right away. In saying that, running through these exercises has given me a foundation (after some time of trial and error) on which to build my knowledge in the hope of designing lessons that can incorporate interact PowerPoint lessons that are aimed at student achievement and not at my comfort level as a learning Manager.


Overall my knowledge of PowerPoint has grown exponentially over the last couple of days as I had always seen PowerPoint as a 'boring' tool that only direct teaching can utalise but after investigating PowerPoint further I can safely say that this tool would be a wonderful addition to any collaborative and interactive classroom.  
Shane

Week 4 - Engagement activity Podcasting and digital video

Podcasting 

I use Podcasts for lectures etc at the moment through the use of itunes. I am attempting to publish a podcast of my own using PodOmatic. I have never seen the program before now but it does look simple enough. Podcasts for a learning environment can be a massive advantage for students. You can access world class speakers for free and be able to play them to your classes. I have searched for and used some of the history ones on itunes which I think I could use in a classroom. In regard to commenting on how students could use them in a classroom, they could compile research information working in groups, pairs or alone and create an audio essay that can be accessed by everyone. My major is in history and I would consider using this as an option to a research assessment or even use a podcast as a reflective journal on a field trip. this is my VERY poor attempt at creating a podcast.

http://s0208031.podomatic.com/entry/2012-07-27T00_10_24-07_00

Digital video

Students who design there own video for the purpose of assessment are aloud considerable creative freedom. they are not just limited to standing in front of a whiteboard and talking, but could conduct interviews, visit locations design opening and closing screens and could use acting and role play to communicate a message. The use of digital video is quite culturally relevant tool at this time, where video can go 'viral' throughout the many streams of the never ending internet. Of course, there would be limitations placed on the students when they are designing and producing videos, such as; the approval to use interview, faces, school banners, and other public or private places that could be utilized by the making of a digital video. I am not sure on the ethical guidelines in student movie making, though I will have to inquire at my current school and hopefully post an update. I do know of one senior who is making one for a Modern history assignment so hopefully I will get to see it all take place.
Shane  

Week 4 - Engagement activity 2

The "audacity" to use it

Yes, my pun is pretty bad.

Although I know of teachers who vary lessons and thread ICT's throughout them, my experience in schools suggests that teachers are not utilizing these technological tools instead opting for the "old school" way of doing things. Saying that,  I have helped students use audacity at schools for multimodal assignments in the past where they were recording their voice (usually a speech) and attaching it to a powerpoint. 

Most of the students did not have a lot of trouble using audacity at first they were the ones who taught me how to use it. I expect my students in my classes to be designing multimodal assignments and I would definitely include audacity or a program like it. History and English classes I observed had made use of audacity when the assignment called for it. 

I have talked to a few teachers and most think that audacity is as a good option to use for assignments but there are some who prefer just oral presentation and will deviate away from technology. I think that students should be able to use a variety of ways to develop and present assignments throughout their schooling life. Plus, to adhere to learner needs, sometimes because of learning difficulties students may not be able to present their oral, whereas if they could record their voice using audacity, they would be able to submit their assessment like their peers.

Shane.

Week 4 - Engagement activity 1

Resizing Images 

I think images are a must when teaching and that includes all ages. As people we use all our senses and most of us will benefit from visuals in some way or another. Of course for those people who are visually impaired or blind this may not always be the case, but in a 'typical' classroom the use of visual stimulus can enhance a learning experience. It is in visuals that somethings can be expressed that cannot with words. When I think of the Vietnam war, the image of the little girl running naked and burnt down the street really brings out the 'reality' of understanding the situation in Vietnam during that time.

Image located at http://www.nocaptionneeded.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/09/985640413apmrade_viet_2d11g-copy.jpg

This is cliche, but how can you adequately describe the horizon whether it be a sunset or mountain range, I don't think its possible to get the whole experience without seeing it yourself. I am talking aesthetically of course but to have something visual can bring an experience to the class especially if they are visual learners (though non-visual learners would benefit as well).

