My Personal Learning Space!

In a commentary titled ‘Why Games?’ researchers had a question and answer time with some students and in this they found a relationship between why students like to play computer games and how their benefits can be applied in education. Students that were interviewed enjoyed playing games because they were engaging, immersive, provided motivation, required analytical thinking, communication and collaboration.

I found this statement to be really interesting. What games require, should be what teachers also require. What games provide, should be what teachers also provide. If teachers could only harness these great qualities in computer games and use them in the classroom, I think that these digital natives may be more interested in formal education.

In a commentary entitled ‘Interactive Whiteboards: Boon or Boondoggle?‘ ed-tech experts debate whether interactive whiteboards are worth the investment in American schools (30% of schools already having access to interactive whiteboards). The debaters stated that pace of lessons were improving, engagement from students improved, along with teacher preparation. In Britain, a larger percent of classrooms have access to interactive whiteboards, however it is argued that the teachers are not using them to their fullest potential.

Another point raised in this article which I thought was really valid was what you are getting for your money when schools purchase interactive whiteboards. While initially the whiteboards are expensive, teachers found that money was being saved as they no longer needed to buy textbooks or manipulative’s as the interactive whiteboard replaced these needs.

I think as we’re moving into a more technological age, items such as the interactive whiteboard will improve learning, however I question how much teacher-student engagement is being lost along with teacher credibility? I still think they are very valuable, I would just like to learn more before I am sold on the idea!

Here is a vodcast that I made. It is my very first. In this vodcast I evaluate the National Museum of Australia  [Canberra]’s website. Check it out at www.nma.gov.au

Evaluating a Website

In an article entitled ‘The Future of Mobile Technology: Learning on the Run’, the writer states that ‘one in three children aged between 5 and 9 owns a mobile phone’. Therefore with there being such a high number of students (even from an early age) owning a mobile phone, teachers should take advantage of this tool with learning in the classroom. A mobile phone can be used as a camera, a videocamera, a calculator, a television, a mini-computer with access to the internet and with the use of bluetooth and and the fact one can talk on it, it becomes a very powerful tool for communication.

In this article, the author states how a certain person who may have no interest in going to University who may not own a computer and may not even have the interest to own a computer, and yet they will own a mobile phone. Therefore by ‘working on an unthreatening device (such as a mobile phone) and working up to a larger more powerful computer eases people back into formal learning’.

I found this article very interesting as it shows how mobile phones can be used in the classroom, and I believe that the use of mobile phones have a place in the classroom, but may need to have its boundaries of places and times. While there are many positive ways for mobile phone use, there is also the chance that bullying may occur via the use of the phones. Also as technology continues to improve and update, and older technology dates, is it possible to keep up considering the young age of the users and their lack of income? The way of the mobile phone being a teaching and learning tool in the classroom is close but not near enough. The mobile phone although it is common, is not owned by all yet.

My Great Passion 

This is my first ever attempt at making my own podcast. In this podcast, I speak of my “Great Passion”.

Making a podcast was not as hard as what I thought it would be. It was actually really enjoyable to make. I created mine through the program Garageband. As I was using a Mac computer, the microphone was built into the computer itself. So this made the process of making a podcast that much easier.

I was able to test out various background sounds and jingles to add to the podcast to make it a bit more interesting. The whole process of writing, making and playing back a podcast was very simple and very effective. As a future teacher, I do think it is possible that the use of podcasting and the listening to podcasts can be incorporated into everyday lessons.

Now as for my great passion, it is something I have had since I was really young. If I try for a moment to mix my passion itself and podcasting, I think a really good recipe can be formed. Through podcasts a student can be reached from anywhere across the world, they can be taught life lessons and can interact with other students. Therefore I think it is possible for students within Western Sydney to be taught of their worth and to be shown there is more to life through podcasting (this being one of many tools). With saying this, I also believe that if these students have more acess to this growing technological world, they may be inspired to be more than they think hey can achieve.

It’s worth a try…

This posting refers to an online commentry entitled ‘Integrating podcasting into your classroom’ by Colette Cassinelli, Technology Evangelist (2007).

In this commentry, the video quotes the following statement from Mark Prensky: ‘Our students today are all “native speakers” of the digital laguage of computers, video games and the internet… our digital immigrant instructors, who speak an outdated language, are struggling to teach a population that speaks an entirely new language’. The issue that this commentry then addresses is how teachers can learn this new foreign language and then use it within the classroom. By using a program such as Garageband (for Macs) or Audacity (for PC’s) students can make their own radio stations programs. In these programs, students can interview famous people (acted out by other students), recite a poem that they have written, give a verbal account of something that they see, and so much more. Podcasting can be a way by which students teach students about a particular subject, or even communicate with students from another school across the other side of the world. For someone who for the first time only recently made a podcast, I think that it has many uses in the new age classroom, and I cannot wait to have the opportunity to test it out.

This is my second posting I have ever made on a blog before. This being my second because I accidently deleted my first. This blog is a part of one of my UNI class assessments so I will be writing about my experiences with various forms of technology within the Primary Classroom, along with my views and opinions towards various literature and commentaries related to e-learning in the classroom.

In my very first class Ihad the opportunity to try out and experiment with the program photo booth. In this program a student can take a picture of themselves (either using the inbuilt camera which most macs have, or a web cam) and then edit it through the various effects that they have. These effects can ultimately distort images giving them a warped end result. Effects include mirroring, a fish-eyed look, swirling the image and also making a student look as if they are in a cartoon. Students are only limited by their creativity. This program is very simple to use. So simple that I believe students in Kindergarten can use it. Most children now days can use cameras and have basic computer skills so a good end result is quite achievable. These effects can ultimately distort images giving a warped end result. Above is an example of an image I created within class. It was really fun to use, and most of the photos I took were really funny. A teacher can most definately base an art lesson around this program. Hope you like it.