My Teaching Philosophy!

I acknowledge the importance of building a strong philosophy to underpin my teaching practice and professionalism. At the start of this degree I was told I will build a philosophy and passion for the way I teach. This all sounded a bit deep to me at first, but over the years through my connections with others, and my increasing professional knowledge and understanding I have developed my own philosophy and do feel very passionate about the values and beliefs that underpin it.

Teaching and learning in the 21^st century is not about children being empty vessels in which we fill with information, rather it is ensuring we offer children a learning environment which has all the right ingredients to allow them to co-construct knowledge, to grow and to thrive.  Children are not just the passive subjects of social structures and processes but are competent and capable individuals who are active participants in their own learning and development (James & Prout, 1997). Additionally, I believe every child has the right to an education in an equitable learning environment that values their home and community life and promotes their health and wellbeing. I have also developed beliefs about assessment. I believe we need to assess children’s learning in meaningful and authentic ways, rather than just focussing on ticking the boxes. I believe in assessing and documenting children’s learning and development in a way that views children in-the-present and empowers them.

 The values and beliefs that underpin my philosophy have been drawn from a range of sources, such as my own personal experiences from the past and present experiences with my own three children; academic readings and theories; conversations with colleagues and teaching professionals; policies and frameworks such as the Code of Ethics and EYLF; and from my observations and teaching experiences with passionate and dedicated Mentor Teachers. It is important to understand teaching in today’s time is a complex professional role due to the contemporary social, economic and political climate. Therefore, I also acknowledge that a philosophy is not set in stone; it is relevant to the context we work in and must be constantly evaluated through reflective practice, and continually redefined and built on.

Images

As an Early Childhood graduate I strongly believe the image we hold of children and childhood holds the essential key to our learners’ success. Assumptions we hold about children and early childhood determine the way we relate to children and affect our understanding and implementation of our role as an Early Childhood educator (Woodrow, 1999). It is through the adult’s gaze that we attempt to put children in their place and make them conform to an expected image (Holland, 2004).Therefore, we need to continually examine images that challenge our view and expectations of the child to assist to re-evaluate our philosophy. Current policy agendas position children as future-beings and their contribution to our future competitive global market, educators need to challenge this conventional representation of children and promote adult respect for children rather than adult dominance (Woodrow, 1997). It is vital we focus on children as ‘being-in-the-present’ (James & Prout, 1997).  As, it is when adults begin to value children for whom they are, not just what they want them to be, that a shift happens in the way we think about teaching and learning (Curtis & Carter, 2000). Consequently, we need to be self-aware of our own prejudices and biases that lead to pre-conceived expectations we have of children.

As an educator who is truly informed by evidence based research and theories about early childhood education I understand that children are active participants in their own learning and when given agency within the curriculum they are more engaged and achieve better outcomes over time. Children are inventive and full of ideas with rights instead of needs and we must offer them a meaningful and inclusive curriculum (Fraser & Gestwicki, 2000). I will adopt pedagogy of listening so every child’s voice is heard and the children have agency in their learning. In Early Childhood settings this is done through play initiated by children rather than imposed by adults; where educators are active participants supporting learning, promoting social interaction and modelling language, ideas and behaviour (Curriculum Exchange, Education Queensland, 2006). In the Primary setting where a standardised curriculum is in place we can still support and promote the image of the child through a teaching pedagogy that encompasses the involvement of the learner in the learning process through open-ended activities, inquiry-based learning and authentic assessment.

Relationships

I believe making connections and building partnerships is the essential ingredient to an educator’s success. I understand children are both products and producers of their environment who are continuously learning by interacting and deriving meaning.  Williams emphasises “the key to construction of knowledge is interaction” (Williams, 1994, p. 158). Consequently, I understand children develop within a complex system of relationships, as illustrated in Bronfenbrenner’s ecological systems theory (Ebbeck & Waniganayake, 2010). First and foremost children are connected to a family; therefore, it is important that positive connections are made between the child’s home and school. It is important to understand children’s homes and schools are the most influential contexts in which learning and development occur. They are like ‘overlapping spheres of influence’ on children’s development and academic achievement (Galindo & Sheldon, 2012).

