I have been involved in using powerpoint for a long time, even in primary school I can remember sitting in the computer lab having a play around with powerpoint. I used it all through high school and in my university courses. However, it wasn't until I began this course that I really found out how much you can really do in powerpoint!
When using powerpoint I mostly used it to support the presentation I was giving and admittedly it could often be very boring. Not anymore!! I have learnt how to add your own audio to a powerpoint presentation which would be really engaging in the classroom. You can even add the audio so that when you click on an image it makes a sound. Powerpoint could also be used by students to create a document that displays some results or even a photo story. For example let's say that students in a classroom were doing a science investigation on making a terrarium. They could take photos throughout the investigation and put it on their powerpoint and have audio on there to support the pictures and explain what happened during the investigation.
Saturday, July 31, 2010
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Podcasting and voki's
It was very interesting to find out what podcasts actually are in today's tutorial. I have heard a lot about them and knew that they were related to itunes but I wasn't actually sure of their purpose.
Podcasts could be used in many ways in the classroom but I particularly thought itunesu would be great to use for students to do museum and gallery tours without having to leave the classroom as not every school has access to these places. I also think it would be good for small groups or even individuals in the classroom to make podcasts of certain topics such as what happened on their excursion or class trip.
I think voki's are wonderful! I can just imagine how much fun kids would have with them in a classroom as I had fun playing around with it myself. They could be used to introduce children to a topic and really engage them. They would suit many different learning styles from Gardner's Multiple Intelligences as well. Children could also create a voki of a character they have come across in a book they have just read. The character profile could be created to demonstrate what they believe the character would look like and sound like.
Podcasts could be used in many ways in the classroom but I particularly thought itunesu would be great to use for students to do museum and gallery tours without having to leave the classroom as not every school has access to these places. I also think it would be good for small groups or even individuals in the classroom to make podcasts of certain topics such as what happened on their excursion or class trip.
I think voki's are wonderful! I can just imagine how much fun kids would have with them in a classroom as I had fun playing around with it myself. They could be used to introduce children to a topic and really engage them. They would suit many different learning styles from Gardner's Multiple Intelligences as well. Children could also create a voki of a character they have come across in a book they have just read. The character profile could be created to demonstrate what they believe the character would look like and sound like.
Monday, July 26, 2010
Connectivism
While listening to the explanation of the connectivism theory during our last tute I realised just how important it is in a time when there are so many ways to connect with other people and information.
Sometimes as teachers I feel we are expected to know everything, but this is not the case. My Mum asked me a question the other day and I could not answer it for her. Jokingly she replied that I should know as I'm going to be a teacher. My reply to this was that sure I don't know but I can tell you how you can find out, get on the computer and google it. Google is just an example of course there are many other places to find information but you get the picture.
As long as we have the knowledge and means to be able to connect with people to find out information. Wikipedia referred to the Connectivism theory as "a learning theory for the digital age". I believe this is a great summary and explains it very well.
Sometimes as teachers I feel we are expected to know everything, but this is not the case. My Mum asked me a question the other day and I could not answer it for her. Jokingly she replied that I should know as I'm going to be a teacher. My reply to this was that sure I don't know but I can tell you how you can find out, get on the computer and google it. Google is just an example of course there are many other places to find information but you get the picture.
As long as we have the knowledge and means to be able to connect with people to find out information. Wikipedia referred to the Connectivism theory as "a learning theory for the digital age". I believe this is a great summary and explains it very well.
Monday, July 19, 2010
My first ever blog...
Hi everyone,
I have had lots of issues with broken laptop chargers and cracked laptop screens (and a clumpsy partner) so it is great to be able to finally post something on here!!
I have never used a blog before although I have heard a lot about them. I think they would be a great way for people to connect on certain issues and would be great to use in the classroom, especially upper primary/highschool. Although there is no reason why a whole class could not work on a blog entry together and then submit it for the early years of primary school.
One aspect of the last tute that has really stuck in my mind was the use of wiki's and weebly; in particular weebly. I think this would be great to use to show students assessment criteria for a task or even have some examples up there so the students know exactly what is expected of them. Also, nobody can edit it!!
Hope this has been an interesting read...
Laura :)
I have had lots of issues with broken laptop chargers and cracked laptop screens (and a clumpsy partner) so it is great to be able to finally post something on here!!
I have never used a blog before although I have heard a lot about them. I think they would be a great way for people to connect on certain issues and would be great to use in the classroom, especially upper primary/highschool. Although there is no reason why a whole class could not work on a blog entry together and then submit it for the early years of primary school.
One aspect of the last tute that has really stuck in my mind was the use of wiki's and weebly; in particular weebly. I think this would be great to use to show students assessment criteria for a task or even have some examples up there so the students know exactly what is expected of them. Also, nobody can edit it!!
Hope this has been an interesting read...
Laura :)
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