dvolver moviemaker clip:
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
week 5
More online resources and ideas how to use them:
Zimmertwins:
http://www.zimmertwins.com/
Fantastic Website, very student friendly.
This could be used simply to get children to create beginning or ending to stories. It appears on the site they had a short movie and raised the question what happened before this clip. So getting students to create their own beginning to the story.
It would also be very useful for students practising the use of correct sequencing when writing.
I must admit after making my film, I was a little disappointed that the film couldn't be saved unless you are logged in as a member. It appears when I tried to sign up that all is required is an email address just to get the free sign up. I would have to attempt to get a membership to see if this site truly is free. I think if it was, it would definatly be worth while using this with the students, as it produces quite good movies, were they get to chose what happens and the order in which it happens.
extranormal: www.xtranormal.com
From extranomal website: xtranormal’s mission is to bring movie-making to the people. Everyone watches movies and we believe everyone can make movies. Movie-making, short and long, online and on-screen, private and public, will be the most important communications process of the 21st century.
I actually used this site when I was on my first practicum as the principle heard about this site and came around and showed all the teachers. The children at this time were doing a recount of a production they saw in Comic Book Form. So xtranormal became an extension for those who had completed their comic. Students also had a chance to explore and the website during a wet weather day at lunch time. The reaction of the students (grade 5 &6) was very positive they all enjoyed this program. We created an account under the school name so that students could share their work with other students.
There are limitations to the site, as with a free account there are only a few set scenes and characters you can use. It would be worth looking into how to much an account is actually worth to gain full access to this site. However I am not sure if that has changed, as there does seem to be a larger range of movies on the site now, perhaps they have given the users more options as the site as gotten more popular.
When my class used the site, some words weren't pronounced correctly from the spelling, so we got a little distraction off on a tangent. As a class on the IWB, we changed the spelling so that the characters would pronounce the words correctly, this became a good spontaneous lesson/focus on the sounds of words and sounds letters make together.
I would defiantly recommend using this site with your classroom. Even using it as the teacher, as intro to topics. I created a short movie on the site to tell the students about the website and how we would link it to our comics. With the range of expressions, sounds and actions your characters can do, the students can create great pieces of work. The students defiantly enjoyed using this site.
Sketch Swap - sketch swap.com - good idea, but bad Internet site to use with primary aged students. As you have no control of what picture will get sent back. The use of a program similar to sketch swap involves aspects of art, as the pictures are done only with one colour as if it is a grey led, there is a real aspect of light and shade with some of the really good drawings.
There are a few of the drawings I received back on Sketch Swap:
Perhaps using this idea, across emails within the school or even to buddie/sister schools across Australia or the World.
This could be used to draw a picture of how you felt after hearing a story, or what you think the house/person looked like in the story. A creative way for students to share their ideas.
This would work extremely well if the school had a graphic tablet.
I did try and find another site similar to sketch swap, I wouldn't recommend doing that! When i found some rip off version, hoping for them to be a little more protected, I got much much worst. So perhaps showing the children this site would be dangerous for the fact if they looked up an rip off version, they would definately get something that would not be appropriate!
http://www.abc.net.au/rollercoaster/rollermache/
Go to the inspire section of website:
Has videos of animators, explaining what they do. Really good way to relate back to students real life situations, so children can see that people can get paid for this. Has detailed explanations of whole the process that is needed to animate.
Has a range of different animations, good aspect is that it shows women and men. Great for girls to see females succeeding in this area of work.
There is also a good storyboarding on this site. pdf files to download and use.
http://www.reasonablyclever.com/
mini mizers section....... classic kids safe mini mizer.
Have students create their own Lego characters on the computer, other students could also be making their characters with real Lego in the classroom.
Example of use:
talk about how i would use it.
www.storygames.com/teachmanPF/Rebus.html
This site is just an example of Rebus. A Rebus is were you use occasional pictures instead of words to tell a story.
Children can create their own stories and add pictures in word. Get the group to read the story. If there is a picture that could be two words get the students to figure out which word fits appropriately. It can be used to practice comprehension skills.
Many examples of these can be found on http://www.enchantedlearning.com/ .
If children are making their own Rebus in word, if they are using .gif files(moving pics) not jpegs, then the picture will not move like it should. If a gif is not moving on word - save as a web page not as a word document. You can do this thought saving as other formats, then pull down the pull down box and select web page. Only do this once the document is finished. Once it is saved as a web page you can't modify it. So it is probably best to save as word document while your working on it.
More resources recommended by Greg:
myths and legends- website - site address on LMS.
Fantastic site. Could use all year!
abc - catchment detox http://catchmentdetox.net.au/
Maths related as you get a certain amount of money!
Great game that you could have a group of students using. This program could be on going for some time.
I had a very quick look at this site and the game does look fantastic, will definately try to incorporate this into a higher end primary classroom.
www.ziptales.com.au
Schools need to subscribe to this website. It is only cheap, there are some sections which are free. For example the Make and Do section:
Runs through how to make:
dvolver website - moviemaker- example of my movie is on the next post.
