Type of Technologies Part 2

Greetings Everyone,

I have just worked my way through the rest of the technologies in week four.
I have come across some that are magnificent and would be extremely beneficial for students within the classroom.

RRS Feeds:
RRS – really simple syndication
RRS feeds send websites, current information and headlines straight to your desktop. This allows you to view and read issues and stories that are of interest to you. Some sites such as BBC, CNN and Sunrise hold RRS feeds that allow you to directly source information from them with the touch of one button. (Night Cats, n.d.)
RRS feeds save you time by removing the need to constantly check your favorite or important websites. RRS feeds are beneficial for teachers, they inevitably save time and hassle. Teachers are able to subscribe to certain websites that are relevant to a particular unit of work. They also keep teachers up to date with new information and ideas.

I believe that this particular technology is more relevant and beneficial for teachers rather than students. Although this technology could be beneficial for senior students to collaborate and monitor information for assessment items at the end of a unit. I believe that this technology is effectively more beneficial for teachers. I don’t see how it can be an engaging learning resource for students.

Interactive white boards:
An interactive white board otherwise known as an IWB s a large interactive projector screen that connects to a computer. Once the computer is connected the desktop screen is displayed on the boards surface where users control and work the devise with a pen on the projector screen (Wikipedia, 2009).
Interactive white boards can improve the quality of education through the use of interactive technology. It is a revolutionary active classroom, a fully integrated teaching solution (Information Technology Solutions & Innovation, n.d.) that allows us as teachers to bring learning experiences to life.
I am lucky enough to have an IWB in my classroom. I use it 99% of the time to facilitate my lesson. One of the ways that I use this technology in my classroom is to demonstrate tasks. For example I would scan a page in the handwriting book and email it to myself. I would then open it on the IWB and demonstrate how to complete that particular activity. I also use it for games and fun activities like,
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/ks1bitesize/literacy/
When I use this technology in the classroom I automatically see an increase in engagement from the students.

According to Kearsley and Shneiderman (1999) engagement theory students must be meaningfully engaged in learning activities that are both rich and authentic. Interactive white boards effectively allow teachers to create and implement rich and authentic learning experiences that intrinsically motivate students to learn and participate in tasks and activities. Kearsley and Shneiderman (1999) emphasise collaboration among peers and a community of learners. Interactive white boards essentially allow this to happen, though from my experiences the collaboration is amongst a community of learner (whole class). Because interactive white boards present opportunities for collaboration and discussion students have the potential to retain 50% of the knowledge and skills taught in the learning experience (Hall, 2008).

Video:
Video can be used as a dynamic resource to support curricular (Griffin, 2009).
Video resources such as you tube or teacher tube are some of the best technologies to use in the classroom to enhance a particular learning experience. They allow you to explain and detail knowledge, concepts and skills that are unable to be done otherwise. Video us certainly an instructional method that generates excitement and engagement within the classroom. Video uses sight and sound, which caters for those who learn through auditory and visual methods. Video gives you the option to stop, start pause and rewind content which inevitably allows you to challenge your students to predict, debate, elaborate and demonstrate. Videos should be used alongside other resources to enhance a lesson or unit of work (Griffin, 2009). I.e.
http://teachertube.com/viewVideo.php?video_id=109397&title=Mammal_Classifcation

In relation to Howard Gardeners (2002, 2008) seven intelligences video technology such as teacher tube can effectively enhance and cater for many intelligences these namely ‘picture smart’, ‘word smart’, ‘people smart’ and ‘nature smart’. Video technology in the classroom can also reflect students learning styles these being
· Active and reflective learner
· Sensing and intuitive learner
· Visual and verbal learner
· Sequential and global learner
(Felder, 2009)

Static Web:
Static websites such as FrontPage are HTML editors and website administration tools (Wikipedia, 2009). They allow people to upload and present a page to a web server, which is available to anyone who has access to the web. Static websites could be used within almost any classroom. Sites like FrontPage allow teachers to create an educational site that their students can access to research, study and explore specific content and information. The benefit of this is
· All information is relevant
· All sources are creditable
· Students only find and see what you want them to
· Specific

Static websites such as FrontPage are ‘contrived experiences’ – an experience that has been planned, carefully sourced and managed. This type of learning experience according to Dales Cone (2000) is highly effective and allows teachers to create direct and purposeful learning experiences for students to acquire and integrate knowledge and skills.

Image Manipulation:
To resize and crop images I have always used ‘Paint’. Although it was a long process and tricky one I always seemed to finally get the image to a size I wanted without it being distorted, though it may have taken me a couple of goes. Now having tried a program called ‘Picnik’ I can say that all the problems and complications I used to have with cropping and resizing a picture have gone. This program quickly and easily allowed me to change the size of my pictures without any hassle or problems. I didn’t have to do it more than once and if I made it to small I was able to undo my editing with the click of a button. The uploading process takes less than a minutes so you aren’t waiting all day to edit just one picture. Not only does this program allow you to crop and resize your picture but it also allows you to get rid of red eye and change the colour. I love this program it is just so simple and easy and now saves me a heap of time and fiddling around. This program is also free to use so I don’t see when we shouldn’t.











