Reversing the norm

Reflective Synopsis

noreply@blogger.com (Peter Jordan) — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 23:22:00 -0700

Hello bloggers!!

Reflective Synopsis

Embedding ICTs in teaching and learning has the potential to greatly enhance student learning in any given topic through meaningful activities and interaction with others, whether teachers or peers (Kearsley & Schneiderman, 1998). In their Engagement Theory, Kearsley and Schneiderman (1998) state, “While in principle, such engagement could occur without the use of technology, we believe that technology can facilitate engagement in ways which are difficult to achieve otherwise”. With this in mind it can be seen that teachers and educators need to explore and utilise e-learning tools and embed them into everyday learning in order to enhance students learning outcomes. ICTs can be used not only as information resources but also for learning supports, scaffolding of students learning journeys and effective methods of creating learning tasks to assess student’s knowledge, both formatively and summatively (Oliver, 1999). These concepts are also supported by The Abilene Christian University’s Active Learning Framework (2000). The following reflective synopsis will refer to a selection of the e-learning tools shown in Appendix A and how they could be embedded into classroom learning to enhance student’s outcomes.

The first of the e-learning tools reflected upon are animations and simulations. These forms of learning tools are much more effective and interactive then print based material. While using these tools students are actively engaged in meaningful learning while still having the option to choose from a selection of topics relevant to them. When students are actively engaged in learning they are more likely to retain information (ACU Adams Center for Teaching Excellence, 2000). Animations and simulations provide interactive learning activities which have the student actively participating in and using the knowledge they are learning during the activity, which is shown to increase knowledge retention according to the Learning Pyramid (ACU Adams Center for Teaching Excellence, 2000). There are a vast array of sites containing educational animations and simulations which have been quality assured to ensure safe material suitable for students. One such site is the EdHeads website (Refer to Blog “EdHeads” for more details). This e-learning tool could be used in the Engage and Explore phases of a unit, providing students with hands-on, interactive learning around a particular subject or topic, which would enhance the student’s foundational understandings of the knowledge being learnt.

The second e-learning tool reflected upon is the WebQuest tool. This form of e-learning tool involves students in participating in a structured, but still open, learning journey constructed by the teacher for a specific learning purpose. WebQuests can be created fairly easily by teachers in order to guide students through specific learning goals. The scaffolding of the webquest guides students through specific learning while the student still has opportunity to choose a topic relevant to them, which has shown to greatly enhance learning (Kearsley & Schneiderman, 1998). WebQuests can also be pre-existing, created by other teachers and educators from around the world. There are countless numbers of webquests readily available on the internet which can be accessed both at schools and at home. This learning tool would be an excellent addition to any phase of learning in the classroom, from the engage phase to the evaluate phase. This tool could also be designed for use as a homework option. Teachers could create wequests which scaffold homework or assessments that students are completing at home. This tool could also be used as a student created assessment piece. Students in higher grades could use this tool to create webquests for their peers about particular topics. Teachers could then use the created webquests as evidence of the student learning. WebQuests are an engaging tool for learning and could be successfully used in many aspects of classroom and home learning.

The next e-learning tool reflected upon for its potential usefulness in the classroom is blogging. Blogging involves the periodical posting of texts detailing what the writer has been doing or learning. On websites such as Blogger.com the user can create an account then post blogs to their own webpage. This learning tool has great potential for classroom learning, especially as a method of assessment. As students are involved in learning experiences or learning through topics they can post their findings and ideas on their own blog page. Teachers can then view these pages and gain credible evidence of students learning throughout the stages of a unit or piece of work. Blogging also has the option of commenting on specific blogs. This is a great option to have for two reasons. Firstly, the student’s peers will have opportunities to read their blogs and post comments on other information or opinions the student might have missed (ACU Adams Center for Teaching Excellence, 2000). Secondly, commenting gives the teacher the opportunity to guide the student back onto the right path if they are getting away from the focus of the learning, or to simply encourage and congratulate the student on finding great information or resources. Teachers can also make use of this tool by creating step-by-step instructional blog entries for students to gain understanding or ask questions about a task, which encourages complex thinking and provides scaffolding for learning (Oliver, 1999). Blogs are a great e-learning tool for the classroom.