Personal images (photos in this case), are a bonus as well because it becomes a shared personal experience which we as people tend to gravitate toward because we are social beings wishing to understand others.Above I have included a photo taken by me (no real relevance to anything) which I have re-sized and and uploaded as a demonstration of my newly learned skill. ;)
Shane    

Week 3 - Engagement activity 2

The creation of a website

I have created life!
In saying that I needed a lot of help when starting up my webpage (thank the tute girls). this was a task I never thought I would do or even be able to to be completely honest. The Web 2.0 tools can be really amazing which makes me wonder what we will be able to achieve technologically speaking in 20 years from now.
I am working on my website (even as I write this) I am finding that I have little time to explore and design unfortunately but now I have the "know how" I will be able to expand on my knowledge through out the rest of this course and latter on in life as well.
Here is a link to my website http://shaneselearningweebly.weebly.com/
I have also found a video on the use of wikis in a classroom which was I found interesting.

The creation of a website by students for an assignment would be great. I have not seen it been done yet in a school but I think it would be excellent. the students could update their page and retrieve information, add a reference list and create their own space. Of course there would need to be restrictions because having a students assignment for public use on the net could lead to many ethical problems. A document I had found outlines some of these issues
http://education.qld.gov.au/smartclassrooms/enabling-learners/ict-expectations/prep-year3/ethic-issues.html
This site outlines the responsibilities from the student perspective also when dealing with early childhood students.
this one with grade 6-7's
http://education.qld.gov.au/smartclassrooms/enabling-learners/ict-expectations/year6-7/ethics-issues.html
And for those teaching middle school
http://education.qld.gov.au/smartclassrooms/enabling-learners/ict-expectations/year8-9/index.html
Education Queensland gives the formal positions on this topic which is absolutely imperative to the safe use of ICT in classrooms.

Week 3 - engagement activity 3

The learning context for the use of a Wiki

After a week of hesitation, I am starting to "come around" to the idea that wikis could be a place where learning can take place. http://www.cybersmart.gov.au/schools.aspx Shows clear ethical and responsible guidelines on how to use Wikis and web based learning tools so that these students can stay safe so that learning can be guided in the right direction.
My concern would be that collaborative learning would be better suited inside a classroom, but to have the option to use wikis, especially for distance students or those who cannot make school would be a beneficial alternative. Most of my concern would probably lie under the banner of personal preference, but in saying that, I am not sure I am being student centered. I suppose whatever would be needed for productive learning to occur would have to be the right choice and if a Wiki is needed then there is no getting around it. I just wouldn't use them just to tick the ICT box.
  
Rachael Facer http://rachaellfacer1.blogspot.com.au/2012/07/wiki-reflection-150712.html was right when she said that the thinking hats were a good idea to use in a Wiki situation. I enjoyed using them in the short exercise we contributed to. I am trying to better understand how to use wikis in a classroom effectively (I would say our Uni exercise is a different scenario than that of a school). Should they be done in class time? Why not just get the students face-to-face to stimulate all their senses? Is it so everyone can participate? the majority of the time most of the students attend class and they probably wouldn't contribute on their own time (except if it was homework) and then you would have to make sure every student has access to a computer at home. So I believe wikis can be a great tool as an option for student learning to take place but probably not the first ICT tool I would use.
If there are people who are reading this and have some suggestions on how to use them as the "better choice" I would like to hear from you. 
Thanking you again
Shane 

Week 3 - Engagement activity 1

A blog on Blog's
I would start with saying that before this course I hadn't had a lot to do with Blogs. After creating the one you see now, I sought out some of the Authors that I read and "bam!" I found one. It has definitely been a positive experience reading other peoples blogs including my peers from this course as I have seen different opinions and ideas that I may have not thought of without the use of a this tool.

