Group 4 ICT Tools

Within the following post, three effective tools will be explored:

- Google Earth
- Google Maps
- Online concept mapping

Google Earth
Analyse the text. What is google earth?
Google earth enables users to see images fro different parts of the earth with the ability to overlay streets/roads with latitude and longitude. Google earth can be explored through desktop, web and mobile phones.


Analyse the functionality and scope of the text. What sort of things can google earth do?
Students can use Google Earth to:
- Explore the animal kingdom and endangered species with the National Geographic layer.
- Create annotated place markers indicating location of school and points of interest in their town such as the local fire and police stations, the city library, local parks, and museums.
- Study climate change and the effects of global warming.
- Create tours of their school or community.
- Track earthquakes.

Teachers can use Google Earth to:
- Set the scene for geography, history, literature, astronomy and other lessons
- Involve students in pro-active engagement in a wide-range of google outreach projects.
- Adapt traditionally abstract lessons to the “real-world” by having students interact with virtual “real-time” data such as weather, earthquakes, elephant migrations, etc.

What sort of materials/activities will google earth support?
Google Earth can help you bring a world of information alive for students. It can be used with all grade levels, and the possibilities are endless with imaginations. Students can use Google Earth to explore topics like the progress of human civilization, the growth of cities, the impact of civilization on the natural environment, and the impact of natural disasters like Hurricane Katrina. Teachers can use Google Earth to assist with the teaching of:
- Biology
- Ecology
- Environmental Science
- Geology
- Global Awareness
- History
- Humanities
- Literature
- Math

My experience with google earth
I must admit I have't really had much to do with google earth. I know how to use it but I can't actually say I have had to use it for a particular reason. Google earth is definitely an ICT tool that will be implemented within my classroom.

How will my students make use of this ICT for their learning? How would I apply/use this in my teaching context?
As a learning manager I would use google earth in the assistance of helping me teacher the above subjects. It is important for students to grasp the understanding of what is being taught and what better way then by showing a visual of the topic. Eg- China.

How does google earth support higher order thinking?
Specific learning objectives:
- Develop higher-level thinking skills: analysis, evaluation, creativity and synthesis
- Utilize google earth to create, represent and share ideas.
- Employ google earth to investigate real world issues
- Design a presentation or collection of thematic content using google earth
- Utilize google earth's tool to search, view, measure, map and annotate
- Use google earth to assemble information or data, and make judgements based on it
- Collaborate on a project using google earth and other multimedia applications

Google Maps
Analyse the text. What is google maps?
Google maps is a service application and technology that provides many map based services. Google maps offer street maps, route planners for travelling by foot, car, boke or public transport.

Analyse the functionality and scope of the text. What sort of things can google maps do?
Google maps can be used in the classroom to explore subjects ranging from physics to environmental science. With just an internet connection and your imagination, your class can collaborate to build a MyMap of favorite museums or roam the sidewalks of distant cities with StreetView.

What sort of materials/activities will google maps support?
Google maps assist students with their learning by providing useful maps on:
- Art History
- Climatology
- Earth Science
- Environmental Science
- History
- Physics

My experience with google maps
I definitely know how to use google maps although I can't say I've used it for anything productive. When I first heard about google maps at school I thought it was a joke that I could type in my address and up would pop a picture of my house. I tried it and it worked! Then I wondered if I was to type in my grandparents address in Victoria, would it work? Within seconds it was like I was standing out the front of my grandparents house. It was unbelievable!

How will my students make use of this ICT for their learning? How would I apply/use this in my teaching context?
As a learning manager I would introduce my students to google maps. This can be implemented by simply designing a 'treasure hunt' for students. The students will have to type the address into google maps and will be able to identify photos of teh address, traffic and the weather. Students will also be able to determine what other addresses are nearby and will be able to get directions from their address to another address. It is important for students to know how to use google maps and just to simply read a map as it is an everyday tool that they will need in life.

How does google maps support higher order thinking?
Bloom's Taxonomy for Thinking
Knowledge acquisition: Memorize how to do a task.
Comprehension: Question, discuss and explain how to do a task.
Application: Extract and transfer this knowledge.
Analysis: Categorize, characterize, compare and contrast.
Synthesis: Collating and creating.
Evaluation: Prioritization, relevancy and judgement.

Online concept mapping
Analyse the text. What is an online concept map?
Online concept maps are types of diagrams which show arious relationships between concepts.


