Reflective synopsis learning e.journal

Reflective synopsis learning e.journal

Whilst preparing for this reflection, I pondered, how can one be an efficient and effective learning manager (LM) in the 21^st century without information communication technologies (ICT’s) present in their lessons and learning environment?

Do we today create a lesson experience plan (LEP) and then incorporate ICT’s into the LEP or rather do we align our LEP with the essential learnings, focus on one or several technologies and by creating an LEP around the use of the ICT’s chosen for the task and projects.

Perhaps the rapid rise of ICT’s available for today’s LM and their students has opened the classroom up outside of the traditional 9 to 3 school room. A competent LM can weave into the lesson the use of ICT’s and allow the students to continue learning after school hours, continue interacting in work groups without the need to be physically located together and allows the LM and parents to view work progress easily. By setting work tasks available to be progressed online, using technology such as Wiki, many students can contribute simultaneously, each at their home and by sharing the web address with the LM and parents all three parties can keep abreast of the tasks.

It is considered that the traditional setting of homework that includes textbook reading and answering a number of questions is looked upon by today’s students as being boring and unappealing. Today’s technologies allow a LM to set homework utilising an ICT, thus gaining the interest of the students, and provoking interest in the subject. When students are interested, their attitude to the subject is far more cognisant to learning and long term memory than if they are not engaged. Perhaps a quick quiz students access via a webpage, and the answers are there for them at the end of the test, quizzes where students can utilise a form of online chat to work through the questions as a team.

My brief experience during EPL has highlighted that todays students enjoy the lessons most when it involves hands on, active participation, interacting, fast moving activities. By incorporating ICT’s into lessons the LM can hold students attentions more efficiently by allowing students to utilise mediums they have grown up with and often used for personal relaxation or enjoyment.

Many communications today occur via cyberspace. It seems easier today to SMS someone than to make a telephone call and speak with them. Many friendships are maintained (to some degree) via interactive web pages and personal networking sites. I know this is the case with my own family and friends, especially if you are geographically distant to each other. With this in mind, todays students are connected in ways that were not even developed when their LM was a school student. Hence, today’s LM needs to keep abreast of technologies and be mindful of how quickly students adopt new technologies.

Technologies such as PowerPoint, are still very useful tools in the learning environment. PowerPoint software, especially late model versions, can be enhanced by the addition of photos, images, sound, video and weblinks, thus creating a leaning portal with a live window to the external world, easily accessible via a PC. Then the presentation can be uploaded to a website, where students can access whilst doing homework outside of school hours, with links to a blog for inter-student communication to enhance and extend learning and offer an option to donate back into the world what the class has created. I created a powerpoint and embedded it into my blog with some reflections on using this software technology in the classroom.

During EPL, I have been able to utilise an interactive whiteboard in science classes. This technology, which is very new to me, opens a new dimension of learning into the classroom. Fancy a board that ‘talks’ to a computer and allows students to interact with it, and this year 9 class has quickly adopted the interactive whiteboard into their learning journey and have indicated, the more lessons that incorporate it, the better.

EPL has highlighted to me the need to utilise various technology mediums during a lesson. By incorporating different technologies into a lesson, the students have had higher rates of attention, and at lessons end, have expressed their appreciation of ‘an interesting lesson’. When a student is engaged in their learning journey, they retain much more knowledge and are more likely to share the experience gained in the lesson with others outside.

The myriad of web based ‘gadgets’ available that can be utilised in a students learning journey is amazing and more amazing is the rapid pace of development of internet based software tools that can be tailored for student use. During this course Mahara, Wiki, Voki Avatar, (including comments on Ken Page's blog April 8^th and 11^th), Picnik, You Tube (comments to Saidah Betts blog April 29^th), Teacher Tube, Google Earth, SlideBoom and Flickr and blogs (Comments to fellow student Ken Pages blog site) (to name a few) have all been taken for a test drive and comments made on my blog about most. Each of these tools can be utilised in the classroom and already during EPL I have incorporated some of them. These are the tools I will be utilising in the classroom throughout EPL and into my career as a 21^st Century LM.

I view ICT tools as being crucial to connecting and engaging with generation Y students and the generation following Gen Y, holding their attention, helping them to be motivated learners, creating a thirst for knowledge and create a learning environment where they retain the knowledge. The ICT tools perused over this course and new ICT’s not yet developed, will be interweaved into lessons throughout my career as a LM. Thus, I will always be maintaining a philosophy of learning new knowledge and skills, as new technologies are developed and become available online.

