Week 2 - Introduction to Microsoft Publisher: Brochure and e-Portfolios

Figure 1: Vietnam Brochure










Figure 2: E-Portfolio Sample


This is an example of my Vietnam Brochure made on Microsoft Publisher (both pages are shown in Figure 1). I found it quite easy to use except I had a few difficulties with formatting, I can definitely see the benefits of this computer program in the class room. It could be used for tourist destinations or as a procedural text exercise. This is an exercise that could potentially be used as part of a WebQuest, or as part of creative assessment for a unit of work. It may be a good idea to brainstorm (using Inspiration) to map out the important pieces of information to be included on a brochureprior to construction.

The e-portfolio exercise was also quite easy to use and appears to be an excellent way to present information in a professional format. Figure 2 shows the beginnings of an e-portfolio. Since the workshop introduction to Publisher, I have discovered that using this tool to "sell yourself" can be quite difficult to format. Therefore, I have had to spend a lot of time arranging text and photos in order to make the portfolio look presentable. When I had a look at the webpage preview, I was quite surprised by how professional it looked given the small amount of effort required. This is a tool that could certainly be used in the classroom as an alternative to using Microsoft Power Point.The article entitled "Balancing the two faces of ePortfolios by Helen Bennet (2010) categorises this e-portfolios as either being presented as a 'process or a product'. http://eft.educom.pt/index.php/eft/article/viewFile/161/102.It is important to consider what approach you are aiming for when constructing an ePortfolio. In terms of preparing for job interviews, it is likely that one would want to present their work as a 'progress' type portfolio, in order to demonstrate a desire to grow professionally. On the other hand, if one were to implement this tool in the classroom and ask students to use it to present their work, it is likely that one would present this as a 'product' style portfolio. This style of portfolio would be a collection of work demonstrating the students' abilities and achievements over the course of time.

Week 5 - Animations Galore

Annimation is a great way to encourage fun learning in the classroom. When appropriate, these sites can be easily integrated into the curriculum. Sometimes a little creativity is required!

Figure 1: "Build Your Wild Self"

Figure 2: "The Zimmer Twins Movie"


Based on my observations in a primary school classroom, it seems common practice to have photos of students around the room at the start of the school year with a profile attached. An alternative and slightly more entertaining idea could be for students to create themselves in the form of a character. The wesbite http://www.buildyourwildself.com/ gives students the opportunity to create a slightly different profile of themselves. They can create a name for themselves and identify the powers relating to the physical features in their pictures. They may also want to identify what their character might eat, where they live, etc. This website has a lot of scope for creativity. Alerternatively, students could create characters for a story using Build Your Wild Self, print these out and paste them into their books. It is very easy to use. Refer to Figure 1 for an example of a "wild self" character.

The website "Zimmer Twins" (Figure 2) http://www.zimmertwins.com/
is a great tool that could potentially be used to accompany creative writing lessons. Students can create stories/dialogues or continue developing stories. Importantly, the task at hand is open ended, so highly capable students will be able to develop intricate dialogues, while the students who struggle with writing and formulating ideas can present their product in a simple manner. This website has a number of appropriate and entertaining videos that students can watch and develop further into their own stories. There are a number of moods and actions students can use to structure their short presentations. They could work individually or in small groups (2 - 3 would be ideal) depending on computer access. Prior to the constrction of their stories, students should have be given a brief orientation of the program by their teacher so that they are aware of the features provided. Once students have developed their endings to stories, they can present these to the class and reflect on the group thinking process.

Figure 3: "Mini Mizer"

The "Mini Mizer", as seen in Figure 3, is another fun way for students to play around with the design aspects available to them on the web.

The website http://www.reasonablyclever.com/?page_id=27 is particularly appealing to the younger students who may enjoying playing with lego and creating weird and wonderful characters. This could be used as an easy introductory activity at the start of the school year. Students could use this activity to design a "paper, scissors, rock" game. If you look at figure 3, the "mini-mizer" has objects in his hands. The teacher could discuss with the students what object beats what. For example, pencil could beat balloons, because the pencil pops the balloons, but balloons could beat the light saber because they can float in the air. The light saber beats the pencil because if can break the pencil into wood. This is simply one example, students and the teacher can brainstorm together how different objects could potentially beat other objects. Once students have printed their pictures out with their characters having one of the agreed objects in one or both hands, students can then go around to the others in the class and play "balloons, pencils, light sabers". This provides students with an opportunity to get to know each other. Students show their pictures on cue and if a student is eliminated, they must sit out for the rest of the game. The game continues until there is only one winner left.

