Final Course Reflection

The Web 2 learning experience....

I do feel I have gained a tremendous amount of knowledge from participation in this course. Presentation tools I discovered on this course, like prezis and glogs were unknown to me. Words like RSS feeds and wikis were things I had seen, but had never known what they were.

The best discovery though, is how many other things are also out there and how (generally) classroom friendly they are. This course gave me specific samples of what was available and laid the foundations for further discoveries. I feel that this is a strength. I didn't limit myself just to the course content, but I used it as a launch pad. I guess any course is only as good as the participants chose to make it. 

There was the natural frustration when YouTube clips seemed several versions away from the current application I was struggling with, but if no new clips have been created to keep up with changes in applications, that is through no one's fault. It just stimulated and improved my problem solving skills! 

I have tried to show many of my new discoveries on additional posts throughout this course. I have been using many iPad apps in my classroom for publishing and learning and so on, but the new ones I discovered like Puppet-Edu were unfamiliar to me. I tend to use iPads rather than computers as we have had increasing access to iPads at my school as the year has progressed. Prezis have some functionality on iPads and I can't wait for the impending release of the Glogster app. Since I first used the Glogster last month, I have been checking the app store for the mobile version so I can use it in my classroom. I think the challenge for developers will be to ensure that prices remain viable for ever shrinking school resource funds.

The use of all these technologies in the classroom does allow for interactive, mobile learning. I was thrilled to discover many of my class were using their biteslide accounts at home and sharing, editing and working on projects collaboratively. They love creating slide shows on Puppet-Edu, not realising how much writing and often research, they are doing to create their slide show.

The wiki I created shows some of the inherent strengths and weaknesses of such a devise! My class loved engaging with the wiki I created for explanation texts -  however we clearly need to revisit what can be regarded as an acceptable comment and don't get me started on the editing and spelling we will work on in term 4!!! They loved the ability to go back to check on written facts and watch a video clip again if they wanted clarification. It also gave them choice. Each group could select what they wanted to explore and write on something that caught their interest. 
   

Blooms:
I  found the Blooms Digital Taxonomy great food for for thought. If we are only using these Web 2 tools as glorified word processors, then we need to acknowledge their use as such and not promote them them as a grand and significantly new learning tool. Type writers have, after all, been around for a while... 

That is not to say that this isn't also important, I guess we just need to identify how we are using them when we are looking at enrichment and extension and not just the modern way of recording things. A lot of the power of these tools is often only limited by the creativity of the individual. (Minecraft - the out there version of lego and sand boxes springs to mind!!!!)

Many of these tools are multi faceted and can be used as a simple recording/research devise (the two lower order Bloom's skills) all the way to the higher order evaluating and creating skills. Many web 2 tools like blogs, feature all the way through the Bloom's hierarchy, purely depending on how they are used. If you are typing up your class activities for the day on your class blog, you are probably NOT using the higher order skills!!! 

I did love glogster, animoto and prezi (as well as my recent discoveries of emaze, canva, Puppet-Edu, biteslide, just to name a few....), but again, it's level on the Bloom's ladder depends on how the individual uses it. Cut and paste a whole load of meaningless, uninterpreted information - and you are definitely way down the bottom. Interpret, create, develop, apply... well, you know where that leaves you. 

My Classroom:
There was a lot I was already doing - but we are all very much limited to the resources our school budget can accommodate. 

I was already using a lot of Web 2 technology, but I didn't know that was what it was called. Because of this course, I do feel my room is much more interactive and I have very much enjoyed sharing even more 'new stuff' with colleagues. 'Stuff' I have tried out, worked out (eventually) and found quite do-able! 

I have been able to share information with the extra steps I wish I had known.... Face to face learning does have a lot of advantages - while on line learning made this course possible.

When I have introduced some new tool, many of my Year 4 class have asked if it was what I was learning on my course! I love the fact that we all know we are all learning all the time! I think they have enjoyed the course as much as me!

Finally:
I had planned to present my reflection as a fancy prezi. I may do that on a later post, but for now, I will finish here. I have recommended to many colleagues that they do this course. It was frustrating and all the rest as it was all brand new, but it is a great learning opportunity.

I really do wish that more participants had included examples of what they did. When I was struggling with inserting a glog into my blog (!!!) for instance, I took cold comfort in the fact that somehow, others had done it and therefore there had to be a way.

