Friday, October 22, 2010

Multimedia, it's easy

Hi everyone,

It has been quite some time since I have posted on my blog. Practicum was amazing, I had a nice mentor teacher and a great school. It was hard work, but in the end, it was worth every bit of effort.

This week, in the Technology workshop, we learned about the the different multimedia that is available to incorporate ICT into school environment.


Zimmer Twins






http://www.zimmertwins.com/movie/create






This website has a huge amount of potential. It would be clearly engaging to students across all grades and it would allow students who are visual learners the opportunity to create a story of their own using the main character Edgar. I found that it is often daunting to some students wo have a blank page in front of them, with the expectation that it would be filled by the end of a class.

This website is also very user friendly. I found it quite easy to come up with a number of different movies within the space of a few minutes.


Xtranormal

The next website that we visited was:

http://www.xtranormal.com/









This website would not be appropriate for primary students, however, it would be a fabulous website for teachers while are planning their lessons. It could be used as a form of engagement for students and a form of inspiration for class work.


Sketch Swap






The next website that we visited was:

http://www.sketchswap.com/



This website is fantastic to inspire students. The image above was my own creation. When students draw an image on the website they are shown another image that has been drawn. The images that came up while I was looking at the website were just amazing. This kind of program would also help students to improve their handwriting skills as it gives them control of the mouse to draw free form.

Roller Mache

The next website that we went to was:

http://www.abc.net.au/rollercoaster/rollermache/default.htm

This website allows students to create their own animation. It provides step by step instructions to students about what they can achieve if they plan. There is also a competition that can be entered, which would ecourage students to put their best foot forward.


Reasonably Clever


The next website that we went to was:

http://www.reasonablyclever.com/?page_id=29


This website enables students to envision themselves in lego. I think that I look quite realistic. This application is quite limited in its application. This software only allows students to create images of themselves in leggo. If, however, they have created a story with main characters, this application would be a great way of allowing students to extend their creative vision beyond simply putting pen to paper. Or pencil to paper as the case may be.


Rebus

The next program that we looked at was:

http://www.storygames.com/teachmanpf/readwri.html

This is such a great find. It specifically targets the younger students in their understanding of language. One part of the website was called rebus, which allows students to replace nouns with pictures that they themselves source. This is a fun and exciting way of incorporating ICT with literacy.



Myths and Legends

The next program that we found was:

http://myths.e2bn.org/


This is yet another great website that incorporates both ICT and English. It is a perfect fit for primary school children. There are a number of resources for teachers as well. This includes, amazingly, curriculum mapping. This program is also very straightforward to use, for all levels.


Catchment Detox

The next website that we looked at was:

http://catchmentdetox.net.au/


This website would be very useful for students who were learning about sustainability in schools and a sustainable environment. Let's face it: this is something that affects everyone in this world.

This is a fun way of learning about the environment and population, and the significance of water to this cycle. This, in my view, would be most appropriate for years 3 to 6 in primary schools.



Zip Tales

The final website that we looked at was:

http://ziptales.com.au/

This I found was quite interesting, but it is just such a shame that you need to pay a fee to be able to use it.





I had such a lot of fun learning all about these programs this week. It just goes to show that there is so much ICT that you can incorporate into your literacy activities in primary schools.

Hope that you enjoyed reading all about what I have done in Technology Across the Curriculum. I thoroughly enjoyed completing this blog.

Ann xxx

Tuesday, August 17, 2010

Dust Echoes

Hi there,

Today we looked at some aboriginal dream time stories on the website:

http://www.abc.net.au/dustechoes


The website has study guides attached to each of the stories, as well as possible classroom activities. This ties into the art adn the literacy domains.

We were asked to go through one of the stories on this website and determine the most significnat images and create a mind-map on Inspiration 8.0.

I chose the story called Morning Star, which was about the first death in the camp. The images that I had chosen was (a) the discovery of the first death, (b) burning the body (c) creating a circle to put the body onto display (d) dancing to send the spirit off to the next life, (e) bathing themselves and (f) the birth of a new member of the camp and the start of the new day.

This was such an entertaining exercise. I loved looking at all of the classroom activities and lessons. I value the multi-dimensional aspects of these activities.


The next activitiy that we completed was graphing the colour of M&M's in a small box. First we recorded a tally of the results on Microsoft Excel. This tally had the columns Colour and Number. Using this table, we created a graph of the results. I found this to be a very entertaining experience. We then went onto the M&M's website and saw that there was a ratio for the number of different colours in each packet. I feel that this would be a wonderful lesson for students from grade 2 onwards.

I am off to my second practicum, so I will not be posting for a little while. I will write a few comments about practicum after I have completed it. I am nervous but excited at the same time.

Talk soon.

