"Digital kids need learning to be relevant, meaningful and applicable now." (Marc Antonio Torres, 2009)
Technology is rapidly growing and beginning to take over the world, with the majority of children and teenagers being engaged in or exposed to various different technologies in their day-to-day life. More and more children are incorporating online chat rooms, YouTube, social networking sites and so many other technological tools into their daily routines and no longer engaging at school as they find it irrelevant. Current pedagogy practises are becoming out-dated as society is rapidly changing, the traditional teaching methods are no longer engaging or relating to students and therefore they are uninterested and not paying attention. Students academic standards are slowly slipping away and I have asked myself, how can we engage students so that school becomes interesting to them and they are more willing to learn. By updating pedagogy practises (Kearsley & Shneiderman, 1999).
"As technology increasingly becomes the medium for communication and information sharing, students need to be capable of harnessing technology to perform skills, such as communicating effectively with presentation software or juggling personal responsibilities with a personal digital assistant" (Sharing Technology, 2009).
I say we need to relate to students by considering their interests and the changes in society, as Sharing Technology has become aware of. If more technologies and tools were incorporated into everyday learning, the children would find school more interesting and relevant to
their futures and actually want to learn, which has potential to increase student participation and academics.
A great learning tool for students that can help engage them in learning, is Voki; a website where uses create avatars and instruct them on what to say. I could incorporate this into teaching by assinging each student a research topic, instructing them to use technology to research their topic. Students could then create an avatar to sum up their findings before presenting it to the class and answering questions. Students would have fun creating the avatar and listening to their creation talk. Being able to create an avatar after researching would also provide the students with a fun goal to work towards, and the students would not see this as purely educational but fun. I trialed this activity with a student and who had fun, not even realising this was educational. Students are intreiged by colour, avatars/characters and technology so this activity really relates to them; the avatar is just like a few online games children play such as 'Club Penguin', an avatar based social networking site. Students are using creativity, ITC, research and oral speaking skills therefore I feel this would be a great way to engage students in a positive learning experience.
After more experimentation and research of a variety of technological tools, I have decided the next technology that I would integrate into teaching is podcasts; I find them useful as not only can teachers view other podcasts, but they can create their own for their students. I would use podacsts as a homework task; by sending children home to watch podcast and answer questions, they are more likely to engage than they would in just reading an article with questions. Podcasts are more appealing, attention-grabbing and full of colour. They are also not something students associate with education as they use itunes/podcasts as a recreational activity. This same activity could be used with YouTube, which could also be used for research assignments, investigations and to begin lessons and introduce new topics.
Much to my surprise, I have found email a valuable classroom tool. Throughout this course I have communicated over email with lecturers, peers, admin, etc. and found it very valuable. Students need to learn how to use this valuable tool for their futures. I have never looked at email as an educational resouce until now, when I have realised its importance. Students could email teachers asking for help with homework, email peers regarding group assignments, etc; there are so many potentials.
Forums could also be introduced to students, one set up specifically for each class and used for classmates to post homework questions. Some students may not complete homework because they are too embarrassed/shy to ask for help; if there was a forum, students would be more confident in asking for help over the Internet and get a confidence boost when they're able to answer another's questions. It would also improve students communication, ITC, grammer, punctuation, spelling and typing skills in the process of engaging them; engaging students being very important in the 21st century. (Prensky, 2006)
As a teacher I'd also use TeacherTube as there are some really great ideas of learning activities to be found. Teachers are under constant pressure from students to create fun, engaging learning activities and sometimes strained for ideas so this website is ideal. There are numerous categories for a range of year levels, it would be impossible not to find some inspiration. Viewers can also get in contact with the videos creator which could have interesting opportunities to share teaching experiences, concepts and ideas.
Although there's many other tools I'd love to use in the classroom, I will finish with just discussing music from itunes as if I named all the other tools I'd be here forever! Music could be introduced as an art activity where I'd give students coloured crayons and paper, play music and ask students to draw what they feel. Throughout this I would change songs to different genres, tempos and speeds while observing the students reactions; not only would this be fun and creative, but it would expose students to different musical genres which they could learn about afterwards. This would really relate to students as many love music, spending much free time on itunes downloading fresh songs and YouTube watching new music videos. This would really relate to students and engage them, making them focused and willing to participate. (Prensky, 2006)
Overall, I must say my e-learning journey has been a positive learning experience and really opened my eyes to the world of e-learning in the classroom. Prior to this journey, I was completely unaware that e-learning is so critical to classroom environments and children's learning. I am now aware that in order to engage students we need to be aware that technology plays a critical role in students lives, their future lives and the workforce. After this study I can now see how e-learning needs to be applied in classrooms, as shown by the activities I have suggested. Current/future pedagogy professionals need to do everything we can to engage our young digital natives (Green, Hannon, 2007). After investigating and experimenting with many different technologies, my experience and knowledge of e-learning and its incorporation into pedagogy practises has really progressed, as I hope it continues to along this learning journey that i have embarked upon.
