picnik_new_sample3_EDITED

picnik_new_sample3_EDITED
Originally uploaded by s00shi_88

edited version using picnik.

Image from picnik.com

picnik_new_sample3

picnik_new_sample3
Originally uploaded by s00shi_88

original unedited photo

Reflective Synopsis

I’ve learnt a great deal doing this assessment piece. I’ve discovered new technologies that I’m really disappointed I hadn’t heard of earlier! Aside from that, I had forgotten how much our current generation is looking towards technology more than ever. One of the most interesting experiences I had was watching a video of George Lucas (Edutopia, 2007) when he was talking about his project of Edutopia at a Dreamforce Conference held back in 2007. One of his statements that struck me was when he was talking about the purpose of Edutopia:

...what we do is take the best practices of what education will look like using
technology...and out of that we realised it facilitates age old years of learning.

It was interesting that Lucas mentioned that ‘it (technology) facilitates age of years of learning’ (Edutopia). Furthermore I really appreciated the way Edutopia tackled education. Some of their philosophies (if that’s what you would even call them) included thoughts such as; making sure that students are engaging in ‘real world projects to learn subject matter’ (Edutopia); that there’s an emphasis on cooperation and team building elements where students can outwork conflict handling and collaboration. It also talked about integrating study with well-matured and new concepts; Edutopia also saw tests and portfolios to assess student’s performance as a key in developing their skills and learning development. However, it was the teacher element which was seen as the most vital as Edutopia emphasised that teacher’s bring ‘the human touch...the most valuable element in education by nurturing a student’s interest and confidence’ (Edutopia).

After taking note of these things I really appreciated what George Lucas was doing to a greater level. I realised that he wasn’t at all knocking the old ways of learning, in fact his statement of technology acting as a facilitator of ‘age old years of learning’ (Edutopia) seemed to bring to light the fact that today’s technology should be seen to ENHANCE these practices of learning that have been developed over centuries. Marc Prensky’s (2001) article on, Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants, pointed out how the new generation of tech-savvy students (who Prensky affectionately refers to as Digital Natives) can get frustrated with the not-quite-up-to-scratch, Digital Immigrants who are still ‘migrating’ over to the new digital age. One of Prensky’s (2001) points about the struggle that a Digital Immigrant might have was how:
Digital Immigrant teachers assume that learners are the same as they have always been, and that the same methods that worked for the teachers when they were students will work for their students now. But that assumption is no longer valid. Today‟s learners are different.

As a self-confessed Digital Native, I can see how this could be very frustrating for not only a Digital Native Student but also a Digital Immigrant teacher. However, ICT should be seen through the lens of George Lucas. He mentioned at his conference how, ‘children learn out of curiousity’ (2007). This revelation is not a new one – it would be safe to say that children have always been like this since the beginning of time. I’ve realised now that ICT in a learning environment should not been seen as the enemy, but as a something that can tweak the curiosity of my students (who are most likely going to be more tech-savvy than I).
For now though, I appreciated some of the technologies covered in this course. Some of my favourites were; Picnik, Voice Thread, Voki and the Quizz Maker. I appreciated how user friendly it was – that even a Digital Migrant could not help but like the easy interface of these programs.

I’d also like to mention how I appreciated reading and discussing Ron Oliver’s (2001) Learning Design Model in the forums. His theory about; Learning Tasks, Learning Support and Learning Resources being integrated together is a powerful concept that I believe could work in any era. For instance, if we took Oliver’s theory to the education system 20 years ago, the Learning Tasks, Learning Support and Learning Resources would have still worked congruently together, but it would have conformed to the culture and technologies of that time. Was the way they did it 20 years ago wrong? Some might argue that it could have been, however, I believe that just as time moves on and people come and go, technology which is facilitating our age-old approaches to education are simply evolving and changing to suit its surroundings.

