Week Four

Week Four

Augmented Reality

This week we explored the world of augmented reality.  Previously I was of the opinion that augmented reality was the same as virtual reality, namely a 3 dimensional artificial environment created by a computer, however I now realise that augmented reality is so much more.  (Burdea & Coiffet, 2003).  This new technology incorporates virtual reality features with real life aspects, thus enabling the viewer a more realistic and engaging viewing perspective.  The possibilities for this technology within classrooms (of the future) are mind boggling, for example wouldn’t history lessons be so much more engaging if students could actually see (rather than just envisage) how historical items and places once looked.  (Johnson et al. 2010).  I firmly believe augmented reality has enormous potential and scope for linking real world (and realistic virtual world) applications into the classroom setting.

During the tutorial we looked at Zoo Burst a digital story telling tool that enables anyone (who has an account) to create 3D pop-up books.  This is a fabulous interactive tool that could be useful in primary school classrooms, particularly to engage reluctant writers.

The Horizon Report

This report discusses new and up-and-coming technologies that will impact upon educational and classroom learning environments, now and in the future.  Since technology is advancing so quickly it is imperative for educators to be aware of what is currently available and what will be available within the foreseeable future.  Although this report is lengthy (40 pages) it is easy to read and has many useful web links and examples of classroom applications.

Digital Presentation

Our group is currently in the researching/planning phase of the digital presentation.  A few weeks ago we decided to create a Google Doc for us to collaboratively share our ideas and thoughts.  This page has been useful as a planning proforma, in particular as we each come up with new ideas we can add them to the one document, rather than emailing (each new contribution) backwards and forwards.  Google Docs is a new technology for me and I can now see the real benefits of utilising it both personally and within the classroom environment. 

References:

Burdea, G., & Coiffet, P., (2003).  Virtual reality technology, Volume 1.  New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons: 

Johnson, L., Smith, R., Levine, A. & Haywood, K. (2010).  2010 Horizon Report:  K-12 Edition.  Austin, Texas:  The New Media Consortium.

Week Three

Week Three

We are three weeks into this course now and I must admit I am starting to slowly get my head around some of the technological jargon and new ICT’s such as Google – sites, groups and reader, blogging and twitter that I have been exposed to.  Whilst I wouldn’t say I am an advanced user (particularly with twitter) I think I would now be able to explain the benefits of and how to use these to others – something I could not do a few weeks ago.  I also believe the variety of readings that Dr Zagami has made available have been extremely helpful; whilst some of them are not quite sinking in, others are definitely helping me reflect and question my own ICT knowledge and classroom ideals.

During the tutorial Dr Zagami linked us with Mrs M and the Year 2 GEMS.  What a wonderful teacher she is, and how engaged and ICT literate the students appear to be.  The knowledge and understanding that Mrs M is imparting on her students through their blogs is invaluable and something that other teachers could, and should aspire to.  I know I certainly do.

In my practicum classroom on Tuesday the students were required to search for specific information on the computers.  Prior to their ‘search activity’ the teacher spoke about reputable websites and told the students that Wikipedia was not reputable.  At that point I remembered Dr Zagami talking about this very topic in Monday’s Lecture and stating that in fact Wikipedia is quite a good reliable source of information.  (I pondered whether to say anything to my teacher but decided to keep my thoughts to myself).  Another interesting thing I noticed was that many of the students were able to search for simple facts which they copied from the computer to their worksheets, but when it came to searching for inferential or deeper information they became stuck and unable to think of how to gather this knowledge.  This reinforces the point to me that students need more than basic “googling” skills and should to be given learning opportunities and access to more in depth ICT activities than simply copying or cutting and pasting information from the computer to their worksheets. 

PS.      I think my personal growth thus far from this course has already been significant, and I look forward to what the future weeks hold.

Week Two

Week Two

The second week’s readings have been both insightful and thought provoking.  In their article titled “What is Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge?” Koehler & Mishra (2009) describe TPACK and how this framework enables teachers to effectively incorporate pedagogy, content and technology into their classroom setting. Koehler et al. (2009) further emphasise the underlying ideals that teachers need to ‘move with the times’ through integrating meaningful technology within their classroom planning, and stress the reason many teachers fail to use ICT is due to time constraints and/or a lack of adequate ICT training. (Koehler et al. (2009). I believe the latter to be true. In my case as the mother of 3 children I am time poor; hence I find I have limited time to interact with the various technologies and to learn more than just the basics.  As a teacher I consider this will be one of my greatest challenges/barriers to incorporating ICT within my classroom.

Another aspect that appears to be an area of concern is ensuring that students are learning more than the basic fundamentals of ICT.   In her paper titled “Generation cut and paste” (2008), Beverley Head stresses “Googling isn’t learning” and that ‘cutting and pasting’ does not adequately teach students how to construct, evaluate and transform information.   Looking back on many of the instances where I have see students ‘doing ICT’ in the classroom has involved them both googling answers and cutting and pasting information. I must admit prior to this course (and we are only two weeks in) that I would have said that this was an effective use of ICT within the classroom.  However I am starting to change my mindset.  Whilst I believe there is a place for these basics, I am beginning to discover (through the lectures and tutorials) that ICT can be used for so much more. 

Upon reflection it is evident that student’s need the skills and know-how to use ICT meaningfully and purposefully. Consequently one of my challenges throughout the duration of this course will be to learn what technologies are effective classroom tools, and how to successfully incorporate them so that students are engaged yet actively learning.

References:

Koehler, M.J. & Mishra, P. (2009). What is Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge? Contemporary issues in technology and teacher education, 9(1), 60-70.  Retrieved from http://www.editlib.org/f/29544

Head, B. (2008). Generation cut and paste.  Retrieved from http://www.zagami.info/4001EPS/Readings/Entries/2011/3/7_Week_2.html

Week One

Prior to Week One

I have really been looking forward to commencing this course, in particular learning more about the various forms of technology and how they can be effectively utilised within the classroom to engage and enhance student learning.  However, I must admit I have also been a little apprehensive due to my limited understanding about more complex technology and the multitude of new and ever-changing applications that we now face in both our daily lives and the modern classroom.

Week One

During the first lecture and tutorial Dr Zagami was very informative, running through the myriad of technology forms that are currently available.  I must admit it was overwhelming to think of how quickly things have changed over the past few years.  It seems like just yesterday that I got my first computer and signed up for dial up internet….

Some of the applications and forms of technology Dr Zagami discussed I had heard of before, however had little understanding about such as Cloud Computing and Datalogging; others I had never heard of before such as Quest Atlantis and Augmented Reality. Nevertheless during the period of this course I aim to learn as much as possible about these and other ICT resources so I can utilise some of them in my upcoming practicum. 

Over the past week I have signed up for Google Groups which is a new technology for me, and re-activated my Twitter account that I created over 12 month ago and never use.  Blogging is a whole new ball game and I am still trying to get my head around posting and how it works.  However I’m sure in a few weeks time I will be blogging like a professional and wonder how I could have stressed over creating my first blog for people to view.  During the week I also decided to look at some ICT recommendations that Dr Zagami discussed and/or I saw on (Google in Your Classroom – Google Groups) such as Quest Atlantis, Edmondo and Audacity to see their possible educational uses.  They do look promising as possible ICT classroom resources that I could use in the future.

I eagerly look forward to next weeks class to learn how to link my blog to fellow peers within this course, and find out more about the various ICT technologies available.