Each New Day Brings a New Joy!

Get a Voki now!



I have been learning so much and my grand daughter really loves the Vokis that everybody has been posting on their blogs, so I have decided to have another go at creating a series of them that I could use in class to encourage the students with their Maths investigation that they are currently doing. They are up to the stage where they need to investigate the different types of holidays that they can choose from. For this section they will be using a Dimension 3 Complex Reasoning Process as outlined in the Dimensions of Learning Manual (Marzano& Pickering) They will be learning and applying the process of comparing. I thought that by introducing certain aspects of the learning through the use of Avatars the students would see that they could use this tool to perhaps present some of their information back to the class. The students would be encouraged to think seriously about using this tool to enhance their presentation. Of course they would need instruction in how to complete this, or there maybe students in the class who already have the prior knowledge necessary so they will be able to assist with the teaching. By implementing the lesson in this manner the students who are assisting acquire a feeling of self-worth and a satisfaction in a job well done, whereas the students who need the instruction will get a better understanding of what is required because those delivering the instructions are speaking in their language and at their level (unlike some teachers who try to talk in academic terms and fail to notice that not all students are comprehending the message). According to Kearsley & Schneiderman (1998) in their Engagement Theory if students are truly engaged in learning experiences that relate to the real world and offer authentic problem scenarios through interaction with others and worthwhile tasks they will value the outcomes and be capable of linking the learning to areas outside school.

Kearsley, G. and Shniederman, B (1999) Engagement Theory: A framework for technology-based teaching and learning. Retrieved 25th July 2009 from http://home.sprynet.com%Egkearsley/engage.htm

Marzano, R.J., & Pickering, D.J. (1997). Dimensions of learning: teacher's manual 2nd. ed. Colorado: McREL.

YouTube - exposure to inappropiate material.

The more I discover about the wonders available the more my mind boggles. The infinite supply of resources available means that all that is necessary is a simple 'google' search and the world is at my fingertips (literally just about). YouTube, Podcast, Google Earth, the list goes on. Just these three alone can assist with learning experience design in a way that would never have been possible in my past. The students of this millennium are so advantaged that sometimes I believe that they do not always appreciate what they have to learn with. When I was at school learning french, I imagine how much easier it would have been to have access to the resources that can be found via the Internet. A YouTube clip like this one to assist with the learning especially for students similar to the one in my class at present. The student is from Thailand and extremely shy and introverted. The student works well on the computer and only requires the assistance of a peer for minor technical aspects that may be in English to difficult to comprehend.


Here is a link that I have stumbled across on my journey into the wild "YouTube" jungles:
http://www.smartteaching.org/blog/2008/08/100-best-youtube-videos-for-teachers/
Of course as with any site accessed through the Internet there are issues that need to be remember. It has been pointed out to us at University that we need to ensure that only the actual YouTube we want the students to view is included in the power point or other site that we create (Web Quests can contain YouTube as well) as there may be ethical and inappropriate materials associated with the overall site. I quickly browsed through the above link and did not see anything that would not be labelled as educational, but it was a quick look, so I would suggest if you want to take a look remember to utilize 'keepvid' site for any that you find that you may want to use in the future. Here is to many happy and beneficial hours of 'YouTube' viewing to be had by one and all.

A Real Seniors Moment: or Boy I wish I had a Brain.

Welcome back to the Seniors Moment of the Century.
In my first year at Uni. I often heard the term "Interactive Whiteboard" mentioned, and being old (now I can label myself a Digital Immigrant thanks to Marc Prensky) I thought they meant a whiteboard that all students were allowed to come up to and work on. Only after getting up the courage to ask someone did I discover to my amazement that it was actually a tool of the new millennium. Yes a fantastic invention that allows teachers to connect their computer to a whiteboard and the children can interact with the learning experience. How engaging is that. This is wonderful and from the few I have been privileged to view since I can see that the students thoroughly enjoy the lessons they participate in when they get to use this tool. Just like many of the other tools that I have had to investigate over the last five weeks this was an interesting and exciting new experience for me. I could see how these could also be just as interesting and exciting to the students (maybe not the die-hard Digital Natives out there) who have never experienced the wonders that I.C.T's now provide. There are so many areas to explore and the list of wonderment just keeps on getting bigger, I do not feel I can do any of them justice in the few short weeks that we have before this assignment is due. But I will experiment with all on the list and hope I can remember to comment on them all appropriately.
Interactive whiteboards surely engage the digital natives of today and so help to alleviate the enragement aspect of learning experiences that are not designed to cater for all. As outlined in one of our first readings, the one on Dale's Cone of Learning Effectiveness/Learning Pyramid of Learning Retention, the more students participate and experiment with the tools and learning the more they will retain. They will feel they are teaching each other as well as learning from each other and this can often lead to a sense of achievement and accomplishment.

Prensky, M. (2001). Digital natives or digital immigrants. Retrieved July 31, 2009, from http://moodle.cqu.edu.au/mod/resources/view.php.

Dale's Cone of Learning Effectiveness retrieved July 25,2009, from
http://www.acu.edu/cte/activelearning/whyuseal2.htm

Suddenly Seeking Digital Natives!

