It is amazing how frustrating technology can be at times and how overwhelming it can be also. There always is a simple solution but sometimes it takes forever to find it ! I have experienced this plenty of times and all though I have always found a positive outcome it prolongs the time a task should have taken me. Overall, I have enjoyed task 2 once I got into the swing of things but initially felt snowed under with all of my other studies and nothing seemed to be going right at the time. I feel relieved that I am able to finish this task and I can't wait to start on the next one. I have promised myself to manage my time more efficiently, which I know will take a lot of the stress off my shoulders.
Thanks for reading my blogs, and following me on my journey. Feel free to comment !
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Monday, 15 April 2013
Peer interaction
Throughout this task my allocated group decided to communicate via Facebook. This has been a great idea as everyone has access and almost everyone instantly replies to each others queries. I have had a few issues along the way, and one being I was away for 10 days. By using Facebook it has kept me up to speed with my group and any changes that may occur through this task I needed to know about.
Other resources
I have found some other great resources along my journey that have really helped me develop my technology skills. This includes how to create a video on You tube, Scootle and the interactive online tools for teaching, Screen-O-Matic, and Endnote. I really liked the Scootle (2011) tool as it followed the Australian Standardised Curriculum and was easy to navigate. The previous assignment on social learner has given me knowledge of other resourceful tools that have enabled me to easily progress through this assignment such as; Skitch, how to download a PDF, identifying appropriate resources on the Murdoch website and using the Murdoch library on campus for resources.
Our lectures provide a lot of information on learning concepts using technology. A great example of using technology as a teacher in the classroom was the example of a 'research action plan' that students could investigate around environmental issues in a particular water conservation area. The class has come up with a great way to display this information on a webpage. I thought this was a great idea to implement technology in a fun, interactive manner that would be engaging to students and can be easily accessed through the internet for parents and caregivers.
Accessed 10th April 2013, via Murdoch website: http://lcs.murdoch.edu.au:8080/ess/echo/presentation/8bb14552-e887-4031-a1d3-0bf7ae21880f
Our lectures provide a lot of information on learning concepts using technology. A great example of using technology as a teacher in the classroom was the example of a 'research action plan' that students could investigate around environmental issues in a particular water conservation area. The class has come up with a great way to display this information on a webpage. I thought this was a great idea to implement technology in a fun, interactive manner that would be engaging to students and can be easily accessed through the internet for parents and caregivers.
Accessed 10th April 2013, via Murdoch website: http://lcs.murdoch.edu.au:8080/ess/echo/presentation/8bb14552-e887-4031-a1d3-0bf7ae21880f
Frustrations
Well that could have been easier than it was!! I have been trying to embed my screen casting video onto my webpage for hours, I could not work out what was going wrong. Finally I worked out that for some reason firefox would not let me download videos so I used Google Chrome and .... Hello... easy as pie. I went through the You tube widget on my Yola site and it seemed to upload quiet quickly. I was also trying to do a peer review and could not download the video, hopefully it works now I am using Google Chrome.
Friday, 12 April 2013
My progress throughout this unit
So far in this unit I have learnt so much about technology I never even knew was available! I am not the most technology savvy person in the world but I have some idea. There is just a world full of resources out there and it is not until you start looking you find that there is almost anything that technology can help you with . I now know how to properly screen-cast, and know how to use Endnote (still a little grey on it but by the end of the week I should be an expert).
Along my journey I have worked out ways to aid in my own learning, like asking peers for advice, using Google, and You Tube (is great for instructions on programs) just to name a few. I gain so much important information out of the lectures about how kids understand and apply their knowledge with technology and the benefits behind this. We looked at a clip in the lecture on Thursday about how a teacher has used technology to help kids make short little films on myths. It was amazing the creativity behind some of the students work and you could see how they become experts in creating little short films. This was a great way to engage kids in learning about different uses of technology but still using their creative minds to explore.
Along my journey I have worked out ways to aid in my own learning, like asking peers for advice, using Google, and You Tube (is great for instructions on programs) just to name a few. I gain so much important information out of the lectures about how kids understand and apply their knowledge with technology and the benefits behind this. We looked at a clip in the lecture on Thursday about how a teacher has used technology to help kids make short little films on myths. It was amazing the creativity behind some of the students work and you could see how they become experts in creating little short films. This was a great way to engage kids in learning about different uses of technology but still using their creative minds to explore.