Analyse the functionality and scope of the text. What sort of things can online concept maps do?
Online concept maps allow students to modify existing concepts and form new links. Below are what concept maps can do:
- to generate ideas (eg brainstorming)
- to design a complex structure (eg complicated texts, large web sites)
- to communicate complex ideas
- to aid learning by explicitly integrating new and old knowledge
- to provide a framework for making internal knowledge explicit in a visual form that can easily be examined and shared
- to assess understanding or diagnose misunderstanding.

What sort of materials/activities will online concept maps support?
Concept maps have to be well developed in order to facilitate meaningful learning. Kinchin et al (2005) suggest that, to maximize that gain from concept mapping, teachers should:
- Engage students actively in learning activities
- Encourage team work and collaborative map building
- Allow sufficient time for reflection and development
- Allow flexible conceptual learning and development through connecting new and old knowledge

My experience with online concept maps.
I must admit that I have't had much to do with online concept maps so this is the reason I have decided to explore it further within my synopsis.

How will my students make use of this ICT for their learning? How would I apply/use this in my teaching context?
As a learning manager I would teach students the effective way of concept mapping. This is important as it is a life long skill that needs to be taught. I would ask my students the following questions to allow higher order thinking and to check for understanding of concept mapping:
Content development
- Is the content outlined in depth and breadth? In other words, are the definitions and relationships between concepts clearly outlined?
- Is the content complete and correct?
- Is the flow of ideas and concepts logical?
- Does the content demonstrate new knowledge and critical thinking?
- Is there enough space for misconceptions to be corrected as the content is developed and presented to students?

Presentation
- Do the relationships amoung teh concepts demonstrate through knowledge of the topic?
- Are all possible topics explored?
- Does the presentation make the topic relevant to the real world through the use of news items, other web links, videos, and so forth?

How do online concept maps support higher order thinking?
Concept maps enhance student learning in a number of ways (Gonzalez et al. 2008; Kinchin et al., 2005; Suthers et al., 2006). The three following steps would be effective when teaching higher order thinking of concept maps:
- Preparatory: Conceptual development.
- Collaborative: Acquisition of new knowledge.
- Meaning-making: Effective linking of the old knowledge to the new knowledge.

Group 3 ICT Tools

Within the following post, three effective tools will be explored:

- PowerPoint
- Prez
- Glogster

PowerPoint

Analyse the text. What is a PowerPoint?
PowerPoint is the platform that supports the embedding text, linking and interactivity, audio, video and images. It is a useful multimedia tool that is usually associated with the support of oral presentations.

Analyse the functionality and scope of the text. What sort of things can PowerPoints do?
Some ideas for parent presentations:
- Create a PowerPoint presentation to inform parents and remind students of classroom expectations, policies and other important information.
- Develop a students slide show that includes digital pictures of each student with notes to thier parents.
- Design slideshows to enhibit student work.

Use PowerPoint presentations to enhance the effectiveness of classroom instruction in many ways in every subject area:
- Main points can be emphasized and the presenation itself can be enhanced by using graphics, animation, or sound.
- Add flair to presenations with slide and bullet transitions and animation effects.
- Presenations can be used to make lessons more organised and flexible.
- Text on a PowerPoint presentation is much easier for students to read than tring to read notes that are written on an overhead projector or chalkboard.
- Student interest can be stimulated through the use of graphics and cartoons.
- Variety is the key to kepping the attention of students.
- Many tools are available for use of PowerPoint, so experiment to see what works best for you and your students.

What sort of materials/activities will PowerPoints support?
PowerPoint is used to create a stand alone presentation. Students are able to listen, improve and record their presentation to benefit with their oral presentation. PowerPoints help students by supporting them through their spoken skills. If the student who is presenting are a little nervous and overwhelmed (which most primary aged students are when speaking in front of their peers) then they are able to refer to their PowerPoint (which will contain notes of their topic) for guidance. Students are able to use PowerPoint in inventive, thoughtful, complex and creative ways, making it their own individual presentation.

My experience with PowerPoint
Who in their right mind hasn't used PowerPoint!? It is the easiest presentation tool! I know PowerPoint inside out and back to front! It is a simple presentation tool but can be complex if you want it to be. Throughout school if a presentation was needed then I would definitely always decide on a PowerPoint presentation. They are user friendly!

