Blog Synopsis | Jessica Maree Andrews | EDED 20491 | GDLT

The following is a reflective synopsis of my learning within my ICT's for learning course here at Central Queensland University.  It has taken approximately six weeks to  develop new skills using simple educating tools that are designed to enhance student's learning. Throughout the six weeks, I have developed my learning in using new tools that will enable me (as a future teacher)  to utilise, to enhance and educate students in this new technological era. Before beginning this course, I was already a frequent user of technology, but this course has taken me through a new journey in discovery and skill building.

According to Fasso (2013) Catering for each individual is an ongoing challenge for teachers.
In the first week of my learning I discovered more about 'learning styles'. Taking the Learning styles test  helped me to understand that not everybody can learn the same way. Every student learns differently which becomes important for me as the teacher to ensure that I am teaching to cater for all of the different learning styles.

In week one I learnt just how much technology was being used in classrooms. It shocked me to think that children are no longer sitting at a desk reading the blackboard, all day, they are actually directing their focus into technology. Klopfer (2009) stated that technologies are demonstrating how they impact the way we think, learn, and interact. After reading this resource it became clear to me that technology can incorporate auditory and visual and interactive activities which can help enhance a students learning experience. Evidence shows that technology is now shaping the way in which people communicate, collaborate, think and learn. As a future teacher, I need to learn about technology more to be able to 'communicate' with my learners.

There were some very important information introduced to me in weeks two and three.  Over these two weeks I was introduced to activities that focus on web 2.0 tools . 2.0 Web tools, are web spaces (Wiki's, websites and blogs) that allow users to edit, create and upload Fasso, (2013).  These sites are a great learning tool for students in the classroom because it allows them to be creative, to learn from others, express opinions and to upload media that perhaps relates to what it is that they are learning. I have decided to focus on the use of wiki's because it can be a tool in which students can come together and be interactive on. Out of the three tools, a wiki is the only tool in which can be edited by users, most often, this tool can be used incorrectly because it opens the doors to cyber bullying and inappropriate uploading. With this, the tool needs to be monitored regularly by teachers to ensure that this issue does not occur. The tool requires very little time for explaining how to use it. It is simple to use and it also can be accessed at any time or place. A wiki is a great tool for social interaction and collaboration  with other students from different schools which is an important part of learning.
Whilst I was reading up on Wiki's I also was required to be part of a wiki. This week we were encouraged to respond to a question on the wiki using a theory known as De Bono's six thinking hats. This theory encourages students to work in a group or work individually  and it scaffolds a way to examine a range of perspectives on an issue Fasso (2013). You can read about my journey in Week 2  of my blog.

 The next following weeks, I was introduced to Group 2 tools. Group 2 tools  can consist of images, video and audio tools.  I enjoyed using all of these tools but i specifically enjoyed using the video tool. Using video's can enable a student to be creative and feel as if though they have an opportunity to express themselves. A student using a video needs to not only think about the learning intention of the video but they also need to create music, sound and also the images they wish to include in the video. The use of videos can also help enhance a student's listening skills, communication skills and can also test their interaction skills.

I have previously been a user of Group 2 tools and I believe it has enhanced my communications skills. Group 2 tools not only helps me but it also gives students a chance to express their own learning via pictures and videos. I will be using these group 2 tools in my drama classes and also my English classes in the future because this tool is essential in order to record reading activities, drama assessments and also evaluating stories in primary school English or religious education studies. I will utilize the use of videos in religious education studies to record stories books based on the life of Jesus. Students can then cut and paste their own pictures of their faces onto the story book characters (Google images). The students can then take turns to record their voices reading the story out loud and add that onto the video. The video will then present a story with students voices and students pictures. This is then presented as a classroom interaction and communication activity that they have created working together with the learning intention being:

- articulation whist reading
- Working together
- communicating a story
- Using technology to create a video version of the storybook
- knowing what they need to be doing (staying on task)
- understanding the story ( The life of Jesus)
- Knowing how to use the tool and what it can create
I have created a video to present my communication skills and learning. You can find my video under  Week 5 - Digital Video

