Using the iPad as an Educational Tool

Attached (iPad 5) is a mind map showing the different apps I have been experimenting with during this course, created with the free simple minds app. I believe you will need to have the simple minds program on your computer to view the link.  I have had a lot of trouble trying to transfer this mind map from the original program into any other program or format to make it visible to others or add it to this blog so I sincerely hope you will be able to use the link above to see my experiment with creating a mind map with the simple minds app.

Apple has purposely created hundreds of educational apps to encourage the use of this form of ICT in education. There are also many schools involved in program's to see if iPads will work for them. An interesting website that is more of a 'gateway' website called iPads in Education provides links to some of these iPad school trials. This site also provides links to educational app reviews that are written by teachers, useful apps and other iPad educational resources such as lesson plans that incorporate the use of iPads.  One of the review sites that I found especially useful is iPad Curriculum

It is not necessarily a cheap exercise to equip every student within a classroom or even a school with an individual iPad. One strategy around this possible limitation is demonstrated in the photo below.

1. 
2. iPad in Education 205, a photo by LisaThumann on Flickr.
3. Photograph by Lisa Thumann, sourced from Flickr on the 19th April 2013, link http://www.flickr.com/photos/lisathumann/5123047943/

(I used a slightly different strategy to insert this picture into my blog than previously tried. Instead of using the HTML code, I 'shared' the photo directly with my blog from Flickr. This created a new blog posting containing the photo and attached information, which was chosen back in the Flickr site. The next step was simply to cut and paste into this posting and delete the now blank posting. At one stage I tried to use the familiar process of transforming the page into HTML coding to embedded the photo but this seemed to cause the blog page to freeze while saving, which resulted in the majority of the posting having to be rewritten.) 

Weebly Website and Blog Video Attempts

One of the ICT tools I have experimented with is creating a Weebly website located at: : http://fayespace.weebly.com/video.html

The website has been used more as a tool to play with website creation,  especially the picture and video options, than to actually create a working website that is content based.

My first hurdle was the lack of Flash Player in iPads. This limited the functions I could use while working from the iPad. This limitation reduced the amount of time available to experiment with the website creation as they could only occur when I had the laptop at a location where there was available wi fi.

I found that You Tube videos inserted successfully but not the home videos as they require the Weebly Pro version to be visible to the public. As I don't feel like paying for the Pro version at this stage I have created this post so that the video can actually be visible.

Unfortunately this plan was not as simple as I first though it would be.

1. I first tried to send the video directly from my iPad to the blog. That is when I found out that there are  very limited sharing options on the free apps and built in program's  already within the basic iPad model i.e iPad camera. Attempting to use the "from your phone"  option within this blog, under the theory that iPads and phones where nearly the same technology, also failed. Apparently it is cleaver enough to tell the differences but not clever enough to provide an iPad option. 
2. My second attempt was to use Flickr to import the HTML code like I have done on other postings to insert  photos. To do that I needed to create a Flickr account. Setting up the account and uploading the video, of course, did not work like clockwork but it was successfully accomplished without too much drama. But alas, the attempt to import the HTML code also failed. Mostly because this blog program does not ask for, so therefore, does not except HTML codes to insert videos. 
3. Attempt three involved using the link function to take the viewer directly to the video already uploaded onto the Flickr site. This worked but it was still not the desired outcome of showing the video within this blog. Working link: Video in Flickr using the Blooger share option within Flickr produced a very similar result to the link above.

After this, I gave up on Flickr and tried YouTube. 

 I first downloaded the You Tube app. This showed me lots of videos on how to upload a video but there was no ability to actually upload a video. Finally one of the videos mentioned that you need You Tube Capture. After downloading You Tube Capture it finally worked. The only problem now is that after watching the video once , it reverts to a random You Tube video, also about dogs and chickens or some other random You Tube selection. Luckily it will refresh if you click on the blog title.

In hind sight it probably would have been less of a drama to try YouTube in the beginning but this way  I managed to explore the functions of  Flickr, my iPad video functions and limitations as well as. YouTube. Due to my limited times with a laptop and accessible wi fi, the website has not been updated with the YouTube version of the video but still contains the original iPad home video, although only visible under editing.

 

You Tube link: http://youtu.be/xS32ysl13lA

(This is an original video created as an experiment while playing with the video functions on my iPad. One thing this experiment showed me is that I should have held the iPad horizontally instead of vertically).

Week 4 Image Manipulation

Altering Photographs

This post shows the results of playing with altering photos on an iPad, through the camera feature on iPads and through an app called Befunky .

The original photograph was taken with the iPad with an original resolution of 2mp (1600x1200). The reason I chose this photo is because of the bright background but shadowed main subjects. 

Original photo from iPad.

The photo was altered following the following steps, fill light, crop, beauty, crop, b&w warmer, beauty than a basic white frame was added.

