In week 12s lecture we began to look at Web quests and their educational uses for the classroom. We learnt that they are more than an interactive web page, they are created to foster higher order thinking, research and planning skills.
We looked at a variety of web quests and critiqued them, taking note of what made them good and/or bad.
We then started the planning process of our own web quests. I have decided to create my Web quest for Year 3 students and use the ACARA Science Curriculum. I have chosen to base it on researching living and non living things under Science Understanding - Biological Sciences.
I want to foster literacy and critical and creative thinking through my activities and promote higher order thinking. I am looking forward to learning more about how to create Webquests as well as the educational purposes of them.
Sunday, 26 May 2013
Lecture 11: Movie Making Cont...
In Lecture 11 we continued to edit our movie that we made about students' social skills and accepting a new student into the class. We found the editing process vary challenging and got quite frustrated at times!
We added in an introduction scene at the beginning announcing the film with some music in the background. We also edited out extra footage that wasn't needed throughout the movie. We added in a a title saying 'the next day' and some sound effects. At the end we added in the end credits that included the actors and our different roles in creating the movie!
Then we wanted to upload it to our e-portfolio but we couldn't get it to work. So we then uploaded it to you tube and copied and pasted the link into our e-portfolio pages.
I found this a fun and interesting experience. I always thought editing movies was too hard for me and my lack of technology skills! Yet using this process, even though it was frustrating at times, encouraged me to give it a go. I am really excited about using movies in the classroom for a variety of educational purposes!
We added in an introduction scene at the beginning announcing the film with some music in the background. We also edited out extra footage that wasn't needed throughout the movie. We added in a a title saying 'the next day' and some sound effects. At the end we added in the end credits that included the actors and our different roles in creating the movie!
Then we wanted to upload it to our e-portfolio but we couldn't get it to work. So we then uploaded it to you tube and copied and pasted the link into our e-portfolio pages.
I found this a fun and interesting experience. I always thought editing movies was too hard for me and my lack of technology skills! Yet using this process, even though it was frustrating at times, encouraged me to give it a go. I am really excited about using movies in the classroom for a variety of educational purposes!
Wednesday, 8 May 2013
Lecture 10: Movie Making
Today in lecture we looked at making educational movies and editing them with different programs.
Alisha, Hannah, Elyce and I decided that we would do a movie on social skills and accepting a new student into the class and use puppets to communicate the message. We planned our movie, wrote a script and acted it out.
It took us 4 times to get it right as we had problems with Elyce's camera, Elyce's phone and Mel's camera. One we finally got it all recorded we went back to the classroom and used IMovie to add some extra details and edit parts.
We found IMovie difficult to use but once we got the hang of it we found it ok for doing basic editing.
Alisha, Hannah, Elyce and I decided that we would do a movie on social skills and accepting a new student into the class and use puppets to communicate the message. We planned our movie, wrote a script and acted it out.
It took us 4 times to get it right as we had problems with Elyce's camera, Elyce's phone and Mel's camera. One we finally got it all recorded we went back to the classroom and used IMovie to add some extra details and edit parts.
We found IMovie difficult to use but once we got the hang of it we found it ok for doing basic editing.
Wednesday, 1 May 2013
Lecture 9: Spreadsheets
Today we looked at spreadsheets and using mail merger to help us with our report writing.
We used an example spreadsheet document and adapted it to suit our own needs for our future classrooms. We then used mail merger to transfer the students test/project scores from the spreadsheet to word documents to help us with our reporting.
I learnt more about using spreadsheets and what they can be used for. I also learnt how to use mail merge for the first time. Initially it was complicated but I eventually understood how to use it.
I would use the spreadsheets to document my students' scores for tests and projects and then use mail merge to put the information into word documents. I could use this throughout the term and then when it came to report time I would have half of my report done!
Next time I would make sure that the colums of my spreadsheet were well labelled so that when I go to use mail merge, I can see which column is which.
We used an example spreadsheet document and adapted it to suit our own needs for our future classrooms. We then used mail merger to transfer the students test/project scores from the spreadsheet to word documents to help us with our reporting.
