Yet more reflections!

Blogging, mmm, my mind is still not made up. I can see the advantages especially in education but personally I have found the process at times embarrassing. Here is a brief summary of my opinion on the subject!

Advantages of blogging.
•I think blogging is an engaging tool to get students to reflect on learning they have done. It allows for peer interaction which gives an extra dimension to the traditional journal.

•Mandatory blogging throughout the course has made me reflect on the weekly lectures, this has been beneficial as otherwise I would have gone home and forgot about the information told. The blog has been a platform to demonstrate that I have tested out many of the technologies we discussed in class.

•Through posting information on the blog I have acquired new skills such as; using hyperlinks, embedding videos and adding widgets.

•Constantly being exposed to technology has ingrained the notion that I will use it in education. My want to integrate technology into my teaching pedagogy has increased each week.

Disadvantages to blogging
•I have not enjoyed publicly posting my opinions on the web. I am not overly interested in reading what I have written so I can only think how painful it is for other people!

•I have not really engaged with reading other peoples blogs. At best I have skimmed read them until I found a point I might be able to comment on. If this was not an essential part of the assessment I doubt I would have reviewed other people’s blogs.

•I live at a school, work for a school and go to uni to talk further about schools. Blogging about technology in education in a really serious manner is something I could not bring myself to do. I think that is what formal assignments are for, which unfortunately I did not see this as.

Final thoughts
Ideally I would have used this blog as a tool for the future, to store links and ideas we discussed in class. From the outset I have been against the public display of my opinions and have stuck by my initial thought of shutting down the blog when the course is over. However, I can now see myself adapting the blog keeping all my embedded resources and links to other blogs but removing my own thoughts. My desire to remove my thoughts is due to my lack of passion and experience on the subject at present. I have not had my own class and experimented with these products on students therefore feel my opinions on the subject are ignorant. I don't want to publicise this.

Blogging, I feel has been a worthwhile experience and a great assessment task. I have felt uncomfortable posting some of my blogs but hey life is not meant to be easy all the time. I have learnt a great deal from blogging through; reflection, experimenting and contemplating. It may appear at times that I have not taken the task seriously through my comments, but I hope it is evident that I have engaged with many of the technologies discussed in class.

Note - I was going to beef up my blog embedding useful links to websites that I have found but I already know these sites and if there is a future for my blog it is likely to be for personal use. Therefore I don’t see the point as I have already demonstrated that I have the ability to embed links etc.
Univeristy students please feel free to contact me via e-mail/facebook if you would like to experience more of my wisdom. Alternatively I may allow you to follow my private blog if you are really lucky!

The future of technology.

I foresee technology becoming an integral and essential component of education in the future. I reflect over the last 10 years and consider just how much technology has changed my life. I seldom leave the house without my mobile phone and ipod. Technology for me has made living on the other side of the world a much easier experience. I can video call my family which allows for a much more personal interaction than using the traditional telephone. I can't imagine the first settlers to Australia having to write home to their family in the UK. The development of technology has made the world a much more accessible place. Perhaps in the future, schools will have live video interactions with students from countries around the globe. This would be an excellent tool for language teachers for example but other subjects could benefit from this interaction also. Every year there are new products that make our lives simpler, enriching and that provide opportunities to increase communication and knowledge. Most of the new products I didn't even know how much I needed them until I got them. To go to the gym without my ipod would be a dark day and I hope it never happens. I am sure there will be new technologies that will be developed for use in education that will become as common in the classroom as the white board. We saw in class the future of iphones and the potential uses that these could have in school. If students have access to these products which have multiple purposes, educators should utilise these tools. Like it or not technology is here to stay!

Personally, I would love an iphone but my wallet does not have the funds to allow me this luxury/necessity? Perhaps this may become the biggest problem of integrating technology in the classroom. Every child may not have the technology to participate in class activities. When I am out at lunch with friends I feel I am being left behind in the world of communication as I can't update my facebook profile or check my e-mail as my phone does not have access to the internet. In the future it maybe the norm for students to access information on iphones(or equivalent) in schools and the child without the equipment maybe disadvantaged.

LeBlanc(2008)in his blog 'The future of technology and education' provides an interesting view on how technology will influence a college student in the future.

Wordle

I noticed that I have not mentioned education! Interesting.

I can see the use of using wordle for educational purposes, it is a powerful visual summary of key points. Moreover it is really quick and easy to use, although I had to take a screen print then upload the file which is a bit cumbersome. Where is the embed function?

