SlideShare boasts itself as being the world's largest community for sharing presentations (SlideShare Inc, 2009). SlideShare is a valuable tool for uploading, tagging, downloading or embedding presentations into blogs and websites. Simply sign up free of charge, and begin downloading your presentations to your personal SlideShare page. Once you have downloaded your presentations they are stored into a tab called My Slidespace and may be shown publicly or privately.

Siemens (2004) believes that within social networks, there are hubs of well-connected people who are able to foster and maintain knowledge flow. The implementation of technologies such as SlideShare foster the environment of social networking, providing a place where people can download and share knowledge, ideas, presentations and work collaboratively to achieve a common outcome.

During the process of uploading a PowerPoint presentation into SlideShare, I was pleasantly surprised at the ease and use of the application. After a hick up or two I was able to import my relevant YouTube clip, and easily embed the presentation into my blog. Although I was happy with my progress with SlideShare, considering it was my first visit, I became quickly annoyed as I noticed that the animations (which took so long to adjust and enter) were no longer active. This is obviously an element of SlideShare that needs further investigation to ensure a quality product is produced.

SlideShare also offers the syncing of audio into your slides to provide a more engaging and descriptive presentation. The following embedded presentation was developed in conjunction with my fellow University buddies, Kerri and Nari, and used in a multiliteracy group presentation.

Enjoy,

Kellie

Literacy Of The Century 2007

View more presentations from kstep.

References

Siemens, G. (2004). Citing computer references. Retrieved July 18, 2009, from

http://www.elearnspace.org/Articles/connectivesm.htm

SlideShare Inc, (2009). What is Slideshare. Retrieved 14 August, 2009, from

http://www.slideshare.net/about?PHPSESSID=cdcd1c967d45a922f503f2147b6d3902

Interactive Whiteboards - Engagement and More

Over the last two years I have had the opportunity to use Interactive Whiteboards (IWB's) in the classroom and witnessed first hand the effect and engagement these tools/technologies have with students. Their ability to provide interactive activities relevant to key learning areas enhance student focus and enjoyment for learning.

Yes, as you might tell I am an advocate for the IWB and have increasingly noted that teachers using the IWB's have a renewed passion for teaching and learning. It is at this time that I must reiterate that the boards are only as good as the human element controlling them. Teachers must provide good pedagogy skills to back up what is used on the IWB, and ensure they are not used merely as a babysitting tool.

Many teachers and administrators believe that IWB's are not as effective as expected and feel that the outlay of initial set up costs could be better spent elsewhere. I believe this is because the IWB's are not being used to their full potential and the technology has not been fully embraced.

Mitchell (n.d.) states that "students demand interactivity". This is a powerful statement which underpins the concepts of learning, especially knowing that students must be engaged in the curriculum in order for effective learning to occur (Kearsley, & Shneiderman, 1999). Interactivity and the ability to create, collaborate and share, are the focus of the IWB, providing invaluable opportunities for students to learn through hands on activities and in a style they prefer.

IWB's are more than merely an engagement tool. This tool:

1. Provides abundant teaching resources
2. Allows recording of instructional material to be posted for review by students
3. Presents presentations created by students or teacher
4. Digital storytelling
5. Teaching of software applications
6. Brainstorming

Just to name a few. (The possibilities are endless)


Kellie

References

Kearsley, G., Shneiderman, B., (1999). Engagement Theory: A framework for technology-based teaching and learning. Retrieved July 18, 2009, from http://home.sprynet.com/~gkearsley/engage.htm

Mitchell, B., (n.d.) Watch this video in a new windoweSN TechWatch: Interactive Whiteboards: Boon or Boondoggle Retrieved 12 August, 2009, from
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D1GQC8obImA&eurl=http%3A%2F%2Fmoodle%2Ecqu%2Eedu%2Eau%2Fmod%2Fresource%2Fview%2Ephp%3Fid%3D671&feature=player_embedded#t=160

YouTube

In 2006 Google bought a new and immediately popular video hosting and sharing service call YouTube for approximately 1.6 billion dollars, even though the service was not yet earning a profit (Karch, M. 2009). Obviously Google could see the potential for such a service which proved to be an instant hit from its early conception.

