Over the last 2 days I have been playing with Wikis. At first, I signed up for wetpaint.com and had a play. I have had no experiences with wikis until seeing wetpaint, and wetpaint had turned me off wikis completely. I found it visually overwhelming, ads everywhere (and today I found out that you can't remove the ads unless you want to pay for that option), and it just seemed disorganised. I just couldn't follow it (and that includes other people's sites).
Thankfully, today I saw someone elses wiki at wikispaces. It was much easier on the eyes and appeared user friendly. So, I ditched wetpaint (that would be my advice to anyone) and set up (yet another) account with wikispaces. It seems much more structured (for a super novice like me), and at least now I feel there is hope in using wikis in the classroom. Yesterday, I wasn't using a wiki for anyone.
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Reflection on Blogs
This is the first time I have used a blog. I would never have set one up otherwise. I found it realitively easy to set up but a bit longer to navigate around to work out it's features. The video on the courseware was particularly helpful as it provided visual and verbal step by step instructions.
For me, the use of videos (if they are done properly and use simple language) are invaluable for teaching our students. Looking at the Dale's Cone of effective learning, I found the combination of visual and verbal instruction as well as being able to create and use my own blog with purpose (and design as I like) fits at the bottom of the pyramid (direct, purposeful experience)(Active Learning Online Team, 2000). As a result, I feel as time goes on, I am getting a better understanding of blogs and feeling more comfortable navigating my way around them. This might also say something about how my learning style (as described by Felder and Soloman (n.d.)). In doing this activity, it could suggest that I learn best when actively engaged in an activity (and in this case, that probably is true as I would have found it more difficult doing it in other ways), however, when I completed the learning styles questionnaire, I came out with a strong reflective preference. This suggests to me, that even though students may have particular learning styles (just as I do) that doesn't mean that they won't learn anything if your teaching strategies aren't directly aligned to their preference. Felder and Brent (2005, p. 62) stated that:
Another thing I found with using blogs, is that it could be useful for students with all types of personalities as described by Carl Jung. As it tends to be relatively non-threatening (and there is such a thing a netiquette which effectively defines the rules of engagement in cyberspace), students who are reserved or introverted, may feel more comfortable posting comments through a screen than contributing in class. Similarly, an extrovert wil also able to get their views across and might enjoy jumping from site to site, spreading their thoughts and ideas. It also allows students to connect with each other in a non-threatening way, posting comments and receiving feedback, that probably doesn't happen in a regular classroom.
This leads me to RSS feeds. I didn't even know what they were or how they worked prior to this course. While I am still a little fuzzy about setting one up, I think they are a great idea for channelling lots information efficiently. Using one of these in my Blog activity would be great (I should go back and add it in), so that students can follow each other's blogs without having to go and look for it.
Another application is a news feed. If students are engaged in current affairs issues, they could follow the news links via their Google Reader and post comments to their blog (or a class blog) about issues affecting the local, national, international communities (such as the War in Iraq, the cyclone that hit Fiji, who won the World Cup). Comments can be further discussed in class.
Another fantastic idea would be making connections to several other class blogs from different countries all over the world, where they could share information (about their country, culture, lifestyle, cuisine etc), ideas, and experiences. This would be a great and fun way of exploring diversity. I really like this one.
I just had another idea for blogs - for students to make it their own (that is they can put whatever they want on it that they are comfortable sharing with others) and then sharing it with their peers. It would be a great 'getting to know you' activity that can continue throughout the year. The trick would be to get students to visit all sites, not just their friends.
Finally, it has been great viewing other students' blogs. Everyone brings a unique perspective which makes it interesting and because we all share a common bond (that is, participating in the GDLT), the information we contribute to our blogs can be relevant and helpful to a number of other people. By reading other people's blogs, you can generate further ideas of your own, share your ideas with others, get support and feedback, and tap into resources that you otherwise may not have found. In essence, it is an effective way of disseminating information. I believe this could be reflected in the use of blogs in the classroom.
All in all, I like the idea of blogs in the classroom. I can see many applications that will be engaging for students and I can't wait to give it whirl one day.
