Reflective Synopsis

This E-Learning course has shown me that through trial and error we can begin to grow and understand our own learning journey. So far in the last five weeks of this course I have panicked, stressed out, yelled in triumph, beamed in pride and felt self satisfaction in things I have achieved while being outside my comfort zone. This course forces you into situations which you would normally avoid. Such as writing in a blog, many people didn’t know what a blog was and how to use it to its full potential, since starting this course we have grown and developed the confidence to express ourselves without knowing who our audience is.

The ELearning course is based on how to incorporate technology in the classroom, future Learning managers have the freedom to introduce technology into the classroom, we have the ability to become Learning Managers that fully utilise the World Wide Web and all of its possibilities.

We can use ICT to fully cater for the “digital natives” of the 21^st century; we don’t need to teach students the basics of technology all we need to do is introduce them to the educational and informative side of the digital world. Our students don’t need to be pushed into learning, as learning managers we have to guide them toward the path of higher order thinking and this will bring them closer to becoming lifelong learners.

The Queensland government’s Learning Place Affiliate program is an example of how technology is starting to become a regular tool in the classroom. Technology can be efficiently used to cater for the 21^st century students learning styles and by bringing the digital world into the classroom we are providing a sufficient and up to date teaching technique.

The four technologies I will be focusing on are:

· Blogs

· Wiki’s

· Prezi

· And Audio.

Blogs-

Blogs are an online journal that can be used to convey personal thoughts, art work, literature, news or information. Teachers are using blogs to present their students’ progress, work or just to give out assignments and study material.

Blogs are a great way for students to express themselves and their work without feeling the pressure of peers or failure. Blogs can be used as a whole classroom project or just as an individual assignment presentation page. As this ELearning course has already demonstrated, each individual who created a blog has found their own way of expression and begun to evaluate their own work and information.

I found that writing and maintaining a blog did take up a large portion of my study time. On occasion I didn’t quite get what I wanted across through my blog; the message always seemed to get blurred. Now that I’ve seen how I cope in these situations and how well I write without being checked, I can now go over, review my work and distinguish specific areas I need to improve and expand on.

As a future learning manager I can see the potential in a blog, it can be used in many classroom situations, however I don’t think classes should revolve around technology or the latest gadget, we need to incorporating technology into the classroom without disrupting or skipping students education.

Wiki’s-

My wiki page was created in my first week, I was excited to get started, I had already created my blog and explored the WikiSpaces website. I believe Wiki’s hold the key to collaborative learning outside schools and the classroom. They can be used by a group of students who have to work together on an assignment, or by a teacher who is helping and guiding a group of students in their study materials.

There was an example of the uses for a wiki earlier on in our Course (ELearning) and it involved collaborating with another person/s to create a PMI on learning theories. I did a PMI on Vygotsky’s theory of learning (The Zone of Proximal development) with Emma, using her Wiki page to create and edit our PMI. Email didn’t quite cut the mark and with wiki’s you can see the changes being made and no information gets “lost in translation”.

Prezi-

Prezi is a program resembling a blank canvas in which you can express ideas and move freely. It includes a zooming tool that makes presentations come alive. There are a number of tools available when creating your Prezi, you can include photos, videos, text, highlight important text or add shapes. Students can use it to create a presentation, use it together on a collaborative assignment (it has a multiple editors tool, 10 editors on the Prezi page at one time) or the teacher can use it at the front of the class to introduce a new subject.

I found Prezi to be an enjoyable program; it has a huge range of possibilities as I show you in one of my blog postings (it is listed below). I think Prezi has the potential to inspire students to step outside their comfort zone, to use it and other programs that are outside the usual school parameters.

Audio-

Audio is a recording or play back of a pre-recorded clip, it can be used to narrate stories, introduce a web page or topic, and it can also be used to narrate PowerPoint presentations. Voki is another example of Audio. It uses a pre-recorded voice (or you have the option of making your own recording) and a character of your choice will act it out and voice the recording (as shown in my elected blog readings at the end of this assessment).

People from different locations hoping to share their profession can use video, audio or a blog to convey their message to students, an Audio clip uploaded to a Wiki page that has another visual element (eg. Image or text) can be used to fully convey their information and show students what the person/s do within their careers.

