Reflective Synopsis

The way in which students are engaged and learn in a classroom has changed drastically due to the constantly changing, faced paced, technological environment they have grown up in. These digital natives are defined by Prensky (2001), to think and process information differently due to their immersed experience in the technological world. The implication this has on teachers is diverse, the 'old' method of schooling is not equipped to teach 21st Century learners as the skills these methods employ will not equip our learners with the skill to be life long learners and critical thinkers. This is where E-Learning as a classroom practice comes in, E-Learning is defined as a "Wide range of applications and processes to deliver information through electronic means", (Cognitive Design Solutions, 2005). Essentially it is a shift in how we teach learning, no longer is it about holding all knowledge in content specific descriptors but it is now more about where to find that knowledge and the skills to employ it effectively. This approach is often referred to as Connectivism, (Siemens, 2004). ICT is now embedded in our learning experiences, to enrich the learning opportunities for students. Not only does E-Learning comply to students new way of thinking it also engages and motivates them in the classroom. Putting fun back into learning is an integral part of success in the classroom. ICT in the classroom does not have to be plentiful and fancy but it does need to be enriching, (Fasso, 2012). With the wide range of learning styles in the modern day classroom it is important for the Teacher to understand the benefit ICT can play in catering to these range of learning styles, within one ICT activity students can hear, see and do! This shift in understanding how learners are engaged is showing prevalent in the pedagogical framework that surrounds teaching, Productive Pedagogies (Education Queensland, 2002) and TPACK (Koehler & Mishra 2006). These frameworks embed and identify the need for an integration of ICT into our learning experiences. I have explored wiki's, blogs, Windows Movie Maker, Glogster and Museum Box in my discovery of ICT.

The activity involving a wiki that I participated in was one of my first experiences with a scaffolding technique, in this instance it was deBono's Six Thinking Hats. This activity allowed me to use my opinion and perception of a topic in a collaborative environment. The Six Thinking Hats, whilst giving me an opporunity to contribute my personal thoughts also pushed me to think flexibly as I considered all elements of the topic, judgements, processes, creativity, feelings, benefits and information. This scaffolding technique allowed me to open my mind and as it was in a wiki format I also was able to view other students ideas and perceptions. Looking at the wiki as a tool is interesting, I for one did not like it as our first meeting was tumultuous. I had a lot of information deleted because of multiple uploads, now that I am aware of this difficult little feature, and thank the heavens, the history function where information can be retrieved from I am more open to its use in the classroom, especially as a collaborative tool. Collaboration in the classroom is a valuable and engaging pedagogical practice, Bruner (1996), implies that collaboration involves a higher level of student pro activeness and engagement in learning. A wiki is a valuable tool in the classroom and to read more about my reflection of it please click here.

As our E-Learning experience progressed so did the tools we were exposed to, in the first batch of online tools I was introduced to creating my own Wiki, Blogger and Weebly. I chose to explore the Blogger tool in more depth as I found it to be a useful tool because unlike the others, it is solely student owned and their peers can comment on it interactively. Educationally, Blogger is a space for students to publish their own information or thoughts on a topic or unit of work, it can also be used as a progressive portfolio. This tool has the ability to be individualised with different layouts and an about me section, it can also have images, video and audio embedded into, students can hyperlink to other pages and also insert gadgets such as a poll or new headlines. Initially I viewed this tool as fairly one dimensional, remember this was only in week 3, but now three and a bit weeks later and I have come to see its value. I often sit here ripping my hair out wondering why it just wont do what I want, but other times I look at my very own Blog and think this is really cool, not to mention a great format to present information in! Crie (2006), states that the benefit of having a blog in the classroom relates to students motivation, engaging way for students to read and write, an effective forum for collaboration and discussion and a powerful tool to enable scaffolding. In my future practice as a learning manager I plan to use blogs as a tool in my classrooms, I believe it is an easy to use tool that promotes maximum learning. 

