Course reflection

Below are my reflections on what I feel I have achieved from the Masters IT course (reflections in green).

What do you intend to learn from this course?
An understanding of the way I can practically use IT in the classroom with Primary School Children. A deeper understanding of what Web 2.0 means for the future of education and how we can utilise its potential now.

I certainly have a further understanding of web 2.0 and what the the future as well as what tools now i can be using in order to improves student learning. Also I have an awareness of how to use this as a teacher in order to improve professionally. I have also noticed I have only just skimmed the surface of this subject and its going to to prove a fun education experience now and in the future! 

Which ICT skills (or which teaching skills) could help you (use ICT better to) improve your students’ learning?
The list of IT skills which could help me teach better are;

Further understanding of how to podcast and ideas on how to manage recordings with ease. I have a confident level of understanding now of using podcasts; how to record edit and upload the recordings. I am looking at using podcasting with my Grade 2 next year for fractured fairy tale narratives presentations on itunes. Which parents/family can access at home.

 A new way to present rather than using PowerPoint.Rather than a new presentation tool, I have had a perspective change in using PowerPoint presentations. This is the idea of Pecha Kucha, minimal slide, long on  gimmicks with relevant images and a time limited presentation.  

How to use RSS in the classroom. Still not clear on the use of RSS feeds in the Grade 2 classroom. Although I am much clearer as to what RSS is and how to go about following a particular feed. Useful for my personal teaching blogs I am following for my professional development. 

How to use the projector in my classroom to its fullest potential. I have really focused my reflection on the various ways of using my projector more fully in the classroom. Tools such as holding control and either + o r – to zoom in and out have really helped to focus information sharing with the whole class. You tube, teacher tube, podcasts, blogs have all made an appearance in the class room on the projector. Children have also used the projector to present information using powerpoints or photographs and movies.

How to use a blog in the classroom – perhaps a class blog of what we are learning? which the parents can access? I have learned how to create a blog site from scratch. I have begun to understand the power of blogging and the way that it can improve my professional learning, create collaborations, self reflection and generate lists of useful teacher websites and web 2.0 tools. I have decided to use a blog next year as a reflective tool in the class room for the children to reflect on what they have been learning daily. I intend to do this as a whole class activity at the end of the day for the first few weeks (helping children learn how to add blog posts). After a while I will use this activity of reflection in a blog as part of my litercay rotations.  

Which ICT skills could help you improve your own learning?
Blogging, podcasting, any Multimedia software that I could use straight away in the classroom.

Twitter has also improved my teaching in the classroom through making contacts and finding useful resources that can be used instantly in the classroom setting. I anticipate collaboration in the future with many of these contacts and so the list of opportunities keeps growing – I like being a twit !

Teacher Twitterers the future of reflective practice?

I have been stuck as to how to use twitter effectively when searching for like minded people and reasons for using Twitter as a teacher.

I came across these 2 sites which help to explain how to search Twitter and 9 great reasons teachers should use Twitter. I have found the advanced twitter search to be especially useful in narrowing down my searches to help focus questions or find followers.

I really liked Laura Walkers ideas about reflective practice using Twitter in a dynamic way. While keeping up to date with current practices. Best of all and something that Stale has encouraged us to do is respond to blogs and begin or continue discussion. The comments section at the bottom of the blog entry 9 great reasons teachers should use twitteris becoming a great list of fellow twitterers and bloggers who are motivated by technology and want to share and collaborate.

Twitter Exploration

I have decided to enter the world of Twitter and find out what the fuss is all about. I also want to find out if this application will be useful for improving my teaching or for improving the learning for students.

If you would like to follow me on Twitter the name is wintona. At the moment I am just getting to grips with the idea. Twitter is easy to use however I am not sure of how I would implement this application in the classroom. Then again this is only day 2.

More to follow

Curriculum Change in Britian

After reading this article from the Guardian Newspaper in England I was interested that the initial use of web 2.0 will be only through a communication purpose. I guess to get children familiar with technology but will this be built on in middle schools and high schools towards more meaningful use of blogging, twitter podcasting?

The quote below by Mary Bousted, general secretary of the Association of Teachers and Lecturers,

‘Children need to be enthused by learning, so they want to learn and gain the skills which will enable them to learn in later life.’

suggests this will be the case but is the funding for technology and professional development for teachers available ?

We shall see but this is at least a step in the right direction for the British curriculum

Refine with Evidence

After reading and viewing Steves Blog entitled teaching has come along way… or has it ?. It got me thinking;

I have been thinking I  have often heard the words ‘ this idea has come around again’ or ‘ we used to do it this way 15 years ago.’

This is a statement from teachers who think that its another passing fad and so they will often be reluctant to implement the change  and instead wait for the next big idea to roll around. I agree with Steve that we need to refine what we mean by inquiry. So all teachers are on the same page in respect to ‘this is how it is done’.

At ISM we are currently writing a school wide vision which intends to take these things into account. This displays a school willing to refine our philosophies and say – this is how and why we teach as we do and here is the evidence to prove it. This can only make us better teachers and a better school!

Techy Tips for not so Techy Teachers

While looking through my delicious account I came accross this useful resource which gives a variety of useful internet based tech ideas which can be used right now to help your teaching in the classroom and beyond it. I really love this sort of stuff and its part of the reason of setting up a delicious account. The best part is you get to create your own networks with similar minded teachers and share incredible resources instantly rather than have to google or yahoo for them with can be hit or miss.

If you decide to open a delicious account please add me to your network (my user name is wintona).

Here is a commoncraft video to explain delicious further enjoy!

Useful Resources Wiki

Here is a useful list of websites specifically for educators of all levels. Its actually a wiki to share web 2.0 resources. (We have been using some !)

cooltoolsforschools 

Enrage what help is that? oh and Twitter!

Having discussed Twitter in our recent Thursday session I began to consider further the educational value of Twitter and just could not see how it could be useful (especially in Elementary school). I recently stumbled upon a blog (which has some wonderful teacher web based resources on it) and read this article about Twitter. 

This Blog has well written articles and more usefully many instantly useable sites – rather than someone out to make a ’controversial’ statement.  

This is a blog which helps rather than enrages!!

Oh and as for Twitter in Elementary I like this Wiki which gives you an idea of the practical nature of Twitter as a communication tool with like minded educators.

Podcast Reflection

My reflection on our podcast task and the essential things to consider;

1) Keep a track of the timings and takes when recording.

2) To eliminate the need for excessive editing  of ums and rambling or off topic discussion and mistakes take short recordings.

3) Plan the sequence of what will be in covered in the podcast, do not over rehearsal or you loose thespontaneity element.

Session 1.3 ’so much to cover’

“How can we give time to this when we have so much material to cover?” This was a question asked by Mike on our masters course when discussing WEB 2.0 with Cley Burell via skype.

Although Cley answered the question with a high school leaning I thought I would give an elementary perspective.

I feel that the whole idea of using technology starts with a positive ICT program in the younger years. A good program which builds on skills and means that when the children get to middle and high school they have a clear understanding and knowledge to use their blogging, wiki, twitter or what ever the new social communication technology is at the time.

We try to use technology meaningfully in the classroom however we need to create a spiral curriculum so these skills get built upon as the children progress further up the school. To deepen the understanding of these tools before they can in middle and high school use them in an independant way which will hopefully then go someway to saving time and making life easier to cover collaborate and learn content.