This week has been a bit of a roller coaster. Ups and downs. Overall though a productive one and also still a work in progress. To complement the studies we are undertaking this week in other subjects the ICT tools we investigated this week have been very useful. We learned about some of the uses for wiki spaces and about basic website design as a learning tool. Adding in tools like wordle added some extra spice to the overall experience too. Wrapping it all together has been an exciting journey as well as a challenging one. Working through the process to create them was a fantastic experience, even if the end result isn't quite up to speed yet. I suppose that is also a part and parcel of working with technology, when it doesn't quite go to plan you need a back up plan to be able to seamlessly deliver content and achieve learning goals. This week has been a lesson in reinforcing that position as much as exposing new ICT options and tools to round out our teaching toolboxes.
I am really enjoying the blogging. It gives a medium to express my perspective on the exposure I am receiving to new concepts, theories, pedagogies and practises that will mould and enhance my learning journey as a pre-service teacher and long into my evolution as a learning facilitator. Blogs can be used in many ways within the education paradigm. Primarily I use mine as a online journal or pre-service diary at the moment. This is a limited use of a blog as a learning tool within a classroom environment though. Regardless of how you intend to implement blogs into the learning environment they have many pedagogical advantages. Blogs can be addictive and a lot of fun. I was hesitant at first but have already started to look forward to my weekly blogging session. Blogs promote student participation, improve literacy and offer some of the more introverted students a chance to interact with their peers and still feel comfortable (Kharbach, 2012). Just the opportunity to open communication channels and promote discussion makes blogs a winning addition to the teacher toolbox without all the additional things that can be achieved in promoting learning and engaging students.
The blog program we are using in this course is the google blog tool and it is very easy to use which adds to its appeal as a teaching tool. The site can be customised in many ways. The layout, introduction of voki and other animation tools and adding outside content enable the functionality of the blog tool to lend itself to a wide variety of uses and personalisation. Blogging certainly isn't the 'be all and end all' of technology in education but it is a very handy and useful tool. To highlight the introduction of outside content and to also give a clear perspective of my thoughts on blogging I have incorporated a SAMR model below.
An SAMR is a model which is designed to assist teachers to integrate technology into their professional pedagogy. The main aim of the SAMR is to help to map the student outcome component of the learning process (Schrock, 2014). The experiences I have had with my blog so far show me how the blog fits into the SAMR model in the following ways:
- SUBSTITUTION: My blog has used technology to substitute for a written journal or diary style book.
- AUGMENTATION: My blog is highly functional compared to a paper and pencil journal. I am not artistic and my blog compensates for this very well. It permits me to use my imagination without needed the skills required to draw for example. I can 'make my blog attractive' without that skill set.
-MODIFICATION- My blog allows me to add audio and video components, voki technology and many other tools to compliment and enhance basic written text.
-REDEFINITION- With the functions available to enhance my blog, and the ability to grant others access to comment on posts, my blog has become much more than a personal diary entry in a book could ever be. Its almost like my blog is an online semi interactive diary.
I am looking forward to learning more about my blog and its functionality over the next few weeks also. It is at this point my favourite ICT tool uncovered during my pre-service teaching learning journey so far.
My wiki spaces experience was, and continues to be, a mixed bag experience. I found the experience of setting up the wiki space very educational and from what I have noticed so far on the site it holds many functions that I will enjoy unpacking. Unfortunately though I have been unable to move my wiki forward to a point where it is operational. It is Sunday evening and I am yet to receive the confirmation email to permit me to really immerse myself in this ICT tool. I have requested this email be resent as of Friday afternoon, so hopefully we will be operational on this site very soon. Drawing on my experiences with the De Bono Hats exercise of last week though, and the experiences learned in the initial set up of the site, I have a small feel for the value of the wiki as a learning tool. It fits well into the SAMR model of evaluation as the benefits are more pronounced as point of difference than the blog.
-SUBSTITUTION- Put very simply, for me the wiki is the 'modern butcher's paper'. It can also be used to replace a blackboard or whiteboard in a classroom environment.
-AUGMENTATION- The wiki has much to offer as an augmentation tool, but this is also where it is compromised. It is great that everyone has access to the site, but with only one person effectively being able to 'edit' it or 'add' to it at a time there is potential for work to be lost as only the last person to save in a spot will have their work saved. There is no way that I have recognised at this point to know if someone else is in the same space as me while I am there.
-MODIFICATION- Well, I have never seen the ability to integrate other ICT tools or embed anything into good old butchers paper, black or white boards, so technology options available to wiki's is the most awesome feature of this tool.
-REDEFINITION- The way tasks can be redesigned using a wiki space are almost endless. This is one tool where I would have to say the boundary is your imagination and desire to implement the tool into the teaching pedagogy for any given subject area. I can see this being used across all year levels but really shining in the primary and junior secondary areas.
