Self Tests by Alex Bick
I found an article wirtten in Learning and Leading with Teachnology that is written by a student himself. It was an evaluation on his change in his academic progress after recieving a Microsoft iPaq Pocket PC. He writes that after he was given this Pc his academic progress went up and then he conducted a test on several other studetns with the results agreeing that those with Microsoft iPaq Pocket PCs improved their academic progress.
This is all well and good and I’m sure his progress has improved and he has conducted a nice investigation. BUT is this just an advertisement for Microsoft under the heading of a reflective piece by a student. I guess it is also providing advocacy for the use of technology in the classroom, which is what this publication is all about.
An intersting article, whichever way you look at it!
Social Networking by Joanne Barrett
I came across this article in a “Mulitmeadia and Internet @ Schools” magazine and was interested in reading it as it is hard to ignore the spread of online social software that young people are being caught up in. Site such as Facebook and MySpace are becoming ever so popular with not only teenagers and young adults but with primary school students as well. From what I have noticed primary school children are more interested in MySpace than Facebook mainly becasue mySpace has more multimedia applications.
This article gives a nice run down as to what social software is and what the main programs are and what a teacher’s concerns are with them using this software. Teachers are worried that children can be exposed to very explicit content on these pages and alot of the images are not suitable for young children. Also the fact that facebook has a feature where you can create groups and invite other students to join certain groups and events whilst excluding others. Groups can end up being created for the purpse of being hurtful and abusive to other students.
The school that Barrett writes about had to end up removing access ro social networking sites form thier school servers. It seems that this will be the way all schools go in the future to prevent online bullying and other hurtful instances happening.
The Power in the Portal by Cathy Chamberlain
I had not really heard of the term Portal in an educational context before so it was interesting ot read this article and I found out that educational portals put otgether links to sites and resources educators would be interested in viewing. Portals are designed to eliminate the hours of searching that might be invested if standard search engines were used.
Educational portals feature lessons, units, printable resources, creative ideas and more. Some portals are free while others are subscription services but they offer additional resources.
Chamberlain states that for educational portals to be a success they need to contain 7 essential components: Vision, Commitment, technical expertise, coordination, feedback, forward motion and instructional focus.
I am glad I read this article as I had never really come across this technology/resource before and am keen to find out if this resource is avalibale in NSW, Australia.
Surviving Crisis Mode by David Carpenter
I found this article in a “Learning and Leading with Technology” magazine and looks at how a school can keep functioning if your school was closed down for weeks at a time. This is unlikely to happen in Australia but it could happen and it is also likely to happen overseas.
The focus of this article was of a situation Hong Kong International School faced in 2003 when they had to close down to prevent the threat of SARS spreading. The school worked together to obtain web-based resources, design and upload Wep pages and also explored other new technologies to create a virtual school. They realised they had a commitment to the community and needed to maintain a teaching program which would be done virtually.
Grad level design team were set up (in Australia these would be Stage design teams) becasue the school acknolwedged that the job would be too hard and too big for individual teachers to design specific classes on their own. The design teams worked around a philosophy they called the three Cs: communication, community and content (interactive). Their main tools in support of the three Cs were Web sites, Webquests, wikis, e-mail, phone and fax. They made sure that they kept the delivery of lessons as simple as possible because most of theur parents and students would enter the virtual school with basic technology skills abd in some cases limited access to computers.
Like I said this is an unlikely situation to happen in Australia but if it ever did happen it is good to know that a virtual school could be designed and implemented.
iMovie Reflections
Download Video: Posted by timsparks33 at TeacherTube.com.
Evaluating Virtual Learning Environments
I just wanted to make a response to one of Dan’s postings entitled “Evaluating Virtual Learning Environments for Special Needs Students”. In this posting Dan addresses the the use of virtual reality environments and their application is special needs classrooms as stated by Neale, Brown, Cobb and Wilson. Neale, Brown, Cobb and Wilson state that virtual learning environment should:
- encourage self-directed activity
- motivate student learning
- be representative of real world situations (as this will allow students to best achieve an outcome)
- provide a safe environment where students can experiment with actions and behaviours
- offer shared public experiences
- equalise physical abilities
(1999, p. 269).
I feel these aspects of a virtual learning environment should not only be the ones included in a special needs environment but they should be included in a mainstream classroom as well. This means that it is just as important for teachers to ensure that all students’ individual needs are being met and their differing learning styles are being catered for as well.
Interesting Quotes
I noticed Talia has posted some very interesting quotes about computer and digital media education and its value in our modern society. I particularly like the George Lucas quote:
“If people aren’t taught the language of sound and images, shouldn’t they be considered as illiterate as if they left college without being able to read or write?”
- George Lucas
I think this is a very valuable question to ask ourselves as potential educators of the modern age. Technology is advancing at a rapid rate and children need to be literate with digital media just as they need to be literate with reading and writing. The answer to George Lucas’s question is yes and we as teacher have the responsibility of ensuring students leave school literate in the language of sound and image.
iMovie or Photostory?
Having used iMovie in class and having enjoyed using the program I decided I would download Photostory 3 to my computer at home (I have a PC and therefore iMovie is not compatibale). I downloaded Photostory and created a movie using the program (minus the audio narration as I do not have a microphone). Anyway I found Photostory not very user friendly and I thought it was difficult to find out how to make adjustments and add effects to the movie. This was in complete contrast to my use of iMovie, which was very user friendly and easy to work with.
If I was to use digital storytelling in the classroom I would much prefer to use iMovie as it would be a lot easier for students to work with and then in turn their work would be of a higher quality.
Classroom Blogging – What not to do?
Over the last few week I have built up my blog page and have become used to blogging and looking at other people’s blogs. During this time I have been wondering if this would be a valuable tool to use in the classroom. I think it is, only if it is used correctly. The 5 Don’ts of Classroom Blogging post Samantha has posted provided some good points to remember when blogging in the classroom.
Each point is something that must be in the mind of a classroom teacher wishing to use a Blog page in their teaching endevours. The points are:
1.DON’T just dive in.
2.DON’T confuse blogging with social networking.
3.DON’T leap at the freebies.
4.DON’T force a sequential style.
5.DON’T leave the blogging to the students.
Assistive Technologies for Special Needs Students
Dan has taken upon a very interesting topic of interest, Special Needs learning. Having read his review of “Assistive Technology and the Multiage Classroom” I have realised that technologies really have a place in assisting students with additional needs. What stuck out ot me the most was the use of technology “opened new pathways for students with alternative learning styles” (2002, p. 38).
I agree with Dan that with the use of technologies can assist students to work at their own pace and assist them with their own needs. Dan stated: “It seems to offer endless opportunities for learning, and works to break down the limitations that impede on the learning of students with needs that vary from the norm.” To which I wholeheartedly agree.
