Class Marker Quiz

ClassMarker is very appealing technology which would mesh well with other educational ICT’s in the classroom. The use of on-line quizzes by students also encourages familiarisation with the ICT environment.

Quizzes can be used for fun or as a tool to gain an insight into prior knowledge a student or group of students has before beginning a topic. With this information, the teacher can better prepare and cater for all learning needs. A quiz can also be used to lead students to questions for further investigation. Quinn and Reid (2003) state that quizzes assist learning by determining where a student’s current understanding is sitting and then moving them forward from that point. Another useful purpose for a quiz would be to test for knowledge after finishing a topic.

An on-line quiz could be engaging for students if composed thoughtfully around the learning. It can also be used for self-assessment- the student discovers not only what they know about a subject, but also what they don’t know.

The advantages for teachers are obvious- time saving!

ClassMarker allows the teacher to see the quiz results, export quiz results, set a time limit and add feedback.

Research conducted by Woit and Mason (2000) with computer science students, compared the effectiveness of using quizzes to the alternative of using marked laboratory assignments. The results found that student learning and retention increased using on-line quizzes. If a quiz was to be administered and marked in the traditional manner, it would be impossible to make them available for students learning. 54% of students who participated said that the online quizzes enabled them to learn more and 46% said that they believed the on line quizzes enabled them to achieve a higher mark.

Log in with username- student 6799 password-ftpsxut

And try my history quiz.

http://www.classmarker.com/my_tests.php

References

Quinn, D. & Reid, I (2003) Using innovative online quizzes to assist learning

http://ausweb.scu.edu.au/aw03/papers/quinn/paper.html Viewed August 11, 2009

Woit, D. and Mason, D (2000) Enhancing student learning through online quizzes.

http://www.sarg.ryerson.ca/sarg/papers/200003-sigcse00/index.phtml/sarg.pdf

Viewed August 11, 2009

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Flickr & Picnik.

Flickr is a fun program for online managing and sharing of photographs. The partner program Picnik allows editing such as touch ups, cropping, adding words or fun symbols etc.
It allows organisation in sets or collections and groups for sharing. Groups are public or private and each group has a pool for sharing pics and videos and also a discussion board.
The map feature is fun, photos and videos can be placed on a map to show where they were taken.

Here are a couple of holiday
shots I had fun with

















And this is one from flickr



Flickr has endless applications in the educational setting but caution of course should be used with students as the system is enormous with millions of images, many unsuitable for students to view.

A learning manager could set up a group of images on a particular topic, perhaps assessment related, set to private or via invitation only. Students could then add relevant images for use by the class and all could discuss via the forum.

An example can be found here:

http://www.flickr.com/groups/tsigane/

This links to a Bohemian History topic and would be excellent for my secondary history class, as they are studying popular cultures from the late 19th century, one of whom is Gypsies.
The learning manager could make use of groups such as this one, providing they were thoroughly investigated prior to the learning.

Based on Oliver’s theory (1999) my hypothetical is:

a) Learners are given an assessment item around popular culture of the past 100 years, requiring documented research and an oral presentation. (Tasks)
b) Existing Flickr groups and the establishment of a groups/s relevant to topic support the learner in their task ( Resources)
c) Learning Manager provides support and guidance throughout the Flickr process.(support)

Flickr provides fun and a worthwhile learning experience to engage students.

References

Oliver, R. (1999). Exploring strategies for on-line teaching and learning. Distance Education, 20(2), 240-254.
http://www.learningdesigns.uow.edu.au/project/learn_design.htm Viewed August 9, 2009.

Mahara and e- portfolios.

I had not had any experience with Mahara or an ‘e-portfolio’ before I began this course.

Initially, I was unsure of just what it would be used for, but after setting up my account and chatting with peers and lecturers, I began to form a clearer picture in my mind. I believe that is one of the most important aspects of understanding Mahara (or probably any other e portfolio system), developing a really good mental picture of how it is used.

Linda drew a fabulous ‘metal mud map’ for me- she described it as having various views, and items on shelves which you pull down when you want them and put them into the views. When they are not being used in the view, you don’t see the items. It really helped me to get my head around it.

I had no trouble establishing the Mahara account via Scot’s directions and I have been exploring it and I have uploaded a video.

I can see how useful it will be in the future, particularly having all the information in one location.

Applying an e-portfolio to a school based setting; I can see that senior secondary students could make excellent use of it in compiling a body of work for a prospective employer. As well as academic records, the students could include any work / voluntary or community experiences, skills etc in the document. The process of establishing and maintaining the e- portfolio is in itself developing student’s literacy skills and use of digital media as well as preparing them for the future.

According to Tosh et al (2005), e- portfolios offer the opportunity for the learner to control their learning through choices, which in turn has the potential to engage them and promote deep learning. Through the use of an e-portfolio, students are able to make connections between learning which occurs in diverse contexts ie. academic, community and workplace.

The research to date doesn’t focus on how valuable students perceive e portfolios are for their learning. Tosh et al (2005) believe that students need to view the e portfolio as a holistic means of documenting their learning across different frameworks or the e portfolio’s potential impact on learning will not be realised.

best

Mia

References

Tosh, D., Light, T., Fleming, K., Haywood, J. (2005) Engagement with Electronic Portfolios: Challenges from the Student Perspective, Canadian Journal of Learning and Technology Volume 31(3).

Viewed August 8, 2009. http://www.cjlt.ca/index.php/cjlt/article/viewArticle/97/91

Scribd

I found Scribd while I was searching for a program to convert my PowerPoint in order to embed it into my Blog. I thought it was worth sharing with everyone, so here it is.

www.scribd.com

It’s a website for sharing original writings and documents and from the website:-
“With Scribd’s iPaper document reader, anyone can easily upload and immediately share their original works on Scribd.com or any other website. iPaper transforms "print" files like PDF, Word or PowerPoint into web document — with all the fonts, layout and artwork that makes your document unique.”
It’s super easy to use and convert documents, plus there are plenty of original works from around the world, take a look!!