Creating a web site as a learning tool was an awesome experience. I was really nervous about this task but the tools available to assist with the creation of a static site from Weebly made it a really engaging and exciting experience. I am really looking forward to doing more with this site in the coming weeks. I like the freedom the website appears to offer when compared to the other mediums we have explored this week. The ease of embedding other technology into site is appealing and I have explored some of these options this week. An example of this is the Wordle site which was created by Jonathan Fienberg (2013). By use of basic editing programs like paint it is easy to copy and paste onto the website. This level of basic functionality appeals to me as my ICT learning curve is still fairly steep. Here is an example of the content Wordle is able to provide.
One of the key features of the Wordle product that I really like is the word sizing can be set to be proportionate to the frequency it appears in a given text. This adds an additional literacy component to the tool enhancing its suitability as a learning aid. My site can be viewed at the following address http://damienhogan.weebly.com/. Like the SAMR model, PMI tools are a great indicator for the success of learning outcomes. PMI is an acronym that stands for Plus, Minus and Interesting. Not one to miss an opportunity to learn by doing, I will explore the use of PMI to critique the website learning tool for this week.
The great advantage of this tool is that it enhances the age old methodology of weighing up the pros and cons of a decision with the added flavour of 'interesting' thrown into the mix (Mind Tools, 2014).
PLUS - simple to create, versatile, highly interactive, new pages are easy to add for new topics, catalogued.
MINUS - To gain the best use of the tool students will find it beneficial to have access to the internet outside of school hours. Hard to add people to the site depending on functionality needed. To really gain the best benefit out of the Weebly product you need to consider becoming a paying customer.
INTERESTING - Aside from the restrictions involved if you are not a paying customer (these are more inconveniences rather than real restrictions), imagination is the true limiting factor to how much you can do with a static website. This is the ICT version of the project paper or cardboard assignments.
Putting all of this together and seeing, by experiencing, engaging with and utilising, this technology has proven to be the steepest step to my learning curve with ICT tools so far. I have enjoyed this journey and believe I will continue to do so as it is increasing in excitement the more I uncover. I have opted to explore the three tools we learned about during the week but at this stage the one that appeals most to me so far is the blog. It is for this reason that I chose to unpack it in more detail than the other two tools. I am certain the appeal of both the wiki and the website will escalate as we do more with them. The personal appeal of the blog is a reintroduction of sorts more so than the new dynamic of the ICT component. I used to journal my day for many years and this exercise has brought that love back to life for me. Regardless though, the blog is my tool of choice from the past week.
REFERENCES
Fienberg, J. 2013. Wordle - Beautiful Word Clouds, http://www.wordle.net/
Kharbach, M. 2012. The Ultimate Guide To Using Blogs In Teaching, Education Technology and Mobile Learning. Retrieved from http://www.educatorstechnology.com/2012/06/ultimate-guide-to-use-of-blogs-in.html
Mind Tools. 2014. Plus, Minus, Interesting, Weighing the pros and cons of a decision. http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newTED_05.htm
Puentedura, R. SAMR Model diagram, Viewed 16th of March, 2014. http://www.schrockguide.net/samr.html
Schrock, K. 2014. Kathy Schrock's guide to everything, http://www.schrockguide.net/samr.html
I am really enjoying the blogging. It gives a medium to express my perspective on the exposure I am receiving to new concepts, theories, pedagogies and practises that will mould and enhance my learning journey as a pre-service teacher and long into my evolution as a learning facilitator. Blogs can be used in many ways within the education paradigm. Primarily I use mine as a online journal or pre-service diary at the moment. This is a limited use of a blog as a learning tool within a classroom environment though. Regardless of how you intend to implement blogs into the learning environment they have many pedagogical advantages. Blogs can be addictive and a lot of fun. I was hesitant at first but have already started to look forward to my weekly blogging session. Blogs promote student participation, improve literacy and offer some of the more introverted students a chance to interact with their peers and still feel comfortable (Kharbach, 2012). Just the opportunity to open communication channels and promote discussion makes blogs a winning addition to the teacher toolbox without all the additional things that can be achieved in promoting learning and engaging students.
The blog program we are using in this course is the google blog tool and it is very easy to use which adds to its appeal as a teaching tool. The site can be customised in many ways. The layout, introduction of voki and other animation tools and adding outside content enable the functionality of the blog tool to lend itself to a wide variety of uses and personalisation. Blogging certainly isn't the 'be all and end all' of technology in education but it is a very handy and useful tool. To highlight the introduction of outside content and to also give a clear perspective of my thoughts on blogging I have incorporated a SAMR model below.
- SUBSTITUTION: My blog has used technology to substitute for a written journal or diary style book.
- AUGMENTATION: My blog is highly functional compared to a paper and pencil journal. I am not artistic and my blog compensates for this very well. It permits me to use my imagination without needed the skills required to draw for example. I can 'make my blog attractive' without that skill set.
-MODIFICATION- My blog allows me to add audio and video components, voki technology and many other tools to compliment and enhance basic written text.
