The use of ICT with literacy – interactive whiteboards. Use of text, clipart and video in the classroom.  These videos provide examples of how you can continuously develop and keep up to date with ICT skills and engage your learners in literacy rich environments !!

http://www.teachers.tv/video/157

Story starts for creative writing.

http://www.teachers.tv/video/23316

Task 7

Find a video  from teachers TV using ICT in the classroom and share it with us.

Podcasting

A series of technologies for transmitting audio and video.

Task 5

Read the link above and explore the working examples in elementary schools.

1. My English students have created an interactive mulit-media presentation using moviemaker embedded in Powerpoint. They wish to add audio and embed their presentations in our Class Weblog and in their personal logs. What technologies do you recommend?
2. I have students that want to listen to more English in the bus from the residences – it is a long drive. What tools and websites do you recommend?
3. My students want to make video and download on http://www.youtube.com/.  They asked their teachers, but they also said “No!” . What ideas can you think of  so they can still make and publish videos ?

 Webquests

 The key idea that distinguishes WebQuests from other Web-based experiences is this: A “WebQuest is built around an engaging and doable task that elicits higher order thinking of some kind. It’s about doing something with information. The thinking can be creative or critical, and involve problem solving, judgment, analysis, or synthesis. The task has to be more than simply answering questions or regurgitating what’s on the screen. Ideally, the task is a scaled down version of something that adults do on the job, outside school walls.”

Bernie Dodge (creator of Webquests.)

 Take time to explore the links above.

Task 4

1. Why are webquests so popular in education?
2. How do they meet constructivist principles?
3. Find an engaging webquest you could use in your learning environment and post it below with a comment of how it would fit into a lesson plan or Sequence of Work.
4. Are you interested in creating a webquest ?

“Only a few years ago I returned to Uni to invest more money in my education. I spent countless hours in an “ICT- Education” course creating an integrated ESL/Humanities Webquest on rainforests. I am passionate about webquests.  My initial enthusiasm waned after 90 hours in the university computer lab in the evenings after teaching rounds.  I learnt how to design a website. More importantly, I learnt I was not an IT  technician –  I was an educator who enjoyed using ICT.   I haven’t had time in my teaching life to create a website since.  However, technological  tools have caught up with my pedagological beliefs. This semester I learnt I can use a blog to create a webquest.  Wow! My life can focus on ideas and learning  rather than remembering how to check and repair broken links!  Goodbye Dreamweaver  (Nightmare Weaver) – hello Blogs and Wikis!”

Regards,

Brigid

If you still like creating a website feel free to check out Microsoft Front Page or Dreamweaver

1. What do you know about Wikis?
2. How are they different to blogs ?
3. Which Wiki includes privacy options?
4. Which is the easiest to use ?
5. Why and how could “trust” be an issue ?

Task 3

Do some research and add some comments.

Websites

Ways to Use Wiki in Education

Wiki Spaces for Teachers

Wikis 

Best Wiki for Classroom Use

Wiki Design Principles

VoiceThread is free open source software that allows you to record voice with pictures or input text. It can be used for digital storytelling or to collect audio comments on a topic.

You can publish VoiceThread on a Blog and share it with as many people as you wish.

 Our English class has set one up for topics we are studying and a book review.  Take a look at the beginnings of a voice thread about the environment. Students created the digital poster and are researching different sub topics , recording their findings with questions for discussion.  We are also using it for book reviews. Take a tour of what our students are doing and look at Voicethread examples that  K1- 12 teachers are doing on the Voicethread site – remember click the tab ” classrooms”.

You could look at using Voicethread to make your information product either individually or collaboratively you may want to document your learning of Web 2.0 technologies and publish it to the world on Voicethread and seek comments.

Task 6

1. Explore classroom voicethreads and nominate your favourite one.

2. What is one way you could use this tool to support learning ?

You can watch this video or you can go to lessons on the wordpress site.

Why Web 2.0 ? 

Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts and other ICT tools explained in the context of language learning by an ESL teacher in Spain. Our role as teachers is to keep up to date with learning technologies to incorporate these tools in our learning plans.  What tool/s are you interested in?

This weblog has been designed to document our collaborative learning process towards creating information products for education.  It will serve as a community of practice for our class of teachers in training to collaboratively develop and visualise our thinking.

The information products we create will be informed by constructivist perspectives. 

 Task 1

 a. Share an ICT tool to use in our lessons.

 b. Reflect on “What is meaningful learning ?”

A ‘blog’ is short for ‘weblog’. It is a website that is easy to use because you need no knowledge of HTML. Great for technophobic teachers.

 You can make a private community to create, publish and share ideas. How can we use it ? Let’s start a list and discover more uses.

• classroom websites
• writing portfolios
• webquests
• teacher/learner posts to communicate
• reading portfolios

 ”Blogs” (Enda Toumey ADMC – Feb.2007)  has the following links:

http://edublogs.org/10-ways-to-use-youredublog-to-teach/

http://www.pembinatrails.ca/program/technology/uses_of_blogs_in_education.htm

http://www.walsallschools.org/uses

http://www.educatr.com/uses

http://blogherald.com/2008/01/24/edublogs-campus-bringing-blogs-to-schools/

Free blogging websites:

http://wordpress.org

http://blogger.com

http://edublogs.org/   (note for public viewing )

Task 2

a. Start researching from above links and search other websites for authentic examples of blogs to support learning.

b. What are your thoughts?

c. What are two different ways you could use this tool with learners ? (Do not repeat ideas- create new applications).