Photosharing

Jutin’s presentation on Photosharing, i thought, was very informative as i had only ever posted photos on the web through facebook and email before. The two programs that Justin showed us, Flickr and Photobucket were both useful in different ways as Flickr, like yahoo picture search, can be used to find various numbers of photos for specific topics. Photobucket however is a good program to use when wanting to record your photos or create an album. I would use these two programs for their different reasons within the class, as the students will be able to search for pictures and then using those pictures or photos they have brought in can create their own photo albums. Photobucket would also be useful to use as a teacher to create a class website and include updated photos in an album from excursions and the class.

Podcasts

Christina and Sarah’s presentation on podcasts was interesting for me to hear, as i knew what podcasting was but have never understood how to use it or thought of using it in the classroom. As i have already commented on Ipods and Mp3s, which incorporate podcasting i will just reitterate that i would consider using podcastiing as a teaching tool for myself but would not consider teaching it to the students as Ipods are highly expensive and we cannot expect every parent to buy one for their child.

Smartboards

The presentation on Smart boards given to us by Saran and Kate was very informative and helpful, as i had learnt to use Smartboards before but was not confident at all using them by myself. The girls were great in getting us all interested through an inspiration activity to begin where we had to show how we felt in terms of confidence in using Smartboards. I enjoyed how they focused on the main features of using the program within a class as i needed to know the basics before i used it within a class. Now i am confident that when asked to use a Smartboard in class i will be able to. I even included a Smartboard activity that i found on Teacher T.V in my Science eight week teaching program!

Google Earth

One of the final presentations of our class was about the highly popular Google Earth, and presented by Adam and Joel. I thought they did a great job in explaining to us how Google Earth can be used in the classroom, especially in areas such as maths or science. The demonstration of how we can find our university and houses through Google Earth was a good way to start us off and allowed us to see how we can use the program socially to find directions or places of interest. As I found out more about the different features of Google Earth such as the solar system information and the information on the distance between two places i began to understand how the program can be intergrated in schools. I would definitly consider using Google Earth in my science, society and environment or maths lessons as i think the features are a great source of knowledge for students and they can learnt alot from the program, however i would only use it in classes from year six and above as i found it quite difficult to navigate how to use it.

Search Engines

For the presentation on Search Engines presented to us by Kym and Tracy I found their information on the website Kidzui particulaly interesting as it allows children to search safely on the web as they can create an avatar and all the information is reviewed by selected parents and teachers. I found that Kym and Tracy had an excellent knowledge of the history of search engines and although i know of common ones such as Yahoo and Google, i never considered search engines that are created as a safe environment for students. I would consider using Kidzui in my classroom for the students to use when researching and for homework, as another feature of the program is it allows parents to add sites. Therefore if the students are at home completing some research homework their parents are able to add sites for them. I would however refrain from using the second search engine shown to us, ‘Zoebot,’ as i think the students would spend more time talking to Zoe then working and the site is only suited for a low age level.

Clickers

I found Chris and Rob’s presentation of ‘Clickers’ extremely interesting and entertaining as we were given the opportunity not only to learn about Clickers but also have a go at using one. I had seen Clickers on T.V shows such as who wants to be a millionare and Deal or No Deal but did not know of their name or the ways in which it could be used in a classroom. I liked the way Chris and Rob explained how the Clickers can not only be used for in class lessons but also for excursions and multichoice games. I would definitly be interested in using Clickers in my class, as i think it would be a great way to get the students interested and excited, it is better for the environment rather then photocopying, Easy marking system, and it can be used in either powerpoint or word. However i would only use the Clickers sparingly as it can only be used as multichoice and does not give an example of the students work to keep on record or place in a portfolio.

MP3’s and Ipods

This topic was presented in class by Denise and Hayley who focussed mainly on using an Ipod within the classroom. I was impressed with their knowledge of the history of Ipod’s, which they included a great video of all the different Ipods developed over time (i never realised how many there are!). After listening to the presentation i have come to the conclusion that i do think it would be useful within the class to use Ipods for reasons such as:

• The teacher to keep and take notes home
• The students to use as diaries
• The students to write notes on
• The teacher to save videos and pictures to for lessons
• For students to be able to send information to teachers.

although all of these are positive aspects of using Ipods, i probably wouldn’t use them within my class as i do not think it is economical to expect each child to have one and that students may use them in class to listen to music or play games. One aspect of the presentation i would have liked Denise and Hayley to include was more information on other MP3 players as i have an Iriver and would like to know more about what i can do with them for the classroom.

Teacher T.V & Keepvid

i found the presentation of Teacher T.V and Keepvid very interesting as i had never heard of either before and did not know of the many resources available to teachers through websites like these. I must say while listening to the presenters explaining the two websites and the way in which they can be used within the classroom Teacher T.V seemed the more useful to use. I probably would only use Teacher T.V in teaching as it is free and easy to use. When writing a lesson plan for my Science eight week teaching program i was looking for an interesting interactive whiteboard activity, i ended up finding one in Teacher T.V, which i have later used on prac.

Smart Boards & Pod Casts

As many schools now have a Smart Board in at least one of their classrooms, i found this presentation extremely helpful at informing me of the tools of both programs and how they can be used in the class. I found the Smart Board particulaly interesting as i did not know how to use the features demonstrated. I think Smart Boards are a useful tool in the class especially as it allows the students to become involved with the work on the board instead of just observing as we did when we were at school. I think PodCasts however are useful from a teachers perspective in that it is an easy way of carrying information, however i don’t necessarily think it ‘needs’ to be used in the class as it is dependent upon how many students have access to an ipod, which are costly.

Help! i need blogs.

  Hi all, i am a student at Curtin University and have signed onto Edublogger to learn more about blogging and to blog on my fellow student’s innovations.  I am studying a Bachelor of Education (Primary), my interests include…dance, netball, hanging out with friends and the beach.  Feel free to blog on my page!