I downloaded 'Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairies' an orchestra piece from Tchaikovsky's famous dance from the Nutcracker Suite. It is described as bright, calming and mystical and it is exactly like that. I see similarities with the Mozart Effect and I believe I would use this piece in my classroom quietly playing in the back ground to raise the energy of my students.
The Mozart Effect is an inclusive term signifying the transformational powers of music in health, education, and well-being. It represents the general use of music to reduce stress, depression, or anxiety; induce relaxation or sleep; activate the body; and improve memory or awareness. Innovative and experimental uses of music and sound can improve listening disorders, dyslexia, attention deficit disorder, autism, and other mental and physical disorders and injuries.
(The Mozart Effect Resource Centre, n.d).
The Mozart Effect Resource Centre,(n.d.) Frequently Asked Questions. Retieved on 18 August 2009 from:http://www.mozarteffect.com/MoreOnTME/FAQ.html
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
MediaFire
This is the link to my shared file:
http://www.mediafire.com/file/2krzamomtnf/BLP RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT AND PRESENTATION.ppt
A very convenient way to share your files and images through just one site. I found it extremely simple to upload my file and you can instantly manage and share it from any computer. A very simple file hosting service to share files and images with your students. I found it a welcome relief that their was no software to install as my poor old computer is not coping too well. there was also a very easy sign up process.
MediaFire allows you to store all your files online for easy secure access and would enable you to distribute students' work to parents without clogging inboxes or bogging down your website. All student work could be stored and shared with parents in one convenient place.
http://www.mediafire.com/file/2krzamomtnf/BLP RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT AND PRESENTATION.ppt
A very convenient way to share your files and images through just one site. I found it extremely simple to upload my file and you can instantly manage and share it from any computer. A very simple file hosting service to share files and images with your students. I found it a welcome relief that their was no software to install as my poor old computer is not coping too well. there was also a very easy sign up process.
MediaFire allows you to store all your files online for easy secure access and would enable you to distribute students' work to parents without clogging inboxes or bogging down your website. All student work could be stored and shared with parents in one convenient place.
Wikipedia
Wikipedia is a free, multilingual encyclopedia project supported by the non-profit Wikimedia Foundation.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia
I have undertaken a search of Wikipedia on Australian Animals and this is a list of resources I found that would support my teaching:
- Fauna of Australia
- List of exstinct animals of Australia
- Animals of Australia
- Common animals of Australia
- Invasive species in Australia
Learners should have access to different learning resources so they can use the knowledge and skills they learn anywhere not just under the supervision and support of the teacher. One way to make these resources available to students is through Interactive Whiteboards. Students are more motivated to learn. I have witnessed time and again children reluctant to research a topic out of a book. They become bored and disengaged and start behaving badly. But put an item to research up on a big screen where the information they need as at their fingertips and watch them go. What do other elearners think?
WebQuests
I imagine it would be quite time consuming to design such a WebQuest as either 'Antarctic Ice to Water Australia' or 'Freedom Fighter or Terrorist'? Another obstacle would be learning to use some new tools. As Learning Manager you would have to thoroughly research the subject and include as much curriculum material as possible. With either of these WebQuests this could certainly be achieved. The benefit would be that once you have made your WebQuest, most of your work for the term is done. You don't have to be concerned with daily lesson plans or being the main source of information. You can concentrate on coaching your students through the process of critical thinking and inquiry based learning while following a well orchestrated learning experience where transformative learning occurs while facilitating meaningful use of the Web (Tom Marsh, 2003).
WebQuests are designed to focus on using information rather than looking for it, and to support learners' thinking at the levels of analysis, synthesis, and evaluation. The trick for the Learning Manager is in the task. A good inquiry based task has open ended questions, using clear learning objectives. This would transform the classroom to a collaborative learning environment where hopefully everyone is interested and engaged in the task at hand.
Tomorrow's workers and citizens will need to be able to grapple with ambiguity. They will need to commit themselves to a lifelong process of learning, honoring multiple perspectives and evaluating information before acting on it. Tomorrow's workers and citizens are sitting in our classrooms today.
Using WebQuests in our classrooms can help build a solid foundation that prepares them for the future ( Educational Broadcasting Corporation, 2004).
According Professor Ron Oliver, (cited in ICT Learning Design, 2009) his Model suggests beginning the learning design process by designing real-world tasks based around messy, ill-structured problem scenarios. The design of these learning tasks should be sufficiently broad enough to ensure that all learners have sufficient opportunity to engage with the key content areas.The second stage is to identify all of the resources learners will need to successfully complete the tasks. If there are insufficient resources, then these must be created by the course developer.The third stage is to design learner supports so that the learner will be able to successfully complete the tasks. This is generally known as scaffolding using the kinds of tools and interventions that are appropriate to the tasks and audience.
WebQuests are designed so students while working in groups take an active role in solving what ever problem situation they are presented with that are multi layered and messy and this is identified as Problem Based Learning (cqu, 2002).
The WebQuests that are mentioned above look and sound exactly like they were designed to fit this Model.
