REFLECTION 4  TECHNOLOGY FROM GROUP 3 AND 4

This week, I did a glogster, it can be found on this website  http://calljusticeleague.weebly.com/process.html.    The purpose of this glogster is to show the court hierarchy in Qld.  I am not a fan of glogster as I do not think the examples people have been doing show its true purpose.  I like to think of a glogster as an interactive poster where you can embed almost everything (no vokis) and students can interact with it.  As you can see from mine, there are videos, links, moving pictures and other images which are meant to not only grab the students attention but also help them learn the subject area.  It is a very good teaching tool if used appropriately.  However, there are a lot of negatives that I found when trying to construct this interactive poster.  The first issue is the technical problem when embedding youtube clips.  You cannot simply copy the link, you have to search youtube within glogster and find the picture which represents your video.  This is easy to handle now but annoying when I first started as there were multiple videos with the same starting picture on youtube.  Another issue is that if you have a lot of things in your glogster, it will take forever to load.  I tried to show 1 student at the school I work for it on one of the school laptops and it didn't even load.  Which brings me to the next technical problem, to view the glogster, the computer needs to have up to date java download, if the school laptops or computers do not have this, the glogster will not load.  Another issue which was probably the most frustrating thing about glogster, is when your glogster is full of information, it is extremely hard to move or alter individual objects as when you click on the object you wish to edit, it moves another one close to it.  The best tip I can give is you have to wait until pictures are not hi light with your pointer and then click your mouse to drag on to the item you wish to edit.  Sounds easy but is completely frustrating as the more items you have on your glogster, the less space you get to actually try and select the item.

However, people have asked me the great question.  If you hate Glogster so much, why would you do it for your other piece of assessment.  The answer is because when the students eventually loaded the glogster, I watched and observed their learning.  They not only were engaged but actually learnt the hierarchy.  This was why I did it.  The end result was the fact that the glogster worked extremely well.  I think my issue is that I do not think people are using glogster appropriately.  The examples I have seen from people have way too much interactivity and even me (an adult) got lost trying to work out what was happening.  Some of the good Glogsters I have seen are simple, it was not a poster full of pictures, videos and flash pictures.  It was a poster which had less elements but more effective pedagogy.  The way I summaries it is the same as when I teach the students how to approach an English assignment.  I look at glogster as a cake, I would rather have a delicious, specific, tiny slice of the cake than have a a big, fatty, over interactive slice.  The bigger piece may make me sick whereas the little piece, has the right amount of elements to make a smaller amount of the cake, worth it.  I use this analogy for English to show students that an assignment with a specific point is better than an assignment with broad information here and there.  

If I was going to use this poster in class, I would use it like I have done on the website.  I am a big fan of flow charts and this glogster can be used to create an interactive flow chart.  The students follow the arrows and learn through the videos about each different court.  I could also allow the students to make me a glogster about a certain subject area.  I have had visions of students making interactive mind maps etc.  The technology is there with glogster which is why I like the idea of Glogster.  But the issue would be that the students and computers would have to be ready for such a lesson.  

The group 4 item I chose was TEXT2MIND MAP, and it was simply delightful.  An example of mine is here, text2mindmap.com/r8Qu8C .  I did one for legal studies and it was a very simple program to use.  The only minor issue I had is I think people need to be aware of the power of pushing the tab key.  The tab key with this site basically grows branches for your subject areas.  If you simply write down all your topic areas without the effective use of pushing tab on certain words.  Your mind map will look like this, text2mindmap.com/mKaCdj .  A jumbled piece of mess which is confusing and silly.  I do not really learn through mind maps, but I know people who do.  I shall use this tool when I am teaching as it is really effective and easy to use.  It is also easy to load and get access to.  

I would use this in class when discussing new topics and then  when the subject area is understood, ask to another or add to the one they have done.  I would treat this mind map as a visual kwl table.  Another way I would do is pick a general topic, an example is Hamlet, and draw it on the whiteboard.  I would ask students to add to it, so they can see their ideas.

