Lean on me... when you're not strong... ill be your friend... ill help you carry on...
YES that is technology singing to me...
Can technology be a teaching aid? After exploring a little bit I am at the conclusion that yes it can. I have always downloaded and used apps in regards to things of interest: volleyball stats, fitness management, nutrition calorie counting, games and it with these internet courses that I need to realise: APPS can help you in the classroom. I find I seem to be at a slight disadvantage in that I have not fully explored technology in the classroom because the majority of my teaching is done in the gymnasium. Using technology in a gymnasium is not easy, it is not really taught to us how to in-cooperate it as the main goal in a gym: is the be active physically! So what particular apps I should use in the classroom are somewhat foreign to me. Any help? English? Math? I know there are apps for math and how to make math more visual and more fun but I just am uneducated with what they are. Continuing on that math tangent... I am not good with numbers, decimals, dividing, EVERYTHING number related and honestly I feel comfort in the idea of an APP being able to assist me in teaching Math and helping me learn as well as teach the students. At King George every Wednesday we had "Mathletics" which is basically a math program that the students use their computers with and do math examples and problems with/against their classmates AND also students from the other side of the world.
Its a challenging world in that there are so many different types of phones and different types of APPS that apply to only certain types of phones. How do we find an APP that generically works for all phone types? The presenter this week made an interesting point in that us as educators need to step out of the realm of "everyone learns the same" into different people have different learning styles and that can be applied to different learning APPS. The students need to learn how to use their device and hopefully reach the same learning outcome even if they are doing it differently. This was an interesting thought to me ...!
#mathleticsforlife
#apphelp
Thursday, 30 January 2014
Thursday, 23 January 2014
Okay so this blog is catching me a moment of pure frustration with the ol inter web. My current class, in which this blog is necessary, has suddenly decided to tell me there are tech tasks due. Now, if I had a hard copy of the course outline and proper explanations of what exactly is due I would have them completed. Instead we kind of have to do these on-line tech tasks via the internet (which I struggle to use) and I honestly have finally located the actual tasks but read the task without a hot clue how to even do them on the internet. I need to learn how to use the internet and instead of relying on visual hard copy mater representations of assignment: I need to learn how to see the documents up on the screen and understand them. It is a weird transition for me I think as I am a hands on learner: merely reading the tasks on-line do not really tap into my learning self.
ANYWAYS, the plan is to get my ducks in a row in terms of the tech tasks and figure it out. Also I forgot snack today.. that was the icing on the cake to my frustration. I do love technology but sometimes I just do not know how to stay on top of it. Which is why I am extremely happy to be in this class because I want to learn how to learn using the internet. On a side note I went 14 hours without internet yesterday and I felt uneasy the whole day... whats going on? Have I missed something on Facebook? On Twitter? What if someone is trying to get a hold of me... blah blah blah. Sure enough, I finally get reconnected and to my dismay: NOTHING. No inbox messages, no tweets, no emails... in 14 hours! Sooo moral of the story life can go on with out our dear friend I-web but its really not as fun or as creative.
#sorryfortherant
#feelingbetter
ANYWAYS, the plan is to get my ducks in a row in terms of the tech tasks and figure it out. Also I forgot snack today.. that was the icing on the cake to my frustration. I do love technology but sometimes I just do not know how to stay on top of it. Which is why I am extremely happy to be in this class because I want to learn how to learn using the internet. On a side note I went 14 hours without internet yesterday and I felt uneasy the whole day... whats going on? Have I missed something on Facebook? On Twitter? What if someone is trying to get a hold of me... blah blah blah. Sure enough, I finally get reconnected and to my dismay: NOTHING. No inbox messages, no tweets, no emails... in 14 hours! Sooo moral of the story life can go on with out our dear friend I-web but its really not as fun or as creative.
#sorryfortherant
#feelingbetter
Sunday, 19 January 2014
Digital Identity?
