http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6gmP4nk0EOE
Here is an extremely well done YouTube video commentary on how we see and use computers and its evolution over time.
It looks at how we use and write English has changed( text types), how we access information, how we now communicate.
You might need to watch this video a few times as it is really fast…
Enjoy!
If you had to give a reason for why you would use blogging in your classroom, I hope it would be as inspiring as the article I had read on a teacher and her four Indigenous students in Queensland, experiencing and using blogging for the first time. Mrs Alexander was involved in an Ingigenous student learning program, where she spent the first two weeks teaching her students how to set up dashboard and how to blog and use of its functions. Since Mrs Alexander was planning on a holiday to China, she thought it would be a fantastic idea, that her students would be able to see and experience her holiday with her. So she set up a blog where she could communicate with her class in Queensland while she was away in China. Her students were excited to learn all about china, its people and customs all while using blogging as a communication tool from one side of the country to another. This is a prime example of why we use technology in the classroom; it allows children to step outside the classroom and into the world. They are able to use blogging as an effective communication tool but also to interact with other students from around the world.
Even though Web-Quest has been around for more than ten years now, I had never actually heard of it until my E- Learning lecture in class. I found the article “A Decade of Web-Quests: A Retrospective”, to be benificial to my understanding of this ICT teaching tool.
The creator Bernie Dodge, defined Web-Quest as “inquiry oriented activity in which some or all of the information that learners interact with comes from resources on the Internet” (Dodge, 1995a).
WEbQuest is a learner-centered approach to teaching, it is a
constructivist approach were students focus on; thinking, understanding, and transformational learning. The learning environment is working on various levels of inquiry- based learning, cooperative learning, scaffolding, motivation and challenging learners to an enriched learning process.
My partner and I have decided to create a Web-quest for the first time, we are hoping to create a WebQuest that is well-designed to promote “dependable instructional practices by combining research-supported theories with effective use of essential Internet resource, produce open-ended questions, that will offer authentic tasks that motivate students and teachers”.
Fallon, S. (2005). All the World’s a Stage. Blogs aren’t just for techheads and political cranks. They’re opening up classrooms, too.
Edutopia. Feb. issue.
Hurray for teachers, hurray for students!
Finally we have a exciting and innovative path way for teachers and students alike, to showcase their blogs to the world. This paves the way for better communication between our local communities and a link for expanding our classrooms to other countries in the world.
As a 29 year old, I could only wish that we had this sort of formative and exploratory technology in our classrooms, as we were growing up. But of course as a student-teacher, I am extremely happy to be using blogging and blog-casting in my future classrooms.
Parkes, R. (2005). ‘A WebDilemma: Intellectual engagement on the internet’. In Independent Education, vol. 35 n1 pp 34-36. Accessed Feb. 22 2008 from: http://athene.riv.csu.edu.au/~rparkes/webdilemmas/
This article by Parkes, R. (2005). ‘A WebDilemma: Intellectual engagement on the internet’ is extreamly helpful for those who 1. Are new to computers 2. Are interested in creating their own WebDilemma site 3. Want a greater understanding of how WebDilemma can promote higher order thinging within your students 4. Need to know the softwares that can be used in building a site 5. will tell you other links for support and online workshops on WebDilemma.