Figure 4: "Sketch Swap"

Sketch Swap (see Figure 4) is a very easy to use program that could once again be incorporated into an English language activity. The site can be accessed from http://www.sketchswap.com/. Although it is simple to use, the content is not censored. It is therefore possible that students could receive some inappropriate pictures. In terms of using this site in the classroom, students could choose three things they would like to draw, perhaps this could be the things they have done in the day. They could sketch these pictures and receive three pictures back. The first picture they receive can help inspire them to write an introduction to their story. The second picture can guide the middle (or body) of their story, and the final picture could provide an ending. Once again, this is an open ended task, so students can provide as much or as little detail as they see fit. It is important that the teacher provides guidelines in terms of assessment before this task is completed, so that students are aware of the standards to aim for.

Figure 5: "Zip Tales"

Ziptales appears to be an enriching program that would be a very entertaining resource in the classroom. The site does not allow for great navigation, unless you have signed up as a member on http://www.ziptales.com/. Based on the schools commentary, Zip Tales appears to be such a great resource as it provides a range of reading comprehension, spelling and grammar activities that cater for a range of abilities (each story has three different ability levels). There are also resources to help students understand a range of text types. One of the most impressive and engaging features of this product is that students are able to choose a genre that suits them. This is a great site that integrates literacy and ICT in a way that suits students and teachers.

Figure 6: "Roller Mache Site"

Clay-mation is a great activity that looks very impressive. The best thing about it is that it is not as difficult as it looks. As mentioned in the workshops, technology can be manipulated so easily these days that it seems silly not to include annimation as part of the curriculum. When talking to students about animation, it is important that they are not simply sent off with a camera and provided a broad task. The importance of providing students with guidelines when it comes to designing animations is essential, as previously mentioned in the lecture and week 5 workshop. Roller Mache provides a number of links that explain key concepts related to animation. For example, how clay-mation works, the editing process, and how to use a story board. Resources such as these are essential for students if they are to produce high quality work. The site http://www.abc.net.au/rollercoaster/rollermache/inspire.htm is very comprehensive, so students and teachers can learn as the unit progresses. This is the kind of site teachers would need to be on the look out for PRIOR to handing students a camera and sending them on a mission. The activity is likely to more engaging when the unit is introduced this way, as students can see the relationship between tediously moving objects and creating a series of pictures which eventually becomes a short animation.

Week 4 - Story Telling, Data Displays and The Learning Federeation

Figure 1: Dust Echos Dream Time Story Picture Synopsis

Today we looked at a fantastic website called

Dust Echoes through the ABC website: http://www.abc.net.au/dustechoes/
This site looks at Aboriginal dreamtime stories from central Arnhem land and is an excellent resource for teaching about Aboriginal history. The Dreamtime stories are an entertaining way to educate children about Aboriginal culture and history. Today, the dreamtime stories were used assess the students' abilities to follow a story sequence.

In order to create the 'picture story' (Figure 1), I watched the movie to identify the main points of the story. I then chose appropriate pictures, transferred them into Inspiration via Paint and wrote small captions underneath them.

In terms of implementing this in the classroom, I would get the students into groups to read a dreamtime story and design a picture synopsis based on a Dust Echoes dreamtime story. Students would print of their designs, cut them into small pieces and ask other students to put the picture and captions into order as per the story. When all the captions are in the appropriate order, the final picture will hopefully look like a picture related to the story. In the case with my story, when the pictures are in the correct order, it is supposed to look like a crescent moon. This method is an innovative way for children to understand story sequence and to encourage teamwork amongst students.