The second bath of Online Learning tools included, Images, Audio and Video. When thinking about these three components it is hard not to allow the mind to go to students different learning styles and how this could benefit them. Learning styles in students refer to Visual, Auditory and Kinaesthetic, it is believed that students  have a preference in how they receive information. The University of Pennsylvania (2009), shows a strong link between these modalities and how learners best learn. For this week I decided that video and Windows Movie Maker was the path I was going to take as it afforded an allowance to use multiple modalities in one tool. With Windows Movie Maker students and teachers are able to create and edit video's, from either video clips or a range of images. You can view my creation on Windows Movie Maker here. This tool allows the user to incorporate sights, sounds and action of a movie to bring a subject to life. It has multiple transitions and animations, ability to create a title and credits page and also the ability to narrate over the images. This finished movie can then be uploaded to the Internet on a personal blog or Youtube. In my experience with using this tool I thought that it would be much more complex than what it is, the images and sounds are easy to manipulate and arrange in your desired order and you can create a finished video in about 10 minutes. As a teaching tool I think Windows Movie Maker holds a lot of value, giving students the ability to give life to something is ultimately so engaging. It also incorporates many higher order thinking skills when students consider the order of their presentation and what will work best. To read more of an in depth reflection on my experience with this tool click here. 

With the third lot of online pedagogical tools we would be looking at multimedia and the presentation of multimedia. Essentially we would be looking at different types of presentations, that students and teachers could create. PowerPoint, Prezi and Glogster were the tools in this week's learning engagement section and I found it very difficult to choose which tool I wanted to use, because I thought they were all so brilliant! Finally deciding on Glogster, because I found it to be such a great online alternative to a much used activity in class, the good old butcher's paper and nikko's. It took me a while to realise what Glogster actually was but when I had uncovered its many uses as an interactive online poster I was surprised! Glogster has a specific educational portion to their website where teacher's have access to their own class lists etc. Glogster is a really modern, graphic organiser, it allows the user to express their individuality, which I found really beneficial as student's in the classes I had seen often didn't appreciate having to conform to one set way of doing things. In my classroom I can see me using this as an initial tool to get student's thinking activated and possibly using it as a support for planning or presenting assessment. Its could also be a really cool alternative to the traditional corkboard in my classrooms, where important notices for the week could be put up. As with many of the online tools Glogster is a great tool for reflecting on key points in the unit, student's could create their own to reflect on or there could be a combined class Glogster. Colorado State University (2012) identifies the benefit of reflecting on learning as gaining a deeper understanding about the knowledge and how it pertains to the individual. For a more in depth look at my experience with Glogster click the link!

Museum Box was the final tool I chose, it was like it shone out to me from the list of tools on show. As soon as I viewed the website I imagined the multitude of ways I would use it in my History classes, but I was soon to discover Museum Box had many more uses than just in history. Essentially the museum box was a virtual box where students could store information on a certain event, person or topic. The students could use image, text, video, links and audio to add to the modality of their box, either providing knowledge or strengthening an argument. This mode of presenting is much more engaging than the typical essay format. 

E-learning in the classroom is a revolution that all teacher's need to undertake. It transforms lessons into contexts and medians that 21st Century learners connect with and respond to. As a pre-service teacher this is only the beginning of my discovery of E-Learning tools and their uses in the classroom, but I am more than aware on the benefit they have in enriching my learning experiences. 

Reference List

Bruner, J. 1996, The culture of education, Harvard University Press, London.

Cognitive Design Solutions, 2005, E Learning, accessed 12 August 2012, .

Colorado State University, 2012, Benefits of Relfection, , accessed 17 August 2012, .

Crie, M 2006, Using blogs to integrate technology in the classroom , , accessed 13 August 2012, .

Education Queensland 2002, Productive Pedagogies, Queensland Government, accessed 17 August 2012, .

Fasso, W 2012, Learning Materials: e learning design, course notes, CQUniversity e-courses FAHE11001, Managing e-learning, http://moodle.cqu.edu.au/mod/page/view.php?id=6621

Forehand, M. (2005). Bloom's taxonomy: Original and revised.. In M. Orey (Ed.), Emerging perspectives on learning, teaching, and technology. accessed 13 August 2012, <http://projects.coe.uga.edu/epltt/>

International Reading Association , n.d., New literacies and 21st century learners, , accessed 13 August 2012,

Koehler, M 2006, What is TPACK?, , accessed 17 August 2012, .

Prensky, M 2001, Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants, , accessed 15 August 2012, .

Siemens, G 2004, Connectivism: A Learning Theory for the digital age, , accessed 15 August 2012, .

Snowman, J., Dobozy, E., Scevak, J., Bryer, F., Bartlett, B., & Biehler, J. (2009). Psychology applied to teaching (1^st ed.). Milton, Queensland, Australia: John Wiley & Sons Australia.

