My final culminating statement

When I began this technological odyssey I would have classed myself as what my tutorial leader Carmel calls a technological native. I had an interactive whiteboard in year three so i obviously knew all there is to know about technology. Ha! My IWB in year three did not teach us music. Before beginning this class i already held a strong a strong belief in the concept of a teach as learner and the need to constantly evolve and change. This is no where more prominent then in the case of technology.  Having taught my second day on prac today i am beginning to see the role technology plays and how my learning of technology has change me as a teacher. I tried to swipe the whiteboard to scroll today (we have a projector not a smartboard in my prac classroom).I feel i have an understanding of how to understand new technologies and how to asses them in a teaching context. Glynis taught us about ethics (amazingly) which is the area of technology i most want to see change in. There is a real need to teach children about ethics and safety and equip them for an online world which they seem to be entering earlier and earlier. I think as teachers we do what we can to protect students we don't let them cross the street alone when they're with us, we make sure they always eat there lunch; so when we know that social networking sites not specifically designed for primary school students are dangerous it is only natural that we facilitate students using a site like edmodo or ning. That is how as teachers we keep our students safe.In terms of ethics i don't feel that it is ever ok to break the law as a teacher; whether it is a highly enforced law or something less so like piracy it is still against the law and in ethics especially  the best way to teach is by leading by example. I don't believe that there is a place for every type of technology in the classrooms (xbox's, playstations and facebook is not welcome) but each new piece of technology deserves to be examined and critiqued to determine its appropriateness for the classroom. As with the ipad there is potential for its use in the classroom but if they benefits do not outweigh the negatives then it is not of great use. Discovery was theme throughout with the driving factor being the desire to provide students with the best materials with which to learn. I struck gold and can't wait for my prac students to try it out! I think its important as teachers to collaborate and share ideas and that is something i will continue to do in the future whether it be through our facebook group, blogs or wikis. By sharing ideas we can find better resources and cut down on the time it takes to find good resources and put that time back into lesson planning and other important aspects of teaching. I'm still not sure if i've done all of this right but i think as with all new technology you just have to try it and i have. However as Glynis always reminds us if technology can replace a teacher then that teacher should not be teaching.

references 

Jigsaw: Assembly for 8 10 year olds. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_o8auwnJtqE Retrieved 10^th June 2012.
Reid, D. & Ostashewski, N. (2011). iPads in the Classroom – New Technologies, Old Issues: Are they worth the effort?. In T. Bastiaens & M. Ebner (Eds.), Proceedings of World Conference on Educational Multimedia, Hypermedia and Telecommunications 2011 (pp. 1689-1694). Chesapeake, VA: AACE. Retrieved from http://www.editlib.org/p/38089. 

Class readings

NMA flash activity gold rush

Gold...what a rush!

I have kept the resource i reviewed for the earlier assignment in the back of my mind mostly because i found it so fun and effective. When i found i had year 5/6 i was like YES its gold rush time. Sadly they arent studying it till next semester but i took a spare moment to show it to my teacher and she really liked it. SO i want to share it here so more people can share it! Its called The Gold Rush and its a flash interactive activity/game. Ling; a young chinese girl guides us through the game from the informative introduction to the town where you must equip yourself with the supplies necessary to survive a month in the gold-fields of ballarat. Then into the gold-field where you find out if you had enough supplies and how much money you made. It feels so relaxed and fun but its teaching students about the goldrush. It is put out by the national museum of australia so is a reputable source. Enjoy http://www.nma.gov.au/education-kids/classroom_learning/multimedia/interactives/gold-rush

Activexpression

Today was my first day of prac teaching. I have a year 5/6 class and even though we don't have an IWB the class is still very technological in other aspects. Today i was introduced to a device called Activexpression. Above is a picture of it. It is basically used for testing students. In my class it randomly generates 101 multiple choice questions for the students to answer in 12 minutes. At first i thought it seemed like overcomplicating maths times-tables but the purpose of using the device is not so much about the students enjoying it but more about the data it collect for the teacher. On the teachers computer screen she can see what question each student is that, how many questions have been answering right or wrong and on completion there if even more information avaliable such as average time spent per question for a student as well as the time taken to complete all the questions. It is a really good tool for tracking students progress in key abilities such as addition, subtraction and multiplication. There is more information about this device at http://www.prometheanworld.com/en-us/education/products/learner-response-systems/activexpression2.