I understand children learn from birth and these early experiences reach long into adulthood. Hence, in order to build on children’s foundations and help shape learning, behaviour and health throughout their lives we need to view children’s lives as characterised by belonging, being and becoming (Australian Government Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations for the Council of Australian Governments, 2009). ‘Belonging’ is acknowledging that positive relationships with children’s families and community are crucial to a sense of belonging for the child. ‘Being’ is about knowing and accepting the child for the person they are and celebrating their uniqueness by letting children be in the ‘here and now’ and construct meaning of the world around them through their experiences and interactions. Finally, ‘becoming’ is then how the child is shaped by the many different circumstances and connections they experience whilst participating fully and actively in society. Building partnerships helps celebrate the diverse lives of the children we teach and demonstrate respect and understanding of differences (Australian Government Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations for the Council of Australian Governments, 2009). Therefore, I value open reciprocal and respectful partnerships with children, parents, families, and communities to assist in supporting the learning, development and wellbeing of the child. I acknowledge this is easier said than done and will take a strong effort on my part to involve parents and families. My learning environment will be a welcoming space for both children and parents. I am very approachable and will promote open communication with parents and families using an open door policy. However, I do also acknowledge parents are very busy these days and some may be reluctant or unable to come into the classroom, so I will use a range of different mediums such as newsletters, emails, postcards, and phone calls.

I believe building partnerships also needs to extend to professional and collegial relationships, which are just as important and valuable. It is through strong alliances with fellow professionals, colleagues and school staff that educators can draw advice, ideas and support. Professional conversations and sharing of information, resources and ideas enriches our teaching knowledge and understanding (Groundwater-Smith, Ewing, & Le Cornu, 2011). We are all here for the same reason, and that is for the children, so by supporting and sharing with one another we benefit the children and their success. My learning environment will aim to be not just ‘me as teacher, and students as learners’ but rather ‘us’ as a learning community.

Curriculum, Pedagogy and Assessment

Today’s educators have strong political pressures for improved learning outcomes and identifiable learning results (Ebbeck & Waniganayake, 2010). Teachers are accountable for teaching and assessing students effectively, therefore it is important that assessment is purposeful and used to support and enhance learning and not just used as merely a way to grade students and collect quantitative data (Walker, 2007). As professionals we need to be able to justify the decisions we make in the classroom and provide evidence of learning. The Dimensions of teaching and learning (Education Queensland, 2011) is a valuable guide to ensure curriculum, pedagogy, assessment, feedback and making judgements align. Backward mapping helps educators identify what it is they want the students to know and be able to do and then decide the best way to get them there. Firstly, it is important to know your learners, where they are at, and their prior knowledge and understanding. By profiling students we are able to better plan and provide appropriate learning experiences and opportunities for teaching (Walker, 2007). When planning our lessons we need to acknowledge and respect student differences and preferred learning styles and abilities to provide inclusive learning practices and differentiation in our instructions. Gardner affirms that we all have individual learning styles and process information depending on our learning preferences (McInerney, 2006). I acknowledge children learn in a variety of ways and no one teaching method is suitable to all students (Killen, 2009), therefore I strive to master a range of styles so to not disadvantage or marginalise students.

Gandini emphasises “the wider the range of possibilities we offer children, the more intense will be their motivation and the richer their experiences” (1993, p. 75). Furthermore, when planning lessons and assessment I believe students need to be intellectually challenged, as it is important that we are not only teaching students the knowledge to be learnt, but allowing them to demonstrate their thinking and understanding and also allowing for different responses (Lynch & Knight, 2010). I promote higher order thinking skills within my lessons using questioning techniques and planned activities as well as mind maps and graphic organisers to help show different understandings of the same topic and assist students to consider the issue being examined in several dimensions (Brady & Kennedy, 2012). Additionally, I also understand “technology has reorganised how we live, how we communicate and how we learn” (Siemens, 2005, p. 13). I believe as educators we are responsible for exploring and investigating different ways of incorporating ICT into the classroom to support and enhance student learning and help engage and target different learning styles. I see the interactive whiteboard as a constructive tool and opportunity for multimodal learning.

