Reflective Synopsis

This Managing E-Learning course has been a real revelation, in which it has taught me how many digital tools are out there in the technological world. I have only added a few digital tools on my blog, but I have only scratched the surface, and viewing some of these as made me wanting to look for more digital tools and gain more confidence in applying them in my classroom.

When I first started this course, I was very blasé about the different technologies, as I thought I knew a fair amount of ICT’s resources that I can use in the classroom, until I started researching and asking questions from my peers, that I had a lot to look forward too. Going through the Moodle site and looking into all the topics, I found myself becoming overwhelmed with all the information that was there, and started to procrastinate starting my blog. When I ask a few of my peers, they suggested working through each topic and seeking information through the news forum and the coffee lounge. I had not looked at the forums for a while, and when I did, there was a lot of interesting facts and information to start my blog. When I did get started, I was finding it very interesting and was having so much fun engaging in all of the different technologies, and was telling my peers from work how they can use these tools in their classroom, how it can transform, support and enhance learning.

The learning based theory by Greg Kearsley and Ben Shneiderman has assisted me in the learning of these digitals tools. “By engaged learning, we mean that all student activities involve active cognitive processes such as creating, problem-solving, reasoning, decision-making, and evaluation. In addition, students are intrinsically motivated to learn due to the meaningful nature of the learning environment and activities. Engagement theory is based upon the idea of creating successful collaborative teams that work on ambitious projects that are meaningful to someone outside the classroom. These three components, summarized by Relate-Create-Donate, imply that learning activities: occur in a group context (i.e., collaborative teams), are project-based, have an outside (authentic) focus” (Kearsley, 1999, p.1). By using this theory, putting students together in a group and working through activities with ICT’s, students will enjoy the lesson and will have a more meaningful perspective to the lesson.

The digital teaching tools I will be using in my classroom to engage students will include creating a Blog/Wikis, Voki Avatars, Text2mindmap, and PowerPoint’s.

Many of these digital teaching tools can coincide with each other for a particular subject; for example, you could take photos with a digital camera of students making a banana cake, by taking a photo of each step you do. The students then upload these photos to a PowerPoint, with this they can present it to other classes of students or publish it on a Weebly. Other benefits with a PowerPoint are to be able to put music, images, or a video on a slide to add more of a professional looking presentation. Students can then copy it on a slide to take home or download it on their website, for future references or for anyone who wants to see how the students made their cake. Many Learning Managers look at different websites to obtain different ideas so they can engage their learners a different and interesting way.

As a hook for students at the start of a lesson, I will use a Voki/Avatar, as they are great interactive engaging tool. I would use a Voki at the start of the lesson as an introduction to the subject or use it to give out instructions. For my Embedded Professional Learning (EPL) class of Grade two’s, I gave them my webquest to complete, in this quest I used a Voki, as part of the introduction. Students watched in amazement the ‘real like’ person on the screen, talking to them, and giving them instructions on how to complete it. Kearsley & Schneiderman (1999) state that “Students must be meaningfully engaged in learning activities through interaction with others and worthwhile tasks”. Using a Voki in the classroom can “can facilitate engagement in ways which are difficult to achieve otherwise” (Kearsley & Schneiderman, 1999).
Using the text2mindmap is another great digital tool for students and for Learning Managers to gather information to use for their learning experiences. The teacher will be able to place the mind map on the wall or whiteboard and while posing questions to the class, the student’s answers then can be digitally typed in. This can create a collaboration of information from all students. Learning Manager can either print this mind map out and hang it up in the classroom, or leave it on the website and revisit the site every now and then, to add in more information. Once the students know how to add in information, students will be able to take a turn a bout and add in the information themselves.

Another digital tool I will be definitely using is a Blog or Wiki. Researching and producing my own blog, I think this could be valuable engaging tool for students to learn. Studies have shown from schools that students will tend to write more than they would be writing in an exercise book. Students will seek out more information by researching the different sites, than they would pick up an information book or an encyclopaedia. In addition, using a blog/wiki is good for students who live in a rural or remote area. Gone are the days where children would sit down, write a letter by hand, post it through the mail, and wait for the next two days or weeks to arrive. Posting a blog or a wiki is instance for everyone to see and therefore, saves time and paper to write a letter.

