Managing E-Learning Assessment Task 1-5: Reflection on ZOOBURST!!!

Managing E-Learning Assessment Task 1-5: Reflection on ZOOBURST

This week I have chosen to tell you about my attempt at creating a story. I experimented this week with Zooburst. I had never seen this before so was not sure what to expect but it was..........while not being the most graphically outstanding tool (may get better with the paid for version).....a great deal of fun.

My simple creation of exploration is here:

http://www.zooburst.com/book/zb01_5292ce5883a83

I was easily able to get into the program with this one and set up the account. From there the tutorial guided me through how to add pics (clip art and private), text, etc. I managed to make a brief story come to life in minutes after going through the tutorial which leads me to believe that to set this up in a classroom the initial time consumption would be minimal. Because of its simplicity, Zooburst is ideal for a lower school application. Students can explore and create their own examples of this pop up book style presentation with with minimal supervision and guidance.

As a tool in a classroom it is a great way to form a basic presentation. Its engagement factor alone would entice students to be creative and engage in learning experiences as they presented information. It could also be a great way for LMs to give students feedback....through creating a personalised story about an individual student.
Narrative writing, reports, poetry from the English KLA.......problem solving in Maths .........storyboarding for a drama class......All of these could be done with the incorporation of this tool into the classroom. As a LM and a student that would be extremely exiting and the creative aspects are endless, allowing for each individual student to form a book in their own individual time and way.

Of course like other tools explored during this course, the supportive pedagogy and scaffolding must be in place to allow this to be incorporated into the classroom, but I can't wait to set it loose in mine. I believe that the restrictions of some of the other tools that have been explored are solely based around the time needed to set the students up to be familiarised with the tools to enable their use. Without obviously exploring all of the options that are out there, the simplicity of Zooburst, and its minimal set up time, make it my choice over a lot of the tools that I have encountered and explored.

Managing E-Learning Assessment Task 1-4: Reflection on Glogster

Managing E-Learning  Assessment Task 1-3: Reflection on Glogster

This week we explored the use of different presentation tools. The three that we looked at were Powerpoint (widely used because of its very easy use), Prezi (seemingly another, more interesting format of the powerpoint), and Glogster (a dashboard format that enables that aids in organisation of information). I have, again, had opportunities to experiment with all of these tools throughout the Learning Management course. 

I have chosen the Glogster to focus on this week as I found that it was the one that was most challenging for me when I initially used it. 

http://www.glogster.com/jamesgeiger/smilie-push-cart-technology-challenge/g-6kpcq7rtfhj7qi8j135a6a0

This tool has the ability to create fantastic learning journeys for students of any age group. As with the other two tools this week, links, pictures and videos can be added to the screen or dashboard. The difference here is that the students can see all of the available information on the one page, without the need to scroll through a series of pages searching for relevant information. It could be a little confusing for students though as the learning path through the page may not be as organised or lineal as that of a Powerpoint or a Prezi and I believe that teacher supervision and appropriate supportive pedagogy would be required to keep students on track if they were viewing a Glogster page for learning journey purposes.

Student creativity is limitless with this tool and it could be used in a myriad of  innovative ways when completing presentations. Again, supervision and supporting pedagogy would be needed as the incredibly fun ways of exploring could actually overshadow the task itself and students may stray somewhat off task.

With all of the positives of this 'on-line poster', my concern  was that myself and others who were using this tool to complete the assessment task had great difficulty in getting the images and additions to align as we designed. Text, pictures and graphics were strewn across the page any time we tried to save it. This took a while to figure out but seemed to be rectified by the use of Google Chrome on our computers. What the problem was.......will remain a mystery....forever...... It would have to be looked in to further if this was the case in a classroom. 

The other problem I could see is the fact that it is solely an on-line resource and those children that do not have internet connections available outside of the school may find access difficult.

Overall, I will certainly be using this tool to promote learning journeys and presentations in the classroom. Though the embedding of  resources into a topical page, students can be guided on a discovery of learning opportunities. It also gives these students an instrument to create their own evidence of learning......on whatever subject they choose.

I have also added my examples of use with Powerpoint and Prezi. I created these for use in various  assessment pieces. They were also very simple to use and their lineal format creates a great way of leading students through a particular topic. I found that the Prezi was a more engaging tool with its moving display but the Powerpoint was more userfriendly....one slide at a time. As with the Glogster, video, images, text and sound could be added to enhance the presentation. All very functional tools for use in the classroom.....

