I have just been learning about Google Maps and I did make a link on a map and guess what there was already one there. I was going to link up to the school in which I completed my prac and am going to use in my Assessment 3. I did look through my local area and read some of the comments made regarding different resorts and businesses. What a great idea.
I know that this is a tool I would use not just in my job but for my own interest and information.
Wednesday, December 29, 2010
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
Reflective Synopsis and Comments
E-learning is essentially the computer and network-enabled transfer of skills and knowledge. E-learning applications and processes include Web-based learning, computer-based learning, virtual classroom opportunities and digital collaboration. Content is delivered via the Internet, intranet/extranet, audio or video tape, satellite TV, and CD-ROM. It can be self-paced or instructor-led and includes media in the form of text, image, animation, streaming video and audio. (Wikipedia). The use of ICT in education is becoming a necessary skill for students and teachers. As a BLM student I am learning how to incorporate the use of ICT in my lesson plans. Using computers can begin early in a child’s education, children as young as 3 years of age are learning how to use a mouse and this is an important skill.
Today’s students have grown up with a new technology. They have spent their entire lives surrounded by and using computers, videogames, digital music players, video cams, cell phones and all the other toys and tools of the digital age. (Prensky, M. 2001). It is important for us as teachers to learn and to continue keeping abreast with all the new technology available to us so that we can provide the best education for our students. I know that teaching is completely different from when I was at school, we did not have computers and now all of my learning is on a computer. Over the past 6 weeks I have learnt so much about my computer and its capabilities. I am looking forward to putting these new skills to use when I am in the class room and when planning my lessons.
Teaching eLearning is a skill that will continue through the schooling of each student, it is not just showing students how to use a computer but teaching them Netiquitte, to learn and work legally, ethically and safely. Students work digitally to develop new thinking, learning and problem solving skills to support their ongoing development. (Kearsley, G & Shneiderman, B. 1999).
Elearning is very hands on for students and it encourages students with their different learning styles, this offers a learning style for everyone. Learning can be completed at school and at home, this allows students who are struggling, to work at their pace and also ask for help from the teacher without disrupting the other students. Teachers are able to use the interactive whiteboard to display different learning experiences such as YouTube, TeacherTube, Power Points and videoing, these are all very important skills and are useful for students to learn and add to their assessments.
Wiki is a website that allows the easy creation and editing of any number of interlinked web pages via a web browser. Wikis may exit to serve a specific purpose and in such cases, users use their editorial rights to remove material that is considered “off topic”. (Wikipedia). I will use a Wiki to document the year of the students in the class, there maybe a issue with secruity as it is an open form of documenting. Parents would have more access to this site as they can access the Wiki from home and work and add to the Wiki with interesting information regarding their child and their development. Using Wiki would encourage parental involvement in and understanding of the student’s learning tasks and creating ‘24-hour communications between home and school’ resulted in relationships that consisted of shared understandings, therefore vastly improving and increasing the amount of regular communication. (Education Vic).
Using Wiki is a great way for parents to view photos of their child and other children in the class, there will be a written description of the activity and the benefits of this activity for the learning of the children. Downloads of information regarding learning experiences can be added to Wiki and parents are able to pass the Wiki onto their families who may have limited access to the children due to living inter-state or overseas.
A Wiki can be made individually for the class and there is no need for teachers to burn a disc for each parent as they have access of the Wiki site. There does need to be a agreed ‘rules of enagement’ by teachers and parents regarding what is on the Wiki. (Education Vic). It is important to get parents permission to publish the students work and pictures on the internet. (Education Vic)
Image a physical likeness or representation of a person, animal or thing; photographed, sculptured, painted or otherwise made visible. (Dictionary, reference). The use of imaging in ICT is a very important tool for students as they will be able to visualise what the lesson is focusing on and the use of images takes many shapes and forms such as photogragh, video, YouTube and TeacherTube are just some examples. The use of images can be downloaded onto the class Wiki for parents to look at and also in the class room they can be downloaded onto the interactive whiteboard to assist with the lesson.
In my job I take photos of the children daily, taking part in activities and in play, these photos help to document their development and growth. The images can be used in the class room to demonstrate different learning experiences and areas. Students can be encouraged to use a class camera to take photos of things that interest them and this can lead to class discussions and encourage students to interact and develop different interests. I enjoy this tool as you can look back and see how the students have changed and grown and also how the year has gone and relive all the experiences of learning.
Students art and work can be scanned and uploaded to their digital portfolio, allowing their work to stay looking orginal and if anything is ever misplaced or damaged it is in the students portfolio.
Podcast is a series of digital media files (either audio or video) that are released eprosodically and often downloaded through web syndication. (Wikipedia). I do worry about the accessiblity of a MP3 player is it affordable for everyone. Most students are familiar with MP3 players and they maybe able to access them to use when completing their assessments.