“However, not all children in rural and remote areas benefit from access to new technology and improved communications infrastructures. Australian researches observed that students and teachers in rural areas in Australia are suffering from inequities in access to and use of ICT’s. Excessive distances can make it difficult for students to access necessary ICT resources” (Krause, Bochner, & Duchesne, 2003).

As the future of ICT’s is increasingly changing with new ideas of technology, it is important for me as an upcoming Learning Manager to keep up with all of these digital tools. Prensky states “Today’s teachers have to learn to communicate in the language and style of their students. This does not mean changing the meaning of what is important, or of good thinking skills. But it does mean going faster, less step-by step, more in parallel, with more random access, among other things” (Prensky,2001). As a teacher, it is important to incorporate all forms of pedagogies to enhance your learners, and to add ICT’s in your learning experiences.


References:

Kearsley, G & Schneiderman, B. (1999). Engagement Theory: A framework for technology-based teaching and learning

Krause, K.-L., Bochner, S., & Duchesne, S. (2003). educational Psychology for learning and teaching. Southbank, Victoria: Thomson, Nelson Australia Pty Limited.

Prensky, M. (2001). Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants. MCB University Press, October Vol, 9.

Blog Posts:

Toni said:
Hi Kellie, great photo of the water cycle. Another program a friend told me she has used for images is called Piknik. I have not looked at this website as yet, but will be soon. It is amazing what you can do with images and the benefits in the learning experience
August 24th 2010


Toni said:
I just love your Voki, Catherine, it is so cool, but I do not want to encounter this type of character in my classroom. They are fun to do aren't they. When I did mine for my webquest, the students loved it. We didn't have time to make one up for them as their computers were a bit slow
August 26th 2010

Toni said to Catherine:
That was an excellent suggestion about the children taking photos with the digital camera and uploading them into a PowerPoint. By doing this you are using many digital tools without realising it and the children will see the benefits of using both.
August 26th 2010

Toni said to Catherine:
Your Big6 diagram turned out really well. For some reason mine didn't. I like the Big6 Framework for ICT's as it is step by step list to work through, even though some you can change around to suit the particular topic. I will be trying this framework in my next prac class when they will be researching a topic, to see how it all works.
August 26th 2010

Toni said:
Hi Hannah, I found Prezi difficult and confusing to use. I think I need to play around with it more so I can become more familiar with the functions. I have tend to 'give up' on digital tools if I can't use it easily, but looking at yours, I will definately persevere with it. Thanks
August 26th 2010

Toni said:
Hi Selina, I am with you and Catherine. I had no idea what a blog was and what it can do. When I started my blog, I found it was exciting and interesting, amazing what a simple digital tool can provide for the public.
August 27th 2010

Podcasts

I had no idea what a Podcast does, until I read Catherine Van Moolenbroeks blog. I read where she went to a website "PodcastFAQ", so I googled it and found the website. It has a lot of information about Podcasts and Podcasting and when I started reading it, it made a lot of sense. Thank you Catherine. I realised without knowing that I have been downloading music through a Podcasting website, called Pro Share./Livewire. I had to pay a one off fee to download music or videos, however it was worth it, as it provided me with a variety of music that I can use to put on my phone and use it in my digital tools example PowerPoint or Weebly.

"That same little orange icon responsible for blog subscriptions also works with podcasts. In fact many RSS readers such as Google Reader, support Podcast RSS feeds. You can also subscribe using a podcatcher. A podcatcher is an RSS (Really Simple Syndication) reader specifically designed for podcasts and many times syncs with a media device".

For younger grades I would use short podcasts so students don't become bored, older students may stay engaged to longer podcasts, if the information is interesting and linked to subject areas.

Several podcasts that I would use in the younger grades of school. These podcasts are called 'Stories to Read, Words to Know' by Evan-Moor Educational Publishers. These podcasts are based on storybooks. The book gets read by a lady at a pace so children can follow as she reads, then it is followed by echo reading (she reads, then students read). The kids of the future are technology literate, so as Learning Managers we need to engage them in the new technologies that is fast becoming the way of the world.