Not suitable for children, as some of the characters are bit raunchy, not appropriate portrayal of women! Similar to xtranormal site.
Again there are more and more decent resources out there on the net. Its just a matter of finding them and tapping into them!
Greg has put a list of useful resources on LMS, which I will look at at a later date. Eg. food drops united nations etc.
Zimmertwins:
http://www.zimmertwins.com/
Fantastic Website, very student friendly.
This could be used simply to get children to create beginning or ending to stories. It appears on the site they had a short movie and raised the question what happened before this clip. So getting students to create their own beginning to the story.
It would also be very useful for students practising the use of correct sequencing when writing.
I must admit after making my film, I was a little disappointed that the film couldn't be saved unless you are logged in as a member. It appears when I tried to sign up that all is required is an email address just to get the free sign up. I would have to attempt to get a membership to see if this site truly is free. I think if it was, it would definatly be worth while using this with the students, as it produces quite good movies, were they get to chose what happens and the order in which it happens.
extranormal: www.xtranormal.com
From extranomal website: xtranormal’s mission is to bring movie-making to the people. Everyone watches movies and we believe everyone can make movies. Movie-making, short and long, online and on-screen, private and public, will be the most important communications process of the 21st century.
I actually used this site when I was on my first practicum as the principle heard about this site and came around and showed all the teachers. The children at this time were doing a recount of a production they saw in Comic Book Form. So xtranormal became an extension for those who had completed their comic. Students also had a chance to explore and the website during a wet weather day at lunch time. The reaction of the students (grade 5 &6) was very positive they all enjoyed this program. We created an account under the school name so that students could share their work with other students.
There are limitations to the site, as with a free account there are only a few set scenes and characters you can use. It would be worth looking into how to much an account is actually worth to gain full access to this site. However I am not sure if that has changed, as there does seem to be a larger range of movies on the site now, perhaps they have given the users more options as the site as gotten more popular.
When my class used the site, some words weren't pronounced correctly from the spelling, so we got a little distraction off on a tangent. As a class on the IWB, we changed the spelling so that the characters would pronounce the words correctly, this became a good spontaneous lesson/focus on the sounds of words and sounds letters make together.
I would defiantly recommend using this site with your classroom. Even using it as the teacher, as intro to topics. I created a short movie on the site to tell the students about the website and how we would link it to our comics. With the range of expressions, sounds and actions your characters can do, the students can create great pieces of work. The students defiantly enjoyed using this site.
Sketch Swap - sketch swap.com - good idea, but bad Internet site to use with primary aged students. As you have no control of what picture will get sent back. The use of a program similar to sketch swap involves aspects of art, as the pictures are done only with one colour as if it is a grey led, there is a real aspect of light and shade with some of the really good drawings.
There are a few of the drawings I received back on Sketch Swap:
Perhaps using this idea, across emails within the school or even to buddie/sister schools across Australia or the World.
This could be used to draw a picture of how you felt after hearing a story, or what you think the house/person looked like in the story. A creative way for students to share their ideas.
This would work extremely well if the school had a graphic tablet.
I did try and find another site similar to sketch swap, I wouldn't recommend doing that! When i found some rip off version, hoping for them to be a little more protected, I got much much worst. So perhaps showing the children this site would be dangerous for the fact if they looked up an rip off version, they would definately get something that would not be appropriate!
http://www.abc.net.au/rollercoaster/rollermache/
Go to the inspire section of website:
Has videos of animators, explaining what they do. Really good way to relate back to students real life situations, so children can see that people can get paid for this. Has detailed explanations of whole the process that is needed to animate.
Has a range of different animations, good aspect is that it shows women and men. Great for girls to see females succeeding in this area of work.
There is also a good storyboarding on this site. pdf files to download and use.
http://www.reasonablyclever.com/
mini mizers section....... classic kids safe mini mizer.
Have students create their own Lego characters on the computer, other students could also be making their characters with real Lego in the classroom.
- Have students create 5 characters for their story. Screen print their pictures and then create a story around their characters.
- Have students create speech bubbles etc.
- story boards
talk about how i would use it.
www.storygames.com/teachmanPF/Rebus.html
This site is just an example of Rebus. A Rebus is were you use occasional pictures instead of words to tell a story.
Children can create their own stories and add pictures in word. Get the group to read the story. If there is a picture that could be two words get the students to figure out which word fits appropriately. It can be used to practice comprehension skills.
Many examples of these can be found on http://www.enchantedlearning.com/ .
If children are making their own Rebus in word, if they are using .gif files(moving pics) not jpegs, then the picture will not move like it should. If a gif is not moving on word - save as a web page not as a word document. You can do this thought saving as other formats, then pull down the pull down box and select web page. Only do this once the document is finished. Once it is saved as a web page you can't modify it. So it is probably best to save as word document while your working on it.
More resources recommended by Greg:
myths and legends- website - site address on LMS.
Fantastic site. Could use all year!
abc - catchment detox http://catchmentdetox.net.au/
Maths related as you get a certain amount of money!
