Course Reflection

Wow! What a journey. I have learnt so much in this course and am pleased to say that I finally made it. I was surprised to learn that I am able to use so many Web2 applications in my role as a teacher's aide. In particular Scootle Docs, Flickr, Delicious, Bubble Us and creating Wikis and Blogs are applications that I could use to support the creativity and analytical skills of a student. Web2 applications allow students to learn and express themselves in their own way, allowing them to be creative and imaginative. As an educator, creating technological learning environments which engage students will inevitably enhance their learning and mine. For example, Bloom's Taxonomy Thinking tasks can be related and added to different class wikis to help differentiate tasks and set learning outcomes.
I do believe that technology is a tool which can be used to help all educators achieve their goals. It is the future in teaching and learning styles and I have only just begun to discover its endless opportunities and hope to soon become proficient in many of the areas. Until then I must reflect continually to make progress in this challenging day and age.

I have posted comments on the following blogs:
http://sillyjilly-mab.blogspot (Module 1) April 7, 2010 and
http://louiseblogger.blogspot.com (Module 7) July 8, 2010

Module 10

Used as a collaborative weekly or daily learning tool within the classroom, anyone who has access to wikispace can use this to share their ideas on. It can also allow for joint construction of ideas and/or information on a topic. I could create a class wiki for the children in the literacy support group and create links to websites that would be valuable to their learning and add them to the wiki. I could edit my wiki page to add things like text, images, and/or discussion forums. Connecting RSS feeds to my wiki could alert me whenever a change is made to the wiki.
Nings appear to be another good social network tool, however, are really only appropriate for children over the age of 13years, therefore I would not encourage this application to be used at a primary school level.

Module 9

Scootle: is an amazing website full of wonderful rich resources and ideas. I can see the value of Scootle particularly for interactive whiteboard use. I may pay attention to the ratings but prefer to see and explore the recource for myself. I don't think I would be interested in sharing learning paths as I believe I have to be guided or directed by the particular needs of the children that I support.
Facebook: not necessary for students and teachers to use as a communication tool. I only see that it would be a good way of keeping in touch with current or past collegues if put into an educational perspective.
Twitter: I don't see any real educational benefits for children in primary school years, however it may be more beneficial in secondary schools to encourage students to have their say if ever they are watching a live educational broadcast. I also believe that if the school has a twitter account then maybe teachers/parents could follow and receive updates about the school and any events effecting the school as they happen.

Module 8

I finally know what the little symbol stands for. RSS Feeds save time. I love the fact that information or websites I have marked as important to me are sent directly to me when there is an update to follow. The information is the most recent. Setting up Google Reader and adding RSS Feeds wasn't too hard either. I imagine that students who are interested in receiving current info from websites to assist them with their learning in class or at home will find this tool extremely useful and efficient. Sites which are valuable can easily be identified and rather than searching constantly for each one of them, they come looking for you!

Module 7

What a great way to share online resources with my collegues. It's great being able to use other people's bookmarks without waisting too much time sorting through it yourself. It works well if you add the delicious buttons onto your computer to allow you to quickly save useful sites that you can then share. The fact that you can access these bookmarks from anywhere via the net gives you the flexibility to work from any devise.

Module 6

Never thought I'd be back! Bubbl.us is a great tool to use when planning to work on a subject. You could use it to help brainstorm a particular topic eg. Digestive System, Gold etc and use it as a great pre and post test to evaluate learning. It can help record and organise ideas and even be used as a reflection tool to gather information. Above is my very first attempt at a Bubbl.us, check it out!

Glogger is also a great way to present ideas using graphics, images, videos, music and almost anything allowing you to express yourself in a very creative way. I do not believe that I would have a need for this application in my role as support staff. However, it is important for someone in my role to have exposure to these things as it is becoming more common in schools.

Module 5

Wow! It's wonderful as podcasting through itunes is like an online subscription which allows you to choose your own content. For eg. if students are studying a language, perhaps the "fast finishers" would be able to access a podcast activity relative to the language they are learning about. The visual content of a podcast is an attractive learning tool, a good alternative to paper and/or books.