Ordinary To Extraordinary

Reflective Synopsis

“If we teach today as we taught yesterday, we rob our children of tomorrow” John Dewey

INTRODUCTION

The emotional stages of my journey in the last six weeks of this Program could be described with the use of the following words: intriguing, challenging, frustrating and fascinating. As a Digital Native, I initially took the ICTs for Learning Design for granted, thinking to myself: “I know everything about technologies, what else do I need to learn?” The answer to this question appeared relatively quickly while working on my first engagement activity about learning methods in class and Multiple Intelligences (See Appendix A).

Modern Storytelling

Using media to tell a story, source: Kathie Melocco; accessed on 11 April 2013

Digital Storytelling is a “modern expression of the ancient art of storytelling”, just like its traditional alternative, used “to share knowledge, wisdom and values” (DSAWEB, 2013). The difference between the interactive and standard storytelling lies in the level of engagement. Telling a story digitally means delivering a short narrative with the use of multimedia tools. The access to the new technologies online allows a global collaboration (connectivism), which builds a better educational experience.

Online Concept Mapping

Learning Theories, source: Text2Mindmap, accessed on 10 April 2013

Google Maps

View Where I've been in a larger map

Google Earth

Google Earth animation, source: Climate History; accessed on 10 April 2013

There are many ways to enhance student learning with the use of new technologies. This course gave me an opportunity to explore several interactive tools to support educational experience. The Google Earth program goes a step further in aiding teachers to deliver engaging material to a diverse range of students in classrooms.

Presentation Week

Source: Denver Library; accessed on 9 April 2013

This week's activities have introduced us to the world of presentation-making. We were asked to look at the basics of PowerPoint, design presentation slides in Prezi and construct an online scrapbook in Glogster. It took a while, but I have managed to experience each one of these tools, develop initial feelings and form final opinions.

Videos and Podcasts in the Classroom

Using technology in the classroom. Source: Edudemic; accessed on 23 March 2013

Creating videos and podcasts in the classroom has many educational benefits, such as improving research, writing and social skills. As a result of rapid technological developments, many schools in the 21st century have been equipped with various ICT tools aiming to assist students in expressing themselves in more effective ways.

Resizing/Manipulating/Uploading Shakespeare and Ophelia

Photo manipulation; source: Wallpapervortex, accessed on 22 March 2013

The use of images in teaching and learning carries a number of benefits to support student comprehension, retention and application. Various research on visual literacy in education indicates that the importance of images lies in the overall improvement of student performance in class, as "it encourages thoughtful analysis of the underlying meaning"(here).

Weebly Website And Wiki

Source: Usacarry, accessed on 21 March 2013

I would like to share my thoughts on my website and wiki activities with the use of online SWOT Analysis tool.

Reflection On Blogs, Blogging and Blogger

Source: Beaverspondpress; accessed on 17 March 2013

What is a blog? Considering that there is a wide range of definitions of this term, starting with the earliest reference seems appropriate.

Reflection On Wiki Activity

The Six Thinking Hats, source: Multiplevoices; accessed on 8 March 2013

This week I participated in an online wiki activity. The task was to engage in "The Six Thinking Hats" exercise reflecting on mobile phones in education.

Do You Have The "T" Factor?

Source: Mkoehler; accessed on 8 March 2013

TPACK stands for Technological and Pedagogical Content Knowledge. It is a framework that "identifies the knowledge teachers need to teach effectively with technology"(TPCK). 

The following three elements must  be integrated equally to apply TPACK effectively:

• Technology - the ability to use various technologies, e.g. computer software
• Pedagogy - ways of teaching
• Content - the actual subject matter that is to be learnt or taught

But what does it all mean?

The 21st Century Alphabet

New Alphabet, source: David Letterman; accessed on 3 March 2013

Learning In The Digital Age

Reflection on Prensky's ideas

Learning Styles vs. Multiple Intelligences

"See, Hear, Do", source: MeetMags; accessed on 3 March 2013

This morning I participated in a couple of surveys – the Felder-Soloman, which was to determine my study preference on scale 1-11 and Multiple Intelligences test based upon Gardner’s theory differentiating one’s numerous abilities into separate categories.