Blog synopsis

This Blog synopsis is to evaluate on the teaching technologies we have been working on over the last 7 weeks. Finding out about how to further enhance our teaching skills and using electronic media to engage our students in the classroom.
Topics included, Concept Maps, Wikis, Websites, Power points, Images / Podcasts, Movie Maker, voki, prezi, google earth/maps and You Tube. Each topic uses different capabilities to engage our students in the use of each of these applications. Supporting and creating a new learning environment.

The following topics shown below are used to facilitate the students in this learning environment. Access Information, organize knowledge, consolidate and refine knowledge, transform knowledge to develop new understandings, present knowledge to an audience.

Access Information

The technology applications most suited to accessing information would be websites and You tube. Websites have the power to effectively facilitate learners to access worded information available on each of the sites relating to their subjects at school. Such as HPE, History, Geography and English. The use of websites allows students to access information in a brief or detailed format, also providing opinions, author / scholar references or even visual / auditory via videos and podcasts if the access information is used correctly.

As teachers we have the opportunity to inform students on how to access the web and research tasks associated with our subjects. I would use websites to facilitate my students learning by researching our lesson topic, after giving my points of view. An example of this would be the modification of the skills required to play touch football. By accessing the web it would allow the students to research for more detailed information on our topic. Allowing for a deeper knowledge base and a higher order of thinking amongst my students.

This increased knowledge researched from the web along with their own point of view would assist the students in taking part in a group discussion. Which would further engage my class in the topic and facilitate their learning.
Using websites in a classroom environment is very effective while teaching, because you have the option to refer back to them as a point of reference during a group discussion. They can be used to simply emphasise a point of interest to keep your students engaged, which has been backed up by a reliable source.

The You tube site has many features including video and audio files that can give students a different perspective on accessing information, by viewing a movie file on a subject. By using a visual experience, such as an active film of a story, practical demonstration of a sport or video on the human body.
Accessing information in this way also allows the use of an audio file that you can listen to and take down information from, as it is still a method of accessing information. The use of You tube in the classroom would engage students through visual learning. By setting them a task which only involves You tube they would have to access the information by a video clip on their subject instead of using textbooks or website searches.

As for my own professional learning it is important to stay up to date with the latest developments in the form of websites, which can increase my knowledge base and allow for a deeper understanding of my teaching subjects. Also allowing me to have a better understanding of different points of view and be able to watch positive demonstrations of effective teaching skills.

Comments By class mates

Websites: Starleigh
Hey Dave,
just viewed your website, seems you have mastered the tool of copy and paste :P
Glad you found this website as easy as i did!
At least your page has more information then I have!

My Response: hey starleigh! what do you mean by copy and paste- its all my own words or mean pasting it onto weebly?? :P yeh weebly was quite easy to use for sure

YouTube: Starleigh

Hey Dave, this is great!
I think youtube is one of the best tools on the net that we can use in our classrooms today.
They can explain even the hardest things into such simple instruction.
I enjoyed reading your reflection on youtube videos.
:) Dave, this is great!

Organise knowledge

The technology most suited to organising information would be the concept maps. As these have the power to engage students in the topic and then break it down into sections. Making it easier for them to understand and gain the bigger picture of what we are trying to achieve.

Concept maps organise knowledge into main and sub headings, dividing information into groups relating to those headings. As a teacher I would use this technology to engage my students in a discussion and ask questions, then breaking their answers into sub and key headings to form the basis of further discussion. An example of concept maps breaking down a fitness exercise can be found on my blog under concept maps. Concept maps can be a great discussion starter to facilitate student learning.

After using concept maps to break down our topic, I would then pass on to the students a work sheet relating to our topic to further engage their learning skills.
As for my own professional learning it is important to stay up to date with the latest developments in the form of wikis and new ways we can use concept maps. Once again allowing me to increase my knowledge base and have a deeper understanding of my teaching subjects, which will help me teach in a classroom environment.



Consolidate and refine knowledge

Wikis are a great aid to consolidating and refining knowledge as they are a specific website that students or teachers can regularly update with knowledge on a certain topic which groups the information together.
Wikis can be effective by consolidating and refining knowledge under sub headings, listing key points of information and study topics learnt in the classroom environment. Teachers can use wikis in the classroom to reguarley update their unit topic, e.g. daily or weekly to inform students what has been covered in class or information for upcoming lessons.