How to do a screencast using Screen-O-Matic
To access Screen-O-Matic and Endnote initially I found them on the LMS via the link to the unit and then through the Assignment two page. This is where I found all the appropriate resources and further links to access them. I also looked at screen-casting through Google where there was an abundance of screen-casting tools available.
To access Endnote I went onto the Murdoch library website where instructions were provided on how to access and download Endnote onto your computer for free.
Screen-casting using Screen-O-Matic was very easy to use and you can see in the screen captures below the easy steps to follow.
Using technology resources in the future
I can see how Endnote is a great referencing tool that I will definitely use in my future studies and future career as a teacher. The ease of letting a program deal with referencing, will be a massive time saver and will ensure format referencing is done correctly in my work according to whatever resource or style I wish to use. I never knew these types of programs existed and wish I knew before semester one had started ! It will also be a great tool to use when I become a teacher to set the correct standards to students and show appropriate use of referencing in my work. Especially when I am using other peoples work at least I know I can use it easily that will also cover any issues that may arise with copyright.
Screen-casting is something I will also consider using in the future because of its easy design and the purpose behind it. It will be a great tool to use if I need to teach students a certain thing on the computer or need to give an informative presentation that will be easy to understand and engage. It is a great way to apply technology in the classroom that helps to explain and teach students in an interactive way no matter what the subject may be !
Screen-casting is something I will also consider using in the future because of its easy design and the purpose behind it. It will be a great tool to use if I need to teach students a certain thing on the computer or need to give an informative presentation that will be easy to understand and engage. It is a great way to apply technology in the classroom that helps to explain and teach students in an interactive way no matter what the subject may be !
Referencing tool - Endnote
In class yesterday we were interacting with our groups to share ideas, information and to help each other out if needed. It was a great way to get feedback from peers and to see how they were going in the unit. After having issues downloading the Endnote (sometimes instructions are not as easy as they seem!) Rebecca helped me to over come this issue which I am glad to have her help as I didnt think I was ever going to work it out. I learnt more about the referencing tool through the screencasting example that Tomaz showed us, that featured on how to use Endnote. My issue I am finding at the moment is that I can not download this video on screen-casting to watch it again to know how to use it. I need to have more of a look and a play but at the moment I am finding Endnote quiet confusing and complicated.
I looked at a few of the other referencing tools available through LMS. I found that everyone was going with Endnote as it had been primarily discussed in our lecturers during the week. Also Murdoch provided free access to it which was another reason I chose it. I was going to download the other resources to see how they worked and what was easier, but didn't want to use up my memory on my computer. Some of the other referencing tools that were suggested in the lectures were Mendeley and Zotero.
I looked at a few of the other referencing tools available through LMS. I found that everyone was going with Endnote as it had been primarily discussed in our lecturers during the week. Also Murdoch provided free access to it which was another reason I chose it. I was going to download the other resources to see how they worked and what was easier, but didn't want to use up my memory on my computer. Some of the other referencing tools that were suggested in the lectures were Mendeley and Zotero.
Website resources
After we had chosen our topic area to be English, the resource that was allocated to me by my group was a webpage. I began to research online interactive tools that used technology to help teach English in the classroom. I looked at many different resources on the Internet by using the search engine Google. By typing in key words such as 'Interactive online tools for teaching English', Google allowed access to a abundance of resources. It was then a matter of choosing one that I thought would be engaging and beneficial in the classroom that reflected my topic area of interest.
Some of the website resources were:
- http://www.funenglishgames.com/
Fun English games looked at how to apply English in an interactive way in primary schools using many different resources. There was also worksheets, activities, videos and games available that had free access. I think this would be a great tool to use in the classroom to aid teaching English in the classroom.
- http://www.teachingtreasures.com.auS/teaching-tools/english4-5/englishmain-online.htm
Teaching treasures was also a great website that had a similar interactive ideas to teach English. I didn't think this resource was as good as the others as it wasn't laid out properly, had less animations and didn't have as many English resources to use.
- http://www.ictinteractive.com/online-learning/english-online-learning
This was a great website that had a lot of information on English tools that you could use in the classroom. It looked at grammar, punctuation, online tests, teachers information and a lot of interactive tools to aid in this development. I enjoyed this website and was easy to use.
http://www.scootle.edu.au/ec/p/home
Scootle was an excellent resource and one that I decided to use for this task. It successfully used technology to aid in teaching English in the classroom and explored many different teaching concepts, resources and had an abundance of information for teachers that would be useful to have.