Group 3 tools were the final set of tools presented in my learning. Week 5 I was re-introduced to PowerPoint's and then introduced to Glogster and Prezi. As part of week 5's learning, I was asked to create a Prezi and a glogster. I have been a frequent user of PowerPoint presentations and I find that this tool is the most easiest to use. PowerPoint's do not need internet connection to create, nor does it require a huge range of ICT skills to operate it. PowerPoint is useful for students or teachers wanting to present instructions or present assessment analysis. According to Bear (2013) The purpose of a PowerPoint is to present information.
PowerPoint's can be useful in assisting students in communicating with peers and with teachers. In My blog I have described more about the use of PowerPoint's in my classroom. You can find it on Week 5  of my blog  

Glogster and Prezi I found were much more complex to operate. These tools however, provide an opportunity for students to become more creative with their projects. Glogster has provides opportunities for students to upload images, videos and text all on the same page. I found it to be more engaging and exciting for children than what a PowerPoint does. A prezi is a great tool to use on a projector to show students examples or to present a speech cloud for students to collaborate and work together to fill out.
Please look at my blog- week 5 and you can find out more about my thoughts on these tools.

For the final group of tools which consist of google maps, google earth, Adobe flash and online mapping. I decided to elaborate more on google earth because I found this activity to be more engaging for students than observing a simple paper map or a map on a computer.
Students using Google maps/earth can zoom in on places all around the world. Students can then zoom right in to have a look at actual pictures of streets and houses. I discovered this activity to be great if students were sharing where the live or where their family members live. You can read more about my thoughts on Google maps on my Blog - week 5

When asking students to participate on technology or ICT tools it is important to ensure that students are using the internet legally and safely. According to Ellison (2001) schools will often use web pages that are protected by copyright. But it is most important as the teacher to ensure that you are educating your students on using the internet safely. It is vital to explain to the students that

- They are not illegally downloading videos or movies off school computers but also be warning them that it is also illegal to download movies off their own computers at home

- The students are not to upload images of themselves on public forums because they may be at risk of letting 'strangers' view their pictures and they may also be at risk of identity theft and harassment

-  encourage students to only post their first names and only upload group photographs rather than individual pictures Queensland government (2002) (parental consent may be needed)

It is also important for schools to also ensure that students are using the internet correctly. teachers need to be

-  Aware of any unlawful discrimination, harassment and cyber bullying that is occurring

- Students are accessing only what they have been asked to access (monitoring their screen regularly)

 

REFRENCES|

 

Klopfer, E., Osterweil, S., Groff, J., & Haas, J. (2009). Using technology of today, In the classroom today. The instructional power of digital games, networking, stimulations: How Teachers can leverage them. Retrieved from: http://education.mit.edu/papers/GamesSimsSocNets_EdArcade.pdf 

Bear, J., H. (2013). Before you create a powerPoint presentation. Match design to purpose. retrieved from: http://desktoppub.about.com/od/microsoft/bb/powerpointrules.htm

Minter, E., (2001). Using the internet legally. Guidelines for schools, TAFES and sytem authorities: In developing internet policies. Retrieved from: http://www.cesa.catholic.edu.au/media/files/1329.pdf

Fasso,W., (2012). Engagement activities: week 2 Retrieved from CQUniversity e-courses, EDED20491 ICT's for Learning Design, http://moodle.cqu.edu.au/course/view.php?name=EDED20491_2131

WEEK FIVE

A basic PowerPoint for learning| Reflection 

I have been using powerPoints to present my work for many years. PowerPoints are a great way to summarize work and to present images and videos to a classroom of students.
Powerpoints are very simple to use and you can embed pictures, videos, music, colour and shapes.
With my own experience, providing the teacher spoke as well as presented the powerPoint, it gave me two ways of receiving the information:
- Visual |
- Aural
I would use PowerPoint to present statistics in a SOSE class or to present instructions to an activity in a technology class. Classroom use of PowerPoint  presents some great ideas about using powerPoints in a classroom as a teacher as well as ideas for getting students to present their work via PowerPoint.

Creating a Prezi | Reflection | Selection on Group 3 Tool

I loved the idea of using a Prezi. I found the tool to be so engaging and easy to use (after I spent a little while working it all out). A Prezi will defiantly be used in my classroom! especially for classes that I require my students to brainstorm as a group. On the top of my page on the right hand side I have placed my Prezi that I had created. My prezi is a simple brainstorm activity that I had written up in an acting class. My prezi is a brainstorm based on the activity of 'Improvisation'. I would use this tool in my acting classes and ask my students to brainstorm what is required when we 'improvise'.
I prefer using a Prezi over a PowerPoint presentation because I found it to be more engaging and fun to create. Like most tools, there are always positives and negatives of using such a complex tool in a classroom. I have created a SWAT analysis below to show the Pro's and Con's of using a Prezi in a classroom.

