As stated in my profile I am a second year BLM student, and in my time on prac in primary schools, I am yet to see teachers utilising these great digital learning tools. According to Jackie Miers (2005) learning objects are digital resources which provide content to support learning, usually provided in multimedia format, consisting of any of the following components; sound, graphic, text, video and animation.
For another point of view and definition on learning objects see, Stephen Downes (2004) here, who argues that “what makes a learning object is not what it is, but rather how it is used”. Here he is suggesting that a learning object may not be a digital resource.
In the classroom learning objects can be used to engage learners, gauge prior knowledge, present information, and create interactive learning opportunities. There are many positives with using learning objects, these include:
• Students can complete the learning object individually or as a class.
• Students can gain knowledge and skills from completing the learning object.
• Learning objects are interactive.
• Learning objects can be fun.
• Learning objects are easy to access and reliable sources that support learning.
In my maths lesson on Tuesday, I am planning to use two learning objects which as a class we will complete. These learning objects have been added to the lesson to make it more engaging and gauge the students’ prior knowledge. The first of the two learning objects (with username and password can be accessed here) is one that requires students to read the digital time and move the analogue clock hands. The second learning object (accessed here), requires students to read different analogue clocks and write the digital time.
In my second lesson on Tuesday, which is on the Dimension Three process, Analysing Perspectives, I am planning to use, the learning object which can be accessed here. From this learning object I am going to click on the whale image and click to hear the different opinions and/or thoughts on this. While this learning object is not interactive, I believe it will be engaging and make my different perspective point clear.
After my lessons on Tuesday, I will be back to comment on how effective these were within my lessons and what my students thought of these.
Kelly.
Saturday, August 14, 2010
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
Digital Videos - Movie Maker and YouTube
Hi all,
After my conversation with Sarah about Movie Maker hiccups (which can be accessed here) I decided that when I reflected on how to use digital video and the benefits of this in the classroom, I would think back to a lesson that could have been improved and made more engaging. During the lesson, the only engaging feature was a poem which as a class we read and deconstructed. While this worked for some of the students, it did not engage all students.
To have a play with Movie Maker I decided to go back and design a video that incorporated images and the words of the poem. Below are screen shots taken while my movie was playing (with the text from the poem being displayed)and while I was creating my movie.
After having a play, I decided to look at the positives and negatives:
Positives
• Students can create their own movies as a way of publishing their work.
• Requires students to have knowledge of the concept and how to explain it.
• Motivates students.
• Helps students to become independent workers.
• Has a hands-on play, experimental aspect.
• Teaches technological and digital literacies. (Schuck & Kearney, 2004, p.38-42)
Negatives
• Can be a time consuming project.
• Students may be reluctant to create their own.
• Images and videos placed in student created movies may not follow copyright laws.
In the classroom, Movie Maker can be used by students to present their knowledge on a topic or concept and/or document the learning journey. In the classroom, teachers can also create and use Movie Maker to present knowledge to students. It can also be used to share stories, and or news with parents about what is going on in the classroom. At the end of the year Movie Maker could be used to publish a class year book, highlighting the year’s events with pictures, videos and/or quotes.
After looking at and having a play with Movie Maker and how it could be used to improve my lesson, I decided to do a search on YouTube for a useful clip that could have been used in the lesson. Below is a clip I could have played to evoke emotion and engage interest.
After having a search through the bank of YouTube and different websites with videos, I have started a collection of useful videos for different topics. I think using these videos in the classroom can inform students, engage students, encourage students, and motivate students among other possible options and uses. It is important to note that there is so much available and some of it is useful while other parts are not very useful and/or reliable, therefore there is a requirement that teachers sift through and find the most appropriate resource.
Students could also search for and use the different clips in their presentations. This however would have to be closely monitored to ensure students were not searching or coming across inappropriate material. This could be monitored through the setup of a virtual classroom where the useful clips found by either the teacher or students (at home) could be embedded rather than going live.
Overall, I love the opportunities digital video presents in the classroom and I think there are benefits in both the teacher and students using it.
I would love to hear what you think.
Kelly.
After my conversation with Sarah about Movie Maker hiccups (which can be accessed here) I decided that when I reflected on how to use digital video and the benefits of this in the classroom, I would think back to a lesson that could have been improved and made more engaging. During the lesson, the only engaging feature was a poem which as a class we read and deconstructed. While this worked for some of the students, it did not engage all students.
To have a play with Movie Maker I decided to go back and design a video that incorporated images and the words of the poem. Below are screen shots taken while my movie was playing (with the text from the poem being displayed)and while I was creating my movie.
After having a play, I decided to look at the positives and negatives:
Positives
• Students can create their own movies as a way of publishing their work.
• Requires students to have knowledge of the concept and how to explain it.
• Motivates students.
