Using You Tube videos in Education

As required for my ICT course, I went onto You Tube and chose a file to embed into my blog. I chose this movie as it would be perfect to show my year 6/7 class to help them understand the basic principle of a wiki. I will be requiring them to build a Wiki as a class, on the town of Childers. I have outlined this project previously on my blog, so I won't go into more detail now.

As many of my students have had very limited use of technology, I chose this video because of its simple explanations and its use of paper cut-outs and simple illustrations. I feel the students could relate well to this type of demonstration, and are much more likely to be engaged with the subject and have a much higher level of retention then if I gave them a handout with a written definition and explanation of what a Wiki is. These benefits of using technology in educating students are explained in more detail by Kearsley & Shniederman (1999) in their paper on Engagement Theory: A framework for technology-based teaching and learning.

Reference

Kearsley, G. & Shneidermen, B (1999) Engagement theory: a framework for technology-based teaching and learning, retrieved from http://home.sprynet.com/~gkearsley/engage.htm

Editing photos

Ben and Mitch helping me clean up after making a chocolate cake March 2010,
originally uploaded by Cathmath1.

This is the edited photo, thanks to Picnik and Flickr. I cropped the original photo, then adjusted the exposure, the colour and played around with a few other tools to see what the finished result would be.

To use this in the classroom, the teacher would have to monitor the students carefully to ensure they have a specific purpose or goal they are trying to achieve by using this technology, and not just playing with the pictures. Even though playing is in itself a learning journey, time restraints in the classroom would determine that the students need to complete certain projects within set time frames. Therefore, the students should be encouraged to outline their goals ie. how they want the finished project to look, before they are to sit down at the computer. This also offers the teacher an opportunity to teach students about designing and making artwork that is targeted towards a specific audience, and how the type of audience will determine the style of the product.

Giving students the freedom to create, encourages students to want to learn, not just about the technology they are using, but also about the content. As Kearsley & Shneiderman (1999) state "Technology provides an electronic learning mileux that fosters the kind of creativity and communication needed to nourish engagement.", and as discussed previously on this blog, engagement is the key to learning.

References

Kearsley, G. & Shneiderman, B. (1999) Engagement theory: a framework for technology-based teaching and learning, retrieved from http://home.sprynet.com/~gkearsley/engage.htm

Editing photos

Ben and Mitch helping me clean up after making a chocolate cake March 2010,
originally uploaded by Cathmath1.

This is the original photo that I took of my two boys. I had this photo in my Facebook account. I was able to access the photo and edit it in my new Picnik account, then I was able to save it in my Flickr account which allowed me to post it on here;my blog!

Using flickr

Palace Hotel - Childers, Qld - 1903,
originally uploaded by DBHKer.

As part of the ICT course requirement, I have taken this photo from someone else's collection on flickr and posted it onto my blog.

I chose this photo to give an example of how photos from flickr can be used in an educational format. I am currently designing a learning experience that would require students from my year 6/7 class to design and develop a Wiki and a brochure. These two products will be used to present demographic and geographic data, common interest stories, historical information and so on about Childers to perspective residents. The photo of the Palace Hotel could be used in one or both of the formats as this building has both historical and modern significance and is part of Childers identity. By enabling students to use photo libraries such as flickr, the students not only have an increased range of resources at their disposal, but it also provides the teacher with an opportunity to discuss the ethical and moral responsibilities of being a part of the online world.

Using pictures as part of the learning experience also encourages retention of information, and as a result, makes the experience more effective. As illustrated in the Learning Pyramid (Albiline Chrisitan University), use of audio-visual results in a doubling of retention of information than that of just reading text. By requiring students to find the pictures/information themselves so they can then pass this data on to their peers or to other individuals in an authentic product, the students retention rate will jump up to between fifty and ninety percent, depending on the project they are working on. This data alone should be enough to encourage teachers to use these types of resources whenever they have the ability to do so.

Image courtesy of Abiline Christian University

Reference

Abiline Christian University (2000) Why use active learning, retrieved from CQUniversity e-courses, EDED20491 ICTs for Learning Design, http://moodle.cqu.edu.au/mod/resource/view.php?id=44470

Flickr

This is a test post from , a fancy photo sharing thing.

