The use of technology in learning and education is known as E-Learning
and it is fast becoming the new way in classrooms. As we see more and more
technology integrate into Education it is important that it is not only used to
help engage today’s digital natives, but used as a means of communication
through which core knowledge and understanding of a subject can be gained. Although
I have not yet had the privilege to go to a Secondary school for placement, I
understand the importance of incorporating such tools into the classroom because I was not long a student myself. Having spent six short weeks looking
at digital tools and their importance in a classroom I would hope that I now have
the knowledge and skills to engage my students and not enrage them.This
will be through my careful selection of appropriate tools and my knowledge of
when and how to use them for the benefit of the students. Through my
understanding of e-learning pedagogy, TPACK, learning theories and working
legally safely and ethically, I have selected five technological tools that will
assist both my students and myself with our learning endeavours.
NOTE: Beneath my Prezi presentation I have included
links to various sites and pages that I have made reference to in my synopsis.
Feel free to browse!
Of course the use of ICT in the classroom does not stop at my five
selected tools, the possibilities are endless. What I know is that without the use of
ICT tools in a 21st century classroom, I will not have any luck in
engaging my students. I now have the opportunity to make a positive impact in
their lives and that was all because of my exposure to digital technology.
Hyperlinks:
Week 1 Blog reflection (Multiple Intelligence Wheel, Felder and Solomon, learning theory). Week 2 Blog reflection (digital pedagogy, TPACK, working legally, safely and ethically).
References: NetSafe Kids. (2003). Protecting Children from Pornography and Sexual Predators on the Internet. Retrieved from: http://www.nap.edu/netsafekids/
My final weekly blog reflection! Well, what can I say? When I look back to week 1 it is amazing to see how far I have come. I had never experienced blogging and now I am creating weekly reflections like I've been doing them for years! With week 6 quickly drawing to a close we looked at our final group of tools and wrapped everything up. It was a great week to tidy up loose ends and have some breathing space so we could start to focus on our reflective synopsis piece. Please comment on my final blog reflection below as it would be greatly appreciated!
Digital Technologies
This week we looked at mobile learning. When I first heard that we would be looking at this form of mobile technology I instantly thought mobile phones. However, I soon realised that there was more to it then that. We looked at iPods, iPads and mobile phones as tools that can be successfully incorporated into the classroom. As part of an engagement activity we also had the opportunity to play around with QR codes.
What do I think would be the best mobile tool to incorporate into a Secondary school classroom? It is hard to say as each have their own strengths and weaknesses. With tools such as these, it comes down to what the school can afford in their budget and whether students can gain access to them at a time that they require. If I were to choose, however, I believe using iPads would be of most benefit to students. I have found a great article that helped me understand more about mobile learning. It can be found by following this link.
Although I do not own an iPad or have had much experience in using them, I have heard a lot of positive feedback. Whilst searching for further information on using this as a tool in the classroom I came across a great site that lists a number of benefits. It is important to remember though that with any digital tool in the classroom, there will be a number of setbacks. In my opinion, I believe the major setbacks are:
It is an expensive device (purchase cost and then continually updating apps and software).
Difficulty in monitoring what students are doing and keeping them on task.
Unlike a conventional computer, you can't open more than one window at a time.
Can prove to be a distraction.
No USB port device.
There are so many great apps that can be downloaded onto an iPad that will assist with student learning. The link we were provided with in Moodle, Interesting Ways to Use iPads in the Classroom lists a number of educational apps that may be of benefit to students. Although I believe most of the choices we were provided with were for primary school students, I did note some that I thought would be useful to incorporate into my secondary classroom. I have outlined the app and how it could be used in my teaching areas below:
I do not own an iPad nor do I have access to one to be able to display examples of how to use the tools listed above. Many applications on an iPad, however, are similar to the ones you would find on an iPod or an iPhone so I have provided examples in the phones section of different ways they can be used in the classroom.
