In e-learning today, we had to make a comic using Comic Life describing a pictorial metaphor about e-learning. I ended up making one by myself in class for fun (Since we had to work in pairs).
I felt a bit proud of the result since I’m so used to drawing comics as opposed to using stock images. I hope this makes sense! This is my general opinion on e-learning, etc.
(And yeah, we had to post our photo.)
This application could be very fun to use in the classroom and also encouraging for those who want to make a comic, but don’t feel confident about their artistic skills. Anyone can make a comic! And it’s another medium that is powerful in expressing one’s opinion. All images nabbed off flickr:(Panel 1, Panel 2, Panel 3, Panel 4, Panel 6)
So I was looking through Erica’s blog when I came across her entry on the article “Computer as Paintbrush: Technology, Play, and the Creative Society.” I remember reading this article at the beginning of the semester and it’s definitely the best read when it comes to first getting into e-learning. It offers an interesting comparison between a computer and paintbrush, and thinking about it more wouldn’t it have been obvious to me? Paintbrushes are a traditional method of doing certain tasks, and even though computers offer digital results, you can still create the same outcomes only using different mediums.
Now, why would anyone use a computer as opposed to just a paintbrush? Many people might believe that computers are just an “escape route” and might result in little interactive learning (like a television), but this article totally proves that wrong. It moved on to talking about a girl named Jenny who created a bird house that took pictures of birds using a little computer called the “cricket.” Not that kind of cricket. (Source) Source: Robotics
Not as cute, but certainly a helpful little thing!
Jenny had to experiment and test her little contraption for a period of three months before it was finally able to take pictures, and that is definitely a very dedicating hands-on experience! So computers aren’t all about sitting down, there are still so many activities that can be done, that require just as much effort as using a paintbrush on a canvas.
Wow, Veronica sure loves talking about video games.
This is a very good downloadable game for the PS3. The basic premise is that you’re protecting a bunch of little weird-looking villagers that are all collected in one big house and they seem to attract monsters! If the monsters get to the house, they eat a villager. Delicious!
So you need to stop them. You have three weapons to choose from: A cannon, an anti-air machine, and arrows. The catch is that these weapons do not work for all monsters. Sometimes you’ll get monsters that fly and therefore will only be affected by anti-air so you need to prioritise what weapons to build and keep your eye on coins, as weapons cost money!
It encourages strategy and problem-solving and it’s incredibly challenging.
So I was reading Kevin’s blog and his post on the influence of video games in learning seriously hit close to home. I still remember the days when I would be sitting around playing Grandia II (A role-playing game for the SEGA Dreamcast) and getting told I should be doing something more productive like reading a book.
But then I would spend all night drawing little comic book narratives influenced by the plot of the game. I even remember during my senior year, my english teacher said that I tend to write in a “visual” manner, as if I enjoy describing and creating a picture through words.
Some people get really passionate about their interests, and in even the most unexpected game, skills can be learned and applied to different areas.
Blogging has given me such mixed feelings since I first started e-learning. At first I pondered over how on earth it could be used for educational purposes, but after watching an interview with Kathy Cassidy and reading “All the World’s a Stage: Teaching Through Online Journals” by Sarah Fallon (2005), I can see how blogs can provide many more opportunities for students and teachers. There are so many advantages, such as the ability to publicly showcase written work when the only way to do that with a journal is to make hundreds of physical copies. Assignments and essays can be accessed in the comfort of one’s own home, and parents can have the ability to visit their child’s page and comment! It’s not often parents are seen commenting on their child’s journal.
There is still a price, though. If the teacher posts worksheets or assignments primarily on their blog, what about the children without computers? Computers are becoming much more common these days, but there are still homes without them. What’s more, some might break down or otherwise be unavailable when a child needs them. Some children might be disadvantaged to such technological advances.
Granted, I’m saying this now in the year 2008. Maybe in ten years time computers will be as common to any Australian household as a refrigerator or telephone. The world is changing…And for those curious about the interview with Kathy Cassidy, here’s the youtube video! Enjoy!
Week two of e-learning introduced me to podcasts and whilst I was fiddling in my chair dreading having to record my voice, I thought, “.. what does this have to do with educating children?”
Reading Podcasting in Education and watching Michael Cowling’s example on how to use podcasting to engage student learning did open my eyes a bit, but I still consider podcasts a bit of a gimmick at this time. While I don’t necessarily think podcasting has a place in every lesson, I feel that if students wish to use podcasting for showcasing an assignment in progress, or the various other examples presented in the Apple Education page, then that’s fantastic and I would encourage them to experiment and take risks with this new-found knowledge.
For the most part I imagine podcasts being used more as another form of presentation – nothing more. While Cowling’s demonstration was unique and creative, I have seen poetry lessons that rely on cutting out “wind-chimes” which were just as engaging. Podcasting provides an opportunity to think outside the box for a lesson, but I don’t really see it as a “revelation” or a “must do.”