How will my students make use of this ICT for their learning? How would I apply/use this in my teaching context?
As a learning manager I would allow my students to use PowerPoint whereever appropriate and necessary in their learning. Powerpoint is an effective ICT tool that is easy to use and easily taught. Below are some ways I would use powerpoint within my classroom and why:

-Flash cards: I would use flash cards within my classroom to reinforce concepts. This would be effective as if the cohort are struggling with the same concept it is presented all day within the classroom and is visible for each student.
- Music class recitals: I would use PowerPoint in a musical environment to demonstrate how the music that the students are playing can be presented onto a powerpoint presentation with a clip of each student playing the instrument of their choice.
- Group slide shows: I would use group slide shows as an assessment tool. Students would design a PowerPoint presentation allow with an oral presentation on the topic that is being focused on within class. This allows students to group work with PowerPoint and teach each other new concepts of the ICT tool.
- Class yearbook- At the end of the year I would present a PowerPoint to the students with a collection of photos, special events, class and student projects from throughout the year. I would also burn onto a CD a copy of the presentation for students to keep.

How do PowerPoints support higher order thinking?
Barratt's Model for Adolescent Learning (1998)

- Purpose: Having opportunity to negotiate learning that is useful now, as well as in the future.
- Empowerment: Viewing the world critically and acting independently, cooperatively and responsibly.
- Success: Having multiple opportunities to learn valued knowledge and skills as well as the the opportunity to use talents and expertise that students bring to the learning environment.
- Rigour: Taking on realistic challenges in an environment characterised by high expectations
- Safety: Learning in a safe, caring and a stimulating environment.

Prezi

Analyse the text. What is a prezi?

Prezi is a effective teaching tool for that allows users to zoom in and out of a presenation. The ability to zoom in and out of text helps students focus on what is important.

Analyse the functionality and scope of the text. What sort of things can a prezi do?
Prezi is used to navigate through communication. Eg- Concepts, exploruing images and diagrams and timelines. Prezi interface encourages teachers to deviate and explore with students by easily incorporating images and videos.

What sort of materials/activities will a prezi support?
Pezi can be used by students as a presentation tool for assessment or basic class work. It has been proven that students are engaged when the use of Prezi has been demonstrated to them. Students will be eager to use the new and exciting presentation style as it offers different levels of designing compared to a powerpoint presentation.

My experience with prezi
I can't say I have ever used prezi but after researching it I am definitely keen to have a go at it. I watch some prezi presentations online while researching and it definitely looks like fun! I am keen to broaden my horizon with different presentation tools!
How will my students make use of this ICT for their learning? How would I apply/use this in my teaching context?
As a learning manager I would use Prezi as a extention to a powerpoint presentation. Prezi is similiar to powerpoint but offers more advanced presenation tools to be use by students. I would use Prezi mainly as an assessment tool to support an oral presentation.

How do prezi support higher order thinking?
Designing Effective Projects: Thinking Skills Frameworks
Marzano's New Taxonomy
The three systems and knowledge
- Self-system: Is it worth learning or doing? Will I be good at it? Is it valuable information? How do I feel about this information?
- Metacognitive system: Is my understanding clear? What is my goal in learning this? What is the best way to learn this? How do I plan to learn this?
- Cognitive system- Is this right? How can I use this information? What methods can I use to analyse the material? Do I understand these concepts?
Knowledge Domains: Information, Mental procedures, Physical procedures.

Glogster

Analyse the text. What is a glogster?
Glogster allows users to create free interactive posters that contain an interactive multimedia image. It looks like a poster but users can interact with the content. Blogs are being used for advertising and CV's.

Analyse the functionality and scope of the text. What sort of things can a glogster do?
Users of glogster are about to insert text, images, photos, audio, videos, special effects and other elements into thier glogs to generate a multimedia online creation. Glogs can be shared between users and can embed external wikis or blogs.

What sort of materials/activities will a glogster support?
Glogster introduces students to 3D communication skills, allows them to seek communication and evaluate both information and meaning. Glogster supports the visual literacy skill that is becoming essential for 21st century learners by allowing digital learners to explore the visual, audio and textual features of glogster. Acitivites could include a presentation on the topic being studied by students. Students could present an individual glogster to peers concentrating on the visual, audio and texture features of a glogster.

