Reflection 5 Week 6

Reflection 5 Week 6

This week's reflection is all about the group 4 tools:  

This week I decided to use one of the Group 3 tools, a Prezi, as the platform to present my usage of two of the group 4 tools, an interactive Google Earth Activity and  a ZooBurst Pop Up book.

As an Early Childhood specialist I incorporated both of these tools in part of a Geography and Literacy unit.  Students use the Google Earth Map to view where a sister school in South Africa is and then with the teacher they would manipulate the map and zoom in closer to have a look at the school and the surrounding area,  discovering the distance between Rockhampton and Polokwane.  Skype could be used to talk to the students or they could make videos and use email to communicate to one another.  We have a bear named Barnaby who is a world traveller, he has been staying in Polokwane and is coming to visit us.  Through this activity students journal and narrate stories with Barnaby and using ZooBurst can make an electronic pop up book to display their adventures and share with their friends overseas.

Click on the Prezi below and launch my Weebly  site which contains the links Google Earth and ZoomBurst to check out my Pop Up book about Barnaby.  There is also a link to a fantastic animated video created by a student about working safely, legally and ethically with technology.

How do I feel...

Well, I feel a lot more confident approaching the technology now and even though this is just the tip of the iceberg I would be happy to try other new ways of approaching technology in the classroom.  The SAMR model has been very helpful in allowing me to approach topics and think about ways to enhance and transform them in the classroom.

Putting together the Prezi is a relatively simple task.  It's easy just to choose a template and add basic text in the boxes and then add photos and links.  There are many helpful tutorials available which explain how to hyperlink or embed files.

Using Google Earth was fairly simple, just a matter of putting the name of the school in the search engine and then the app found the school and if you save it it will add a star to that place, you can then compare the distance.  There are many, many uses for Google Earth, I feel like my little lesson is just a drop in the bucket.

ZooBurst was really easy to use.   Photos can be uploaded or chosen from the clipart library or your own files.  Then just add them to the book, create a caption and you are done.  Of course it can be as complex or simple as you like.

I think the Group 4 tools take a bit of practice like all of the other tools available.  The digital learners we encounter in classrooms are not afraid to take risks when it comes to technology and as an educator I can see that with the right mentoring these natives would embrace learning in a digital environment.

Stay tuned next week for my synopsis of this whole E-Learning experience so far...

Reflection 4 Week 5

This week was all about the Group 3 tools.  I decided to use a PowerPoint as they are reasonably easily accessed and most schools will have tools that a PowerPoint can be created on.

I decided to see how I could use a PowerPoint to demonstrate the various levels of the SAMR model and where a PowerPoint might be utilised at each level.

So I started off with something very simple and added to the task with different SAMR tools at each level, such as sending it to a WIKI or adding video and links to other websites for further discussion. I narrated my main PowerPoint and videoed it to enable me to demonstrate how to use the various levels of SAMR.  I'll add it in here so you can see how it works.

As you can see I am enjoying the video tool, I like the ease of being able to vocalise my thoughts and demonstrate how to do things.

Things to think about

Using tools involving internet usage can present many problems, so it is important to ensure you have covered your bases as a teacher.  Working safely, legally and ethically should constantly be at the forefront of planning. Privacy settings need to be high; websites used need to have your approval before allowing the students to access them.  My suggestion is to demonstrate first the sites they are allowed to use and give them the web addresses.  

SAMR

SAMR allows the teacher to think outside of the box when it comes to tasks and assessment pieces.  Creating task sheets can become more in depth, however it is important to remember this is not just about using digital tools, it is about learning from the experiences and the learning that will take place as a result of using those tools.  

Just some of the uses for a PowerPoint in the classroom

My thoughts

As I discussed in my video, PowerPoints can be boring if they are not used properly and there are so many tools about now to make using them so much more interesting for students at all levels.  I think it is a matter of the teacher letting go of the reigns and allowing students to become engaged and explore and create. 

Obviously the younger the student the more limited the PowerPoint will be as their understanding of the technology is not yet developed.  Using the tools with them in the classroom and allowing them to become familiar with the tools gradually will be a great advantage as they advance throughout schooling.  These skills can be taught from a young age, it can be as simple as re-writing a story using a PowerPoint instead of pencil and paper or for even younger students using the tool to add photographs.  These types of activities can be labour intensive with younger grades and aides and parent help would be a necessity, however as students progress and their confidence grows so will their strengths and understanding of the advantages of adding these digital tools to their repertoire.

Source: Google Images

Reflection 3, Week 4

Exciting news, this week on my blog I look closely at the SAMR model and link you to my new website which discusses the ENHANCEMENT phase of the model.  I know you can't wait to have a look at it so without further ado...click on the image below to take you to my Weebly page.

To make this Weebly, I first had to ensure the web address was available then I could choose the template I wanted and add text, images and links to videos and other web pages.  Here is an image of the header on my webpage click on it to go over to my Weebly page..

For all of the advantages of using Weebly in the classroom click here.  Personally I find Weebly very easy to use, there are templates for various pages and it is fairly self explanatory.  Uploading photos to the site was easy, I made sure they were jpeg files which are smaller in size than other types of images such as .png.  I even resized a photo using paint which was relatively painless too.  I will demonstrate how to do this in a short video later in today's blog.

I have used Weebly for several assignments during my years at CQU , so I am becoming more well versed in the usage of the site.  Personally I think  a Weebly is fine for classroom use as it is easy to set up; the teacher has control over it and can set passwords for each page if the whole class has a webpage each.  It's a great way of showing what is going on in your class and the teacher can give parents and other interested parties access to the site.

