Reflective Synopsis

This reflective synopsis will be focusing on that will be suitable for my teaching areas of Business & English. It will also show comments I have left on fellow class members’ blog posts. In such a technologically driven era that is the 21st Century, it is only natural that we as future educators learn the different ways we can deliver content to our students. Due to the ages students are now learning to use technology, it is important that we deliver to them using the same medium they are being brought up to use. That is why each week the course focused on different technologies in order to get a better understanding of how we as future educators can improve our lesson planning by incorporating these in to our delivery. We as teachers need “to take full advantage of the possibilities of ICT to enhance student learning, create efficiencies in delivering education and school administration, and advance lifelong learning.” (Department of Education & Training 2010)

Not only is it integral to my classmates and I as fellow educators, but it is integral that we support and encourage our students to become competent in information technologies. As the world becomes more and more technologically efficient, we need to make sure that our students are also staying current in the trends. “ICT literacy is not a once in a lifetime one shot injection but a lifelong continuum….and even students entering university with ICT competencies will require upskilling during the life of their university course.” (Watson, Proctor, Finger & Lang 2004) All teachers are required to incorporate the use of information technologies, because it is required by all teachers now.

One of the best tool as an educator I can utilize is Microsoft PowerPoint. PowerPoint allows the most boring of lectures and speeches to be aesthetically pleasing if worked correctly. I can put the class notes onto the slide, instead of having to write it on the whiteboard. I can include all resources I plan to use in that lesson to the slide because I can add pictures, audio and video clips to the slides. This decreases the amount of time wasted by changing windows and opening all of these files, which will increase the amount of time I have in the class to focus on my students and help them as much as I possibly can. I can also minimise the amount of paper I’m using by printing handouts for each student, because I can archive all my slides on to the school network and students can browse through these at their own pace and time which is a green way of looking at it. Not only this, but if I make my slides interesting to look at, keep the information minimal and utilize all of the features that PowerPoint has, I can keep my students more focused in class which maximizes the amount they are learning.

A Learning Management System is also another technology which I could use to my advantage in a classroom. Due to the flexibility of the system, I can use it as a complete resource bank for all topics of work needed for one class. It also allows for students to access information at home, which will be easier than flipping through their books looking for notes. The forums that an LMS has can be accessed by students who can create forums about assessment and classwork, share their ideas, and even the teacher can add comments and direct messages to all students. Chatrooms are also another option, which can be a help for students who need instant answers. This also can be used for more than one class. A school can have multiple year eleven English classes, so why should one or two classes have a complete online resource bank, when each class can have access to this, and help each other out.

Digital Videos are also a great technology to use for students. We have website such as YouTube and MegaVideo which whilst they can have some pretty silly thing posted, also have amazing video resources for students. The amount of videos on these sites which could be amazing resources are huge, however are being wasted due to negative educational conations attached to these sites. As I previously posted, I found a video on writing a business plan, which can be used to my advantage as the school I am currently doing my Embedded Professional Learning at has a business planning unit for the grade nine students. Digital videos are also a great way for students to consolidate their previous learning, and apply their knowledge in a new situation. It also allows for students to have fun with their learning because it allows for creativity to run wild.

The use of images is also a great tool for students. We as the educators can use the images as stimulus material, gauging the learner’s knowledge of the content learnt and seeing what areas need to be focused on. It can also be used at the beginning of a unit to evoke emotion to get the learners involved in the unit, or gauge what they already know about the unit. Students can also create images in order to reflect on their learning, and once again it also allows for students to use their creativity in order to gain interest in their learner. Also getting students to find images about the topic can work in the same way as well.

By incorporating information technologies to all areas of teaching, whether it be Accounting, Physical Education to Agricultural Science to any other of the myriad of subjects currently taught in secondary schools, we are meeting the demands of our students. The 21st Century has brought children who are even more technologically advanced than the previous generation who were also thought to be technologically advanced. This in turn also shows what the many years of teaching are going to look like. As future educators we need to grasp the use of information technologies in all curriculum areas, because the next generation of learners are going to be even more technologically advanced than the generations now, and this is going to keep happening over and over again.

