Synopsis Reflection - Managing E-Learning

"Nowadays, anyone who cannot speak English and is incapable of using the Internet is regarded as backward" (Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Alsaud, 2011)
"In today's knowledge-based economy, what you earn depends on what you learn. Jobs in the information technology sector, for example, pay 85 percent more than the private sector average." (Bill Clinton, 2009)
These past six weeks have taken me on an eventful journey through cyberspace. With many weeks of confusion and frustration, gladly I can say I personally have enjoyed what has been taught to me within our lectures and what I have learnt within this six week period. Turns out using technology over six weeks for an assessment can be quite fun.

Before I had joined Managing E-Learning, I had immediately thought I knew most of the resources that educators would be using. I was mistaken immediately within the first lesson and will never cease myself to having this approach to learning again. As the saying goes "You learn something new everyday". I did learn within the first lesson of Managing E-Learning to always be open to fresh ideas and never think you know everything otherwise you will have a closed-off approach to newly found knowledge.

Realistically if future educators are not taught the use of resources and computer/internet based technological skills, we are failing our learners to adhere to their future within the knowledge economy. Knowledge is power, and with power is technology. Technology is fast growing and so future educators should be keeping up to date with latest idea's/potential resources that could be used within a classroom. Currently educators use interactive whiteboards as a main factor of ICT tools within the classroom. 

Interactive whiteboards can be used for the following purposes:

• Teacher can use whiteboard as a source of writing information on the board
• Can collect data from information on the internet efficiently
• All the resources that I have learnt over the past six weeks can be viewed on the whiteboard and interact within the classroom.
• Connects to a computer easily, therefore can view information from a laptop or computer etc.
• Students can interact ICT skills by using this interactive whiteboard.
• Enjoyable for learners.
• Can be used for Mathematical lessons (as shown in picture)
• Can be used in primary and secondary sectors

As future educators, we need to be comfortable with the interactive whiteboard as it is used for so many purposes within the classroom.

Techonology is widely renowned in classroom activities across the country, even the world.

In conclusion, this subject has made me realise the options and the endless list of skills, resources and tools that can be used for any learning experience within a classroom. Students within the 21st century are growing with technology, therefore future educators should allow students to stick to their social practices and allow the growth of technology within the classroom.

These ICT tools that were profounded within the past six can vary from Prep-Year 12 and the list is endless of what can be done with the resources. Some resources may be time consuming but they are engaging for all learners. That is effectively what learning managers should be striving for. I effectively will be allowing an array of ICT tools to be used within my classroom in future years.

References:

Quotes derived from:

http://www.woopidoo.com/business_quotes/internet-quotes.htm

 

Interactive whiteboard picture:

http://lubna85.wikispaces.com/file/view/smart-board-600i-interactive-whiteboard-photo.jpg/114471057/smart-board-600i-interactive-whiteboard-photo.jpg

Screenshot of internet page:
http://www.interactivewhiteboard.net.au/lessons/primary.aspx

Scribble Maps+Bubbl.Us: Group 4 Technologies.

Scribble Maps is a formally know map resource owned by google to be a similar version to Google Earth but allows the user to scribble on the maps as well as viewing the specfic address or place the user is searching.

For example, I currently live at this certain place as the picture is showing to the right. This is an example of the map before it has been "scribbled" on.


I then decided to scribble amongst this map and add text to my current address whilst showing the direction Mackay is to blacks beach by scribbling "town" with an arrow pointing down Blacks Beach Road. This is just a simple use of scribbling that can be used within this easily accessible software.

This can be used in within the following ideas for classrooom activities:

• Showing the understanding of direction (South, East, North, West)
• Student involvement within a social practice (understanding the concept of where they live)
• Can be used within a SOSE lesson. Example: Location of Rivers, Lakes, Rainforests.
• Understanding the concept of kilometre's, incorporating within a maths lesson.

PMI Scaffolding Procedure

PLUS

• Entertaining
• Interactive and used for several educational purposes
• Learning manager can incorporate google maps into an assessment task as scribble maps offers a saving option for users to save their "scribbles" used on the map.
• Used purposefully for all year levels.

MINUS

• Distracting
• Could possibly confuse students if they are working indivdually due to the scribble maps page opening up automatically over America. Learning managers may need to be instructional about this so their is no confusion.

