Tagcrowd and Blooms Taxonomy

analysis appraise arrange assemble assess benjamin bloom choose classify compare core criticize design develop discuss educational evaluation examples facts found headed identify important intellectual interpret level list lowest manage name order plan possible propose psychologists question rate recall recognition recognize repeat represent reproduce schedule select simple six test translate verb

Tag Crowd is fantastic for the visual learner! Tag Crowd is a web application for visualizing word frequencies in any user-supplied text by creating what is popularly known as a tag cloud or text cloud. It was created by Daniel Steinbock, a doctoral student in Design and Education at Stanford University.
When we look at a text cloud, we see not only an informative, but images that communicates in a single glance, we see a whole new perspective on text.
TagCrowd would be an effective, visual tool for our classrooms particularly as topic summaries for speeches and written works . In my opinion it would most benefit students in reflecting on their work. Another way to incorporates this tool is for the use of literacy learning. Here students can use this tool for the development and experimentation of poetry planning and writing.

However, as I said this tool would be useful for the visual learner. I feel that there may be a limit to what we can do pedagogically with this tool.There’s not a whole lot you can do pedagogically but it could come in handy for improving the vocabulary of student topics. I feel that a great teacher of literacy involves helping students' to 'visualise the language' so with this advantage and also the fact that students would enjoy this tool I would love to employ such an application into my planning process.

Google Maps

Have a look at my uni!


View My Uni in a larger map


Today we looked at Google Maps. As I developed knowledge of this tool, I started to think of many uses for Google Maps within the classroom. The map i have provided is of my uni CQUniversity in Bundaberg. Below I have listed some effective strategies in incorporating this tool into the classroom.

1. View the location of a field trip in Google Earth before you actually visit.
2. Embed media in Google Earth from web sites like Youtube, Voicethread and Slideshare
3. Use the Line and Path measurement tools to find distances that are challenging to measure.This is a great section of the tool.For visual students the Line and Path measurement places a real-life perspectives on the distance they are measuring.
4. Use the KML data file of the leaf colour in the UK for your science lessons. Track the colour as it changes throughout the seasons
5. A great collaborative assignment would be to have students plan and construct the next great city in Google Earth. Find a massive area of undeveloped land within GE, and let the fun begin.

Podcasts for Primary Schools

A tool such as podcasting is useful within the classroom and in many ways. Although I am new to this tool I have been asking a few friends if they use it in their planning. One friend said she has used it and found that it took the topic to a new level (higher order thinking) of thinking. It surprised her to see how much the children already knew about podcasts. Another friend said she planned to use the tool but ran out of time. However, she is planning on doing more research herself next time before incorporating it into her lessons.
I feel that this is a general consensis with a lot of teachers, where their knowledge and confidence of using such tools is not of standard and, as time is everything in the classroom ICT's are often left for another time. This is such a shame as these tools can take all students to a new level of thinking, learning and reflecting.

Here are some idea's I have found for using podcasts within the classroom. I highly recommend playing with podcasts/vodcasts before incorporating it into your planning, but most of all avoid putting such great tools into the too hard basket.


1. Encourage students to review a book they've read in an informal chat session.
2. Let students read a play with sound effects (e.g. door closing, footsteps).
3. Let them interview someone, like a television reporter with breaking news.
4. Do a running commentary on school activities or news. (Daily or weekly, as is convenient for your situation)
5. As a link, discussing a Science experiment or Social Studies project they may have blogged about. (To go into more detail or maybe to clarify an issue)
6. As a public speaking forum, where students give speeches on topics.
7. To keep the school community updated on upcoming events.
8. To listen to and talk to students from another school, perhaps even in another country.
9. To insert excerpts from school concerts etc. on a website or blog.

I don't believe in the saying 'the sky's the limit' because as a teacher we can take our students so much further than that, and ICT's are a perfect guide through their journey of learning.