I found creating an audio clip to be a huge challenge. I came into that week all ready to go; I was willing to do all three technologies (Video, Audio and Images) but then I realized the one mistake I made, do not bite off more than you can chew. The Audio took me 2 days to create and then my computer started playing up because I downloaded a faulty recording program (I did however find a good program after this and I shared it on my blog). My recording was about legal safety, and I found it to be relatively easy to work the recording program I acquired for free.

Legal safety and child safety-

When working in an online environment teachers need to be aware of the constant risks of the internet. Stranger danger is very real in cyber space, so teachers need to be constantly checking their students when they are surfing the World Wide Web.

The legal guidelines that apply to adults also apply to students, they cannot copy and paste someone else’s work, they have to use the 10% rule and they have to ask permission to post someone else’s picture or a video containing someone else onto a blog, any published freely accessed book or article and website.

The legal guidelines are there to protect us and others when it comes to published works. Students should be guided by their Learning Managers in the importance of these guidelines and to respect other people’s property.

In conclusion-

This ELearning program has giving me an insight into how the education system is lacking in certain areas. As a future Learning Manager I see how technology can play a major role in how we teach. Students of the 21^st century or digital natives need ICT’s and technology to be integrated into the usual classroom experience for them to learn to their full potential. The technologies written about and spread throughout my blog postings are but a small section of what is available over the internet. To be fully prepared to teach lifelong learners, we need to become lifelong learners and this requires knowing how to use and teach with technology.

Examples of my four technologies are within these blog postings, along with other reflections and technologies.

http://dreaminguni.blogspot.com/2011/08/technology-in-schools.html

http://dreaminguni.blogspot.com/2011/08/prezi.html

http://dreaminguni.blogspot.com/2011/08/blog-post.html

http://dreaminguni.blogspot.com/2011/07/wiki-and-weebly-pages.html

http://dreaminguni.blogspot.com/2011/07/this-is-my-crocodile.html

http://dreaminguni.blogspot.com/2011/07/blogging.html

http://dreaminguni.blogspot.com/2011/07/word-cloud.html

http://dreaminguni.blogspot.com/2011/07/e-learning.html

http://dreaminguni.blogspot.com/2011/07/mobile-wiki.html

http://dreaminguni.blogspot.com/2011/07/week-one-activities.html

http://dreaminguni.blogspot.com/2011/07/vygotsky.html

http://dreaminguni.blogspot.com/2011/07/in-this-weeks-readings-we-were-asked-to.html

References:

Department of education and training (2011) Learning Place Affiliate program. The Learning Place. Retrieved August 19, 2011 from http://education.qld.gov.au/learningplace/affiliates/index.html

Prensky. M (2001). Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants. On the Horizon, MCB University Press, Vol 9. Retrieved from CQUniversity e-courses, FAHE 11001 Managing E-Learning, http://moodle.cqu.edu.au/mod/resource/view.php?id=186311

Vygotsky. L (1962) Social Development Theory. Retrieved August 19, 2011 from,

http://tip.psychology.org/vygotsky.html

Learning websites.

Hi.

I was reading through an interesting article about how you could use IPods in the classroom and it gave me a few websites to look over and I thought Id post them because its interesting all the different sites out there that can help teachers in the classroom.

Affiliate program - Learning Place

How To Videos on Howcast | The best how to videos on the web (do not let children on here unsupervised. It has some great how to videos but some are unsuitable.)

I Education Apps Review - I Education Apps Review

Education Apps review does exactly what it name states

HUNTEDWEB.com

It hunts down technology for the classroom so teachers don't have too!

Prezi.

A Prezi can be used to add a new dimension to assignments and presentations. I chose Prezi as my technology for week five because it had a creative appeal. I had never used a program like it before and was very excited to get started.

My Prezi - The benefits of Prezi!

I decided to do the week 5 activity as a Prezi, I wasn't too keen about the PowerPoint or even the Glogster (although I did have a fiddle on it).

I like Prezi because you can create your own design, and it isn't limited by slides (such as PowerPoint). You can create limitless possibilities with Prezi. I created an example of a short quiz for students to complete alone or in groups.

Examples in Prezi.

Something teachers have to be aware of when working with Prezi is that it can get a bit dizzy if your zooming in to much. So instead of zooming in on each individual word try paragraphs so whoever is watching has a chance to read it before being taken to the next lot of words.

