Reflective Synopsis

The world we live in today is rapidly changing due to the growth in information communication technologies (ICTs) across our globe. Countries are now operating as part of international economies and at any point in the day millions of people can be found accessing information, purchasing goods and communicating with others via the World Wide Web - a reality our previous ancestors would not have deemed possible! These changes have sparked massive reforms in the area of education, with educational experts, teachers and governments realising the need to bring technology into the 21st century classroom. As Prensky (2005) argues, technology engages students in meaningful learning and thus teachers need to be altering their pedagogical, technological and organisational methods to facilitate the use of ICT with their learners (Vassiliou, 2012). Not only does working with technology engage students, but it encourages them to exercise critical thinking skills, collaborate with others, problem-solve and think creatively as they make decisions about how to obtain, use and present information (ED.gov, n.d.). Hence, when teachers make the shift to e-learning in their classroom, they are equipping their students with the 'digital fluency' they need to operate successfully in society, as well as numerous lifelong learning skills that will be required for the workforce (Vassiliou, 2012).

Taking these points into account, this reflective synopsis aims to reveal the important considerations teachers must make when incorporating ICTs within the classroom setting, such as working legally, safely and ethically online, promoting the collaborative construction of knowledge and the use of higher order thinking skills, and ensuring appropriate pedagogy is applied to facilitate the use of technology with students. An exploration of four effective digital tools for the classroom will also be undertaken to provide a practical context for the above considerations.

Working legally, safely and ethically online

The internet provides a fantastic platform for teachers and students to take part in meaningful, engaging learning. However, there are also many risks that come with working online, including copyright laws, inappropriate materials such as pornography, privacy issues, stranger danger and cyber bullying (Fasso, 2012). Anyone who has worked with children knows that they are not born with a clear sense of right and wrong. They need to be taught what constitutes appropriate and inappropriate behaviour, and this is the same when it comes to children understanding how to work legally, safely and ethically online. Teachers must actively model to students what the correct behaviours for working online are and take the time to explain concepts such as acknowledging sources of information and not providing personal details (full name, phone number, address) on online spaces such as blogs, wikis and websites (Johnson, 1999, p. 2).

Please see my blog post on working legally, safely and ethically online for further insight into this important consideration. I have included details about teacher expectations in regard to providing safe online environments for students, as well as practical ways educators can teach their children about appropriate online behaviour.

Promoting the collaborative construction of knowledge and the use of higher order thinking skills

The incorporation of ICT tools into the classroom enables teachers to create learning environments where students can work collaboratively to construct ideas, opinions and new understandings about a concept. The notion of working with others to build knowledge links directly to Vygotsky's learning theory of social constructivism, which highlights that interaction with others is vital for enabling learners to reach new levels of comprehension (Towards Learning Creatively, n.d., p. 3). This can be clearly seen in the digital tools of wikis, blogs and glogs, where students are able to comment on each others' work, upload information to be used by their peers and even peer edit information that has been produced by their classmates.

In week two of our e-learning course our class was involved in a wiki-based activity which required us to provide our thoughts on whether mobile phones should be used in the classroom (view the wiki here). This was scaffolded using the 'De Bono's Six Thinking Hats' and required the class to answer a series of critical thinking questions addressing the focus topic. Through offering my own opinions and reflecting on the arguments my peers provided, my initial stance on the use of mobile phones was completely altered. Not only was I able to construct new knowledge from the understandings of my peers, but I successfully used higher order thinking skills to reach my conclusions as a result of the activity being carefully scaffolded.

This leads to the third consideration for incorporating ICTs in the classroom - their use must be scaffolded effectively to ensure student learning is higher order. For example, if the mobile phones activity above merely required us to go onto the wiki and post whatever ideas we had about the topic, the learning achieved would not have been nearly as meaningful or constructive. Students need directional scaffolds (eg: headings, focus questions), particularly when working with ICTs, to help them focus their ideas and get the most out of the learning. As Yelland and Masters (2007, as cited in Campbell, 1999, p. 92-93) conclude "Teachers who effectively scaffold ensure that students are afforded the opportunity to maximise their potential and use higher-order thinking skills to solve problems".

Please see my blog post on Using Wikispaces to read more about how this digital tool helps to scaffold higher order thinking and facilitate collaboration.

The importance of using appropriate pedagogy when teaching and learning through digital technologies

As revealed above, digital technologies have clear benefits for enhancing student learning. However, if e-learning is to be in any way effective, teachers must know the subject matter they need to teach, know the best digital tools for teaching that subject matter and know the pedagogies (ways of teaching) that best support learning in the particular subject area (Fasso, 2012). This is the basis of the TPACK (Technological Pedagogical and Content Knowledge) learning framework. TPACK provides teachers with a common-sense approach to effective learning design, emphasising that good learning experiences incorporate solid content knowledge, solid pedagogical knowledge and solid technological knowledge. Please see my blog post on TPACK for a deeper analysis of this teaching and learning framework, as well as a lesson idea that shows how TPACK works to scaffold higher order learning experiences.

Now that we have investigated some of the key considerations teachers must make when planning digital learning experiences, I am going to reflect upon four of the most effective digital tools I have explored throughout this course and their teaching and learning implications for the classroom.

Wikis

A wiki is an online work space which allows individuals or groups of people to upload text, videos, images and audio to one location. The uploaded information can then be accessed by anyone who is a member of the wiki and people can comment on the ideas or work of group members. I have personally used wikis a number of times throughout my university course as a tool for collaborating with peers to complete assignments. My fellow group members and I would each take a part of the assignment to complete, and once we had written our section of information or found some great research we would upload it to the wiki. The rest of the group could then either edit our work or provide comments about whether our research was on the right track (now that's social constructivism in action!). In the primary classroom context, wikis do not just have to be used as a tool for collaborating over assessment tasks. Teachers could set up a classroom wiki where students upload words they found in their daily reading that they did not know the meaning of, along with its correct definition. At the end of each week or term the teacher could copy the student definitions from the wiki and make a vocabulary list chart to display in the classroom. For effective learning to take place using wikis, teachers must provide students with a clear purpose for why they are using it as a learning tool (scaffolding). Otherwise, students may misuse the wiki as a place to upload meaningless and off-task information. Please see my blog post about wikis which contains a PMI of the benefits and limitations of this tool, as well as additional practical ideas for using wikis in the classroom.