REFERENCES
Department of Education and Training QLD (2010) ICT/Smart Classrooms. Retrieved August 27, 2010, from http://www.learningplace.com.au/deliver/content.asp?pid=47912

Watson, G., Proctor, R., Finger, G., Lang, W. (2004) Education students’ views on the integration of ICT into their undergraduate learning experiences. Retrieved August 27, 2010, from http://www98.griffith.edu.au/dspace/bitstream/10072/2520/1/30269_1.pdf


BLOG COMMENTS:
On the blog : Digital Tool 7- Images and Podcasts

Garrett =] said...
I loved imagery as a technology. It is just so simple, yet so versatile at the same time. I really like how you pointed out that "Teachers can incorporate images in order to engage their students, provoke emotion, create interesting effects, and create an interactive and exciting material."I think this is the exact reason why imagery is such an integral part of education and you've summarised it exceptionally well. I think it is amazing how a lot of teachers could be using such a simple technology in lessons every day, yet are not.
August 27, 2010 2:52 AM

On the blog: Wikis for Collaborative Learning

Garrett =] said...
Wikis are such a great learning tool, however I seriously think they need to be utilised more in a classroom. They are so versatile in the concepts of design and user input, which I think is great.I also think the easy access for users to edit information is not as good as it sounds. It opens a lot of windows to your information being jeapordised by stupid users who can add incorrect or stupid information, as well as delete it.I suppose you would have to trust the users of your wiki that they wouldn't ruin your work.
August 27, 2010 2:58 AM

On the blog: Powerpoint

Garrett =] said...
As a fellow business/accounting teacher, I applaud the fact that you've outlined how we can utilise this fantastic technology in our business subjects by making information that can be so bulky at times simplified and easier to read and absorb.I have also used Powerpoint to break down learning the nature of accounts, classifying accounts and showing students example postings to transaction tables and general journals at EPL. I do think you're right about the Accounting aspect also, however does this mean we should be looking further into the application of our information to this medium?
August 27, 2010 3:04 AM

Digital Videos

Digital videos in schools offer a different learning experience for students. They consolidate and can enhance any learning experience. Students can also use this to reflect on their learning and find a new way to apply what they've learnt.

I find it can be related to Dimension One of the Dimenisons of Learning handbook. By using material that is authentic and real in society. If the students see that the topic they are studying is being looked at else where, the students will be more likely to engage with the learning experience.

The following video has been sourced from YouTube, and is focused on writing a business plan.

Images & Podcasting

Images can be an effective learning tool for a teacher. Pictures often will grab the attention of the learner before any text does, so when using pictures, it is crucial that you select an image that is both visually appealing, but related to the topic at hand. The saying that "a picture is worth 1000 words" has literal meaning in the context of education. We can often summarise the point of our discussion with the use of one image. We can play on the emotions of our students, get them to see the bigger picture. The following image was used in a Year 8 Humanities class I currently have in for Embedded Professional Learning.

The Year 8 students are currently doing a unit on child slavery. When this image was projected to the front of the class, they were asked what did they see. Apart from seeing the boy, they saw sadness, struggle, pain, strength, loneliness and many other things. These students saw past the obvious and pointing out the emotion of the image from one picture.

I have now editted the image using Pixlr, does this now change the emotion of the image?

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Podcasting is a tool in which a user can record audio clips on anything (such as basic management systems, how to write an article etc) and other people can download these and listen to them via a computer, iPod or MP3 device. This can be done also using video, however it is then referred to as a Vodcast. QUT's Business Faculty have their own podcast website set up here. This would help their students catch up on any missing course work, provide extra researching materials for assessment or be a great study tool when revising for an exam.

Learning Management Systems

A Learning Management System is a great tool for learning environments. It allows for flexibility in the delivery of content because the administrator can edit what they need on the website, and design the system to suit their needs. It also allows for better management of assessment as it can be uploaded to the website and held there. It also makes collaboration easier between students, not only in the same classroom, but across campuses. This is because it allows for students to send messages, open chat rooms and have discussion forums.

There are two types of LMS- Proprietor and Open Source. Proprietor systems, such as BlackBoard and WebCT are generally expensive, however they have good documentation and back up support, however lack flexibility. An Open Source system, such as Moodle, is quite the opposite. They offer high flexibility and have low running costs, however lack the back up support and documentation. However both of these systems mostly provide password protection to administrators, which allows safeguarding to any and all documentation on the system.

