REFLECTIVE SYNOPSIS OF ICT DIGITAL TOOLS

We are living in a world where we are surrounded by technology. Information travels from one side of the world to the other in seconds. With the click of a button we can access an array of information from anywhere in the world allowing us to collaborate locally and globally. Technology is at our finger tips, in our homes, offices, schools and even on the streets. Today, we all have access to some kind of technology, whether it is a smart phone, iPod, iPad, tablet, laptop, computer, TV, radio etc. Technology has become an integral part of our lives and it is here to stay, it is our future and we need to embrace it, so why not use it in schools?

ICT is the future of our children's education and as future teachers we need to learn how to use it effectively in our classrooms to achieve the maximum learning outcomes. It is believed that there is enough evidence to suggest that the integration of ICT into the curriculum in various ways can enhance students learning (Leask & Pachler 1999). The UNESCO, 'ICT Competency Standards For Teachers' module states that, 'to live, learn, and work successfully in an increasingly complex, information-rich and knowledge-based society, students and teachers must utilize technology effectively.' (p.1, 2008) The standards also state that the teacher is responsible for establishing classrooms that provide technology supported learning opportunities. As teachers we need to be prepared to use technology and have the resources and skills to effectively teach the necessary subject matter (UNESCO, 2008). This is where the Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) framework comes in. Teachers need to integrate technology into their pedagogical content knowledge, utilising tools that meet all the different learning needs and styles such as visual, auditory and kinaesthetic learners.

When I started this course my understanding of using ICT in the classroom was a very basic one. My vision of using ICT was limited to searching the web for information, watching videos and listening to audio clips. After six weeks of this course I can now see that these tools along with many others can be used in the classrooms to engage learners and meet the different learning needs of students.

This reflective synopsis will be analysing the various ICT tools that I have explored over the past 6 weeks. These tools include wikispaces, audio tools and podcasts, Glogster and Google Earth. The learning theories of Behaviourism, Cognitivism, Constructivisim and Connectivism will also be discussed in relation to each of these tools. In my previous blog postings I have summarised my understanding of these theories, and this can be accessed from  (Appendix 1). 

WIKI ACTIVITY REFLECTION:

I came into this course not knowing what a wiki was and did not understand how a web based activity could be an effective teaching tool. My perceptions however did change as soon as I took part in my very first wiki activity. The mobile phones activity was a very fun and engaging activity that took our classroom beyond the walls and into cyberspace where students from Gladstone, Brisbane, Rockhampton, Noosa and many other cities could all participate in the same activity, sharing their answers and thoughts on one page. Wiki spaces are a great example of constructivist learning. As the social constructivist Vygotski (1962) maintained, 'individuals learn within a zone of proximal development' (CQUniversity Australia, 2012). Students build on each others knowledge moving beyond what they already know and construct new knowledge, with the support of each other (CQUniversity Australia, 2012). 

The use of the de Bono's six thinking hats, tool was a great scaffolding activity as it guided and modelled the discussions for us allowing students to voice their opinions using higher order thinking and in turn encouraging deeper discussions. The scaffolding technique also made the activity clearer and well organised. If the de Bono's hats scaffold activity was not included, I don't believe students would have expressed such deeper thoughts and perceptions. Students would have just given simple straight forward answers. See Appendix 1 for my posting on the mobile phone activity. After completing this activity I can understand the importance of scaffolding and the learning outcomes it produces. 




DIGITAL TOOL 1: WIKI SPACES

The group one tools that we explored were Blogs, Wikispaces and Websites. I had already created and used a blog so I went on to create my first Wikispace and Website. To start off with I found these activities to be quite challenging, however once I had overcome the technical issues, I was able to appreciate their uses in an educational setting. I analysed all three tools in my blog. My reflections on blogs can be seen Appendix 2 in and my website reflections can be seen in Appendix 3. Although these two tools have many positives as outlined in my analysis i have chosen Wikispaces as my group one digital tool as I believe it is the most effective tool in this group. Unlike websites and blogs that have one author, wikis allow multiple authors to edit, add and delete text. Students can learn from each other and build on each others knowledge. It can be used in so many ways than websites, which don't really encourage scaffolding and constructivist learning. Although blogs are similar to wikis in that students can comment and give feedback to student posts, to me it is more of an online journal entry rather than a collaboratively created student project where each participant can own the page. I believe wikis allow greater scaffolding and encourage deeper learning for students. This tool supports the learning theories of constructivism and connectivism. Vygotsky states that, 'it is by means of language that the culture is transmitted, thinking develops and learning occurs.' (Leask & Pachler, 1999, p.200). Connecting and building on knowledge with other students using a wiki supports these theories.