I know it was suggested that examples of different Web 2 tools be inserted into our blogs, but many participants seemed to have over looked this fact. I found a certain irony that some participants claimed the course was full of out dated (not to me!!!) material and ancient learning experiences - using media that they had employed in their teaching for eons - yet we didn't get to share their wealth of experience, knowledge and resources. Alas it was this very group that failed to give others even a glimpse of their vast expertise and learning as they shared nothing!!! If nothing else, surely they could have included an example of a task they had helped a student construct! 

I created everything from scratch - with the instructions often sitting beside me on my iPad on a doc or YouTube clip with PAUSE being pressed every 10 seconds. I am very much a 'newbie' and figure that if I can do it, I need to let others know it is possible! As a course participant, I also assume that there is an expectation that you do prove you have studied what you claim to have - that is, supply the evidence. Don't just big note yourself!

Survey to go!
Nearly there.One survey to go. To anyone reading this, you won't see the survey, but thanks for reading anyway...

It has been great for my two sons and my class to see that we are all learning - especially when I ask my year 4s to get the apple TV working on the IWB or try and figure out why we have no sound...

We are all learners together.

Can't wait for the next round!




   

Module 10

Learning Communities, Constructing Knowledge Together in Wikis, Nings & Sites.

WIKIS!!!

Wow! That was fun wasn't it!!!!
Okay, yes, I did learn a lot, but....
It did take some time as there was a lot to cover....
First, we had wikis....
Several YouTube clips and a few sleeps later, I had created my VERY OWN wiki. 
Quite proud of myself I might add... 
My Year 4 class are suitably impressed... 
So am I...
 It was doable and I am looking forward to doing more, but later...
 I had tried to insert my Glog from a previous module, but after a near divorce, gave this up as a bad idea. I did google what to do and found a great prezi outlining what to do, but I still ended up with half a glog embed in my page....
I hope you realise that two months ago, words like prezi and glog didn't even exist in my vocabulary. 

This is the cover from my wiki!!! I have actually added to it over the last few days. I did like the fact that while I was working with one group of children on the areas they were up to, I could suggest to other children that they go and explore the newly added pages like 'volcanoes' and start on the next explanation sequence.

http://stfinbarsstage2.wikispaces.com/

NINGS!!!

 I did like what I saw with the link we were given from our course, so I joined the English Ning and a few days later they decided I wasn't too bad and accepted me!

If you look really carefully, you can see me down at the bottom and at the top of the right hand screen! Just thought I ought to show I had looked at things!

Google Sites!!!

Last, but not least.... 

I do like Google sites and do plan to re-investigate and create sites using this medium in the HUGE amount of free time we have as teachers and parents...

I did look at this very briefly on the Google App Boot Camp I participated in last year. Last year I was battling with a failing laptop from the antiquated equipment with missing keys on keyboards etc that my school was victim to. (I didn't have my own laptop). Things are improving A LOT on that front in 2014 ... 

This time round, there has been a lot more time to study things, not just two brief days (albeit unpaid and away from my family and many late nights to also fulfill my school work commitments). I have also had access to my own PC and iPad. Much better than relying on archaic and broken school equipment. 

Although I am relatively familar with the iPad and use it a lot in my classroom, a substantial amount of Web 2 isn't yet iPad friendly.  

On That Note....

I will save the rest of my ramblings for the final course reflection. If I say anything else here, I won't have anything else to say there. 

That could be a blessing I can imagine some of you thinking...

I can only imagine that though. 

Despite a few people checking out my blog, comments are few and far between so I will remain forever feeling like I am simply talking to myself.

That's okay though. 

From being a little girl I kept a diary and I can remember the horror of discovering my deepest teenage angst's had been shared with the public when my dear (?) sister saw fit to sit down and share my hidden diaries with her friends over a cup of coffee, a giggle and a cigarette.... (Remember those things?! Cigarettes I mean! I do recall them fondly, despite potential ill affects on health.  Sisterly moments however, are sometimes best forgotten.) 

That, I  think, is my biggest fear with social media.

It has such an awesome potential for good, but invasion of privacy is truly a huge issue. Paper diaries and photo albums can cause embarrassment on a small scale with those who have physical access to them. Social media can truly hurt on a global scale with people we have never met knowing our most intimate details.

Those secrets shared by us, remain our responsibility. Our information shared with a global audience and disclosed by others for whatever reason, is a concern. 