Figure 2: M and M's Data Display

The graphing activity was a very practical activity that would be simple and fun to implement. I know this from personal experience as I have used this activity during my first teaching practicum with prep students. The purpose of the activity was to categorise different coloured jelly beans (or m and m's in this case) and represent this data in a pictograph (Figure 2). Bar graphing was not examined at that current time with my prep students, however the next step of the activity would have been to have a look at the different ways of presenting this information into graphs. From this simple excerise, the teacher can introduce other types of data displays including pie graphs and line graphs. It is important that teachers emphasise the relationships between tables and graphs. For example, the information in this table is identical to the information in the bar graph and a line graph. The tables and graphs are simply different ways of presenting the same data. The teacher needs ensure that students understand this concept before students independently complete the tasks. Once the teacher has modelled a number of examples of how these graphs can be used to display information, students can construct their own graphs using data provided from the class or their families. This task can also be used to assess/gauge the progress of oral language skills, as the student could potentially present their graphs to the class.

It should be noted that teachers should be aware of students with peanut allergies. If this is the case, an alternative to M and M's will need to be considered.

Figure 3: Ratio and Proportion Activity on The Learning Federation Website

The learning Federation was also discussed in some detail during the lecture during week 4. This is a very rich resource library for primary and high school teachers. There are literally thousands of different learning activities available. Many of them make for great whole-class discussion activities, which I would usually conduct at the start of a lesson. An interactive whiteboard is an essential tool when using this website, so that students can show the class their workings. Each activity on The Learning Federation identifys key learning objectives, learning domains, strands and concepts. Once unit planners have been completed amongst teachers, it is quite valuable to have a look at the activities available on The Learning Federation and identify which activities match the learning objectives identified in the in the unit.

I used an activity on the website while I was teaching grade 5/6 about ratio and proportion (Figure 3). Students really enjoyed coming up to the interactive whiteboard to solve the problems at hand. It is important to remember that as a teacher, simply giving the activity to students is not enough. The thinking behind the activity needs to be made explicit to the students. After students were able to answer each challenge correctly, I would get them to explain how they got to the answer, or if they were unable to do this, I would reiterate the relationship between ratio and proportion.

The Learning Federation is an Australian Website, and it costs to join. The site can be accessed from http://www.thelearningfederation.com.au/default.asp.La Trobe Students doing the Dip -Ed have free access to the website for a year from the date they join. It is worth encouraging staff at the school you work at to invest in this program. Simply viewing the activities available can help inspire some learning ideas to be used in the classroom.

Week3 - Jumping Frogs, Quia and Cyber Safety

The first part of the lesson required us to design a "jumping frog" after being provided with an elastic band and piece of cardboard. Figure 1 shows the template that was used for the activity. This required the group to think "outside the square" to come up with a solution. This activity was very similar to a task we completed in Science which required to group to create a bridge using paper and sticky tape. During practicum, my students were required to take on this challenge and they were quite engrossed by the whole process. Tasks such as the "jumping frog" and "bridge building" exercises encourage discussion through teamwork, planning and lateral thinking. Following on from the exercise, students should be encouraged to reflect on how they worked with their partner and their reasoning behind why they set up their task the way that they did. A "Reflection Wiki" or blog is a good way to encourage students to reflect on their learning and consider what others have mentioned, without having to discuss these thoughts face to face. This reflection tool could be separated into different subjects where students can post their thoughts and the teacher can monitor class input on a regular basis.

Figure 1: Template for "Jumping Frog"
Figure 2: Games Produced on the Quia Website

During the second part of the exercise, we explored the Quia Games website http://www.quia.com/ where we were able to create our own quizzes and fun activities for the classroom. This was great fun and certainly showed a different way to approaching learning. Students are usually quite concerned when the idea of a test is discussed in class. This application could perhaps allows for teachers to assess students not based on how they answer the questions, but the quality of questions/ideas they create for their peers.

Students could produce their own worksheets and have them accessible for the whole class to complete during a quite time of the day in the classroom. The teacher could create a board with all the names of the worksheets and names of the students. Once students had completed a worksheet, they could document this on the "Quiz Board". Students could be challenged to complete as many sheets as possible. Obviously, the teacher would need to monitor the quality of work produced. In terms of catering for inclusion, because the quizzes/worksheets are made by the students for the students, it is likely that every child will be able to successfully complete the activities in the class. This may be a good way to encourage healthy competition in the classroom and keep students occupied during "free work" times or during rainy lunch days.

