Today's class began with a very interesting and slightly cheeky activity. We began by making our own adult's only animated short movie from scratch. The website www.afilm.com is an animated movie maker website which allows you to choose your own cheesy stereotypical characters, the scene you would like your movie to take place in and the music to go along with it. So I decided to choose a romantic background with 70's boogie nights music and characters by the name of Letitia and Stud. The plot of the movie was a sexy rendezvous between the chatty and pompous Letitia and the male model who loves puppies and kittens, Stud. The movie is titled Love at First Sight and you can watch it on my blog, hope you enjoy it. The movie is for adults and should not be used in a class room setting amongst children.
The activities to follow were fabulous and intriguing websites that Greg introduced the class to, and would be useful websites that give primary students that opportunity to be creative and design their own animations. The website www.zimmertwins.com for me was not as straight forward and easy to use compared to the previous animation website, and I presume it would be a little difficult for children also. However, it is a fun and an engaging website that gives students a chance to design their own comic strip with dialogue. The website also entails fun and quirky movies that students can watch.
Sketch Swap is a website with a blank screen that allows you to be artistic and draw with the mouse on the computer, which I must admit is quite a difficult task to do. When you finish drawing the picture the program draws a picture back to you and sometimes they can be offensive and cheeky. For example Kate received a picture of a pig and said you with an arrow pointing to the drawing. The images created by the students also gives them the opportunity to email them to their friends and family.
The website www.buildyourwildself.com gives children the opportunity to choose a human characters features, clothing etc. It allows them to be creative and experiment with adding different parts of animals features to their human character. The website has an extensive range of animal features for students to explore with.
I feel all of the programs are fantastic and engaging websites that primary students would find fascinating. It gives them the opportunity to be creative and let their imaginations run wild while learning ICT design skills. All of the programs which were visited and explored today have been posted on my blog.
Mel.
Monday, September 27, 2010
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
Sunday, September 12, 2010
Journal Week 4.
M&M's mmmmmm.......... I got to eat m&m's this week whilst completing a maths activity with excel which involved m&m's. We began by sorting the m&m's by colour into the candy colour chart, we then were given a quick lesson on how to use excel. By using the program excel, it gives students the tools and knowledge to be able to turn figures into charts. In this case by creating a table in excel with the different coloured m&m's in one column and the quantity of each coloured m&m in the following column. We then created a imaginative graph which collaborated the results. It is also imperative to remember when using m&m's in the classroom to make sure students are not allergic to them. Safety first.
I found the activity quite intriguing and believe it could be an engaging and fun exercise for students. I enjoyed collecting images of m&m pictures from the Australian m&m website (http://m-ms.com.au/)to creatively enhance and beautify my graph and chart. Whilst completing the activity my thoughts were, how simple materials and methods which incorporate ICT are an intelligent and intriguing way to get students to enjoy learning programs such as excel. This activity assisted to refresh my memory of excel, as I haven't used the program since secondary school.
I thoroughly enjoyed the second activity which followed. We were introduced to a wonderful website www.abc.net.au/dustechoes/, which is an interactive and interesting way for students to learn about Aboriginal dream time stores. The website has a collection of various stories which relate to Aboriginal spirituality and traditions told by animation with music and no words. It teaches students to able to analyse stories by picture only and to create their version and understanding of the story being told.
The dream time story I watched was called 'Morning Star'. The animation was a gorgeous story about some of the Aboriginal rituals associated with death. The colour of the animation and music helped me to analyse the key themes of the story, which was a man was walking through the bush hears people screaming because a man in their camp has died. It then goes on to enlighten the viewer with the various rituals of life, birth, life and death.
The final part of the activity was to re-tell my version of Morning Star with inspiration. By copying and pasting the important images of the story to inspiration, I created a collage or some might call it a story board. I did however have difficulty completing this task, it took me a little longer to finish my story board compared to my peers. I have posted the final product on my blog, I hope you enjoy my shortened version of Morning Star.
I am appreciating every lesson every week, and I am bursting with excitement to be able to share what I have learnt with my students some day.
Stay tuned to see what Greg has in store for group 2 next week!! Oh, I wonder?
Mel.