This is the link to my image - http://www.picnik.com/app#/out

Image manipulation allows students to be creative and imaginative which is extremely important if students are to effectively learn (Mazlow, 1970). This type of technology allows students to become actively involved in cognitive processes such as creating and decision making which Kearsley and Shneiderman (1999) believe to be effective ways of engaging students in learning tasks and activities.

Animation and Stimulation:
Animation and stimulation technologies are extremely interactive and fun. I tried this simulation just to experience first hand how they work and if they were effective - http://www.froguts.com/flash_content/index.html
I was absolutely amazed and blown away with how good these technologies actually were. It was almost like I was actually dissecting a frog. This particular stimulation gave me instructions and activities to complete as well as teaching me about the frogs anatomy at the same time. This type of technology is fun, easy, stimulating, engaging and interactive. This technology eliminates classroom restrictions and allows almost anything to become possible. It is guaranteed that I will be subscribing to animation and simulation sites because they are such a wonderful technology.

According to the learning pyramid (2008) students retention rate is 75% when they are actively participating in tasks and activities through direct practice. Animation and stimulation technologies can be classified as ‘learning tasks’ according to Oliver’s (1999) learning framework. These specific learning tasks allow students to problem solve, create, experiment and investigate which we all know leads to ‘rich and authentic’ tasks.

Google Earth:
Google Earth is a virtual globe, map and geographic information program that allows users to pinpoint and view exact positions around the world via satellite (Wikipedia, 2009). This program would be ideal for geography lessons. It’s almost like an interactive globe that allows students to see in detail specific parts of the world. I looked closely at Africa a found a flowing river on the boarders of Mali.
















Google Earth is a learning resource that can effectively support students when conducting a task (Oliver, 1999). From this students are able to engage in meaningful and relevant tasks that involve problem solving, investigating, exploring and experimenting. All these cognitive processes inevitably lead to the engagement of students throughout the learning experience (Kearsley, Shneiderman, 1999).

Web Quest:
A Web Quest is an inquiry-oriented lesson format in which most or all the information that learners work with comes from the web (Dodge, 2007). Web Quests help engage students in thinking methods that the 21st century requires (Dodge, 2007). Teachers using web quests need to be sure that they are engaging in and using proper curriculum frameworks and outcomes. They need to ensure that these web quests allow students to learn at their own pace and engage in equitable information and materials that educational. Teachers must be sure that they create a web quest that is scaffolding learning and not just fun and games. These web quests must relate to the real world and present students with relevant, authentic and rich tasks. I personally know that making a web quest takes a lot of time because I have made one before. It takes a lot of consideration and also a lot o research. There is a lot that needs to be though about and considered when making a web quest, think like,
· Content
· KLA’s
· Curriculum
· Intended outcomes
Web quests are beneficial when they are made and though about deeply. They aren’t something that you can juts put together the night before. There are a lot of web quests that you can look at and even use that teachers have already made and put on the internet to share have a look at this site http://www.techtrekers.com/webquests/

Web quests allow students to successful collaborate in teams to work on ambitious projects that are meaningful to learners both in and outside of the classroom (Kearsley, Shneiderman, 1999). Web quests can effectively and appropriately present and provide activities and tasks that utilise any key learning area. Teachers are able to create worthwhile tasks for students that relate to the real world, which is essential if students are to be engaged (Kearsley, Shneiderman, 1999). Web quests are direct and purposeful experiences they provide opportunities for students to engage in hands on tasks and activities (The Abilene Christian University Adams Centre for Teaching Excellence, 2000).

Slide Share:
I attempted to use a technology program called Slide Share. This program allows you to upload power point presentations and narrations to become publicly viewable on the Internet. I have found from my experience that this type of technology is extremely confusing and hard to use. I think that it is a lot of work for such small benefits. Yes it allows you to have narration with your power point and share it with anyone but is this really all worth it. I think that students would benefit more from a power point that allows them to discuss and communicate with each other instead of a power point that feeds them information. Even if you don’t save these presentations onto a slide share account doesn’t mean that you cant re use them what happened to a USB stick or computer hard drive.

Here is the link to my slide share -

Gifted and Talented

View more presentations from 0154893.

I’m personally not sure that this technology could be engaging for students. This technology doesn’t essentially provide students with activities that involve active cognitive processes, which is one of the fundamental reasons that reflect students’ engagement (Kearsley, Shneiderman, 1999). Though this is my personal view feel free to reply to my posts and broaden my horizon regarding this technology.

File Storage:
This file storage technology allows you to safely store and keep files that you may need again such as power point. This technology allows you to link files to your blog or Wiki page enabling all your data to be viewed by others on the internet. This is where I stored some of my data http://ww(w.mediafire.com/?sharekey=efc3b7816dd0b9c107258ee67c679e4ae04e75f6e8ebb871
I could possibly use this technology to provide students with homework – saving paper and is easily accessible from any computer. Teachers could use this to backup and safely store their data, as well as share it online with others.

