And so the time comes... my second year is over... awaiting a few results but so far things have been extremely pleasing. Looking forward to a nice break, and the opportunity to do some reading of books that have a subject other than educational strategies, theories and psychology. ie. Crime fiction, vampire and lycanthrope fantasy fiction... If you have never read an Anita Blake Vampire Hunter novel... now is the time to start. What a great read. I just finished the latest offering "Skin Trade". I couldn't put it down.
And so I am not sure how to proceed with this blog.. but I think I will just add to it now and then as I discover new and exciting things that interest me.
Until next time... ( I feel like I should come up with a deep and meaningful quote :-) lol.)
see ya...
Friday, November 13, 2009
Monday, October 12, 2009
Linking Popular Culture and the Classroom
Delaney (2007) defines popular culture as the "people's culture that predominates society at a point in time" (p. 6). It seems that at this point of time the influences of popular culture are everywhere and that these influences are dominating the lives of the children in our society. Whether these influences are a positive thing or a negative thing is frequently debated within academic circles. In the past parents may have been able to prevent their children from being exposed to these influences by restricting television viewing and refusing to buy marketing products, however in a post modern society popular culture influences children via a myriad of mediums; Television shows, movies, marketing merchandise, newspapers, magazines, video games, music and Internet networking sites to name a few.
Another far reaching influence that is widely considered to fall under the definition of pop culture is modern technology. Items such as mp3 players, CD/DVD players, video game consoles, iPods, mobile phones and notebook computers are just some of the technological items that are seen to be a significant part of many students lives and which are considered to be a part of today's popular culture. It is the linking of pop culture in the classroom via the incorporation of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) that I am addressing within this essay.
When approaching the education of our students in the classroom it is widely advocated that education needs to be learner directed. The Principles of Learning and Teaching (POLT) Online Professional Learning Resource - Principal 3.1 (Department of Education and Early childhood development (DEECD), 2009a) states that teachers can demonstrate the use of strategies that are "flexible and responsive to the values, needs and interests of individual students" by including popular media to "introduce or challenge ideas". POLT principal 3.4 (DEECD, 2009a) also explicitly discusses the importance of capitalising on students' experiences of technology and of including contemporary technologies in the classroom.
I chose to explore this standard as I think that it is extremely important that as a future teacher I have an understanding of the content that I am teaching my students. In particular I have addressed the statement "Teachers know the methodologies, resources and technologies which support learning of the content, processes and skill they teach."
By completing the Learning 2.0 - 23 Things (Blowers, 2009) task list I think that I have made a significant step toward improving my knowledge and competency in regard to the use of web 2.0 applications and technologies within a classroom environment. By utilising some of my newly acquired skills in the production of this assessment task my learning is evident. Up until just a few days ago I had never even heard of online word processing and yet here I am creating a document on-line that once finished I will be publishing directly onto my blog with only the press of a button (If you are reading this it means I have successfully accomplished this task). The sense of achievement and empowerment I have felt inspires me to endeavour to create opportunities for my future students to experience those same feelings. I know now from personal experience how exciting it feels to create and publish a blog which people from all over the world can comment on.
I believe that my current learning will be extremely useful to me as a teacher as it gives me confidence that I will be able to successfully incorporate the use of contemporary technologies into my future classrooms. I am very aware of the fact that technology is moving forward at a phenomenal rate and that what I have learned over the past six weeks will need to be continually reassessed as new applications and web tools become available. Already I have started exploring new tools and through listening to podcasts and following various teacher blogs I am developing understandings and ideas about how to incorporate ICT in meaningful ways into a classroom.
Furthering my understandings in regard to technology and remaining up to date with current technological products will ensure that as a teacher I am able to engage my students by incorporating these items of popular culture into their classrooms. I want to include students interests and encourage the exploration of learning whilst utilising tools that they are familiar with and enjoy using.
As the owner and avid user of a Nintendo DS myself, I can envisage using this type of games console in the classroom. A game such as Professor Layton and the curious Village (Level-5 Inc, 2007) could provide engaging ways for students to develop mathematical skills whilst solving the puzzles and brainteasers necessary to solve the 'Mystery of the golden apple'. It also encourages the development of spatial skills and decision making as children navigate their way through the games maps to find the location of puzzles.
It is evident that technological items such as ipods and mobile phones can be successfully incorporated into a classroom environment if implemented in a way that is meaningful and relevant. Students can use ipods for listening to audio books, and podcasts, making video presentations or producing their own podcasts or in the case of an itouch they have access to many applications which can be used to assist students in using their phone as a tool for learning. There are even applications which teachers can use for assessment purposes.Wes Fryer (2009a) makes the comment that "media worth spending time on is media which provides opportunities to PARTICIPATE" (para. 6). He is adamant that students need to be offered the chance to participate in their learning. Bringing everyday items that students use at home into the classroom may encourage active and continuous participation in their learning as they can take that item in and out of the classroom and extend their learning wherever they may be.