Great game that you could have a group of students using. This program could be on going for some time.
I had a very quick look at this site and the game does look fantastic, will definately try to incorporate this into a higher end primary classroom.
www.ziptales.com.au
Schools need to subscribe to this website. It is only cheap, there are some sections which are free. For example the Make and Do section:
Runs through how to make:
- teddies
- finger puppets
- parachutes etc...
dvolver website - moviemaker- example of my movie is on the next post.
Not suitable for children, as some of the characters are bit raunchy, not appropriate portrayal of women! Similar to xtranormal site.
Again there are more and more decent resources out there on the net. Its just a matter of finding them and tapping into them!
Greg has put a list of useful resources on LMS, which I will look at at a later date. Eg. food drops united nations etc.
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
week 4
Amazing resources out there... I just have to find them!
Today we were introduced to full learning federation interactives website, which will hopefully provide many links to amazing websites to use in the classroom.
ABC resource - dust echoes website. http://www.abc.net.au/dustechoes/
Good idea to download study guides and videos. I always worry when I find a great website that when I want it next time it won't be available anymore.
Ancient stories, aborginal stories are on this website. Videos of the stories done by aborginal artists, each video also has a study guide which explains the story and his heritage, gives examples of work that can be done within the classroom, as well as worksheets.
I will definately be downloading these resources. They are done very well, amazing detail into the illustrations, stories and study guides. There really is some amazing resources on the internet, it is just making sure I find them and save them before they go. Greg has been very helpful with introducing government sites that have interactive learning section that have obviously had a lot of money spent on them and are definately worth using.
The storyboard activity-
We used Inspiration IE 8.0 again.
- get students to map out the main pictures and ideas in the story.
- We used the dush echoes stories in our workshop, however this can do done using any story or event. The children could even do this with their own stories, by taking photos or finding photos on google images to match their stories.
- Students write a sentence to each picture. They can design the storyboard to look however they want.
- What is important is the main ideas and themes, getting students to comprehen the story and select the main ideas and main parts to help retell the story. Giving students to freedom to design and create in their own way is also very a special thing that the students learn.
How to make the video into a storyboard in inspiration:
- Get students to watch the video and decide on the main aspects of the story.
- Get students to pause the video on pictures that show this main aspect of the story
- students then use the printscreen function and edit their photo in paint.
- saving each picture as a jpeg and export it into inspiration.
The learning purpose of the activity is to try to get students to use the main aspects of the story.
This is while I like the use of ICT in the classroom, an activity such of this not done on the computers students disengage with quite quickly, however once the task is done on the computer students don't realise the learning purpose and get caught up in the whole production of a piece of work and really put effort into their work.
YouTube in the classroom:
We discussed using Youtube in the classroom. The biggest issue being that within most schools it is blocked. It is totally understandable that the site is blocked, you never know what kind of footage you are opening up when you watch a video. The site is probably also blocked due to amount of download that would be used by a classroom using the site which would definately slow down the schools connection to the internet.
I found a way around this during my first practium. I used a website called save you tube.
http://www.saveyoutube.com/
This site allowed me to copy and paste the url of the video I want to save and then turned it into a video I could save on my usb stick. This was extremely helpful just for the same fact I spoke about earlier, that if you find something that is a really good resource, you don't want to go back later to use it and its no longer there.
I found many pros to saving videos onto my computer or USB stick compared to watching them online.
- don't have to wait for them to download
- if youtube is blocked you can still watch them
- you have them to keep as a resource
- The speed of the video doesn't depend on the internet speed of the day.
- you can edit any section you may not want the children to watch.
I do like how Craig O'Neil on his blog 'Online Interactivity for Educators: A teachers tour of youtube' believes that you can't let such a popular technology go to waste by not using it. I suppose if you are totally against saving the files, you could ask the techs at the school to provide you with access at certain times, this would solely depend on each school and their internet polices. I find there is always a way around these issues, I know from one of my practiums when the teacher wanted a youtube clip, there are a few backdoors you can you at some schools. One the students actually told us about. I suppose then its your choice if you use that backdoor site, making children aware of these backdoors and that you are using them is another ethical delemma to think about. (www.galazypear.com if anybody was interested - the one major issue with galazy pear is you definately need to stop pop ups, as some adds come up that are probably not the most appropraite to have on a IWB with primary aged students!)
I also like Craig O'Neals idea of getting children to produce their own videos to upload onto youtube. There is no point ignoring youtube, it one of the most popular websites, we need to use and embrace this website. "I think that taking advantage of the excitement this kind of technology brings to our children is a worthwhile endeavor. Children love to produce, and teaching them the skills to make good productions takes advantage of their interest and provides them with a wealth of skills." (Craig O'Neal, http://www.edutopia.org/teachers-tour-you-tube)
M&Ms activity:
http://www.m-ms.co
m.au/about/products/milkchocolate.html The M&Ms website has the graph shown to the left. Which represents the different colours showed in each pack of M&M's. This could be used as an engaging way to start a lesson of graphing.To get the children excited and interesting in learning about graphing and different types of graphs (eg. pictograph like the m&m graph shown, bar graph and pie charts) it is a great idea to make the data interesting and relevant to the children.