I learnt more about using spreadsheets and what they can be used for. I also learnt how to use mail merge for the first time. Initially it was complicated but I eventually understood how to use it.
I would use the spreadsheets to document my students' scores for tests and projects and then use mail merge to put the information into word documents. I could use this throughout the term and then when it came to report time I would have half of my report done!
Next time I would make sure that the colums of my spreadsheet were well labelled so that when I go to use mail merge, I can see which column is which.
Wednesday, 20 March 2013
Lecture 5: Educational Comics
Today in lecture we learnt about Educational Comics. We discussed the ways they can be used in the classroom.
Comics are a type of literature that students enjoy and they encourage hesitant readers to engage. Educational comics are also valuable for visual learners. They can easily be used for educational activities in English, Media/IT and The Arts.
We also used the Comic Life program to create our own Educational Comics. I made a comic called 'Get Moving' and it was based on healthy eating and exercising.
Although this program was frustrating to use at times, I'm glad we used it today as the students in my Internship class use it regularly. So it'll be helpful for me to be more familiar with it!
In reference to other Educational Comics:
I found this website that discusses an organisation called 'Reading With Pictures' who are researching the use of comics in the classroom.
http://www.graphicclassroom.org/2009/08/major-comics-in-education-research.html
I also found this site that has some interesting comics on Educational topics
http://educationalcomics.wordpress.com/
Comics are a type of literature that students enjoy and they encourage hesitant readers to engage. Educational comics are also valuable for visual learners. They can easily be used for educational activities in English, Media/IT and The Arts.
We also used the Comic Life program to create our own Educational Comics. I made a comic called 'Get Moving' and it was based on healthy eating and exercising.
Although this program was frustrating to use at times, I'm glad we used it today as the students in my Internship class use it regularly. So it'll be helpful for me to be more familiar with it!
In reference to other Educational Comics:
I found this website that discusses an organisation called 'Reading With Pictures' who are researching the use of comics in the classroom.
http://www.graphicclassroom.org/2009/08/major-comics-in-education-research.html
I also found this site that has some interesting comics on Educational topics
http://educationalcomics.wordpress.com/
Wednesday, 13 March 2013
Lecture 4: Multimedia Stories and Presentations
This week we learnt about Multimedia Stories and Presentations. We discussed what is needed to make a good presentation and critiqued some power point slides. We participated in an interactive presentation from www.m.socrative.com. When we answered questions on the socrative website it counted the classes' answers and presented them in a graph. It was interesting to see how this interactive presentation could be used in the classroom.
We then explored different ways of presenting our own interactive multimedia presentations. I made an interactive power point show based on the children's picture book 'Giraffes Can't Dance.' I added interactive games and links to websites and you tube clips.
We then explored different ways of presenting our own interactive multimedia presentations. I made an interactive power point show based on the children's picture book 'Giraffes Can't Dance.' I added interactive games and links to websites and you tube clips.
Wednesday, 6 March 2013
Lecture 3: 7 Things You Should Know About Blogs
- Blogs evolved from the publications of online personal diaries.
- Blogs are easy to use as they don't require coding HTML.
- Readers of a blog can provide feedback on the page or on their own blog and link it back to the original blog - this is called trackback. (Not that I know how to do that!)
- Blogs are significant as they engage people in sharing, reflection and debate.
- The downside to blogs is that they can often include inaccurate and biased information. This is because they are commonly produced by individuals.
- Blogs are extremely popular with an estimated 50million people participating.
- Blogs can be used as an instructional technology tool in classrooms as long as the benefits and limitations are understood.
- Blogs are easy to use as they don't require coding HTML.
- Readers of a blog can provide feedback on the page or on their own blog and link it back to the original blog - this is called trackback. (Not that I know how to do that!)
- Blogs are significant as they engage people in sharing, reflection and debate.
- The downside to blogs is that they can often include inaccurate and biased information. This is because they are commonly produced by individuals.
- Blogs are extremely popular with an estimated 50million people participating.
- Blogs can be used as an instructional technology tool in classrooms as long as the benefits and limitations are understood.
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