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!