Assessment task 1 reflective synopsis

In today's society, children have gained access to an abundance of technology. These technologies are often used by children to discover new information, find solutions to problems and to communicate with their peers (Department of Education and Early Childhood Development, 2009) . As these children become older they will use technology for similar reasons within the workplace. Due to this,  it has become extremely important for schools to incorporate digital technologies within the classroom. This is known as elearning. The Department of Education and Early Childhood Development (2009) describes elearning as "the exploration and use of diverse ICT strategies and tools to expand teaching and learning possibilities in ways that lead to improved student learning outcomes." 

Prior to entering this course I was unsure what elearning was and had little experience using technologies within the classroom. Over the past five weeks I have learnt a range of information which is essential for incorporating elearning within the classroom (refer to blog- here). The following reflective synopsis will draw on theory to present readers with my own knowledge developed within this course.

Linking learning theories and productive pedagogies to core concept

With an increased priority being placed on digital technology it essential that teachers learn to teach for the 21st century. In recent years, it can be seen that teachers pedagogical approaches have significantly changed (Refer here).  This shift in approaches has arisen due to the development of new technology and the use of technology in everyday situations.  I believe that incorporating new technology within schools is vital for student learning. As stated by the Ministerial Council for Education, Early Childhood, Development and Youth Affairs  (n.d) "Pedagogies that integrate information and communication technologies can engage students in ways not previously possible, enhance achievement, create new learning possibilities and extend integration with local and global communities." Changes in approaches have also risen due to the creation of the TPACK framework.  The Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge framework encourages and assists teachers in incorporating technologies into their own pedagogical approaches. Koehler (n.d) explains that TPACK "attempts to identify the nature of knowledge required by teachers for technology integration in their teaching, while addressing the complex, multifaceted and situated nature of teacher knowledge." 

Image retrieved from http://ictevangelist.com/technological-pedagogical-and-content-knowledge/

The use of digital technologies within the classroom can be used in a variety of ways to support collaborative learning. As stated by the Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (2013a) "in the Australian Curriculum, students develop ICT capability as they learn to use ICT effectively and appropriately to access, create and communicate information and ideas, solve problems and work collaboratively in all learning areas at school." Collaborative learning is ideal, as students can work together to share ideas and perspectives and make decisions (here). In the past collaborative learning involved students working face-to-face but the introduction of new technologies means that it can be performed online. Social media websites such as blogger (here) and glogster (here) are ideal for collaborative learning as they allow students to access each others ideas. Collaborative learning is supported by the social constructivist learning theory and productive pedagogies (here). Social constructivism involves students learning through conversations and other students (Brady, 2006, p.7)

Collaborative learning Strengths, weaknesses , opportunities and threats.

Learning theory suggests that effective pedagogy (intellectual quality) should promote higher order, critical and creative thinking. As stated by the Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting agency (2013) "the imparting of knowledge and the development of thinking skills are accepted today as primary purposes of education. The explicit teaching and embedding of critical and creative thinking thoughout the learning areas encourages students to engage in higher order thinking." Higher order thinking involves students applying knowledge to situations, analysing and evaluating information and creating new products, it is more than restating or recalling information. Higher order thinking can be linked to scaffolding such as Blooms Taxonomy and Debono's six thinking hats (here). The Department of Education and Child Development (2013) state "Blooms taxonomy provides a structured questioning method that allows for students to engage in higher order thinking processes." I believe that higher order thinking is vital for constructing new knowledge, solving problems and understanding new information. Digital technologies such as blogs (here), Prezis and wikispaces (here) can be used to encourage higher order thinking. Within the classroom I will use these techniques to design activities and inquiries and to question students.

Providing students with real life and authentic activities is vital for ensuring student success, within and outside the classroom. Authentic experiences reflect real life situations and allow students to transfer their knowledge from the classroom to the outside world, and therefore presents meaningful learning (Bennett et al, 2002). This is relates to the productive pedagogies section 'connectedness' and all learning theories. Many key learning areas do not allow opportunities for hands-on real life activities.  In situations like this teachers are able to use digital technologies such as learning objects (here) to present hypothetical problems. This will allow teachers to engage students and explain new knowledge. Students and adults use ICTs in everyday real life situations, therefore I believe that they should be used to create real life situations within the classroom. 

While working with digital technologies students are often exposed to a wide range of multi-media tools. These tools include videos here, images (here) and audio recordings (here). I believe that the use of multi-media tools within the classroom is vital for engaging students, encouraging creativity, supporting a range of learning styles and enabling students to become multi-literate (here). Walsh (2009) states "The term multi-literacies, new literacies, multi-modal texts and multi-modality represents attempts to describe the textual shift that has occurred and to conceptualise the changed learning paradigm that is fundamental for literacy and learning in an age of increased digital communication." Multi-media can be used within the classroom to teach new concepts, promote class discussions and for student presentations.The use of multi-media tools is supported by a range of learning theories and the productive pedagogies 'intellectual qualities'. 

