Sunday, April 18, 2010
Picnik - Image Manipulation
I was a little unsure of Picnik, because I thought that it would only allow me to do the basics of image editing. However, once I got into a bit more, I could see that I can add 'stickers'; play with the colour and effects; and also produce a basic scrapbook page. It is so easy to get caught up on editing and manipulating photo images. I have used something similar in Momento (creating photobooks), however, this is very costly when it comes to printing images or books. I think that this program would be great for student's to edit their own images for assessment purposes and/or fieldtrip evidence. If they are bad photographers like myself, then it would allow improved and creative images.
Flickr
I have chosen this photo of Pompeii. My husband and I visited Pompeii in 2003. Visiting ancient places, such as Pompeii, Rome, Rhodes (Greece) and Ephesus (Turkey) were highlights for me. A funny story - we were staying near Naples and overnight there were a few loud bangs. Along with everyone else in our tour group, we thought Mount Vesuvius was erupting and that we would have to evacuate the hotel. It turned out to be fireworks.
There are a lot of photos of Pompeii on Flickr as such could be used in Ancient History classes. Their audience reach is far greater than my Pompeii book, my personal photos or our currently unedited video. These photos are so powerful, you feel as though you were standing there in town on that fateful day in 79AD. I think that students could also use the images from Flickr in their assessments (ie oral presentations, essays, reports). The images can show a student's understanding and their interpretation of the unit's content.
There are a lot of photos of Pompeii on Flickr as such could be used in Ancient History classes. Their audience reach is far greater than my Pompeii book, my personal photos or our currently unedited video. These photos are so powerful, you feel as though you were standing there in town on that fateful day in 79AD. I think that students could also use the images from Flickr in their assessments (ie oral presentations, essays, reports). The images can show a student's understanding and their interpretation of the unit's content.
Friday, April 9, 2010
Powerpoint Presentations
I have not used Powerpoint since my last year in undergraduate studies (over 10 years ago). At that time, Powerpoint was very new. Whenever, we had to complete an oral presentation, some students would use Powerpoint for their slides. However, as technology in classrooms was limited to an OHP, students would print their individual slides on overhead transparencies and use the overview component for their oral presentation notes/speech.
The video in the Moodle courseware was very humorous, as that is how I would set out my presentations in the past. Hopefully, my presentation does not make these same mistakes.
I think that most challenging aspects of this task were:
* researching of information
* being creative with the slides so it does not look boring
* using slideshare
* time
Everyone uses Powerpoint in their presentations and lectures and I would assume that it would be the most utilised piece of software/technology used in schools (apart from word processing). It is so very simple to use and you can make your slides very basic or as elaborate as you wish. I think that it would depend on your skill, experience and creativity. A person's skill in Powerpoint is equally important in school than it is in the workplace and high education.
Please find below my very basic Powerpoint presentation on a topic that is also very relevant in the 21st century - climate change. I would suspect that this could be used in a lower secondary SOSE or Science class.
The video in the Moodle courseware was very humorous, as that is how I would set out my presentations in the past. Hopefully, my presentation does not make these same mistakes.
I think that most challenging aspects of this task were:
* researching of information
* being creative with the slides so it does not look boring
* using slideshare
* time
Everyone uses Powerpoint in their presentations and lectures and I would assume that it would be the most utilised piece of software/technology used in schools (apart from word processing). It is so very simple to use and you can make your slides very basic or as elaborate as you wish. I think that it would depend on your skill, experience and creativity. A person's skill in Powerpoint is equally important in school than it is in the workplace and high education.
Please find below my very basic Powerpoint presentation on a topic that is also very relevant in the 21st century - climate change. I would suspect that this could be used in a lower secondary SOSE or Science class.
Climate Change
View more presentations from tjgiles.
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
ePortfolios
I am sitting here (with the flu) trying to gain a better understanding of Mahara and ePortfolios. At first I could not see the relevance of ePortfolios (ie Mahara) and how it could be incorporated into an educational setting. I only saw it as our assessment tool or portfolio platform for graduate teachers (as suggested through this course).
The Mahara website provides really good examples and information regarding ePortfolios and it allowed me to gain a better understanding of its application.
"ePortfolios ... are personal online spaces for students to access services and store work. They will become ever more useful as learners grow up and start moving between different types of learning and different institutions" (Secretary of State for Education and Skills - UK, 2006 as cited in http://mahara.org/about/eportfolios).
Another explanation is “It can be used to create collections of artefacts to share with fellow students, peers, family/ friends, to present to potential employers and to complement applications for research funding” (http://mahara.org/about/eportfolios). As various readings outline,over a lifetime individuals will have a multitude of jobs. ePortfolios provide one place to record achievements, aspirations/goals and experience.
