The first tool I would like to touch on is ‘Space tools’. Space tools can range from blogs, wikis, the CQU Moodle site and websites. Space tools can be used in student learning. Students could use websites to for doing projects instead presenting it on the old A3 piece of cardboard. Also the teachers could create a classroom wiki and use it to discuss class assignments or have debates. An example of a wiki that I have participated in for E-Learning can be found by clicking on this link.http://fahe11001noosa2.wikispaces.com/Mobile+Phones+Wiki Websites are my favourite space tool. They are a great learning tool and the creator gets to control all of the content. Websites are also a way for students to find and research information as well as display information for school projects or assignments. When using other people’s websites the information displayed is not always going to be correct, which can lead to students getting the wrong information for their school work. Also the content on websites other than your own cannot be controlled. Internet use should always be supervised, especially when students are researching online. I wouldn’t recommend children younger than grade four using websites for research. Students need to have an understanding of the internet before diving in by themselves. If you would please refer to my blog about websites now, you will find some examples of how I would incorporate websites into student learning. You will also find a link to my own website which I made for E-Learning.http://erinreneesblog.blogspot.com/2011/07/space-tools-websites.html
The next set of tools I would like to discuss is ‘Multimedia Tools’. Multimedia tools can be in the form of vokis, avatars, the use of windows movie maker, YouTube, podcasts and Flickr. You can use multimedia tools to document different things in the classroom; for example science experiments. You can then use the footage and play it back to the students to aid discussions and to help the students to write reports or recounts. You can also send the footage to the student’s parents using photo story or moviemaker, so they can see what their child is learning at school. Multimedia tools are a hands on way to make sure children have an understanding of what they are learning. During this course I have created both a voki and an avatar and I have also made a demonstrative video using movie maker. I have found multimedia tools to be the most fun of all the other tools we have explored in E-learning. Movie maker was so simple to use and very easy to navigate. Children in prep could easily work their way around this programme with a minimal amount of teacher assistance. Vokis and Avatars are also very easy to create. The only problem I had with my avatar was the mouth movements not quite syncing up with the voice. This I’m sure is a problem that can be easily fixed by just moving my webcam or myself into a better position. I think multimedia tools are the best for engaging children on new subjects. You could create an avatar of a historical figure and use that to introduce a related topic to the class. Students could even use avatars as a visual aid is presentations to the class. I have included the link to my demonstrative video I made using movie maker.http://erinreneesblog.blogspot.com/2011/08/my-movie.html
Presentation tools are the third set of digital technologies I would like to examine. Presentation tools can be used by both students and teachers who want to make and share presentations. Presentations can be uploaded to blogs, wikis and websites (Department of education and early childhood development, 2010). In my exploration of presentation tools I took a look at PowerPoint and Prezzie. I ran into some trouble when trying to access Prezzie, both my old and new lap tops would not allow me to access the site for some reason. I changed my security settings and eventually turned off all my computer security to no avail. I did however have success with power point! I found PowerPoint a little harder to navigate around then I did with movie maker. I think PowerPoint would be best suited for year five and older, not only because of the difficulty but because I don’t think anyone younger would have a use for it. From my memory of school, year five is when your assignments start to get a bit more complex and you do more presentations in front of your peers, so visual aids such as PowerPoint become very useful. Presentation tools should also be utilised by teachers. Introducing new subjects or just using presentation tools to aid explanations help keep the students engaged. All of the lecturers at university rely on PowerPoint presentations. This is very helpful to me as a student because it supplies me with notes to print off when I get home, but it also helps the lecturers keep on track and provides them with notes so they can remember what they are talking about. Always remember when making a PowerPoint you should not put all of your information into it and read off it. PowerPoint is a visual AID, which means it helps you to remember what you’re talking about when you’re making a presentation.
The last digital technology I’m going to discuss in this synopsis is ‘Other Tools’. Other tools can be Skype, forums, the game ‘Angry Birds’, the Google suite, animations, webcams, Bee Bots and Talking points. In class we got to play with and explore most of these tools. I’m going to talk about one we didn’t get to explore, but one I have had a lot of experience with- Skype. Skype is a computer application that lets you make free internet video and voice calls to anywhere in the world. Skype is free and most computers these days come with it already installed. Skype came in very handy for me when I was living overseas, I honestly don’t know how my mum would’ve got on without it! I have heard of Skype being used in classrooms, with students as young as prep. I have heard of a teacher using Skype to get her students to interact with a classroom of students the same year level in a different country. The teacher arranged Skype chats with a school in Africa, which was a topic her students were learning about. The students would talk with the students from Africa and ask questions and learn about their culture and way of life. This assisted the students in their individual class projects on Africa by letting the children interact with the students from Africa face to face via Skype. Skype is also used in distance education. I completed year ten by distance education and I don’t know what I would’ve done without the Skype chats with my teachers. Sometimes you need to be taught something face to face for it to sink in properly and Skype helped with that.
The safe and legal practices for all of these tools are basically the same. The same copyright laws that apply in day to day life apply online. When students are working online constant supervision is imperative. Most school computers do have certain content and websites blocked, but that doesn’t mean children are 100% protected from some of the unsavoury content the internet has to offer. When you create your own website, you may wish to upload pictures on to it. It is important that you copyright your own pictures. If you are using any content (including pictures) it is very important to get the owner’s permission first and to make sure that after you have you give them credit by either referencing them or putting their name under the photo. Flickr is a great source for free images and it also explain the copyright laws you need to practice if you intend on using their images. If you would like to read my blog on the safe and legal practices of the internet, it also includes links to a few helpful websites.http://erinreneesblog.blogspot.com/2011/08/safe-and-legal-internet-practices.html
All of these digital tools are ways to keep children engaged in their learning. The world’s technologies are evolving every day and it is important that students as well as teachers are able to use these technologies. Since the technology and information of today are moving so rapidly the idea of 'know-where' (Knowing where to find information when needed) is much more highly regarded than the 'know-how' and the 'know- what'. Please click on the link which will take you to my blog on the connectivism theory, a theory a think works well with E-Learning.http://erinreneesblog.blogspot.com/2011/07/connectivism-e-learning.html
References
Department of education and early childhood development, 2010,
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