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/