SBT 1: Blog 1 (serial week)

The first two days of the serial week were INSET days at my school. The head was introducing the idea of the 'creative curriculum', where learning events are set around two of the school's academic values. The first job was to choose these values, done by snowballing group work. Each group then had to present one of the values, breaking down what it meant and making a poster on the computer. Two things struck me about this day: Firstly, the enthusiasm that this new initiative was met with, especially considering that many of these teachers would have seen many such ideas come and go; secondly the lack of familiarity with Microsoft Office programmes added some tension to the exercise and a few teachers expressed some frustration with computers, feeling that it would be easier, and more creative, to use paper. I think that, if teachers are expected to teach and use ICT, there needs to be some training, support, or even simply encouragement in place. An atmosphere of lifelong learning may help here, where all knowledge and expertise is shared, and where those less confident feel easy about asking for help.

Wikis

Wikis are even more exciting than blogs because they have a more of a communal effort. I think that they link teaching and learning much more closely, and encourage responsibility not only for your own learning, but also for passing on your new-found knowledge. One thing that came out of this lesson, though, is the issue with having too many people on the same site. The wiki kind of froze and we couldn't upload our photos. This would become a problem if I was trying to do this with a class of children, and it may be worth looking into why this happens and whether there's a way to prevent it.



This picture comes under the headline "An army of self-confessed geeks aims to bring the meaning of everything to everyone by 2015". A 'picture' of a wiki...


... And an interesting fact (from the web page http://www.smh.com.au/news/next/life-the-universe-and-wiki/2005/09/19/1126981972225.html): The word 'wiki' comes from the term 'wiki wiki', Hawaiian for 'quick and informal'. I am trying to find out whether this is actually true.

Blogging

As my first blog, and to practice uploading photos, I have decided to put in the scariest thing I have ever done...

This was almost as exciting as learning about ICT in the classroom. IT can be a bit daunting, but just like a bungy jump, it helps to be pushed right into it because then you realise you can do it and it won't kill you. Unlike the bungy, which I will NEVER do again, what we're learning now will actually be of quite a lot of use.

Blogs are the thing that I find most appealing for my teaching practise so far beacause, although it's not one of my strengths I think that it could really inspire primary school children and encourage them to write. I think that the most useful thing they do is provide a sense of purpose through its virtual audience. This is something a class could collaborate/cooperate on and is a medium for individual writing.

Things to remember: 1) Every picture, anywhere on the web, has its own unique URL. 2) These things are public: Be careful with privacy and security issues.