Learning Lama

Something that i thought that you should all check out is the new web-bases messaging and email tool WAVE by Google’s Australia arm. Google says that WAVE will replace the current way in which we email each other. The idea of WAVE was the concept of, if email was introduced today and not 40 years ago what would email look like? Although WAVE is not released yet they have given a demonstration of the program, i recommend you having a look.

>> Click Here <<

This reaction is referring to both Monocle Chronical’s ‘Twitter’ post and Angela E-Learning’s ‘What are they Learning?’ post. I think it is great that we have so much technology that we can use today in the classroom. I do, however, feel as though web based programs, such as Twitter, although great, are like Angela pointed out, a fad of the time. What concerns me most about programs such as these is what Angela pointed out in her post from the Guardian Newspaper in the UK. With technology changing so much why should students use these programs anyway? When a new program will soon replace it in future. Two questions that we should be asking ourselves are, What are the fundamental technological outcomes that we should be teaching our students? What are the key programs that we should be using and enabling students to use? I think programs like Twitter will, sooner or later fade out, look what happened to myspace, Bebo, hi5. I think as teachers we really need to be concerned more about programs that will be around for more than a few years, programs that are more institutionalised. With the changing nature of technology and society there needs to a concrete theological basis for why we use programs and the way in which we teach and use them. Why would we teach web-based programs to students when in the future they wont even use them? I think the national curriculum that is currently being produced really needs to focus on the IT that’s student will need to know how to use. After all education is about equipping students with the skills that they will need later on in life, the primary area being one of the most important educational stages of  any persons life.

Learning Lama

As current student-teachers and possible classroom teachers in the future, we often see the consistent and changing nature of using technology in the classroom and how we can encourage and excite the learning process through the use of new and interesting devices.  Herringtong and Kervin’s (2007) article in Educational Media International, touched on a range of reasons and issues surrounding the use of technology in the classroom and why, as teachers, we should be integrating and using an array of technology with our students, but Herrintong and Kervin also highlight 9 principles that should be taken into account, considering authentic learning, which i think teachers really need to take in and examine when using technology in the classroom. The learning environments should:

1. Provide authentic contexts that reflect the way the knowledge will be used in real life.
2. Provide authentic activities.
3. Provide access to expert performances and the modelling of processes.
4. Provide multiple roles and perspectives
5. Support collaborative construction of knowledge.
6. Promote reflection to enable abstractions to be formed.
7. Promote articulation to enable tacit knowledge to be made explicit.
8. Provide coaching by the teacher at critical times, and scaffolding and fading of teacher support.
9. Provide for authentic, integrated assessment of learning within the tasks.

Students will pay greater attention and learn more in class if you can make the lesson engaging and entertaining. “Using technology to implement or enhance such principles further increases their appeal to students, and also provides powerful tools to assist their learning”. The point that i wanted to make from these principles is that sometimes the use of technology in the classroom is used just to provide some sort of excitement to the lesson. What i believe we as teachers really need to focus on and take into account are the reasons why and how we are using that technology and how it effects the students that engage with it. In what way does the technology we use in the classroom effect the learning environment and the learning outcomes of students? If not its just a piece of technology with no meaning to the teacher and students that use it. I think that these principles should be a check list of how and why we use technology in the classroom.

Learning Lama

It was just the other day that i was having this discussion with my older brother who works for the IT section of the Department of Education and Training, who said that the project is really eating into the education budget where the money could be spent on other areas in more need of the money that the governments elections promises. The idea that the government had was good, however the program is falling apart. I agree with you that there should be laptops in classrooms, however i do feel as though, from what i have heard from different people, that the program is to expensive and is not working as it should. What could be a possible solution though?? Are there any alternative ideas that people have?? I posted on my sidebar in my blog a video i came across the other day about this, check it out. It is interesting to see the governments push on this issue.

Thanks Michael for the post, it is a much debated topic at the moment.

Learning Lama

It is amazing what useful videos you can find on YouTube these days. Great video, really opened up my mind on the possibilities of technology uses in the classroom. On practicum i used quite a few videos from YouTube in some of my lessons and they worked really well. It is great that the Department of Education and Training has finally released YouTube to be used in the classroom, however one must be careful that peoples comments do not show on the bottom of the video. Thankyou to Sabrina for posting that video.

Learning Lama

Recently G.C. blog posted about a video from The World Science Festival. The video is all about Bobbie McFerrin who gives a music lesson to a crowd of people without using words but by using simple body movements, to indicate notes which the crowd would sing. What I really liked about this video was Bobbie’s last point, that no matter where he goes and does the same routine with the crowd, they always pick it up every quickly and never ever have any trouble. Fundamentally it shows how easy it can be to communicate from one person to another, without using complex technology, without needing a lot of resources and using very simplistic body movements. This video really engaged me in thinking about special needs students at school and different ways in which we as teachers communicate, but to a deeper extent, the language that we use in the classroom. Recently on practicum, with a kindergarten class, I found that I had to change a lot of the different terminology and language that I use in everyday life, in order for the students to understand the learning tasks. You can also check out this video in my video side bar.

Thanks for your post,

Learning Lama

Currently at university we are looking at using blogs in the classroom and how they can engage students into forum discussions about texts. I would love for you to comment on some of the ways in which you use or could use blogs in your classroom. For example something that I would like to do when I finally get a class of my own is using my blog to communicate between parents and the school to keep them updated with what is happening in the classroom. Also upload some of the homework items that are sent home during the week. What are some of the ideas that you have?

Learning Lama

Recently on practicum in my kindergarten class, we used in a couple lessons one of the most interesting pieces of technology I have seen in the classroom. Bee-bots are a directional device that you input commands into, to reach a curtain location. It really engaged the students in working out the correct commands and working mathematically. They had a huge amount of fun but unfortunately they do cost a lot, yet they do come with a huge range of resources. If you’re a kindergarten teacher or possibly year 1 and year 2 I recommend looking into Bee-Bots for your classroom, it really makes maths fun. Click the links bellow to find out more, i recommend them greatly.

Link: Bee-Bot Buzz

Link: Bee-Bots Uk

Learning Lama

Recently in E-Learning (university), we are constantly looking at technology and the different impacts that it can have in the learning environment. It would seem that Interactive Whiteboards IWB’s are the new wave that is sweeping through the school community, however during recent practicum experiences as part of my university degree in primary education, it is clear that not every school has them in every classroom, as they do cost a lot. Something that I wanted to share with you all, is something I came across on YouTube. Basically the main point I wanted to make is that you can have an IWB for a fraction of the cost and here is how you do it. Check the video out on my sidebar, or by clicking on the link >>>>click here <<<<. Here you can find a bit of a guide into how to setup your own WiiBoard and here is where you can get the software. I highly recommend you have a look at the video, as in a lot of cases, school funding is always an issue and interactive whiteboards are a great way in which, as teacher, we can be engaging our students in our lessons. On a side note i would love to hear about how others have been using interactive whiteboards in the classroom and some of the lessons you have taught using them. Also if you have found any interesting programs/tools that others might want to know about.

Regards, Learning Lama