Podcasting

Podcasts could be useful in the classroom to engage students in other forms of teaching (rather than teacher talk, students listen). If using for younger students you should use short podcasts so students don't become bored, older students may stay engaged to longer podcasts if the information is interesting and linked to subject areas.

I found several podcasts that i would use in the younger grades of school. These podcasts are called 'Stories to Read, Words to Know' by Evan-Moor Educational Publishers. These podcasts are based on storybooks. The book gets read by a lady at a pace so children can follow as she reads, then it is followed by echo reading (she reads, then students read). I believe these particular podcasts would be appropriate for Prep/Year 1. Students could also access these podcasts from home and get additional support from their parents to improve their reading.



"Today's kids are challenging us, their educators, to engage them at their level" (Prensky, 2005). The kids of the future are technology literate, so as teachers we need to engage them in the new technologies rather than enrage them with the old pen and paper method of teaching and learning.

YouTube

YouTube could be a great resource for teachers when teaching students concepts which need visuals. I would show students the What Causes Earth's Seasons? YouTube video if i was teaching them about the seasons as it shows clear illustrations and good descriptions throughout the video. When designing a lesson around this YouTube video i would use Oliver's ICT Learning Design Model (1999).

Oliver states the learning design comprises of the following key elements
- tasks learners are required to do
- resources that help learners complete tasks
- support mechanisms that exist from a teacher implementing it
(Oliver, 1999)

So you would set tasks for the students to complete, these could include a class project, worksheets, quizzes, etc. Then you show students resources you are using (websites), then give instructions as support. These three steps overlap and all form the basis of the assessment task. As the assessment i would get students to design a powerpoint to explain why we have seasons. Students need to use diagrams, pictures, video, etc to aid their explanations.

I believe that students will gain more knowledge of a subject if they see visuals and spoken instruction than they would if you just explained it to them and used simple props. From my experience it seems that students are more engaged with technology than the simple pen and paper learning, so "are you going to engage me today or enrage me? The choice is yours" (Prensky, 2005).

Using ClassMarker

I created an online class test through ClassMarker, this is the first time i have used this program and think it is a great tool to use to gauge students knowledge from topics learnt in class. Navigating and creating a test was quite easy and straight forward and only takes a few minutes. If i was to use it in my classroom i would use it to check students understanding of maths operations. I have made an addition test aimed at Year 2 students, you can have a look by going to www.classmarker.com/ the user name is bronte, and the password is school.

You could design a test each week and have it as the Friday test for the students, they would take a few minutes each to complete the test and the results could be used by the teacher to see which students need extra support and which students are competent with their maths. This could also help the teacher buddy students into pairs or groups with a high achieving student and a lower achieving student in the same group, this way they could learn from their peers.

Image Manipulation

To begin i navigated my way through Picknik. I then uploaded a photo (on right) and began changing it. The photo was coloured and i changed it to black and white, or grey scale. I also cropped and darkened it.

This would be a great tool to use in the classroom as the editing options are simple and students won't get as confused as other programs available, such as photoshop (which i used in school and found quite confusing). Students could use Picknik to edit photos they want to use in powerpoints, photostories, webquests, etc. You could get students to work in groups to produce a piece of work (using technology, like powerpoint and taking photos and editing them) about their school which will be shown to the community (and put in the newspaper) to say 'why their school is the best'. Kearsley & Schneiderman's Engagement Theory states that "doing authentic projects provides a higher level of satisfaction to students than working on artificial problems since they can see the outcomes/impact of their work on people..." (Kearsley & Schneiderman, 1999).

I think i will be using Picknik in the future when i need to edit photos as it is easy and quick and produces good results.

Flickr

Ok, well the setting up of flickr was an annoying process because you need a yahoo ID and i only have a hotmail one, so i had to sign up to yahoo and make an email address (that wasn't already taken) and a password i would remember. Why can't all these learning tools work through all email networks?? It would save us a lot of time and would save our memory.

Right, back to flickr, i have uploaded 2 pictures of my cane paddock being burnt at the beginning of July. I also added a friend, but was unable to add their pictures to my blog. In the classroom this could be a great tool to use to change the appearance of photos, add text to photos, then make into slideshows. Students could also focus on a particular topic and use flickr to show information through pictures and this could go towards their assessment item. I believe that Flickr is a visual and engaging activity for students which they will enjoy. Kearnsley & Shneiderman's Engagement Theory state that, "technology provides an electronic learning mileux that fosters the kind of creativity and communication needed to nourish engagement" (Kearnsley & Shneiderman, 1999). The possibilities for using flickr in the classroom are endless and could be very beneficial for students to be involved in to enhance their skills in technology.

Using Powerpoint

Using Powerpoint in the classroom can be great to engage students. There are many different features which can be used in a powerpoint presentation. Powerpoint can be used within a classroom setting while teaching children as sound, pictures, video and many other interactive features can be added to engage all students in some way. Kearsley & Shneiderman's (1999) Engagement Theory states that, "students must be engaged in their course work in order for effective teaching to occur".

This could be achieved with students in small groups and have them create a powerpoint presentation on a topic they are studying during the term. It is important as a teacher to get students involved in, "active, cognitive processes such as creating, problem-solving, reasoning, decision-making, and evaluation" (Kearsley & Shneiderman, 1999).

Challenges could be that you have students in your class who don't know about computers and others that know how to use one quite well, so instruction will need to be given before any productive work can occur.

Wiki space

Well, i have successfully set up a wikispace. That was easy enough, but i haven't quite worked out how to find my way around the site. If anyone has any advice please feel free to leave comments.

As a teacher your abilities of using computers and technologies in the classroom for students learning is endless. Students could use Wiki, powerpoint, avatars, webquests and a thousand other learning tools to help them be successful and learn in an interactive and fun environment. All of these tools are education and when used properly students get the opportunity to learn new skills (using technology) and learn new information in a particular topic. Students in this day and age have been brought up on electronics and technology so why not use it as it is said that students are more engaged in learning when they find it fun and interesting.

Kearsley & Shneiderman's (1999) Engagement Theory Framework states that, "Students must be engaged in their coursework in order for effective learning to occur". Using activities which involve the students are more productive than the handouts/filling in of sheets or the listen/copy techniques that many teachers use. When i start teaching i am going to use technology in my classroom when the opportunities are available. Even if we are beginners in technology we can learn from our students, just as students learn from us.

My grade 2 prac class do lots of group work. At the moment we are doing the First Australians (The First Aboriginals and how they are different from people today, eg food, shelter, weapons etc). If i was teaching the class this topic i would have students use a Wikispace as a class project and have their work read by others.