My final thoughts

Over the past weeks I have worked my way through a number of web 2.0 technologies. Some I have found to be very appropriate for the classroom context others not quite so. Before completing this course I had very little knowledge of the various technologies that are available for use in the classroom. This e.learning course has broadened my knowledge and opened my eyes to the extensive range of options available on the wide world web. I have now developed a basic knowledge of a small range of these available online tools that can enhance my classroom instruction and engage my learners with authentic learning experiences.

I have learnt about Kearsley & Shneiderman’s (1999) Engagement Theory and how it can be applied to my classroom. Kearsley & Shneiderman (1999) believe that
“engagement theory represents a new paradigm for learning and teaching in the information age which emphasizes the positive role that technology can play in human interaction and evolution”.

Due to time constraints inside and outside the classroom it makes it very unrealistic to try and use every one of the technologies that were addressed throughout the blog. Therefore after completing my research on each technology I have discovered a number of technologies that I will endeavour to continue to use in my classroom. They are -

• Google Earth - Is a program that allows users to explore planet Earth focusing on any location that they want. Using this would get students excited about exploring the world. One minute you can be exploring your local surroundings and the next minute you can be exploring the other side of the world making it an extremely useful tool for students to use to learn their surrounding environments. They can explore the streets of Paris, the many states of the USA or the coast lines of Thailand, the options are endless.

• Powerpoint – Provides a way of displaying information visually so that a group of people can easily see it. Students can create a powerpoint presentation displaying what they have learnt. Due to the large number of l options i.e. animation, video’s, audio and pictures powerpoint is a useful tool to keep students engaged.

• Picnik – Picnik is a photo editing site that allows you to chop, change and add effects to photos however it is not able to store them. Picnik could be used in the classroom for anything that requires an image, in particular if the image has defects or similar and requires editing. Such projects could include brochures, business cards, posters or reports. Students using this program will have the opportunity to demonstrate and showcase their creative ability with ICTs.

• Blogs – A blog is an online site that is created using information about whatever the creator wants containing links to other useful and interesting information. Blogs allow students to work collaboratively both in school and at home, as well as providing an effective tool for parents to follow their children’s learning. The posting of homework on to the blogs would also be a way to make teaching more efficient. Using this process, parents could monitor what is required of their child.

• Avatars – Are animated characters that enable users to express themselves on the web with a voice. They could be used to aid in instructing those who are more audio/visual learners or even as a means for those shy students who struggle with presenting information to the class.

• YouTube/Video – YouTube is a web site that allows anyone to upload or view a video of a chosen topic. It can make difficult tasks like dissecting a frog become easy just be watching a video of it. They can also make giving instruction to a large group of students faster and easier.

• VoiceThread - Is a collaborative, multimedia slide show that holds images, documents, and videos and allows people to leave comments. VoiceThread can be used as a storytelling tool, a deep thinking tool, a research tool, an expository communication tool, and even an assessment tool.



Although I have looked at a variety of other technologies the above are the ones that I found to be the most collaborative and allow for students to be meaningfully engaged in authentic learning experiences. Throughout this course I have had the opportunity to be a part of a collaborative network of online users that I could use for both support and for general discussions about each of the technologies studied. This support has meant that we could share ideas, thoughts and experiences to better our understandings along our journey.

Through completion of this assessment I have improved my knowledge and skills on a number of technologies and developed a better understanding of how I could use such technologies within a classroom environment. I look forward to continuing my exploration of the available technologies on the wide world web and furthering my understanding. I know that technology is going to continue advancing so as a future learning manger I believe it is necessary for me to keep up to date with as many technologies as possible in order to provide the best learning experiences for my students.

References

Kearsley, G. & Shneiderman, B. (1999), Engagement Theory: A framework for technology-based teaching and learning, viewed 4th September 2009, http://home.sprynet.com/~gkearsley/engage.htm

VoiceThread

What is VoiceThread?

This clip came from the VoiceThread website - http://voicethread.com/ - explaining what a VoiceThread is.




VoiceThread is a collaborative, multimedia slide show that holds images, documents, and videos and allows people to leave comments in 5 ways – text, phone, microphone, uploading and webcam.

Theory and classroom uses for VoiceThread

"Teachers and students are using VoiceThread as a storytelling tool, a deep thinking tool, a research tool, an expository communication tool, and even an assessment tool" (Dyck,2007).