References:
1. Active Learning Online Team. (2000). Active learning online. Retrieved from http://acu.edu/cte/activelearning/whyuseal2.htm
2. Felder, R. M., & Brent, R. (2005). Understanding student differences. Journal of Engineering Education, 94(1), 57-72.
3. Felder, R. M., & Soloman, B. A. (n.d.). Learning styles and strategies. Retrieved from http://www4.ncsu.edu/unity/lockers/users/f/felder/public/ILSdir/styles.htm
4. Humanmetrics. (1998-2000). Humanmetrics jung typology test. Retrieved from http://www.humanmetrics.com/cgi-win/jungtype.htm
For me, the use of videos (if they are done properly and use simple language) are invaluable for teaching our students. Looking at the Dale's Cone of effective learning, I found the combination of visual and verbal instruction as well as being able to create and use my own blog with purpose (and design as I like) fits at the bottom of the pyramid (direct, purposeful experience)(Active Learning Online Team, 2000). As a result, I feel as time goes on, I am getting a better understanding of blogs and feeling more comfortable navigating my way around them. This might also say something about how my learning style (as described by Felder and Soloman (n.d.)). In doing this activity, it could suggest that I learn best when actively engaged in an activity (and in this case, that probably is true as I would have found it more difficult doing it in other ways), however, when I completed the learning styles questionnaire, I came out with a strong reflective preference. This suggests to me, that even though students may have particular learning styles (just as I do) that doesn't mean that they won't learn anything if your teaching strategies aren't directly aligned to their preference. Felder and Brent (2005, p. 62) stated that:
"The optimal teaching style is a balanced one that sometimes matches students' preferences, so their discomfort level is not too great for them to learn effectively, and sometimes goes against their preferences, forcing them to stretch and grow in directions they might be inclined to avoid if given the option."Therefore, our job as teachers is to design a balanced teaching approach that addresses the learning needs of all our students (Felder & Brent, 2005).
Another thing I found with using blogs, is that it could be useful for students with all types of personalities as described by Carl Jung. As it tends to be relatively non-threatening (and there is such a thing a netiquette which effectively defines the rules of engagement in cyberspace), students who are reserved or introverted, may feel more comfortable posting comments through a screen than contributing in class. Similarly, an extrovert wil also able to get their views across and might enjoy jumping from site to site, spreading their thoughts and ideas. It also allows students to connect with each other in a non-threatening way, posting comments and receiving feedback, that probably doesn't happen in a regular classroom.
This leads me to RSS feeds. I didn't even know what they were or how they worked prior to this course. While I am still a little fuzzy about setting one up, I think they are a great idea for channelling lots information efficiently. Using one of these in my Blog activity would be great (I should go back and add it in), so that students can follow each other's blogs without having to go and look for it.
Another application is a news feed. If students are engaged in current affairs issues, they could follow the news links via their Google Reader and post comments to their blog (or a class blog) about issues affecting the local, national, international communities (such as the War in Iraq, the cyclone that hit Fiji, who won the World Cup). Comments can be further discussed in class.
Another fantastic idea would be making connections to several other class blogs from different countries all over the world, where they could share information (about their country, culture, lifestyle, cuisine etc), ideas, and experiences. This would be a great and fun way of exploring diversity. I really like this one.
I just had another idea for blogs - for students to make it their own (that is they can put whatever they want on it that they are comfortable sharing with others) and then sharing it with their peers. It would be a great 'getting to know you' activity that can continue throughout the year. The trick would be to get students to visit all sites, not just their friends.
Finally, it has been great viewing other students' blogs. Everyone brings a unique perspective which makes it interesting and because we all share a common bond (that is, participating in the GDLT), the information we contribute to our blogs can be relevant and helpful to a number of other people. By reading other people's blogs, you can generate further ideas of your own, share your ideas with others, get support and feedback, and tap into resources that you otherwise may not have found. In essence, it is an effective way of disseminating information. I believe this could be reflected in the use of blogs in the classroom.
All in all, I like the idea of blogs in the classroom. I can see many applications that will be engaging for students and I can't wait to give it whirl one day.
References:
1. Active Learning Online Team. (2000). Active learning online. Retrieved from http://acu.edu/cte/activelearning/whyuseal2.htm
2. Felder, R. M., & Brent, R. (2005). Understanding student differences. Journal of Engineering Education, 94(1), 57-72.
3. Felder, R. M., & Soloman, B. A. (n.d.). Learning styles and strategies. Retrieved from http://www4.ncsu.edu/unity/lockers/users/f/felder/public/ILSdir/styles.htm
4. Humanmetrics. (1998-2000). Humanmetrics jung typology test. Retrieved from http://www.humanmetrics.com/cgi-win/jungtype.htm
Blog Activity in Detail
I thought I might try doing an activity in more detail.
I thought that a Student Portfolio is a great idea and is something that could be used across all primary year levels. Unfortunately, it doesn't quite fit into the engagement theory's relate-create-donate as it doesn't involve collaborative team work, but I think that this could happen by having a number of small groups maintaining a group portfolio.
