Video
With youtube and teachtube it is very easy to access videos that assist with teaching. Whether you show the video in the class to teach the students or use the graphical pictures to engage them. There are so many educational applications. It helps if the class has easy access to video viewing of some sort.
Recently when I was teaching about the environment to year 5/4 learners I played many youtube videos. At the beginning I showed them a video of beautiful pictures of the environment with the wildlife undisturbed and then progressed to a video that showed the human destruction of the environment with litter and tree clearing, etc. This created a great class discussion and the lesson progressed with minimal guidance from there. These students were highly engaged in the videos which had some audio music background. I believe the showing of the videos enhanced their learning and understanding.
There are many uses for video in the class just like the example above but students can also create their own videos with possibly the technology they own. I have a mobile phone with a camera video on it and have used some footage taken on my mobile phone in some of my past assignments.
Video is a great tool and has many purposes in the classroom.
Interactive White Boards (IWB)
I have not yet had the pleasure of experiencing an Interactive White Board (IWB) from either a teaching or learning role. I have received mixed oppinions about them and I am keen to make up my own informed opinion about them. To me they look like alot of fun and I can't wait to explore the features of one.
An interactive white board is "essentially a large computer screen that is sensitive to touch. To operate it you need a computer and a over head Data Projector. The board can either be fixed in the one location or portable . any program that can be used on a computer can be projected onto the screen, which then becomes a touch screen for the whole class" (Marsh, C. 2008).
Through watching the above youtube video it is evident that there are many differed opinions on whether the interactive white boards are a useful tool in the classroom. But it is widely agreed that it must still be about the teaching content and pedagogy otherwise the IWB will not be as beneficial to the classroom as it potentially can be (Marsh 2008).
LM Systems
Learning Management (LM) Systems, well i thought the LMS was like the Demensions of Learning (DOL) Manual which i guess it can relate in a way as they are tools used by teachers. There are some major differences, the LMS which i am going to discuss mostly is a online learning tool for example moodle or blackboard which is used ammongst the universities. The DOL Manual defines the learning process Mazano & Pickering (1997). Both of the tools are used to enhance learning.
The LMS, well lets take moodle for example which i use at university. I logon to the site and it comes up with the list of courses i am enrolled in, when i click on one it comes up with each weeks lecture content information the specific forum in which we post questions understanding on, also can add quizzes and much more information like videos voki avators etc. This provides a great oppurtunity for any distant students as they do not need to come into class all the information is infront of them.
Static Websites
When it comes to creating a webpage there are essentially two categories; static and dynamic. A static website is comprised of Web pages with fixed content, each page displaying the same information to every visitor. Static sites are the most basic type of website and are the easiest to create. Unlike dynamic websites, they do not require any Web programming or database design. A static site can be built by simply creating a few HTML pages and publishing them to a Web server. They can be, however, difficult to keep up to date as, unlike dynamic website, they are not exposed to instant updating from a connected database. Hence the advantages of this option as a pose to dynamic websites is the easy with which it can be put together, even by someone who doesn't have much experience.
Marsh, C. (2008). Studiees of Society and environment: exploring the teaching possibilities [5th edition], Pearson: Australia.
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