My knowledge and understanding of Vygotsky’s Theory of constructivism assists me to design learning experiences that promote social interaction and the active construction of knowledge (Ebbeck & Waniganayake, 2010). A constructivist approach to teaching supports students understanding and scaffolds the learning in order to give students confidence to explore new concepts. Using explicit direct instruction I am able to scaffold the learning experiences by first modelling, then engaging students in guided practice within a group before leading up to individual work and assessment (Hollingsworth & Ybarra, 2008). I acknowledge the importance of using a range of formal and informal modes of assessment and strongly believe authentic assessment tasks that are open-ended, tolerant of divergent thinking, presented in alternative modes, foster higher order thinking, promote collaboration and are ongoing and cumulative, showing the student’s growth over time (North Central Regional Education Laboratory (NCREL)) benefit all students in achieving success. I consider feedback as an essential learning tool as it helps move learners forward and provides teachers with information that they can use to adjust instruction to meet learning needs (Leahy, Lyon, Thompson, & Wiliam, 2005). I believe continuous checking for understanding is the backbone to a successful learning experience as teachers can ‘continually verify that the students are learning what is being taught while it is being taught’ (Hollingsworth & Ybarra, 2008). My personal observations and teaching experiences have proven that when we consider all students learning styles, use a variety of teaching strategies, scaffold our lessons and continually provide feedback and support, students are engaged and outcomes are achieved.

Roles and Responsibilities

As teaching professionals we are responsible for justifying what we do and why. Every day as a teacher I will be responsible for using my professional judgement to inform decision-making. This will be based on my teaching philosophy, my professional knowledge and understanding and my accountability to professional codes and standards. I realise my professional responsibilities lie with the well-being of all children in my care. I understand that these children all belong to first a family and a community with many diverse ways of knowing, seeing, and living (Australian Government Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations for the Council of Australian Governments, 2009). For children to learn and thrive I must create an inclusive and equitable learning environment by making connections and building respectful partnerships with every child’s family and community.

I understand with diversity comes many different perspectives which can lead to dilemmas. Groundwater-Smith et. al. emphasises “different stakeholders in education have different rights and each impacts upon the other” (Groundwater-Smith, Ewing, & Le Cornu, 2011, p. 12). A common ground for dilemmas in today’s age is the parent’s expectations for their child’s education. For example, a parent who does not know and understand the value of a play-based curriculum and believes their child needs to be sitting at a desk to learn. I acknowledge and respect the beliefs and values of others and believe in pedagogy of listening. As an educator we must keep an open mind and remember our position is advocating for the child. To do this we must think deeply about our professional work and challenge not only the practice, but also the theory that lies behind it (Groundwater-Smith, Ewing, & Le Cornu, 2011). Moreover, we must be reflective practitioners constantly weighing up the consequences for our students, and ourselves when making decisions about what to do under different circumstances (Groundwater-Smith, Ewing, & Le Cornu, 2011).

Lastly, I understand the critical importance of ongoing professional development. As a teacher it is imperative I am a life-long learner myself, keeping up to date with current and innovative theories and teaching strategies, having an open-mind and being prepared to try new ways and risk take. As Nimmo  emphasises “our growth as teachers, the ‘spirit’ we have available to us, is directly related to the risks we are prepared to take in our work” (2002, p. 75). I am always thirsty for new knowledge and understanding in order to enhance my teaching practices. My last PD was explicit teaching which I implemented into my lesson planning straight away and I believe has improved my lesson delivery and student engagement and outcomes. I value and partake in continuous critical reflection which I use to inform my planning and decision-making.  As well as Professional Development and critical reflection I find professional conversations and collegial sharing of ideas and resources an invaluable teaching tool.

As I now understand, teaching is not just a career but a passion. I am enthusiastic to begin my teaching profession and have a lot of energy and drive to get out there and make a difference. I have had some great teachers along the way supporting me in my learning and development and am excited that now I have the opportunity to do it for others. Children spend many of their childhood hours at school, and teachers are influential in shaping their futures. I believe every child is a unique, strong, and capable human being and has the right to an education, health, happiness and wellbeing. I will support my students in reaching their full potential to the best of my ability.

References

Australian Government Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations for the Council of Australian Governments. (2009). Belonging, Being & Becoming: The Early Years Learning Framework for Australia. ACT, Australia: Commonwealth of Australia.

Brady, L., & Kennedy, K. (2012). Assessment and Reporting: Celebrating Student Achievement (4th ed.). Frenchs Forest, NSW: Pearson Australia.

