Digital Story Telling way to go!

Digital Storytelling refers to using digital tools so that ordinary people can tell their own real-life stories. Using digital storytelling and proper application can be an effective tool . This in line with Seimen's ...through interaction with, use of, and understanding of the exponentially increasing body of knowledge, individuals are required to connect with others to share experiences and to make sense of knowledge. People need to now become part of unrealistic society and to use the technology that is available to them, (Siemens, 2005 and Lee Lafever, 2009), to access the information they need for their current situations.
Digital storytelling will connect others and perhaps creating one would be advantageous to both creators and listener/viewers as they share their experiences. Through Digital storytelling, students will be inspired to tell stories to the next generation using moving image.

I can imagine reflecting and evaluating the students learning will be a central point of gathering data on how students learn through thier experiences. This could be use as summative assessment.Students will be engage through emotive or playfulness screening by movie makers. SOSE lessons will never be the same again. I can see students, as a viewre- will be engage through emotive screening by movie makers.

As Learning Manager/ educator using special screening lessons and hands-on workshops for students and teachers can be the author of their own learning.

One example down below.

Cheers,

MaryAnn

Digital story examples: Retrieved December 8,2009, from:ACMIAustralian Commision for Moving Images: http://www.acmi.net.au/digitalstorytelling.aspx

Siemens, G. (2004). Connectivism: A learning theory for the digital age. Retreived November 2009, from http://www.elearnspace.org/Articles/connectivism.htm

YouTube for ESL and classroom management?

Now that a growing majority of Internet users have broadband, you can search just about anything using YouTube and other video clip sites (Google Video, Revver, etc.) have become very popular - especially with young adults. These sites also provide English learners and classes with a new tool to improve listening skills. For an ESL (English as Second Language) students this YouTube will be ideal for them as they can hear how certain words pronounced correctly. Scientific and latin words is also a challenge for all students.

The real advantage Using You tube is - at least from a language learning point of view - is that they offer authentic examples of everyday English used by everyday people. Of course, this is the challenge as well. Students may enjoy watching these clips, but poor sound quality, pronunciation and slang can make these short videos even more difficult to understand.

On the other hand, students are attracted to the "real life" nature of these videos. By creating context for these short videos you can help your students explore a world of online English learning possibilities.

Something to ponder:

Can you write 5 examples in how you could use Youtube in the classrooms?

1.) I like to use it as a hook for example you are doing a cooking activities.

2.) As a classroom management or behavioural management?

3.) Problem solving- Then type in "how to" the YouTube clip can be as simple as "How to do"anything really.

4.) Literacy- Use a title then predict what is the content.

5.) Just given you ESL sample.

Cheers Mary-Ann

Using images through Flickr

Some creative ideas for using Flickr in the classroom:

1.) Essential Learning Math: Space

Ask students to identify shapes and the quantity of shapes in the image.
Mathematics, by the end of year 3, Space: Geometric names and properties are used to sort, describe and construct common 2D shapes, including squares, rectangles, and circles, and 3D objects, including prisms, pyramids, cones, cylinders and spheres.

Queensland Syllabus required students to locate and apply an image that represents the feelings/experiences of a character in a given text.

Justify choice of images.

Essential Learnings required students to locate and apply an image that represents the feelings/experiences of a character in a given text. Justify choice of images.

2.) English, by the end of you 5.
Reading and viewing
Reading and viewing involve using a range of strategies to interpret and appreciate written, visual and multimodal texts in personal and community contexts.

Readers and viewers use a number of active comprehension strategies to interpret texts, including activating prior knowledge, predicting, questioning, identifying main ideas, inferring, monitoring, summarising and reflecting.

So much more you can use images. I think images can use in variety of ways. Using Flicker is just one way to incorporate ICT to enhance learning .According to Winch et al., 2004,we now live in an iconic world -which require each individual to decode meaning and decoding images, applying this type of learning can only enhance deepen students understanding that when applying images an author has purpose. For students justify thier purpose for them to understand visual literacy is an important as reading written text.

Cheers

Mary-Ann

Essential Learning http://www.qsa.qld.edu.au/learning/7284.html

Winch G., et.al (2004). Literacy reading and writing and childrens literature (2nd ed.).South Melbourne,Victoria Aus: Oxford University Press.