Digital Videos

The world today is a visually stimulating place. We find images and video footage on our internet screens, television screens and in our favourite magazines. For our students to function successfully in society, they need to be able to interpret these visual medias and make meaning from them. Having students create digital videos is an effective way of not only developing digital and visual literacy skills, but also higher order thinking skills. This is because students are required to decide on how to make images, footage, music, text and audio work together to create a video that successfully conveys meaning. Furthermore, when students collaborate to produce digital videos they are exercising the ability to work as a team and communicate with others. Using digital videos as a way of teaching a concept can also be deemed as effective, because videos convey information through a variety of ways (visual, auditory, text etc). This would ensure the majority of learners in my class could access important information in their preferred learning style, and all at the same time! (Please see my blog post on the importance of teachers knowing their students learning styles and how ICTs can help teachers cater for them - Learning Styles).

Prior to undertaking this course I had not had a lot of experience with using digital videos in both a personal context or as part of classroom learning. However, now that I have discovered the lifelong learning skills that can be developed from engaging with such a digital tool, there is no doubt in my mind that I will be using videoing with my future students! Please see my blog post on digital videos to see a PMI of this digital tool's benefits and limitations, as well as some innovative ways of using digital videoing to support learning in both upper and lower primary classrooms - Digital Videos.

Glogster

Creative thinking is one of the key capabilities the Australian Curriculum states students need to be developing as a result of learning across all KLAs (ACARA, n.d.). The digital tool of Glogster is an online poster-making/scrapbooking tool that does just this - it provides students with a means of presenting information in a creative way and can be used to facilitate learning in any KLA. To make a 'glog', learners upload images, text, audio files or video files onto their main poster background and then arrange those pieces of information in whatever fashion they like. This is certainly an alternative to the cardboard poster idea, with teachers not having to provide a plethora of stationery items for students to work with. Furthermore, a glog can serve as a fantastic organisational tool for learners who struggle to coordinate their ideas when completing lengthy assignments. Students could simply upload all of their ideas/research onto a glog, sort through those ideas to see what ones best address the task and then delete the research that is no longer needed. This leaves them with a clear scaffold for completing their assignment.

The use of Glogster as a learning tool must be carefully scaffolded by teachers, as it would be very easy for the design element of this program to take precedence over learning in the hands of students without clear direction. The possibilities for using Glogster are truly endless, but one idea I came up with was for a lower primary classroom (Prep to Year 1). To help young learners explore the idea of 'self', the teacher could have them create a glog poster of all of the things they like and what makes them who they are (Eg: Riding a bike, watermelon, singing , red hair etc.). As the learners are very young, the teacher would need to provide explicit teaching about how to use the program. However, it is certainly a digital tool they would be a able to use independently with a little practise. Please see my blog post on Glogster to see a PMI of further benefits and limitations to this tool, as well as additional practical ideas for incorporating glogs into classroom learning.

Google Earth

In a world where technology has made it possible to interact with others on a global scale, it is vital that students are equipped with the skills they need to operate as global citizens. What are these skills? Two that stand out are having an understanding of the location of different places on Earth and what those places look like geographically (landscape, city size etc.). Google Earth is an online software application powered by Google which allows users to view satellite images of anywhere on the earth. Consequently, this enables students to develop an understanding of both the location and geographical makeup of certain areas. This is not its only function however! Google Earth can aid learning in a number of KLAs, one being Maths. The program contains a 'ruler' tool which allows the user to measure the width, height and length of certain objects on the earth (eg: a house), thus providing students with an engaging way of exploring and practising measurement. Learners could work in groups to zoom in on a satellite image of familiar places, such as the school oval, and use the ruler tool to determine its dimensions. One drawback of Google Earth is that it usually requires fast internet connection to ensure it successfully operates. This is something teachers would need to look into before attempting to use it with a class of students. Please see my blog post on Google Earth for a PMI of further benefits and limitations to this tool, as well as a number of practical ways to use Google Earth for learning in different KLAs.

Through participating in this e-learning course my eyes have been opened to a number of digital tools that can be used to facilitate meaningful learning across all KLAs. Digital tools such as wikis, videos, glogs and Google Earth have the power to develop higher order thinking skills, creativity, collaboration, critical thinking, contextualised learning and an awareness of how to work legally, safely and ethically online. These are the reasons why I will endeavour to use such powerful technologies in my future classrooms. The world our students are growing up in is one that is driven by technology, and thus my role as a teacher must be to embrace the use of ICTs within the classroom. Not only as an effort to ensure my students are engaged in classroom learning, but to ensure they have the digital fluency to successfully operate in society.

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References:

1. Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA).(n.d.). The Australian curriculum: General capabilities: Critical and creative thinking. Retrieved from http://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/GeneralCapabilities/Critical-and-creative-thinking/Introduction/Critical-and-creative-thinking-across-the-curriculum

2. Campbell, C. (1999). The role of the internet in the primary school classroom: From a learning and teaching perspective. Retrieved from http://researchonline.nd.edu.au/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1000&context=edu_books

3. Fasso, W. (2012). The TPACK framework. Retrieved from CQUniversity e-courses, FAHE11001 Managing E-Learning, http://e-courses.cqu.edu.au

4. Fasso, W. (2012). Working legally, safely and ethically online: The issues. Retrieved from CQUniversity e-courses, FAHE11001 Managing E-Learning, http://e-courses.cqu.edu.au

5. Johnson, D. (1999). Handout for teaching students right from wrong in the digital age. Retrieved from http://www.janinelim.com/bc/4thur/ethics.pdf

6. Prensky, M. (2005). "Engage me or enrage me": What today's learners demand. Retrieved from http://net.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/erm0553.pdf

7. Towards Learning Creatively (TLC). (n.d.). Link to learning and teaching theories: Social development and peer assessment. Retrieved from http://www.creativeassessment.org.uk/asstheory/documents/LinktoLearningandTeaching Theoriespracticalthree.pdf

8. U.S. Department of Education (Ed.gov). (n.d). Effects of technology on classrooms and students. Retrieved from http://www2.ed.gov/pubs/EdReformStudies/EdTech/effectsstudents.html

9. Vassiliou, A. (2012, June 3). Opening up education for new technologies - Changing teaching and learning through ICT [Web log message]. Retrieved from http://www.neurope.eu/blog/opening-education-new-technologies-changing-teaching-and- learning-through-ict

Image Acknowledgement:

Teacher and Students at Computer - http://newsletter.schoolbox.com/2011/12/14/get-out-the-pre-holiday-wiggles-aka-keeping-your-students-attention-in-december/

Week 5 - Google Earth

Google Earth is part of the Group 4 digital tools for e-learning and as I have discovered, is worth its weight in gold as a classroom resource. Google Earth is an online software application powered by Google which allows you to view satellite images of anywhere on the earth. If you have access to the internet you can download Google Earth from Google for free! This means all schools should easily be able to get their hands on this digital tool.

