Tuesday, October 5, 2010

Reflecting Back...

As this week I was unable to attend the lecture and as we approach the due date of our Wikis I have decided to reflect back on my journey so far through ED3441. It is interesting to see if I have met any of my goals for the subject, or if it has been what I expected it to be like.

My main initial goal was to become more confident in experimenting with different ICTs that are unfamiliar to me. I feel that through each week of being exposed to different ICTs in our tutes my confidence has slowly started to increase. One program I particularly enjoyed playing with was Audacity. I had heard of this program before but didn’t actually know what it was or how to use. Max showed us how to download a simple music file from the Internet onto the software. From there we were able to cut bits of sound from the music piece, we explored mixing two pieces of sound together and generally just had a play around to discover the different features of Audacity. Previously I would have never had the confidence to do this and brushed it off as being too hard, but through this exploration, Max helped me see just how easy it is to play around with new programs.

Has anyone else achieved the goals that we set for ourselves way back in week one? I would love to hear if you have!

Throughout the subject I have also learnt new ways of incorporating ICTs into my classroom. I didn’t realise there were so many suitable tools accessible to us at just a click of our computer mouse! Great programs web tools I hope to use in my class lessons one day include Bubbl.us, Wordles, Scratch, Flickr, the list just goes on and on!! I have only had limited chances to play around with the tools so far but every time I do I see just valuable they can be to teachers! 280slide is another awesome web tool that students can use. Instead of just creating a powerpoint presentation using Microsoft Office, students can create a powerpoint which they can then share with everyone via their own personal wiki, a class wiki etc. This way tasks can seem more authentic to students as they are just not doing work just for the teacher. They are doing work that everyone can see.

Good luck to everyone in the coming weeks as we all frantically try to finish creating our Wikis!

4 comments:

  1. Hi,
    Yes I have achieved my goal too, and that also was to become more confident using ICTs. The tool that I have enjoyed using was prezi and Glogster. I think that I would defiantly use them when I am teaching.
    I have thoroughly enjoyed this subject and I will endever to use ICTs in my classroom depending on availability to the internet etc...
    How is your Wiki going?

    ReplyDelete
  2. That's great Mandi that you were able to achieve the goals you set out too! I haven't had any experiences with Prezi or Glogster. What exactly are these ICT tools used for? I know Max has frequently talked about the value of Prezi but I have not actually heard of Glogster before.

    My Wiki is coming along slowly. It is hard for me because I am so unsure of what to do exactly but I will work it out. I heard that you have finished yours! Thats awesome! Good luck with it all.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Hi Rachel,

    I too have achieved the goals I set for myself in this subject. When we began I had no idea what web 2.0 tools were even though I was using them everyday! I have learnt so much from this subject and as a result I have more confidence when using ICTs. Learning what a wiki was and then actually constructing my own site was a journey that has shaped the way I view ICTs in the classroom. I was always simple minded when it came to embedding ICTs into learning experiences. Taking a class to the computer lab to do research was as far as I’d go. Now I can’t wait to use the the knowledge I have learnt from this subject.

    Participating in blogs and making a wiki were two learning experiences that I am eager to do in the classroom. These web 2.0 tools are a great way for students to collaborate ideas to produce scaffolded learning. Employing web tools into the classroom would also motivate learners to participate in fun and educational activities.

    From my previous prac experiences, I have never seen how these new forms of technology are implemented within units. Have you come across any?

    Tara

    ReplyDelete
  4. Hey Tara

    I haven't come across Wikis or Blogs being used within units but I have seen been apart of watching my SBTE and her fellow teachers create their own Wiki site. This Wiki site was developed to showcase an inquiry unit plan the teachers had developed and implemented into their classrooms. Apart from that I have never seen any other of these tools used before.

    ReplyDelete