Students using VoiceThread in the classroom will notice many benefits. The commenting feature is particularly valuable for classes. Students can receive feedback from people around the world on their work. “Teachers can also use VoiceThread as an effective assessment tool to see if students understand key concepts (Dierolf & Frazier, 2008)”. VoiceThread also easily lends itself to group work for class projects on any subject. Educators will also be able to quickly view which students put in the most effort during projects. VoiceThread allows students who may not like to participate in class discussion feel more comfortable with sharing their ideas. It eliminates a lot of the social pressure of the classroom. “VoiceThread is also simple for teachers to manage and maintain the safety of their students by moderating comments (Dierolf & Frazier, 2008)”. Voice Threads are highly compatible with Kearsley & Shneiderman (1999), Engagement Theory as the this web tool is an interactive tool that allows for collaborating, sharing, and commenting.

References

Dierolf, D. & Frazier, M. (2008), VoiceThread in the classroom, viewed 4th September 2009, http://cnx.org/content/m18419/latest/

Dyck , B. (2007), VoiceThread:Capturing and Sharing Student Voice with an Online Twist. EducationWorld.com, viewed 4th September 2009, http://www.education-world.com/a_tech/columnists/dyck/dyck019.shtml

Music on the Web - INCOMPETECH

What is INCOMPETECH?

Incompetech is a royalty-free music website which allows you to legally use music without paying the musicians. Downloading is against all copyright laws, although when using Incompetech you will be covered by the Creative Commons Agreement. The Creative Commons Agreement allows music downloaded from Incompetech to be used by everyone (Incompetech, 2009).

Classroom uses for INCOMPETECH

Downloading royalty free music from Incompetech could be useful for students when they are doing presentations. For example they could use music as background music to a presentation. It could also be used as background music when students are working on particular tasks.

References

Incompetech. (2009), Frequently asked Questions, viewed 4th September 2009 http://incompetech.com/m/c/royalty-free/faq.html

File Storage

For this course I created a free account on MediaFire to store my documents. The set-up process was extremely easy and straight forward and uploading documents is a simple step also.

What is File Storage?

MediaFire allows you to store all your files online for easy secure access and enables you to distribute large files to hundreds or thousands of people without clogging inboxes or bogging down your website (MediaFire, 2009). The free version allows a user to store files up to 200MB and paying users can store up to 10GB although both the free and the paid version has an unlimited storage capacity. A URL is provided so that the user can post this link up on blog sites or email it to other people that he wants to access this information. They can then view all the listed files and download these files if and when they want.

MediaFire is an extremely easy site to navigate around and use. With only just a few clicks you can have numerous documents uploaded onto the file storage site ready for viewing. The site has a number of different uses i.e. personal, for business and school; you can even have different folders in the same account for each type of use.

Theory and classroom uses for File Storage

The file storage site would make the teachers’ job incredibly easy in the form of handing out worksheets. The teacher could upload all the handouts and extra worksheets and information for each unit of work, semester or even the year. All that the teacher needs to give to the students is the URL and then it is up to the student to access the work (more for older grades).

Students can use this storage site to post assignments on. A whole class could have an account and they could post up reports or information they wish to share with other students either for school or leisure purpose. When students upload projects onto the world wide web they are participating in Kearsley & Shneiderman’s (1999) Engagement Theory framework under the third principle, “Donate”. Students realise that everyone is going to be able to see their work, not just the teacher, so they produce work to the best of their ability.

References

Kearsley, G. & Shneiderman, B. (1999), Engagement Theory: A framework for technology-based teaching and learning, viewed 4th September 2009 <

http://home.sprynet.com/~gkearsley/engage.htm>

MediaFire. (2009). What is MediaFire? Citing computer references. Retrieved August 19, 2009, from http://www.mediafire.com/about.php

SlideShare

What is SlideShare?

SlideShare claims to be the world’s largest online community for sharing presentations (SlideShare Inc, 2009). It is an online storage site where you can upload powerpoint presentations, word documents and it also allows the user to narrate their presentations thus creating a video that can be tagged by another user, linked to a blog site, a web site or even downloaded to a computers database and viewed.

Theory and classroom uses for SlideShare

Slide Share gives students a sense of gratification as they upload their work onto the internet using blogs; they work to the best of their ability as they understand that their work is on display for others to see. Siemens Connectivism Theory (2004) is an advocate for sites connecting people such as SlideShare. It highlights the point that networks function on the simple idea that individuals can be connected in the effort to create an integrated whole.