As identified in the above reflections, e-learning tools are a great way to enhance any learning experience. When students can be actively involved and engaged in learning their potential to retain the knowledge taught increases dramatically (Kearsley & Schneiderman, 1998). Many of the e-learning tools mentioned in the reflections and Appendix A also have the potential to encourage and facilitate higher order thinking and complex reasoning by students (Oliver, 1999). E-Learning tools, when appropriately embedded in classroom learning, are a very effective way of engaging, scaffolding and assessing students understanding of particular subjects (Oliver, 1999). These tools should be embedded in units and topics to be learnt to move student’s knowledge acquisition and understanding from low level thought processes and retention to higher order thinking, complex reasoning and high levels of retention. E-learning tools are a valuable part of any learning experience.

References

The Abilene Christian University Adams Center for Teaching Excellence. (2000). How does active learning work? Retrieved 30 July, 2009, from http://www.acu.edu/cte/activelearning/howdoes.htm

Kearsley, G. & Schneiderman B. (1998). Engagement theory: a framework for technology-based teaching and learning. Retrieved 30 July, 2009, from http://home.sprynet.com/~gkearsley/engage.htm

Oliver, R. (1999). The learning design construct. Retrieved 30 July, 2009, from http://www.learningdesigns.uow.edu.au/project/learn_design.htm

Appendix A (Click on the image for a better view)

The following links will take you to some of the comments I have made on other peoples blogs.

http://jfkchevy.blogspot.com/2009/08/ed-heads.html
http://jfkchevy.blogspot.com/2009/08/interactive-whiteborads.html
http://jfkchevy.blogspot.com/2009/08/voki.html
http://jfkchevy.blogspot.com/2009/07/my-video.html
http://jfkchevy.blogspot.com/2009/07/my-podcast.html
http://jfkchevy.blogspot.com/2009/07/my-learning-style.html

Cheers, Pete

Weebly - Free Website Creator

noreply@blogger.com (Peter Jordan) — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 17:31:00 -0700

Hello Bloggers!!

Weebly is a free website design tool where you can design and create simple websites. I think this tool could be very useful in the classroom. Weebly websites are relatively simple to create. Teachers could use this eLearning tool to create scaffolding websites for their students to use to help them complete given tasks. As well as scaffolding use the site could be used for providing appropriate links to educational learning sites about specific topics. This could help provide more support and safety for students while they are navigating the web to find information for their tasks.

The following YouTube video is about Weebly and a quick tutorial on how to create Weebly websites. This is a valuable learning tool for the classroom.

Cheers, Pete

Bubbl.us

noreply@blogger.com (Peter Jordan) — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 16:46:00 -0700

Hello Bloggers!!

I have just been on to the Bubbl.us site to see what it is all about. Bubbl.us is an online mind-mapping tool which could be very useful in the classroom. It is a free tool which allows the user to create simple, or complex, mind maps about particular topics. I have created a mind map to map out somoe of my thoughts on the site and its uses. Have a look at the mind map below and have a read. You may need to zoom in or out to see all of the boxes.

I think this is a great learning tool. It is simple to use and requires very little need for teacher instruction, and once students learn how to use the program they can mind map away. This is a great tool for encouraging students to think moree deeply about a topic, and a great way for teachers to see what students already know about the topic the student chooses. I think this is a very valuable tool indeed and I know I will use this one in my classroom.

Click on the Bubbl.us link to go and try this great tool out. I think you will be impressed!

From Bubbl.us

Cheers, Pete

Taggalaxy Picture Storage

noreply@blogger.com (Peter Jordan) — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 02:28:00 -0700

Hello Bloggers!!

