This week as usual I was perplexed with the amount of content, although it was less than previous weeks. It just seems like there is no time to cover the amount of content that we have to but somehow we get through it all with time to spare and have a further play around. The main focus for this week, apart from the applications and websites, was on Legal, Safe and Ethical Operations Online and on the Learning Theories that are incorporated through this course. So I guess the best thing to do is to just start evaluating the applications and sites visited from this weeks tute.
Interactive whiteboards were the first ICT that we looked at. These I am already familiar with and think that they are an amazing invention. Unfortunately not every school is equipped with them and the schools that are are not provided with information or development days about how to use them. As a result of this they are very much underestimated in the education system. With an interactive whiteboard you have endless opportunities to enhance the teaching and learning that is taking place in your classroom. It provides opportunities for collaborative learning from small groups to whole class activities (Active Learning/Oliver, 1999). Interactive whiteboards can be used to work on interactive learning activities that can be located on the internet for any curriculum area, to show students images, slideshows, power points, videos and audio clips to use in learning experiences, it can be used for click and drag activities, and as they are connected to a PC or laptop they can be used to record students ideas and information from brainstorms or concepts maps by either typing into the PC or writing directly on the board and saving the document (Oliver, 1999). The board also comes with software of activities that can be displayed and played on the board. Interactive whiteboards are a great resource to have in the classroom as they also cater for all learning styles (Marzano & Pickering, 1997)This is just a brief snapshot of what is possible on an interactive whiteboard and what can be done is expanding everyday as new software is developed and it is further explored. I believe that the government should be providing all schools with interactive whiteboards, in every classroom, so that teaching and learning can be enhanced.
The next object discussed was a digital pen, which I had never heard of before. This little device is a fantastic invention. Any ideas that are written onto paper the pen records and then that can be attached to a computer (like a USB) and the data can be uploaded and then transferred into a word doc. This is great for those students who are not so tech savvy, who do not have computer at home, or who cannot simply comprehend how to use a computer or who cannot type. By having one of these pens it enables all students to be involved in the use of ICT's in the classroom (The State of Queensland (Department of Education) 2002).
Ning was the next site that we visited. Ning is a site that has multiple communication tools and is like a "project room" in the learning place (http://education.qld.gov.au/learningplace/). Ning is, like many of the sites we have incounted in this course, and can be utilised in the classroom in many effective ways. In Ning you have a Home Page and any other pages that you want to include, you have a chat room, a forum room, a blog page, a members page, a page for your pictures and videos, and discussion rooms just to name a few. Ning would be a great site to use within your classroom as every student in the class could be a member and then no one from the public and it would be password protected and quality assured as you and you students can control what is included. This can be used as a class site where students can upload their work and creations of any sort, as a class newsletter to inform students on what is happening in the classroom, for students to work on their assignments and then the teacher can watch their progress (formative assessment), it can be used to set up a web quest for a unit of work that is taking place in the classroom, it can be used to host all the information provided in a new unit of work (for example: putting up information sites, learning experiences etc), and for a page that parents can access to view the progress of their child (Keirsley, 1999). This site can also be used within the whole school context also with each teacher having access and sharing their resources and ideas. This site you would have to have password protected so that it is quality insured and no one form that public can post anything that is unsuitable.
The next site visited was flickr again but this time with the emphasis on "creative commons" (http://creativecommons.org/). Creative Commons is a way to provide safe and legal sharing online. "Creative Commons is a non-profit that offers an alternative to full copyright" (creativecommons.org). It consists of symbols that the owner of the content can chose to allow certain types of access to their uploaded content. Flickr describes each symbol as "Briefly...
Attribution means:
You let others copy, distribute, display, and perform your copyrighted work - and derivative works based upon it - but only if they give you credit.
Noncommercial means:
You let others copy, distribute, display, and perform your work - and derivative works based upon it - but for noncommercial purposes only.
No Derivative Works means:
You let others copy, distribute, display, and perform only verbatim copies of your work, not derivative works based upon it.
Share Alike means:
You allow others to distribute derivative works only under a license identical to the license that governs your work" (http://www.flickr.com/creativecommons/).
This was something that I had never heard of but I believe is a fantastic way to ensure that teachers, students and anyone online is operating safe and legally.
Briefly visited from the extensions of flickr was Tag Galaxy. This site enables you to refine a search and from that search view all the pictures that are available through an interactive 'global' view of the pictures. When you have spotted the picture that you would like to use to simple click on it and take the link to the picture on flickr (which has been protected by creative commons). This can be used in the classroom to take time out of a search as it refines that search and shows all the options available.