Being able to record the students enable them and the teacher to learn from the experience. Using a MP3 player will allow me to record my students interact with each other and me without me having to write everything that is said and I may miss something of importance. Being able to record children’s interactions allow teachers to document their development and learning. The recordings can be downloaded onto the student’s digital portfolios and this will mean less writing for me and allow more time to spend with the students and in the class room. The recordings can be attached to a file containing photos of the students day. The recordings can also be downloaded onto the daily power point presentation.
Podcasts from sources such as ABC broadcasting can be downloaded for information for parents and they can be sent to their email address or downloaded onto the class room computer. Podcasts allow us to access music and talk shows which provide information that are relevant to learning and teaching.
Youtube is a video-sharing website on which users can upload, share and view videos. (Wikipedia). TeacherTube is a video sharing website similar to and based on YouTube. It is designed to allow those in the educational industry, particularly teachers, to share educational resources, such as video, audio, documents, photos, groups and blogs. This site contains a mixture of class room teaching resources and other designed to aid teacher training. (Wikipedia).
Being able to access YouTube and TeacherTube allows us as teachers to use more resources in our classroom from all over the world that we would normally have access too. We are able to use them to provide information on topics of interest for the students and parents. These forms of imaging have opened the world to everyone. What wonderful resources these sites are, I have never used them before and have found TeacherTube to be a wonderful resource.
Interactive games can also be downloaded for student’s learning and another great resource I was introduced to in this course is TuxPaint. This is a resource that can be accessed from a CDROM and you do not need internet access.
Digital recording can be a useful tool as students can access this information at home and at school. Digital reading books are being introduced to education of young children and they can be created using the teaching resources suitable for the individual interests and needs of particular children in care. ( Olney, I. Herrington, J & Verenikina, I. 2008).
Through this learning experience I have tested and used many tools and am trailing the four listed in my current employment in Early Childhood Education. I have mentioned my findings from the use of these tools in my blog. As teachers we need to think of how our students would use these tools and we need to be clear of how students are to use them. (Moodle CQU, 2010).
We need to introduce ICT to children from a young age as they are going to be using these tools as soon as they start school with an interactive whiteboard being in most class rooms and technology being part of the curriculum. Students are bombarded with technology everywhere they look and go, computers are in shopping centres, our homes and even in our cars.
Elearning is an important skill and I am very excited about learning this new skill which will assist me with my continued study and in my future career. It appears to be the way of the future introducing computers and its many tools in our everyday lives. More and more it is the main tool for our jobs. As teachers using technology in the curriculum has allowed our students to learn at home and school and also expand their interests in subjects by accessing the internet to find out more information to assist with their learning and assessments. Technology is a subject that teachers and students can learn together.
References:
Moodle CQU eLearning. (2010)
Kearsley, G & Shneiderman, B. (1999). Engagement Theory: A framework for technology-based teaching and learning. http://home.sprynet.con/gkearsley/engage.htm
Olney, I. Herrington, J & Verneikina, I. (2008). IPods in early childhood: Mobile technologies and story telling. http://www.ascilite.org.au/conferences/melbourne08/procs/olney.pdf
Prensky, M. (2001). Digital natives, digital immigrants. http://www.marcprensky.com/writing/Prensky%20Digital%20Natives%20Immigrants%20-%20Part1.pdf
Technology A-Z Department of Education and Early Childhood Development. http://www.education.vic.gov.au/studentlearning/elearning/technology/wikis.htm
Wikipedia (2010)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E-learning
http://en.wikipedia.org/podcast/E-learning
http://en.wikipedia.org./wiki/YouTube
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TeacherTube
Image
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/image
Comments made on other students blogs
I have taken a lot of time and effort to always read through everyone's blogs and Wikis. I am so surprised how much work everyone has put into their blogs and the information they contain. I have learnt so much from reading these blogs and Wikis. April introduced us to some wonderful sites such as ReadWriteThink. It has great interactive games and activities for grades K-6.
Carla asked other students to contribute to her Wiki and add their comments to her discussion board. So many students took the time and put in the effort to read her Wiki and contribute to it. What a wonderful idea and opportunity for everyone to take part and share information and ideas.
At the beginning of this course myself and other students were unsure what a blog was and entailed. I really admire how everyone took on this challenge and the results speak for themselves with the postings each week. Jennifer made a great suggestion about displaying homework and class notes onto a blog and parents having access to the blog.
When reading through the blogs and Wikis helped me to realise what a great advantage these skills and resources would be in the class room no matter what age/grade of the class. BLM students are still learning from this course and even after we complete this course I know that I will still be learning. This is seen each day when you look at our blogs.