Curriculum Exchange, Education Queensland. (2006). Play and inquiry-based learning - teaching and learning in the early phase. Queensland, Australia: Queensland Studies Authority.

Curtis, D., & Carter, M. (2000). The Art of Awareness. St Paul, MN: Redleaf Press.

Ebbeck, M., & Waniganayake, M. (2010). Play in Early Childhood Education: Learning in diverse contexts. South Melbourne, Vic: Oxford University Press.

Education Queensland. (2011, May). Teaching and learning: clever, skilled, creative. Retrieved August 22, 2012, from Department of Education and Training: https://www.learningplace.com.au/deliver/content.asp?pid=49267

Fraser, S., & Gestwicki, C. (2000). Authentic Childhood: Exploring Reggio Emilia in the classroom. Canada: Delmar: Thomson Learning.

Galindo, C., & Sheldon, S. (2012). School and home connections and children's kindergarten achievement gains: The mediating role of family involvement. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 27 (1), 90-103.

Gandini, L. (1993). Fundamentals of the Reggio Emilia approach to early childhood. Young Children, 4-8.

Groundwater-Smith, S., Ewing, R., & Le Cornu, R. (2011). Teaching Challenges and Dilemmas (4th ed.). Victoria, Australia: Cengage Learning.

Holland, P. (2004). Picturing Childhood: The myth of the child in popular imagery. New York: I.B. Tauris.

Hollingsworth, J., & Ybarra, S. (2008). Explicit Direct Instruction: The Power of Well-Crafted, Well-Taught Lessons. Corwin Press.

James, A., & Prout, A. (1997). Constructing and Reconstructing Childhood: Contemporary Issues in the Sociological Study of Childhood. Philadelphia, USA: The Falmer Press.

Killen, R. (2009). Effective teaching strategies: Lessons from research and practice (5th ed.). South Melbourne, Vic: Thompson.

Leahy, S., Lyon, C., Thompson, M., & Wiliam, D. (2005). Assessment Minute, Day by Day: In classrooms that use assessment to support learning, teachers continually adapt instruction to meet student needs. Educational Leadership, 19-22.

Lynch, D., & Knight, B. (2010). The Theory and Practice of Learning Management. Frenchs Forest, NSW: Pearson Australia.

McInerney, D. M. (2006). Educational psychology: Constructing learning. Educational psychology: Constructing learning (4th ed.), pp. 348-373.

Nimmo, J. (2002). Nurturing the spirit to teach: commitment, community and emergent curriculum. Australian Journal of Early Childhood, 27(2), 8-12.

North Central Regional Education Laboratory (NCREL). (n.d.). Incorporating Assessment Into the Learning Process. Retrieved from Retrieved August 2, 2009, from CQUniversity e-courses, EDED11405 Ensuring Student Success.

Siemens, G. (2005). Connectivism: A learning theory for the digital age. Retrieved July 20, 2011, from http://www.elearnspace.org/Articles/connectivism.htm

Walker, K. (2007). Play Matters- Engaging Children in Learning: The Australian Developmental Curriculum, A play and project based philosophy (Early Years at Primary School Prep to Grade 2). Camberwell, Victoria: Acer Press.

Williams, L. (1994). Developmental appropriate practice and cultural values. In B. Mallory, & R. News, Diversity and Developmental Appropriate Practice: Challenges for Early Childhood Education. New York: Teachers' College Press.

Woodrow, C. (1997). Questioning representations of children and childhood. Every Child, 3(2), 17.

Woodrow, C. (1999). Revisiting images of the child in early childhood education: Reflections and considerations. Australian Journal of Early Childhood, 24(4), 7-12.

