Image Resizing

In addition to my earlier post I have decided to leave a small comment on image resizing. These days it is so easy that you could do it in Microsoft word or even in windows paint program. If you have trouble with this, you can use web resources such as MobaPhoto which is a free tool that will resize your photos for you so you are able to upload them to the internet. I have had a play with this software and personally believe it is easier to resize them using my current PC applications.

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Image Manipulation and Images Online

Image Manipulation:

Image Manipulation is such a great way to teach learners about visual literacy, how images are manipulated to create certain viewpoints or to evoke certain emotions. By actually getting the students to manipulate their own image they will be engaged in the learning and have the opportunity to share their work with others. I would definitely use this tool within the classroom.

Images Online:

Using images throughout the learning process is a great way to engage students in their learning. These days it is SO easy to find images of almost ANYTHING on the internet. However, you do have to be careful of what students type into the search box (although I do believe that Education Queensland have a ban on search words that are inappropriate or insensitive).

Images can be used within the classroom to enhance learning when discussing a new topic: I started a unit on droughts with a year 7/6 class last year and had pictures of drought areas in Australia in a presentation while I was introducing drought to the students. This made the students extremely engaged (I don't think they ever sat so still and quiet in the whole time I was there).

They could also be used for students to make their own presentations more interesting, to learn about visual literacy, to enhance understanding and so, SO much more.

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After reading Renee's blog on this same topic, I left a comment on privacy issues with uploading photos on to the internet. You can read my comment here.

LMS - moodle

According to the Managing E-Learning moodle site an LMS is a tool that offers "a single platform that delivers content, manages assessment, provides communication forums and virtual collaboration for students."

Through the last year and a half of university I believe using blackboard and moodle have made my studies so much easier. All the information I need is so easy to access as it is all in one place.

As I haven't been able to create my own LMS I feel I am unable to really get a feel for it. I do hope to try it out in a classroom setting and see what the students think about it though. If anybody was able to create one I would love to hear your thoughts about the tool.

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Prezi.com

Hi all.

I just had a look at Prezi.com and I think they are fantastic. Very similar to PowerPoint but way more visually enticing. Prezi.com allows users to zoom in and slide over their information. You can also play videos, add images and animate.

Prezi.com could be used to provide information to students in a visually appealing way and i believe it would definitely enhance engagement within the learning experience. However, in saying that, if it was over used it could get boring after a while as all the excitement of something different would be gone. I believe Prezi.com has many of the same uses in PowerPoint by would be a better, more creative, fun tool to use.

I am certain students would have heaps of fun creating one of these.

PowerPoint

Hi all.

It has been a while since blogging but I think it is time I started again as the due date is getting closer. I have got a little off track with other assignments but will be focussing on my blogs from now on!

This morning I had a look at PowerPoint. PowerPoint is probably the easiest to use so far as it is so common these days. I remember when I was back at school and I was so excited to use PowerPoint for my presentations. But what I don't understand now is with all this new technology, why are teachers and students still only using PowerPoint. Obviously not all are like that, but the ones I have had experience with are. In saying that, PowerPoint is a great tool as you can add images, text, moving images, sound and great transitions (to name only a few) in to them, and not to mention soooo easy to use!

PowerPoint can also be used in many ways within the classroom. It can be used as assessment pieces, where students collate all their information into a powerpoint. It could also be used as a fun way to answer a quiz, say the learning manager gives the class an internet quiz where they have to answer set questions by finding answers on the internet, they could make a slide for each answer and make it interesting. I have also seen it used as a great tool for students to talk about what they did on their holidays. That way they can bring in some photos from home to add or find images on the web of places they had been. That way it is not just writing for half an hour.

I'm sure there are many, many ways to incorporate PowerPoint in to the classroom. I would love to hear your ideas.

Weebly Websites

I like this tool. Creating my own website was fairly simple using weebly.com. I believe this would be a fun and interactive learning experience for students in a primary school and could be incorporated in multiple ways. Learning Managers could use this tool as an assessment task for students in upper primary where the students have to create their own website to portray information on a particular topic. In the younger years the class could collaboratively create a website that they can show to parents on what they have discovered from their learning throughout the term. When I am in my own classroom I will definitely use this technology.

WIKI spaces

Today I had a go at creating my own WIKI space. I found it was actually quite easy to use. I had fun creating it and choosing a theme. It was quite similar to designing my blog. WIKI spaces can be used for anything you want to write about. But unlike blogs, a WIKI space can be edited by other people. I create a list of things I had to do for my blog and will cross them off as each one is completed.

A WIKI could be a great classroom tool for collaborative assessment, group members could upload and share new information with their group members. It could also be great to use as a site for class excursions and camps, where the class could upload lists of items they need to bring and as someone thinks of something else they could add it to the page.

I would be interested in other ideas of how to use a WIKI in the classroom as this is something that I believe could be engaging for the learners.

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After reading Jessica and Kelly's blogs I noticed the had a different experience to me according to using WIKI's. You can see my comment on Jessica's blog here.

Kelly's blog had a great website with many uses for WIKI's within the classroom. I urge you to take a look at it as it contains some great ideas: Smart Teaching "50 ways to use a WIKI".