Animations & Simulations!

Animations are a useful tool to use in the classroom to engage students. Animations have interactive sounds and diagrams that are easy to understand which engages students in ways which are difficult to achieve otherwise. By having students watch the animations, teachers can make sure students are learning by having older students take notes on what they believe is important information, and for younger students teachers can organise questionaires where students 'fill in the blanks.'

I actually remember using 'Froguts' to virtually disect a frog in primary school. Everyone in my class thought it was the coolest thing ever and when I got home from school I even showed my family. Being able to remember this myself shows that simulations are an effective tool for delivering information. By students actually feeling like they're part of the disection it provides them with a realistic atmosphere. Having a quiz at the end of the simulation is a useful tool because it ensures that students are actually learning and recalling information.

PRO'S -

• Students can work in groups when watching simulations, and according to the Engagement Theory of Greg Kearsley and Ben Schniederman, collaboration increases motivation to learn
• Very informative and is often able to give students an experience they wouldn't ordinarly have

CON'S -

• Some schools may not have the funding to purchase simulation packages
• Students may get distracted easily due to lack of discipline and face-to-face interaction

USES IN THE CLASSROOM -

• Teaching anatomy of animals
• Practicing note taking
• Provides students with information for assignments
• Students can work in groups to produce their own animations, to show what they have learnt

Grace xx

Image Manipulation!

Picnik is a great tool for editing photos. Using this program (which is free!) to edit photos for class assignments is a great idea for students.

Assignments with pictures usually require a high standard of presentation and by being able to digitally edit photo's for free is helpful for both students and teachers.

Younger students can also get into photo editing by forming small groups and editing educational photos like the bones in the human body or the planets in outer space. By being engaged, Greg Kearsley and Ben Schneiderman say that students will have increased motivation to learn. Also by being engaged in their coursework, students are more likely to remember the topics they have covered in class.

Photo's I edited in Picnik -

One was my profile picture and the other was a previous image I had uploaded to flickr. The colours of the images have been changed and effects like rounding the edges can be added. I will definatly continue to use Picnik as my editing program of choice. I have previously used Picasa and there are so many things that Picnik offers that Picasa doesn't.

PRO'S -

• Easy to use
• Free!
• Engaging and fun for students of any age
• Links to Flickr accounts, so no double handling of photos
• Students can edit photos outside of class time
• You don't even have to register to anything

CON'S -

• To get all editing features you must upgrade to the premium software and pay

USES IN THE CLASSROOM -

• Presentations
• Photo Slideshows
• Class Photos
• Students can edit photos and they become interested in what they are learning

Grace xx

Flickr!

Flickr is a really cool site that has tonnes of images constantly available to everyone. This is a great idea because in certain searches teachers don't have to worry about whether or not the images are copyright. Students can use these pictures for assignments or teachers could even use them to put up around the classroom.

Some of the photo's I uploaded to Flickr -

My Flickr Account -
www.flickr.com/photos/grace1991/

I found that to upload images took awhile, im not sure if this was just my computer but this could be a hassle if students are using classtime to upload their own photos.
Using Flickr to engage younger students would be a good delivery technology because technology can facilitate engagement in ways which are difficult to achieve otherwise.(Greg Kearsly and Ben Schneiderman)

PRO'S -

• Constantly available to everyone
• Easy step-by-step introduction (this is good for younger students)
• Settings can be changed so only friends and family can access private photos

CON'S -

• Not everybody likes having their photos published on the internet

USES IN THE CLASSROOM -

• Individual classes can establish their own Flickr accounts with photos
• Class presentations
• Students can access and comment each others photos
• Documenting school and class events

Grace xx

Powerpoint Presentations!

Growing up as what is considered a 'digital native' (Mark Prensky, 2001) Powerpoints have been used in the classroom for as long as I can remember. Through high school, most teachers used powerpoints to engage students whilst they discussed a topic.

By having features such as sounds, pictures and embedding videos into slides, they are a useful tool to deliver information.

Students can also create their own powerpoints, and by incorporating the research they have conducted the information becomes more clearer as they add pictures and effects that suit their research. Younger students can also work in teams to produce powerpoint presentations and they become more engaged and have increased motivation to learn. (Greg Kearsley and Ben Schneiderman)

Having used powerpoint to deliver many oral presentations myself, using the bullet points and pictures as a reminder of what to talk about and not having slides full of information I've noticed that people become more engaged. Because of the lack of useless information on slides, the straight to the point slideshow is engaging for everyone.

PRO'S -

• Engaging pictures and sounds
• Useful for younger students studying specific topics eg. dinosaurs
• Good for both teachers and students

CON'S -

• Sometimes Powerpoints arent used properly and can be very boring eg. lots of information and no pictures

USES IN THE CLASSROOM -

• Student assignments
• Delivering information
• Photo slideshows of student activity

Grace xx

Voki's!