Reflective Synopsis

In this reflective synopsis I will investigate and reflect on four technology based education tools that I have researched throughout the course thus far. I will indicate ways in which my four chosen tools could enhance, support and transform student learning and provide links to my own demonstrations that support my suggestions.
I began this e-learning course as what Prensky (2001) would describe as a 'digital immigrant', with not much previous experience using ICT's. I never used to think much of it until enrolling in teaching, and now this e-learning course has opened my eyes to a whole new world. I now acknowledge that the students I will be teaching will be 'digital natives' (Prensky, 2001) and the way they learn is very different to how I once did. Students today need to be engaged in ways that reflect their lifestyles and future prospects, that is by embracing the new world of technology and all it has to offer (Prensky, 2005). As Siemens (2004) emphasises in his study on Connectivism "technology has reorganised how we live, how we communicate, and how we learn". I believe it is my responsibility as a future teacher to explore and investigate a range of different digital tools that I could incorporate into my teaching pedagogy to support and enhance student learning. This course has made me aware of my own fear and hesitation to delve into the digital world; through its scaffolding and modelling it has given me the confidence to explore and gain competency in using ICT's. This further confirms to me how the constructivist approach to teaching supports students understanding and scaffolds the learning in order to give students the confidence to explore new concepts. I have attempted to adopt this approach myself in my demonstrations by providing scaffolding in both my Wiki and Website. Another reason why it is imperative that teachers embrace technology in their classroom is to engage and target all students learning preferences. Theorists such as Gardner (2001) affirm that we all have individual learning styles and process information depending on our learning preferences, see my preferences, and how they affect my own learning. Technology is a way to promote multimodal learning in the classroom, which is learning that involves two or more modes of communication (Anstey & Bull, 2006). The use of multimodals promote visual, auditory and kinaesthetic modes of learning which supports all students to perceive and process information and therefore enhances overall outcomes (The Department of Education and Children’s Services, 1997).
The first tool I used in this course was the group Wiki, where we were encouraged to collaborate our knowledge, ideas and understandings about chosen topics. We used the PMI thinking strategy and De Bono's six thinking hats on seperate occasions. This was a great example of how technology can be used to share and construct knowledge; as Vygotsky's Social Constructivist theory contends interaction between learners can enhance learning and help with the internalisation of new knowledge. This activity also demonstrated thinking strategies in action and how they can lead to a deeper understanding of knowledge and concepts. We live in a knowledge-based economy which requires 20th century learners to be creative, critical and reflective thinkers (Lynch & Knight, 2010). Teachers need to not only give students the information but teach them how to look at it in a range of different perspectives and reflect on how it affects them. Here is my reflection on these thinking tools.
When it come time to choosing my four ICT's to analyse and reflect on I was quite hesitant to decide as I found that I had so much to say about all of the ones I have trialled, and most of them I can see myself using in my future classroom. For the Group One Technologies I chose to focus on my Website- www.mrsbettsclassroom2.weebly.com. I was very nervous when I first heard we had to go and make our own website. Firstly, I always thought that something like a website would cost money to make, and secondly I pictured it as being a very complicated task. To my surprise I had it set up within minutes; I honestly could not believe how easy it was. The excitement kicked in and my creative juices begun to flow, I felt like a new door had been flung open to me. I feel that as a teacher there is so much you could do with your own website, like what I have experimented with you could organise a lesson on it, or go the whole way and do a unit of work. You can embed links to websites of interest as I have done, and you can upload images, youtube videos that have to do with the topic; you can have everything there at the students fingertips to explore and find information. It gives you the option to structure and scaffold your lessons so that students can work individually or in small groups. You are the only one that can add or edit information, so you are able to monitor the sites and materials that students are using on the internet, therefore ensuring students are engaged in legal, safe and ethical practice. This may seem like the student has no input, although like I have shown on my site activities can be listed and links made to a classroom Wiki for the students contribution. It is there in the Wiki where I have established with the input from students the legal, safe and ethical guidelines for using the computer. I got this idea from one of my fellow students. I would also display these class rules next to the computer as a reminder of the students responsibility when using the computers. Please go and view my SWOT analysis that I have done on this tool, as it gives a good reflection of my experience with Weebly.