YouTube videos can be watched from the host site, http://www.youtube.com/ or they can be viewed from locations such as: Blogs, and Webs sites, where the videos have been embedded. To successfully watch a YouTube video, a program call Adobe Flash must be installed, however this is a standard format supported by most browsers (Karch, M. 2009). Very few Digital Immigrants are informed that the new generation of Digital Natives can also source and watch YouTube form mobile devices such as mobile phones, Nintendo DS, ipods, and even Nintendo Wii game systems. This access allows a technology driven generation to obtain random access and fast receipt of information (Prensky, 2001).

There is great potential for YouTube to play a positive role in education (Karimi, 2009). Video's coupled with good teaching pedagogy can strengthen a subjects' curriculum and provoke interest, participation, deeper thinking, and engagement. Kearsley and Shneiderman (1999), suggest that by being engaged in the process of learning, students are intrinsically motivated to learn.

The following YouTube video Give Me Five - A Song About Healthy Eating was used during a unit pertaining to healthy eating for a year two cohort. The video was used to introduce the concepts of attitudes and perceptions, in particular comfort and order (Marzano et al 1997). Students were encouraged to participate in physical movement to a small routine through the duration of the clip. This strategy was used as an interval half way into a long lesson to regain focus and recharge.

The second video Fruit Glorious Fruit was used as an engagement tool at the beginning of the lesson and to provide an introduction the topics to be learnt. Both YouTube video's proved to be successful and were embraced by the students.

Although these video's were downloaded as engagement and classroom comfort and order tools, YouTube provided a new dimension to the delivery of the lesson and allowed a glimpse of where the future of teaching and learning lie.

Bye for now,

Kellie






Fruit Glorious Fruit




References
Kearsley, G., Shneiderman, B., (1999). Engagement Theory: A framework for technology-based teaching and learning. Retrieved July 18, 2009, from http://home.sprynet.com/~gkearsley/engage.htm

Prensky, M., (2001). Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants. Retrieved July 18, 2009, from:
http://www.marcprensky.com/writing/Prensky%20-%20Digital%20Natives,%20Digital%20Immigrants%20-%20Part1.pdf

Karimi, S., (2009). The Value of E-Learning with YouTube: Video Sharing for Education. Retrieved August 13, 2009, from:
http://www.associatedcontent.com/pop_print.shtml?ontent_type=article&content_type_id=65889

Karch, M., (2009). YouTube explained - Overview of the Google Video Sharing Tool Retrieved August 13, 2009, from:
http://google.about.com/od/moreaboutgoogleaps/p/youtubeprofile.htm?p=1

Marzano, R., Pickering, D., Arredondo, D., Blackburn, G., Brandt, R., Moffett, C., Paynter, D., Pollock, J., & Whisler, J. (1997). Dimensions of learning teachers manual. Colorado, USA: Mid-continent Regional Education Laboratory.

The Power of E-Portfolios

Over the past few weeks I have struggled with the concepts and power of e-portfolio's. I ponder how to use its applications to my advantage for myself and in the classroom. What is an e-portfolio you might ask. Lorenzo and Ittelson (2005) provide the following definition, "An e-portfolio is a digitized collection of artifacts, including demonstrations, resources, and accomplishments that represent an individual, group, community, organisation or institution." These artifacts may be graphic, multimedia or text-based.

Most D-gens(digital generation)(Prensky, 2001), have heard of, and constructed an e-portfolio for personal use and are fully aware of all their functionalities. These digital native speakers (Prensky, 2001) rely heavily on accessing and receiving information as quickly as possible from one central site. E-portfolio not only provides these features, it also provides opportunities to keep personal treasures and information solely for the eyes of the keeper of the key (password).

It is Presnky's (2001) comments regarding teaching both Legacy and Future content in the language of Digital Natives, which has me reviewing some of my thoughts about the applications of these technologies. Students need to be taught some of the fundamentals of legacy content, but perhaps it is the responsibility of Digital Immigrants to embrace modern technologies and ensure that the intended learning is understood by the children of the present and future.