In conclusion, suppose I see technology in learning as clothing. Ten years ago there was not just another fashion going on, but I was younger and smaller. Fast forwarding to the present, I can’t get angry that I grew physically and that I can’t fit into those clothes I wore 10 years ago – there’s simply no point. It would be a waste of time and those clothes aren’t only too small but they’re dated! In the same way, technology in the classroom should be those new clothes that we are so excited about in the present time. We should appreciate these new technologies and approaches to learning now before they are outdated, disappear and another lot of ‘clothes’ come in.

References:
Edutopia 2007, George Lucas speaks at Dreamforce Conference, September 18th, 2007, The George Lucas Foundation, viewed 21 August 2009
http://www.edutopia.org/george-lucas-education-dreamforce-2007

Oliver, R 1999, Exploring strategies for online teaching and learning. Distance Education, 20(2), 240-254. viewed 21 August 2009
learningdesigns.uow.edu.au/project/learn_design.htm

Voice Thread

File Storage!

Here is the picture I'd like to share with you all - it's a pic taken when I was in South Africa for 9 weeks and to make me feel like I was home I drew a lot...

http://www.mediafire.com/file/zzy5tegeduz/DSCF4079.JPG

I've used a similar online file storage system before and I love it! I already know the benefits of being able to send as many files to as many people as you like - all by simply sending them the link to the 'central storage place'.

I think teachers could upload videos, files, images..etc. to this a central place, and instead of emailing big files to many people, you can send the people the link to download the files themselves - brilliant!

Slideshare

India: A short photographic journey

View more presentations from s0059856.

My very short but hopefully interesting and informative presentation - enjoy!

Wikipedia

'Wikipedia is a free, web-based and collaborative multilingual encylopedia' (Wikipedia, 2009). Wikipedia has approximately 13 million articles, 3 million which are English and have been contributed by volunteers from all over the globe who have signed up to Wikipedia (Wikipedia). Wikipedia works just like a wiki, people can add and/or subtract information which means it's completely editable. This brings up the reliability of information that is posted in their millions of articles.

Because Wikipedia is not guaranteed to be total fact, I am always slightly apprehensive whenever I search for an article of interest using Wikipedia. Thomas Chesney (Anderson, 2006) who is a Lecturer at the Nottingham University Business School, concluded that although Wikipedia may be the preferred site for information, further research is encouraged before using any information in Wikipedia is actual fact.

However, Wikipedia is very convenient and could be used as one of the sources for students to take note of when they study. Students can then compare Wikipedia's information with other sources. This would encourage student's to research thoroughly and challenge them to sort through different sources of information to create a final product.

References:
Anderson N, 2006, Experts rate Wikipedia's accuracy higher than non-experts, Ars Technica, viewed 24 August 2009
http://arstechnica.com/old/content/2006/11/8296.ars

Wikipedia.com 2009, Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, Wikimedia Foundation, viewed 23 August 2009
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia

Google Earth

Google Earth is a powerful tool that would be very useful to show student's the world realistically! Above are screen shots of New Delhi, however below are shots of Times Square, NY.

With the special features of 3D view and Street View, this capabilities can make any Geography or SOS class exciting and almost tangible.

Podcasting: World News for Kids

I've never really tapped into podcasting, however after 'dipping-my-toes-into-the-water' I'm very keen to dive in! Podcasting is a brilliant concept and after discovering the World News for Kids podcast I was excited that there was something that could cater for what I would be teaching my class if I was a teacher. The thought of spending only 4 minutes of a lesson in order that my students could engage with what's happening around the world around them with the ease of doing it all online couldn't sound any better!

Podcasting isn't only audio but it can be visual too. TEDTalks was introduced to me not long ago and the few I've seen have been very impacting and have left a big impression on me.

As more of a 'visual learner' I would need to find a balance with my students to know if podcasting would be effective for them in their learning experience. I cannot simply cater for the visual learners or the students who engage better who thrive audibly, but I would need to incorporate a practical and more 'hands on' side to the podcasts that we engage in.

On the other hand, when refering to Ron Oliver's (1999) ICT Learning Design Model of; Learning Tasks, Learning Supports and Learning Resources - podcasting could very well encompass all of these areas.

