LMS

Well I would love to see this system being used in all schools, not just universities. Resources and networking could go beyond the classroom and continue into the home. Students can participate in group discussion to figure out problems they have from home. It is common knowledge that 1+1=3 when it comes to group work. Our students can gain real life skills though the use of an open or closed LMS. It would be preferable to have them use an open LMS as it enables them to do more and would also be cheaper for the schools.

Interactive White Board

I have a feeling that this is very much a tool to grow, that the best ideas a still being made. I also think that I can not possibly understand it properly without using it myself. I would jump at the opportunity to see one in action and to give it a try.

I think it would also be important to have students involved in using the whiteboard too. I have heard of some cases where teachers have forbid the student to touch anything. I think this is really sad, such a waste of a valuable collaborative resource. I have also heard that it is not very good at writing Kanji (Japanese). I also believe that even if this is true there might be ways to work around issues such as this. All technology improves over time and these are just the first models. Just look at power points and it is easy to see that this equipment will become better with time. So I am excited about this new trend in our schools and hope it is the first of many!

Power Point

What would the world be without Power points. Love them or hate them they are everywhere, being use to present, explain and just provide a visual. I have been making power points for longer than I can remember, and they are just second nature. I loved going though the weeks study and finding out that I have been making good power points.

Power points will always be a valuable tool for education. I just finished an assignment where I used a power point as the main assessment. They had to pull together all the knowledge they had learnt and demonstrated their knowledge of the Japanese language by creating a power point for an outside audience.

Voki Avatars

Ok so now I am really annoyed. Some time technology can be really just a pain. I have tried to embed a voki in this page for the last two hours. Yes I tried the 'Edit Html' and about a thousand other things.


Anyway, my voki was a self introduction which I recorded in Japanese. I chose not to use the text base impute for good reason. Firstly, with language learning/teaching there needs to be good modeling of how to pronounce the words. If the text was used it often sounds unnatural. This would seriously effect the students ability to learn the language effectively. Richards (1996) pointed out the importance of language being modeled correctly and even points out the benefits of having native speakers.

Secondly language learning is not just a verbal speech. There needs to be negotiation of meaning though use of both non verbals and verbals. As such the Voki's could be used to maybe introduce something, but not for more in depth work.

This tool would be good for the students to use as a practise, they could create their own Voki and practise their speech. It would be good as students can hear themselves and recognise what they need to improve on, while having fun.

So in conclusion I think that Voki's are a wonderful tool. That then can be used in language learning, but under the right circumstances.

Reference

Richards, J & Lockhart, C. (1996). Reflective teaching in second language classrooms,
Cambridge University Press, Melbourne.

Mahara

Hello


I don't know what it is about the layout to this site (Mahara), but it confuses me. I often find myself confused about all the different views and I class myself as a digital native! Not that I can't figure it out, I just think I am not use to the 'easy' layout. I also didn't really get the purpose of the site at first... all I kept thinking was "OK, so what am I meant to do on here".

My understanding now is that this site does many things. It allows someone to have a wiki, resume, blog and allows them to network."Mahara is a highly capable tool, but it will take a week of exploration to truly understand the capabilities of the software"(Aldred, 2010). I probably does more than I can recognise now but I am still learning. I think this is a very interesting site and would be very good on a professional level.

I am concerned about the popularity of the site though. One of the reasons facebook and other networking site are so good is because almost everyone has an account, I've got friend in Japan, America and all over on my facebook account! I think it is not good for networking then until the popularity of the site grow.... time will tell.

Student could defiantly use this.... perhaps senior though :D. I still remember creating a resume in high school, it would have been much better if it had been on Mahara. Not only does it have 'template', but it would have been more authentic for me. Actually creating something that I could use for my career, at the time it was just another "stupid" assessment.

Once students had this account it cold be re-used for many different things. It has the option for a wiki, blog, and networking in one place. Mahara can also be made rather cyber safe, if I'm not mistaken. For example our course has its own place in mahara, and it would be interesting to see if this could be made private. That would eliminate the problem of an 'outside' threat.

Wiki

Hello
Wikis are not new to me, I have used them in other courses. I like how simple they are, with what you see is what you get. They are a great for facilitating group work. I am even using it in one of my other courses this semester. My idea was inspired by this course. When I asked my teacher what he thought about my idea, He wanted me to do it for his school.