Information Overload.

Be warned readers, there will soon be information overload on my blog page as I prepare for it to be assessed.

Folksonomies and RSS feeds.
I can see the benefit of these facilities for professional use. If I have planned a topic/theme for a term, I will want to start collecting information and materials as soon as possible. 'Tagging' articles under different titles will allow me to easily recall the information when I finally begin to teach the subject. Setting up a RSS feed that is tailored to identify relevant articles will help reduce research time. The articles highlighted through the feed can then be 'tagged' for future ease. Bob's your uncle i'm the most efficient teacher in the world.

Inspired by Blythe

I was so inspired by Blythe's video, I thought I would have a go. Click HERE to watch Technology Man in action!

Privacy

(http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3147/2686237951_91c88d5579.jpg)

I was browsing the West Australian online and stumbled upon the article 'Monitor Internet use, warns Keneally'. This reminded me that I still have my weekly blog to update! This weeks topic - Online DANGERS.

While warning children that there are predators on the net is essential, there are many more day to day dangers of using the Internet that must be highlighted to students. Mr Rothberg on the website www.concernedparentsonline.com sums up the dangers with a powerful analogy.

When I speak with students about posting information on-line to social networking sites such as Facebook and MySpace or any other site, I tell them that it is like getting a tattoo. Most people do not believe that there is anything inherently wrong with getting a tattoo but you have to realize that you will have it forever and there will be people who will see it who you don't want to see it and that could end up hurting you in some way. If you're not prepared to have an employer, police officer, college admissions counselor, insurance company, future spouse, etc. see your dirt, then don't post it on-line anywhere.

This permanency of posting on the Internet is a point that we must re-enforce to our students. They are young, experimental and often naive but hopefully with adequate Internet awareness, are private in their actions!

Val's favourite channel, Teachers TV, has an interesting video on on-line safety. It is 27 minutes so i haven't embeded it on here. Make your popcorn, get a glass of wine then click HERE to watch the video.

Searching!

When I need to find something on the internet, Google is my first port of call. I can't see this changing anytime soon, it is convenient, free and usually satisfies my needs. I even used Google to search for other search engines, I use it every time I go on the net. However for educational purposes I think I will steer my children away from this site. I am Captain Safety so will not allow my students to have free reign searching for this, that and everything. I have found some interesting stuff through Google that has shocked my inner soul, I must try to protect the young and innocent from the big bad world. Luckily there are lots of family friendly search engines teachers can allow their students to use. Using search engines in the classroom have obvious benefits, the children can find information, pictures and videos at a click of a button. Some engines are specific to certain media, such as Flickr, reducing the chances of irrelevant search results. Students can use search engines for lots of tasks and results can help enrich their work. As computers usage increase in schools, I think search engines will become a daily tool in the classroom.

Embrace technology in Education!

New improved Ross

Watch this video for some interesting facts and hints for using technology. In the 6th minute there is advantages of using podcasts.

TXT SPK N D CLSRUM!

Hi all,

watz yr opiniN on txt spk n d clsrum? shd it B allowd?

For those who are struggling to read my questions click here to translate!
This leads me onto this week's discussions; What place do textspeak and hypertext have in the classroom?

I personally cannot stand textspeak and will only embrace it in a text message to limit character usage and save me from having to send two messages(yes I lose my morals to save a buck!) But there are many people out there that adore this new literacy, so should we cater for their needs?
I think I will struggle as a teacher ever educating children on textspeak. That said in certain scenarios I may not penalise or hinder the use of this modern literacy. For example textspeak for informal note taking or when using chat/instant messager in education is acceptable. However if a child hands me a written piece for assessment littered with textspeak the page will soon change from white to red! Red due to marker pen not blood, I am not that anti textspeak!

Hypertext however, I find a very useful tool. I have seen these used in websites such as wikipedia but never known how to embed them into my work. Things have now changed, and I fear I may become a hyperlink addict. As a teacher I think they could be a very useful tool in a lesson. Clicking on a word during teaching to explain/emphasise a topic will help to deepen knowledge. For the children it may encourage them to search for additional information to beef up an assignment that they might not have otherwise done.
For example a child may write: kangaroos come from Australia.
This link to information about Australia means they have put more detail into the statement thus hopefully increasing their knowledge.

What is clear is that literacy is changing as a result of new technologies and probably my opinions, like literacy, will change in the future.