References:
Educational Broadcasting Corporation (2004). Concept to Classroom, WebQuests. Reteived 18 August 2009 from:
http://www.thirteen.org/edonline/concept2class/webquests/index.html
Moodle Pilot FAHE 11001 (2009). Managing Elearning, ICT Learning Design. Retreived on 18 August 2009 from:
http://moodle.cqu.edu.au/mod/resource/view.php?id=641
Tom Marsh,The Learning Power of WebQuests (2003). Ozline.com. Retreived on 18 August 2009 from:
http://tommarch.com/writings/wq_power.php
WebQuests are designed to focus on using information rather than looking for it, and to support learners' thinking at the levels of analysis, synthesis, and evaluation. The trick for the Learning Manager is in the task. A good inquiry based task has open ended questions, using clear learning objectives. This would transform the classroom to a collaborative learning environment where hopefully everyone is interested and engaged in the task at hand.
Tomorrow's workers and citizens will need to be able to grapple with ambiguity. They will need to commit themselves to a lifelong process of learning, honoring multiple perspectives and evaluating information before acting on it. Tomorrow's workers and citizens are sitting in our classrooms today.
Using WebQuests in our classrooms can help build a solid foundation that prepares them for the future ( Educational Broadcasting Corporation, 2004).
According Professor Ron Oliver, (cited in ICT Learning Design, 2009) his Model suggests beginning the learning design process by designing real-world tasks based around messy, ill-structured problem scenarios. The design of these learning tasks should be sufficiently broad enough to ensure that all learners have sufficient opportunity to engage with the key content areas.The second stage is to identify all of the resources learners will need to successfully complete the tasks. If there are insufficient resources, then these must be created by the course developer.The third stage is to design learner supports so that the learner will be able to successfully complete the tasks. This is generally known as scaffolding using the kinds of tools and interventions that are appropriate to the tasks and audience.
WebQuests are designed so students while working in groups take an active role in solving what ever problem situation they are presented with that are multi layered and messy and this is identified as Problem Based Learning (cqu, 2002).
The WebQuests that are mentioned above look and sound exactly like they were designed to fit this Model.
References:
Educational Broadcasting Corporation (2004). Concept to Classroom, WebQuests. Reteived 18 August 2009 from:
http://www.thirteen.org/edonline/concept2class/webquests/index.html
Moodle Pilot FAHE 11001 (2009). Managing Elearning, ICT Learning Design. Retreived on 18 August 2009 from:
http://moodle.cqu.edu.au/mod/resource/view.php?id=641
Tom Marsh,The Learning Power of WebQuests (2003). Ozline.com. Retreived on 18 August 2009 from:
http://tommarch.com/writings/wq_power.php
Quizzes
The URL for my multiple choice online quiz is: http://www.classmarker.com/teacher/edit_test.php?test_id=58891#q863334
I did not get the opportunity to use my quiz on a group of students but am sure this will happen in the near future. I developed the quiz with the help of 'Jigsaw Maths, Level 3' (Linthorne & Doolan, 2004).
There are many advantages of online quizzes they save class time, students can take the quiz any time of day, less test anxiety for some students, there is immediate feedback explaining answers and they are automatically marked on the Web. Online quizzes can also provide an effective formative learning resource for students to practice and test their knowledge base.
If you want to test your knowledge, scores in these quizzes can easily show your level and where exactly you stand. You can use these quizzes to increase your knowledge because it also corrects you if you give any wrong answers. Many online quiz sites are free to use, so you don’t need to pay anything. You can also take these quizzes any place in the world that has an internet connection. It makes them very convenient and flexible. Several real time applications and multimedia files such as video, sound and high resolution imagery can be included with them to ensure responsive, personalized and interactive learning environments. (learn effectively with online quizzes, 2009)
http://www.articlesbase.com/e-learning-articles/learn-effectively-with-online-quizzes-1086014.html
I did not get the opportunity to use my quiz on a group of students but am sure this will happen in the near future. I developed the quiz with the help of 'Jigsaw Maths, Level 3' (Linthorne & Doolan, 2004).
There are many advantages of online quizzes they save class time, students can take the quiz any time of day, less test anxiety for some students, there is immediate feedback explaining answers and they are automatically marked on the Web. Online quizzes can also provide an effective formative learning resource for students to practice and test their knowledge base.
If you want to test your knowledge, scores in these quizzes can easily show your level and where exactly you stand. You can use these quizzes to increase your knowledge because it also corrects you if you give any wrong answers. Many online quiz sites are free to use, so you don’t need to pay anything. You can also take these quizzes any place in the world that has an internet connection. It makes them very convenient and flexible. Several real time applications and multimedia files such as video, sound and high resolution imagery can be included with them to ensure responsive, personalized and interactive learning environments. (learn effectively with online quizzes, 2009)
http://www.articlesbase.com/e-learning-articles/learn-effectively-with-online-quizzes-1086014.html
Youtube
I have recently finished an assessment piece for SOSE titled "Where do I Live" which incorporated the use of Google Earth. Students were to find their local area along with landmarks, roads and surrounding towns and map out routes to varying locations from their home and school. I found Google Earth to be an invaluable tool for this task. I searched Youtube for an appropriate video to introduce Google Earth to my students and eventually found one that was at a level that they could comprehend. I then found out that Youtube could not be accessed in a school environment. Youtube is the third most popular site on the Web, yet school authorities block it due to child safety and security risks.
This is the URL for my chosen Youtube video.
Monday, August 17, 2009
Picnik
Picnik is a wonderful tool for manipulating images, I managed to sharpen this favourite photo of the rock in the road on the coast highway heading to Newcastle, I made the sky a little bluer as well as choosing the type and colour of a frame to finish off the effect. I enjoyed the ease of use as it is compatable with the flickr tool. I found it to be a most enjoyable activity.
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