The worldwide web is continually growing and children are accessing the Internet on a much more participatory level with the advent of web 2.0 technologies. Applications such as Wiki's, blogs, sites such as youtube and Flickr and social networking sites like Facebook and Myspace encourage active participation from all, young and old. As teachers we need to be providing our students with the skills to navigate the 'web' and critically analyse information that is found. Importantly, students need to be aware of the digital footprint they leave behind and be able to successfully negotiate safe and constructive participation within the environment of the Internet (Fryer, 2009b). It is imperative that they are not left to do this in the privacy of their bedrooms without guidance or support.Teachers must 'know their content' (VIT, 2009) in order to support their students effectively throughout their technological learning journey. In this new global society we need to invite students external lifeworlds into the classroom to facilitate the inevitable inclusion of these lifeworlds into the global network of the world wide web.
Some would argue that certain students will be unable to access some of the technologies that I have spoken of, but the DEECD state that Victorian schools are providing all students with ICT learning and they advocate ICT "enables good pedagogy" (para. 3, 2009b). Proof that the DEECD is serious in its approach to ICT can be seen through the research that they are undertaking in this area. A study conducted by DEECD and Apple Computer Australia found that "the iPod Touch technology stimulated student interaction and communication in blogs, podcasts and webpages, among other constructive findings" (para. 1, 2009c). Innovations in the ways that schools are approaching the teaching of ICT are currently the focus of the Broadmeadows Innovation and Learning lab which is found on the DEECD website.
I can really see the benefit in compiling a similar list of tasks such as the ones I have completed for students to accomplish in the classroom. I believe that this would encourage active, meaningful, relevant and useful learning that will aid students to be aware of the many different ways they can interact with technology and introduce them to a new and exciting way to access their learning and collaborate via the worldwide web.
With the advent of virtual worlds such as Second Life students are offered even more ways of interacting with other people/students and collaborating within a virtual environment.This type of virtual learning approach is something that I would like to investigate further before commenting on it's effectiveness or suitability for a primary school environment but I think that it is definitely an interesting concept to explore.
In conclusion I believe that completing Learning 2.0 - 23 things (Blowers, 2009) was an eye opening and inspiring experience and I will definitely be exploring the use of web 2.0 applications further as I continue on my journey towards becoming a fully qualified teacher.
References
Blowers, H. (2009). Learning 2.0 -23 things. Message posted to http://plcmcl2-about.blogspot.com/
Delaney, T. (2008). Pop culture: an overview. Philosophy Now, (64), 6-7.
Department of Education and Early Childhood Development. (2009a). Principles of Learning and Teaching P-12, Retrieved October 12, 2009 from
http://www.education.vic.gov.au/studentlearning/teachingprinciples/onlineresource/p3/comp.htm
Department of Education and Early Childhood Development. (2009b). Australian research, priorities and national directions. Retrieved October 12, 2009 from
http://www.education.vic.gov.au/studentlearning/teachingresources/ict/research.htm
Department of Education and Early Childhood Development. (2009c). Victorian Research. Retrieved October 12, 2009 from http://www.education.vic.gov.au/studentlearning/teachingresources/ict/research.htm
Fryer, W. (2009a). Where do you find the time? Shirky's answer. Message posted to http://www.speedofcreativity.org/2009/10/04/where-do-you-find-the-time-shirkys-answer/
Fryer, W. (Producer). (2009b, August 30). Moving with the speed of creativity. Students as self-advocates: Why/how learners should craft their own digital footprints (Ginger Lumen). Podcast retrieved from iTunes http://feeds.feedburner.com/speedofcreativity/podcasts
Level 5-Inc.: Professor Layton and the curious village. (2007). [Nintendo DS software]. Scoresby, Vic: Nintendo Australia Pty Ltd.
Victorian Institute of Teaching. (2009). Standards of professional practice for full registration [online pdf]. Retrieved October 12, 2009 from http://www.vit.vic.edu.au/files/documents/787_standards.PDF
Another far reaching influence that is widely considered to fall under the definition of pop culture is modern technology. Items such as mp3 players, CD/DVD players, video game consoles, iPods, mobile phones and notebook computers are just some of the technological items that are seen to be a significant part of many students lives and which are considered to be a part of today's popular culture. It is the linking of pop culture in the classroom via the incorporation of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) that I am addressing within this essay.
When approaching the education of our students in the classroom it is widely advocated that education needs to be learner directed. The Principles of Learning and Teaching (POLT) Online Professional Learning Resource - Principal 3.1 (Department of Education and Early childhood development (DEECD), 2009a) states that teachers can demonstrate the use of strategies that are "flexible and responsive to the values, needs and interests of individual students" by including popular media to "introduce or challenge ideas". POLT principal 3.4 (DEECD, 2009a) also explicitly discusses the importance of capitalising on students' experiences of technology and of including contemporary technologies in the classroom.