Podcasts for Primary Schools

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Find my Podcast feed here:


References:
Learning to teach.(2009).Using podcasts in the classroom retrieved 2 August 2009 from:
http://learning-to-teach.blogspot.com/2006/07/using-podcasts-in-classroom.html

New site for Powerpoint Backgrounds!

These PowerPoint® templates and backgrounds will freshen any presentation! Flash-animated and classroom game PowerPoint templates are also included.What fun our students could have with these!

http://www.getworksheets.com/samples/powerpoint/index.html

Why not incorporate Powerpoint into your planning!

Is it collaborative learning?
Educational‘theorists’ such as Vygotsky and Bruner tell us that interaction with others is of crucial importance in learning.As a pre-service teacher I foresee the importance of collaborative learning.I have listed below the benefits to using powerpoint as a tool within the classroom. However i wanted to also display another useful tool that involves the use of collaboration between students where powerpoint as a tool may not.

The electronic whiteboard connected to a network means that the children have a
world of resources at their finger tips ready for discussion, to test hypotheses and
research. The children do this as a large co-operative group. It ensures that learning becomes a much more collaborative and social process therefore a much more
powerful way of learning across the curriculum. Teachers and pupils are able to discuss, modify and extend ideas in a shared arena.

Powerpoint
Powerpoint is not new to todays' classrooms. for almost a decade now teachers have been incorporating powerpoints both into their topic presentations and for students to use as a research/presentation tool. Microsoft PowerPoint is beginning to pop-up in classrooms of all levels across the nation.

PowerPoint is a wonderful tool for learning in both a student and teacher-directed situation. It can add a new dimension to learning allowing teachers to explain new concepts. Used properly, PowerPoint can be one of the most powerful tools for delivering new information. Employed inappropriately, PowerPoint could potentially confuse students and make learning a difficult process.

There are plenty of sites on the web that allow you to access many types of different media (pictures, sounds, movies, etc.) for free.
Try www.lycos.com , www.av.com, images.google.com.

What's Good About PowerPoint?em>

1. PowerPoint is fun to watch and fun to make.

2. Used correctly, PowerPoint can accommodate all learners' needs.

3. It has a spell-check function! Something our black boards and overheads lack.

4. It motivates students when used in moderation.

5. It motivates staff.

6. PowerPoint allows you to reflect on your lesson and correct any needed changes. Finally, you can create the perfect lesson!

7. Imagine to be able to print out what you did in class for students that were absent. Better yet, turn the accountability on to students and post your presentations on-line.

8. PowerPoint is not hard to learn. Our technology staff rates it a "B+" for ease of use. It should take about one hour to learn the basics.

What's Bad About PowerPoint?em>

1. Content can sometimes take a back seat to flash. Watch-out for triple "P."

2. Computers crash, networks go down, viruses can plague computers! Always have a back-up plan!

3. Overuse can bore learners and diminish PowerPoint's effectiveness.

4. Classrooms need large monitors or projectors to display presentations. Make sure your technology plan furnishes this. With simple TV-out cards or VGA-TV converters, this can be easily accomplished.

5. A successful presentation can take several hours to develop.

I have provided a link below to a powerpoint presentation that a peer and I developed for our Ensuring Student Success course. The powerpoint was used to guide our listeners throug our presentation on the topic of 'gender inequities in the classroom'. We had a lot of fun developing this powerpoint.

P point TBA



References
http://www.teach-nology.com/tutorials/powerpoint/the_good/

Technology in the Classroom

Technology can help facilitate the knowledge-constructed classroom. A number of researchers ([Bork, 1985, Laboratory of Comparative Human Cognition, 1989, Papert, 1980 and Ragosta, 1983]) views computers as having an influential effect on the teaching and learning processes. They state that with the use of computers in the classroom, schools would become more student-centered and that more individualized learning would take place than ever before.

In the student-centered classrooms of today, with the aid of the computer, students are able to collaborate, to use critical thinking, and to find alternatives to solutions of problems ([Jaber, 1997]). But the shift from teacher-centered delivery to a student-centered model potentially leads to a resistance in change. Student-centered teaching is challenging educators to restudy their teaching methods and student learning methods ( [Jaber, 1997]).

