The use of ICT with literacy – interactive whiteboards. Use of text, clipart and video in the classroom.  These videos provide examples of how you can continuously develop and keep up to date with ICT skills and engage your learners in literacy rich environments !!

http://www.teachers.tv/video/157

Story starts for creative writing.

http://www.teachers.tv/video/23316

Task 7

Find a video  from teachers TV using ICT in the classroom and share it with us.

A series of technologies for transmitting audio and video.

Task 5

Read the link above and explore the working examples in elementary schools.

1. My English students have created an interactive mulit-media presentation using moviemaker embedded in Powerpoint. They wish to add audio and embed their presentations in our Class Weblog and in their personal logs. What technologies do you recommend?
2. I have students that want to listen to more English in the bus from the residences – it is a long drive. What tools and websites do you recommend?
3. My students want to make video and download on http://www.youtube.com/.  They asked their teachers, but they also said “No!” . What ideas can you think of  so they can still make and publish videos ?

Link  to everything you need to know on  

www.webquest.org

Create a webquest

Business Webquests

Maths Webquests

 The key idea that distinguishes WebQuests from other Web-based experiences is this: A “WebQuest is built around an engaging and doable task that elicits higher order thinking of some kind. It’s about doing something with information. The thinking can be creative or critical, and involve problem solving, judgment, analysis, or synthesis. The task has to be more than simply answering questions or regurgitating what’s on the screen. Ideally, the task is a scaled down version of something that adults do on the job, outside school walls.”

Bernie Dodge (creator of Webquests.)

 Take time to explore the links above.

Task 4

1. Why are webquests so popular in education?
2. How do they meet constructivist principles?
3. Find an engaging webquest you could use in your learning environment and post it below with a comment of how it would fit into a lesson plan or Sequence of Work.
4. Are you interested in creating a webquest ?
5. What project or assignment could you adapt to a webquest ?

Wikis vs Blogs

1. What do you know about Wikis?
2. How are they different to blogs ?
3. Which Wiki includes privacy options?
4. Which is the easiest to use ?
5. Why and how could “trust” be an issue ?

Task 3

Do some research and add some comments.

Websites

Ways to Use Wiki in Education

Wiki Spaces for Teachers

Wikis 

Best Wiki for Classroom Use

Wiki Design Principles

VoiceThread is free open source software that allows you to record voice with pictures or input text. It can be used for digital storytelling or to collect audio comments on a topic.

You can publish VoiceThread on a Blog and share it with as many people as you wish.

 Our English class has set one up for topics we are studying and a book review.  Take a look at the beginnings of a voice thread about the environment. Students created the digital poster and are researching different sub topics , recording their findings with questions for discussion.  We are also using it for book reviews. Take a tour of what our students are doing and look at Voicethread examples that  K1- 12 teachers are doing on the Voicethread site – remember click the tab ” classrooms”.

You could look at using Voicethread to make your information product either individually or collaboratively you may want to document your learning of Web 2.0 technologies and publish it to the world on Voicethread and seek comments.

Task 6

1. Explore classroom voicethreads and nominate your favourite one.

2. What is one way you could use this tool to support learning ?

You can publish VoiceThread on a Blog and share it with as many people as you wish.

http://voicethread.com/share/36941/

Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts and other ICT tools explained in the context of language learning by an ESL teacher in Spain. Our role as teachers is to keep up to date with learning technologies to incorporate these tools in our learning plans.  What tool/s are you interested in?

 Task 1

 a. Share an ICT tool to use in our lessons.

 b. Reflect on “What is meaningful learning ?”