Digital Storytelling

This weeks topic is digital story telling. I had a lot of difficulty viewing the videos associated with this topic, a few on going issues with my internet connection. But I know that I could use digital storytelling with my students for just about any topic.
Integrating the design and production of class videos into the assessment of my class is something that I would enjoy doing, instead of me telling my students a story it can be my students telling me their stories. Doing this would be a way of relating it back to learning engagement theory. The students could be relating it to their lives, their environment, as some of the example videos showed, expression of support for a topic like animal protection, or the telling of a love tale.
Students can create, use up to date technology to challenge themselves with the creation of a video, video is valued in real world situations because it shows the processes that the students have had to go through to reach that final state of success where they have designed, produced, edited and shown their skills and their thoughts in a visual and audio medium.
Students can easily donate their final product back into the world through places like youtube where comments and constructive criticism can be made. They can show their opinions on real world topics, war, famine, animal abuse through these videos, this is their story telling.

Going back to voices from the cape.....
One of the first things that voices from the cape says to us about story telling is that the story comes from inside of us, which comes back to the children telling stories of some meaning to them. It would be pointless to ask a group of children to tell a story about American Gridiron for example if they have no prior knowledge of the topic and no motivation to find out the information. Another point that jumps out at me from this video is that the children need to know every aspect of the equipment that they are using, there isn't much point to a child guided activity when the teacher jumps in half way through because the child does not have the knowledge of how to finish the project because they haven't had the opportunity to learn. Helping our students to learn how to use all of the equipment they may use is vital to these children learning to tell a story using a digital medium or just to film a video.
The points the I think I can use in my class are that the children need to have interest in the topics they are telling stories about and they need to be given the opportunities to play with and learn about the technologies at their disposal.

Updated Reflections on IWB's

Hi All,
In the last 3 weeks during work experience I have been able to see an interactive white board up close and I have been able to have a play with it myself. It is incredible what they can do! I am with a prep class and the primary use for the white board in this class is in conjunction with the learning places resources in relation to letter sounds. The children can touch the letter on the screen and it makes the sound that the letter makes, the children then drag it down to the appropriate word and picture and the computer then goes on to say the whole word. This may seen like everyday work for some of the teachers to be in this course but I graduated before the implementation of IWB's in high schools and I hadn't stepped foot into a primary school since I had graduated. The simple implementation of this technology as part of the transitioning in the classroom has opened my eyes to how simple it can be to use these white boards.

Thanks to Meryl I now can consider making my own IWB to practice with. This blog, shows you how to make one and I already have the Wii remote to have a go at it with.... any one have a spare infrared light bulb lying around?

I can't wait to get out and find my own uses for the interactive white boards, at the beginning of the year it can be as simple as the daily routine being crossed off as tasks are completed, rather then using paper. Gosh the possibilities are completely endless..... I just hope that in 3 years time IWB's are in each and every single classroom and especially in mine!

Something I wasn't able to post on Meryl's Blog

Meryl (Logging onto managing E-Learning, 29 March 2010), had an idea about creating a wiki full of quizzes and the like to gain an idea of student's learning styles before they actually come into the classroom or just very early in the year. I think that the idea she's started here is something to work on once we've graduated. I have heard of quite a few teachers who, once they are told who is going to be in there class send out letters introducing themselves to the children and ask for an introduction in return. In addition to your learning styles quiz you could add in personal questions, interests, hobbies, that kind of thing. So that on that first day of school you can have a reference to work from for conversation starters and you can have the best strategies possible for settling your class in. Gee that was a lot!

INCOMPETECH.

Royalty free music is helpful when your not huge on stealing other peoples music without their knowledge (eg, Limewire). For the world of legal downloads we have iTunes and Bigpond music. But if its not pop music or well known classical where can we find it? Places like Incompetech help us out here. They provide us with various length clips without copyright laws attached. Which basically makes it free music.... which we can use in a presentation to set a mood or to claim back a classes attention when their minds begin to wander. I believe that a great use for a few pieces that I have found is for quiet free time, soft music, like piano which settle and promote a calm environment. This kind of music is swear word free and my favourite pieces don't have words at all. Music in a classroom at a low volume level is also great when you have a disruptive class next door or work being completed outside your room. It will often help to block out the noises without distracting the students in independent work. Music which isn't from a popular genre won't have children singing or dancing along either.
I enjoy working with some background music as I do find that it blocks out the surrounding noises in my house, which includes the neighbour's dogs. I can honestly say that doing this helps me to work well.

Slide Share

I think that SlideShare will be helpful when it comes to using power point presentations and sharing resources with my peers online. As I have shown earlier in my blog, I can use powerpoint with ease. The previously uploaded video which is a screen capture of my presentation seems to be similar to the Slide Share uploader, I also had to record my voice over separately for it. Using Slide Share and uploading my power points to somewhere public such as the class blog could also show parents how technology has been used in their classes and would assist them with helping their children with their homework, especially if they can go online and find out exactly how the topic was addressed in the class. Even an activity as simple as highlighting the verbs in a sentence can be carried out using power point if it has been set up correctly. This can then be followed through with students writing their own sentences or reading a favourite story and finding the verbs in it for homework. The possibilities are endless when power point is integrated into the every day work in the classroom.

