Friday, August 14, 2009

Incompetech...

I downloaded from Incompetech, several songs from different categories and must have received mostly the shopping centre loud speaker variety by mistake.
Though in saying that and with copy right laws forbidding any use of music legally owned by others being used without consent or payment, it did become appealing.
Educationally for students to `jazz up` their work and make it more engaging Royalty Free music is a great legal option. Even for Learning Managers using ICT`s in instruction, music adds another dimension to learning experiences.

Dominique

References:
Incompetech, (n.d.). Retrieved August 14, 2009, from,
http://incompetech.com/

Power Point to Mediafire...

Thoroughly enjoyed making the Quiz on Power Point, I could see students enjoying the process to a certain degree. I feel they would lose interest simply because it would become a bit monotonous. And when there are programs like Online Quizzes that do all the work, it is easy to guess which one the students would ultimately prefer.
This activity reflects the notion of relate, create and donate - Engagement Theory by Kearsley & Shneiderman (1999). I related to the exercise, then created it and through MediaFire donated it.

http://www.mediafire.com/?sharekey=64eb88e48955aa72312dbd5f2bdc5062e04e75f6e8ebb871


Dominique

References:
Kearsley, G., & Shneiderman, B. (2008). Engagement theory: a framework for technology-based teaching and learning. Retrieved September 1, 2009, from
http://home.sprynet.com/~gkearsley/engage.htm

Thursday, August 13, 2009

VoiceThread...

Warning: Open this link in a new window or tab, otherwise SlideShare will not let you return here!
http://voicethread.com/share/580168/
I do not enjoy sites that do this , it reminds why I think the person who said computers will make life easier, had rocks in their head.

Dominique

Mediafire...

This is the link to the file I uploaded to Mediafire.
http://www.mediafire.com/?ifytmmtfhnx
This file is a draft Learning Experience Plan, not the original but the copy I give to the coordinator of our course to verify before use. In the context of Siemens (2004) theory of Connectivism, Mediafire would be a good way for people to share information, though I am not sure if it an invite only application and if so then it would have limits on its coverage range.

Dominique

References:
Siemens, G. (2004). Connectivism: a learning theory for the digital age. Retrieved August 12, 2009, from
http://www.elearnspace.org/Articles/connectivism.htm

Pumpkin Soup Slideshare...

As you will notice there is no embedded audio file with this Slideshare, frankly being a digital alien has it`s limits...and that was mine, for this moment in time.
Though now I know how to embed Power Point presentations and that was interesting, for students this would be a good tool for that one reason. As mentioned in previous Blogs I feel Power Point is a brilliant tool for learning, therefore being able to embed it into other ICT`s makes it use even more appealing.

Dominique

Wednesday, August 12, 2009

Wikipedia to Escoffier...

Image courtesy of http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Wikipedia_logos

My discipline areas in the Bachelor of Learning Management are Hospitality and Home Economics. My Wikipedia search therefore dealt with the realms of cooking, which led me to Auguste Escoffier, a famous French chef. Some of the areas within this page were his Early Life, his time spent at the Ritz in Paris and the London Savoy as well as information about his death.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Escoffier
For students learning about kitchens and cooking, this chef is great person to start with, I would get the students to find out certain important areas in which Escoffier changed cooking from a simple act to an art form.
I am not quite sure about Wikipedia as a respected source of information, being basically a Wiki other people can come in and change the content, so does anyone know if academically it can be used in assessments.

Dominique

References:
Wikipedia, (2009). Auguste escoffier. Retrieved August 13, 2009, from,
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Escoffier

WebQuests...