Throughout my weekly blogs, participation within this course and reflecting on my own learning I have come to the realisation that digital technologies are transforming the way students learn, how teachers teach and how the general population communicate. I believe this is putting a huge emphasis on the importance of elearning within the classroom. Without an in depth understanding of elearning teachers will be unable to meet the needs of students. To accommodate the importance of ICTs within the classroom I aim to incorporate more digital technologies, but more importantly I aim to use them to achieve outcomes that would not be possible without technology. Overall, I feel that I have learnt a great deal about elearning and this will certainly be reflected in my own pedagogical practices.

References

Brady, L., (2006). Collaborative learning in action. Forest Forest, NSW: Pearson Education

Bennett, S., Harper, B., & Hedberg, J. (2002). Designing real-life cases to support authentic design activities. Retrieved from: http://www.ascilite.org.au/conferences/melbourne01/pdf/papers/bennetts.pdf

Department of Education. (2002). Productive Pedagogies classroom reflection manual. Retrieved from: http://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/GeneralCapabilities/Critical-and-creative-thinking/Introduction/Critical-and-creative-thinking-across-the-curriculum

Department of Education and Early Childhood Development. (2009). Elearning planning guide. Retrieved from: http://www.education.vic.gov.au/Documents/school/principals/curriculum/elp09.pdf

Koehler, M. (n.d). TPACK explained. Retrieved from: www.tpack.org

The Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Agency. (2013a). Information, communication and technology capability. Retrieved from: http://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/GeneralCapabilities/Information-and-Communication-Technology-capability/Introduction/Introduction

The Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Agency. (2013b). Critical and creative thinking across the curriculum. Retrieved from: http://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/GeneralCapabilities/Critical-and-creative-thinking/Introduction/Critical-and-creative-thinking-across-the-curriculum

The Ministerial Council for Education, Early Childhood, Development and Youth Affairs. (n.d). Pedagogy strategy: learning in an online world. Retrieved
from: http://www.mceecdya.edu.au/verve/_resources/ict_learningonlineworld-pedagogystrategy.pdf

Reflection 5- Dipity

Hi all,

As a part of this weeks work on assessment task one we were required to write two blogs. Hopefully you have already read my blog entry on Glogster. If not, click on the following link to have a read Reflection 4- Glogster. This week we were given the option of choosing to review any digital tool we liked.  For the purposes of this blog I have chosen to review an online program known as Dipity.

Dipity is an free online timeline creation program which allows users to create timelines to suit a range of purposes. As mentioned by the creators of Dipity 'users can create, share, embed an collaborate on interactive, visually engaging timelines that integrate video, audio, images, text, links, social media, location and time stamps.'

Overall I found this program quite simple to work with. In fact, I believe it would be one of the easiest tools I have reviewed so far. It was easy to join and simple to create my own timeline. While becoming familiar with Dipity I searched a range of other timelines to form some ideas of my own. I found a large number of blogs on a range of topics. One that I found particulary interesting was the timeline on the life of Steve Jobs. This timeline can be found below.

Steve Job's Life and Career on Dipity.

While looking at this timeline I instantly thought of its potential uses in the classroom. In the upper primary school years students are often required to read an autobiography or biography of someone famous. This timeline could be used to supplement student reading or students could be required to create their own timeline as they read.

In order to become familiar with the Dipity tool, I created a short timeline of my own. This timeline could be used to teach students about the history of  Australia or could be created by students to show their own understanding.

history of Australia on Dipity.

I also created a second timeline which is quite different to the first two examples. This timeline could be used in the classroom as an alternative to journal writing or to supplement a 'show and tell' of what students did over their school holidays. 

My holiday on Dipity.

While creating these timelines I had a go at adding in videos, images and links to additional information. I also created a SWOT analysis of my own thoughts while looking at this digital tool.

For more information on creating a Dipity timeline you can watch the following video.

I believe that Dipity is ideal for use in the classroom as it can be used for a wide range of key learning area activities. Its use in the classroom is supported by a range of concepts we have looked at in our e-learning tutorials. The first of these concepts is supporting students using a range of learning styles. According to week one moodle work 'Each learner in your class has a unique combination of prior experience, prior knowledge, perceptions and attitudes, learning style, intelligence, personality and temperament.' Each of these elements will affect how students discover and internalise new information.  Like most of the digital tools we have looked at so far, the use of Dipity in the classroom will support visual learners. This is due to the large amount of images and videos embedded within each timeline. However Dipity can be arranged so that auditory learners can also be supported. This can be done through the use of audio tracks such as podcasts describing the events included in the timeline.