Once in Google Earth, you are able to search for different locations you would like to 'zoom' to on the earth. Within a matter of seconds (depending on how fast your internet connection goes!) your computer screen will be zoomed in on the country, city or landmark you searched for. Here is a screen shot of where I used Google Earth to see what the Egyptian capital city of Cairo looks like.

Initially I had very limited knowledge of what this part of the world looks like - I thought Cairo was a tiny town in the middle of the Egyptian desert with a couple of pyramids surrounding it! As the Google Earth satellite image shows however, it is certainly not a tiny town, but a very large and densely populated city! Thus, Google Earth has clear applications for helping students to develop global awareness (having an understanding of what countries look like geographically and where they are located on the earth).

Google Earth has several other functions which can enhance learning across the KLAs. One of these functions is the 'Ruler' tool which can be found in the 'Tools' tab. I used this tool with my students last year on prac when we were learning about measurement. Using Google Earth on the interactive whiteboard, I was able to zoom in on the school tennis courts. From here, the class and I worked together using the ruler tool to find the width and length measurements of the tennis courts. This really engaged the students in the concept of measurement because they were getting to measure something they were familiar with (learning in context) and using the internet to do it! Here is a screen shot of the tennis courts we used.

One more function of Google Earth I want to elaborate on is the 'Sunlight Across the Landscape' button at the top of screen (the button has an image of a sun coming out of the clouds). This tool actually shows what parts of the earth are in sunlight (day) and what parts of the earth are in darkness (night). This would be a perfect tool to use in the KLA of science (Earth and Space Sciences) for teaching the concept of 'night and day' to students. Learners can rotate the earth to physically see what parts of the world are experiencing night and day, helping to remedy common student misconceptions such as 'Everywhere on earth experiences night and day at the same time'. Here is a screen shot of how Google Earth shows the world experiencing night and day.

Here is a PMI of the benefits, limitations and interesting things about Google Earth.

Plus:

Students can become 'globally aware' through getting to view satellite images of what different parts of the world look like

Google Earth contains a number of handy functions that facilitate learning in different KLAs (eg: 'Ruler' tool for measurement in Maths and 'Sunlight' button for exploring night and day in Science)

Can be used to find directions from one location to another

It is an engaging and interactive tool for learners

Google Earth is free for anyone to download

Minus:

Some of the satellite images of parts of the earth are not detailed (can't be zoomed in on)

Some of the satellite images are outdated and don't show the most recent development in places (are 5 or more years old)

A fast internet connection is required to ensure Google Earth works effectively (it will take forever to load satellite images if the internet is slow, wasting valuable class time!)

A moderate level of technological literacy is needed for learners to operate this program independently.

Interesting:

Google Earth contains a fantastic function called 'Street View'. Street View is where you can zoom into a city or town so closely that you can physically see what their streets look like - it is as though you are walking down the street in that particular place! (Mindboggling stuff people!!!). I can see this function being particularly helpful in a unit of work exploring different countries and what it would be like to live in those places around the world. I used Google Earth to zoom in on a street in Amsterdam in the Netherlands and also to zoom in on a street in Bundaberg, Australia. By taking a screen shot (using the 'Snipping' tool on my computer) of both of these street views, you can see below the difference in housing between these two places.

Amsterdam - The Netherlands

Bundaberg - Australia

This clearly helps students to see that not all people live in the same way as we do here in Australia! Thus, overall I believe this exploration of Google Earth has shown what an invaluable learning tool it can be for the classroom. In a world where our students must become global citizens to function effectively in society, Google Earth is a sure piece of online software to help them on their way!

Thanks guys :) talk soon!

Sarah

Week 5 - Glogster!

Glogster is one of the Group 3 digital tools to be explored as part of our e-learning course. From the moment I read about Glogster on Moodle I could automatically see the benefits of using such a tool in the classroom! Essentially, Glogster is an online poster making/scrapbooking site which allows users to upload images, text, audio and videos onto a pinboard-like screen. You can then arrange the uploaded files on the screen in whatever fashion you like. To give you an example of what I mean, I have embedded a glog that I made about the topic of Reptiles.

Please click on this link if you would like to view the Reptiles glog in full screen mode - Reptiles Glogster Page.

Pretty cool huh? :) The great thing about creating a glog is that it enables you to display information in an incredibly CREATIVE way. You can add frames around your uploaded images, change the colour of your text boxes, choose from a plethora of font styles and font colours and probably the best part of all - your information isn't restricted to being organised in a linear fashion, it can be placed around your glog page in whatever way you like. This tool would clearly benefit visual learners as glogs are a visual way of presenting information. Furthermore, it would also benefit learners who think 'globally' and need to have all the information about a topic/concept laid out in front of them before they can make sense of it. Glogster could also serve as an organisational tool for students who struggle to organise their ideas when completing a task. They could simply upload all their ideas/research onto a glog page and then sort through those ideas to find the ones that best address the task at hand, deleting those that are no longer necessary.

How can Glogster be used in the primary classroom? I created my Reptiles glog with an introductory lesson to the animal group of reptiles in mind (Prep - Year 3). To get the students thinking about what reptiles are and drawing on what prior knowledge they have, I would display my reptiles glog on the interactive whiteboard. The students would read through the text if they are able to and share their comments about the reptile photos displayed. It is a VERY simple idea (and with more time I would love to add some more text and images), but this glog provides an effective launching pad for further learning throughout the lesson (and the best part is... it only took 15 minutes to make!).

Below is a PMI that I have constructed on the use of Glogster in the classroom. It explores the benefits, limitations and interesting points about this digital tool.

Plus:

It is a fun and creative way for students to display their ideas

Glogster pages can be set to 'Private' to ensure student work is safe and secure

Allows images, text, audio, videos and hyperlinks to be embedded

Can be used collaboratively by groups of students

Is a great alternative to the cardboard poster idea (no need to provide students with a plethora of stationery items!)

Supports visual learners and global thinkers

Students can comment on their peers' glog pages

Minus:

Students might focus on trying to make their glog look 'pretty' rather than on the learning content they are meant to be displaying

If the purpose for using the glog is not presented clearly by the teacher, students' glogs could simply become a space for posting meaningless and off-task information

Interesting:

The possibilities for using blogs are truly endless, and the best part is they can be incorporated into learning across all KLAs. While researching about how different teachers have used Glogster with their students I came across this great website - 1001 Super Tools for Teachers: Glogster. There are a few really great teaching strategies, but one I particularly liked was the idea of using Glogster to display the steps students took to complete a science experiment (in both text form and through digital photographs). Be sure to check out the rest of the ideas from the website to extend your strategies for using glogs in the classroom!