Resources

Siemens, G. (2004), Connectivism: A learning theory for the digital age, viewed 4th September 2009,

http://www.elearnspace.org/Articles/connectivesm.htm

SlideShare Inc, (2009), What is Slideshare; Citing computer references. Viewed 4th September 2009, http://www.slideshare.net/about?PHPSESSID=cdcd1c967d45a922f503f2147b6d3902

WIKIPedia

What is WIKIPedia?

“WIKIPedia is an online encyclopaedia that allows anyone to update a particular topic that they may have knowledge on (WIKIPedia, ). In every search that is done at the bottom of the page is a list of references that were used to construct the definition of each topic. Although anyone can update a topic there is strict guidelines as to how to update/contribute to the topics. This helps to keep untrue facts from being entered onto the site. There are a number of sister projects that run parallel to Wikipedia, these include:

Wikipedia Free encyclopedia

Wikiquote Collection of quotations

Wiktionary Dictionary and thesaurus

Wikibooks Free textbooks and manuals

Wikisource Free source documents

Wikinews Free content news source

Commons Shared media repository

Wikispecies Directory of species

Wikiversity Free learning materials

(WIKIPedia, 2009)

Theory and classroom uses for ClassMarker

Siemens’ Connectivism Theory (2004), explains that the cycle of knowledge development allows learners to remain current in their field through connections being made. Wikipedia directly relates to this theory as it allows anyone to edit and add appropriate information to a particular topic and therefore builds on the connections being made.

WIKIPedia is a fast way for a student to get some background information on a topic. A teacher could recommend this site to students so that they can get a start to researching something however I wouldn’t recommend on using just a WIKIPedia page as basis for the knowledge. Each Wiki site is unique in their own way and is a good starting point for researching any particular topic.

References

Broughton, J (2008), Wikipedia – the Missing Manual, O’Reilly Media, United States of America.

Siemens, G. (2004), Connectivism: A learning theory for the Digital Age; Citing computer references, viewed 4th August 2009, http://www.elearnspace.org/Articles/connectivesm.htm

Wikipedia (2009), Wikipedia, viewed 4th September 2009, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia

WebQuests

What is a WebQuest?

"A WebQuest is a scaffolded learning structure that uses links to essential resources on the World Wide Web and an authentic task to motivate students’ investigation of a central, open-ended question, development of individual expertise and participation in a final group process that attempts to transform newly acquired information into a more sophisticated understanding" (March, 2003).

A WebQuest is broken down into a few sections. A home page which gives a brief description of what the quest is about, a task page which gives you a overview of what you are to do in more detail, a process page which has a number of smaller assignments/requirements that need to be fullfilled in order to complete the quest/report and an evaluation page which has the criteria on which the quest will be marked. An example of one that I discovered was a world cultures WebQuest.

http://www.tenafly.k12.nj.us/~teisenberg2/worldcultures/

This WebQuest basically asks you to plan a 2 week holiday anywhere you want overseas. It gives you hints and sets tasks that you must achieve in order to fulfil the quest. For example the quest states that students have to play the role of a tour guide, tour promoter and a tourist while using lots of difference references in order to complete the quest.

Theory and classroom uses for WebQuest

The design of WebQuest underpins the engagement theory as a WebQuest’s purpose is to engage the learners in a meaningful learning experience, which relates to them and their friends (Kearsley & Shneiderman, 1999). A WebQuest could be used in the classroom as a more active way to get students involved in what they are learning. Using a WebQuest would get them involved and keep them on track, due to the fact that a WebQuest has already got links and places where they can find information about the topic and has set out task by task what they can research and complete.

A WebQuest can be anything that a teacher desirses from having students create a new park showing where toilets are with play equiptment all drawn up in a detailed map with a grid and coordinates to where everything is, to having students research about a trip to mars, asking them to investigate why people discover unknown places, what they need to survive on an unknow planet and then ask them to present a detailed report showing what they have learnt.

In my opinion a webquest is a good idea for students however i think that they are very time consuming and i think that some students may struggle with the idea of them. Not all students will have the same access to computers that other students do which will severly disadvantage them due to the fact that they are mostly done online. Students may also use the incorrect data if the webquest is interperated incorectly to how it was intended.

Resources

March, T. (2003), WebQuest, viewed 4th Spetember 2009,

http://bestwebquests.com/what_webquests_are.asp

Kearsley, G. & Shneiderman, B. (1999), Engagement Theory: A framework for technology-based teaching and learning, viewed 4th September 2009 <http://home.sprynet.com/~gkearsley/engage.htm>

Google Earth

What is Google Earth?