Research done by [Dwyer et al., 1991] indicates that computers can be used in collaboration for all subject areas, but that teachers have to take into account the different styles of teaching and the students involved in this learning. This type of teaching requires a change in the teacher's method of teaching and learning, the amount of time needed to learn how to use the technology and the location of models that work with technology ( [Sheingold and Hadley, 1990. K. Sheingold and M. Hadley, Accomplished teachers: integrating computers into classroom practice. , Bank Street College of Education, New York (1990).Sheingold and Hadley, 1990]).

[Negroponte et al., 1997] argue:

…that digital technologies can enable students to become more active and independent learners. The Internet will allow new “knowledge-building communities” in which children and adults from around the globe can collaborate and learn from each other. Computers will allow students to take charge of their own learning through direct exploration, expression, and experience. This shifts the student's role from “being taught” to “learning” and the teacher's role from “expert” to “collaborator” or “guide”.


References
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=ArticleURL&_udi=B6VCJ-497YSWN-1&_user=409397&_rdoc=1&_fmt=&_orig=search&_sort=d&_docanchor=&view=c&_searchStrId=966886236&_rerunOrigin=scholar.google&_acct=C000019483&_version=1&_urlVersion=0&_userid=409397&md5=2af6594c200d7cb88a6bb9240ee2e044

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Learning Theories and The Next Generation

Check out this SlideShare Presentation:

Learning Theories & The Next Generation:

View more presentations from Gayla Keesee.

This slideshare covers a variety of teaching methods and theories. Some of these I have added extra information below as per relevance to the classroom. This blog will be added to in the coming weeks:

• Knowledge is specific content: Traditionally teachers felt that all students needed was the transmittal of knowledge from the teacher to the student. Today, it is recognised that students arrive at school a wide range of experiences and knowledge that can be created and expanded into valuable life-long learning experiences.


• Blooms Taxonomy: TBA


• Cognitivism: It is now recognised that valuable learning experiences develop a form of schema to help students in making connections to their prior knowledge.


• Paradigm Shift: Today teachers encourage social interractions both in and outside the classroom. This is demonstrated through supportive and guided teaching rather than the traditional methods of a chalkboard and rows of individual desks. Grouping desks is a fine example of collaborative learning.


• Connectivism: This theory devised by George Siemens is the application of network principles to define both knowledge and the process of learning. Knowledge is defined as a particular pattern of relationships and learning is defined as the creation of new connections and patterns as well as the ability to maneuver around existing networks/patterns. The "more" of information and technology today, and the need to stay current, forms the climate that gives roots to connectivism."

References:

(http://connectivism.ca/blog/2008/08/what_is_the_unique_idea_in_con.html)

Dorris - The Idealist!

I am a Idealist in terms of my learning style and below I have selected some of the many core characteristics which I feel are applicable to benefiting my classroom pedagogy:

• Idealists are enthusiastic, they trust their intuition, and dream of attaining wisdom.
• Idealists pride themselves on being , kindhearted, and authentic.
• Idealists tend to be giving, trusting, spiritual, always this quest for self-knowledge and self-improvement drives their imagination and they want to help others make the journey.
• Idealists are naturally drawn to working with people, and whether in education or counseling, in social services or personnel work, in journalism or the ministry, they are gifted at helping others find their way in life, often inspiring them to grow as individuals and to fulfill their potentials.
• Idealists are sure that friendly cooperation is the best way for people to achieve their goals.
• unique talent for helping people get along with each other and work together for the good of all.
• they believe that life is filled with possibilities waiting to be realized, rich with meanings calling out to be understood.
• Highly ethical in their actions, Idealists hold themselves to a strict standard of personal integrity. They must be true to themselves and to others, and they can be quite hard on themselves when they are dishonest, or when they are false or insincere. More often, however, Idealists are the very soul of kindness.
• they strive for a special rapport with their children; Idealists are relatively rare, making up no more than 15 to 20 percent of the population.
• their ability to inspire people with their enthusiasm and their idealism has given them influence far beyond their numbers.
• Princess Diana, Joan Baez, Albert Schweitzer, Bill Moyers, Eleanor Roosevelt, Mohandas Gandhi, Mikhael Gorbachev, and Oprah Winfrey are examples of Idealists.

