Saturday 13 September 2014



The skills such as communication, collaboration, critical and creative thinking and multimodal literacy skills are the core principles of Project Based Learning which is the pedagogy at Parramatta Marist High School. Hence the use of Web 2.0 tools to create new knowledge and drawing together on existing resources and knowledge without just disseminating topic info fits in our school very well. The use of Web 2.0 tools makes learning engaging and effective.



The adaptation of Blooms Taxonomy digitally is effective to plan activities within the Curriculum and make students' learning lead to higher order thinking skills. The need to find resources within a given timeframe will foster the use of social networking in the classrooms for effective teaching learning practices. I see myself using more of social networking sites in my teaching as it will enable me update my knowledge and resources to suit the needs of my students anytime.
This online Web 2.0 Course has made me reflect on my use of technology in the classrooms and how the digital footprint of my students is a key factor in their learning.  

It has been a great online Learning Module.

Thank You.

Mary Roche
Parramatta Marist High
Westmead
NSW-2145



Module 10 - Learning communities- Constructing knowledge together in Wikis, Nings and Sites

Wiki spaces created with Glogster edu could be home to a number of resources either for a classroom or year group and can be updated as frequently as possible.

The use of NING in classrooms to build literacy skills seems to lead us to endless possibilities of resources. Here teachers can ask questions to each other and share thoughts on specific tasks and topics.

Google sites created for a school/ year group can have selected info for target groups and makes it easier to look for information related to that group.  The student portal in our school enables students to look for information even without announcements made to them directly. I have found google sites to be a one stop shop for information at my school. I am planning on a class google site for my students.
Module 9: Networks on the Web - Professional and Social

Scootle Community is an Australian Network of shared resources which can be used by classroom teachers to find resources related to any subject taught at schools. The digital resources support Australian Curriculum.

Resources are updated and hence teachers can get up to date info on specific topic.

Social Networking with Second life, Facebook, Twitter and Linkedin

Linkedin and Facebook  has enabled me to stay connected with friends across countries who are not educators but are part of varied fields.

Second life is something I am trying to explore and see how I can use it for my students.

I have used Twitter with my Y8 students who have created tweets on the Beatitudes they created relevant to today's society. Twitter in the classroom can be an effective tool to share resources and thoughts instantly across a wider network.
Module 8: Managing your flow of Info on the Internet

Wikipedia defines RSS as:

"RSS (often dubbed Really Simple Syndication) is a family of web feed formats used to publish frequently updated works—such as blog entries, news headlines, audio, and video—in a standardized format. An RSS document (which is called a "feed", "web feed". or "channel") includes full or summarized text, plus metadata such as publishing dates and authorship."



Set up Google reader and connections to websites: RSS and Digg.....

Anyway google reader was discontinued since July 2013

I will need to explore the use of feedly for RSS feeds and its use in the classroom.
Module 7- Social Bookmarking

Making bookmarks available to a social network rather on a local computer has many advantages:

- they are stored in a website and can be accessed anywhere.
-can find new resources from peers/others.
-a note with each bookmark can i
ndicate what was important in that website.
- research done can be shared with others/whole class/wider network of researchers.

Delicious and Diigo are excellent tools for bookmarking.

https://delicious.com/bbish007
Module - 6  Exploring Photos and videos on the Web

The use of Picasa Web Albums a google app to sotre and retrieve photos seems to be amazing. The advanced photo editing features help us to share, edit and create collages and movies.

     http://picasaweb.google.com/

You can share photos with a link or via email. To know about copyright in schools access..

 http://www.smartcopying.edu.au/

Students of Y8 in my school have used frame artist.app on iPads and created excellent collages for topics in Catholic Studies. It can be created quickly once the photos/images are chosen and works as an engaging classroom activity.
Module 5

This module focuses on mind mapping tools to develop visual literacy skills.

Bubbl.us is an excellent brainstorming and mind mapping tool. It can be used at the start of a new project/topic/idea to correlate ideas in teams and launch into related topics to further understanding. Students in my school use bubbl.us in their teams to create mind maps as a starter activity/show links of different ideas within a topic.
Glogster is an online poster website. Students can create videos, podcasts and glogs. Secondary schools can use Glogster to create editorial cartoons which are embedded into Wiki where videos, cartoons can be embedded.

Prezi is an useful teaching tool and a tool where students can do creative presentations. Students of Y7-9 have done excellent presentations on Prezi on different science 


Saturday 6 September 2014

Module 4

"Digital Storytelling is the modern expression of the ancient art of storytelling. Digital stories derive their power by weaving images, music, narrative and voice together, thereby giving deep dimension and vivid color to characters, situations, experiences, and insights. Tell your story now digitally."                                                                                              - Leslie Rule.

itunesU
  • You could import a song from a CD to the library.
  • Explore the Podcasts options.
  • Connect an iPod to your computer and listen to the podcast.
  • Set up your iTunes to download a podcast from the ABC
Module 2 - Exploring Blogs

Hi all,

The use of Web 2.0 resources for science is amazing as reflected by Frank in his video

http://fmilic.blogspot.com.au/2010/07/science-learning-opportunities-in.html

I believe that Web 2.0 can be used to enhance the learning outcomes of all students including those with Special Needs. There is a range of tools available and students can present their work in a variety of formats. It involves students in their own learning as well as the learning of others. Feedback can be given by other students, teachers and parents.