Victorian Institute of Teaching (VIT) Standards of professional practice for full registration (2009)
Exploring Standard 2 -"Teacher knows their content" I chose to explore this standard as I think that it is extremely important that as a future teacher I have an understanding of the content that I am teaching my students. In particular I have addressed the statement "Teachers know the methodologies, resources and technologies which support learning of the content, processes and skill they teach."
By completing the Learning 2.0 - 23 Things (Blowers, 2009) task list I think that I have made a significant step toward improving my knowledge and competency in regard to the use of web 2.0 applications and technologies within a classroom environment. By utilising some of my newly acquired skills in the production of this assessment task my learning is evident. Up until just a few days ago I had never even heard of online word processing and yet here I am creating a document on-line that once finished I will be publishing directly onto my blog with only the press of a button (If you are reading this it means I have successfully accomplished this task). The sense of achievement and empowerment I have felt inspires me to endeavour to create opportunities for my future students to experience those same feelings. I know now from personal experience how exciting it feels to create and publish a blog which people from all over the world can comment on.
I believe that my current learning will be extremely useful to me as a teacher as it gives me confidence that I will be able to successfully incorporate the use of contemporary technologies into my future classrooms. I am very aware of the fact that technology is moving forward at a phenomenal rate and that what I have learned over the past six weeks will need to be continually reassessed as new applications and web tools become available. Already I have started exploring new tools and through listening to podcasts and following various teacher blogs I am developing understandings and ideas about how to incorporate ICT in meaningful ways into a classroom.
Furthering my understandings in regard to technology and remaining up to date with current technological products will ensure that as a teacher I am able to engage my students by incorporating these items of popular culture into their classrooms. I want to include students interests and encourage the exploration of learning whilst utilising tools that they are familiar with and enjoy using.
As the owner and avid user of a Nintendo DS myself, I can envisage using this type of games console in the classroom. A game such as Professor Layton and the curious Village (Level-5 Inc, 2007) could provide engaging ways for students to develop mathematical skills whilst solving the puzzles and brainteasers necessary to solve the 'Mystery of the golden apple'. It also encourages the development of spatial skills and decision making as children navigate their way through the games maps to find the location of puzzles.
It is evident that technological items such as ipods and mobile phones can be successfully incorporated into a classroom environment if implemented in a way that is meaningful and relevant. Students can use ipods for listening to audio books, and podcasts, making video presentations or producing their own podcasts or in the case of an itouch they have access to many applications which can be used to assist students in using their phone as a tool for learning. There are even applications which teachers can use for assessment purposes.Wes Fryer (2009a) makes the comment that "media worth spending time on is media which provides opportunities to PARTICIPATE" (para. 6). He is adamant that students need to be offered the chance to participate in their learning. Bringing everyday items that students use at home into the classroom may encourage active and continuous participation in their learning as they can take that item in and out of the classroom and extend their learning wherever they may be.
The worldwide web is continually growing and children are accessing the Internet on a much more participatory level with the advent of web 2.0 technologies. Applications such as Wiki's, blogs, sites such as youtube and Flickr and social networking sites like Facebook and Myspace encourage active participation from all, young and old. As teachers we need to be providing our students with the skills to navigate the 'web' and critically analyse information that is found. Importantly, students need to be aware of the digital footprint they leave behind and be able to successfully negotiate safe and constructive participation within the environment of the Internet (Fryer, 2009b). It is imperative that they are not left to do this in the privacy of their bedrooms without guidance or support.Teachers must 'know their content' (VIT, 2009) in order to support their students effectively throughout their technological learning journey. In this new global society we need to invite students external lifeworlds into the classroom to facilitate the inevitable inclusion of these lifeworlds into the global network of the world wide web.
Some would argue that certain students will be unable to access some of the technologies that I have spoken of, but the DEECD state that Victorian schools are providing all students with ICT learning and they advocate ICT "enables good pedagogy" (para. 3, 2009b). Proof that the DEECD is serious in its approach to ICT can be seen through the research that they are undertaking in this area. A study conducted by DEECD and Apple Computer Australia found that "the iPod Touch technology stimulated student interaction and communication in blogs, podcasts and webpages, among other constructive findings" (para. 1, 2009c). Innovations in the ways that schools are approaching the teaching of ICT are currently the focus of the Broadmeadows Innovation and Learning lab which is found on the DEECD website.
I can really see the benefit in compiling a similar list of tasks such as the ones I have completed for students to accomplish in the classroom. I believe that this would encourage active, meaningful, relevant and useful learning that will aid students to be aware of the many different ways they can interact with technology and introduce them to a new and exciting way to access their learning and collaborate via the worldwide web.
