Reflective Synopsis

Introduction

Technology is fast becoming a way of the future and a necessary resource for all. As the reliance on technology becomes greater so to does the amount of exposure required within the classroom. Technology is now an integral part of the curriculum. The use of computers within the classroom has changed greatly over the past decades. Computers are now a part of everyday life and used within many curriculum areas. In the past computers were used in isolation and seen as a special privilege. Schools today have access to computer labs, i pads, laptops and often there are enough computers for every child during a lesson. Blackboards and even white boards are being fazed out and replaced by modern interactive whiteboards advancing the technology within the classroom even further.  Students now may be asked to present assessments on blogs, wikis, you tube clips, PowerPoint and movie maker resources instead of submitting a hand written piece. The curriculum has added Technology as a Key Learning Area (KLAs) giving teachers a whole range of opportunities to showcase ICTs (Information Communication Technology) to their class. The use of technology aims at keeping students engaged and foster individual creativity.

The Oxford Dictionaries (2013) defines e-learning as "learning conducted via electronic media, typically on the Internet". E-learning is a combination of digital content, online applications, digital pedagogy and software tools that can carry out the learning outcome. E-learning provides students with the use of ICTs to create, enquire, communicate and collaborate through the use of digital tools and resources. Students must be engaged in meaningful activities that can be individual or collaborative learning experiences. We as teachers need to understand the content, pedagogy and apply appropriate technology. 

As technology and the world wide web become more accessible to students and teachers a number of regulations need to be put in place to ensure that the content being viewed is appropriate. In educating students on legal, safe and ethical standards responsibilities need to be taken. The Australian Government website called Cybersmart  has a wide range of information and resources available to explain the safety requirements of teachers and students when using the Internet.

Group 1 Technologies- Blogs, Wikis and Websites

The first groups of tools are blogs, wikis and websites. After analysing the three technologies I found that each contain strengths and weaknesses in regards to classroom implementation.  

Blogs are available and can be used for all school year levels. Blogs allow students to embed other technologies like images, YouTube clips and links. Blogs give students the opportunity to be creative and enables them to write in different genres and styles. Education Queensland (2013) states that blogs are ideal for communicating and reflective writing task. Blooms Taxonomy allows students to use higher order thinking through analysing and evaluating. Students may write individually or in groups when working with Blogs. Blogs can be scaffolded through the collaboration tools, for example, De Bono's Thinking Hats, PMI (Plus, Minus, Interesting) and swot (Strength, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats) analysis. Blogs enable feedback from students and teachers.

See Appendix A, Appendix B and Appendix C

Group 2 Technologies- Digital Images, Podcasts and Ditial Videos

Digital Images, Podcasts and Digital Videos can be used to engage learners in the classroom. The topic I have chosen for analysis is Digital Videos. Digital Video allows for the use of digital images and audio voice recordings.

Students today live in a multimedia world and need to be exposed to a variety of technologies within their learning environment. When teaching a mixture of text, still images, sound and video may be more engaging for the student. Digital Video creates opportunities for students to engage in higher level thinking when producing their own digital video clips. When producing digital media there are huge opportunities for learning within a school and for global collaboration between students and teachers via the Internet. Even small video clips can be very powerful.

Teachers and lecturers have found short digital video segments very useful in customised e-learning activities. Students find videos motivational and enjoy greater control over their learning (it is easy to start, stop or replay video segments). Validated digital educational tools can provide teachers and students with significant additional learning resources. This is helpful for teachers concerned about the work necessary to provide students with more customised learning.

Students may use Digital Videos for the curriculum area of Geography. Students can create visual presentations using images and audio to explain natural disasters, catchments, weather patterns and/or habitats. 

See Appendix D, Appendix E and Appendix F

Group 3 Technologies- PowerPoint, Prezi and Glogster

PowerPoint , Prezi and Glogsters are all applications that use communication and presentation tools to produce an interactive work sample. PowerPoint is the most common technology used in the classrooms for presentation and this is the topic I will focus on.