My Prezi... I constructed this one for use as a display for a group assignment. It lead the class through our presentation in an informative and engaging way and could do the same in a classroom.
My Prezi by Jim Geiger

My Powerpoint....I put this one together as a learning journey for a class through the 'Gold Rush' in Australia. By following links students were given relevant and informative information that provided further understanding on the subject.
My Powerpoint...

Managing E-Learning Assessment Task 1-3: Reflection on making movies

Managing E-Learning  Assessment Task 1-3: Reflection on making movies

This weeks task has me exploring the making of movies and how we can use them in the classroom. I have previously completed making movies but have never uploaded them to blogs, wikis etc. so this part of the task was new to me. I have uploaded to this blog a movie that I made as a reflective assessment on my journey through 'The Arts'. This was done early in my University experiences in the subject, 'The Arts'. I found that I thoroughly enjoyed this tool and because of the ease of use, I went on and transferred my old VHS format videos of my family holidays/activities and old footy games onto the computer and then made these into 'polished productions'.....well....a little more professionally finished anyway. 
All photographs added to the following movie were my own so no copyright problems, and the music was courtesy of  Garth Brooks....myself and Garth both referenced in credits on the movie. 
While initially taking a little bit of time to figure out how each worked, the editing tools were easily navigated and enabled the adittion of titles/credits, music and captions fairly quickly and easily . Both the visual and audio components that were captured by cameras and VHS capture software could be  transferred in as a whole entity, which saved a lot of time and extra work. 

This video still has a very powerful effect on me when I watch it, combining the story of the music (which tells of how the audience creates the musician or artist) and the images (of my little ones). A moving combination for me......and something that can be just as moving if used by students in a suitable manner and situation. 

The old saying, "A picture tells a thousand words", certainly can ring true when students use moving images software and programs. Students can creatively produce presentations for assessment, homework, show and tell and many other tasks by engaging with moving visual presentations that can be saved and shared through memory stick presentation or via upload to wikis, blogs (as I have shown here) and also Youtube (all subject to accessibility surrounding school regulations). This is fostering the Bloom's Taxonomy stage of creating and gives students an opportunity to do so in a versatile and complex manner (Higher Order Thinking).

I have witnessed the use of video production in the classroom first hand during my EPL placement, as a group of students firstly planned, scripted and then acted out a 10 minute movie clip, finishing with editing of their production. It was a great way to see the student progress and ability across a range of KLAs from literacy to drama, and gave a very authentic format for assessment purposes. I will certainly be encouraging the use of this format in my classroom in the future, although I would imagine there would be a certain amount of teaching about the tool itself to the students before putting its use in to place by the students.

Digital image resizing and Pod-casting.....

Digital image resizing and pod casting...

Again this week I was involved in tasks that were new to me and also those that I had previously undertaken......mainly due to the undertaking of the BLM course. The use of digital image resizing and also pod-casting were very new and I was able to see the benefits of using both. For me the use of digital image resizing would be of particular benefit in the classroom as students are enabled to add pictures accompanying class projects and communications in a much quicker and less space (kb) orientated manner. My new knowledge will also benefit me on a professional and  personal level as I share pictures with friends and relatives privately on a regular basis. I chose to add a picture of my family on the boat. This particular photograph was downsized from 996 kb to 37.3 kb..........surprising for me.

The pod-casting was very new and, to a certain extent, uncomfortable for me. Recording myself talking to nobody in particular felt a little unusual. I could see this being very useful for Learning Managers as they convey particulars to all students, parents and other stakeholders regarding such tasks as homework and assessment details. From the students perspective, it could be useful in collaboratively engaging peers and Learning Managers in projects, delivery of information and learning experiences. It would be a very engaging tool for reflective purposes also, taking students away from the 'pen and paper' methods and immersing them in ICT use.

Follow the link to see how I went.....

Link to my very first podcast!!!