INTERESTING

• Scribble maps allows that saving option for users so they can use their "scribble" map for future purposes.
• Could be arranged accordingly to develop higher level thinking by setting a task for the students to work amongst scribble maps collaboratively, in pairs or individually, creating their own concept and understanding instead of being "spoon-fed" information.
  

A brainstorming and mind mapping tool that I conveniently came across during my Embedded Professional Learning placement was Bubbl.Us. This resource can be used as a brainstorming tool and creates a mind map online.

 

This resource can be used for the following ideas:

• Brainstorming ideas for unit plans
• Gathering data within a class discussion
• Learning manager showing new information for learners through mind-mapping.

 

 PMI Scaffolding Procedure:

 

PLUS

• Easily accessible online and simple to use. 
•  Technological approach within the classroom
• Entertaining.
• Less time consuming for learning manager.
• Can be used collaboratively or individually.
• Allows a saving option.

MINUS

• Can become distracting to some learners.
• It is sometimes difficult to delete a certain bubble that may have accidently been made.

INTERESTING

• By signing up to Bubbl.Us, it allows the user to make more than one at a time and stores the mind-maps that have been previously made onto your profile.
• It can provide for higher order thinking if the learning manager allows the students to create their own mind maps individually about a certain topic within a lesson. Could be used as a possible assessment task or partly involved in an assessment task.

Prezi+Glogster: Group 3 Technologies

Managing E-Learning on Prezi

To effortlessly sum this resource into one word, I would say: FUN!
As explained from the Prezi founders: "Prezi is a cloud-based presentation software that opens up a new world between whiteboards and slides. The zoomable canvas makes it fun to explore ideas and the connections between them. The result: visually captivating presentations that lead your audience down a path of discovery. " [Prezi, 2011]

Ways that this can be used during classroom activities:

• Simple way of showing learners the focus of the term, lesson, activity etc with a result of including ICT skills.
• Can be shown to the class within a Multimedia lesson, allowing the students to create their own prezi.
• Can be used within perfomances on stage and drama presentations by firstly engaging the audience into the concept of the act.

PMI scaffolding procedure:

PLUS

• Fun, exciting, new technology that engages the audience into the information that is shown within the Prezi. 
• Easy to use, uses little time to create and can be placed onto other websites without hassle.

MINUS

• Can affect those who can get motion sickness or epilepsy as the Prezi presentation are designed to continue rotating around on the screen.
• Could possibly become frustrating for kinaesthetic learners if they can only view the information within the Prezi and can not actively become involved.
• Lower Learners may struggle if they can not read properly or understand some words within the slide. Learning Managers would need to cater for this circumstance.

INTERESTING

• The simplicity of this software is extroardinary. The prezi team have kept it simple with only a limited amount of options displayed on the editing screen, making it quite easy to use.
• Caters for higher order thinking by allowing the students to show creativity and knowledge through the use of multimedia.

Glogster is a multimedia resource is designed to be an interactive poster that can display pictures, videos, text, and sounds to share with learners or friends. This is a glogster that I had quickly made to show an understanding of what a glogster can do. It is a very simple structure of what can consist on your personal poster.

Ways this can be used in the classroom:

• Assessment tasks for students a result of engaging the learners in multimedia studies. Possible example for a grade 8 assessment task.
• Entertaining way for learning manager to show learners new information within the classroom.
• Collaborative group work creating a glogster for a class activity.

PMI scaffolding procedure:

PLUS

• Engaging and simple to use. Learners can easily use this software without confusion.
• The current glogster shown above took less than an hour to making it ideal for learning managers and the concerns of time management.
• Can incorporate movies from youtube very quickly and add images and sounds from the users computer efficiently with little concerns of not being uploaded to the glogster.

MINUS

• There is so many options that the user can do with this software.
• Can become distracting for learners quite easily.
• Learning manager would need make a broad statement of the certain topic that they would like the learners to do if this were used as a result of a learning experience as the possibilities are endless.

INTERESTING

• Enjoyable for all learners.

