One of the required tasks in my e-learning class was to create my own digital story. When i read what the task required me to do, i was a little stressed as the concept was unfamiliar to me and i thought it could be a difficult thing to do. However i felt that i had achieved a great deal this semester and was ready to take my final challenge on. I got to thinking about what my digital story could be about and i immediately wanted to tell my story of how i came to the decision to be a teacher and where my inspirations and journey led me after school to where i am today. Although this task required alot of fiddling to get the pictures to be in time with the talking and telling of the story, i found it to be a thoroughly enjoyable task and the end result was amazing. I think this would be a great program to integrate into the classroom and feel that the students could really benefit from this concept. The students could share their work with each other and use it as a way to present their work. You can view my digital story here.
We were given an assignment in e-learning, and that was to design an online task for students using LAMS. My partner and i designed our LAMS task for stage 3 students and aimed to achieve a task where students could explore, discover, be creative and have fun. Most importantly our task was designed so that students were actively engaged throughout the process and it provided hands- on activities, with the major task being that they design a collage construct and share their artwork with students internationally. The task was designed to effectively integrate syllabus learning outcomes from the English, H.S.I.E and Creative Arts syllabus documents using online media and technologies.
Our design and task proved to be successful as we had a year 6 student complete the task and she had very positive feedback for us which reinforced our ideas that our design is educational, engaging, interesting and fun. This LAMS task could easily be implemented into the classroom and i recommend the LAMS program as it is simple yet very effective. i think the students could have alot of fun constructing their own LAMS task as well as using one, such as ours that had been designed using the LAMS program.
After reading Zeinab’s blog about social networking sites, it got me thinking about the dangers that can arise when talking to the “unknown”. How can you ever really know who your talking to if you can’t see them? Profiles can easily be made up with fake and misleading information. After reading the article i can see that social networking can be a positive tool in that it connects you with communities, relatives and friends around the world but i agree with Zeinab that you have to be very cautious. Facebook and MySpace are 2 of the most popular social networking sites of our time, however they need to be used in the correct manner to fully benefit from them. I am a member on facebook and my list of friends are all people i know, i don’t believe it is safe to chat online with strangers as the number of predators have increased in recent times. Zeinab states at the end of her blog that she would’nt recommend her students join these sites as you don’t know who is on the other side. I partially agree with what Zeinab is trying to say but i don’t think we can ignore the fact that these websites have become the culture of young people. We need to be able to educate students in the proper use of technologies like social networking sites, including the do’s and dont’s and the risks involved.
As i was researching the internet i came across a great article entitled ” Rationale for using technology and multimedia applications in the classroom”. The article discusses technology and the need for it to be integrated into classrooms to move into the 21st century. It states that “Technology and multimedia applications should be used as a tool to enhance a child’s educational experience by creating a variety of methods to meet special needs, teach children how to manage information, and allow for opportunities to develop higher level thinking skills” (Carter, 2001). This article mentions the numerous ways that technology can be integrated into the classroom and why it is so valuable to the children. Technology enhances children’s learning experiences and facilitates the process of developing higher level thinking skills. I agree that technology and multimedia applications should be an integral part of the learning environment and should be integrated into every aspect of the curriculum as our students are immersed in technology.
I recently blogged about video games and how children benefit from them. I discovered that although games encourage communication, collaboration and analytical thinking, the majority of the games shown in the youtube clip portrayed violent situations making them unsuitable in a primary school environment. I stumbled upon an article in the ABC news entitled “Violent video games don’t create killers”. I was interested to read it as i had only recently thought about video games and the effects they have on children and their behaviour.
The article discussed a book written by Lawrence Kutner and Cheryl Olson, a husband-and-wife team at Harvard Medical School, about their views in Grand Theft Childhood: The Surprising Truth About Violent Video Games And What Parents Can Do. The couple conducted a research investigation on mature video games and the role they play in children’s violent behaviour. They took a new approach to the research and the pair conducted a two-year study of more than 1,200 school children about their attitudes towards video games. They found that playing video games was a near-universal activity among children, and was often intensely social. However they did find a link between playing mature video games and aggressive behaviour. Mr Kutner and Ms Olson say “further study is needed because the data shows only a correlation, not causation. It is still unclear whether the games trigger aggression or if aggressive children are drawn to more violent games” (Kutner & Olson, 2008). I disagree with what they are saying as i do feel that mature video games that display violence give the wrong idea to children and aren’t necessary for their viewing. For example, grand theft auto is extremely violent and sends the wrong message to children and what is considered socially acceptable behaviour.
