SUCCESS AND FRUSTRATION

I was extremely proud of myself on Thursday at uni when I managed to google a program that would convert my .mov files to .wmv files (a month ago it would have all been lost on me, and my husband would have to do it). However, I was very disappointed when... after spending hours locating a program that would do it, downloading it onto a uni computer, and then putting my files through it... they came out with a bright-red watermark across them saying that they had been converted using a certain program. I know that it said that there would be a watermark, but I was thinking more like those very pale ones you see sometimes on Google Images.

Anyway.... then I decided to convert them at home, and cut them into the professional development video we had started to make in Movie Maker at uni. Not so simple! Why is it that each different Windows operating system has a different version of Movie Maker? Having completed half of our video at uni, I thought it would be easily completed within a couple of hours, but NO.... my system is Windows 7, which uses Movie Maker Live, while Katie has XP on her computer, and that uses a different version.

So. What have I learned? 1) I am capable of locating a useful program through Google. 2) I should read the fine print carefully. 3) Don't expect technology to work the first time every time. 4) Don't expect that just because it's technology, it's going to make your life simple. 5) What is common sense to one, is not necessarily to another..

WEEK THREE

Students are now living in a digital world, where many of their social networks are formed around computers and instant communication. It is how they engage with their world, and access information. Most jobs now require that staff have a certain level of technological literacy. My opinions about the use of technology are changing. I now believe that it is important to integrate ICT into students' learning experiences, both to enhance skills and engagement with learning. To not do so would be to disadvantage our students, both now and in the future. What a change of opinion in just two weeks!!

One reading that really stood out for me this week was "Generation Cut and Paste" by Beverley Head. This article questioned whether students are actually learning the content within their assignments when the option to "cut and paste" information is so attractive. This article interests me because it has a personal connection - I have witnessed my teenage son using this method to meet the required word count, disregarding any breach of copyright. When I ask him to explain what a term, a paragraph or sentence means, he is unable to do so. When it is used in this way, I believe that it is a waste of both student time in preparing the assignment, and teacher time in designing, implementing and assessing it.  This highlights again for me the fact that teachers need to consider how, when and why their students will use technological resources in learning. While I believe that "Cut and Paste" can be an effective way to begin to research a topic (I use it myself for university assignments), students need to be taught how read and decipher this information to reach an understanding, before creating their own work based on their new knowledge. This is an area where explicit skills need to be taught, and implications of copyright need to be addressed.

Teaching with ICT's is a very complex process. Although the Smart Classrooms Professional Development Framework suggests that teaching with ICT's should ideally be used to enhance learning rather than as an end in itself, there are circumstances where explicit teaching about how to use different tools is necessary.

My overall understanding this week is that by simply 'tagging on' an ICT component to a lesson will not necessarily facilitate learning. Teachers need to consider how student learning can best be achieved through an appropriate choice of pedagogy, technology and content.

WEEK TWO

I found it really interesting this week to read the differing opinions about the use of IWB's in the classroom. As one of the resources Education Queensland has invested so much money in, I assumed that they would be a major part of teaching effectively with ICT's. I hadn't really thought about HOW to use them effectively.
Reflecting on my prac and time spent in my son's primary classroom, I can see that some teachers really 'get it' - they find engaging activities that can include the whole class and are beneficial to both teaching and learning; while others have adopted them as a glorified white board - using the pen (in a boring black font) to write up maths problems or spelling words.....

I'm starting to realise that implementing technology is not just about including them in a lesson 'because we've been told to'. It's important to make choices about what you are going to teach, how you are going to teach it, and whether or not ICT is actually going to enhance that learning experience for students.

WEEK ONE

I have entered this course overwhelmed by a major lack of confidence in my ICT abilities. Before starting uni, I thought that I was pretty computer literate - however after seeing how some of the younger students seem to easily create complex presentations with what appears to be little effort, my beliefs about my abilities have changed. Making the decision to complete this subject was a difficult one: on one hand, I know that I need to expand my understanding of which technologies are available, and how they can be used as this is such a large area of reform in education; however on the other hand I am concerned about my academic results in a course where I have such limited knowledge.

Although there is a push to use ICT's more in the classroom, I believe that students spend too much time in front of what I call 'the square box' - either the computer or TV. I have constant disagreements with my fifteen year old son about how much time he should be spending playing his much-loved "World of Warcraft". While he argues that he is being social by playing with his friends, my idea of playing with friends is that it happens in person, exploring the real world.

The idea of being able to create lessons that involve ICT is daunting to me. Most of my practicum experience has been in schools with either limited ICT resources, or teachers who have limited ICT knowledge. Some of the best lessons I've seen presented which involve ICT utilise learning objects from the Learning Place. It's unfortunate that we can't have access to this, as it would be great to explore and try out some of the ideas on there.
During this first lesson, I was surprised about how easy it was to access and start my own blog and website shell. Perhaps I was being a little tough on myself to think that I would never be able to get my head around all these things.

I was also surprised to see the range of technologies available...  some really fun, practical and engaging tools that even I would enjoy introducing into the classroom! The one which stood out the most for me was the interactive table, where students were able to manipulate visual images by sorting, comparing etc. I can see that this could be a useful technology in classroom, especially in the earlier years.

Keeping up-to-date with the quickly and constantly growing list of new technologies and how others are using them (through PD's and the wide range of discussion groups on the net) will be important in my future teaching career, as I do not want to be a teacher who falls behind and struggles to catch up.

So, against my expectations; I enjoyed learning about tools available; and also realised that I was not completely hopeless when it came to using ICT's myself (however, Twitter confuses me - is it something we post on, or where we read what others have to say? I thought twitter was where celebrities shared all their daily insights with the world?!?!)

Obviously, there is still more to learn, but now I am looking forward to the journey! 8)