Hello everyone,
WebQuests are such an engaging tool for students in the classroom. It begins with an authentic context, usually a problem that requires the students to work through the site to obtain the answer.
In SOSE (Studies of Society and Environments) last year, I constructed a WebQuest in collaboration with a peer. We used Microsoft Word as our WebQuest program, which can be considered the easiest program to use. The only problem that we had was linking the pages and pictures together. At times, I was required to manually update all the links to ensure that it worked when we presented the assignment. If I were to use this technology within the classroom in the future, I would investigate the use of a better program to ensure that a smooth learning experience occurs for the students. A site such as WebQuest Direct provides suggestions and tips for obtaining your own WebQuest.
We were required to pick a topic of sustainability. The topic question that students sought to find an answer was, “If the Sunshine Coast is giving water to other parts of Queensland, how can I reduce my water usage and how can I tell others to reduce their usage?”
Students were required to create a presentation (PowerPoint, poster or brochure) using the information from the WebQuest to assist them in answering the topic question. This task was aimed at a Year Three level; therefore, the Learning Manager significantly scaffolded their learning journey.
In this WebQuest, it required students to work collaboratively with peers. We created a mascot that ‘guided’ them through each stage. We used this approach, as we believed it would assist with student engagement. The use of WebQuests within the classroom aligns with Vygotsky’s theory, whereby, learning gains are made when students work with peers (Nichols, 2007).
I think that it is also important to note that the use of the Learning Engagement Theory (Kearsley & Shneiderman, 1999) is appropriate within this situation. The use of this theory is applied in the following way:
Relate – Students were required to work in groups for this WebQuest.
Create – Students were given an authentic, real-life problem to which they needed to seek out relevant answers. They were required to create a presentation that highlighted ways that they could save water around their home, school and community.
Donate – The students were required to present their findings to their class, as well as write an article for the local newspaper, encouraging their local community to save water.
WebQuests can be a long task for the Learning Manager to create. However, once in place, the role of the Learning Manager is to assist students in the literacy components of the WebQuest, as well as provide additional scaffolding where necessary. The Learning Manager is also required to continually censor the links on the site, as well as pose higher-order thinking questions that allow students to gain a deeper understanding of the focus topic.
I personally believe that WebQuests are a valuable tool within the classroom. My only concern is for the students to be safe online when following links to sites, even with censoring by the Learning Manager.
The use of WebQuests, as opposed to the traditional approach of learning, would require easy access to computers within the school. If technology was lacking, the Learning Manager could employ a rotation system, which would allow all groups to engage in this learning tool.
Nevertheless, WebQuests are an effective tool for the engagement of digital native students (Prensky, 2001). Although they may be time consuming to complete and monitor, the role and responsibility of the Learning Manager is to ensure that all students make learning gains.
Melissa.
References
Kearsley, G., & Shneiderman, B. (1999). Engagement Theory.Retrieved July 10, 2009, from http://home.sprynet.com/~gkearsley/engage.htm
Nichols, K. (2007). What is learning? Current knowledge and theories. In R. Smith, D. Lynch, & B. A. Knight, Learning Management: Transitioning teachers for national and international change (pp. 21-29). Frenchs Forest, NSW, Australia: Pearson Education Australia.
Prensky, M. (2001). Digital Native, Digital Immigrants. On the Horizon , 9 (5), 1-6.
Monday, 10 August 2009
Saturday, 8 August 2009
Travel around with Google Earth!
Hi everyone,
Recently, I downloaded Google Earth. This program enables users to view aerial images of places around the earth. Recently in Australia, Google Street View was added. This allows the user to view pictures of streets in cities around Australia.
I recently used this resource in one of my lessons. My Prep students are studying job roles within their community. This specific lesson was to focus on the relationship between hospitals, paramedics and ambulances. I decided to use this technology as the hook into the lesson. Previously, I was made aware of the speed of the computers at school; therefore, at home, I entered the details of the nearest hospital, and took a screen dump of the aerial shot. I then pasted this into Microsoft Word. I repeated the same process using Street View. I took screen dumps of the ambulances waiting outside the emergency department as well as the entrance to the hospital. These images were shown to the students using the Word document and Data Projector. This was effective as it provided a great starting point for discussion.