Week 4 - Digital Videos

Week 4 is all about Multimedia, and whilst I can see how the Group 2 digital tools of images and podcasts can enhance student learning, I believe digital videos provide the greatest platform for fostering critical thinking, research skills, problem solving, visual literacy skills, creativity and the ability to work in collaboration.

Digital videos enable students to incorporate images, footage, music, text and audio into one polished product that reflects their ideas on a topic. With the world today being saturated in visual media, from billboards on the side of the road, to images in a magazine, to advertisements and movies on our television screens, it is vital that students know how to interpret these visual medias and make meaning from them (aka - Visual Literacy). Producing digital videos themselves, or engaging with ones a teacher has created, drives students to develop visual literacy skills.

Through creating digital videos, students are automatically required to exercise higher order thinking skills because they have to decide on how to make images/footage, text and sound work together to achieve a certain purpose and to make meaning. For example, in an English unit on persuasive texts, instead of having my students create an advertising poster, I would have them create a video advertisement persuading me to buy a particular product (Eg: Hamburger).

To effectively persuade me to buy their product, the students would have to think carefully about a lot of different aspects in relation to their video. What camera angle will they use to ensure their hamburger looks enticing to the viewer? (Close up of the beef patty etc.) And what words will be used on the background audio to persuade me to want to eat the hamburger? (Eg: Juicy, succulent meat patty and crisp, fresh lettuce etc). A lot of critical thinking is needed to create a video advertisement that effectively persuades an audience.

For lower primary, digital videos can be used as a tool for 'digital storytelling'. Digital storytelling is basically where students use images, text, audio and footage to create a digital story in the form of either a personal narrative, a narrative about someone else or an event in history or a set of instructions (please see this website by Bernard Robin for a deeper look at digital storytelling - The Educational Uses of Digital Storytelling).

An example of how I would use digital storytelling with a Year 1 or Year 2 class would be to have them work in groups, using digital cameras, to take photographs of the things they do throughout a school day (Eg: Going to parade, eating lunch, going to Music etc.). With the help of the teacher, the groups could use a program such as Movie Maker (which is readily available on any Windows computer) to construct a simple video of their day at school. This is not only teaching the learners new ICT skills, but is helping them establish the vital literacy skill of being able to sequence events.

I recently had a go at creating my own digital video using Windows Movie Maker and was pleasantly surprised with the results! My video reflects the idea of the personal narrative digital story as it was one I created for my 21st birthday party. It contains a number of still photographs and videos from my childhood to the present day, along with accompanying text and audio files playing in the background.

To finish, I have also constructed a PMI for the use of digital videos in the classroom. As with any digital tool, there are a couple of drawbacks to using digital video and it is important to highlight these. But overall I do hope I have been able to persuade you that digital videos are a fantastic higher order thinking tool that will really get your learners engaging in classroom tasks!

Plus:

The use of digital videos by the teacher to present content allows students to learn through a variety of learning styles (visual, auditory etc.).

Creating videos encourages students to use higher order thinking skills and creativity to make a product that serves a particular purpose (eg: to persuade, to inform, to justify...).

Fosters visual literacy skills in students through requiring them to analyse the best way to use images/footage to convey meaning

The majority of school computers are either Microsoft or Mac based and both of these operating systems automatically come with video making software (Windows Movie Maker or iMovie)

Collaborative learning skills, communication skills, presentation skills and organisational skills are all exercised through making digital videos

Minus:

Making video presentations takes a substantial amount of time and this may jeopardise learning in other KLAs

Movie Maker and iMovie can sometimes be difficult tools to operate for beginner students and thus this will require a lot of teacher attention

Digital video software can sometimes take a long time to buffer and render a completed video presentation

Interesting:

Digital videos can be used for learning across all KLAs. Please see one of my previous blog posts for a great way to use digital videoing as part of a Year 5 History unit on the Australian Gold Rush - Week 1 Reflections on Prensky (it is at the end of the post!).

Thanks everyone :) Talk soon!

Sarah

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Image Acknowledgement:

Hamburger - http://www.flickr.com/photos/26777958@N05/3070041561/

Child Using Digital Camera - http://www.photoreview.com.au/tips/buying/Buying-Cameras-for-Children

Working legally, safely and ethically online

After working on resizing images this week my mind was taken back to Week 2 of our e-learning course when we discussed the importance of copyright laws and acknowledging the images we use from the internet (working legally, safely and ethically online).

Now, because the image I resized in my previous post is one of my own I did not have to acknowledge it. However, throughout my blog posts I have used a number of images from Google which are not my own, but rather the property of those who uploaded them. Despite knowing this, up until now I have been getting into the nasty habit of uploading photos without acknowledging their source! (EEK!). This has led me to go back through my blog posts and ensure that I have acknowledged all of the images I have used by providing a link to their original source on the web.

It is our responsibility as teachers to be setting the example for students when it comes to working legally, safely and ethically online. Students cannot be expected to 'just know' about copyright laws or issues like stranger danger online - we must teach them about it. Furthermore, teachers must, at all times, model the appropriate behaviours for working online.

The Moodle webpage for our course relating to working legally, safely and ethically online provides a list of the areas that both teachers and students need to be aware of when working online. These include:

Copyright laws - Learners need to be taught that any image, video or piece of information they use from an online source must have its author acknowledged - unless it is their own material.

Inappropriate materials such as pornography, sexually explicit images or any information/images relating to violent, hateful and offensive behaviours - Teachers need to ensure that their school has online security measures set in place which limit the type of websites students can access. Teachers also need to encourage students that if an inappropriate image or website does appear when they are using the internet, they need to report it immediately to the teacher or another adult.

Privacy - If teachers would like to share a students' work online they need to ensure they have the permission of both the student and their guardian to do so.

Stranger Danger - Teachers need to speak openly with their students about the dangers of talking with strangers on the internet. They also need to ensure that students are not providing any personal details (i.e. full name, phone number, address, photographs) on things like blogs, wikis or websites that could lead a person to make contact with a student. Additionally, teachers need to ensure that when using digital tools such as wikis, blogs and websites that the privacy settings are set to 'Private' not 'Public' so that only the student themselves or other class members can view their work.

