Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Podcasts
Also in week 4 we had a look at Podcasts. Podcats can be used as great teaching tools. The podcast that is shown here from the site podomatic, is called The Phys Ed Network Podcast - vcephysed.com / energy systems. It is all about the energy systems of the body and how they work and the individual components that are used. this pod cast can be used as an extra for the students that really wish to extend themselves or even as a marking tool. the students as a class could brainstorm and make a concept map on ATP and then use the podcast to make sure they got all of the components. Podcasts also work well because the students can subscribe to podcasts and get all of the podcasts from the site or even register to the teachers podcasts and have the information that use to only be said once, in class, available to them all of the time.
Images
In week 4 we looked at images on the Internet. There are a few different sites on the web that allow you to use photos but under certain circumstances. Some times you can use images and do what ever you want to them others you cant change at all and some you can only use if you reload it back onto the page.Some of the images and photos on the web site Flickr can be used in educational circumstances. Students would be able to use these images to help support assignments as well as teachers using the photos or images as teaching tools.
If we have a look at the image on the left we can see that sports and health teachers would be able to use this image as a teaching tool. There are a number of teaching and learning purposes that this image can be put to. Through this image we can see the points of impact on the muscles of the body, what muscles are under the greatest strain at the point of impact and even simply how all of the muscles of the body joint together. This image may be used in a slide show showing the whole body, then the leg, then the quadriceps, then the rectus femoris, then a muscle fibre right the way down to a single filament. you could get year 12 PE students to name or label as many muscles that they could or just give them the names of the muscles in use.
There are many different learning opportunities that can be associated with images. This is just one image from a one website that has had over 4.3 million images loaded to it just this month. There are other websites out there that have images for use. Teachers should be using these types of resources to give students some different perspectives on what they are trying to teach.
Image from http://www.flickr.com/photos/jurvetson/1809592568/
Voki
This week we had a look at voki. It is a sight that allows you to create your own person or animal by changing facial features, hair, clothing and the back ground. You also have the option of changing the voice as well. Here is an example that I made.
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
Power Point
As part of week 3 we had a look at power point. It is a program that allows you to share information with learners in interactive ways. The uses of power point are endless with being able to start at a word pad, move to power point to add a bit more then put it in a movie using movie maker a huge bonus. It is an exciting tool to use and can be used widely throughout all teaching disciplines. Another great aspect about power point is that you don't need a huge manual to work out how to use it. By simple getting on there and mucking around for a few hours you can work it all out.
Some of the uses that we can put power point to in the classroom include, having visual information to back up what you are saying (catering for students learning styles). We can also use it to show students figures on graphs and tables. It is a way to reach all of the students at the same time. Power point can also be used for a test (formative assessment). It works in such a way that, with a multiple choice test, the students can not move forwards to the next question until they click on the correct answer.
Power point can also be used by students as a way to present an assignment. If they went to a rock pool every Thursday for 3 weeks and had to have a look at the flora and fauna, water level and water temperature, they would be able to use voice recorders as well as writing down information and present it in a power point. Power point can allow those with artistic preferences to go ahead and make a vibrant, colourful show while the students who just like to put the information down and present it can do that also. It can cater to many different teaching and learning styles.
It works well on interactive white boards and allows students to feel confident that they can have a look at an assignment and change it if they don't think it fits. Students can cut and paste, use different colours and different sounds to get their target audience in the right mood for the information that they are giving. Gone are the days of doing a few word posters or drawings to help present data now the students can be as creative, loud, colourful and vibrant as they want. Its handing control to the students saying that we as teachers trust them to come back and give us the best work that they can.
Some of the uses that we can put power point to in the classroom include, having visual information to back up what you are saying (catering for students learning styles). We can also use it to show students figures on graphs and tables. It is a way to reach all of the students at the same time. Power point can also be used for a test (formative assessment). It works in such a way that, with a multiple choice test, the students can not move forwards to the next question until they click on the correct answer.
Power point can also be used by students as a way to present an assignment. If they went to a rock pool every Thursday for 3 weeks and had to have a look at the flora and fauna, water level and water temperature, they would be able to use voice recorders as well as writing down information and present it in a power point. Power point can allow those with artistic preferences to go ahead and make a vibrant, colourful show while the students who just like to put the information down and present it can do that also. It can cater to many different teaching and learning styles.
It works well on interactive white boards and allows students to feel confident that they can have a look at an assignment and change it if they don't think it fits. Students can cut and paste, use different colours and different sounds to get their target audience in the right mood for the information that they are giving. Gone are the days of doing a few word posters or drawings to help present data now the students can be as creative, loud, colourful and vibrant as they want. Its handing control to the students saying that we as teachers trust them to come back and give us the best work that they can.
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
The Big Six
For the second weeks activities we were given a few different frameworks. These included T pack, Learning Engagement Theory and the Big Six as well as the frameworks that we have already looked at such as DoL and Productive Pedagogy. The framework that I have decided to focus on is The Big Six and this is because I think it has a practical use in every class at school as well as being useful to higher education students and even people in the workforce.