Having the opportunity to see everyone's work and blogs demonstrates what is available and we as students are sharing websites and addresses with information that is beneficial to all. Being able to comment on each others work allows us to widen our learning and understanding.
I have made comments on the following student's blogs:
Carla Battaia
April James
Samara Patterson
Jennifer Rath
Joanne Houtzager
Sarah May
Andrew Webb
Today’s students have grown up with a new technology. They have spent their entire lives surrounded by and using computers, videogames, digital music players, video cams, cell phones and all the other toys and tools of the digital age. (Prensky, M. 2001). It is important for us as teachers to learn and to continue keeping abreast with all the new technology available to us so that we can provide the best education for our students. I know that teaching is completely different from when I was at school, we did not have computers and now all of my learning is on a computer. Over the past 6 weeks I have learnt so much about my computer and its capabilities. I am looking forward to putting these new skills to use when I am in the class room and when planning my lessons.
Teaching eLearning is a skill that will continue through the schooling of each student, it is not just showing students how to use a computer but teaching them Netiquitte, to learn and work legally, ethically and safely. Students work digitally to develop new thinking, learning and problem solving skills to support their ongoing development. (Kearsley, G & Shneiderman, B. 1999).
Elearning is very hands on for students and it encourages students with their different learning styles, this offers a learning style for everyone. Learning can be completed at school and at home, this allows students who are struggling, to work at their pace and also ask for help from the teacher without disrupting the other students. Teachers are able to use the interactive whiteboard to display different learning experiences such as YouTube, TeacherTube, Power Points and videoing, these are all very important skills and are useful for students to learn and add to their assessments.
Wiki is a website that allows the easy creation and editing of any number of interlinked web pages via a web browser. Wikis may exit to serve a specific purpose and in such cases, users use their editorial rights to remove material that is considered “off topic”. (Wikipedia). I will use a Wiki to document the year of the students in the class, there maybe a issue with secruity as it is an open form of documenting. Parents would have more access to this site as they can access the Wiki from home and work and add to the Wiki with interesting information regarding their child and their development. Using Wiki would encourage parental involvement in and understanding of the student’s learning tasks and creating ‘24-hour communications between home and school’ resulted in relationships that consisted of shared understandings, therefore vastly improving and increasing the amount of regular communication. (Education Vic).
Using Wiki is a great way for parents to view photos of their child and other children in the class, there will be a written description of the activity and the benefits of this activity for the learning of the children. Downloads of information regarding learning experiences can be added to Wiki and parents are able to pass the Wiki onto their families who may have limited access to the children due to living inter-state or overseas.
A Wiki can be made individually for the class and there is no need for teachers to burn a disc for each parent as they have access of the Wiki site. There does need to be a agreed ‘rules of enagement’ by teachers and parents regarding what is on the Wiki. (Education Vic). It is important to get parents permission to publish the students work and pictures on the internet. (Education Vic)
Image a physical likeness or representation of a person, animal or thing; photographed, sculptured, painted or otherwise made visible. (Dictionary, reference). The use of imaging in ICT is a very important tool for students as they will be able to visualise what the lesson is focusing on and the use of images takes many shapes and forms such as photogragh, video, YouTube and TeacherTube are just some examples. The use of images can be downloaded onto the class Wiki for parents to look at and also in the class room they can be downloaded onto the interactive whiteboard to assist with the lesson.
In my job I take photos of the children daily, taking part in activities and in play, these photos help to document their development and growth. The images can be used in the class room to demonstrate different learning experiences and areas. Students can be encouraged to use a class camera to take photos of things that interest them and this can lead to class discussions and encourage students to interact and develop different interests. I enjoy this tool as you can look back and see how the students have changed and grown and also how the year has gone and relive all the experiences of learning.
Students art and work can be scanned and uploaded to their digital portfolio, allowing their work to stay looking orginal and if anything is ever misplaced or damaged it is in the students portfolio.
Podcast is a series of digital media files (either audio or video) that are released eprosodically and often downloaded through web syndication. (Wikipedia). I do worry about the accessiblity of a MP3 player is it affordable for everyone. Most students are familiar with MP3 players and they maybe able to access them to use when completing their assessments.
Being able to record the students enable them and the teacher to learn from the experience. Using a MP3 player will allow me to record my students interact with each other and me without me having to write everything that is said and I may miss something of importance. Being able to record children’s interactions allow teachers to document their development and learning. The recordings can be downloaded onto the student’s digital portfolios and this will mean less writing for me and allow more time to spend with the students and in the class room. The recordings can be attached to a file containing photos of the students day. The recordings can also be downloaded onto the daily power point presentation.
Podcasts from sources such as ABC broadcasting can be downloaded for information for parents and they can be sent to their email address or downloaded onto the class room computer. Podcasts allow us to access music and talk shows which provide information that are relevant to learning and teaching.