The idea: In my Learning Partnerships course, as a group, we have to develop a resource to help students with resilience. My group chose year 7 term four and our focus topic is the transition from Primary to High school. I came up with the idea to use a wiki to set up a common place students could find out information about the local high schools. This would allow students to contact mentors, find out things like subjects, and even look for a map. The website will allow students make feel a sense of belonging BEFORE they get to high school.

Students that are moving onto high school can lose their friend groups, teachers change, status changes, and etc. As such it is no wonder students can feel very scared or nervous. High school is taking students out of a world they belong and lead and putting them in a new school, with new people and at the bottom of the food chain. McInerney said that the transition into high school can disrupt students’ social networks and “New social networks take time to establish, and this can take precedence over learning...” (McInerney & McInerney, 2006, p.239)

You can see why I declined setting it up, good idea, but lots of work. We have not developed it yet, but I look forward to it.

An online text book that the students create using WIKIPedia would be a brilliant way to get students engaged in the topic. It would be really interesting to have my students create a online textbook around some Japanese subject whether it be a place, a festival or even a page about customs. Students would be searching for the facts, rather then the teacher trying in vain to get students to learn something they don't care about. This is defiantly a good example of the learning engagement theory.

Rss

Hello

Any thing that saves time and makes life easier is always good. In saying that, I have found a few problems with RSS. Upon trying to subscribe to all my class mates blogs I notice that in less than half of them they had no RSS button or similar button. I don't know if this makes it so I cannot subscribe at all though google reader or if it is just my lack of knowledge. Which leads me to think that this could mean that I would still have to visit each site I can not subscribe to. This could be rather difficult when there are more than several sites, as I can quickly see myself forgetting some sites.

I also often check sites to watch TV shows that I like. While RSS could be helpful, there is something comforting about going to all my sites and checking out if the new episode is out one by one. It doesn't even make sense why! I just know if it was just google reader I went to I would feel let down, there is anticipation built up by doing it the 'old way' and I just can't give it up. Yep, I'm crazy :). I do like the idea that I have the option though. So while I know how valuable this is I think it is not for me in my personal use. Besides I think this would suit people who are busier and have a lot to keep track of online.

This could be very useful in education in rather the same situation in which I/we use it. Students can blog and can keep track of others blogs by using RSS to access them easily and comment. Google reader is a RSS that is really easy to use and free. That means students can use this tool at no cost to the school. All in all this is a very handy tool.

Reflect on what has been studied already

The education system is outdated
The further I go in this course the more arguments I see about our education system being outdated. It was truly made for students of another time. Education should have changed with the introduction of technology. Instead school was left behind and students now have what seems to me almost to be two different lives. Their life, where they get to use technology to communicate/network, to research, compose, and millions of other things. Then they have the life that the government and school systems force on them. The "important" stuff that is forced down their throats, that they are told that matters. Which student don't understand because they have learnt to use technology that can do it ten time faster and easier. Technology that the older generation don't understand and even see as more difficult. Today’s students according to Prensky (2005) are digital natives, that think differently because technology is such a great part of their lives. By using ICTs we are catering for students’ ways of thinking and allowing them to create through a medium they understand.


One argument that comes to mind is "why can't we use a calculator?" And the teacher usually say something like "what if you didn't have a calculator? You need to know how to do this without one". Which is rubbish (and students know it) they carry calculators disguised mobiles in their pockets EVERYWHERE they go. I myself dropped out of math altogether in senior year and I find I never have trouble finding out the answers I need (mathematically) in my daily life. I do how ever realise that my chosen profession doesn't require a high level of maths.

I also remember hearing "students these days just can't spell. Why are they not getting taught how to spell properly in school". Now anyone who knows me knows I am horrible at spelling, but it has never been too much of an problem. I use spell check, proof read many times and then publish. This has actually made me more conscious of what I am writing. It is not fool proof, but I mange.

So now we are left with these learners who are basically faking their way though school. Who do not see the value of what they are learning. I just can't understand why we have not adapted our schools, etc.


Learning Engagement Theory
I really believe this is where our education system should have progressed to be. Students learning all subjects though a collaborative and authentic problem. Students can clearly see how information they are learning will help them in their projects, which they got to chooses to address. Not just the next made up "problem" the teacher creates. This will be something the students care about.