Purpose: As most parents are not privvy to what goes on in the classroom and what their kids are up to during the school day (and students don't always get to show off their hard work), I thought it would be great for students to develop a blog to showcase their activities, achievements, events etc to family and friends over the course of the semester/year. It would also allow the student and the student's family, friends and peers to comment and provide feedback about the student's work, and the topics/activities/events in the classroom. It may motivate some students to do their best work as it would be available for public viewing. The portfolio would also be used as a form of formulative and summative assessment. The students progress can be reviewed periodically and at the end of the unit.
Declarative Knowledge:
Bloggerhelp. (2008, Jan 4). How to create a blog with blogger: [Video file]. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BnploFsS_tY
Marzano, R. J., & Pickering, D. J. (with Arrendondo, D. E., Paynter, D. E., Blackburn, G. J., Brandt, R. S., Whistler, J. S.). (1997). Dimensions of learning teacher’s manual (2nd ed.). Alexandra, VA: ASCD.
I thought that a Student Portfolio is a great idea and is something that could be used across all primary year levels. Unfortunately, it doesn't quite fit into the engagement theory's relate-create-donate as it doesn't involve collaborative team work, but I think that this could happen by having a number of small groups maintaining a group portfolio.
Purpose: As most parents are not privvy to what goes on in the classroom and what their kids are up to during the school day (and students don't always get to show off their hard work), I thought it would be great for students to develop a blog to showcase their activities, achievements, events etc to family and friends over the course of the semester/year. It would also allow the student and the student's family, friends and peers to comment and provide feedback about the student's work, and the topics/activities/events in the classroom. It may motivate some students to do their best work as it would be available for public viewing. The portfolio would also be used as a form of formulative and summative assessment. The students progress can be reviewed periodically and at the end of the unit.
Declarative Knowledge:
- Definition, characteristics and purposes of a blog - an initial activity could be brainstorming with students to work out numerous ways of displaying work, but leading into the use of a blog. Students could then do a KWL - a group discussion regarding the KW parts, then research the internet to find out about blogs using advanced organiser questions. During this task, the teacher could stop students for a "3-minute pause" to determine something new that they have learnt. Upon completion the 'L' of the KWL can be completed as a class. Students can then create a graphic organiser or pictograph for a blog.
- How to set up a blog - watch video.
- Definition and Characteristics of a Portfolio - again using a KWL strategy, students can then brainstorm the types of things that would be suitable for putting on a portfolio. The teacher can then demonstrate an example of a student portfolio using a blog. A graphic organiser which could then be put on the wall as reference to the types of 'artefacts' that they could put on their site.
- Definition of Habits of Mind (self-regulatory thinking, particularly responding appropriately to feedback and evaluating the effectiveness of your actions) as described by Marzano and Pickering (1997). As an introduction, the teacher might give students a hypothetical situation whereby they are receiving feeback for a project they had done or sport they have played. Using the Think-Pair-Share, the students can think about how they would evaluate their actions and respond to feedback , share their responses with a partner then feedback to the class. After reviewing all the responses, discussions can be made regarding what constitutes good habits of mind.
- The ability to setup a blog and use it's functions for the purpose of a student portfolio, including making frequent posts using a variety of media e.g. powerpoint, video, photos, texts. Initially, the setup of a blog would be demonstrated using a 'think aloud' approach with the computer projected onto a whiteboard for all students to see. The students would then use step by step instructions (which would include images of webpages, buttons to click) to create their own blogs.
- The ability to apply the habits of mind as demonstrated by appropriately responding to feedback on the blog and evaluating the effectiveness of their blog but also evaluating the activities/tasks that they were involved in - answering questions such as: What did I do well? What could I do better? What did I like/not like about an activity? What could I suggest to the teacher to do next time?
- For shaping their learning - brainstorming, discussing and providing examples of the other purposes of blogs which may be in the work place (e.g in the form of a community for practice), or for private use (e.g. a person's personal journey through life event). The pitfalls could also be discussed. For example, if you don't post regularly, if the content isn't interesting or uses the same format, how this may impact on the number of visitors to a site. How the use of text, pictures, videos, avatars, photos, links to other sites of interest can influence how the audience perceives the blog.
- To internalise: this will be done by providing students with opportunities at home and at school to add to their portfolio on a regular basis.