In a galaxy far far away, there were pictures...thousands of them!

I have been exploring Taggalaxy as a classroom resource and I think it is a great resource for all students. The Taggalaxy website is a picture storage and location website. Students can simply type in a key word into the tag finder, then watch as the stite guides them through a galaxy filled with thousands upon thousands of pictures. The great thing abut this website is that it is visually appealing, engaging and filled with great pictorial resources for learning.
Students can search for topics relevant to them and find countless pictures related to the topic of their choice.

There are some things which would need to be addressed with the students before they were allowed to search this site. Students would have to be made aware of the consequences of mistreating their choice of tag searchs. Teachers would need to ensure the students are monitored to ensure they are looking for age appropriate materials.

Have a look! You'll be amazed!

Cheers, Pete

EdHeads

noreply@blogger.com (Peter Jordan) — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 00:53:00 -0700

Hello Bloggers!!

I have just been exploring the EdHeads website. I think it is an incredible resource for learning. The site contains interactiive animations which students can explore and learn through. Providing these types of activities for students enbles the students to thoroughly engage in the learning the teacher desires them to do. The animations are evry interactive and informative while still being very accessible for students of all ages, though probably better suited to middle to upper primary students.

I really enjoyed exploring these animations and I'm sure my students will get a lot from the experience and remain fully engaged in the learning. I encourage you to have a browse through the site and try some of these wonderful tools for yourself.

Click here to go to EdHeads.

Cheers, Pete

Legal, Safe and Ethical Practices in ICT Learning

noreply@blogger.com (Peter Jordan) — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 00:39:00 -0700

Hello Bloggers!!

Embedding ICT learning in the classroom is an incredible way of enhance student learning throughout units of work. ICTs provide countless ways of completing tasks, developing complex thinking skills, displaying and presenting information and collaborating with teachers and peers. However, when using ICTs in the classroom there are rules and regulations that must be put in place to ensure that students and teachers; remain safe from inappropriate outside sources, do not infringe copyright agreements, and participate in ethical practices while using ICTs. Here are some of the regulations that have been put in place by Education Queensland and other governing bodies to ensure legal, safe and ethical practices in classroom learning through ICTs.

Basic Copyright Rules
10% copying of information from online sources, books, CDs and DVDs. When downloading and printing information from print, web-based or disc sources a maximum of 10% of the information can be copied or printed for classroom use (Education Queensland, 2006).
Teachers and educators can use and distribute materials for educational purposes without infringing copyright laws (Education Queensland, 2006).
Teachers and students much source where all information has been colected from as not to claim it as their own which would infringe copyright (Education Queensland, 2006).

Education Queensland, and other educting bodies have astablished sites which are legallly deemed suitable for use in classrooms (Education Queensland, 2006). These sites have been checked for unsuitable material and must pass specific criteria to be quality assured (Education Queensland, 2006).

Here is a link to Education Queensland which you can use to search for more information with regards to privacy policies, safe practices and copyright laws to do with education.

Remember, legal, safe and ethical ICTs can greatly enhance learning in the classroom. There are so many great resources out there on the web to use, but we must ensure student and teacher safety.

Cheers, Pete

Static Website

noreply@blogger.com (Peter Jordan) — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 00:15:00 -0700

Hello Bloggers!!

I have just been looking at static websites as opposed to dynamic, interactive websites. A static web page is a web page that always comprises the same information in response to all download requests from all users which is in contrast with Dynamic web page which offer multiple responses to system requests (WIKIPedia, 2009).
It displays the same information for all users, from all contexts, providing the classical hypertext, where navigation is performed through "static" documents (WIKIPedia, 2009).

Advantages (WIKIPedia, 2009)
Quick and easy to put together, even by someone who doesn't have much experience.
Ideal for demonstrating how a site will look.
Cache friendly, one copy can be shown to many people.