PMI TABLE

LEARNING TECHNOLOGY	PLUS	MINUS	IMPLICATIONS
GLOGSTER	IT IS FREE, STUDENTS ENJOY IT, CAN EMBED MOST THINGS IN IT.	IT CAN TAKE SOMETIME TO LOAD, ANNOYING TO USE IF POSTER GETTING FULL, COMPUTER HAS TO HAVE RIGHT REQUIREMENTS	A LOT OF SCHOOLS MAY NOT HAVE THE UPDATES TO RUN PROGRAM, ALSO THE BANDWITH COULD BE AN ISSUE
TEXT TO MIND MAP	FREE, SIMPLE TO USE, EFFECTIVE AND EFFICIENT	PERHAPS IT IS TOO SIMPLE, IT IS EASY TO “MESS” UP THE MIND MAP IF TAB KEY IS NOT USED CORRECTLY.	TEACHERS WOULD ARGUE THE POINT OF DOING A MIUND MAP ONLINE WHEN THE SAME CAN BE ACHIEVED THROUGH  A WHITEBOARD

SAMS TABLE

LEARNING TECHNOLOGY	SUBSTITUTION	AUGMENTATION	MODIFICATION	REDEFINITION
GLOGSTER	THE TEACHER MAKES A GLOGSTER WHICH STUDENTS CAN VIEW VIA A PROJECTED IMAGE	STUDENTS CAN NO VIEW GLOGSTER OFF OWN COMPUTER	STUDENTS MAKE THERE OWN GLOGSTER TO SHOW CONTENT KNOWLEDGE	STUDENTS USE GLOGSTER AS AN INTERACTIVE REFERENCE TOOL WHEN DOING A PRESENTATION
TEXT TO MIND MAP	TEACHER MAKES A MIND MAP INSTEAD OF USING WHITEBOARD	STUDENTS MAKE A MIND MAP ABOUT SUBJECT AREA	STUDENTS GET INTO SMALL GROUPS TO CREATE A MIND MAP	STUDENTS USE A WIKI TO CHANGE AN ALTER THE MIND MAP UNTILL THEY ARE SATSISFIED

        

Reflection 3

 

Visual literacy is an important literacy skill as students need the thinking level to analyse and understand the meaning of pictures.  We live in world where people can make memes and alter pictures to make them express opinions.  But I have always wondered how images can be used as a multimodal form of literacy to engage students.  Pictures have the ability to install emotion and trigger responses.  Thiabalt and Walbert (TW) suggest that the first level of visual literacy is basic identification of the subject matter in the picture.  an example of this is the picture below, it is a cow in a field.  A pretty simple observation with no level of critical thinking.   Even though this is an accurate observation can we analyse the picture me and comprehend a higher level of thinking to notice something interesting about the picture.  If you look closer it is actually 2 faces looking at each other. This is  mind illusion and is a clever way to promote critical thinking with students.  IT DID NOT EMBED FOR SOME REASON.
 http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=optical+cow+or+face&qs=n&form=QBIR&pq=optical+cow+or+face&sc=0-11&sp=-1&sk=#view=detail&id=C58A0A017C94DCCC39ADF79101B3F371FF110854&selectedIndex=3

 

I also had a look at the befunky website which allows users to alter pictures.  It is simple to use and it is free.   I have altered the Simpsons lawyer by using some simple effects.  I had a lot of fun with it and it was interesting the amount of effects.  The only issue I have is I am unsure what looks good and what does not, but I suppose I will learn from experience.

I have also used a variety of images on my website for http://calljusticeleague.weebly.com/round-1.html I have used pictures which the target audience can associate with to get there attention.  I have trialled this with the school I work for with some of the students and they say that they love the pictures as it invokes curiosity.  If I was going to incorporate images into a lesson (legal studies) I would choose a picture which has something happening in it, such as a person breaking into a car.  I would then incorporate the See, Think and Wonder strategy.  I trialled this with a few students with the image below and here were the interesting answers.

WHAT DO YOU SEE-A CRIMINAL BREAKING INTO A CAR
WHAT DO YOU THINK IS GOING ON- THE CRIMINAL IS COMMITING A CRIME AND HE WANTS TO STEAL THE CAR AS A GETAWAY
WHAT DOES IT MAKE YOU WONDER- WHY IS HE COMMTING THE PREVIOUS CRIME AND WILL HE GET CAUGHT.

I then explained to them that they are looking but they are not really seeing. I also said that how do you know he is a criminal, do all criminals look the same.  Maybe it is cold where he is from.  is it possible he is just a person.  He could have locked his keys in his car and trying to get into his car to get out.  Assumptions should not be made so easily.  This exercise worked really well as it allowed students to understand perspectives and contexts.

The next thing I looked at was Digital video, one quote i appreciated from the readings (Schwartz and Hartman), was

"A signature quality of video is that it can help people see things they could not see

before."  This is quite true as we live in a digital world we some students prefer the content to be more visual.  On my website I used a variety of different videos to get different learning outcomes, http://calljusticeleague.weebly.com/round-2.html  The videos on this page portray key court cases in civil law but they are different styles of videos.  the first video is made using GO ANIMATE, it is a clever site which enables you to make little movies to help students learn, or just for fun, the site itself is really easy to use but I recommend following the tutorial first. You can embed this into any document, your blog, wiki or even your internet page.  The next video is made using a program which i am unsure about but it a simple video which uses an old style feel to it.  I think it was made from students for one of their legal studies classes, they did a fantastic job as the explain a difficult case so simply.  The next video is a parody of a sting song but it talks about a famous case.  I thought the other two videos would help the students learn more but I have received more feedback from the parody as students seem to respond well to it and recall the information. One thing I have learnt from this experience is that sometimes fun videos or silly videos can help students learn, perhaps it is the silliness which makes them focus their higher level thinking.  But every student is different which is why I hav tried to use so many different types of multimodal resources.  To quote Merrisa Staansbury (http://www.eschoolnews.com/2008/03/26/analysis-how-multimedia-can-improve-learning/2/) multimedia is one modality of learning that can help students learn more efficiently when applied properly.  This is the biggest issue which I am having of what is appropriate and what not, i have the video below in my website, it is show what would happen if the rules of literacy would not apply.  I cannot tell yet if it is appropriate for my target audience (senior legal studies).  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2e-qB062bz0

In addition I made my own short video with goanimate.com, it was actually really simply and also really fun.  There is so much you can do on this site but it is free.  be careful with what type of video you choose because you may not be able to save as you will need to be a business member.  but there are still heaps of options.  I made this video below to help students with  what beyond reasonable doubt meant,
http://goanimate.com/videos/0QdEwdzPftf4

If I was going to use this in a lesson I would think out of the box, you could simply make your own video explaining a term.  But I would take it one step further, I would allow the students to make a short video showing or explaining terms or cases.  The students will learn because it is fun but they need to know the content to make the video.  I actually may do this in my website.  where I would ask the students to choose from the cases in a table on the website and make a short video outlining the key principle. 

The other digital technology is podcasts or sound files.  Sadly due to my computer being ancient, I have been unable to really experiment with making my own but I have had a lot of experiences with podcasts.  The combination of both auditory and visual literacy is a great combination.  The issue which I have with podcasts is I do not know how to use them properly.  I think they are boring, I need more than just sound.  Students will listen if the content is interesting but what about if it is not.  Relying on it alone is an idea which scares me a bit.  I would be more comfortable with other visual aids to help it get its point across.  I have been reading that podcasts are great to have in pedagogical content.  I see the argument as it would help auditory learners but what about those who have a hearing difficulty? What about if the podcast is in English language and some students do not have it as their first language? I think also there is a bit of technical skill involves with making a podcast and also the plagiarism that has to be considered.  I know I may have jumped the gun as I have not made and fiddled with podcasts this week, am hoping to do it at the university next week.  But there seems to be a lot of negatives and better alternatives. 

However, If I were to incorporate podcasts into a lesson, I would find parodies or funny podcasts f cases to help students learn.  There needs to be that element of attraction to just listening to something.  I remember listening to lecture podcasts, and I love them, but deep down I loathed how boring it was, and I am more a visual learner.  I struggled a lot with external classes because of it.  I would also let the students make there own podcasts when they read legal submissions, to show them how to pronounce an annunciate key words. 

BELOW ARE A SAMS MODEL AND PMI TABLE TO SHOW THE DIFFERNENCES BETWEEN THE TECHNOLOGIES THIS WEEK.

	SUBSTITUITION	AUGMENTATION	MODFICATON	REDEFINITION
IMAGES	TEACHER GIVES STUDENT AN IMAGE TO OBSERVE	STUDENT ANALYSES IMAGE AND FORM GROUPS TO DISCUSS WHAT OTHER PEOPLE SEE	STUDENTS CAN NOW MAKE IMAGES AND ALTER THEM TO SUIT THERE ARGUMENTS	TEACHER CAN POST AN IMAGE ON THE STUDENTS WIKI AND STUDENTS CAN ALL ALTER IT UNTIL COMPLETE
DIGITAL VIDEO	STUDENTS WATCH A VIDEO FROM YOUTUBE	STUDENTS NOW EMBED VIDEOS INTO THEIR BLOGS	STUDENTS MAKE THERE OWN VIDEOS	STUDENTS EDIT AND MAKE SPECIAL EFFECTS TO THEIR VIDEOS AND ADD IT TO THEIR WIKI
PODCAST	PODCAST IS PLAYED IN THE LESSON	STUDENTS DOWNLOAD PODCASTS FROM OTHER SOURCES	TEACHER  UPLOADS A PODCAST TO A BLOG AND STUDENTS MUST COMMENT ON IT	STUDENTS MAKE THEIR OWN PODCASTS TO PRESENT INFORMATION

 
   

 

	PLUS	MINUS	IMPLICATIONS
IMAGES	EASY TO ACCESS, GOOD FORM OF ICT, CAN BE MADE BY STUDENTS OR TEACHERS,	PICTURES NEED TO GET THE MESSAGE ACROSS, PEOPLE MAY HAVE VISUAL IMPAIRMENT, COULD BECOME DISTRACTING	RESEARCHERS BELIEVE STUDENTS CVAN LEARN MORE FROM PICTURES, IF YOUR NOT A STRONG READER, PICTURES CAN BE USED.
DIGITAL VIDEO	EASIER TO USE AND MAKE, STUDENTS LOVE VIDEOS, CAN FIND VIDEOS ON ALMOST EVERY TOPIC, VERY ENGAGING	HAS TO REACH THE TARGET AUDIENCE, OPEN FOR ABUSE OF TECHNOLOGY, POSSIBLE VISUAL IMPAIRMENT	VIDEOS ARE EVERYWHERE, VIDEOS CAN BE REWATCHED AND SAVED, CHEAPER THAN TEXTBOOKS.
PODCAST	ENGAGES STUDENTS, YOU CAN RECORD ANYTHING, STUDENTS LEARN FROM LISTENING	HARD TO USE, PLAYGERISM RULES, SOMETIMES BORING, A  BIT OUTDATED	CAN OBTAIN PODCASTS FROM AROUND THE WORLD, SBS ETC.  YOU CAN LISTEN TO PODCASTS FROM OVER DECASED AGO, BEFORE THE INTERNET WAS MADE

 

  


  



reflection 2

In this weeks activities, we looked at 3 digital tools for learning, blogs, wiki's and internet sites.  This blog will briefly go through each technology and analyse theme through the use of the SAMR model and PMI chart.  I also want to add that I never realised I used most of things until the other day.  One of our assignments in PCK is how to incorporate ict's into our assignment to promote literacy and numeracy.  These two subjects seem to run side by side and knowing that I am using the material in ICT in PCK, makes me feel like I am really getting somewhere.

The first thing I wish to discuss is designing a website, I am currently doing one for PCK and it is meant to promote literacy and numeracy through one of our teaching areas (mine is legal studies.) http://calljusticeleague.weebly.com/ It is only a draft but it is getting there.  It is incredibly easy to use as you can drag everything from the side bar, these things include, videos, hyperlinks, images etc.   The other great thing is you can also embed a blog connected to your site. However, I am unsure whether a voki can be embedded, but I am trying to do it in the next couple of days.  I think these days, all the information that you can find in a book, we can find online but now, with weebly, teachers can design lesson plans to really shape where they want the knowledge to go.  Students of today love the internet, but just because you can make your own website does not mean the students will learn.  This is the hardest part of weebly, it is not so much the functionality of the site its the design to make students learn.  I thought it would be easy but there are so many factors to consider, like, who is the target audience, is the information appropriate, are there too many distractions, will the technology be misused.  the making of a website is easy, the planning of it will show whether your a worthy use of this ICT tool.

How I would implement an internet site as a learning tool would be to use the website http://calljusticeleague.weebly.com/ to engage the students into learning about criminal and civil law, over 2 or more lessons.  This website is designed for senior legal studies classes as the knowledge is more than a basic level and some of the content may not be understood by the younger grades.  The home page is about getting there attention, I have achieved this with big writing and embedding videos which will get the attention of the audience.  I have used a lot of references which shall appear to both male and female.  if you click round 1 it takes you to the literacy and numeracy page where it has information about how literacy and numeracy is used in law but also outside of class.  I have used clever pictures and funny yet relevant videos of what would happen if literacy and numeracy skills were not applied very well.  If you click on more, the other tabs will drop down.  Round 2 dives into the content and I have used a Mortal Kombat reference to keep people intrigued.  there is a lot of content on this page and activities.  These activities can be answered in a blog on the blogs tab.  However, I also might implement a wiki into one of these activities.  I am unsure yet.  The most boring thing about legal studies when I studied was cases.  The videos here are different approaches including a parody of a famous police song to help students learn through humour.  The process tab is unfinished, but there will be a gloggster here showing the court process with questions for the kids to answer.  Personally, I don't like gloggsters, I think there are incredibly distracting and a lot of work for something which you could show with a flowchart or a yourtube video.  I have seen heaps of gloggsters and there all seem too full of information and it gets confusing and very distracting.  At the moment, this is the hardest part of my PCK assignment.  I am trying to design a gloggster which is effective but also not distracting.  Anyways, there are more tabs there, I wont talk about all of them but the other things I have embedded included an online crossword, an online multi choice quiz, eventually a PowerPoint document with more information.   

The other digital tool this week was a wiki, at first, I HATED THESE THINGS. but by researching and looking at other examples.  Wikis are an amazing learning tool.  The biggest thing I learnt is the difference between a wiki and a blog. According to http://www.teachersfirst.com/content/wiki/ A blog shares writing and multimedia resources and there are posts after each comment and is a good way to voice your opinion.  However, is similar but the key difference is other people can change what has been written on the wiki.  This concept may seem scary but it allows for more opinions being shared in a way which conducts a social constructivism point of view.  Information can be scaffolded to allow to have a collaborative discussion about the topic.  It would make Vygotsky very proud.  I have not done much on my Wiki but I know that you can embed pictures other forms of multimedia quite easily.  As you can see I have embedded something plus changes the writing.

multi choice quiz

http://makeaquiz.net/vc3fur

crossword

http://www.MyCrosswords.com/Demonstration/S0255536305345112.html

(the crossword may not work due to javascript issues with computers) 

The most important function in the wiki is the Widget tab, you can do anything.  It is pretty amazing, you can make a poll, insert spread sheets, slideshows, calendars, it is a powerful button and I shall upgrade my wiki next week. As can be seen by the picture below.  to make picture bigger just hold ctrl and roll mouse until item becomes larger.

 I would embed a wikis in my legal studies class to help the students prepare for a case.  I would set up a case scenario where the students would have to get into small groups.  The teams would prepare the arguments and submissions on the wiki.  This will enable them to read the information they have provided, chop and change information, make alterations, the students in the group will them see what changes have been made and can continue with their submissions until they are all finally happy.  It is a great way for everyone to check each other work.  Another exercise would be to have the students get into small groups and have a scenario where teams would have to try and negotiate or mediate  a problem.  Students can put up there offers, and then other students in the opposing group can change the offer and put a counter offer, they can discuss why the want these things etc etc. Until the wiki remains unchanged as the students have all reached an agreement.

I am only going to talk briefly about blogs but basically blogs can be used similar to a wiki but you cannot change what other people have wrote.  It is a great way to have a topic and let the students discuss the topic etc.   it is a good example of connectivism as students can learn more effectively if connected to larger learning audience and be able to comment on other people's opinions (Siemens).  you can embed so many things in a blog as can be seen from above.  They are incredibly easy to use and you can add your own personal touch.  The ultimate question is what do I prefer wiki or blog.  Well the safest answer would be it depends on the exercise but even though I am new to wikis.  It appears that you can create such a different style of learning which is unique, and you seem to able to create a online classroom.  A blog is an overglorified online version of Microsoft word or google docs.  It is still wonderful but still pretty basic.   I would incorporate a blog in the classroom in legal studies by having weekly discussion topics where the students would have to give there opinion and comment on others.  Below is an SAMR model and a PMI table which show the key differences between the three technologies.

	Positives	Negatives	Implications
Blogs	It is an up to do date learning tool. Pictures, videos and other forms of multimedia can be imbedded.  Blog can let students be creative Gives students a new form of opinion making.	Could open up negative comments on other students blogs which leads into cyber bullying. They could become boring if blogs are done on a regular basis with boring topics. People who do not have computers or have a weakness with computer could struggle They become not as effective with larger groups due to information overload.	A lot of school do not use them There are heaps of information online to make your blog fun an exciting. If done write you can scaffold knowledge through a blog.
Internet Sites	You can structure your own customised lesson plan to make as specific or broad as you need. Students love using the internet You can embed multimedia	Cannot be efficient if you do not plan it well.  Making it is easy, planning takes the chunk of the time. Students could get off track You may not reach your target audience. Leaves room for abuse online by students.	With the right school restrictions internet sites can be used appropriately. You can yearn good learning results if planned properly Be careful with your design and make sure it is following the curriculium.
Wiki	You can have your own virtual classroom Students can exchange information in a new way You can embed a lot more in a wiki than a blog Students can change what other students have wrote. Wikis are password protected	Students may delete other students work. Students may not take the lesson plan seriously an affect other peoples wikis. They are more difficult to use at first than a blog	Students can answer questions about a topic and get organised for events etc.  Wikipedia is a wiki (fun fact) Students can learn through scaffolding the knoweldge

	SUBSTITUTION	AUGMENTATION	MODIFICATION	REDEFINITION
Blogs	Students have a weekly topic which they can write in the blog, they do not have to use a notepad or word	The blogs stay online for everyone to see, there is no need for students to hand in their homework.	Students can comment and share other opinions on other peoples blogs	New media can be implemented into the media, youtube, images and other forms of multi media creating multi model delivery.
Internet Sites	Students can read information on the website, saves reading the chapter from a text book.	Students can now answer questions on the website on a blog you have created.	Students can watch videos and answer questions through using the new media.	Students can now do online polls, online multiple quizzes, online crosswords to answer questions etc.
Wiki	Students can read a question and write comments	Students can now watch or embed videos or other media.	Students can try an answer a question but now can alter the writing on the wiki until correct answer is given	Students get into a small group and try an negotiate a contract, the offers can be negotiated be each member of the wiki until the negotiation conditions have been met.