Wikis and Moving Image Education

Wiki's

This week we started to learn more about wiki's. "A wiki is a Web page or site that can be modified by anyone who visits the site," (Green, Brown & Robinson, 2008, p.24). From this input, I learned that a wiki is an online space that can be used by groups collaboratively for sharing ideas, working on a project together or in the form of a blog. We got the opportunity to set up our own Wiki within our ICT groups which we are going to use to communicate ideas with each other and share the work we have done individually to put together a whole group effort. We plan to use this for various tasks we have to complete as a group and in particular for planning our video and organising who is going to take on the research for which area of The Discovery story. One thing that I took away from the session that is important to remember when creating a wiki with a group you have to make sure each person has their own page to do their work on. Otherwise if more than one person works on the same page as soon as someone else starts typing the previous persons work will be lost. 

Although we covered wiki's in first year I feel I am a bit more familiar with using these having gone over this again and had another look at how to set these up. I think I would use these in the classroom when asking children to do group projects where they each have individual task or part of a topic to find out which they then have to put together and present to the rest of the class. However I recognise the importance of making children aware of how to use the software so would need to allow children to develop the skills and understanding of how to create and use a wiki during ICT time before applying this knowledge in another context.

Below is a survey which was done which shows a few different ways people use Wiki's.

References

Green, T., Brown, A. &Robinson, L. (2008) Making the Most of the Web in your Classroom: A Techer's Guide to Blogs, Podcasts, Wikis, Pages and Sites. London: Corwin Press, Inc.

Moving Image Education

"Moving Image Education is about helping our young people to question, analyse, explore and understand meaning of what they are watching and hearing," (Creative Scotland and D fi foe, 2009, no page).

This week we were given the task of researching Moving Image Education to find out exactly what this is all about and reflect on what we think about this. Upon reading, I have learned that Moving Image Education involves learning through things like cartoons, films and adverts to develop an understanding of moving images. Using these can encourage children to discuss what they see and hear. Using moving images can allow children to learn about different cultures and these can also be used across the curriculum in a number of areas.

The Scottish Executive (2006) supports the use of Moving Image Education and relates the use of this to the current Curriculum for Excellence. In this document on Moving Image Education they argue that teaching Moving Image Education can allow children to pick out features within film texts learning not only the vocabulary for this but then using what they have learned to make their own moving images through use of technology for example cameras. This can then be used as a context bringing in various aspects of the curriculum providing breadth with a range of subjects being covered and relevance linking everything together and making it all relevant to the context. These are two of the main principles which form Curriculum for Excellence (Scottish Government, 2009). The rest of the Moving Image Education document then goes on to relate Moving Image Education to the four capacities of Curriculum for Excellence. Within this they state that children become successful learners through being able to use the technology themselves and learn how to use this effectively.

An example of how Moving Images could be used with children can be seen in a programme developed by one of Scottish Screens lead practitioners Mairi Flood. She developed a model which could be used to teach children within the early years. In this children got the role of film detectives where they had to watch films and pick out features looking at characters, camera, colour, story, setting and sound. They then used what they learned to plan and create their own clip using photography and sounds.

This example and many others can be found online at http://www.ltscotland.org.uk/earlyyearsmatters/m/genericcontent_tcm4453413.asp [Accessed 28/01/12]

Reflecting on all of this, I think using films and focusing on Moving Image Education is something which children would find quite interesting. A lot of children will watch television or films almost daily so using this as a context I think would motivate children to want to learn. However the issues which may arise from using this is choosing films which the children will be interested in whilst also making sure it is relevant to what you want the children to learn about.

References

Creative Scotland and D fi foe. (2009) Moving Image Education.

Available online  http://www.movingimageeducation.org/ [Accessed 28/01/12]

Scottish Executive (2006) Moving Image Education and A Curriculum for Excellence.

Available online  

http://www.scottishscreen.com/images/documents/MIE_ACfE_for_ScottishScreen_email.pdf 

[Accessed 28/01/12]

Scottish Government (2009) Curriculum for Excellence: Principles for Curriculum Design. Available online

http://www.ltscotland.org.uk/understandingthecurriculum/howisthecurriculumstructured/principles/index.asp

[Accessed 28/01/12]

SMART Content Creation Training

On Thursday we took part in a SMART training session which allowed us to become more familiar with this software and open our eyes to a number of possibilities of ways in which we can use this to enhance teaching and learning. 

Here is a picture of a SMART board which shows the different parts of the Board needed to be able to use this effectively.

SMART boards are interactive whiteboard systems which can be connected up to a computer or laptop and used for a range of tasks. This board allows you to be more interactive as you can replace the computer mouse that would previously have been used at the computer screen with one of the board pens or your finger on a large screen. Whether you are teaching a lesson in a classroom or doing a presentation to the rest of your company, this technology can allow you to move around freely and interact with others whilst allowing people to see ideas clearly and learn effectively. When using this you can have presentations ready made up and place these on the screen and edit these including other peoples ideas or setting up a question and answer session through erase and reveal, one of the many features of this software.

The tools shown above are provided with the board and allow you to edit presentations or activities you have made up or create a new page which could be used for a whole class Mindmap. If using these tools with a group you can get other people to come out and write up their answers and ideas using the tools which gets them actively involved in the lesson and can give children especially a sense of importance.

"Think of a SMART board as a bridge or a connector something that is going to connect people with the digital information they need whether its to teach, to learn, to explain a complex idea, to make a decision. The SMART board was designed in a way to make that interaction as rich and as seemless as possible," Abbott (2010, no page).