Youtube is a video-sharing website on which users can upload, share and view videos. (Wikipedia). TeacherTube is a video sharing website similar to and based on YouTube. It is designed to allow those in the educational industry, particularly teachers, to share educational resources, such as video, audio, documents, photos, groups and blogs. This site contains a mixture of class room teaching resources and other designed to aid teacher training. (Wikipedia).
Being able to access YouTube and TeacherTube allows us as teachers to use more resources in our classroom from all over the world that we would normally have access too. We are able to use them to provide information on topics of interest for the students and parents. These forms of imaging have opened the world to everyone. What wonderful resources these sites are, I have never used them before and have found TeacherTube to be a wonderful resource.
Interactive games can also be downloaded for student’s learning and another great resource I was introduced to in this course is TuxPaint. This is a resource that can be accessed from a CDROM and you do not need internet access.
Digital recording can be a useful tool as students can access this information at home and at school. Digital reading books are being introduced to education of young children and they can be created using the teaching resources suitable for the individual interests and needs of particular children in care. ( Olney, I. Herrington, J & Verenikina, I. 2008).
Through this learning experience I have tested and used many tools and am trailing the four listed in my current employment in Early Childhood Education. I have mentioned my findings from the use of these tools in my blog. As teachers we need to think of how our students would use these tools and we need to be clear of how students are to use them. (Moodle CQU, 2010).
We need to introduce ICT to children from a young age as they are going to be using these tools as soon as they start school with an interactive whiteboard being in most class rooms and technology being part of the curriculum. Students are bombarded with technology everywhere they look and go, computers are in shopping centres, our homes and even in our cars.
Elearning is an important skill and I am very excited about learning this new skill which will assist me with my continued study and in my future career. It appears to be the way of the future introducing computers and its many tools in our everyday lives. More and more it is the main tool for our jobs. As teachers using technology in the curriculum has allowed our students to learn at home and school and also expand their interests in subjects by accessing the internet to find out more information to assist with their learning and assessments. Technology is a subject that teachers and students can learn together.
References:
Moodle CQU eLearning. (2010)
Kearsley, G & Shneiderman, B. (1999). Engagement Theory: A framework for technology-based teaching and learning. http://home.sprynet.con/gkearsley/engage.htm
Olney, I. Herrington, J & Verneikina, I. (2008). IPods in early childhood: Mobile technologies and story telling. http://www.ascilite.org.au/conferences/melbourne08/procs/olney.pdf
Prensky, M. (2001). Digital natives, digital immigrants. http://www.marcprensky.com/writing/Prensky%20Digital%20Natives%20Immigrants%20-%20Part1.pdf
Technology A-Z Department of Education and Early Childhood Development. http://www.education.vic.gov.au/studentlearning/elearning/technology/wikis.htm
Wikipedia (2010)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E-learning
http://en.wikipedia.org/podcast/E-learning
http://en.wikipedia.org./wiki/YouTube
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TeacherTube
Image
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/image
Comments made on other students blogs
I have taken a lot of time and effort to always read through everyone's blogs and Wikis. I am so surprised how much work everyone has put into their blogs and the information they contain. I have learnt so much from reading these blogs and Wikis. April introduced us to some wonderful sites such as ReadWriteThink. It has great interactive games and activities for grades K-6.
Carla asked other students to contribute to her Wiki and add their comments to her discussion board. So many students took the time and put in the effort to read her Wiki and contribute to it. What a wonderful idea and opportunity for everyone to take part and share information and ideas.
At the beginning of this course myself and other students were unsure what a blog was and entailed. I really admire how everyone took on this challenge and the results speak for themselves with the postings each week. Jennifer made a great suggestion about displaying homework and class notes onto a blog and parents having access to the blog.
When reading through the blogs and Wikis helped me to realise what a great advantage these skills and resources would be in the class room no matter what age/grade of the class. BLM students are still learning from this course and even after we complete this course I know that I will still be learning. This is seen each day when you look at our blogs.
Having the opportunity to see everyone's work and blogs demonstrates what is available and we as students are sharing websites and addresses with information that is beneficial to all. Being able to comment on each others work allows us to widen our learning and understanding.
I have made comments on the following student's blogs:
Carla Battaia
April James
Samara Patterson
Jennifer Rath
Joanne Houtzager
Sarah May
Andrew Webb
Saturday, December 11, 2010
MovieMaker
Finally I have accessed the MovieMaker site and I have attempted to make a movie. I have added my favourite Winnie the Pooh pictures onto the MovieMaker site. I would love to add some sound, maybe a song but first I have to attach it to this blog. It is amazing to me as of 6 weeks again I had NO idea what all of this meant and now I am using tools on my computer I did not know I had.
I may be using the new tools but I am not able to attach the movie, if anyone has any advice please give it to me. I have attached pictures from the Disney site. It is very cute but at this point it is only on my computer.