References:
Prezi Presentation derived from:
http://prezi.com/your/

Prezi Quote [Prezi, 2011]
http://prezi.com/about/

Glogster Poster derived from:
http://sammiegeddes.glogster.com/dashboard/

Youtube clips within Glogster:
Under the Sea:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BpqdexBnNkM

A to Z Sea Animals:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T8_QhOj_FLw

Life under sea: Sea Lovers
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JQH4gu5bFmk&feature=related

Jellyfish picture:
C:\Users\Public\Pictures\Sample Pictures

Week 2 Wikispace's Activity: Mobile Phones Wiki + De Bono's Hats scaffolding

It is officially week 2 and currently getting a little flustered with this introduction of newly found resources. But evidently, this is why you study four years in university.

Regardless of this following statement, Week 2 consisted of  teamwork navigational skills through Wikispaces again to Mobile phone's wiki, our topic for this week.

Using the De Bono's scaffolding tool, we were to select a hat and accordingly change our pesperctives and collect data with our specific thinking hat. There are six different thinking hats (as shown below) which collaboratively and formatively work together to create ideas and collect data from a certain topic.

Throughout the class, each pair had a different thinking hat and were to write their information in the certain box given to the specific hat. This did work effectively, however the idea of the task being so succesful diminished immediately after some groups had "saved" their information onto their computer at the same time, erasing the current information that was displaying on the wikispace. Fortunately to overcome this situation, the entire classroom was asked to save their typed information in their given box AT DIFFERENT TIMES and follow up if the work was put onto the wikispace correctly.

One thing that was learnt within this wikispace experience was the learning manager needs to keep in note, students should not save their information at the same and to back their information into a Microsoft Word document in case of deletion. However this tool is effective as a result of showing class discussion and allowing the student's to read through the information from the entire class instead of groups verbally speaking their information to all students, making the lesson more time consuming than expected. It allows the student to independently source through online information and navigationally choose the important imformation off of a particular site with or without the guidance of a learning manager.

Edward De Bono, the creater of the De Bono's six thinking hats were created in the early 1980's as a method framework. It was designed to be a process of developing complex thinking within a group of people. Each hat contributes to a different thinking order.

This framework was designed for the simple purpose of creative collaborative thinking. Although it has it's perks by allowing this form of scaffolding, it misses the important factor of individually working through data without the hassle of having to cater for all thinking hats.

Perhaps this is why I would preferably go for the PMI scaffolding technique. It results and allows the idea of collaborative and individual work without the hassle of writing loads of information about the one certain topic.

The Thinking hats would be a perfect scaffolding technique to use for a classroom activity or discussion, but to individually work on a task, The PMI scaffolding technique would be a preferable choice.


References:

Screenshot of "Wikispaces" page derived from:
http://fahe11001mackay.wikispaces.com/Mobile+Phones+Wiki


De Bono's Thinking hats picture:

http://www.google.com.au/imgres?imgurl=http://www.12manage.com/images/picture_bono_six_thinking_hats.gif&im
grefurl=http://www.12manage.com/methods_bono_six_thinking_hats.html&h=395&w=330&
sz=5&tbnid=uIEfdt36rRvWFM:&tbnh=90&tbnw=75&prev=/search%3Fq%3Dde%2Bbono's%2Bsix%2Bhats%26tbm%3Disch%26tbo%3Du&zoom=1&q=de+bono's+six+hats&docid=TFgcIoMaxzAVUM&hl=en&s
a=X&ei=32lLTqbPJIjTiALHkqiPAQ&ved=0CEUQ9QEwBA&dur=3367
Background information of Edward De Bono derived from:
http://www.kurwongbss.eq.edu.au/thinking/Hats/hats.htm

De Bono's Thinking hats information picture:
http://www.kurwongbss.eq.edu.au/thinking/Hats/hats.htm
(Placed in Hat's for Parent which opens up to a word document. This picture was taken via screen shot)

Week 1: WikiSpace's activity; Multiple Intelligences + PMI scaffolding.

Honestly, before Managing E-Learning, I had no idea what the concept or even heard of this newly found website "Wikispaces". Essentially and realistically, it can be quite useful within a classroom situation. Wikispaces involves collaborative and individual learning allowing the learning manager to apply the scaffolding structure within the wikispace. The students can easily access this website and engage in activities instructed by the learning manager.

This is introducing the student's to ICT Tools and data collecting through the computer and internet resources, rather than collecting data on paper. This technology approach if used effectively and with no errors (computer issues etc) can be less time consuming and more engaging for the learners in this specific generation.