My experience with glogster
I know this may be hard to believe but before this subject I hadn't heard of glogster before! After researching it, I am excited to have found new ICT tools that I can explore with my students. Glogster looks interesting and I believe it will definitely be an ICT tool that I will use in the future.

How will my students make use of this ICT for their learning? How would I apply/use this in my teaching context?
As a learning manager I would not introduce glogster until my students had grasped the concept of how to use poweproint and prezi. I would first show an example of a glogster and as a class we would make one. I would use glogster as an assessment tool for presenting information on certain topics.

How do glogsters support higher order thinking?
 Productive Pedagogies 2012
Connectedness: Students need to distinguish what they are learning is relevant to everyday life. What will this skill teach them?
Intellectual quality: Students are able perform high intellectual quality of work using various ICT tools.

Group 2 ICT Tools

Within this following post, three effective tools will be explored:

- Images
- Podcasting and digital audio
- Digital Video

Images

Analyse the text. What is an image?
An image is an artifact that depicts or records visual perception, for example a two-dimensional picutre, that has a similiar appearance to some subject usually a physical object or a person, thus providing a depiction of it. It is important that consideration into the useage of images in teaching is considered when students create and use images in their learning.

Analyse the functionality and scope of the text. What sort of things can images do?
Teachers can present learning materials to students with a purpose of thinking (knowledge, understanding, analysis, evaluation) influencing feelings, or supporting skills of development. Images can also create critical thinking by students viewing certain images and evaluating who was involved, what was involved, when did it happen, where did it happen and why did it happen.

What sort of materials/activities will images support?
It is important for students to read images correctly. Students may ask themselves: Who, What, When, Where and Why. The following two tools can support the teaching of images within the classroom:

- VoiceThred: Is a collaborative, multimedia slide show that holds images, documents and videos and allows users to leave comments by either: voice (mic or telephone), text, audio file or video (via web cam). Users are able to share their VoiceThred with friends, students, and colleagues and can even embed to show and receive comments on other websites.

- See Think Wonder: Is a routine that encourages students to make careful observations and thoughtful interpretations. It helps stimulate curiosity and sets a stage for inquiry: What do you see? What do you think about that? What does it make you wonder? This routine is effective when wanting students to think carefully about why something looks teh way it does or is the way it is. By using this routine at the start of a unit it will motivate students interest and allow them to connect with the topic of study.

My experience with images.
I have had alot of experience when it comes to images! I remember when completing Computer Studies in year 11 and 12 we had a program that allowed you to do absolutely anything with images! There are so many different apps and sites that allow you to 'play around' with images and even photos of your friends! I have to say my personal favourite is the 'aging app' that can make a 20 year old look 80 within seconds.

How will my students make use of this ICT for their learning? How would I apply/use this in my teaching context?
As a learning manager I would allow my students to be 'in charge' of their creative side. I would involve the meaning of images through art and then again through technology.For example- A website called PicArtia helps students to ceate mosaic online for free. I would research 'art online' and bring technology into the classroom. Art doesn't need to be sketching, painting or drawing but can be implemented within technology too. As a learning manager, I would try and implement technology in all subject areas.

How do images support higher order thinking?
To evaluate the support that an image lends to a claim, critically evaluate about images is essential. In doing so, the following higher order thinking skills need to take place:

- Relevance:  For an image to support a claim, it must depict all of the key ideas contained in the claim. It doesn’t relate to any part of a claim, then it can’t prove the claim. Obviously, relevance is a matter of degree, but the more relevant an image is to a claim, the better the evidence that it provides.

- Significance: This concerns how much interpretation of the image is necessary; does the image speak for itself, or must we make assumptions about it in order for it to support the claim?

Selectivity: Which is to do with how representative the image is. If a general claim is supported by an image of a specific example, then we have to ask whether the example in the image is typical. It may be that it has been carefully selected to support a point, when actually most examples would go against it.

Podcasting


Analyse the text. What is a podcast?
A podcast is a sound file wich can be shared with others. A podcast is a type of digital media consisting of an episodic series of audio files subscribed to and downloaded through web syndication or streamed online to a computer or mobile device. It can be used within a classroom by recording of students performance or speech to provide a copy to a computer to view again.

Analyse the functionality and scope of the text. What sort of things can podcasts do?

1. Podcasts make information personal: In a podcast, the content is communicated directly to you, the listener, either verbally or through video. That’s a much more intimate way of getting information than reading it from an e-mail or document.