REFERENCES
Anderson, Carl, Why We Need Technology in Education, 2007, Accessed August 21 2009, http:www.youtube.com/watch?v+_VnHdqpE4RM&feature=related
Kearsley, G & Shneiderman, B. (1999) Engagement Theory: A framwork for technology-based teaching and learning. Retreived 16 August 2009, http://home.sprynet.com/~gkearsley/engage.htm
L. Tyler, ITC Literacy: Equipping Students to Succeed in an Information-Rich Technology based Society University of South Carolina, Accessed 16 August 2009, Copyright 2009, http://www.sc.edu/fye/resources/assesment/essays/Tyler-11.3.05.html
Prensky. M (2006), Engage me or Enrage me, Educause, Accessed 18 August 2009
Green, H., Hannon, C., (2007) Their Space: Education for Digital Generation, Accessed August 9 2009, http://www.demos.co.uk/files/Their%20space%20-%20web.pdf
Sharing Technology (2009), Using YouTube in the Classroom, Accessed 15 August 2009, http://teacherlingo.com/blogs/sharingtechnology/archeive/2008/02/23/using-youtube-on-the-classroom.aspx
Torres, Antonio, Digital Kids, 2009, Accessed August 21 2009, http://homepage.mac.com/torres
Saturday, August 22, 2009
Thursday, August 20, 2009
More on Powerpoint; Student Activity Idea
After much progression along my e-learning journey, I have also had some fresh ideas about a powerpoint activity for older primary school students.
I would love to teach students how to create custom animation, use hyperlinks and action buttons as well as images from the Internet and clip art to teach them to create their own, interactive powerpoint.
As an example, if the class is learning about Space I would give them each a topic. Some topics may include;
* The moon
* The planets
* Space Shuttles
* Space food/equipment
Children could then research the topic and create an interactive quiz about the topic for their fellow students to play around with. This would be fun and exciting, and I'm sure the children would be eager to share their 'games' with their friends and peers.
For an example of an interactive game, see my previous blog about Powerpoint. I have created a game called the Counting Game, which is one that students could use as a basis for their game.
Carissa
I would love to teach students how to create custom animation, use hyperlinks and action buttons as well as images from the Internet and clip art to teach them to create their own, interactive powerpoint.
As an example, if the class is learning about Space I would give them each a topic. Some topics may include;
* The moon
* The planets
* Space Shuttles
* Space food/equipment
Children could then research the topic and create an interactive quiz about the topic for their fellow students to play around with. This would be fun and exciting, and I'm sure the children would be eager to share their 'games' with their friends and peers.
For an example of an interactive game, see my previous blog about Powerpoint. I have created a game called the Counting Game, which is one that students could use as a basis for their game.
Carissa
Student Activity Idea for Flickr
Okay, I know that I have already discussed Flickr on this blog, however after more progress on my e-learning journey I have had some fresh ideas that I would like to share. To refresh your memory, Flickr is a website that allows people to upload photos and share them with the world.
I would love to create an activity for students where they can take a picture, upload it and share it with their peers. However, I would not allow students to just bring a picture from home; where do they learn anything in that task? They don't, so instead (if possible) the students would go on a supervised walk around the school and take a picture. Students would then learn how to upload their picture, and possibly edit it on Picnik as this would be fun and engaging for the children (see previous blog's for more on Picnik). I would encourage students to post their picture on a private class account and write a brief explanation of why they chose these particular images, where they took it and how. If they edited it on Picnik they could also talk about this too. This would be an effective way for students to reflect upon their learning experience with Flickr, Picnik, taking photos, etc.
The world of technology is amazing, isn't it!