I found the activity quite intriguing and believe it could be an engaging and fun exercise for students. I enjoyed collecting images of m&m pictures from the Australian m&m website (http://m-ms.com.au/)to creatively enhance and beautify my graph and chart. Whilst completing the activity my thoughts were, how simple materials and methods which incorporate ICT are an intelligent and intriguing way to get students to enjoy learning programs such as excel. This activity assisted to refresh my memory of excel, as I haven't used the program since secondary school.
I thoroughly enjoyed the second activity which followed. We were introduced to a wonderful website www.abc.net.au/dustechoes/, which is an interactive and interesting way for students to learn about Aboriginal dream time stores. The website has a collection of various stories which relate to Aboriginal spirituality and traditions told by animation with music and no words. It teaches students to able to analyse stories by picture only and to create their version and understanding of the story being told.
The dream time story I watched was called 'Morning Star'. The animation was a gorgeous story about some of the Aboriginal rituals associated with death. The colour of the animation and music helped me to analyse the key themes of the story, which was a man was walking through the bush hears people screaming because a man in their camp has died. It then goes on to enlighten the viewer with the various rituals of life, birth, life and death.
The final part of the activity was to re-tell my version of Morning Star with inspiration. By copying and pasting the important images of the story to inspiration, I created a collage or some might call it a story board. I did however have difficulty completing this task, it took me a little longer to finish my story board compared to my peers. I have posted the final product on my blog, I hope you enjoy my shortened version of Morning Star.
I am appreciating every lesson every week, and I am bursting with excitement to be able to share what I have learnt with my students some day.
Stay tuned to see what Greg has in store for group 2 next week!! Oh, I wonder?
Mel.
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
Friday, September 3, 2010
Journal Week 3.
As weeks go by, I feel I am learning very valuable material and information that will be very useful for when I am teaching. The programs that Greg is introducing our class to are fabulous and extremely interesting tools that I believe my students will enjoy. The programs I have learnt about thus far will assist in creating an interactive classroom.
We began this weeks class with the 'FROG' exercise. The aim of the activity is to make the frog jump by using all the materials given to us and to not skip any steps in the process. The materials used in the activity were scissors, sticky tape, rubber band, frog (picture of a frog) and cardboard. The concept of this exercise is to enable students to investigate and design the possibilities of how to make the frog jump by using all the materials (rubber band, cardboard etc). Produce the design, problem which needs to be solved, resources used and to analyse and evaluate the processes taken. It is vital students fill out all components of the 'Frog' activity sheet. The overall purpose of the activity is to drive students to extend their way of thinking, and become familiar with the notion of information and systems.
My partner for the frog exercise was Liz, and we had to design a way by using the materials mentioned above to get the frog to jump. We both confessed to each other we were not skilled at building things. However, after a few attempts we achieved our goal. We designed a concept which could be compared to a sling shot. It is also imperative to remember the little things when students are involved with a task such as the 'frog' exercise. Safety comes first in the classroom, and I must remember to always explain how to hold and use scissors to my students so accidents can be prevented.
The second activity in ICT was becoming familiar with designing educational games online. I was elated and amazed at how simple and fun it was to be designing educational quizzes and games based around a unit of work being taught in the classroom. The quiz I had designed can be found on the website www.quia.com/web. The URL address is www.quia.com/quiz/2542610.html. The quiz was based on the topic of zoo animals and it was a 'who am i?' guessing game. My class trialled each others games and enjoyed participating and answering the quizzes. Well I did, I thought everyone had done a fantastic job.
Finally the last task was to design an educational game. Once again I was amazed how simple games such as hangman can be used with students in classrooms, and can be used to base around a topic students are learning about. I decided to design my game which was hangman with balloons, on the topic of 'items you can find in a garden'. You can find my hangman game on www.quia.com/hm/671914.html.
I look forward to next weeks class. I wonder what engaging activities I will be engrossed in?!
We began this weeks class with the 'FROG' exercise. The aim of the activity is to make the frog jump by using all the materials given to us and to not skip any steps in the process. The materials used in the activity were scissors, sticky tape, rubber band, frog (picture of a frog) and cardboard. The concept of this exercise is to enable students to investigate and design the possibilities of how to make the frog jump by using all the materials (rubber band, cardboard etc). Produce the design, problem which needs to be solved, resources used and to analyse and evaluate the processes taken. It is vital students fill out all components of the 'Frog' activity sheet. The overall purpose of the activity is to drive students to extend their way of thinking, and become familiar with the notion of information and systems.