Disadvantages (WIKIPedia, 2009)
Difficult to maintain when a site gets large.
Difficult to keep consistent and up to date.
Offers little visitor personalization (all would have to be client side).

These e-Learning tools could be created by teachers for particular informational purposes which students could then explore at their own pace. Static webpages could be used for the scaffolding component of Oliver's Learning Desing Framework (Oliver, 1999).

If you wish to try making one of these sites, use a program such as FrontPage, then upload it onto a webserver. It would be great to hear if you have used this in your classroom or have any ideas on some classroom applications for it.

This is a movie to help get you started on FrontPage designing.

Cheers, Pete.

TagCrowd

noreply@blogger.com (Peter Jordan) — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 23:55:00 -0700

Hello Bloggers!!

TagCrowd is a tool which can be used to visualise word frequency in text (Steinbock, 2006). It creates a great visual display of words from text. I think this tool has great applications for literacy learning in the classroom. Students could use this tool to identify like words in text and create visual displays to convey or highlight meanings of words.

It is just a great site for students to enjoy finding and visualising words in different ways, which is touched on in the Engagement Theory (Kearsley & Schneiderman, 1999) in that students should be presented with choices on topics and multiple ways of viewing and completing tasks that are appealing and relevant to them.

created at TagCrowd.com

If you would like to play around on this site click the TagCrowd link. Have fun wording!

Cheers, Pete

e.Portfolio - Mahara

noreply@blogger.com (Peter Jordan) — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 23:08:00 -0700

Hello Bloggers!!

What is an ePortfolio you ask? Watch this video for an excellent explanation of what an ePortfolio is and some of the things it can be used for. Then read on!

ePortfolios are a great tool for collating and managing the information we come in contact with and want to share with others. This is an excellent tool for use in the classroom. This tool is probably better suited to upper primary students as it will needs competent skills to use. One such ePortfolio tool is Mahara. I have only used this site a little bit in my studies, but I look forward to increasing my knowledge about it so I can successfully use this tool in my classroom.

This is a great resource for learning and also monitoring learning in the classroom. It has great potential as a detailed method of assessment through the collation of dicussion notes, pictures, files and other particular sources.

Please let me know if you have used something similar to this in your classroom. It would be great to hear about how you have used it and how and why they were successful.

Watch this clip for an introduction to Mahara and some of its uses.

Cheers, Pete

VoiceThread

noreply@blogger.com (Peter Jordan) — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 22:55:00 -0700

Hello Bloggers!!

Watch this everyone! Then read on!

From VoiceThread.com

VoiceThread is a great site to help encourage and facilitate indepth discussions about topics, videos, pictures and other things. This e-Learning tool is great for recording dicussions and ideas students come up with during their learning journey. Facilitating discussions in the classroom is an excellent way to encourage higher order thinking (Marzano and Pickering, 1997). Students learn and discuss deeper understandings of the topics then simply listening to the teacher talk about the topic. This site provides great opportunities for students to be imersed in the learning of a lesson through debate and discussion.

I think this is a great learning tool for the classroom and I am looking forward to finding a way to incorporate this tool into my classroom learning.

Click on the link above to navigate to the VoiceThread website and do some exploring.

Cheers, Pete

Music on the Web

noreply@blogger.com (Peter Jordan) — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 22:44:00 -0700

Hello Bloggers!!

Using music and picture files from the web is a dangerous business. Most files are copyright protected which often means they cannot be used. One way around this problem for the classroom is you utilise sites such as INCOMPETECH. This site contains a large variety of Royalty Free music and sounds which students can use for educational purposes. This site and the music on it would be great for students to use to jazz up their presentations of movies they have created in class as a part of their assessment tasks throughout their learning journey's.

I think this is a great site with loads of educational potential in the classroom.

Click on the link and see what you think. Happy listening!!

Cheers, Pete

Online File Storage

noreply@blogger.com (Peter Jordan) — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 22:32:00 -0700

Hello Bloggers!!!