Sydney Opera House

opera house
Originally uploaded by ZelinaT

This can be used to show my students where in the world we are in relation to Sydney, the Sydney Opera House and the Harbour. It can give my students a real sense of where they really are in the world. It can give a them a true view of how big the world is, show them the building that they are in at the time and slowly zoom out to show them at each stage where they are, at the school, in the neighbourhood, in Bundaberg, in Queensland, in Australia on Earth.

Wikipedia

Wikipedia!
The online encyclopedia that anyone can edit! The difficult thing about wikipedia is that anyone can edit it. There is no guarantee that the information that you get from wikipedia is going to be at all accurate, as anyone including me can access the page and edit it to suit my own opinion and views, which aren't nesessarily the correct ones for this particular page.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mathematics_education is a link to a wikipedia page which shows us the basic concepts behind teaching maths. I always look for the reputable references at the end of these pages to find the most accurate information for assignments.

Google Earth

This is the first time that I have played with Google Earth, usually I just make the most of Google Maps in my browser. This allows me to mark places of interest and has a decent amount of zoom. I could spend hours looking at quite a few land marks, something that I have already done with the street view option available on Google maps. I have seen the Eiffel Tower, the pyramids in Egypt just to name two. I can take my students to the places I am telling them about. If we are talking about Australia which we are currently doing in my EPL prep class, instead of showing a single picture of the Sydney Opera House I can take them to it.

Utilising satellite images is incredibly easy, even easier if you are connected to the net and don't need to save what you intend to show to them.

Week 7

You Tube.....
You tube is absolutely brimming with videos of silly stunts and cats gone crazy, but if you look there are educational videos posted, you just have to find them. Or better yet, make your own and post it on you tube with appropriate Tags (which according to wikipedia is, 'a keyword or term associated with or assigned to a piece of information') and let someone else come along and find it.
Below is a video I found of children of different ages explaining the importance of HPE. Showing a video as simple as this could show your students that kids do like HPE, especially if you have a few in the class who aren't interested. From what I can tell it is just a few children telling the camera their honest opinions of HPE which would support the integration of HPE in the classrooom.

Picnik Photo Manipluation

picnik_new_sample1
Originally uploaded by ZelinaT

This is a photo which I have played with using the photo manipluation with Picnik.

Flickr Image

Lake Lanier North Georgia, sunset
Originally uploaded by Sayran

This is a photo from the site flickr, it was originally uploaded by Sayran and is taken of Lake Lanier North Georgia at sunset. This is a photo I have not taken myself, but can still use. The use of this photo shows our ability to web share a variety of different resources over the internet. It is amazing to have such resources at my finger tips.

Week 6

Video.....
Videos are easy to take and easy to utilise.
I can use videos to demonstrate activities to children or introduce new concepts. I can also use video to record my student's achievements. Taking a video of an activity and revisiting it later can show children how far they are progressed and what they have achieved as a learner over a period of time. As a child I loved being able to record something and watch what I had done before. Even now I love to take videos with just my old digital camera. While I was at school I had access to video cameras and a program called Final Cut Express which I could use to create some master pieces. I unfortunately do not have my favourite piece of work which I spent hours on, a documentary about anorexia which I proudly got an A on. Otherwise I would definitely be showing off my full abilities with a camera.
Video is just so easy to use, save and revisit later. I love it.

Flickr.....
Flickr is great to share photos with anyone in the world. The following blog entry is of a photo that i have used from flickr. I love the freedom of using other peoples photos and also of uploading my own for people to use and see IF I choose to let them. I can change the security settings on any of my pictures to make them private, for only friends to see if I choose to. In a classroom, I can create an online network with parents of my students and they can access the photos I have taken throughout the day. Maintaining security standards would be vital so that the safety and security of the students involved is maintained which is vital when sharing photos of children on the internet.

Picnik.....
The entry after my flikr image should be one which has been manipulated using Picnik, sent to Flickr and posted to my blog.
I have linked all of these accounts which makes sending these photos as simple as a click of a mouse.
Picnik is simple to use and has the basics of photo editing which is often needed on a computer but comes free of charge. These edited photos can also be posted to your facebook account for sharing with friends and family. This is very easy to use technology which I will be making the most of in the future.

Animations.....
Animations such as flash can be interactive and/or informative. The example of the frog is an interactive way to learn about the frog, its life cycle, etc. This type of delivery would be great for students who like to interact with the lesson yet it will allow for the students to rewind sections or start again depending on the type of program used.

As it says on Moodle, 'Animations and simulations are good choices for conceptually difficult learning content'. It can allow a 3-D look into images in a way that a photo cannot. Putting some time into creating an animation can assist with your students understanding the concepts of the subject and allow them to interact with it and revisit it later.