Week 5 - PowerPoint or Alternative?

Happy Easter to all.

I usually LOVE school holidays as I can have some fun with my family but not this time. This time, I can find time to study only after my dear boy goes to sleep. I miss the study hours I had during the term when he was at school....So I am trying to remind myself the importance of "work-life balance".  It is the most challenging matter I have to deal with this year, and I reviewed the steps by using "Prezi".....Please view "journey of GDLT".

Do you know about Harmony Day? It is managed by the Department of Immigration and Citizenship. It is a day of cultural respect, widely celebrated across schools, community groups and businesses. The theme of 2013 was "Many Stories – One Australia". I was invited to share "my story" at my son's school. I also decided to do trivia to introduce Japanese culture. My audience were Year 4-7 students. I was able to "engage" the students, and oh boy, we had so much fun!! I only had 30 minutes with each grade and it wasn't enough!!

I used PowerPoint presentation. I was able to create the presentation without much fuss but I could make it much better if I had the knowledge which I learnt in Week 5 activities. I re-edited the file to suit this week's activity. Please click the image below to view the presentation.



ATTENTION: Please note that I hyperlinked my first Glogster on the page 17 of the above presentation, to explore the indigenous people of the world. You can also view the Glogster by clicking here;

Wk5 activity from mikisaikigreene

Each tool has a unique feature of its own. I summarised as table below;

	POSITIVE	MINUS	INTERESTING
PowerPoint	-Easy to create -visual -Easy to embed images, audio and video. -Easy to embed links summarise important points	-not interactive Bad presenter tend to just “read” what is on PowerPoint -Create passive viewers	-Creating animated movies
Prezi	-Fun -Wide range of templates available -Wider audience -Foster planning -Support information is in simple language	-Not very easy to use, especially creation/deletion of “path”	-Easy to add on other applications -one large board that zooms in on specific information or images.
Glogster	-Fun -Easy -Colourful -Use of multimedia (text, audio, images) -Wider audience -Foster creativity	-Students may get distracted for designing rather than content -Cyber safety	-easy to add on other applications such as Wiki and Blog

Which tool would be the best choice in learning environment? I will dig this question deeper in the assessment 2. For now, I feel that creating PowerPoint promotes more active thinking skills which are described in Bloom's Taxonomy.

In the "Harmony Day" presentation, I throw a question to students - what is the distance between their school and Tokyo Station.  According to the Google Map, the answer was 9,701 km and would take 188 hours!! Some students were introduced to Google Map for the first time (so there was lots of "Wow!'). They learnt the geographical setting of Japan (both around and inside of the country), and we looked at countries between Australia and Japan.  This would be a fantastic tool to use in LOTE teaching - we can have a virtual tour of Japan!!


Good luck to all of us for Assessment 2!!


References

http://www.harmony.gov.au/about/

Week 4 - Digital Revolution

Week 4: Digital Media

 

It’s amazing what online tools can do (even free ones!). My 80 year old mother asked me to take photos of her. She wanted to have some nice photos for her funeral (she is very well. Thank you for wondering...). She kept asking me if I could remove her wrinkles. If I knew about “befunky” (www.befunky.com), I could not only take her wrinkles away but I could make her look as if she was my younger sister! I am not going to use a sample photo of my mother and her wrinkles, but here are photos I used to make it little “funky”!

Before

After

 

In week 4, we were introduced to the digital media - digital images, audio and video. I was yet again 'non-native' in this area. I must say that I did have lots of fun playing (may be too much?) with the new tools but also had many stumbles. 

<<Digital Audio Recording>>

I downloaded Audacity. It is impossible to review the tool as I am not familiar with other audio recording tools. However, I would like to share the following points with you, after brief use of the Audacity;

· Tool bars are written in technical language such as Transport, Tracks, Chirp etc.
 

· Have many interesting “Effect” items but not familiar with the list of vocabularies, e.g.,Paulstretch, Gverb, Phaser.
 