Online file storage sites are an excellent resource for learning. These learning tools allow teachers and students alike to upload files to the net and make them available to anyone. This may help to provide opportunities to help to support students through their learning outside of school.

These file storage systems provide greater access to files then some school used websites, which may assist students with gathering information while they are away from school. These systems and files can be updated as often as necessary by students and teachers.

I think this resource has great potential as a weekly or daily source of information for students. Homework could also be uploaded daily to provide engaging work for students to complete at home.

MediaFire is an excellent, free, site for online storage. I have found it relatively easy to use and to upload files. Click on the link to navigate to the website and have a play for yourself.

Cheers, Pete.

SlideShare

noreply@blogger.com (Peter Jordan) — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 22:18:00 -0700

Hello Bloggers!!

SlideShare is an internet storage site for PowerPoint and PDF files. There are a large range of excellent slides and pdf files on this site which could prove to be very useful in the classroom. These files may contain specific information which could help guide your students through their learning, or help them to question the norms or accepted beliefs about a particular area. The information and presentations on this website could be very beneficial to students across all learning areas.

SlideShare also gives students the opportunity to upload their PowerPoint presentations or pdf files to the internet for viewing outside of school.

While this is a great source of information I have concerns about its safety for student use. One of the downsides of this source is that anybody can upload any type of presentation or edit the existing presentations which may not leave the file suitable for students to be viewing or listening to. I would use this site very little for student exploration, but as a teacher i would be looking on this site to find valuable resources for my learning experiences. Why do the work if it's already been done for you???

Click the link above to go to SlideShare and let me know what you think.

Cheers, Pete.

WIKIPedia - Online Encyclopedia's

noreply@blogger.com (Peter Jordan) — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 20:52:00 -0700

Hello Bloggers!!

WIKIPedia is an online encyclopedia to which anyone can contribute information, however there are regulations which ensure the posting of valid information. This is an excellent source of information for students to explore through when completing tasks. There is a great range of information and point of views to help students think critically about the information presented to them.

I think this would be a great resource in the classroom as it supplies great range of fairly simple to read information. Students can easily navigate through the pages to search for the topic relevant to them, which helps to engage students in learning according to the Engagement Theory (Keirsley and Schneiderman, 1999). With scaffolded support students can be successfully engaged in meaningful learning tasks while maintaining a high level of independent study.

As with all encyclopedias, teachers would need to put rules in place to ensure student safety in regards to what they are searching for. But once this has been discussed and put in place with the students they can be left, though still monitored, to complete their individual study about their chosen topic.

Click on the link above to navigate to the WIKIPedia website and try searching for some of your current learning topics in school. See what you think. I hope you enjoy!!!

Cheers, Pete

WebQuests

noreply@blogger.com (Peter Jordan) — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 20:51:00 -0700

Hello Bloggers!!

Webquests are a fantastic resource for the classroom. This learning tool is so good because it allows the teacher to design a series of tasks or assessment peices, scaffold the learning journey to complete the task and assess the students learning while still maintaining excitement and engagement in the learning from the students. These webquests can be designed to be low level teacher input tasks which may help to create more time to see each student and allow them to discuss their ideas and learning through their learning journey.

There are a range of great websites with pre-existing webquests designed by teachers on the web. These libraries provide countless resources for teachers accross the globe. If you can't find something specifically that you need, you can use a webquest website such as WebQuest Direct to create your perfect webquest. These sites and programs are easy to use and once you get the hang of it can become quick and easy to complete.

WebQuests provide excellent resources, tasks and scaffolding supports for learning, as supported by the Learning Design Framework (Oliver, 1999).

Click on the link above to browse through some existing WebQuests or create your own! Please let me know if you have used these tools or seen them being used in a classroom. It would be interesting to see if you have any ideas about them or their use and which grades you have used it successfully with.