My partner for the frog exercise was Liz, and we had to design a way by using the materials mentioned above to get the frog to jump. We both confessed to each other we were not skilled at building things. However, after a few attempts we achieved our goal. We designed a concept which could be compared to a sling shot. It is also imperative to remember the little things when students are involved with a task such as the 'frog' exercise. Safety comes first in the classroom, and I must remember to always explain how to hold and use scissors to my students so accidents can be prevented.
The second activity in ICT was becoming familiar with designing educational games online. I was elated and amazed at how simple and fun it was to be designing educational quizzes and games based around a unit of work being taught in the classroom. The quiz I had designed can be found on the website www.quia.com/web. The URL address is www.quia.com/quiz/2542610.html. The quiz was based on the topic of zoo animals and it was a 'who am i?' guessing game. My class trialled each others games and enjoyed participating and answering the quizzes. Well I did, I thought everyone had done a fantastic job.
Finally the last task was to design an educational game. Once again I was amazed how simple games such as hangman can be used with students in classrooms, and can be used to base around a topic students are learning about. I decided to design my game which was hangman with balloons, on the topic of 'items you can find in a garden'. You can find my hangman game on www.quia.com/hm/671914.html.
I look forward to next weeks class. I wonder what engaging activities I will be engrossed in?!
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Journal Week 2.
Anxious, stressed and overwhelmed. These words best describe how I am feeling at the moment. There is so much information which I need to absorb in the year ahead, and the pressure is beginning to mount. However, my classmates have to be the most interesting, friendly and vibrant people. We are all sharing the same journey and have a common goal. We are all willing to work together as a team to help each other get through the hurdles we will be facing.
In today's class Greg continued on with the discussion of eportfolio's. I am amazed and will continue to be amazed as weeks go by as to how technology keeps evolving. Every aspect of school has changed and will continue to change and I feel I have so much to learn to in order to be at the expected standard. How will I remember everything? I know I will have to dedicate many hours to practice and become familiar with the software we are being introduced to. Eportfolio's can be defined as simply a story or a presentation. It's main use is a "personalised learning space allowing the user to shape the way they present themselves to the world." From what I understood in the example given to us in the lecture and how it relates to teachers is, it shows the process and progression of the student. It acts as a report online and shows assessment and examples of the students work throughout the year. I was impressed with the program but doubted how I will be able to mirror such astonishing work. Well, only time will tell when assessment comes around and what my finished product will look like.
Alarm bells began ringing when Greg mentioned "Interview". Oh no, dreaded interviews and double oh no, putting together an eye catching and impressive CV. Interviews are extremely nerve wrecking experiences, and difficult to muster the strength to ooze confidence and be able to sell yourself. During this part of the lesson we began learning how to design and develop a CV on publisher. Due to time constraints, Greg whizzed through the lesson on learning to use Publisher and it becomes stressful keeping up at times. After adding the important components to my CV I spend the next 15 minutes experimenting with Publisher and adding logos to my home page. I hadn't used Publisher since high school in 98 and a lot has changed with the program since then. It is a satisfying feeling when you begin to feel confident using a program you have just learnt half an hour ago.
The final part of the lesson was enjoyable for me as we were asked to design a brochure on Publisher. The brochure designed was on a destination we had been to, or desired to visit. Ohhh Positano, actually Europe in general. We will meet again one day soon. Designing the brochure was a calming and engaging task, I felt solace in choosing the colour schemes and layout for the brochure. Which was a little strange for me, I actually enjoyed completing the task which involved using computer software. I used Google to discover wonderful and scenic photos of Positano and added them to my brochure to entice my imaginary customers. If I had a little more time I could have experimented with the program a little more and made a few changes to my Positano brochure. However, I am pleased with the overall result.
I am realising how programs such as Publisher can assist in enabling students to make interesting, vibrant and visually impressive projects. I'm sure when I am teaching they will be showing me some interesting things they can do with the program that I have no knowledge about, which is fantastic as it is all about sharing knowledge.