Powerpoint

Powerpoint is a program created by Microsoft, which is included in the Microsoft Office package. It allows for anyone doing an oral presentation to help put across their point by incorporating a slide show. The slide show can range from basic text slides to the incorporation of images, videos and audio into the slide to make it more appealing.

This program is an essential learning tool for teachers because it allows for engagement of their students. Students in the 21st century have been said to be more enthusiastic about learning, if some form of technology is incorporated into the learning design. By using Powerpoint for any class, we are able to engage our learners, whilst still getting the neccessary information across.

It also allows for the teacher to summarise information into dot points, which can help clear things up for students, as well as support any arguments or ideas with different information types such as a video or audio clip.

Students can also benefit from the uses of Powerpoint because the dreaded oral presentation can be made more fun for both the speaker and their peers who are listening. Once again, it can be used as a medium to prove points other than use text facts. It also can summarise main points of arguments in order for peers to gain a better understanding of what the speaker is saying.

Weebly Site

A Weebly/Website can be used effectively in any classroom, as the website can be designed purposely for that class with information pertaining only to the subject intended. The website can also be redesigned at the end of a unit, with new subject matter added to the website, or old information archived and additional information added as well. A website can be a great resource with both old and new information.

My Weebly can be located at http://garrettselearning.weebly.com/

Wiki vs. Blog

A wiki is an internet platform in which the creator is able to configure it how they want, when the want. It allows for user freedom. This differs from a blog, which whilst a multimodal platform, can only allow the user to go so far in terms of design and ease. There are limits to a blog in which a wiki surpass.

My wiki can be located at http://garrettselearningwiki.wikispaces.com/

Big6 Framework Overview

The Big6 Framework, developed by Mike Eisenberg and Bob Berkowitz, is an effective tool in researching, evaluating sources and applying these sources to in class tasks and assessable items. It is being used world over from Kindergarten to Year 12 to university and even above and beyond that. Big6 will be very useful in my discipline areas of Business and English. Both of these subjects require students to complete assessable items in which critical evaluation of research will be required. The Big6 allows for a breakdown of research tasks, to make it easier and more manageable for students and teachers.


Below is a table of how it works:



References:
Big6. (2001). Big6 Skills Overview. Retrieved 1 August 2010 from http://www.big6.com/2001/11/19/a-big6%E2%84%A2-skills-overview/

My learning style

I recently (as in five minutes ago =P) completed a test on Memletics website to see what sort of learner I am. This is the graph of my results, and the following are the specific number results.

Style Scores

Visual	8
Social	17
Physical	9
Aural	14
Verbal	13
Solitary	7
Logical	8

This is also the descriptions of each learning style (with links to do further study):

• Visual (spatial). You prefer using pictures, images, and spatial understanding.
• Aural (auditory-musical). You prefer using sound and music.
• Verbal (linguistic). You prefer using words, both in speech and writing.
• Physical (kinesthetic). You prefer using your body, hands and sense of touch.
• Logical (mathematical). You prefer using logic, reasoning and systems.
• Social (interpersonal). You prefer to learn in groups or with other people.
• Solitary (intrapersonal). You prefer to work alone and use self-study.

(Advanogy.com 2007)

As you can see, I am mostly a social, aural and verbal learner. This means I need to talk about my work with groups of people. It means I need sound to work, I cannot work without music. I also prefer to have things explained to me.

I believe the results reflect my personality perfectly. I would recommend this to my fellow educators to use this test for your students. This is a perfect way to profile how your students learn, and in turn will help you create better lessons to best cater for your students.

References:

Advanogy.com (2007) Free Learning Styles Inventory - Results. Accessed 28 July 2010, from http://www.learning-styles-online.com/inventory/results.asp

The Functionality of a Blog

The functionality of a blog can easily change the way that learners of today absorb information. Blogs are able to cater many different types of information in one simple way. A blog does not only have to have text, it can have audio clips, images and videos, demonstrations, graphs etc. A single blog is able to hold any and all of the above on one single entry, however this can be very confusing.

The blog also allows for the educator to accomodate many different learning styles. The visual learners are able to read and absorb information from the blog. The auditory learners are able to learn from all of the audio clips. The kinaesthetic learners have the option of watching demonstrations and trying to do these themself.

The blog is a perfect multimodal platform for today's educators, as it allows them to add all different types of information into one medium, and also keep students interesting by incorporating the use of ICTs.