I experimented with my wikispace to see what could be done with it, and you can see my wikispace in Appendix 4. A detailed analysis of my reflection on this tool and how I would use it can be viewed from Appendix 5.  With the TPACK framework a teacher can use a wiki to integrate both technology and content so students are engaged and are practicing higher order thinking with the help of teacher scaffolding, creating and understanding content at a higher level. 

DIGITAL TOOL 2: AUDIO & PODCASTS

The group three tools I explored were images, audio and video. Creating audio and video was not very difficult, however the challenging part for me was embedding and uploading my work to my blog and wiki. I wasn't able to resize my images using Mobaphoto as I couldn't download the program onto my computer. I created a video using iMovie and family photos I had on my computer, you can view this video and my reflections in Appendix 6. Both images and videos are great tools to use during teaching and can be scaffolded into any lesson through TPACK. They are a great way of engaging students and also reaching out to those visual learners. However, using images and videos of children does raise privacy and safety issues which can limit its use in the classroom, especially if parents are against it. Although both these tools are very useful, I have decided to choose audio podcasts from this group of digital tools. An example of the podcast I created can be viewed in my wiki (see Appendix 7) and my reflections and analysis on audio tools can be viewed from my blog (see Appendix 8). I experimented with a Voki and a Podcast and also explored voice threads which supports the constructivist theory. I find audio tools to be easy to use and can be used effectively in a classroom.  Podcasting has less privacy concerns as students do not have to name themselves and there are no images of students displayed (Fryer, 2012). Podcasting support the behaviorism theory as students are recording their voices, and maybe doing this a few times until it is perfect. As students practice a behaviour and follow instructions they become competent at it (CQUniversity, 2013). 

DIGITAL TOOL 3: GLOGSTER

Out of all the tools that we have been exploring since the beginning of this course I found this group of tools to be the easiest to work with and I feel teachers could use these more in the classroom compared to the other digital tools explored. I found Power Point and Prezi to be very useful tools and I experimented with them and created some examples of how I could use them. These examples and my reflections on these tools can be seen in Appendix 9 (Power Point) and Appendix 10 (Prezi). Both these tools can be used in all year levels from Prep to year 12 and also outside of school in business and  conferences etc. They are great tools to use that can combine auditory and visual learning into one lesson. From this group of tools I have chosen Glogster as my favourite. As a future primary school teacher who will be working with younger children who can be very visual and auditory learners, I believe Glogster can be used as a great online scrapbook of student work, motivating students to produce great work for their family and school community to view or for a teacher to present lessons in a visually fun way. It is very user friendly with the drag and drop function and has all the features of embedding and uploading as does the other tools. The benefit of using Glogster is that it can be setup as a private page where the teacher can authorise who can view it, this overcomes any of the privacy, ethical and safety issues that some other online tools can have. With proper supervision of what students are putting on Glogs such as videos, quotes from other resources etc. Students need to be familiar with copyright and referencing of their work before they can fully use this tool. Please go to Appendix 11 for a detailed analysis of this tool and to also view the Glogster I created. I believe this tool supports cognitivism and behaviourism theories as students view the glog created by the teacher they are processing the information presented and storing it in their brains. Through crating their own glogsters or adding to the class glog students are practicing behaviour that supports what they are learning. (Leask & Pachler, 1999)

DIGITAL TOOL 4: GOOGLE EARTH

For my final group of tools I chose to explore Google Earth, as I believe it can be used across many KLA's and most importantly is a tool that we can access easily from our computers, phone or iPads. It is free and easy to use, and allows students to view historic buildings, streets allowing students to leave the classroom and travel the world with a click of the button. Students can also explore other planets and also the depths of the sea. My analysis of this tool can be viewed in Appendix 12. I explored other tools as well such as concept maps and did find them to be a very useful tool that supports the theory of cognitivist learning as students write the connections they are making about a topic and the current knowledge they have and is encouraging deeper thinking. Although there are great online tools out there to map these thoughts I believe this activity can still be done effectively on paper and on the board with students. The use of Google Earth however provides much more for students.

CONCLUSION

In the day and age we live in the integration of ICT into our Pedagogy is essential and as teachers we need to know what is out there for us to use. This reflective synopsis identified a number of these tools however there is so much more out there that can be utilised to make our lesson more engaging for students of this digital era. As stated in the UNESCO standards, through integrating ICT into our pedagogy, 'a country's students and ultimately its citizens and workforce acquire increasingly sophisticated skills needed to support economic, social, cultural and environmental development' (p.8, 2008).