Sometimes the interest others have in us is because they wish to get to know us -  in a real and meaningful way.

Tangible and physical.

Not through an avatar or some 'social' image we have have chosen to create. 

Module 9

Networks on the Web 

Social and Professional. 

If we embraced all these networking tools and resources, we wouldn't so much as be leaving a digital footprint so much as a digital Grand Canyon.

I doubt we would get much done either. Not between reading and contributing (having a chat?) 

I also feel that you can get to the stage that you can't see the woods for the trees. With so much on offer, I guess it is a matter of seeing what works for you, your class, their ability levels and the very real issue of what technology you actually have available in the classroom. Ultimately, this may well be the deciding factor. 

Scootle

An oldie but a goodie. It is current and up to date and obviously in line with the National Curriculum. It does kind of put things all in the one place and has many good links to educational resources both here and overseas. I like being able to put things into learning pathways, but there other ways to do this too. Embedding links into a class blog for instance! 

I used the Glogster in Module Five to direct my class to Web related learning tasks. 

I added a Biteslide slide sequence to my blog. This directed my children to the task I wanted them to complete in reading groups and took them to the You Tube clip I wanted them to see. Unfortunately these slides can't be downloaded at the moment hence the need to embed it somewhere! I used my Prezi in much the same way.

I will admit I haven't used Scootle for a while and had forgotten that it does have good resources and things you can access straight away. I do feel that other sites offer more though. See some of my favourites on the link on the right. 

Sometimes having so much to chose from does mean that you forget some older sites. Other sites more 'subject specific' have tended to become favourites.



Second Life - Good for 'bad hair' days... 

This was rather 'out there'!! I don't know what I was expecting, but it is quite different to the other networks covered in this module. It would appear that you communicate to and with the world through your avatar. I can see that it would be extremely entertaining and engaging to children and teenagers in particular. It would also mean that if I was running late and didn't quite get the hair and makeup done, I could present a fantastic alter ego to my class!

Some of the avatars and worlds looked a little scary. I chose not to join the site at this point in time. 

I did notice that some universities are using the medium and love the thought of a virtual tour through the Sistine Chapel or a quick chat with Shakespeare and some of his characters. 

When I saw that Dell provides a virtual tour through the inner workings of a computer, I couldn't help but recall old episodes of The Magic School Bus when a classroom of children are shrunk and explore all manner of things - from the inside of a volcano to the circulatory system of a child with a cold... 

It does seem that educational institutions are just beginning to supply content so I will wait and see. In the meantime, I will use virtual tours that are not quite so interactive and I won't be throwing away my Magic School Bus DVD's just yet.

Facebook

This and related sites just get bigger and bigger. The time some individuals spend on it is quite scary too.

It seems to be a way for many to self promote and feed their egos. People measure each other's popularity by just how many people 'like' what they've written/done/said/looked like...

As the bulk of companies - even local area Police Stations - do have Facebook sites, it is an easy way to share and receive information about safety, recalls, products and so on, but it is predominantly used for chatting. Nothing wrong with that, but do we really need to share with the world every nuance of our lives as so many do? 

I have seen teenage nieces post photos of their belly buttons... Saw another person take time out on Christmas Day to announce to the world that they didn't like Christmas Pudding... Maybe it's just me but....  

It can be used by mothers desperate for help with a homework task (I've heard that one in the playground!!) or checking on a planned excursion and missing note. That's fine, but do we really need to see pictures of children being toilet trained? Cute for the family album maybe, but perhaps in twenty years, quite mortifying for the individual concerned.

There is not too much point in discussing the issues of privacy and the dangers of Facebook, digital footprints and so on, as they are continually discussed in the media. 

The real use of Facebook in the classroom is to discuss it as an example of how to be safe on the internet and be careful of what you say and post. We are not permitted to use it in our diocese anyway and that could well be because the CEO doesn't see it as a valuable learning tool either. 

Twitter

I did end up joining Twitter in this module. Better late, saw no great need for it in the primary classroom...

Many schools do have Twitter accounts as a way of disseminating information quickly and efficiently.   Saves trying to listen to the radio to work out if a sports carnival is still on or not due to rain.

I joined up to some news and newspaper sites. Given the fact that information is kept brief is good, but as it only hangs around for a short time, if you are really interesting in following some educational Tweet, you may well miss out on something good -and you can't stop a hundred times a day to check every new notification.