Social networking safety

I was reading Claire's Blog today and was again reminded of the importance of social networking safety. We were shown a video in class by Glynis. It highlights the starke realities and dangers of social networking. I think this is scary and its a really serious video but its so important that children understand the risks they take when they dont think through their decisions in cyber space. I am hoping to show this to my year 5/6 students on prac in June. I think Claire put it really well when she said "It is important as we are encouraging students to get stuck into technology and show them great ways to use it, that we are also ensuring that we talk to them about ways they shouldn’t be using it!" Education Victoria has posted a video through FUSE https://fuse.education.vic.gov.au/pages/View.aspx?pin=Z7FM3R . This is good for teachers who want to learn how to create a safer alternative to facebook within the school environment, targeted at year 5 and 6 students. It promotes the use of http://uk.ning.com/ but another popular site used is http://www.edmodo.com/ . All in all i think the most important things to take away are that facebook is an adult social networking site students and children need to be extremely vigilant in their use of such an adult space and it isnt necessary. There are many other safer options out there. If teachers can introduce or facilitate a class social networking site this can deter students from seeking another more dangerous site.

Ipad's in the classroom.. a chance worth taking.

Do ipads work in the classroom? Do they increase engagement? Do they aid in learning? I feel these questions are not as important as asking can they. Can ipads increase engagement, can they aid in learning? As Reid and Ostashewski recognise there is a risk of students disengaging in the upper primary years. This disengagement can  in my opinion lead to a full blown detachment through the high school years. If an ipad can help to fight students view of school as an outdated and boring institution then lets use its. Lets tweak it and improve it until we can say its helping to engage students or until we can prove there's no way it can.

Humble book loses shelf life

When reading from Carmel's Learning technologies i decided to share my response to a sydney morning hearld article she posted about the changing nature of technology on english class. English and the study of it in australia is crucial and fundamental to the curriculum. It is the only subject that students are required to do from kindergarten all the way through to year 12, that alone speaks of its value. ''English is not a subject that stands still," and we as teachers can acknowledge this and foster a greater sense of independence and leadership in students that might not choose to lead in a traditional classroom setting. We breakdown barrier by using technology and  enable students to grow and self directed in their learning. This is important across all subjects but especially in english.

Incursion not excursion in the interactive age

I was reading Carmel's Blog today and decide to comment on some of the articles she posted. In regards to the SMH article http://www.smh.com.au/technology/technology-news/incursion-not-excursion-in-the-interactive-age-20120311-1usa2.html i would first like to say... the lady in the picture taught me drama!!!!! Now that that excitements out of the way...the first thing that grabbed me in this article.. well second thing after my drama teacher was the video about teaching musica viva through smart technology. One of the things i found most difficult about my first year of university was the music movement and dance class. I have poor fine motor skills and really struggled with the subject. I was overwhelmed trying to figure out a beat and then contemplating teaching something i could barely understand to students being their only music influence, well its terrifying. However thanks to technology i can take a few breaths and know that theres support and an expert is only a mouse click away. To me that is the joy of technology. So true- "The optimism is palpable as digital advances threaten to change the way teachers teach and children learn". I think the other really big thing that i get for this article is the significance of interactive whiteboards. There have been so many technological innovations but IWBs have opened so many doors and allowed us to do so much i cant help but wonder if this is how it felt when teachers using blackboards first used whiteboards. :)

"Online ethics should begin in the classroom, educators say"

I recently stumbled across an article from the USA about University of Delaware teaching an online ethics course and requiring students to pass a corresponding exam in their first year  of university. I think this is a fantastic idea. Teachnology is so complex and the ethics sourounding it eclipse that complexity ten fold. If we as teaching can explicitly teach was is and is not ethical behaviour then we better equip students to cope and thrive is this highly technological age. I believe there is much more to emailing then simply knowing how to write and send an email. As the article states "It's very important that students understand that an electronic community requires people to behave in a responsible way,". This is something that we start to teach students  when we start to teach them how to use technology. Already in the US there has been calls to add ethical standards as a learning outcome such as requiring students to "exhibit legal and ethical behaviors when using information technology and discuss consequences of misuse,". I think this would be a positive step towards greater ethical awareness in school. When there is such a great focus on meeting the syllabus requirements i think the only effective way to address ethics in technology is to make it a part of the syllabus.


