Image Manipulation - Picnik

Picnik is a free creative and fun editing program that allows you to transform your photos. Picnik has many tools such as adjusting exposure, contrast and shadows and highlights. It also offers all the basic tools to crop, resize, rotate, sharpen and fix red-eye. The program also has plenty of special effects and filters and other advanced controls to fine-tune photos (Digicamhelp, 2009).

I had so much fun using Picnik and couldn’t stop changing all my photos. I even connected Picnik with Flickr and Facebook which means the images I created can also be saved to those programs. I found this website very easy to navigate my way around which I think would suit students of a young age if of course scaffolding was used as well. One of the major advantages of this program is it not only teaches students how to edit photos and create different effects it is also works in conjunction with other programs. This will provide students with immense assistance in completing their projects, blogs, wikis etc. Students could use this tool to create a picture story of their life and thus students would take ownership and pride in their work to create a favourable classroom climate. This favourable classroom climate could be further promoted by displaying the results of this activity around the classroom.

The images above are the ones I created from photos of me. Firstly, I uploaded these photos from Flickr and Facebook to use with this program. When editing my photos I cropped and resized so that it could fit in smaller documents in the future. I also changed the exposure, contrast and colours. My favourite part was the “creating” part of the photos where I used the sandbox effects - HSL Filter and Circle Splash. On one of the photos I added a sticker to my arm to look like a tattoo. When I was satisfied with the picture I had created I finished it off by adding a frame to it. I really enjoyed this program and I can’t wait to incorporate it into my classroom.

Theory –

If students were doing an Art project on Image Manipulation with photos that related to their lives or something in their lives teachers could provide students with the Picnik program (resource) to complete their projects. Students would use the program to edit their photos and come up with different creative ideas. Using this program as a resource fits in with the Learning Design Process within Oliver’s framework (cited in AUTC, 2003) as it supports the learners in conducting their task.

Resources

AUTC. (2003). Learning Design. Accessed 10th August, 2009, from http://www.learningdesigns.uow.edu.au/project/learn_design.htm

Digicamhelp (2009) Picnik Online Editing Program: Accessed on the 11th August 2009; http://www.digicamhelp.com/processing-photos/basic-editing/picnik-review/

Oliver, R. (1999). Exploring strategies for on-line teaching and learning. Distance Education, 20(2), 240-254.

Flickr

I used these images on my Blog because when I finish my teaching degree I would like to go overseas and teach students over there. I would also like to volunteer to help small communities get a better education. I have been to Bali once and I absolutely enjoyed it. I really wanted to visit a school over there to see what it is like but it is not allowed (unless volunteering there). I am not too sure where I would exactly want to teach or volunteer but I will be willing to use the skills I have learnt to help other students/communities less fortunate.

I discovered using Flickr to be very frustrating as it took a long time for me to understand the use of this program and to upload the photos. When my photos had finished uploading and I was working around the website I found a lot of different and interesting things you can do with your photos and other people’s photos in Flickr.

In exploring the website I found that the ability to edit your photos using Flickr and other websites e.g. Picnik interesting. Not only can we use other programs to edit the photos but you can add maps to your photos to show exactly where your photo was taken. Tagging was one of the most interesting tools Flickr offers as it makes it easier to find and manage photos you had already uploaded.

What is Flickr?

Flickr is a service for uploading and sharing you photos but one of the key elements is that photos can be shared with the public, specific friends or just kept secret (Brown, 2006). Brown (2006) also outlines another aspect of Flickr being that individual photos can be “tagged”: given a special keyword that can be used for searching and organizing your photos. As photos are shared this allows other people to look up keywords making it easier to find content or your photos that you are looking for. Flickr can also allow people to upload their photos to their blogs, send photos to groups inside Flickr and keep up with the photos their friends are taking with an RSS feed (Farkas, 2007).