Another fault in Prezi is no spell check, and I know this may seem trivial to some people, but I tend to have to check my words a lot because I was never a top student in spelling. So when kids are wanting to make a Prezi it might be a good idea to get them to proof read each others work. If a teacher or student is making a Prezi it might help if they wrote their paragraphs in Microsoft Word and then copy and paste it across.

Prezi also has the option of transferring pictures and videos. As you can tell from my example I took advantage of the inserting picture tool. It was relatively easy to create that little quiz but it also takes a little bit of working out, so if your willing to sit down for an hour and a half to suss Prezi out completely than you will have a ball with it.

However when creating the "path" (what order the presentation goes in) it can get confusing with dots everywhere, but the best bet is to just zoom out and take a look at the whole picture and how you would like it presented. Sometimes it takes a few try's to get it right (I have the draft's and bad copies on my profile in Prezi)

I hope I have covered everything, I found it to be a pleasant experience and one I wont mind repeating. I did get annoyed and frustrated on occasion when working it out (however it does have a tutorial). I think Prezi would be a fun tool for students to use when creating little quizzes or assignments. It is also a great way for teachers to add a new dimension to a usually flat subject or topic.

Technology in Schools

Technology in schools.

There are many different types of programs and apps that you can use in the classroom, different aspects of technology that replace the usual assumptions about schools (teachers standing in the front of the classroom giving the students information to memorize.)

A few examples of technology are

· Facebook

· Blogs, wiki’s.

· ITunes.

· IPods, IPads and IPhones.

· Mobiles

· Video

· Audio

· Powerpoints

· Animation

· Glogster

· Twitter

· Weebly

· Video Conferencing

· Windows movie maker- other movie making programs.

· Alias Sketchbook Pro.

· Adobe Photoshop.

· Interactive Whiteboards.

I will be using the SWOT analysis today on these examples of technology.

Facebook- is a social networking site that can be used to interconnect and share a classrooms progress.

Strengths-

· It’s easy to use and most students in High School would own a facebook account.

· It’s an easy way to communicate on different subjects.

· You can create a Facebook page for a classroom, however only children over 13 can create an account so if it’s for a younger class they should be supervised when using it.

· Parents can easily view their child’s progress and projects via the classes facebook account.

Weaknesses-

· It isn’t an ideal way of showing of a classroom’s progress.

· Many parents won’t have or feel the need for a facebook account.

· Younger students probably won’t fully understand it.

Opportunities-

· Can create an online community.

· Can engage with other teachers, parents and older students.

Threats-

· Have to be careful when creating a classroom account for younger students because of internet safety.

· Must have it constantly supervised.

· Cannot post anything without students/parent’s permission.

· Stranger danger over the internet.

I like Facebook as a social networking website, I can connect with friends, show off my art work and photos. However I don’t know if it has a permanent place in our classrooms it can be a very distracting and it might not be the best program to use when mapping out what the students have achieved.

I wanted to add it in my list of technologies because it does play a large role in our society today. People have their own little communities on facebook, they can pick and choose who they wish to add and write whatever they wish. It is a world revolving around that one person, millions of people have facebook accounts and each account revolves around that person. It is slightly daunting, and exciting to think about all the different ways our technology can be used. Whether it’s for education, science or social networking, there are endless possibilities.

Blogs – Are a personal writing page/website for one person. It can be used for a classroom to post ideas, stories, homework or progress.

Strengths-

· Easy layouts.

· Personalise.

· Has a nice way for presenting work.

· Can be used to express thoughts, ideas or information.

· Can be used to show of projects, pictures or video’s of the classroom.

· Parents can look over the blog to see the child’s progress.

· Students can access the blog for homework assignments and so forth.

· Can be made private just for student and parents viewing.

Weaknesses-

· You cannot post Audio.

· Only short videos can be uploaded (depending on the blog site).

· It is hard to add friends or find blogs of equal relevance without having the URL.

· Students may get bored with constant writing, so you must add lots of different aspects.

Opportunities-

· An online site for other teachers to draw information from.

· An example of the progress and development of the students for them to draw back on.

· A place to develop project ideas for the students to try at home.

Threats-

· Have to constantly be aware of the copyright laws and child safety regulations.

· Cannot post material that hasn’t been consented to being on an online blog.

· It doesn’t have the same freedom as a wiki, interactive white board or virtual classroom.