Altered original photo by Befunky from iPad

I had a few problems transferring these photos directly from my iPad Dropbox into the blog as I don't know how to find the URL or HTML/BB Code for the photos when they are shown on the iPad. I also found I could not send directly from Befunky to my blog as this program only sends to tumblr blogs. It would have made my life so much easier if I could have just copied and pasted the photos like I am use to with laptops.
Anyway I got around the problem by transferring the photos to my Flickr account. I then used the HTML/ BB Code so that the photos are visible without having to follow a link.

Assignment 2 Reflective Synopsis

Although it has been suggested that ICT is necessary to keep today's learners engaged (Prensky 2005), ICT should not be used within classrooms without the appropriate use of pedagogy or without relevance to the desired learning outcomes  EDED20491 Week 2 E-learning and Digital Pedagogy 2012 (Moodle). For further discussion on Prensky's papers see http://faye2013ict.blogspot.com.au/2013/03/digital-native-of-digital-immigrant.html.

Some of the learning theories that can be used with ICT include behaviourist, for example to teach instructions for the use of ICT, or constructivism where learners are more self directed and learn from each other, such as within scaffolded wiki forums. Keyword examples for both of these learning theories can be found at: http://faye2013ict.blogspot.com.au/2013/03/learning-theories.html. 

Examples of the use of scaffolded constructivism with wiki can be found at:

http://fahe11001-3-11.wikispaces.com/Group+3+Mobile+Phones

The constructivism example mentioned above is an exercise that used De Bono's coloured hats to highlight student opinions regarding the use of mobile phones as a school ICT tool. Students where asked to structure their opinions under the relevant coloured hat and where encouraged to think in more than one colour, i.e from different view points. The result was a detailed and layered discussion that resulted in many general consensus but also many expands of opinions based on students reviewing each others comments. The scaffolding via the use of De Bono's hats improved the outcomes by directing students to think from different perspectives and allowed the subject to be discussed in detail from all angles instead of becoming narrowed to a single view or discouraging opposite opinions than the 'loudest' voices. For further comments on my experiences with wikis through this exercise please refer to my posting located in the following link  http://faye2013ict.blogspot.com.au/2013/03/wiki-phone-exercise.htmlAn example of what discussion forums such as blogs or wikis can deteriorate to without structured direction can be found in the movie review comments at http://www.rottentomatoes.com/?nopopup=true

Through out this course I have experimented with a few different types of ICT including creating blogs and websites, using wiki, mind maps, video and photograph program's and different types of iPad apps. As I only gained access to an iPad at the beginning of this course for the first time, I have even attempted to do the majority of this course from an iPad instead of a laptop as a means of becoming more familiar with this form of ICT.

Although it is never wasteful to learn about new technologies, the purpose behind experimenting with the ICT  tools is to see if they can expand the teaching possibilities and improve student engagement and learning outcomes. 

The main ICT tools used included:

• Blogger
• Weebly
• Befunky
• Simple minds
• iPad
• YouTube
• Flickr

Brief reviews of Prezi and Goole Earth where also made but not in any detail.

Both Blogger and Weebly had a few quirks when used on the iPad but generally are very adaptable tools for the classroom that can provided opportunities that can't be reached as effectively by none
technological means and are engaging for students.

Befunky and Simple minds are both more basic tools that will provide computer skill practices to students and likely engage them but they have limited opportunities for significant learning improvements on there own. If used along side other tools and appropriate pedagology, they are still worth inclusion  in the classroom.

YouTube and Flickr both have the potential to be extremely effective classroom ICT tools. At a surface level they are great sources for demonstration material but at a deeper level they can be used to study cultural trends, audio and visual techniques, cultural differences/ similarities and a wealth of other possibilities.

The educational potential presented by  online resources is massive but it is important to remember the legal requirements and ethical considerations in regards to using these materials. Copyright applies to online material as well as physical texts and only 10% of material can be reproduced.

It is good practise to:

1. Alway's references sourced material, 
2. Check if the 'author' has stated any requests regarding use by others
3. State when the photo or image is original and if you have any preferred restrictions regarding others using your original material.
4. Don't show people's faces without their permission and in the case of children, their parents permission.
5. Discuss appropriate behaviour with students while on social media i.e don't participate in cyber bullying
6. Be careful sharing personal information ( I would prefer to say don't share personal information but some sites require accounts or registration to be set up to gain access). . 

Further information about online legal and ethical issues when working with children can be fund at http://mediasmarts.ca/

References

Prensky, M (2005). Engage us or Enrage us. EDUCATE Review September /October 2005. Retrieved from http://net.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/erm0553.pdf 

EDED20492 Week 2 online learning material. (2012) E-learning and Digital Pedagogy. Retrieved from Moodle http://moodle.cqu.edu.au/mod/page/view.php?id=115334 

Learning Theories

 Below are just a few keywords on the main learning theories as a reminder prompt for myself.