University of Pennsylvania (2009). Visual Learners Convert Words To Pictures In The Brain And Vice Versa, Says Psychology Study. ScienceDaily. accessed 12 August 2012, <http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/03/090325091834.htm>

Vygotsky , L n.d., Social constructivist theories , , accessed 13 August 2012, .

Learning Tool 4- Museum Box

Museum Box is an online tool that allows students to create an argument or description of an event or person, it provides a 'storage' graphic organiser that allows students to order their information and research coherently.
PMI Analysis of Museum Box

Plus	Minus	Implications
A creative and unique way for students to present information	Layering system may be difficult for students to understand	If not monitored correctly inappropriate material may be added to the box through, image, video function.
More engaging format for research essays	Linking and Video system may confuse some students, especially as links do not show up in preview mode	Students may be confused  as to what to include in their box, appropriate and explicit scaffolding must apply
Use a variety of content to both strengthen their work and engage readers, images etc.	Video cannot be uploaded directly they must first be saved to your computer	If students view others boxes their own work may become skewed with information from others
Allows students to comment on one another’s boxes, giving feedback	Have to wait up to 14 days for registration to be complete
Increases range of modalities available with ability to include images, videos, links and audio

When I tried to sign onto Museum Box I was denied as I do not have a education registration, so I embarked on a informational discovery tour as Museum Box intrigued me! I watched about 3 tutorials from different educational websites, I read wiki's where real teachers have had real experience and I also viewed  LOT of museum boxes! So although I did not experience it first hand I had a pretty good grasp on how to use museum box and what experience it could offer. In a classroom could be a tool to get students thinking about what life was like for a charcater out of a novel or a historical person, as just a simple engagement activity or alternatively it could be central to the unit where students use the museum box as their assessment! Other idea on how to use this tool in the classroom as a multi modal presenter are, to tell a story about a time in history, i.e. The Vietnam War- students could take the role of an Australian Soldier in Vietnam, gathering artifacts, information, video clips etc. They could use their museum box to document memories of characters out of a fictional book. The ways in which these boxes can be used are so versatile, students are able to upload their own images or choose from a large gallery that is supplied, students are able to record straight from their computer to their box and create links to other websites. Each box has six sides were students can place information, and in each layer their can be up to six boxes, and up 3 layers! This is a whole multitude of information, alternatively the teacher can use one of these bigger boxes to create portfolios for each of their students. When using this tool it promotes the higher order thinking skills necessary of 21st Century learners, it engages learners to explore and experiment. Bloom (1957) outlines his taxonomy of higher order thinking skills, as Application, Analysis, Synthesis and Evaluation. The way in which this task requires students to think flexibly and analyse the information they discover for later application complies to the higher order thinking skills. Scaffolding this task for students is a must, especially as the layering of the boxes has been found to be difficult. Through appropriate modelling of the tool and viewing of examples it allows students to be exposed to the standard of work and how to get there. It also needs to be taught, as with any tool that employs digital media, what copyright laws are and how not to infringe them. Museum Box is a versatile tool that I initially thought would be great for a History class but on further exploration has also proved its vice in many subjects. I look forward to the day I can be registered to use it!

Learning Tool 3- Glogster!

Learning Tool 3- Glogster!

