Task 1
Task 1 Learning Technology Critique: Flipgrid
Hi Sam,
I love that this is a technology that emphasises social development over academic development. Social development is so important for our students, and creating a cohesive classroom climate will be beneficial to this. The video idea seems to be such a good idea, especially for EALD students, as a way to develop their English and be able to communicate with their peers without fear of writing.
I agree that this tool could be used in a variety of creative ways to enhance student learning. It may turn into every student doing the same video however with some teacher guidance, I’m sure there would be some super creative ideas!
Great work Sam!
Asha
Week 3
Asha
Hi Sophie!
What a world we live in, that we can print 3D object in the classroom. This allows for so many creative design based learning experiences for them, I can’t even imagine what is possible! I like how you mentioned “Tinkercad” as a way for students to explore the different shapes they can create. It looks like an easy to use software that is encouraging for children, I do agree with that. It is a shame however that the 3D printers so take so long and so much effort to use. Hopefully one day when it becomes faster, students will be able to access these more freely and ensure they hit that reflection period in DBL.
Well done Soph, can’t wait to keep reading your blogs!
Asha.
Hey Georgia,
How similar is design based thinking to experiential learning!? Its so cool. And I think us as teachers know how beneficial experiential learning can be on students knowledge and understanding of concepts. Schools like to make all students think the same and do the same but with your reference to Laurillards theory, it definitely seems important to allow students to think in different ways and learn from their mistakes and grow from that. How much more engaged would students be if we did this in all our subjects.
Well done Georgia.
Asha.
Week 4
Hi Clare,
WOW! So many different ways we can teach coding, how to decide? I really enjoy how you showed a progression of how to interact lots of different coding software together to teach students. I agree that is it important for a blended approach for coding, as it will allow for a much better understanding of the concept.
I wonder what program you prefer out of these three that you have presented?
Hi Maddy,
I really liked your blog, I do love blockly and I think it is a great start for enhancing computational thinking especially with our younger kids where we want to teach those skills but not overwhelm them. I liked that you included other application that would could use this same skill and allowing for creativity. Your suggestion for more teacher training if definitely one I agree with, as this unit is an elective unit and the only technology unit I’ve ever done.
Thanks for this blog Maddy,
Asha
Week 5
Hi Helena,
When I first experience Bee-Bot, I had the fear that it may just be a fancy toy for kid to play with however your post has made me rethink that thought. I realise it does have benefits, as it would be a great introduction to coding for really young students. I had a fear of coding with young students but you have presented a great explanation as to how I could use Bee-Bot in my classroom.
Thanks
Asha
Hi Maddy,
Aren’t Bee Bots cool for creating a robotics technology which can be used as early as stage one. I was afraid that with robotics it would be limited to older grades only but this shows that we really can include robotics in all stages. I like your idea of connecting robotics to different KLAs, this really entices me to bring robotics into my classroom if I could effectively do that.
Asha.
Week 6
Hi Ashleigh,
What a world our students live in, that they can see animals in their classroom instead of having to travel out of the school. How helpful will that be for our rural school who may never get to see these animals, they now get to experience this. I know that if you take a class out to a zoo it can be crazy and maybe not the most rich educational experience, however you are right in saying that we can create a perfect environment for them to learn from them. How much more will they learn then!?
Asha.
Hey Georgia,
I found all these realities so fascinating. How wonderful is technology now that students can really explore concepts and places in their own classroom? Your blog states that augmented reality helps students with their higher order thinking. I would have never thought that, thinking it might just be a fun tool for student engagement.
What subject in particular would you use augmented reality for? Do you think it would assist their learning lots?
Asha
Week 7
Virtual Reality: Into the Multi-VR-se
Hi Clare,
Google expeditions sounds like such an amazing experience for our students! Students could actually experience locations that aren’t possible for them! I feel that they will have a much better memory recall later if they get this experience in the classroom. Cospaces seems like such an amazing application for students to unleash their creativity! It seems that students can explore lots of different ideas from all different subject areas. Thats awesome.
Asha.
Hi Sydney,
What a privilege it is that we got to experience VR in our classes. I really enjoyed using Oculus Go, I found it incredibly immersive, like you said. It was a really great experience, but I do agree the higher price tags aren’t accessible. I like that we have options that are more accessible as you say however I just didn’t find it as real as the other VR headsets. I like that you included Cospaces in your blog to show that kids can interact with the creations however I found this application tricky to navigate. I had so many ideas that I just couldn’t do via CoSpaces. It was very fiddly, I wonder if there is any easier VR creation tools that kids can use.
Asha.
Week 11
Hi Candy,
How awesome is minecraft! I didn’t realise so many Australian households play video games, no wonder students love them so much. I love the research you included about games, how engaging they can be and how they can be learning in disguise. How funny that kids can enjoy learning without even knowing. I adore minecraft and just love that we can incorporate it into the classroom. Maths lesson would be so much more fun.
Really enjoyed your blog.
Asha.
Hi Ellie,
I really enjoyed your opening statement about learning outcomes and ICT. I feel that connects to a lot of different aspects of digital technology. Finding games which offer structure is so important. I like that you brought up MMOGs in your blog, I did do some reading on this and found it beneficial but was unsure of what games I could use this in within my classroom. One thing I will say on MMOGs is that the feedback loop may not be as helpful or beneficial. Within other game modes it’s the game which is responding but having to rely on other players may be risky. I wonder what games you would be using in your classroom? I notice the picture of SIMS, would you use that or something else?
Asha
Week 12
Hi Evie,
Your blog was so interesting, from the first video I was captivated. That grabber was awesome! I didn’t get to see “Little Bits” in my class so I loved seeing them in your blog, you’ve incorporated it so well. I like how you discussed higher order thinking for this technology, I do wonder though how the lower kids in the class will enjoy this technology? Would they enjoy the higher order thinking challenge or end up frustrated by the task?
Asha.
Hi Swells
You’ve put some really good thoughts in my head with this blog about thinking outside the box. As educators I do think we encourage kids to think in one particular way in all subject areas. I know our class also struggled with some of the constructionism activities as we have spent so much of our life thinking is a certain way. I wonder what you think about different ways we could incorporate this out of the box thinking in to our younger age groups?
Asha
Asha Beaton 