Cyber Bullying - Teachers need to make students aware that online work spaces such as blogs, wikis and websites are not to be used as tools for bullying others. Teachers need to model to students what appropriate and constructive commenting on other peoples' work looks like and talk with them about the devastating, long lasting social and emotional effects that are left on people when they are cyber bullied.

Some of the practical ways that teachers can help students to learn about working legally, safely and ethically can be found on this website - Teaching Students Right from Wrong in the Digital Age. I personally found the idea the author presents of working through real-life scenarios with students, such as 'A student locates a story online, recopies it in his own writing, and submits it to the teacher as his own work', as a very meaningful way of helping them distinguish between the right and wrong ways to work online (Johnson, 1999, p.2). This website provides countless scenarios that teachers can work through with their students relating to each of the issues spoken about above. As well as this, two questionnaires have also been created for students to answer as a way of testing their knowledge about appropriate online behaviours.

The internet is a truly wonderful tool for helping to enhance the learning of our students. However, as highlighted above, there are clear risks that come with working in online environments. It is our responsibilty as teachers to ensure we provide safe online experiences for our students and that we explicitly teach them how to work legally, safely and ethically online. In doing so, we are setting our students up for future success, as both secondary and tertiary institutions require students to strictly adhere to copyright laws when producing academic work.

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References:

Johnson, D. (1999). Handout for teaching students right from wrong in the digital age. Retrieved from http://www.janinelim.com/bc/4thur/ethics.pdf

Image Acknowledgement:

Online Safety - http://theteenagertimes.blogspot.com.au/2011/12/schools-add-internet-etiquette-safety.html

Cyber Bullying - http://aspanational.wordpress.com/2012/02/07/cyber-bullying-a-question-of-punishment/

Week 4 - Working with Images

Hi guys :)

So Week 4 saw us exploring Group 2 of the digital tools for this course. In our tutorial we were stepped through how to resize images so they can be successfully uploaded to the web. I had never really thought about the whole process of having to resize images before, because the times when I have used images in websites or wikis they have been straight from Google and already resized by the original person who uploaded the photo onto the web!

When I was taught how to look at the dimensions of a photo by the wonderful Carike, I quickly realised however that if I was to try and upload an original photo taken on my Nikon camera (WITHOUT resizing it) it would not end well!

Below is a photo that was taken of my lovely man Peter and I at our engagement party earlier this year. In its original form the photo's dimensions were a wopping 4288 x 2844. I was then able to resize the image using a free online photo resizing program called Mobaphoto. This program was incredibly quick to download and very easy to use. With a click of a button I was able to upload my photo into the program and then choose for it to be resized to the appropriate dimensions for being put online. The result of resizing was that the dimensions were reduced to 640 x 425. Now that's a significant change in size!

Here is the final resized photo:

Week 2 - Reflections on Using Wikispaces

This week in our tutorial we engaged in an activity on Wikispaces which required us to provide our opinions on whether mobile phones should be used in the classroom. The wikispaces activity was scaffolded using De Bono's Six Thinking Hats model, with the class having to answer a series of critical thinking questions for each of the coloured thinking hats (these questions led us to directly address the focus topic of mobile phones).

The use of De Bono's Six Thinking Hats was an extremely effective way to scaffold such a discussion, as it personally got me thinking deeply and critically about the question at hand. I believe the biggest benefit of this wikispaces activity however, was the fact that it provided a platform by which we could build on the thoughts and knowledge of other students in the class. This idea of building on the ideas of others links directly to Vygotsky's reserach on the learning theory of constructivism, and is vital for ensuring that we not only construct new knowledge, but replace the incorrect knowledge we have with the correct knowledge we gain from others(Handfield-Jones, et. al., 2002, as cited in UBC, n.d., p. 3).

This very notion of replacing knowledge occurred in my own mind whilst completing this activity. When I answered the first set of questions in the wiki relating to the black thinking hat, I passionately proposed that I would NEVER use mobile phones in the classroom. Sounds pretty resolute right?! However, as I moved to answering the next set of questions relating to the blue thinking hat, my once very set opinion began to crumble! As I read one of my peers' arguments, which had some very strong evidence of how mobile phones could be successfully incorporated into classrooms with the right security measures, my mind totally lit up to the amazing benefits of using such a well-known and readily available ICT tool with students!

To me, this is what real and meaningful learning is about. The type of learning that is carefully scaffolded to produce higher order thinking skills and that encourages us to question and challenge the ideas we have come to understand as truth.

But not only is the mobile phones wiki activity grounded in the constructivist learning theory, it also incorporates elements of the cognitivist and connectivist theories. Part of Piaget's cognitive theory is the idea of 'accommodation', which is quite similar to constructivism in that it focuses on how people modify to accommodate the new information they come across (PSU, n.d.) . This means that when my brain took in the new information presented by my peer about the positive ways mobile phones could be used in the classroom, my cognitive structure actually changed so that it could make room for that new information. Pretty cool huh? Connectivism is also apparent in the activity through the way we as a class were accessing the information provided by our peers to shape our own ideas, as well as using knowledge from other digital sources such as websites, blogs etc. to form our arguments.

There was one clear drawback involved with participating in this activity, and this was that when we tried to put our ideas on the wiki in our tutorial every new person who attempted to add their viewpoint actually typed over/deleted the previous person's work. This was due to the fact that we were all working from the same uni network server at the same time. Effectively, we could only begin to add our ideas when we got home to our own computers, and I found that a lot of the thoughts I had come up with to post during our tutorial discussion had completely left my mind by the time I got home! This was quite frustrating as you can imagine, but it was good for us as pre-service teachers to see that sometimes technology can fail (shock horror!) and it is in these times that we have to be flexible and find ways to work around it.

Overall, I believe the mobile phones wiki activity was very effective in scaffolding higher order thinking through its clear foundation in current learning theory and the effective questioning used as part of De Bono's Six Thinking Hats model.

Time to sign out for another day guys, happy blogging! :)

Sarah

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References:

University of British Columbia (UBC). (n.d.). Self-assessment, self-direction, self-regulation and other myths : Deconstructing our beliefs about the adult learner. Retrieved from http://books.google.com/books

The Pennsylvania State University (PSU). (n.d.).Cognitive theories of learning. Retrieved from http://www.personal.psu.edu/wxh139/cognitive_1.htm

Image Acknowledgement:

Six Thinking Hats - http://www.mkk.school.nz/Site/Learning_MKK/Thinking_MKK/De_Bono_s_Thinking_Hats.ashx

Surprised Face - http://regjackonline.com/what-two-words-can-characterize-your-personal-brand

Cartoon Brain - http://www.apr16.com/?cat=27

Thumbs Up - http://www.radian6.com/blog/2010/09/guest-post-getting-managements-approval-for-incorporating-social-media-into-your-ir-program/istock_000005604144xsmall/

Week 2 - TPACK Unpacked!