Theory- Learning Design Construct

Teachers should provide students with a task that they want them to complete, resources they can use and they should also offer students support. This fits in with the Learning Design Construct (AUTC, 2003). Oliver (1999) states that creating a supportive learning environment for students the learning design must comprise of these 3 elements:

1. Tasks that learners are required to do.
2. Resources that support learners to conduct the task.
3. Support mechanisms that exist from a teacher implementing it.
(Cited in AUTC, 2003)

Using Flickr in the Classroom

Teachers Network (2009) recommends that if you are going to use Flickr in the classroom that you make a class account. This makes it easier for students and teachers to access whilst also giving the options of keeping your work private. This will alleviate parental concerns (Teachers Network, 2009).

Flickr can be used for a number of subjects. Students can look up a particular subject (that they are doing in class) and find an image and upload it to their class account. When student’s images are uploaded it invites peer collaboration as students can embed comments about the picture. (Teachers Network, 2009).

References

AUTC. (2003). Learning Design. Accessed 10th August, 2009, from http://www.learningdesigns.uow.edu.au/project/learn_design.htm

Brown, M (2006) Hacking Google Maps and Google Earth: Wiley Publishing Inc, Indianapolis

Farkas, M (2007) Social Software in Libraries: Information Today Inc, New Jersey

Oliver, R. (1999). Exploring strategies for on-line teaching and learning. Distance Education, 20(2), 240-254.

Teachers Network (2009) Using Flickr.com in the Classroom: Accessed on the 10th August 2009; http://www.teachersnetwork.org/NTNY/nychelp/technology/flickr.htm

Setting up an E - Portfolio

I found that setting up my E- Portfolio in Mahara wasn’t to difficult as I have signed up and registered to so many things in the last few weeks. I did have trouble working my way around the site but as I explored the website more I began to understand how to create and add information to the portfolio. To feel more comfortable and able to use Mahara more effectively I feel that I have a lot more exploring to do.

What is an E – Portfolio?

Regis University (2003) states that a portfolio is a collection of work developed across varied contexts over time. The portfolio can advance learning by providing students and/or faculty with a way to organize, archive and display pieces of work. The electronic format allows faculty and other professionals to evaluate student portfolios using technology, which may include the Internet, CD-ROM, video, animation or audio (Regis University, 2003).

Regis University (2003) states that not only are electronic portfolios easy to access but they also physically don’t take up much space. They also create the opportunity for teachers to interconnect through hyperlinks which reduces the possibility of losing documents or information.

Electronic portfolios also allow for sound, pictures, videos and other graphics to be added to them.

Theory – Engagement Theory

I think E – portfolios can fit into many of the categories in the Engagement Theory process. However I am going to focus on Project Orientated Learning. Using E – portfolios in the classroom will take a lot of scaffolding and time but once the foundation is set up students will find it fun and engaging as they are monitoring their own learning.

Having students create their own E – portfolios in the classroom will allow students to perform activities involving active cognitive processes such as creating, problem-solving, reasoning, decision-making, and evaluation (Kearsley & Schneiderman, 1999). This doesn’t mean the students are the only ones contributing to their portfolios. Teachers should be adding to these designs from their own perspective as well.

Kearsley and Schneiderman (1999) argue that students should be provided with a description of the criteria that will be used to evaluate their projects to help them determine the appropriateness of their project ideas. I agree with the assertions of Kearsley and Schneiderman (1999) and in order to achieve this I believe teachers should present students with an example of a portfolio that is of a predetermined standard. This will provide students with the opportunity to create their own criteria for their portfolio project.

Using E- Portfolio in the Classroom

Allowing students to participate in creating and editing their E – Portfolio’s allows them to gain valuable computer skills (Regis University, 2003). I love what the E –Portfolios offer students and teachers in the classroom. I feel as I read some research on these folios that the best way to use them in the classroom is to allow students to participate in the creating. Teachers should provide students with example portfolios; this will also give the students opportunity to create their own criteria and standards. Having students do these will give the students responsibility for their own learning (Urquhart & McIver, 2005).

Using E- portfolios in the classroom will differ for different year levels as students in lower primary may have difficulty compiling information or data for their portfolios. As a result having students involved in what goes into their portfolios is a more appropriate strategy for lower primary. Upper primary students should be able to do most of their creating and editing but teachers must also scaffold students in the right direction.