I remember doing a very similar exercise in maths in Year 7, with a bag of jelly babies. Clearly this lesson worked as years on I still remember this lesson. We were working on probabilty of getting a certain colour. Similar could be done with the m&m's.
M&M's did bring up an issue with a member of our classroom who wasn't keen on purchasing the product as the M&M company does not use free trade chocolate. This is understandable that people would have these points of views and it is something as teachers we will have to gauge with our familes, the class and the school we work within. Socioeconomic status is another issue, if family do not have the spare money to buy such products. If this was the case, as a teacher I think you would buy it either with your own money or take it from one of the school budgets. If chocolate/lollies are banded within the school, Greg gave another good example. Try using starts or confetti from the $2 shop.
With this specific task of graphing the colours of the M&M's in your packet, there is a resource Greg gave us from www.AtoZTeacherStuff.com Which is a M&M's Candy Colour Chart.
Excel --> making tables and charts:
My Graph done in the workshop:
I haven't included the steps of how to make a table or chart in my blog as I am able to produce these without instructions.To make graphs look fancy and effectively make the graph look better and assist in showing your figures. Use of specific colours and pictures in the background:
- after making the graph/chart - go to format data point.
- from this box, you can change the fill, add a picture or a colour to each section.
Extension work once graphs are complete, students can decorate their information, by using the Internet to add pictures of M&M's to their graph. Practising their searching, copy and paste skills.
More extension for the entire class could be to collaborate all the data they obtained from their own packets. Discuss total number of M&M's, averages of colours and then similar to the M&Ms website work out an average percentage of how your pack colours are distributed. This could then follow onto a probability lesson similar to the lesson I did in Year 7 with jelly babies.
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
week 3
Games and ICT-
Obviously to teach students how to use aspects of this site and how to enter the information they need, you would have to teach as a whole class, similar to how we were shown during the workshop. I believe once the students have been taught how to use the site, it could be something that students could do as small task within other learning perhaps as an extension activity.
The hangman game I like as this could work great with spelling words or unit specific vocabulary.
The only aspect of the site I do not like is that the quizzes only last one month. I will have to continue to search the Internet to hopefully find a site that allows quizzes to stay a little longer. As a teacher making a resource, you would have to copy and paste all your questions and answers into a word document for the use in another year.
Incorporating ICT and VELS domain Design, Creativity and Technology:
Greg mentioned he would run Design Brief activities once a week to encourage students to use their higher order thinking. Greg uses examples like the jumping frog exercise we did in the workshop as well as different Origami tasks.
I really like the idea of doing a design brief activity weekly. I found many of my students on my practicum (grade 5/6 students) could not easily use their own creativity to come up with an answer to a program. It was as if they were concern that they would get the wrong answer. This is why I really like the design brief idea, as there is no one answer. Students can create their own answer and justify their reasoning for this answer.
It is amazing that schools don't do more of this, as doing design briefs fits in perfectly with the Design, Creativity and Technology Domain. More examples of different design briefs are on the VELS website (http://vels.vcaa.vic.edu.au/support/units/units.html#dct). The design briefs could easily be integrated into the unit of work the students are currently working on, or on a totally different topic of interest to engage the class. I hope as a teacher I make time to fit such activities in as they can be very engaging and help the student express their ideas, question the way things work and assist them with their evaluating skills. The hands on aspect of such activities are another major feature I like.
Child had to use ALL resources.
Encourages higher order thinking, students must write down their design briefs and evaluate them.
I believe by using cameras/flip cameras/video footage gives the students work more meaning and hopefully encourage students to put more effort into their work as they want to showcase their best possible design. Examples of work such as our frog jump would be hard to keep to refer to later in the school year, or show on an student eportfolio or show as examples to parents. Having students document their work on computers is a great way to keep evidence of work they have done and validate the activities they are doing.
Greg believes that children will improve with their analysis and evaluate sections of their design briefs the more they do it.
Include the following in a design brief:
I know from my experiences in the classroom that games on the computer really engage children. When I was planning integrated studies and used simply interactive computer games I would start unsure if they would get into the game and enjoy it. I often have to remind myself they aren't to keep me entertained but the children. As often the children would want longer playing these interactive games no matter how simple they were.
I used a great resource on practicum for healthy eating that had interactive games. http://www.nutritionexplorations.org/kids/activities-main.asp
Children making games:
30 day trail available.
Students can create their own quiz. At the end of an inquiry unit the students could create a quiz as a form of assessment. Students could create a quiz on the class book they are reading, as a way to introduce and get to know each other at the start of the year, they could make this quiz basically on any topic.
Quizzes the students create will last one month, unless you actually pay for the program.
Quiz I made during workshop: http://www.quia.com/quiz/2514013.html
Hangman games:
An aspect I didn't even think about, that with hangman you need to be careful, as students from war torn countries may find these type images and ideas as disturbing. That is a major bonus on website as they use other images but game play is the same as normal hangman. They use other. other images like balloons and stars.