Collective intelligence

Collective intelligence


Since I proclaimed my love for Wikipedia, I figured it appropriate to quote a definition from the site. Wikipedia defines Collective intelligence as a shared or group intelligence that emerges from the collaboration and competition of many individuals. The article goes on to explain With the development of the Internet and its widespread use, the opportunity to contribute to community-based knowledge forums, such as Wikipedia, is greater than ever before. These computer networks give participating users the opportunity to store and to retrieve knowledge through the collective access to these databases and allow them to “harness the hive” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Collective_intelligence)

I think well known clichés help start the discussion on both the advantages and disadvantages of collective intelligence. As my mother says ‘Two heads are better than one’ however as my granny argues ‘too many cooks spoil the broth’. This topic is very wide therefore I have decided to focus on the use of collective intelligence in a closed school forum to discuss further.

As teachers (nearly) I think we have to use our discretion on when the use of collective intelligence is appropriate in the classroom. This is also important when we allow our students to roam the web- especially web 2.0.
For collective intelligence to prosper there has to be a free flow of information. This information has to be processed in some way to form knowledge rather than random opinions/facts. The teacher can harness the students’ information in a private forum easily acting as a facilitator as and when required. In my opinion this is excellent for the students as they can read the thoughts and contributions of their peers and hopefully increase their learning. However without the harnessing of information there is a risk that:

1. Students go off task, discussing this, that and everything.
2. Information that is factually untrue is left uncorrected and therefore believed to be true.
3. Some students dominate the discussion forums.
4. Other students don’t participate.
5. Repetitive contributions may flood the forum
6. No finish point is ever established

Collective intelligence involving the technology that is now at our finger tips, in most schools, I think will be an exciting but very worthwhile project. Like all lessons, careful planning will be needed to ensure maximum learning. Social Constructivism is becoming a popular teaching method in our classrooms and this is a great tool to achieve this.

Wikipedia is wicked!

My love for wikipedia cannot be written in words, it's unconditional, constant and sometimes inappropriate. The only thing that comes close to my wikipedia love is my love for haggis with HP sauce, mmmm.
Wikipedia has helped solve many a house debate, usually confirming the knowledge I already had! Most recently was the debate regarding the inventor of penicillin, which of course was the esteemed Scottish Nobel prize winner - Flemming. The agruee was soon silenced and his confidence shot with a click of a button. Wikipedia I thankyou for the small moment of glory albeit short lived, as the person in question soon started another painful conversation. Advantage No.2 is the space it allows me to have. In the olden days my shelfs were rammed with hardback books ranging from a-z. This wealth of information can now be found in my laptop - wow! The only thing I miss about the books is not being able to smell them, a strange but surprisingly common fetish!
Oh and wikipedia is free, being Scottish I probably should have that as my number. 1 point! Long live Wikipedia.
Educationally I will obviously have to highlight possible dangers of relying purely on information quoted in wikipedia. This however will not be site specific and I will teach students to always be questioning the reliability of information on the net.

Blogging on Blogs!

The thought of writing on Constructivism, even with a new slant, brings back memories of stress and sore fingers from the Teaching and Learning exam! Therefore for this task, I will highlight some of the advantages of using blogs in Education. I should qualify that some (or actually all) of this information is not original to Davo's thinking but is actually a combination of thoughts stripped from other blogs and the general web!

Fellow teachers in training, why should we use blogs for education?

The DET explains Blogs provide a communication space that teachers can utilise with students whenever there is a curriculum need to develop writing, share ideas and reflect on work being undertaken in the classroom. From an education perspective the availability and ease of use of blogging software makes creating blogs a viable classroom activity and a means for teachers to communicate with other teachers.

A well respected New Technologies lecturer at UWA details, a blog can function as a reflective diary but it can also be the centrepiece of a conversation, since readers can leave comments for the blog's author and each other, forging connections and community around topics of mutual interest. Advantages for students include the fact that they are writing for a wider audience - whether the entire internet in a public blog, or a more restricted group of class peers in a private class blog - and can receive feedback, thus co-constructing knowledge with others as they develop their online personas. Blogs are commonly 'in conversation' with one another, as bloggers link to and comment on each other's ideas.

Now, I realise that this is not my thinking, but seeing I am new to both blogging and education, I figured it was best not to share my ignorant opinions. That said I am more than happy to receive other peoples thoughts, ignorant or not!