The use of Dipity in the classroom is also supported by the social constructivist learning theory. Week one moodle work describes the social constructivist learning theory as 'learning that is founded upon social interactions within a learning community or expert community.' Dipity is an excellent example of this as it allows students to comment on eachothers work, add events to others timelines or have additional information added to their own timeline. This is advantageous as it allows students to gain new knowledge or insights into historical events from their peers or other members of the community. Dipity also provides great scaffolding opportunities for teachers.

Programs like Dipity are particularly advantageous as the allow users to access a range of multi-media tools such as images, videos, audio and text. I believe that multi-media is a very important part of digital learning and essential part of preparing students for the 21st century. Multi-media can be seen everywhere around us, in fact right at this moment I am listening to the radio (audio), typing on the computer (text) and using facebook (videos, images, text, audio). If I was unaware of the uses and types of multi-media i am currently using I would be unable to effectively communicate with my peers, friends and the wider community.

From what I understand, the use of multi-media in the classroom encourages information retention as they are able to relate new information to pictures or videos they have seen. The manipulation of materials whether that be images or audio or video also aids in subject understanding. By analysing these multi-media tools students are able to create their own understandings. The use of Dipity in the classroom supports all of these vital skills.

As I have already mentioned I believe that Dipity could be used within the classroom for a range of purposes. It could be used to create timelines of historic events in history class, to record what has happened so far in a book (fiction or non-fiction), as a part of reflective writing, for use in presentations or assignments. Teachers could also use this program to engage students in a new topic, to gauge student knowledge in a new topic or even to map what they have taught so far throughout the school year (as a revision tool for students. I believe that this programs ideal use is in the intial stage of blooms taxonomy (Remembering) or the final stage (creating).

When working with Dipity in the classroom it is vital that students are familar with the neccessary legal and ethical rules of online content. When creating a timeline students will often be retriving ideas and information belonging to others on the internet.They need to be aware of copyright laws and how to properly reference the use of someone else's work. For more information on this feel free to have a look at some of week 2's moodle content.

Programs such as Dipity will help teachers and students achieve a range of learning outcomes. These could include but are not limited to; self directed learning, collaborative learning, assessing and building on prior knowledge.

Thanks for reading guys,
Michelle.

Reflection 4- Glogster

Hi all,

As a part of this weeks work on assessment task 1 we were asked to look at three different digital tools which can be used within the classroom to present or collate information. These tools included PowerPoint, Prezi and Glogster. In the past I have worked with all three of these digital tools but have had more extensive experience with the use of PowerPoint. I believe that PowerPoint is an excellent tool for use in the classroom as it is supports a range of multimedia tools and has a range of uses. For the purposes of this blog I chose not to review PowerPoint for the simple fact that I have worked with it in great detail. Prezi is another effective tool for use in the classroom as it allows students to present information and various forms of multimedia. Although i have worked with this tool in the past, I have faced many troubles with it. I believe this is because prezi is better suited for global learners and I am a sequential learner. For this reason I chose not to work with prezi although i do realise that teachers need to support a range of learning styles within the classroom.

This week I chose to work with the digitial tool 'Glogster'. The term glogster is short for graphics blog. It is an online social media website which allows its users to create online posters. These posters can support a range of text, images, videos and sound recordings. Users are also able to link viewers to a range of websites and insert a range of provided graphics. Glogster is excellent for use in the classroom as it provides students with the opportunity to work with a range of multimedia types. Students can use these forms of multimedia to learn new concepts or to present their knowledge to their peers/teacher. With the introduction of a range of new technologies our society is becoming more and more reliant on technology and multi-media.  As mentioned in last weeks e-learning moodle work "multi-media is one of the most important affordances of e-learning." This is why I believe it is vital that students are exposed to a range of multi-media concepts and various forms of ICTs from a young age.

Gloster is a relatively easy tool to use for students of all ages, teachers, businesses, advertisers and the general public. Previously I have used Glogster to create a range of online task cards for a university assessment task. Following is a basic guide to creating a Glogster account and creating a glog.

Creating a glogster account is as simple as typing in your email address and creating a password. On creating an account users are also given the option to link their glogster account to their facebook account to find friends and family also using this program. Once logged on users can begin creating their glogster account. For new users I highly recommend watching a few YouTube videos about the features and how to use glogsters. This will make the program much simpler to use (Although it is already relatively easy). Following is just one of the many YouTube instruction videos available for new gloster users.