Ravet’s (2006 as cited in Steel, Ehrmann & Long, 2008) vision for ePortfolios is a “personal, lifelong, and lifewide learning landscape”. There are applications for in a education, social and work context. In my opinion, it is a one-stop shops for all your networking needs.
After some reading, researching and reflecting, I can see ePortfolios being utilised in the following situations:
* Assessment – allows the teacher to view assessment, provide feedback and report accordingly. In particular, it could be beneficial for the Senior Certificate.
* Portfolios – for students to submit to universities or post-compulsory education institutions. It could also be expanded for when the student graduates university, they require accreditation (ie teachers, engineers, accountants, psychologists).
* Resumes – as above
* Learning Management System – teachers could put all learning materials for students to review out of school hours. Students could also use it as study notes and assist in recall of information/knowledge.
* Student Reflection/Journal of their learning experiences.
To be honest, I was quite nervous about using Mahara. However, the videos by Scot were very straightforward and easy to understand. I have had a quick look around and set up some things on Mahara. I am confident that I have a basic understanding of this platform and it will only be a matter of time before I can grasp it fully and use it to its full potential (hopefully). I also look forward to using Mahara outside of this course.
References
http://mahara.org/about/eportfolios.
Steel, C.H., Ehrmann, S.C. & Long P.D. (2008). Creating community engagement
around the concept of ePortfolios: An innovative planning process. In Hello! Where are you in the landscape of educational technology? Proceedings ascilite Melbourne 2008. Retrieved from http://www.ascilite.org.au/conferences/melbourne08/procs/steel.pdf
The Mahara website provides really good examples and information regarding ePortfolios and it allowed me to gain a better understanding of its application.
"ePortfolios ... are personal online spaces for students to access services and store work. They will become ever more useful as learners grow up and start moving between different types of learning and different institutions" (Secretary of State for Education and Skills - UK, 2006 as cited in http://mahara.org/about/eportfolios).
Another explanation is “It can be used to create collections of artefacts to share with fellow students, peers, family/ friends, to present to potential employers and to complement applications for research funding” (http://mahara.org/about/eportfolios). As various readings outline,over a lifetime individuals will have a multitude of jobs. ePortfolios provide one place to record achievements, aspirations/goals and experience.
Ravet’s (2006 as cited in Steel, Ehrmann & Long, 2008) vision for ePortfolios is a “personal, lifelong, and lifewide learning landscape”. There are applications for in a education, social and work context. In my opinion, it is a one-stop shops for all your networking needs.
After some reading, researching and reflecting, I can see ePortfolios being utilised in the following situations:
* Assessment – allows the teacher to view assessment, provide feedback and report accordingly. In particular, it could be beneficial for the Senior Certificate.
* Portfolios – for students to submit to universities or post-compulsory education institutions. It could also be expanded for when the student graduates university, they require accreditation (ie teachers, engineers, accountants, psychologists).
* Resumes – as above
* Learning Management System – teachers could put all learning materials for students to review out of school hours. Students could also use it as study notes and assist in recall of information/knowledge.
* Student Reflection/Journal of their learning experiences.
To be honest, I was quite nervous about using Mahara. However, the videos by Scot were very straightforward and easy to understand. I have had a quick look around and set up some things on Mahara. I am confident that I have a basic understanding of this platform and it will only be a matter of time before I can grasp it fully and use it to its full potential (hopefully). I also look forward to using Mahara outside of this course.
References
http://mahara.org/about/eportfolios.
Steel, C.H., Ehrmann, S.C. & Long P.D. (2008). Creating community engagement
around the concept of ePortfolios: An innovative planning process. In Hello! Where are you in the landscape of educational technology? Proceedings ascilite Melbourne 2008. Retrieved from http://www.ascilite.org.au/conferences/melbourne08/procs/steel.pdf
Sunday, April 4, 2010
Nintendo Wii and physical activity
I found a related article in today's Sunday Mail. Please find the link below:
http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/this-is-the-future-of-sport-in-schools-wii-instead-of-pe/story-e6freuy9-1225849277763
While everyone is in agreement as to the benefit of ICTs in the classroom, it seems this topic has raised some debate. I must admit that I am not sure. My son plays the Nintendo Wii Fit every afternoon. It is good to see him refining his sporting skills and co-ordination (in fact he is better at it that I am).
However, he does not spend all day indoors. In fact my children play in their cubbyhouse and sandpit and help with the gardening and washing.
http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/this-is-the-future-of-sport-in-schools-wii-instead-of-pe/story-e6freuy9-1225849277763
While everyone is in agreement as to the benefit of ICTs in the classroom, it seems this topic has raised some debate. I must admit that I am not sure. My son plays the Nintendo Wii Fit every afternoon. It is good to see him refining his sporting skills and co-ordination (in fact he is better at it that I am).
