The first thing that was covered in this week’s tute was Google earth and maps. This was a program that I knew about but had not used before. After having a play around with these applications I soon began to see their potential within the classroom and believe that these would be a math, SOSE, science and geography teachers dream come true. This application can be used in so many different ways and in different curriculum areas that it is something that I will definitely be using within my classroom. These applications can be used for many things such as; measuring distance, checking the weather in different places, SOSE and science lessons for looking at different locations and looking at specific monuments etc, for showing a class pen pal where you live, and for mapping in geography; just ot name a few (Keirsley, 1999). This application can be used anywhere within a unit of work and can be used in conjunction with many other applications (Oliver, 1999). After just a few minutes I created my own map of uni, which can be seen on the previous blog entry. Anyone anywhere in the world can create these maps and add pictures and voice to them to make them more interactive (Active Learning), these maps can then be viewed by anyone if they are made public.
The next site that we visited was the learning place, at which we now all have a membership for the curriculum exchange resources. This was another site that I had heard of a lot throughout my course but had yet to access. This site provides teachers with endless resources of learning activities, units and lessons on virtually any subject for any grade level (1-12). When you first enter the site you are greeted with "Learn, Share, Create, Join, Discover
Welcome to Education Queensland's eLearning environment supporting 21st century learning" (Education Queensland, 2009), which is the motto for the learning place. The learning place is a site where these four action verbs come alive. "The Curriculum Exchange provides Learning Place members with access to the best available resources for learning through its digital repository - the Curriculum Exchange resource centre which contains: EduSites: evaluated websites relevant to teachers and students, TIPS: teaching ideas, practices and strategies provided by Queensland teachers, EQ learning objects: interactive learning activities, The Le@rning Federation (TLF) learning objects, TLF digital resources: video, image and audio resources from cultural institutions, Media bank: video and audio resources from EQ, and Image bank: a collection of images that can be used for educational purposes" (Education Queensland, 2009). This is a great site that teachers can use to gain access to all of these resources but also upload and share their own units, activities, learning experiences and resources. The learning place is also quality assured so a teacher does not need to worry about inappropriate and unwanted content.
The next site that we visited, although quickly, was Ed heads which is a flash interactive/simulation site. Ed head motto of "activate your mind" (Ed Heads, 2009) encapsulates exactly what this site does. At present there are only a few interactive activities (OLiver, 1999) on this site but the extent at which they teache higher order thinking skills (Bloom, 2007) is amazing. The interactive activities that are available on this site are a great resource that teachers can use in the classroom on an interactive whiteboard or simply in the computer room where each student is able to access the activities themselves. These activities use a number of techniques that help to cater for most learning styles, for example: visual, audio and kinaesthetic (Marzano & Pickering, 1997). With further exploration of this site I’m sure that I will be able to underpin more learning outcomes and uses from/for the activities.
The next things looked at was WebQuests which I had learnt about in a previous course. WebQuests are "an inquiry-orientated activity in which most or all of the information used by learners is drawn from the Web. WebQuests are designed to use learners' time well, to focus on using information rather than looking for it, and to support learners' thinking at levels of analysis, synthesis and evaluation" (http://edweb.sdsu.edu/webquest/overview.htm). WebQuests can be accessed and shared by teachers; a teacher can use a previously made WebQuest or simply create their own for use in the classroom and then share it (which is what I was required to do). WebQuests are designed to provide students with learning that requires them to think in the top three levels of Blooms (Bloom, 2007). They are also designed so that there is little teacher input and maximum student engagement requirement (Keirsley, 1999). While interacting in WebQuests students are usually required to work in pairs or groups thus working on their interpersonal skills (Productive Pedagogies). During the tute we created our own WebQuest on Weebly.com, which does not have any activities but explains what needs to be completed in each section.
To access my WebQuest information on Weebly.com click here. WebQuests are a fantastic learning resource that any teacher can use in any curriculum area at any time during a unit. WebQuests are also great to use at an end of unit assignment (Active Learning). If I can find the WebQuest that I have previously created I will hyperlink it or add it in another blog.
That brings me to Weebly.com. This is a fantastic free site that enables teachers, students and anyone to create their own websites or, as previously mentioned, WebQuests. This is a great site that can be used in the classroom for many reasons. (These uses are mentioned in a previous blog where wiki's were discussed) I see Weebly.com as having many of the same advantages and uses as a wiki but with noticeable differences. Unlike a wiki a weebly website cannot be changed by its uses and or added to. You start with blogs then move to wiki's and the next step up is weebly.com. Each of these applications build on from one another, adding and extending what is possible on these sites. I can see weebly being used in the classroom in any curriculum area for any purpose, whether that be at the introduction of a unit, in the middle, at the end, or all the way through. It can also be used as a simple class website, a teachers site for students to access, a student’s site for teachers to access and for WebQuests, just to name a few. The site can be created in many templates and styles and used to cater for any learner (Marzano & Pickering, 1997). Weebly.com can also be used in conjunction with other ICT's to enhance and maximise students learning (Oliver, 1999). To access my weebly site click here. Weebly.com is a site that I can see having a lot of potential and uses within the classroom and I would definitely use it within my classroom, along with other ICT's.
YouTube was the next site discussed, although not accessed I am already familiar with this site and its uses. YouTube is a site where anyone from around the world can access videos or upload videos for others to access. This is a great site that can be used in the classroom to show students videos of certain criteria to enhance their learning. Although the problem with this site is that as anyone can put anything up there may be content that the learning manager does not want the students to access. To get around this the learning manager should provide students with the direct link to the video that they want to access or simply present it on an interactive whiteboard where she/he can directly access the video. This site is also great for students to upload their own videos (Keirsley, 1999). The teacher can create a class account and students can upload there videos for assignments or simply progress in their learning (as slideshows can also be uploaded). Although it would probably be best for the teacher to have access over the students are undesirable content could be accessed. Click here for the funniest video on YouTube.
