Powerpoint In the Classroom

Introto Insects

View more presentations from Jon Donald.

Hi all,

When talking about powerpoint in the classroom I think they are a a great idea. When thinking of ASD students the use of powerpoints to explain tasks will be extremely beneficial to them as they are more receptive to visual cues rather than verbal. Powerpoints can also be used as the "hook" of a lesson like the above powerpoint could be done when introducing a topic about insects. This particular powerpoint is aimed at Year 2/3 could also be used to test students' previous knowledge about the topic at the beginning of the unit or even used as a revision test later in the unit. It could even be used as an actual assessment task. Once again using a powerpoint as an exam is an advantage to ASD students and other visual learners as they will have a better understanding of what is required of them. Powerpoints are also useful in allowing students to use the software themselves to develop assessment tasks such as oral presentations and slideshows.

Another advantage of powerpoint is that it can be embedded into almost anything and pretty much anything can be embedded within it.

All the advantages associated with using powerpoint in the classroom make it so that they cannot be ignored as an effective form of teaching/learning strategy in the classroom and I feel that as they can be used across all KLA's, they are a must for the classroom.

Feel free to comment :)

Regards

Jon

Piknik in the Classroom

picnik_new_sample1
Originally uploaded by jondonald1984

I think that Piknik would be a great piece of technology to use in the classroom, particularly Senior Art Classes, as this type of software will help produce better pictures and students' will be able to express individuality through their own photos and how they use the program to edit them.

Not being much of a photographer myself, Piknik and other software such as Flikr have realy sparked a bit of an interest in this topic for me. Some of the photos put up on Flikr are just amazing and makes me want to be able to produce those sorts of photos myself. Piknik will then help in editing these photos to perfection.

Another advantage of Piknik is its connection/association with other software making it more user-friendly, which definitely makes it more appealing to use.

Feel free to make any comments as I would love to hear what you think about these types of software and any other uses you can think of for them in the classroom.

Regards

Jon:)

Flikr In the Classroom

Dragonfly - Male Roseate Skimmer (Orthemis ferruginea)
Originally uploaded by gbrummett

Hi everyone,

Sorry I haven't posted in a while but I have been putting all my efforts into my prac. I am currently working with a Year 3 class and their focus topic of their Unit this term is Insects. I have found the use of ICTS within this topic is endless. Particularly Flikr where there are thousands of photos of insects in their database. This technology could also be used by students to create a photo journal of all the insects they have come across and leave a description about the particular insect. The topic I am covering at the moment is butterflies and dragonflies and I have found Flikr particularly useful in finding photos to show the students the diverse range of each species.

Another advantage of Flikr is that is user-friendly in the sense that you know that only legitimate images will be found within the website and will be safe for students to browse. Flikr's ability to work with other programs and technologies such as Piknik, Powerpoint and blogs makes it even more appealing to use.

Before using Flikr, I would just use Google Images to find pictures for presentations, learning experiences, etc, but now I use Flikr as I find it to be far more convenient.

The attached photo is of a dragonfly, which is one insect the students have become really interested in.

Please feel free to make any comments and stay tuned for more postings relating to other forms of technology used in the classroom.

Regards

Jon :)

Costa and Kallick VS Marzano and Pickering

Hi everyone,

I think that both set of researchers findings in regards to Habits of Mind, are quite similar, with very few differences to be honest. I think the only differences I identified were that Costa and Kallick seemed to go into more detail by naming 16 Habits of Mind. In saying that, I think that with less Habits of Mind, Marzano and Pickering pretty much share the same scope, but in a much broader sense. It was interesting though to read about using all of our senses such as smell and touch to learn in Costa and Kallick's version of Habits of Mind.

Another difference I identified was that Costa and Kallick defined the term "Habits of Mind" more explicitly than Marzano and Pickering, but once again the same amount of information could be gathered from the Dol Manual.

In summary, I think that both set of researchers have nailed the topic on the head and as a learning manager, you should be confident in following either.

Feel free to comment

Regards

Jon :)

Integrating DoL and the 8 LMQ's

Hi everyone,

I think the diagram above suggests how well the 8 LMQ's and DoL integrate together in regards to building/designing a learning experience.

During the profiling stage, the research provided by Marzano and Pickering (1995) in their Dol Manual provides teachers with a framework to help gain positive attitudes and perceptions from their students about the classwork and classroom environment. Dimension 5 in their DoL manual provides teachers with proven methods to teach and develop positive and productive Habits Of Mind from the students.

By having such a well developed structure to follow when designing learning experiences, the Learning Manager should feel confident that all students will be able to meet the learning outcomes required from the learning experience. Adding to that, the lesson should should also be enjoyable and engaging at the same time.

In summary, I think the advent of the research done my Marzano and Pickering and Co. has really helped make teaching and learning more effective in the classroom. From a personal point of view, these frameworks have really helped me design my learning experiences and think that without them, I would have no idea how to design an effective lesson plan.

In a nutshell, if a person has the desire to teach and loves it as a profession, then the 8 LMQ's and DoL Manual are the "How to" guides to teaching and really make it a lot more easier and thus a more enjoyable job.

Feel free to comment.

Regards

Jon :)

Raise Your Pants and Raise Your Grades

Hi everyone,

I seen this video on TV earlier and thought it would be interesting for you all to see. A U.S. Senator is on a crusade to stop young people from wearing sagging pants. He goes on to say that by raising your pants, you will raise your grades. Personally, I thought it was a bit of a joke and that if the guy in charge of the campaign really thinks the campaign itself will help in regards to education, then he is kidding himself. Don't get me wrong, I think it looks ridiculous when people where their pants like this, but haven't these guys anything better to spend their time in office on such as gun and drug problems in schools????

Anyway I hope you all get a laugh out of it too!!!!!!!!!!!



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fuEhx1rtdbQ

Blogs In the Classroom

Hi all,

Like vokis/avatars, I think blogs will also be a useful learning tool!!! There are so many ways to implement blogs into the classroom, it would take me all day to type in the examples I can think of!!!!!!!!!!! I did find this video on youtube that will give you some insight into how to implement blogs in the classroom.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PfJETK3am1M


I also came across a of couple blogs belonging to students at Orange Grove Primary School. These blogs also are examples of how blogs can be used in the classroom.

Students involved with this blog have also gone onto create their own blog's for their classmates and family to follow.

The Albert the Bear blog was setup to encourage students to practice their creative writing skills and from reading the postings on the blog by the students this seems to have had the desired effect as many students have inputted on the blog.

I subscribed to these blogs as I thought it would give me ever-growing insights into how this school devises uses for the blog in their learning experiences. I have added the url's of these two blogs below in case anyone else would like to follow them. I hope that this posting has been helpful to anyone who reads it and I am looking forward to any comments that may come forward.

Orange Grove Primary School Blog - http://www.ogps.wa.edu.au/
Albert the Bear Blog - http://web.mac.com/albertthebear/Site/Welcome.html

Regards

Jon :)