Lets rate Flickr

Well here is an image I snitched off Flickr, so credit to the Flickr world.
Here is my classroom...well after I graduate this will be what my classroom will hopefully look like. You guessed it an Industrial Technology & Design room.
Flickr was an interesting domain to use.
Challenging! The search function is fairly coarse and there seems to be need to sift through a pile of images to find one remotely likened to your search words.
Oh did i mention another account set up, another password....this one was on the other side of the fence being a yahoo based product.
There are loads of images there, perhaps todays secondary students would be more capable of using the Flickr medium far better than I. Any source of images is of use to students for information, assignments and learning.
A good source of images, today I give Flickr 6.5 stars!

You Tube & Teacher Tube

I have been looking over You Tube and Teacher Tube websites these last few days for some useful material for the classroom.
I have found some really interesting videos on the websites. I found Teacher Tube to be far more academic in the nature of the videos in general and the videos seem to be of a more professional nature. You tube has loads of interesting stuff in there, some of it is just Hollywood wannabes posting up their home made vids, which makes the quality some what inferior at times and the educational value limited.
Video is a great hook tool that can be used as part of an introduction to a subject, as a light hearted relief part of the lesson when students slump and they need a pick me up to regain their attention to the lesson.
I will definitely be using the tubes in the classroom.

EPL day 1

Today was EPL day 1 for me. It was a really good day. I have not been inside a high school classroom while class is in session since 1993, so it was interesting! My MT is really excited about having me in her classroom and is really helpful and encouraging. So the day started with a year 9 science lesson, 70 minutes about the heart and the cardiovascular system.
So the interactive whiteboard was not working properly, and the 14 year olds that knew almost everything were quick to point out the teachers short comings. Then the MT done what every good MT would do....handed me the whiteboard stick and said....you could do better! What? I have never even seen an electronic whiteboard before let alone know how to use one!
So I took the stick and went merrily clicking and tapping at the whiteboard....and luck was with me....the board responded with the correct song! BAM and we were away with the lesson!
So my very first lesson on EPL and I nearly took over the class. Oh dear me!
Next a lesson with year 9 math. I said to myself....just sit quietly down the back and observe. Well that lasted 15 minutes...until a student turned my way and asked...Mr Lane...whats this mean? Before I knew it I was at the old fashioned whiteboard with a marker whizzing up math equations. Math is not me!
Then after lunch, a year 9 SOSE lesson about law and order. Hmmmmmm, this is where the wheels sort of fell off the wagon. Try keeping 14 year olds interested in law after lunch! So there I sat in the back corner quietly observing. It was really interesting observing the behavior of the students and how long they would actually concentrate on the subject being taught.
Had a short chat with the MT about next weeks lessons. Oh did I mention my homework is...create two LEP's for next week. One for year 8 science on microscopes and one for year 9 science on kidneys. MT said, 'you might like to get a kidney or two and dissect them with the students'. Grand, I say, nurse, scalpel!
So day 1 down, 15 to go this term.
I really enjoyed the day and are very thankful my MT is really keen to help me grow from a student teacher to a learning manager.

If only they had more ICT's for their math lesson

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=88E0TYijc5I




Now here is a math lesson worth noting.

An old Powerpoint presentation

Sunday kids church 11 april 2009

View more presentations or Upload your own.










Hi All
This is an old power-point slide show I put together April last year when I took Childrens Church for a month. I even managed to put in some pics, a few different backgrounds and different slide transitions. The trick with this age group of kids, which at the time was about 4 to 12 year olds, was to keep the whole 'class' moving, flowing and not to let the momentum die. A bag of lollies worked wonders.
I will make a ppt for school and snap it up.

Voki

Well I managed to create a voki. You see that handsome lad above this post!!
Was interesting to create the man. It has some errie similarities to the Nintendo Wii where you create your Mii!!! wii mii voki????
In the classroom this cyberspace creation can be useful for grabbing students attention at the introduction of a new lesson. I would love to try and create a voki that finds an attention grabbing way to illustrate the myriad of uses for logarithms (for example)!!
You could allow students to create a voki and be a part of a presentation etc.
When I work out how to put speech on a voki, and you can have a longer message, then it will widen their application by allowing the user to increase the length of the vokis presentation.
For the voki I give it a 6 out of 10. The website was a trifle confusing in its layout, limited choice of hairstyles for the ladies and my glasses need a re-frame. Let me spend a few more moments creating voki Phase II and I will review my review of the voki.
Lane out
kersch