My Hangman game: http://www.quia.com/hm/668230.html
Rags to riches, is like who wants to be a millionaire?
Greg mentioned a great resource he used to have which was a who wants to be a millionaire PowerPoint that he often used. (Reminder to myself to try and find this on the net).
Surveys - sample activities on the website to show different types you can create.
Would I recommend using this resource?
Obviously to teach students how to use aspects of this site and how to enter the information they need, you would have to teach as a whole class, similar to how we were shown during the workshop. I believe once the students have been taught how to use the site, it could be something that students could do as small task within other learning perhaps as an extension activity.
The hangman game I like as this could work great with spelling words or unit specific vocabulary.
The only aspect of the site I do not like is that the quizzes only last one month. I will have to continue to search the Internet to hopefully find a site that allows quizzes to stay a little longer. As a teacher making a resource, you would have to copy and paste all your questions and answers into a word document for the use in another year.
Incorporating ICT and VELS domain Design, Creativity and Technology:
Greg mentioned he would run Design Brief activities once a week to encourage students to use their higher order thinking. Greg uses examples like the jumping frog exercise we did in the workshop as well as different Origami tasks.
I really like the idea of doing a design brief activity weekly. I found many of my students on my practicum (grade 5/6 students) could not easily use their own creativity to come up with an answer to a program. It was as if they were concern that they would get the wrong answer. This is why I really like the design brief idea, as there is no one answer. Students can create their own answer and justify their reasoning for this answer.
It is amazing that schools don't do more of this, as doing design briefs fits in perfectly with the Design, Creativity and Technology Domain. More examples of different design briefs are on the VELS website (http://vels.vcaa.vic.edu.au/support/units/units.html#dct). The design briefs could easily be integrated into the unit of work the students are currently working on, or on a totally different topic of interest to engage the class. I hope as a teacher I make time to fit such activities in as they can be very engaging and help the student express their ideas, question the way things work and assist them with their evaluating skills. The hands on aspect of such activities are another major feature I like.
Child had to use ALL resources.
Encourages higher order thinking, students must write down their design briefs and evaluate them.
There are no rules, its up to the children to decide how their frog will jump.
Encourage children to start using the right terms, use as part of a unit of work.
Extension activities: for children who finish early, you could have larger frogs and larger bits of cardboard, children can see if their idea transfer to a larger setting.Our Frog:
Including ideas for the use of ICT's students could use to present their design briefs.
Including ideas for the use of ICT's students could use to present their design briefs.
I believe by using cameras/flip cameras/video footage gives the students work more meaning and hopefully encourage students to put more effort into their work as they want to showcase their best possible design. Examples of work such as our frog jump would be hard to keep to refer to later in the school year, or show on an student eportfolio or show as examples to parents. Having students document their work on computers is a great way to keep evidence of work they have done and validate the activities they are doing.
Greg believes that children will improve with their analysis and evaluate sections of their design briefs the more they do it.
Include the following in a design brief:
Investigation/Design
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
Week 2
To eportfolio or not?
The big question on every bodies mind as we make our way through this year heading towards time to start applying for jobs. Do we eportfolio or not? After these workshop, I now realise there are two different types of eportfolio I can talk about.
1. My personal portfolio.......
I must admit I am slightly to very sceptical about the idea of doing a portfolio on the computer. Without seeing some amazing work on accessible programs, I don't see why we can't just do a hard copy of our portfolio. I must admit when talking to a friend of mine who did a teaching degree a few years back, she liked the sound of an eportfolio and said that she would actually prefer that to her hard copy, which is hard to upgrade and modify as her teaching career continues. I agree with her that the idea of being able to edit and adjust it as the years go on does seem like a good idea. But i just feel like I haven't seen a program that supports the format of an eportfolio that works well enough for my liking.
I am sure if your undergrad degree was computers or technological design or something similar then you would be able to make an amazing eportfolio, but for somebody like myself, who loves spending time on my computer but doesn't necessarily have the know how or the access to any programs that are out of the ordinary. I would simply become annoyed at my eportfolio and get a little bit perfectionist on my work. I would constantly be thinking there was something better out there to produce it on.
I feel if you are going to do an eportfolio, it really needs to be striking to gain the principles attention. I have spoken with a few principles and teachers who sit on the interview panel and the majority of those who I have spoken too, said they often look at the portfolios while the teacher is jotting down notes to the interview questions. One principle said don't put a lot of words, because they won't read it. Its better to be visual as they will flick through the portfolio and not spend a lot of time reading everything you have put into the portfolio.
That's why I think the hard copy is better, as the board can self direct themselves through the portfolio. When it is in eportfolio format, if the staff aren't comfortable with computers or if the program you use isn't a well known program then the staff may miss important sections or just not bother looking past the first page.
My queries about eportfolios especially those connected to a website, is how to show them off. Bring your own laptop and you wont have access to the schools Internet. I also don't think you can expect the staff to be able to look at it, if you supply the staff with a USB stick or CD as most of the interviews are done away from one of the staff members work space. They may not look at it till after you leave.