I did think it was used in a novel way to share information in class between individuals, but it really is technology dependent. Fine in a high school where many children would have mobile devices, in a primary classroom with a few computers, it's use is limited at best. 

Again the You Tube clip suggested it's use a sharing medium for all those little personal moments of your life. Like the cup of coffee you are enjoying. Why not just enjoy the coffee with the person you are with? Another site used this type of desperate need to share every bit of your life as an open invitation to any potential burglar in your extended circle (who you may well not even know) to seize the opportunity to clean your house out.


Linked In

Doesn't look bad for teachers and net working, but I like Scoop It and following other teachers with similar interests through that medium, blogs and Pinterest. 

On these virtual pin boards, we can all share a wealth of ideas and collections with each other. I feel no great desire to enter into discussions about my vegemite sandwich lunch and get to know complete strangers by joining chat sites. 

I am hard pressed fitting things in to my day as it is.

Let's share resources, we don't need to share our lives with the world. 

I like to add to my collection of information and sites to make my life easier. I enjoy sharing this too. For that reason, I have added additional posts with sites I have discovered that would be useful in the Primary classroom. I don't feel the need to add to my virtual 'friend' collection....

That could well make me a 21st Century Leper!

Module 8

RSS Feeds Demystified and Feedly.

I did take a long time to work through this as I seem to find myself playing with things all the time and discovering interesting looking sites that I felt compelled to go and look at!

I always did wonder what an RSS feed was...

I am not sure that I would use Feedly with my year 4 class that much - if at all. To try and make it relevant to my class, I did add educational sites that were both child and Feedly friendly. One was from National Geographic and one was nrich - a great maths site. They are both sites I have regularly used and book marked through traditional book marking - although I added them both to Diigo after the last module!

The bulk of the other sites I added were all for me. Some I found using the Feedly search engine, others I transferred from my Scoop-it page and my computer book marks. I still think I would be more inclined to simply go and check a site/blog when I required information or had the time. I am not that desperate to keep up with all the latest on a daily basis and as a primary school teacher with two little boys, time is not something I have available in bucket loads. That either makes me very honest or seem incredibly unworldly and I can imagine quite a few people now dismissing me as tragic. But at least I am honest....

I captured a picture of my newly created Feedly account. The page I have open is in 'magazine format' with the newest content from nrich being displayed. This would be attractive and user friendly to children.They would still need to be directed to a particular page if I wanted them to be learning something specific though.

Feedly for Children

http://nrich.maths.org/frontpage

Feedly for me!

                       Great Back to School Ed Tech Rubrics ~ Educational Technology and Mobile Learning

I just had to get some pictures in. At least it proves I am doing everything! And so on to Module 9....

By the way,  am also pretty excited that I worked out how to embed 'click on URL's'. Okay, obvious to some and it wasn't that hard, but I thought it would be!!! I think the maths site is really worth a look at!

Module 7

Social Book Marking

delicious and diigo

Two more brand new discoveries. 

I read the blurbs on each and did a little research and decided to go with diigo. It seems a lot of teachers do use this one in the classroom. I didn't explore delicious too fully, but was attracted to a lot of the features that diigo has. Delicious may also have them.    

What I liked: 

The ability to high light and add sticky notes to texts. This could be great for directing research in the classroom and allowing for collaboration on texts. 

Being able to sign up and create class groups.

Children can be directed straight to a group of sites, saving time.

Ability to capture pictures straight from the internet and save them with tags or URLs. I didn't have any luck with the capture and annotate - but  from what I read I think this feature may not be available on google chrome at the moment.

This captured screen shot shows some text I high lighted in different colours and the two little yellow boxes are 'sticky notes'. I did have more of both, but could only screen shot what was on the screen... 

You click on the sticky notes when you are on the site and they open up so you can read the content. I like the fact that sticky notes can be added to by each person who views them. Comments by the students would be an excellent way to check for understanding and get opinions. A variation on handing the paper around the classroom. 

Still learning:

I am still trying to work out how to organise everything into a neat library as I saw on 

Sherryn Moore's diigo site. I have managed to group everything into lists for different subjects.

Until I work it out, every site I visit is showing up in diigo, regardless of whether I book mark it or not. This could very soon become unmanageable and I have done a lot of deleting. Any advice on how to avoid this would be great! It is like it is saving it all to history, but the history is there regardless of whether I want to view it or not.