PowerPoint gives students and teachers the opportunity to easily organise information. PowerPoint also offers the students and teachers the ability to share, store and modify information on a given topic. PowerPoint can be interactive and engaging for students through the use of multimedia.  YouTube clips, images, Audio Voice Recordings and video recordings. By utilising the multimedia, for example, YouTube clips, images, Audio Voice Recordings and video recordings, students may become visually engaged and a positive learning environment may be created.

PowerPoint applications can be used in all KLAs and allows teachers and students to control the flow of information. An example of this would be if a class displayed difficulty understanding a particular a slide the teacher would be able to focus on the information for an extended period of time ensuring that the students understand the content before moving on to the next slide.PowerPoint could be used as an assessment tool for studnets when presenting an individual or group assignment.  

See Appendix G, Appendix H 

Group 4 Technologies- (Animations and Simulations) Google Documents, Google Earth, Google Maps,  Zooburst, Concept Mapping and Online Timelines

Group 4 tools incorporates Google Documents, Google Earth, Google Maps,  Zooburst, Concept Mapping and Online timelines. My focus is Online timelines.

Online timelines allow students to create content for others to use and learn from. They  and provide opportunities for collaboration. While traditional paper timelines were confined to the classroom Online timelines can be published, embedded and linked within a class blog or website, allowing students to view and learn from each other’s creations.

The tool that was used to create the Online timelines was Dipity.  Dipity allows users to enter events, descriptions, images, embed videos and locations. The resulting Online timeline can be viewed as a linear display, a flipbook of events and a title list of entries. Dipity timelines  for the integration of social media. Dipity timelines may be made collaborative by making a timeline public or creating a group login. Dipity requires a login with an active email account in order to be accessed.

Online timelines would be beneficial to use in all KLAs so students can highlight the key events for their subject areas. Online timelines would be particularly useful in the area of History where the recording of events assist students in the understanding of the past. 

See Appendix I

Conclusion

Technology has become an integral part of teaching and learning. As teachers engaging students by incorporating the appropriate ICT in a legal, safe and ethical standard is vital. The use of ICT requires teachers to monitor student’s activities as well as give constant guidance and feedback to ensure the technology is used in a meaningful and engaging manner. There are a number of different technology tools that can enhance the classroom and deepen a students learning. Providing students with the opportunity to use technology within the classroom will allow creativity, independence, collaboration and meaningful discussions to take place. Changing the way we view and deliver our teaching content through the use of technology will benefit the students and strengthen our own teaching practice.

Appendix's

Appendix A-  http://tbalderson.blogspot.com.au/2013/04/blog-reflection.html
Appendix B- http://tbalderson.blogspot.com.au/2013/04/creating-wiki-reflection.html
Appendix C- http://tbalderson.blogspot.com.au/2013/04/creating-website-reflection.html

Appendix D-http://tbalderson.blogspot.com.au/2013/04/image-resizing.html
Appendix E-http://tbalderson.blogspot.com.au/2013/04/hi-all-todays-topic-is-podcasting.html
Appendix F-http://tbalderson.blogspot.com.au/2013/04/movie-maker.html
Appendix G-http://tbalderson.blogspot.com.au/2013/04/powerpoints-and-prezi.html

Appendix H-http://tbalderson.blogspot.com.au/2013/04/glogster.html
Appendix I-http://tbalderson.blogspot.com.au/2013/04/online-timeline.html

References

acara, 2013. Curriculum. [Online]
Available at: http://oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/e-learning
[Accessed 8 4 2013].

Commonwealth of Australia, 2013. Schools.Cybersmart. [Online]
Available at: http://www.cybersmart.gov.au/Schools.aspx
[Accessed 4 4 2013].

Oxford Dictionaries, 2013. Defintion of e-learning. [Online]
Available at: http://oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/e-learning
[Accessed 5 4 2013].

Queensland Government, 2013. Queensland Studies Authority. [Online]
Available at: http://www.qsa.qld.edu.au/
[Accessed 9 4 2013].