renae’s blogs

I have listened to Sarah’s podcast about Education today and tomorrow and she brings up some great points about education today and education in the future that have been mentioned in the article that she has read. I think the point that stood out for me was when she stated that if you are not teaching students how to use technology within the classroom, they will learn themselves outside the classroom and will therefore, switch off when they are in the classroom. The students of today are constantly surrounded ny technology and use it in almost every aspect of their lives, so why shouldn’t we incorporate it into their schooling.

Sarah stated that the article compared and contrasted today’s classroom with the classroom of tomorrow, and I agree with her, I would also have compared today’s classroom with a classroom 20 years ago so that we could more accurately compare and contrast.

I have felt the exact same way that Frances felt when she lost her phone. I too had recently lost my phone ( I have now regained possession of it thank goodness), and felt that the world had suddenly stopped because I was no longer able to access the world wide web… or my emails…. or even call my girlfrends. This has made me think, do we rely too much on technology today? Or are we better off now that technology has entered our lives?

Teachers today need to make sure that they are able to be fluent with the technology that our students are using  so that we may speak their language. If we speak their language, we will ineviatably be able to get through to them in the classroom and get them excited about learning.

I agree with Emily’s views on the article about constructionism & instructionism. Emily feels as though teachers should allow students to discover things through interactive learning as opposed to being instructed by the teacher as to what to and how to learn. I personally believe that there is a need for both concepts in a primary classroom, there is time for direct instruction i.e. when students are learning their times tables, and there is also a need for students to be able to construct their own learning i.e. when discovering volume concepts packing away toys etc is a desired method.

Therefore I believe that teachers should most definatley provide opportunties for students to discover their own concepts as well as provide some instruction when needed. A variety of both methods is essential to a student’s effective learning.  

I have just watched a youtube video entitled “Melissa’s World.” This was an inspirational story about a 9 yr old girl named Melissa. Melissa has Cerebral Palsy and is currently experimenting with assistive technologies in order to aid her in her comunication. Melissa is not verbal and therefore relies heavily on this new ‘switch’ technology in order to communicate.

The switch device is placed at Melissa’s head and whenever she makes a choice she uses her head to click the mouse. She is also the first in the world to use a new technology that enables her to control a computer mouse with her eyes.

Having worked with students with special needs previously, including those with cerebral palsy, I have seen technologies such as the ones shown in the video implemented in classrooms and they are just amazing. Not being able to communicate with a child can really set back specific learning, threrefore, these assistive technologies really benefit both the student, teachers and the families of the specific children.

I have recently read an article entitled “How to use podcasts at your school.”  This article states many things about the use of podcasts in classrooms, one of which is ‘as long as you have a way to make the recording, and as long as your students have access to the Internet, you can make this work. ‘ This is not a problem nowadays as most primary classrooms have access to the internet and a computer.

There are many different ways in which a teacher can incorporate podcasting into his/her classroom, for example; teachers could record and publish daily practice lessons that students could listen to at home, or, if they are fortunate enough, could download to their own MP3 players. This is a great way in which students can publish their work for a larger audience to enjoy and it may also give the students the idea that their work isn’t pointless, that it is being completed for a purpose.

Podcasts are not just limited to use by only the students, many staff members and principals have incorporated podcasts into their development and training days, which has been very successful.

After reading sarah’s reaction to Tristan’s post relating to studies into interactive whiteboards I both agree and disagree with Sarah & Tristan. I don’t know much about Interactive Whiteboards as I have never been in a classroom where one has been present but from what I can gather I feel that they are very beneficial to student learning and enagaement. I agree with Sarah when she states that the students are able to access information that they would not otherwise be able to access if the interactive whiteboard wasn’t present.

I also agree with Tristan when he states that there are a lot of technical issues relating to these whiteboards and that could therefore take time away from student learning.

Overall though I do feel that these new additions to the primary classroom are a welcomed one and I can’t wait to use one myself within my own class one day!

I am writing in relation to Sarah’s post which talks about the different classrooms of the future. I agree with Sarah when she states that some of the ideas behind this classroom are a little strange, especially the ‘green space’ where there are trees and plants inside the classroom. But overall I do also agree with that the way the classroom is set out is encourage interactivity with to the students.

I am writing in reaction to Frances’s post which talks about “phoning a friend in exams”, in other words relates to being able to use your mobile phones in exams in order to help students more thouroughly answer exam type questions. This article which was sourced from the SMH is primarily based around trialing this at Croyden Girld High School. I believe that this is a wonderful idea in that some students are not great at high pressure exam type questions and would benefit greatly from having the extra help. It would also be beneficial in aiding the students with their use of technology, which is knowledge they will ineviatably need later in life.

I do however see Frances pointn about the traditional exam methods and I do agree there is still a place for them but I would like to see technology used more in exam type scenarios.

I am writing to react to Emily’s post entitled How to bring schools out of the 20th Century. Throughout this post Emily talks about how she believes that there is a greater need for more use of technology within the primary school classroom as students these days are a lot more computer literate and eager to learn more about technology. I completley agree with Emily when she says this as it is important for todays students to be familiar with technology as chances are, they will need to use it in their chosen professions later in life.

Below is a digital story that I made with a fellow classmate (Emily). It outlines what we believe makes an effective teacher as well as some of my reasons as to why I wanted to become a teacher. I hope you enjoy it!emily-and-renaes-digital-story