My Group Two Technologies tool that I have chosen is the Voki; this tool captured my attention with its cute animated characters. I think these could be used in any classroom to present information to students in a fun and engaging way. It provides both visual and aural stimulation, therefore targeting a wider range of learners. I can also picture students using this site to present their own work, or to create their own classroom personality. I made my own Voki to use in a lesson for my Prep class (see it on the side of my blog), the children loved it and were then keen to make their own, although we ran into some technical problems so could not proceed with the lesson. This is one implication I find very common when using technology, due to power sources, internet connection and speed, or just technical problems sometimes it can be a hit or miss for your ICT to work. See my reflection on why you should always have a back-up plan when using technology in the classroom. I have enjoyed making my own Vokis and found the site easy to navigate, although I did find some computers really slow to upload the Vokis. See my SWOT analysis on my Voki experience.
Thirdly, was my exploration into presentation tools. I downloaded gimp, but struggled to understand what to do with this tool. As my intelligence test showed I am not much of a visual learner, hence manipulating photos is not my thing. However, I did enjoy making wanted posters on glassgiant. The tool I picked though, I found by googling Photostory, it is called VideoPad Video Editor and it states that it is for beginners. I support the saying you need to crawl before you can walk. This site is so easy to use that it got a bit addictive. I have used MovieMaker before and found it frustrating as it seemed very fiddly. Now either I have gained a whole lot more confidence in these last six weeks or this sight is just so much more simplier to use. I have made my own podcast, and also two examples of what students could do with this tool which I have embedded in my Wiki. As a presentation tool it has so much to offer, and I truly believe students would be able to use this tool independently or in small groups to publish their work. It is very straight forward to navigate and students have the options of uploading pictures, photos, music, sounds, videos or taping and recording themselves straight of the computer. The one main implication for using this tool is before you can upload your work onto a Wiki or Blog you need to publish it on Youtube, this may have repercussions as to the teacher's legal responsibility for publishing students' work or photos online. See my SWOT analysis on this tool.
My last tool chosen from the Group Four Technologies is the very easy-to-use brainstorming tool the bubbl.us. I believe that the use of brainstorming and concept mapping is an important part of learning. I have witnessed many teachers use the butcher's paper in front of the whole class to collaborate and present ideas and information; the bubbl.us just puts a techno touch to it. Brainstorming aides teachers in making students aware of their prior knowledge and uses it as a springboard to engage students in the topic (Brady & Scully, 2005). You could use bubbl.us on the interactive whiteboard and get students to come up and add their own bubble to encourage interactive learning, or you can encourage students to use it as a planning tool to foster self-regulated thinking habits (Marzano et al., 1997). I have made some of my own maps, one I have used on my Wiki and the other for a Uni assessment that you can view on my bubbl.us blog along with my SWOT analysis of this tool.
My research of ICT's in the last couple of weeks has shown me that they can be an invaluable resource in the classroom that engage students and achieve learning outcomes. As stated in the Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority website "Increasingly, ICT's permeates every area of our society and lives". It is important that as teachers we embrace them and equip students with the necessary knowledge and skills they need to use ICT's in their learning and throughout life. In saying this it depends on the teacher's personal pedagogy to how far they go with incorporating technology in their classrooms, and to what extent they use the tools. My view of technology has definetely changed now that I am more informed; at the start of this course I had never even linked a document or website, now I do it without thinking twice as evident in this blog. I believe all teachers need to participate in regular e-learning courses to keep their knowledge and skills up-to-date, as how are we supposed to teach 'digital natives' if we don't know the language!