As you can see from this video creating a glog is a very simple process. Although the layout your glogster website may be a little different from the above video it will still be relatively easy to navigate. When creating a new blog users are presented with the option to choose from a range of blog templates. After a template is chosen the first step is to select a background. Backgrounds can simply be a plain colour, a background created by glogster, or an uploaded background. When choosing a background glogster gives users the ability to search for backgrounds from google, picasa, Flickr, photobucket and facebook.

The next stage is to add your text, images and audio recordings. Adding text to a glogster is a simple process. In fact adding text is as simple as adding a text box and beginning to write.Text books come in a variety of shapes, sizes and colours and can all be edited.

The addition of images, audio and videos can be done in two different ways. Users are given the option to embed the multi-media source into the glog or link viewers to the source via a URL code. Embedding images into the glog is much more effective as it is easily accessible by viewers and makes the glog more visually appealing.

Once the glog is completed users can publish their glog. When publishing users are given the option to select their desired privacy settings. This allows users to make their glog viewable by the public or themselves only. Before publishing users are also given the option to tag their glog to make it easier to find by other users. After the glog has been published users are given a URL address for their glog (Following is the URL address for my first glog: http://www.glogster.com/shellbell26/glogster/g-6kjs8tt3rgdr0130poviba0). Users are also given the option to share their glog via facebook, twitter or google +. Embedding a glog within blogs or other similar programs is as easy as accessing the HTML code and copying it into the blog.

In order to become familiar with glogster and how it works, I have created my own glog.

While working within glogster I tried out several different features. I embedded a video, images and graphics and text. I have also added hyperlinks to sections of the text so viewers could find more information on the chosen topic.

While becoming familiar with this online platform I found that there are two different sections of glogster. When a user initially accesses the glogster website they are given the option to enter Glogster EDU or the free version of glogster. The educational section of this program allows teachers to create their own glogster account. This account differs from standard glogster accounts as it allows teachers to register their students as users on glog, but retain the right to see what they are working on and viewing.

The use of glogs in the classroom support a range of learning outcomes. Glog encourages students to become more familiar with the use of ICTs and multi-media tools. In many cases glogs can encourage collaborative learning, creativity, presentation skills and even the gathering of information for class tasks and assignments. The most obvious use of glogsters is to replace or substitute the use of the original print based poster. Using a glog over a poster is beneficial as it allows students to place educational videos and useful links. It can also save parents money spent on glue, ink and paper (and the many hours helping children create their poster).

The use of glogsters in the classroom is an excellent tool for teachers to support visual learners. It allows teachers to provide students with visual elements to print based or verbal explanations. This can help make boring subjects more interesting or difficult concepts easier to understand. Like many of the digital tools we have looked at so far, the use of the glog in classrooms is supported by the social constructivist learning theory. This theory suggests that learning should be based around social interactions by the student and teacher. This includes collaboration via online platforms like glogster.

The use of glogster can be integrated into many classroom activities. The first of these uses could be as a visual aid for speeches and presentations. Following is an example of a student glog which could be used as a part of presentation. To complete this glog students would need to research, plan and create this poster. Students could also be required to present a speech.

created by- rachelb2000

Teachers could also use glogster as tool for students to present science projects, book reports, brainstorming sessions, collation of research, character profiles, word walls and art analysis. Like many of the digital tools we have looked at so far, the uses of glogster are only limited by the teachers imagination and student ability.  Teachers are able to use glog to explain new concepts, engage students in a new unit of work, to create word walls or even a classroom pin board of the days/week events.

Overall I believe that glogster is an effective tool for use in the classroom as it supports a range of learning outcomes and can be used in a wide range of classroom activities. To explore glogster for your self click on the following link: glogster

Thanks for reading.

Reflection 3- Flickr

Hey all,

This week we have been asked to have a look at another three digital technologies. These technologies are Podcasting, Videos and Images. As mentioned in this weeks moodle readings/activities each of these technologies are a part of a wide web of multi-media tools. From what I understand multimedia is basically any type of media that uses a combination of media types, such as images, text, videos, sound recordings etc. I believe that multimedia is a very useful tool to use in the classroom as it is engaging and when used in certain ways it can encourage higher order thinking, discussions and analysis. It can be used to scaffold thinking, introduce new concepts, relating information to real life situations and for many other reasons.

For the purposes of this blog I have chosen to have a closer look at images, in particular an online image platform called Flickr. Flickr is an online program that allows its members and non-members to view a large collection of photos. These photos relate to a wide range of topics and also has a specialised section called 'the commons' which is dedicated to historic photos. One of the greatest features of Flickr is the creative commons section. By entering the creative commons, users can search for any topic and find photos that are not protected by copyright or can be saved or used in certain situations (for private use only, or available for use with attribution).