This article is great i recommend it to anyone! http://partners.nytimes.com/library/tech/00/02/cyber/education/16education.html

Week 6 lit circle

One question i found of particular interest was "3. Does parent participation have a significant impact on a student's success in school?" (https://online.uts.edu.au/webapps/portal/frameset.jsp?tab_tab_group_id=_2_1&url=%2Fwebapps%2Fblackboard%2Fexecute%2Flauncher%3Ftype%3DCourse%26id%3D_12582_1%26url%3D). My initial thoughts towards this were "yes of course". However there are many examples especially in the business world of individuals with difficult upbrings where they experienced neglect and disinterest by their parents and went on to be extremely successful. Parent imput does have a significant impact; parents being invested in their childrens education (not just financially) can be a driving factor towards a childs success. However I do not believe that a lack of parent participation can prevent a child from being successful in school but it would make it more difficult.

Reflections on class

This week we discussed equity and the digital divide. Although many of us could talk around the issue of equity and overcoming the digital divide in classrooms it seemed that addressing the issues that arise from it are more difficult. The question was posed that if 5 children in your class of 28 did not have access to a computer how would you accommodate them or would you do anything different. After a long period of silence answers started to flow in. The consensus was that you should do something to help them but not in a obvious was that might cause them to be stigmatised. I agree with this but its such a tricky situation and its issues like this that technology will have us dealing with on a daily basis. I think when there isn't a clear cut or straightforward answer its very important to consider all the options and the potential repercussions of each and even consult with the students involved to find what they would feel most comfortable with.

Mind-map

During the first week of class we created a bubbl.us mind map on the topic of learnign technologies. Somehow ours didnt save properly :/ so i have substituted mine for the example shown in the tutorial slides. I think often when reflecting on learning technologies there is a tendancy to not think broadly and only focus on web-based content. However this mind map demonstrates there is much more to learning technologies.

Relections on "The influence of classroom blogging on elementary student writing"

This reading really shaped my opinion on blogging and its value to teachers and in the classroom. This case study has shown that blogging not only improves literacy but children's attitude towards writing. Students learnt to critique one another, thereby improving self critiquing skills. Children from high to low levels of literacy got involved and developed a sense of pride for their work.
I thought technological teachers were simply ones who accepting an interactive whiteboard into their classroom however I think there's a bit more to it then that. Teachers who can successfully integrate blogging into the classroom in a structured and rich way are overcoming their aversion to emerging technologies and helping students to gain the most from their schooling experiences.
Privacy obviously needs to be managed and i feel like parents would need to feel confident of this before allowing their children to participate. The other issue that needs to be considered before implementing blogging in the classroom is Internet access. If blogging is given as an at home exercise children who do not have access to Internet in their home environment will feel ostracised and be unable to participate. Blogging should therefore be used in the classroom where possible and having computers open for students to use for an hour after school could also be consider.

Primary education students do this???

Is the first sentance of your first blog way harder to write then the rest or will it all be like this? This blog is not colour coded in the blue, green or orange of my compulsorary academic blogs as thats not what it is. This is my first blog ever and its going to be purple! ... just as soon as i figure out how to change font colour. I've always regarded blogging as somewhat self centred... with facebook and twitter do people really need another platform to talk about themselves? However the justification for this task has swayed me somewhat even if the grammar was lacking... "Blogs are increasable becoming a part of classroom life for both students and teachers.". I'm stopping now I think its time i write a useful blogging about learning and stuff. x