I would love to become better at using and understanding the features available on diigo.

As this screen shot shows, things could become overwhelming if I don't work out how to stop saving every page I visit! Down the left are the lists I have created.

Pinterest and scoop.it 

I have been using Pinterest for a while and only recently discovered and joined scoop.it , so it was interesting to see how these alternative book marking sites worked in comparison. They all offer different things, but the ability to add straight from the site you are on is not always an option for either pinterest or scoop.it and requires copying and pasting URLs. 

            pinterest with pretty pictures....

and scoop.it

https://diigo.com/023sfm

I love picture picture books, so I guess I can't help but add pictures to make it all a bit more fun... I must admit though, you do sometimes feel like you are talking to yourself when you blog!

Module 6

Picasa

I have mixed feelings about Picasa. Perhaps we got off to a bad start when I suddenly realised that fourteen years worth of down loaded photos were suddenly being transferred onto the programme. Not only photos, but scans, album cover images and just about anything that was vaguely picture related!

I tried pressing escape, stop, delete.... nothing could stop the rapidly down loading images. In desperation, I switched off the computer, uninstalled Picasa and then tried again... 

Second time around, I was more careful about selecting specific folders....

It is quite a handy programme with a lot of useful editing features and is certainly pretty good considering it is free. The collage maker is lovely, but the inability to slide or re-size photos if someone has had their head chopped off is annoying. Photos can easily be moved around when using 'scatter', but not in the mosaic or grid modes. This collage was easy to create and there are a variety of templates. It was also easy to insert into this blog - when I finally worked out how to transfer it from Picasa onto Picasa Web....

The editing tools are all very user friendly and offer a variety of tools that you would require several apps or more expensive programmes to have access to. The special effect tools are fun and the editing tools like red eye and crop are very useful.

The ability to share and save on line is handy. Being able to download from your camera onto any computer with internet access is great too.

The video creation part was easy and it would be good for sharing. It isn't too packed with features though and I much preferred Animoto. Sometimes a programme that tries to do so much only seems to manage all the jobs just adequately, while dedicated programmes like Animoto can really refine things a little more. The video is VERY basic and not nearly as engaging as the one I created with Animoto (See Blog 4) - and Animoto was easier too... 

Inserting it into this Blog has also been an ordeal. Maybe I am missing things, but I ended up down loading it onto my hard drive and up loading it from there. I did manage to get it from Picasa onto my Picasa Web Albums, but when I installed it onto my Blog from there, I only got a picture with an arrow that did nothing. 

Using Picasa by itself is probably straight forward enough, I think my confusion ended up being compounded by the fact that I was constantly trying to transfer from one Picasa to the other Picasa and remember which was which and which did what. 

And so the learning curve continues....

Module 5

I survived!!!!

It might just be me - but this was a challenging module...

Twenty hours for the course?! I think Glogster and Prezi took nearly that amount - each....

BUT!!!

I really did like it (eventually....) and learned so much - like real life seminars with real people can make life so much easier.... Okay, but.... 

Seriously...

I can't wait to have a go at introducing these forms of media and expression to my class - but I would have a few more practice goes at home first. My sons were quite in awe of Prezi and couldn't wait to give that a go. They are Power Point junkies...There are so many little bits of assumed information that is omitted from all the You Tube type tutorials and Webinars that I went searching desperately. I felt I was always 90% there, but never got the last piece of information to get me over the line easily. That did become frustrating. 

So here comes my blow by blow account and evidence of what I have spent MANY days doing!!!

Bubbl.us for brainstorming.

Vibrant and bright and colourful. Would be great to have up on an interactive board to record the results of a brainstorm and encourage children to add thoughts and ideas. As I teach primary, I suspect I would use this more in a teacher directed situation. For children - well the ones I currently teach, I suspect that good old butcher's paper and colourful Texas would yield the same results - only much more quickly...  But it was fun, engaging and actually quite easy - once I worked out the You Tube clip talking about siblings, cousins, direct descendants and loved ones.... Mind Map meets Family Tree....

Now let's see how we go about inserting it in to this blog.

Okay. That was simple. For a change. Wasn't at all sure how to add that to my blog and it was easy!!! So, for your viewing pleasure, here is an easy to create Bubbl.us (I just can't get the image of footballers 'bubbling' out of my mind at the moment - but that is my problem.) 