Glogster is a Web 2.0 tool that allows users to create virtual posters combining text, audio, video, images, and hyperlinks and to share them with others electronically. Using Glogster’s educational site, Glogster EDU, teachers can establish class lists and monitor student activity while protecting privacy and anonymity. The NCTE Definition of 21st Century Literacies (2008) states students must be capable of designing and sharing digital information. Similarly, the IRA position statement, New Literacies and 21st CenturyTechnologies, recommends the integration of digital tools into classroom activities, emphasizing the teachers’ responsibility to prepare students to use digital media effectively. Providing learning experiences that not only engage these users but also prepare them for the world outside is vital, using an online tool that provides an engaging use of technology is rudimentary, in this instance Glogster ticks all the right boxes. With the capability to employ numerous text boxes, images, audio, hyperlinks and video, Glogster supports numerous learning styles. When I first began using Glosgter I found the manipulation of the information boxes difficult, click here, exit there, edit this etc. But after a few posts I soon got the knack of the process. I could have spent hours and hours looking at all the cool designs to put text and titles into, and the frames to place images in. Deciding to use a collage effect, (mine is certainly lacklustre to some of the amazing creations I viewed), I selected a range of text box designs. I also popped in an image, which was quick and easy! I played around with the audio tool, initially embedding a recording of my voice, but at this stage it was giving even me a headache! Glogster.edu is a great tool to use in the classroom, it allows the teacher to view up to 200 student profiles, monitor what the students are doing and what progress they have made and also allow students to have access to your own Glog. This form on online creating tool is supported by the learning theories, Connectivism (Siemens, 2005) and Social Constructivism (Vygotsky, n.d.). Students are able to not only create their own interpretations of the topic based on their experiences, but they are also able to identify knowledge they can use. As it is a creation of their own individuality students must find the knowledge they wish to portray individually. Within the classroom Glogster has many uses, on a broad, whole class level, Glogster can be used as a diary for students to outline what they have learnt, excursions they took, class projects they completed and so on. This could be moderated by the teacher and then collated at the end of the year. It can also be used as a multi modal support for students to present their information, for example a link to a blog may be placed in the Glogster but the Glogster has the ability to look fun and creative, wheras the limitations on decoration in a blog make it difficult. It could be used as a graphic organiser in the brainstorming stages of a unit, this can then be reflected on at the end of the term where students can see how far they have come and what they have learnt. It is also a great tool for mind mapping, an essential skill in organising information stored in the brain. Glogster is not just a pretty poster maker, it can be hyperlinked to reference sites, include images, have snippets of video and audio to increase modality, making it an educational tool for the 21st Century. When it comes to Glogster their are some important points for the Teacher to consider, first is the fact that it is in essence a networking site, so teachers must establish firstly if it is allowed under their schools internet code and secondly ways to keep students protected. Using the educational version of Glogster is a good place to start, settings are able to be controlled where the teacher can monitor students interactions and also innapropriate material can be flagged. The issue of image copyright can also come into play, students must be taught in what context they can use their own images, (in the case of having other people in the image), and also the Creative Commons image search that has copyright free images. The technique of Glogster will need to be scaffolded to students through continuous modelling and monitoring from the teacher, a tutorial video may be a good way to start the unit. Glogster is a tool that empowers the new age learners we have in the classroom today, it moves beyond paper and markers to create an experience for both the learner and the viewer!

Week 5 Reflection and Engagement

Week Five Reflection and Learning Engagement!
This week we would be looking at the collection and collation of multimedia resources for presentation purposes. We would be looking at PowerPoint, Glogster and Prezi.
Engagement Activity 1- Create A PowerPoint
I had experience in PowerPoint as a support to an oral presentation in the classroom, much like an information sheet. I had never tried to incorporate it as an essential part of my lesson. Using PowerPoint this week we began with the basics, I tried to create a PowerPoint that a Year 8 English class relied on.

Some more ideas on how to use PowerPoint in the classroom that I would use taken from, Tuscaloosa City Schools Online technology Centre, are Vocabulary Flash Cards, students are given either the word and they have to present the definition or vice versa, an excursion slide show of student taken pictures, Autobiographical stories, Interactive Book reports, Collaborative learning group slide shows, Poetry readings and student portfolios. The beauty of PowerPoint in the 21st Century classroom is that it is no longer a teacher's presentation tool, the ability to embed images, narration, video, music and transitions make it a fun learning tool for students. 
Engagement Activity 2- Create an interactive PowerPoint. 

PowerPoints are generally though to be a linear process, you click slide after slide in a specific configuration, with the iplementation of a creative PowerPoint this is no longer the case. Through the Outline feature in word and the hyperlink feature in PowerPoint you can now create a presentation that allows the audience to take it where it likes. This style of PowerPoint could also be used for Create your own ending story, similar to the GooseBumps era. or a reasoning process on whether ot not a process is effective. 

Engagement Activity 3- Create a Prezi

A Prezi was something I have never heard of before so when I signed up and started to view some of the presentations I was amazed! Prezi is an interactive presentation tool through the use of multiple frames you can zoom in and out on specific inforamation or images, create a path that is holistic, embedd images and video. After watching the professional Prezi presentation I was more than keen to begin my own, only to find.. it wasn't as easy as it looked! Getting a hold of the 'zebra' gadget that allows you to move, add, reposition frames and text was a tricky device. So off I went again to watch more tutorials and return to my task later! After watching five or six tutorials I had another crack at the Prezi, and this is the result. The equivilent of a 7-9 slide PowerPoint had taken me over 2 hours! But guess what? I could not have been more thrilled with it! I though it was engaging, both visually and mentally, I thought it was fun and informative and I had no doubt I would be using this in my future classrooms, after some skillful mastering of course! I have outlined some of the uses in a classroom in my Prezi presentation. 
Engagement Activity 4- Create a Glogster
I am choosing Glogster as my third tool for analysis, so I will discuss in detail the affordances of this tool in my next post. In the meantime check out my very own Glog!