With the advent of virtual worlds such as Second Life students are offered even more ways of interacting with other people/students and collaborating within a virtual environment.This type of virtual learning approach is something that I would like to investigate further before commenting on it's effectiveness or suitability for a primary school environment but I think that it is definitely an interesting concept to explore.
In conclusion I believe that completing Learning 2.0 - 23 things (Blowers, 2009) was an eye opening and inspiring experience and I will definitely be exploring the use of web 2.0 applications further as I continue on my journey towards becoming a fully qualified teacher.
References
Delaney, T. (2008). Pop culture: an overview. Philosophy Now, (64), 6-7.
Department of Education and Early Childhood Development. (2009a). Principles of Learning and Teaching P-12, Retrieved October 12, 2009 from
http://www.education.vic.gov.au/studentlearning/teachingprinciples/onlineresource/p3/comp.htm
Department of Education and Early Childhood Development. (2009b). Australian research, priorities and national directions. Retrieved October 12, 2009 from
http://www.education.vic.gov.au/studentlearning/teachingresources/ict/research.htm
Department of Education and Early Childhood Development. (2009c). Victorian Research. Retrieved October 12, 2009 from http://www.education.vic.gov.au/studentlearning/teachingresources/ict/research.htm
Fryer, W. (2009a). Where do you find the time? Shirky's answer. Message posted to http://www.speedofcreativity.org/2009/10/04/where-do-you-find-the-time-shirkys-answer/
Fryer, W. (Producer). (2009b, August 30). Moving with the speed of creativity. Students as self-advocates: Why/how learners should craft their own digital footprints (Ginger Lumen). Podcast retrieved from iTunes http://feeds.feedburner.com/speedofcreativity/podcasts
Level 5-Inc.: Professor Layton and the curious village. (2007). [Nintendo DS software]. Scoresby, Vic: Nintendo Australia Pty Ltd.
Victorian Institute of Teaching. (2009). Standards of professional practice for full registration [online pdf]. Retrieved October 12, 2009 from http://www.vit.vic.edu.au/files/documents/787_standards.PDF
Saturday, October 3, 2009
Youtubing
So Task 20 Yes I too can Youtube in fact I have already done so recently. I am quite familiar with youtube for watching videos and am becoming more familiar with uploading.
Tonight I have found a video to share... I love seeing what people can do with paper and so have added a video that I found from a youtube member Dutchpapergirl. Inspirational paper folding at work. So please Enjoy!
I am a bit proud of myself as I have altered the HTML to make the video fit on my blog nicely. That was something I have never done before. I thought I would just give it a go to see if it would work and it did. Yay!
Tonight I have found a video to share... I love seeing what people can do with paper and so have added a video that I found from a youtube member Dutchpapergirl. Inspirational paper folding at work. So please Enjoy!
I am a bit proud of myself as I have altered the HTML to make the video fit on my blog nicely. That was something I have never done before. I thought I would just give it a go to see if it would work and it did. Yay!
Mapping my way
Task 19 I had a look at a couple of web tools and decided to blog about Frappr A social mapping website. I added a map at the bottom of this blog so feel free to add yourself to it. I invite all my visitors (note my positvity about 'all' my visitors) to map themselves.
I liked that
I liked that
- you don't have to give alot of info
- you can add a message
- you can learn whereabouts in the world the visitors to your blog/website live.
Friday, October 2, 2009
Zoho Writer - Wow!
Zoho Writer - Wow!
So I am now doing Task 18 - writing a document using Zoho Writer. I have read the list of features and can see immediately how I might be able to use this web based application in collaboration with my peers. Rather than emailing a document to each other and editing it sending it back and then getting confused about what was edited etc. we can start a document on Zoho writer and edit together in real time.... Wow, like an online phone call... AMAZING! I am constantly overawed by the applications and tools that I am finding out about since starting my journey.
I am definitely going to introduce my fellow classmates to this feature.
And now I am going to publish this post directly to this blog, because I can!
lol.
So I am now doing Task 18 - writing a document using Zoho Writer. I have read the list of features and can see immediately how I might be able to use this web based application in collaboration with my peers. Rather than emailing a document to each other and editing it sending it back and then getting confused about what was edited etc. we can start a document on Zoho writer and edit together in real time.... Wow, like an online phone call... AMAZING! I am constantly overawed by the applications and tools that I am finding out about since starting my journey.
I am definitely going to introduce my fellow classmates to this feature.
And now I am going to publish this post directly to this blog, because I can!
lol.Wiki Wiki - Hawaiian for really fast?