2. Podcasts are convenient and easy to consume: Once you subscribe to a podcast feed, new podcasts are automatically downloaded to your computer as soon as they are available. You can listen to them at your convenience.

3. Podcasts cut costs: Because podcasts are delivered digitally, they eliminate many costs associated with other forms of communication including postage, printing, and paper. They can also reduce meeting costs and e-mail storage costs. They are easy to archive and updating them is quick and easy.

4. Podcasting is a time-efficient form of communication: You can listen to podcasts while you do other things at work or at home, or during your commute. Some types of meetings can be eliminated in favor of podcasts, saving time and improving productivity.

5. Podcasts are portable: Once a podcast resides on your computer, if your computer is portable, you can take the podcast with you and listen whenever or wherever you want. Or, you can transfer the podcast to a personal media player such as an iPod.

6. Podcasting is an on-demand technlogy: Listeners decide what they want to hear, and when they want to hear it. On one hand, this means you’re competing for their eyes and ears. On the other hand, this means that if they are subscribing to your podcasts, there’s an excellent chance they’re actually getting the information you’re providing to them.

7. Podcasts are one wayto deliver on a social networking strategy: Your podcast subscribers are the core of your community and over time, they will be your best prospects for deepening the relationship through cross-sell and loyalty tactics.

What sort of materials/activities will podcast support?
In a classroom where students have access to computers (a computer lab or in a 1-1 environment), students complete work in class and participate in instructor lead activities followed by independent work with a Podcast as resource material. Students can go through the Podcast at their own pace -working through the assignment at their own pace, backing up and reviewing material from the Podcast as needed without slowing down the class as a whole.

My experience with podcasts
I can't say I have had any experience with podcasts! Hopefully as a Learning Manager, my students and I can explore podcasts together.

How will my students make use of this ICT for their learning? How would I apply/use this in my teaching context?
As a learning manager I would introduce my students to the podcasts as it will give them the oppotunity to provide information in a variety of ways to better meet their diverse learning styles and inclusion of current technlogy that they are already using. I believe that by using podcasts within my classroom it will change the interest level of my students for the better and they will be more engaged within the content that is being taught.

How do podcasts support higher order thinking?
The Critical Thinker Podcast is a platform where users explore what it means to be an independent critical thinker. The content in the podcast varies from episode to episode, but it’s organized around the idea that there are five principle components, or “pillars”, of critical thinking, and that all of these components need to be developed and brought to bear when reasoning about specific topics and when attempting to persuade through argumentation. These five pillars include:
- Logic
- Argumentation
- Rhetoric
- Background knowledge
- Attitudes and values

 
Digital Video

Analyse the text. What is a digital video?
Digital video refers to the capturing, manipulation, and storage of moving images that can be displaced on computer screens (The Lycos Tech Glossary, 1999). This requires that the moving images are digitally handled by the computer.

Analyse the functionality and scope of the text. What sort of things can digital videos do?
Digital videos can easily be edited unlike videotapes. If you want to edit videotapes you continually have to rewind, pause and fast forward the tape. Digital videos can be stored as standard computer files. This allows the video to be copied with no loss in quality and can also be transmitted over standard computer networks.

What sort of materials/activities will digital videos support?
Teachers have found that digital video segments very useful in customized e-learning. Students find video motivational and enjoy greater control over their own learning. Some activites that can be implemented with the use of a digital video could include:
- Increase student awareness of manipulative techniques used in advertising
- Develop greater critical literacy skills by conparing television or movie segments with own creations
- Creat learning resource video clips
- Use frame grabbing software to record and analysis critical events

My experience with digital videos
I haven't had a lot to do with digital video but I do know the basics. Record and stop! I remember doing a brief unit on digital videos in year 12 but I think if I was to do it again I wouldn't remember what was done. I look forward to discovering how to use unfamiliar tools with my students.

How will my students make use of this ICT for their learning? How would I apply/use this in my teaching context?
As a learning manager I would implement the use of digital video by recording students presentations. I would record each student individually as a 'practice' of their presentation and then play it back to them allowing them to view what they can improve on for their final presentation. This will allow students to use digital software and critically evaulate themselves by viewing their own presentations.

