Module 4:- Little Miss Indi

Little Miss Indi
Originally uploaded by deecalderon

While fiddling around with flikr I found a way to load pictures straight from fliker to my blog. Only problem is that I had to change privacy settings on the picture and make it available to the public- one downside i believe (though the actual blog is public view anyways). I think when putting pictures online, for me, privacy is very important. I want to control who can see the pictures I post especially candid family/friends pictures. The upside is that family and friends from all over the world are able to see and share the events in my life and I can do the same with them.
This picture was loaded from flickr. It is of my beautiful little niece who lives up in North Queensland with my sister (her mum) and their family. Web 2.0 tools like flickr enable us to share pictures as the kids grow and change which is wonderful. this was the first time I used flicker and after some site "surfing" I found the tool to be really useful in both uploading pictures but also for editing and sharing these pictures. Unlike facebook another site I use for social networking, flickr is not solely used for that purpose. It is open to be used in many ways as the images that are contained within the site encompass many subject areas.

One thing I found a little annonying was having to locate and shoose one photo at a time. Did anyone find this also?

Module 3:- Google Docs

I had used Google Docs in the past- with both my sister in high school and the other doing her Masters at uni. I actually happened to stumble upon it when opening an attachment sent to me through my gmail account which gave me the option to open it as that tool. It is a great tool that enabled us to edit documents (mostly assignements) online rather than through phone calls and endless email attachments back and forth. Google Docs is very straight forward and user friendly, it is also great that documents can be saved online ensuring that they can be accessed from any online computer without having to carry around some sort of hard copy.

For the purposes of the course I created and edited a unit of maths and sent it to a collegue. I can see that this type of practise could come very handy when programming with other teachers as all can contibute to the process rather than the usual practices that are in place at the moment eg. teachers taking on different KLAs to prgram for and then giving the completed program to their grade partner. It provides more of an opportunity for teachers to collaborate in the one place.

I can also see where the use of Google Docs would be great in promoting communication and collaboration skills within students, where students can work together and contribute on the same document in a digital format in order to present information.

Module 2:- Usefulness of Blogs

Before further reading, through the links provided within the module, I had some understanding of what Blogs were. This module has clarified my understandings as well as provided some useful ideas for the use of blogs in both teaching and for learning.

I have added my blog URL to the 'Blog Details Wik- Semester One A-C' so it can be easily accessed. I have yet to reply to other staff members' blogs to comment on their posts.

Blogs provide a tool for teachers and students to post their ideas on a subject that is being taught about in the classroom. They can also be used in another way for a community of learners to share their thoughts and ideas on a given topic similar to "Boys Blogging Books". I have found that blogs would be a great tool for a community to share good ideas. Blogs can initiate ideas and may also bring new information or different views to a topic being discussed.

Even though I can see that Blogs can be a useful tool in teaching a learning from each other, I believe that we need to be aware that what is being written in a Blog is not always fact and that at times, the information found in a blog is the author's opinion. Not only must we respect these opinions but also be aware that when commenting on a blog this means there is a public audience. These insights need to be shared with children when they are using Blogs in their learning.

Module 1:- The Journey Begins

My name is Deanna and I teach at St Thomas More's Brighton Le Sands, I have been teaching Kindergarten over the last 3 years and I am looking forward to learning more about Web 2.0 tools to further inform my teaching and assist in the learning opportunities I provide for children that I teach now and in the future. Last year I was asked to participate in the CEO's iLe@rn project which together with a collegue, we presented our project at the iLe@rn Showcase day at the beginning of this year. Our project explored the use of Multimodal Literacy Skills and Communication and Collaboration Skills in order to achieve classroom outcomes in HSIE, English and CAPA. Through the involvement with the project I have become more familiar with the new iLe@rn model as well as had the opportunity to see a variety of ways technology can be incorporated into classroom teaching in order to achieve positive learning outcomes. Although I had some understanding of what Web 2.0 tools are, the first module has provided greater insight and understandingof these tools. I have learnt the difference between Web 1.0 and Web 2.0 and gained understanding that the internet is not only a tool to retrieve information but to also contribute and communicate information.

This is the first blog that I have written and am quite excited about the learning journey ahead.