WEEK 4: Group 2 Technologies

Hey guys, this week we have been learning about how to include certain multimedia technologies such as images, podcasts and videos, into the teaching curriculum!



 

Note: This animation was created through the website fodey.com

It is a simple way to get children to engage in an important message that you are trying to get across to them.

 

Why should multimedia technology be used in the classroom?

According to Ashvini Joshi, "multimedia technology within the classroom provides the students with chances for interacting with diverse texts that give them a solid background in the tasks and content of mainstream college courses." This implies that students are provided with the opportunity to search various different facts using different methods and discover what learning style suits them the best. Other reasons being (Wes Rodgers, Technology in the classroom):

• Educators should use technology in the classroom because its wide range of uses and forms has the potential to reach students of all learning styles, as well as be more efficient.
• The interest and motivation that technology induces in students makes its usage in schools important.
• Educators better prepare students for the future when using technology aimed at addressing each learning style

 

What are the three learning styles that need to be considered?

1. Visual

• Uses visual objects such as graphs, charts, pictures, and seeing information
• Able to memorize and recall various information
• Tends to remember things that are written down after reading them
• Learns better in lectures by watching them

 

2. Auditory

• Retains information through hearing and speaking
• Prefers being told how to do things

• Summarizes the main points out loud to help with memorization
• Often has talents in music and may concentrate better with soft music playing in the background

 

3. Kinaesthetic

• Likes to use the hands-on approach to learn new material
• Is generally good in math and science
• Would rather demonstrate how to do something rather than verbally explain it
• Usually prefers group work more than others

 

What are the roles of images, video and audios in the classroom?

Their are various roles of the multimedia technology that has been implemented within the classrooms relating to both the teacher and the student. These reasons being:

• The children become more engaged as the technology interests them
• The teacher is able to teach students in new ways
• Using this multimedia complies with almost, if not all the students needs (VAK)
• It encourages students to think about the topic that they are being educated on
• Improves skill development on the students visual literacy skills

There are two ways digital tools can be used:

1. Online

2. In class

     ~ In some cases, it is advised that the educator blends the two to take a different approach ~

Images:

"There are multiple purposes for an image use online. Teachers can present learning materials to the student with the purpose of engaging thinking (knowledge, understanding, analysis, evaluation); influencing feelings or supporting skill development." Adrienne Lai of the Centre of Educational Resources, stated that "images are considered to be more effective in the classroom if they contain meaning which is related to the course curriculum. It is crucial to search for images that can support the information and content you are teaching to the students, as well as illustrate class themes and or be introduced into the assessments."

Images can be used to:
~ Improving technical skills                           ~ Navigate a topic of discussion
~ Increase motivation                                     ~ Encourage independence
~ Help special needs students                         ~Activate thoughts in the mind
~ Encourage group work
~ Bring fourth emotions

Here is an image that I resized after this weeks class...

 

The original size of the photograph was 603KB, with the dimensions of 1600 x 1200

However; the new photograph is only 60.2KB, with the dimensions of 500 x 375

Various ways that a teacher could implement image usage into their classes would be through:
~ PowerPoint presentations
~ Play with images to get the point across (perhaps use a green screen)
~ Movie maker
~ Photoshop (depending on the age group)
~ Create a story using pictures (possibly using the program 'photostory')
~ Class assignments "images can be powerful as illustrations, didactic materials, or stimulating starting points for structured writing exercises"

 

Hints when working with images in the classroom:
~ Check the cameras before the lesson (you don't want another students photos being displayed
    on your camera)
~ Set on the smallest photo size (large images will need resizing)
~ Websites often want images less than 100KB
~ There are several software's that can help with resizing such as paint.net, paint shop pro etc.
~ Make sure the camera is fully charged

Also, as announced earlier in the blog, it is important to ensure that the pictures that are being used to teach the topic are relevant to the subject. For example; it is completely pointless talking about World War 1, if you are going to use the picture below to explain what happened.....
 

 

Podcasting (Audio):

A podcast is considered to be a multimedia digital file that has been made available either on the Internet, or from other sources for downloading to a portable media player, computer, etc. Podcasting is a sound file which can be shared with others, whether it be students from the class or presented within an assignment. Educators could use this media in a variety of different ways in order to interest the students. It could be used to engage children in an activity, provide an alternative for students who are afraid of public speaking with a way of presenting their speech, etc. Presenting certain important information in an audio file allows the students to focus solely on the information being spoken about as there is no video image to distract them.