Learning Tool 2- Windows Movie Maker

Week 4 Tool Selection- Windows Movie Maker

Windows Movie Maker is an invaluable resource in the classroom it allows the students to be innovative and creative, bringing their subject matter to life! This free download from Microsoft installs itself quickly and easily on any windows computer. The video’s the user can create vary greatly, it is taken from the files saved on your computer so this could include, images you have uploaded from a device, video clips you have uploaded from a device, music files on your PC, images from the internet and video clips from the internet. With this tool I was able to create a video, see the previous post, that quickly showcased some of the major scenes from two modern day film renditions of Shakespeare’s, Romeo and Juliet. I was able to compare significant scenes and characters to accentuate the differences in technical aspects, setting and character. I was able to provide an opening title for this film and also credits at the end. I also embedded one of my music clips over the images, adding to its modality. All of this was created in just five minutes! In this tool you can also narrate over the top of your images, alter the transition time and effect and record straight from your computer if you have access to a webcam! When the video is created and you are happy with it you then save it to your computer, you can save it in a number of different sizes and file formats. When this step is complete you are just a few clicks of the mouse away from uploading it to youtube, a blog, wiki or weebly (as long as you have the paid for version). Essentially in a matter of minutes I can breathe life to my thoughts through video and share it with the world! It’s not only the teachers who can create using this tool though, it is also a great tool for students to explore and create. It gives the students the ability to create and edit videos, when undertaking a lesson on analysing cinematic elements in a classroom it is very useful for students to first experiment with the equipment, video recorder, lights etc. and then edit them using this software. Another innovative task could be students creating and editing a interview style talk show, where they can choose to be a historical figure or a fictional character form the set novel. This would allow students to incorporate mannerisms, vocal inference, and their own interpretation on the person. It would also show they have a deep understanding of the character. Another task similar to this would be for students to upload a gallery of images from a recent excursion and narrate over the top, explaining what the images we are looking at signify. A final idea would also be a unit built around modern history or politics, it could also be used in an English unit, a news reporting task that requires students to research a topic and then present an expose on that topic. Students can then upload the videos they create to their blogs and compare and give feedback to their peers. These skills and tasks would need to be scaffolded appropriately for students, through a demonstration on how the tool works, to modelling the required task for them, knowledge must be built gradually and coherently. Video allows the user to cater for multiple intellegences and learning styles, it also allows the creator to reflect and analyse their work, something not afforded with oral presentations. 

The table to the left is an example of the scope of learning within designed video. This image is taken from a study by Schwarz and Harman n.d. The two men also outline the importance of using video as not only instructional but assessable as well, this means carrying it through your whole unit. To consider the functionality of Windows Movie Maker in the classroom I have completed a SWOT analysis.

Strength	Weakness	Opportunity	Threat
Allows students to be creative	Students could get distracted from knowledge the lesson is teaching	To provide a lesson that caters to the 21st Century Learner	If copyright laws and limitations are not scaffolded into the learning students could break them
Caters to a range of learning styles, you see, hear and do	If scaffolding of lessons is not done correctly some students may fall behind and lose interest in the task	An opportunity for students to give their work depth, task is more engaging	Teacher must cover all bases, getting permission from students and parents to use either their images or work
Range of engaging activities that the tool can be used for	Technology often fails, must always have a back up plan	Create a positive learning environment where students feel value and pride in their work	Teacher must ensure that if videos are going to be uploaded online they must be secure, i.e. limiting access of public to wiki’s
Easy to use and create videos		Allow students to showcase their individuality!

