Splash Splash Splash, loving it!

 I also love Splash ABC Wendy Corbett

   by  Luke Peterson Photography 

If you haven’t come across Splash ABC yet… do yourself a favour and go there now. I’ll wait for you to come back.

   by  Redfishingboat (Mick O) 

Told you I would wait. Fantastic isn’t it? Enter a grade, a topic… and hey presto! you get an amazing number of resources. Videos, websites, games, articles, audio clips, books, events…. it is very nearly endless. I used a couple of the resources and provided hyperlinks to them on my ‘unit plan in progress’ I even designed one of my learning experiences around one of the videos I came across. Not sure if this is what the markers want but I know if I get to use this unit plan down the track I would want the links there.

Anyway, just wanted to share with anyone that may have accidentally stumbled upon this blog. It really is a FAB resource.

How much ICT is too much ICT?

I came across an article today that you may have seen before. It is entitled “Steve Jobs wouldn’t let his kids use iPads and you shouldn’t either”. This isn’t the first time I read it and it got me thinking.

Am I letting my children use their ICT devices too much at home?

I have three teenage children, well, one is nearly a teenager by age but she is certainly teenage in mind. The two oldest have laptops supplied by the school (kindly paid for by yours truly) and we have a constant battleground in our home as to how much computer use is too much.

The constant temptation to skype their mates, play some game that again their mates are on (because you see, the mates have mums that apparently let them play games 24/7, not witchy mums like me that limit computer time) or just generally surf youtube for amusing cat videos is just too much a 16 and 14 year old male.

This is all at the expense of school work, reading or generally doing other things that teenage kids did before laptops were invented.

My younger daughter has an ipad and that too has become a battle.

I have used the word battle a couple of times now but that is how it feels. How did Steve Jobs, or indeed the other tech execs mentioned get away with no tech at home?

As pre-service teachers we are learning how to design ICT rich learning environments because that is how this generation are prepared to learn and as educators we need to suit our pedagogy to the students learning styles and prepare them for later life.

I would be very interested to see how the ‘Waldorf Schools’ operate that are mentioned in the article. A school with no ICT? And I would be interested in how engaged the students are and what effect the policy of no ICT at home and school has on the kids mentioned.

I still believe that moderation is the key. A balanced use of ICT pedagogies and other teaching practices is what would work for most. It does make me wonder though. What have these tech execs seen or know that has made them make these decisions for their kids

Assignment Two – Slowly getting into the swing of it.

 This photo is called A swing with a view. I’m kind of wishing I was there on it right now………

   by  schmollmolch 

……..but instead I am slowly getting into the swing of developing my unit plan but worry that I have gone down a too safe path of my with my unit on Grade 5 science.

I am currently exploring ICTs to use in my plan and am enjoying that. This course has certainly gotten my out of my comfort zone where it comes to ICT and has really challenged me with my teaching practices. I have explored Padlet and Edmodo as modes to share info between class members and families. I am hoping the task of designing a webpage is not too difficult for grade 5 students as that is the end task my imaginary students will be doing with links to resources and videos etc using Wix. I figure if I can master Wix Web-building then a group of 10 year olds will have no problem with it. I have chosen to go with the subject of science as I love it and can’t wait to teach it.

Back to it then.

ICT in special education

I have just come across Tess Wise’s post that talks about an interactive topographical map and how it can be used in education. I had seen the topographical map on facebook…. yes facebook, along with TED, one of my favourite procrastination tools, and was fascinated in how it works. While I was interested in the map, I really agreed with Tess’s statement of how some educational tools do not transfer to the screen well and no longer serve the original educational purpose such as the geo-board where the ICT version does not give the child the fine motor practice and the physical manipulation of shapes that the good ol traditional version does.

My mentor teacher on my last prac which was in a special school limited her use of ICT to a number of educational videos on the IWB. She believed the kids had to learn to hold and write with a pencil rather then on a screen and manual manipulation of real objects was her tool of choice when teaching the foundations of numeracy.

This takes me back to the first numeracy course and did with USQ as part of my degree. Manipulation with real world objects was a crucial first step in learning any mathematical process. We made resources and recorded videos of how we would use them to teach concepts. Watch my video of the use of an addition mat below

Interestingly, in my second course it was all about the ICTs in numeracy education with the development of a Webquest to teach and assessment students knowledge.

I guess a balance approach is what we should be aiming for.

A few do’s and a few don’t’s.

Again… I’ve been surfing. and I have found a youtube video that is certainly a Uni group assignment that I found thought provoking and worth posting. (I love to think that someone may stumble across one of my many assignments scattered across the internet and think it worth sharing and commenting on)

This short video identifies some of the pitfalls of using ICTs in the classroom. Not as a warning not to use ICTs though, just a kind of heads up.. with a few suggestions on how to mitigate these pitfalls.