References

Anstey, M., & Bull, G. (2006). Defining Multiliteracies. Teaching and Learning Multiliteracies: Changing Times, Changing Literacies , 19-55.

Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA). (2011). The Australian curriculum: English. Retrieved July 12, 2011, from ACARA Web site: http://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/English/Curriculum/F-10

Brady, L., & Scully, A. (2005). Engagement: Inclusive classroom management. Frenchs Forest, NSW: Pearson.

Department for Education and Children's Services. (1997). Early Literacy: Practices and Possibilities (Book One). Campbell Town, SA: Department for Education and Children's services.

Killen, R. (2009). Effective teaching strategies: Lessons from research and practice (5th ed.). South Melbourne, Vic: Thompson.

Lynch, D., & Knight, B. (2010). The Theory and Practice of Learning Management. Frenchs Forest, NSW: Pearson Australia.

Marzano, R. J., Pickering, D. J., Arredondo, D., Blackburn, G., Brandt, R., Moffett, C., et al. (1997). Dimensions of Learning: Teacher's Manual (2nd ed.). Colorado: USA: Mid-continent Research for Education and Learning.

New London Group. (1996). A Pedagogy of Multiliteracies: Designing Social Futures. Harvard Educational Review , 60-92.

Prensky, M. (2001). Digital natives: Digital immigrants. Retrieved July 20, 2011, from http://www.marcprensky.com/writing/Prensky%20-%20Digital%20Natives,%20Digital%20Immigrants%20-%20Part1.pdf

Prensky, M. (2005). Engage me or enrage me: what today's learners demand. Retrieved July 20, 2011, from http://net.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/erm0553.pdf

Siemens, G. (2005). Connectivism: A learning theory for the digital age. Retrieved July 20, 2011, from http://www.elearnspace.org/Articles/connectivism.htm

The social media revolution

This gives a great explanation of why we need to keep up-to-date with technology!

My fourth tool

Bubbl.us
Lastly, the tool I have chosen from Group Four Technologies is bubbl.us. Since I have discovered this tool, I have made a concept map for narrative writing to add to my Wiki, and also used it in my English presentation to help explain the Four Resource model by Freebody and Luke. Every year level uses brainstorming activities, they are a great way to help students research a topic or break down a process. The good old way of brainstorming is to use butcher's paper; bubbl.us is the technological version of butcher's paper and pen.

Strengths:

• It is easy to use.
• The layout of the site is simple and maps can be constructed quickly.
• It promotes concept mapping.
• It makes brainstorming more visually attractive.
• It can be used to collaborate ideas with a whole class on an interactive whiteboard, or for students to use individually.
• It can be uploaded to a class Wiki or Website for students to refer to.
• It could be used in any year level.

Weaknesses:

• It can look very plain and busy.
• You can't use images, which would be good in lower grades.

Opportunities:

• I am a big supporter of brainstorming, both whole class, small group and individual.
• This encourages collaboration of ideas.
• Students can use a concept map as a guide for their learning
• It encourages students to plan
• As Marzano et al. emphasise by having students use graphic organisers they are able to better acquire and integrate declarative knowledge.

Threats:

• Students need to understand how a concept map is used to help organise information
• For whole class brainstorming all students should be encouraged to contribute ideas.

My third tool

VideoPad Video Editor
I found this great tool from a fellow student who suggested I google Photostory. I did, and this is what I found VideoPad.  My experience with presentation tools have previously extended to PowerPoint and MovieMaker which I have used to present uni assignments with. Most of the tricks I have learnt on PowerPoint have been shown to me by other, more experienced students, usually the younger ones. I believe PowerPoint has so much more potential than most users realise, and I was excited to learn more of its tricks in the Group 3 technologies. I plan on experimenting making my own 'Choose your own adventure story' to use in class. I didn't mind Prezi, and found it easy to use, I made one advertisement to get a feel of how it could be used by students in the classroom. Although, I have to admit I have spent most of my time enthralled with VideoPad Video Editor. Let me show you why,  go to my Wiki to view my videos. Also see my podcast made on VideoPad also. I never thought that I would be a producer of my own Youtube videos, and was surprised at how easy the process was.

VideoPad
Strengths:

• You can upload images or videos, or record yourself using the computers camera.
• You can add audio files (music, voice recording, or sounds) to your storyboard.
• You can narrate your story.
• You can add effects.
• It is set up clearly and easy to navigate
• It has a link to publish your work straight to Youtube, Facebook or Twitter.

Weaknesses:

• You need to have your own images and audio to upload.
• You need to have a computer that has a camera and a microphone.
• You have to publish your work on Youtube before you can embed it into your Blog or Wiki. This may incur privacy and copyright issues when you publish students work, or images of students.
• It can be time consuming. Trust me I spent all day using it.

Opportunities:

• Students could publish their stories, make news reports, advertisements and so on. Gone are the days of the cardboard projects, VideoPad is a great way for students to present their work with a touch of creativity.
• Teachers could make podcasts, similar to the ones used on the moodle site, and embed them into a class Website or Wiki to help scaffold students learning.
• Students can publish plays and drama assignments.
• Teachers could make a storyboard to display students' pictures or photos of their artwork and add music to it to play for the students or family and others.
• Likewise, teachers could make a storyboard with photos of the students, for example on sportsday. These storyboards can be published and uploaded to a class Blog that the students' families can access to see what they are doing at school.

Threats:

• As a teacher you would have to know your rights and responsibilities when publishing students' work and photos of students.

My second tool

Vokis
I had a lot of fun with this tool and believe it has a lot of potential to be used in learning contexts.