I had fun creating a maintaining my blog over the past couple of weeks, it was easy and simple to understand. Although it didn’t (as stated in the threats section of my SWOT) have that certain freedom that a wiki page does. The wiki page made my life so much easier when creating the PMI on learning theories with a partner.

Blogging isn’t hard to do but for me personally it was difficult to maintain, I like lots of colour and pictures, so for me to do constant writing and reflections was a real push. I do however need to be pushed outside my comfort zone from time to time and this is exactly what this course has done so far.

I would use a blog in a classroom situation because however much that I struggle to motivate myself to write on a blog I don’t doubt that there would be mountains of material to post when you’re working in a class of 30.

Wiki- A collaborative website that can be used by students to brainstorm with one another outside the classroom

Strengths-

· Children can easily work together to create an answer or piece of writing for an assignment or homework.

· It is easy to understand.

· If something gets deleted the teacher can easily retrieve it.

· All the students can participate on the one Wiki page.

· All students have a chance to express their ideas without one or two students dominating.

· Video and Audio can be easily uploaded.

Weaknesses-

· Work can be easily deleted.

· Can’t be as personalized as a blog.

· Doesn’t have that same neat layout as a blog.

Opportunities-

· Students can create brilliant essays or collaborative assignments without having to arrange meetings.

· The teacher can correct and change their ideas as they post them, so they get direct feedback.

· Students can bounce ideas off one another without feeling that same pressure to not write or speak the same ideas as others.

Threats-

· Once again, Copy Right and child safe laws come into play.

· Teachers must constantly check the wiki page for any indecent communication or put downs.

· Wiki’s are harder to get around (jump from one page to another) then a blog or facebook page.

I really like wiki’s, they are easy to use when working in groups on collaborative projects. Also you have more options with a wiki then with a blog. You can upload more, and create more on a wiki. However being a visual person it isn’t to colourful, and it doesn’t have the same range to make it your own. This I believe will have an impact on how children will react to it, to make it all a bit more special you would have to make sure each student has their own colour for text, ask them to upload pictures relevant to the topic and the teacher would have to upload videos and audio for them to watch and analysis.

ITunes- Almost everyone knows ITunes, it is one of the biggest and most used music library. It can be connected to a number of devices such as the IPod, IPad, and IPhone to name a few.

ITunes has a number of items available for education purposes, I found these when I was trolling through the internet for technology uses in the classroom.

Apple - Education - Apps

Storynory - Stories For Kids - Download free podcast episodes by Wizzard Media on iTunes.

The Story Home™ Children's Audio Stories - Download free podcast episodes by Alan Scofield on iTunes.

There is also ITunes-U which offers a large amount of educational material for older students to download.

Strengths-

· It is fun, interesting and educational.

· Have many different uses in the classroom.

· Can help kids expand their skills in all subjects.

· Is easy to understand and download.

· The teacher can control the games and such downloaded.

· Students can learn to share and interact as a group.

· Can be a useful tool for children who are reluctant to work in the usual classroom environment.

· It can also help kids who have trouble learning or have disabilities.

· It can help students learn in their own time, they can go back to stories or readings from their last session. Begin a new game or problem and work it through at their own pace.

Weaknesses-

· Some games are 1:1 and in a class of 30 this can prove problematic if you have limited devices.

· They can be a bit expensive and are constantly being upgraded.

· They may be misused or mistreated.

Opportunities-

· It can be used in many situations in the classroom.

· Such as: Teaching kids how to read, Learning maths problems, language skills, creating puzzles for one another and so forth.

Threats:

· Children may be spending too much time on devices rather than getting one on one time with the teacher and other students.

· Other apps may find their way onto the devices.

I love the Idea of using an IPad in a class; it is a great way to get kids excited about learning.

Setting up and using an IPad or other Apple products is fairly easy and it comes with a range of uses and apps for the classroom.

PowerPoint- A Windows program that can be used to create slide shows, stop motion videos and interesting assignment tasks.

Strengths-

· It is an interesting alternative to the humble essay.

· It is easy and has simple instructions if you get lost.

· You can create a slide show to your liking.

· You can add pictures and audio easily.

· You can add a recording to accompany the powerpoint.

Weaknesses-

· Finding the right mix of information per slide is crucial because you don’t want your viewers to become bored or overwhelmed.

· It can become confusing when trying to figure out what order you want your information or project presented.

