Animations & Simulations - Online Concept Mapping

https://bubbl.us/?h=107d73/1f5832/109s.pQVJFwMs

Prezi as a Digital Tool

Prezi is a relatively new idea and program that allows the user to create an engaging and interesting online presentation. The tool allows the creater to upload images, videos, audio files, zoom in and zoom out and much more. It serves as a visual aid for presentations, or could be used to present an assignment. Although I have never used Prezi previously, after having a play around with the program, I believe that it is an easy, entertaining, exciting and creative tool that would not only engage students but enhance students learning and presentation.

PREZI PRESENTATIONS – PMI CHART
POSITIVE	MINUS	INTERESTING
Extremely creative and engaging	Some students may struggle navigating the program	It can be used as a progressive tool. Added to each week by students studying a particular subject
Free and accessible	Only basic Prezi is free, to use more tools a cost is involved	It’s all one page – there are no slides.
Allows the use of all different types of ICT such as images, audio files, youtube etc	Some students may not have access to the internet	You can zoom in on particular text, or part of a picture to emphasis its importance
Creates an interactive presentation
Students can use Prezi as a presentation aid.
Allows collaboration

Prezi is, essentially, an upgraded version of power point. In the end both programs aim for the same thing - to provide information as either a presentation aid or an informative power point. However, in my opinion, Prezi allows students to create an interactive presentation that shows their collaboration or individuality creatively in an engaging and interesting way and if used correctly enhance student learning.

 



I had a quick attempt at a Prezi presentation based on the concept of E-Learning. I have attached the link below.

(insert link here)

Don't worry - If you don't quite understand how to use it still, there are countless Prezi tutorials on the world wide web. You'll get there!

Podcasting In the Classroom

What are podcasts?

Podcasts are a type of digital media (audio, video...) that allow you and others to upload, download and share being archived on the internet in such a way to allow listeners to easily access them from a personal computer and or download.

How would they be helpful in a schooling environment?

The use of podcasts within the schooling environment would be extremely beneficial for both students and teachers. Teachers are able to use podcasting for various reasons, for example to introduce the class to a particular topic, as a means of assessment, to encourage collaborative learning and much more. They are able to use podcasts to provide additional knowledge or to help students revise material they have already covered.

One major advantage of introducing podcasting into the classroom is the flexibility of learning it enables. Mostly, this would advantage higher education students, such as high school or further study, as those students would be able to download podcasts to listen to/watch outside of the schooling environment such as when they're at the gym. 

Although younger students may not be able to use podcasting outside of the classroom, it is still an extremely valuable education tool. It allows students to use their creativity, their collaboration skills, their brains. It engages students in their learning and allows an interesting way of learning and presenting information and assignments as oppossed to reading a text book and writing an essay.

"Creating a podcast allows students to share learning experiences. It provides them with a world-wide auidence that makes learning meaningful and assessment authentic." (Department of Education, 2012).

PODCASTING IN THE CLASSROOM– PMI CHART
POSITIVE	MINUS	INTERESTING
Students are able to produce their own media podcasts	Copyright issues – anyone can take another person’s work without acknowledgement.	Does not have to stay confided to the classroom. Students are able to conduct discussions outside of the classroom – such as conducting interviews
Caters to different types of learners	As anyone can upload a podcast, when using it for a learning tool it may be time consuming finding a valid and correctly researched podcast	For older students (high school) podcasts are able to be listened to as a study/learning tool outside of school such as on their way home from school or when they’re at the gym
Allows students to create new knowledge by listening to other podcasts and sharing their own	If allowing students to use their IPods in class to watch podcasts, they may become distracted and off task	Teachers are able to use podcasting as a creative tool to keep students engaged and to enhance their learning
Provides a collaborative learning environment		Teachers and students are able to select which podcast they wish to listen to in the field of their study
Usually podcasts aren’t overly long, ensuring students do not get bored and off track		Students are able to not only share their views but are able to hear countless other opinions by experts, other students etc.
Students are able to use podcasting as an assignment presentation tool by creating an analysis type podcast
Easily downloaded

REFERENCES:

Department of Education, 2012. Podcasts in the classroom. Viewed 3rd August, 2012. Retrieved from http://www.det.wa.edu.au/education/cmis/eval/curriculum/ict/podcasts/ 

Weebly - Creating a Website Reflection

I loved weebly! I found it super easy to navigate and such an engaging technological tool. It's easy to set up, has cool designs and colours you can play around with, easy to navigate, interactive, interesting and engaging making weebly a useful tool to use in my own classroom.

Neuroscience research has found that students learn more effectively when a combination of tools are used as it engages the synapses in different regions of the brain. Weebly is a great technological tool that I could utilise in my classroom to keep my students engaged.  

Weebly could be used as a blog type of website or it can be used as an assessment tool. If we allow students to express themselves creatively we are allowing the learners to access their higher order thinking skills and enabling them to create assessment that is interactive, engaging and interesting for them.

Look at my own weebly if you like!