Hi everyone!

So Week 2 of E-Learning saw us exploring digital pedagogy and some of the new learning design frameworks that have arisen in response to the growth in technology across our globe.

I want to look at the TPACK (Technological Pedagogical and Content Knowledge) learning framework in detail today and try and unpack what it means for us as teachers - in plain English!

In it's original form, the TPACK learning framework was actually called the PCK (Pedagogical Content Knowledge) learning framework. In essense, this original framework highlighted the importance of teachers having reliable content knowledge, as well as a sound understanding of the ways in which to deliver content so students learn effectively (pedagogical knowledge). Sounds pretty spot on right?

As Mishra and Koehler (2006, p. 1020) point out however, the PCK framework was really only appropriate for the education era that focused primarily on the content knowledge of the teacher, and in more recent years, the era which placed importance on having good teaching pedagogy rather than just good content knowledge.

We have now entered the 21st century education era, and whilst excellent content knowledge and teaching pedagogy are still two crucial components of successful teaching, they are not enough to meet the needs of today's students. As we have explored in my previous posts, the rapid growth in technology over the past decade has dramatically changed the world we live in - and also the way teachers must teach. We as teachers have access to a range of technological tools (eg: Wikis, Blogs, Prezi, Glogster, Movie Maker - we will explore some of these in my next posts) that can enhance our students' learning and help them access the curriculum through a means they are familiar with and love!

But for teachers to be able to use these ICT tools in the classroom they must have the technical skills to make them work. Furthermore, they need to have the pedagogical knowledge to know what type of ICT tool is best for teaching a particular concept. This is why the original PCK learning framework was transformed into the TPACK learning framework. Educators now understand that it is a mix of sound content knowledge, pedagogical knowledge and technological knowledge that make for excellent learning design.

Here is a visual of how TPACK works:

To finish my TPACK unpacking, I want to give you an example of what TPACK looks like in action.

You are teaching a grade 7 class and the content you are exploring is in the English sub strand of 'Responding to Literature' (Australian Curriculum).

The content descriptor you are focusing on states - 'Reflect on ideas and opinions about characters, settings and events in literary texts, identifying areas of agreement and difference with others and justifying a point of view'.

So now that you have identified what content knowledge is required, you need to decide on the technology and pedagogy you are going to use.

Technology - Have your students create a blog (via Blogger) where they can post reflections about their opinions of the characters, settings and events in the text (this could be done periodically after reading every chapter). Have the students read their peers' posts and comment on whether they agree/disagree with their views about the book and justify their opinions. At the end of reading the text, have students write a final blog post highlighting their end viewpoint of the book and whether their viewpoint had changed from start to finish.

Pedagogy - To assist your students to achieve deep understanding and knowledge (see Productive Pedagogies) through their blog posting, provide a series of scaffolding questions for them to answer based on the Bloom's Taxonomy model.

For example:

Remembering - What has happened in the story so far? Describe the events that have occurred?

Understanding - Discuss your ideas and opinions about the characters you have met? Do you identify with any of them? Why/why not?

And so on.

For me TPACK is certainly the perfect recipe for effective learning design - add one cup of good content knowledge, one cup of great teaching pedagogy and one cup of technological skill and whala! You've got one great learning experience coming right up :)

Talk soon guys :)

Sarah

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References:

Mishra, P., & Koehler, M. (2006). Technological pedagogical content knowledge: A framework for teacher knowledge. Retrieved from http://site.aace.org/pubs/sigs/sig-Mishra-Koehler-TCR.pdf

Image Acknowledgement:

TPACK Cartoon - http://mkoehler.educ.msu.edu/blog/2009/04/30/taking-tpack-in-new-directions/

PCK Venn Diagram - http://www.corndancer.com/vox/gnosis/artcls_037054/gno_now038.html

TPACK Diagram - http://maine.edc.org/file.php/1/oer/math_DTPACKimg.html

Huckleberry Finn - http://www.bookperdiem.com/2011/02/adventures-of-huckleberry-finn.html

Week 3 - Exploring blogs, wikis and websites

As we zoom into the third week of e-learning it's time to look at the first group of digital tools - Blogs, wikis and websites!

Digital Tool Number 1 - Blogs

I absolutely LOVED setting up my e-learning blog at the beginning of this course, as it allowed me to design a writing space that reflects my own personality. It was the first time I have ever created a personal blog, and I found great satisfaction in working through the process of setting it up (even though it took me a whole day!). For me, setting up a blog was actually an exercise in critical thinking, as I hit a number of walls along the way which I had to problem solve my way through. There is truly nothing Google doesn't seem to know though, and with a quick search I was able to find a plethora of tutorials and information about how to fix my problems! Now that's connectivism in action!

But how can blogs be incorporated into the classroom setting? And what are the benefits and limitations of this digital tool?

I have completed a PMI for the use of blogs below to help answer these questions.

Plus:

Images, videos and links to other websites can be easily embedded into blogs

Blogs are able to be accessed from any computer and also via mobile devices

Blogs are an online way of storing information and any information posted on a blog cannot be lost as students' work is saved when drafting posts and once posts are published.

Both classroom and global collaboration can be facilitated through blogs, with students being able to comment on their peers' work.

Through commenting on others' work, students are learning how to provide meaningful, constructive feedback

Teachers can monitor students work and understanding of content easily

Provides a place for students to reflect on their learning (gives teachers a deeper insight into their students' thinking)

Engages students in writing through allowing them to create their own personalised writing space (can decorate with their own backgound, colour schemes, fonts, images etc. - just a little more interesting than a paper notebook!)

Teachers can apply privacy settings to students' blogs to ensure they are not able to be viewed by the public, only the rest of the class

Blogger contains an in-built spell checker which helps students to correct any spelling mistakes in their posts

Minus:

Students may not use their blog appropriately - they may post comments that are completely off-task or not constructive

Some students may not feel comfortable to share their ideas on a blog because other people can see them (self-conscious)

Students with limited experience with working with the internet and ICT may find it very difficult to set up their blog (have difficulty navigating around the blog and utilising the tools required to create a blog)

Students may use blogging as a tool for bullying (instead of providing constructive comments on other students' posts they may give put-downs)

Students may not be able to work on their blog from home if they cannot access the internet

Interesting:

There are a number of engaging ways that blogs can be used to enhance classroom learning. See one of my blog posts here for an example of how blogs can be used to facilitate English learning in Year 7 (the example is featured at the end of the blog post).

