Fifth

Today we made multimedia presentations. Basically mine was a PowerPoint presentation with images and hyperlinks and text and things, based on the Lorax by Dr Seuss. I'm pretty familiar with PowerPoint, having used it for many different presentations in the past, however I did learn a few things. The reason why multimedia presentations work well, is that they use animation, images, sound etc for emotional impact. I have seen many presentations where these things are added just because they can be, but don't really have much real purpose. However, when used well it can be really effective. One pet hate with PowerPoint presentations that I have seen in the past is clutteredness. Often a slide is overloaded with text or images or diagrams or a combination of these. Each slide should be short, to the point and then can be elaborated on during the presentation of the slides. Anyway, I think multimedia presentations done well could be really effective in the classroom, although can be quite time consuming to make. I guess if you were teaching the same year level and topics for a few years, you could gradually build up a resource base. They are pretty easy to make, pretty fun and exciting to use, but can take time to make. Would I use them? Possibly if I get the time.

fourth

This is a blog and I am writing a blog about blogs. A little bit weird. In actual fact this blog post is about an article I read called "7 things you should know about Blogs" by Educause Learning Initiative. Although the article is titled "7 things you should know..." there were three things about blogs that stood out to me: reflection, sharing and community. Blogs, which are pretty much online journals, allow bloggers to reflect on topics and share their ideas with the world. Unlike a normal personal journal, blogs allow people to comment on and engage with the blogs of others. Online communities of like-minded people are created, giving the opportunity for people to discuss their ideas openly and engage with others from around the globe. In a classroom reflection, sharing and community are all essential elements, therefore making blogs a useful tool in fostering these. Students, teachers, staff and even parents can learn from and share with each other as schools are engaging more and more with blogging. Despite some downsides, blogging could be an interesting way to engage students in reflecting, sharing and discussing ideas with one another.

Third

Today we learnt about podcasts. We looked at different podcasts that were already out there on the net, and we attempted to make our own. I can see many educational benefits for podcasts in schools, although at this stage I am unsure that I would ever use them, or make them in my classroom context.
Benefits or uses I see include:

• Recording lessons- This might be helpful, especially in secondary schools, if a student is sick or away and misses important content. Also, for students who happen to live in remote areas (such as on stations) lessons in podcast form could be really helpful, allowing them to hear lessons from the teacher even though they are not present in person.
• PD- As a teacher, it is important to stay up-to-date with the latest research and educational thinking. Listening to podcasts from other educators and researchers may provide teachers with an opportunity to engage with professional development, especially those in rural or regional areas.
• Stories- Sometimes at the end of the day, when its been a long day, you might just want students to sit and listen to a story. Some podcasts available are just people reading allowed or telling stories. However, perhaps in this scenario, a youtube clip with pictures might be more useful as it engages students both aurally and visually.

I'm sure there are many other benefits as well. I might perhaps use a podcast myself although I think I would be unlikely to really take the time to make my own. Anyway, that's just a bit about how podcasts might be useful for educators.