Teachers can use these portfolios in a number of ways. Regis University (2003) states that there are 3 main types of portfolios:

1. Developmental – This demonstrates the advancement and development of student skills over a period of time.
2. Assessment Portfolios – This demonstrates student competence and skill for well-defined areas.
3. Showcase Portfolios - This demonstrates exemplary work and student skills.
(Regis University, 2003)

Regis University (2003) also asserts that you will rarely find a portfolio that is strictly used for assessment, development or showcase purposes. Consequently many portfolios that are created in schools are a hybrid of all three.

References

Kearsley, G & Schneiderman, B (1999) Engagement Theory - A framework for technology-based teaching and learning: Accessed August 4th 2009 http://home.sprynet.com/~gkearsley/engage.htm

Regis University (2003) E – Portfolio Basics: Accessed on the 9th August 2009; http://academic.regis.edu/LAAP/eportfolio/basics_what.htm

Urquhart, V & McIver, M (2005) Teaching Writing in the Content Areas: ASCD, United States of America.

Voki Avatars

I have never had so much fun creating a virtual person/animal in my life. I created two Voki Avatar as I wanted to explore what other options I had in creating something fun and engaging for the students. After I had my fun I began to wonder how I can incorporate this fun technology into the classroom. Student would enjoy creating their own but what are the students actually learning from this technology and experience?

What is a Voki Avatar?

Deucher and Nodder (2003) describe Avatars as a computer generated graphic representation of a user within a 3D (3 dimensional) Virtual Reality environment therefore enabling the user to take on a visible persona. Voki’s enable users to express themselves on the web in their own voice using talking characters. You can customize your Voki to look like you or take on the identity of lots of other types of characters… animals, monsters, anime etc. Your Voki can speak with your own voice which is added via microphone, upload, or phone (Oddcast, 2008). Voki lives on your blog, social network profile and will soon be integrated in various instant messaging platforms. You will also be able to download it to most video supported phones (Oddcast, 2008).

Theory – Engagement Theory

Deucher and Nodder (2003) state that the greatest advantage in using 3D is the ability for individuals to immerse themselves in role playing by the use of Avatars. But there is a danger in using 3D as a teaching tool that students may become isolated, desensitised to the physical world and lost in a world of unreality (Deucher & Nodder, 2003). That is why teacher support and peer scaffolding must be interwoven into any 3D learning to maintain the humanistic element (Deucher & Nodder, 2003). I agree with this statement as teachers should use this technology only as a tool for engaging the students in their learning as these problems may occur if it is not used appropriately. It may hinder the students learning not assist them.

Technology provides an electronic learning environment that fosters the kind of creativity and communication needed to nourish engagement (Kearsley & Schneiderman, 1999). Students can create their own avatars, which will facilitate students in being creative and they also allow students to communicate using their own voice or that of someone else.

I believe that using avatars in the classroom is going to be more useful to students if the learning surrounding the technology is meaningful to them. There is no point using a technology in the classroom, whether it is avatars or some other form if the learning behind it is worthless. Kearsley and Schneiderman (1999) state that students are intrinsically motivated to learn due to the meaningful nature of the learning environment and activities.

All the students we teach have something in their lives that are really engaging- something that they do and that they are good at, something that has an engaging component to it (Prensky, 2005). This allows teachers to find out what really engages their students and how to utilise the resources they have in the classroom to get the best out of their students.

Using Voki Avatars in the Classroom

I found it very difficult to research how a Voki would engage students in the classroom and ways I could use the technology usefully. After researching I found a lot of ideas in how to use them within the classroom with language support.

Avatars use in education is boundless, open to research (Rogers & Howard, 2009).

If anyone has any ideas in how to incorporate this technology into the classroom I would love to hear it.

Has anyone used Avatars in the classroom before? How did it go?

References

Deucher, S & Nodder, C (2003) The Impact of Avatars and 3D Virtual World Creation on Learning: Accessed on the 8th August 2009, http://www.naccq.ac.nz/conference04/proceedings_03/pdf/255.pdf

Kearsley, G & Schneiderman, B (1999) Engagement Theory - A framework for technology-based teaching and learning: Accessed August 4th 2009 http://home.sprynet.com/~gkearsley/engage.htm

Oddcast (2008) Voki: Accessed on the 3rd August 2009; http://www.voki.com/mywebsite.php

Prensky, M. (2005). Engage Me or Enrage Me - What today's learners demand: Accessed on 8th August, 2009 from, http://net.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/erm0553.pdf

Rogers, P & Howard C (2009) Encyclopedia of Distance Learning: IGI Global, United State of America.