WebQuests would definitely fall into Siemens (2004) theory of connectivism. Classrooms would be a vastly different place if all student learning was done this way.
I do see the point of how it would engage students specifically in regards to the ICT Learning Design framework (Learning Design, 2003) where successful outcomes require Learning Tasks, Support and Resources to be readily at hand for the students. Tom March (2004) suggests that WebQuests are a `scaffolded learning structure`, for students and further goes on to say teachers also definite from WebQuests, ` they gain in-process professional development, moving them toward learning-centered practice`.
The point I do not see as Student Learning Manager is: do teachers develop WebQuesst for their students or can they be done by an outside source, and if they can be done by outside sources who are they?
If this was or is the way education is going then I see teachers becoming facilitators rather than educators. The implications of that shift I would not be sure of, truthfully I feel education needs a human touch, as well as the advantages technology can bring. In other words `everything in moderation.`

Dominique

References:
Siemens, G. (2004). Connectivism: a learning theory for the digital age. Retrieved August 12, 2009, from
http://www.elearnspace.org/Articles/connectivism.htm
Learning Design. (2003). Learning design project. Retrieved August 12, 2009, from
http://www.learningdesigns.uow.edu.au/project/learn_design.htm
March, T. (2004). The learning power of webquests. Retrieved August 12, 2009, from,
http://tommarch.com/writings/wq_power.php

Google Earth...

What a brilliant tool! Did anyone go to the button `Switch between earth, sky and other planets`?
Not only does it give wonderful images of this earth, it takes it to the heavens. Kids in Geography class would definitely be engaged in their learning with this type of program.
For children that live in isolated areas Google Earth can open their eyes to the bigger world and universe. I do not have the time to discover all it can do and wonder is there a way to embed some of the images into other ICT`s such as Blogs and Wiki`s so students can utilise it as a resource for projects?

Dominique

Tuesday, August 11, 2009

Podcasting and ABC Radio...

I grew up on the islands of main land PNG, the only form of media entertainment I knew was the radio and it was generally the ABC radio. As a result my siblings and I became good auditory/linguistic learners. After downloading my chosen Podcast called `Technology 4 Teachers` by Sean M. Martinson and listening to some of his clips, it reminded me of listening to the ABC radio before bed when I was a child.
Pod-casting for linguistic learners is a great tool for teachers, like radio shows there is a limited allocation of time per episode, which means succinct amount of information is relayed. I could also see Pod-casting as a great tool for students to use, similar to Blogs only with a verbal component. The other area I picked up on from the Podcast I downloaded was you can further the information by referring it to your web site or blog.
After looking around at other sources for Podcasts I came across ABC National Radio Podcasts
http://www.abc.net.au/rn/podcast/
and have downloaded one of their shows to listen to in the car with my MP3 Player.

Dominique

References:
gp-training. (2006). Multiple intelligences. Retrieved August 11, 2009, from,
http://www.gp-training.net/training/educational_theory/multint/multint.htm
Martinson, S. (2009). Technology 4 Teachers. Retrieved August 11, 2009, from,
http://www.apple.com/itunes/whatson/podcasts/

Youtube and Chickens...


Supplied by: www.youtube.com

My Embedded Professional Learning (EPL) placement for this term is at TAFE, where I am observing students who are undertaking Certificate III in Hospitality (Commercial Cookery). The latest lesson plan dealt boning whole chickens. Whilst demonstrating the process to the students it was observed that many students were not paying attention and this became more obvious when it was their turn to attempt the task. When writing my reflection for the lesson at the end of the day I considered why some students naturally grasped the task whilst others found it hard to conceptualise. One of the thoughts that came to mind was - multiple intelligences - and could the use of differing strategies in instruction help those students who seemed to struggle. And if so what other strategies were there available.
For some of the students that are visual/spatial learners (gp-training.net, 2006) the above Youtube clip could have offered them more information than a demonstration that involved a more linguistic strategy than visual.
As part of future teaching strategies and lesson development more effort was put into to thinking about the different learning styles and Youtube is just one of the many resources available that can help accommodate diverse learning styles.

Dominique

References:
gp-training.net. (2006). Multiple intelligences. Retrieved August 11, 2009, from,
http://www.gp-training.net/training/educational_theory/multint/multint.htm