Cheers
Mia

PowerPoint

PowerPoint is an extremely easy tool to use and most people would have used it already over the years in workplace situations. Students have also been using Power Point to create presentations for class projects, assignments and orals for some years. It has evolved over that time into a wonderful tool for learning in both a student and teacher directed situation.
PowerPoint can be used to accommodate all learning styles and really engage the learner if used appropriately. Conversely, if used inappropriately, they can be boring and ‘enraging’. This has been the case often in the past, (I know I have endured plenty of fixed slides full of too much information and tedious clip art!) and learning managers need to make an effort to become more digitally aware when using Power point in the classroom. The features offered by the newer versions are fabulous! There is plenty of scope for animations embedded within the PowerPoint as well as the facility to export it as a movie.
I love watching PowerPoint presentations which are interesting and feature graphics and information in an easy to read, simple format and I also find this visual presentation method helps me to recall the facts.
Research conducted by Frey & Birnbaum (2002) from the University of Pittsburgh found that:
a) The majority of surveyed students had positive perceptions about the use of PowerPoint in lectures.
b) 69% of the students agreed that PowerPoint presentations held their attention.
c) Only 12 % preferred the use of a whiteboard in lectures.
d) 79% of respondents regarded lecturers who used PowerPoint to be more organised.
e) 72% of students said that visual images on PowerPoint helped them to recall content.
It’s interesting that such a high number of students connected PowerPoint usage with organisation in regard to their teachers.

I created a simple PowerPoint (below) which I was able to embed into my Blog using scribd, a great little publishing program.I had to modify the original though and remove slide four which had a YouTube clip as scribd doesn't support flash yet.

Global Conflicts Blog






References
Frey, B.A & Birnbaum, D.J (2002) Learners’ Perceptions on the Value of PowerPoint in Lectures Retrieved August 1, 2009. http://www.eric.ed.gov/ERICDocs/data/ericdocs2sql/content_storage_01/0000019b/80/1a/43/f5.pdf

RSS Aggregators

When I first heard this term, I was filled with fear!!
It sounded very complicated and techno to me, but when I read a little more about it, I was surprised at how easy it was to utilise.
I also enjoyed watching Lee Le fever’s YouTube presentation on the subject entitled RSS in plain English. It was fun and informative.
RSS or Really Simple Syndication allows the user to subscribe to and read feeds from favourite blogs, web pages or photo albums.





I have subscribed to Google Reader and have the blogs for this course listed there. I find it very convenient to open Google Reader and have all my information in one location. Google Reader also has functions for adding new subscriptions, marking posts as read, renaming subscriptions and making notes.
An RSS makes managing information a simple and uncomplicated process.

This could be a valuable tool in the classroom, saving time, but also keeping information in one easy location.
For the learning manager, all new entries on student’s blogs can be read through quickly in one place, checked for appropriate content and comments made on a particular post if necessary.

If a class was using a blog for a specific purpose, they could also use an RSS to keep updated with new posts from each member of the class, as well as any relevant subject matter from the web.

In secondary school, students could set up their own RSS aggregator and subscribe to feeds relevant to the unit of work they are working on. Maybe the learning manager could get them started on suitable sites and then they could add to it as they progressed through the topic of work.
It’s an opportunity for each student to contribute something they feel is worthwhile,informative and interesting to the group.
I am really enjoying using Google Reader; it’s saving me so much time.
Best
Mia

References
Lefever, L. YouTube (2007) Video: RSS in Plain English. Retrieved August 1, 2009 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0klgLsSxGsU

Avatars- Educational Application

Avatars have many applications in the classroom, for learners of all ages. Younger students will enjoy the fun and quirkiness of an avatar, but this may be the very element a teenager will NOT find amusing. For teenagers, the avatar needs to be ‘cool’ initially and engaging to hold their interest.
A wide choice of characters and voices are available and an avatar can be tailor made to suit the application. An avatar is a great method of introducing topics or giving instructions. They would be useful in online learning particularly to add a human touch to the course for students who are learning via distance education.
Research conducted by Baylor and Kim (2005) in which three distinct pedagogical roles (Expert, Motivator, Mentor) were created, found that the use of these roles led to significant changes in learning and motivation in university students. The Expert led to an increase in information acquisition, the Motivator led to students self belief in their abilities and the Mentor led to overall improved learning and motivation. It was also discovered that learners had a tendency to choose the virtual instructor who was similar in ethnicity to the learner and also that female avatars are more successful at motivating learners than male versions.
In the Northern Territory, a program has been created to facilitate the delivery of health information to remote Aboriginal communities (Australian IT Business). It features the world’s first three dimensional Aboriginal avatar, called ‘Uncle’, and it is hoped that the program will assist in providing crucial knowledge about diseases to remote communities, where language can often be a huge hurdle to health education. The avatar will provide information in traditional language to indigenous people in a form they can accept.
Here is an example of an avatar being used in an adult education circumstance, enabling communication and greater understanding between indigenous staff and the wider community.
I used Voki to create a couple of avatars for my blog and found it very user friendly and quick to create, with step by step instructions and plenty of choice for different characters and voices.



References.
Baylor, A.L. & Kim, Y. (2005) Simulating Instructional Roles through Pedagogical Agents
Retrieved July 28, 2009. http://ritl.fsu.edu/_Website/publications.asp

Rothwell, N. Avatar Helps Heal Outback. IT Business. Retrieved July 28, 2009.
http://leaders.flexiblelearning.net.au/fl_leaders/fll04/papers/article_avatar.pdf