My Mid-Semester Statement

Mid Semester Statement

Through the readings and exciting lessons, my views on teaching and learning has changed and as a result the way I approach teaching has evolved.


A key reading which has influenced my view on Learning and Technology was Computer as Paintbrush by Resnick. The main point that I took from this reading was that children should create with the computer instead of just interacting with it. The key quote in the article to me was "Research has shown that many of children’s best learning experiences come when they are engaged not simply in interacting with materials but in designing, creating, and inventing with them (2006, p.4)". As a result of this reading I will now be more cautious of just getting children to interact with the computer e.g. typing or researching and instead get my students to create with the computer e.g make music on garage band or create a podcast. You can read my blog post on the main points of the article and its implications for me as a teacher here.

Another key reading during this semester was What is Meaningful Learning? By Jonassen. The key point I took from this article was that “For learning to be meaningful students must be willfully engaged in the task. In order for meaningful learning to occur the tasks that students pursue should engage active, constructive, intentional, authentic and co-operative activities(2008, p. 2).”As a result of reading this article, my method to approaching lesson planning has changed, in the sense that I will make every effort to make the learning meaningful by incorporating Jonassens 5 characteristics into my lessons. For example asking the children to question what they are learning and why and also teaching them in an authentic environment, For example if we are learning about the weather I will take them outside. You can read my blog post about the main points of the article here.

One final key reading was watching the YouTube video “Constructionism in the 21st Century Classroom”. This video highlighted the theory of constructionism and how it is being taught in the 21st  century. The main point I learnt from the video was that constructionism is the belief that children learn best when they design and create for themselves as this creates meaning for themselves and thus learning occurs. The key quote that i took from the video was " Seymour Papert believed that when technology is integrated with traditional constructivist activities children create for themselves new experiences and ways of thinking (2006). ” From this I took that children learn in a constructivist manner when they interact with the computer, which has also been highlighted in the previous readings by Resnick and Jonassen. In relation to technology in the 21st century children can learn in a constructivist manner when they design, express and publish work on the computer. Through watching this video and learning about constructionism I will ensure as a future teacher that i allow my students plenty of opportunities to design and express themselves using technology. You can view the video here and my blog post on constructionism here. 

A key blog post was when I explored my thoughts on social networking and whether it has a place in schools. This was brought about after my fellow peer Melissa Gray blogged about Facebook. Through this, I came to the opinion that social networking has a place in schools as long as it is tightly controlled. I came to this opinion after reading the article and then thinking about the advantages that social networking can bring to schools, especially Twitter and Facebook. You can view my blog post here.

The article also provoked other thoughts especially this quote “ Some educators say the social-media bans in schools are overkill and privacy fears have overshadowed the positive educational opportunities social media can offer students. They argue the best way for students and teachers not to fall victim to technology is to use it and understand so they can control it ("Teaching the Facebook Generation" 2011)”. This quote made a strong impact on me and made me think about things I had not thought about before. It highlighted to me that children should learn about social networking in schools not only for the education benefits but also to protect them and to teach them about how to use social networking appropriatley. This made me extend my thoughts further than just thinking about learning and also onto the welfare of students.

Some of the Key learning experiences in class over the first part of semester included learning about podcasting, twitter and digital storytelling. Through the study of podcasting in class, I learnt what podcasting was and how podcasting is used in the classroom. I became so excited after learning to podcast, I made one and also complied a list of podcasting activities This was incredibly important to me as it seems podcasting is used in many classrooms today. As a result of learning to podcast, I plan to incorporate podcasting in my future classroom in the many different ways that I blogged about.

Through learning about Twitter, my thoughts on its purpose and place in schools has changed. Before learning about Twitter in class, my thoughts were, How could a 140 character tweet be conducive to learning? But after being introduced to potential ways it can be used in the classroom I became so excited, I created my own twitter account and then researched and compile a long list of the many ways that twitter can be used in the classroom. You can access my twitter account here and view the list here. As a result of learning about Twitter, I vowed to keep my eyes open to using different technologies into the classroom and also that I will definitely be creating and using a twitter account in my future class.

Overall, this first part of semester has proved to be a valuable learning experience and has had an enormous impact on my thoughts on technology and how to integrate them into the classroom. I have also learnt to take risks and to keep an open mind on technologies and their place in the classroom. 
Reference:

Resnick, M. (2006). Computer as Paintbrush: Technology, Play, and the Creative Society. In Singer, D., Golikoff, R., and Hirsh-Pasek, K. (eds.), Play = Learning: How play motivates and enhances children's cognitive and social-emotional growth. Oxford University Press.

Jonassen, D. et al (2008). What is meaningful learning? In D. Jonassen et al.(Eds).Meaningful learning with technology. 3rd Edtn. pp1-12. Pearson/Merrill Prentice Hall: Upper Saddle River, N.J.