Reflection:

I was surprised to see that my learning style was rather accurate in terms of my personality and learning-style. Although some of the other learning-styles also made connections this one being the Idealist certainly hit the nail on the head! I thought however, it would be relevant to look at how these attributes may hinder the pedagogy or daily running of my classroom. Here are a few concerns:

• As an idealist I am kindhearted and giving. I must admit when my daughter was a young girl she recieved far too many chances in terms of discipline, and I do consider discipline to be the last resort within my classroom. As a way around this I ensure that i have developed a sincere relationship with my students and therefore, there is a trusting ,respectful relationship between us and discipline is minimised and managed effectively.
• As an idealist I strive to help people and am always looking for the underlying messages that are a cry for help or support. Sometimes within my classroom i am drawn to the aspects of children who need this help-and feel saddened and inclined to help, knowing that this is not my area of expertise. I often wonder if I don't help this child will someone else?

Ideally I like to inspire people and I strive to ensure a classroom which models these kind of attributes which can effectively contribute to a enjoyable learning environment for both the students and the teacher.

References:

http://learning-styles-online.com/

My Inventory Results

TRY YOUR TRAITS BEFORE TRYING FATE!

After completing the questionnaire, I was able to obtain the description of my personality type .

These are the results of my inventory. The scores are out of 20 for each style. A score of 20 indicates that I use that style often.

My Style Scores :

Visual 14 , Social 19, Physical 16 ,Aural 16 ,Verbal 18, Solitary 16 , Logical 9




Inventory Tool and how it can be used within the classroom

I am interested in giving this simple assessment to my students and find ways to alter my teaching to meet the needs that this test demonstrates in my students.

However, as an alternative I found this site below which showed a good example of how a 'personality test' could be incorporated into a English unit. The unit is based around the book "Withering Heights".

They suggested to conduct a personality test on one of the main characters. The personality test students take can also be used on characters from the novel. The class can discuss the different characters and how their varying power affects the plot. Also, how would the characters act outside of the Wuthering Heights environment? How would they be treated in today’s world? Are there people like them today? I have provided the link to this site below, it is well worth a look and a great future resource.

Resources:
http://english.byu.edu/novelinks/Novel%20pages/Wuthering%20Heights.htm
http://www.humanmetrics.com/

Google Reader

Google Reader although appearing similar in components as Delicious bookmarking, has a few outstanding qualities that would again be a useful time saver for teachers of the twenty-first century.
As a pre-service teacher it is important to maximise the available time I have for reading what matters the most to my studies and preparation of lesson plans. Google reader allows me to sort my reading list by relevance and also search for blogs and sites that I may have previously missed by utilising the ‘Discover’ option on Google Reader. This option finds blogs and sites that are based on my existing topics and therefore adds to my subscriptions for me.
Similar to Delicious, Google Reader allows for friends and colleagues to be invited to your site and share your subscriptions. This again is a form of opening the channels of communication and particularly as a new teacher to a school, this would be a clever way to make friends or introduce you to new colleagues.

I am finding this research to these applications very interesting as I am rather new to these forms of communication. I feel that as part of the responsibility of today’s teachers, technology is moving at a much faster rate than I will ever maintain. However, if we are able to decipher and implement a percentage of such technologies, we are helping to maintain student interests’ thus promoting a climate within the classroom that encourages communication and valuable learning. Teachers are striving to maintain student interest and keep students at school and these programs such as Google Reader, Delicious and Blogging this may just open the doors for these students who could otherwise be lost in the system.

