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.

I rated my assessment task as an average 3 out of 5 . To view how I rated each element click here. I found rating my assessment task for each element an interesting task and I found that I had to change my assessment task a bit to be able to rate the task higher for some elements. It really made me think about what I wanted students to achieve and whether the assessment was making them think deeply and make real connections with the topic or was it just superficial. I found it difficult to incorporate some elements int the assessment task I wanted to do for the topic. For example I had to rate Cultural Knowledge as 1 as this was not relevant to the topic or the task.

I think developing a unit of work was a useful task for me to do especially as it is my last ever assignment I will have to do at uni! It has given me a useful resource that I will be able to use when I am out teaching. I have learnt that it is important to work out what the outcomes you want to achieve are first before you begin to plan activities. If you know what the outcomes are, it is much easier to plan how students will achieve them. I have also learnt that there is no point integrating ICT into a lesson just for the sake of it. If it is something that can be done on paper, then is it not going to be a meaningful use for ICT. I think one of the major benefits of integrating ICT into units of work is the opportunity to collaborate and share ideas with others.

There are a number of ways in which Edublogs can be used in the classroom. I think I would try to develop it as an online journal or e-portfolio and include not just text but other types of media as well including images, video and sound. There are also a number of widgets that can be added to your blog to enhance their interactivity. Things like maps that show where in the world people are from that have visited your blog make it interactive and exciting for students. I also think it is important to be aware of the challenges that are involved with blogging for students. Comment moderation is an important tool for teachers as it allows them to approve all comments that are posted on their students blogs before they are actually posted on the blog. This helps with issues with cyber safety and bullying. There is a comprehensive list of the challenges and barriers of using blogging on our CEGSA webpage. However, I truly believe, that once you know how to use the tool, the possibilities are endless!

I find working collaboratively is an effective way to work to construct knowledge as part of an inquiry process. It allows you to share and bounce ideas off of each other and you are able to bring in the different group member’s expertise. It is also useful to be able to share the workload and work together to complete the process. I enjoyed working in a group to investigate Edublogs and create our webpage.

I think our workshop went well. We were able to show our webpage and the videos Sue Waters helped us to create. I think we were able to give people an understanding of what Edublogs can do and allowed them to explore and use the tool themselves. I believe that students succeeded in completing out learning outcomes as they wrote a blog about if they think Edublogs is a useful tool and whether they would use it themselves.

I have enjoyed the other workshop presentations so far. I think it is useful to know about the different Web 2.0 tools that are available to us as teachers. I particularly enjoyed the workshop on SmartBoards as these are something that I am most likely going to using in the future. I also think Pixton could be a useful tool to use in creating comics.

I commented on Sara’s blog post about their workshop on Promethean ActivBoards. See it here.

How do you think Moodle can support student learning?
It looks like there are a number of ways in which Moodle could be used to support student learning. I like the idea of posting resources up for students to access to help them with exam or test revision. I also liked the quiz feature as it could be used as assessment tool to find out what students have learnt. It could also be useful for students who missed a class and needed to catch up or needed to do some extra work at home. You could also use it for a unit of work and post links and tasks on it for students to access.

Will you use Moodle in the classroom? Why/Why not?
Once set up I think Moodle would be a valuable resource to use especially with upper primary students and it is something I would use in the classroom.

My major is Digital Media so I have completed a number of IT topics throughout my degree including Computers in Schools and Multimedia Literacy. Therefore, I have had some experience with a number of Web 2.0 tools including del.icio.us, Photo Story and blogging. I have also had experience in Clay animation, webpage design and I have used SMARTBoards on my practicum. I think these are just some of the tools than can support and enhance teaching and learning. They also help to keep students excited and engaged. I look forward to finding out about more of the Web 2.0 tools available to me and how I can use them in the classroom.

Through other Education topics and my practicums I have been exposed to a number of different frameworkds to help plan for student learning. I have used the Inquiry approach before and find that it is a useful framework to use when planning as it allows you to guide student learning towards the outcomes and assessment tasks you have set. I have also used Multiple Intelligences to allow students to work with their strengths and choose tasks that suit their learning styles.

From this topic I hope to find out more about the different technologies I can use in the classroom and how they can be best used to achieve quality student learning. I also look forward to contributing to other people’s learning and collaborating with others to investigate the large range of tools available to us as teachers.