Becoming a member of Flickr is a relatively simple process as users can log in via their facebook account or google account (Bloggers are able to use the same google account). Once logged in users are able to access a range of features. By clicking on the 'upload' feature users can share their photos with the public. While uploading their images users can also edit their photos in a variety of ways. The first option is to add tags to the photo. These tags make it easier for people to find the types of photos they are looking for. The next option is to tag people this is useful if the user wants someone in particular to see their photo or if they want to tag someone that is in the photo.

Members of Flickr can become part of a range of groups. Within these groups users share photos with each other that relate to the topic of the group. When uploading photos users can choose to also share the photo with a group that they are part of. This would be useful in the classroom setting as teachers could create a whole class group or when working in small groups multiple pages could be made.

One of the most important features users can access while uploading photos is the owner setting sections. This section allows users to control how their photo can be used and seen by others. Users can select the 'all rights reserved' setting to insure that nobody can use their photos or they can choose from a variety of other settings which controls whether their photo can be used for non-commercial purposes or can be used with attribution (credits to the owner of the photo). The user can also can also select who can see their photos by allowing friends and family only, making it accessible to the general public or setting it to private so that only the user can see his/her photos.

Once photos have been uploaded to Flickr the user can edit their photos in a range of ways. In order to become familiar with Flickr I have uploaded a few images of my own which have been shared with other Flickr users. The following images I have edited, tagged and explored copyright settings.

While editing this photo I had a play around with the borders, addition of text and a range of other effects. This was my first attempt at using Flickr and originally I had a few issues with finding where the editing part of the program was, but with a bit of playing around I now feel quite comfortable with using Flickr.

While working with this image I came across the slideshow function. This allows the user to see his/her images in a slideshow form. This could be useful for teachers in the classroom when showing students a number of images. It could also be useful to students during presentations or as a part of an assignment.

Originally I had some difficulty inserting these images into my blog. After uploading my images to Flickr I began to search for the share button (that was easy enough to find) the harder part was getting them to upload to the blog. Flickr provides users with the option to share their photos with facebook, twitter, pinterest, tumblr, blogger and wordpress. It also gives user the option to link people to the photo or copy the HTML code to embed the photo. Initially I tried sharing via blogger but when I did this the program wanted to put each photo into a new blog entry, but by coping the HTML code (a technique I learnt during e-learning tutorials) I was able to embed these photos.

Whilst becoming familiar with Flickr I searched for a range of images and researched the copyright restrictions described on the Flickr site. I found that many images needed to attributed (which is basically like referencing) however attributions could be done in a range of ways. Following is an example:


Photo by Rosana Prada: http://www.flickr.com/photos/zanastardust/

While working with and becoming familiar with Flickr I realised that Flickr would be useful in a range of classroom settings for a variety of purposes. As discussed in my first blog entry, I strongly believe that teachers need to support a range of learning styles within the classroom. By using images found within Flickr teachers will be able to ensure that visual learners are supported. With the addition of verbal explanations or even sound recordings teachers will also be able to ensure that auditory learners are being supported. While completing hands on activities to support kinethetic learners teachers could use class ipods or cameras to document their journey. This images can be uploaded to Flickr then edited, used within the slideshow function or shared with their peers.

The uses of Flickr are virtually endless and are only limited by the teachers creativity and the students ability to use ICTs. The creative commons is an effective tool for older childrens' assignments as they learn the responsibility of giving credit for others work. Teachers can create Flickr accounts to share photos with students and parents. This could be as a part of class lessons or as a tool for keeping parents up to date (This can be done in just images or as part of a blogger or through Flickr blogs) with the latest class trips etc. While working with Flickr teachers must remember that any photos containing photos of children and childrens' work need permission from parents and students to be posted. For sensitive areas like this Flickr is useful because of its wide range of privacy settings (The teacher can control who sees the photos).

Images are a great conversation starter. In the classroom they can be used to explain a new topic to children. For example children from inland Australia may have not much to do with the ocean and by showing a range of images and videos, teachers would be able to explain the concept with greater ease. Similarly, images can also be used as a stimulus tool for creative writing and brainstorming activities.

Taking photos during science experiments and field trips are an excellent way to remind students of what took place. This will help them with science reports or field studies. To make things more engaging and to incorporate the use of ICTs students can be held responsible for taking these photos and uploading them to Flickr depending on the age group.

Overall I believe that Flickr is an extremely effective tool for use in the classroom and at home. It is relatively easy to use and very versatile. Flickr enables teachers to support a range of learning styles, encourage higher order thinking and creativity.

That's all for this week. Thanks for reading
Michelle.

Reflection 2- What are blogs? How can they be used in the classroom?

