WEEK 4 - Retelling a story and m&m maths

This weeks workshop consisted of 2 activities.

Activity 1 - Story sequencing with Inspiration Software.

The focus for this lesson was Aboriginal dreamtime and storytelling. We were introduced to the dustechoes website:
http://www.abc.net.au/dustechoes/dustEchoesFlash.htm
This website contains "a series of twelve beautifully animated dreamtime stories from Central Arnhem Land, telling stories of love, loyalty, duty to country and aboriginal custom and law." (From the Dust Echoes web page).There are 12 animated stories altogether, each accompanied with information about the story, activities and study guides.
Definitely a great resource to use that could be incorporated across the curriculum. Not just an English resource but also the Arts etc, especially getting the students to research the stories and the meaning behind them. I agree with Greg in that some stories may be a bit too graphic for some students so the lesson definitely needs to be teacher guided. However after the initial introduction further extension activities could follow. Have the students write their own dreamtime stories, I guess if you have that creative flair then the learning opportunities are endless. I think such an activity would also work fantastic in literacy rotations, where students can create a story board for the story they are reading.

I really enjoyed the idea of using the concept map (from Inspiration) as a learning tool, where the students design and put the story in in order of sequence. Think it is a great hands on way of developing the order of sequence concept, especially for those students that enjoy the hands on learning...but i guess what student doesn't. Definitely in this day and age with the use of technology and incorporating it into the classroom at any chance that you can get is great. Makes for a great engaging lesson and if the students are engaged then they are more likely to learn or more importantly remember what they have learnt.

For myself this is definitely the case. I'm finding the hands on approach great, yes i am slow at it and constantly nagging my peers for assistance. For it to gel with me i need to actually do it over and over. So the one off approach does not really work. I am the perfect pupil for my peers, they may become frustrated but they need to remember that they are entering the teaching profession very shortly so this is a great learning experience for them; how to deal with those that are slightly frustrating and doing it with a smile!
My attempt at this activity was on the story Brolga and is below:

I have also found another website that has stories form the Aboriginal dreamtime.
http://www.dreamtime.auz.net/default.asp?PageID=41&n=Water
This website also has Aboriginal dot paintings of the stories. My favourite TIDDALIK the Frog, as this is a story that i remember from my childhood. As i previously mentioned using ICT in the classroom is a wonderful idea, but it is important not to forget that we can use it in combination with childrens literature. Why not begin with Tiddalik the frog story book and then have students explore the websites for others...just a thought!

Activity 2 - Spreadsheets.

Moving on to speadsheets. I guess this is easy, why of course it is!
Again a great use of technology incorporated into a maths lesson.
Here we have used a small packet of m&m's. Students would be required to divide the packet into colour groups, count the number of each colour and then enter the details into MS Spreadsheet and produce a graph.
I have to admit using the computer to do this had me a little nervous, but i was pleasantly surprised to find out that it is quite easy to do. This sort of activity would also lead to discussion on graphs, reading graphs, the types of graphs etc. I think its also worth mentioning that it is a great tool that could be used for other subject and not just maths, for example science or graphing survey results etc.
My attempt at this activity is below with the logo retrieved from google pictures. But as Greg mentioned you could have students can compare results, guess the contents of the packet, read the nutritional value on the packets and explore the actual MARS website looking at various data and ingredients etc etc. It is also worth mentioning that in some school using food may not such a great idea, as we need to be mindful of those students that have allergies.

WEEK 3 - Design Brief and Games online

In this weeks workshop we explored a design brief and online games.

Design Brief

This lesson required us to produce a design brief.
Our attempt

Problem to be solved:
Design a frog that jumps using the materials provided

Resources (Materials provided):
Picture of frog
Cardboard
Sticky tape
Rubber band

Investigate/Design:
Ideas
Stick the frog to the cardboard for more weight.
Use cardboard as a springboard.
Use the rubber band as a slingshot and propel the frog.

Produce:
Stick rubber band to frog. Stick sticky tape to the frog to increase weight of frog.
Use the rubber band as a sling shot

Evaluation:
Frog jumps in a forward motion.
Could have put more sticky tape on the frog to get more weight and therefore the frog would have been propelled further.

The use of design briefs was also expored with Peter Hope in our workshop, where we had to design a bridge using A4 paper. The bridge had to support the weight of a toy car. Here we were also introduced to the idea that there is no right or wrong answer, as there will be a variety of ways that the problem can be resolved. Just be creative.