References:
PodcastFAQ.com (2010). Other Methods. Retrieved from http://www.podcastfaq.com/finding-podcasts/other-methods/

Videos

This is a video from you tube about the Solar Systems and how significant in size of each planet. When viewing this video, I was shocked that there are other planets that is bigger than the sun. I consider this video as a learning tool and an engagement tool. There are many videos from YouTube, and some are really good to use as another digital tool for the classroom.

Students can choose from an array of videos about the Solar System that would fit into their report or task that would enhance their knowledge of learning. Learning Managers can also use this type of video not as a science lesson, but as a maths lesson or cross into other KLA's.

I would use videos in the classroom as the students would be more engaged and involved by looking and hearing the information as long as it was relevant to the topic. Looking at TeacherTube is another resource for Learning Managers, as this is more educational and more student friendly in its content.

Go to YouTube and search videos for your lesson.

References:
YouTube.com (2007). Our Solar System - Size Of Planets and Stars to Scale. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BS88G5WBcfQ 23rd August, 2010

Avatars

This is an Avatar or a Voki. This is an excellent digital tool to use in the classroom. Students can make their own Voki with a short message and present it to the class. You can provide your own voice or type in text what you want it to say. There are different images for you to design and create. This is also an excellent hook to start off with a lesson, as it is visual and colourful.

Get a Voki for yourself. VOKI

References:
Oddcast Inc. (2007). Voki. Retrieved on Thursday 26 August, 2010 from http://www.voki.com/

PowerPoint

Using PowerPoint in the classroom is a great engagement tool. It has many features that Learning Managers and students can achieve by using sound, pictures, video and many other interactive features that can be added to engage all students in some way.

Kearsley & Shneiderman's (1999) Engagement Theory states that, "the fundamental idea underlying engagement theory is that students must be meaningfully engaged in learning activities through interaction with others and worthwhile tasks". All students have different learning styles and by producing a PowerPoint of their own for a topic they have been working in for the term, will give the students involvement in their own learning. Learning Managers needs to have all students to be able to be "active, cognitive processes such as creating, problem-solving, reasoning, decision-making, and evaluation" (Kearsley & Shneiderman, 1999).

As learning Managers, it is important that we do not over use PowerPoint in projects and presentations. By doing this, students will disengage and will not produce the desired outcome of having a great presentation.



References:

Kearsley, G & Schneiderman, B. (1999). Engagement Theory: A framework for technology-based teaching and learning

Weebly

Weebly is an online, free, widget-based Web site creator. It uses a widget style format, allowing users to create pages with only a few clicks by dragging and dropping different page elements (images, text, or interactive content, etc.) onto a page and filling in the content.

I created my weebly web page easily and quickly. It is also simple to add paragraphs, movies, images or audio. Students will be able design a web page without any difficulties as it tells what you can do next by showing it with arrows.
Grade three and upwards will be able to use this website for projects inside and outside of school. It has many more programs than a wiki has, but still simple and easy to understand. Please go and see my weebly site, I have only added a little bit, but I will be definately be adding more to it as the weeks go by. Toni's Weebly

I would use the study of dinosaurs to use in a weebly site, as students can add videos and images of dinosaurs. They can add their own activities for other students to do, or choose a safe activity from another websit to put in. Other weebly uses could be an interactive book report, or for early childhood learning managers a recipe book.




References:
Wikipedia.org (2010). Weebly. Retrieved from
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weebly 20th August, 2010

Images

Photo courtesy of
southfloridamuseum.org

This image I have chosen is of the Solar system. At the moment, where I work my Grade 6 and 7 class are studying planets and the moons. Each student chose a planet and did an information report and made a paper mache' for their assessment task.


Using images to show students what the solar system looks like, and how the planets are arranged around the sun, as well as what they look like, showed the students important and relevant information they needed to complete the task.

I love using images wherever possible, as this is one part of how I learn best. Most students like to see pictures of what they are learning, as their mental picture of an item or a particular object will be different to the one that has been showed. It is good to experiment with different images, as students will be able to see different aspects of meaning.

References:

Southfloridamuseum.org (2009) Thinking about life in the Museum, Retrieved from

http://www.southfloridamuseum.org/Education/ProfessionalDevelopmentIST/IST2Resources.aspx

20th August, 2010