Colgs Innovation

Thursday the 16th of October Chris and Rob presented on ‘clickers’ in the classroom.

Clickers are a great way to get students actively invovled in their learning anonymously. This active approach to learning can really help engage the students. Clickers can be used in test or surveys. Teachers are able to find out students answers after the test or survey.

After this session on ‘clickers’ I am still unsure whether I would use clickers in the classroom. If the school did not have any ‘clickers’, I think it would be an expensive product to purchase when money can be used else where in most schools. I am still unsure about the process of setting up a test or survey, so this makes me think that it might be a long and difficult program to set up. Maybe if I am able to get my hands on the program and have a play around with it, I would be able to become familiar with it and see the use it could play in a classroom.

I would love to know anyones experience with this program and if they found it worth it….

On the 8th of October it was Rach and mines turn to present on Google Groups and Google Docs.

Google Groups

For our presentation we created a Google Group that the whole class could join at the start of the presentation. This was so they could explore a Google Group during the presenation. Througout the presentation we showed our class how they could; edit their member profile, start or responed to  a discussion, upload a files and create a group.

Throughout our research on Google Groups I began to really see the benefits of it in the classroom. I feel that it is easier to monitor yur students than a lot of the other innovations around at the moment. I beleive I might feel this way because I really had a chance to explore Google Groups and see how easy it is to create one and monitor one. With Google Groups teachers are able to make the group private so that only the people who are invited are able to look at the group. This can help with the tecaher making sure that their studnets are safe on the internet and let them monitor who is wishing to join the group.

Google Docs

Rach and I decided to use Google Docs to make our presentation so we could become comfortable with the innovation. We found that while making the presentation it was great that we were able to work on the one document, instead of sending it back and fourth to each other or working on the one computer together. Throughout the presentation we highlighted the benefits and disadvantages of using Google Docs. We found that while creating the document it froze a lot of the time if we were both working on it. Which would be a big disadvantage in the classroom if you are trying to have 20 or so students working on the one Google Doc. One benefit of the innovation that the class really responed well to was the use of Google Docs to edit students’ work. We let them explore Google Docs by editing some stories that we found on the net. The class really seemed to enjoy this activity.

Now that I am comfortable with Google Docs I do see its advantage in the classroom. It saves students printing out lots of copies of their work for editing and it also saves the teaching have many copies of stories, assignments, reports etc to edit or mark. Using a Google Doc lets the teacher and students work or edit the work all online in the one place, on the one document.

Would you feel comfortable using these innovations in your classrooms?

 

Today Hayley and Jess did a presentation on virtual worlds, in particular Second Life.

Second Life is a virtual world that you can join and download for free. Once you have joined you create a character and begin to make friends and explore. As we have restrictions at uni on what we can download we were unable to download this program to see it frist hand. The girls did show us their Second Life but I think to have a better understanding I would need to join and explore it myself.

There is also Teen Second Life that was created for thirteen to seventeen year olds. The girls were unable to explore this, as the website stated that you must be within these ages to join ad they didn’t want to lie. Teen Second Life is marketed towards teens and it is meant to be for ONLY TEENS but I do wonder how many adults have joined it and just lied about their age. Is this really a safe environment that teachers should encourage their students to join?

I beleive that I as an educator that I would not use Teen Second Life in my classroom because of the safety issues and I would worry that maybe my students were spending too much time on it when they are away from the classroom. As we didn’t really get to explore Teen Second Life, I do wonder how teachers would monitor their students on it. 

                                                                

On the 11th of September in our “Using computers in the classroom” unit, we had Kate and Matt present to us about Twitter. Twitter is a social network site that you can join for free.

If you are thinking…oh another facebook or myspace, think again. When writing on someones wall it is more like updating your status on facebook. It is real time messaging and you share what you say with everyone who is following you. It is hard to explain and I think the best way to appreciate it is by setting up your own twitter account by going to www.twitter.com. ITS FREE!!!

www.rachel88.edublogs.org also has a great you tube video on her blog that will also explan twitter.

The real reason for this blog but is would i use twitter in my classroom for my students?????

I belevie I wouldn’t really use it with my students because of security issues. As I was creating my account I noticed that I could follow people without them following me. I would worry that studnets would have people who I do not trust following their twitter.

What do you think???

How about the idea of having a whole class twitter that the teacher and students create and manage together????

Let me know your ideas.

On Thursday the 14th of August we had Sue Waters from Challenger TAFE and Edublogs come into Curtin. She talk to us teaching students about blogging and how to use it to your advantage as teacher.

I was very nervous about beginning a blog as I didn’t really know how to use it. Sue showed us some relevant blogs that we would find useful in our course and then with her step by step instructions on setting up a blog we soon all had one that we are now using for ur elective.

I would have never even really known about blogs if it had not been for my elective and Sue. I am still apprehensive about using them but I am sure as explore them more I will find that very useful.

Thank you Sue for taking the time to come out to us.

Hi, my name is Jess. I am a third year primary education student and this is my blog that I am completing for an elective at university.

I am undergoing this blog so that I can become familiar with using blogs so that I can use them to my advantage when I am an educator.

For an assessment in my elective I also have to use this blog so that I can reflect on a particular innovation that I am researching on.  I will be researching on Google alerts and reporting back about the information I have obtained on my blog.