Glogster - for great posters

This was a HUGE learning curve. I decided to create a Glogster on Explanation texts as we are about to start them in Year 4. I loved the result, but this took a lot of searching for information before I could get anywhere. Perhaps I was trying to create too much too soon and should have kept it simpler to start with. It took days to complete this task. Again, I think the writers of tutorials assume too much background knowledge.

 It took many searches to finally work out that PDF's had to be converted to jpegs to insert (unless you wanted a paper clip in the back ground - I have Year 4 so I wanted it ALL on screen visually).

I hated the tiny pictures on my poster as they couldn't be seen, so I changed all my recently converted tiny jpegs into huge files on Photo Shop. At this point, I also didn't know that those tiny pictures blew up quite large when you held a mouse over them. See what I mean about too many assumptions? Assume we all know nothing would be a good place to start. I thought I was dead clever blowing everything up. Out smarted that lot I thought... Only the files were too big to be uploaded. So I had to convert them all back again...

I worked through all of that and had a dummy go at inserting it into my Blog. That was another couple of hours. I followed all the instructions from You Tube and many other sources. My screen kept filling with lovely, huge long codes of letters and numbers... I wanted my Glogster, not numbers. My husband sent me away while he promised to resolve the issue. About two hours later  was solved... WHY DIDN'T ONE WEB SITE MENTION THAT TO SEE YOUR GLOGSTER YOU NEEDED TO VIEW IT ON THE WEB AND NOT IN DRAFT!!!!! Getting my drift about only 90% of the information!?

Anyway, here is my Glogster... I know I will view it as no more than a HTML code (wow, that makes me sound like I know what I'm talking about) but if anyone else in the world happens to read all this work, then you will see it as an interactive Glog. Click on the things that say click. It is quite fun actually!  Is anyone else really reading this or am I just talking to myself?! 

This Glogster is way too big, but I am having technical issues. It wasn't that big when I did my practice go...It is either this, or only half a Glog in my Blog.... It also wasn't this big when I was looking at in on the Glogster site. If it was then I would never have bothered trying to blow all the little jpegs up!

Prezi - Power Point is seriously left behind.

I should have used the pre-made templates earlier. I didn't realise I could add extra frames to what I wanted. I finally worked out how to change my back ground, change fade ins and re-size etc. It wasn't too bad and I think it does leave Power Point sadly languishing. Although it took me a while as a newbie, I think after a few goes it is definitely something that both the class and myself would use. I would love to try adding voice overs to the content too. What's a few more hours...

I did start this off several times, so this is probably version 365. This particular version was started off on the iPad and was completed on my PC, so the fact that it is multi - platform is really handy. You Tube content was easily added, although I had originally tried to upload clips from ABC Splash. This didn't work, nor did trying to change the files to FLV's (as suggested by Prezi). Both my sons want to learn how to use this, so it is clearly appealing to children.

In the classroom, I would suggest the template to use etc, so as to avoid wasting too much time, but as with Glogster, I think it would be very engaging for children to use and certainly would encourage them to explore their ideas more fully and visually. They are fun programmes. We just need to be mindful that not too much time is spent playing around with things and trying to problem solve. That is where I came unstuck.

Module 4

Vodcasts,  Podcasts,  Animoto, YouTube...

With such a choice, just where do you start?

It's strange that while I use a lot of these sorts of things in the classroom, it never dawned on me that we could be creating them ourselves.

We all use YouTube in just about every subject - probably all subjects at some stage, but I must say I have never thought to upload something there. I have a whole load of clips stored in my YouTube, Classm8 account, all neatly grouped by subject type. Bible stories are a particular favourite as they really come to life for younger children. I recently discovered the Storynory site through my Principal (a great inclusion at reading time for adding variety - and it's free!!!). We all tend to try and share good finds with each other.

Podcasts could actually be used to record children reading books or their own stories, in a radio play style. They can add  music and sound effects from sites that offer them for free. Reading for an audience would give reading more purpose and encourage rehearsing, expression, listening and seeking of ways to become a more engaging reader. It also allows the reader to hear themselves as others do. By making reading more entertaining, you are bound to attract even reluctant readers.

Teachers could also encourage children to make Podcasts of favourite books to create a class library of student owned Class Podcast books.

Pod/Vodcasts could also be a successful new presentation media for reports and projects. I suppose it isn't beyond the realms of possibility that teachers could even Podcast instructions for activities in groups - but that could be going a little too far...