Carissa
I would love to create an activity for students where they can take a picture, upload it and share it with their peers. However, I would not allow students to just bring a picture from home; where do they learn anything in that task? They don't, so instead (if possible) the students would go on a supervised walk around the school and take a picture. Students would then learn how to upload their picture, and possibly edit it on Picnik as this would be fun and engaging for the children (see previous blog's for more on Picnik). I would encourage students to post their picture on a private class account and write a brief explanation of why they chose these particular images, where they took it and how. If they edited it on Picnik they could also talk about this too. This would be an effective way for students to reflect upon their learning experience with Flickr, Picnik, taking photos, etc.
The world of technology is amazing, isn't it!
Carissa
Using ClassMarker and WIKI with students
ClassMarker is a tool I have previously discussed on this blog, however my attention has been drawn to this fantastic website yet again. I have been pondering other possible uses for the website, and decided that it would be a valuable tool to use outside the classroom also.
Students could be encouraged to experiment with this site outside of school hours as a homework task. By investigating quizzes, students could then see how they work and become confident enough to create their own in small groups.
As a learning activity, in class I would encourage students to get into groups and come up with an idea for a quiz, create the quiz and share it with the class. (I would ensure that the students need to have this topic approved with myself before they proceed). I would also ensure I get some opinions from their parents about the final result as feedback. This activity would use several processes for the students; brainstorming, co-operation in groups, sharing ideas, knowledge, research, ITC skills, oral presentation skills and many more.
ClassMarker really is an excellent program with endless potential as a learning tool for children. Wiki is another excellent program which could be used for the same activity,
A Wiki could be used rather than ClassMarker, or as well as ClassMarker. Rather than creating a quiz, students (in small groups) could use Wiki to 'teach' their fellow classmates about a chosen topic. As an example, students could all choose an animal to teach their classmates about. This would be fun for the children, as they are learning about something they want to and therefore engaging. They would also be eager to share their new knowledge of their favourite animals with their peers and possibly parents.
I believe Wiki and ClassMarker are two great learning tools that should be taken advantage of and used in the classroom.
Carissa
Students could be encouraged to experiment with this site outside of school hours as a homework task. By investigating quizzes, students could then see how they work and become confident enough to create their own in small groups.
As a learning activity, in class I would encourage students to get into groups and come up with an idea for a quiz, create the quiz and share it with the class. (I would ensure that the students need to have this topic approved with myself before they proceed). I would also ensure I get some opinions from their parents about the final result as feedback. This activity would use several processes for the students; brainstorming, co-operation in groups, sharing ideas, knowledge, research, ITC skills, oral presentation skills and many more.
ClassMarker really is an excellent program with endless potential as a learning tool for children. Wiki is another excellent program which could be used for the same activity,
A Wiki could be used rather than ClassMarker, or as well as ClassMarker. Rather than creating a quiz, students (in small groups) could use Wiki to 'teach' their fellow classmates about a chosen topic. As an example, students could all choose an animal to teach their classmates about. This would be fun for the children, as they are learning about something they want to and therefore engaging. They would also be eager to share their new knowledge of their favourite animals with their peers and possibly parents.
I believe Wiki and ClassMarker are two great learning tools that should be taken advantage of and used in the classroom.
Carissa
Digital Storytelling for students
Digital Storytelling according to www.lubbockisd.org, "is the combining of the ancient art of oral storytelling and the modern multimedia tools to deliver tales using images, sound, music, and voice. It brings out the artist, the storyteller, the techie, and the writer in your students".
I have been exploring digital storytelling through the website and considered the numerous benefits, including covering multiple intelligences, allowing student creativity, etc. and believe this is a great idea. It would ensure the students become more confident with using technology and could be incorporated into a learning activity very easily.
I would use digital storytelling in my teaching by creating an activity where students have to get into groups or pairs and create a story about something they have been learning in class. It would allow them to reflect on their learning and make this a memorable experience. Students would hopefully find this fun and enjoyable, which means that they would be engaging and getting the most out of this task as possible. I'm sure they would also be proud if their end result and eager to show their friends and parents (by emailing it home, for example).
Carissa
References
Digital Storytelling for Education, Digital Storytelling Association, Accessed 21 August 2009, (2009)http://www.lubbockisd.org/sfirenza/storytelling/
I have been exploring digital storytelling through the website and considered the numerous benefits, including covering multiple intelligences, allowing student creativity, etc. and believe this is a great idea. It would ensure the students become more confident with using technology and could be incorporated into a learning activity very easily.
I would use digital storytelling in my teaching by creating an activity where students have to get into groups or pairs and create a story about something they have been learning in class. It would allow them to reflect on their learning and make this a memorable experience. Students would hopefully find this fun and enjoyable, which means that they would be engaging and getting the most out of this task as possible. I'm sure they would also be proud if their end result and eager to show their friends and parents (by emailing it home, for example).
