Quality Learning and Teaching

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Web2 tools

I’ve created a Voki, a talking Avatar which I have put with my “about” blurb.  It was simple to do, you can type in the text and it records the words or you can use a microphone to do the same thing.  Getting the class version gives access to more applications, models etc but I could see the potential here for a whole lot of things in the classroom.

 Final Reflection

I loved the look of these FlipSnack booklets, I decided to create one for my final reflection. It is just a matter of uploading a PDF, so edit has to be complete before you upload.  The free version will leave a watermark, but you can upgrade for a cost. The diagram was created using Imaps5 (Think Buzan).

 

 

 

Other Explorations

Padlet

I have created a page for reflecting on some images that I took at St John’s Cathedral in Napier NZ. The images are elements of Christ’s story and messages from St John’s Gospel (not all images are available).  Padlet, I believe, used to be called Wall Wisher. I could imagine this would be a good way of making images available to students so that they could utilise them anywhere and at any time.

 

 

Student engagement cause and effect copy

Weekly Plan

I’ve been exploring some Mindmapping software and I have just purchased Xmind as it gives me quite a few options.  It includes matrices, fishbone, gantt as well as mindmaps and brainstorming.  As well as this I am able to convert to PDF and export to this blog etc.

I’ve created another Animoto video.

21st Century

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 Module 10

WIKI spaces.  I have been a member and a manager of a number of WIKIs.  I think they are easy to create and are probably a good starting place. WIKIs are certainly good for sharing and connecting but have found that they probably aren’t as strong for collaborating and learning collectively.  There is a danger also that material can be deleted or changed so it is important to have protocols in place.

I find NINGs are more powerful, but probably not as easy to manage.  The NING allows you to bring together Blog, Chat, forums, Groups etc.

Google Site – I have decided to create a Google Site WebPage.  I have long been interested in storytelling.  My Mum was a great story teller and I have documented many of her stories, so this might be a way to share them on a wider scale.  My work with the theories of David Thornburg and the four modalities has also highlighted the power of storytelling, as has the work with our SAREs.  So, eventually, I would like others to contribute to my site with their stories, long, medium or short.  I am thinking about having a 25 word story challenge.  I haven’t opened the site up to the world yet, but will do so soon.

Module 9

Social Networking. which of these social & professional networking tools could enhance learning, both in my classroom and beyond it, and how? 

I had a conversation with a friend at the weekend who told me that she had stopped using Facebook because she thought it was evil.  I personally, believe it isn’t the tool that is evil, but social media sites can be used in a bad and sometimes evil way.  Children do have to be protected and they need to be taught how to use these tools for learning and to use them in a safe and effective manner.  Another parent who was part of the same conversation indicated that she just said “no” to Facebook and did not respond to the pressure of “everyone else” having Facebook.  This parent has allowed her child to use twitter but she polices it, reads the tweets etc.  Her children know that they shouldn’t be putting anything there that they wouldn’t be happy for their parents to read. It is about education.

I have found social media networks as extremely useful and have made connections all over the world, for social as well as professional reasons.  I have discovered old friends from overseas that I had lost contact with.  I have had to “unfriend” a few people, but on the whole, I haven’t had any difficulties.  This does’t mean that someone younger than myself would not have a problem, though.  I do think the potential, outweighs the dangers.

LinkedIn – I have been signed up to LinkedIn for sometime but haven’t really utilised it, other than accepting others.  It is something that I intend to do more with.  I would use this for professional networking, rather than a wider social network. I see it as having potential for career promotion.

 

Scootel is a great resource for teachers as it provides a place to gather resources and create the learning pathway.  Models of contemporary learning can also be found on Scootel so it provides a picture of what contemporary learning looks like in a Catholic school.

scootelpic

 

Module 8

RSS feeds- I have subscribed to a number of RSS feeds but I don’t think I have been discerning enough.  Now that I know the process I will utilise the feeds for remaining current with certain topics.  I think this could be good in a classroom to engage students in current research and issues.