Animoto was a real find! I had never even heard of it and can't wait to use it with my class. It was really easy to use and a lot of fun. I could see it being very popular as a new way to express ideas in a highly visual and efficient way. PowerPoint, Keynote and the like have a place in presentations, but this is very dynamic. Children could be encouraged to write captions for their uploaded photos. They can insert written slides in between uploaded video and photo sections.By using their own music and voice recordings, Animoto could become even more personal. The programme is so accessible and requires equipment that most (if not all) classrooms now have.

This was a first time Animoto creation based on a whole load of school photos. I tried to capture a sense of my school and also have a go at working through the programme. It would be a lot of fun to use for end of year celebrations, recording events on an excursion, special occasions.... The sky really is the limit.

I was also pretty impressed that it only took me a few failed attempts to work out how to add it to this blog. The learning curve continues!

Module 3

Google Docs

in the classroom....

Passing notes around the classroom has taken on a whole new dimension! Once upon a time, only those with the best designed paper planes could get their message to other side of the room. Now, Google docs is the technologically advanced way of communicating with others in a teacher approved way! Even the teachers can join in the fun!

We have all used large sheets of paper spread out on desks, with brightly coloured textas to entice students to add to brain storms and the like. This takes it one step further and in a very sophisticated way.   

The fact that students can work in real time and collaboratively with others can be quite an asset. Children can all be working on separate parts of the one project or learning task, but pooling their ideas at the same time. 

The ability to comment on the document and chat - in a virtual way- outside of the document, allows for it to become more interactive and inclusive. It is also accessible to all collaborators from their own devices, so geographical isolation outside of school poses no issue and children are not so dependent on ensuring work is saved on external drives to make them portable.

Teacher feed back would also be made easier through this medium. 

For distance education, the implications are enormous and would have to yield substantial benefits.

Classrooms could become so much quieter with no one talking and shouting out loud in order to be heard. The closest you get are PEOPLE SHOUTING IN CAPITALS!!!! That, however is actually my fear. While it is a powerful medium for collaborative work and sharing ideas, so too, is learning to interact physically with others. When children are engaged in physical talking, they must learn to stop and listen and to take turns in the conversation. These are vital skills that cannot be overlooked as we move into 'work station' dominated schooling and work environments. As with everything, there needs to be a balance.

The portability and ease of access to google docs does certainly make it an asset. I frequently find myself working on mobile devices outside of school. I then save these documents on my iPad and email them to myself in order to continue working on them at home. With google docs now available for mobile devices, that is no longer an issue.

It's a great tool. But a tool never the less.

    

  

Module 2

Well, I mean, just where do you start?

I read one of the recommended blogs where the individual completed the course in record time -  purely because he was so interested. My interest has had the opposite effect.... 

I have spent the better part of four hours just completing the second part of this module. There were so many sites to explore and so many interesting things to look at and read! This also wasn't just a desperate attempt to get out of the laundry... or help my sons with their homework...

At this rate I may be seeking an extension until Christmas!

We were asked to consider the use of blogs as a learning tool in our classrooms, so here are some of my observations:

Use of blogs in the classroom #1 - Feedback and Interaction
I was so proud of my first Blog, I sent the link to my parents. You are never too old for parental approval. They were suitably impressed.  

Classroom Implications:
Students receive positive feedback and parents are engaged in their child's learning.

Use of blogs in the classroom #2  - Support in Learning
I had two typos in my blog that were noted by my father... I then managed to work out how to go back and edit a post! 

Classroom Implications:
Students can receive feedback from a number of sources and learn valuable editing, spelling, grammar and punctuation skills.

Use of blogs in the classroom #3  - Sharing and development of ideas
It is so easy to add a comment and  expand on ideas already initiated. In loud, noisy environments, the quieter voices do, well - actually have a voice. 

Classroom Implications:
Collaborative learning. For the children who are reluctant to speak, they are given a voice. A teacher can't listen to the ideas of all the children who may be working collaboratively in a group, but this allows for a spread of ideas. Teachers can also be more aware of what groups are doing when working independently.


Use of blogs in the classroom #4  - Huge variety of expression.
Children may easily use and up load videos, links, pictures and so on to support their ideas.

Classroom Implications:
For any teacher who pales at the thought of yet another PowerPoint presentation... I rest my case...

