IMAGES
Normally if I am searching for images online I just go to Google Images. I find this very simple! But for this post I chose to go beyond my comfort zone and research other image providers out there.
One that was suggested to me was flickr.com. I decided I didn't need to sign up because I was not going to upload any of my own images, I merely wanted to find images on clouds that I could use in my Preps lesson.
I firstly decided to go to the Creative Commons site suggested on Moodle to investigate the Copyright laws. This site was very complex and even after visiting the specific pages about education I was still very CONFUSED! After reading lots of information I decided to move back to the Flickr page and see what they said about copyright etc.
I found that I could do an advanced search which allowed me to find content with a Creative Common license. This made my search a lot easier. Well I found plenty of images of clouds that I can legally use, Here is one!
Online Image tools PMI:
Positives:
- Large variety of images
- Engaging for learners when used in classrooms
- Easy to download or upload
Negatives:
- confusing copyright laws
- inappropriate material/ images easily accessible
- too many images to choose from
Interesting:
- Safety within our classrooms is so important so I feel that allowing students to searching freely for images online is dangerous. If I wanted learners to use online images I would set up a folder on the desktop and select my own photos from Flickr etc to put here. Then learners would only be able to select photos from this folder.
Images are frequently used now days but a problem I always come across is trying to upload an image and it tells me that the image is too big! This can be very frustrating considering most of us store our photos on our computers, in programs like iPhoto or other online albums. I thought I would discover how to resize images considering it is a frequent need of mine. I went onto MobaPhoto and this is what I came up with!
A WHOLE BUNCH OF NOTHING! I was unable to download the free software as I did not have the program needed due to owning a Mac. I tried to download the program a few different ways but I still couldn't open it. I am definitely going to bookmark this site though and remember to use it when I have a classroom computer.
If you did get this working on a Mac can you let me know how you did it. Thanks :)
PODCASTS
Well after having no success with this program I decided to move onto learning about Podcasts. Now this is a new concept to me and I don't believe I have ever used a podcast before... well not that I've know of!
A podcast is an audio or video file archived on the Internet in such a way that it can be automatically accessed by a personal computer, downloaded and transferred to a portable MP3 player or iPod. Although the term derives from combining the terms iPod and broadcast, the technology can be utilised across Apple and PC platforms. Some site that offers this are podcast.com, podomatic.com, podcastally.com and itunes. (WA Department of Education)
I decided to research more into Podomatic. I joined up and got started straight away. It was easy!!! I had trouble recording at the beginning because I wanted to use the microphone attached to my laptop, after awhile I figured out how to change the microphone setting and I was away.
I read a children's picture book on my podcast. I used this podcast in my prep class when I taught a lesson about clouds.
You can visit my podcast at http://jessicaconstable.podomatic.com/entry/2010-08-25T19_58_39-07_00 or click here.
It could work!
I really enjoyed making this and think it would be a fantastic tool to use within the classroom. It would work especially well for shy learners if they didn't want to be filmed during a presentation they could be recorded instead. Also I thought about how this could be used in the early years, mainly prep, when assessing for oral language skills. Learners could record a recount or something similar and the teacher could return to this at a later date to mark.
DIGITAL VIDEO'S
This is a movie I made using iMovie. Very User Friendly! I found it very simple to use, I didn't even read any instructions. I found that I was able to figure things out by myself and it only took me about 20 minutes. I transfered photos from my iPhoto library then I used a music track from my iTunes library. I think it was so simple because I already have the images and sounds downloaded, I just needed to select and drag it into the frames.
I-Movie is just one of many digital video tools out there. Microsoft also have a simple one called MovieMaker. What I absolutely love about these tools is that they have many functions to make your video engaging and creative. You can attach images and still photo's, video's, music, or you can even record you own voice over track. The possibilities are endless.
This would be a great tool for learners to use within the classroom. Some idea's I came up with for embedding this ICT tool into the classroom were:
- Excellent way for learners to display particular work from a unit
- Make a video about a issue within the school or community and share it. e.g. Reuse, Reduce, Recycle
- Early years could make a video about their year at prep and include photos and voiceovers
- Way to display assessment items
- Engaging hook to get learners interested in a topic/ unit or lesson
These are just some ideas I thought could create, present, communicate, summarize and evaluate using a video/movie.
What other ideas did you come up with?
YouTube clips
I often use YouTube clips in my Prep class. For this younger age group it is a great way to engage/ hook learners into a unit or specific lesson. YouTube clips can be used in any age group cohort and for any reason. Some good reasons for using YouTube in you class are:
- to entertain learners
- as a time filler
- for engagement of a topic
- for explicit learning
There are a couple of negative's I have with using YouTube in a class, these are:
- Teachers must view the entire clip before showing in a classroom, as sometimes they are not what they seem. (I learnt this the hard way when showing a bedtime story of Hansel and Gretel to my Preps)
- When searching clips many clips relate to the search topic come up and you must sort through them to find the best one. This can be very time consuming!
- Teachers don't incorporate the YouTube clip correctly into a lesson. They just realize on it as a explicit teaching tool and do not incorporate their own teachings.
I found this YouTube clip that I will use in my Prep class in a few weeks when they start to learn about the body and their senses. It's very cute. Take a look. :)
No comments:
Post a Comment