Mel.
In today's class Greg continued on with the discussion of eportfolio's. I am amazed and will continue to be amazed as weeks go by as to how technology keeps evolving. Every aspect of school has changed and will continue to change and I feel I have so much to learn to in order to be at the expected standard. How will I remember everything? I know I will have to dedicate many hours to practice and become familiar with the software we are being introduced to. Eportfolio's can be defined as simply a story or a presentation. It's main use is a "personalised learning space allowing the user to shape the way they present themselves to the world." From what I understood in the example given to us in the lecture and how it relates to teachers is, it shows the process and progression of the student. It acts as a report online and shows assessment and examples of the students work throughout the year. I was impressed with the program but doubted how I will be able to mirror such astonishing work. Well, only time will tell when assessment comes around and what my finished product will look like.
Alarm bells began ringing when Greg mentioned "Interview". Oh no, dreaded interviews and double oh no, putting together an eye catching and impressive CV. Interviews are extremely nerve wrecking experiences, and difficult to muster the strength to ooze confidence and be able to sell yourself. During this part of the lesson we began learning how to design and develop a CV on publisher. Due to time constraints, Greg whizzed through the lesson on learning to use Publisher and it becomes stressful keeping up at times. After adding the important components to my CV I spend the next 15 minutes experimenting with Publisher and adding logos to my home page. I hadn't used Publisher since high school in 98 and a lot has changed with the program since then. It is a satisfying feeling when you begin to feel confident using a program you have just learnt half an hour ago.
The final part of the lesson was enjoyable for me as we were asked to design a brochure on Publisher. The brochure designed was on a destination we had been to, or desired to visit. Ohhh Positano, actually Europe in general. We will meet again one day soon. Designing the brochure was a calming and engaging task, I felt solace in choosing the colour schemes and layout for the brochure. Which was a little strange for me, I actually enjoyed completing the task which involved using computer software. I used Google to discover wonderful and scenic photos of Positano and added them to my brochure to entice my imaginary customers. If I had a little more time I could have experimented with the program a little more and made a few changes to my Positano brochure. However, I am pleased with the overall result.
I am realising how programs such as Publisher can assist in enabling students to make interesting, vibrant and visually impressive projects. I'm sure when I am teaching they will be showing me some interesting things they can do with the program that I have no knowledge about, which is fantastic as it is all about sharing knowledge.
Mel.
Sunday, August 22, 2010
Journal Week 1.
Technology for me has and is a little daunting; due to the fact I have never been drawn to the world of computers and software. Nor do I rarely get excited about new technology that is released. I must admit I am in love with my iPhone and could not and will not live without it. However, I have now become accustomed to the fact that technology is and will be a part of my world whether I like it or not. So I better get on the learning technology bus if I want to give my students the best possible education, and give them the opportunity to be using the latest programs and software which will connect them with classrooms around the globe.
Okay let’s be honest, we as a society have always had the misconception that technology and computers etc are for NERDS. Well that was the stereotype when I was growing up. However, my laptop is the most used item in my household for reasons being I use it for facebook, online banking, hotmail, university, Google and youtube. Which I must confess, I am beginning to get slightly addicted to. There is so much you can do on the internet. Anything I want to know or research about I can. How amazing is that? There is so much to learn in the gargantuan world called the internet.
So I say, Learning Technology bring it on. I’m ready to absorb and learn as much as possible in order to transform my classroom into an interactive learning environment.
Apologies if this blog has displeased any readers.
Mel.
Okay let’s be honest, we as a society have always had the misconception that technology and computers etc are for NERDS. Well that was the stereotype when I was growing up. However, my laptop is the most used item in my household for reasons being I use it for facebook, online banking, hotmail, university, Google and youtube. Which I must confess, I am beginning to get slightly addicted to. There is so much you can do on the internet. Anything I want to know or research about I can. How amazing is that? There is so much to learn in the gargantuan world called the internet.
So I say, Learning Technology bring it on. I’m ready to absorb and learn as much as possible in order to transform my classroom into an interactive learning environment.
Apologies if this blog has displeased any readers.
Mel.
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
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