Another tool we were introduced to this week was the iPod. Although I can see a number of benefits by implementing this tool into the classroom, I believe that the possible negative implications far outweigh the positives. First and foremost, I would not allow personal iPod's to be used in the classroom as I would have no way of monitoring and tracking student progress. This means that the cost of a class set of iPods would have to come out of the school budget and it may prove to be quite expensive. Also, I would question how distracted students may become, resulting in them not completing set work or understanding the material that was provided. I am not saying, however, that there aren't any benefits when using iPods in the classroom. They can be a great tool to assist with learning and let's not forget they are cheaper than a computer or a laptop. As well as this they are portable and versatile and because most students are digital natives, they can easily pick up how to use them efficiently and effectively. Below is a video I found on YouTube that lists a number of ways iPods can be used in the classroom. My favourite ideas are:
Podcasting.
Creating flashcards.
Digital storytelling.
Pocket dictionary/ thesaurus.
Creating quizzes.
Interactive lessons.
iBook (used for iPods, iPads or iPhones).
I do not own an iPod nor do I have access to one to be able to display examples of the tools I could use in my classroom. However, it is very similar to an iPhone and the examples I have provided for the phone below can be used on an iPod as well.
The use of mobile phones in the classroom is no doubt one of the most commonly debated topics in a school setting. The question of how you would incorporate them into the classroom and why is what is on everyone's lips. In week 2 we looked at the use of mobile phones in the classroom and reflected on this using De Bono's 6 thinking hats. If you would like to see my opinion on the use of mobile phones, you can follow this link to the Wiki page (my responses are in blue). Although I do not believe that mobile phones should be used in the classroom, I would still encourage students to use their phones outside of the classroom for things such as homework and research. This will hopefully result in more productivity and drive from the students to want to succeed. I would suggest to my class to use their phones for things such as:
Creating flashcards for revision.
Using it as a pocket dictionary.
Calendar (for assessment dates and other school dates).
QR Code reader (I have provided more details in the QR Code Reader section of my blog).
Blogging (as part of an assessment piece).
Podcasting.
iBooks (used for either iPods, iPhones or iPads).
If students have access to an iPhone, iPad or an iPod I believe that downloading the app called iBook will be of massive benefit to them. I would be able to email students pdf files which could then be transferred to an iBook meaning they can access it offline at any time of the day. I would find this particularly useful if I were teaching in a school that had poor internet access or if I had students in my class who studied via Distance Education. It is simple and easy to convert a file so I have included a screen shot below of the steps I took to achieve this.
Download the app through the app store.
Open an email that contains a pdf file (I have used the technical manual pdf files that were provided in Moodle).
Open the pdf file and then click the small arrow in the top right hand corner.
Select 'Open in iBooks'.
Your pdf files will be stored in your iBooks bookshelf for easy access at a later date.
(To assist me with creating the one photo I used a website called fotor)
I still remember those High School diaries where we had to put all of our assessment and monitoring dates. Although I did put them in there, my diary stayed hidden in the bottom of my bag and I never used it to remind myself of when things were due. I guarantee that is still what students do to this day! In order to overcome this we need to use something that students see every day, their phones. Simply by putting assessment and monitoring dates in their phone and creating reminders days before assessment is due, they will have no excuse to say 'I forgot or you didn't tell me it was due'. I have inserted a screen shot of my own phones calendar list to the right.
As well as a phone being used for storing information, there are also a lot of apps that can create higher order thinking in students. For example, I downloaded an app called Know Your Body (a screenshot can be seen to the left). It is a place where I can quiz myself on the different systems of the human body which may prove to be handy for when I teach Physical Education. It is a fun alternative to a simple test paper, which leads me to believe that students are more likely to participate in an activity such as this.
QR Codes are a great way to increase interactivity in the classroom and the best thing about this is that there is an app not only on iPhones now, but on iPads as well. The information encoded can be anything from text to a URL or a website. QR Codes- What are they and how can I use them in my classroom is a fantastic website that provides examples of different ways I can implement this tool into my classroom. I have outlined options that are of particular interest to me below:
Take students to websites without the need to type in a URL.