Another good thing about this teaching system is the collaborative approach. Students, in my opinion , always have difficulty working in groups until they get more experience. Students would also defiantly profit from using technology in their group projects. Technology is a fast and effective way to communicate and students would be able to use Wikis for collaborative projects.

What is IcIs

Hello

IcIs is the study of a target countries culture (2nd place) through looking at our own culture (1st place). It was offered as an alternative to LOTE. Keep in mind that this subject should be done by LOTE teachers because language can not be separated from culture.

Student start out looking at their own culture, what they do and why. This is their first place. Then they look at the target countries culture and the reasons behind their customs and etc. This is their second place. They then have to do a project (given by the teacher) that allows them to demonstrate their third place. The third place is what they decide to take from the first and second place. They do NOT get assessed on their third place. Instead they get assessed on their justification of their third place. Justifying their third place is rather difficult thing to do as students need to use higher order thinking.

Example;
1st place -Australian students look at food. . How we eat it, when, where, and what we eat.They might look at why we eat beef, rockhampton is know for beef.

2nd place- Students look at Japanese food. How they eat it, when, where, and what they eat. They might look at why Japanese people eat lots of seafood, because Japan is an Island and lack space for herds of cows.

3rd place- Students have to design a menu for Japanese people coming to their school. Some students choose to give them Vegemite because they have not tried it before. Another chooses to give them sushi because they know that is what they eat in Japan. Some might do a mix of both.

But it is the reason why students chose to do what they did that matters. So if they chose Vegemite because...well just because. Then that student is not able to justify their choice.


If anyone has any questions feel free to ask!

Blogs

Hello

Well, like many others in my course, this is my first blog. I have already come across one problem, which I managed to fix. I had actually created two accounts, without realising, and could not figure out why my blog was not there. It is alright now though!! A good way to remind me that while technology does have it's faults there is a solution. So time the solution can be staring you in the face, you just have to look.

I think blogs would be a wonderful tool to use inside the classroom. Firstly, students would need to be educated on web safety and how to uses a blog. Children can be exposed to a number of unsuitable material on the Internet (Aldred, 2010). They can be exposed to cyber bullying, strangers with harmful intent and other dangerous material. Nevertheless, the students risk of exposure does not just go away because they are not using full access to the Internet at school. Students have this free access to web 2.0 from home and if we do not educate them on the dangers, then they truly are at risk.

Having students use technology (blogs) to record their learning journey is a great idea. Today’s students according to Presky (2005) are digital natives, that think differently because technology is such a part of their lives . By using blogs we are catering for students’ ways of thinking and allowing them to create through a medium they understand.

Being a Language and IcIs teacher I can certainly see how blogs would work to help students with their learning journeys. Especially for IcIs when students have to reflect (using higher order thinking) on their third place. Students can do this effectively and be able to comment on each other’s reflections. The time I have for IcIs students for is limited, so they would be able to do more work from home. The final task in the IcIs assessment usually requires students to develop something displaying their knowledge of both countries. This is usually done for some one like a sister school in the target country but only pretending it is authentic. Blogs would make it possible for students to really share their blogs with the sister school. Having a blog as the assesssment piece would really be good in creating an authentic activity. Thos also allows students to receive feed back from their peers on this assessment. Blogs are also able to be seen by the world and as such students will see the importance of the task. Real people will get to see their blogs and it won't just be chucked in the bin after being marked.

In senior Japanese, I myself can remember how, when I got stuck on homework or assessments how frustrating it would be. I could not ask anyone because no one at home can speak Japanese. With a blog students can collaborate from home and ask questions from their peers or the teacher. In this way students would be working collaboratively and teaching each other. The learning pyramid suggests that student retain 50% of discussion groups and 90% of teaching others.

Image from ACU Adams Center for Teaching Excellence

For those of you that don't know what IcIs is I will explain in my next post.

Reference
Aldred, S. (2010). Internet safety: the issues. Retrieved from CQUniversity Moodle,
FAHE11001 Managing E-Learning,
http://moodle.cqu.edu.au/mod/resource/view.php?id=44151

Prensky, M. (2001). Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants. On the Horizon. MCB University Press, Vol. 9 No. 5, October 2001.

Hello and Welcome!

:D