sound file

This ICT tool considers the musical/audio learning style, appealing to those students who learn by listening to music or audio to learn the information. This ICT could be implemented as a good cognitive tool within the learning environment by students reflecting on what they have heard, these tools do not have to be music, rather a vast amount of information could be possessed in a small audio file that they may listen to in class or at home to enrich their learning on the topic. Students could be asked to take notes or highlight the main points and discuss this in small groups.

Graphic organiser/mind map

This form of ICT supports both linguistic and spatial learners, appealing to multiple intelligences. This ICT could be useful as a cognitive tool because it starts with a central idea that the students have to think about themselves and put their own personal ideas on the topic down. It calls on deeper learning and self evaluation while also recalling information previously viewed on the computer.

( to view the mind map better, just click on the image)

Online game

This ICT tool would relate to the visual learning style. This tool could be implemented as a good ICT tool as it helps with information recall. Students learn how to recall which picture is under which box and helps them with remembering information.

link for embedding audio

http://beta-templatetesting.blogspot.com/2006/12/to-include-audio-clip-in-your-posts.html

Images of Cu Chi tunnels in Vietnam

This ICT supports the learning style of visual, it shows relevant pictures in relation to the Vietnam war and shows actual pictures of the Cu Chi tunnels. It shows exactly what it would have been like for the Vietcong, a group the students would have been learning about.

This ICT could be implemented as a good cognitive tool within the learning environment by getting them to think about what it would be like to actually fight in these conditions, this tool allows student to self evaluate and think deeply about how they might have felt fighting in these conditions, it provides a real life example for them to look at.

Image of Vietnam War

video

This video supports the visual learning style as well as audio/musical due to the visual and audio elements contained in the video.This could be implemented as a cognitive tool because the teacher could ask students to reflect on what they are seeing and hearing in the video and relate it back to the topic they are studying.

MI test

Getting students to undertake the MI test http://www2.bgfl.org/bgfl2/custom/resources_ftp/client_ftp/ks3/ict/multiple_int/index.htm themselves allows them to better understand the ways they learn and also helps the teacher in preparing lessons and idnetifying who learns with which intelligence. With the students understanding the ways in which they learn they can also adapt this to their everyday lives, not just within school. It also helps them to understand why they may not be achieving what they are striving for in a particular subject at school. This does not mean that they give up altogether, but that they need to work harder at it and need more encouragement.

How do we manage MI in the ICT environment?

By understanding what my own multiple intelligences are like, i can better understand how students will be viewing learning the topic. if, for example there was a student in the class who was predominantly visual intelligent, use of the site http://www.kartoo.com/ allows the user to search for example "history' and the results come up with little graphics that are links to other sites that show visual elements with information to go with it. This acts as a tool to accommodate those with visual intelligence in your class. Particularly in regards to research.

link for posting a video

http://bloggerstatusforrealbeta.blogspot.com/2007/01/editing-template-in-new-blogger-blog.html

Assessment Post No. 5 - Glasser

William Glasser’s choice theory is based on five crucial needs of students
- Survival, Safety and security
- Love, belonging and acceptance
- Personal power, competency and achievement
- Freedom, independence and autonomy
- Fun and learning
(Edwards & Watts, 2004, pp.136-137)
He notes that students have to have all of these needs achieved in order to learn effectively. Having these needs satisfied leads to self management and personal responsibility for one’s actions. http://web.ebscohost.com.ipacez.nd.edu.au/ehost/detail?vid=5&hid=103&sid=4724445d-e7d7-43ba-9fbe-e617b1e3834a%40sessionmgr102
Glasser goes on by saying that these five needs are part of our ‘quality world’ which is what students really want from a classroom or school and that what they have now is not as good, called our ‘comparing place’. Therefore there is a huge strive to achieve the quality world. Not having these five needs satisfied results in misbehaviour and students perhaps not fulfilling their potential and being frustrated with this.
As a teacher this information and theory is incredibly important for my classroom management skills, realising that these five needs are related to effort and achievement makes sense when thinking about my own schooling experiences. If a child is lacking in any one of these areas I have to help them to achieve it and satisfy it before even trying to teach them anything. This is also related to the student teacher relationship that needs to be worked upon with my students, if I do not know my students then I cannot identify which needs are not being satisfied and therefore would perhaps have difficulty teaching them. Also, the fun part of the needs I can incorporate into my lesson plans, students do not want to simply do activities the same way Everytime. I know from my own schooling that the best lessons I had were the fun lessons. Teaching and learning does not have to be boring to be effective.

