Presentation Tool (PowerPoint):
To me PowerPoints have always been about oral presentations at school and university. Now I’ve discovered PowerPoints can be used for so many different things other than presentations. They can be used to make an interactive quiz or make an interactive lesson. Therefore, these would be a great pedagogical strategy to use in the classroom as it allows the students to interact as pairs, groups or as a class.
Stress (HPE) from Erin Rook
The settings of this ICT allow you to do many inquisitive things, for instance narrating over slides, adding in media and so on. PowerPoints I believe to most people only had the settings of designing a presentation, but now people are only discovering the capabilities of the interactive settings. If doing a presentation as an assessment to be submitted, I myself have had experience in creating a PowerPoint then recording my voice over the top of each PowerPoint. This setting is a great opportunity for students, as they can do their oral presentation at home where they feel comfortable. Other settings include the formatting of different slide styles and also the ability of transforming the PowerPoint slide into a professional Slideshare format.
With this technology there is only one author and that is the creator, although if PowerPoints are shared without a privacy lock (unable to edit) this can be a different story. If they are shared with others they can be edited, therefore there can be positives and negatives to this ICT. Positives can be if a student wants to make sure he is on the right track with his PowerPoint presentation he can easily send it to the teacher to make additional comments and send back. A negative would be a PowerPoint is shared, and it gets copyrighted. Furthermore, it would be important as a teacher to teach the students about setting the privacy settings. The steps are simple, and include the process of file, info and protect presentation where the drop down has three options that include: mark as final, encrypt with password and add a digital signature. If using this in the classroom it would be advised to use the password option.
PowerPoints have a wide array of customisation tools to make it suit the person creating the slides. There are many tools that can be implemented into the slide that include animations, motion paths, text and images, narrating over slides, embedding YouTube, creating animated GIF, templates, themes, audio and so on. This ICT has many opportunities to create a PowerPoint that is very unique.
Additionally, the technical considerations of this ICT may include things like blocking capabilities, dashboard features, and use of recording features (microphone) and media. This simple technology allows for presentations, interactive quizzes and activities on any topic. PowerPoints can be continually edited by the author. Other major considerations would be the format the PowerPoint was designed in, because if it was made in an older format it may not work in the current software. Thus, this ICT is very easy and simple to use and I believe that the experience required is the ability to be able to type and basic computer skills. Therefore, with students being introduced to computers at an earlier age this ICT will be simple to a majority of the students.
With this technology once the students or teacher creates a PowerPoint either for assessment or teaching purposes these document can then be converted and shared. For instance, when a PowerPoint is completed and saved, this can then be uploaded to the software called “slideshare”, where it is transformed into a professional looking and simple to use PowerPoint. As a student this gives them the possibility to create a PowerPoint for an assessment piece which they then upload to slideshare to then get the final product to share with the teacher.
Moreover, the legal, safety and ethical protocols, mainly evolve around the copyright and sharing situation. If there isn’t a password set on a PowerPoint there is an opportunity for copyright. Plus, if the PowerPoints are shared on either a website or blog, cybersafty needs to be consider. In both of my past embedded tasks there is a link on cybersafety that I believe is very important. An example of using the SAMR model with PowerPoints in a classroom is demonstrated through my 5.1-5.3 Blog Reflection where it explains about the advancement in strength training and testing the students on their knowledge. The students also have the opportunity to make their own PowerPoints with the use of interactive quizzes to test their fellow students. I believe students learn from each others through interaction, and this tool gives them the capability.
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Audio (Podcasts):
Podcast are a completely new learning experience for me as I have only recently started hearing about them and what they do. So far what I have gathered, a podcast is an audio file that can be made available on the internet for downloading to a computer or mobile device. A podcast can give people the opportunity to say what they want, when they want by creating a podcast and uploading it to the internet.
Podcasts for students can be widely beneficial for education and diversity. An example of a benefit would be the students doing a podcast summary on a topic instead of writing. The students can also keep up with the content if they happen to be away. Also in my 4.2 reflection it discusses the options of how the teacher can use it to provide feedback and help with the nature of the current 21st learners. They love feedback!
When creating a podcast there are multiple settings depending out what software is used. A podcast can be solo, an interview, more than one host or a combination of all types. Also depending on the software, music or sound effects can be added to be more effective. Plus, the recorded podcast can be edited. Additionally, for a podcast there is an option to create a podcast artwork to catch people’s attention. There also needs to be a podcast name where it is very direct with what the podcast is going to cover. For podcasts to successfully play, they need to be in an mp3 format.
With podcasts you can’t have multi-authors, although you can have multiple speakers in the podcast. A benefit of this tool is that it can’t be edited unless it is the person that created the podcast. However, it is important if podcasts are shared to consider copyright issues. Also if a podcast is uploaded to a wiki website there is the possibility for it to be deleted.