Cheers, Pete

Voki Avatars

noreply@blogger.com (Peter Jordan) — Sun, 16 Aug 2009 23:22:00 -0700

Hello bloggers!

I have just been using the Voki Avatar software. I thinkit has the potential to be a great teaching and learning resource in the classroom. The Voki Avatar is an animated character that can be programed to speak typed or recorded texts. This resource could be used in any of the components of the Learning Design Framework (Oliver, 1999). These avatars are easy to create and could be used to read out instructions or information to students during research and completion of tasks. Avatars could also be programed to speak helpful hints and scaffolding hints to the students as they complete each level of a set task. They would be a great method of restating the task in simple ways to encourage students to work on their own, with slightly less need for teacher assisstance.

I have attached an avatar I created very quickly. They are an excellent resource, please press the link above and have a play on the voki site and see what you come up with, you will not be dissapointed.

Get a Voki now!

It would be great to hear some other ideas for Avatar uses in teaching and learning!

Cheers, Pete

Online Quizzes

noreply@blogger.com (Peter Jordan) — Sun, 16 Aug 2009 14:31:00 -0700

Hello Bloggers!!!

To Quiz or not to Quiz. That is the question!

I have been looking at some of the possibilities of creating and using online quizzes in the classroom. Online quizzes create the opportunity for teachers to create practice quizzes for students which can be made available to students outside of school. Resources like these have great potential to assess student learning continually over the period of a unit, while providing teachers with valuable data on the students strengths in learning and also areas in which the student may need more assistance or direction to further enhance their learning.

I have been looking in particular at the ClassMarker quiz site. Click on the link and see what you think. I have not tried online quizzes in my classroom and I would love to hear how you have used them in your units and, if so, how effective they were.

Cheers, Pete

Animations and Simulations

noreply@blogger.com (Peter Jordan) — Sun, 16 Aug 2009 14:30:00 -0700

Hello Bloggers!!

Today I have been look into using animations and simulations as learning tools in the classroom. There are some incredible resources on the web for students which provide interactive engaging learning experiences. Keirsley and Schneiderman (1999) placed particular emphasis on engaging students in learning to maintain emersion in the learning of the lesson. These e-Learning tools are a great way of stimulating engagement in any lesson and encouraging complex thinking from students in a variety of KLA's. Oliver (1999) also stated the need for multimodal resources for tasks and student choice in his Learning Design Framework.

These e-Learning tools are great and easily accessible for all students and are a great source on information and practicle aplication for students to get involved in. Have a look at the links below and explore some of the animations and simulations on the sites.

Pleas let me know if you have had experience using these tools in your classroom, it would be great to hear how they have been used.

Click here for simulation websites.
Click here for animation websites.

Cheers, Pete

Image Manipulation and Storage - Picnik and Flickr

noreply@blogger.com (Peter Jordan) — Sun, 16 Aug 2009 14:30:00 -0700

Hello Bloggers!!

THINK PICTURES NOT WORDS!!! I have just been playing around with the Flickr and Picnik sites and I am very impressed!

Flickr
Flickr is an online storage site for images. These images can be uploaded by anyone who has an account with flickr. This is a great resource for students as it also provides a number of pictures which can be borrowed for use by the students. It could easily be used to upload important images taken of the students work during the span of a unit to be used in a final assessment peice. This kind of use could be especially useful for science based units of work which involve collecting pictorial data over a period of time, for seed germinating etc. The site is easily accessible and easy to use for most students without the need for excessive amounts of teacher input.
Students would however need to be taught about copyright laws and protection which may inhibit them from using images that are not their own.
I think this could be a great site for storing images for students to access not only at school, but also at home. This is a valuable resource for students and would also allow groups to see things from different perspectives as other groups post different pictures on the site (Oliver, 1999).