E-portfolios have the potential to engage and enhance teaching, learning and assessment practices (Lorenzo and Ittelson,2005), and provides a valuable tool for both student and educator. Some of the benefits of compiling an e-portfolio are:

Student -

1. Showcase examples of work
2. Encouraging critical thinkers
3. Development of writing and multimedia communication skills
4. Collaborative learning
5. Learn and use of technology literacy skills
6. Offer opportunities to digitally showcase their work and skills for employers
7. Reflection on what is learnt
(Lorenzo and Ittelson,2005)

Teachers -

1. Plan educational programs
2. Document skills and accomplishments
3. Critical reflection
4. Collective learning and knowledge sharing
5. Share ideas inside a class
6. Teaching philosophy
7. Provide a central location to store relevant data and teaching strategies/ideas and resources.
(Lorenzo and Ittelson,2005)

Life long learning is equivocally one of the most important elements a teacher can pass on to their students. The use of flexible learning environments which are learner centered and provide opportunities for social networking, creativity, and future orientated concepts within an educational environment, are imperative to the construction of foundations from which students can build a passion for this life long learning.

It seems it is a natural progression for both students and teachers to utilise tools such as e-portfolios to compile and represent evidence of both teaching and learning. As you can see, after much research, reading, and experimentation with e-portfolio's, I seem to have a much better grasp of the concepts surrounding this technology. Unfortunately this not mean that I am fully able to apply all of the capabilities, but I am determined and excited to progress through the journey of the e-portfolio world.

Until next time,

Kellie

References:

Prensky, M., (2001). Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants. Retrieved July 18, 2009, from:
http://www.marcprensky.com/writing/Prensky%20-%20Digital%20Natives,%20Digital%20Immigrants%20-%20Part1.pdf

Lorenzo, G., Ittelson, J., (2005) An Overview of E-Portfolios. Retrieved August 9, 2009, from:
http://www.launiverciudad.com.mx/promueve/ciedd/CR/tecnologia/AnOverviewofEPortfolios.pdf

PowerPoints and Learning Styles

"Learners are intrinsically different and have different preferred learning styles" (Kolb, 1984). PowerPoint (PPT) is an excellent tool for teaching and learning, adding a new dimension for teachers to provide information and provoke interest in learning. PPT's, when used correctly, allow for a smooth transition of abstract concepts whilst accommodating all learning styles (Teach-nology, 2007).

Not unlike the students, teachers quite often fall into the trap of using preferred teaching methods based on their own learning style, eg. If a Teacher is an auditory learner they possibly apply this strategy to teaching students. Unfortunately this is not beneficial to the students who best learn from alternate learning styles.

PPT's not only cater to all students learning styles, this technology provides unlimited possibilities and caters also to varied Learning Manager's learning and teaching styles. Learning Managers are able to use visual, auditory and written applications to promote the concepts of lessons and topics. When used effectively, PPT's are a powerful tool for providing an informative and engaging lesson provided they are used in conjunction with well constructed teaching pedagogy, however PPT's should not be used as an alternative to good pedagogy. Applications for PPT's in the classroom include visual aides, introduction of concepts, producing talking books, instructional activities, and providing direction and guidance for the Learning Manager.

Using the following link http://www.actden.com/pp/ I accessed the tutorial, 'PowerPoint in the Classroom'. As the tutorial progressed, I was surprised by the capabilities of this technology. Being a kinesthetic learner, I implemented my new PPT knowledge in conjunction with the tutorial to test out some of the applications.

Some of the new applications I discovered included:

1. Slide sorter view - viewing multiple slides at once. Here you can arrange, and add transitions.
2. Custom animations - using fly ins, motion paths, emphasis and exits.
3. Text effects - typewriter effects and more.


Previously I stated that PPT's need to be used effectively to optimize their effect on learning. PPT's which are used inappropriately could potentially confuse students and make learning a difficult process (Teach-nology, 2007). The following video 'Life after death by PowerPoint', shows some basic 'what not to do', when constructing PPT's.


Death by Powerpoint




See you next time.

Kellie

References
Teach-nology (2007). PowerPoint In the Classroom. Retrieved August 5, 2009, from
http://www.teach-nology.com/tutorials/powerpoint/

Kolb,D. (1984). Introduction to learning styles. Retrieved July 17, 2009, from
http://www.gp-training.net/training/educational_theory/reflective_learning/learning_

Fun with Flickr

Baby Hedgehog
Originally uploaded by kell-step

Until now I have not been confident to access many online programs for fear of obtaining viruses and crashing my computer. Over the years I have been constantly bombarded with comments like "Don't use anything on line, you'll wreck your computer", and "Don't complain when you get a virus and your computer crashes".