The use of sites such as wiki can be used to get students involved in a collaborative project by them producing their own individual or group wiki, to monitor what they have learnt or information required for reference in the future. Keeping an active record of class topics in an easily referenced place. The use of wikis would support there learning by keeping them up to date on what has been covered in class. Also enabling the transfer of information and referencing material back to them as a way of increasing and facilitating their learning.




Transform knowledge to develop new understandings

Google Earth has the potential to transform knowledge and develop new understandings as it supports the learning’s of students who have prior knowledge of a subject. Transforming it into a new understanding of what that knowledge relates to.
An example of this would be the location of the great pyramids of Egypt, Google earth, is able to accurately pin point the location of these pyramids in Egypt allowing the students relate this back to the knowledge they have been acquiring in geography and history lessons.

Teachers can use google earth in the classroom to show students where relevant locations are around the globe while discussing the topic they relate to. Supporting students in their understanding of the topic. An example of this would be discussions on New York City. By typing the name in to google earth, the site will find the country and location of New York for us. To further engage the students and facilitate their learning we could get students one at a time or in groups to access the technology made available through google earth, offering a visual image of the city and the landmarks that the students are learning about.
Familiarity with google earth can aid my professional development as a teacher, by providing me with knowledge. The regular use of the site would allow me to become more familiar with its use and make me more confident in its use as a learning tool in the classroom, to facilitate the students learning of geography or history.

Present knowledge to an audience

Presenting knowledge to an audience can be performed in many ways and includes, powerpoint, podcasts and movie maker. Power point has the potential for teachers and students to present knowledge through multi media slides containing information, videos, images or a combination of all three on a slide. Power point is an effective engaging tool with can be used by students when presenting their assignments or demonstrating knowledge on a subject towards an audience of class members and the teacher.

Power point is an effective teaching tool as we can engage our students in our subject topics by delivering points of knowledge and information to support their learning. The building of power point presentations can also be used as a task for students to be able to deliver their assignments in this format, enabling them to get their points across if used effectively.
Podcasts are an alternative way of presenting information to a learning audience, as they can offer audio or video information on the topic and have the capability of engaging students longer and more effectively. Teachers have the opportunity to support our students learning in many ways including power point, podcasts and movie maker in addition to the more traditional textbooks.

By using podcasts we have the power to engage students in a new way of learning through visual and auditory information, which may be something new and interesting to the students. This kind of technology can be used to emphasise different points of view and to further enhance my students learning and presenting of information. Such as by presenting different points of view of a specific sport or explaination of sports issues by a professional or doctor. An example of this is shown in my earlier blog of Dr Patrick Cohn speaking about confidence in sport. As a teacher you could ask your students to present the topic to an audience in the form of a podcast to further enhance their knowledge of the application instead of a normal oral presentation.

Movie maker is another way of presenting information to an audience of students or for students presenting to their peers and the teacher. Movie maker has the potential to engage students in the form of a short film or a combination of pictures to facilitate and support their learning through a visual experience.
The option of movie maker enables the teacher to present information to students and supports their learning by the use of a different presentation style such as multi media. Movie maker lets us inform our students on topics such as a practical demonstration of a skill by viewing a video.

By presenting information using this kind of technology you are likely to engage your audience for longer, as they are learning by a visual experience. Students can be engaged in the use of movie maker by agreeing with them a topic for their assignments and then getting them to film different scenes as a project. An example would be filming a rugby game or a set of skills required as part of the play. Performed and filmed by themselves as a teaching tutorial to other students learning the game.

The students would have to apply all the features of movie maker in editing, processing and finalising, which would facilitate the learning of how to confidently use this kind of technology. Their ability could then be demonstrated by presenting the finished movie to an audience.

For my own professional learning it is important to stay up to date with the latest multi media programs and developments. Building on my theory and practical applications knowledge of this form of presentation techniques, will allow me to confidently use and teach the technology in the classroom.



Comments By class mates

Powerpoint: Ricky
well said Dave, powerpoint is good because it is very visually stimulating and can keep childrens attention longer.
My Response: Yes spot on!

Movie Maker: Starleigh
HeyDave,
You made some good points about how the students can use this movie maker tool in every classroom situation.
I agree movie maker tool is a great way of enhancing a classroom task into something more exciting for the students.

