Podcasting!

The podcast I subscribed to is called 'Technology 4 Teachers.' There were many different episodes in this podcast and most of which related to this topic. There were ones about wiki's, twitter, web tools and google. But I ended up downloading '6 criteria for a highly effective website.' I thought that by listening to this podcast, it would be helpful for my future studies and research.

The podcast also talked about a website which I also found very interesting -
http://www.technology4teachers.org/

The podcast discussed how to determine if a website is effective or not and this information could be used as a teacher determining if the information on a website is credible or not. I found this information very helpful and will definatly keep it in mind when researching for my future assignments.

Podcasts aren't as engaging for younger students in the classroom because there isn't anything to watch and this could result in many students getting distracted. However podcasts would be very useful for older students because there are some very informative podcasts to subscribe to and this could be helpful for students in researching for their assignments.
Teachers could use podcasts as a homework activity for older students to prepare them for the classwork the next day.

Podcasts could also be used as a delivery tool by students creating their own podcasts. In high school for our media subject we had to conduct an interview in groups with teachers on why they believe the internet is important in education. We then had to publish our podcast onto our school server where everyone could access it.

This was a great assignment and because we were in groups and knew our assignment was going to be viewed by everyone we definatly tried our best to make our podcast fun and interesting. Greg Kearsly and Ben Shniederman (1998) also say that being in groups increases motivation and the pressure of knowing projects can be viewed by everyone makes the quality of work a higher standard.

PRO'S -

• Informative
• Accessible
• Something for everyone

CON'S -

• Not very engaging for younger students
• Not everyone feels comfortable downloading things
• Hard to navigate your way around iTunes

USES IN THE CLASSROOM -

• Researching
• Homework activities
• Assignments

Grace xx

YouTube!

Youtube is a great tool for classrooms, there are so many videos available for just about any topic and this provides a great resource for teachers.
Because I haven't actually started teaching yet, I'm posting a video about dinosaurs. This is because that is what the prep class I was doing work experience with last year were learning about. The students had great fun with this topic and the class teacher engaged students in many ways.



This video is catchy and the cartoons are a great way to introduce younger students to the topic of dinsaurs. By having a class of younger students watch this clip, the would become engaged quite quickly.
After watching the video, students could participate in a class discussion where the teacher asks questions about the names and the colours of the dinosaurs in the video. Because the chorus of this clip is quite repetetive it ensures that the information students need is effectivly delivered.

Students could also comment on their favourite dinosaur they have seen in the video and then in groups could research some facts about these dinosaurs and then share them with the class.
By researching information in groups, increased motivation is likely to occur providing high quality information for the rest of the class. (Greg Kearsley and Ben Scheiderman, 1998)
I think this would be a very effective delivery tool to start introducing younger students to the topic of dinosaurs.

PRO'S -

• Constantly available to students outside the classroom
• Wide variety of videos
• Educational videos for teachers

CON'S -

• There isn't always the specific video your looking for
• No filtering so younger students have to be watched

USES IN THE CLASSROOM -

• Videos for the classroom
• Note taking for older students
• Research for assignments

Grace xx

Quizzes!

Classmarker is a great tool for classrooms. At first I was a bit aprehensive about what to make a test about, then I decided to make it about the Engagement Theory. :)

Take The Test -
www.classmarker.com
Username - grace1903
Password - elearning

Classmarker Quizzes are a way for students to check their knowledge on topics studied in class as often as teachers set the quizzes. Teachers can set these quizzes so that students can undergo them as many times as they need to.

Online Quizzes are alot different to basic tests with pens and paper and because students answers are placed onto the web, it provides an incentive for them to do their best possible work since this can be viewed by their classmates and possibly the world. (Greg Kearsley and Ben Schneiderman)

Quizzes can also be good for younger students aswell as an introduction to online testing because as time goes on, many exams are going to be done online. The multiple choice option is a great tool and teachers could possibly use this to determine what students do know and are learning so they know where more detailed explanations are required.

The quizzes could also be used to determine what students already know before begginning a new unit of work.

PRO'S -

• No wasting paper (better for the environment)
• Easy to use (good for younger and older students)
• Helpful for teachers due to less marking

CON'S -

• Free text questions could be difficult as some students explain things differently
• Some schools may not have the resources for every student to do their testing online

USES IN THE CLASSROOM-

• Distance education subjects
• IT Classes
• Weekly tests to make sure students are learning what they need to
• Group discussions and tests to determine what students know

Grace xx