Ann

Tuesday, August 10, 2010

QUIA

Hi again,

In this class we did a number of activities. The first of which, "How to make a Frog Jump". In this activity we were to design a method of making a frog jump using the following resources:
  • sticky tape
  • cardboard
  • rubber band
  • frog image
  • scissors
  • student knowedge
When completing this task Justine and I created a frog jumper by folding the cardboard in half, stickytaping the frog to one side of the cardboard, poking two holes in each side of the cardboard and threading the elastic band through each of the holes and tying the rubber band together. This was a very effective method of getting the frog to jump.

This project was great to do as it allowed students to be creative, and incorporated science into the lesson. As Greg suggested, Science is not something to be shyed away from.

Our other activities involved the website www.quia.com. This is such an amazing website, and i'm so thrilled to have a 30 day trial of the program.

First, we created a quiz with multiple choice answers on a topic of our choice. I chose to complete a quiz on the main characters of classic literature. I love literature, as you would be able to tell. Books are a huge part of my identity. Please find the link to my quiz below:

http://www.quia.com/quiz/2514040.html

Second, we created a game on a topic of our choice. I chose to complete a millionaire game on the characters of Harry Potter. Please find the link to my quiz below:

http://www.quia.com/rr/650526.html

This program is fantastic. When Greg mentioned that what was seen on our trial was only a portion of what was available, I was thrilled and excited. I would be happy to complete lessons using this program. It would be an interesting, engaging and fun way of children to learn. It is also important to understand that this can be used as a form of both formative and summative assessment.

As I have worked through all of the programs in this subject, I have come to understand that knowledge of Information Technology is very important when you are a primary school teacher. Students are not engaged by the same things that we were when we were at school. I was never one for IT until I was in year 5. At my first placement school, all of the prep students were learning blends on Essential Phonics and on other programs that would help in their learning.

Teachers need to learn about new technologies in order to keep up with the children.

A valuable lesson today. I loved it.

See you next week

Ann
xxx

Tuesday, August 3, 2010

Applying for jobs and applying publisher

Hi again everyone, Ann here

Today we had an excellent discussion about the process of applying for jobs. It is so nice to know that other people had the same questions that I do. We discussed the interview process, the application process, and other key pieces of information that would be necessary when applying for jobs.

One of the key things that I took from this was that application anxiety is completely natural. I do have a current plan regarding next year. I plan to do CRT for the first year. I did not have a good experience in my first placement, and as a result I feel that I need to gain my confidence and hone my skills in classroom management.

It was also nice to get some insight as to what to do to get your foot in the door with relief teaching. This includes, providing a covering letter and a resume to the school and to provide details of availablility.

I also found the interview process was explained very well. I never realised that excessive perfume would be such an issue. I truly appreciated the good humour in which Greg Powell explained about applications and interview processes. It was also reiterated, that it is nesessary to be prepared, calm and in control of your nerves.


Following this we moved on to the program Microsoft Publisher. We firstly created a brochure on our destination of choice. Hawaii is my destination of choice for my honeymoon at the end of this year. I got married on ANZAC day this year. My husband and I are waiting for the best time to take our holiday.







The last activity that we completed during this lesson was starting our minor assignment. We were to create a website on Microsoft Publisher, and learnt the basic functions of the program.



I found todays workshop so helpful. I found it to be infomative, interesting and engaging. I am looking forward to the next one.

Signing off

Ann xxxx

Tuesday, July 27, 2010

Inspiration




Hi there. My name is Ann and I am currently completing the Diploma of Education (Primary). This blog is an assignment for the subject Technology Across the Curriculum.

At Methodist Ladies' College, in year 11 and 12, I completed a VCE VET Certificate in Information Technology. I loved it. I have always found different programs quite easy to navigate, at least with a bit of practice.

Today we were learning about the program Inspiration 8.0 IE. There are so many applications that you can use the program for.

Our first task was to complete a general diagram of a topic of our choosing. This was done in order to get a handle on the basics of the program.

I chose to complete a diagram of my favourite books, as shown above. I was able to link the central idea, "favourite books" with the website http://www.amazon.com/. I chose this as an inspiration because I thoroughly enjoy books. My favourite authors are Jane Austen and Margaret Atwood. Margaret Atwood wrote the Booker Prize winning book in 2001, "The Blind Assassin".


The second thing that we did on the program was to create a mind-map on a topic of our choosing. I chose to talk about information technology and whether or not technology has become too influential on young and impressionable children.

In the Whitepaper it was asserted that "research validates the use of technology as a means to prepare for success in the 21st century and increase critical thinking and date managment skills". I agree with this argument entirely, as technology is such an important and all encompassing entity. It is important, however, to understand that there is value in a balance between outside play and inside (computer/television) play.

I hope my insights have been helpful and you have come to know a bit more about me.

Ill post again next week.

Ann