Welcome to those who like me are willing to seek assistance from those wonderful Digital Natives out there. I am still reading and re-reading Prensky's article and each time I read it I discover something that I can see relates to many classrooms of the 21st Century. Many of today's classrooms are controlled by teachers who have little understanding of this new technological age. Or maybe they have too much knowledge and inadequate funding so they resort to not trying to teach to the students, rather they are satisfied with just achieving the basics. Are they really willing to let children move on to the next year level (or graduate) without attempting to instill in them a thirst and hunger for learning. The underpinning message behind all of the Key Learning Areas in the Queensland curriculum is that all students should be life long learners and this is only possible by designing learning experiences that are engaging to all students (Queensland Studies Authority2004). Students also need to feel they are part of the learning and I feel that there is no better way than to let them assist with the learning (design and implementation). Personally I have very minimal knowledge in the area of Information Communication Technology and to have the assistance of a more knowledgeable person (younger or older) is always welcome. This can only make the learning experience more engaging for both the students and the teacher (me).

Prensky, M. (2001). Digital natives or digital immigrants. Retrieved July 31, 2009, from http://moodle.cqu.edu.au/mod/resources/view.php.

Queensland Studies Authority. (2004) Mathematics: Years 1-10 Syllabus . Retrieved June 13, 2008, from http://www.qsa.qld.edu.au

WebQuests are great ways to engage and extend

Hi all future Learning Managers, Web quests even though they are a challenge at times to create (I am sure with practise I will get better, maybe I should apply Maslow's Pyramid to my own learning as well as to the students I hope to work with). They are an excellent way to engage students in learning and ensuring the use of I.C.T.s in learning design. A easy way for learning managers to monitor the sites visited by students so they can feel reasonably safe in letting students work independently on tasks. To be honest I wish that the school that I am in at the moment had more access to computers for the students so that I could have made the maths lesson I am teaching at the moment a Web Quest rather than just pen and paper. A lot of the Internet research has to be done at home and I realise that not all students have access to the Internet at home. Not all students want to do more school work after hours either so it always feels like they are being sectioned out in class, if they could do this task on line in class time would improve their learning. So I will create a Web Quest for my Imaginary fantasy class to complete and I am sure they will be thoroughly engrossed and extend themselves through the learning. I feel that all good learning experience design must include in part snippets from more than one theorist if you are to truly profile each individual student as we are supposed to. I have seen in the classrooms that I have worked in that there are students who fit each and every one of Gardiner's Multiple Intelligences (McInerney &McInerney 2006). As well as many different and mixed learning styles evident in all the students. So in reality we should be looking at more than one theory when we are designing our learning. Behaviourist, Constructivist and Social-Behaviourist, theories all come into play in a classroom. Through the use of Web quests (as well as many other of the tools) student's learning can be challenging, engaging, relevant and motivational. By providing learning experiences which require the student to participate from the very beginning and to be in control (to a certain extent) of the speed at which they learn and the content they are investigating. I have been 'surfing' and discovered the following Web Quests that I think would be great to use in the class room that I am currently teaching (or pretending to teach in actually) in, and of course to paraphrase and most probably misquote:"If it isn't broke why fix it" or as our lecturers are continually saying "why re-invent the wheel' , so for the purposes of saving time and my sanity I have not created one of my own but used the ideas of more brilliant and talented people.
Many minutes later: I have discovered that due to a lack of knowledge on my part I am unable to access many Web Quest sights without belonging to many of the sights I am unable to attach them to my blog. I think that this will change when I am actually employed as a teacher and can pay the subscription fee attached to many of the useful links. This applies to not only Web Quests but to many other useful tools that I would like to implement in my classroom of the future. So I will just have to be satisfied at this point in time with the knowledge that out there there are many wonderful tools to be use by people like me. To be honest though it really comes down to the fact that I can not remember the site that we used last year for S.O.S.E. to create our Web Quest free and even after many hours of 'surfing' I still can not find it. So I have decided that my time is better spent doing another task and maybe coming back to this one at a later date.



McInerney, D.M., & McInerney, V. (2006) educational psychology constructing learning. 4th. ed. Australia: Pearson.

Quizzes

Fantasy Flight Investigation:
Take our online test
I have decided to 'delete' the view I had previously posted as it was written in the heat of the moment and I have been able to complete the task after much frustration and pulling out of the hair.
After viewing other blogs and seeing that through perseverance others have managed to complete this 'simple' task I have decided to give it another go. Networking is a great motivational tool. So through the use of blog sites such as this and 'wiki's' I can see how students who would other wise give up without trying can be encouraged to give everything another try until they have exhausted every possible option. So to set a good example for my future students I will keep trying until I master this (hopefully before the due date of this assignment).

Yes! After following the gifted instructions of a fellow BLM student (no names mentioned Rhonda) I have been able to finally link my quiz to my blog. Yes it does help to "keep on trying when at first you do not succeed" (yes I will 'google that saying to find out where it originated so that I can reference it correctly) ( I 'googled' and discovered many have said it so I will choose W.C. Fields, famous American comedian) I have really enjoyed creating a quiz that can be used as a diagnostic or summative form of assessment while at the same time the learning is done in such a way that the students are not just sitting at their desks working of the board or out of a text book. The best aspect of doing on-line quizzes is that the environment is being cared for, we are not using paper which is a non-renewable resource, so we could link this form of learning to a unit of work on caring for the environment and the students would feel that in a small way they have made a contribution.

Picnik by the duck pond

Discovering the wonderful things that can be done on this site is like opening Aladdin's cave. I think that students who are given the opportunities to manipulate images as I have done would find themselves totally engaged in a learning experience that doesn't really feel like a lesson at all. A Learning Manager could easily give students tasks that require them to take digital photos of their school and then in groups they could work on creating a photo wall to put on display in the library or in the foyer of the office for all to see. This was so much fun I even felt myself becoming somewhat addicted to the site and had to set a timer so that I could complete other task requirements. So I suppose students would have to be monitored to ensure they were not doing the same thing. Great fun for the whole family just like a picnic.