· It can also become a tedious task creating a PowerPoint.

Opportunities-

· You can attach links to your PowerPoint.

· Video.

· Pictures and photos.

Threats-

· It doesn’t always convey the message you wanted.

Unfortunately, I couldn’t think of many dot points for PowerPoint, maybe it’s because I don’t like to use it unless I really have too. I do like it, but I find it very tedious to use.

The other technologies stated will be added later on in my assignment 2, I will pick 4 that I really like and work on those.

Thank you for reading this, I know its long and I hope I didn’t bore you. J

My Voki!

MY Voki.

I had so much fun making this, its easy, fast and you can annoy your family by playing the funny voices over and over again :)

The voki can be used to introduce a topic, be a narrator for a story or separate video. It also has the potential for teaching language skills. You can choose between quite a few characters, you can record your own voice or use a prerecorded voice. It gives students the opportunity to portray their own learning styles and individual characteristics.

It has that cute and interesting appeal, one that will captivate kids and students curiosity.

A great addition to any classroom.

Wiki and Weebly pages.

These are my Wiki and Weebly pages. :) I hope you enjoy.

I liked the Weebly site, I can use it but I prefer Blogger, so there isn't much on there just the proof that I did make one.

http://timetolearn2teach.weebly.com/

My Wiki site has been up for a while. I love it because it's easy to use and it's very interactive. Emma and I used it to create our PMI on Vygotsky's theory. It was 100% easier than email.

http://dreaminguni.wikispaces.com/Ideas+and+discussions+about+E-Learning.++

Audio and Don't Cross the Croc- Legal and Copyright safety

This is my Crocodile. Don't get him angry by breaking the copyright laws.

The text on his belly says "Do not use other peoples information without asking and referencing. Use the 10% rule"

I have spent a long time fixing my computer this week because I installed a bad audio program, it was not the best week.

However I did manage to get an Audio clip together using http://www.nch.com.au/software/soundrec.html?gclid=CMyRioDynaoCFcYZHAodSQ7X4g

I chose Wavepad and that was really fun.

I talk in the clip on legal safety. :)

Legal Safety Audio Clip On my Wiki Page.

Audio for me was really easy to do, being someone who juggles quite a few things I like to make everything perfect and Audio was quite simple and easy enough to upload on Wiki. Although it is disappointing that Blogger doesn't allow for audio to be uploaded, that however is fixed easily through linking (which is what I have done with my audio clip from wiki).

PMI on Audio.

Plus:

• It's easy to use and upload onto Wikispaces.
• It gives another level of interaction over the internet instead of just text.
• There is plenty of ways it can be used and incorporated into the classroom.

Minus:

• It still doesn't have any visual appeal.
• Not all children can learn efficiently by listening.
• There needs to be another level of interest.

Interesting:

• You could get your kids to use it to narrate a story or power point.
• It could accompany an animation so that there is an interesting visual point.
• You could use it to introduce a new topic.

I drew the croc, so he is my own picture.

Same with the rest of the drawings on my blog. :)

Blogging.

This is just a little drawing I did to show how I believe blogs can be used, I'll do real examples later on in the week.

I love how blogging can connect you with people you have never met before, you can learn how someone in another town is doing with the same University course or have a look at someone's art and/or literature work online.

I know I'm using a few pictures on here now, it's because I feel I can really show who I am and how I learn through them. It plays a large role in how I process the information I receive.

The words on the picture are - Education, Ideas, Literature, Video, News, Art, Audio, Projects.

I know there are a lot more uses for a blog this is just to name a few.

:)

Add a use for a blog if you like.

Putting in a quick reflection for the day, I have read over my activities for this week and I am constantly rereading everything so I fully understand it but that feeling I'm going to miss something never seems to fade. Although I am very happy with this weeks tasks, the audio, image and video. These things make me very excited to become a teacher; O what you could do with it all!

One thing I am not so certain about is the legal side of things, I've done two courses now and both have taken me through the rules and regulations but that doesn't stop me from scratching my head and going.. arghhh..

No matter, last week I had a plan mapped out in my head of a wonderful blog reflection I was going to post and it seems that this weeks activities had read my thoughts! So now I'm reading through our materials and developing an eye twitch because of prolonged brain usage.

