Course Reflection

I was delighted to view the ile@rn video as I was becoming concerned as I completed this course that the expectation was that their be technology focus that neglected so much of what is our core business. The fact that technology is a tool I am pleased to see has not been fogotten. The skills listed are vital and have their place in the world, let alone classroom, beyond technology. These skills also need to be taught from Kinder. Alot of the focus of the Web 2 are not useful for students before Stage 3, but before students blog or tweet they need to have had sound grounding in thinking skills that equip them to enter the world of social networking even for educational purpose. This skill base cannot be learnt overnight and is best learnt at school and home.

Blooms Digitally is a valuable checklist/summary of the skills/programs students can use and need to be exposed to, as appropriate. By, as appropriate, I mean that students would not be blogging, for example, just for the sake of it. The age of students as well as their skill level also needs to be considered. I have dipped my toe in the world of Web 2 but would not feel comfortable using all the items listed in Blooms Digitally. We are all on a leanring curve but as technology natives the students in most cases will be ahead of one like me.
It ewoiuld be appropriate of students to do mind mapping in Understanding and when collecting information in Remembering to organise data with Flikr. I am still not sold on the place of Second Life, but I suppose with the appropriate content its place in Blooms Digitally would depend on what it offered.

I have completed this course pretty much on my own as I am on leave this year and therefore was unable to utilise any learnings in the classroom. There is a level of trepidation about implementing aspects of my learning as a technology immigrant. I hope to surround myslef with colleagues who are willing to support and assist me integrate, as appropriate, what I have learnt into the classroom in 2011.
http://learningweb2now.blogspot.com/

Module 9

Scootle has a major role to play in the Primary classroom. There are lots of very good applcations available and they suit students age and areas of study. Making use of Scootle as a whole class (rarely) but in pairs and individually enhances students learning significantly. As with alot of these things, searching for the best available Scootle programs that meet student needs is very time consuming. Finding a way to share with other teachers would be a necessity to maximise Scootle's potential.

I am torn by the concept of Second Life. How appropriate is it to encourage students further into the virtual world? On the other hand if the virtual programs they use are what they relate to it is an appropraite tool. The concept certainly has enormous potential from what I can see but how relevent it is to Primary would depend on what is avaliable.

I am not a Facebook fan. I am a member but never use it. I have better things to do with my time! All the young people in my life (nieces and nephews) love it. As a way of sharing photos I do appreciate seeing pics of my great niece in London but that's about it. As for Twitter - I really don't want to know the goings on in the lives of others at this level, though the Twitter observations on the screen in ABCs Q&A this year were often amusing!

Module 8

Google Reader appears to be a very worthwhile solution for all the wasted hours one can spend checking out favourite sites for updates. The fact you can get a summary of titles for the new info is also a bonus. Not alot of sites in my favourites had RSS links which was disappointing. I will have to always check if I can subscribe and then make sure I use my Google Reader link to stay on top of the new info. Another good tool

Module 7

Finally I now know what my niece has been talking about when refering to the "Delicious" she created for Learning Support resources. I had been nodding politely not wanting to show my ignorance but now I understand!
What a useful tool. I have developed very basic coping skills for being able to access my favourite sites when not on my computer but this solves that so well.
In addition, to be able to access great sites from others saves so much time that is often wasted looking for good sites in a cyber world when there is so much that is not so good.
A very useful tool for myself but also for Stage 3 learners, particulalry, to access and share good sites. Being able to have both public and private links is also very useful from a teacher perspective.

Module 6

Two very practical applications. Fantastic. The mind mapping tool is excellent, easy to use and the students would be able to make great use of it across all areas of the curriculum. Even as simple as mind mapping the results of a class or group discussion and then capturing this to place in a Smartboard file to share easily with the class. Excellent tool for note taking too.
Glogster would be so motivating for the students. My last year's Year 6 would have so enjoyed the posibilities it presents when recording and then sharing information. Gone would be the old idea of projct like assignments.
I'm very impressed with both these applications.

Module 5

I find alot of this stuff very frustrating. It has taken me nearly an hour to remember how to blog!
Loving my ipod I have had a very basic relationship with itunes but certainly was not aware of the availability of so much through them. Teacher tube and the other sources of video can enhance teaching greatly. Opportunities for students to post their own videos gives much more meaning to creating videos which will have such a potentially large audience.
Not teaching this year makes this a little hard to get a practical sense of the potential of the things I am learning but it will all still be there next year.

Module 4

I'm disappointed with myself that I didn't finish in the first semester - ah well - onwards and upwards!
The Flickr capabilities are impressive. I feel sorry for the people who made a crust through photo development labs! If students had ready, easy access to cameras and could create pictorial presentations of their learning it would be fantastic. To access and share these with such ease would provide an audience that would give so much more meaning/purpose to their learning. Having taught Year 6 last year the idea of the Graduation CD could be taken a step further and create a record of their school years through this. Parents who wont allow students to have their photograph on the net would be the only issue.