14th December
Thank you to Jo, you gave me some good advice and directions on downloading/attaching my movie but I have not had any success. You are all going to have to believe me that I tried.
I may be using the new tools but I am not able to attach the movie, if anyone has any advice please give it to me. I have attached pictures from the Disney site. It is very cute but at this point it is only on my computer.
14th December
Thank you to Jo, you gave me some good advice and directions on downloading/attaching my movie but I have not had any success. You are all going to have to believe me that I tried.
Tux Paint
Tux Paint
I have just accessed this site, at first I was unsure what to expect and what it was about but after looking through the site, I must say I was excited. What a fantastic site for teachers in Early Childhood Education to use.
Some benefits to the use of this site:
* compatible with most computers.
* no need for internet connection you can purchase a CDROM.
* Students are able to save their pictures.
* students learn and develop mouse control.
* ablility to learn in different langauages - French, Spanish and German.
* students can learn colours and colour mixing.
* provides mathematical problem solving.
* uses different forms of art mediums - painting, stamping and colouring to name a few.
* development of eye and hand co-ordination.
This site would be an assect to any class room and I am going to talk to my Director about purchasing this CDROM for my class room. I feel that it would help more students to develop an interest in art and computer skills at the same time.
I have just accessed this site, at first I was unsure what to expect and what it was about but after looking through the site, I must say I was excited. What a fantastic site for teachers in Early Childhood Education to use.
Some benefits to the use of this site:
* compatible with most computers.
* no need for internet connection you can purchase a CDROM.
* Students are able to save their pictures.
* students learn and develop mouse control.
* ablility to learn in different langauages - French, Spanish and German.
* students can learn colours and colour mixing.
* provides mathematical problem solving.
* uses different forms of art mediums - painting, stamping and colouring to name a few.
* development of eye and hand co-ordination.
This site would be an assect to any class room and I am going to talk to my Director about purchasing this CDROM for my class room. I feel that it would help more students to develop an interest in art and computer skills at the same time.
Thursday, December 9, 2010
Podcasts
I am still not too sure about how to download a podcast but I did listen to a couple on ABC and found that they have some great information on different topics such as the use of toys for children. Podcasting in Early Childhood Education would be good as parents are always asking for advice regarding their child and maybe if we could direct them to a podcast regarding the topic they could listen to it at their pace and replay anything that interests them. As a teacher I could also download podcasts to parents email addresses.
Podcasts are a tool that can be accessed from iPhones and MP3 players so as students get older they will be able to use this tool as they have been introduced to it at a young age. Podcasts would be better used in a class room of older students who are more capable of working on their own and allowing the teacher to provide one-on-one assistance.
One thing I have thought of would podcasts be used by some teachers as the key to taking the lesson and the teacher sits back and only answers questions when required? I do wonder about it being used for the students being able to listen to books from a podcast, I understand for students who have a learning disability but does it make them lazier readers?
I have read through some comments made by other students regarding the use of podcasting in the class room and a great question was raised - Who pays for the MP3 player? Would there only be one per class or can the students access podcast from their personal MP3 or/and mobile phones. It is great to introduce and use these fanastic ICT tools but who pays for them?
I was wanting to use a MP3 player to tape interactions between the children in my class room and then load the podcast onto their digital portfolio. Using this method would free me up and save me from typing up all the children's stories and the podcast can be linked with images/videos of the children's day. This would be a great chance to allow the parents and children to hear them talking and it would be their work not my interpreation of the play/situation. It would also be great for children years later to hear themselves when they were 3-5 years of age.
14th December
I have borrowed a MP3 Player from Wendy and I am not having an success getting it started. I have tried to charge it on the computer but story of my life NO GO! Everyone at work is liking the idea of using a MP3 Player to record the students in play but that is going to have to wait for a few days.
Podcasts are a tool that can be accessed from iPhones and MP3 players so as students get older they will be able to use this tool as they have been introduced to it at a young age. Podcasts would be better used in a class room of older students who are more capable of working on their own and allowing the teacher to provide one-on-one assistance.
One thing I have thought of would podcasts be used by some teachers as the key to taking the lesson and the teacher sits back and only answers questions when required? I do wonder about it being used for the students being able to listen to books from a podcast, I understand for students who have a learning disability but does it make them lazier readers?
I have read through some comments made by other students regarding the use of podcasting in the class room and a great question was raised - Who pays for the MP3 player? Would there only be one per class or can the students access podcast from their personal MP3 or/and mobile phones. It is great to introduce and use these fanastic ICT tools but who pays for them?