I think that the use of blogs in an educational setting could benefit the learners if blogs were use in the right context for the right type of learner. The use of a PMI to analyze blogs in a learning context can help to evaluate their usefulness.There are many pluses in using blogs in an educational context;
They can help with the private or public display of information gathered from field trips, science experiments etc.http://education.qld.gov.au/learningplace/ 
Students can write reflective journals or assessments by using blogs which can support the learning needs of students who wish to update or read their blog any time of day with the support of http://www.blogger.com/home 
 Lauren Samuels in her blog http://s0175946.blogspot.com.au/2012/07/engagement-activities-week-3.html used the Western Australian Department of Education (2012) definition as a quote. This is a good justification and an insightful motive to use blogs in classrooms in which Lauren cautioned that the teacher should be scaffolding and directing the learning when using blogs like any other teaching task.
I found very few minuses aside from the lack of ability (which hopefully I now have the ability) to set up blogs or for students who may not be ICT literate. Technology can sometime fail so back up plans would be needed (like any lesson incorporating ICT's). Some schools albeit few, may not have the capability of internet or allow the use of blogs

I personally find blogs interesting as do the students I have talked to about them. I think blogs are under used in the schooling context. For example, learners would benefit in a history class where students could compile the list of resources they locate as a form of collaborative learning by storing their findings for all their peers to access.

Wiki's are they valuable?

Hello again all those that decide to read my chatterings on this Blog. This time around I have a few comments and a few experiences to share on my recent technological adventures and not only in relation to the Wiki space we have been required to add our comments to. Last week was my first attempt to join the conversation on the controversial topic of mobile phone use in a classroom. After reading through the instructions on how to contribute (which I thought I understood) I proceeded to tap the edit button and spew forth my opinions. After arriving at a point where I thought I had was ok to post, I hit the save button. Nothing. Just a frozen screen. So after a slight heart murmur, I reloaded the page and waited... waited... waited... Curses began to role off my tongue. Then Mozilla decided to let me know it was 'embarrassed' and that it had 'crashed'. Annoyed, I restarted and continued to follow the onscreen prompts to retain the text I had 'lost'. Successfully, I returned to where I had left the screen before all of the shenanigans, so I clicked on save again. Nothing. Same as before. I attempted this twice more each time becoming greener (a hulk reference) so due to my frustration I decided to do other work.

And low and behold, my stupid computer kept on crashing or not working or telling me that adobe had crashed and... and... and...
So I set forth to attempt to fix this by running update checks, virus scans, problem detection software etc.

After a few days and lots of 'man hours' put into attempting to fix this wonderful tool called technology, I am pleased to say it is working better. Not fixed, just better. So I thought I'd come back to the Wiki requirement part of week 2. Again it asked if I'd like to recover my previous work, so I said 'yes' of course. Same thing happened so I decided to start again to see if that worked. Eventually it seems like I have succeeded! Amazed? I know I am. Upon reflection, I'd say it has not been a pleasant experience attempting to contribute to such a simple thing as writing on a blog.

On a positive note, there were some great posts that got me thinking quite a bit. So I think the use of a Wiki for collaborative learning could be beneficial for some groups and activities. So I think if everything goes right (UTOPIA!) then it could be used in an engaging and insightful fashion. 

TPACK reflection

A brief summary of TPACK in plain English

The 21st century learner has become accustomed to the idea of a world revolving around technology. The education system in Australia has decided to implement this ideology into the curriculum as a way to engage the regular classroom clientele. TPACK (Technological, Pedagogical And Content Knowledge) is a neat framework that like it's acronym suggests, associates content, pedagogy and technology into one usable working framework for the regular classroom Learning Manager. As it is expected, Learning Managers must have good content knowledge and be able to teach this content knowledge to students in a way that is engaging as well as interesting. Learning Managers are also required to have technical skills and use those skills effectively in a classroom when the lesson requires it.

TPACK is knowing when to use technology for subject specific purposes while being engaging and educationally challenging. This coincides with Bloom's taxonomy and his approach to the development of intellectual skills (by building on previous skills) for the regular learner. Using TPACK and Bloom's taxonomy together, Learning Managers can have a workable approach to effective teaching. This is where Learning managers can use technological strategies to identify levels of knowing from the simple to the complex while using the student's interest in technology.     

