No internet!!!!

Yay to being on holidays, booh to using all my internet in the first 3 days of major catchup!! 😦
I am resorting to posting off of my wordpress app on my phone now… So I was trying my hardest to download a picture of Blooms Taxonomy that is based on iPad apps when the internet completed objected. I found the wheel when I was on prac at a school in Toowoomba where every student has their own personal iPad! I thought it was amazing! It’s so easy to just take a look at what apps the students have on their iPads and make use of ICTs in every lesson… The fact that there is a Blooms Taxonomy wheel created is sooo handy! Blooms Taxonomy on its own is useful enough!

So I hopped on my phone internet and looked for the wheel I originally found but couldn’t find it anywhere… BUT I did happen to find this SAMR wheel which is almost identical.
http://taismtech.blogspot.com/2013/06/the-pedagogy-wheel-blooms-taxonomy.html

I’m not sure how to add pictures on my phone app so I hope the link above works.

Thanks for reading guys and if anyone finds the Blooms version of this could you post a link in the comments please?!

Catch you all later 🙂 p.s. Just found a little thing on the app that may be for uploading photos so… Hope there is an image at the end of this text

sharing my curriculum + assessment

Hi followers

It’s been a while since my last blog post so I’ll have to get back in the swing of things… Two weeks behind in my studies because of some very difficult assignment pieces that have been time intensive. So no holidays for me, just two weeks of catching up!! Yay! Especially when I’m moving house over the Easter weekend and have a major quiz over that weekend aswell… Oh the joys of becoming a teacher! HAHA!

So here I am sharing my curriculum descriptors and assessment criteria… I decided to use the context of a Year 8 English class as that is what I have already had my experience with. The following descriptors I believe will be good when using ICTs and definitely for allowing the students to perform some self-directed learning. 

1. Constructing: ACELA1542 Understand how rhetorical devices are used to persuade and how different layers of meaning are developed through the use of metaphor, irony and parody

2. Transforming: ACELT 1768 Experiment with particular language features drawn from different types of texts, including combinations of language and visual choices to create new texts

The following criteria for the assessment links to the above descriptors but will need some tweaking as I develop my assessment piece ideas:

1.Discerning analysis of how language features, images and vocabulary are used for different purposes, audiences and effects

2. Discerning use of a variety of textual and language features to achieve different purposes and effects:
•written features
•spoken/signed features
•non-verbal features
•visual features

Well that’s it for me today!

Catchya all later 🙂

 

The end of another week…

It’s Friday!!

We are finally at the end of another gruelling week in EDC3100. I’m feeling just that little bit better about this course at the end of this week. I think last week with all the signing up to different online tools was just a huge overwhelming experience!

Today I am on track with getting some links to useful materials into my posts, so here goes… The following link is one that is close to my heart, ICT and creativity. As I am becoming a drama and english teacher, creativity on my classrooms is going to be an essential characteristic that my students need! I have previously shared this link on Diigo for you guys to see. This PDF explains (with diagrams as well) how creativity can be fostered with ICT guidance. The main theme I found was the ability to link with other students in different parts of the world, allowing students to see what others are doing, share some of their creative works, get some good ideas off of each other and collaborate. Check it out if you havent already. ICT for fostering creativity in the classroom is going to be one of my main reasons outlined in my assignment piece 🙂 http://ascilite2012.org/conferences/singapore07/procs/northcott.pdf

 

I would love to see some comments on this blog post about what others are thinking of doing in their 3 main reasons for ICT in the classroom (assignment 1), so feel free to comment!!

 

 

Also, when I was on a roll of researching creativity in the classroom I found that the number one way for students to unleash their creativity is apparently through online blogging, maybe USQ lecturers are onto something?? 🙂 I will be posting a few more links to useful stuff next week… Have a good weekend!

 

My Reasons

So, let me reflect on what I have learnt so far about the reasons for ICT in the classroom. Ok… I have made myself a PPT with a mind map and at the moment I have two main reasons.

Number 1

-ICTs in the classroom will assist with students who find it easier to learn and complete tasks with technology rather than pen and paper. This allows for more diversity in the pedagogical approach to curriculum for me, meaning my students will have a choice of how they wish to go about completing tasks, hopefully bettering grades for some!

– this also includes the students who physically cannot learn without the help of tech, such as students with disabilities as mentioned in my last post here (really learning how to use hyperlinks lately 🙂 )

My second reason, it’s a biggy! The world is a technological place and from this course EDC3100 I have begun to understand the need for technology in the classroom- to ready our students for their inevitably technologically diverse futures where they WILL NOT be able to ESCAPE technology, not matter their career choices.

Technology- It’s everywhere!!!

Eye Opening!

So far in this course it has become apparent to me that a number of things that once were not possible within the classroom have now become possible. It was not until I read this post that I considered how far the use of ICT and pedagogy has assisted in special education and students with learning difficulties. I am surpised by the amount of ICT that is included in Amanda’s sons school days… This is really great stuff! Technology is definitely becoming a useful tool in the classroom! 🙂

 

Time Wasting Cure

So, after accessing something like 10 of the introductions through the discussion forum just to get the links to others blogs, I discovered how to add more than just one at a time! TEST framework- I analyzed the task I wanted to perform, realized the way I was doing it was not effective, searched for a better solution using the page on TEST frameworks and the google article within this and Oh! There IS actually more than one way to solve a problem using ICT! My reflection right now is that I wasted a lot of my time stressing about the little things like this time wasting task I found myself doing, when really I just needed to go through some more information to find what I needed… Feeling a little annoyed with myself for getting into such a state over this. Oh well! Ive figured it out now… 🙂

Here’s the link to how to add more than one blogger to your blog– http://usqstudydesk.usq.edu.au/m2/mod/book/tool/print/index.php?id=176305#ch10519

While you will experience a steep learning curve at the beginning, it is worth sticking with it. When you get the hang of blogging or technology integration it is not an add on, it is a seamless way of working more effectively – Kathleen Morris, 2011

While poking through some more information on EDC3100 Studydesk I found a golden little link that made me feel just a tad better about ICT in the classroom and about this whole blogging process. This quote is explaining what it is like to integrate blogging and ICT into the classroom and into a teachers life/pedagogy. Thought I’d share as I found it made me feel a little hopeful for the future of this course! If anyone wants to check it out the link is http://primarytech.global2.vic.edu.au/2011/01/23/overcoming-obstacles/

Argh!

First post on my blog, I guess my heading says it all! Not liking this very much at all… So far EDC3100 is very overwhelming and I’m feeling lost, confused, and asking myself how I am going to survive! There is just so much to do and so much of it puts me completely out of my comfort zone. I will keep trying though and attempt to complete enough posts.

As you can probably tell my spirits are low and stress levels are high right now!

This here is my only savior at the moment…  http://learn.wordpress.com/get-comfy/#reader

Not sure how to add people from the course either, another stressful situation.