I considered the use of this technology in upper grades and concluded that it aligned well with the Learning Design Framework (AusInfo, 2003).
For example, within the SOSE Essential Learnings (Queensland Studies Authority, 2008), the juncture by the end of Year five states,
“Environments are defined by physical and human dimensions.”
For example, the task may require students to identify land features and explore problems within their own environment.
The Learning Design Framework (AusInfo, 2003) can be applied as summarised below:
- Learning Tasks – The problem is for students to investigate their local environment.
- Learning Resources - Google Earth, in conjunction with other resources, can assist in the acquisition of knowledge with students viewing landforms from an aerial perspective.
- Learning Supports – Students will use the information that the resources provide to make informed judgements in conjunction with scaffolding from the Learning Manager.
The use of this framework is also supported by the Productive Pedagogies Framework, specifically, 'Connectedness to the world' (Education Queensland, 2006). Authentic learning experiences are created when students are presented with real-life challenges and connections are made to their lives outside the classroom.
The only problem with this technology is that needs to be downloaded from the Internet on each computer. Due to the slow bandwidth connection in schools, Learning Managers will need to be prepared and allocate time before lessons to install this program.
This is a great tool to use in the classroom for students to view countries around the world from an aerial perspective. It is one of the tools that I will be attempting to incorporate into the classroom.
Melissa.
References
AusInfo. (2003). The Learning Design Construct. Retrieved July 24, 2009, from Learning Design: http://www.learningdesigns.uow.edu.au/project/learn_design.htm
Education Queensland. (2006). Productive Pedagogies. Brisbane, QLD, Australia: Curriculum Implementation Unit.
Queensland Studies Authority. (2008). Essential Learnings: SOSE. Brisbane, QLD, Australia: Author.
Podcasts - Learning Engagement?
Hello again,
Podcasting has become a great tool that can be incorporated into the classroom. The Learning Manager needs to understand how to effectively use it as a pedagogical approach.
After downloading iTunes, I was searching for podcasts that I could download and use within the classroom for my students. I came across ‘Podkids Australia’ (Orange Grove Primary School, 2009). I Internet searched this name and it led me to their homepage. Year 4/5 students in Western Australia have created this podcast to document their learning journey. Even though I teach a Prep class, I considered how this podcast could be used for children in an older age group. For example, one of the podcasts is on ANZAC Day. The children have interviewed war veterans and commented on the ceremony that was held at their school. This use of this podcast could be at a variety of times during ANZAC Day discussions. The Learning Manager could play it for the students to analyse perspectives of the war veterans. This activity could be used in a lesson that is targeting complex reasoning (Marzano, et al., 1997).
Podcasts can be used within the classroom in the following ways. Students and teachers can create their own materials then record and upload it, or existing files can be downloaded through the use of a program such as iTunes.
Podcasts allows students to create and share learning experiences. It allows them to be exposed to a variety of material from around the world. This style of learning creates meaningful and authentic assessment options for the Learning Manager (Department of Education and Training Western Australia, 2009).
The flexibility of this technology allows students to access the material from the Learning Manager and listen whenever they wish, generally through the use of an mp3 player. This mode of delivery promotes podcasting as a valuable pedagogical approach (Department of Education and Training Western Australia, 2009).
This educational tool aligns with the Learning Engagement Theory (Kearsley & Shneiderman, 1999). This theory promotes human interaction, rather than individual interaction with a computer program. Therefore, the use of podcasting can be viewed through the Relate-Create-Donate approach. The use of podcasts in this theory is documented below.
Relate – Students work collaboratively and focus on effective communication, planning and social skills.
Create – Students create their podcast as an authentic assessment task. This could be demonstrated by role-playing an interview based upon a problem that has been identified within their community.
Donate – Students are given the opportunity to publish and share their podcast as a solution for a problem identified in the ‘create' phase.