BEHAVIOURISM

• Learning is a perminant change in behaviour
•  Conditioning
• Operant conditioning - participant - follows through with an action i.e. pulls a lever - behavioural chaining - learnt steps to reach desired behaviour
• Classic conditioning - introduced stimulant - something happens to the participant
• Observable & measurable
• Change in behaviour
• Black box
• Lower level thinking
• Behavioural psychology
• Objectivism ( claimed at least)
• Programmed
• Automatic
• Conditioning
• Routing skill development
• Teacher centred 
• Outside source of knowledge
• Reinforced
• Practised
• Repetitive
• Processes - steps -stages
• Programmed instruction

http://www.flickr.com/photos/psychpics/4542749171/ 

           COGNITIVISM

• Learning is a change in understanding or reorganisation of cognitive structures
• Knowledge is abstract and symbolic
• Focus on how the brain works - improving memory and increasing meaning
• 3 stage information processing model, sensory memory, short term memory, long term memory

1. Sensory memory:

• information absorb from the environment through the senses.
• Filtered
• Forgotten after a few seconds unless it triggers interest or relevance

 2.   Short term memory:

•  Retained for up to 20 seconds
• Rehearsing can increase retention
• Can retain up to 7 items
• The 7 items can be clusters of information.n

3.    Long term memory: 

• Unlimited capacity 
• Rote memorisation can help information reach this level but it is easier if the information is interesting.  

• Shema = pre-existing knowledge - internal knowledge structures - base knowledge that allows new knowledge to be absorbed. 
• Meaningful information is easier to absorb
• Retention works better when - new knowledge is linked to prior knowledge - information is grouped in 'chuncks'
• Combining new with old information leads to deeper levels of processing. 
• Learner centred. 

           CONSTRUCTIVISM

• Learning process:

1.  share a common understanding of content
2. Use a suitable cultural, physical or virtual tool
3. Exchange ideas
4. Internalise the new information

• Very student centred
• Teachers role is to model and scaffold
• Learning to occur in realistic settings
• Prior experiences are used to construct new meaning
• Knowledge is gained from internal sources.
• Emphasis on problem solving
• Intrinsic motivation
• Observational learning
• Encourages social interactions with experts. 

• 3 levels of proximal development:

1. Current ability
2. Possible with support
3. Unachievably even with outside help

These dot points have been sourced from the Pedagogical Content Knowledge week 2 readings  and 

Merger, B., (1998). Instructional Design & Learning Theory. 

Digital Native of Digital Immigrant?

The following ideas come from a commentator on technology in education called Marc Prensky who created a games based learning company called Games2train and was formally a teacher himself.

A few of Prensky's articles are part of our readings for week 1 including the article in which the below concept emerged (Prensky 2001a), and another where Prensky claims that if we don't engage children, we will enrage them Prensky 2005.

 Prensky 2001b expands on the ideas from Prensky 2001a by discussing why he believes digital natives thinking processes have developed slightly differently to digital immigrants due to the increased digital contact experienced by digital natives.

Digital Natives are;

Born into a world where the use of technology is normal and expected and are very good at adapting to new technologies. They find it very difficult to 'slow down' for traditional forms of learning and even think differently to older generations. Linear thinking is found to be boring and often results in students 'tuning out'. These same students, if engaged, excel at multitasking, representational comprehension, mind mapping, inductive reasoning and other skills in which modern digital medias  regularly utilise (Prensky 2001b). 

Digital Immigrants;      

Started life before the technological boom and have had to adapt and relearn behaviours to fit into a technological world. Understanding new technologies does not come naturally. They where taught to think linearly by cause and effect

Closing Comments:

I personally agree with this theory to some existent but mostly from the middle to upper classes of society. There are still young people growing up today that have a basic understanding and use of ICT but have a narrower use or ability to develop ICT adaptability skills due to economic reasons or lack of parent involvement reducing home exposure and the older equipment or lack of program's available in some schools. This divide has reduced and is still reducing due to lower prices but it has not vanished completely.  

References

Prensky, M (2005). Engage us or Enrage us. EDUCATE Review September /October 2005. Retrieved from http://net.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/erm0553.pdf 

Prensky, M (2001a). Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants. From On the Horizons MCB University Press Vol. 9, No. 5, October 200. Retrieved http://www.marcprensky.com/writing/Prensky%20-%20Digital%20Natives,%20Digital%20Immigrants%20-%20Part1.pdf

Prensky, M (2001b). Digital Natives, Digital Iimigrants, Part II: Do they Really Think Differently? From On the Horizons MCB University Press Vol. 9, No. 6, October 200. Retrieved http://www.marcprensky.com/writing/Prensky%20-%20Digital%20Natives,%20Digital%20Immigrants%20-%20Part2.pdf

Interesting links

This section is for interesting links I come across  during GDLT 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/ks2/    

This site provides some teaching adds and simple explanations for English and math subjects. 

It can be used by teachers and students

  I came across this website in the week 3 readings for EDED20490 Literature. 

Here are two useful sites that can be used by teachers to source mental maths question or by students to practice their mental maths skills. 

http://au.ixl.com/math/year-6
http://www.teachingtreasures.com.au/teaching-tools/mental-mathematics/Main-Mental-Math.htm