One of the other e-learning bloggers I follow, Jessie, posted about 'Edublogs' as part of her exploration on blogs in the classroom. I decided to check out what an Edublog was for myself, and the results were really exciting! Edublogs is a free blogging tool that can be used by teachers and students to reflect on classroom learning. Here is an example of an Edublog created by a year 5/6 class in Canada - 'Huzzah!'.

Be sure to look at all the students' blogs located on the right hand side of the class blog homepage - their posts are very entertaining!

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Digital Tool Number 2 - Wikis

I have used wikis on a number of occasions throughout my study at university, predominantly as a collaborative tool for group work assignments. Please check out my thoughts on wikis here.

Wikis enable a group of people to upload information (text, videos, images, tables etc.) so that information can then be used by everyone in the group to complete a task. Here is an example of two group wikis I recently participated in as part of my university courses - LM4 Wiki and Numeracy Wiki.

But how can wikis be incorporated into the classroom setting? And what are the benefits and limitations of this digital tool?

Here is a PMI for the use of wikis in the classroom.

Plus:

Allows students to share ideas and opinions with their peers (collaboration)

Can be used for both personal work and group work

Provides an online storage system for information that is saved and cannot be lost

Videos, images and links to other websites can be uploaded into the wiki

Students can edit their group members' work in the wiki (great facility for proofreading assignment tasks)

Teachers can gain access to the wiki and post comments about how students are progressing with a task

Teachers can also monitor whether group members are contributing evenly to a task via the 'History' page

Wikis can continually be added to over long periods of time - does not 'time out'

Minus:

If students are editing a wiki at the same time they face the issue of writing over/deleting the other person's work

As with blogs, students may use a wiki as a podium for inappropriate commenting (off task posts and put-down comments on others' work)

If the privacy settings are not changed, students' work can be viewed by anyone from the public (breach of copyright/child safety laws)

If the task being completed using the wiki is not scaffolded appropriately (eg: contains a series of focus questions to answer or headings to keep students work on task) then it can result in learners just uploading a lot of information with no real direction as to how to use it effectively

Wikis contain limited formatting options which can result in them being visually unappealing to read (limited font styles, background design options and layout options)

Interesting:

Wikis can not only used as a way of organising information for personal assessment tasks and collaborating for group assessment tasks, but they can used for everyday learning in the classroom. One really great example that I found was via a blog link my fellow blogger Tiana posted called '50 Ways to Use Wikis'. For learning in the KLA of Maths, teachers can create a wiki where they regularly provide problem solving questions for groups of children to solve together. This is such a simple idea, yet it effectively engages learners in using technology, collaborating with others and not to mention, is saving trees by teachers not having to print out the questions on paper! Winner!

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Digital Tool Number 3 - Websites

I have had a little bit of experience with creating websites as I was required to create a webquest through Weebly as part of a SOSE course I undertook last year. Feel free to check it out here - Let's Get Energy Smart. I was quite happy with the end result! :)

Initially though, I remember looking at the task sheet for this SOSE assignment and nearly dying at the thought of having to create a website! I mean, aren't websites just heaps of in-depth codes in cyberspace that somehow fit together to make a webpage appear on our screens? I thought it was going to be mission impossible.

Thankfully, we were introduced to the online website creator called 'Weebly'. Weebly is a very easy program to use, because it takes away the need for the creator to know about complex web programming/coding (it does that part for you! Yay!!!) and provides simple tools that help you add in the elements of an effective website (webpages, tabs, images, videos, links to Word documents and webpages etc.). With the majority of our students today being fluent in the language of technology, I believe they could have a working website completed in a matter of hours. As with any digital tool however, there are always limitations in its use. Please see the PMI I have created below for the benefits, limitations and interesting points about using Weebly websites in the classroom.

Plus:

Weebly is an easy-to-use program with simple tools for helping teachers and learners to build websites

Does not require students to know about or use complex web programming or coding

Images, videos, links to websites and Word documents can be uploaded to the students' websites

Students are able to exercise their creativity through choosing layouts, background designs, font styles and colours etc. for their websites (this helps make learning personal and engaging for individual students)

Websites can allow teachers to organise learning tasks for students of different levels (teachers design separate pages of work for each learning level within the main website screen. Students can then access their work via tabs on the main screen)

Provides an online storage facility for students work

Supports students in engaging with multi-modal texts

Minus:

Once students have published their website, anyone can view it. This means student safety could be jeopardised, and thus teachers need to ensure their learners are not providing any personal details on their websites

Some school computers may not allow students to access the Weebly website creator (security settings/firewalls)

Websites do not allow teachers to freely access their students work to provide feedback on their progress

Collaboration with others is not facilitated through Weebly websites as their is no way for students to leave comments on their peers' work

Interesting:

A class Weebly website could be set up so that students who were away could still access that day's work. The classroom teacher could upload what tasks they were going to be completing for the day in the morning so students could access it from home if they needed to. Furthermore, having a record of every day's schoolwork on the class website would enable students to go back and revisit any information they didn't fully understand.

Weebly is a fantastic digital tool to help novices find their way around creating a website. Looking a little further into website design though, I came across another free website builder called 'Wix'. Whilst I haven't looked deeply enough into whether it would be appropriate for students to use from a security perspective, it appears to be able to incorporate some more advanced ICT components than that of Weebly (eg: Flash Player). If the security of a Wix website is in fact sound, I think this could be a great tool for students in upper primary to use for projects once they have mastered Weebly.

Overall, blogs, wikis and websites can be seen as fantastic digital tools for use in the classroom. They encourage the collaboration of ideas, promote the use of higher order thinking skills through allowing students to critically reflect on the work of others and solve problems and they engage students in tasks through letting them creatively build their own online learning environment.

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Image Acknowledgement:

Google it - http://www.todayandtomorrow.net/2009/03/23/google-it/

Wikispaces - http://mrmcdanielsteacherpage.wikispaces.com/Collaboration

Kids Around Computer - http://www.cenet.catholic.edu.au/cenet/index.php/ournews/ournewstop/18-social-media-a-video-in-action

Wix - http://tech4teacher.wordpress.com/tag/wix/

Week 1 - Reflections on Prensky

Hi there guys!