As shown above, this e-learning tool can be used within the classroom. Again, it is the responsibility of the Learning Manager to equip themselves with the skills and acquire the appropriate technology to implement this approach into the classroom. Personally, I think that it is a worthwhile tool, as many students have access to technology such as an mp3 player. It is the role of the Learning Manager to ensure that all students are able to access the podcast and to cater for student diversity where appropriate.
Melissa.
References
Department of Education and Training Western Australia. (2009). Retrieved August 8, 2009, from Podcasts in the Classroom: http://www.det.wa.edu.au/education/cmis/eval/curriculum/ict/podcasts/
Kearsley, G., & Shneiderman, B. (1999). Engagement Theory:. Retrieved July 10, 2009, from http://home.sprynet.com/~gkearsley/engage.htm
Marzano, R., Pickering, D., Arredondo, D., Blackburn, G., Brandt, R., Mofett, C., et al. (1997). Dimensions of Learning: Teacher's Manuel. Colorado, USA: Mid-Continent Regional Educational Laboratory.
Orange Grove Primary School. (2009). Podkids Australia. Retrieved August 8, 2009, from http://www.podkids.com.au/
Podcasting has become a great tool that can be incorporated into the classroom. The Learning Manager needs to understand how to effectively use it as a pedagogical approach.
After downloading iTunes, I was searching for podcasts that I could download and use within the classroom for my students. I came across ‘Podkids Australia’ (Orange Grove Primary School, 2009). I Internet searched this name and it led me to their homepage. Year 4/5 students in Western Australia have created this podcast to document their learning journey. Even though I teach a Prep class, I considered how this podcast could be used for children in an older age group. For example, one of the podcasts is on ANZAC Day. The children have interviewed war veterans and commented on the ceremony that was held at their school. This use of this podcast could be at a variety of times during ANZAC Day discussions. The Learning Manager could play it for the students to analyse perspectives of the war veterans. This activity could be used in a lesson that is targeting complex reasoning (Marzano, et al., 1997).
Podcasts can be used within the classroom in the following ways. Students and teachers can create their own materials then record and upload it, or existing files can be downloaded through the use of a program such as iTunes.
Podcasts allows students to create and share learning experiences. It allows them to be exposed to a variety of material from around the world. This style of learning creates meaningful and authentic assessment options for the Learning Manager (Department of Education and Training Western Australia, 2009).
The flexibility of this technology allows students to access the material from the Learning Manager and listen whenever they wish, generally through the use of an mp3 player. This mode of delivery promotes podcasting as a valuable pedagogical approach (Department of Education and Training Western Australia, 2009).
This educational tool aligns with the Learning Engagement Theory (Kearsley & Shneiderman, 1999). This theory promotes human interaction, rather than individual interaction with a computer program. Therefore, the use of podcasting can be viewed through the Relate-Create-Donate approach. The use of podcasts in this theory is documented below.
Relate – Students work collaboratively and focus on effective communication, planning and social skills.
Create – Students create their podcast as an authentic assessment task. This could be demonstrated by role-playing an interview based upon a problem that has been identified within their community.
Donate – Students are given the opportunity to publish and share their podcast as a solution for a problem identified in the ‘create' phase.
As shown above, this e-learning tool can be used within the classroom. Again, it is the responsibility of the Learning Manager to equip themselves with the skills and acquire the appropriate technology to implement this approach into the classroom. Personally, I think that it is a worthwhile tool, as many students have access to technology such as an mp3 player. It is the role of the Learning Manager to ensure that all students are able to access the podcast and to cater for student diversity where appropriate.
Melissa.
References
Department of Education and Training Western Australia. (2009). Retrieved August 8, 2009, from Podcasts in the Classroom: http://www.det.wa.edu.au/education/cmis/eval/curriculum/ict/podcasts/
Kearsley, G., & Shneiderman, B. (1999). Engagement Theory:. Retrieved July 10, 2009, from http://home.sprynet.com/~gkearsley/engage.htm
Marzano, R., Pickering, D., Arredondo, D., Blackburn, G., Brandt, R., Mofett, C., et al. (1997). Dimensions of Learning: Teacher's Manuel. Colorado, USA: Mid-Continent Regional Educational Laboratory.