And now for your listening “pleasure,” here is the first podcast I ever recorded, created on the 6th of March. It relates to my greatest passion when it comes to teaching. Hope it doesn’t sound too convoluted! It was made in “Garageband.” vvpodcastfinal.mp3
Isn’t this just the cutest little laptop? This is the XO laptop. It was presented in my e-learning class last thursday, and after a while of attentive listening, it hit me that I’ve actually seen and used one of these little gadgets before! For more information about XO laptops and the One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) organisation, I implore you look at the main site. It’s even got a wiki!
At the time, I didn’t think much of it, and the person that owned it (he had access to a pre-production model somehow) explained to me about how it was being distributed in third-world countries for a relatively affordable price. I feel that’s a great way to spread the wonders of technology to children who might have otherwise never laid eyes on a computer!
Playing with it was interesting. It was definitely the kind of laptop fit for a child to use, considering the incredibly small keyboard. As you can see in the picture, I was trying to draw, but failing miserably at it. It’s pretty clunky, but I’d imagine this is just the beginning.
I don’t want to seem like I’m fawning over this thing too much – I’m sure there are going to be problems with it. But it sounds like an inventive, interesting tool for kids to use. For instance, it apparently has a socket on the side of it that puts out some kind of adjustable voltage that allows those using it to experiment with electricity. I think it is ideas like this that truly make it an educational device, and hint at the possibilities these these kinds of multipurpose devices could have in schools everywhere.
One thing’s for sure, though. I can’t help getting the image of Shrek in my head when I look at the thing.
So I did my first ever video podcast in e-learning class on the 13th of March. We had to talk about any chosen educational site and I picked “funbrain.com.” I made it in iMovie.
The funny thing is that at the time when I was picking my educational website, I merely popped into google to check out the first “fun-looking” page, but funbrain leapt out at me with dozens of memories I almost forgot…Back when I used to study in Rutgers University in the US, I used to participate in the “Big Buddy” program that assigned you to a child in any number of schools. You would visit the child for a minimum of certain hours every week, and during that time you’d help them, follow them around, and just be as the program says, a “big buddy.” I was assigned to an energetic and outspoken Year 3 boy and one day, I followed him to “computers,” as they called it.
That day, the students were introduced to funbrain.com and were told to create little accounts and play JUST the maths games. I was fascinated by their eagerness to practice their maths skills. As explained in my vodcast (What a horrible term), the children went through a digital chess board and played little minigames, each win granting them a step further in their cyber-victory. I still remember laughing as my “little buddy” gloated about how he beat the games in a “higher stage,” since stages link to your year in school. They were told to play stage 3, but the children found it fun challenging themselves, and I think that kind of motivation is wonderful.
Not only can it be competitive, it can just be fun! Maneuvering a bee around little flowers has never been more.. educational. Check it out:
One problem that I noticed with funbrain, though, is that this site is only good for reviewing what one has learned. The page shouldn’t be used to teach new concepts, as it seems to “expect” the student to be at a certain level and only poses revision questions. So, while I don’t think it’s an appropriate tool for introducing a subject, I would totally suggest funbrain as a little exercise for children if they’ve completed an assignment early and they have time to put their new knowledge to the test.
I’m also shocked that funbrain.com has a funblog! It wasn’t there when I saw that page for the first time! My, how times change.
Hello! Welcome to my edublog, which will mainly focus on the impact of technology in children’s lives. I feel this will be an interesting experience over the course of this semester, as I’ve always had a rather.. “traditional” outlook at technology. Computers are very convenient nowadays, for writing essays or making spreadsheets and even making entertaining little powerpoint presentations, but that’s as deep as I thought it could go. Who would have thought I’d be made to create a videoblog in class!
I still remain a bit skeptical over the importance of teaching children about “podcasts” or “blogs,” but this is only the beginning. Three months can really change a person, and I hope that this little blog of mine entertains! It will be filled with more worthwhile content, I swear.
Now for some eye-candy! (Or eye-poison, as the image is really not friendly to resolutions at all.)
I was hesitant to post my mind map to my blog, but now that I think about it, I might as well. My e-learning class created this at the beginning of the semester, so this mind map is dated the 28th of february. We needed to state various technologies that could help teachers or students and have proved most helpful in the classroom. You can tell I went a little wild with the ideas, and my instructor even told me that some applications could be blended. Which is fair enough!
Be warned, the image is incredibly stretchy and I remember grumbling over how to compress it in class. Oh well! This was created in the application “Inspiration,” and I can always toy with it in the future. It’s ideal for making mindmaps in a clean and polished fashion, and I know mindmaps are pretty popular to use in the classroom. So there we go!
All images nabbed off flickr:(Panel 1, Panel 2, Panel 3, Panel 4, Panel 6)
Not that kind of cricket. (
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So I did my first ever video podcast in e-learning class on the 13th of March. We had to talk about any chosen educational site and I picked “funbrain.com.” I made it in iMovie.
Hello! Welcome to my edublog, which will mainly focus on the impact of technology in children’s lives. I feel this will be an interesting experience over the course of this semester, as I’ve always had a rather.. “traditional” outlook at technology. Computers are very convenient nowadays, for writing essays or making spreadsheets and even making entertaining little powerpoint presentations, but that’s as deep as I thought it could go. Who would have thought I’d be made to create a videoblog in class!