We have all been blogging for a few weeks now. At this point many of us have figured out how to insert 'pretty' pictures, informing videos and interesting links into our blogs . We have also edited our blogs to incorporate personalised backgrounds, various font styles and colours and 'witty' titles (unfortunately I'm not creative enough to think of any).  But the question is, how many people really understand what blogs are and their potential uses in the classroom?

 Image retrieved from: blog.zadrocommunications

Welcome to week 3!!

This week we were required to select a web 2.0 product and write a review on its features and possible uses in the classroom. But first what is web 2.0?

From what I understand web 2.0 could be seen as the second generation of the internet/ web pages. Before web 2.0 all web pages were unchangeable by the general public allowing only the webmaster (creator of the page) to edit. With the introduction of web 2.0 we have seen the rise of wikispaces, editable webpages (wikipedia), social media sites (including facebook and twitter) and of course the blog. All these websites have been made open for editing and commenting on by the general public.

 For the purpose of this review I have chosen to have a closer look at the blog and its possible uses in the classroom setting. Originally we had the option to choose between the blog, wikispaces and webpages. Out of these three choices I thought blogs would be the most logical choice, as I have had little experience with blogs before now.

From reading this weeks course material I have learnt a lot about what blogs are and what they they can be used for. Basically a blog is a website that has been created by an individual or a group of individuals to share their own thoughts, feelings and beliefs. Blogs can be about a variety of topics including global news, sports and various hobbies. Each time a person edits a blog they create a new blog post (similar to starting a new journal entry in a diary) These blog entries always appear with the most recently added blog post at the top of the web page (reverse chronological order). For more information on what a blog is feel free to view this video: Blogs in plain English (unfortunately it is unable to be  embedded due to owner restrictions).

Although this review manly focuses on the use of blogger, there are also a wide range of  other online blog platforms available for use by the general public. These blog platforms include wordpress, tumblr, thought.com and webnode. At the present time my own experiences with blogs are limited but from what I know, I believe that blogger is an excellent online blog platform. This is because it is free to all users, easy to customise and edit and allows feedback from readers. Blogger is also advantageous as it provides creators with their own URL (Universal Resource Locator which is otherwise known as a web address). By providing a web address for each blog, creators are able to have their very own online space and readers are able to access their favourite blogs with greater ease. Another advantage of blogger is its ability to be linked to gmail, google plus and blogger mobile applications. This makes it easier for users to stay connected with their readers at all times and avoids the use of a range of different passwords for various accounts (I'm notorious for forgetting passwords).  Many  of these online blog services offer the same  features to the public but often vary in presentation and 'user friendliness.'

 The blogger is advantageous as it can be easily edited to suit the needs of the audience and the creator.  Creating a new blog post is as simple as clicking on the 'new blog' button, typing in a clever title and writing in the blog. While creating a new blog authors are able to embed or link in a range of multi-media sources including; images (as seen on the top of this page), web pages, other people's blogs(linked towards the end of this blog) , youtube videos, screen shots (can be seen on the following link screen shot), popplets or bubbl .us etc. (Bubblus can be seen by the following link Bubblus)The blog page can then be edited by changing the design template, font, layout and settings. All of this can be done by clicking on the 'design' button. Blogger even allows the author to view a number of statistics including how many people have viewed their page and where they come from.

Traditionally blogs were created and edited by a single person but with the use of blogger additional authors are able to be added. This means that more than one person can add information to the one blog which could prove useful in a range of settings such as businesses and in schools. One of the greatest advantages of using blogger is the inclusion of a number of privacy settings. By accessing the blogger settings page the author can set their blog to private and allow access for certain people. The author can also edit who can comment on their blog. Both of these features would prove very advantageous in the classroom setting.

YES!! that's right schools. With the introduction of Web 2.0 many schools have begun using the internet and various ICT (Information, communication, technology) tools within their classrooms. Websites such as Wikispaces have been utilised for sharing information, online collaboration and assignment presentation in a number of classroom environments (Primary, secondary and tertiary  education). Blogs have been added into a number of areas of the school to assist in everyday studies, assignments and home-school relationships.