As previously mentioned file storage could be used to present students with homework. Because this is accessible over the Internet and has taken a different approach to learning students could ultimately become engaged and excited about completing homework. File storage in a homework context is a ‘learning task’ – it presents students with requires tasks to complete (Oliver, 1999).

Using Music on the Web:
There is a lot of styles and types of music readily available on the web some of these being,
· African
· Blues
· Rock
· Reggae
· Latin
I use music in my classroom all the time. I play music clips from you tube and teacher tube as well as CD’s while the children are writing or working in small groups. I have found that they love it and I have observed that their concentration levels increase when it’s on. If I forget to put music on I straight away have students asking for it. I use it to relax and calm students after lunch or physical activity.

Using music on the wen is more so a ‘learning support’. Music on the web helps support teachers in the implementation of a lesson (Oliver, 1999). Learning supports are critical elements required in a learning experience especially when ICT’s re involved (Oliver, 1999). This particular support mechanism assists to engage learners in tasks through music.

Voice Thread:
I made a personal voice thread that reflected my dancing journey. I uploaded pictures of me dancing from when I was little to now. I was able to comment on each of the pictures and tell my story. It was fairly easy for me to create this voice thread, not to difficult at all. If you know what you want to say and what pictures you want to use then it can be out together very quickly.
This types of technology would be a fantastic way of showing the parents what the children have been doing in class. It shows them pictures and can tell them through a voice thread what their children have been doing and learning. This would be ideal for a prep or grade one classroom.

Voice thread technologies can be very stimulation and engaging for a learner. This technology could potentially cater for all four of Felder’s (2009) detailed learning styles. If voice thread is used in conjunction to a unit of work that has sequential steps then it will cater for ‘sequential and global learners’.
If diagrams, flow charts and pictures as well as voice stimulation are utilized throughout a voice thread presentation ‘visual and verbal’ learners will be catered for.
If voice thread poses problem-solving activities then it caters for the ‘sensing and intuitive learners’.
If activities are presented to students allowing them actively participate both individually and in groups then voice threads will cater for those who are ‘active and reflective’ learners. (Felder, 2009) A voice thread can potentially incorporate activities and learning materials like the examples provided id it is created properly.

YouTube:
YouTube is an online website that allows anyone to upload and view videos freely. This website can provide educational videos and screenings that can enhance students knowledge and skills. I looked for a small video that details information about Blue Whales because it is relevant to the sea unit that my students are doing now. This clip provides relevant information about the Blue Whale




I use YouTube clips all time, they are simple and easy to use and are highly effective because I connect them to my interactive white board. The children love watching these clips, I find that they listen well and sometimes even retain more information through this teaching method more than they do when I tell them or read to them

YouTube provides students with visual and auditory information this is eventually stored in ones long-term memory according to Cooper’s (1998) Cognitivism model. If YouTube clips are used as learning resources (Oliver, 1999)within a learning experience they can effectively create meaningful and worthwhile tasks and activities for students that are both rich and authentic. YouTube allows for interaction between peers if the corresponding tasks and activities warrant it. Kearsley and Shneiderman (1999) believe that students engagement comes when they are able to collaborate and work with peers on a task.

References:

Dodge, B (2007). Web Quests. Retrieved July 30th, 2009 form, http://webquest.org/index.php

Felder, R. (2009) Learning Styles and Strategies. Retrieved August 2nd, 2009 from, http://www4.ncsu.edu/unity/lockers/users/f/felder/public/ILSdir/styles.htm

Griffin, L (2009). Using Video in the Classroom. Retrieved July 29th, 2009 from, http://www.libraryvideo.com/articles/article13.asp

Hall, J. (2008) The Learning Pyramid. Retrieved July 30th, 2009 from, http://www.simulations.co.uk/pyramid.htm

Information Technology Solutions & Innovation, (n.d.) Promethean Interactive Whiteboards. Retrieved 9th July, 2009 from, http://www.datacomit.com.au/products/whiteboards.php?gclid=CNTm0fnG75sCFZYtpAodCzHA_g

Kearsley, G., Shneiderman, B. (1999) Engagement Theory. Retrieved August 2nd, 2009 from, http://home.sprynet.com/~gkearsley/engage.htm

Maslow, A. (1970) Motivation and Personality. Retrieved August 2nd, 2009 from, http://moodle.cqu.edu.au/mod/resource/view.php?id=580

Night Cats (n.d.). What is RRS? Retrieved 9th July, 2009 from, http://www.nightcats.com/roundup/what-is-rss.html

Smith, M. (2002, 2008) Howard Gardner, Multiple Intelligences and Education. Retrieved August 2nd, 2009 from, http://www.infed.org/thinkers/gardner.htm

The Abilene Christian University Adams Centre for Teaching Excellence, (2000). Dale’s Cone. Retrieved July 31st, 2009 from,
http://www.acu.edu/cte/activelearning/whyuseal2.htm

Wikipedia, (2009). Google Earth. Retrieved July 30th, 2009 from, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Google_Earth

Wikipedia, (2009). Interactive Whiteboard. Retrieved, 9th July, 2009 from, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interactive_whiteboard

Wikipedia, (2009). Microsoft FrontPage. Retrieved July 29th, 2009 from, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft_FrontPage