Reflection on a Wiki

Are we ALL ready to use Wiki technology in the classroom? How might you use this Wiki technology within the classroom?

Firstly, what is a Wiki?

Palloff (2007) states that a wiki is a piece of server software that allows users to freely create and edit Web page content using any Web browser. Wikis support hyperlinks and have simple text links for creating new pages and cross links between internal pages (Palloff, 2007)

Wiki’s are designed to help groups collaborate, share and build online content (Margaret West, 2008). Margaret West (2008) states that without context and support, online groups can experience unbalanced participation, a lack of progress and direction, mistrust, misunderstandings and conflicts.

Theory – Active Learning Framework & Contructivism

Whilst experimenting and discovering the Wiki I found it fits in completely with the Active Learning framework. This framework allows students to obtain input from multiple sources through multiple senses, interacting with other people and materials and requires students to produce a response or evidence showing the interactive learning taking place (ACU, 2000).

Educators today understand that meaningful learning cannot be accomplished solely through passive activities such as reading and listening. According to constructivist theory, meaning is gathered through active learning, social interaction and the construction of knowledge. (Margaret West, 2008)

A wiki can also be analysed through the constructivism approach as a wiki can be edited and added on to according to other people’s perceptions or prior experiences of a certain topic. Constructivist believe that learners construct their own reality or at least interpret it based upon their perceptions of experiences, so an individual's knowledge is a function of one's prior experiences, mental structures, and beliefs that are used to interpret objects and events (Sharma & Tomar, 2005).

Using Wiki’s within the Classroom

This is an example of how I may use a wiki in my classroom. I would create a wiki that showed the students, other teachers and parents the text for the curriculum. This would allow students to co-construct what they will be learning during the year. This will allow the creation of a positive classroom environment as students will feel they are contributing to their own learning. There are many ways to incorporate this technology into the classroom and this is just one idea.

Does anyone have any other ideas they would like to share?

Has anyone had any negative experiences with Wiki’s?

I have also found a really good Wiki at http://flatclassroomproject.wikispaces.com that was created by Vicki Davies so that students could be connected to other learners around the world.

References

ACU. (2000). What is Active Learning? Accessed August 3rd, 2009, from http://www.acu.edu/cte/activelearning/whatisal.htm

Palloff, R & Pratt, K (2007) Building Online Learning Communities, John Wiley and Sons, San Francisco

Sharma, S & Tomar, M (2005) Learning and Teaching: Isha Books. India

West, M (2008) Using Wiki’s for Online Collaboration, John Wiley and Friends; San Francisco.

RSS Aggregator

Image by spellwithflickr

I set up my RSS aggregator with Google Reader. At first I had no idea why I was using this Web tool but as I started to explore what I could do I was really amazed at how easy it was to track everyone’s updates for their blogs. Instead of visiting their actual blogs I could visit Google Reader and see the updates. I will like to do more exploring on this Web tool to find out how to use it effectively in the classroom.

What is a RSS Aggregator?

RSS Aggregator stands for Real Simple Syndication. It works in the background of a website to generate content (or code) called news feeds (Subramaniam, 2009). RSS has helped automate the process of keeping up with news and information online. Now users can subscribe to blogs, news sites and other web content and receive an updated content in a single place. (Farkas, 2007). It can also help keep you updated on podcasts and social networks.

Subramaniam (2009) states that the most notable feature is that it allows the user to easily generate her own content because the content, called feeds, comes to the user rather than the user going to get the content. RSS is the key to staying informed and preventing information overload (Farkas, 2007)

Theory – Engagement Theory

This technology fits into Kearsley & Shneiderman’s (1999) first principle of the Engagement Theory; Relate. The Relate principle emphasizes team efforts that involve communication, planning, management and social skills (Kearsley & Schneiderman, 1999). The students can use the RSS Aggregator to track other students’ blogs and post a reply to them. This will also create social skills as the students are communicating with other students they might not usually communicate with. As a result the social skills that the students develop through RSS Aggregator and blogs may also help them to find new things in common with other students within the classroom.