So task 16 and 17 were all about exploring wiki's. I have had some experience using subject specific wiki's at RMIT as part of my studies. I have found them to be limiting (possibly due to my inexperience in the medium) I think that they work better if they are something that people are voluntarily involved with rather than forced to contribute. My most recent experience was in my designing multiliteracies course in which we used the wiki as part of an integrated learning project. I found that I became more familiar with how to add images and documents etc. but I also found that it suffered from a lack of collaboration from other members of the group I was working in. It was not something that we used as our main form of communication, we moved to facebook and facebook became the medium of communicating to each other when we had added something to our wiki.
I could not do task 17 as it was a library specific task for employees of the library, which I am not. But I consider that task done as I have been contributing on the wiki for my Designing Multiliteracies course at Uni.
I could not do task 17 as it was a library specific task for employees of the library, which I am not. But I consider that task done as I have been contributing on the wiki for my Designing Multiliteracies course at Uni.
Blogging about web2.0 and Education
Well I am at Task 15
Rather than explore a few perspectives on library 2.0 I have searched for perspectives on Web2.0 in primary education.
I discovered the following blogs and websites which have inspired me even further to learn more about web 2.0 and the application of web2.0 tools in the classroom.
Bright ideas is a blog by the Schools Library Association of Victoria which offers ideas and resources for web2.0 applications. I have not fully investigated it but the amount of information available on the blog is phenomenal. I have also bookmarked the SLAV website. I see this as being enormously useful in the future.
Moving at the speed of creativity is another interesting weblog that discusses technology and its applications to education at a primary school level. I discovered Wesley Fryer when I was searching podcasts on Itunes looking for podcasts on the subject of education. I have enjoyed listening to his presentations and have found him very inspiring whilst easy to relate to. Technology can be intimidating but Wesley makes it sound easy!
Elearn Magazine: Education and Technology in perspective is a website that connects to a blog and discusses elearning. More from an adult online education point of view but very interesting and would be valuable from a professional learning point of view.
AusSLers - Australian Second Life Educators and Researchers is a site that discusses the application of Education within the Virtual world of Second Life. This is a mind blowing thought - I had a little bit of an explore around the site and discovered that within the Second Life world schools are collaborating under a scheme called skoolaborate. I am extremely interested in the intricacies of this type of learning. How is it workable? It sounds so amazing and the opportunities that could be explored are endless. WOW!
Educational Technology - ICT in Education is a website that offers a free ebook detailing 60 ideas for using web2.0 in the classroom. I am yet to check it out but I have kept the link for future reference. I think it would be an invaluable tool.
As you can see I have been inspired. It is all so overwhelming. How can I become a part of it? I suppose this is just the beginning. By exploring I have become aware of just a hint of what is out there, now I need to go further... find out more.... explore! explore! EXPLORE!
Rather than explore a few perspectives on library 2.0 I have searched for perspectives on Web2.0 in primary education.
I discovered the following blogs and websites which have inspired me even further to learn more about web 2.0 and the application of web2.0 tools in the classroom.
Bright ideas is a blog by the Schools Library Association of Victoria which offers ideas and resources for web2.0 applications. I have not fully investigated it but the amount of information available on the blog is phenomenal. I have also bookmarked the SLAV website. I see this as being enormously useful in the future.
Moving at the speed of creativity is another interesting weblog that discusses technology and its applications to education at a primary school level. I discovered Wesley Fryer when I was searching podcasts on Itunes looking for podcasts on the subject of education. I have enjoyed listening to his presentations and have found him very inspiring whilst easy to relate to. Technology can be intimidating but Wesley makes it sound easy!
Elearn Magazine: Education and Technology in perspective is a website that connects to a blog and discusses elearning. More from an adult online education point of view but very interesting and would be valuable from a professional learning point of view.
AusSLers - Australian Second Life Educators and Researchers is a site that discusses the application of Education within the Virtual world of Second Life. This is a mind blowing thought - I had a little bit of an explore around the site and discovered that within the Second Life world schools are collaborating under a scheme called skoolaborate. I am extremely interested in the intricacies of this type of learning. How is it workable? It sounds so amazing and the opportunities that could be explored are endless. WOW!
Educational Technology - ICT in Education is a website that offers a free ebook detailing 60 ideas for using web2.0 in the classroom. I am yet to check it out but I have kept the link for future reference. I think it would be an invaluable tool.
As you can see I have been inspired. It is all so overwhelming. How can I become a part of it? I suppose this is just the beginning. By exploring I have become aware of just a hint of what is out there, now I need to go further... find out more.... explore! explore! EXPLORE!
Thursday, October 1, 2009
Technorati
Well I have been exploring and learning about the Technorati search tool for the Blogosphere. It is interesting, confusing and overwhelming. I need to get a better grasp of the whole blog thing. I cannot believe how many blogs are out there in the world wide web.