Using the TPACK framework in our teaching design will help us achieve the best results possible for our students and teachers. Increasing greater learning outcomes as students are engaged in the various activities that support the learning theories of behaviourism, cognitivism, constructivism and connectivism. 

APPENDICES:

Appendix 1 - Reflection of Wiki Activity & Learning Theories

Appendix 2 - Blog Reflection

Appendix 3 - Website Reflection

Appendix 4 - Wikispace

Appendix 5 - Wiki Reflection

Appendix 6 - Video Reflection

Appendix 7 - Audio Tools Reflection

Appendix 8 - Powerpoint Reflection

Appendix 9 - Prezi Reflection

Appendix 10 - Glogster Reflection

Appendix 11 - Google Earth Reflection

REFERENCES:

Scutter, Stupans, Sawyer & King. (2010). Australasian Journal Of Educational Technology: How do students use podcasts to support learning?. 26(2), 180-191. Retrieved from:  http://www.ascilite.org.au/ajet26/scutter.pdf.

Fryer, W. A. (2012), Tools For The Teks: Intergrating Technology in the Classroom, Retrieved From: http: www.wtvi.com/teks/05_06_articles/classroom-audio-podcasting.html

Australian Government. (2013). Cyber(smart:). Retrieved from http://www.cybersmart.gov.au

Student Code of Ethics. (2013). Retrieved from: http://horizonprofect.wikispaces.com/student+Code+of+Ethics. 

CQUniversity Australia. (2013). EDED20491-ICTs for learning design: online learning materials. Retrieved from: http://moodle.cqu.edu.au/mod/page/view.php?id=115326.

UNESCO ICT Competency Standards for teachers. (2008). Retrieved from: http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0015/001562/156210E.pdf

Leask, M., Pachler, N., (1999). Learning to Teach Using ICT in the Secondary School. Retrieved from: http://books.google.com.au/books?id=fNfSQd_c78oC&pg=PA189&source=gbs_toc_r&cad=4#v=onepage&q&f=false

DIGITAL TOOL 4: GOOGLE EARTH

Google Earth is an excellent, safe educational tool to use in the classroom. Many educators around the world are using it and the benefits and uses of this tool are incredible. An American Elementary and Middle School Administrator says 'We are using Google Earth to study geography, literature and culture in grades 2-8 as both a research tool and a creation tool. The advanced layers, the earth, sky, sea and flight features are being used by many. Now that we've used it, we can't live without it!' (Google Earth, 2013).

I have explored google earth for myself to see what interesting things I could do with it. I have taken screen shots of a few uses I have made from it.

The above screen shot is of the Eiffel Tower in Paris. Google Earth has pre-recorded tours of historical landmarks and so much more of course, that can be viewed. It also provides facts about this landmark which can be seen in the image. Google earth would be a great tool to use in a history lesson as students can see these historical places without having to travel around the world.

Below is another image of ANZAC cove in Gallipoli. This can also be used when students are studying the importance of ANZAC day, students can actually see where this battle took place and how real it was.

Students can view so much on Google Earth and I could write pages and pages of its use in education. There is however a very useful website which explains its uses. The Google Earth For Educators website has so much information on how it can be used in classrooms - they have lesson plans, resources, tutorials & tips,talk-to-teacher forums and student showcase. It is a very useful website and I believe I will make use of it during my teaching.

Below is my analysis of this tool.

ADVANTAGES:

• easy to use and navigate.
• Is free to use and can be downloaded onto any computer.
• students can dive into the depths of the ocean or explore space.
• can view NASA images of space and planets and take actual tours of these planets.
• provides interactive geographic information, weather, points of interest and services.
• students can view and travel the world without leaving the classroom.
• Google Earth can be used to support many KLA's including geography, history, literature and Art.
• The Google Earth Educators website provides great resources to support teachers.
• Google Earth has the potential to reach many different learners. The street view and panorama view allows kinaesthetic learners to find there own way around earth with the click and drag of a button. Visual and auditory learners can see and hear information on important landmarks.

DISADVANTAGES:

• to work effectively you need to have fast internet access.
• some images and views on Google Earth can be cloudy and not very clear in certain areas..
• every street is not captured so you may have trouble finding them.
• Does invade privacy as images of peoples houses and business are taken without their knowledge and can be viewed by anyone in the world.

