Final Course Reflection

Well I discovered a lot about myself through out this course; not always positive. Firstly, I discovered my inability to successfully sign up to Blogger. I inadvertently typed my name incorrectly so had to resign and then successfully saved my posts to the wrong blog! Things did get better!
There are many things in the course that, personally, I would not use simply because I do not see the need. In saying this, I do not discount the value of Delicious and Facebook. I was surprised how much I actually already knew about some of these Web 2.0 tools and did not realise.
I also found it beyond value to have others of my cohort doing the same course even though we were studying independently. To be able to have that dialogue with others, in particular a coworker at the same class level, gave support for sharing the highs and lows of the course. The course certainly took longer than the 20 hours as each video clip and link led me to others links that just begged to be explored.
My big find was Glogster...my new "must use tool" along with Animoto. Glogster will ofter be my new assessment tool.
Thanks must go to my coworkers for their encouragement and to Lorretta Campbell for sorting out my Animoto issues. I think it is now my responsibility to share these Web 2.0 tools with others as if we are to be  effective educators who engage our students then we must embrace the Web 2.0 world.
Blog Comments:
http://avine1.blogspot.com.au/2013/10/module-5-glogstar-edu.html?showComment=1382824359640#c6380908501586277186

Module 5 Revisited

This week I set my year 5/6 class up on Glogster. After a few teething problems, they all logged in to have a "play"; they were free to experiment and discover, using each other to share and peer tutor their discoveries. They were given the topic Mission Week.

Typically in situations like this, there are various degrees of competency across the class. I was pleased to see most of the class get out of the usual comfort zones; this will be a perfect way to assess our inquiry unit, It's Electrifying, in a couple of weeks.

I have explored Prezi, previously, but have not used it in the classroom.

Module 10

At this stage in my learning, I see the use of virtual learning communities as a positive but secondary tool. I would certainly be interested if I was in a secondary setting but for the moment I think I will stick with some of the other tools and features covered in revious modules.

Module 9

I was amazed to see how much more in tune with Web 2.0 features I have become over the duration of these modules. Suddenly the RSS feed, collaborative spaces, tags, Twitter, blog and Facebook links and icons jumped out at me on Scootle.
Although, at the insistence of my Principal, I have joined up to Twitter this year, I am not a lover of the social networking for students. I see far too many of our Primary students being on Facebook when they are not of age; parents and/or older siblings have signed them up or they have signed up and flouted the terms of agreement. Our school runs a Cybersafety program F- 6 but still there has been evidence of online bullying through "kid friendly" social networks like kik.
The genie has truly escaped the lantern when it comes to social networking and the best we can do as educators, parents and adults is to educate our students about securing their digital footprints and how to be proactive if something does go amiss. As a school community, our students use Edmodo as a social networking site; see and moderated by the staff. In Edmodo, they can securely interact with their own class, year level peers and special interest groups like Maths Club. This has become a portal for the students to upload examples of work for others to see, collect set homework tasks and in some instances submit homework while at the same time practicing good cyber social etiquette.  At a ACMA Cybersafety lecture, I remember being told that the 45-55 year old bracket was the poorest for having adequate online security settings, but I fear that some students are equally at risk; not by giving out their details online, but by their "face to face" friends giving out personal details. I have known of this happening and a Troll making contact.
If the security settings of Social networking are kept tight and the users keep their wits about them then maybe all will bode well...


Perhaps after completing this Web 2.0 course I personally will have a digital footprint as big as a Yeti's.

Module 8

Having always wondered what the RSS icon really mean and why anyone would need to use it, I am now thinking of becoming a bit of an enthusiast. As warned in RSS in Plain English YouTube clip, there is a real fear of addiction. After instantly, adding my favourite newspaper sites, BOM for the weather and emergencyvic.info, I am sad to confess searching for other RSS icons. Given that the RSS in Education Slideshow would not load for me, I can imagine students would begin to use the feeds to develop personal blogs, wikis, podcasts and, with internet availability, I could easily see senior secondary students making updates to their debating and/or public speaking speeches just prior to taking to the stage.
Changes and updates to both wikis and blogs would also alert subscribers of content updates. Calendars of school event could be linked so that parent, students and teachers are notified of scheduled events, or indeed re-scheduled events. Likewise for classroom blogs.
On a personal note, I am an avid follower of the Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) and would eagerly make use of alerts of coming storms and the like.

Module 6

Using the Picasa application has been educational for me! Certainly a digital tool that I could envisage using with my Senior students. I truly discovered the benefits of the Google Drive when I was trying to collect my images from a variety of repositories; phone MacBook, PC, USB the list goes on and on...
The collage tool not difficult and, indeed, fun.
Although we frequently hone in on plagiarism with the students, it was an eye opening wake up call to read through copyright responsibilities. The mantra should always be "to whom does this really belong?" before using, show, watching as well as publishing. This area certainly needs more investigation for my personal learning.


Postscript: always have a mid 20s daughter on hand when you are accidentally deleting things from your blog!!!!! Thank you, Emily.

Module 7

Ah Delicious. Other than being my favourite ABC magazine, I have delved into the mysteries of this social networking. At this stage, although I can see merit for many, it is not necessarily a direct magnet for my personal use. I currently access my most frequented bookmarks via Symbaloo, which covers my needs more than adequately, and I used Twitter to follow a large number of professional and educational sources, again, adequate to my current needs. I am sure as I progress through the remainder of this course I shall become more enlightened.

Module 5

I have previously used bubbl.us as a planning tool in my classes. Last semester I used it with my Year 5/6 as a tool for reflection on their research. We used it to identify five significant gold discoveries and the students then contributed different facts they deemed significant. Too often, I feel, graphic organisers are limited to the planning stage only.

 

At this stage Glogster is not being as user friendly as I would desire, although I can see the potential. Pondering if the use of a MacBook rather than a PC could be the issue.  

As previously mentioned by my colleague, Annette Vine, we regularly have Techie Brekky sessions (now expanded to Techie Arvo sessions) as an Ed Camp for us to unravel our issues. Looking forward to a Techie Arvo a la Glogster with her soon!http://avine1.blogspot.com.au/

Module 2

Although I have not explored Blogging in my classroom, I have, with my co-teacher, set up a twitter account for our class. This proved to be a useful communication when our Year 5/6 were on camp; allowing for first time 'camp parents' to allay anxieties and for all parents to enjoy the students' camp experiences vicariously.
Twitter, when used purposely and not in a vacuous nature, allows for the school/parent/student to keep in contact and meaningful communication; parents (invited to join the class Twitter account) can see snap shots of the school day.
Blogging, too, could enhance the student to purposely reflect on their learning.

Module 4

This term as a part of our science unit "It's Electrifying" I want my year 5/6 class to explore the variety of sources of energy that they use every day - not just electricity! Using Animoto will give, I hope, an introduction to this area of they topic. Last semester we used Photostory 3 for the students to create digital stories and timelines. I found that there was a lot of time ineffectively used by some of the less confident digital storytellers. Certainly contemplating using Animoto this term as, for me, I found it more user friendly.
Energy
After watching this youtube clip, it was interesting that now our current day "Huffalumps" want more than the locked away pencils and books for special occasions!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hs2YPGTEWGU#action=share