Tagging is still a weird thing for me. I have been tempted to tag things with one tag so that I will always know where to go to get a particular thing, but I am starting to see that having more than one tag will allow a wider audience to access your blogs, see your photos and also can help you to find things that you have bookmarked in a number of different places rather than limiting yourself to one. It is hard as I have always liked things to be organised in a particular way for example my ipod is organised by album and if I have singles that don't have an album I actually make an album title such as 'Sammi's stuff' for those singles to be placed and I download a photo to be used as the album cover. Same with my compilation albums. That way I don't see a million of the same album cover when I use the cover flow feature (Which I love! btw.)
So I am learning new things about searching and tagging but they are quite hard to understand for me at the moment. I need to immerse myself a little more to try and gain a better understanding. Searching has always been a thing that I am not very effective at. I am getting better... I mean I found the '23 things' blog didn't I?
So now I am going to attempt to add a tag link to Technorati... mmmmmmm .... I am not sure what this actually does but hey! I'll do it anyway
Technorati tag:learning 2.0
Tagging is still a weird thing for me. I have been tempted to tag things with one tag so that I will always know where to go to get a particular thing, but I am starting to see that having more than one tag will allow a wider audience to access your blogs, see your photos and also can help you to find things that you have bookmarked in a number of different places rather than limiting yourself to one. It is hard as I have always liked things to be organised in a particular way for example my ipod is organised by album and if I have singles that don't have an album I actually make an album title such as 'Sammi's stuff' for those singles to be placed and I download a photo to be used as the album cover. Same with my compilation albums. That way I don't see a million of the same album cover when I use the cover flow feature (Which I love! btw.)
So I am learning new things about searching and tagging but they are quite hard to understand for me at the moment. I need to immerse myself a little more to try and gain a better understanding. Searching has always been a thing that I am not very effective at. I am getting better... I mean I found the '23 things' blog didn't I?
So now I am going to attempt to add a tag link to Technorati... mmmmmmm .... I am not sure what this actually does but hey! I'll do it anyway
Technorati tag:learning 2.0
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Learning about delicious - social bookmarking
And so Task 13. Well, I already had a delicious account which I started about 1 month ago and I have found it to be an invaluable way of connecting my laptop bookmarks with my pc bookmarks as I don't have a network set up.
So I have learnt a few more things about it tonight, and can see how it may be useful to me in other ways. For example when working collaboratively with other students on assessments we could all have a common tag and then send each other bookmarks for various research sites that may pertain to whatever assignment that we may be working on.
This could also be used in a classroom on a similar premise. Students would be able to find research sites at home and post them to their delicious account under the common tag name and then that resource would be available to whomever else looks at that common tag. Very Cool!
So tonight I have added a Network Badge onto my blog page. I could not work out how to get it anywhere else on the page but on the side bar. I need to find out a little bit more about html stuff.
Next up Task 14.
So I have learnt a few more things about it tonight, and can see how it may be useful to me in other ways. For example when working collaboratively with other students on assessments we could all have a common tag and then send each other bookmarks for various research sites that may pertain to whatever assignment that we may be working on.
This could also be used in a classroom on a similar premise. Students would be able to find research sites at home and post them to their delicious account under the common tag name and then that resource would be available to whomever else looks at that common tag. Very Cool!
So tonight I have added a Network Badge onto my blog page. I could not work out how to get it anywhere else on the page but on the side bar. I need to find out a little bit more about html stuff.
Next up Task 14.
Monday, September 28, 2009
Rollyo - rolling, rolling, rolling
And so Task 12 took a lot longer than I thought it would.
It took me a while to get my head around what this tool, Rollyo, is all about. It only twigged when I saw someone elses searchroll for guitar tablature. I saw that they had a selection of websites that have guitar tabs.. I realised that this could be useful when looking for lyrics for songs. If I make my own search roll with trusted Lyric websites then I won't have to go through all the sites that have millions of pop ups, or hidden viruses.
I tried my hand at it and made a searchroll based on education resources. It was quite a frustrating experience because when I was trying to put my links in I kept accidentally opening them in the same tab as I was using to make the searchroll. Everytime that I had to go back to the previous page all my links were gone and I would have to start again. I did this about six time!!!! My laptop is very touchy! Anyway finally it is done and I have even created a searchbox here on my blog where you can search for things from a selection of different sources. Try it out... It's on the right under my songs, above my Library thing catalogue.
I also added Rollyo to my searchbox on my browser and to my bookmark toolbar... so i have been rolled. :-)
Now it is time for sleep...
It took me a while to get my head around what this tool, Rollyo, is all about. It only twigged when I saw someone elses searchroll for guitar tablature. I saw that they had a selection of websites that have guitar tabs.. I realised that this could be useful when looking for lyrics for songs. If I make my own search roll with trusted Lyric websites then I won't have to go through all the sites that have millions of pop ups, or hidden viruses.