Therefore, I think podcasting matched with some inventive thinking of how to make podcasting come alive in a classroom is the winning formula to bring a new dimension in the learning experience.

References:
Oliver, R 1999, Exploring strategies for online teaching and learning. Distance Education, 20(2), 240-254. viewed 21 August 2009http://www.learningdesigns.uow.edu.au/project/learn_design.htm

YouTube

I chose this video because I had already gathered information about India - and it's a place where I would like to go in the future. Furthermore, this particular was chosen because it's not only well made but it talks about the history of India in a visually interesting manner.

Quizzes with ClassMarker

I invite you to take part in my online quiz on some general knowledge questions of India.

Simply click the link below:
Take our online test

All the best!

I think this online Quiz software is a brilliant idea. If I were a teacher I would choose to create some online tests/quizzes that my students can take online and in their own time. The other handy thing is I won't have to mark all of my students' answers!

Picnik / Flickr

This is an original photo that I uploaded on Flickr:

Below is the same photo but after I've edited it in Picnik:

I love how it was so easy to be able to access photos from my Flickr account and then edit them in Picnik! Picnik was also really user-friendly which is great for anyone who hasn't done photo editing before. Another great feature are the pre-made functions and tools that are right at your fingertips - with these settings you can make customise your adjustments while also have a live preview of what your photo will look like - easy!

For example, if you wanted to adjust the Exposure of the photo, simply drag those sliders either way and Picnik (2009) will give you a live update.

Image from Picnik 2009
http://www.picnik.com/app#/edit

Powerpoint

I created a short photographic presentation on India which consisted of 9 slides - some with random facts about India and the others with a single photo. The purpose of this presentation was to simply give people a very small glimpse of what they could expect to see if they ever travelled there.

My struggles probably outweighed my achievements, only because I found Powerpoint a very tedious program to navigate around. However, after compiling and completing this short presentation I found that Powerpoint does provide a solid platform for people who desire a smart looking presentation but maybe aren't too confident in video editing or using another form of technology. I think Powerpoint could definitely bring a fresh edge to a classroom by making things visual for students, however the time factor of preparing the presentation needs to be taking into consideration.

Wishing that I was there at this time last year...

That unspoken feeling, of knowing that right now is all that matters.
Originally uploaded by ♥ Sanne

Just set up my Flickr account and thought I'd have a look at photos taken from this time last year.

And then I came across this photo.

It captured where I wanted to be, this year and last year. It was a place where I would be able to collate my thoughts and just be refreshed.

Oh well, hopefully someday soon I'll be in this picture.

Meet my Voki

Get a Voki now!



'Learning is a fun thing to do, especially when you're interested...'
George Lucas (Edutopia 2009)


My Voki Lizzie, could be used as a Learning Support and a Learning Resource, which are categories based on Ron Oliver's (1999) development of strategies for online teaching and learning. A diagram of his learning design framework can be seen below:

As you can see, these 3 circles are integrated with each other. So although Learning Supports aren't the main focus of a learning design framework, a Voki like Lizzie could help maintain the balance of this framework. Lizzie could be of assistance for a teacher who can't mentor and guide all of their students on an individual level. Furthermore, Lizzie could provide information that students needed and act as the voice of a teacher to assign tasks - it would mean teachers would not have to repeat themselves over and over again.

One thing that famous movie director, George Lucas pointed out at in an interview at the Dreamforce Conference (Edutopia) was that, 'children learn out of curiousity...'. Therefore with this in mind, a Voki like Lizzie could be a helping hand in a child's discovery in learning. Every week could be a new Voki, that has something new to say, that a student will not be expecting but will be very curious to know what will happen!