• Helps students to become independent workers.
• Has a hands-on play, experimental aspect.
• Teaches technological and digital literacies. (Schuck & Kearney, 2004, p.38-42)
Negatives
• Can be a time consuming project.
• Students may be reluctant to create their own.
• Images and videos placed in student created movies may not follow copyright laws.
In the classroom, Movie Maker can be used by students to present their knowledge on a topic or concept and/or document the learning journey. In the classroom, teachers can also create and use Movie Maker to present knowledge to students. It can also be used to share stories, and or news with parents about what is going on in the classroom. At the end of the year Movie Maker could be used to publish a class year book, highlighting the year’s events with pictures, videos and/or quotes.
After looking at and having a play with Movie Maker and how it could be used to improve my lesson, I decided to do a search on YouTube for a useful clip that could have been used in the lesson. Below is a clip I could have played to evoke emotion and engage interest.
After having a search through the bank of YouTube and different websites with videos, I have started a collection of useful videos for different topics. I think using these videos in the classroom can inform students, engage students, encourage students, and motivate students among other possible options and uses. It is important to note that there is so much available and some of it is useful while other parts are not very useful and/or reliable, therefore there is a requirement that teachers sift through and find the most appropriate resource.
Students could also search for and use the different clips in their presentations. This however would have to be closely monitored to ensure students were not searching or coming across inappropriate material. This could be monitored through the setup of a virtual classroom where the useful clips found by either the teacher or students (at home) could be embedded rather than going live.
Overall, I love the opportunities digital video presents in the classroom and I think there are benefits in both the teacher and students using it.
I would love to hear what you think.
Kelly.
Sunday, August 8, 2010
Podcasts
Once again I was introduced to a tool that I had heard of, yet had no experience or knowledge about. Before blogging about podcasts I thought it would be best to get a definition so I knew exactly what a podcast was. According to an online podcast tutorial by Jason Van Orden (2008) podcasts are “’radio’-style talk and music shows to listen to on you iPod or other MP3 players every day, they allow listeners to listen to what they want, when they want and how they want… the word podcast is a play on the word broadcast combined with the word iPod.”
In learning more about Podcasts, I decided to do a search to see if there were podcasts that related to Antarctica and might be useful in my prac lessons. Upon conducting a search I found two podcasts from Todd Carmichael’s 2008 Antarctic Expedition available here.
I think podcasts could be useful in:
• Students hearing from experts on particular topics.
• Students creating their own as a means of publication or presentation.
• Following podcasts of interest.
Benefits of podcasts include the fact that they are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The major benefit being that they appeal to audio/visual learners. According to Cebeci and Tekdal (2006, p.49) “perhaps, one of the most important pedagogic characteristics offered by podcasting is learning through listening. For many people, listening may be more attractive and less tedious than reading.”
I look forward to learning more about podcasts in the future.
In learning more about Podcasts, I decided to do a search to see if there were podcasts that related to Antarctica and might be useful in my prac lessons. Upon conducting a search I found two podcasts from Todd Carmichael’s 2008 Antarctic Expedition available here.
I think podcasts could be useful in:
• Students hearing from experts on particular topics.
• Students creating their own as a means of publication or presentation.
• Following podcasts of interest.
Benefits of podcasts include the fact that they are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The major benefit being that they appeal to audio/visual learners. According to Cebeci and Tekdal (2006, p.49) “perhaps, one of the most important pedagogic characteristics offered by podcasting is learning through listening. For many people, listening may be more attractive and less tedious than reading.”
I look forward to learning more about podcasts in the future.
Images
In classrooms images can be used to:
Evoke emotion
Spark creative stories
And create confusion
In analysing the use of images in the classroom I have used a PMI.
Positives
• Images can spark interest, conversation and story writing.
• Images are worth a thousand words – one image can say more about a topic than words.
• Images can be edited, for example resized or cropped.
• Give students ideas without the teacher explicitly highlighting ideas.
• Creates learning opportunities to highlight the importance of checking the source.
• Creates learning opportunities to analyse copyright and legal sharing rights.
• “New technologies give teachers and students easy access to the means of production and manipulation of images in their classroom” (Fetherston, 2008, p. 17).
Negatives
• There are so many images available, sometimes difficult to find the right one.
• Students sometimes take photos without recognising the source.
• Some of the images are not realistic, after being edited to this point.
Interesting
• There are so many images.
• There are some really interesting images.
• No matter what the topic is, there always seems to be an image available.
• Images can be edited.
Fetherston (2008, p. 29) highlights that when images are used in the classroom they “are brought into the world of discourse and meanings are constructed from and through them”. Therefore it is important, in the classroom that teachers, teach students (“digital natives” who have ease at using and handling images) how to ‘see’, ‘look’ at and ‘read’ images (Fetherston, 2008, p.17).
