Week 5 Reflection

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!

Hannah  

 

 

References:

Presenter Media [animation]. (2009). Retrieved from http://www.presentermedia.com/index.php?id=120&target=category&start=20&maincat=animsp#listing_of_items

Fasso, W. (2013). Learning Material. Retrieved from CQUniversity FAHE11001 Moodle page, http://moodle.cqu.edu.au/mod/page/view.php?id=145988

Hirche, C [animation]. Retrieved from http://www.fodey.com/generators/newspaper/snippet.asp  

CyberWise1. (2011 Aug 8). Why Use Glogster? [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UDvDC6bWrxk

Glogster EDU Team. (2013). 40+ Ways to Innovative Teaching Using Glogster EDU, August 1. Retrieved from http://blog.edu.glogster.com/2013/05/13/40_ways_to_innovative_teaching_using_glogster_edu/ 

Keeler, C G. (n.d.). What is an Educational Virtual Museum?, July 26. Retrieved from http://christykeeler.com/EducationalVirtualMuseums.html