Bubbl.us was the next site that was accessed and they only use that I discovered with this site was the fact that you can create concept/mind maps. Therefore this can be successfully used in the classroom on a daily basis. It adds another depth to the simple concept/mind map but making it interactive and therefore more interesting. This site can be accessed by all students in the class to create their own maps, by the teacher to use in front of the class to create a class map, and by groups of students to create maps for projects/tasks/assignments. Although a great application this, as yet, is the only use I can see for this site.
Quickly accessed next was MyEbook. On this site you can "create, publish and share" (MyEbook, 2008) your creations that could be as simple as a brochure to as complex as a novel. It is completely free to register and use this site, to which once you have registered you have unlimited access to anything that has been created by fellow users from around the world. I have never heard of this site before but believe that it has great potential for use within the education system and in particular the classroom. The categories which can be searched are very wide and the eBooks cover a wide range of genres also. In the classroom a teacher can create her own eBook to present information to the students. It can also be used by the students to create their own eBook on topic that they are interested in, in a genre that they are interested in the format that they chose (Oliver, 1999). This gives the students a sense of ownership over their learning, which research shows, engages students. This can also be used as an assessment template in which students can present their learning (Keirsley, 1999). I’m sure that I have only scratched the surface of the learning and teaching capabilities of this site.
Picasa is another site that can be used within the classroom but has limited possibilities. Picasa can be used to "organise, edit, create and share" (Google, 2009) pictures and photos. There are a number of these sites on the internet that can be access and used in the same way. This site can be used in the classroom for arts lessons and for students to edit pictures for assignments. This site can also be used to host class photos that have been taken throughout the year so that students, teachers and parents can access them at any time and view what have been talking place in the classroom. This site could also be accessed through blog, wiki's and weebly sites through hyperlinks (Oliver, 1999).
Flickr is a similar site to Picasa but takes it a step further by allowing its users to explore pictures from around the world and make items from their images, such as cards and calendars etc. This site can be used in the same way as mentioned in Picasa, with the extension of being able to create certain items.
Learning Management systems are sites that I am in regular use with as they are part of the course that I am currently engaged in. These sites, such as Blackboard and Moodle, are used by course coordinators, tutors and teachers to upload course content and any resources or activities that they want their students to access. Although this is what I know the sites are used for I can also see them being used by classroom teachers in the same way. They can be set up for students to access unit content, project content, and WebQuests and their uses do not stop there. These are a great resource that teachers can use in the classroom for any purpose. On these sties a teacher can also upload Voki's and other interactive activities that can create further engagement and excitement in the learning (Oliver, 1999). Like a lot of other sites mentioned in this and pervious blogs learning management systems can be used endlessly in the classroom by both teachers and students.
All of the ICT's that have been mentioned in this blog can be used to promote students higher order thinking skills (Bloom,2007), engage them in their learning, and enable them to take responsibility of their own learning. The use of ICT's within the classroom is a never ending and always expanding topic. Although this is the case there is one fact that will always stay constant: ICT's provide teachers with engaging and interesting ways to present content to students which enhances their learning capabilities and caters for all learning styles.
My Curious Dangerous Mind
References:
- Blooms (2007)
- 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)
- 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
- McInerney, D., & McInerney, V. (2002). Educational psychology: Constructing learning. Frenchs Forest, NSW, Australia: Pearson Education.
- Marzano, R. J, & Pickering, D. J. (1997). Dimensions of Learning: Teachers Manual. Aurora, Colorado, United States of America: Mid-continent Educational Laboratory.
- 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/
Yeah I do agree leticha, there is so much to blog about on here.
ReplyDeleteSomething I did think of (but you may have included due to the sheer mass of content) is about assessment. Could you think about how students could use these tasks in the creation of asessment and not only the teaching stage?
To dare is to do.
Yeah I was doing that in my pervious blog but week after week as the content gets heavier I have left that out quite a lot.
ReplyDeleteThanks
My Curious Dangerous Mind
Just something that has popped into my mind whilst reading your blog is how would these tools enagage and enable learning for special needs students? What tools could we use and others that we may have trouble incorperating?
ReplyDeleteYeah I think Laura has stumbled upon something here. But there are so many different special needs out there and each requires different proactive action to allow them to effectively interact with these ICT's. For example, in my classroom at prac, there is a child that has a physical disability that makes it difficult for him to see - and the use of glasses do not help. One thing they have done when the student has to use a computer is that they have a custom made computer keyboard with all the letters on the keys 3 to 4 times larger. Also, all the keys that have abbreviations are written out in full for easy understanding.
ReplyDeleteBut overall, I believe that when we have our own class, when encorporating the use and display of ICT's, we must take what we have learnt from Managing Diversity. We must identify the various needs of all of our students on an individual level to ensure that all the students achieve some success in interacting with ICT's.
That is a good point Laura, what are your ideas?
ReplyDeleteI believe that digital technologies are a great resource to use to enhance the learning experience for special needs students. For example if you had a student who had speach difficulties then utilising Voki's or avatars in the classroom would greatly benefit them. This technology would give them a vioce within the classroom and include them in the learning. There are so many technologies out there that I believe will enhance the learning for special needs students as well.
My Curious Dangerous Mind