Use of blogs in the classroom #5 - Blogger saves drafts.
My computer just crashed and all of the above went with it - or so I thought. I did find myself considering death by drowning -  in a glass of red cask Coolabah. (what teacher can afford a Henschke?)


Classroom Implications:
Auto save... Substance abuse avoidance...

New skills and Blogger Site benefits:
My blog now has  a list of some good sites I regularly use.I worked out how to add these as a result of exploring gadgets  in the set up section. As a class blog, this could suggest links to parents and children that they could find useful. I often add helpful sites to paper homework sheets, but these can easily get lost. I want to add more to my current blog, so I can access them more easily, but it's a bit late, so that will come!

I use Reading Eggs, Mathletics, Squirk, Study Ladder and Spelling City in my classroom (just to name a few!) so this could make things easier for all.  

I do want to work out how to make my site more interactive and dynamic with tabs and so on. I can't wait for a chance to check out Edu Blogs, Word Press and Weebly in particular. They do look like they have a lot to offer in the classroom.

Module 1

Until a few days ago, I had absolutely no idea what Web 2 was. Yes, I should have Googled it.... I was intrigued by the look of the course and was interested, so I sent Lisa an email and found the course came with a lot of support. With a great deal of trepidation, I signed up.

On completing the first module, I did breathe a sigh of relief (a little one). It was strange to realise that much of what I do on the internet actually is using Web 2. Oops! Many of the eLearning tools shown are ones I readily use at home and in the classroom. Many shown on the links have been filed away to explore later.

I have my favourite Bloggers. Not Quite Nigella, is a very entertaining food critic with a dynamic and fun site full of recipes and international travels (could I possibly start writing reports on food in exotic locations instead of writing reports on children as I eat a vegemite sandwich?!). I posted a question on a craft site a while ago asking for patterns for a craft cutting machine. The next thing I knew, people from all over the world were posting replies in a highly productive way for weeks. We all gained so much shared wisdom. I was blown away by the response as I had never posted a question before.

These experiences did change the way I viewed mediums such as blogs. I know that many people use social media including Facebook, tweets and blogs to share with the world that they had weetbix for breakfast, are suffering a headache or that they just stubbed their big toe. For those reasons, I stayed clear of joining up to Facebook and the like. I liked the idea of blogging because many blogs are actually related to the concept of sharing information that is more than idle self promotion.

When my Grandma became frail and began to develop dementia, I was thrown into a world I had never experienced before. Over the months and then years, I gradually learned more and more about the services available for elderly people and those who try to support them. It was so hard to get that information and much of it I discovered purely by accident. It was back then, a long time ago, that I had thought it would be great to set up a blog to share the information I was constantly discovering. I wished to save others the frustration. Pity I hadn't discovered this course back then! I had thought setting up blogs must involve web designers and professional computer people.

For these reasons, I didn't set up my 'old people help' blog and hadn't really contemplated how blogs could be used in my classroom. After module one, I can see that it could be a dynamic learning tool. It is also a tool available to everyone with a computer and internet connection. Maybe that was obvious, but I didn't know.

I am reasonable on the computer as I try to stay a little ahead of my own children - as well as those in my classroom, to ensure I can help them. My Year 7 son keeps wandering in to see what I am doing and was quite impressed when he heard I was creating a blog. It's not easy to impress a 13 year old, so that is saying a lot. Funny thing is, it wasn't that hard. I just took an awfully long time choosing and then re-sizing the photo I wanted to use on my cover page. Figuring out how to position it and change the colours was another issue and several searches later too. It didn't need to be done, but I just wanted to see what Blogger can do!

I am looking forward to the rest of this course with it's many challenges, but what I think will be a very valuable and fun learning experience. Thank goodness it's not a report writing term....

My Grandma

A WW 2 Wedding Day photo of my Grand Parents

Thought I'd have a go at inserting some pictures while at it. My Grandma and Grandfather on their wedding day and my Grandma a few months ago.When I talk to my sons about the world I grew up in - technology wise, it is so much more confronting to think my Grandma was born in a world before such things as television -  and telegrams were a quicker and novel way of sending messages. When my son was born, I swallowed tablets whole and used a pen to write in note books - and he is only 13 years old. I had also just received a very expensive, cutting edge 2 MG camera to take his baby photos on. My phone now takes larger pictures. 

Now, I have just completed my first blog!!!