EXAMPLES OF ITS USE:

• Can use it in a history lesson to explore a famous shipwreck using the shipwreck layer of Google Earth. This layer allows students to gain information on the shipwreck, its location and also a diving video which can actually show you the ship wreck.
• Another history example is using Google Earth to explore Egypt and its history. They can view the pyramids, the Nile river and other historical landmarks in the area. They can have access to images, videos and important facts that can assist them in understanding the historical features.
• Geography lesson: students can use the weather layer of Google earth to explore the climate across the world. They can note the differences in climate and seasons in Europe compared to Australia.
• The National Geographic layer can allow students to explore endangered species around the world. Google earth provides video footage and facts on these species. For example monitoring the Nautilis which has survived for millions of years. Scientist track the movements of these sea creatures to find more information on its survival.
• Students can use Google Earth to explore their local community by identifying point of interests such as hospitals, police stations, parks etc. Students can use the roads layer and map to come up with directions on how to get from one location to another.

Obviously as can be seen from my examples there is so much that can be done with Google Earth. Teachers need to be very familiar with all the functions before they present it to the class. Students would also have to be taught how to navigate through Google Earth before they can benefit from its use. It can be a time consuming task if students don't know how to use it. I believe this tool support the cognitivist and behaviourism learning theories. Students are building on their knowledge by seeing and organising information and through navigating and exploring Google Earth they are becoming competent uses of this tool which they an use in and outside of school.

References:

http://www.google.com/gadgets/directory?synd=earth&preview=on&id=547940477622

Google Earth for Educators, (2013). Retrieved from: http://sitescontent.google.com/google-earth-for-educators/

Group 3 Tool: Glogster

Glogster, what a fun and exciting tool to use in the classroom with students. I really enjoyed creating my first ever Glog and it was so easy to do. Below is my analysis of this tool.


POSITIVES

• An easy to design space where students and teachers can import text, videos, audio and images.
• A number of templates to choose from, making it easy to begin creating.
• Can easily change templates by adding other videos, texts etc. Can move object around by clicking and dragging.
• videos, audio and images can be uploaded from any source (web, computer) and you can search youtube clips straight from the Glogster page without having to open a separate page to search youtube.
• Great alternative to linear presentations like Power Point.
• Online scrap book for student work or a fun and interactive way to introduce a new topic to students.
• provides information and knowledge to student in multiple means on the one page creating greater learning outcomes for the diverse learners in the class. 
• glogster is user friendly and can be used by any year level with ease.
• can be shared by embedding into blogs (like I have done here), websites, wikis or linked onto these pages.

MINUSES

• creating a Glog can be time consuming for students especially if they are not very familiar with this technology or do not have access to the internet or computer at home.
• can be costly for teachers who wish to purchase the Glogster Edu Premium version.
• Teachers need to make time to closely supervise and review student work online to make sure the content reflects their own work, is not harmful or abusive in anyway to others and students need to know what sources of information are reliable on the net.

INTERESTING

• Teachers can create private virtual classroom by registering for a teacher account which allows them to generate students accounts with their login and password details. (Jarc, 2010).
• Teachers are able to monitor students work throughout the learning process, creating a safe learning environment for students.
• The educational version of Glogster offers teachers the added security of supervision of student work (Jarc, 2010).
• Glogs can be used in any curriculum area such as history, literacy, science and even maths. 
• It can be used as an assessment tool, where students can create class projects on the web rather then on cardboard.

Glogster are really a great tool to use in the classroom and having looked at example of glogs on the web I can see my self using it. As can be seen in my analysis above, Glogsters are easy to use so students would not have great difficulty in learning this tool and apply it. The Glog I created was based on a lesson from Sound Waves exploring the letter 'g' and 'gg'. I had my first prac today and during my observations I noticed that the teacher introduced the topic to the class using the whiteboard and verbally explaining the sounds the letter 'g' makes. In this scenario I could envision the use of a Glog like the one I created above. I think it would be a great way to introduce students to a new topic using videos, audio and images on the one page. It could further be used to display student work in literacy where students take a picture of their posters, story or poem etc and also record a podcast or Voki telling the story or reading the poem or describing their work telling us what they did. These two files can then be imported into the class literacy Glog for everyone to see, including parents and grandparents.

I believe Glogster Edu is a great tool that can be used in all year levels and across the curriculum. Of course like with any other digital, web-based tool students will need to be taught the safe and ethical practices of digital communications. Students need to be aware of copyright laws, and ensure they are referencing their work. The ACARA (2013) websites states that students need to 'acknowledge when they use digital products created by someone else, and start to indicate the source', typically by the end of year 4. The teacher will need permission from parents if they choose to use student images, videos and audio recordings in their Glogster. The teacher will also be responsible for monitoring student work on Glogster to ensure they are adhering to the safe practice guidelines. The added benefit of Glogster as mentioned above is that the educational version does have the added security feature for teachers to use.  It can be used as a private or public resource with only the classroom and families viewing it.