Podcasts: Tarnah
Your podcast is great and it is a good way to give students information without making them read all the time. If you use podcasts like that in the classroom it could help auditory learners as well.

My Response: Yes i totally agree with you tarnah on your comments on auditory learners with the podcasts.I made a comment on auditory learners in my orignal blog a few weeks earlier and it would diffenlty suit them hence i agree with you.

References

http://davo001.blogspot.com/
http://rikkymurphy.blogspot.com/
http://starleighmanaging.blogspot.com/
http://tarnah.blogspot.com/

Prezi

I believe using the application of a prezi in a classroom environment would be an engaging prospect for my students. As a prezi is a different form of interactive teaching applications out there like the PowerPoint. I believe the prezi has the ability to engage students as you can use it to identify key words or points within a subject plus with a small synopsis of that key point or word below at the click of a button to evaluate on the subject. Prezis i believe have the potential to come into classrooms as students are looking for new ways of engaging follow students in topics and for getting their points across in presentations and assignments to facilitate their learning. For the new age teacher prezis are the new interactive teaching application and one what can be used for different purposes across different subjects to engage their students.

E Learning on Prezi

Google Earth / Maps

Google Earth and maps are a great way to engage your students in a classroom. From a teaching point of view in a history or geography class google earth / Maps becomes a great interactive feature and a source of information through a visual experience in the way you can engage your students in viewing a certain country, city or even a historical site like the great pyramids of Egypt. Plus through google earth you can expose your students to supported information on the site you have clicked on to back up the experience of that city or historical site you are currently viewing.

Google maps are a great source of information in regards to finding out locations and addresses of certain places. From a geography point of view in a classroom, you could use google maps to engage students to find different locations throughout the world the quickest or find directions to a location within a city to further facilitate their learning. Plus by using google maps you have the power to engage your students through a interactive application throughout your geography class at the click on button to different locations throughout the world you may be speaking about within the subject.

Podcast Recording

Hi Everyone, just recorded a brief message on podomatic.com testing out the pod casting technology. For my evaulation on podcasts for teaching purposes check out my earlier blog on images / podcasts for teaching purposes.

Learning Objects

A learning Object is a teaching tool which can be a interactive animation, presentation or a game on a specific site which students can use to facilitate their learning which can be attempted once or reused to further enhance their skills and knowledge. Plus a interactive learning object on a certain subject like maths, the teacher has the power to interact with the presentation and engage the students through this application by getting them to answer the mathematical questions as they progress through it as a group, plus the teacher can further use this presentation to work one on one with the students or set it up for their own individual learning at a different time.

Learning Objects can be a great teaching tool to engage students as the animations,presentations, games can be cartoons or 3d animations which the younger generation see on television and they can relate to them as they can interact with the cartoon or 3d animation which provides them with necessary skills and knowledge to engage them. Having something a like interactive learning object in a classroom environment can create a positive learning environment and further enhance your own teaching skills.

3 Websites which i found very interactive and would use to facilitate my students learning:

(1) http://dissect.froguts.com/welcome.html- students can view a interactive presentation on a frog, in which they are able to view and interact with the information relating to frogs to facilitate their knowledge on the subject.

(2) http://nhscience.lonestar.edu/biol/animatio.htm- Has a Hugh range of interactive science websites which students can view any topics on biochemistry to the human body in which students can view presentations or interact with them.

(3) http://www.darfurisdying.com/index.html- Is a interactive cartoon game of a African village in which you have to select a character to find water for there family. I believe it is very good for the younger generation to experience as it uses a strategy concept as you have to hide from the local militants while following directions at the same time to find the water well for your local African village.

My Voki

Voki is a cool application to use! It was really easy to use and set up a cool voki! I was quite surpised to see what it could offer and see how i could use it. I can see the benefits of using this application as you could use it to introduce yourself to your new students as it would give them at brief run down on yourself or you could use it as a another way of engaging them in their subject. Plus voki would appeal to any age group of primary school or lower high school of grades 8-9 i believe as it suits there age group and they always seem to be engaged in interactive applications on the net to facilate their learning.


Check out my voki where i have introduced myself,what i am studying, mentioned my passion for sport plus given a brief run down on my fitness bootcamps coming soon to the university.