VoiceThread was the next site that we visited and with exploration of this site it became much more than I thought it was. With voice thread you and your class can create an in-depth discussion around an image or images through a number of ways of communication. Your comments can be uploaded in multiple ways such as by microphone, telephone, by typing it in (text), by uploading what you have written in a word doc or pre-recorded, and by webcam. You can also preview and edit what you have said if you are not happy (Oliver, 1999). You can also draw on the image if you want to bring attention to a certain point/part. This can also be used to share student’s ideas with people and experts from around the world which can add exceptional learning for students when they are listening to a experts opinion on the topic (Kerisley, 1999). There is also a section on the site specifically dedicated to K-12 learning. "Ed.VoiceThread is a web-based communications network for K-12 students and educators. Simple, powerful and safe, Ed.VoiceThread is a place for creating and collaborating on digital stories and documentaries, practicing and documenting language skills, exploring geography and culture, solving math problems, or simply finding and honing student voices. Watch an overview, visit our K-12 Pricing page, or download our K-12 brochure. An accountable environment where all users on the network are known users, responsible for their content and behaviour. Restricted to K-12 educators, students and administrators, all content is created or vetted by registered members of the community. There are no Free accounts, students may only participate after being added by their teacher or school, and student email addresses are not required" (http://voicethread.com/about/k12/). This site enables students to pose questions (Bloom, 2007), solve problems (Oliver, 1999), work collaboratively (Active Learning) and most importantly participate in an authentic activity (Kerisely, 1999). For more information on VoiceThread click here and take the virtual introduction.
Incompetech was the next site that was visited and I had never heard of. This site enables music downloads that are safe, legal and ethical. It is a search engine that can be used in the classroom for students to add music and sounds to their learning, projects, slideshows, power points etc. This is a great site to use in the classroom as you know that it is legal for the students to download music or sounds. This is a main site that can be used in the classroom to ensure that students are not downloading illegal music or sounds.
Online file storage was the next application explored. This I use on my laptop every week. I have an account with Dell Data Safe Online. Every Thursday night all the files that are on my computer get uploaded and saved online. This is a great application as it enables the safe storage of any documents, pictures, videos etc online in case something happens to your computer, which let’s face it is likely to happen. Now if my computer breaks down or decides to delete everything all my files are stored in my online account. This account I can access whenever I want and can easily get those files. The site that we visited in the tute was Media Fire which is also provides online file storage. This site should be utilised in the classroom to ensure that all students work is safe and will not be lost. This can be used on a weekly or daily basis and be added into the class routine that at a certain time on a certain day the students back up their files. This also ensures that the students can access their files where ever they are. So if they create something at school it can then be accessed at home through their online storage. This site can also be used in a whole school context in the same way. I think that teachers and schools needs to jump on the bandwagon of online file storage because it is all too common for computers to break down and files are then lost, thus hindering the student’s enthusiasm in their work.
All of the above sites and applications that were visited can be effectively used in the classroom to enhance teaching and learning and ensure that students are involved in collaboration, authentic learning, problem solving and pose questions. It can be seen that Keirsley's Engagement Theory, Oliver’s Learning Design Framework, and the Active Learning Framework is and can be incorporated throughout the learning that is and can be taking place through these sites and applications. Constructivism (McInerney & McInerney, 2002) is the main theme that is involved in the learning that can take place through these sites with evidence of Blooms Taxonomy, Dimensions of Learning (Marzano & Pickering, 1997) and the Productive Pedagogies.
My Curious Dangerous Mind
References:
- Blooms (2007)
- Creativecommons.org. (2009) Creative Commons. Retrieved August 3, 2009, from http://creativecommons.org/
- Kearsley, G. & Shneiderman, B. (1999). Engagement Theory: A framework for technology-based teaching and learning. Retrieved August 4, 2009. from: http://home.sprynet.com/~gkearsley/engage.htm
- Marzano, R. J, & Pickering, D. J. (1997). Dimensions of Learning: Teachers Manual. Aurora, Colorado, United States of America: Mid-continent Educational Laboratory.
- McInerney, D., & McInerney, V. (2002). Educational psychology: Constructing learning. Frenchs Forest, NSW, Australia: Pearson Education.
- Oliver, R. (1999). Exploring strategies for online teaching and learning. Distance Education 20(2), p.240-254
- Ten Principles to Active Learning (http://www.idecorp.com/teacher/documents/dowling_002.pdf)
- The State of Queensland (Department of Education). (2002). Productive Pedagogies: Classroom reflection manual. Retrieved July 8, 2009, from: http://education.qld.gov.au/public_media/reports curriculum-framework/productive-pedagogies/
- The State of Queensland (Department of Education and Training) (2009). The Learning Place. Retrieved August 3, 2009, from http://education.qld.gov.au/learningplace/
- VoiceThread. (2009). K-12 Solutions. Retrieved August 3, 2009, from http://voicethread.com/about/k12/
- Yahoo!7 Pty Limited. (2009). Flickr: Creative Commons. Retrieved August 3, 2009, from http://www.flickr.com/creativecommons/
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