I believe my dislike for eportfolios has sprung from a friend who is doing the same course at a different uni, she has been using the 'iwebfolio' program with much frustration. I have attempted to help this friend and too became very frustrated. The program cost money and always changes the formatting and sometimes just won't let you do certain things. The uni themselves have now admitted the program is not very good and probably won't use it next year. I also tried to look up other online programs such a pebble pad and a few others, but i find it hard to decide whether or not to pay for them, without a trail period. Especially after seeing how poor iwebfolio is.
Although I may seem very against the eportfolio, if I do find a program that is easy to use and has the qualities to make a great eportfolio. As well as a file that can be viewed on a computer that is not connected to the Internet then I would definatly consider it. A definite positive of using an eportfolio is showing your interest and creativity of how you would incorporate technologies into your classroom. I believe you could also show examples of work created a lot easier than you could in a hard copy portfolio.
2. Students eportfolios.
Unlike my own personal eportfolio, I highly recommend doing student eportfolios. I really like the idea of them, having a file that they continue to add onto throughout there years at school. Something the teachers can use to show parents at parent teacher interviews, a piece of work that the children has at the end of the year with all their accomplishments and especailly due to the fact that its a file on the computer, something they can keep for years to come and look back on.
A lot of the great work my students did throughout my first placement was done and corrected but not much happens after this stage. Especially being grade 5 and 6, not a lot of the work was displayed in the classroom. I therefor find that sometimes students don't put their best work into everything, as they know once today is over it doesn't matter what your piece of work looked like. I would think that a student eportfolios would help motivate the students to create their best work so that they can use it in their eportfolios.
Examples of work students can put in their own eportfolios: scan their work, photographs of their work, video tapes of them showing/explaining their work, video of the students telling stories or videos of the process they did to create their piece of work etc.
I believe the student eportfolio is a great way in incorporate technology into the classroom.
Is no longer on the cheap student version of Office. This now makes the program less accessible for students, as majority of the students wouldn't have used the program unless they had used it previously at school.
Many students would no longer have access to this program on their home computers. It is however on school computers.
I really think this is a shame that Publisher has been removed from the basic version of Office. It is a great program for children to improve on their basic computer skills without the annoying automatic formatting that happens with Microsoft Word. Publisher gives students the freedom to make a range of documents from templates or create something from a blank page. The main aspect I like is that a student with not great computer skills can still make a impressive looking piece of work which will improve their confidence with computers.
When taking this lesson in the classroom - introduce the topic showing a range of examples of real brochures. Talk about them and their effectiveness.
This task can also be used to introduce using publisher with freedom such as the free choice we had in the workshop, given a broad topic (ie, a destination I would like to go) which therefore enabled all students to be engaged as it was their choice which country or place they used.
By using publisher to create a brochure, children have the chance to practice the following skills in an engaging format:
My Brochure:
The big question on every bodies mind as we make our way through this year heading towards time to start applying for jobs. Do we eportfolio or not? After these workshop, I now realise there are two different types of eportfolio I can talk about.
1. My personal portfolio.......
I must admit I am slightly to very sceptical about the idea of doing a portfolio on the computer. Without seeing some amazing work on accessible programs, I don't see why we can't just do a hard copy of our portfolio. I must admit when talking to a friend of mine who did a teaching degree a few years back, she liked the sound of an eportfolio and said that she would actually prefer that to her hard copy, which is hard to upgrade and modify as her teaching career continues. I agree with her that the idea of being able to edit and adjust it as the years go on does seem like a good idea. But i just feel like I haven't seen a program that supports the format of an eportfolio that works well enough for my liking.
I am sure if your undergrad degree was computers or technological design or something similar then you would be able to make an amazing eportfolio, but for somebody like myself, who loves spending time on my computer but doesn't necessarily have the know how or the access to any programs that are out of the ordinary. I would simply become annoyed at my eportfolio and get a little bit perfectionist on my work. I would constantly be thinking there was something better out there to produce it on.
I feel if you are going to do an eportfolio, it really needs to be striking to gain the principles attention. I have spoken with a few principles and teachers who sit on the interview panel and the majority of those who I have spoken too, said they often look at the portfolios while the teacher is jotting down notes to the interview questions. One principle said don't put a lot of words, because they won't read it. Its better to be visual as they will flick through the portfolio and not spend a lot of time reading everything you have put into the portfolio.
That's why I think the hard copy is better, as the board can self direct themselves through the portfolio. When it is in eportfolio format, if the staff aren't comfortable with computers or if the program you use isn't a well known program then the staff may miss important sections or just not bother looking past the first page.
My queries about eportfolios especially those connected to a website, is how to show them off. Bring your own laptop and you wont have access to the schools Internet. I also don't think you can expect the staff to be able to look at it, if you supply the staff with a USB stick or CD as most of the interviews are done away from one of the staff members work space. They may not look at it till after you leave.