When considering an activity using the media technique of podcasting, it is important to consider each aspect of the PMI (positive, minus and interesting). An educator needs to assess what the positive effects of using an audio program, the negative effects of the program and whether or not the children would find it interesting.

To provide an example of what a podcast is, I have created my own short podcast using the program 'Audioboo'. I apologize in advance if the audio comes off a little quiet, I was sitting in the library while recording it and I had to keep my voice down.



Bree's voice recording

Video:

A video is a multimedia creation which refers to recording, manipulating, and displaying moving images blended together in a file, especially in a format that can be presented on a computer and/or television. Videos can be an extremely useful tool for meaningful learning provided that the educator is prepared and has research the content appropriately. Reasons for teachers to use video media is that it:

• Provides a common experience for all students
• Generates interest and stimulates the imagination
• Offers a different perspective on or another approach to a topic
• Connect students with a faraway place (sometimes even the past)
• Demonstrates abstract ideas
• Simulates the development of critical thinking skills
• Equalizes educational opportunities
• Brings great literature, plays, music, or important scenes from history into the room
• Reaches children with a variety of learning styles, especially visual learners, and students with a variety of information acquisition styles

All of these reasons benefit students in their styles of learning as a video could be used a variety of different ways; whether it be through watching a video or creating a video file themselves.

This week in class we were asked to attempt uploading a video that we had filmed. I have chosen to upload a video that I had created previously to this class for a school assessment. I have altered the video as the assessment task was to create an infomercial, so I chose to upload the National Testimonies. However; I do ask that you please do not mock our accents as we are not professionals at different voices.

Note: I have had great difficulty uploading my video so I have inserted it on my Weebly website. Please take the time to check it out, it would be greatly appreciated! Simply scroll down on the home page :) My video displayed on weebly

IMPORTANT:

When using multimedia techniques there are three aspects that are required to be considered:
1. Safe
2. Legal
3. Ethical
An educator needs to consider whether it is safe to perform the activity, needs to ensure no plagiarism is involved or that other illegal acts are carried out, and whether the activity is ethical.
Ways to prevent trouble from occurring in any of these areas  are:

• To ensure all permission forms are signed
• Take images from angles that are difficult to identify the person in the film (eg. behind or side)
• Don't just send images of students to other families, take precautions and think about it
• Always delete images from school cameras before returning to storage
• Be aware of selfies
• Do not publish images of students anywhere if you think they could be misinterpreted by someone. Remember "CYA" - Cover your ass.

To prove how serious this is, I have captured an image of myself requesting permission to use the video from the other two women that are displayed within the film.

Before I sign off on this post I thought that I would try and give you all a little laugh after all of the serious information that has been put in this post.... BEWARE OF STUDENTS LIKE THIS!

 

Thanks for watching,
Breanna

WEEK 3: Digital Technologies 1



Hello everyone, this week in Manage E-Learning we reviewed various topics; however to mix things up a bit and to collaborate with the examples within the class, I am going to have my Voki explain to you what is going to be discussed in this weeks blog...

 

 

A Voki, is simply one example of the way technology could be used

to grab the students attention in relation to a particular

topic and or subject.

 

Firstly, there is a common question being asked that I would like to attend to which is:

What is E-Learning?

• E-learning comprises all forms of electronically supported learning and teaching.
• It is considered to be the implication of integrating electronic skills into pedagogy.
• Also, E-Learning is not only about digital devices such as mobile phones, iPads etc., it includes the digital programs used to enhance learning within the classroom





I hope this answered certain queries...

Web 1.0:     (aka, the internet websites 10 years ago)

Web 1.0 was considered to be an early stage of the World Wide Web (today is simplified by the identity of 'the internet') , which had been centred around a top-down approach in regards to researching a topic. Berners-Lee considered Web 1.0 to be the "read-only web," which signified that

users could only view webpages instead of being able to contribute to the content of the page.

      ~Webpages were more simplistic in prior years:

            ~ The design was easily comprehensible

            ~ There was limited access as to what was within the site

            ~ They contain information that might be useful,

                but there is no reason for a visitor to return to the site later

 

 

In 2005, new technology was introduced and the era of Web 2.0 began....

Web 2.0:      (Aka, todays technology)

Web 2.0 is known as the second generation in the development of the World Wide Web, conceived as a combination of concepts, trends and technologies that focus on user collaboration, sharing of user-generated content and social networking (quoted from Dictionary.com). Web 2.0 became known to the public when forums were introduced and various interactive websites were created, for example; blogs, wiki's, YouTube, Facebook etc.

            ~ If the Web 2.0 hadn't been introduced, sites would still be restricted to the original

               information that was displayed on the page, without any social interaction or

               collaboration.

            ~ Providing an opportunity for interaction around the web, provides the viewers with a better

               understanding of the topic that they are researching.

 

To try and illustrate the differences between the web today, in comparison to 10 years ago, I have researched photographs and certain website pages. These will be shown in the two figures below...

•  The first photo illustrates what the Internet Movie Data Base website looked like 10 years ago in the era of Web 1.0

 



 

•  This second photograph is a snap shot of what the Internet Movie Data Base looks like today, with the new abilities of Web 2.0

 

Can you notice the difference?

Blogs:

A blog is a website where an individual or group of people are able to record opinions, information, questions, etc. on a day to day basis depending on their preferences. Blogs can consist of multiple authors, comments added by other students and/or peers; however there is usually only one single author who 'posts,' meaning although other students are able to comment on each status, only one person is able to start them.

Why use blogs within a classroom?

Stop and think for a second about when you were back in school.... Who read your work? As identified by Seven Anderson, only teachers used to read the work of students. Occasionally there would be a slight discussion between friends in relation to the assignment, but that is all. Using the blogs in the classroom will allow teachers to:

1. Post resources, lessons and homework assignments somewhere where the students are able to locate it easily

2. Keep parents up to date on what is happening within the class

3. Reflect on their own teaching practices and share their ideas with other educators

 

However, not only is the use of blogs within the classroom good for the teachers, it also benefits the students as it allows them to:

1. Share schoolwork with their peers, parents and others around the community

2. Collaborate on assignments and projects

3. Receive feedback from others about their work

4. Engage with other students in a social manner and gain self-confidence   

 

Although there are various benefits to using a blog within the classroom, a teacher is always advised to consider the PMI's of every task (Positive, Minus and Interesting). Once considering these three aspects, then an educator can decide whether to use a blog or not.

 

 

Wiki:

Like a blog, the wiki is a Web site that has been developed in the era of Web 2.0 which has been developed collaboratively by a community of people; however the difference is that instead of only allowing one person to post a status on the page, a wiki allows various people to post on that page for themselves. Meredith Farkas stated that,

"Wikis allow multiple people to easily contribute to the same document and track the modification to that document. The Wiki software is very useful for quick updating (which is so important when you are dealing with subject guides) as well as the ability to easily search the wiki and to create browse-able categories which means that there is an improvement in the findability rate." (August 20, 2006)

 A summation of the advantages that have been implied within the text are:
1.  collaborative editing
2.  ability to quickly and easily update content
3.  ability to easily find content through searching and browsing

The link below is the web address to my personal wiki that I have created after this class. At this point in time my wiki is not all that exciting nor is it very informative as I haven't been able to add a lot of information that relates to the course; however I wanted to create one and provide an example of the sites that I am referring to.

http://brees-e-learning.wikispaces.com/ 

This image is a wordle effect on the topic of wikis. A wordle is only one strategy using technology abilities to keep the students engaged within the classroom activities.

 

Last but not least, another form of technology that could be used within the classroom is a weebly.

Weebly:

A Weebly is defined as an online, free, widget-based Web site creator, which allows students and or teachers to create their own websites about any given topic. This program may be useful as it is created by the people (for example; a teacher) and can dictate the appropriate information for a particular subject instead of having to search through numerous pages in order to find the correct information. Similar to a wiki, there is so much that can be done within the page that would benefit the learning styles in the classroom.

 

Before this class, I had never heard of the program Weebly. If I had heard it on the street, I would have thought the person was talking about the little childrens show "The Weebles" which my baby brother watched when he was 3 years old. So I have created my very first Weebly and have had a look at all of the things that can be achieved. I apologize in advance as I have not yet inserted lots of data into my weebly; however I have played around with the program enough to be able to understand what the site can do.