Link to a video on learning theory

Here is a URL link to a learning theory website. 

http://www.learning-theories.com/

 Here is a link to a YouTube clip on learning theory.

Reflections on week 1

Reflections on week 1

This has already been a learning experience. I knew (being a digital immigrant) coming into this course that it would be hard to grasp a good understanding of ICT's though I knew that studying to become a teacher would be hard as well! So from the beginning I knew this class would need my full concentration but I enjoy a challenge. After the first lecture and subsequent tutorial I am overwhelmed. Although I am determined to pass the course and learn as much as I can while doing so I do feel incompetent. Being one of the students who could not set up their Blog in the tute I believe I have now succeeded at home after a few hours of exploration and trial and error. I have to say after the tute I realise that technology is one of those tools if not properly understood (with a lot of patience) can be a nightmare. And even when understood, it sometimes just doesn't do what you want it to do! I have a feeling that I definitely will become technologically adjusted during this course but just as Wendy had pointed out in the lecture I understand I will never know it all. That saying, I will have to seek out the tech that is relevant to me and my learners (as a pre-service teacher) and use what I can to engage the learners and to accommodate their learning styles to enhance their education.

I do not have full 'faith' in technology as a complete 'saviour' for education. I do however believe it to be a valuable tool to enhance the education of all people. After conversing with my seven and a half year old son who is a grade 2 student, he confessed that given a choice he would choose to work on computers every time than alternative ways of working. I personally have had many 'issues with our technological 'friends' having many a computer crash and other technological failures since learning to use them. Technology though has greatly enhanced my life making some things easier, so I am not entirely pessimistic about ICT haha. Aside from YouTube, PowerPoint and internet research, I have not been exposed to a lot of teachers who use ICT's. After conversations with a few teachers, there are mixed opinions on whether ICT's are a 'must' in all lessons. to be honest most teachers don't use ICT's that much aside from asking students to use their laptops.

I am interested to find programs and examples of ICT's to use in classrooms that are interesting and different but effective. And yes this course scares me!! Hahaha
Until next Blog, Shane out.   

Week 1 - Engagement Activity

 Reflection on Learning Theories

Today's learners I believe are the same as when I went to school (graduated at a NSW school in 1999). They are disinterested in what they consider irrelevant information and menial tasks that seem to 'waste their time'. For most students that I have had the privilege of discussing these topics with, they seem to think there is a lot of 'filler' in class lessons. I am considering high school students due to my experience in these schools as well as my interaction with adolescents from my personal life. I do believe ICT can provide an opening for students to engage in classroom activities with an 'active' voice as opposed to some predominant forms of teaching styles that I have personally observed inside of some of today's classrooms. My understanding of learning styles has been amplified in my personal teaching experience and has shaped the way I design and implement those lessons. So I do see there is a lot of 'truth' behind the different learning styles. I have seen students refuse to work on tasks because their 'needs' weren't adhered to. Whether or not those students would have worked if their 'needs' were considered remains to be seen, but there definitely is a cry for teachers to at least attempt to cater to the needs of the student cohort.

In response to Prensky's category's of digital natives and digital immigrants I'd say that does it really matter? This to me just exemplifies awareness and does not really shape or change the way in which I look at current students compared to myself and peers when I was at school. This statement should make most of us realise that we should (I'm speaking from a teachers point of view) at the very least, be competent using computers. We are getting this 'hammered' into us in every course as well as the 'real life' observation that the world is becoming more and more technological. What I did find interesting was the conectivism theory, although I understand the argument for a Learning Manager (teacher) to retain the position of significance, I cannot help but think that online programs can do the same. This I'd say is why there is more and more online and distance courses available. Will school become the same? Learning Managers are there to help students find the knowledge and filter out the irrelevant information as a type of 'mentor'. Although it would not have the human interaction, couldn't a computer program do that job? I don't believe current education is ready for this I'm just wondering if this will be the schooling of the future. These are some of my thoughts on this. I am sure there are arguments against what I have said (I don't necessarily know or agree with what I have written myself) I am just being reflective.