Teacher Talk

I recently read a blog entry on Fiona and Alyssa’s blog which opened my eyes to even more technology which could be used in the classroom in the form of e-zines! E-zines could be defined as online magazines, and there are many to be found for children. To see some examples for yourself, take a scroll through the Superkids directory of e-zines.

I had’nt heard of these before either and think that informational e-zines could be used across the curriculum as a supplement to, or replacement of the School Magazine, which is currently used in most primary school classrooms as a basis for literacy and comprehension activities. These online magazines provide a huge ammount of interaction for children, which I believe will keep their minds on the ball, and they offer the opportunity for children to submit work which might be published in a later issue of the e-zine. This would be a great outlet for celebrating student achievement, and according to Wang, S. & Han, s., (2001) by having their work displayed, children are more motivated to achieve.

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References:

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Wang, S. & Han, S. (2001). Six C’s of Motivation. In M. Orey (Ed.), Emerging perspectives on learning, teaching, and technology. Retrieved 6th nFeb., 2008, from http://projects.coe.uga.edu/epltt/index.php?title=Six_C%27s_of_motivation

This blog entry was posted by Beth O’Brien.

I found it an unusual concept that we were asked to hand in a mindmap with our discussion paper for our e-Learning assessment task 3 this semester. Usually this is something we might do in rough form to gather our thoughts together, but it is not usually seen by the markers. I decided to do some research into the reasons we should mind map, and came across a webpage titled Mind Maps, which elaborates and supports Tony Buzan’s research into mindmapping.

Mindmapping is an effective way of note taking and involves starting in the centre of the page with a main idea and working outwards in all directions, producing a growing and organised representation of thoughts through key words, ideas and images. Because it is written down, one can often see new ideas or connections between information which they have not yet thought of.

Some of the benefits of mindmapping include:

• organisation
• association of information.
• visual memory
• conscious involvement.

I think that mindmapping has been very useful in categorising such a broad subject of information for this assignment, and I feel that it would be extremely useful for use in the primary school classroom, to get stduents thinking beyond the obvious and  outside the box.

This blog entry was posted by Beth O’Brien.

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I made a podcast about a youtube video titled “Integrating podcasting into your classroom”. How appropriate! I found this article very useful as it gave simple instruction and benefits. I have embedded the video and my podcast below, Enjoy!

To listen to my podcast simply click the link below!

Integrating Podcasting into your Classroom.

This blog entry was posted by Beth O’Brien.

In my mindmap for assessment task 3, I stated that e-learning could be particularly helpful for children with special needs in the classroom, such as learning disabilities or ESL, and after taking e-learning as a subject this semester, I believe that it could help to close the gap between the ranges of capabilities in a classroom, and help the class to progress closer to the same level. Being of this opinion, I felt that it was necessary to do some research. I found the literature to a university workshop titled Workshop on inclusive e-Learning: Special needs and special solutions.

This literature elaborates that all children, no matter their capabilities or backgrounds, will be subjected to technology in the future, be it in their workplaces or elsewhere, and that it is important these chlidren do not get left behind or excluded from e-learning in the classroom. To assist these children, the teacher needs to implement special programs and consider ways to help each student attain equal results.

The workshop literature states that the benefits of e-learning for children with special needs include:

• elevated concentration.
• an easier variation between learning subjects for different pupils.
• can provide immediate and formative feedback to students.
• provides information for all children, even those who cannot read or write because of visual and audio representation.
• offering multiple ways of input, for example, touch screen.
• increases self-determination, independance and integration skills.
• can be used to support the acquisition of basic learning skills.
• positive changes in inter and intrapersonal relationships, sensory abilities, communication skills, motor performance, self-maitenance, leisure and productivity.

I found this artefact extremely beneficial reading for my personal reflection on the ways in which I would like to include children in e-learning in the primary classroom. I feel that if the gap between abilities in the classroom is lessened, a more positive learning environment can be achieved, where every student can feel a sense of achievement.

This blog entry was made by Beth O’Brien.

