Virtual learning

Unfortunately I did not attend the second life session. I tried to set it up and did not receive the email about what time and where to meet and called friends doing the same unit and they also did not attend due to the same circumstances. Although I did do some of my own exploring in second life and found it very interesting.

I am in two minds about the use of virtual learning in the classroom, I can see how it could be very effective but can also see how without students who had a basic understanding and were very interested it could be very unproductive. I would be very interested to see this in action in a real life classroom. I am still very open to the idea and I believe if I could see it in action I would be willing to give it ago in my own classroom.

I also wonder how parents and caregivers feel about the use of virtual worlds, twitter, Facebook and so on in the classroom. I would be hesitant to be the first teacher in my school to introduce this in the classroom if other teachers were hesitant. Hopefully when entering a school other staff members will be willing to explore technologies such as virtual worlds and introduce these into the classroom.

New Media and ICTs

I found this week’s topic very interesting and eye opening. The reading: Michael Zimmer’s Tools for the 21st Century Teacher was very interesting and great to know how some of these things we know about can be practically used for education purposes.

I think with all ICT used needs to be the strong emphasis made on privacy and cyber bullying. I believe that it is essential as a teacher to provide the information supporting this to the students and set strict guidelines and rules to prevent any misfortune. ‘Protecting Reputations in Plain English’ from the digital citizenship website  videos section, would be a great starting point in introducing and preventing some issues that may arise.

I am very supportive of the technological advances that are taking place in teaching, allowing students to use familiar communication mediums such as Facebook and twitter has many notable advantages but I also feel we need to embrace traditional communication methods and ways of sharing ideas. I believe that it is essential for students to have the ability, skills and confidence to be able to verbally share ideas, some of this confidence comes from the classroom environment created firstly by the teacher and secondly buy students. I hope to be able to teach using a variety of mediums including differing ICT resources and materials but will also not remove the basics of communication from my classroom.

Learning Spaces

After completing two practicums and working as a teacher’s aide at another school it has become evident to me that most learning environments for students consist of four walls and rows of desks and seats. As teachers we get frustrated as students have no motivation, don’t want to learn and in protest to this by misbehaving. I have now begun to consider that if students were provided with a learning space with positive stimulation and an engaging environment how this would be reflected in their work and behaviour.

As I still study, I know that I cannot work in an untidy environment and need differentiation in learning materials to maintain concentration. I try to remember this when designing lessons for students and differ the next lesson from the last by using student’s laptops, working outside, creating group activities and having students move around the classroom to share ideas with other members of the class.

With my specialisation being in the TAS department, Textiles and Food Technology it is important to consider the OH&S issues that go hand in hand with the learning spaces provided. In practical rooms especially it would be unpractical to have desk with wheels on the bottom but having a separate section within the room that allows for a stimulating, interactive learning space I believe students would greatly benefit.