However, he does not spend all day indoors. In fact my children play in their cubbyhouse and sandpit and help with the gardening and washing.
Friday, April 2, 2010
My Son and VOKI
As I stated in my last post, I decided to show my son the VOKI program. Previously, my son has not been interested in technology, especially computers. I was not sure how to engage him with ICTs. Now, I have something. He was very impressed and loved designing his character. He especially enjoys working out the character's script and listening to what it has to say. My son loves to talk and is very imaginative with his stories, so he wants his VOKI character to do the same thing.
The downside is that whenever we are in the study/office, he needs to create his character. While I can't do any work, it is good to see him interested in the computer. I am using this as an opportunity to get him engaged in the computer, and hopefully, other ICT tools.
The downside is that whenever we are in the study/office, he needs to create his character. While I can't do any work, it is good to see him interested in the computer. I am using this as an opportunity to get him engaged in the computer, and hopefully, other ICT tools.
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Blogs, WIKIs, VOKI, etc
I have finally bitten the bullet and starting working on my blog. When it comes to technology, I am a bit behind the times and I know that I definitely lack the confidence to implement new things. I think that my husband and I are the only people who don't use Facebook.
This is the first time that I have ever looked at Blogs, let alone create one myself, and along with a lot of other people I was a little apprehensive. But once it was setup and I started messing around with it, I became a little more confident. One example/idea I had of a Blog being used by in schools could involve students researching and documenting their family history.
After I created my WIKI, I was still a little unsure of it all. I had heard of WIKIs in conversations beforehand, but I never knew/understood what people were talking about. The video on Moodle regarding 'WIKIs in Plain English' was helpful for me to understand the concept. The camping example provided was good, because I could see that this concept could be translated to my husband's annual footy trips and social golf club. Next year, I might get him set up on Wikispaces and it will save having so many emails. The video in Moodle on 21st century learning gave two good examples on how to use a WIKI and I hope that I can try something like that. At university, part of the assessment was the development of a business plan for a local business. Due to a lack of WIKIs and emails, group meetings were usually done face-to-face. A WIKI would have worked great in this instance.
VOKI was a lot of fun to play around with. The Nintendo Wii has a similar setting and I can sit there and create around 12 Mii characters in one sitting - much to my family's amusement. I can see these characters working in the classroom to hook students into a topic. Some ideas I had were using historical/political figures to introduce a specific topic (ie Winston Churchill, F.D Roosevelt & John Curtin to talk about their WWII perspectives). I'm sure this idea has already been suggested. Students could also do the same with their assignments. I think that I will let my son have a go at the VOKI software to see what he can create.
While I was a little apprehensive about the technology, I now enjoy experimenting with all of them to see what I can create. I could sit here for hours.
I understand that I need to be confident in using these technologies when I start teaching. From now on, I will be committed to experimenting with different technologies in order to provide my students an engaging and meaningful learning experience.
This is the first time that I have ever looked at Blogs, let alone create one myself, and along with a lot of other people I was a little apprehensive. But once it was setup and I started messing around with it, I became a little more confident. One example/idea I had of a Blog being used by in schools could involve students researching and documenting their family history.
After I created my WIKI, I was still a little unsure of it all. I had heard of WIKIs in conversations beforehand, but I never knew/understood what people were talking about. The video on Moodle regarding 'WIKIs in Plain English' was helpful for me to understand the concept. The camping example provided was good, because I could see that this concept could be translated to my husband's annual footy trips and social golf club. Next year, I might get him set up on Wikispaces and it will save having so many emails. The video in Moodle on 21st century learning gave two good examples on how to use a WIKI and I hope that I can try something like that. At university, part of the assessment was the development of a business plan for a local business. Due to a lack of WIKIs and emails, group meetings were usually done face-to-face. A WIKI would have worked great in this instance.
VOKI was a lot of fun to play around with. The Nintendo Wii has a similar setting and I can sit there and create around 12 Mii characters in one sitting - much to my family's amusement. I can see these characters working in the classroom to hook students into a topic. Some ideas I had were using historical/political figures to introduce a specific topic (ie Winston Churchill, F.D Roosevelt & John Curtin to talk about their WWII perspectives). I'm sure this idea has already been suggested. Students could also do the same with their assignments. I think that I will let my son have a go at the VOKI software to see what he can create.
While I was a little apprehensive about the technology, I now enjoy experimenting with all of them to see what I can create. I could sit here for hours.
I understand that I need to be confident in using these technologies when I start teaching. From now on, I will be committed to experimenting with different technologies in order to provide my students an engaging and meaningful learning experience.
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