This link talks about how important it is for student teachers to be reflective about their teaching practices and about how their lesson plans have to be stimulating. This is very important for my upcoming practicum.
http://web.ebscohost.com.ipacez.nd.edu.au/ehost/pdf?vid=5&hid=103&sid=4724445d-e7d7-43ba-9fbe-e617b1e3834a%40sessionmgr102

Assessment Post No. 4 Hattie

One of the issues that Hattie reflects about in these slides is that of the shift from inputs based education to outputs based education and the move to Outcomes based education that is the real test of a teacher’s effectiveness. http://www.acer.edu.au/workshops/documents/HattieSlides.pdf
It holds teachers accountable if they do not get their class through the curriculum and produce results. This slideshow can also be connected to the Sydney Morning Herald article
http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/teacher-bonuses-you-do-the-maths/2007/02/23/1171734021135.html
reporting that teachers may soon be paid on how well their students do at school. This would result in the effective and good teachers being paid more than those who keep their results the same as the year before. There is a connection between what Hattie is saying in these slides, to the information on the NSW Board of Studies Website. http://www.boardofstudies.nsw.edu.au/
The BOS is Outcomes Based, particularly when looking at the Syllabus and Curriculum documents, both teachers and students are striving to gain the best outcome in their work.

Knowing this information about Outcomes Based Education is extremely important to me as a future teacher and for my Practicum. The Board of Studies purposely outlines the expected outcomes for each grade and each subject. Knowing that future teaching may be based on Outcomes for pay is also important for me. If I do not get my students up to the expected outcomes level my teaching may be jeopardised. It is important for me to realise that Education is now outcomes based because it gives me something to aim for and for my students to aim for and my lesson plans must be prepared accordingly.

Assessment Post no. 3 Bruner

Bruner believed that ‘Intellectual growth is related to a child’s ability to become independent of responses from stimuli. At first, only reacting to stimuli, then as they develop language they learn to modify their responses to stimuli.’ (Marsh, 2004, p.23)
He identified 3 stages of growth, yet did not stress them as much as Piaget:
Actions – demonstrations are useful in learning because they show exactly how a skill is performed and how the learner can see it for themselves and then emulate it. Or when learning a concept can better understand the core part of it.
Icons - Are used instead of words and help learners to identify the concept with imagery. Many children identify with pictures rather than words most of the time when learning new things.
Symbols – these are a shortened version of the language or can be numbers, they help when information is being presented orally in a lecture form for example.
http://web.ebscohost.com.ipacez.nd.edu.au/ehost/detail?vid=7&hid=117&sid=7f7ae5e1-644e-4217-b03b-a6bb4957fdb7%40sessionmgr107

Bruner’s theory helps for my teaching by noticing that children learn in different ways, it can be used in conjunction with the multiple intelligences and different learning styles. It will help in my lesson plans; if I can include one or more stages into them the students are likely to become more efficient and effective learners. In regards to the ‘actions’ part of the stages of growth, I have had good experiences with it particularly when learning skills, demonstrations go through the actions to learn the skill, firstly showing the skill properly the first time, then going through the steps of the skill slowly and finally allowing the learner to practice it by themselves until they have perfected it.

Marsh, C., 2004, Becoming a Teacher: Knowledge, skills and issues, 3rd Edition, Frenchs Forest, Pearson Education Australia.

