Will I maintain an ELECTRONIC PORTFOLIO?

Electronic Portfolio - Will I?
It should be something that I WANT to maintain as a life-long learning tool... but will I actually keep it going?

good question.

I hope so, I believe the only way for me to personally keep it going is to make it ROUTINE.
Just like I have gym on Tuesdays and netball on Saturdays... i'll make sure I find a day for blogging. This ensures that by the end of my studying, I would have created an incredible portfolio of change, discovery and learning.

e-portfolios:
- exhibits progress
- expresses self visually-communicates a story supplemented with the text
- integrates reflections "how did the lesson plan progress your thinking about teaching & learning?"

Have a look at what Dr Helen Barret speaks about, to understand more about e-portfolios.

Collaborative Learning...

WHAT IS COLLABORATIVE LEARNING???

it is a relationship among learners that requires a sense of sink or swim together where each individual has to contribute and learn. it requires interpersonal skills such as communication, trust, leadership, decision making, and conflict resolution.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES:

• problem solving,


• understanding complex concepts,


• enhancing creativity, thinking differently,


• understanding different perspectives,


• valuing diversity,


• managing prejudice, bias,


• developing positive attitude towards learning &


• developing positive self-esteem.

Click HERE to see 44 Benefits of Collaborative Learning.

thanks to google images for the pic.

? TPACK ?

What is TPACK? --> Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge...
> it is the knowledge required of a teacher to successfully integrate technology into the classroom.

It seems pretty difficult to achieve, I have to admit. I would like to think I have all the aspects down packed, but unfortunately I dont think thats the case...
As a student teacher I believe I have the potential, with experience and of course practice I hope to one day be fluent in:
- choosing appropriate content & relevant software &
- to incorporate it into a vartiety of appropriate KLA's.
This is the ideal situation.
Is it possible? YES I think it is!
Is it easy? NOT QUITE !
Lets hope one day my answer to that last question will change... hold thumbs!

thanks to google images for pics.

thanks to youtube.

Cyberbullying - what a shocking story...

Have a look..

LETS EDUCATE!

INTERNET DANGERS

SUGGESTIONS TO PROTECT YOUR CHILDREN

• keep the computer in a family room, NOT in a bedroom


• understand parenting controls on your internet browser and how to block websites and emails


• find softwares that can be used to help protect your child


• dont allow your child to submit personal information on line without your permission


• encourage them to show you and tell you about anything that makes them uncomfortable when surfing the internet


• familiarise yourself and talk to your child about who they contact on-line

"Chatting online is a great way for children to keep in touch with friends and to meet new people from different cultures and backgrounds, but they need to be aware a small number of people they encounter in chat rooms may not be who they say they are and may have inappropriate reasons for contacting them." Said Professor David Flint, ABA Chairman (19/12/02)

thanks to google images for pic.

thoughts on controlling and blocking websites.....

What are your thoughts?

Are parents going to far to protect and shelter their kids by controlling the internet browser and block specific websites? OR should this be done by all parents???

Well, to be honest I am totally torn...
It is all about education.. Children need to be taught what is appropriate on the internet and what is not... Once they know this, they should take it upon themselves to do what is appropriate.
Many may say this is naive but where do you draw the line?

When do parents finally say 'ok, theyre old enough - lets unblock everything'
What has blocking these sights achieved?
Have the children been taught was is appropriate and innapropriate or have they just been totally sheltered from everything.

EDUCATION IS THE KEY

With it --> children will be exposed to and understand that there is both good and evil in the world, and they will know themselves which path is the most responsible..

Without it --> kids are lost, exposed and uneducated, who know's what kind of a mess they could get into...

Teens murder sparks facebook privacy plea...

It was all over the news. shocking. sad. unbelievable. --> Inevitable now that I think about it.

It's scary to think about those millions of strangers out there that could potentially find out everything about you... -where you live-what you look like-how old you are...
it gives me goosebumps.

Read this article.
Are you going to remove your profile pic?
Are you going to remove your personal details?

As the article states "the onus is on the use to change their settings from open to PRIVATE"
I too think it is the PARENTS responsibility to monitor their kids behaviour on the computer... I believe it also is up to the PARENTS to EDUCATE their kids on the dangers of talking to strangers and exposing private and personal details.

What kind of world are we coming to ? Where an 18 year old girl was murdered after meeting up with so she thought 'her new friends.'

Something needs to change. Parents take action. Teachers take action.
Children need to be educated - they need to know the consequences of their actions...

lets educate!

Thanks to ABC News for the image.

Scenario's - Ethical Behaviour use of TECHNOLOGY!

Last weeks tutorial on 'ethical behaviour' got us all thinking about a variety of ethically confusing situations...

We were able to EMPATHISE with the characters and truly place ourselves in their shoes in order to make a sound decision based on what is most ethically correct.

Questions included in one of the scenario's were: (from session 9)

1. whose privacy is at risk?
2. what danger or discomfort might the unethical or unwise action cause?
3. is there a parallel in the physical world to this scenario?

These questions have enormous relevance and are a fantastic example of how WE as TEACHERS could approach the theme of "ethical behaviour in using technologies"

Freedom Writers by Richard LaGravenese (2007)

thanks to youtube.

The movie "Freedom Writers" by Richard LaGravenese (2007) INSPIRES me as a teacher.

The way in the which the teacher was able to create an environment where these students once felt threatened and territorial to one where they felt FREE to be themselves, to INTEGRATE with one another and share their history and learning.