I was wanting to use a MP3 player to tape interactions between the children in my class room and then load the podcast onto their digital portfolio. Using this method would free me up and save me from typing up all the children's stories and the podcast can be linked with images/videos of the children's day. This would be a great chance to allow the parents and children to hear them talking and it would be their work not my interpreation of the play/situation. It would also be great for children years later to hear themselves when they were 3-5 years of age.
14th December
I have borrowed a MP3 Player from Wendy and I am not having an success getting it started. I have tried to charge it on the computer but story of my life NO GO! Everyone at work is liking the idea of using a MP3 Player to record the students in play but that is going to have to wait for a few days.
Saturday, December 4, 2010
Images
Each day I take photos of the children in my class, playing with their friends, learning and doing art. I them attach these photos into the children's digital portfolios and into a daily power point. There is an old saying "A picture can say a thousand words." Parents looking at the pictures of their child's day can see who they play with, what interests they have and what makes them happy.
Images can help to link a child's day for their parent as most parents are away from their child for up to 6 hours a day. The children can look at the power point presentation and remember the fun they had that day and at the end of each year they are given a copy of their digital portfolio. Have you ever wondered what you were like as a child? With this form of recording a child and their family can look back at see their life from when they were a baby until they started school.
As well as still images, we also take videos of the children using the camera, it is interesting to stand back and watch them talk to their friends and interacting without adult involvement.
Finally I have posted an image. I find this great image on TeacherTube. I managed to post it but sorry did not manage to resize the image. It is all a learning curve and taking things one step at a time.
Images can help to link a child's day for their parent as most parents are away from their child for up to 6 hours a day. The children can look at the power point presentation and remember the fun they had that day and at the end of each year they are given a copy of their digital portfolio. Have you ever wondered what you were like as a child? With this form of recording a child and their family can look back at see their life from when they were a baby until they started school.
As well as still images, we also take videos of the children using the camera, it is interesting to stand back and watch them talk to their friends and interacting without adult involvement.
Finally I have posted an image. I find this great image on TeacherTube. I managed to post it but sorry did not manage to resize the image. It is all a learning curve and taking things one step at a time.
Sunday, November 28, 2010
Education is value
I was looking through YouTube and I came across this interview with Barack Obama on Education. His catch phrase is 'No child left behind.'
He talks about providing early learning education before children start school and also parents teaching children before they start school, teaching them colour, number, letter and shape recognition. Also it is important to read to children. I know that this is the President of the United States of America but what he is saying works for Australia too. Providing better schooling, pay for teachers and more training also provide more affordable college education to encourage more teachers.
I enjoyed listening to this clip and it has left me thinking, every child is entitled to an education and the chance to excell in life.
Take the time to look at this clip and let me know what you think.
Friday, November 26, 2010
LMS
As a Learning Manager I have been completing my studies through FLEX learning and have not attended a lecture at a campus, so using Blackboard has been my contact with the university. I found Blackboard easy to follow once I got started and I was able to access everything that I needed for my studies. I must admit that I was out of my comfort-zone when CQU changed to MOODLE but now I have my head around it and know that it is another form of Blackboard. This form of studying has worked for me as everything is there for me to see and go back too, as we know I am a visual learner and so this works.
I think that this would work in the upper grades as students can work at their pace and everything is at their finger tips. I feel that with ICT becoming more impotant in the classroom this will be a useful tool for students and teachers. Using a form of LMS such as Moodle would not work in Early Childhood Education but in Secondary Education it would work especially for students in Yrs 10-12 as they can access their lessons at home and it would be a great resource for revision and when it is close to exam time. Students can work through the class load at their pace at home as well as in the class room.
I do wonder though when using this form of ICT learning what happens to students who do not have access to a computer? At school who will supply a computer to every student? We are teaching the students necessary skills but do they have access to the materials (computers) when needed?
I think that this would work in the upper grades as students can work at their pace and everything is at their finger tips. I feel that with ICT becoming more impotant in the classroom this will be a useful tool for students and teachers. Using a form of LMS such as Moodle would not work in Early Childhood Education but in Secondary Education it would work especially for students in Yrs 10-12 as they can access their lessons at home and it would be a great resource for revision and when it is close to exam time. Students can work through the class load at their pace at home as well as in the class room.
I do wonder though when using this form of ICT learning what happens to students who do not have access to a computer? At school who will supply a computer to every student? We are teaching the students necessary skills but do they have access to the materials (computers) when needed?
ICT
I have had a busy week and I have been working through this weeks work and readings and no I have not attempted my powerpoint. I keep reading through the steps and it is so much. I have had a busy week at work and I look at this powerpoint and know that there is a lot more involved then just the straight forward powerpoint that I use daily in my job. Each day I present a powerpoint containing photos of each child in the class with a heading of what the child has done that day. These powerpoints are used in the child's file and a story is written from these powerpoints.
