FINAL BLOG - REFLECTION

The CEO iLearn model is relevant. As we move to a technologically driven context, it is easy to lose sight of what is at the core of what we do. And that is teaching young people. The presence of a teacher, a guide with experience, knowledge and maturity cannot be supplanted by technology in any shape or form. In fact the presence of technology actually requires MORE from teachers not less.

We have to learn faster, think faster and open our minds far wider than has ever had to be done in any generation before us.

As the iLearn vodcast says, we are in an Information Rich Age, we all have an unprecedented access to information. This means we can ENGAGE our students but it is both in the Physical AND Virtual environments that we do this. We still need to provide an engaging classroom, structures, rules and routines that all adolescents need. But we are competing with the digital age in which they are born and so we need to utilse technology available to us to present the learning in a context which is more familiar to them.

We all learn better when we are engaged and challenged and motivated. It is not always possible to guarantee that our students fit into all three categories, that would require a magic wand! But we have more tools at our disposal now than there has ever been before.

The adapted CEO version of the BLOOMs Taxonomy model is an excellent reminder that Students as well as Teachers are all at different levels of ability, even in the realm of technology.

It is very helpful in planning for eLearning to be aware that we still all learn differently and thus need various paths through which to access the information and learning.

My overall perspective is that the job of teaching is now facing exciting and challenging paradigm in e-Learning and all it encompasses. The Web 2.0 course is a fantastic launching pad from where to start the journey down this path, to better equip us to understand and augment all the new possibilities it holds.

Module 10

I am a big fan of social networking sites such as Wiki's and Ning's, Google Sites, Groups, and was recently introduced to Edmodo. They are a great repository for information on classes, units, homework, assignments for students to access both in class as well as after school. In terms of assisting students to become Life Long Learners, it gives them the information which allows them to be independent and in control of their learning. If they are shy or overwhelmed by personalities in class, it allows them to contact the teacher or see teacher notes after school. A good site, constantly updated by the class teacher, can provide a rich source of information to the student.
https://sites.google.com/site/msblainacv/
It is also good for students to get information from each other. They can see each other's comments or responses and learn from eachother which has always been a great way to increase a learning experience and has been done from the time schools came into being. We learn from eachother, I personally have found that interaction, listening and watching other people, whether it be comments on a website, a tv programme or radio programme, has been a far more powerful learning tool than just trying to make sense of the written word on my own.
My google site, shown below has been the begining of introducing social networking to my yr 9 ACV class. As boys they have been slow to take up this avenue of study, and also have only had their computers for a term and a half, but I definitely envisage using this site next year, modifying it and adapting it for my next class.

Module 9

http://



Get a Voki now!

Clearly as my "Avatar" suggests, there are definitely uses for 2nd Life. I'm am still a little old fashioned in that I think these Virtual Worlds inhabited by Avatars have the potential to also be very dangerous. Adopted personas can consume younger minds who have low self-esteem and we can't all actually become the persona we create like the Jake Scully character in the movie Avatar, so I would approach the use of this site with caution.

Social networking sites such as Ning are far more controlled with less distraction and have been used at our school with suceess. I have created a Google Site for my class with some success as well.

Scootle is great, like Delicious, access to resources is always a positive. Some of the links I investigated are a bit young for secondary school use, but for weaker students the Grammar sites I looked at were very good.

Module 8

RSS feeds are great to add to blogs or other sites. They are great for directing student's attention to particular areas of interest or relevance to the unit they are studying. I have attached RSS feeds to my blog here.
Google Reader is probably a little superfluous, when we already have gadgets on iGoogle which provide links to sites of interest, however I do see the value in subscribing if there is a site of particular interest to me.

Module 7

Delicious has been around for a while and it is only recently that I've started using it. I do find it valuable, especially the ability to Network and be able to find sites accumulated by other people. There are just so many resources out there, and the ability to share them, means that you just have a rich and varied source base, and Delicious provides a great portal to this.
We did try to set up a Delicious account for our Department, but the password was disabled in error and it has since been rendered useless as we can't log in to it. I am restarting the process with my own account, which is probably the best way to ensure you don't have this occur, and simply 'network' with the other teachers in your department to keep up to date with the latest links.
I commented on a fellow colleague's blog. http://mariabloggingweb20.blogspot.com/
Maria Lee is a very IT proficient teacher with an excellent, broad knowledge base which is invaluable for this new learning environment we, teachers, see ourselves in.

Module 6

Glogster is fantastic for creating multi media posters on topics. I have had my students create a Glog poster as a means for consolidating their learning for a unit on Change in a community. We studied the community and then the final part was a travel poster encouraging tourism to the area. Loads of fun.

Bubbl.us looks like a good tool to break down Area Of Study rubric for yr 12 English. Also for general mindmapping.

Module 5

Pod/Vod casting is something I have played with before. I have used windows moviemaker with audacity, I have also used photostory.
This is a fantastic way for students to present work.
We had our yr 10 students submit a moviemaker task for both English and Science which provided a forum for some very creative submissions.
I really like the School Tube site, and the idea of having our own 'channel', I will be investigating this at some point and perhaps link it to our class Google Site. You tube continues to be an invaluable site for short clips, used to provide context in various units of History, English and even Geography, that I teach.
UNSW lectures on line - wow, wish I had access to this when I was studying by correspondence!