By creating a classroom blog teachers can provide students and parents with a way to easily stay in contact. With today's busy lifestyle parents are often unable to come in and see their childrens' teacher for information. In the past teachers have often sent home a weekly newsletter that more often than not got lost on the way home or not handed to the parent (I was often guilty for leaving it at the bottom of my school bag for my mum to find). By creating a blog parents can log in and see what their children are doing in the classroom. The classroom can add regular updates of what is happening, this weeks homework, videos of sports days and photos of this weeks science experiment. Students and parents can comment on things such as what do they need to bring to sports day tomorrow, their findings from the science experiment, any troubles with homework etc.  I believe that this would be very advantageous as busy parents would be able to become more involved in their childrens education and students would be able to easily contact their teacher if having difficulties with school work at home. The use of blogger would also be advantageous as parents would be easily able to contact the teacher privately through email (Gmail of course) on more sensitive topics (Jimmy won't be able to make it to school today as we are attending his grandma's funeral). The classroom teacher could then post the days work so students unable to attend school are able to catch up. The only downside to this may be that everyone on the internet may be able to view this page (I'm unsure if security settings are able to be created) or parents may not have access to the internet at home.

Another use for blogs in the classroom could be for research based tasks or group assignments. When completing a research based assignment (for example How did the settlers arrive in Australia) students can keep track of their research and their own ideas through the use of the blog. For example Susie found out that the settlers arrived in a series of boats and that the conditions of those boat were terrible. Instead of just copying that information into a word document for later use, teachers could ask students to create a short blog about their findings. This would allow students to consolidate their knowledge and show the teacher that they understand the new information. The advantage of posting it on a blog is that other students in the class will be able to access each others knowledge and add to their own knowledge. Students would be able to comment on each others work by posing questions, adding to each others work and suggesting further research areas. This is called collaboration and is supported by the social constructivist theory. Collaboration or discussion allows students to build upon their own knowledge and gain a deeper understanding of what they are learning.

There are many ways that blogs can be used in the classroom which is only limited by the students knowledge of ICTs and the teachers creativity. For more ideas on the ways in which blogs can be used in the classroom. Check out this bloggers ideas:
Web 2.0 in the classroom

While reading up on blogs as a part of this weeks moodle information I created a PMI chart (positives, minuses and interesting facts). This chart let me weigh up the 'pros and cons' of using blogs in the classroom.

From this PMI chart it can be seen that the positives of using blogs in the classroom far out weighs the negative aspects. The use of blogs in the classroom are very effective as they encourage students to practice their reflective writing skills while sharing their own thoughts and opinions. Good reflective writing encourages students to participate in higher order thinking. During lessons or research students remember and understanding new information (The first two levels of Blooms Taxonomy) while completing their blog they are able to participate in the higher levels of blooms which include; applying, creating, evaluating and analysing ( Just like I am doing now with this weeks moodle content). Students often find working in these higher levels of thinking a little difficult. So by scaffolding these levels through the use of a carefully constructed and scaffolded blogs students will be able to receive the most out of their learning. 

When using blogs in the classroom, teachers should start students off with a scaffolded way of writing their blog entry. As students become more used to blogging (and in turn reflective writing), teachers can reduce the amount of scaffolding and allow students to use their creativity. The scaffolding used while creating a blog could include a PMI (this was the base used for this blog entry), de Bono's hats (like last weeks blog entry), Y charts (looks like, feels like, sounds like), KWL charts ( What I know, what I want to know and what I have learnt), venn diagrams etc. This will help students to get the most out of the task, engage in higher order thinking and will also make the use of blogs seem less daunting. 

Overall I believe that the use of blogs in the classroom is an extremely effective tool. This is because it is user friendly, engaging for students, encourages higher order thinking and can be used for a range of classroom activities.

Thanks for listening. Catch you all next week.

Michelle. 

Reflection one - de Bono's thinking hats and wikispaces

As a part of this week's managing e-learning task we were asked to participate in a wikispace activity which posed the question " Mobile phones- Should they be used in the classroom." During this activity all students were asked to record their own opinions of mobile phone use in the classroom. These thoughts and opinions were scaffolded by the inclusion of de Bono's six thinking hats.

Prior to completing this week's task I had used wikispaces for a number of other university subjects. Most of these previous experiences using wikispaces have been positive ones. I believe that it is an extremely effective tool to create webpages and online collaboration spaces. It can be edited to include a number of different pages, links, tables and images. I believe that the use of wikispaces in the classroom is beneficial to both the student and the teacher. Wikispaces is an effective tool as it can be used to connect students to range of information, it can also be used for assessment purposes (How many times do teachers ask students to create a poster... why not incorporate ICTs and create a wikispace page instead) and as a collaborative learning space. 

The use of wikispaces within the classroom is an effective tool as it allows students to view and comment on each other's work. This collaboration is advantageous as it allows for maximum learning; Students who do not fully understand the task at hand, can view others work before writing their own and students can add on to their peers' ideas. This type of learning fits in with the social constructivist learning theory approach. Basically social constructivism is learning that is based around social interaction. The use of online hosts such as blogger and wikispaces are a valuable tool in constructivist learning as they allow for collaboration, editing by multiple people and additional comments. Constructivism is an important learning theory to use in the classroom setting as it encourages student discussion. When involved in discussion students begin to think of things in ways they would not have in an individual situation. They are also able to find new information and ideas through collaborating with their peers. 