Powerpoint Presentations

I have been spending a great deal of time learning how to use,and then develop a Power Point presentation. Other than viewing Power Point presentations in my university study, I have had no access to this form of ICT.

To fulfil the ICT course requirement of designing my own Power Point presentation, I decided to design a Power Point presentation that would be targeting year 6/7 students, teaching them how to build their own Power Point presentation. I tried to keep it very simple, yet use as many of the features of the program that I could so that the students could get an idea of how creative they can be. I also embedded a video I found on You Tube that gives a very basic description of what the different tabs are used for and how to put together a basic slide show. It was quite a feat for me to be able to embed that video into my slide show, and I actually had to watch several You Tube videos on the topic before I could successfully complete the task.

Now my challenge is to place the Power Point presentation here on my blog. I have spent several frustrating hours trying to achieve this goal but no no avail. I have shed tears over this problem so have decided to calmly walk away from it for now, and return when I am feeling more confident again. I can only say that from this experience I have learnt that when I am teaching students about new technologies, I will help my students develop their skills by presenting the learning experience in a series of clearly outlined step-by-step processes so that students can get a good grasp of the technology and build up their confidence, before I send them out on their own to learn by experience.

In terms of using Power Point in the classroom, I feel it would be quite beneficial to the students, as it presents information in a format that is different to the chalk and talk and/or printed handouts senarios. Power Point allows the student to see pictures, diagrams, flow charts, etc being presented with the support of verbal information from the teacher. This is the ideal learning environment for visual learners, enabling them to retain and process the information being presented to them. Sequential learners would also benefit from the use of Power Point, as the very nature of the tool requires the information to be presented in small chunks of information given in a linear sequence.



References
Felder, R & Soloman, B. (2010) Learning styles and strategies, retrieved from http://www4.ncsu.edu/unity/lockers/users/f/felder/public/ILSdir/styles.htm

My Vision of Voki

I am really excited by the concept of Voki's and what they can achieve as a tool to engage students. They will be a great tool for the everyday classroom to add variety and fun to a lesson. There are several different examples of these types of Voki's on blogs of my peers which can be found through these links:
http://christiesictblog.blogspot.com/2010/03/creating-voki.html
http://johannapettett.blogspot.com/2010/04/power-of-powerpoint.html
http://learningjourneycaro.blogspot.com/2010/03/using-voki-for-educational-purposes.html

I also feel that they have immense value as a tool to make certain students feel included and valued. By this I am referring to students that due to health reasons or other factors, are removed from the classroom situation and lose access to their teacher and peers for an extended period of time. These students can still feel in touch with their teacher and classmates if a blog is set up with Voki's designed to look like their teacher/classmates along with that individuals voice. I have posted an example of such a Voki at the end of this blog. This type of project is a multi layered learning experience. Not only is the absent child receiving support and sharing in valuable learning experiences, but all students will be required to learn how to engage with the ICT programs, and will be motivated by the relate-create-donate concept. This concept, as mentioned previously on this blog, was conceived by Kearsley & Shneiderman (1999) as the process of Engagement Theory. The basic principle of this theory is that students are engaged through activities which provide the opportunity to use active cognitive processes through problem-solving, creating, reasoning, evaluating and decision making. Students 'Relate' by working with their peers in groups, 'Create' through purposeful learning activities of their own choosing, and then 'Donate' by producing a useful product that suits the needs of the third party.

I also think that students with learning challenges such as aspergers, ADD or ADHD would greatly benefit from having a Voki embedded in a blog, powerpoint or other IT medium, that has been designed specifically as their personal support tool. As Stephan Bauer (2004) highlights, students with these challenges learn best from visual supports, and they also require communication that uses very simple, positive language that is devoid of sarcasm or other inferences, and allows them time to process the verbal dialogue and respond. Voki's are designed to be used for only short statements, and can be played at the request of the audience, so are ideal for this type of communication.



References

Bauer, S. (2004) adapted from Thoughts for management in the school, source http://members.ozemail.com.au/~rbmitch/Asperger14.htm

Kearsley, G. & Shneiderman, B. (1999) Engagement theory: a framework for technology-based teaching and learning, Version 4/5/1999, Sourced http://home.sprynet.com/~gkearsley/engage.htm

The Wonders of Wiki!