Google earth is a program that allows users to explore planet Earth focusing on any location that they want. Details such as cities, houses, mountains and bridges can be seen in 3D. The program is extremely easy to use, even people who aren’t computer literate can use this program comfortably. All you do is type in an address, suburb, city, country or even a mountain and it will instantly fly to the desired location. Once at the location you can simply click and drag the mouse curser around the map and explore the surroundings of the location. For example, I typed in Mount Everest and it flew to the location in an instant. Google earth has the ability to show Mt Everest and the surrounding mountains in 3D and in great detail. Depending on the population and popularity of a certain location will depend on the quality of the picture. Most of the land is covered in a reasonable rate however places such as Melbourne or Las Vegas are high resolution areas and will have a lot more detail than other less popular locations.
Google earth allows many layers to be turned on and off at the users choice. These layers include roads, 3D buildings and landmarks, street views, borders, traffic speed limits on certain roads, weather and picture galleries just to name a few of the features.

Theory and classroom uses for Google Earth

Google Earth makes links to Kearsley and Shneiderman’s (1999) Engagement Theory as this tool “provides rich, authentic and meaningful learning experiences”. Google Earth is an educational tool, as it makes learning real and authentic with multiple opportunities for learning.
Google earth is an easy tool to get lost in. One minute you can be exploring your local surroundings and the next minute you can be exploring the other side of the world making it an extremely useful tool for students to use to learn their surrounding environments. They can explore the streets of Paris, the many states of the USA or the coast lines of Thailand, the options are endless.

References

Kearsley, G. & Shneiderman, B. (1999), Engagement Theory: A framework for technology-based teaching and learning, viewed 4th September 2009 http://home.sprynet.com/~gkearsley/engage.htm

Podcasting

What is Podcasting?

A podcast in its simplest form is ‘a series of digital media files, either audio or video, that is released episodically and downloaded (Wikipedia, 2009). These audio or video files can be downloaded through programs such as ITunes so that it can be listened to as an mp3/4 file, then transferred onto a portable mp3 player so the user can listen to the podcasts at any time that they wish. The distinct difference from an audio file and a podcast is that a podcast comes in parts. They can be a set amount of parts or an ongoing sequel that can be subscribed to and automatically downloaded and listened to at the user’s pleasure.

Theory and classroom uses for Podcasting

A podcast can be a helpful way for students to understand a certain topic. After browsing through the catagories on the itunes site under the Education heading and the sub heading of K-12 i found a podcast aimed towards children aged around 7-14 that was about the world news. This podcast allows younger people to keep updated with what is happening in the world as it is updated daily.

Teachers could upload a podcast to a site such as ITunes and ask the students to subscribe to it and then comment on what was said in the podcast. This way instead of giving out handouts or getting students to copy out homework questions they could all be given the link to the podcast, which allows students to access it at any time they want and listen to it multiple times.

When students create their own podcast to support a chosen project, Kearsley and Schneiderman (1999) states that because students get to define the nature of the project (even if they don't choose the topic), they have a sense of control over their learning which is absent in traditional classroom instruction.

Also students get to ‘Donate” as they have the opportunity to present their projects to an outside customer, whether that is parents, class mates or school etc. Kearsley and Schneiderman (1999) state that the authentic learning context of the project increases student motivation and satisfaction.

References

Kearsley, G. & Shneiderman, B. (1999), Engagement Theory: A framework for technology-based teaching and learning, viewed 3rd September 2009 http://home.sprynet.com/~gkearsley/engage.htm

Wikipedia (2009), Podcasting, viewed 3rd September 2009 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Podcast

Video and YouTube

The following video was found on YouTube. It’s an educational rhyme about photosynthesis, explaining the scientific process that plants undertake to produce oxygen. Take a look....



What is YouTube?

YouTube is a web site that allows anyone to upload a video of whatever they want, or a video relevant to a particular topic for anyone that wants to view the video to watch it. Viewers also have the option of leaving a comment/feedback on each video. The site is easy to navigate around and its features are simple to use. You must first create an account to be able to upload and post comments about the videos however anyone can search and view the movies that are already posted.

Theory and classroom uses for YouTube

Videos are a very helpful tool for teachers to use in the classroom. It can make difficult tasks like dissecting a frog become easy just be watching a video of it. They can also make giving instruction to a large group of students faster and easier. The video can be viewed over and over allowing the teacher to move around the classroom and help students who need it. Students who are unable to make it to class due to living a long distance away or being too ill to attend can view videos posted on a shared video site such as youtube or teachertube of a class that they missed. Other students could view the video at any particular time that they want and as many times as they want. They can pause and rewind the movie so that they can fully experience what is happening in the video.