I have to admit I have trouble containing everything that I read, mostly because images are my strong point. Even descriptive text is easier to remember then 10-30 pages of pure information. So I constantly find myself day dreaming halfway through a sentence.

One thing I found exceptionally interesting is when I read through a set of text on how the brain functions. This helped me tremendously when trying to understand Vygotsky theory and Blooms taxonomy (which I am still slightly confused about).

I will have to reread a few things about legal implications of songs, videos and images. I know the basics, it's like anything, you don't use someone else's things until you ask. I have to fully understand it before I can teach students if they can or can't use a piece of information in their blog, wiki, essay's or tumblr etc.

Does anyone have any advice? Or information they are willing to share?

Word Cloud

I tried the word cloud today and this is what I came up with. It would be a great thing to have in the classroom, for example you could use it to personalize the covers of books and shirts for the kids or turn it into encouragement stickers. There are plenty of ways and I think it is very fun program to play around with.

E-Learning.

I just wanted to write a quick review on how this ELearning course is working out for me.

I was a little overwhelmed with the amount of information offered to me in week one and the start of week two. I have only done one uni course previous to the two I'm doing this term, and I'm still enrolled in high school. So as you can imagine this was a major step into the unknown for me.

A lot of the readings so far have been on how you can incorporate technology and new ways of teaching to the classroom. This is hard for me because I haven't had much experience teaching kids, if anything I'm on the other end of the scale, I am the kid being taught. Other than the odd helping out to look after kids or tutoring a few children, I have close to no experience in this area.

Which frustrates me because I have to learn all these new ideas and techniques to teach and I haven't yet had the chance to go out and really work out how I would put them into practice.

This however has little to do with the course itself, I love how everything is laid out. It's easy to understand and there isn't a shortage of help if you get totally lost. What I love most is that everyone involved in the course is helping one another to get through and we are also learning off one another.

I have been going over idea's on how we can incorporate technology into a class room and how can we keep it safe and enjoyable for everyone?

Some of the sites I have been to that offer free programs could easily be added to the classroom experience. These programs offer things from mind maps to animated stick men and movie makers.

Teachers could make any subject an enjoyable hands on experience with these programs.

I also had an image in my head of how I see the future classroom, it's not at home with kids sitting in front of their computers but in a room with a large computer screen mounted up the front (and/or projector). Every child has a touch pad that directly links to that screen, so they can add and take away information while the teacher guides them through their learning experience.

With change also comes some boundaries and I think our major problem is child safety. How can we be sure that children wont jump on chat sites during class or see something inappropriate during school hours.? We need to have guild lines in place to insure that students know the regulations and are also willing to abide by them.

Mobile Wiki.

After reading over everyone's in put on the mobile wiki activity. (De Bonos 6 hats) I went away and pondered my stand on this topic.

I have first hand experience on how mobile phones can effect the classroom environment, they distract not just the person with the mobile phone but almost all the people around them as well. How can people judge some teachers for not teaching the kids properly when they have up to 20-30 kids in the classroom, all of them will have mobile phones and they all have their own individual needs and learning styles. It's just asking for failure.

However, If we learn how to interest the kids away from their mobile phones, such as incorporating another sort of technology into education and the school system. This will intrigue and excite the kids and they won't need to touch their mobile phones to have a taste of technology in the classroom.

How can mobile phones be introduced into schools and should they?

To be honest I was at a total loss for a better part of the week, I know they are a problem, I know they are used every way except for educational purposes but HOW do I put that into 6 different hats?

Negative (black hat)

Process (Blue hat)

Creative (green hat)

Intuitive (orange hat)

Positive (Yellow hat)

Objective (white hat.)

Unfortunately due to lack of room I couldn't write my opinion on the last two, so I will write it on here.

The positives to mobile phones in schools is you are incorporating technology into a digital natives learning journey. They would finally be taught in a way that they are comfortable with.

Teachers can also become less of an authority figure and more a person who will guide the students toward their ultimate learning abilities.

We need to do a trial to gain ideas and general observations on how mobile phones contribute to the classroom. Can we generate a different type of technology that will make the kids excited about learning?

Almost every child has a mobile phone, its there for safety and piece of mind for parents all over Australia. How would parent's feel if mobile phones were asked to be used in schools?

We need to draw up a game plan on how we can change the education system to best govern the needs of students today and how we can best teach them according to each individuals learning style. If we do this I think mobile phones will naturally be factored into it.

