Wednesday, 10 August 2011
I got fish!
Saw this on Bianca's blog and had to have some myself. There is so many great tools out there, it's just knowing where to find them and how to use them. By the way if you didn't already know, to get some cool fishies of your own just go to design in your blog, add gadget, click on more gadgets and scroll until you get fish. What did Vygotsky say again about social interaction having a huge influence on learning. I can see what he means.
My Prezi
My Prezi
You will have to click on 'My Prezi' to view my ad for a hair product, as I have now spent nearly an hour trying to figure out how I can embed the Prezi into my blog with no success. Another thing I'll have to add to my 'need to know' list, it is getting quite long.
Although on a positive note, I finally worked out how to do the zoom thing in my Prezi, and I'm not going to lie, but I didn't go back and read the instructions. I thought I would have a play around with it first and just discovered it as I was experimenting, this definetely confirming once again my kinaesthetic learning style. I must admit working with ICT's can be very frustrating and time consuming, in the case of the Prezi, I had a lot of trouble trying to download Abode Flash player so my computer could run the program, after several attempts and alot of time wasted it happened to be a simple box that I had to change to match my program. Although each obstacle like this one seems to prepare me for the next. I feel like sometimes I am wasting a lot of my precious study time playing around with all these computer applications, but on the other hand I am developing my confidence and gaining a deeper understanding of how these tools can be manipulated which will encourage me to incorporate them into my teaching pedagogy. Through this experience I am also getting a feel for how the constructivist theory supports learning, as each time I interact with these ICT's I am using my prior knowledge to help build and understand the new knowledge. As a student teacher this reminds me of how important it is to make student's prior knowledge evident before introducing them to new knowledge.
You will have to click on 'My Prezi' to view my ad for a hair product, as I have now spent nearly an hour trying to figure out how I can embed the Prezi into my blog with no success. Another thing I'll have to add to my 'need to know' list, it is getting quite long.
Although on a positive note, I finally worked out how to do the zoom thing in my Prezi, and I'm not going to lie, but I didn't go back and read the instructions. I thought I would have a play around with it first and just discovered it as I was experimenting, this definetely confirming once again my kinaesthetic learning style. I must admit working with ICT's can be very frustrating and time consuming, in the case of the Prezi, I had a lot of trouble trying to download Abode Flash player so my computer could run the program, after several attempts and alot of time wasted it happened to be a simple box that I had to change to match my program. Although each obstacle like this one seems to prepare me for the next. I feel like sometimes I am wasting a lot of my precious study time playing around with all these computer applications, but on the other hand I am developing my confidence and gaining a deeper understanding of how these tools can be manipulated which will encourage me to incorporate them into my teaching pedagogy. Through this experience I am also getting a feel for how the constructivist theory supports learning, as each time I interact with these ICT's I am using my prior knowledge to help build and understand the new knowledge. As a student teacher this reminds me of how important it is to make student's prior knowledge evident before introducing them to new knowledge.
Sunday, 7 August 2011
Presentation tools
I have gone and tried a Prezi, which I will try and upload later. I think these would be a great idea for upper primary to preasent their projects for something different instead of powerpoint. I had trouble getting the zoom in and zoom out effect on my Prezi, but that could have something to do with the fact that I bypassed the instructions. This is definetely one of my downfalls when learning new programs, as I am not one to sit down and read a manual before using something, I'd rather just wing it and pick it up as I go. This is another indicator of my kinaesthetic learning style. I found a great quote once and have sifted through all my files to find it, because I think it is very true with how people engage with technology.
"Creators of presentation software complain we can give people the ability and we can simplify the technology, but we can't make people use it. Microsoft calculates, users take advantage of only 10-20% of the softwares technical capability."
That I believe is so true, well, I know I definetely don't. I am aware of this now and will try to make more effort to learn before doing.
"Creators of presentation software complain we can give people the ability and we can simplify the technology, but we can't make people use it. Microsoft calculates, users take advantage of only 10-20% of the softwares technical capability."
That I believe is so true, well, I know I definetely don't. I am aware of this now and will try to make more effort to learn before doing.
Lesson learnt
I was getting right into composing my blog and website, excitedly linking this and adding that, with no thought to the legal and copyright laws of downloading and copying from websites. It was not until I came across an important part of one of our readings that warned us to ensure we acknowledge anything we copy or use, as we can be investigated for plagiarism if we don't. I went in to panic mode and went back over everything I had done, only to find that I had used an image (the Gardner's learning styles image that I used on my blog) without attribution. I have since gone back and fixed my mistake, and are now more aware of the correct and lawful procedures when using materials of the internet.
Relying on technology cont....
So my first experience of using technology in the classroom did not go smoothly. I have learnt a lot though, firstly as a teacher I need to always have a back up plan and secondly always test it out thoroughly before using it in the classroom. I do think this is one of the major reasons that teachers are hesitant to embrace technology in the classrooms. Technology has come a long way, but it's success still relies on factors such as power sources, downloading speed, and internet availability. I believe in time this will all change and their reliability will increase as it has continued to do over the history of technology, and this will encourage more teachers to bring technology into their classrooms.
I'm still here
I am finally back blogging. I have been experimenting with the ICT tools, and have alot to reflect on. I am very old school and still find myself writing down my reflections, so now it is time to share them on my blog.
I enjoyed using visual media tools such as the voki and flickr. Since I am doing my Prac in a prep classroom this year I thought I would create a Voki to show to the students. We were learning about the letter V, so I named her Vicki the Voki and uploaded a picture of inside the classroom for the background. The students were very impressed and keen to make their own Vokis. I was able to use the interactive whiteboard, and the students navigated their way around the Voki sight using the whiteboard pen, easily. They chose their character, the background and accessories, however when the time came to record their voice on to the Voki, I was unable to get the microphone working. The teacher and I tried several times with no luck. This was very disappointing as the children were all lined up for a go and they were all very engaged in the lesson. As a teacher I have learnt that when using technology you need to have a back-up just in case as it is not always the most reliable.
This was not the only time it let me down that day, I was also excited to use my weebly and play the possum magic interactive book to the children. However, on arrival at school I discovered that my website was blocked from the Education Queensland site. I then went and checked if I could just access Mem Fox's website to play the book on that, this worked well. Although, later that day when I had all the children waiting anxiously on the carpet to watch it, do you think it would work for me?
I enjoyed using visual media tools such as the voki and flickr. Since I am doing my Prac in a prep classroom this year I thought I would create a Voki to show to the students. We were learning about the letter V, so I named her Vicki the Voki and uploaded a picture of inside the classroom for the background. The students were very impressed and keen to make their own Vokis. I was able to use the interactive whiteboard, and the students navigated their way around the Voki sight using the whiteboard pen, easily. They chose their character, the background and accessories, however when the time came to record their voice on to the Voki, I was unable to get the microphone working. The teacher and I tried several times with no luck. This was very disappointing as the children were all lined up for a go and they were all very engaged in the lesson. As a teacher I have learnt that when using technology you need to have a back-up just in case as it is not always the most reliable.
This was not the only time it let me down that day, I was also excited to use my weebly and play the possum magic interactive book to the children. However, on arrival at school I discovered that my website was blocked from the Education Queensland site. I then went and checked if I could just access Mem Fox's website to play the book on that, this worked well. Although, later that day when I had all the children waiting anxiously on the carpet to watch it, do you think it would work for me?
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