Creating a Blog Reflection

A blog is an internet tool that is used by individuals or groups to post their own ideas, opinions, experience, observations, information and much more.  Although it has generally been used as a personal space, the use of blogs in educational situations is on the rise. This technological tool allows individuals to post content on a regular basis in an engaging and interesting way.  Before this class I had never used a blog before and initially found the task quite daunting but as I started posting reflections and using the space more I became more confident and actually enjoyed it. I think one of the things I like most about blogs is that everything posted on there is my opinion and my personal point of view on the topic – I guess, I essentially like that I can share my own ideas and thoughts in a non judgmental way.

BLOGS IN THE CLASSROOM– PMI CHART
POSITIVE	MINUS	INTERESTING
Supports collaborative learning	Students may not be away of safe, ethical and legal issues when dealing with the web	Students are able to work in groups or individually to showcase their own opinions and thoughts
It’s a learner-centred tool	May result in cyber bullying	There are millions and millions of blogs online being used
It’s engaging and interactive and allows creativity	Students may access or share inappropriate content	Increasingly popular as an education tool
Supports and facilitates; higher order thinking, exploration, contribution
Easy access
Easy to use
Allows students to embed videos, text, images, links etc

After exploring the positives and negatives of using blogs in the classroom, I believe that blogs would be an extremely effective teaching tool I could use in my own classroom. It allows students to show their creative side whilst promoting a collaborative and learner-centred activity. It is engaging and interactive and also facilitates higher order thinking of the learners. It also could be used in several ways; it could be used as an assessment tool, or a place to post a reflection every week as a study guide, or even as a class blog - if the class were studying a specific subject, they could create a blog to showclass their subject and what they're doing and learning etc.

Although I would use blogs in my classroom as a teaching tool, there are certain issues that must be attended to and monitored. Such as; students awareness of the ethical, legal issues and copyright issues when dealing with the internet and making sure students are cyber bullying one another or accessing and sharing inappropriate content online.

But as long as blogs are used in conjunction with the safe, legal and ethical policies they would be a useful technnological tool for learning managers.

Wiki Activity - Mobile Phones in the Classroom?

This week we participated in an activity based on a wiki website, dealing with the implications of the use of mobile phones in the classroom. We approached this issue through Bono's six thinking hats scaffold.

The way that the activity was set out in wiki clearly outlined what needed to be considered for each colour hat and made responding to each column easy. It was interesting to see what other people wrote and to bounce off other's ideas to help form my final opinion. I believe mobile phones in the classroom would create more negativity than positivity by increasing the chance of cyber bullying and creating a distraction from learning. The use of mobile phones would hinder, not enhance, student learning and with so many other useful ICT tools available there is, in my opinion, no need to incorporate the use of mobile phones into student learning.

 

Working with Wiki - Yay or Nay?

Wiki provided a space for collaboration amongst our class, a space to add our own opinions and view others. Students in the 21st century need to be engaged in their learning and I believe the use of a wiki space allows students a space to collaborate and share their own ideas in a creative and engaging way.

THE USE OF WIKIS IN THE CLASSROOM PMI CHART
POSITIVE	MINUS	INTERESTING
Every student can participate by editing, modifying and adding information	A student can remove or change what another student has added to the space	A log of access and contributions made to wiki is kept
A perfect way to incorporate collaboration into the classroom – in cases of group work, wiki could be used a collaboration space to organise assignment – can then be used as evidence that every group member participated	Only one person at a time can add, edit or modify wiki at any given time to avoid students writing over the top of each other	Activities on wiki can be watched by guests such as a teacher.
History function can recover any information that is lost	The teacher must be constantly regulating or checking that students are developing their work safely, ethically and legally	Students are able to compare views and bounce ideas off each other
Teacher could assign homework dealing with wiki – engaging students digitally and allowing them to take part in 21st century learning and collaboration and discussion as opposed to homework sheets.	Cyber bullying may become an issue associated with this type of learning environment.	The degree of learning that can take place is beyond what can be learnt from the teacher just standing in the front of the class talking. Students are able to investigate and feed off each other for ideas
It allows students to be creative and work collaboratively	Students who don’t have easy access or no access to the internet will suffer	Activities can be activated within the website
Links to images, other websites, youtube etc can be created and utilised

 

Creating a Wiki - Personal Experience

I am a complete newbie when it comes to creating my own Wiki Space. However, after having a quick play with my own wiki page and participating in the mobile phone wiki activity I have realised that the use of a wiki space in a classroom environment would engage and enhance students and their learning. As mentioned in the PMI chart above, it provides a space where students are able to work creatively and collaboratively with one another to view and form opinions, assignments, activities, discussions etc.

It is a great tool that could be incorporated into any learning environment. My two fields of study include Legal Studies and Mathematics and I believe that wiki could be used in both classrooms. Although it would most likely benefit students in my Legal Studies class, students studying math could also make use of this space by using it as a collaborative area to discuss assignments.

However, we have to consider a few things. Such as do all students have access to a computer and internet at home? Do all students have access to a computer and internet in the classroom? Do all students have enough knowledge to navigate their way through and participate in acitivities on the wiki space?

I have included a link that will take you to my own wiki space. I have not done much to it, but I have created a new page, uploaded youtube clips, uploaded an image and created a post, proving to myself just how easy it is to navigate.