The information I've been reading about education taking a new turn is reflected in the mobile wiki's, many people still believe mobile phones have no place in the class room. In saying that though we still cannot see a different alternative, this is how we were raised, in the typical classroom. Now we are being asked to throw this "old information" and learn a whole new concept of teaching and learning.

Its hard but also an exciting prospect.

I loved doing the Mobile wiki and seeing everyone's in put and idea's on mobiles in schools.

:)

Week one Activities.

In week one activities we were asked to work with our fellow "classmates" in this course to create a PMI for a topic of our choice. I worked with Emma, and we did Vygotsky's theories of learning.

I had no trouble working with a partner in this activity, actually it was a great enjoyment to pass ideas back and forth. The PMI seemed to create itself as we added ideas, fixed up wording and shifted sentences.

Once we became familiar with Vygotsky's theories it was relatively easy to express how we felt on the topic, what we could see needed improving and how we would incorporate it into the classroom.

At first I didn't understand the objective of the PMI activity, and was slightly overwhelmed with the whole learning theories idea and wiki pages. However after talking to Wendy over the Elluminate tutorial, I understood how to work the Flex wiki page and where to post our activity result.

The wiki pages were a totally new experience for me, Emma and I did most of our modifying and drafting on her wiki page, it is an excellent tool for any learner. It helps to communicate without the need for a face to face connection, you can easily adjust your learning preference to accommodate for this program or blog.

Teachers now should really grasp this technology that is so readily available to them, students would embrace wikis and blogs because it's a way to do homework or collaborative assignments outside the same old school environment.

PMI on Vygotsky's theory on education.

PMI on Vygotsky's Theories of Learning

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Plus:

• Vygotsky theorises that society plays a large role in childhood development.
• He places a great importance on culture and its impact on the child.
• They learn and develop differently depending on what they were shown or taught.
• This theory then encourages collaborative learning, and/or group learning, where students are able to learn more by sharing knowledge with one another.
• In contrast to Piaget's theory of discovery learning, Vygotsky believes children need to be taught by teachers or peers who have more knowledge on a particular subject. Whereas Piaget theorises that children will learn in particular styles at particular ages, no matter how intelligent the child may appear and what cultural and social influences there are, they will not develop these skills until that age.
• Vygotsky's theory, The Zone of proximal development, has more potential to become the foundation for our education system than Piaget's theory.

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Minus:

• His theories are not modernised to suit all aspects of todays ever changing society.
• They do not support Piaget's discovery learning, which does have some foundation.
• Children also learn through making mistakes on their own and trying again, discovering cause and effect.
• Not all children learn by heeding advice, they learn through trying, making errors and adapting changes to find the outcome/knowledge that they seek.
• Vygotsky's theory doesn't provide for situations where there is an inability to access extended kinship connections or where there is cultural deprivation, for example, war, famine or dislocated families.

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Interesting:

• How we can change and develop his ideas for our 21st century schools.
• Adapting his idea's to accommodate every type of learner.
• Changing the roles of our teachers in schools to become more attentive towards the students.
• Bringing them closer as they pass information down to a new generation.
• A child who is immersed in different cultures and social settings learns to be more accepting of each other and our differences in beliefs, cultures, religions, race and gender. How could this then be utilised in to our teaching skills and practices?

Vygotsky

I have been reading up on Vygotsky for this weeks activities.

It was more complicated then I originally thought it would be, due to the fact that I had to try and find a PMI in this flood of information. I had to read a lot to try and get a general idea of his different theories and ideas. It was fascinating how he explained the learning development of a child.

It also made perfect sense, for example.

If a child just got the training wheels taken off their new bike, and they jumped on without help. I can safely tell you they will not be able to balance properly and will quickly end up on the ground. They might be able to master the bicycle after a lot of trial and error, but it would take time. That would be an example of Piaget's discovery learning.

Another way to learn how to master the bicycle would be with a little help. An adult will usually hold onto the bike while you learn to balance, they would tell you to pedal and you learn to ride a lot faster then you would if you had tried on your own. This way of learning would be Vygotsky's, the Zone of Proximal Development.

All in all I learnt that our culture, society, peers, parents and adults start our learning development. Language also plays a large role in Vygotsky's theories he believe's that by communicating and discussing idea's, subjects and information, we can learn a lot fast than if we were trying to learn alone.