Strengths:

• It is engaging, it's fun, it's cute.
• The site is easy to navigate. I had Prep students making their own Vokis on the interactive whiteboard using the pen to scroll down and click on their selections.
• Vokis can be embedded into Blogs, Websites and Wikis.
• Students can add their own touch to their character.
• Backgrounds can be uploaded, as I did for my Voki Vicki, I uploaded a picture of inside my Prep class.
• Audio can be added through typing it in, a microphone or by adding a audio file. Nice to have a choice.
• It gives teachers a different and exciting way of presenting information which engages students both visually and aurally.
• Students can practice their oral language skills and enhance their confidence by recording their voices on to a Voki.
• The Voki sight is not blocked in schools by Education Queensland.

Weaknesses:

• I remember people had trouble embedding the Voki into their Powerpoints and Prezis, I have not yet tried this.
• I have had my own troubles trying to record the voice of my Voki with a microphone, it seems to work well with some computers and not work with others.
• On some computers the Voki takes forever to load up on the screen.
• I had some trouble embedding the link into my website, as when I first published my Voki they gave me a link which I copied and it worked well, but when I went to retrieve the link again it was not the same and my Voki had the sites background with it. See my first page of my weebly. This could just be me, but I did find these points (adding the voice and linking), not always smooth sailing and sometimes was dependent on what computer I was using.
• What the students say on their Voki may have to be monitored, to ensure that they are sensible and do not use bad language.
• They don't have every kind of character in their range.

Opportunities:

• Vokis can be used as a multimodal resource to engage students in their learning.
• Students can create Voki personalities to share their work in a fun and engaging way.
• Vokis can be used by younger students to practice the skill of navigating their way around the computer screen.
• Vokis can help improve students oral language skills.

Threats:

• The availability and speed of the internet may restrict teachers from using the Voki site in a lesson.
• If technology lets you down, or maybe your not skilled enough, you may run into trouble like I did, recording the voices on to the Voki. Reminder: when using technology ALWAYS have a back-up plan, just in case. 

The Chosen Four

This was a hard decision chosing which ICT's I will focus on for my synopsis. In the Group 1 technologies I have been very impressed with the Blog, Wiki and Weebly capabilities. I can picture using all three of these to support learning in the classroom. Although,  since I need to chose one I have decided to reflect more deeply on Weebly. I have had a lot of fun constructing my own Weebly and this is what I have found.

Weebly.com
Strengths:

• Not being very tech-savvy, I found this tool very east to navigate. Its tool bar was very self-explanatory
• It is free.
• It had a lot of available images to upload and use for free. This is helpful as you don't need to find images elsewhere.
• I was able to upload You tube videos easily into the Weebly
• The website can be set up to be navigated easily therefore, well scaffolded for learning
• You can add links to other websites
• Only the teacher can contribute content. Unlike a Wiki students cannot add or edit work.
• Teachers can pre-organise their lesson on a website. They can have all the images or websites they wish to use in a lesson already linked and ready to go in the weebly.

Weaknesses:

• Only the teacher can contribute content. It is not a collaborative learning tool, although links to a Wiki can be added.
• The website I made was not allowed by Education Queensland when I tried to show it at school. Therefore, you need to ensure you can use it at your school before spending time creating it.
• The availability of computers in the classroom for students to access the website.

Opportunities:

• Teachers can scaffold the website so that students can work individually or in groups to complete an activity.
• Teachers can link a class Wiki to the Weebly as I have done, and instruct students to follow the link and add their information, ideas and opinions.
• Teachers can add links to other sites that they know are appropriate, safe and ethical for the students to find information or research topics on. This way you know that the students are not wasting time aimlessly googling or searching for inappropriate sites.
• Students work can be uploaded to a weebly to share with the class, parents and others.
• Students could make their own weebly for a class project.

Threats:

• Internet speed and availability can hamper relying on it for a lesson.
• Different computers take longer to link and upload Youtubes.
• Must ensure you always acknowledge things that you upload.
• Must ensure images or Youtubes used in your weebly are appropriate for students. For example, did you know that children in Primary School are not allowed to view PG films. It is important to always know the legal, safe and ethical guidelines for using ICT's in the classroom. This site, by the Queensland Government outline the teachers responsibilities when constructing a website and offers suggestions that will comply with Education Queensland regulations.