My Personal Learning Space!

Above is a still image of the introduction to a LAMS Task on Antarctica that Claire and I created for a stage three class. This LAMS Task covers the whole 6-8 week long HSIE Case Study on the continent Antarctica. In this learning unit students are enabled to speak via chat rooms to scientist and other locals who live in Antarctica to ask them any questions that may have arisen within the unit. Students also participate in discussion and more creative activities online to explore the unit. By conducting this unit online, students participate in an almost virtual online type of excursion without even having to leave the classroom.

All resources and programs used within this unit can be found on the internet for free so that no one school can be disadvantaged. The 6-8 week long program has been split up into 8 half hour blocks that can be easily fit into any schools computer room timetable.

The one greatest thing we learnt from this task was that it was very achieveable by teachers to produce a task such as this, and we therefore also believe that something even on this scale can be produced by students in a constructivist classroom.

Digitial stories seem to be a new way of writing a narrative. Instead of putting pen to paper, students can create a movie using programs such as imovie and movie maker to create a story. Students use creative commons pictures and photos they may have taken to illustrate the movie whilst they narrate.

In a commentry on Digital Stories in the Classroom the writer states that ‘like all tools, it takes some practice and thought to use effectively’. The writer goes on to quote Van Deurse by stating ‘A good Digital Story, comes from a strong question and a powerful narrative. Before students even touch a computer they need to have given significant time and thinking to what their story is about. It is very easy to become distracted by all the visual options. It is important that the music, pictures and video serve to enhance a well written personal narrative’.

Below is an example of a digital story that I have created in class. The question I try to answer is slightly personal being ‘Why do I want to be a Primary School Teacher?’. Have a look and let me know what you think about it.  

 To view the video please click HERE- edublogs and I are having difficulty with uploading.