Provide additional information via text, video and audio.
Attach QR Codes to a classroom calendar to highlight important information about upcoming events, assessments or reminders.
I can definitely see myself using this tool in both my Physical Education classes as well as my Business classes as I can see how it would achieve higher order thinking (that is it caters for numerous learning styles).
I have created my own QR code through KAYWA that takes you directly to my Weebly website. If you have the app on your iPad or iPhone you can test it out by scanning my barcode to the right. If you do not have access to a scanner I have inserted a screen shot below of what the process looks like.
Scan the QR Code.
It will then take you to a page where you can click on the URL.
This will take you directly to my Weebly home page.
(To assist me with creating the one photo I used a website called fotor)
Tutorial Information
Transcript: This week in our tutorial we looked at 4 things: web conferencing, mobile technologies, what schools are identifying as issues with digital technology and how to compose our reflective synopsis.
I hope everyone had a great week. Please comment on my blog and keep an eye out for my reflective synopsis next week.
Well hasn't this week been an interesting week for me! I have had so many hiccups that I wasn't sure I would get a blog post up at all! They say that technology is a fantastic tool to use in the classroom. I would say technology is a fantastic tool to use in the classroom... when it wants to work! When I read through the material in Moodle this week I was so excited to see that we were going to be using Glogster. If I had of known how much trouble it was going to give me, I doubt I would have been as keen.
Transcript: This week we looked at more digital tools that we can incorporate into our classrooms. The main tools that we focused on were Prezi, Glogster and PowerPoint. As well as this we were provided with a number of optional tools we could look at. I focused on Zooburst, MindMap and Scribble Maps.This weeks blog post has been made more interactive for you as readers so hopefully it is more engaging.
Digital Technologies 3
This week we examined a set of tools that were capable of assisting us in presenting information in a fun, interactive and exciting way. After looking at all three tools, I believe that as a Secondary teacher I would use PowePoint more, however, I also believe that Prezi will be a tool that will come in extremely handy for me.
Prezi is a zooming presentation tool. It allows you to first look at the big picture and then zoom in on the finer detail as you wish. Unlike a PowerPoint presentation, Prezi is not linear which means that students can flick from image to image in an order that makes sense to them. I can see a number of ways that I would incorporate this tool into my classroom. Instead of making students create a PowerPoint presentation for their assessment, they can use Prezi. Business and Physical Education are my teaching areas so I can see a tool such as this being useful for definitions and presenting 'boring' information in a fun and interactive way. Students may also find using a tool such as this beneficial for:
Zooming in to see finer details of a picture.
Create a moving and interactive Venn Diagram.
Creating timelines (reflect on class lessons during revision).
Mind Mapping tool.
Create tools such as Debono's thinking hats to help achieve higher order thinking.
Below is a PMI I have created with regards to using Prezi in the classroom.
I have also created my very own presentation this week on Prezi and you can check it out below. It consists of basic information about the three digital tools that we were introduced to this week. To move to each different section of the presentation, simply press the arrows at the bottom of the screen.
Glogster was the second tool that I looked at this week. This site allowed me to create a free and interactive poster. Setting up my own 'Glog' space was a lot harder than I had first anticipated as I failed to receive any emails saying that my account had been activated. Although this was a problem I had experienced, it does not deter me from using it in my own classroom. If I were to integrate this tool into my classroom I would use Glogster.edu instead of Glogster.com. This simply means that instead of students creating their own individual accounts and experiencing the same problems I encountered, they would all have a Glog space under my account. This will not only eliminate any problems with signing in, but it also ensures that I can monitor what each student is posting. A Glog is so versatile that I could use it in a number of ways. I found a great site, 40+ Ways to Innovative Teaching using Glogster EDU that provides some great examples of how to use this tool in my teaching. Although this site does not have a lot of examples of how it can be used in a Secondary school setting, there are still a number of suggestions that I would look at incorporating. These are:
Using it to get to know the students.
Classroom information and assessment due dates.