In the SAMR model the use of a website would be part of the Transformation levels of the ladder in the Modification step.  The task is modified to where the learner is uploading their information and research to a website rather than the use of a word document or posting in google docs or dropbox for collaboration with other students.  A website can have public access and educators can allow for feedback to be posted to the site or an email address associated with the site.

Podcast

Playing with the Group 1 tools has been fun and frustrating!  I decided to make a podcast...should be easy enough right!  I recorded it on my voice recorder on my iphone and then emailed it to myself.  Easy!  I then downloaded it to my laptop...so far so good.  Opened Blogger and tried to upload it (ha!) of course it's not the right format and I need to convert it to an mp3 for downloading.  NOT SO EASY!  I then found out I had to download a converter, I chose Adobe Media Converter, which is apparently according to Google sources easy to use!!  Well it took quite a while to download and I did get frustrated with that.  So if you do decide to lay down a podcast make sure you have all of the correct software first.  Click on the picture to hear my fabulous podcast...be aware I made the podcast before trying to upload it...so some of the information may not be correct.

Source: Google Images

Images
Since I had no major dramas making the video blog last week I thought I'd give it a go again this week.  Oh Boy!!! another frustration!! I could not find the file once I had recorded and saved it...It took quite a while to find and then I had to download Format Factory to change the format from an mp4 to and avi.  Once I downloaded the app it wasn't too hard to change it over and I made sure I changed the file destination to something that I would remember. It's only a short video about resizing an image.  I do enjoy using the video app so I think I'll keep on playing with it to see what else I can do with it.  

Feelings... So this week, the group one tools, while frustrating were interesting.  Of course with practice everything  becomes easier so I will keep on practicing.  

Thinking about working safely, legally and ethically when it comes to choosing images from the web for a task would need to be well thought out first by the educator and there would need to be adequate supervision and parameters set in place for web content.  The terms used for searching would need to be very specific.  Safety nets would need to be set in the settings of the network.  Alternatively the educator could have images which students are permitted to use previously downloaded so there is no need for students to access the internet to find material.  

So until next week when I explore group 2 tools

Source: Google Images

References
Brubaker, J. (2013). SAMR: Model, Metaphor, Mistakes. Retrieved from Tech Tips for Education: http://techtipsedu.blogspot.com.au/2013/11/samr-model-metaphor-mistakes.htmlGerstein, J. (2014). User Generated Education. Retrieved from Wordpress: https://usergeneratededucation.wordpress.com/2014/02/23/samr-as-a-framework-for-moving-towards-education-3-0/

Schrock, K. (2013). SAMR and Bloom. Retrieved from Kathy Schrock's Guide to Everything: http://www.schrockguide.net/samr.html

Reflection 2 Week 3

Another new adventure!
Oh wow! I'm excited to have created my first online video blog. I used an app called Camtasia which was relatively easy to use. I obviously have a lot to learn about it and needed better lighting and perhaps a bit more sleep beforehand might have been good too. Well...ya gotta do, what ya gotta do! and move on. So even though it wasn't fancy, I am pleased that I was able to use it fairly painlessly. I will include the link to the website for the SAMR model discussion here . I thought the model provided a great way to briefly discuss some digital tools which could definitely find their way into my classroom.

Online Graffical Dictionary 

Source: Online Graffical Dictionary

OmniGraffle 

Source: OmniGraffle

imovie Check out some student work here



YouTube is another interesting digital tool, there is a video on youTube for virtually anything you would ever want to know such as the awesome video below, created as part of a year 12 IT assessment, the criteria was to make a photoshop tutorial and I think this is explained fairly well here.

Source: Google Images

  HOW DO I FEEL...So...in the past three weeks we have experienced the blog posts, a Wiki, and visited many websites. The experience has caused me to be stretched and find new ways of considering how to tackle each task as it has been presented. I decided to put together a PMI to discuss the use of these three tools and to engage my thoughts further on the subject.

I believe all of these would be beneficial in the classroom, with so many advantages to use. I think a class webpage would be very useful for communicating with parents, there might be times when a webcam could be in use and children's work can be displayed or there could be a certain time when parents could skype into the classroom which would be a great way of connecting with families. Using webpages to connect with students from other countries affords local students the opportunity to see another part of the world which they may not normally be exposed to. Wiki's would have their place as well, perhaps as a class when we are exploring and making judgements the answers could be written on the wiki page and shared with all students regardless of whether they are in the classroom or learning from another location. Now that I have used the blog format a few times I have found it not so hard to use and this definitely could be a tool for students to use in the classroom and for homework as they reflect on topics or study and write research notes.

Source: http://www.fodey.com/

Source: Wordle.com

References

Camtasia. (2015). Retrieved from Techsmith: https://www.techsmith.com/camtasia.html

Cox, J. (2014). Benefits of Technology in the classroom. Retrieved from Teach Hub: http://www.teachhub.com/benefits-technology-classroom

Legaspi, J. (2015). LegaspiThe AsianKid. Retrieved from Photo Shop Tutorial - Face Plant: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K2lUkchMTVY&feature=youtu.be

N.A. (2015). Retrieved from Google Images: http://memecrunch.com/meme/X5WY/new-fangled-technology/image.jpg?w=640&c=1

Puentedura, R. R. (2014). Hippasus. Retrieved from http://www.hippasus.com/rrpweblog/archives/2011/10/28/SAMR_TPCK_In_Action.pdf

Strang, T. (2014). The benefits of using technology in the classroom. Retrieved from Cengage Learning: http://blog.cengage.com/benefits-using-technology-in-the-classroom/