Pierciery, M. (publisher) (2009) Constructionism in the 21st century classroom [video] Sourced from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eEHZFd-QWQI

Macgibbon, A. (2011, 2, 28) Teaching the Facebook Generation. The Sydney Morning Herald Retrieved March, 2 2011 from http://www.smh.com.au/technology/technology-news/teaching-the-facebook-generation-20110227-1ba19.html

Image 1: Morgan, J . ( 2011) Brushes [photograph]. Retrieved from http://www.flickr.com/photos/24742305@N00/5557920490

Image 2: Pruitt, S. (2007) Free Dell Flamingo Pink Birthday Laptop [photograph]. Retrieved from http://www.flickr.com/photos/40645538@N00/1482848501

Image 3: Epsos, D. ( 2010) Wooden Sculpture of Science Genetics [photograph]. Retrieved from http://www.flickr.com/photos/36495803@N05/4370721677
Image 4: Pruitt, S. (2009) Free School Child's Hands Choosing Colored Pencils [photograph]. Retrieved from http://www.flickr.com/photos/40645538@N00/3387387075
Image 5: Jay, J. (2006) Exploring an Idea [photograph]. Retrieved from http://www.flickr.com/photos/16985707@N00/112404324
Image 6: Shields, L. (2010) iPad Dream # 3 [photograph]. Retrieved from http://www.flickr.com/photos/50064005@N00/5066006163

Mini-Conference Reflection

Today was a fantastic lesson in Professional Experience, listening to my fellow peers present their K-6 Educational resources. I found them all to be very interesting and all very useful resources that I will definitely use in my future classroom. One resource that really stood out to me was the Myths and Legends Storybook Creator. The Myths and Legends Storybook Creator was showcased by my fellow peer Melissa Gray. It is a storybook template where children are able to choose from a range of backgrounds, and characters and then fill the pages with speech bubbles or their own recorded voices to create a story. 

I would love to use this in my future classroom in the following ways. Firstly I think it would be great if you set it up on the Smartboard and got each student to come up and do a page, so the whole class would create a story together.  I would also love to use it in an English lesson to practice narrative writing or in a history lesson to recount an historic event or even for a maths lesson e.g. The life of  Mr. Multiplication.

I also think this is a great resource as it supports the characteristics of Jonassens Meaningful Learning. Firstly it is an active learning activity. This is where children learn through process. The children create the story themselves and input the storyline, thus they learn through active learning as they are creating the story themselves.  The activity also supports co-operative learning which is learning through working with others  and sharing skills. This would apply if the story was created together as a class on the smartboard. It also supports Paperts constuctionism as the children are learning through designing,creating and publishing their OWN stories. 

One final fanatastic aspect of the resource is that it is FREE and can be accessed HERE.

Constructionist Learning

This week, we were introduced to the concept of Constructionist Learning. Constructionist Learning was coined by one of Piaget's students Seymour Papert. Papert believed that when children create and experiment for themselves they draw their own conclusions, which creates new experiences and ways of learning. An Example of Constructionism is when children Design, Create and Publish their own work. This may include:
-Children as photographers
-Children as bloggers.
-Children as podcasters
-Children as publishers of newspapers
-Children making and uploading videos to YouTube.
The video below highlights constructionism in the 21st century.

My Digital Story

YAY, i have finally finished my Digital Video. I must admit i had quite a difficult time trying to work out how to use iMovie, but once i got the hang off it, i really enjoyed myself whilst making my digital video. So without further ado, i present to you, my digital video. I hope you enjoy, and please just remember this is my first ever attempt :)

TODAY Show Clip

Whilst I was watching the Today show this morning, i saw this really interesting report on Super size classrooms. In the clip, it showed the children working with technologies in the ways that we have been learning about in class. For example the students using podcasting to create their own radio station and making their own videos and uploading them to YOUTUBE. I thought it was interesting as it related to what we have been learning about in class. You can see the clip here.

Video Conferencing

This week in Professional Experience we had a guest speaker. The guest speaker graced us with her presence in a different way thanks to technology. Our guest (Carmel Burke- An expert on digital storytelling) made her impact in the classroom through a video conference. As i sat there listening to her speak  I was blown away for a minute by how amazing this was. That technology has allowed us to take geography and travelling out of the equation in connecting us to anyone in the world and still be able to listen, talk to them and see them face-to-face.This left me amazed and i thought how fantastic this tool is in the classroom. For example in my future classroom, we could communicate with classrooms on the other side of the world ( time delays permitting) and get a feel for what life at school is like on the other side of the world. We could also talk to experts on the other side of the world or people in remote areas e.g people working in Antarctica. This form of technology has literally opened up a whole new world in the way of communicating with people. 
Image Source: Cssidy, K. (2006) Skyping with Ms Marrinan [photograph]. Sourced from http://www.flickr.com/photos/57634636@N00/4936218669

Digital Stories

This week in Professional experience class, we learnt how to make digital stories. Digital stories are short clips, using photos and voice over, to tell a story. We were introduced to programs to use to make digital stories including iMovie ( for Macs ) and Photostory ( for Windows). I am currently trying very hard to make a short digital story on my own using iMovie (eeek, having a bit of trouble, but will persist). I am planning on talking about my primary school teachers who all left an everlasting impact on me and inspired me to become a teacher. Check back soon to see if i have mastered iMovie :)
Image source: Lee, S.  (2010) The Colourful Library of an interaction designer [photograph]. Sourced from http://www.flickr.com/photos/48973657@N00/4556156477