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After reading one of Melanies Blog pages, I had a long think of all the things she said and I agree with her. She was talking about an article called “Help teachers Mentor one another’ by Camilla Gagliolo. Mel was saying how she believes it is an exciting time to be a teacher as we have so many options and opportunities to use technology and software programs in the classroom!

I was also reading a magazine article by John Son (2008) and he was saying how it is the teachers responsibility to keep updated with the ever changing forms of technology. As technology changes and grows, so do the children’s experiences in using those technologies. We as teachers must be on the ball with how to best utilize these softwares.

Mel also read an article by Gagliolo (2008) raising the point how can we inspire teachers to take advantage of these opportunities to engage students in 21st century learning???

The points that Mel raised,I combined into one main point:
1.Build a professional learning community: Help one another out and have constant meetings, or conferences or even social networking groups to keep yourself updated with new technologies and how to use them. Meet in schools, with parents and even with students. I liked her quote:“professional development must be multi-faceted, ongoing and meet the learning needs of the teachers adopting new technologies”.

Read Mel’s Post. You will find it is interesting and useful for student-teachers.

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Amelia.

I have to admit that when I begun this course at the start of the semester, I was very sceptical. I felt that traditional teaching methods should be upheld, as they were at my primary school, and that all this technology mumbo jumbo was just a distraction from learning. I thought that if one taught effectively, then surely the children would’nt need all this distraction.

Then my opinion begun  to evolve. As each tutorial went by, I begun to be interested in the making of podcasts, movies and ‘embedding’ media into my blog. But I still felt that while it was interesting to know these skills, I wasn’t quite sure how it would fit into a day to day classroom routine across the curriculum.

Now here we are at the end of the semester and I feel that technology will be a huge and beneficial part of my teaching in the future. I believe that this evolution of feelings toward e-learning is due to the ongoing readings we have been doing, and having other students share their techno experiences in class. Hearing about Millie and Anita’s experience at their prac school Barnia was especially moving for me, to see what a success a classroom based around technology could be, this really put the pieces of the puzzle into place for me.

This post was made by Beth O’Brien.

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After attending an e-learning class at uni, the word constructionism was thrown around and discussed and I decided to do a little research about what constructionism meant. I’d heard of constructivism before and wanted to know if they were related to each other or completely different. Turns out they actually are related. From the website Constructionism, Learning by Design, and Project Based Learning I found exactly the difference and similiarties between the two.

Below is a section from the website which I found useful in coming to an understanding of it all.

Constructionism (Papert, 1993) is both a theory of learning and a strategy for education. It builds on the “Constructivist” theories of Jean Piaget, asserting that knowledge is not simply transmitted from teacher to student, but actively constructed in the mind of the learner. Learners don’t get ideas; they create ideas. Moreover, constructionism suggests that new ideas are most likely to be created when learners are actively engaged in building some type of external artifact that they can reflect upon and share with others. Papert (1993) differentiated between constructivism and constructionism:

“The word with the v expresses the theory that knowledge is built by the learner, not supplied by the teacher. The word with the n expresses the further idea that happens especially felicitously when the learner is engaged in the construction of something external or at least sharable” (Papert, 1993, p.3).

Constructionism supports the constructivist viewpoint–that the learner is an active builder of knowledge. However, it emphasizes the particular constructions of external artifacts that are shared by learners. Although learners can construct and present knowledge or meanings without producing external products, the processes of construction are more evident when learners produce through social interaction with others and share representations of their understanding and thoughts.

The website is huge and very clear in its delivery of explaining exactly what it is. It also has a great video outlining the path of achieveing knowledge through constructionism. They are:

1. Choosing a topic
2. Describe audience
3. Create artifact
4. Pilot artifact (test)
5. Feedback
6. Reflection
7. Modify artifact

Watch the video below.

The article also suggests ways to create a constructionist environment in the classroom. The idea of creating such an environment in my own classroom in the future in exciting and intriguing. I whole-heartedly agree with the importance of allowing children to express their selves, and to explore and communicate together, to create and formulate their own understanding of what it is they have just created.