I have seen each of these things happening in classrooms I work in and know that my own teenaged kids are guilty of some of them as well. How do we stop kids getting distracted by the screen when they should have the eyes somewhere else, like on the teacher. Screens at 45 is what many of the teachers use in the classroom I teach. It doesn’t always work though.

One of the many challenges that we face teaching in the 21st Century.

I’ve been at it again. Getting sidetracked by TED

I have just come across another TED talk that I found fascinating. Christopher Emdin talks about “Teach teachers how to create magic” This link will take you to 8 talks about inspiring teachers. All amazing talks.

Christopher’s talk interested me however as it was about engaging students, not with ICT or any fancy gizmo’s but with the mere tone of your voice and they way you communicate with your students. He suggests that preservice teachers should go into communities to learn how to engage with kids. He suggest that watching how a pastor preaches in a ‘Black’ church (his words not mine), how a voice change, a call for a response… all of these things can engage a student and take them along with the teacher in learning.

It got me thinking about how I might engage my students when I eventually finish my degree. I know the use of ICT and the aforementioned gizmos will certainly be used. I will be teaching in a 21st Century classroom and I am excited about using ICTs in my classroom. But I hope I can be as inspiring in my presence as the computers on the desk or the ipads on laps.

Just a thought… I’m going back to TED now to watch the rest of the 8 talks.

I cannot learn from Acronyms…. It’s official.

   by  -Xv 

There is a switch that quite literally turns off when I am confronted with Acronyms and as a result I am struggling with the terminology of the ICT course I am currently doing.

I struggle to remember what PCK, RAT, PLN or PKM mean. I get so confused that even ICT is starting to get blurred for me. I have never been one to study for an exam by remembering acronyms unless they spell out a word with meaning. So…. thank you Jenny for very nicely defining, describing and even posting a video about PCK.

Jenny’s post has compelled me to revisit some of the courses previous weeks books to get a better understanding and try to unblur the P’s and the C’s and the K’s and the L’s. I hope no one else is struggling to remember what it all means like myself.

Studying during the Easter long weekend- I don’t recommend it

 I’m feeling a bit like these three guys right now. Stressed, scared and loopy.  

 

   by  evris28 

But anyway, onwards and upwards. I was again surfing the net indulging in a wee bit of assignment writing avoidance when I came across another Ed Queensland Smart Classroom site about ICTs being used to help children with learning difficulties. Since I am doing both the ICT course and the Learning difficulties course I felt compelled to share it.

The article talks about a teacher that attends many schools assisting both teachers and students in the field of learning difficulties. Sounds like a facsinating job and she talks about how ICT supports these children learn. My question is for anyone reading this and who has time to respond….. the article says that “Mrs McCabe, an ICT pedagogical licence holder”. I have never heard of an  ICT pedagogical licence. If this exists I’d be interested in how you qualify. Maybe something I could post to the forum.

Great ideas everywhere

I was surfing blogs again…. everyone has so many amazing ideas.. and came across Leonie’s blog with links to a resource for Assignment 2. I am yet to get a handle on what is expected of me for assignment 2 but loving that peers are so generous in the information they share with others. Thank you Leonie, and the many others that share via their blogs, forum posts and facebook group page.

I will be sure to post and share any gems I come up with when I know what I am doing that is. And on reflection, what would we do without ICTs… I suppose we would have to go back to on-campus being the only option for study which would count me out.

A balanced view of ICT in special education

Ipads are a revelation to education, just ask most teachers… right? I love them myself but of course they are just one tool in what should be a jam packed toolbelt that a teacher wears in their vocation.

   by  kev_hickey_uk 

I delved into the use of ICTs in special education for my first ICT assignment. It was exciting to see how ICTs can used to communicate with students, families and be used to provide a more visual, auditory and engaging learning experience.

When doing a random search for ICTs in special education I came across an article in response to a 60 minute report on the use of Proloquo2go by a man with autism. I enjoyed reading this report as I feel it gave a very balanced view of the issue. We can sometimes get swept away with excitement when encountering a new ICT device. The reporter describes how the parents of the 27 year old man stated that before using the Proloquo2go app on an ipad, there had been no previous attempt or intervention to assist their son to communicate. As stated by the author of the article, it is hard to imagine that no other assistance had been offered such as a PECs book, maybe this app was what finally worked for this individual.

Anyway, I wanted to share this article. I know that I do get excited when looking at new ICTs and we sometimes get the feeling that they are a revelation, a totally new concept…. but sometimes they are merely a new way to deliver something that has always existed. A transformation perhaps, which is great, but it is nice to be able to keep things in context and not immediately throw out the old methods and resources we have used simply because it is not as flashy and doesn’t come with all the new flashy buttons and sounds.