Learning Objects

The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), (2002) defines a learning object as "any entity, digital or non-digital, that may be used for learning, education or training"


Here is a nifty little one with Australian dollars to help give the right change. Learning managers could challenge students with a time frame say 10 secs for each amount, with more capable students to achieve the desired result in the most creative way they can. These types of learning objects can promote a deeper understanding and higher order thinking by allowing the interaction of the students with visual and tactile learning styles in the classroom.

The use of digital cameras to capture the learning experience and then later revisiting the experience to create a presentation of the outcomes though tools such as Movie Maker or PowerPoint in fact allow the students to redraw and expand on knowledge .


I really enjoy the Maths online learning objects I feel they are quite helpful  for teachers to engage to expand on ways to explain specific information to students and also the students themselves to have an account at home to go through as the tutorial is visual and enables you to pause and rewind.

definition retreived from wikipedia

Podcasts

Whilst looking at content on the National Geographic website for information to help me with a lesson on endangered species last term, I came across the term podcasting and until now didn't think much of it. Now though that it is of importance I went back to have a look and they say "Podcasting is a web-based broadcast medium that makes audio and video content available to download onto a computer or mobile device."  I found it very interesting and aslo thought it could be a very useful tool in the classroom to present information for assesment but also to aide in the transforming of information as it can be easily rewound and paused to allow for repetetive playback and through dicussion new areas can be broached through the consolidation of topis visited.

This was supposed to be a Podcast on a story that talked about the history of the Olympics.  Unfortunately i do not yet require the skills to effectively post it into my blog (if anyone can guide me through this process I would be grateful). However the story itself is a very interesting one that is engaging and can be used as a platform for learning in different areas to be explored

• 
  
   a creative writing piece
• 
  
  a drama piece ( the children could act out the story)
• 
  
  a way to introduce the many cultures/countries in the world
• 
  
  shows how the world can come together peacefully through the Olympics 

There are many ways in which Podcasts could be used to scaffold a learning experience

My learning journey

Now here is something I am familiar with. I have used PowerPoint in some of my assignments previous to now. I witnessed my year 7 class create one last year to aide with a presentation they gave to their parents at culminating (a morning where parents are invited to the school to be shown all the activities etc.. they had engaged in during the previous unit). They each had to explain a specific part of the unit and each student had to create a slide that corresponded with what they were saying. I found the students to be really engaged and most of them had a great knowledge of how to use the program with transitions and picture placement etc. One student suffered ASD and couldn't speak in front of the parents so her turn carried on from a previous student's and with the help of other classmates and a teacher aide they made her slide completely visual and she was able to just hold up the actual pieces of work the slide represented. I found it a little intimidating that I really was of no use during the creation process except to aide with spelling errors and I have since explored PowerPoint at a greater depth.

This is the PowerPoint I submitted as a first year for our Arts assignment term 1. Until then I had never even opened the tool or really even heard of it.. so this was my first attempt, please be kind

My learning journey

View more presentations from brooksta.

Brooke

Voki

What a mammoth effort after 6 frustrating attempts (and a few choice words), I have finally been able to create a Voki to embed in my Blog. Now that I have succeeded in doing it I think it is a great tool to use in the classroom to aide the teacher in a number of different ways here are a couple

• a fun way of introducing a lesson
• positive feedback to the class for a job well done
• creative delivery of a story
• expert testimony for facts on a specific topic (guest speaker)

the list could go on depending on the level of creativity you and your students desire. with the number of different faces, animals, cartoons etc... to choose from the hours could easily escape oneself whilst trying to create the perfect voki... The only drawback I believe is (as I learnt the hard way) is you can't add IM language through the typing message choice, and as I have no access to a microphone the finished product is a bit monotonal... BBB boring!!!

What in the Wordle is that?

I really enjoyed this tool (thanks to Juliet for helping me out) and think it will be a useful way to engage students in brainstorming activities or to display information creatively. It is so easy to use and the finished product is as engaging as the creation process itself. Everyone should give this a go as it could be the perfect way for students to actively engage in activities such as spelling and identifying patterns that emerge, a great visual stimulant.