Prensky (2001) refers to the fact that Digital Immigrants typically have very little appreciation for new skills that Digital Natives have acquired. It is possible that some of these immigrants feel this way due to the sheer fear of learning something so seemingly complicated and uncontrollable after many years of living an industrial life with very little reliance of knowledge era technologies. Unfortunately this sector of Digital Immigrants are missing out on something quite special, such as Flickr and Picnik. Knowing that I fall into the Digital Immigrant category I am proud to say that I am enjoying the challenges of my technological journey so far.

When entering the Flickr site I was quite confused about what was to be achieved here. It was only after experimenting in the site for approximately 30 minutes (because I seem to be allergic to reading instructions) that I began to feel more comfortable, and before long, another hour had passed. Picnik was a great tool for editing photos, and not unlike programs I have used before. This is a basic program, however there are capabilities and effects which I have not used, such as the effects for photos, these would be great tools in the classroom.

After searching the Internet for one of my favourite photos, 'The Baby Hedgehog.' I imported the photo into Flickr and used the Picnik editing tool to reduce exposure and crop most of the human hand cradling the baby hedgehog. Time was spent using the other editing tools and changing the photo effects, just for fun. During this time I found myself wondering how this photo was going to embed into my blog and was expecting the complications of finding the Html and pasting it into my blog posting. To my surprise the process was as easy as following the prompts and the photo was waiting for me on my blog.

There is still much to be enjoyed within Flickr, and I will challenge myself with the future task of navigating all areas of the site. Already I can see great potential for finding engagement material for the classroom.

Kellie

References

Prensky, M., (2001). Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants. Retrieved July 18, 2009, from

http://www.marcprensky.com/writing/Prensky%20-%20Digital%20Natives,%20Digital%20Immigrants%20-%20Part1.pdf

Wiki's and Cooperative Learning

What is a Wiki

Watch this Youtube clip to gain a better understanding of a Wiki.



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZmByB0sIPog


During the construction of my very first Wiki, I began to realise the impacts that this little piece of technology can have within the classroom. A Wiki is essentially a collection of hyperlinked web pages that are assembled with wiki software and reflects the view of the facilitator who shares and receives information with others (Mindel & Verma,2006).

Prior to the construction of my Wiki, two of my fellow colleagues(Kerri and Nari) and myself decided to use a collaborative effort and build wikis with meaning for our Learning Management course. We chose topics which all students could respond and provide ideas for future teaching strategies, such as -

1. Five minute fillers (http://technological-competence.wikispaces.com/)
2. Attention getting techniques (http://kellieswiki.wikispaces.com/)
3. Transitioning activities (http://nariswiki.wikispaces.com/)

Siemens (2004) states that "Connectivism is driven by the fact that new information is continually acquired." Through the processes of a wiki it is possible for a larger collaborative effort and for all learning management students to have the opportunity to provide and acquire new or broarder knowledge on the above topics. The participation in these wikis will provide a comprehensive list of classroom strategies which will prove to be instrumental in your future teaching endeavours.

One of the strongest advocates for cooperative learning is Vygotsky (1978), who states that The Zone of Proximal Development(ZPD) is the area where the most sensitive instruction should be given. ZPD allows students to work together with peers and introduces the concepts of peer tutoring and knowledge sharing. Wikis can be used as an individual learning tool which still provides a social network from which a student can collaboratively learn, or as an in class cooperative tool where essentially the ZPD will assist in developing skills and strategies (Vygotsky, 1978).

Kellie


References

Mindel, J., Verma, S.(2006). Citing computer references. Retrieved August 1, 2009, from
http://cais.aisnet.org/articles/18-1/default.asp?View=Journal&x=24&y=8
Vygotsky, L. (1978). Citing computer references. Retrieved August 1, 2009, from
http://.simplypsychology.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/vygotsky.html
Siemens, G. (2004). Citing computer references. Retrieved July 18, 2009, from
http://www.elearnspace.org/Articles/connectivesm.htm