Images in the classroom

Uploading images has been the easiest, quickest and most visually rewarding task i have done so far. I didn't have to change any part of the photo it seemed to fit exactly how i wanted it and this photo was taken with a camera. Dancing is always about learning visually and having pictures for students to look at may help them to remember what a certain position looks like.

Photos are a great way to engage learners and could often be used as a hook at the start of a unit. You may be doing a musical theatre unit and could begin by showing students photos of dancers in the past and the present. Photos in the classroom cater for visual learners. I know that having a visual aid to help explain something is always more engaging then reading or talking about it. Pictures in the classroom should aim on having a purpose for outcomes to be met unless they are for decoration around the classroom.

There has been times when i have used Flickr, however i much prefer Google images because you don't have to sign up to use the photos. You can also just copy and paste the images to your desktop and then upload them from there i find this way alot easier.

PowerPoints

Plus - Can be a great way to attract visual learners with content and make connections.

- Can be a new way of encouraging students to explore different ways of presenting assessment.

- Can be altered at any time and once scaffolded is easy to use.

- Has many different applications for example an interactive powerpoint.

Minus - Is easy to put to include to much written information.

- Can be difficult for the younger years to use.

- It can distract from presenter and become a replacement instead of a reinforcement.

- Teaching students to rely on powerpoint may be preparing them for a world that has gone beyond it.

Interesting - It is said they are often over used, however i have never known about or seen anyone use powerpoint for its interactive capabilities with easy to use hyperlinking.

My first introduction to powerpoint was last year in my first year at CQU. I have used powerpoint twice for assessment and this was for group presentations with basic powerpoint functions used. Learning powerpoint with others was definately helpful as i had no idea what it was at the beginning of my degree and scaffolding would be essential for students.

Kearsley&Shneiderman's Engagement Theory (2001) states that "The role of technology in the theory is to facilitate all aspects of engagement". The interactive powerpoint tutorial was impressive i had no idea that you could do that with powerpoint and easy hyperlinking function to create a guided presentation what a bonus. This kind of reminded me of a web quest but alot easier to use with each activity being able to be hyperlinked. The learning manager could also create interactive learning as the hook to the beginning of a lesson. This element to powerpoints has given me more inspiration to use them in the future and could be an interesting way for my dance students to present their assessment pieces.

I have one more point to make about powerpoint. It is a great tool for the classroom, however we must make sure as teachers that we are not using this tool for the new calk and talk. We must remember to use many ways of engaging our learners just because you are using technology in the classroom does not mean all learners are engaged.

Click here - In regards to a conversation between Jasmin and myself on powerpoint as a learning tool in the classroom.

Wiki

My Wiki - http://nooniesimone.wikispaces.com/

A blog is like my own personal diary that people can comment on if they wish. A wiki is also similar, however your wiki can be changed by others sort of like a sharing email that your friends can edit to create communal communication. So its like a collaborative website with unlimited number of pages and files.

This would be a great way of getting students to address any questions on content being taught at school and a place where students can post information and thoughts on a subject or even help each other with ideas on upcoming assignments ect. This can also help the teacher with insight into where students are at with the subject and whether they need extra help and so on.

Dance often does not involve alot of time with computers, however with proper scaffolding of how to operate a wiki would be great in dance. They could upload videos of their final dance pieces on their wiki and other classmates could give constructive input on where they could improve and where they went well. This would also be a great way for student's to show off their dance ability to others.

Positives of a wiki - Gives you more time for editing and getting down ideas.

- Instantly collaborative without having to email documents and downloading them at the other end.

- Everyone has a say and is available anywhere with internet connection.

Negatives of a wiki - Might not always be appropriate to be public due to unproductive content of other users.

- Need to be reasonably tech-savvy with the concept of text markup and not obvious when needing to back up your wiki software.

Ideas sourced from http://www.oreillynet.com/network/2006/07/07/what-is-a-wiki.html

Week One

This mind map was set up using http://www.bubbl.us/

This was a easy fun way to map out some of the information covered in week one. Dance is my major teaching area in high schools and i thought this would be a great tool to help students brainstorm dance styles, dance companies, famous dancers ect. Instead of writing it up on the board students can create their own mind map and stick it up at home or in the classroom. My favourite part about this site was it was easy to save this image to my desktop and then upload it to my blog. This was a relief as i have been having trouble doing this with other sites this could be due to my lack of knowledge with computers, however i am definatley learning everyday in this course slowly but surely.

The negative side to this tool was that it was way too time consuming considering the reason for brainstorming is to get down ideas as quick as you can. This tool seemed like a fun savvy idea at the time but i honestly think i would not use this in the classroom.

Click here - to view conversations on concept mapping.

First blog ever

Hi

So my simple understanding of a blog is my reflective diary without all the juicy bits. It is created be myself and can be viewed by other followers. According to Griffith University "Blog" is as another name for "weblog". Blogs are website where new posts show on the top of your page so it's easy for follower to keep up with the new information posted. Blogs can be used for communication between students, teachers and also and easy way of keeping in contact with parents. Learning about new ways of gaining information on the web is always exciting and useful when trying to keep up with the world today. Initially in our first lecture the thought of creating a blog seemed impossible to me, however i seem to be doing alright so far.

References - Retrieved 8th August 2010 from http://www.griffith.edu.au/blogs/what-is-a-blog