The amount of online resources that are available are incredible. There are so many to choose from and explore and it is good to have a guide in your head in what you are looking for. I chose Scootle because it followed the Australian Standardised Curriculum and I loved the amount of information it provided to help aid teaching English in the classroom as a future teacher. It did not only provide interactive tools but also information on what you should be teaching at what year level. I think Scootle will be something I definitely use in the future as a teacher.
Some of the website resources were:
- http://www.funenglishgames.com/
Fun English games looked at how to apply English in an interactive way in primary schools using many different resources. There was also worksheets, activities, videos and games available that had free access. I think this would be a great tool to use in the classroom to aid teaching English in the classroom.
- http://www.teachingtreasures.com.auS/teaching-tools/english4-5/englishmain-online.htm
Teaching treasures was also a great website that had a similar interactive ideas to teach English. I didn't think this resource was as good as the others as it wasn't laid out properly, had less animations and didn't have as many English resources to use.
- http://www.ictinteractive.com/online-learning/english-online-learning
This was a great website that had a lot of information on English tools that you could use in the classroom. It looked at grammar, punctuation, online tests, teachers information and a lot of interactive tools to aid in this development. I enjoyed this website and was easy to use.
http://www.scootle.edu.au/ec/p/home
Scootle was an excellent resource and one that I decided to use for this task. It successfully used technology to aid in teaching English in the classroom and explored many different teaching concepts, resources and had an abundance of information for teachers that would be useful to have.
The amount of online resources that are available are incredible. There are so many to choose from and explore and it is good to have a guide in your head in what you are looking for. I chose Scootle because it followed the Australian Standardised Curriculum and I loved the amount of information it provided to help aid teaching English in the classroom as a future teacher. It did not only provide interactive tools but also information on what you should be teaching at what year level. I think Scootle will be something I definitely use in the future as a teacher.
Searching for a screen-casting program
I recently went onto the LMS and looked up screen-casting that had been referred by the Murdoch website. There were a few screen-casting tools ideas that had been recommended but I ended up choosing Screen-O-Matic. Screen-O-Matic was easy to use and did not require you to download it onto your PC. A couple of others that were mentioned on the LMS were Screenr and Jing. Both of these were also good when I had a look at them as they seemed to have straightforward instructions and had some handy features such as 5 minute limited recording time and a pause button. I did try to download Jing and found that it was not working on my computer which frustrated me too much to investigate. I then went onto the Screen-O-matic website and had a bit of a play around and I found it much easier to use as it provided instant access and automatically went onto your drop down bar on your desktop. Screen-O-Matic was also compatible with You tube (which was the avenue I went down to upload it) and was easy to embed onto my webpage.
CLICK HERE to access the Murdoch site for screen-casting referrals.
CLICK HERE to access the Murdoch site for screen-casting referrals.
Thursday, 11 April 2013
Welcome Back - Task Two
Welcome back to my Blog page!
Wow ! How quick time passes... Assignment 2.... Here we are!
I have found this task challenging so far based solely around my time management. I had a family reunion to attend in South Australia which unfortunately overlapped the workshop that involved getting into a group, choosing a topic and a resource. I had prior discussions to one of my class mates and she was happy to relay the information to me via email and add me into her group. This is was very helpful and enabled me to stay connected whilst I was away. Missing a class meant I missed out on crucial discussions about the task which I found difficult to try and understand what the tools I required to complete the task were, and all the important information you receive in the workshops and lectures. I went onto the LMS and downloaded the online lecturers... Thank god I did! LMS had crucial information involving things like, how to screen cast, where to access useful resource,s and information on referencing tools. At this stage it was becoming overwhelming and I felt lost as I didn't have my peers and tutors to discuss my issues with like I normally do. :-(
Wow ! How quick time passes... Assignment 2.... Here we are!
I have found this task challenging so far based solely around my time management. I had a family reunion to attend in South Australia which unfortunately overlapped the workshop that involved getting into a group, choosing a topic and a resource. I had prior discussions to one of my class mates and she was happy to relay the information to me via email and add me into her group. This is was very helpful and enabled me to stay connected whilst I was away. Missing a class meant I missed out on crucial discussions about the task which I found difficult to try and understand what the tools I required to complete the task were, and all the important information you receive in the workshops and lectures. I went onto the LMS and downloaded the online lecturers... Thank god I did! LMS had crucial information involving things like, how to screen cast, where to access useful resource,s and information on referencing tools. At this stage it was becoming overwhelming and I felt lost as I didn't have my peers and tutors to discuss my issues with like I normally do. :-(
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