Carissa
References
Digital Storytelling for Education, Digital Storytelling Association, Accessed 21 August 2009, (2009)http://www.lubbockisd.org/sfirenza/storytelling/
Student Blogging Idea!
I believe student blogging is an excellent idea, as it gives students freedom and creativity while allowing them to freely express themselves on a blog. More and more teenagers/children are beginning to experiment with blogs and social networking sites, so this would really relate to them and teach them to do something that they may wish to do outside of school also. As this incorporates use of technology that relates to students and teaches them how to use something that they want to learn about, I believe it would be engaging and fun for the students; a positive learning experience. If I were to incorporate student blogging into a learning design, I would use it as a way to reflect on each students learning experiences at the end of the day. I would set my class up with a blogging account, and allocate fifteen minutes at the end of each day for students to use this as an online learning journal. I would allow students to contribute their learning experiences by encouraging them to talk about what they have learnt today, on the blog. This activity gives students freedom and can also Ive the teachers feedback; if several students create blogs saying they really enjoyed a certain activity, then teachers can consider this for future activities. Also if students say that a certain activity was boring or hard, teachers can work on improving this.
The only issue with this is privacy, disclosure and safety of the children being directly involved in a public domain, however this is easily resolved. By allowing this blog to only be accessed from school, there is no way that cyberbully's or unauthorised people could access the students information. As students would also have user names rather than their names posted, this would protect their identities.
Overall I believe this activity would really benefit the children. Not only would this engage students and allow them to express themselves, but it will work on their ITC skills, typing skills, creativity and allow them to become more independant; but it would also give teachers feedback and show parents who come in for parent/teacher interviews what the students have been doing at school.
Just some thoughts, Carissa :)
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
WebQuests - lengthy but useful process
Hey everyone!
I was asked to design a WebQuest which I thought sounded quiet simple at first. I found the set-up very quick and easy to follow. However, after this I must admit I got a bit lost! Web Quests for those who are unaware are an online program where users can create activities for learners and to be used in classrooms. I was quite eager to test this out and see how it worked, however soon discovered it is quite a lengthy process with alot of research needed to be successful. At first I made a WebQuest about the large number of high school students dropping out (which I supported by research and statistics), and the task was for learners to devise a way for them to prevent so many students from dropping out. The main idea I had behind this was that students need to be enjoying their learning, it needs to be relevant to them and they need to be engaging. (M. Prensky, 2001). The only problem is after spending lots of time researching, referencing and figuring out how to work the site, my work disappeared and I had to start again!
The new WebQuest I made is much more simplified, and I decided to make it about engaging learners instead and keeping up with the changing technologies; this is highly relevant to the course I am studying. I explained that although technologies and resources have changed, teaching methods have not been changing as rapidly and are falling behind.
The link for WebQuests is http://www.webquestdirect.com.au/webquest.asp?id=1354. Please feel free to check it out and leave some feedback, as I alike many of you am still learning! I would be interested to hear other blogger's thoughts on this issue, comments welcome!
Thanks, Carissa :)
I was asked to design a WebQuest which I thought sounded quiet simple at first. I found the set-up very quick and easy to follow. However, after this I must admit I got a bit lost! Web Quests for those who are unaware are an online program where users can create activities for learners and to be used in classrooms. I was quite eager to test this out and see how it worked, however soon discovered it is quite a lengthy process with alot of research needed to be successful. At first I made a WebQuest about the large number of high school students dropping out (which I supported by research and statistics), and the task was for learners to devise a way for them to prevent so many students from dropping out. The main idea I had behind this was that students need to be enjoying their learning, it needs to be relevant to them and they need to be engaging. (M. Prensky, 2001). The only problem is after spending lots of time researching, referencing and figuring out how to work the site, my work disappeared and I had to start again!
The new WebQuest I made is much more simplified, and I decided to make it about engaging learners instead and keeping up with the changing technologies; this is highly relevant to the course I am studying. I explained that although technologies and resources have changed, teaching methods have not been changing as rapidly and are falling behind.
The link for WebQuests is http://www.webquestdirect.com.au/webquest.asp?id=1354. Please feel free to check it out and leave some feedback, as I alike many of you am still learning! I would be interested to hear other blogger's thoughts on this issue, comments welcome!
Thanks, Carissa :)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