I tried my hand at it and made a searchroll based on education resources. It was quite a frustrating experience because when I was trying to put my links in I kept accidentally opening them in the same tab as I was using to make the searchroll. Everytime that I had to go back to the previous page all my links were gone and I would have to start again. I did this about six time!!!! My laptop is very touchy! Anyway finally it is done and I have even created a searchbox here on my blog where you can search for things from a selection of different sources. Try it out... It's on the right under my songs, above my Library thing catalogue.
I also added Rollyo to my searchbox on my browser and to my bookmark toolbar... so i have been rolled. :-)
Now it is time for sleep...
Library Thing...
So Task 11 is done... I have started a Library Thing account... What is Library thing? you may ask. Well it is a book cataloguing site. I can add all the books that I have and compare my library with the libraries of others. I can do reviews, get recommendations based on the books in my library and many more things that I haven't even thought of. Will I use this after I have finished doing all my tasks? I really don't know. It sounds quite time consuming to put all my books in my catalogue. I suppose that it could be something to do over a holiday period. I wonder if it could provide APA references at the push of a button :-) lol. I would definitely use it then!!
So I am now about half way through my tasks. It has been an interesting journey. An eye opening journey. The amount of different sites that you can join, the blogs you can follow, the things you can make, see and do!! Amazing! It is so hard to decide which networking site, which book cataloguing site, which blog hoster, which photo image hoster. If it is hard for me, I wonder how kids work it out. What is it that influences their choices? How can I find out? Maybe they are recommended the sites by friends. Maybe they just browse and hit on something and decide that this will be alright. Maybe they look a couple of different sites and what they offer and then make their choice. How would they justify their decisions.
So far I have made my choices solely based on the 23 things that I have chosen to do from the blog that I found by accident when browsing around. So much of the choice has been taken out of my hands which has been good for me as it made learning not so overwhelming. But how relevant will these choices be for me later? Will I find that another site is more suitable. For example, I started a flickr account when I already had a photobucket account which is just another photo hosting site. Not that different really? or are they? If someone knows please tell...
And so I am moving on to task 12.... see you soon.
So I am now about half way through my tasks. It has been an interesting journey. An eye opening journey. The amount of different sites that you can join, the blogs you can follow, the things you can make, see and do!! Amazing! It is so hard to decide which networking site, which book cataloguing site, which blog hoster, which photo image hoster. If it is hard for me, I wonder how kids work it out. What is it that influences their choices? How can I find out? Maybe they are recommended the sites by friends. Maybe they just browse and hit on something and decide that this will be alright. Maybe they look a couple of different sites and what they offer and then make their choice. How would they justify their decisions.
So far I have made my choices solely based on the 23 things that I have chosen to do from the blog that I found by accident when browsing around. So much of the choice has been taken out of my hands which has been good for me as it made learning not so overwhelming. But how relevant will these choices be for me later? Will I find that another site is more suitable. For example, I started a flickr account when I already had a photobucket account which is just another photo hosting site. Not that different really? or are they? If someone knows please tell...
And so I am moving on to task 12.... see you soon.
Saturday, September 26, 2009
On line Generators - an exploration
Well, now I am on Task 10... playing around with online generators... fun but it can be a bit limited if you don't have alot of photos on your pc for playing around with... but I still managed to have fun!
this is the result of my favourite one so far...
Cute Hey? Imagine if they could just tattoo photos on your arm via laser technology... so that you had a realistic photo image.... Classic!!
Nice arm too, I think.
To make your own go to shoulder_tattoo
and how about this next one ... he he he ....
to make your own go to Dummiez book cover maker 2009
cool Hey?
this is the result of my favourite one so far...
Nice arm too, I think.
To make your own go to shoulder_tattoo
to make your own go to Dummiez book cover maker 2009
cool Hey?
Technology is so overwhelming!!
So here I am doing the 7th task of my 23 things. It is to blog about something I find interesting that is technology related.
What I really want to talk about is how overwhelming technology is to me. Just when I think that I am becoming confident with some new technologies I realise that I really have only touched the surface.
Yes, I have some of the latest items of technology, but none of them are the 'latest'. I got really excited when I accessed facebook from my mobile phone a few weeks ago, and I love downloading podcasts every week on my ipod... but I know that I really know virtually nothing about what is out there in the technological world.
I read about things such as the gwhiz mobile learning assessment and I realise just how much I don't know, and I wonder if I can possibly ever become confident using technology as a 'digital immigrant'.
I suppose that just like uni, I need to approach new technology on a day to day basis. Like anything I think that persistence will be the key. If I want it enough, I will achieve it. I love learning about new technology but I know that I still have that terrible habit of being terrified of trying new things. I get so frightened of what might go wrong.