Reflection and Engagement Week 4
We would be covering a range of multi-modal digital resources in week 4, audio, images and video. Incorporating these ICT medians into the classroom can enhanche learning and higher order thinking in many ways.
Engagement Activity 1- Resizing and Uploading Digital Photos
MobaPhoto, an online automatic resizing tool for images. It was like all my dreams had been answered at once. I'm no tech savvy but I have sat in front of a computer for hours on end trying to upload pictures from a holiday to Facebook many a time! It allows the user to use their original high quality pictures and resize them automatically, either individually or in batches! It is also has recommendations on what size to resize the image to, i.e. uploading onto the internet or converting to a CD/DVD. Alternatively you can resize it to your own specified size. If only I had known this tool existed when we were trying to enter a cute dog contest of our little Poodle! Poor old Peppie had to forfite before he was even entered due to my technical ambivilence!  This toll is useful in the classroom as it can be saved straight onto a flash drive and used on any computer. When students take an excursion to Canberra to visit Parliament House and they take riviting political pictures by the hundreds, no longer will the teacher be required to either resize the images individually- a long and arduous task, or use the time in class to upload these, often taking hours, they can now be resized and uploaded easily! I resized some of the images of my Peppie for you all to enjoy! 

 Okay so here were my uploading results- Resized by MobePhoto, 6 seconds, Original Photo off iPhone- 1 minute and 8 seconds!! Now the Resized image is the one on the bottom, but the difference in quality is barely noticeable, and both images adjusted themselves to the same visual size on my blog. If teachers and students are saving an average of a minute per digital image upload this turns into a considerable amount of time spent in the classroom engaging in more meaningful tasks then simply pushing buttons and watching the upload bar slowly fill.
Engagement Activity 2 (4)- Digital Audio Recordings
Good Afternoon, today I will be showcasing my voice recording abilities! Providing students with the ability to create their own sound files to either accompany a visual production, such as a movie or PowerPoint or to be used in funky little tools such as Voki. It gives the students the ability to present their work and make it come to life! There is nothing more tedious to a student than creating an essay, written on paper. By allowing students to create a multi modal presentation with their voices it allows them to create something that is engaging and entertaining and most of all personal! It allows the learner to evoke emotion in their audience, the power of communication is given depths when enhanced with ICT. To the side bar I have used this transcript in a Voki.
Engagement Activity 3 (5)- Using Web Based Podcasting
The range of podcasts that are available to the public is unimaginable. Any topic, any viewpoint, any form of presenting the audio file is available either through a device such as an Ipod or through a simple google search. In my context as a pre-service teacher using podcasts would be valuable to me in many ways, we are currently doing a year 10 Shakespeare course. The Elizabethan pronounciation of words is not setting well with my students. Through one search on Itunes U I uncover hundreds and hundreds of podcasts reading out specific parts of Shakespeare's plays. This will give my students the ability to hear the way the words should sound. Allowing my students to read along at the same time is targeting two of Gardner's Multiple Intelligences - The visual, through reading, and auditory, through listening. As listening to a play for long periods of time may be arduous the task could be easily broken up, asking students what they thought the passage related to and what they understood happened in that scene. By doing this students have an oppertunity to show understanding and comprehension. There is also podcasts on Vocabulary Building, this is used for general words or context specified words, I found a podcast similar to a word of the day calander, every day a new word would be provided along with a definition and nuemonic. This type of podcast is great in helping students build their vocanulary. The real fun with podcasting is allowing students to  create or listen to ones made especially for them by the teacher. In doing a Shakespeare unit, the teacher could provide a spelling list that had Elizabethan terms. This would assist the students in reflection and their vocabulary understanding of the topic. Students could use podcasts to create a talking diary about their classroom. Collaboratively working on documenting critical information, the students interpretations and what activities they undertook. The use of Podcasting in the classroom is only limited by the teachers imagination, and even when that is limited their is a huge range of resources online to support it.
Engagement Activity 4(6)- Creating a Podcast and how you would use it in your classroom
Link to my Podcast, where I complete this engagement activity!
Engagement Activity 5(7)- Create a Movie using windows movie maker

Windows MovieMaker is a useful and easy to understand tool, it allows the user to create movies either from still images, as the one I have done here, or from already processed video clips. The user can then input an audio file over the image or movie or alternatively a narration of the video. This tool is easy to use and would be of great benefit in the classroom. Students can create their own movies in minutes, they can then edit it with transitions and filters and then easily upload to the internet. It is often said that if students hears, sees and does something they understand. This is why using a movie maker in class is an invaluable tool, it brings the subject of the lesson to life in creative ways! Some ways in which High School students could use their own creations from Windows MovieMaker is, video essays, PSA's, poetry interpretations, filming themselves in preparation for a job interview and creating their own films that depict a certain historical event.