The importance of teaching children how to be safe on-line was discussed in the lecture is an imperative part of ICT training in the classroom. There is no doubt that technology in the classroom is an important learning tool, however, it is not fool proof. Children can be quite vulnerable using the internet. It is essential that as teachers we use settings that are child friendly and double checked by other staff before students are allowed access. The Victorian Department of Education Website has an "Acceptable Use Kit for Schools" which includes a consent form outlining the students' expectations when using the internet, as well as some student/teacher discussion questions to prompt students to think about what they would do if they encountered difficulties accessing the internet. The link can be found at http://www.education.vic.gov.au/management/elearningsupportservices/www/formstemps.htm#H2N1000B.

The website CyberPigs is an essential resource for primary aged students who access the internet on a frequent basis. The site can be accessed from http://www.mediaawareness.ca/english/special_initiatives/games/privacy_playground/flash/start.html

Figure 3: Cyber Pigs Website

Cyber Pigs teaches kids how to spot online marketing strategies, protect their personal information and avoid online predators(refer to Figure 3). Throughout the quest, the pigs are asked questions related to their safety. Depending on their answers, students receive points and positive reinforcement, or a reminder of the negative consequences of their actions. The website also includes a teacher’s guide with a number of classroom activities to be conducted prior to using the website. These include educating students about advertising ploys, such as using celebrities or music to enhance the product. Confidentiality and the ways to maximise personal safety whilst using the internet are also discussed.

In terms of using this program in the classroom, this would be a great resource for students to engage in team work. Ideally, a more competent reader would be paired with a less competent reader in order for the teacher to ensure that students are getting the most out of the program. Students can record their scores in pairs on a chart and aim for higher scores when they have the opportunity to play the game again.

Week 1 - Mind and Concept Maps

Figure 1: Inventions and Inventors

Figure 2: Animal Classification

Figure 1 and 2 respectively shows the concept map and mind map that I created on Inspiration; the first looks at different inventions, and the second looks at animal classifications. This exercise has been really fun and easy to use and there are a variety of illustrations to choose from. I can definitely see its application in the classroom. It encourages lateral thinking and allows for students to make links they may not have originally been aware of. The difference between a concept map and a mind map is that a mind map is based on hierarchies denoting relationships with a central governing concept. A concept map on the other hand, is based on connections between concepts in more diverse patterns. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mind_map

A "thinking" task such as this would also work well by combining De Bono's thinking hats with mind mapping. This would teach students different ways about thinking about a topic. An example of the question in the middle of the mind map could be "Do you think our school logo should be changed?" The lines stemming from the middle of the chart could individually examine the different styles of thinking behind the issue. Students would have to come up with their own thoughts related to the different thinking hats.
An example of "red hat" thinking could be: I really dislike the current uniform. I feel silly when I wear it.
An example of "white hat" thinking could be: There are 55% of people who said that they want the uniform changed based on our class survey. We know people who have good ideas.
An example of "black hat" thinking could be: There are a lot people who voted that we don't change the uniform. It is also a difficult process. It will require a lot of time and money to change.
An example of "yellow hat" thinking could be: It will be a great community exercise for the school. We can work together to come up with a new school logo.
An example of "green hat" thinking could be: What could our new logo be? Where would we like it to be placed around the school and on our uniforms?
An example of "blue hat" thinking could be: What is the first step in this process? Who do we need to sign off on this task once we have decided what our new logo will be?
I think this exercise is a good way of combining a good "thinking" tool with an equally good computer program to illustrate the students' thinking processes.
There are a number of good free websites available I have found looking on the internet. The most user friendly site I have come across is Mind42. This is similar to Inspiration and could be an option for mind mapping if Inspiration is not available. It does not appear to have all the same features as Inspiration. Users do not have access to a large number of pictures and different mind mapping styles.

Figure 2: Mindomo

The Mindmesiters website https://www.mindmeister.com/home/signup_editions is also extremely user friendly and unlike the mind maps produced on Inspiration, students would be able to share the mind map with other students who would be able to contribute ideas to the same document. This is certainly an idea which could be used given that students regularly access the ultranet.

Mindomo is another "project management" style mind mapping service available.Refer to Figure 2 which shows the Mindomo home page. More information can be obtained on http://www.mindomo.com/. It does cost to use this site, and based on the videos available for viewing, it does not seem particularly user friendly for primary aged students. It may be more suitable for those professionals responsible for project management