For example: I have been given a wireless router so that I can set up a wireless network at my house but I am so scared that I might stuff it up that I don't want to install it until the end of my semester so that I can make sure that I don't ruin my internet connection... because then I will be really stuffed! So sad isn't it! :-( sad but true.
So I am going to give myself a challenge... I am going to try and find out enough that I feel confident enough to install my new wireless router before the end of semester. Let's see if I can do it! :-)
I will update you when it happens... suffice to say it will not be tonight. lol
What I really want to talk about is how overwhelming technology is to me. Just when I think that I am becoming confident with some new technologies I realise that I really have only touched the surface.
Yes, I have some of the latest items of technology, but none of them are the 'latest'. I got really excited when I accessed facebook from my mobile phone a few weeks ago, and I love downloading podcasts every week on my ipod... but I know that I really know virtually nothing about what is out there in the technological world.
I read about things such as the gwhiz mobile learning assessment and I realise just how much I don't know, and I wonder if I can possibly ever become confident using technology as a 'digital immigrant'.
I suppose that just like uni, I need to approach new technology on a day to day basis. Like anything I think that persistence will be the key. If I want it enough, I will achieve it. I love learning about new technology but I know that I still have that terrible habit of being terrified of trying new things. I get so frightened of what might go wrong.
For example: I have been given a wireless router so that I can set up a wireless network at my house but I am so scared that I might stuff it up that I don't want to install it until the end of my semester so that I can make sure that I don't ruin my internet connection... because then I will be really stuffed! So sad isn't it! :-( sad but true.
So I am going to give myself a challenge... I am going to try and find out enough that I feel confident enough to install my new wireless router before the end of semester. Let's see if I can do it! :-)
I will update you when it happens... suffice to say it will not be tonight. lol
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
edna workshop in SL
So here I am completing task 5 - set up a flickr account... find an interesting pic and blog about it.
So I found two groups that I have joined... RMIT group and another group called What I love about teaching and learning.
Anyway I decided to blog this pic that I found as I found it extremely interesting.. it is an EDNA workshop in Second life!!! Second life from what I understand is a virtual world. I was not aware that EDNA (Education Network Australia) would even contemplate something as Radical (well I believe it is rad!) and forward thinking as this. I wonder if these workshops are genuine learning spaces, I will have to find out.
I am very pleasantly surprised. I wonder if our Uni lecturers are even aware of this. I will have to find out. I am going to have to look into this further... I wonder if there are schools in which teachers teach in Second life, and would these teachers be university qualified to do that.. the possiblities are endless.
I am really really excited by this find and will be exploring further, but realistically I will have to wait until I have finished my 23 things.
So much to learn, and so little time to learn it in... :-)
thanks to
for the photo which I found whilst exploring the flickr group... What I love about teaching and learning
So I found two groups that I have joined... RMIT group and another group called What I love about teaching and learning.
Anyway I decided to blog this pic that I found as I found it extremely interesting.. it is an EDNA workshop in Second life!!! Second life from what I understand is a virtual world. I was not aware that EDNA (Education Network Australia) would even contemplate something as Radical (well I believe it is rad!) and forward thinking as this. I wonder if these workshops are genuine learning spaces, I will have to find out.
I am very pleasantly surprised. I wonder if our Uni lecturers are even aware of this. I will have to find out. I am going to have to look into this further... I wonder if there are schools in which teachers teach in Second life, and would these teachers be university qualified to do that.. the possiblities are endless.
I am really really excited by this find and will be exploring further, but realistically I will have to wait until I have finished my 23 things.
So much to learn, and so little time to learn it in... :-)
thanks to
for the photo which I found whilst exploring the flickr group... What I love about teaching and learning
Learning 2.0 - 23 things
Here I am at the beginning of a new journey...
WEB2.0 - Here I come...
Over the next few weeks I intend to follow the list of 23 things provided by the Public Library of Charlotte & Mecklenburg county in the USA.
This is to assist me in completing an assessment task for my University course which will in turn prepare in my quest to learn as much as I can to help me become an inspirational teacher/learner in my future classrooms.
And so this is task 3 and 4 complete.. I have registered my blog and have added my first post... which in truth is my second post as I did start this blog last year... so I have a bit of a head start in regard to this list... ( I did not realise that I had done this until I started to register and it completed my details for my google account and I realised that I had been here before. :-)
WEB2.0 - Here I come...
Over the next few weeks I intend to follow the list of 23 things provided by the Public Library of Charlotte & Mecklenburg county in the USA.
This is to assist me in completing an assessment task for my University course which will in turn prepare in my quest to learn as much as I can to help me become an inspirational teacher/learner in my future classrooms.
And so this is task 3 and 4 complete.. I have registered my blog and have added my first post... which in truth is my second post as I did start this blog last year... so I have a bit of a head start in regard to this list... ( I did not realise that I had done this until I started to register and it completed my details for my google account and I realised that I had been here before. :-)
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