Amy's Blog

How my thinking has changed

My learning and thinking changed a few times throughout my participation in the topic. My thinking began to change in week 3 when we were introduced to inquiry learning and Web 2.0 tools. This is when I really started to engage in the topic and the importance of using ICT effectively in the classroom. In week 6, my thinking changed about assessment and developing an assessment task that fit with the QT framework. This was something I had not done before. All of the thinking I had done during this topic really came together during Week 9 when I was completing my Integrated Learning Plan. I think that really brought together all that I had learnt throughout this topic.

What did you find most valuable about the topic and why?
Overall I have found this topic very enjoyable and I have learnt many new things about ICT and in particular Web 2.0 tools. The thing I found most valuable about this topic was learning about the different Web 2.0 tools that are available for us to use as teachers and how they can enhance teaching and learning. Throughout the Web 2.0 presentations I learnt about a number of different tools that I didn’t even know existed such as Pixton, Scratch and Moodle.  Our group inquiry on Edublogs was useful as I was able to closely evaluate the tool, how it can be used and its benefits in education. I now feel confident in being able to use some of these Web 2.0 tools in my teaching. I also found it valuable to plan a unit of work that integrates ICT using the inquiry approach. As I will soon be out teaching, I now have a valuable resource that I will be able to use.

How could the topic be improved?
I really enjoyed this topic and can’t really think of many significant ways it should be improved. One suggestion is to maybe shorten the class presentations  or have less of them each week as while I enjoyed learning about the different Web 2.0 tools, after the fourth workshop of class presentations it began to become a little repetitive.  However, I understand that we are trying to cram 13 weeks of work into 10 weeks so I can’t really complain!

I would like to thank Trudy for sharing her expertise, helping us with assignments and providing us with valuable ICT resources to use in our future teaching careers.