It's interesting... we currently live in a generation of self identification and expression. Who am I? What do I believe? How do I let the world know I am original, I am unique, I am me... whether you like it or not. So it only seems natural that the notion "Digital Identity" would emerge. People now have that outlet and tool to express the utmost best and worst sense of self. It is self expression to its greatest degree. Throughout one of my field placements I had the opportunity to teach grade 8 ART and I created an Identity lesson. Essentially the assignment was to chose a symbol, whether it be a established symbol or a self-created symbol, that reflected what you feel represent yourself and who you are. Some of the students dug deep and were able to really inspire and find appropriate symbols, whereas the majority of the class merely viewed themselves as part of social networks. I had students drawing facebook symbols, instagram symbols and twitter hash-tags. Enlight of this sudden realisation I changed the assignment in that the students had to outline their symbols in personal descriptive words that pertain to their personal symbol and then title their symbol. Now the students had to think, what is my digital identity in the instagram world? Now that I know this terminology I bet it would be beneficial to teach the students about digital identity and all things that create it.
What would your identity symbol be?
#volleykrahn
It's interesting... we currently live in a generation of self identification and expression. Who am I? What do I believe? How do I let the world know I am original, I am unique, I am me... whether you like it or not. So it only seems natural that the notion "Digital Identity" would emerge. People now have that outlet and tool to express the utmost best and worst sense of self. It is self expression to its greatest degree. Throughout one of my field placements I had the opportunity to teach grade 8 ART and I created an Identity lesson. Essentially the assignment was to chose a symbol, whether it be a established symbol or a self-created symbol, that reflected what you feel represent yourself and who you are. Some of the students dug deep and were able to really inspire and find appropriate symbols, whereas the majority of the class merely viewed themselves as part of social networks. I had students drawing facebook symbols, instagram symbols and twitter hash-tags. Enlight of this sudden realisation I changed the assignment in that the students had to outline their symbols in personal descriptive words that pertain to their personal symbol and then title their symbol. Now the students had to think, what is my digital identity in the instagram world? Now that I know this terminology I bet it would be beneficial to teach the students about digital identity and all things that create it.
What would your identity symbol be?
#volleykrahn
Monday, 13 January 2014
Hello hello,
Finding myself back in the forced upon blogger world and couldn't be happier... But actually, it seems a though blogs have taken off since last year when I started this blog. I decided to enroll in another class that teaches us teachers how to use technology with our students. I found myself at about 4:15 pm last week in a class, learning about Twitter. Yes, a Twitter 101. I have my own twitter account.. I would go so far to say that I am averaging about 2 tweets a week and only when something comes up that is tweet worthy. I think the further exploration of Twitter is going to be beneficial because whether we like it or not Twitter can be used educationally. It is a way of unifying and organising thoughts, feelings and classes together as one. Fast forward a few years... am I going to be tweeting things to me students? Who knows... that very well might just happen. If its educationally beneficial for my students and perhaps even the school staff. I haven't quite explored the group hash tags, like our class one : #I4E.. such a hash tag may just take off. Who would have thought the little symbol # could have become what it is today. People of our past generations will forever look at that symbol a different way then that of our youth today. Oh the hashtag... a way to be incredibly creative and descriptive. I personally love it, love being able to think, be creative and clever.
#bye
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=57dzaMaouXA
Finding myself back in the forced upon blogger world and couldn't be happier... But actually, it seems a though blogs have taken off since last year when I started this blog. I decided to enroll in another class that teaches us teachers how to use technology with our students. I found myself at about 4:15 pm last week in a class, learning about Twitter. Yes, a Twitter 101. I have my own twitter account.. I would go so far to say that I am averaging about 2 tweets a week and only when something comes up that is tweet worthy. I think the further exploration of Twitter is going to be beneficial because whether we like it or not Twitter can be used educationally. It is a way of unifying and organising thoughts, feelings and classes together as one. Fast forward a few years... am I going to be tweeting things to me students? Who knows... that very well might just happen. If its educationally beneficial for my students and perhaps even the school staff. I haven't quite explored the group hash tags, like our class one : #I4E.. such a hash tag may just take off. Who would have thought the little symbol # could have become what it is today. People of our past generations will forever look at that symbol a different way then that of our youth today. Oh the hashtag... a way to be incredibly creative and descriptive. I personally love it, love being able to think, be creative and clever.
#bye
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=57dzaMaouXA
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)