Power Points

This week we worked with PowerPoint and voice recorders to make little films and motion pictures in class. It seemed like more fun than work, though this kind of activity would make a great topic for students in primary school to learn from, or for high school students to make as an assignment. This idea could also be used to document a students work over the year, or their school camps, and be presented to their parents as a DVD so the parents can see for themselves just what their children have been up to. It is more work than it sounds like but its not a difficult task. I really enjoyed this lesson and I'm looking forward to next week.

=)
- Kyah xx

Weebly

We worked on creating our own website (on weebly.com) using the same process as the wiki and the blog, though it is beginning to feel tedious constantly signing up for more accounts that I honestly don't want. It was interesting and would be a great assignment in a high school environment. I would imagine the students would pick a topic they liked and knew a great deal about, and created their own website dedicated to this topic for assessment, I'd most likely use this in an English class. I don't really think I personally want to have a website of my own at the present time, though it may be something to look into in the future. I like that I now know how to create my own website so in the future I could revisit this idea and see where it takes me. My youngest brother had his own web page designed by the time he was 12. It isn't academic though he enjoys editing it in his free time for his own amusement. Obviously this is something that can be achieved by people of all ages, the only problems I can foresee with using this tool in schools would be age restrictions and the limit of a person's imagination.

=)

- Kyah xx

Wiki Space

We created wiki spaces today. This is my link: http://kyah.wikispaces.com/

- Kyah xx

Frame Work Mind Map

I decided to mind map the points that I found important in the Theory of Engagement.

Engagement is making the topic interesting, challenging and meaningful to to the student, this is going to be help the student to be engaged in the class; so that would mean that by RELATING THE TOPIC TO THE STUDENTS you are going to be more likely to get the best results from them.

Ritual Compliance is where the student completes the work simply avoid conflict. They generally only work to the minimum standard because they are uninterested in the topic; you would find that by RELATING THE TOPIC TO THE STUDENTS you could actually get the students to do the work for themselves and even enjoy working.

Strategic Compliance is when the student is working for the grades or approval, not because they are interested. They aren't working to the goals you set but to goals they set themselves, this can be a good motivator however you may find that they are uninterested in the task and aren't actually learning because they aren't interested. Obviously the student needs POSITIVE REINFORCEMENT to keep them working, and a topic that is RELATED TO THE STUDENTS INTERESTS will interest them and help them retain the learning.

Retreatism is when the student is disengaged, distracted or confused because they find the work irrelevant and they cannot relate it to themselves so they refuse to participate. By RELATING THE TOPIC TO THE STUDENTS INTERESTS you are going to get more participation from the student.

Rebellion is when a student expresses negativity and attempts to distract others from the topic because they don't find the topic interesting or relevant to themselves. They would be more engaged if the TOPIC RELATED TO THEIR INTERESTS.

As you can most likely gather, I find relating the topic to the students a very important point and I hope everyone else can see the importance too. For further information on the Theory of Engagement click here.

-Kyah xx

Mind Mapping

I recently found this awesome mind map on mind mapping! It was created by Paul Foreman and you can find this diagram and other info about mind mapping here or you can read about Paul Foreman's work with mind mapping on his blog here. I thought that this was pretty cool so I posted it here for everyone to see. =)

-Kyah xx

Blogs

Wendy's idea of weekly blogging is a great way of letting the learner access technology, and while they are typing away what they think and feel about topics and lessons, the learning manager can see what goes on inside the students minds and can see more clearly what methods worked and what did not in the lessons and shows what points need to be stabilised and which were clarified during the learning experience. It can also be used to show who in the class is paying more attention. Also the use of mind maps, which we experimented with in the class, would show just what connections are being made in the students' minds in relation to certain topics. Everyone thinks differently and some of the relations you may see drawn up could surprise you, though they would still help to make you more aware of how they think.

Well I have finally uploaded something,
let me know what you think.

Thanks
- Kyah xx

My Thoughts

With the world moving itself online, it is important for the 21st century students to be aware of the technology that surrounds them. It is also important that they have the knowledge of how to take these pieces of technology and use them to further their understanding and improve their learning experience. An example of this can be seen with banking:
You're at the shops and your card declines because you've spent too much, but you really need this book to finish off your assignment. Instead of having to go to the bank to transfer funds, you can jump online to get the money quickly, and if you have a mobile phone you can access the Internet on your handset and make the instant transfer while standing at the checkout.
Technology is becoming more advanced and easier to access which is why everyone is turning to Internet for exposure and info, so you can be sure that 21st century students need to be tech-savvy to survive in this world.

Last century the technology was very limited and most people ignored it as a phase that would pass, so they didn't feel the need to familiarise themselves with it because they could do just fine without this fancy technology. With the increase in development of technology we have seen in just the past decade it is obvious that this is not just a phase.

In regards to teaching and learning, the new technologies can be used to gain interest from students, in the form of YouTube clips as demonstrations for science projects, or games on solving mathematical problems. These sites, such as The Lemonade Stand, seem informal but their reinforcement of learning strategies is incredible. Students become so engaged with the activities that relate to their class that they find the subject more enjoyable and they excel in their work.

Using the Internet for resources is an amazing idea. There is so much information out in cyberspace just waiting to be accessed! as long as you can navigate a search menu, to enable the maximum content recovered is from sources you require (i.e. credible sources for study purposes). also allowing free access to other technologies as a reward is a good idea so that students feel good about completing work and strive to do so more often. Restrictions have been imposed in schools on Ipods and mobile phones, but the students always bring them into class with them anyway. Why not set down some ground rules about not using technology to disrupt others from their learning and allow these pieces of technology be used as a reward once the classwork is done?

- Kyah xx