References:
Edutopia 2009, George Lucas speaks at Dreamforce Conference, September 18th 2007, The George Lucas Foundation, viewed 20 August 2009
http://www.edutopia.org/george-lucas-education-dreamforce-2007

Oliver, R 1999, Exploring strategies for online teaching and learning. Distance Education, 20(2), 240-254. viewed 21 August 2009
http://www.learningdesigns.uow.edu.au/project/learn_design.htm

The possibilities with Mahara

Mahara - what to say except, "Wow". I had never heard of this before and now that I have, it's opened up a whole new window of possibilities.


According to an 'Introduction to Mahara' video that was posted on Scivee.tv (2008), 'Mahara provides a safe, education-focused Social Networking environment.' Furthermore, Mahara enables users to post their resume online, their blogs, along with any other personal information that they'd like to share either to the whole world or just their own circle of friends or groups which can be easily created with a click of a button.


An idea of what my Mahara page looks like so far can be seen below:



















As you can see I've only scraped the surface with this eportfolio site. I've posted some of my blog entries from my Professional blog and have added a video in my 'Views' section.

Process and learning opportunities using Mahara

The process to make Mahara work in a classroom setting would be to evaluate your class to see if it would be beneficial to your students. For example, ensuring there aren't major hinderances to anyone from experience learning to its fullest potential is vital. This is where Access and Equity come into the picture. Dr Dale Spender and Dr Fiona Stuart the writers of, Embracing e-Learning in Australian Schools (2002) expressed the importance of equity in schools:


We need imaginative solutions to ensure that everyone has access to online delivery of
learning anywhere, anytime, and any place, those who are not computer
competent...will not be part of the information society.

Therefore, establishing the reasoning behind using this ICT tool is essential and could help you in the future. However, if there are no major concerns or signs that indicate this would hinder one of your students from their learning experience, the opportunities Mahara can open are helpful and could prove highly effective.


Since Mahara is an 'education-focused Social Networking environment' (Scivee.tv 2008) imagine school-based employers getting on board with Mahara and connecting with students in your class who are looking for work or simply connection with people in their field of interest. Teachers from other school could connect and collaborate, student's could post their work or previous assignments on to their profile where there teachers can provide feedback and also refer on to other students or teachers. The possibilites could be endless.


Hence, with a sound knowledge of what is ultimately best for your students, I believe Mahara could be extremely helpful to teachers and students to connect with each other along with other educational institutions and people who are in the corporate/industry world.



References:

Kirk, A 2008, An introduction to Mahara (with sound), Scivee.tv, viewed 21 August 2009
http://www.scivee.tv/node/6372

Spender & Stuart 2002, Embracing e-Learning in Australian Schools, Commonwealth Bank Groups, viewed 22 Aug 2009
http://www.bssc.edu.au/public/learning_teaching/research/embracing%20e-Learning%20000-731.pdf

'Wikid' Wiki's

A Wiki 'is a website that allows multiple users to create, modify and organize web page content in a collaborative manner.' (Governers State University, 2009) I learnt about Wiki's in a course the previous course and until then, I'd never really understood the power and potential that a simple Wiki can achieve.


My newfound knowledge of how clever and convenient Wiki's were fueled even more when I started talking to one of my friends to let them know about how great Wiki's were - little did I know they already knew about Wiki's! So we decided to create one, but not just any kind of Wiki... The great thing was, we thought we'd create a Wiki for a multimedia and design team we are a part of. We thought why not create a Wiki for the whole team to collaborate with each other easily and effectively. Since creating this Wiki, the rest of the team have now come to appreciate the convenience and the simplicity of a Wiki and we are using it frequently. There's no more fear about losing sheets of paper with important information being lost, no more 'jotting down notes' and sending a plethora of follow-up emails - we can now (for instance) type out tasks under a 'Task' page and the team can add their comments or thoughts, and better still delete a 'task' off that list which means everyone will see it.


Collaboration has now been simplified.


The funny thing is, after creating my own Wiki for this assessment piece (seen below) I was so satisfied! I suppose knowing how effective an active Wiki is was really exciting for me, and seeing how other people in my class were easily collaborating and reading their reflections about how much they loved it was really terrific!

















