Reflection 3 Week 4

Well, I think if every week is like the last four learning all this cool stuff I will become a computer person. I can really see that all the ICT tools that we are discovering are the way of the future in education. There are so many advantages for example Being (creative), This is a big part of higher order thinking for the up and coming students not to mention the teacher creating the assignments. Another is that all the students in the class just like our cohort learn in collaboration. This type of support can help all involved.

Out of the ICT tools this week that we went through I liked the still movie maker the most. I used windows movie maker and found it quite easy to use. Like most of these tools the more you play with them the better the out come. In the class room environment students would be able to make an instructional still movie, showing each step on how to go about performing a task. This would be a great support on any topic from a complicated math formula to learning how to surf in an out door rec class. I have seen in some of the manual arts classes how students email the teacher designs for their wood work projects with measurements and other information. I think that both the students and teacher could improve there projects by incorporating an instructional still movie on how to perform the task to a higher level and real work environment if still movies were involved.



Man, should I be put on contract or what, with the fine singing on this pod cast?
If you think so or you are a producer just drop me a line.
Thanks for listening, Over and Out Big Mum ma!.
Signing out, DJ Scooter





This photo has been altered by using Befunky software.

Reflection 2 week 3

This week in our ICT course our class has been involved in finding out and discovering how to use three different ICT tools. These tools were a wiki, a weebly and a blog. We had to set them up and investigate what the tools can do and what they have to offer in the way of being used as support and enhancement for the learning of a class of students.

 I have been working on my wiki and playing around with it, creating different pages, you-tube clips and other links. The students that I have worked with are interested in many different things, and because these students learn in different ways a wiki is a great ICT tool for them. For example having an understanding of how your students learn is very important for a teacher to get the message across to their students. Learning styles is briefly explained in the inserted link. I can use lots of different ways on a wiki to explain what is needs to be done to complete the task.

I found that the wiki also gives students access to the other students ideas and information through social interaction. I beleve it can help students move ahead quickly and with investigation can lead to higher order thinking. Each time a student wants to add their information it shows that the student is being creative and helps with collaboration of all the other students and teacher in the class. This would be called social constructivism. There are many studies that show that ICT pedagogy is important.

With a wiki it is important for the teacher to have a scaffolded environment because with out control I think that it could get quite tricky if the students didn't respect each others work. With wiki's the information can be changed by any person even after the information has been posted.  Blogs and  weeblys can only be add to by other people, and the information can't be changed or delete by others.

My wiki is set up for a class project on extreme sport. The class has to show what they are interested in, write up fact and information and show how it relates to their outdoor rec class. This class already surf, rides bulls and horses and ab sail. The class have to share with each other this information because they must learn to trust one another for the activities they are going to be involved in.

I think wiki's are a fantastic ICT tool to use and should be used more in schools across Australia today. This will help many students connect and learn from each other as we have on this very course our selves.

My Reflection on working in a Wiki Using De Bono's 6 Thinking Hats 

For those people who don't know what this reflection is all about I will give you a brief explanation. I participated in a Wiki that is a scaffolding activity using De Bono's 6 thinking hats. De Bono's activity makes you think from a number of points of view which encourages higher order thinking. When I first stated the activity I thought that using mobile phones in class was not such a good idea. But after investigating and reading other students thoughts and ideas it brought me to a different conclusion then  I would have come to on my own.

At first I got a bit nervous setting up on the Wiki, but seeing other student's contributions I was quickly put at ease. I could see the reasoning of others as well as something visible to work with. When joining the wiki I was able to get a page number to myself and it felt good. However, after a few nights I could see other students putting their information onto what I thought was my page. Then it strongly stood out that this a collaborative activity. 

I could see that this type of experience is an example of social constructivism as Vygotsky points out. I really felt that I learnt more through collaborating with other students than if I had just worked on the wiki by myself. The wiki is able to be used by all student in the group with out anyone being excluded.

Wow! what a great tool these wiki's are,  I can't believe how easy it is to share with other students and create a record of what has been discussed in the activity. I like how you can pull in links and clips to make the experience that bit more interesting and informative to go through.  The only issue that I really had with the wiki is that other people can delete your work which has all ready been put on the wiki. I was talking to one student and their number was taken over with their name and other info taken off. But that is good to know and be aware of for further reference.

With the ability to use wikis I think that I will encourage a lot of people into using this type of ICT tool. What's next, Having GPS on your watch?

Learning Styles

Multiple Intelligence Test

Welcome to my first Blog

Hi Everyone,
This is a new world for me just setting up this new blog was quite a trip. I am just about to start  my ELearning course at University as it is part of my degree in education. I have just started and already have set up and used new systems that I did not know even existed. Who said you can not teach an old dog new tricks. Well till next time, have a great day!