Glogster

Created in Glogster by me using CC images

When I started looking at the Group Three Tools I initially felt that I was covering old ground.  I thought that PowerPoint had been done to death and its day had past (I once barely escaping an epileptic fit viewing some children's examples in the past!), but the learning activities in this section reminded me of the worthwhile learning objects that can be created with this tool. Prezi too, is another powerful tool.  I prefer it over PowerPoint as it is online it is completely portable.  I have seen too many PowerPoints fail because presenter failed to "pack" all the required fonts, pictures, videos, etc. required for the presentation to work effectively.

I selected Glogster, an online poster-making tool, as the one that I would explore further, as I felt that it had much to offer the lower to middle primary school students that I will be working with next term.  The tool is multimodal as you can embed pictures, movies, audio files, text and hyperlinks, thus catering for different learning styles, literacy levels and ICT skills. Once created, you can share them with others either through Glogster accounts or embed your Glogs in your websites, blogs or wikis. When you have registered with the education section of the site, Glogster EDU, you can add class lists and monitor your students work. Privacy and student protection seem to be well catered for in this site.

A PMI analysis of Glogster:
Pluses:

• engaging for young students
• encourages creativity
• can be used for brainstorming
• literacy activities
• portable
• can be embedded in blogs, wikis and websites
• safe and secure environment
• can effectively be used to meet the Learning principles for multimedia (Stansbury, 2008, ¶Multimedia and learning)

Minuses:

• students can get over-absorbed in the "bells and whistles" and forget content
• risk of cognitive overload if not careful
• takes time to set up class lists in Glogster Edu
• uses lots of bandwidth and can be slow
• can be difficult to navigate

Interesting:

• gives plenty of opportunity for lessons in responsible online use, e.g. copyright, appropriate comments,
• emphasis on visual literacy, e.g. appropriate images, colours, arrangements, fonts, etc.
• allows students to continues their days activities at home and show family
• real-time feedback can be given to students in the Edu site
• could create a Glogster rubric to help assess success

There are a variety of lesson plans and resources available online for Glogster such as Read Write Think. With the adequate instruction on the use of this tool and sufficient activity scaffolding to keep children on task, Glogster can be a successful e-learning tool.

Bibliography

Stansbury, M. (2008, March 26). Analysis: How multimedia can improve learning. Retrieved March 24, 2013, from eSchool News: http://www.eschoolnews.com/2008/03/26/analysis-how-multimedia-can-improve-learning/

 

PowerPoint

I don't know about PowerPoint.  I feel that I have experienced "Death by PowerPoint" so many times that surely, its day must be done.  However, when looking at this tool as a means for the creation of learning objects I could see its usefulness.  I created a small presentation using PowerPoint to use as a base for a unit on "Farm Animals".

I saved my PowerPoint as a movie file so that I could upload it to my blog.  While it is no longer interactive, you can still get an idea as to how useful it may be as a tool in the classroom. It took quite some time to create as I am a little rusty with the animation and timing tools. I suppose that with regular use you would get faster. I'm still not convinced that there aren't better out there these days that would give you the same result for a lot less effort.

Prezi

I love using Prezi!  I find it relatively easy to use and the fact that it is online make it really portable. As you can just click on the page and add things, you can get up and running in no time at all.  In the classroom, I would image that Prezi is a great way for students to explore topics using a mind mapping scenario.  With its multimodality possibilities it would have many applications for students to explore and present information. Here is some great tips for uses for Prezi in the classroom:

13 Interesting Ways to use Prezi in the Classroom from j3pr0x

And here is a Prezi that I created last year to show parents what our school library is for:

Benefits of Blogging in the Classroom

Copied from http://edudemic.com/2012/02/blog-with-students/

In the course of our studies we have read many reasons why blogging is good for students and the positive outcomes from this activity.  Benefits listed in the Stephen Downes article "Educational Blogging" include:

• a way to store bookmarks
• chronological history of individual's writing
• possibility of world wide audience
• way of knowledge management for educators
• defined by process not content
• encourages students to write by immediate and real world feedback
• students can engage with real-world experts by following and commenting on their blogs
• encourages students to use correct spelling and grammar
• breaks down barriers
• develops critical thinking
• develops writing skills
• develops information literacy
• develops analytical writing and thinking skills
• engenders lifelong learning
• enables teaching of the importance of web security and cybersafety

This link shows how empowering a blog can be for students and how more valuable they see their own work when it is given real life application.

Three Classroom Blogging Tips for Teachers

And here are some really useful tips for blogging in the classroom:

8 Tips For Blogging With Students

Best free blog sites:
Google's Blogger
Live Journal
WordPress

TPACK (revisited)

As educators for the 21st century, new technologies are bringing new expectations. Once exemplar content knowledge was all that was expected of teachers. Then, pedagogy (how knowledge is delivered to students) became the focus. Now, techology is often seen as the main focus in education.  But to get the full benefit of the three areas of teacher expertise, it is where these points overlap, the TPACK (Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge) that must become the driving force for a successful classroom.