Get a Voki now!

You Tube Video: How To Serve In Tennis

The main benefit of this youtube video of the tennis serve is an alternate learning tool to engage your students in learning the activity or in this case how to perfect the tennis serve. Youtube can be a great source of educational resources for your class as it can be alternate to face to face contact with your students of you delivering a lesson or reading from a textbook. Youtube has many videos on different subjects ranging from lessons in sport to how tos on certain stuff: example wikis. Each Video can be official video to people’s opinions or their point of view on the subject. The youtube video what I have selected is of a tennis coach going through the basics of the tennis serve. I see this video as alternate learning method as it comes from a visual experience not through a kinaesthetic experience. Videos such as this one can engage students in the content and they are able to break down the certain skill by playing, Stopping and rewinding the video to decipher the skill. Plus they will be able to see the skill performed from different camera angles to get a better idea of what they have to do on the court, in which this video is a learning benefit to my students in there attempts to master the tennis serve. I can come back to this video to further break down the serve and compare notes to their own serve to further facilate there learning.

Movie Maker

I Believe engaging students in watching movies of certain subjects is a great idea. As it is an alternate teaching method used in a classroom environment. A movie can go into great detail of that subject and it can also show demonstrations or clips on the subject its self to further engage students while furthering there knowledge base. Movies also appeal to the students who are visual learners to which would further enhance their learning capabilities through this method.

I believe with students creating there own movies through windows muti media movie maker. They have the chance to enhance there own pior knowledge base with researching there topic and then presenting there findings in a movie which would appeal to other students in a practical form of that movie to further facilate there learnibg. Plus by making a movie they gain the knowledge of how to construct one and put it together using the muti media application of windows muti media movie maker furthering enhancing there knowledge and a use of this great teaching tool of movie maker.

My Movie

I made a movie based on my own business, but due to technical issues of uploading the file, i am unable to post the movie. Alternatley I have some tennis footage of the kids in glenden i teach which is apart of my business.

Images / Podcasts For Teaching Purposes

Images can be a great positive on your teaching in a classroom, as students can get a better understanding of your topic in their minds when you are describing or teaching the topic and subject to them. The image can show different points of view and understanding of whats being described. The image can be used as a tool to suit the needs of the learning style of visual, as the students are able to view the image and understand the meaning of what your describing as they are visualising the image.

The image I have selected is of 16 time grand slam champion roger federer in the serving motion. Things this image tells us about the phases of serving: Ball toss arm is straight after the release of the ball, racquet is back in the throw phase(power position)-action of launching up and connecting to the ball-like throwing a ball-arm is back ready to release) Eyes firmly fixed on the balls location, knees sighley bent ready to spring up the upper body to connect into the ball.

Yes i would consider other images for learning purposes, as other sporting images captured in the right motions are a great teaching tool for explaining movements of the body in the way we want our students to copy and perfect the skill. As they can visualise the intended outcome of that skill and have something to aim for.

Podcasts

How I would use a podcast would be through a different point of view of the subject we are presently discussing, as it provides a outside prospective on the topic from an expert in there field profession or a news article on the subject. It is also another way of engaging the students through a different way of learning and virtually suits the auditory learning style if the podcast is only sound.

Podcast from Dr Patrick Cohn on a range of sports issues from confidence in sports performance to the mental preparation before the game: http://www.peaksportsnetwork.com/public/department47.cfm

My Podcast

Due To mypodcast.com no longer accepting new users at the time i accessed the page, i wasn't able to create one- will try at a later date! stay tuned!

Powerpoint

PowerPoint!

When I think of Microsoft's PowerPoint, I think of a great teaching tool for students as it is great opportunity to engage them using a variety of applications. PowerPoint Applications can vary from video, audio, text, images, charts and animations which can help cater for the vast majority of learning styles such as auditory / visual or even kinesthetic. PowerPoint has become a very popular presentation tool which teachers and students can easily use to present information.
It is affective way of teaching through a visual program instead of reading from a textbook, in which it engages students as they can view the powerpoint and they are motivated to keep watching it to facilate their learning.Plus i believe it is more appealing to them in which can anable them to take notes from the presentation and ask particular questions referring to that slide instead of researching through a textbook. As a teacher we can present the information of the powerpoint slides or we can be a backdrop to the presentation through the different forms of media applications it provides. As we head into the future i believe powerpoint will grow further and provide us teachers with a great teaching tool to expand our students knowledge of our subjects through the applications of media of the program to suit their learning styles.