How do digital videos support higher order thinking?
Bloom's Digital Taxonomy supports higher order thinking of digital videos by:

- Creating: Designing, constructing, planning, producing, inventing, devising, making.
- Evaluating: Checking, hypothesising, critquing, experiementing, judging, testing, detecting, monitoring.
- Analysing: Comparing, organising, deconstructing, attributing, outlining, finding, structuring, integrating.
- Applying: Implementing, carrying out, using, excuting.
- Understanding: Interpreting, summarising, inferring, paraphrasing, classifiying, comparing, explaining, exemplifying.
- Remembering: Recognising, listing, describing, identifying, retrieving, naming, locating, finding.

Group 1 ICT Tools

Within the following post, three effective digital tools will be explored:

-          Blogs

-          Wikis

-          Websites

Blogs

Analyse the text. What is a blog?

Blogs are websites that individual people create to update regular entries of commentary. descriptions of events or other materials such as graphics or videos. Some blogs are based on one particular subject whereas some are more of an online personal diary.

Analyse the functionality and scope of the text. What sort of thing can blogs do?

Blogs are functional as they allow poeple to have their say on their own space (blog), teach people, sell products, do reviews, interviews and also to update distant friends and family. I personally like the fact that you can create your own online diary to update friends and family. It's effective as it saves time as you can 'blog' and update everyone at once rather than send 10 different emails all over the country or world.

What sort of materials/activities will blogs support?

Blogs support students to reflect effectively. Reflection is a complex process for students and requires important skills to allow students to analysis, evaluate and synthesis. Blogs allow students to scaffold their thinking by reflecting of their learning. It is important to provide students with reflective strategies tools such as:

- De Bono's six thinking hats: This tool is effective for group discussion and individual thinking as it allow students to combine ideas of parallel thinking which means to think together and plan thinking processes in a cogensive way. Each hat has its own perspective that students are able to reflect on with giudance.

- Y-Chart: This tool allows students to reflect on what it looks like, sounds like and feels like. Students may be reflecting on a difficult days they have encountered and this tool will help them to brainstorm using their emotions.

- PMI Chart: This tool is used to examine the perspectives on an issue. Students are able to reflect using this tool by justifying the plus (all the positive), minus (all the negatives) and the implications (the potential outcomes whether positive or negative).

My experience with using blogs
At this stage of my learning this is the only chance I have had to use a blog. I find it very easy to operate and understand and find that it is a vital tool that should be implemented within classrooms. I am enjoying completing this assignment via a blog.

 How will my students make use of this ICT for their learning? How would I apply/use this in my teaching context?

As a learning manager, I would use blogs to not only reflect but allow students to use blogs as a tool of constructing their assignments. I would implement this simply by allowing students to brainstorm what they know they need to do for their assignment and make weekly blogs of their progress of their assignment. This would be interesting as I would be able to see progression of the assignment and give feedback by commenting on the weekly posts. For the older years it would also be beneficial for students to made constructive comments on their peers work.

How do blogs support higher order thinking?

Higher order thinking develops from the new literacies of online reading comprehension (Castek et al., 2007; Coiro, 2003; Henry, 2006; Leu etal., 2007). The approach consist of four steps that intergrate both traditional reading comprehension skills and the new, higher order thinking skills often required during onlione reading comprehension.

1. Bolster background: During this first stage, teachers post activities and questions on the blog designed to build background knowledge about the selection that students are reading. Then, students read online to locate, critically evaluate, synthesize information, and communication their ideas by posting what they have found to the blog, inviting others to comment.

2. Prime the pump: During prime the pump, blogging can help students think deepely about the background they have built and what they have read in the beginning chapters of the text to share an initial interpretation (Langer and Close, 2001). One approach is to post an invitation to students to share any of the following types of thinking:

- Confusions that may need to be clarified

- First impressions of the characters or stroy line

- A summary of what has been learned so far

- Connections to themselves, other texts, or the world

3. Continue the conversation: In this stage, students begin to summarize and synthesize understadning across multiple texrual units. While thinking about the blog posts by other students and the group/class conversations, students ask to synthesize what has been shared and learned. Synthesizing is more than simply summarizing though; it involves original thinking (Harvey and Goudvis, 2000) and requires the use of higher order thinking skills (Anderson, 2005; Bloom, 1956). The following are questions on which focus assessments of students blog posts:

- Do the post include a summary of other students' blog posts or discussion comments?

- Do the post include any new thinking?

- Are the posts well organised and focused?

- Do the posts reflect inferental thinking that moves beyond simple recall?