Individually I studied the learning theory of Gardner's Multiple intelligence and framed the PMI scaffolding tool within the wikispace to make a clear understanding of the information I had collected from the website. The PMI scaffolding tool breaks down the information into a plus, minus and interesting sector. Before scaffolding the information into the PMI framework, I had developed background information for fellow students to have an understanding of Gardner's Multiple intelligences.

The PMI framework is on a personal note very successful. Not only is it a scaffolding tool which students can easily follow, it categorises into three sections: plus, minus and interesting. The students following a certain article or topic can note some plus and minus factors within the information and what they find interesting about this certain topic.  

The PMI scaffolding tool can be set out like this example:

It is sufficient, neat and idealistic to be used for teaching purposes as this task can be used in a variety of activities such as:

• Brainstorming activities (Hot Potato etc)
• Individually collecting information to be shared with the entire class makes it efficient and less time consuming
• Collaborative learning (data collecting within a group, helping to select a decision)
• Scaffolding tool that could be used when collecting information from the internet.
• Teaching style that learning manager can use within class discussions.

Using the PMI scaffolding tool within task 1 made the activity less time consuming with a more direct approach and focus within the information that I recieved from the website. It makes the information have a more formal approach by the information being displayed into three seperate contexts. As a future educator, I would personally use this scaffolding tool within my classrooms and results in a higher order thinking strategy for the learners.

References

Screenshots displayed:

Wikispaces Page
http://fahe11001mackay.wikispaces.com/Gardner%27s+Multiple+Intelligences

MindTools.com
http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newTED_05.htm

Voki Experimentation+Edward the Emu, Video Experimentation: Group 2 ICT Technologies

One word to summarise the effort to get a voki onto my personal blogger page; Exhausting. After many attempts and considering the concept of getting the voki onto the page was a complete and utter failure, I found success within this difficult mission. Voki is at a beginner level and quite easy to use. By beginning the voki experience, you can either explore through the range of different voki's or sign up to an account which allows the ability to save more than one Voki at a time.

With the Voki's, you can change the facial structure, hair, clothing, voice, text and background to suit the individual's interest or the impression that you would like the certain voki to have for a personal matter or for a learning experience.

Hello newly found resource that can be used for future educating purposes!

Onto a formal note, Voki could be used in these possible situations:

• Technological approach to teacher discussing with fellow learner instead of the traditional technique of "teacher standing out the front instructing the students"
• Possible ideas for distance education learning managers organising information internet based.
• Groupwork presentations
• Multimedia assignments within a primary or secondary sector.

Example of my
Voki Experience.

Edward the Emu Author: Sheena Knowles
Illustrated by: Rod Clement

Fantastic Children's book for primary school level.
Podcasted by: Nicola Waters
Photo's taken from: Sammie Geddes

Just a little more experimentation within our week 4 lesson of Managing E-Learning. I must admit, I am learning exciting new resources every week within the lectures.

The following use of movie making can be used for the following purposes:
-Display of information using ICT multimedia skills
-Assessment tasks developed for learners (create a movie regarding a certain topic)
-Rather than reading to the class, record the story book and display to learners.
-As a resourceful tool to display information to class, resulting the lesson to be less time consuming by possibly having an activity sheet corroborating with the short film.

There are no limitations to making a video and easily accessible to use. Video's can be taken from a phone, camera, laptop (webcam) etc and can be simply added to the internet via phone, laptop or computer.

Making a short film creates a higher order thinking complexity for the simple reason of allowing students to create their own film and use their own imagination.

References
Screenshots and Voki derived from:
http://www.voki.com/create.php

Flickr: The rights and reserves of copyrighting other persons photo's online.

After many and I repeat many attempts of finding pictures that allowed copyright reserves, I managed to find two interesting pictures on Flikr that was appealing to what I am interested in.

I Have always been a huge fan of the beach. I love the summer, the sound of the waves, the glistening sun and the feeling of getting a nice warm tan as you enjoy company by the seashore.

I guess that is why I live a minute walk from the beach.

This photo is reflective towards my current life situation.
 To summarise the concept of the photo you need to do "keep going and never look back".

A beautiful photo and a meaningful quote.

Flickr is a useful on online resource used within classrooms. It is an easily accessible way for students to experience professional photography from a global aspect. It is a great resource to use for students who are learning about current copyright issues in high school media.