Delicious Bookmarking

Delicious is a simple and effective tool for tagging information and websites for future access. I imagine Delicious to be my own personal library. The difference is that my library of information can be accessed at home, when I am out, or at school. Information I have found on the internet, that I am interested in reading, can simply be tagged onto my delicious account.

It is a well known fact that the responsibilities of teachers within today’s society have greatly increased as apposed to the teaching practices of the past. During the 1960’s our classrooms began to change in reference to the responsibility of the teacher. Within the past teaching was seen as a ‘lonely, isolated endeavour in which teachers jealously guarded their lesson plans and this has undergone significant change.’ (Serber, 2008). As technology changed, the availability of resources contributed to a greater collaboration between teachers. Tools such as delicious can provide the organisation of information that teachers can openly share at the click of a button. I might also add that their may be a reduction in the tree lopping as these ideas are shared on-line and therefore less paper is being printed.

I now understand that there are two types of tagging. Bookmarking is where we save addresses of a Website that we may wish to visit at a later date. Social Bookmarking is where we save bookmarks to a public Website. Social bookmarking within the school is again, a form of communication and a way to intrigue students about a subject as they use technology which the majority use frequently. I feel that tapping into the students interests’ is fundamental to the delivery of topics within the classroom.

References
Serber, M, (2008) History Education Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow .Retrieved on May 12, 2009, from: http://www.oah.org/pubs/nl/2008feb/serber.html

'Blogging with Students'

• 
  
  Hello fellow bloggers, this week I have discovered a thing or two about the communication tool of blogging. Being that this is new to me, I firstly needed to research others’ points of view to the benefits and possible complications of this tool. Following this research I was able to form a personal viewpoint of how this tool can benefit the learning within a classroom.
  
  As a pre-service teacher I am certainly interested in opening the communication barriers within my classroom, so is this the way to go about it? Here I have posted my thoughts on some of the strategies as to how blogging can be incorporated into the classroom.
  
• Students’ can read up on school/classroom information for example a weekly newsletter.
• Blogging can be used as a reading discussion and book reviews.
• Interesting news reports can be posted where students’ can respond with their thoughts and ideas on the topic which can ideally be linked to their current unit of work.
• Blogging can be used to enhance communication and promote self/peer reflections and feedback.
• Promote etiquette of formal writing.
• Encourage students to post their ideas for topic choices of study and as a class decide scaffold their own learning.
• Individualise student blogs where student’s progress can be discussed and monitored by the teacher.
• Students can post assignments on their blog and share ideas with other students’.
  
  Another positive side to blogging is the enjoyment received by the students’. The principal at the Institute of St. Joseph in Quebec City referred blogging as the ‘Virtual extension of the classroom’. (Downes, S. 2004). A study, as carried out by Stephen Downes who is a researcher with the E-Learning Research Group in Canada, quoted a student’s view on blogging to enhance learning. The fifth grade student said: 'The blogs give us a chance to communicate between us and motivate us to write more'. (Downes, S. 2004). This student also pointed out that ‘by reading other peers’ comments, we can know our own weaknesses and strengths’.
  
  This is a valuable comment and this communication would not just be between the students’ but also between the teacher and the students and the students’ and the school community. It is of my opinion that this tool be of most benefit as a communication and reflective tool at the same time increasing the students’ enjoyment of learning.
  
  There will however, be some possible downfalls to implementing a tool such as blogging into the classroom. These are my findings:

• Not all students have access to a computer at home.
• Well planned and explicit teaching would be needed to scaffold the teachers expectations.
• Time efficiency.
• Security and privacy of individual’s work may be jeopardised if the system is not secure.
• Mixing schoolwork and social conversations by blogging may reduce the focus of the topic.
  
  So after more consideration I have arrived at a few of my own questions in reference to blogging in the classroom. I am interested to see how many more students will complete their homework by blogging rather than the conventional method of the pen and paper? Also where will the teacher find time to deliver such strategies into our curriculum? And if any one knows, I am keen to know how many schools have blogging as a tool within their school?