Picnik
Picnik is an image manipulation tool which can be used to change sizes, colours and effects of existing pictures. Simply upload an image and edit until you're happy. I think this would be a great engaging tool in students learning as it allows for student selection and interpretation of images and how they should be manipulated to highlight a particular meaning. Keirsley and Schneiderman's Engagement Theory states the need for personally relevant student chosen projects, and i think this site is an excellent tool for students to select and edit their inidividual images to show their thoughts about a picture or topic. This tool is engaging and also encourages the use of complex thinking in order to express a particular meaning through a picture.

I had a play around with this image and this is what happenend. I encourgae you to jump on this resource and give it a try yourself.

Before

After

If you would like to go to Flickr click here.
If you would like to go to Picnik click here.

Hope you enjoy!!!

Cheers, Pete

Interactive Whiteboards

noreply@blogger.com (Peter Jordan) — Mon, 3 Aug 2009 23:14:00 -0700

Hello Bloggers!!

Its time to dust of those interactive whiteboards again! Watch this clip from YouTube and just think about the possibilities for using the Interactive Whiteboards in your classroom. I was amazed by these ideas. I can't wait to see how my students and I can use the Interactive Whiteboard to enhance our learning in different units we undertake.

I hope you were as inspired as I was to see this. I used to not think to much of the possibilities of using this Whiteboard and I know that it simply gathers dust in my classroom at the moment, but I am looking forward to seeing how I can use it, and get my students to use it to enhance the learning in the classroom. I think it will be a great resources for many KLA's and could increase the learning happening in the classroom a lot. I know that many of my students are engaged as soon as you mention the word computer, so I can just imagin how engaged and excited about learning they would be if I made time for them to use the whiteboard. I think interactive whiteboards are a great resource for learning, and I have found this site which has hundreds of Interactive Whiteboard games for students to play and work through. There are many for each KLA and year level. I hope you enjoy! Let's get excited about using this great resource for learning!!

Great site for interactive learning - Copacabana Public School.

http://www.copacabana-p.schools.nsw.edu.au/Get_Smart_Pages/Get_Smart.htm

Cheers, Pete

Learning Management Systems (LMS)

noreply@blogger.com (Peter Jordan) — Mon, 3 Aug 2009 23:14:00 -0700

Hello Bloggers!!

Learning Managment Systems are on the menu today. LMSs are very useful systems which can be used to provide information on topic content and specific assessment peices and can also be used for providing students with opportunities to discuss ideas and questions with their teachers and peers through forums. I have had some experience with these types of e-Learning tools at university through the use of the Blackboard and now Moodle sites.

I think these sites are great systems for instruction and direction through learning. The systems are easy to understand and navigate through, which means they have the potential to be used by lower primary students as well us middle and upper students. LMSs are an effective method of providing students with information and activities pertaining to tasks and are very useful in supporting students learning, as required by the Learning Design Framework. LMSs can be used effectively to enhance students learning, and it can be used to encourage self-regulated and directed learning. It would be interesting to hear if you have used this system in a classroom as I have only seen it used at the university.

Cheers, Pete

PowerPoint as a e-Learning Tool

noreply@blogger.com (Peter Jordan) — Mon, 3 Aug 2009 23:14:00 -0700

Hello Bloggers!

I have recently been looking into some of the uses of PowerPoint from a teachers perspective. This e-Learning tool could be very useful Task and Supports components of the Learning Design Framework (Oliver, 1999). PowerPoint, when used effectively, can be a great way for students to present information to a class as part of an oral, or written task. PowerPoint is fairly simple to use but would probably be better suited to students in the middle to upper primary classroom. They could also be used to support and guide students through their learning.
I have used this program several times and I still seem to find new things about it each time I use it. I think using PowerPoint as an assessment tool could also give us teachers a better understanding of students knowledge through thier creativity, as opposed to straight out writing tasks.

It would be great to hear how you have used PowerPoint in the classroom, and what grades you have used it with!

The following is a funny video I found while researching some of the uses of PowerPoint. It's called 'How not to use PowerPoint' and I found it on YouTube. I hope you get a laugh.