Weaknesses            -   Need’s internet connection           - ICT skills are needed to use this tool            - To use in a classroom a projector may be needed to connect it to a big screen for students to see it better -      - Does require a payment if the tool wants to be used permanently

Opportunities           -             - Kids can be involved in writing up their own ideas in the flow charts for other students to see and    for the teacher to oversee.  -      - Its a positive way of getting students to contribute ideas          - Does the setting out for the users (no drawing lines, creating boxes, manually copy and pasting)

Threats            - Needs adult supervision unless you spend time teaching students how to use the tool. otherwise this is a great tool to use for classroom discussions instead of independent work - Takes a little bit to working out how to use the site and all of its features    -

Strengths            - Kids can access this site at home and use it! It can then be saved onto your computers.            - Kids can transport it to school using a USB disk  - It is more appealing to the students  -

I have selected a Prezi as the tool I would use most in a classroom and have more results. I decided on a prezi based on my own experience in using this engaging tool. I believe it was more creative and had a larger variety of features to use than what a simple PowerPoint has. The only downfall to using this tool I believe is that It does require an internet connection if you want to create your work online, otherwise you can write it all up, create it, and then save it to your USB stick and access it through your computer. A Prezi is a useful learning tool to have in a classroom of students because it has a zoom in and out feature which is helpful for younger students to see more clearly and it also has the layouts all set out for you, you only have to choose one and then write on it! So simple!

Creating a Glogster| Reflection 

Kids! Lets Warm-up for Drama!


Today, for the first time I have created a Glogster. I had heaps of fun creating my glogster for children to access. I believe that my glogster (and any created Glogster) has heaps of learning benefits! a Glogster can be used in any class to present information, questions and even display pictures of videos.
I have created a Glogster for a drama class of preps- year three's. In my Glogster I have pre drama warm up activities for children before they start their class. This glogser has a learning benefit because it teaches children to stay fit and healthy while ensuring that warming up prevents injury. I think that my created glogster can be used in a P.E class and also a dance class. Warming up children before they learn is a great way to wake them up and get their little minds active and working while keeping their bodies fit and healthy.
This tool was simple to use and was very easy to work. There are features on the tool that enables you to upload anything that will be of an advantage to a child's learning. I would defiantly be using Glogster in my classroom, especially in a history lesson or a science lesson where students can upload pictures or videos that they found interesting about a topic. The only disadvantage of this tool is that children need to have the ICT skills to use it, otherwise time needs to be set aside for the teacher to educate the students how to use this tool.

Group 4| Technologies| Assessment 2 

Types of open-ended tools include; 
- adobe flash

- Google maps

- Online concept mapping 

I decided to research more about Google maps because I am most familiar with this internet tool. I began thinking about how Google maps would benefit a students learning. I decided to make a list of all the activities that students can do using Google maps.

- Directions- A student can pick a place in their city and then another student can pick another place. The map will then show the directions. The students can then see how the map can show street names and also roads that are needed to be followed in order to get to a particular destination

- Students can show other students where they live

- Students can navigate their way around their city/town. 

The following link has a really good set out of teaching google maps to students.
take a look! freeteach4teachers

WEEK FOUR

Week four | Resizing and uploading digital photos

This weeks task was very difficult for me because I was using an old laptop which did not want to support the download of mobaphoto. After searching the web like crazy I ended up finding a site which was only a temporary download (a trial) in which you get the first month free. After the month if you were satisfied with the software you can buy it online. I found it to be a great site and was very easy to use which can be great for those people who are not very good with technology.
You can simply access this site by clicking here 
What I found to be frustrating for me with this task was that I could not work out as to why my old laptop was not supporting the software of Mobaphoto. This issue needs to be addressed if using the site in a classroom because not every student is going to have new technology. It is in the best interest of the teacher to ensure that they are teaching on a site that can be downloaded on every brand and model of computer.
Below is a resized picture that I took two years ago as the sun was setting on an Island off Rome, Italy. It is a beautiful picture and is considered to be one of my favourites.