This framework will work well because it brings the natural talents of the students and the information that you are trying to teach and bring them together. It was developed by Mike Eisenberg and Bob Berkowitz. Together they came up with a framework that took the processes that every day people use subconsciously and refine it to be a great way of finding information. It can help with all types of work but is really handy when it comes to problem solving. The Big Six is, at the moment, the most commonly used framework by students and their teachers in schools.
A lot of different professionals in the field of education have been saying for a long time now that we need to integrate the use of ICT's and importantly computers, with what all teachers are teaching their students instead of just the separate computer classes (Berkowitz, B,. Eisenberg, M,. Johnson, D,. 2010). It would take all of the teachers in the school communicating with each other to get this to happen but with The Big Six framework it forces the teachers to bring ICT's into the classroom. The Big Six has 6 different stages. These 6 stages take the students through a full process that allows them to explore different information and different ways of gathering that information.
The six stages
1 Task Definition. At this stage the students are communicating with each other, the teachers and any other professionals that they are able to connect with (maybe using technology) to get a focus question or pick or topic. This is a question that will help them answer the problem that they have at that time. Once this is done they will start to define what the topic or question will incorporate.
2 Information Seeking Strategies. Instead of just going out and seeking the information straight away, this step gets the students to take a look at what resources they have available to them to find information. They may have a computer with the inter or intranet with messenger and skype to communicate with professionals. They may have mobile phones to call people with, use wiki's to communicate idea's with other people who are doing a topic that may link with theirs or they may have a voice recorder to record a conversation that they have with a professional face to face.
3 Location and Access. They now have a focus topic or question and they know all of the equipment that they have at their disposal to find out the information that they are seeking. This level is about now finding the sources that they are going to get the information from. These sources can be people, face to face or via phone or skype, Internet sites, or books.
4 Use Of Information. Now that they have their sources, they can finally gather their information. This is the first and only stage in which the students will gather information.
5 Synthesis. In this stage the students will put all of their information together and show it in a variety of ways. This will allow the students to be able to see which way their information is better put forward or displayed.
6 Evaluation. Now that they have chosen the best way to show their information they must go back over everything that they have done and see whether or not it is all related back to the topic or focus question that they negotiated with the teacher in the first stage.
No other framework goes directly into this much information. The students would respond well to it as they have everything set out for them and all that they have to do is gather the information. It would also be handy for the teacher because it would be easy to gauge what each individual student is up to and which students need teacher input. The Big Six puts out a logical framework that I will be able to use easily to have a look and different tools that can be used on the Internet.
Berkowitz, B,. Eisenberg, M,. Johnson, D,. (2010) Information, communications and Technology (ICT) Skills Curriculum Based on the Big Six Skills Approach to Information Problem Solving. Viewed July 21, from http://moodle.cqu.edu.au/file.php/4033/LMC_Big6-ICT_Curriculum_LMC_MayJune2010.pdf
This framework will work well because it brings the natural talents of the students and the information that you are trying to teach and bring them together. It was developed by Mike Eisenberg and Bob Berkowitz. Together they came up with a framework that took the processes that every day people use subconsciously and refine it to be a great way of finding information. It can help with all types of work but is really handy when it comes to problem solving. The Big Six is, at the moment, the most commonly used framework by students and their teachers in schools.
A lot of different professionals in the field of education have been saying for a long time now that we need to integrate the use of ICT's and importantly computers, with what all teachers are teaching their students instead of just the separate computer classes (Berkowitz, B,. Eisenberg, M,. Johnson, D,. 2010). It would take all of the teachers in the school communicating with each other to get this to happen but with The Big Six framework it forces the teachers to bring ICT's into the classroom. The Big Six has 6 different stages. These 6 stages take the students through a full process that allows them to explore different information and different ways of gathering that information.
The six stages
1 Task Definition. At this stage the students are communicating with each other, the teachers and any other professionals that they are able to connect with (maybe using technology) to get a focus question or pick or topic. This is a question that will help them answer the problem that they have at that time. Once this is done they will start to define what the topic or question will incorporate.
2 Information Seeking Strategies. Instead of just going out and seeking the information straight away, this step gets the students to take a look at what resources they have available to them to find information. They may have a computer with the inter or intranet with messenger and skype to communicate with professionals. They may have mobile phones to call people with, use wiki's to communicate idea's with other people who are doing a topic that may link with theirs or they may have a voice recorder to record a conversation that they have with a professional face to face.
3 Location and Access. They now have a focus topic or question and they know all of the equipment that they have at their disposal to find out the information that they are seeking. This level is about now finding the sources that they are going to get the information from. These sources can be people, face to face or via phone or skype, Internet sites, or books.
4 Use Of Information. Now that they have their sources, they can finally gather their information. This is the first and only stage in which the students will gather information.
5 Synthesis. In this stage the students will put all of their information together and show it in a variety of ways. This will allow the students to be able to see which way their information is better put forward or displayed.