-REDEFINITION- With the functions available to enhance my blog, and the ability to grant others access to comment on posts, my blog has become much more than a personal diary entry in a book could ever be. Its almost like my blog is an online semi interactive diary.
I am looking forward to learning more about my blog and its functionality over the next few weeks also. It is at this point my favourite ICT tool uncovered during my pre-service teaching learning journey so far.
My wiki spaces experience was, and continues to be, a mixed bag experience. I found the experience of setting up the wiki space very educational and from what I have noticed so far on the site it holds many functions that I will enjoy unpacking. Unfortunately though I have been unable to move my wiki forward to a point where it is operational. It is Sunday evening and I am yet to receive the confirmation email to permit me to really immerse myself in this ICT tool. I have requested this email be resent as of Friday afternoon, so hopefully we will be operational on this site very soon. Drawing on my experiences with the De Bono Hats exercise of last week though, and the experiences learned in the initial set up of the site, I have a small feel for the value of the wiki as a learning tool. It fits well into the SAMR model of evaluation as the benefits are more pronounced as point of difference than the blog.
-SUBSTITUTION- Put very simply, for me the wiki is the 'modern butcher's paper'. It can also be used to replace a blackboard or whiteboard in a classroom environment.
-AUGMENTATION- The wiki has much to offer as an augmentation tool, but this is also where it is compromised. It is great that everyone has access to the site, but with only one person effectively being able to 'edit' it or 'add' to it at a time there is potential for work to be lost as only the last person to save in a spot will have their work saved. There is no way that I have recognised at this point to know if someone else is in the same space as me while I am there.
-MODIFICATION- Well, I have never seen the ability to integrate other ICT tools or embed anything into good old butchers paper, black or white boards, so technology options available to wiki's is the most awesome feature of this tool.
-REDEFINITION- The way tasks can be redesigned using a wiki space are almost endless. This is one tool where I would have to say the boundary is your imagination and desire to implement the tool into the teaching pedagogy for any given subject area. I can see this being used across all year levels but really shining in the primary and junior secondary areas.
Creating a web site as a learning tool was an awesome experience. I was really nervous about this task but the tools available to assist with the creation of a static site from Weebly made it a really engaging and exciting experience. I am really looking forward to doing more with this site in the coming weeks. I like the freedom the website appears to offer when compared to the other mediums we have explored this week. The ease of embedding other technology into site is appealing and I have explored some of these options this week. An example of this is the Wordle site which was created by Jonathan Fienberg (2013). By use of basic editing programs like paint it is easy to copy and paste onto the website. This level of basic functionality appeals to me as my ICT learning curve is still fairly steep. Here is an example of the content Wordle is able to provide.
The great advantage of this tool is that it enhances the age old methodology of weighing up the pros and cons of a decision with the added flavour of 'interesting' thrown into the mix (Mind Tools, 2014).
PLUS - simple to create, versatile, highly interactive, new pages are easy to add for new topics, catalogued.
MINUS - To gain the best use of the tool students will find it beneficial to have access to the internet outside of school hours. Hard to add people to the site depending on functionality needed. To really gain the best benefit out of the Weebly product you need to consider becoming a paying customer.
INTERESTING - Aside from the restrictions involved if you are not a paying customer (these are more inconveniences rather than real restrictions), imagination is the true limiting factor to how much you can do with a static website. This is the ICT version of the project paper or cardboard assignments.
Putting all of this together and seeing, by experiencing, engaging with and utilising, this technology has proven to be the steepest step to my learning curve with ICT tools so far. I have enjoyed this journey and believe I will continue to do so as it is increasing in excitement the more I uncover. I have opted to explore the three tools we learned about during the week but at this stage the one that appeals most to me so far is the blog. It is for this reason that I chose to unpack it in more detail than the other two tools. I am certain the appeal of both the wiki and the website will escalate as we do more with them. The personal appeal of the blog is a reintroduction of sorts more so than the new dynamic of the ICT component. I used to journal my day for many years and this exercise has brought that love back to life for me. Regardless though, the blog is my tool of choice from the past week.
REFERENCES
Fienberg, J. 2013. Wordle - Beautiful Word Clouds, http://www.wordle.net/
Kharbach, M. 2012. The Ultimate Guide To Using Blogs In Teaching, Education Technology and Mobile Learning. Retrieved from http://www.educatorstechnology.com/2012/06/ultimate-guide-to-use-of-blogs-in.html
Mind Tools. 2014. Plus, Minus, Interesting, Weighing the pros and cons of a decision. http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newTED_05.htm
Puentedura, R. SAMR Model diagram, Viewed 16th of March, 2014. http://www.schrockguide.net/samr.html
Schrock, K. 2014. Kathy Schrock's guide to everything, http://www.schrockguide.net/samr.html
Good post Damien
ReplyDeleteThe choice of colours, font size and visuals are evidence of successful design for the intended audience.
Reference is ok.
The SAMR model supported your thinking well.