I must admit that I was rather overwhelmed when I first started trying to set up a wiki, due to my lack of IT experience and that my only motivation was that it was a requirement of my ICT course within my Graduate Diploma Degree. Once I wrestled with the idea and the technology for a couple of days, and finally realised that I had a very appropriate use for the technology within my own life, my enthusiasm blossomed and everything started to fall into place. Here is a link to my fabulous wiki. Hope you like it. http://gfcooking4kids.wikispaces.com/

I had realised that my attitude to the task was quite negative, and made myself go back to the Dimensions of Learning (Marzano & Pickering, 1997) text. I re-read Dimension 1, especially the section that deals with 'Helping students develop positive attitudes and perceptions about classroom tasks' (pp. 29-32). I realised that I needed to use more positive self-talk, and make myself become engaged with the task by making the task more relevant to my personal life. Once I was able to achieve that, I no longer had to force myself to sit down at the computer but found I was actually being drawn to it and put more time into developing the wiki site than I originally planned to.

The positive change in attitude and learning experience I achieved once I found a way to make it relevant to me, is exactly what Kearsley & Shneiderman (1999) proposed happens once students are given learning experiences that encompasses the three components of relate, create and donate, as this project did. My wiki was created to act as a meeting point for my sisters and I, and our friends who have children who are gluten intolerant. In the past, we have sent emails or phone calls back and forth to one another to swap recipes or to let each other know about relevant new products or websites. By setting up the wiki to act as our noticeboard, the task then became related to my life, and I was able to donate the project back to my friends and family to use and become involved in the project with me. Very exciting!

In terms of using wiki's in the classroom, I am excited by the possibilities the technology offers to allow students to create projects that they can feel are relevant to them and enable the students to work in groups that they may not have the chance to in the real world. For example, a wiki could be created for students who live on remote properties and complete their education via distance education, or perhaps just students from different schools in different towns. The wiki could be set up and require all students to record daily the weather conditions, rainfall and barometric pressure that occurs at their property/town. Using that data, they could then complete a group project about weather patterns and perhaps even forecast future weather events, depending on the age of the students. A project such as this would cover several of the KLA's such as SOSE, English, Maths and Science, as well as encourage participation of the whole family unit, and perhaps require the students to also engage with members of the Bureau of Meteorology, depending on the age of the students and the depth of the project.


References
Marzano, R.J., & Pickering, D. J., (with Arrendondo,D.E., Paynter,D. E., Blackburn, G. J., Brandt, R. S., Moffett C. A., Paynter D. E., Pollock J. E., & Whisler J. S.) (1997) Dimensions of learning teacher's manual (2nd ed.) Alexandra, VA; ASCD.

Kearsley G. & Shneiderman B. (1999) Engagement theory: a framework for technology-based teaching and learning, version 4/5/99, retrieved from http://home.sprynet.com/~gkearsley/engage.htm

Blogging and Aggregators

In week 4 of the ICTs for Learning Design course I am completing, just after the instructions to set up this blog, we are then instructed to set up an aggregator to help us follow the hundred and something other bloggs being written by our fellow students. Now I thought I was confused before, and spent hours over several days sorting out this whole blog thing, and somehow (can't find it now) I already set my google account to automatically subscribe to any bloggs that I choose to follow. So when I moved on to this new instruction, I then doubted everything I had done and spent several more hours trying to confirm if I had in fact done the right thing in the first place! Talk about frustrated, confused and stressed! And I haven't got to the Wiki or Mahara yet!


What have I learnt from this experience? That when students are learning new skills which they have no or very little prior knowledge of, they need a lot of moral support, as outlined in Dimension 1(1) under the subheading 'Helping students develop positive attitudes and perceptions about classroom tasks' by helping them 'Believe they have the ability and resources to complete tasks'. This means I would provide my students with appropriate feedback, help them recognise the abilities they have to complete the task, and help them realize that part of their abilities include their ability to seek help. I also think that the subject 'Understand and be clear about tasks' that also falls under the same subheading mentioned above, is applicable in this situation. Working in a flexible study mode as I am is very different to the experience I can offer students in a classroom. By interacting face-to-face and reading the vibe of the room, I will be able to give clear directions as required, and immediately clarify any issues they have about the knowledge they need to have.