Two years ago I would hand-write in a portfolio for each child but now I have to complete a whole class powerpoint, type up stories about the children and download daily photos, and this must be completed in 1.5 hours with the children not resting. I have decided that I will not be bringing my work home and so this work must be completed at day care. I look at all the new ICT tools on offer in this course and I wonder what would benefit me in my current job. I still have 1 year until I have completed this course and that means 1 year more of working in my current job, I love my job and each morning I get up ready for a new day and new challenges but now I am thinking of new ways to communicate with my parents and show them their children's work and day.
I guess that I will just continue working through this subject and see what tools I find easy to work with and easy to follow as I know that some parents do not use computers in their everyday life and may not have the time and knowledge to use these tools too.
Regards Karen.
Two years ago I would hand-write in a portfolio for each child but now I have to complete a whole class powerpoint, type up stories about the children and download daily photos, and this must be completed in 1.5 hours with the children not resting. I have decided that I will not be bringing my work home and so this work must be completed at day care. I look at all the new ICT tools on offer in this course and I wonder what would benefit me in my current job. I still have 1 year until I have completed this course and that means 1 year more of working in my current job, I love my job and each morning I get up ready for a new day and new challenges but now I am thinking of new ways to communicate with my parents and show them their children's work and day.
I guess that I will just continue working through this subject and see what tools I find easy to work with and easy to follow as I know that some parents do not use computers in their everyday life and may not have the time and knowledge to use these tools too.
Regards Karen.
Sunday, November 21, 2010
Power Point
As you may have noticed from a previous posting, I am a visual learner. I have been reading through the task for this week, Power Point and making a storyboard. I started off printing off all the information from the task and am now faced with 12 pages of instructions, I like that there are photos of the different screens but I feel overwhelemed by all this information and am not too sure where to start.
I have been reading through this information and am wondering if this process would work in my workplace, having to following all this information may take too long for one process. I am having to take a step back and will look at this again tomorrow. I will not give up the challenge and will report back on how I went.
Regards Karen
5th December 2010
As I work through this process I find this power point/storyboard too involved and do not think it would work in my current job as it would take too much time. Each day I complete a power point presentation of the children's day and have found that out of 24 children, only a couple of parents take the time to look at the power point. The children do like to look at it and comment on what they are doing and who they are playing with. I know that as we are about to start a new year, we are looking at ways to change the power point presentation and getting parents to notice this. We are looking at placing the daily power point in each child's file for that day. Does this breach the privacy of the other children? We are still looking into this and having to talk to our head office to see if this is done at other centres.
I have been reading through this information and am wondering if this process would work in my workplace, having to following all this information may take too long for one process. I am having to take a step back and will look at this again tomorrow. I will not give up the challenge and will report back on how I went.
Regards Karen
5th December 2010
As I work through this process I find this power point/storyboard too involved and do not think it would work in my current job as it would take too much time. Each day I complete a power point presentation of the children's day and have found that out of 24 children, only a couple of parents take the time to look at the power point. The children do like to look at it and comment on what they are doing and who they are playing with. I know that as we are about to start a new year, we are looking at ways to change the power point presentation and getting parents to notice this. We are looking at placing the daily power point in each child's file for that day. Does this breach the privacy of the other children? We are still looking into this and having to talk to our head office to see if this is done at other centres.
Saturday, November 20, 2010
RSS
Hi
I have just worked out how to list everyone's blogs into a RSS file and it was a slow process because we all know that computer knowledge is not my best skill but I have everyone attached and now I will be able to check all your new comments and additions. I must say that I am really impressed with everyones blogs and wikis, you are showing me how useful these forms of ICT can be used in the class room. I have spent over an hour today reading through your sites and looking at how much work and information you have on your sites. I am needing to get my act together, I feel. Though I am proud of what I have achieved so far it is a lot more then I knew 3 weeks ago!
Keep up the good work everyone.
Regards Karen
I have just worked out how to list everyone's blogs into a RSS file and it was a slow process because we all know that computer knowledge is not my best skill but I have everyone attached and now I will be able to check all your new comments and additions. I must say that I am really impressed with everyones blogs and wikis, you are showing me how useful these forms of ICT can be used in the class room. I have spent over an hour today reading through your sites and looking at how much work and information you have on your sites. I am needing to get my act together, I feel. Though I am proud of what I have achieved so far it is a lot more then I knew 3 weeks ago!
Keep up the good work everyone.
Regards Karen
Friday, November 12, 2010
Wiki
I have just posted my Wiki. I have focused on the use of wikis in the child care industry and using a wiki for student's yearly portfolios. I know that schools are using digital portfolios. I feel that using wiki for the portfoilos then parents are able to access the wiki from home and work and contribute to their child's wiki. Please read my wiki and let me know what your opinion is. http://karene-learning.wikispaces.com/
5th December 2010
I have been thinking about the use of Wiki in Early Childhood Education, there maybe privacy issues, can parents access other children's Wikis. I would make it that each child has their own Wiki and the parents would be given the name of the Wiki but this information would not been given to other parents. I also have attached a YouTube clip about a whole class porfolio and I thought this would make a great Wiki. It could list on each page a learning experience for the class, with a brief description of the activity and photos of the class taking part in the activity. This Wiki would help support the learning of the class and demonstrate what is being taught in the class.