Mahara another E Tool concept? or more

Mahara is a fully featured electronic portfolio, weblog, resume builder and social networking system, connecting users and creating online communities. Mahara provides you with the tools to set up a personal learning and development environment. It has fa
Useful for students for the following reasons:
· Write diary entries online (Blogs) for assessment purposes.
· Upload documents and link them to certain blog entries.
· Join Groups and change privacy settings to suit student’s preference.
· Have this e-portfolio through your entire course and create different blogs with different views.
My Files:
· Allows file uploads (PDF, Word Documents, Excel Documents, Images, etc)
· This is a central place for ALL your files on your Mahara page.
· If you create a blog you can pull in different files from this repository.
My Views:
· Allows the user to made "VIEW groups". This allows them to set certain groups to certain VIEWS and blocking out others from seeing particular files/blogs.
· You may create as many different Views as you like and reuse your Artifacts, even giving them different titles for different audiences.
· Views can also be used to submit work for feedback or assessment to a Controlled Group.
My Blogs:
· Allows the user to create an 'online diary' or 'blog'.
· Each Blog can include a title, description, tags.
· You can split the blog up and create a number of POSTS in each blog OR made it one large blog There are many overlapping technologies which can be classed under different areas of learning and teaching.
There are many E tools that student can use to collaborate and communicate through the use Google sites and Google docs.
Google Sites – Can be use as Wiki or a place to organise group assignments and add comments. Google Docs - For Online collaboration can use spreadsheets and documents

In the past, I was involved in an asignment discussing and exploring the effectiveness of E Porfolio (see SlideShare Posting for more details). I understood it very well on how (older)students can create thier own and stakeholders are able to access student progress etc. By using Mahara it make it simplier because students are able to use other e tools to suit thier needs.
I was lucky enough to log in to "my Mahara" and chat to someone about it. He was just logging off . So - for group projects and assignments Mahara or Moodle its another dicision on which is better to use...posting I have to make.
This E- Tools are very much intertwine with one another. Come along with me in this thingking... dare you to get it!

Early Childhood Thinking:
Like.... dust + more dust= dirt + water =mud and more!!! mud x2 + sunlight = ?? you guess a mud brick (with careful nurturing and science with it) Then the 3 little pigs made a nice brick house... and more! Just let your childlike imagination go...
E tools in 21st century I get it I get it!!!
Cheers
Mary-Ann

Mahara an Open souce Porfolio: Retrived December 6, 2009. from:http://mahara.org/features

More on Learning Theory Connectivism VS Constructivsm.

I will take you in a journey.

Seimen’s says:

Most learning needs today are becoming too complex to be addressed in "our heads". We need to rely on a network of people (and increasingly, technology) to store, access, and retrieve knowledge and motivate its use. The network itself becomes the learning.
Connectivism is different to the other learning theories in that the knowledge is now outside the individual due to advances in technology whereas in the past knowledge has had to be learn and retained by the individual. Gonzalez (2004), (cited in Siemens, 2005) states that knowledge has a ‘half-life’, that it is soon obsolete and superseded. ( It happen to me the other day I made a comment then an hour later I read something and I had to unlearn). Knowledge is growing rapidly and it is estimated that “half of what is known today was not known 10 years ago”. Therefore it is now not possible to ‘know’ knowledge as other theories have suggested and not necessary as it is held ‘online’.
On the other hand… ( I love this phrase)
Constructivism suggests learners are always attempting to create meaning from knowledge and experiences, however this does not account for knowledge and learning that is gained through organisations, through ‘communities of practice and networks’ and not just within the individual. Each of us generates our own “rules” and “mental models,” which we use to make sense of our experiences. Learning, therefore, is simply the process of adjusting our mental models to accommodate new experiences.
Constructivism is the closest of the other theories in that learning still has to be personalized to the individuals personal, social and cultural experiences, however the skills that are required are more about creating, problem-solving, reasoning, decision-making, and evaluation (Kearsley and Shneiderman, ND), rather than learning content knowledge.

How Constructivism Impacts Learning?

Curriculum–Constructivism calls for the elimination of a standardized curriculum. Instead, it promotes using curricula tailored to the students’ prior knowledge. Also, it emphasizes hands-on problem solving.
Instruction–Under the theory of constructivism, educators focus on making connections between facts and fostering new understanding in students. Educators/Learning Manager can tailor their teaching strategies to student responses and encourage students to analyze, interpret, and predict information. Educators also rely heavily on open-ended questions and promote extensive discussion among students.
Assessment–Constructivism calls for the elimination of grades and standardized testing. Instead, assessment becomes part of the learning process so that students play a larger role in judging their own progress.

There are countless learning theories out there…but both theory make so much sense to me. In this course I keep asking myself which theory am I applying now? Maybe both must of the time..Something to ponder about (*sigh*) someone enlighten me...connect with me? Aha!

Cheers
Mary-Ann

Keirsley, G. & Shneiderman, B (1999) Engagment Theory: A framework for technology based teaching and learning. Retrieved November 10, 2009.from: http://home.sprynet.com/~gkearsley/engage.htm
Gonzalez, C., (2004). The Role of Blended Learning in the World of Technology. Retrieved December 10, 2004. from http://www.unt.edu/benchmarks/archives/2004/september04/eis.htm.
McInerney, D & McInerney V (2006) Educational Psychology. Constructing Learning. (Edition 4) Australia: Pearson Education Australia.
Siemens, G., (2004) Connectivism: A learning theory for the digital age. Retrieved November 7,2009. from: http://www.elearnspace.org/Articles/connectivism.htm
Queensland Studies Authority. (2007). The QCAR Framework — aligning curriculum, assessment and reporting. Queensland: Queensland Studies Authority