Assignments.
A place to store group research/ information.
Health and fitness demonstrations/ activities (for Physical Education).
Below is a PMI I have created which entails my opinions on this tool.
After I had successfully created an account, I inserted a blank page and built my own space full of pictures, text and videos.
The final tool that we explored this week was PowerPoint. I have already had experience with this tool, but it was good to refresh my memory on its capabilities. It supports the embedding of texts, audio, video, images and animation. Although most of the time PowerPoint is used to assist with oral presentations it can also be used to create activities for students. For example, I have created this Quiz
through the use of action buttons. Follow the link and have a go at it. Let me know what you think by commenting at the end of my blog. In our Moodle readings this week we were provided with a link that shows us how to create a virtual museum using PowerPoint. Although I did not make my own virtual museum, the site has a number of templates to choose from. I love this idea and I will be sure to include it in my teaching. Creating a virtual museum would also be a great way for students to display competency with technology as well as encourage higher order thinking. I would also consider using PowerPoint for:
Creating drag and drop activities.
Displaying diagrams and charts.
Assisting with revision for exams (flashcards).
Role Playing games (for Business).
I have also created a PMI on the ease of using of PowerPoint in learning. This can be seen below.
I would like to know your personal opinions on these three tools. I have set up a corkboard where you can state what tool you would prefer to teach with. I look forward to reading what you have to say.
Digital Technologies 4
This week we also had the opportunity to investigate some optional tools. From the list that we were provided with I explored Zooburst, Scribble Maps and MindMaps. Out of these three tools I don't believe that I will use Zooburst. I would not use Zooburst simply because I am teaching Secondary students and I believe they would benefit from more advanced ICT tools. I could possibly see myself using Scribble Maps in both Physcial Education and Business for assignment work (i.e. for International business or for locating recreational facilities). I would encourage students to use MindMaps when planning assignment work or if they are unsure and need clarity on class work. An example of each tool has been provided below:
MINDMAPS
I created this MindMap in week 2 when we discussed Debono's 6 thinking hats. It was created using the program iMindMap 6 and the link to this site can be found above.
ZOOBURST
I developed this pop-up book with the intention of showing you how simple it is to create one. I have made my pop-up book password protected. The default password to access this book is fowl16.
SCRIBBLE MAPS
This is a Scribble Map of the town of Thangool and its surrounds. You can insert your own images, description and bullets and customize it to your liking.
Tutorial Information
This week in our tutorial we covered a number of things. After receiving feedback on last week's blog reflection we looked at the Week 5 tools. Once we had explored these tools in depth we then took a look at what our final piece of assessment would entail. The tutorial this week was incredibly helpful for me as I believe it put me back on the right track and helped clarify a number of things for our final piece of assessment.
Please help me along by commenting on my blog. I would love to hear your feedback. Have a great mid-term break!
The use of technology in learning and education is known as E-Learning
and it is fast becoming the new way in classrooms. As we see more and more
technology integrate into Education it is important that it is not only used to
help engage today’s digital natives, but used as a means of communication
through which core knowledge and understanding of a subject can be gained. Although
I have not yet had the privilege to go to a Secondary school for placement, I
understand the importance of incorporating such tools into the classroom because I was not long a student myself. Having spent six short weeks looking
at digital tools and their importance in a classroom I would hope that I now have
the knowledge and skills to engage my students and not enrage them. This
will be through my careful selection of appropriate tools and my knowledge of
when and how to use them for the benefit of the students. Through my
understanding of e-learning pedagogy, TPACK, learning theories and working
legally safely and ethically, I have selected five technological tools that will
assist both my students and myself with our learning endeavours. 
Of course the use of ICT in the classroom does not stop at my five
selected tools, the possibilities are endless. What I know is that without the use of
ICT tools in a 21st century classroom, I will not have any luck in
engaging my students. I now have the opportunity to make a positive impact in
their lives and that was all because of my exposure to digital technology.
Week 3 Blog reflection (Digital tool 1).