Orange Grove Primary School. (2009). Podkids Australia. Retrieved August 8, 2009, from http://www.podkids.com.au/
YouTube - An Active Learning Tool?
Hi all,
YouTube is a well known video sharing site. It contains a large amount of videos that can be effectively used within the classroom.
Recently, I showed a YouTube clip to my Prep students. Over the last few weeks, my lessons have aimed to orientate students to different job occupations within the community. In this particular lesson, students were exploring the role of a Fire Fighter. The YouTube video clip was used to hook students into the content of the lesson. I found a clip on Fireman Sam and thought that it would be a good way to engage students into the role and responsibility of being a Fire Fighter. The students became really engaged in the lesson, and it provided a starting point for classroom discussion.
Click here for the link. I have also embedded it into this post as shown below.
There are sites such as TeacherTube that purely provides educational videos for teachers. Regardless of the video sharing site that is used, it is important to ensure that students are safe online. In some schools, only teachers are allowed to access these sites. However, the program KeepVid allows the Learning Manager to download the video prior to the lesson and play the them in the classroom or upload them to servers where students can access them. This program is useful to ensure that students are not exposed to inappropriate advertisements or comments when streaming the video live. This also overcomes any problems with bandwidth connection within a school. I was unaware of this program until the lecture/tutorial at university, which meant that in my lesson I streamed the video live. To ensure that the movie ran smoothly, I had to let it load during the lunch break at school. I also made the video into a full screen, before turning the data projector on and then turned it off before exiting from the full screen mode, to ensure that the students could not see any inappropriate advertisements or comments.
This piece of technology is extremely useful to engage or provide further information about a topic to students. It allows the Learning Manager to search for videos pertaining to the relevant unit of work being explored in the classroom.
This technology tool can be viewed through the lens of Active Learning (ACU Adams Centre for Teaching Excellence, 2000):
For example, a task for students may be to create a solution or response to a news topic recently featured in the media.
1. Input – viewing news reports though YouTube can assist the students to gain an understanding of their topic through multiple senses (seeing, hearing).
2. Process – working collaboratively, students can film their own news report or construct a moviemaker file.
3. Output – students can upload their created product to YouTube and reflect upon their response or solution to the problem.
YouTube can be used within the classroom as an effective pedagogical tool, provided the Learning Manager ensures that students remain safe online. I personally believe that it is an effective way to engage students in a task, whether it is used in the hook, body or conclusion. The key to using this tool effectively is to show students videos that specifically relate to the intended learning outcomes.
I will take this new knowledge and apply it into the classroom at my next opportunity.
Until next time,
Melissa.
References
ACU Adams Centre for Teaching Excellence. (2000). How does Active Learning work? Retrieved August 3, 2009, from Active Learning Online: http://www.acu.edu/cte/activelearning/howdoes.htm
YouTube is a well known video sharing site. It contains a large amount of videos that can be effectively used within the classroom.
Recently, I showed a YouTube clip to my Prep students. Over the last few weeks, my lessons have aimed to orientate students to different job occupations within the community. In this particular lesson, students were exploring the role of a Fire Fighter. The YouTube video clip was used to hook students into the content of the lesson. I found a clip on Fireman Sam and thought that it would be a good way to engage students into the role and responsibility of being a Fire Fighter. The students became really engaged in the lesson, and it provided a starting point for classroom discussion.
Click here for the link. I have also embedded it into this post as shown below.
There are sites such as TeacherTube that purely provides educational videos for teachers. Regardless of the video sharing site that is used, it is important to ensure that students are safe online. In some schools, only teachers are allowed to access these sites. However, the program KeepVid allows the Learning Manager to download the video prior to the lesson and play the them in the classroom or upload them to servers where students can access them. This program is useful to ensure that students are not exposed to inappropriate advertisements or comments when streaming the video live. This also overcomes any problems with bandwidth connection within a school. I was unaware of this program until the lecture/tutorial at university, which meant that in my lesson I streamed the video live. To ensure that the movie ran smoothly, I had to let it load during the lunch break at school. I also made the video into a full screen, before turning the data projector on and then turned it off before exiting from the full screen mode, to ensure that the students could not see any inappropriate advertisements or comments.