Any digital tool that is used online whether it be a podcast, image or video, wiki or blog there is always going to be privacy, safety and ethical issues that teachers need to be aware of and take the necessary steps to ensure the students are aware of these and to monitor the safe use of these technologies.

References:

ACARA v4.2. (2013). Information Communication Technology (ICT) Capability -Learning Continuum. Retrieved from: http://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/GeneralCapabilities/Information-and-Communication-Technology-capability/Continuum#page=2

Jarc, J. (2010). Trending Educational Technology: Glogster and Glogster.edu as an alternative to PowerPoint. Retrieved from : http://trendingeducation.com/?p=271

Glogginoggins, (2013). Pro's & Con's of Glogster: The Con's. Retrieved From:

https://sites.google.com/site/glogginnoggins/pros-and-cons-of-glogster/pros-cons-of-glogster-part-2

Glogster Edu. (2013). www.edu.glogster.com. Accessed 09/04/2013.

Group 3 Tools: Power Point

This week I also had a play with Power Point. I created two presentations which can be viewed on my wiki space.

Below is my PMI analysis of Power Point:

POSITIVES:

• easy to use.
• can embed texts, links, audio, video and images.
• Many themes to choose from to make your presentation stand out.
• many layouts to choose from when creating each slide.
• Can record your own voice and embed it into the slide.
• Can add slides at any interval with a click of a button.
• can create a storyboard in word as an outline and then can import it into Power POint to create an instant presentation.
• can be printed in note format for students to take notes on.

MINUSES:

• too much information on power point can disengage audience.
• cannot embed into blogs.

IMPLICATIONS:

• can be a time consuming task to create a very graphic and interactive presentation.
• power points are very linear in nature reducing the topic into bullet points and does not allow audiences to further explore an idea like Prezi does.
• people use power point to have something to present and deviate from focusing on their message.

Although there are some minuses and implications of using Power Point, I still believe it is a very useful tool to use in the classroom. It is easily accessible by everyone who has Microsoft Office on their computers. It is very easy to use and there are many great ideas out there on how to make the most of it in your classroom. 

Group 3 Tools: Prezi

This week I explored Prezis for the first time. I had never heard of it until now and was surprised at how easy it is to use and fun to create. Below is my first Prezi creation. The topic I have chosen for my presentation is 'Sea Turtles'. When viewing make sure you click on the youtube video I embedded into my presentation.





Here is my analysis of this tool using a PMI:

POSITIVES

• Visually beautiful presentation
• Not a linear presentation like a power point, you can navigate to where ever you like or choose the path you created when presenting.
• you can zoom into videos, pictures and words with your mouse like a magnifying glass.
• when zooming students can focus on what is important.
• you can easily embed youtube videos which can be watched directly from your presentation rather than going to a website to watch it like in power point presentations.
• can incorporate images and can paste them where ever you like on your page.
• can include background music on each slide.
• can deviate and explore concepts or ideas even further by adding videos, pictures, definitions etc. to further explain a point.
• a variety of templates to choose from.

MINUSES

• too much zooming in and out can make people feel sick and can confuse audience.
• cannot add hyperlinks to websites like you can in Power Point.
• when zooming in it can be a bit difficult to get the image in the right position on the screen. 
• Unlike Power Point you cannot record and embed an audio to the presentation. You can only add background music.
• does not have spell-check

INTERESTING

• Is an online product that can be accessed and view from anywhere.
• Teachers and students can now create private Prezis for free.
• Prezis can be reused as it has a feature that allows you to offer a copy to everyone for content re-mixing. For example students can play around with an exisiting Prezi created by a teacher, replacing the texts and images with new ones on a new topic. For example the above presentation on sea turtles can be reused to create one about Tasmanian Devils.

In conclusion I believe Prezis are a great tool to use in the classroom by the teachers and students. It is an interesting and engaging way to explore topics. There are many educational ideas on using Prezi in the classrooms. Here is one that I found on a website that has 5 Prezi examples to view.  It introduces colours to a class. It is fun and creative.

References:

Fractus Learning. (2013). Retrieved from: http://www.fractuslearning.com/2012/04/24/prezis-digital-classroom/. Accessed 02/04/2013.

Barlev, Y. (2011). Retrieved from: http://managerialcommunication.wordpress.com/2011/11/19/prezi-vs-powerpoint-which-will-come-out-on-top/. Accessed 02/04/2013.

URL: http://blog.prezi.com/latest/2010/1/24/new-release-features-educational-license-reuse-learn-center.html. Accessed 02/04/2013.