Final Reflection

I have finished the course and my just in time management skills have not come too close to the cut off time – a whole week to go. Thanks to the holidays.

I have really enjoyed and benefited from this course and don’t feel as overwhelmed as I thought I would, although I readily admit to having much, much more to learn. I think having the course outline still on “my classes” page will be great enabling back referencing over time as I attempt to become more proficient in different areas. I am hoping I can keep assess to that for at least a while?! The videos were particularly good as well as the careful instructions.

It is very exciting being exposed to so many wonderful resources that are available to use in our classrooms to engage and excite our kids. And the kids at our school are up and running even if only in baby steps. We have started using blogs in writing and scootle is a favourite. Youtube is always a motivator and the digital cameras are regularly used. The children have experimented with podcasting and we used flipvideo and imovie to produce a short news report. I really loved glogster and can see a real place for that in upper primary and will try to incorporate that into the classroom next term. Blubbl.us would catch the attention of the children and requires quite a set of thinking and organizing skills to apply well. A similar application on Apple Mac may be an easier choice and give more scope for variations. I want to know more about wikis and how I can use them effectively in the classroom. That is my next priority for further exploration. Thank you for opening the door. The learning curve is steep both for the students and the teachers but the benefits returned with motivated, engaged, enthusiastic students far out way the time spent in exploration, preparation and practise.

The digital Blooms Taxonomy is very interesting and thank heavens for blogging otherwise I would not have past applying! There is certainly a lot there! The use of verbs instead of nouns to categorize, then expand each level is much more hands on and works extremely well.

I haven’t had an in depth look at Second Life but I would expect it would sit within the applying level as it looks like playing and operating. Mind mapping would come under understanding in its simplest form but in analysising for a more advanced application of the mind map. Using flickr would be applying as it is the uploading and sharing of work.

In the SMH this morning there was an article about Twitter and how it is being used effectively enthuse audiences about productions with theatre and arts companies like Sydney Theatre, Bell Shakespeare and Belvoire Street. Twitter is a bit lost on me but I guess I better get on the band wagon too. I don’t want to miss anything! How great is that, if a little 140 character tweet can boost our arts awareness and guarantee a good night out!

Module 10

In my understanding, a Wiki is a website that allows the creation and editing of information on web pages via a web browser. A Wiki allows a user to join in a multi-user situation to collaborate on an area of joint interest or work. A Wiki allows users to create and edit work. Wikis encourage group social interaction and collaboration allowing users to contribute and support each other at a time, and from a place that suits them.

Wikis can be a useful tool in an educational setting allowing differentiation in the classroom setting and facilitating groups to work collaboratively to create information and develop understanding. It allows for pupil centred learning where students are actively involved in the construction of their knowledge, enabling students to guide their own learning and allowing them to develop new channels for communication and collaboration. As more material is added the information available grows. It allows for everyone to build on what they know and gain more information.

A Wiki in the classroom situation can be used for a variety of purposes including story writing and research sharing. It allows interactive learning and support on that journey. Everyone brings their own slant to the forum and hopefully everyone learns benefits. The Wiki enables changes in the document to be tracked. It is possible to see who has made changes and when they occurred. It is important that information is checked, so that incorrect data or facts are not included. The collaborative effect of a group working together, needs to acknowledge this weakness and regularly check on co-workers information.
A Ning is an online platform for people to create or become involved in social networks usually related to a common interest. Sites are focused on an area of particular interest, as diverse as web 2.0 for teaching to scrapbooking for dummies, and allow members to contribute to the site, comment on contributions already made, ask question to be answered from the audience of the Ning and give support and assistance to readers and contributors.

At the primary level such platforms may not be suitable for the student but highly beneficial as support for the teacher where it allows membership to a focused, highly motivated group ready and ever present waiting to collaborate and share on the area of interest. Teachers have to be learners more so now than ever before as the technological changes expand and multiple rapidly before our eyes. We have to stay in touch. As a learner being a member of online communities assists in the task of staying up to date and head of the game in our efforts to guide the learning and assist in improving learning outcomes for all students in our care.

Students lap up opportunities to learn and explore new and different applications available online. Students find this motivating and become engaged and excited when using various products to enhance their work. This is what teaching is about: opening doors to new worlds and expanding horizons. Wikis, blogs, Glogster, Flikr and Bubble.Us are a few of the many tools that students can benefit from as they open up opportunities for all learners to experience success. These applications can inspire and motivate students by giving them other resources to present their ideas.

The use of web 2 tools not only enhances learning of our students but also as professionals our learning must also be geared along the same lines.

Module 9

Through Scootle, you can access, view and share interactive learning objects, images, audio files and movie clips. It is fabulous site where all these resources ready and available. You do have to spend some time looking through the resources but there is an abundance that are well developed and very appropriate. It is a great way to allow access for the children to great educational resources which can be used at school or home. This could make homework more exciting and perhaps even more meaning. Individual learning paths can be created for subject areas and for areas for further development. Students are able to work independently and on an individual learning paths that makes learning more enjoyable and interesting. It also allows for easy tracking of the children’s work. The big plus is that kids love it!
Social networking on line allows the user to develop relationships and links to others users with things in common. You can make friends on line and those friends can be from anywhere in the world which adds diversity to ones experiences.
There are variety of websites where people gather to interact with other like-minded individuals. People are given a forum where they have the opportunity to meet others, to chat, network and participate in events. There has been a huge growth in social networking sites, such as MySpace, Facebook, YouTube, particularly with our youth. Up to 90% of 15 -24 year olds have visited a social networking page in the last month. That is significant! It's the way the 21st century communicates today!
There are dangers associated with social networking, the most worrying involves online predators or individuals who claim to be someone they are not. Our youth, particularly must be educated to make them aware and alert to these activities.

Twitter is another online tool that allows you to write any small thing that you may think is interesting and want to share with your royal followers. It allows you to share short updates and you can follow the updates about people that matter to you, if you could be bothered!
We can be overwhelmed with networking tools. We are definitely social creatures.

Second Life
I will really have to invest a lot of time into second life. It looks amazing, simulating life experiences in a 3D virtual world and from looking at the video educational sites has many applications to the classroom situation. Won’t the children be fascinated by this!