· Audacity only provides recording and editing functionalities. It contains no publishing options therefore the file has to be manually uploaded to publish on other services.

In my opinion, it would not be easy for teachers to fully comprehend this tool, unless they are not only technical but also audio tech guru.

If you are using Audacity as your podcast software, you may wish to try others. In relation to the ease of use, Audacity is ranked as the lowest comparing to other products (source: http://podcast-software-review.toptenreviews.com/). PodProducer is free and easier to use than the Audacity.

I haven’t said much positive things about Audacity. However, I would use the tool effectively and efficiently in LOTE teaching. I recently met a wonderful Year 10 student who has completed Year 12 Japanese. She shared a story about a speech contest which she participated in her Year 7. She presented her speech perfectly. Then a judge, a Japanese male, asked her a question. Blank….. Panic…..She asked him, in her perfect Japanese, to repeat the question, but she couldn’t understand what he was saying! Why? Because she was taught only by a female teacher and never heard male speaking in Japanese!! In LOTE teaching, it is important to expose students to language that is spoken by different genders, age group, with different speed and tones. I could use tools such as Audacity to record different type of speeches.

In week 1, I published VOKI. Please visit MIKI-VOKI.

<<Podcast>>

What is the origin of the word ‘Podcast’?

Answer: “A "podcast" is a broadcast specially formatted and intended for an Apple iPod. Hence iPod broadcast becomes shortened to podcast” (http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_is_the_origin_of_the_word_'podcast').

 

After an extensive search on podcasts, I selected “BBC World News School  Report". This is a 3 minutes weekday news bulletin designed for 7 to 14 years old.

I believe it is a great educational tool because it offers;

· Access to current world news

· Content is age appropriate

· Selection of language is appropriate

· Becoming a global citizen

· Develop oral language (including tone, pitch, speed) for news reading

· Develop formatting of news reading

· Available anytime and anywhere for students

· The podcast offers script which can be useful for visual learners and students with hearing impairments

In addition, BBC also provides students an opportunity to create their own news report. BBC site has a comprehensive resource site for students and teachers to design the project.

Podcast can be also used to set out revision and homework tasks, and facilitate self-managed learning activities. Students can be a listener of podcasts as well as a creator by demonstrating planning, gathering information, researching, reporting, and using correct/appropriate language.

My first Podcast creation was done on PodOmatic. The step by step instructions are very easy to follow, written in simple language, and give users useful options. I created my first podcast;

<<Video>>

I used Windows Movie Maker 2.6 and found it very easy to use. I, as a LOTE teacher, would encourage students to;

· Create and film a drama in Japanese

· Create a video letter to buddies in Japan

· Real-time video conference with buddies in Japan

Students, as creators, will develop various skills in film making. I listed possible learning outcomes by using Bloom’s Taxonomy;

Creating	· Publishing · Developing imagination · Creating raw image · Enhance raw image
Evaluating	· Check/judge the content and format as individual or team
Analysing	· Organising information · Compare against other similar videos/movies.
Applying	· Develop media literacy
Understanding	· Learn how to use various software such as You Tube, Digital camera/recorder, befunky, Tux Paint.
Remembering	· Applying previous knowledge for designing content & format

 

I created a short video to introduce “Japan” – “ようこそ　日本へ“(Welcome to Japan!)

 

 

Digital media sound space-aged and technical but most of the technologies that students are using are the same as those in most homes. The main difference is that, in schools, their educational potential is being explored. Nothing new to children, but they may be new tools for some teachers! Completing GDLT is one thing, but we have to keep our ICT knowledge and skills up to date at all time. Learning never ends....

References:

//web.mnstate.edu/instrtech/scmodules/InstructionalPodcasting/InstructionalPodcasting2.html

http://software.toptenreviews.com/

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/school_report/9345726.stm

http://www.befunky.com/#./?&_suid=1364356462420014133534601876402

http://www.smh.com.au/lifestyle/back-to-school/technology-in-the-classroom-20100119-mhn3.html

 

Week 3 – Battle of ‘Blog’ vs. ‘Wiki’ vs. ‘Website’

I paid the course fee this week (I am not eligible for HECS…) so I can no longer withdraw from the GDLT course nor drop a subject. I just have to keep going… going… going…..