Frameworks

Frameworks For Learning Design! Engagement Theory

The Framework i have chosen to review and suits the needs of the digital learning design in this modern world is the Engagement theory. I believe as this is a more open learning theory mostly based on group work to the others based on individuals. Students have the potential to learn more and be actively involved with one another. Through doing assessments or class tasks the engagement theory gets more students involved through the process of creating, problem solving,reasoning, decision making, evaluation and team work through motivation of the project at hand which all students feel encouraged to participate and work together.


Principles of the engagement theory are:

Relate: emphasizes on team effort through communcation/planning and social skills. Collaboration between students of information research, group project meetings through facilating /motivating learning.

Create: Empasizes of creating a purposeful activity, defining the project, effort of their application to the project. Plus conducting their own project as it is more appealing to them and they have more control of it instead of their teacher.

Donate: value of making a contribution to the project and learning, has a outside interest attached to the project and focus on a subject, authentic learning context of the project increases student motivation and satisfaction.

This theory has to be taught by teachers to facilate students in being in engaged with one another- they can teach it through mini tasks of collaboration of pairing students up or in small groups in class to solve a problem or work as a team in a sporting match plus falicating email between students is a great way of working on engagement.Collarboration still has to be taught to students over time to gain confidence of working together plus leadership,time managment, scheduling are also important parts of this theory.

Moving on from collaboration of learning with one another is project oriented learning. Project oriented learning is through mini tasks handed to students by their teachers to research a certain topic of interest and report their findings back to the class. Students can take on leadership, main researcher or even editor of the report to facilate the group through different roles of team members. Teachers also recommend that your facilate your learning with different students each time you do a project to further enhance your learning,social life and hear different points of view. To this is where authentic focus comes in for the projects to be completed in an academic context with a realistic focus attached to them. Authentic focus comes in the form of a outside realistic influence of group projects in gaining further knowledge,expectations and facilate learning-Realistic influences include: Universities,Work Experience, Part Time Jobs or sporting teams of examples of focus of work colleagues and team projects.

To sumerise the engagement theory that it is very different from the other learning theories as this one focuses more on group collaboration of students working together to facilate their learning in groups or in paris to achieve a project outcome while learning leadership,group roles , social & knowledge differences. Instead of being individuals, but it is still up to the individual to participate in the project and put themselves forward to learn and collaborate through this theory.

As for one of my teaching subjects being HPE, it is very important to facilitate my students through working on tasks together through different skills / drills of the sports i teach. As this develops team work / social intereaction between students as they work together to compete the skill or drill of that particular sport by inspiring and problem solving together to complete the task at hand. Example: Basketball- Bounce passing to one another while moving up the court and timing their run into the hoop while problem solving of who is closest to the hoop to score.

Websites

Websites are very common in today's modern society and are a great teaching tool for all students: They offer many advantages in sourcing and providing information on all subjects relating to school work or anything you can think of to google. I believe the right websites relating to your teaching subject can provide the right information if the students research websites that are certified or authored correctly. Which provide the right information to them on the topic they are researching or as a teacher providing yourself with the right information to use as a teaching tool to your students. Websites are an effective way of providing students with the information, ability to view videos or sounds relating to topics and they cater for all types of learning abilities in visual or auditory through written information and videos. As a teacher we have the opportunity to use the website technology to support the learning of our students and introduce them to new media and different points of view through the application of websites. A Example of a website Application for teaching purposes, would be to research a certain skill of a sport basing it on a different point of view from an athelte or professional in that sport and hearing/watching them explain there views on the certain skill or reading from their article. So the students are enagage to listen to a different point of view of the skill from yours as the teacher.

Please View My Weebly Website: Link: http://davo001.weebly.com/
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Wiki's

Wiki's What Are They? Arent They The Same As A Blog? Lets Find Out!!