Prensky, cited in Buckingham (2007)  refers to children as "digital natives" arguing that they have grown up surrounded by developing technologies. Therefore, he argues that children are tuned in with this technology and interested in what they can do with it. Through making use of SMART software you can allow children to be involved in active learning and learn using technology which can motivate children and engage them in an activity.

The main focus for this session was to learn about how to create lesson activities which were referred to by Anne Forrest as a "Bitesize of a lesson." During this we learned how to make up our own lesson activities and the features we could include in these along with where to access templates and partly made up activities which we could use and adapt. The training was very practical which I enjoyed as it allowed me to work through how to do things so I knew how to do them for myself as opposed to watching someone do it but not actually getting to try it out. We were able to watch each demonstration one at a time and then try it out for ourselves which worked best for me as we weren't having to watch how to do a few things and then go to try them out when we may not have remembered what we had to do and the steps to follow. Before the session I did not have a lot of experience in using this so I was not sure how well I would cope with this but through support from the trainer and being able to work collaboratively with a small group I was able to understand how to do things and how I could use the software for different activities within the class.

Reflecting upon all I learned during this session I can see the benefits of using SMART software in helping children to become engaged in a lesson and making the lesson more active allowing pupils to get out of their seats and use the software for whole class activities. The features available for lesson activities such as erase and reveal and the ability to edit activities allows you to put together what the children know and what their ideas are there and then reveal the facts. However although I recognise the ways this can enhance lessons I also recognise that this may not be suitable for all lessons.

I believe it is important to consider when planning a lesson what is you are wanting to teach and what the purpose of your lesson is so you are focused on what you hope the children to learn and how you can achieve this. When planning, I think it is important to consider whether use of technology such as SMART will help children in achieving what you want them to or whether you are just using it as you think the children enjoy using it. Use of technology may not always be necessary in every lesson you teach so it is important to think about whether you think it will enhance the lesson or whether it will not make any difference to what your teaching.

Overall, I found this session very interesting and as a result of this I feel a bit more confident in using SMART software. Through more practise of this and trying it out on placement I hope to become more familiar with this and try using this for lesson activities.

References


Abbott, R. (2010) Introduction to SMART and it's extraordinary products video clip.


Available online  http://vault.smarttech.com/demos/ipo/index.html?WT.ac=AboutFlash_ipoVid_111010


Accessed [21/01/12]


Buckingham, D. (2007) Beyond Technology: Children's learning in the Age of Digital Culture. Cambridge: Polity Press.

Social Media Tools

This week our focus has been on social media and in particular the use of blogs. During this we had the opportunity to create our own blogs which was something completely new to me and something which I have quite enjoyed looking at and learning about. Due to the fact I could not make the input on Monday I have had some challenges working out how to create my blog and get it up and running but through collaborating with others I was able to learn from them how to do different things . I also had the opportunity to explore the different features independently at home and was able to learn a lot from doing both of these. This idea of collaborative learning is one which is referred to by Vygotsky (1978) (cited in Pollard, 2008) and his view of social constructivism. Through this he argues that individuals have opportunities to learn more through working with others than they would if they worked on their own. Through working with others in the class and communicating with them I was able to see social constructivism in action so could see the benefits from this however independently exploring the website beforehand also gave me opportunities I feel to learn things on my own which I did not have to consult with other people about.

As I did not make the session on Monday I decided to engage in some reading to find out more about social media and how it can be used.

"And as we all know, when a teacher believes in what she is doing and is confident in her tools, well it rubs off on even the most resistant students. As reflective research-teachers, we must continue to circle back and look at how what we do ties into our long-term educational goals. (Ganley, 2004a) (cited in Richardson, 2006, p.45).

Reflecting upon this I learned that it is important that we as teachers evaluate what we have learned and think about things in order to encourage those we teach to do the same also. Experiencing this can allow us to develop ourselves as professionals through looking at what we have learned and how we can use this in other contexts. In addition to this we can also get a sense of how the children may feel when they are asked to evaluate themselves and their learning allowing us to give them the appropriate support and encouragement.

From this I recognise the benefits of social media tools like blogs which can allow you to look back on something you have done and consider how well you did and what you gained from these experiences. However in doing this I recoginse the challenges in reflecting continually and making the time to do so to allow you to reflect fully on an experience when it is fresh in your mind. You also have to look at experiences critically and break them down to ensure you evaluate fully what you have done. This is something which I think may be difficult to do but I am going to focus on developing throughout the elective.

Other social media tools which I am aware of and use personally include the use of social networking. This can be done through Facebook, twitter and so fourth. The main one I use is Facebook which I think is useful for communicating with others which can gain instant response through Facebook chat and the opportunity to create group pages where you can share ideas and organise events. Part of this also involves creating your own profile which you can personalise as you wish. Although there are benefits recoginsed from using these types of social media tools through the opportunties to collaborate and share with others there can also be issues with social networking. On sites such as Facebook people can upload any photos or material they like. This could be inappropriate but it is still possible for people to access it. This along with cyber-bullying and using false identities can all be issues when using social networking so it is important if using this with children you make sure it is appropriate and is monitored carefully.

References

Pollard, A. (2008) Reflective teaching (3^rd ed.) London: Continuum.

Richardson, W. (2006) Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts and Other Powerful Web Tools for Classrooms. London: SAGE Publications Ltd.

How influencial is Social media today?

Here is a video I found through researching social media. This clip contains a number of statistics which show how many more people now use the internet and social networking and how using these has now become part of peoples daily lives.

What comes under Social media?

Today I have created my first ever blog space. Here is my first attempt at uploading an image which shows different terms which can be used to describe social media and websites which are used for social networking.