Assessment Post No 2: Piaget

Piaget believed that we all gain cognitive growth through stages, with thinking developing through the four stages from birth to adulthood. The first of these was Sensorimotor (Birth – 2yrs) when objects become permanent and a child ‘uses their senses to explore their environment’. http://web.ebscohost.com.ipacez.nd.edu.au/ehost/pdf?vid=24&hid=111&sid=92f4674b-04db-401c-b448-b212962ee224%40sessionmgr103
The Second stage is the Preoperational stage ( 2-7yrs) this stage involves the acquisition of language and is dominated by egocentrism. The child still has little or no logical thought.
The Third stage is the Concrete operations stage (7-12 yrs) it is in this stage when the child learns some logical thought and can classify objects mentally, yet they still cannot hypothesise about things.
The Fourth and final stage is called Formal Operations stage (from 12- Adulthood) here children learn to have abstract thought and put hypothetical reasoning to problems.
It is important to realise that the age children go through these stages can vary and that only ‘around 25-75 percent of adults actually reach the formal operations stage’.
http://web.ebscohost.com.ipacez.nd.edu.au/ehost/pdf?vid=24&hid=111&sid=92f4674b-04db-401c-b448-b212962ee224%40sessionmgr103

http://web.ebscohost.com.ipacez.nd.edu.au/ehost/pdf?vid=26&hid=111&sid=92f4674b-04db-401c-b448-b212962ee224%40sessionmgr103
Knowing this information is extremely important for my teaching because it tells me the signs to look out for of the stages students may be in. I could, for example, have a student in year 9 still in the concrete operations stage or the preoperational stage in which case I would have to accommodate into my lesson plans.Knowing the characteristics of each of the stages is also important for my practicum because I am able to recognise which stage of cognitive development each child is in and prepare accordingly. I think that this theory is quite accurate, particularly when comparing boys to girls in their development. I have seen examples of the various stages that Piaget has documented and so think that this theory is good for my philosophy on education and my teaching.

Assessment Post No 1: Vygotsky

Vygotsky is known for his work in social constructivism and his development and research on his 'Zone of Proximal Development'. This means that when placed in groups, individuals are able to achieve more effective learning than if they had completed the tasks on their own.
http://coe.sdsu.edu/eet/articles/sdtheory/index.htm
The basis for social constructivism is that there is emphasis on collaborative working, in this case everyone is given a voice and the group is able to listen and work with a variety of answers on the topic.
http://web.ebscohost.com.ipacez.nd.edu.au/ehost/pdf?vid=22&hid=111&sid=92f4674b-04db-401c-b448-b212962ee224%40sessionmgr103
Learning occurs better when in groups, collaborative working. In other words, there is more than one head thinking of ideas for the topic. This also acknowledges the differences in learning styles.

This would be particularly important for me as a teacher because of the extensive research that shows that children learn better and more effectively in groups. It would be very useful in bringing children with learning difficulties up to speed with the rest of the class. Or if a Student missed a week of school, the group could help that student catch up on the work they missed, with help from the teacher, me. This theory also allows for the different learning styles described by Howard Gardner. With a variety of intelligences the group is able to come up with a variety of ideas, compared to a group where all the styles are the same.

Also used Krause et. al., 2006, Educational Psychology: for learning and teaching, 2nd Edition, South Melbourne, Thomson Learning Australia.

link to Downes slideshow

http://www.slideshare.net/Downes/elearning-20/2

E-Learning 2.0 Slides

Parts of this presentation have reinforced knowledge i have already, particularly in relation to the first slide on the millenials, by reading one of the articles that was a link i could see that it was saying almost the same as that ' Digital natives vs. Digital immigrants' article we read a few weeks ago. That the baby boomer generation as well as the Generation X have not grown up with technology that we have grown up with, particularly computers and this demonstrates how savvy we are compared to many other generations, we cannot live without our technology and cannot imagine life without it. Also, the slide on learner centred learning, particularly the autonomy of it is not new to us as we have learnt previously that we do have choice when we work alone. The slide on connectivism can be connected to social constructivism which we looked at last week and how we tend to learn better when we have a variety of opinions on the same topic.

I think that this presentation is good in analysing the ways in which people learn and the different technology on the 'new' web. It uses terms that many people would be familiar with and uses articles to back up the dot points, allowing the user to find out more about the topic if they are particularly interested in it.

This presentation highlights the shift from individualised learning to social constructivism and learning, particularly its influence on modern society and the trends it is following.

Concept mind map

First Blog

alrighty this is my first blog on blogger.com. And it is entirely dedicated to ED 4134 so no one other than those in my class will see this or be interested in this. This is the second week in an intensive 6 week stint at uni, learning about ICT for teaching. Last week we did a concept/mind map on digital natives vs digital immigrants and this week we are creating our blog.

should be interesting learning about new things in ICT...

signing off now...