There are so many great resources out there that could enhance our teaching. I feel a little bit overwhelmed with the amount of new things I have learnt through the Web 2.0 course.
I found the definition of elearning quite interesting as I always thought that elearning was about computers and using technology in our classrooms. I now have a better understanding and I think it would be important for the other teachers in my level to actually watch the video from Sydney as it clearly explains what it really is. I think it is interesting that although we are so busy trying to use computers etc. we forget that engaging our students is by far the most important element of education and computers and technology are tools that we use to get our students there.
I have really enjoyed participating in this course and I know that there are so many aspects of Web 2.0 that I would like to explore further. We have already started using a Blog in our level and the students and parents are very excited about this new way of communicating.
We are focusing on building relationships and partnerships with our parents and by using some of these tools will only help us achieve our goal more effectively.
In the Year 1/2 level we already use Google Docs for planning every week. We also have a Blog set up which the children have been introduced to and can access from home. Our future plans include recording mini lessons and uploading into the Blog so that parents can follow the way we are teaching certain concepts particularly in Maths.
My job now is to choose which of the Web 2.0 tools would be most efficient for the Year 1/2's and share this with my team so that everyone is on board.
Thank you Web 2.0 for introducing me to the world of Internet in the classroom.
Wednesday, 7 August 2013
Module 10
I would like to explore Wikis and Nings further. I think these could be quite useful especially with the older children.
What I am excited about though are the Google sites. The possibilities are endless!!! To be able to create a site with information on particular topics that the students may need or be interested in would be absolutely phenomenal. Students would be able to access this from home and even make comments or add things that they may know. Education does not need to stop at school and stay at school, by using Google sites, the children could continue their learning journey at home with their families. This is so important especially nowadays when we are trying to build those partnerships and relationships with our school families and community. This could be used as another means of communicating to parents on current issues etc.
What I am excited about though are the Google sites. The possibilities are endless!!! To be able to create a site with information on particular topics that the students may need or be interested in would be absolutely phenomenal. Students would be able to access this from home and even make comments or add things that they may know. Education does not need to stop at school and stay at school, by using Google sites, the children could continue their learning journey at home with their families. This is so important especially nowadays when we are trying to build those partnerships and relationships with our school families and community. This could be used as another means of communicating to parents on current issues etc.
Module 9
There are so many ways to socialise nowadays. It is scary to think who may be reading your messages etc. With children it is so important to educate them on the safe use of social networking. Unsupervised use of these sites may lead to such dangerous and harmful comments etc.
Second life looks like a great resource to use when wanting students to experience different aspects of life/education in a different way. I don't think this would be an effective resource for younger students as it does look a little bit complex. I can see how useful it would be in secondary school or even years 5 and 6.
Twitter is also great for educational purposes. I have created a Twitter account and by doing this I am able to follow what other people in the field of education are reading etc.
I'm still not too sure about Facebook in schools. Some more food for thought I guess.
Second life looks like a great resource to use when wanting students to experience different aspects of life/education in a different way. I don't think this would be an effective resource for younger students as it does look a little bit complex. I can see how useful it would be in secondary school or even years 5 and 6.
Twitter is also great for educational purposes. I have created a Twitter account and by doing this I am able to follow what other people in the field of education are reading etc.
I'm still not too sure about Facebook in schools. Some more food for thought I guess.
Module 8
Feedly is an excellent way to keep track of and be notified of new updates of things I am interested in. It is such a good way to follow updates and then send out to twitter, facebook etc. This can also be added to bookmarking. An excellent resource to manage and keep up to date with content. I like the fact that this can be accessed from a laptop, ipad and phone. Great!!
I also like the fact that you can personalise feedly to suit your needs and wants. This would also be useful when searching for documents and updates for the classroom. Students would then be able to access information easily. I think it would be useful when researching for mentor texts in writing as well as Inquiry. Children could have quick access to this information.
I also like the fact that you can personalise feedly to suit your needs and wants. This would also be useful when searching for documents and updates for the classroom. Students would then be able to access information easily. I think it would be useful when researching for mentor texts in writing as well as Inquiry. Children could have quick access to this information.
Module 7
Social Bookmarking
What a great idea. It is so useful to have a way to save and organise all those interesting 'things' we find on the net. Sometimes we find something we may need later on and by the time we actually need it, well, it's long forgotten and gone. By using Delicious (which was easy to set up) I can have all those things at my fingertips. Will definitely spend some time in this organising my browsing and bookmarking new finds for future reference. It would be interesting to look further into using this in the classroom to organise documents and websites for the children to use during Inquiry. I think it would work.
What a great idea. It is so useful to have a way to save and organise all those interesting 'things' we find on the net. Sometimes we find something we may need later on and by the time we actually need it, well, it's long forgotten and gone. By using Delicious (which was easy to set up) I can have all those things at my fingertips. Will definitely spend some time in this organising my browsing and bookmarking new finds for future reference. It would be interesting to look further into using this in the classroom to organise documents and websites for the children to use during Inquiry. I think it would work.
Thursday, 16 May 2013
Module 6
What fun to work with Picasa Web Albums. I have had a blast uploading and creating my first album. I can see how you could use Picasa to upload and store the many photos that are taken in the classroom. The amount of memory saved on the computer, WOW!!!
Here's the link:
https://picasaweb.google.com/111031623742694785212/MyDogCuddles?authuser=0&feat=directlink
The copyright component of this module has been very useful and it I believe it to be an excellent resource to use in the classroom as the students need to learn about this, it affects them. The photos that are uploaded are there for ever and students need to know this and understand that anyone who has access to the iternet can view and use them.
I hope you enjoy the cute photos. At the moment, Cuddles needs a hair cut!!! So he doesn't really look like this.
I'm going to make an album to use in Religion next week, just to try it out. I will let you know how it goes.
Here's the link:
https://picasaweb.google.com/111031623742694785212/MyDogCuddles?authuser=0&feat=directlink
The copyright component of this module has been very useful and it I believe it to be an excellent resource to use in the classroom as the students need to learn about this, it affects them. The photos that are uploaded are there for ever and students need to know this and understand that anyone who has access to the iternet can view and use them.
I hope you enjoy the cute photos. At the moment, Cuddles needs a hair cut!!! So he doesn't really look like this.
I'm going to make an album to use in Religion next week, just to try it out. I will let you know how it goes.
Wednesday, 15 May 2013
Module 5
Well, I must admit, I am a bit overwhelmed by how much there is out there that could be used in the classroom. Mindmapping with Bubbl.us what a great tool to use to brainstorm a new topic. In the 1/2's we are about to begin a new topic in Religion on the Holy Spirit and Pentecost, may be we could use Bubbl.us to brainstorm what we know and what we wonder about in this area. We could also use it to then map out what was learnt during our unit. But, then I looked at Glogster and what a great way to create a poster to sum up our unit. We can also use Glogster in Inquiry as we are now focusing on Mini-beasts. We can create posters that the children could access from home. Not sure about Prezi though, have had trouble getting into it. I guess I will have to wait until I have better luck.
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