I believe my dislike for eportfolios has sprung from a friend who is doing the same course at a different uni, she has been using the 'iwebfolio' program with much frustration. I have attempted to help this friend and too became very frustrated. The program cost money and always changes the formatting and sometimes just won't let you do certain things. The uni themselves have now admitted the program is not very good and probably won't use it next year. I also tried to look up other online programs such a pebble pad and a few others, but i find it hard to decide whether or not to pay for them, without a trail period. Especially after seeing how poor iwebfolio is.
Although I may seem very against the eportfolio, if I do find a program that is easy to use and has the qualities to make a great eportfolio. As well as a file that can be viewed on a computer that is not connected to the Internet then I would definatly consider it. A definite positive of using an eportfolio is showing your interest and creativity of how you would incorporate technologies into your classroom. I believe you could also show examples of work created a lot easier than you could in a hard copy portfolio.
2. Students eportfolios.
Unlike my own personal eportfolio, I highly recommend doing student eportfolios. I really like the idea of them, having a file that they continue to add onto throughout there years at school. Something the teachers can use to show parents at parent teacher interviews, a piece of work that the children has at the end of the year with all their accomplishments and especailly due to the fact that its a file on the computer, something they can keep for years to come and look back on.
A lot of the great work my students did throughout my first placement was done and corrected but not much happens after this stage. Especially being grade 5 and 6, not a lot of the work was displayed in the classroom. I therefor find that sometimes students don't put their best work into everything, as they know once today is over it doesn't matter what your piece of work looked like. I would think that a student eportfolios would help motivate the students to create their best work so that they can use it in their eportfolios.
Examples of work students can put in their own eportfolios: scan their work, photographs of their work, video tapes of them showing/explaining their work, video of the students telling stories or videos of the process they did to create their piece of work etc.
I believe the student eportfolio is a great way in incorporate technology into the classroom.
Microsoft Publisher:
Is no longer on the cheap student version of Office. This now makes the program less accessible for students, as majority of the students wouldn't have used the program unless they had used it previously at school.
Many students would no longer have access to this program on their home computers. It is however on school computers.I really think this is a shame that Publisher has been removed from the basic version of Office. It is a great program for children to improve on their basic computer skills without the annoying automatic formatting that happens with Microsoft Word. Publisher gives students the freedom to make a range of documents from templates or create something from a blank page. The main aspect I like is that a student with not great computer skills can still make a impressive looking piece of work which will improve their confidence with computers.
Creating a brochure in publisher:
When taking this lesson in the classroom - introduce the topic showing a range of examples of real brochures. Talk about them and their effectiveness.
- how are they set up?
- which ones do you like?
- what don't you like about some of the brochures?
- which ones are effective at selling their product?
- are they best with lots of pictures? or lots of writing?
- etc.
This task can also be used to introduce using publisher with freedom such as the free choice we had in the workshop, given a broad topic (ie, a destination I would like to go) which therefore enabled all students to be engaged as it was their choice which country or place they used.
By using publisher to create a brochure, children have the chance to practice the following skills in an engaging format:
- cutting
- pasting
- comprehension and summarising information
- typing and mouse skills, etc
My Brochure:
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Week 1
Welcome to the 21st century primary classroom.
This workshop really opened my mind to how many ways I as a teacher can include technology in the classroom. The times have changed since I was in primary school where we had a computer room of Apple Macs with only enough computers for probably 1 computer between 2 or 3 students. All I can remember doing was typing games and a jack and the beanstalk, choose your own adventure type game. Wow how things have changed!
It was great to hear all of Greg's ideas and ways he has included technology into his classroom in the past and not just as a research tool. During my first practicum the school I was at was very keen on technology and had lots of different options for the students to use. There were great possibilities to include these technologies into their every day schooling, throughout all subjects. I found they used it really well during their integrated subject but only occasionally used during maths or literacy.
I believe that it is about making a culture in your classroom which includes constant use of technology and not getting into the mind set where including it is a burden. Just like Greg spoke about, don't say you don't have time to fit in it. Make time. Have set tasks set up for children to do when it is their time to use the classroom computers, which will hopefully keep they are engaged. I found that when students in my first practicum were on the computers during their integrated subject, a lot would not be engaged in the task and become distracted and waste time, as it was simply exciting to have time to use the computer. I believe making computers a part of their learning and something they do on a regular basis would help with this engagement levels.
This workshop really opened my mind to how many ways I as a teacher can include technology in the classroom. The times have changed since I was in primary school where we had a computer room of Apple Macs with only enough computers for probably 1 computer between 2 or 3 students. All I can remember doing was typing games and a jack and the beanstalk, choose your own adventure type game. Wow how things have changed!
It was great to hear all of Greg's ideas and ways he has included technology into his classroom in the past and not just as a research tool. During my first practicum the school I was at was very keen on technology and had lots of different options for the students to use. There were great possibilities to include these technologies into their every day schooling, throughout all subjects. I found they used it really well during their integrated subject but only occasionally used during maths or literacy.