6 Evaluation. Now that they have chosen the best way to show their information they must go back over everything that they have done and see whether or not it is all related back to the topic or focus question that they negotiated with the teacher in the first stage.
No other framework goes directly into this much information. The students would respond well to it as they have everything set out for them and all that they have to do is gather the information. It would also be handy for the teacher because it would be easy to gauge what each individual student is up to and which students need teacher input. The Big Six puts out a logical framework that I will be able to use easily to have a look and different tools that can be used on the Internet.
Berkowitz, B,. Eisenberg, M,. Johnson, D,. (2010) Information, communications and Technology (ICT) Skills Curriculum Based on the Big Six Skills Approach to Information Problem Solving. Viewed July 21, from http://moodle.cqu.edu.au/file.php/4033/LMC_Big6-ICT_Curriculum_LMC_MayJune2010.pdf
Weebly
Now I have created a weebly page as well. There isn't much on their at this stage but I will endeavour to put some interesting stuff up soon http://www.weebly.com/weebly/main.php
Monday, July 19, 2010
wiki
Hi Guys I have just started a wiki page as well. If you would like to follow or comment on it here is the url. http://mattsmanaginglearning.wikispaces.com/
Concept Maps
As part of week one we were asked to have a look at some on-line concept mapping sites. The two sites that we were asked to look at in particular were bubbl.us and text2mindmap. Both work around the same structure, having a centre point and moving outwards and both had their advantages and disadvantages. I liked bubbl.us because I was able to change the colour of each balloon if I had wanted to while with the text2mindmap this was not possible.
Text 2mindmap was a great site that had a simple easy to follow layout both when writing out the bubbles and creating the concept map to your liking. One thing that I was not able to do with either site was colour the lines individually or curve the lines (this is probably just my fault for not looking hard enough for how to do it). This would have helped with my concept map as I do not like looking at straight lines and find them hard to follow.
How ever they turned out the idea of concept mapping on the computer is a great idea as they can be saved and re opened later. If someone else does cause you to muck up or you accidentally do something incorrectly you just hit the back button and have another go. This allows for a precise concept map that is free of cross outs or smudges and students can have as many goes as they like to get it correct instead of the old 'your getting one sheet of paper and that's it so don't stuff it up'.
Text 2mindmap was a great site that had a simple easy to follow layout both when writing out the bubbles and creating the concept map to your liking. One thing that I was not able to do with either site was colour the lines individually or curve the lines (this is probably just my fault for not looking hard enough for how to do it). This would have helped with my concept map as I do not like looking at straight lines and find them hard to follow.
How ever they turned out the idea of concept mapping on the computer is a great idea as they can be saved and re opened later. If someone else does cause you to muck up or you accidentally do something incorrectly you just hit the back button and have another go. This allows for a precise concept map that is free of cross outs or smudges and students can have as many goes as they like to get it correct instead of the old 'your getting one sheet of paper and that's it so don't stuff it up'.
Getting started with blogs
Hi guy's, this is a few weeks late but between trying to work out how to use this thing and then remembering all the passwords, well its been frustrating to say the least.
Doing the E Learning course has given me the ability to see how these interactive websites can be used as a teaching/learning tool. Before starting this course I was quite happy to stay away from computers as I was not very good at using them and could see no benefit for the students. Now I can see that these types of online tools can be a huge advantage in the classroom.
They allow students to share ideas and processes with each other when ever and where ever they may be. It allows students to be constantly connected to each other in an environment that they feel comfortable in and are able to work quickly and proficiently in. Blogs allow students to work independently on their work but at the same time allows other students to see what they are doing, provide feedback and critique each others work.
It also takes the boredom out of learning for the students and puts them in a situation where the whole world is at their finger tips. They can be sitting down in a nice air con room in the perfect learning conditions and be talking to some one from overseas or getting information for an assignment right from the horses mouth. It gives the students endless opportunities to learn in both a formal and informal environment.
i can now see that all teachers should be using this tool somewhere within their class programs. It is what the students are doing at the moment and its about time we as teachers caught up and gave them the best possible opportunities to learn.
Doing the E Learning course has given me the ability to see how these interactive websites can be used as a teaching/learning tool. Before starting this course I was quite happy to stay away from computers as I was not very good at using them and could see no benefit for the students. Now I can see that these types of online tools can be a huge advantage in the classroom.
They allow students to share ideas and processes with each other when ever and where ever they may be. It allows students to be constantly connected to each other in an environment that they feel comfortable in and are able to work quickly and proficiently in. Blogs allow students to work independently on their work but at the same time allows other students to see what they are doing, provide feedback and critique each others work.
It also takes the boredom out of learning for the students and puts them in a situation where the whole world is at their finger tips. They can be sitting down in a nice air con room in the perfect learning conditions and be talking to some one from overseas or getting information for an assignment right from the horses mouth. It gives the students endless opportunities to learn in both a formal and informal environment.
i can now see that all teachers should be using this tool somewhere within their class programs. It is what the students are doing at the moment and its about time we as teachers caught up and gave them the best possible opportunities to learn.
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