The other thing I have learnt is that bloggs could be a useful tool in the classroom. The teacher can encourage students to blogg on a particular subject and enable students to engage with one another, give encouragement to one another and open up new topics for conversation within that subject. For example, if a primary school is currently participating in the Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden Project (2), the students could blogg with other students in other schools under the same program. The students could share gardening tips, recipes or just talk about how their gardens are doing and inspire one another.







References

1. Marzano, R. & Pickering, D. 1997, Dimensions of Learning, Mid-continent Research for Education and Learning, Colorado.
2. www.kitchengardenfoundation.org.au/

On Using Technology Without Understanding It at Beyond School

Before starting this course, I thought that using technology in the classroom would be limited due to the age the students I would teach (primary) and the fact that I would be working in small rural schools. Once I started the course and started looking around at the local school (it has more than a dozen interactive blackboards, thanks Kevin Rudd!), I was starting to worry if: a) I would be able to use the technology to its full potential with my very limited knowledge of it's capabilities, and b) if students would really be able to be engaged to learning in the real world through the use of this imaginary world. Now I know the value of the www for research and collecting data, and I understand that kids love playing with technology, but I do worry that these little people that are only just developing their interpersonal skills and their own codes of morals and ethics, are then encouraged to spend so much time in this other reality where it is very hard to be held accountable for your actions. I also worry that they will be so taken with the process of using the technology, such as moving things around on the board, playing with the colours etc, that they won't actually be focusing on the knowledge that is to be taken in and internalized. Hopefully these fears are just reflective of my ignorance of how technology is used in the classroom and I will be able to see the advantages of using it once I see it in action.

While looking through the beyond schooling website as suggested in our week 4 work for EDED20491, I found this article printed in a school newspaper that was written by a student who was basically saying that enough is enough with technology, that students need great teachers to inspire and guide them, not just activities to do online 'because that is what kids like to do'. She also highlights the fact that some students feel a sense of accomplishment when they have their assessment in their hands on paper, that hitting the send button on their computer just doesn't give them. I know exactly what she means. With my university studies, I also felt great when slipping that great wad of paper in the form of a report into the assessment box. When I was required to submit one of my assessments online, I felt sort of lost, and worried that maybe my lecturer didn't get it. I didn't have that feeling of "There it is, I've done it! It's finished and off to get marked!". The comments from other individuals posted in regards to this article are varied and very thought provoking. There are arguments from both sides and it gives us a lot to think about in terms of how and why we use technology in the classroom.

On Using Technology Without Understanding It at Beyond School

New Tech Teaching Habits at Beyond School

I have been looking around the site 'Beyond School' as suggested by Scott in this weeks study guide and found this interesting page about how to use university lecture's and how to adapt them and make them applicabile for the classroom, and also how to use your ipod to help design your lesson plan. I find all of this remarkable! I am also quite proud of myself for working out how to post this link to my blog so I can share it with you!

New Tech Teaching Habits at Beyond School

Hello All,

To open this blog I feel that I need to give a brief description of myself and my learning journey to date.

As a child, I dreamt of being a school teacher, and started a Bachelor of Education in 1993 when I first left school. After 18 months of study, my family and financial difficulties combined with a lack of maturity led me to withdraw from the course, and onto a very different path.

For most of my professional life I have worked in the retail fashion industry. In 2003 I decided to start a Bachelor of Business with a Major in Marketing at CQU to enable me to work within the business development field. My idea was to travel to small rural communities and teach small business owners how to develop/adapt their businesses in the changing rural landscape. In 2004 I met a man, and the following year we married and had our first child. I continued to study while being a stay at home mother, and completed the degree in 2007, two months before my second child was born. For the next two years I focused on being a stay at home mother. After recently divorcing, I have done a lot of soul searching and have rediscovered the real me. I have decided to return to my dream of teaching.

In the last five weeks since starting this course, my perceptions and attitudes towards teaching, and the environment in which we teach, has changed drastically. As you can see from my previous experience, I have not been engaged in a primary school classroom for many years, and have not had experience with many of the modern technologies. In fact, I only purchased a computer and discovered the Internet in 2003 out of necessity to start my business degree. Now that was a steep learning curve, just like this one appear to be!

I am extremely excited about this journey I am taking, and am working hard to learn all of the knowledge and skills that will enable me to inspire and encourage all children to fulfil their individual potential so they can go on and live fulfilling lives. I look forward to documenting this journey on this blog, and hope we can learn from each other.