I have added an additional page to my Wiki to show an example of a page that would show parents the benefits of computer use in childhood education and also display photos of the children over the year. Not only would computer usage be one page but also some other examples are Construction Play and Painting.
5th December 2010
I have been thinking about the use of Wiki in Early Childhood Education, there maybe privacy issues, can parents access other children's Wikis. I would make it that each child has their own Wiki and the parents would be given the name of the Wiki but this information would not been given to other parents. I also have attached a YouTube clip about a whole class porfolio and I thought this would make a great Wiki. It could list on each page a learning experience for the class, with a brief description of the activity and photos of the class taking part in the activity. This Wiki would help support the learning of the class and demonstrate what is being taught in the class.
I have added an additional page to my Wiki to show an example of a page that would show parents the benefits of computer use in childhood education and also display photos of the children over the year. Not only would computer usage be one page but also some other examples are Construction Play and Painting.
Learning Styles for students with learning disabilities
I was looking back at my blog and was reading through the comments made by Tania on my Learning Styles. Thank you Tania for taking the time to read and comment on my blog, I find this very useful.
I have a child in my class with ASD and was wondering about using the learning styles worksheet with him and seeing if this will help me with learning about him and knowing how he learns and what are his strengths and weakness in different learning areas. My student has changed so much over the past year and is starting to need less assistance in the class room and is socialising more. I have worked with other children with ASD and they are now in school and it is interesting to see them changing and learning to be part of the class room environment.
I have a child in my class with ASD and was wondering about using the learning styles worksheet with him and seeing if this will help me with learning about him and knowing how he learns and what are his strengths and weakness in different learning areas. My student has changed so much over the past year and is starting to need less assistance in the class room and is socialising more. I have worked with other children with ASD and they are now in school and it is interesting to see them changing and learning to be part of the class room environment.
Sunday, November 7, 2010
Learning
I have completed my learning quizes and I have decided at the age of 40 that I knew what kind of learner I am and surprise, surprise I was correct. I am a visual learner and I have a mind of pictures and this helps me with my studies and job. People always ask me how I remember peoples names and about information that has been told to me. I like to think about where I am when I meet a person and where I was when I was told the information. This is very important in my job.
I was surprised with the results from the Multiple Intelligence test, I am a Linguistic (Word Smart) closely followed by Intrapersonal (Myself Smart). I found taking these tests fun and very interesting and have noticed that I am watching my family more to see what kind of learners they are and I know that at work this coming week I will be watching the children in my class, to see what kind of learner they may be.
I think that this information is valuable for teachers as it will help to show us how to teach our students and allow them to learn at their pace and within their abilities.
I was surprised with the results from the Multiple Intelligence test, I am a Linguistic (Word Smart) closely followed by Intrapersonal (Myself Smart). I found taking these tests fun and very interesting and have noticed that I am watching my family more to see what kind of learners they are and I know that at work this coming week I will be watching the children in my class, to see what kind of learner they may be.
I think that this information is valuable for teachers as it will help to show us how to teach our students and allow them to learn at their pace and within their abilities.
Saturday, November 6, 2010
Mind map
I have completed a mind map and understand that this would be very useful in the planning of lessons in the class room. I feel that you could also make a mind map of your students looking at their learning style, interests, strengths and weakness. I have seen mind maps in the text for this degree but have never used one myself. I found the Bubbl.us easier to use, though I know that I could do better with more knowledge.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Friday, November 5, 2010
My first blog
Hi my name is Karen and I am a flex student studying BLM Early Childhood. I am a third year student and only have one more year of study, which I am very excited about. I currently work in the child care industry and have found over the past 2 years that computers are being used more in the class room. I have never made a Blog before and find this very confusing but know that it will become very important in my future career. Most of the children in my class room have computer knowledge and are able to operate computer games such as Playstation and Wii, now it is time for me to catch up with them.
I need to move with the times and being a teacher in the 21st Century I have to forget how I was taught at school, 25 years ago and realise that computers are put of the learning process. I am asking everyone to assist me with this. I now start on a new journey and know that this will help me to be a better teacher.
Regards
Karen
I need to move with the times and being a teacher in the 21st Century I have to forget how I was taught at school, 25 years ago and realise that computers are put of the learning process. I am asking everyone to assist me with this. I now start on a new journey and know that this will help me to be a better teacher.
Regards
Karen
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