Wiki's are a webpage on the internet, they are like a blog in many ways in the same way of writing a paragraph, diary entry posted on the internet. In many ways they link to one another through the same style, but have different aspects and applications to a blog. On a blog you write your paragraph and your friends or families can post comments or quotes to complete the package of the blog. With a wiki, friends / family or even class mates at university have the power of editing your information on the subject you have written about- through fixing spelling errors / punctuation or even adding in extra information to the subject you have writen about or even change the information when new information arises in the future. It is a on going webpage of infotmation with people having the power change or add things to the wiki at the click of a button.

I believe it is a great learning tool as it continues building knowledge between students and teachers as they post new information on the site, as it is an on going process of knowledge in a way of building a book on a subject in a hard copy, but in this case creating a wiki page. With students being able to see the updates and further enhance there knowledge and understanding. Example of a great wiki page, further enhancing knowledge and constructing a page: The Korean national school on 21st century learning video clip on you tube, which is located under the moodle information page of Practical Activity: Week 2 - Wiki and Website.

I believe we get more benefit out of a wiki page, as you can construct and change information on the subject and able to build on an existing knowledge base. Whereas i believe a blog is a personal point view of something somebody has written and you can only comment on their point of view. Whereas the wiki page you have the power to improve their information or add in different points of view and is more open to change. With the blog you can only comment or quote and it is a disvantage to the learners with seeing only one point of view-I see you can agree or disagree through posting comments, but then its up to the author of the blog to change their information if they wish too. I personally believe for the 21st century learner,the wiki page is the way to go in assisting and gaining more knowledge for themselves and they are able to build on those skills and further enhance their knowledge through this process.

Please Note: I have created my very own wiki page for this class and at the present moment it is very basic: Link: http://davos-wiki.wikispaces.com/

Concept Maps??

Concept Maps? What are they? Are they effective?

Concept maps are a great source of information of a subject through a diagram and are a practial way of developing effective brainstorming techniques within learners. The Concept begins with one key word in the middle of the diagram, which then the learners must brainstorm ideas which link to that key word. Those ideas must have a relationship to the key word and link with one another. Learners can also add links to the outside ideas if they are able to come up with any possible answers.

Example of a concept Map: Key Word (Fitness) idea Links: Cardiovascular, Muscular Endurance / Strength, Running, Walking, General Sport and so on. As you can see the key word is fitness- which our ideas are types of fitness applications hence linking those applications with the key word. Learners can also add links to the oringal ideas such as cardiovascular- example: running / walking / swimming which are all types of cardiovascular training to grow the concept map further and to which enhances the learners knowledge, logical thinking and brainstorming ability.

The concept map is a great brainstorming activity and is a way of representing relations between ideas or words. With each word or idea connected to one another and linked back to the original component. Through this concept the learners develop logical thinking and study skills, by revealing connections how individual ideas form a larger picture of that topic, with the concept map being an effective way to help learners grasp the content, enhance there knowledge and study skills.

What Is A Blog??

What Is A Blog?? You may be thinking? Guess what it's your lucky day and i will give you a brief discription of it!

A Blog:

They form part of a website or in this case of the blog i am writing now, it is on a specific blog website. Blogs are like a internet base document like word but on the internet, once you have posted the blog, your friends can make comments and quotes on it to complete the package of the blog. As the blogger you have the power to edit your work as somethink arises or update the specfic news on your blog. Each blog can be based on individual writing of current news / sport, family news or personal views on a subject. You can add graphics or videos to add more interest to the blog you are currently writing or post it to support your views on the subject. Each blog can be in the format of a essay, paragraph,diary entry, news entry but its virtually up to the blogger in which way they wish to set out the blog. In this blog i am currently writing, it is in the form of a paragraph. Blogs are a common practice in todays 21st century, with bloggers being all types of people from journalists, teachers, office workers or even teengers expressing there views on a subject or creating news for family / friends or community.

To sum up what is a blog, a blog is a piece of information placed on the internet in the form of a paragraph,story or news piece. Where the authors can express their views or news on the subject, Plus friends and families can add comments or quotes to complete the piece and discuss the details of information associated with the blog.

I believe Blogs can be very effective in a modern society at schools or universities. As it is a way of networking between teaching staff and students- as a teacher it can be very effective i believe through posting homework tasks, upcoming assessment tasks or key dates of the term to inform the students. Plus with the comments and quotes option it gives the students the chance to discuss those details through this application on the blog websites and the teacher has the chance to discuss,clear up any concerns or help those students away from set class times through providing extra information on their subject.