Enjoy and be prepared to learn!

Posted by Sarah

Han, S., & Bhattacharya, K. (2001). Constructionism, learning by design, and project based learning. (M. Orey, Editor) Retrieved June 2, 2009, from Emering perspectives on learning, teaching and technology: http://projects.coe.uga.edu/epltt/index.php?title=Constructionism%2C_Learning_by_Design%2C_and_Project_Based_Learning

I read a blog posted by Damien Riely on February 3rd 2009 about powerpoint presentations in the classroom and how kids can further extend their learning abilities with technology. I found this article interesting and it raised a number of important points that I will elaborate on.

Damien thinks that any learning experience can be inviting, all you have to do is make hard content easy. A way that he has made this happen is by using technology softwares and programs that can go beyond traditional learning strategies. For example, powerpoint, Moodle, Blogs and platform visual presenters. Specifically focusing on powerpoint presentations, it makes abstract concepts more comprehensible than traditional teaching tools.

Damien showed a number of examples of how to use Powerpoint within the classroom. He started off with saying that it assists teachers in their lessons, explanations. An example he gave was making a powerpoint slide for language arts, demonstrating instructions. The next slide gives students a chance to demonstrate their prior knowledge to a task, by physically creating a slide of information themselves. This step uses the concept of “scaffolding” or connecting what is known with what is unknown.

The next section illustrated how powerpoint can be intergrated into the classroom. Pretty much, it requires the students to have a computer in the classroom and to then design and create a presentation. For this learning task to become constructionist approach, students must be given the opportunity to freely show their presenations to an audience. Whether that be, slideshare, WebQuset, converting it to a Quicktime etc.

Students should be proud of what they do….Therefore show it off!

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This was my informal blog posting.

Posted by Amelia Caldwell.

I read an article called “Blogging about Books” from the Bloggers Beat Section of Learning and Leading with Technology Magazine, Volume 36, No. 1. This article outlines how blogging can be used throughout education and in the classroom.

Christopher Sessums, the director of Distance Eduation in College of Education-University of Florida, believes that readers should consider making blogging posts as well as poetry writing on a daily practice. He believes that ‘Walt Whitmans’ poetry acts like a readers blog page, sharing his understanding of his love for the world and all that who occupy it.

This is something that poets and bloggers have in common. Carolyn Foote commented, “I’d like to think that those who blog on educational topics, encounter bemoan real problems as well as celebrating the success of learning”.

Many educators have famous writers works and bring those learning experiences into the classroom by teaching students to blog on them. Michael Hotrum commented, “I’ve used Whitmans Body Electric in my presentations on virtual communications. I sing the Network, but the posey applies and passion extends”.

Pretty much this article just raised another interesting way to incorporate blogs into the learning environment.

Posted by Amelia Caldwell

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I read an article from the Leading with Technology Magazine, August 08, volume 36, titled ”Is Educational Technology Shortening Student Attention Span?” by John David Son. This article caught my attention as it raised a number of important points relating to technology and its effect that it has on students.

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Today’s students live in a digital world, being surrounded by a number of communication networks and online creating programs. Students spend most of their spare time playing video games, creating videos and socialising with friends on a networking site. A statement I found interesting from David was, “Students are born with a mouse in their hands”. I found this very interesting.

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Technology has the power to capture our children’s attention by making learning interactive and fun. What better way to do this, than by using technological programs that allow students to share, create and explore. Students are able to stay on target and stay focused on the topic being taught as they are engaging with something that is familiar to them; something that they understand and can do. William Daggett the president of the International Centre for Leadership in Education, believes that kids today are wired differently because of technology and can therefore process information much faster than others.

After reading this article I am led to agree with all that this topic had to offer and I think that as educators we must change the way we teach and how we teach, adapting our teaching styles to meet student’s needs. Technology won’t shorten student’s attention spans if they are creating, solving and using technology on a regular basis……

WHAT DO YOU THINK? AGREE OR DISAGREE??

Posted by Amelia Caldwell

This was my formal Reading Blog Post