Extra Technologies

Greetings,
I have just looked at a few other technologies, they are all quite fascinating.

Flickr
I have just experiences using flickr for the first time. I have uploaded and linked my first picture to Nikki so that she can use this in her blog. I also edited and uploaded Nikki’s picture onto my flickr account so that I can use it on my blog. Here is the photo I edited and uploaded onto my flickr account.

Flickr is quite simple to use and could potentially be a good resources to have access to within the classroom. If I were to use flickr in my classroom I would set up a generic account for the whole class and upload images that are relevant and reflect the information, activities and tasks that are presented to students throughout a particular unit. For instants if I was doing a unit on the solar system I would upload a picture of each planet and add a description explaining to students what it is. I would also upload pictures of stars, the moon and maybe even the Southern Cross.

Flickr in this context can be classified as a ‘learning resource’, a resource that supports learners to conduct and complete tasks and activities (Oliver, 1999). This way of using flickr in the classroom can present students with opportunities to work in social networking groups and collaborate with other students, which is one of the keys to effectively engaging students (Kearsley, Shneiderman, 1999).


Quiz
I recently accessed a website called class maker that allows you to create quizzes. I made just a small quiz about planets to trial with my students. I just wanted to see how students would engage and react to a task like this. The quiz reflected a unit of work that the students were very familiar with, so that students actually made connection and link to prior learning’s.
This is the quiz that I made have a look at it.

http://www.classmarker.com/quiz/?test_id=57785

Quizzes are learning resource - a resource that students interact with (Oliver, 1999). Quizzes can be direct purposeful experiences that specifically reflect a particular unit of work. These experiences are made direct and purposeful when teachers make links with prior and background knowledge. (The Abilene Christian University Adams Centre for Teaching Excellence, 2000)

Podcasting
I have just recently looked at a few different podcasts that are available on Itunes. There are many podcasts that can help enhance and teacher students’ new skills and knowledge. I subscribed to four podcasts namely
1. Pod kids Australia
2. Learning English with English Banana
3. World News for Kids
4. Promethean Planet
From watching these podcasts I have though of many in class activities that would be extremely beneficial for students. I though about creating a weekly class news program that students write and record for parents and other teachers within the school. This news segment can detail what the students have been learning and what is happening around the school. This is a good way to get students to collaborate with peers which Kearsley and Shneiderman (1999) detail as extremely important. This is also a good way to keep parents updated with student progress inside the classroom.
These podcasts present students with activities that involve active cognitive processes such as, problem solving, reasoning, decision making and evaluation which are essential if students are to be engaged (Kearsley, Shneiderman, 1999). My favourite is the world news for kids. I just think that it is a brilliant way of engaging and giving students control over their own learning. Podcasts are almost a combination of ‘learning tasks’ and ‘learning resources’ (Oliver, 1999). These podcasts are learning tasks because they present students with required tasks, and they are learning resources because they support learners to complete and conduct the tasks at hand (Oliver, 1999). Now that I am aware and familiar of these podcasts, I will definitely be subscribing to many more and utilising them within my lesson as a learning manager.


WikiPedia
As most of us already know Wikipedia is a free, web-based and collaborative multilingual encyclopaedia, which is easily edited, changed or added to by anyone who has access to the Internet (Wikipedia, 2009). The subject that I am searching for resources and learning materials is ‘Planets’. From Wikipedia I have been able to fin these resources and learning materials:
1. Detailed summary of what a planet is - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Planets
2. Detailed summary of what the solar system is (it has links to every planet in the solar system from this students can participate in an investigation activity where they work in collaborative groups to investigate a different planet each and then they present their findings to the whole class) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_system
3. Stars description - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stars
4. Children can explore their own universe - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Universe
5. Students can look at some problems that the solar system has (asteroids) - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asteroids

Wikipedia presents chances and opportunities for students to work collaboratively with peers i.e. number 2. Student’s collaboration and verbalisation from the example in number 2 allows them to become effectively engaged and active in the tasks and activities presented to them (Kearsley, Shneiderman, 1999). It is essential according to Kearsley and Shneiderman (1999) that students participate in meaningful and worthwhile tasks that support and reflect the unit of work. Wikipedia allows teachers to create such tasks for students. Wikipedia is classified as a ‘learning resource’ one that supports students in the completion of activities and tasks (Oliver, 1999).

Well that’s all the technologies that I will be looking at, I hope that some of the information and teaching ideas I have given come in handy for you.
Thanks everyone,
Sarah.

References

Hall, J. (2008) The Learning Pyramid. Retrieved August 10th, 2009 from, http://www.simulations.co.uk/pyramid.htm

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

Oliver, R. (1999) Learning Design. Retrieved August 10th, 2009 from, http://www.learningdesigns.uow.edu.au/project/learn_design.htm

Wikipedia, (2009) Wikipedia. Retrieved August 13th, 2009 from, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia