Powerpoint Presentation

The Moon

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Another achievement. I have successfully created a powerpoint, uploaded it to slideshow and embedded it in my blog.

My powerpoint is an introduction to the moon and it's phases for year 3 Science. I found a great clip on youtube showing the phases but I have only put a hyperlink in my presentation as I don't know how to put the actual clip in. I'm waiting on replies from the forum for help.

Powerpoint is so different from how I had lessons in school. To be able to do a presentation with photos and video all linked seamlessly is great. Makes a great change from the teacher writing on the blackboard, showing some overheads and maybe playing a video (after wheeling the huge TV into the room). It keeps the flow of the lesson on track and to be able to research using books and the web gives a variety of information for the students.

I have employed parts Kearsley and Schneiderman's Engagement Theory as follows: students work in a group to research moon facts and they have a project where the students create a moon phases diary. This engages the student by having them really look at the moon over a month rather than just looking at pictures in a book. They use a table to record their moon picture - collating data. Further lessons would look at the moon's effect on the tides using the moon phases diary.

Access to technology for low-income students

There is one thing that has been on mind as I have been completing the ICT tasks and that is students that do not have computers at home and the many families that cannot afford a broadband subscription. By using more and more technology within the classroom it may begin to highlight the 'have' and 'have-nots' withinh the Australian Education system. The students that do not have home computers do not have the ability to consolidate their knowledge at home, so as teachers we need to be aware of this.

The education system needs to address this imbalance so that students do not become disadvantaged within the school system. I remember a laptop scheme for students? I think this is for high-school students, when really primary students needs this technology.

I think it will be important to set tasks within the classroom in relation to ICTs and if we use them for homework - ensuring all students have access to a computer out of hours.

Voki

Wow, this was actually quite easy to do and I enjoyed it. This is going to be a great tool to use especially for writing tasks attached to any of the KLAs. What child wouldn't want to write a story or report so the voki could speak? This tool will show the sudents that writing isn't just about books but that you need these skills for the internet as well. This would address DoL 1 Attitudes & Perceptions - perceiving the task as valuable and engaging the student in the task.

Vokis would encourage children who are poor writers to become excited about writing by showing them a real world application. It encourages creative thinking and easily combines ICTs within any of the KLAs.

Combining a voki and a wiki would be a great way to engage any primary class. I am feeling better equiped as we go to be able to integrate ICTs in my LEPs.

Wikis

The possibilities are endless and the ability to have group input is fantastic. I remember having to do a web page years ago at uni and having to type the format. It was so time consuming.

I think students will love this. Plus they can be as simple or as complicated depending on the students level of ability and still have a great looking end product.

This would be a great tool to 'Create-Relate-Donate'. It could be used for an ongoing research assignment that would enable students to update information as they progress through a subject. They could have a forum page built in to ask questions that their classmates could answer, which I could overview. They could post group work or individual work. I think a wiki would really engage the students to contribute in a meaningful way.

Google Reader

Well I have set up google reader and I am very impressed. I didn't know this existed - I love things that save time when you are using the web.

Blogs would be a great way for students to interact and a great way to encourage writing. I love the creative writing blog for the young girl. Excellent for engaging students who don't respond to writing on paper. This would ensure all students felt included in the classroom. I think I would expose my students to each of the methods and then let them choose which they would like to use. Some students are tactile and still like to use paper and pens/pencils while others would love web based writing.

This is my first experience with blogging. I must confess ICT is the one subject in this course that I am nervous about. I must admit I don't have a huge interest in this stuff. I understand the importance of using ICTs in teaching but my greatest challenge will be keeping up with the new developments. I love the web and the info you can find etc but I guess it's the social-networking side I find hard to embrace. I joined facebook but then I found it a chore to maintain, like it was another thing on a 'to-do list'.

I'm looking forward to gaining some new skills and hopefully coming out the other end of this a bit more ICT savvy.