Images retrieved from Flickr and Worth1000.com
Evoke emotion
Spark creative stories
And create confusion
In analysing the use of images in the classroom I have used a PMI.
Positives
• Images can spark interest, conversation and story writing.
• Images are worth a thousand words – one image can say more about a topic than words.
• Images can be edited, for example resized or cropped.
• Give students ideas without the teacher explicitly highlighting ideas.
• Creates learning opportunities to highlight the importance of checking the source.
• Creates learning opportunities to analyse copyright and legal sharing rights.
• “New technologies give teachers and students easy access to the means of production and manipulation of images in their classroom” (Fetherston, 2008, p. 17).
Negatives
• There are so many images available, sometimes difficult to find the right one.
• Students sometimes take photos without recognising the source.
• Some of the images are not realistic, after being edited to this point.
Interesting
• There are so many images.
• There are some really interesting images.
• No matter what the topic is, there always seems to be an image available.
• Images can be edited.
Fetherston (2008, p. 29) highlights that when images are used in the classroom they “are brought into the world of discourse and meanings are constructed from and through them”. Therefore it is important, in the classroom that teachers, teach students (“digital natives” who have ease at using and handling images) how to ‘see’, ‘look’ at and ‘read’ images (Fetherston, 2008, p.17).
Images retrieved from Flickr and Worth1000.com
Sunday, July 25, 2010
Skype
Hello followers,
I realise that Skype is not one of the digital tools within the weekly outline however when conducting research for my English group assignment I learnt more about a tool in which I did not feel confident in using but now feel is a great tool. According to Skype Limited (2010) “Skype is software that enables world’s conversations.” It is a program that enables businesses and individuals to have voice and video calls, send instant messages and share files. This software was founded in 2003 and can at peak times have up to 23 million users.
During the research for our English group assignment we also considered Skype’s educational value. From this I believe the major use for Skype in the classroom is using it as a tool to connect students with the world. For example Skype could be used to connect students in Australia with a sister school overseas. After realising the educational value of Skype I decided to go back and build my confidence in using the software. After having a play and chatting with family overseas I realised that Skype is not that hard to use and it is in fact a popular and effective communication tool.
So if you are looking for a tool to enable global communication, Skype is great.
Kelly.
I realise that Skype is not one of the digital tools within the weekly outline however when conducting research for my English group assignment I learnt more about a tool in which I did not feel confident in using but now feel is a great tool. According to Skype Limited (2010) “Skype is software that enables world’s conversations.” It is a program that enables businesses and individuals to have voice and video calls, send instant messages and share files. This software was founded in 2003 and can at peak times have up to 23 million users.
During the research for our English group assignment we also considered Skype’s educational value. From this I believe the major use for Skype in the classroom is using it as a tool to connect students with the world. For example Skype could be used to connect students in Australia with a sister school overseas. After realising the educational value of Skype I decided to go back and build my confidence in using the software. After having a play and chatting with family overseas I realised that Skype is not that hard to use and it is in fact a popular and effective communication tool.
So if you are looking for a tool to enable global communication, Skype is great.
Kelly.
RSS Aggregator
Hi,
The embedded “Plain English” YouTube clip below I think explains RSS aggregator and how to set it up quite well. I hope you find it useful.
I believe this is a very handy tool if wanting to remain up to date with all the happenings on your favourite sites, blogs and wikis. I setup my RSS reader through Google Reader and since setting it up have found it very useful. Instead of visiting ten different places I can go to one place to see what has changed or occurred on these sites.
I think in the classroom this can be a very valuable tool for teachers if following blogs and wikis of every student in the class.I think for students this tool can be useful in following sites that are of importance or relevance to them.
I recommend however that everyone have a RSS aggregator setup to allow easy website, blog and wiki following.
Kelly.
The embedded “Plain English” YouTube clip below I think explains RSS aggregator and how to set it up quite well. I hope you find it useful.
I believe this is a very handy tool if wanting to remain up to date with all the happenings on your favourite sites, blogs and wikis. I setup my RSS reader through Google Reader and since setting it up have found it very useful. Instead of visiting ten different places I can go to one place to see what has changed or occurred on these sites.
I think in the classroom this can be a very valuable tool for teachers if following blogs and wikis of every student in the class.I think for students this tool can be useful in following sites that are of importance or relevance to them.
I recommend however that everyone have a RSS aggregator setup to allow easy website, blog and wiki following.
Kelly.
Learning Management Systems (LMS)
Well what a shame. After reading and learning about Learning Management Systems (LMS) in the week three practical activity section I was very excited to get in and have a play. However due to a backlog I was unable to go any further than the initial sign up. Hopefully in the near future I will be able to experience this tool to evaluate its true value.
Kelly
Kelly
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