This piece of technology is extremely useful to engage or provide further information about a topic to students. It allows the Learning Manager to search for videos pertaining to the relevant unit of work being explored in the classroom.
This technology tool can be viewed through the lens of Active Learning (ACU Adams Centre for Teaching Excellence, 2000):
For example, a task for students may be to create a solution or response to a news topic recently featured in the media.
1. Input – viewing news reports though YouTube can assist the students to gain an understanding of their topic through multiple senses (seeing, hearing).
2. Process – working collaboratively, students can film their own news report or construct a moviemaker file.
3. Output – students can upload their created product to YouTube and reflect upon their response or solution to the problem.
YouTube can be used within the classroom as an effective pedagogical tool, provided the Learning Manager ensures that students remain safe online. I personally believe that it is an effective way to engage students in a task, whether it is used in the hook, body or conclusion. The key to using this tool effectively is to show students videos that specifically relate to the intended learning outcomes.
I will take this new knowledge and apply it into the classroom at my next opportunity.
Until next time,
Melissa.
References
ACU Adams Centre for Teaching Excellence. (2000). How does Active Learning work? Retrieved August 3, 2009, from Active Learning Online: http://www.acu.edu/cte/activelearning/howdoes.htm
Monday, 3 August 2009
Classmarker (Quizzes)
Hi everyone,
I have just recently signed up for another site which provides users with a program to create online quizzes. This site is called Class Marker. It was a bit difficult at first trying to navigate and understand how to create a test to post a link to my blog. However, I persisted and located the icon where I created my own test. After creating the test using a variety of multiple choice and true or false answer options, I created a group entitled, ‘University Blog Group’. Below is the link to this test.
Take our online test
The user has many options on this site such as determining the pass mark, whether answers can be viewed at the conclusion of the test and the inclusion of feedback (ClassMarker, 2009).
The test that I created was designed for my Prep class. Recently, we have been studying the lifecycle of a butterfly and using the story, ‘The Very Hungry Caterpillar’ as the basis for this exploration. Although the problem that I have with using this site with younger students is that they are unable to read the questions, therefore, the Learning Manager would be required to read the questions to students and then wait for their response to place the mark in the correct box on the screen. In these Early Years, it would be beneficial as a whole class activity, or in small group rotations with adult supervision. As students progress through the school, this activity would become extremely helpful for teachers, as it would save on marking and correction. The only negative with this system is that teachers would be unable to provide feedback on students’ responses if the tests were created purely on true or false or multiple choice answers. As an alternative, the Learning Manager could create a few questions which require students to place a short response to the question posed.
Within the classroom, this style of testing can be determined by the Learning Manager to be used as either summative or formative assessment. Testing can be a positive conclusion to a unit that consolidates and links both their prior and newly constructed knowledge and skills throughout the unit of work. Testing also allows the Learning Manager to identify the areas that the students have an understanding of the content knowledge, or may need additional assistance. This mode of assessment can be viewed through the lens of a constructivist theorist’s perspective (Nichols, 2007). Students are required to apply content knowledge that has been constructed throughout the unit of work and recall these facts during the test.
I personally believe that testing can be a valuable tool, as long as the results are used by the Learning Manager to effectively adapt learning experiences. This online testing program would be positive within the classroom alongside another assessment piece, so that students have the opportunity to show their learning in a variety of contexts (Kearsley & Shneiderman, 1999). Using online testing may also assist students to overcome anxieties with traditional testing methods.
As with all technological products, the Learning Manager needs to ensure that resources are well prepared and accessible for all students. However, I believe that this style of testing will gradually become an effective tool for both Learning Manager and student.
Melissa.