Bloggerhelp. (2008, Jan 4). How to create a blog with blogger: [Video file]. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BnploFsS_tY
Marzano, R. J., & Pickering, D. J. (with Arrendondo, D. E., Paynter, D. E., Blackburn, G. J., Brandt, R. S., Whistler, J. S.). (1997). Dimensions of learning teacher’s manual (2nd ed.). Alexandra, VA: ASCD.
Monday, March 15, 2010
Blog Ideas for the Classroom
This is all very foreign to me, but I have come up with a few ideas for using blogs in the classroom:
- As a Class Portfolio to showcase to parents, family, friends etc what the students have been doing and creating in class. Students can participate by taking photos, writing activity summaries, doing videos and then uploading into the blog, and providing quotes. This could also be an opportunity for students to comment and reflect on some of the activities. (This could give valuable feedback to the teacher for future teaching).
- Individual Student Portfolio whereby students can showcase their own work and reflect on the activities they have done (what they liked, didn't like, what they learnt, what they would have liked to learn more about, ideas about alternative activities etc). These blogs would be available for all students to see and comment on. It may add extra motivation for students to think about their product as others can view it and comment on it.
- Thinking Blog - I like the idea of posting thought provoking topics/readings, videos or pictures for students to respond to (as a homework activity). It could be something like a photograph of a war scene, a Van Gough painting, or a video on the fragility of the planet or 'The Lost Generation'. This could be a great introduction to a new topic or to increase depth of understanding of an existing topic. This could also include viewing news broadcasts and commenting about what was portrayed, how it was portrayed, the influence of media on peoples' perceptions, how students felt about certain topics (lets face it, there is not a lot of good news on TV). The postings can then be discussed in class the next day.
- KWL blog - for each new topic, have students post what they think they know about a topic and what they want to learn about it. After the topic has been covered via video, various texts, practicals (or whatever the case maybe), then student can complete the last part of the KWL. Students can then reflect on what they thought they knew (was their information correct), new things that they learnt and whether this new information resulted in changed opinions or thoughts about the topic.
- Online book club - whereby students get to comment about or critique books read in class and/or privately and students and teacher can work collaboratively in setting the criteria on which to critique books (e.g. the characters, the plot, ease of reading, style of writing, enjoyment/recommendation rating etc). This could be particularly motivating for students as they get to talk about books that they enjoy reading, not just ones prescribed by the teacher (e.g. DragonLance, Harry Potter, Saddle Club or whatever kids are into these days).
- Class 'Newsletter' - to post class related information such as calenders, events, homework assignments, student achievement (and not just of the academic or sporting kind), articles and photos about school events (e.g. sports carnival, book fair, crazy hair day, disco etc).
- Class Suggestion Box - a platform for students to provide feedback about classroom and school activities. Probably of more benefit for the teacher than student, but at least it gives students a chance to make comments in a least threatening way.
Friday, March 12, 2010
Blogger Revisited
Wow! What an intense first 2 weeks! I remember now why I didn't read anything for months after I finished my undergrad degree!!!! I was well and truly over reading. The GDLT is going to be no different.
I must say, so far, that I am excited about technology and it's endless possibilities in the classroom (even though I am lacking in digital literacy). I really want to know how to create a podcast, create a website, create and upload a video (although, without any pressure!!) and then use these tools in the classroom (that's right, I don't even have these basic skills!). The students will probably end up teaching me! I think I could really get into it once I know how. I have just had no reason to know all these things up until now.
I am also interested to learn more about gaming and literacy (this has been alluded to in the literacy courseware - I just haven't had time to expand into that area yet). As there is a huge gaming culture in our society, I'd love to know if there are any links to literacy, or in fact to the development (or lack of development) of other skills. Also, as kids love playing games, I am wondering how this interest can be brought to the classroom and used productively? I probably won't be able to answer this in the coming year, but it will be in the back of my mind to revisit at a later date.
I must say, so far, that I am excited about technology and it's endless possibilities in the classroom (even though I am lacking in digital literacy). I really want to know how to create a podcast, create a website, create and upload a video (although, without any pressure!!) and then use these tools in the classroom (that's right, I don't even have these basic skills!). The students will probably end up teaching me! I think I could really get into it once I know how. I have just had no reason to know all these things up until now.
I am also interested to learn more about gaming and literacy (this has been alluded to in the literacy courseware - I just haven't had time to expand into that area yet). As there is a huge gaming culture in our society, I'd love to know if there are any links to literacy, or in fact to the development (or lack of development) of other skills. Also, as kids love playing games, I am wondering how this interest can be brought to the classroom and used productively? I probably won't be able to answer this in the coming year, but it will be in the back of my mind to revisit at a later date.
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