Rome, Italy December 2011.

picture Taken by: Jessica Andrews, 2011

Digital audio recordings | reflection

When I first read the task to download audacity I was very thrilled to have realised that audacity was already on my computer. I have been the proud user of this programme for several years and I have never experienced a problem with it yet. I often used this programme to record my assessment pieces in my drama lessons in my undergraduate degree in theatre. This site enables you to record your voice and then if you make a mistake you able to edit it very easily. Audacity never came with an instruction manual but I was able to figure out how to use it so simply. This is a great tool to use in the classroom, especially for english and drama lessons. I would use this tool in a drama or english lesson because it teaches students to record their own voice and then listen back to it to see how they sound. This is a great task for students learning how to;

- Read plays and then speak them through performance

-Articulate their speech
-communication through audio (radio plays, audio storytelling)

As you can see on the top of my page on the right hand side is a voki that I have created. This is my first time creating a voki and I loved the experience. A Voki is a fun and exciting way to communicate with students on a webpage or a blog. It enabled me to record my own voice and then intergrate it into the charatcer that I was able to create. I recorded my voice by speaking into my laptop microphone but it also gave me the opportunity to use my mobile phone aswel.

Podcasting| Reflection

Poscasting is a crazy and interesting way to learn. I  have to admit, I had a bit of trouble understanding exactly what a podcast can do and so I researched this term and found a great site to help me understand What is Podcasting?  (Waithe, 2013).   Despite having itunes for years I have to admit, I have never accessed podcasts before, until now i never really KNEW itunes did podcasting! I am amazed at how interesting this way of learning is. Podomatic   is a great podcasting tool and very simple to use. I spent a while searching this site for great podcast that would be suitable to use in a classroom of students. I ended up finding a useful podcast for any drama teachers out there wanting to give their students inspiration. The Actors training   podcast I found was very detailed and I would not suggest a classroom of primary school students to listen to this, but more high school students heading out into this profession.
I would defiantly be considering podcasting as a way of engaging learners. There are so many ways students can use podcasting! these are just a couple of what I came up with.
- Audio storytelling
- engaging in History lessons (family timeline) sharing their stories

Video recordings| Reflection

 videos are a great way to communicate. There are many reason's many people all over the world create video's and then upload them to a site, such as YouTube  these reasons can include;
-Entertainment
- Educational purposes
- personal purposes
Whatever the reason may be, we are all guilty of accessing this site and watching the vars variety of videos that can either entertain us or educate us.
Tonight I decided to put my movie making skills to the test and to create a video of pictures with music in the background. I was tossing up a few ideas as to what I can base my video about and I finally settled on a issue that we as future teachers, hope to never witness. It is the issue of Child abuse. I created this video by using movie maker which was already installed onto my Sony laptop. I decided to search the web for pictures and statistics of child abuse and I then incorporated them into the movie. I used a song in the background to help capture the attention of the viewers.

Creator:  Andrews (2013)

 references: Australian Bureau of Statistics (2003)

When i created this video I wanted it to fall into the category of 'education'. I wanted to educate my viewers on child abuse. I wanted my viewers to feel 'moved' by the pictures and by the music and finally, I wanted my viewers to walk away knowing that the message has been communicated effectively.
Video's are a great way in which students can communicate their learning. In my undergraduate degree, I was asked to film myself reading a monologue. My monologue had to demonstrate my learning by showing that I could communicate emotion by only using facial expressions. This assessment was then filmed, downloaded onto my computer and then made into a movie. This assessment was then shown to the rest of my peers for evaluation and marking. Showing your peers a video that was created by yourself is a great way to show off skills and also to entertain audience members. The task can be evaluated by your peers by commenting on what worked well and what didn't work so well in regards to the monologue.
Students who are assessed through oral presentation can use videos to present, reference and show evidence of their work. This is great for science students who have recorded their experiments and are now discussing their results and findings.
When I completed school, the use of videos were often hard to access. The school did not have the money to supply enough cameras for students and the movie making  software on the school computers were often blocked or they required passwords and money to access.
These days, movie making software is automatically supplied onto laptops. Laptops are becoming more sufficient and reliable. Simple cameras are cheap to purchase and every computer has a webcam installed. This makes it more easier for students to access and to utilize videos as a way to present their learning.