References
ClassMarker. (2009). Frequently Asked Questions. Retrieved August 1, 2009, from http://www.classmarker.com/faq.php
Kearsley, G., & Shneiderman, B. (1999). Engagement Theory:. Retrieved July 10, 2009, from http://home.sprynet.com/~gkearsley/engage.htm
Nichols, K. (2007). What is learning? Current knowledge and theories. In R. Smith, D. Lynch, & B. A. Knight, Learning Management: Transitioning teachers for national and international change (pp. 21-29). Frenchs Forest, NSW, Australia: Pearson Education Australia.
I have just recently signed up for another site which provides users with a program to create online quizzes. This site is called Class Marker. It was a bit difficult at first trying to navigate and understand how to create a test to post a link to my blog. However, I persisted and located the icon where I created my own test. After creating the test using a variety of multiple choice and true or false answer options, I created a group entitled, ‘University Blog Group’. Below is the link to this test.
Take our online test
The user has many options on this site such as determining the pass mark, whether answers can be viewed at the conclusion of the test and the inclusion of feedback (ClassMarker, 2009).
The test that I created was designed for my Prep class. Recently, we have been studying the lifecycle of a butterfly and using the story, ‘The Very Hungry Caterpillar’ as the basis for this exploration. Although the problem that I have with using this site with younger students is that they are unable to read the questions, therefore, the Learning Manager would be required to read the questions to students and then wait for their response to place the mark in the correct box on the screen. In these Early Years, it would be beneficial as a whole class activity, or in small group rotations with adult supervision. As students progress through the school, this activity would become extremely helpful for teachers, as it would save on marking and correction. The only negative with this system is that teachers would be unable to provide feedback on students’ responses if the tests were created purely on true or false or multiple choice answers. As an alternative, the Learning Manager could create a few questions which require students to place a short response to the question posed.
Within the classroom, this style of testing can be determined by the Learning Manager to be used as either summative or formative assessment. Testing can be a positive conclusion to a unit that consolidates and links both their prior and newly constructed knowledge and skills throughout the unit of work. Testing also allows the Learning Manager to identify the areas that the students have an understanding of the content knowledge, or may need additional assistance. This mode of assessment can be viewed through the lens of a constructivist theorist’s perspective (Nichols, 2007). Students are required to apply content knowledge that has been constructed throughout the unit of work and recall these facts during the test.
I personally believe that testing can be a valuable tool, as long as the results are used by the Learning Manager to effectively adapt learning experiences. This online testing program would be positive within the classroom alongside another assessment piece, so that students have the opportunity to show their learning in a variety of contexts (Kearsley & Shneiderman, 1999). Using online testing may also assist students to overcome anxieties with traditional testing methods.
As with all technological products, the Learning Manager needs to ensure that resources are well prepared and accessible for all students. However, I believe that this style of testing will gradually become an effective tool for both Learning Manager and student.
Melissa.
References
ClassMarker. (2009). Frequently Asked Questions. Retrieved August 1, 2009, from http://www.classmarker.com/faq.php
Kearsley, G., & Shneiderman, B. (1999). Engagement Theory:. Retrieved July 10, 2009, from http://home.sprynet.com/~gkearsley/engage.htm
Nichols, K. (2007). What is learning? Current knowledge and theories. In R. Smith, D. Lynch, & B. A. Knight, Learning Management: Transitioning teachers for national and international change (pp. 21-29). Frenchs Forest, NSW, Australia: Pearson Education Australia.
Saturday, 1 August 2009
Picnik
Hello again,After my last post, I discovered the pictures on Flickr can actually be edited using Picnik (I am definitely still learning!). Here is the link to Picnik. This is another free site to join and use. This enables users to link both accounts and publish photos for others to view. Photos can be linked from social networking sites and also uploaded from a computer. In this program, the user can crop, resize, rename, change colours and use many other editing functions (Picnik, 2009). For additional editing options, a small fee is payable per year.
Above is a photo that I linked from Flickr to Picnik. It is a photo of my dog, which I have cropped so that the wall that was on the right of the picture is not included. Although there are many photo editing programs in the marketplace such as Adobe Photoshop, they have costs involved and take time to develop knowledge and skills to use effectively. This site is simple and easy to use and can be shared with a variety of people, depending on privacy settings.