Here is one that represents my life

Movie...Over Hollywood !!!

This is a short movie I made with my son as the focus. I have used Movie Maker quite a bit to send movies of this nature to my friends and relatives that live away to keep them updated on my son's progress. I find it very useful as I can be as creative as I like to portray the theme of the photos and movies. This is my favourite tool.

In the classroom I believe it would be a valuable tool to allow students to expand on their knowledge by presenting what they have learnt via other mediums. Students who just do not do well when trying to present a speech to their classmates may be able to use a movie to enhance their confidence. Images when used right can portray a powerful message to explain information and the visual aspect allows for a higher engagement level, not to mention the enjoyment of actually creating the piece. Learning can be fun...

You Tube

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=odI7pQFyjso

This is the YouTube clip I used as my engaging tool for SOSE. It is a Greenpeace advertisement about the Palm Oil in beauty products. It evokes emotion and the need to find out more about the issue. It was to be used in a year 7 setting to give the learners a perspective to the uses of Palm Oil and the sacrifices our environment undergoes to sustain the industry. I felt that even though the images are strong year 7 students need to understand and grasp the concepts that surround specific issues. The clip itself offers many opportunities to direct the learning including,

1. the issue itself
2. differing perspectives (as this is just one)
3. the effects of deforestation
4. the jobs the industry creates
5. what other products contain Palm Oil

there are just so many...
students can engage with tools such as these to develop skills that will enable them to use higher order thinking and complex reasoning processes to decipher whether the knowledge presented is meaningful and can also encourage them to think outside their comfort zone and expand into global issues.
On a lighter note go to http://elearningwithbrooksta.wikispaces.com/ to see the YouTube video and the comments I posted on my wiki.
Brooke

Weebly

Weebly is a website that enables the user to create a website. It allows you to create a collaborative learning experience for your learners to interact with in a secure setting (password protected) for a small price. I created a free account which took a bit of time but I eventually understood how to use the tool, although the dragging of specific elements to the pages to create an actual activity is very time consuming in itself.

It would be useful to create a virtual classroom but I believe that the Learning Place already have this accessible through Education Queensland which I have heard is a very easy process not to mention safe and FREE. While the ability to create website in itself seems a beneficial tool, I don't particularly think that Weebly is the best one out there in order to achieve this. Some more research into other website creating tools will be necessary for me to make an informed decision

Wikis

I have created a wiki and only just now put two and two together about the connection with wikipedia...Oh my gosh!!! And the award for the most naive digital immigrant goes to...Anyway here is the link to my wiki
http://elearningwithbrooksta.wikispaces.com/ 

At this stage however I am unsure of how it really works as I have yet to attain any others to be members
I found the clip below on YouTube thanks to a good friend who guided me there and this explains a lot, however until I have the hands on experience I will be not be able to use this tool to its full potential

Bubblus Tool

This was a lot of fun and the possibilities could be endless. I found the help text at the side of the screen very useful. This help feature I think would be vital when using in classroom to guide students through the process especially the younger years. Although after the initial few interactions I believe it would easily become second nature for the students to use. the creative side of the fire ball when you delete a box also added an element of fun which I'll admit I created several boxes simply to watch them explode in quick succession. This could create off task behaviour but can be easily managed in a classroom setting. All in all a big thumbs up, bring on the rest...

Brooke

Initial thoughts

First week back, new subjects, talk about information dump. My head is swimming! I've always said I need to become more computer literate and technology savvy, well here is my chance to make a start. After the initial shock of the realisation on how much information there really is out there and the numerous methods of delivering this information to students in classrooms, I'm excited about this course. How it can facilitate my learning so I in turn can facilitate the learning of others.

The function of a blog is an online journal. It can be interactive through the posting of comments from other people and when the owner of the blog uploads entries such as videos, podcasts and slideshows.

Brooke