I am currently on my practical experience and i am amazed by the technology that this school has available to them. I am on a year 6 class and as part of their computing technology class and a HSIE unit they have been asked to make a weather report powerpoint presentation in groups of 3 and 4. When i started my prac experience last week, the students used their computing class time to complete their presentations and any last minute touches before they had to present them the following week. I wandered around the room amazed by their creativity and the skills and knowledge that they possessed. They were all very confident with the computer, using powerpoint and navigating around the internet.
When it came time to present their weather reports, i was suprised to see that they were using an interactive whiteboard for the presentations. I was blown away by the sophisticated and well presented weather reports that the children had put together. All of the children were confident, mature and capable of using the interactive whiteboard and the presentations looked so professional and effective due to the technology they had available to them. I was intrigued and my co operating teacher gave me a crash course in how to use one, it was a learning experience for me and an eye opener to the advanced technology we have in schools today.
I recently blogged about interactive whiteboards and the debate on their value within classrooms. I must admit that i made a judgement about them only by what i had read, because i myself had never used one and didn’t see the benefits and value of having one in the classroom. I still stand by my statement that i don’t believe the use of technology in a classroom is the key to being a good teacher, but i do see the value of having an interactive whiteboard within the classroom. They are a wonderful tool for teachers and students and i think this kind of technology should be integrated into the classroom as teachers and students would benefit from the opportunities this technology has to offer.
Papert, S. (1998). Does Easy Do It? Children, Games, and Learning.
After reading Eliza’s blog about the article she read, which emphasised the concept of challenging children when learning through computer games rather than making learning easy through them is the way of the future. I do believe that when learning is created to be easy children lose interest pretty quickly! I also agree with Eliza that when a child is challenged to think they learn! Children need to be stimulated and constanrly need to be learning new things to enhance their learning experiences at school. Eliza makes a good point when she says “If teachers are going to utilise computer games as an educational tool they must be challenging for the learner to maintain a level of interest and engagement that is necessary to learn successfully”. Simple and easy computer games shouldn’t be integrated into the classroom if they’re not going to stimulate or challenge the student. Whats the point of providing students with technologies and programs that they already know how to use?. We need to encourage students to learn beyond what they already know.
Resnick, M. (2002). Rethinking Learning in the Digital Age. In G. Kirk-man (Ed.), The Global Information Technology Report: Readiness for the Networked Word. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
This article by Resnick discusses the link between technology, computers and education. He states that “to take full advantage of new technologies, we need to fundamentally rethink our approaches to learning and education and our ideas of how new technologies can support them” (Resnick, 2002). I really like this quote and I agree with what Resnick is saying. I feel that to use technology to its full potential, we need to understand it and use it in a way that supports education, not just use it to deliver information
The article addresses many valid issues and one in particular that caught my attention was when Resnick discussed the idea of developing a new generation of computer technologies and providing the digital natives with hardware and software that will enable them to do more with computers.
Resnick discusses the concept of “creative societies” as he believes that “success in the future will be based on our ability to think and act creatively rather than how much we know” (Resnick, 2002). This is an interesting statement and after reading the article i tend to agree with it. Providing a creative society can help to develop children and provide them with the tools needed to develop their creative abilities enabling them the opportunities to invent. Computers are the future and i believe that they can provide children with the “creativity” they need to achieve new approaches to eduaction and learning.
In class today we used a program called “Comic Life” and made a comic strip using pictorial metaphors that represented our views on e-learning. I found this to be a great program that was easy and fun to use and i think this would be a great program to introduce to students in the classroom.
[kml_flashembed movie="http://www.youtube.com/v/PPbiD7SHTCU" width="425" height="350" wmode="transparent" /]
After watching this youtube clip and reading Emily’s(classmate) response, i agree that most of the games displayed were violent or inappropriate, making them unsuitable for a learning environment in a primary school. Even though alot of the games displayed on this youtube clip were engaging and considered strategy games, i don’t think that they are games that should be played in the classroom as they promote violence and death. I agree with Emily that games can encourage students to communicate, collaborate and engage in analytical thought although i don’t think that games are necessary or appropriate as educational tools unless specifically designed for the use of primary students in an educational environment.
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In class today we used a program called “Comic Life” and made a comic strip using pictorial metaphors that represented our views on e-learning. I found this to be a great program that was easy and fun to use and i think this would be a great program to introduce to students in the classroom.
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