Module 7 Diigo

 

 

 

What an opportune time to be investigating Diigo.  In the last couple of weeks I have been really frustrated because I have favourites and bookmarks on 3 different digital devices.  Of course, I am never on the computer I want to be on when I need a particular document. At this stage I have created several lists and exported a number of links.  Looking forward to having them all transferred. Seems reasonably easy to find my way around.

 

 Module 6 Pre and Post photo using Picasa of Napier in New Zealand. Napier is a beautiful place in New Zealand.  It was ruined by an earth quake and rebuilt in the style of the time (Art Deco) and the city has remained sympathetic to this ever since. I have created a movie with the photographs but, at this stage, I have not been able to play it once it is uploaded.  I will need to keep working at this.  Picasa Web Albums, like IPhoto etc will encourage me to organise my photographs better and to use the tag system to sort and find images more quickly.

 

 

Module 5

Creating a Prezi is a reasonably simple concept.  As I move through this course, though, I am constantly reminded of the need to design prior to producing and evaluating if I want to create a more effective product.  Prezi certainly allows the viewers eye to be drawn to key ideas, hence the need to know what you want your audience to focus on prior to creating.  Having photographs and videos prepared prior to commencement would also be beneficial. Creating the Prezi also gave me the opportunity to identify some of the key components of “dialogue”.

Module 4

 

Glogster

 

I had created a Glog previously but hadn’t played around too much with it, mainly just images.  This time I decided to add some sound. This was a challenge because I didn’t have the software required to save the sound to the correct specifications, however I managed to manipulate my way around this and all is working successfully.  I am finding the more I explore, the more I learn about different file extensions, requirements and specifications.  It is certainly a new language.  It is interesting that much of the directions provided assumes everyone understands the language is accessible to all others.  Long way to go in this department.

 

 

The Winds of Change

Animoto is a simple way of making short videos. Animoto supplies some basic images and video footage but you can use your own.  You are restricted in length, which in some ways is good because you have to be selective and use language well to get your message across.

 

Module 3

Bubbl.us was used to create a brainstorm for a movie, based around the introduction of television to a small country town.  (We watched “Bonanza” on a TV left on by the local garage owner in the shop window. We were wrapped in blankets in the mainstreet of the town, eating liquorice all sorts with other locals. Sounds primitive but it was great fun. Bubbl.us is another tool that is fairly easy to use.  I did find it a bit restrictive for what I wanted to do.  I would have liked to be able to manipulate the line directions further.  I’m sure with more practice I will be able to work out different ways of using it. Advice from other experts would be appreciated.

 

Module 2

My tweeting has increased throughout the year.  As you can see I have created an info graph, comparing myself to a “random” celebrity. This was cone through visual.ly.

Snagit picture of Twitter page

 

Twitter.  I had been using twitter previously but really was just “lurking”.  This course has increased my participating in tweeting and replying, as well as following and being followed.  I am finding the following extremely useful because it is really easy to view the short messages to ascertain whether you need to explore further.  In this way, I have been able to find some really useful resources and research.  I have decided to try to tweet something I have learned regularly and hope others will do the same.  I have set up some lists but haven’t worked out how to actually use these, so that will be my next step.  Advice would be welcome.

 

Module 1

Survey created for feedback and planning of PL day.

In google docs I created a survey to gain feedback on the content required for Core Pathway Day for Leading for Contemporary Learning in a Catholic School.  I unfortunately selected the wrong type of response, so recipients were sent a number of surveys before I got it correct.  I do think Google Docs are quite useful though, particularly when it is difficult for everyone to get together in the one spot. It doesn’t necessarily replace face to face responses but can be quite efficient.

 

2 Comments to

“Web2 tools”

  1. July 18th, 2013 at 12:42 am       Kerri Says:

    Reading your blog has inspired me to go back and revisit these tools and explore further. I particularly enjoyed your reflection flip book.


  2. June 3rd, 2015 at 11:09 pm       Sue Stenning Says:

    thanks for sharing Cath. Its good to see how many Web 2.0 you have tried. I will look forward to playing around with some of your recommendations.


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