 





http://bree-manage-e-learning.weebly.com/

 

Just before I finish up, yes I know you are all probably asleep by now, but I just wished to raise an important advisement that needs to be considered and that is the factors of is it Safe, Legal and Ethical. Although a teacher cannot watch a 24/7, as that would probably appear quite creepy, a teacher does need to be aware of the dangers of plagiarism and copyright in these sites which is in fact illegal.

To touch on that note, I shall play you all a video....

 

Thanks for reading my blog, hope you enjoyed it :)
Breanna

WEEK 2: Digital Pedagogy

Before discussing the main topic of week 2's class, students were provided with a brief understanding of the intention of the education process. It was stated that the goal intended in teaching students was

"To enrich the lives of students while producing articulate, expressive thinkers and lifelong learners who are socially responsible, resilient and active citizens of the world. Education is about teaching students, not subjects. Education is about providing students with opportunities to be challenged and still succeed." (Teaching in Digital Environments, CQU Australia (2013))

Personally I consider this statement to be both wise and accurate as certain members of the society consider teachers to be people who fill students with knowledge (as demonstrated in the photograph above) which they may never again use in life; however that is not true.

Week 2: Digital Pedagogy

What is digital pedagogy? At first I asked myself the same thing.....
Digital Pedagogy is defined as the use of electronic elements or devices to enhance and/or alter the experience of education. This could be associated with any sort of technology usage for example; whether it be the use of a PowerPoint presentation or using certain internet programs such as a wiki on the iPad.

The Education of Queensland identifies digital pedagogy a being:

"A new way of working and learning with ICT (Information and Communication Technologies) to facilitate quality learning experiences for the 21st century learners. Digital Pedagogy moves the focus from ICT tools and skills, to a way of working in the digital world." (p.3)

Using technology devices and/or programs within the classroom have proven to be effective in improving the students ability to obtain further knowledge through enquiry and connecting to sources of information (both primary and secondary across the world).

Why should technology be used within the classroom?

Some reasons being:
1. To connect students to a variety of multi-modal resources.
2. For assessment activities; for example: quizzes, small group collaboration, assignment upload.
3. Helps blend internal and external students.
4. Learning with ICT is beneficial only when appropriate learning approaches are taken.

Who is considered to be an expert teacher?
In the 20th century an expert teacher was considered to be an educator who could bring together their thorough knowledge of a subject/topic with a profound understanding of what is good for learning and the learner. However; as we are currently living the 21st century an expert teacher is an individual who can bring together knowledge that is good for learning, and technology (ICT).
This is now known as the Technological Pedagogical and Content Knowledge (TPACK).

TPACK:
Technological Pedagogical and Content Knowledge 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 (Matthew Koehler, May 13 (2011)).

The TPACK is sometimes referred to as the 'three legged stool' as the stool is unable to remain standing if one of the legs are missing (the legs, referred to as Technology, Pedagogy and Content).

Basically to become a good teacher a person is required to demonstrate adequate knowledge in...
1. Technology - A person must understand how to use technology to teach the students
2. Pedagogy - A person must know how to deliver the information in various ways that both interest and teachers the students
3. Content - A person must understand the topic in which they delivering to the student
Without all of these requirements, the stool will fall, implying that the class with fall with it.

Speaking from a personal experience on this topic, for the last two years of my high schooling career although this one teacher in particular was genuinely nice, she was unable to adequately teach the class anything as she did not appear overly confident about the content that she was delivering and wasn't well adapted to the use of technology in the classroom.
Blooms Taxonomy:
Blooms Taxonomy is considered to be a process which supports the understanding of the types of thinking, the ways of questioning and designing learning to support the presentation of knowledge.
The Government of South Australia quotes that blooms taxonomy "provides a structured questioning method that allows for students to engage in higher order thinking processes."
This process can be divided into six sections: (as shown in the figure below)
1. Creating
2. Evaluating
3. Analysing
4. Applying
5. Understanding
6. Remembering

It is said that effective teaching does not always revolve around the content that is being displayed, but is a process of introducing student-held knowledge, analysing this knowledge, deriving and strengthening knowledge and theory from this analysis, then moving towards evaluation of the knowledge and creating as the culmination of learning.