This website has some great information on TPACK and ideas for classroom planning.  Of particular interest is the reflections of some pre-service teachers:

TPACK



A keynote presentation by Mishra and Koehler at the TTF conference Sydney Australia, March 2011
Screen capture from http://www.ttf.edu.au/show-video.html?resid=1392

Creating Video

Using Movie Maker seems to be quite easy.  The only problem I had was converting my music file so that it was compatable with Movie Maker.  In the course of this exercise I discovered that Windows 7 isn't actually included in the Window 7 package, but is easily downloadable from Microsoft.  Here is my movie, using my own family history photos and music from the creative commons that took about 8 minutes to make (and probably looks it!):

 

With handheld mobile devices such as iPad, iPods or small cameras such as FlipVideo, students of all ages included even the very youngest can readily create their own movies and have a way of instantly telling their own stories regardless of their written literacy levels. This powerful tool therefore adds to the need for educators to remember the need for the teaching of visual literacy to enable their students to fully communicate and understand the communication of others in this powerful medium.

 



 

Podcasting

Apple - Education - Podcasting

http://www.apple.com/au/education/podcasting/

Screen clipping taken: 24/03/2013 2:44 PM

After looking at all the Group 2 digital technologies (images, podcasting and digital video), I chose podcasting as it seemed the simplest and most adaptable of the group. A podcast can be either an audio or a video file that has been uploaded to the Internet so that it can be shared with others. This can be done in a number of ways either using a PC or Apple devices. For a brief overview on the use and history podcasts see this link: Podcasting

Apple devices seem to be ideally suited for creating podcasts.  Using the iSight camera on a Mac and then importing it into iMovie, you can quickly and easily create a video podcast.  Garage Band can be used for audio podcasts. A really simple app for youngers students is Audio Boo and can be used on iPods, iPads and PCs. These files can then be embedded into other applications. Apple (Apple Inc., 2013) offers many uses tips for the creation and acquisition of podcasts.

listen to ‘Bear with no ears!’ on Audioboo

PCs can also be effectively used for creating podcasts.  By downloading Audicity or simply using the computer's built in sound recorder, sound files can easily be created. Files can then be shared by others through school Learning Management Systems such as Moodle, school blogs or websites.  More can be learned about the creation of podcast from tutorials such as Podcasting Basics.

Podcasts can be created by teachers or students from their own original material or existing files made by others can also be shared.  A huge variety of educational podcasts can be found.  There sources include:
ABC National
ABC EdPod
ABC
iTunes U

Podcasting, to me, has particular appeal as it gives the learner a unique opportunity to be in control of their learning, particularly for younger children or those with limited written literacy skills. Most hand held devices such as iPod, iPhones and iPads have voice recording apps already on them or are freely available. As these tools are expensive, classrooms can extend their number of devices by inviting students to bring their own devices. Of course, this depends on school policy as whether or not this is allowed, but this would go a long way to bridging the digital divide in lower socio-economic communities.

For specialty areas with information for both students and teachers, many exciting sites exist.  For example, for history many useful podcasts can be found at:
iTunes Australian History

Here is my PMI analysis of using podcasting in the classroom:

listen to ‘PMI Analysis of Podcasting’ on Audioboo
 

Why use podcasts in the classroom?  By creating their own podcasts, students are given a unique way of sharing their learning experiences, giving them the depth and breadth that can only come from real life applications of knowledge. Having the potential of a much wider audience online has been demonstrated as giving students greater focus as the importance of their own work and offers opportunities to students of lower or limited literacy skills. Correctly scaffolded, a podcast will meet the Metiri Group Report's list of principles (Swisher, 2007). Podcasting can also be effectively used by teachers for feedback and assessment.

 

Bibliography:

Apple Inc. . (2013). Ready Set Podcast! Retrieved March 24, 2013, from Apple in Education: http://www.apple.com/au/education/podcasting/

Stansbury, M. (2008, March 26). Analysis: How multimedia can improve learning. Retrieved March 24, 2013, from eSchool News: http://www.eschoolnews.com/2008/03/26/analysis-how-multimedia-can-improve-learning/

Swisher, D. (2007). Does Multimedia Truly Enhance Learning? Moving Beyond the Visual Media Bandwagon Toward Instructional Effectiveness. K-State at Salina Professional Day, Kansas State University. Salina: Kansas State University.

Western Australian Dept. of Education . (2013). Podcasts in the Classroom. Retrieved March 24, 2013, from Resourcing the Curriculum: http://www.det.wa.edu.au/education/cmis/eval/curriculum/ict/podcasts/#value