Wikispaces and similar online sites can be used for a range of purposes in the classroom; they can be used by teachers as a means to gather and organise information that students have researched, they can be used to create online advertisements or newspaper articles or organise group work ideas. The possibilities are only limited by the teachers and students own creativity. However, wikispaces does have its flaws. Prior to completing this activity it was mentioned by the lecturer that when editing a wikispace page it is vital that any work completed is also copied in to word document. This is because if two people are editing a page at the same time their work may be saved over. Luckily, this did not happen when I was participating in the De bono's hats activity but it has happened while using wikispaces for other university subjects. 

While participating in this wikispaces activity we were required to fill out a graphic organiser containing the six types of thinking used in the de Bono's thinking hats strategy. Prior to completing this activity I had heard of de Bono's thinking hats but I was a little worried about using them as I had never properly worked with them before. After a little research I found that each hat had a different purpose and required the participant to think in a different light. The main focus of this activity was to consider the different perspectives of whether mobile phones should be used in the classroom. As I had never worked with de Bono's hats before I thought it would be advantageous to complete each hat with detail. Below is my response to this activity.

I believe that the use of this particular graphic organiser for de Bono's thinking hats is extremely effective  tool for both the use of this activity and for use in the classroom. This is because it provides a practical description of each of the thinking hats which anyone would be able to use.

The use of the de Bono's thinking hats was an excellent way to scaffold student learning and thinking processes. When the question "do you think mobile phones should be used in the classroom" is brought up many students (both university and primary school) would answer with a simple "yes" or "no". The teacher may further prompt them for a reason why. To this students will usually answer with one reason that applies to their original answer. This type of questioning does not encourage students to think about both sides of the argument. However by scaffolding this question further (with the use of de Bono's thinking hats) teachers are able to encourage higher order thinking. de Bono's six thinking hats requires the students to think of the negative implications and the positive implications as well as known and unknown information, how the topic makes them feel, the process and other creative aspects. Once the student has then thought of all the information relating to the topic they will be able to make a more informed decision when answering the posed question.

If I was to have completed this activity without the use of de Bono's hats I would have instantly thought 'no, mobile phones should not be used in the classroom can you imagine how big of a distraction that would present' but by using de Bono's thinking hats I have come to the conclusion that 'if mobile phone use was closely monitored and controlled I would see the advantages of using them in the classroom. However at the current time this may not be possible.' This opinion was also altered by reading everyone else's contributions to the de Bono's hats as they had ideas that I had not been able to think of myself.

Overall I believe that this activity, the use of wikispaces and de Bono's six thinking hats are all very effective strategies for use in the classroom. This is because they encourage collaboration and higher order thinking. This is definitely something I would like to try in my own classroom in the future.

Cheers for reading (I hope I did not write too much)
Michelle.

Engagement Activity 6- What is Pedagogy?

welcome to week 2!

Hello again :) This week as part of week two moodle activities we have been asked to reflect on what we have learnt about pedagogy. But first... What is pedagogy?

From what I understand, I believe that pedagogy is simply how something is taught. It includes the strategies and activities that teachers choose to use to support learners in developing content knowledge.With this subject being primarily based on e-learning and digital technologies it is needless to say that digital pedagogy is another important concept to understand. Digital pedagogy simply involves using digital technology to teach students key content knowledge and also to further their understandings of ICT.

I believe that using ICTs to teach in the classroom is extremely important as today's society uses these technologies more and more in everyday life. By using ICTs teachers can connect students to a wealth of knowledge, provide online platforms for classroom collaboration and group work and for assessment purposes. The TPACK (technological, pedagogical and content knowlege) framework supports this by stating that digital technologies are neccessary for good learning but adds that understanding content knowledge and knowing how to teach the content knowledge is still extremely important. I agree with this framework whole-heartily.

To help teachers use effective pedagogy a framework known as productive pedagogy has been created. This framework aims to improve the quality of teaching practices. I believe that this framework is very effective and useful as it encourages teachers to support students, draw on each students background knowledge, encourages self directed learning and supports students of various cultures and beliefs.

Teachers often draw upon a range of these pedagogical frameworks to create their own pedagogical approach. Currently I do not have a pedagogical approach of my own. I believe this is because I have not had enough experience in the teaching industry to stick to one approach. By trialing all the approaches presented to me throughout this course and others i will be able to eventually find an approach that suits my students and myself. I believe that this approach will continue to change depending on the students, the school and the content being taught.

Just a couple of my own thoughts,
Michelle.