I believe that it is about making a culture in your classroom which includes constant use of technology and not getting into the mind set where including it is a burden. Just like Greg spoke about, don't say you don't have time to fit in it. Make time. Have set tasks set up for children to do when it is their time to use the classroom computers, which will hopefully keep they are engaged. I found that when students in my first practicum were on the computers during their integrated subject, a lot would not be engaged in the task and become distracted and waste time, as it was simply exciting to have time to use the computer. I believe making computers a part of their learning and something they do on a regular basis would help with this engagement levels.
Good pointers when teaching ICT:
- show students the program you are going to use.
- Give students 5-10 minutes to play with the program, so they can attempt to figure out the program prior to being shown specific aspects.
- After they have had a play, give students the instructions they require to complete a specific task or tasks.
- After students have had time to create their piece of work, let the students walk around and see other students work, as a group share exercise. We did this during the lab and I found it a great way to extend my learning with the program. It shows me a vary of creative ways to use the programs, ways I had not thought of.
Pointers to help me use Inspiration IE 8.0:
What is it? Inspiration IE 8.0 - some schools may have it. If not you can download a free 30 day trial, all you need is an email address.
The inspiration website (www.inspiration.com) states that the program is used for "visual mapping, outlining, writing and making presentations, use Inspiration, the ultimate thinking and learning tool. Brainstorm ideas, structure your thoughts and visually communicate concepts to strengthen understanding with the Diagram and Map Views."
The program gives you the option to great these diagrams and mind maps, with the use of words or pictures(obtained from a range of clip art in the program or pictures files from other sources can be imported into the program).
Would I recommend it?
Being able to use the program on a 30 day trial makes it accessible for short periods of times. However ethically, you you just continually take the 30 day trial with different email addresses?
I would definatly recommend using this program in any classroom.
What is it? Inspiration IE 8.0 - some schools may have it. If not you can download a free 30 day trial, all you need is an email address.
The inspiration website (www.inspiration.com) states that the program is used for "visual mapping, outlining, writing and making presentations, use Inspiration, the ultimate thinking and learning tool. Brainstorm ideas, structure your thoughts and visually communicate concepts to strengthen understanding with the Diagram and Map Views."
The program gives you the option to great these diagrams and mind maps, with the use of words or pictures(obtained from a range of clip art in the program or pictures files from other sources can be imported into the program).
It was brought up by a fellow student during the class why would you bother using this program for diagrams and mind maps? when you could do a similar task on Word. Something students and adults alike need to use much more frequently.
At first I agreed with this, thinking that teaching students to use word was probably a more important task than a program like inspirations that only has a few set functions.
However, after fiddling with the program myself and seeing what other students in my class came up with. I really like how inspiration works as a program. It is simple to use and given some creativity can look really fantastic.
If you were to create a similar mind map in Word, then decided to add a few extra pictures and arrows, the formatting would take a long time to fix, therefor students would probably not bother. This is the aspect I really like about Inspiration, the ease of being able to adjust and move sections of your mind map.
I think it is valuable for students to learn to navigate around different computer programs. It teaches the students how to find things in programs that aren't your typical Microsoft programs which I think is a value lesson and will definatly give students the confidence to use new programs in the future.
At first I agreed with this, thinking that teaching students to use word was probably a more important task than a program like inspirations that only has a few set functions.
However, after fiddling with the program myself and seeing what other students in my class came up with. I really like how inspiration works as a program. It is simple to use and given some creativity can look really fantastic.
If you were to create a similar mind map in Word, then decided to add a few extra pictures and arrows, the formatting would take a long time to fix, therefor students would probably not bother. This is the aspect I really like about Inspiration, the ease of being able to adjust and move sections of your mind map.
I think it is valuable for students to learn to navigate around different computer programs. It teaches the students how to find things in programs that aren't your typical Microsoft programs which I think is a value lesson and will definatly give students the confidence to use new programs in the future.
Being able to use the program on a 30 day trial makes it accessible for short periods of times. However ethically, you you just continually take the 30 day trial with different email addresses?
I would definatly recommend using this program in any classroom.
When Creating a diagram -
- With Inspiration, if you save the file it will be a .isf file. This file cannot be opened in any other program. So when students are finished their diagram or mind map, it is a good idea to get students to save their work to a word document. Go to File, Transfer to create word document. (However once in word you can't change the information).
- you can also save the file as a graphic file (File - Export- Graphic File)
- under certain headings - use drop down box from symbols tab.
- can thicken lines between relationships with the button on the bottom of the toolbar.
- can add sounds and video
- notes function
- Can create links between two pictures. Click link, then draw the arrow , once the arrow is there you can add text to what the relationship is between the two pictures.
- Example: One student in our class did a flowchart of how they get to school. What travel they take, on the arrows put how often they use this mode of transport.
Concept Maps/Mind Maps:
In same program when in the opening page click mind map.
A good feature of the mind maps, was the rapid fire.
A good feature of the mind maps, was the rapid fire.
- type and click enter and their views will be shown straight away, in different bubbles. A great way to brainstorm with all the children. The flexibility of being able to move sections easily once they have been typed, means that this could be an effective tool when grouping ideas after the brainstorm.
My mind map from the workshop: 
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