So I've been reading up on Prensky's ideas regarding the importance of teachers incorporating ICT into their pedagogy, and I 100% agree with him. Our world is changing dramatically and rapidly in the area of technology. Every month or even week a new technological gadget is on the market, from i-Pads to dongles, who knows what's around the corner! But more importantly - who are the people most interested, most raring to try out these new technologies?? The answer is simple... our children!

With this in mind, it comes as no surprise that Prensky's research indicates students are becoming increasingly disengaged in school due to the lack of digital-based means through which they can access the curriculum. The vast majority of today's children are exposed to highly stimulating digital material 24/7 and they naturally speak the language of technology. Quite simply, their day to day life is engrossed in technology and they thrive on it!

One of the most common sayings I have heard teachers use when talking about the issue of technology in education is 'We now have to compete with computers, video games and social media sites to gain and maintain the attention spans of our learners'. But maybe that's just it! Rather than competing with new technologies as though they are a threat to our students' education, we need to be, as Prensky suggests, investigating ways that ICT can be used to support and extend our learners' understanding of the world around them.

I think in the end the main thing really stopping teachers from embracing technology in their classrooms is fear of change. Change and fear go hand in hand, and I know very few people who would leap for joy at the thought of having to change something they were quite comfortable with already! I personally am someone who finds change very hard to embrace, no matter what area of life it is relating too.

However, whilst I 100% agree with Prensky about ensuring technology is incorporated into our teaching and learning, I believe some teachers who are struggling to embrace technology could become more fearful and reluctant as a resut of reading his 'Engage Me or Enrage Me' article. Prensky is a very passionate and knowledgeable man about this subject, there is no doubt about that. However, sometimes it seems like he believes the only way the curriculum can be 'engaging' for 21st century students is if it takes the form of a video game! I don't believe this is the only way we can engage our students using technology, and it shouldn't be the single means by which children access the curriculum (remembering the idea of a balanced approach to teaching and learning). There are many, far less complex, digital resources that can be incorporated into classroom learning - and more importantly, that anybody, no matter the experience they have had with ICT, can learn to master (with a little patience and determination of course!).

Here are a couple of simple examples:

1. Year 5 History (Videoing and Video Editing) -

Students studying the topic of the Australian Gold Rush in Year 5 could work in groups to create a drama performance reinacting events such as the Eureka Stockade. Students could video the performance using the school video camera and then use Windows Movie Maker to put together a DVD to be shown to other students, teachers and parents at the end of term/year presentation evening (the majority of state and public schools in Australia should have a school video camera. If not, negotiations could be made between schools to pool their funds and purchase a video camera to share between the schools).

2. Year 2 Science (E-mail and Webcam/Skype) -

Students studying the topic of insects in Year 2 could write an e-mail as a class to an entomologist at the Australian Museum. The students could organise an online excursion using skype or a webcam to have a live chat with the entomologist, asking them questions about different insects or finding out what their job is like. The entomologist could also take the students on a virtual tour of the museum's insect collection using the webcam facility on their laptop.

Woah! That was a long post! In closing, I think it is vital for anyone in the teaching profession, whether they have been teaching for 30 years or 2, to recognise that our job requires us to EMBRACE change. Not just so that we fulfil the requirements of teaching standards or the curriculum, but for the very sake of the children sitting in front of us. I also believe that incorporating technology into our teaching and learning should not be something to be feared. Hopefully the examples above can help you see and believe that a little more :)

Talk soon guys!

Sarah

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Image Acknowledgement:

School Cartoon Blogs - http://www.cartoonstock.com/directory/o/online_blog.asp

Apple and Blackberry - http://www.idlehearts.com/life-was-much-easier-when-apple-and/1167/

Change is Inevitable - http://deanlindsay.com/a/inspirational-motivational-quotes-speaker/

Week 1 - Multiple Intelligences and Learning Styles

Hi everyone! So I am finally getting around to posting my thoughts about the first two weeks of our E-Learning course. What a journey so far! I have honestly learnt so much and am really beginning to understand the importance of incorporating ICT into whatever learning is taking place in the classroom.

So let's talk a bit about learning styles and multiple intelligences...

I always find it interesting when I complete online tests about learning styles and multiple intelligences, because it not only reminds me of the ways I best learn but of that fact that not everyone learns best in the same ways as me!

From a teaching perspective, this realisation is vital. Being conscious of the fact that everyone learns differently ensures that we as educators don't fall into the trap of only teaching our students through the ways we ourselves best learn. Furthermore, it helps us to refrain from applying a 'one size fits all' approach to the lessons we teach. By this I mean teaching every lesson with the same focus on visual aids or kinaesthetic activities simply because a group of students responded well to these types of learning experiences at some point in the past.

What about the child who retains information better when it is presented verbally? (Auditory Learner). Or the child who exhibits a strong ability to work cooperatively with others and understand their feelings? (Interpersonal Intelligence). As 21st century teachers we need to be striving to provide a learning environment that caters for the needs of all our students, and that builds on their talents and abilities. This means that we cannot just settle for presenting lesson upon lesson with the same group work activity or the same focus on building literacy and mathematical skills. We need to be ACTIVELY seeking out new activities and lesson ideas for every learning style and multiple intelligence, and then thinking about how to best incorporate these into our daily planning.

Yes, it is highly unlikely that every lesson we design will incorporate all learning styles or build upon every multiple intelligence (quite frankly there is not enough time!). However, it is certainly possible to cater for a number of learning styles and intelligences throughout the course of a day's work or a unit plan.

"But how do I do this?!! And where do I start?" you ask me.

This is where ICT comes to the rescue! Digital tools such as videos, podcasts and images are all devices that can help teachers to engage students through their favoured learning styles and intelligences.

Check out this link. A teacher by the name of Amrit Rai has created a blog that highlights each of the multiple intelligences and a number of digital-based activities, websites and programs that teachers can use to encourage the use of multiple intelligences in the classroom. I have read the entire post and it is ABSOLUTELY BRILLIANT. I will definitely be using these ideas in my future classroom!

Just a couple more cartoons to finish! Can you tell I'm a visual learner? :)

"It's not how smart you are that matters, what really counts is how you are smart."

~ Howard Gardner ~

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Image Acknowledgement:

Girl and Teacher Learning Styles Cartoon -

http://serc.carleton.edu/NAGTWorkshops/earlycareer/teaching/learningstyles.html

Children with Aeroplanes - http://yolatwin2.edublogs.org/2011/11/03/glogster/

Fair Selection Cartoon - http://robmacpherson1.blogspot.com.au/2010/09/call-me-mister-difficult.html