As I was still a little confused on this process myself, I have attached a link which displays key words relating to each topic which may assist anyone who is struggling to grasp the concept of what each section is indicating, I hope this helps :)
Blooms Taxonomy Key Assistance

Finally, before I bore you all into a deep sleep, the last discussion raised was de Bono's thinking hats.

De Bono's thinking hats provides a framework to help students think clearly and thoroughly by directing their thinking attention to one aspect of the topic at a time.
This is achieved through the sections of: white hat facts, green hat creativity, yellow hat benefits, black cautions, red hat feelings, and blue hat process.

The class was presented with an activity based on the use of mobile phones within the classrooms and asked to illustrate our response on the wiki so here is the link to my response.....
NO! to using mobile phones in class
In short, my response indicated that mobile phones should not be used within the classroom as they are too much of a distraction among students and they are not focusing on the task that the teacher is trying to teach!

Now I know the text in the picture won't apply directly to the topics that children discuss in class (as the students of this generation may not be aware of who Jerry Springer is); however this is an example of how easily students can get distracted in class when they are not focusing on the topic at hand! Allowing students to use mobile phones within the classroom would be a mistake as it would affect their learning and concentration abilities.

Thankyou for listening, I hope that I didn't make too many of you fall asleep :)
Talk again soon,
Breanna

WEEK 1: Overview of the Learning Theories

Hello Everyone,
This is my first attempt at a blog discussing a weekly review so hopefully you all enjoy reading it :)

Week 1: The Learning Theories

The topic that has been discussed in this weeks tutorial is the learning theories that can be used throughout the classroom environment.

Before a teacher is released into a classroom there is one important factor that needs to be reviewed and considered in relation to the strategic methods that are going to be used throughout that session and that is that: 'Every student is different from one another'. No two students will be exactly the same in the way that they learn and/or intake specific information. On that note, it is suggested that a teacher should make themselves aware of the four learning theories...
1. Behaviourism
2. Cognitivism
3. Constructivism
4. Connectivism

Behaviourism learning is considered to be 'characterised by an observable change in behaviour'. Not every student with result in the same outcome of behaviour for various reasons; however studies have shown that students learn through practice, positive reinforcement and reshaping.

Cognitivism is related to the understanding of learning in terms of mental processing, in other words, how the brain best works. There are three well known stages of the thinking process such as:
1. The intake of information through senses which is then transferred into the sensory memory.
2. information is sent through to the short term storage which links up to the short term memory
3. Last but not least, information is stored in the long term memory department.
A tip for students wanting to become teachers is to use some materials, and/or information stimulus's that the students are able to relate to, that way it will help gain their interest and make them more alert and aware of the knowledge that you are attempting to bestow upon them.

" Learning is best designed if it is presented in small chunks, presented in a pre-determined sequence" [Sweller (1988)].

Constructivism is thought to be a theory based upon the communication between a student and their peers and/or teachers, including others in the surrounding community. Vygotsky (1962) stated that "Learners moved beyond what is already known through the support of others to construct new knowledge" implying that even though a student may be taking in as much information that they possibly could, communication with others may provide the student with particular pieces of information that he or she was unaware of.

Connectivisim relates to the use of technology within the classroom as George Siemens states that "connectivism is the learning theory for the digital age." This theory is based on the intake of information through various sources throughout the internet. The curriculum has been amended over the years and now revolves around the knowledge that students are not expected to know or remember everything that is being taught to them; however students are required to know where to research and gather the unknown information from.

 

These are all individual theories that need to be considered within the classroom, and altered to assist students with their strategies of learning. Each teacher needs to be aware of a students learning styles and the way they gain information whether it be visually, through audio assistance or a hands on activity. All of these theories are appropriate to use within a classroom, the real question is...... when to use which theory!

Thankyou for listening (well I should say reading) my blog post, hopefully I didn't overload anyone with too much information and I hope you all considered it to be somewhat useful :)

Talk to you all later,
Breanna :) 

Beginning Blog

Hello all,
I have just created my first blog so please bare with me as I attempt at figuring out how everything works :) Thankyou for you time :)
Bree :)