Teachers can download a posted video using a program called KeepVid. This program, once downloaded, would allow a teacher to download videos from websites such as Youube, TeacherTube and other websites that are similar. Once the video has been downloaded it can be then uploaded to a class website or kept on a shared folder on the school computer network for any student to access.

Using engaging video resources in the classroom relates directly to the major premise of Kearsley & Shneiderman’s (1999) Engagement Theory, being that students must be engaged in their course work in order for effective learning to occur.

References

Kearsley, G. & Shneiderman, B. (1999), Engagement Theory: A framework for technology-based teaching and learning, viewed 3rd September 2009 http://home.sprynet.com/~gkearsley/engage.htm

KeepVid. (2009), Free program used to download videos from you tube and other similar sites, viewed 3rd September 2009, http://keepvid.com

Quizzes - ClassMarker

What is ClassMarker?

ClassMarker is a free, easy to use, online quiz maker that marks your online tests and quizzes for you. It has been designed for use with -

• Business and training
Test candidates before they reach the interview. Send them a link and retrieve results instantly by email.
• Education
Conduct online exams in the classroom or at home, set practice tests and receive instant results.
• Recruitment
Test employees to assess their training needs.
• Distance learning and online courses
Roll out your tests locally or internationally and receive results instantly.
• Self study

Add practice quizzes and test yourself and your study group.

Signing up to ClassMarker is free or you can pay a fee depending on how you want to use your online test. Class based testing (free) is what I used and this would allow my students to register under my account and log in to complete the test (ClassMarker, 2009). When creating a quiz you can choose different types of questions to use for example: multiple choice, multiple response, true/false, free text or punctuation (ClassMarker, 2009). The aspect I really found interesting in Class Marker was that you can add pictures and videos to the questions.

Theory and classroom uses for ClassMarker

I think ClassMarker would be a good way to provide students with a fun and engaging quiz. It could be used before you start teaching the students a new topic to gauge prior knowledge or it could be used on completion to determine what students have learnt.

The Learning Design Framework (2003), needs three key elements to create the most effective learning experience for all students. These three elements are tasks learners are required to do, resources that support the learner to conduct the task and support mechanisms that exist from the teacher implementing it (Oliver, 1999). Online quizzes provide students with all of these aspects.

Have a go of my Australian Animal Quiz, just click on the link below.
http://www.classmarker.com/embedded_quizzes/?quiz=43fb23393074fe14d68bb188cfa7fe5c

Referenes

ClassMarker. (2009), Free Quiz Maker for online Testing, viewed 3rd September 2009, <http://www.classmarker.com/>

Oliver, R. (1999), Exploring strategies for on-line teaching and learning. Distance Education.

Image Manipulation and Picnik

These days’ images can be taken in many forms and file sizes. This results in the need for a software program which can reduce the file size and make alterations to images. For this course I experimented with Picnik to solve such problems.

Picnik was relatively easy to use and it didn’t take me long before I got the hang of how to add effects to photos. In my opinion it is just takes a lot of time and mucking around with all the effects before deciding what features and effects best suit particular photos.

What is Picnik?

Picnik is a photo editing site that allows you to chop, change and add effects to photos however it is not able to store them. Therefore it needs to be used in conjunction with pages such as facebook, myspace, picasa web albums, flickr, yahoo image search or you could also upload photos from a computers database to be edited. Many of Picnik's basic photo editing tools are free to use, however Picnik Premium includes additional photo editing features and is offered for a monthly, 6-month, or annual subscription cost.

Theory and classroom uses for Picnik

Picnik could be used in the classroom for anything that requires an image, in particular if the image has defects or similar and requires editing. Such projects could include brochures, business cards, posters or reports. Students using this program will have the opportunity to demonstrate and showcase their creative ability with ICTs. This relates directly to the second principle of the engagement theory framework – the Create Principle ( Kearsley & Shneiderman, 1999). Picnik is definitely one program you could have a lot of fun with and I encourage you all to explore this site for yourself.

References

Kearsley, G. & Shneiderman, B. (1999), Engagement Theory: A framework for technology-based teaching and learning, viewed 3rd September 2009
<http://home.sprynet.com/~gkearsley/engage.htm>