It also emphasizes collaboration among peers and a community of learners. This is because all student activities involve active cognitive processes such as creating, problem-solving, reasoning, decision-making, and evaluation (Kearsley & Schneiderman, 1999).

Using RSS Aggregator in the Classroom

RSS can provide teachers and students with the opportunity to evaluate and filter content from the Web (Subramaniam, 2009). The way a teacher could use this tool within the classroom could be to incorporate it into an English lesson where students are learning about current issues within Australia. The teacher can subscribe to blogs and new sites that are relevant and appropriate for the student’s topic. Students can then go into the RSS aggregator and read the stories without having to retrieve information from their original sites. You could also use the RSS Aggregator to keep track of students blogs (if they create one for a particular lesson) and this would also allow the students to keep track of other students postings.

RSS is a technology that will change your life, if you let it (Richardson, 2008)

I agree with this statement as it is a technology that is going to revolutionise learning through other web sources but only if classroom teachers learn/ teach students how to effectively use it. What do you all think?

Does anyone have any other ideas in how to incorporate this technology into the classroom?

References

Farkas, M (2007) Social Software in Libraries: Information Today Inc, New Jersey

Kearsley, G & Schneiderman, B (1999) Engagement Theory - A framework for technology-based teaching and learning: Accessed August 4th 2009 http://home.sprynet.com/~gkearsley/engage.htm

Richardson, W (2008) Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts and Other Powerful Web Tools for Classrooms: Corwin Press, California.

Subramaniam, R (2009) Handbook of Research on New Media Literacy at the K -12 Level: IGI Global, United State of America.

My Blog

Image by wordle.com

Creating a blog was definitely an experience for me as I had no idea where to begin. Once I created the blog I started to understand how it could be used as an easy and effective tool in the classroom. To help create my blog I went on Teacher Tube and watched a video called ‘Blogs in Plain English”. The video really helped me understand how to use blogs effectively and the reasons why I would use a blog.

What is a Blog?

Mario Camilleri (2008) states that the traditional definitions of a blog is of a special kind of website consisting of regular entries or posts arranged in chronological order - that is the most recent post is at the top of the main page. In my use of blog I have also found that each post can include pictures and generally contain links to other resources.

Using Blogs in the Classroom

Fernette and Brock Eides research shows that blogging has a great deal of positive potential that impact upon the students. They found blogs can:

· Promote critical and analytical thinking
· Be a powerful promoter of creative, intuitive and associational thinking
· Promote analogical thinking
· Be a powerful medium for increasing access and exposure to quality information
· Combine the best of solitary reflection and social interaction
(Eide Neurolearning Blog, 2005)

When creating my Blog I thought a good way to incorporate Blogs into my classroom could be through storytelling. Not only can storytelling be used for primary school students but also for high school and even adults. Zaphiris (2008) states that storytelling does not end at childhood but continues throughout adolescences and even adulthood. Story telling fused with peer collaboration is an excellent way to improve language abilities and advanced literacy for children and adults (Ryokai et al. 2005).

I have also had a look at the websites Class Blogmeister (www.classblodmeister.com/) and Gaggle Blogs (http://www.gaggle.net/) as they are an excellent tool to use with students. These blogs are specifically set up for classrooms as it mandates teacher supervision; this is only if parents or teachers are concerned with students’ blogs being public.

References

Camilleri, M (2008) Blogs: Council of Europe, Austria

Eides, F & Eides, B (2005) Eide Neurolearning Blog: Accessed on the 30th July 2009; http://eideneurolearningblog.blogspot.com/2005/03/brain-of-blogger.html

Richardson, W (2008) Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts and Other Powerful Web Tools for Classrooms: Corwin Press, California.

Teacher Tube (2009) Blogs in Plain English: Accessed on the 30th July 2009; http://teachertube.com/.Zaphiris, D & Ang, C (2008) Human Computer Interaction: IGI Global, United State of America.