One of the best things about being a student for pre-service teacher is that we could somehow relate to “studies = suffering”. Luckily, with huge thanks to all the fantastic lecturers in this course (!!), I enjoy the leanings that I am undertaking. Why?  Simply because it is interesting.

So I ask myself, as a pre-service teacher, how I would engage my students. Let them enjoy, have fun, have a go, encourage them to make mistakes and let them relate the subject/topic to their real world.

I was a visitor at a local kindergarten this morning to introduce Japanese words and culture. There was a boy who was just NOT interested in joining activities such as book reading and singing. I tried but no luck. Then I showed them a very traditional Japanese folk tale on an interactive white board. The whole time, this boy had his eyes on the board and he even had a smile on his face as he watched it.  I presented a very similar session last year and didn’t even think of using the interactive white board. I applied my leaning to the real experience and I confirmed that it does work!

This week, we have discussed pros and cons of blogs, wikis and website. I am going to summarise my thoughts by using the PMI analysis – describe “Plus”," "Minus," and "Interesting” for each tool.

<<BLOG>>

Firstly, did you know where the word “Blog” came from? I didn’t….

‘A weblog is a hierarchy of text, images, media objects and data, arranged chronologically, that can be viewed in an HTML browser.’ ( http://www.problogger.net/archives/2005/02/05/what-is-a-blog/)

PLUS	MINUS	INTERESTING
Quick to update	Requires frequent updates otherwise reduce traffic	Parents can participate by leaving comments
Easy to create	Receive inappropriate posts	Ability to share posts and comments on global level
Capability to control the audience	Retrieval of archived articles are not easy
Interactive – readers can leave comments	Cyber bullying
Currency, “reverse chronological order”	To keep the level of interest to the blog, authors need to provide feedback on comments regularly
Ability to cater different topics easily
RSS users can subscribe to a feed so they can access to new posts

 <<Wiki>>

Did you know? - Wikipedia is a portmanteau word combining wiki, which means "quick" in Hawaiian, and encyclopaedia.

PLUS	MINUS	INTERESTING
Interactive	Users can overwrite others’ changes	Parents can participate in activities
Wider participation	Vandalism	Flexible
Ability to allow different types of permission to different users	Information may be incorrect.	Ability to collaborate on global level
Great way to collaborate	Not many are familiar with this tool!!!	Create class’ own encyclopaedia
Create, edit and share information	Cyber bullying
Edit it as information change

 <<Website>>

PLUS	MINUS	INTERESTING
Static	Discussions are limited	Good teaching content and format can be used repeatedly
Authors have total control	potential of improvement is limited only to the author
Extensive use of navigation tool bar	Time consuming for the author to setup and maintain
Ability to choose language
Secure link to monetary transfer
Global audience

As a LOTE teacher, I could see so many possibilities of using ICT.  LOTE is not only about teaching another language, but also has equal emphasis on learning and appreciation of other culture;

The State of Queensland (Department of Education, Training and Employment) states that by studying another language, students:

·         gain access to other peoples, ideas and ways of thinking

·         become interested in and respectful of other cultures

·         develop social and cognitive skills that will help them in other areas of the curriculum

·         improve future employment and economic opportunities.

(source: http://education.qld.gov.au/curriculum/area/lote/index.html)

I would use Website to provide factual information about language, people, culture etc. It may take time to create but it is a great way to provide students static information and language lessons. It can be used repeatedly over time.

I would like to create a global platform for students to learn LOTE. Why not create a blog where students can exchange/share their thoughts across the world?

With Wiki, students create their own encyclopaedia where they store their knowledge regarding culture, traditions and words. It would be a great way to collaborate their learning.

I believe that, with effective use of ICT and for LOTE in particular, we can maximise the learning opportunities for students. It is much more global and no longer “chalk & talk”!!