Engagement Activities Week 3

Engagement Activity 1: PMI of Blogs in Classrooms and how I see Blogging in Education

Building my blog for the first time I thought it was just a glorified diary, from the first week my knowledge and understanding of the blog has grown. To the right is a PMI of the potential of blogs in the learning context, the general pretence of a blog is that when used safely and effectively it is a valuable tool to enhance learning. The Western Australia Department of Education (2012) describes blogs as, communication space that teachers can utilise with students whenever there is a curriculum need to develop writing, share ideas and reflect on work being undertaken in the classroom. The uses for blogs within the classroom is endless but for them to be used for maximum learning efficiency the teacher must use clear scaffolding techniques and be clear about what learning is to be addressed. By scaffolding the information with the learners their minds are trained into an analytical thinking, behaviourism at its best. When the designated learning is achieved and the way of thinking is explicitly defined for the learners the fun begins. Using it as a support for students to work collaboratively and upload all information for all team members to have an                inventory to creating a specific space for students on the internet to report on their favourite historical character. Students may use a blog to create their whole assessment piece or use it to reflect on an excursion.  Fasso (2012) identifies that the blog must be integral to the learning and not just be an 'add-on', within the same context though the teacher must view themselves as the facilitator of the blog. 


Engagement Activity 2 &3: Creating a wiki and Reflecting on it 


Link to my Wiki

When I first heard the term 'wiki' I thought someone was trying to rap the beginning of an 80's song to me, I soon came to discover it is in fact something a lot more in-depth. Wiki is similar to a blogging yet its uses for in the classroom are entirely different. The wiki uses the interface of having multiple authors, so every student has the ability to log on, edit, add information and reorganise. Along with this though comes risks, there is a lot more to consider in 'protecting' the content of the wiki. Teachers First (2012) stipulates that many components have to be considered before introducing a wiki into the curriculum including but not limited to, who will use the wiki, who will be able to see the wiki, who will be able to edit wiki, who will be able to join wiki, what part of the wiki will not be able to be edited, who will moderate the wiki, gaining approval from parents and administrators for the wiki and how the wiki will be embedded into the learning context. When considering these elements what initially seemed like a 'fun' activity becomes quite a complex process. Wikis have the ability to provide a collaborative interface that can be used in numerous ways, the easy layout of WYSIWYG makes it simple to manouever and has you feeling like a web-pro in no time. Teachers First (2012) also outlined some ways in which the wiki can be used in the classroom, among my favourites are using it as a vocabulary listing- a constant throughout the whole school term allowing students to monitor the language and spelling, good tool for revision, using it as a 'what might I think is on the test', this allows students to gather what data they think is going to be valuable to their end of term/week test- constantly keeping students alert and allowing them to manage their own learning and a fan page for a prominent figure, students can create this gathering new information, and organising it effectively to learn more about a historical figure or writer. The risk that is run with the wiki is the fact that students have the ability to freely edit this source, this could be a cause of conflict if students are to go in and edit other students work, and although the work can be retrieved it is still a cause for concern. To avoid this a strict code of conduct should be set down, students can be included in this process to attribute to their active citizenship of the class (Productive Pedagogies, 2010). By locking the wiki so that only administrators of the school, teachers, students and parents are able to view the wiki it keeps the wiki safe, another point of discussion that will need to be taken up with students in copyright laws. A possibility could be allowing students to create a wiki on Referencing. The main aim of having a wiki as a learning tool in the classroom is for students to collect, store, share and review information at all times. Skills for using the wiki effectively will need to be a foundation lesson for the class, using links, widgets to embed videos, and applying photos will need to be learnt.  
Engagement Activity 4&5: Creating a website and reflecting on it
Another tool for online publishing is a website, the elected website generator I used is a Weebly. Using a website format to enhance learning in the classroom is an innovative and flexible opportunity. The easy to use, what you see is what you get interface is simple and students will be able to harness the technology quite simply. There are a number of tutorials available online that guide the user through the many facets of a Weebly. In my personal experience of setting up a Weebly, I found that the clearly labelled formatting bar made it easy to get my website looking the way I wanted it to. I especially like the 'add extra pages' function, it allowed me to create an introductory page and then filter the rest of my information by category. This also means that the reader of my page can access the information I am presenting quickly and simply. Using a website as a learning tool in the classroom is flexible and effective; it allows students to construct their own learning experiences. Possible uses of this tool in the classroom could be