I am inspired by this movie. I admire the approaches to teaching and education - as the teacher avoids the traditional "text book" ways of teaching and rather creates a place of excitement and learning, a place where the students opinions on learning didnt matter. I have learnt a lot from this movie, mostly I will learn to communicate with the students in my class to truly understand who they are and where they come from, and as a result adjust and modify my teaching to suit the needs of each student.

UNIQUE

This is an example of a some brainstorming I did with my Year 3 Prac class when I introduced the term
"UNIQUE"
as part of a lesson of acceptance and self image...

• one in a million
• special
• to be different from everybody
• special looks
• special personality
• different looks
• different colour skin
• different coloured hair
• to have something that noone else has
• EVERYBODY!

My Goals for my recent prac:

My Goals:

• To teach for meaningful understanding. --> This goal was accomplished on my prac, as I encouraged kids to promote knowledge construction for themselves. I did this by providing the students a task where this was possible.

Task: For students to find objects in the classroom that they think are 10cm long. Students were able to search around the classroom and write down in their exercise books a bunch of different objects. Then they measured each object with a ruler, finding if they were correct or incorrect with their estimations.

• To teach lessons that flow in a logical, organised, pedagogical manner.

This was easy for me to accomplish on Prac as my cooperating teacher was very helpful. She made sure I knew where the students were up to in every area I was going to be teaching. Therefore, I was able to develop lesson plans appropriate to where the class were up to.

• To be spontaneous and add excitement to the classroom.

On my prac, I did a music lesson with the kids that they absolutely LOVED. It is something they never do.. therefore adding excitement to the classroom. It was a lesson after lunch, so they were all high spirited, it couldnt have gone any better. We did a group chant that I taught them and then they made their own up - they were amaazing!

Here's the chant I taught them:

"My name is Lucy Goosy,

My feet are big and fat,

and when I walk around the park

I fall and go KESPLAT!"

This was lots of fun! - we added body percussion to add more rhythm :)

This is one of my student's chant:

" My name is Rish Rish Roogen

I like to play some games,

and when I fight the bad guys

I will win every day!" so cute!

• To understand students individual needs and try to cater to them through different approaches to the lesson.

This was done, as I developed some lessons where students experimented with objects, other lessons where it was 'teacher focussed' and other lessons where group work was initiated.

• To incorporate the use of technology, where the facilities are available.

Unfortunately, I hoped to have used technology more. There was no smart board in the classroom, and only one computer in the classroom which I found was mainly used for the teacher and perhaps a student who was a fast finisher. Additionally, due to renovations they did not have a computer room - and as a result I was unable to incorporate much technology.

Young people as digital WHAAT?

"Young People as Digital Bricoleurs" by Matthew Kearney

As I began to read the article, I could hardly pronounce the word 'bri-co-leurs'. It is defined by google as; a person who creates a bricolage; a person such as a writer, an artist, a musician etc who creates using a diverse range of materials.
The way in which Kearney explains this term, makes me become more familiar with it and completely understand the context in which it is raised.

So...what is meant by this term?

'Young people' in todays society are increasingly finding interest in 'remixing' and adapting already developed content and making it their own. This way of expression allows these kids to look at something they find interesting and add a piece of themselves to make it something personal.

I believe 'young people as digital bricoleurs is fantastic for students to express themselves, like blogs and digital stories, these young students are given a medium of expression. This "remix culture" is one which as teachers we can value and encourage.

The notion of ethical behaviours using technology is one of importance - teachers need to emphasise that these 'digital bricoleurs' are not breaking copyright or plagiarism laws...
To read more about ethical behaviour in technology read my previous post!

Advancing technologies in the classroom...

thanks to Compfight Images.

www.compfight.com.au

The issue of advancing technologies in the classroom is something that I find fascinating...

Traditional teaching is getting a bit of a kick in the bum to keep up with the continuous development of 21st Century technologies.

Of course there are always going to be positive and negative aspects that arise with this new age teaching... I believe the integration of these technologies in the classroom is important as it is an educational tool that relates tremendously to children of the 21st Century.

However, as teachers it is important not to use these technologies to replace formal learning, they should merely be a tool to enhance and complement learning. This way, it remains a novelty for students and a tool to embrace enthusiasm and creativity.

Social, Professional & Ethical Issues...

Ethical Behaviour - Using technology...
> this ethical behaviour is informed by each students value system.
There are several aspects which we look at in order to truly grasp the concept of "ethical behaviour"

Ethics :

• relates to our values we are brought up on.
• being unethical, does not necessarily mean breaking the law.
• is "my school" ethically appropriate in representing schools? can these statistics be used unethically?

Morals:

• right / wrong
• behaviour that could transgress the law
• society/communal beliefs
• a teacher upholds certain values of our society. Some actions can be ethically wrong. ie. posting naked pics for a magazine.

Values:

• we get from our parents
• from our school
• from our community
• depends on our ethnic background
• we take values into our ethical decisions

Law:

• copyright
• plagiarism

Incorporating technology into education, it is important as the teacher to insist to students the concept of 'ethical behaviour' not is it appropriate for using computers, but it is an aspect of life, which may arise in many different instances. As a result teachers need to emphasise the importance of it.

the BIG w i d e WEB...

Finally I have built up the guts to start blogging publicly.. scary!

Setting up my account was so quick and easy.. I'm still learning how to make my page look fun and pretty!

Bye for now, going to start blogging soon!
Until then xxx