Get a Voki now!

Voki's are so much fun! I made about 5 today just playing around with the voices and backgrounds. :) It was great.
Voki's are an interactive way to engage both students and teachers and as stated by Greg Kearsley and Ben Schniederman, 'students must be engaged in their coursework in order for effective teaching to occur.'
Teachers can use Voki's to deliver information to the class and have students take notes on important information.
The silly voices and settings grab and captivate younger students attention and engage them in the ways that teachers can't. Voki's can also be used by students themselves, quieter students can express themselves through Voki's where they wouldn't usually have the confidence to do so. Teachers can also use Voki's as a way for students to become different story characters and explain things from different points of view.
Voki's can also provide a useful fool for students that study English as a second language, or students that are studying via distance education.

PRO'S -

• Engaging for all students
• Use in online education
• Student participation

CON'S -

• Not always a personal way of communication

USES IN THE CLASSROOM -

• Note taking
• Language teaching
• Flex education

Grace xx

E.Portfolio's!

Well I set up Mahara today and wasn't that a drama. There's so many buttons everywhere that all do different things. I tried to get involved in the example videos but just ended up getting myself more lost :(
Engaging younger students in Mahara could be difficult. There isn't really much of a need for Prep students to use Mahara and would probably be more time consuming then anything.

Alternatively, Mahara could be used for high schoolers or late primary school students. By students creating a Mahara account, they could have individual pages for each subject they are involved in and even get started with setting up their resumes for future employers.

High school students would be classified as digital natives and by providing them with an authentic focus (Kearsley & Shneiderman, 1998) of how they can use Mahara for their future employers will engage students and increase student motivation and satisfaction.

PRO'S -

• Engages students with authentic focus
• Future employers can gain access to students e.Portfolio's
• Different views for everything you are involved in

CON'S -

• Difficult to get started on
• Time consuming
• Difficult to explain

USES IN THE CLASSROOM -

• High schoolers can create a view for each different subject
• Schools can use it as an online yearbook
• Use for assignments
• Use to show videos that have been prepared for students

Grace xx

Wiki's!

Wiki's can be a very useful tool for classrooms. By each students using a Wiki, other members of the class can access and comment other students work.
By setting up my Wiki, I was suprised at how easy it was. Being a digital native, using the internet is a pretty regular thing for me and it seems that it keeps getting easier.
Wiki's can incorporate photos, videos and can have many different pages and this can be achieved with the click of a few buttons.

Greg Kearsley and Ben Shniederman's engagement theory states that by emphazing team efforts that involve communication, planning, management and social skills, it increases the motivation of students to learn. Students can engage in collaborative activites and group project by using Wiki's and can access these inside and outside the classroom. Using Wiki's encourages group collaboration and students participating in communicating using these Wiki's.

My Wiki -
http://www.grace1991.wetpaint.com/

PRO'S -

• Everyone can post their thoughts and comments
• Parents can access these Wiki's communicate with teachers
• Wiki's record who has participated in discussions so teachers can monitor if students are collaborating

CON'S -

• Not everyone has the time to sit down create a Wiki and get stuck into it
• The quality of information accessible on Wiki's isn't always accurate eg. Wikipedia

USES IN THE CLASSROOM -

• Parent/Teacher comminication
• Planning class trips
• Videos can be shown to students using Wiki's, students can post useful classroom videos here

Grace xx

Blogs & Aggregators!

Blogging is a useful tool that can be used inside or outside the classroom. Because the internet is constantly available to students and parents,it provides an easily accessible tool for communication.

By teachers setting up a blog about the activites students are engaging in during classtime, parents can see how far their children are coming along and how to continue their development at home. According to Greg Kearsley and Ben Shneiderman, 'the web plays an important role in terms of aquiring information.'


Setting up an RSS Aggregator wasn't as hard as i thought it would be. Turns out by having a blog it would be all set up for me :)


The bonuses of having an RSS Aggregator means that stuff comes to you. There's no need to waste time hunting for information. Using an RSS Aggregator in a classroom provides teachers with the information they need and saves classtime searching for information.

The access of everything becomes so much clearer. If all students had blogs and posted their homework questions on there, it saves both time for themselves and you.

PROS -

• Use inside and outside the classroom
• Constantly accessible
• Visible to everyone

CONS -

• Not all students may have the internet
• Not everyone will feel comfortable having information on the internet

USES IN THE CLASSROOM -

• Students information will come straight to them
• Communication between students and teachers

Grace xx

I have a blog.

Hello everyone,
My name is Grace and I'm in my first year of Bachelor of Arts though I plan on swapping to a Bachelor of Learning Management by next year, to become a pre-school teacher.
I am currently 17 but turn 18 in October.
I like food, the beach, reading and yoga.
I look forward to posting and reading everyone's blogs.

Grace xx