Wikis

Analyse the text. What is a wiki?

Wikis are online spaces where users and guests can edit, modify, add, remove information with intuitive editing tools. Users and guest can remove, overwrite and edit the work of others, therefore, working with wikis require rules and etiquette.

Analyse the functionality and scope of the text. What sort of thing can wikis do?

- Open: Should a page be found to be incomplete or poorly organized, any reader can edit it as they see fit.

- Incremental: Pages can cite other pages, including pages that have not been written yet.

- Organic: The structure and text content of the site are open to editing and evolution.

- Universal: The mechanisms of editing and organizing are the same as those of writing so that any writer is automatically an editor and organizer.

- Observable: Activity within the site can be watched and reviewed by any other visitor to the site.

- Convergent: Duplication can be discouraged or removed by finding and citing similar or related content.

- Trust: This is the most important thing in a wiki. Trust the people, trust the process, enable trust-building. Everyone controls and checks the content. Wiki relies on the assumption that most readers have good intentions.

- Fun: Everybody can contribute; nobody has to.

- Sharing: Of information, knowledge, experience, ideas, views...

- Interaction: This enables guest interaction.

- Collaboration: A good collaboration tool, both synchronously and asynchronously.

- Social Networks: Its power for supporting collaboration is great.

What sort of materials/activities will wikis support?

Wikis allow learning designers to consider the nature of the learning and scaffold accordingly. It is essential for students to put into place tools that will assist them when being involved within a wiki: These tools include:

- Project drafting: Project drafting can be used in a wiki as it benefits students by easily inserting comments, making changes, annotating and suggesting by peers or teachers. This tool is effective if students are working by correspondence and need to complete a wiki assignment together. All added information can be easily saved for the next time the user is in need of the information.

- Collaborative authoring: By collaborating over a wiki group members have access to the information, no information is lost, users can track the changes, comment, colour change and other tracking mechanisms. This is effective as all the information by the group members can be found on one wiki and users can collaborate via different computers and even different towns.

My experience with using a wiki
I have used a wiki within this subject by responding to the De Bono hats: Mobile phones in classrooms. In a math subject last term I also got the opportunity to present a summary of ACARA via a wiki. This wiki was completed as group work and I found it very effecient as all of our work was found in one place and could be accessed from different computers. I find wikis to be an effective way of group work as I believe it makes the content easier to understand. All of your group work is found in one place instead of on different computers, USBs or word documents.

How will my students make use of this ICT for their learning? How would I apply/use this in my teaching context?

As a learning manager I would give my students the opportunity to work collaborately on a subject by wiki. By doing this students will use the appropriate technology skills that they need to complete a wiki. Students won't have to worry about leaving their work at home or a group member being away as all the information they have gathered will be contained on the one wiki. Students will also be able to make their wiki their own by adding the approriate pages needed for their wiki and even by able to change colours and add files and pictures.

How do wikis support higher order thinking?

Bloom's Taxonomy for Thinking are considered higher order thinking skills for Collaboration.

- Evaluation: Judgement

- Synthesis: Creative thinking- Putting things together

- Analysis: Critical thinking- Breaking things down

- Application: Using knowledge in new situations

- Comprehnesion: Understadning

- Knowledge: Recall (knowledge retention foundation for higher order thinking)

 

Websites

 Analyse the text. What is a website?

Websites are a collection of web pages. A web page is when you type in a web address, click of the link, or put an query in the search engine. Web pages contain any type of information which can include text, colour, graphics, animation and sound.

Analyse the functionality and scope of the text. What sort of thing can websites do?

Websites give users discoverability skills as everything is easy to find as there is alot of information on the internet about every topic possible. Users can find relevant information fast by typing key words related to their topic into the search engine. Within seconds there are pages and pages of information related to the users topic. This allows users quick research from appropriate resources.

What sort of materials/activities will websites support?

Websites can draw together artefacts that are help within the web. Websites are effective as users can upload only one of everything ina range of spaces custo bult for each type fo artefact. For example, some activites might include:

- Slideshare for powerpoint presentations.

- Flickr for images and videos.

- YouTube for videos.

Within a website, users can embed codes which embeds the artefacts within their webpage.

My experience with websites.
I don't believe anyone can say they haven't participated within a website! Even by typing a website into a search engine that is experiencing websites. I find using websites more efficient than using text books. I would rather 'surf the net' for the right information I am looking for rather than flick through 20 different text books.

