Cool Video

Cool artwork but also really useful for teaching visual perspective in Unit 1 of VCE Psych!!

Presentations

I think that some of the presentations have been particularly relevant to teaching in classrooms.  It has been really helpful to see some new ideas and programs that we can take into teaching next year.  I have really liked the exploration of programs from some groups that can be used in everyday teaching.  I know that in my group we presented a youtube downloader that although very simple can be extremely useful for people in their teaching if they did not know how to do it.  Then we also presented another program that can be used to place review lessons or directed homework videos online for student to access.  This type of presentation can be useful for some and I have really enjoyed similar type presentations.

One online presentation that I have seen was looking at PE one of my methods and a number of i phone or smart phone applications that can be used to actually aid teaching within the curriculum.  It does seem that most students have smart phones and encouraging them to use it effectively can be great.  One of the apps was a fitness calendar and diary which in Yr 12 PE the students will have to create, participate and record a fitness program and rather than trying to get them to record and date and time everything by carrying the i phone on walks, runs and ride etc all of these records can be automatically recorded which means that it will actually get done rather than making it up.

Today I have really liked an idea from a presentation, of facebook groups for classes or year levels next year but I don't really want my facebook page linked with it.  Yammer was bought up and I really like the idea of having the closed discussion groups with the social communication that looks so similar to facebook that all the students will already have and use all the time.  It runs the same as facebook and so would probably be something that students would actually use and enjoy, more so than blogs or wikis where they have less say on what is on the pages.

I really feel that the presentations from each group has been the most useful part of this subject for my teaching next year.

ICT in my class.

          ICT provides a rich and flexible learner-centred environment in which students can experiment and take risks when developing new understanding.  In my placement this semester I was teaching Yr 11 IB Psychology.  As part of this I was to teach the dot point “Evaluate Social Identity Theory, making reference to relevant studies” (International Baccalaureate Organization, 2009).  In starting this section I asked all students to find a relevant study not found in their text book.  They were directed to use online journals etc to do this.  Throughout this exercise I was allowing them the opportunity to take some responsibility for their own learning in this subject but also making them aware of skills that can be used in any subject area.  The need to relate ideas and theories back to relevant research to display a student’s understanding is not only important in the Psychology subject area of the IB program but throughout all the subjects.  The search for research is a skill that students will need to develop throughout not only their secondary schooling but also throughout life.  Giving them the opportunity to do this early in their education and take responsibility for it without pressure of marking, allowed them to take this minimal risk.

          Within class time we had some group time where students would talk through and explain the study they had found.  Even if some students were unable to find relevant studies but rather review articles or the like all students would learn from the experience and also from each other in how to go about it in the future and this specific subject area as all will be exposed to a number of relevant studies.  Within this experience ICT supported the knowledge-building among teams and enabled team members to collaborate, inquire, interact and integrate prior knowledge with new understanding.  This experience helped build knowledge but did not necessarily challenge the understanding they may already have had.

          Later in my placement I was teaching Yr 11 VCE Psychology and in this class I was teaching Intelligence.  With this class I used a range of youtube clips downloaded with keepvid to challenge their understandings.  Clips such as Ronaldinho, Thank God You’re here and a few others showed intelligence in different ways and led perfectly into Gardner’s model of multiple intelligences. 

          Through both of these classes simple ICT was used to help develop students learning and challenge preconceived ideas in the area. It also allowed them to take a risk without failure and work together both for immediate understanding and towards skills they can use throughout life.  


International Baccalaureate Organization, 2009. Diploma Programme, Psychology guide. Peterson House, Malthouse Avenue, Cardiff Gate, Cardiff, Wales.


AK commented on:

VELS AND YOUR CLASSROOM

Week 3

Had to change workshops this week and was completely different dynamics in the class.  Same leader but things just moved along heaps quicker.
Lecture wise, I feel that so many of the things we are hearing in this semesters lectures are repeated from last semester.  Not just in ICT but also in the other subjects as well.  Thoughts??