Podcast can be customized if you use a RSS feed on SoundCloud. A podcast can also be made in iTunes where there a multiple podcast resources. Podcasts can be customised through iTunes because there is the option to design a podcast profile. Images, fonts, themes and designs can be used when designing a podcast page on iTunes. Also podcasts can be put into categories and subcategories depending on the topic being covered.
The technical consideration of podcasts include the use of a microphone and any digital player or computer. This simple technology allows for podcasts to be done on about any topic anywhere. Podcasts can be edited or recorded live and they may contain music, recorded speech by podcasters or guests. Podcasts are similar to a blog but in an oral form but is still linked to the internet with the capability for comments. Due to the nature of podcasts they can be either simple or complex to use. Recording the podcast is easy as anyone with a microphone can make a recording, it is the editing part that’s complex. The experience needed for podcasts can be from beginner to advance, only because of the editing aspect.
Podcasts can be created using multiple audio editing software’s, for instance Audacity or Garageband. These podcasts can then be uploaded to sites like SoundCloud, where they have approximately 175 million listeners monthly. Other popular sites for podcasts include Podomatic, PodBean, Buzzsprout, wiki and iTunes.
Furthermore, with the legal, safety and ethical protocols, podcasts privacy settings depend on where the podcast is uploaded. If the podcasts are uploaded to a website like Weebly the privacy settings can be set for a group or with a password. However, podcasts are commonly found on sites that are open to everyone. With a classroom this would not be appropriate as it opens up avenues for cyberbullying and possible other worse circumstances. In my Embedded task 1 there is a link about cybersaftey. Copyright is also a concern as one must have permission to use the content before mixing into personal material. Another problem would be censorship, podcasts are not regulated and therefore can be unsuitable for students.
An example of using podcasts in a classroom is demonstrated through the SAMR model. The task is gathering authentic data on a field trip to the local creek for science.
In this example it enables the students to create a real-life record of the experience and allows for more detailed notes on observation once returning to the classroom. Podcasting observations can allow for another level of reflection and different levels of thinking depending on the complexity of the experience. In year 7 they could investigate the creatures that live in and around the creek, and for year 12 they can look at ph levels, enzymes and saturation.
Firstly, I thought blogging would have been difficult but after playing around I found it very simple to use. A blog or weblog is a website that consists of multiple entries (posts) appearing in reverse chronological order with the recent post appearing first. Blogs usually include features such as comments, multimedia, links and information. Blogs give people the opportunity to write down their ideas or information and share resources with others on a website.
Blogs allow you to set-up information with the added bonus feature of using multimedia throughout the posts. These features include videos, images, documents and more. Due to the nature of blogs there can only be one main author, although readers can make comments towards the blog. Plus, editors can be added to the blog. By only having a single author this is an advantage because if the teacher writes a blog, for example a stimulus question, the students can then visit the teacher’s blog and comment with their answers.
Additionally, the privacy settings depend on the site being used, in Weebly there are the options of public, site password (blogs will only be accessible to those that have the password) or groups can see the blog post. The group blogs are ideal for students because only the students and teacher can see the posts.
Blogs can be customized depending on the website it is within. The layout, text, background scheme and settings can all be changed to suit the blogger. Furthermore, blogs can be easily used and they cater for beginners to advanced users. If students have trouble embedded images or videos the students will need to be taught this before starting a blog post. I believe if a student can use word and the internet they can use a blog. There are a wide array of tools that can be inserted into a blog and they include, embedding videos/audios, buttons, images, PowerPoints, links plus more.
In blogs to share images and in particular videos and audio, they need to be embedded using the embed code from the source. If the students want to create their own video or audio they would use a recording device which could be a webcam, phone or video camera. From their creations they then create an embedded code to put into their blog.
In the Vimeo video posted by Peter, a student, he shows how to embed an mp3 file into a blog post.
Additionally, in my week three reflection post it goes into more detail about multimedia use and the nature of the learners.
In relation to legal, safe and ethical protocols, Weebly provide privacy settings that are suited for the classroom; password sites and group/classroom blogs. By having these settings, it is most likely that the blogs won’t get misused by others that aren’t invited, therefore protecting the students from cyberbullying. A site by the Queensland Government about CyberSaftey includes information for students, parents, teachers, plus tips for social media and reporting in appropriate content (https://www.qld.gov.au/education/schools/health/cybersafety/pages/cybersafety-qss.html). An example of using blogs and transforming lessons through the SAMR model is shown in the table below. The lesson is about learning how to kick an AFL ball by watching and listening to the teacher then trying it themselves.
As discussed in a previous reflection (Reflection 2.2), videoing a technical skill with an app called ‘Coach’s Eye’ can help throughout the SAMR model. In the substitution level, the students can video with Coach’s Eye, at augmentation level they can use the slow motion function, the modification level they can draw lines on the student doing the skill then lastly the redefinition level the students upload the final product to the classroom blog so they can gather feedback.
Blogs are a great resource to add to add to our pedagogy as it creates networking with ICTs, sharing and interaction between students and the teacher. Students can also access their blogs after school allowing development in ICT skills and learning. |
AuthorErin Rook |