Therefore, now having this knowledge and experience of the effectiveness of a Wiki, I can definitely see the possibilites of implementing this ICT in a classroom setting - in fact, the classroom would be re-defined. Students would be able to collaborate more effectively on a school assignment out of school time and the teacher would be able to give feedback and direction whenever they'd like. Drafts for assignments could be viewed and edited, feedback could be easily provided, links and references could be shared and kept safe and neatly in one place - Wikid!




References: Governers State University 2009, eLearning Glossary, viewed 21 August 2009
http://www.govst.edu/elearning/default.aspx?id=12984

RSS - Really SIMPLE Syndication!

If you had asked me last month what a RSS aggregator was, I would have looked at you completely dumbfounded - I simply had no idea! On top of that, the thought of adding an RSS feed to my blog sounded so complicated! Funnily enough after seeing that RSS in fact stood for, 'Really Simple Syndication' I breathed a sigh of relief! I like things that involve the word 'simple' in it! After a few simple clicks, I had a set up a RSS aggregator and was now able to follow some of my peer's blogs!

Blogging with RSS is a powerful tool that teachers should embrace to help themselves and their students in and out of the classroom. Will Richardson (2005), discusses the benefits and practicalities of RSS in a document called, RSS: A Quick Start Guide for Educators (2005). David Parry (2006), who is involved with the University of Albany also talks about the benefits of using a good RSS feeder when blogging in a classroom:

'What a good feed reader does is allow you to quickly scan the headlines, mark the ones you want
to read, toss out the ones you don't, and return either immediately, or at a later more convenient
time, to carefully read the ones you have selected.'

In essence, RSS saves you a lot of time. Instead of searching and gathering information and having to constantly go back and forth getting new information, RSS does all of this for you. Furthermore, by saving time this means more opportunities to focus on other important areas such as; helping your students understand and comprehend information or moving onto other forms of ICT that could be implemented in your classroom!

References:
Parry, D 2006, The Technology of Reading and Writing in the Digital Space: Why RSS is crucial for a Blogging Classroom, Blogs for Learning, viewed 20 August 2009
http://blogsforlearning.msu.edu/articles/view.php?id=6

Richardson, W 2005, RSS: A Quick Start Guide for Educators, Creative Commons, viewed 20 August 2009
http://weblogg-ed.com/wp-content/uploads/2006/05/RSSFAQ4.pdf

To Blog or not to Blog...

Until now, blogging had never really grabbed my attention. In the past I'd only seen a handful of some of my friend's blogs and although most of their blogs were very interesting, I think being a graphic designer and being a visual learner, didn't help me appreciate all of their thoughts when all I saw wasn't words but lots of black text on a computer screen.

In other words, to me blogging looked boring!

However, I wanted to change this mindset so I decided to look beyond my tiny 'blogging circle' and check out other people's blogs. I simply Googled, 'best blogs' and the first hit lead me to the Sydney Morning Herald website where they had an archive article from 2003 where they listed the, 'The World's Best Blogs' (SMH, 2003). They listed the various blogs under particular categories such as:
- Personal Insight
- News and Opinion
- Homegrown
- Infofile

Being overwhelmed as to where to look and start reading, I decided to click the top Personal Insight blog which was created by 25 year old guy from New York (2003). I was amazed at my discovery. See below...






















(Image from) http://www.introversion.com/interface.html


If anything, I was simply surprised that this was considered a blog. I always saw blogs as very plain looking and not at all visually inspiring. However, after having a look at all the nifty features he had on his blog and also appreciating the execution of how he's displayed his thoughts to the World Wide Web, I think it was pretty safe to say that my thinking had been broadened.

Looking at this guy's blog encouraged me that although the look and layout of this blog might not be everyone's cup of tea - it nevertheless, made me want to 'dive into it' and explore it more!

Therefore, 'To Blog or not to Blog' is not the question, I think it's, 'To think outside the idea of a blog to stir up imagination!'

Reference: Stonehouse, D 2003, The world's best blogs, Icon, viewed 20 August 2009
http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/09/26/1064083180276.html