In my last post, the example of implementation in the classroom was of students creating a brochure, which aligned to Oliver’s Learning Theory (AusInfo, 2003). Picnik would be able to assist students in the second part of this theory, which is the resources phase. Students can edit their photos for their brochure, by cropping or changing colours to make them more effective. Having the ability to link from the Flickr account allows the Learning Manager to place photos in this account that will specifically assist the students when they are choosing photos to edit. This aligns to the third section of the Learning Theory, whereby the Learning Manager scaffolds the learning experience (AusInfo, 2003). The use of this site also has links across other Key Learning Areas such as Arts and ICT.
I am definitely exploring and creating a long list of websites and programs for my repertoire. It is essential to ensure that these programs are used to provide authentic learning experiences for students that engage them in higher order thinking.
Melissa.
References
AusInfo. (2003). The Learning Design Construct. Retrieved July 24, 2009, from Learning Design: http://www.learningdesigns.uow.edu.au/project/learn_design.htm
Picnik. (2009). Frequently Asked Questions. Retrieved August 1, 2009, from Picnik: http://www.picnik.com/app#/home/faq
Flickr
Hi again,
Recently, I opened an account with the online picture facility Flickr. This site is completely free to join and use. I uploaded one of my digital pictures onto my own profile page. However, before loading, I used Microsoft Office Picture Manager to resize this photo so it was not a large file. After uploading my picture, I then searched for ‘Sunshine Coast’ and received many different photos of the Coast. I then saved this picture and placed it onto this blog (this is the picture on the left hand side). Flickr allows the user to upload, edit, share, organise and create cards for friends and family which can be shared with users around the world. Maps can be used to show where pictures were taken and investigate other pictures that have been taken in the same location. This also allows the user to keep in touch with family and friends as they can view the pictures, regardless of their location, as long as they have access to this site (Yahoo7 , 2009).
While I was completing this task, I thought about the practical uses of this technology in the classroom. Students could further enhance their ICT skills (link to Essential Learning Outcomes) and use a digital camera around the school, on excursions and at home. With the assistance of the Learning Manager, they could then upload their pictures onto this site for other students to view.
The issue of net safety could easily be overcome by ensuring that all parents have given permission for their students’ images to be placed on this site. I also investigated on this site that the user can set their profile to private which allows only family and friends to view their photos. This option would have to be used for students so that net safety standards are maintained.
Flickr can also be used if students are requiring pictures topic pertaining to classroom work. Learning Managers would need to monitor the use of the search function and ensure that students are using the safe search option on this site.
The practical use within the classroom is that Learning Managers can use it as a tool to engage students in visual literacy. They can place a picture on their whiteboard, through the use of a data projector and get students to write a creative piece based on that picture. Students could also search for photos to add into their writing pieces as well as provide authentic pictures for presentations that relate to their current unit of work. In Early Years’ classrooms, parents could assist students to upload photos and they could be used as a basis for show and tell.
Oliver’s Learning Theory effectively aligns to this learning tool. For example, Learning Managers could create a learning task whereby students are required to create a brochure for their community, thus engaging in the first part of the theory (AusInfo, 2003). Students would then be required to search in Flickr and locate pictures that can be incorporated into their task, which form the resources component of this theory. The third part of this framework is for the Learning Manager to scaffold students’ learning by providing learning experiences that assist them with the writing, designing and publishing of their brochure (AusInfo, 2003).
This technology can also be used with the site, Picnik. This site allows the user to edit pictures for documents, websites and presentations (more about this in the next post).
Flickr enables users to store their files and share them privately as opposed to Google Images, which is purely a search engine, making it a useful pedagogical tool in the classroom.
Next on the list is Picnik, so watch this space!
Melissa.
References
References
AusInfo. (2003). The Learning Design Construct. Retrieved July 24, 2009, from Learning Design: http://www.learningdesigns.uow.edu.au/project/learn_design.htm
Yahoo7 . (2009). What is Flickr? Retrieved August 1, 2009, from Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/tour/
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