as a working portfolio of all their written work, students love to use technology in the classroom and the implementation of a Weebly as a classroom tool allows students to not only use technology but create and publish their very own space of the Internet! Specific examples of how a Weebly could be implemented in the classroom would be for the students to create their own interpretation of a classic play, like Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet; within their Weebly they could write their analysis of the play, characters, settings, cinematic elements and so on. This would enable students to construct their own meaning and organise it in a way that they thought was best. An alternative way for this tool to be used is for students to store and edit their schoolwork as an online diary, similar to the blackboard learning space. The teacher could have their own Weebly where classroom announcements and reminders are used and the students keep their own Weebly as a log of what work they have completed and examples and what work needs to be completed. This use of the Weebly is also helpful for parent interaction, parents would be able to view their child’s website and monitor their work samples and work that needs to be completed. The only downfall to the Weebly is that no interaction is afforded, the students have complete control over what is posted, and they receive no feedback on their page. The only way to monitor students work is to view their domains and then give face to face feedback, taking away from the integration of ICT as a whole. Another way students could use a Weebly in an English or History unit is to create their own fan pages on a monumental character from the unit and store things like facts, wacky information etc. All of these uses of technology need to be scaffolded appropriately, Snowman et al. (2009), ascertains that student assigned tasks should be more than they could handle and through appropriate support and use of pedagogical strategies such as organising, chunking, questioning, explaining, modelling, prompting, offering clarification and verifying the accuracy of responses the task would be scaffolded to provide the student the necessary knowledge and skills to complete the task. When using a Weebly to create either a working portfolio, fan page, analysis of a play or novel or as a diary, I would use such scaffolding practices at first I would explore the Weebly with my students, projecting what I am doing on the board and pointing out essential elements, I then would watch a tutorial with the class, many of the clips found on YouTube are quite entertaining and succinct. I then would model my version of the task I would want the students to complete, either providing an overview for an older class or a step by step tutorial with a younger class. The Weebly would then be monitored and drafted at regular intervals. I believe it is important for students to also know explicitly what knowledge this task is addressing; Marzano et al. (1997) establishes the importance of students knowing why the knowledge they are learning is valuable to the progression and successful outcome of the task. The learning theory framework that underpins the use of Weebly in the classroom conforms the TPACK framework, through the use of good content knowledge- the expertise in using the Weebly, the pedagogical practice- scaffolding, constructing meaning, allowing students to analyse and the embedded use of technology- as a base line as the unit and not just an add in, it covers all facets. The way in which the information will be discovered and interpreted by the students is a solely individual practice, no two students webpage will be the same, from the design to the content. This individuality and construction conforms to the Constructivist Theory, Vygotsky, n.d. determines that students learning and products of learning are largely influenced by their own experiences. The tasks I have determined that a Weebly could be used for in my classroom also support Blooms Taxonomy, through appropriate scaffolding students will first learn to find and store information or knowledge about the topic, they will then be required to show comprehension of the terms and knowledge, students will then apply the knowledge in their blogs, students will then analyse the information they have found i.e. why do the cinematic elements of Romeo and Juliet make it a tragedy?. For a lower grade class this promotes higher order thinking skills in a fun, interactive interface. Although the Weebly can be used individually and extensively in promoting students learning there are certain risk factors teachers must be aware of in their classroom, students must always follow copyright law and if they are going to borrow ideas or images proper attribution must be completed. Students’ knowledge and awareness on this topic can be scaffolded through the learning experience, a simple KWL could determine the students level of knowledge on the topic and what needs to be covered for the teacher to follow up would be simple and effective way to cover all basis so everything that is created stays legally safe. When using the Weebly there is minimal risk in regard to students welfare, as there is no interaction with viewers of the webpage. Through regular monitoring of appropriate material being posted onto the Weebly's by the teacher this factor will be kept at a minimal. Weebly's are a great tool that allows students to create and explore. It gives the student a sense of ownership and pride in their work as what they are creating is being published! It is essential for me as a learning manager to ensure my students reach the appropriate knowledge and thinking skills necessary and that if I chose to use a Weebly in my classroom that I would check it complied with my schools internet guidelines and also that it is embedded as something the unit would not be able to reach the intended learning without.