Cheers, Pete

Google Maps and Google Earth

noreply@blogger.com (Peter Jordan) — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 22:14:00 -0700

Hello Bloggers!

Today we have been using Google Maps! This is an interesting site for mapping with many possibilities for use in the classroom. Have a look at this map and then read on to see some of the ways which this great learning tool can be used!

View My Map in a larger map

These world wide mapping tools are an incredible resource in the classroom. The software is downloadable from the internet for minimal cost. Students could use this mapping program to get great satelite images of not only their town and surrounding areas but many places around the world. It could provie great learning opportunities for SOSE and Science learning as well as Mathematics mapping and other applications. I think this resources is very easy to use which would allow students of early ages to access the software and use it with minimal need for teacher assistance. This particular e-Learning tool could be used to provide great learning exploration opportunities for students to choose places relevant to them to help maintain their engagement in the learning, as supported by Keirsley and Schneiderman's Engagement Theory.

Please have a go at using the software and let me know if you are thinking and or using it in your classroom, it would be great to hear how you are using it!

For Google Earth click here.
For Google Maps click here.

Cheers, Pete

Vodcasting and YouTube - Video in the Classroom

noreply@blogger.com (Peter Jordan) — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 22:44:00 -0700

Hello bloggers,

Today I have been using pictures, sounds and videos to create a vodcast. This is done by using a movie make program such as Movie Maker to create a short video. The great thing about vodcasting and creating videos is that students have the opportunity to see the instructions or tasks they are being given. Vodcast can be created on vertually and topic and will provide a great engaging learning resource for students. Vodcasting could also be used for assessment of students learning in that they could be involved in creating a video of them demonstrating particular knowledge identified throughout the unit of work.

Programs such as Movie Maker are simple to use and would be easily accessible for most year levels. The movies students create could also be used to get students to evaluate their knowledge and refine their thoughts in ways which would otherwise be difficult without video evidence.

To enbsure student safety with these uploaded videos students would need to be informed of the expectations of the content of the video and the consequences for inappropriate behaviours using the programs.

Video resources in classrooms are becoming an excellent method of engaging students in the learning taking place in the classroom and could be used effectively in each of the areas of the Learning Design Construct. I think vodcasting and video resources in lessons are a great source of engagment for students.

The following is a short film created by my small group to quickly show some of the possibilities of vodcasting and Movie Maker programs. Please let me know if you have used vodcasts in your lessons, it would be great to here how they have been successfully included to enhance learning.

YouTube and other Video storage sites on the internet contain many great resources for learning in schools. There are so many great videos out there which would be great for use in the classroom. YouTube is one of many sites which contain countless videos posted by people around the world. While there are many videos that are not suitable for students to view these sites are full of great information and I would encourage you to investigate some of the videos and how you could use them in your classroom. A great resource for teaching videos if TeacherTube.
Go and have a look, and be amazed!!!

Cheers, Pete

Podcasting as Learning Tool

noreply@blogger.com (Peter Jordan) — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 21:52:00 -0700

Hey bloggers!

Today we have been podcasting! Podcasting is an excellent tool for learning. Students and teachers are able to use this tool to record and make available information for other people to listen to. Essentially a Podcast is an audio file uploaded to be made available in a format which can be used with MP3 players. This learning tool is easily accessible for students of all ages, with minor teacher input for early years students and will give students the opportunity to listen to teachers podcasts or podcasts of their peers and to reflect on their learning. Podcasting could provide an excellent method of assessing students knowledge in a medium relevant to them (Engagement Theory). Podcasting would also be very useful as a step-by-step instruction resource for students with learning difficulties or who benefit from audio learning opportunities. I think podcasting will be a very effective learning tool in any classroom.

Please click on this link to sample a short podcast created during the lecture.
http://reversingthenorm.mypodcast.com/index.html

Hope you enjoy!!!
Cheers, Pete