Managing E-Learning Assessment Task 1-2: Reflection on using ‘Weebly’

Managing E-Learning  Assessment Task 1-2: Reflection on using ‘Weebly’

During the undertaking of my BLM studies I have been introduced to several new forms of ICT tools. These are by no means super technologically advanced tools. Up until this E-Learning subject I had not viewed a blog, let alone created one. I hadn’t encountered a Wiki either but have now created and edited my new Wiki Space. While further exploration of my Wiki will no doubt be undertaken throughout the assessment of this subject, I enjoyed looking at the possibilities and ‘tinkering’ with a few features that are available although with my limited understanding of ICT tools, I probably took much longer than the average E-learning student to set the Wiki up and undertake this exploration.
I had, during the completion of assessment tasks in other course subjects, been able to explore and create a Weebly for use in the classroom, therefore have chosen this tool to discuss for this week’s review.
The following link is to the Weebly I created for assessment in Global Science, term 2 of this year.

http://537910227144863163.weebly.com

This particular example was designed to specifically target Bloom’s Revised Taxonomy with a Question and Answer format that engaged with each stage of the Taxonomy. While the use of Weebly was not specified, I found its ease of use and features were extremely conducive to fulfilling the needs of the task. I was able to add links to further exploration opportunities for students as well as supporting still pictures and movies to support my text. These could all be manipulated around the page. The addition of further pages was also extremely easy, allowing for the targeting of a different level of Bloom’s stages on each page. With other E-learning colleagues finding other forms of web pages (Wix etc.) easier, I must admit I cannot comment on their views as I haven’t explored others. All that I can attest to is that my experience with Weebly was all smooth sailing.

As far as using this Weebly in the classroom, I would think that it is a tremendous tool to guide student learning experiences. By navigating through the website, students can be led through a journey of discovery as they are able to explore links, visual stimuli and information that can be strategically provided by the teacher as they direct students through specific units of work.

For its use as a communication tool (Web 2.0) where students are able to directly converse with the teacher or their peers, I believe a blog or Wiki would be the more preferred tools. These two formats allow direct input whereas (as far as I know with my limited knowledge of these tools) Weebly and I guess other similar websites do not enable communication in a direct way.

To relate the use of Weebly to the SAMR model, it would seem that Weebly is, on its own, another way to present information. It is a substitute that enables the collation of this presentation of information into a possibly more readily available form than ‘pen and paper’ methods. It does however enable linking to further resources and tools that could include opportunities for modification and redefinition of tasks. As viewed in my example of a Weebly, it is the content that can be included in the Weebly that will create opportunities for instigation of higher order thinking. I believe though that the use of the tool itself ,by students and teachers alike is not a productive example that directly provides these higher order thinking possibilities.

I include also a link to my first attempt at a Wikispace. This is a very simple example and will be further elaborated on throughout this course through assessment tasks.

 http://jimmyg9.wikispaces.com

Managing E-Learning Assessment Task 1-1: Reflection on Mobile phone Wiki

Reflection on Mobile Phone Wiki: (http://debonoshats.wikispaces.com/home)

The gathering of student opinions and research on the topic of using mobile phones in the classroom was well supported by the use of DeBono's Thinking Hats. This collection tool, designed to enhance thinking across a range of perspectives, enabled me as a participant to not only voice my opinion but also view opinions of other students. This information was collated through the use of a simple graphic organiser showing each student response. I would suggest though that further collation of the information to enable viewing of all responses at the same time would be beneficial to students who may not be engaged enough to view more than the one page of responses that they were adding to.

This learning experience engages students through comparison of their responses with others. Further opportunities to discuss and provide feedback relating to other students' ideas would be beneficial to further create new learning opportunities along with this collation and information evaluation activity. While offering their own opinions or researched points of view, students are also led to form ideas and possibly change their own opinions through analysis of the other students' thoughts and information. This would lead to the assumption that this form of learning experience, scaffold in this way, would fit under the banner of  the  'Social Constructivism' learning theory. Students are drawn to construct new and sometimes different knowledge through the support of their peers' ideas and knowledge.

However, because of the peer engagement we could also view this collaboration as that of a 'Constructivism' based  learning experience, depending on the actual expertise of my peers in this course. It would be important in this case to determine relevant and educated information provided in the graphic organiser.

Initially the 'DeBono Thinking Hats' framework tool enabled a clear focus on one particular area of thought as each hat/ thought focus  was viewed separately. Through the comparison and analysis of each different hat and collation of all students' ideas, I arrived at a conclusion. This conclusion may differ from other students' summations depending on our differing perspectives. To truly deliver my new (or unchanged) opinion or my new understanding and knowledge, further individual  presentation of this final opinion and acquisition of knowledge may be needed to show my particular progression of learning. I suggest that this would be achieved by a teacher in a school classroom through analysis of student discussion and topical engagement. Used as an on-line activity, its worth may be negated by distance and time restrictions as each of the on-line participants delivers their input at different times suitable to them, and at times without revisiting the Wiki for further analysis. This may give those that post at a later date, more diverse information from which to learn and form opinions.