A similar activity could be to develop a crane using lego, where students are required to design a working crane that can lift a golf ball.

Another could be the development of a boat that can travel a certain distance with the use of windpower (fan). The materials that are used to design the boat can be negotiated by the class as a whole. That way the material list is specific and does not get out of control. Another suggestion is the development at school only, so that students are designing the boats and not the parents. Having a boat race at the end makes it fun whilst also determining the distance travelled.

It also a good idea to have students share their creations even if they were not successful.

Online Games

For this activity we explored the concept of online games in the classroom using the website: www.quia.com/web

This is a fantastic resource for all teachers, as it provides online activities that will engage students, whilst also incorporating technology into the classroom. Teachers are able to create their own games or quizzes that are based on their own classroom learning content. Or they are able to tap into the large bank of shared activities that are relevant and have been created by other account users. A great way to extend the learning of your classroom, for we all know that students love games and this site has 16 different template designs of games and quizzes. It also takes a lot of the hard work out of it as you can modify it to your needs.

I have even used the quizzes and crosswords as a form of assessment. Students thoroughly enjoyed completing the activities in the integrated studies unit and their literacy rotations, and i was able to determine their level of understanding and comprehension.
Other fantastic websites are:
http://www.crosswordpuzzlegames.com/
http://www.wordfinds.net/

WEEK 2 - Brochures and ePortfolios

This weeks workshop introduced us to Microsoft (MS) Publisher and ePortfolios.

Designing a brochure.

This activity saw us exploring MS Publisher. I am not familiar with this program so this activity was quite an eye opener. I had not idea that so many templates were available and with just a mere click you could be on your way to creating a masterpiece. I thoroughly enjoyed this activity where we were required to design a brochure to market a holiday destination. Obviously we only had a short period of time to crop, chop and manipulate, but still i can see how this will be a valuable tool for students to use. Ideas for use with students;

• To complement a project that they may be doing.
• To explore persuasive texts.
• To sum up an excursion that they have participated in. For example if students have participated in an excursion to Canberra they could design a brochure of the things that they enjoyed.
• To Create Menu's.
• Project presentations.
  

The opportunities are endless and varied.

Here is my brochure which is advertising Cairns.







The good thing about MS Publisher is that it has a variety of templates. So you are not just limited to brochures. It allows you to create;

• newspapers
• letters
• postcards
• menu's

Therefore you could use it for a variety of lessons such as letter writing, exploring newspapers and even creating a class newspaper. I know i could have used it when i had students exploring the story book 'Magic Beach' and they were required to create a postcard and send it to a friend. This is definitely a tool that can easily be incorporated into a lesson.

ePortfolios for students and teachers

The use of ePortfolios for students just blew me away. I guess i am so use to the A4 display folder that students use as their portfolio. Where they add various bits and pieces throughout the year and then in some cases prior to parent teacher interviews spend class time getting it up to scratch. They then pull it out at the parent teacher interview and show their parents their progress throughout the year. How much more exciting or should i say stimulating would it be as an ePortfolio, which can then be kept as a keepsake when on CD. Needless to say i found this quite inspiring. Also another reminder of how far technology has come. No longer is it a paper portfolio but an interactive, digital portfolio.

As Greg mentioned in the lecture - A digital or electronic portfolio is a collection of work or a display of artefacts that demonstrates one's skill level, progress and achievements in one or more areas of discipline over time. It is arranged so that they and others can see how their skills have developed and progressed. The collection must include contents, the criteria for selecting and judging content and evidence of reflection. As new work is completed the portfolio is updated Roblyer(2003) Barrett(2000).

My ePortfolio

Well considering that i am not computer savvy, i think i will stick to using MS Publisher to create my ePortfolio. I know that there are a variety of tools available to create an ePortfolio such as pebblepad (http://www.pebblepad.com/), MS Powerpoint etc and i'm sure there will be many more to come. I realise there is also much debate about the ePortfolio amongst our peers, but as far as i'm concerned if i have a digital copy and a paper copy when i go for an interview (fingers crossed) whats the harm! If you get the opportunity to show off your digital copy, then why not, it is a powerful tool so make the most of it!

At this point in time my ePortfolio will consist of:

• My educational philosophy
• CV
• PD's
• Teaching practicum reflections
• Works of art
• WebQuest
• Sample lesson plans