How will my students make use of this ICT for their learning? How would I apply/use this in my teaching context?

Educational research and practice suggests that website technlogy has the potential to benefit student academic performance, including math achievement, by enhancing instructional delivery and by strengthening parental involvement in education. As learning manager I would create a trial website for my student's parents and provide weekly feedback on the class cohort overall. This instructional practice of a class website will involve family and communication.

How do websites support higher order thinking?

Technology can be used for higher-order thinking by many different websites. Technology today has so many opportunities and different things you can do with it. Technology can help students with multiple intelligences, constructivism, and cooperative learning. Technology opens a whole new world up to students, their are games, practice websites, and so many more things that can help students if they need help.

Week 2 Activities

Activity 2- TPACK

TPACK- Technological Pedagogical and Content Knowledge.

Framework: Pedagogical Content Knowledge  

Must know:

-          Select appropriate content knowledge and processes for student learning

-          Know what pedagogies best support great learning

-          Consider ICT and digital tools to transform learning

Activity 3- Working in a wiki

Mobile phones- Should they be used within the classroom? I added my ideas and opinions and they are listed below.

 Process: Where are we now? What is the next step? Where have we been? What sort of thinking is needed?
In today's day and age I can understand the want not need for mobile phones in Education. We are living in a technological world but I think it is going a bit far and out there by wanting mobile phones in the classroom.
We need to ask questions like: Why? Why do we need mobile phones within the classroom? What benefits will there be? What part of the phone will be used? Facebook? Text? Phone calls? What if only half the class has mobile phones? What will the other half use? Who will pay for them? I will agree as long as the reasons for mobile phones is appropriate. There are other technology that can provide some applications the same as a mobile. Eg- Ipads, which are now used within the classroom.
Intuitive- Feeling: How do I feel about this? What do I like about the idea? What don't I like about the idea?
I do not believe this is a good idea. I think this is going too far. We already have Ipads and laptops in our classrooms. Isn't that enough? I realise technology is growing but I believe we are getting too technical when it comes to mobile phones in the classroom. Students are meant to learn within the classroom and that will not be happening if they are buying the latest clothes, fighting on facebook or replying to their school friends on their mobile phones during class time.
Objective- Information: What information do I have? What are the facts? What information do I need? What do I want to KNOW?
As there are negatives and very few positives maybe a 'vote' can be given out. The facts would be included with some for and against points given out.

Activity 4- Blog reflection on wiki

Is this forum reflective of Behaviourism, constructivism, cognitivism, connectivism? One, or all of the above?
I think the forum relates well with connectivism as it is the learning theory for the digital age. “If networked learning is the 21^st century way of learning, then access to a range of nodes of information, including static information and people who hold the knowledge is important. Critical information literacy is essential”.

What are the characteristics of the wiki design that lead you to that understanding?
I found I was able to understand better as each coloured hat was explained with questions to ask yourself. For example- Intuitive- Feeling: How do I feel about this? What do I like about the idea? What don't I like about the idea?

Reflect on your own personal participation in the wiki. What are the benefits, issues, drawbacks of participating in a wiki like this?
By asking myself the questions provided under each hat I was able to make an opinion of what I thought would be best for the students and the classroom teacher. Some issues were that when I completed my opinion there was only 1 other person who had voiced their opinion as well so it made it difficult to see where others were coming from since only 1 other person had participated.

How would it contribute to the learning of your students?
I was unable to make an opinion on the contribution of the learning of students by mobile phones.

How did the scaffold support the collection of a range of perspectives?

There was only my opinion and 1 others so I’m unsure as out perspectives were similar.

Activity 5- Optional forum activity

How do the two methods of collaboration compare?
I prefer to collaborate individually and usually face to face. I find it difficult collaborating via a wiki or email so when it comes to collaborating with others for a flex subject I try to pair up with someone from my campus as I am able to talk to them face to face and talk about the subject instead of emailing.

Which suits your learning preferences better?
Individual collaboration definitely works best of me.

Do you think either a whole-group or an individual collaboration approach would suit for every single activity in the duration of this course?
Individual but it depends on the other students as well but I do know it’s easier for me when it’s individual.

Would you select one or the other based on your learning requirements at any given time?
No, I’ve always worked best individually or one on one so I don’t think a whole group approach will ever be best for me.