ICT In learning

Editor's Notes

• #2: Welcome to the workshop session Integrating ICT in learning. My name is………. My role at Education.au as part of the edna team is……….. In today’s session we will begin by looking at some of the theory behind using ICT and why it is important to integrate ICT in learning. We will then begin to suggest ways that ICT can be integrated across the curriculum and include some practical examples of using ICT within a learning context. This part of the workshop will involve hands-on learning. To conclude, we will look at suggest some small steps that can be taken to gradually increase the use of ICT in your classroom , suggesting ideas for ICT use and also cross-sectoral suggestions. At the end of this session I hope you have you will have gained new ideas and skills which will then assist you to integrate ICT in the learning experiences you provide for your students, making these experiences more engaging, interactive and enjoyable.
• #3: The Melbourne Declaration on Educational Goals for Young Australians (MCEETYA Dec 2008) places strong emphasis on using ICT across the curriculum. These quotes from the document released in December 2008 are indicative of the emphasis on developing the use of ICT within a learning environment. ‘ Rapid and continuing advances in information and communication technologies (ICT) are changing the ways people share, use, develop and process information technology. In this digital age, young people need to be highly skilled in the use of ICT. Whilst schools already employ these technologies in learning, there is a need to increase their effectiveness significantly over the next decade.’ ‘ Successful learners have the essential skills in literacy and numeracy and are creative and productive users of technology, especially ICT, as a foundation for success in all learning areas.’
• #4: This quote taken from the Department of Education and Training (WA) website highlights the benefits and importance of using ICT across the curriculum: ‘ Learning with ICT offers students a world of opportunity: global communication with peers, communities and experts; access to timely and relevant information sources; engagement in rich, relevant tasks based on real situations and data.’ ‘ Student learning is always at the centre and ICT exists as one of a number of technologies to enhance learning. Teaching ICT skills is not an end in itself: ICT skills are best developed at the point of need, within the broader learning context. One goal of integrating ICT is to make it seamless : students use ICT if and when appropriate to support their learning.’
• #5: This question is taken from the same document, advising educators to pose the question: ‘ How can I add value to the learning by integrating ICT?’
• #6: So why use ICT in learning? Some of the benefits of using ICT include: Engaging the interest of learners and, therefore, motivating students via interactive methods of learning. Promoting communication and allowing collaboration with other students both in class and in a range of forums e.g., online projects Providing opportunities for work to be shared (again in class or through online projects) The use of ICT also caters for students with various learning styles e.g., visual, auditory and kinaesthetic learners.
• #7: This part of the workshop will be delivered via a mock lesson and therefore demonstrate some of the ways ICT can be integrated into learning. The ICT demonstrated is taught in the context of a Literacy lesson, suitable for middle primary children. However, the skills being taught can be adapted to many areas of the curriculum and can also be used across sectors. We will discuss cross curricular and cross sectoral ideas at the end of the workshop. Go through the lesson plan The lesson focuses on developing the use of descriptive language. (Various lesson templates can be found on edna’s planning theme page.)
• #8: These are some of the resources available through edna: http://www.childrensuniversity.manchester.ac.uk/interactives/literacy/wordclasses/adjectives.asp http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/ks2bitesize/english/activities/adjectives_adverbs.shtml http://www.kwarp.com/portfolio/grammarninja.html All the activities can be found on edna’s interactive whiteboard theme page: http://www.edna.edu.au/edna/go/schooled/school_theme_pages/iwb The whole class teaching of the lesson requires learners to create a response to an online text: Show the online version of Wilfred Gordon http://www.storylineonline.net/
• #9: Photostory 3 is a freedownload http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/digitalphotography/PhotoStory/default.mspx Photostory allows users to upload photographs – either from the internet or the children’s own work. Customise their productions: Add text, music and voice to stories/presentations. Use the slide transition facility Length of productions – e.g., 5 minutes to debate the case for.... Whilst Photostory is free to download, it will not work for those using Macs. However, alternatives such as Powerpoint can achieve the same objectives and outcomes. Show the photostory by Janette Demonstrate photostory.
• #10: Give some tips about how to go about it. There is a tutorial in edna.
• #11: Some alternatives to using Photostory include...
• #12: The online story version of Wilfred Gordon MacDonald Partridge can be found at: http://www.storylineonline.net/ Further online books can be located using edna’s search facility: http://www.edna.edu.au/ All images were sources from Flickrcc: http://flickrcc.bluemountains.net/ Lesson plans and planning templates can be found at: http://www.edna.edu.au/edna/go/schooled/school_theme_pages/planning Assessment tools and rubric makers can be found at: http://url.edna.edu.au/6kUC
• #13: Today’s workshop has focussed on integrating ICT within the context of a literacy lesson. However, many of the ideas, resources and skills used today can be applied across the curriculum, for example To write online stories Poetry writing To present news reports and experiment findings in Science To present case studies in History and Geography To create a dictionary for foreign languages To create instructions.
• #14: The workshop today has also primarily focussed on integrating ICT within the context of a school setting. However, once again, many of the ideas, resources and skills demonstrated today can be applied across the various sectors, for example To present findings and research To produce instructional presentations/manuals An example of this could be a pre-service teacher using Photostory to present the a progress report on a student as part of their pre-service studies. (Show Janette’s preservice powerpoint.) Using ICT in this way allows educators to use Photostory (and other alternatives e.g., powerpoint, voicethread) as an assessment tool to evaluate students understanding.
• #15: Getting started is probably the biggest challenge! Some small steps that can be used in integrating ICT into learning are: Using online games and interactive activities – edna’s online games and activities theme page provides links to a collection of resources which are grouped by Key Learning Area Create an avatar – In addition to being advised for learners online safety, many avatar makers are great for literacy lessons e.g., character description, learning adjectives etc. Join an online project – online projects provide the opportunity for collaborative learning. OzProjects provides support materials to help get started. Make an online game – online game makers allow users to create resources specific to their teaching needs whilst also integrating ICT into their learning experiences.