Sunshine, Lollipops and Rainbows, Everything that’s wonderful… – Apart from this post!

Hi Everyone,

Okay, this title may seem like a happy post, but I am warning you now, I have to think of happy thoughts before I throw my computer out the window. Scrolling through my followers blog posts, I came across a post that was made by Nicole, where she talks about Hayley‘s original post. She spoke about her pet hates of ICT. Her comprehensive list is as follows:

1. When they don’t work – specifically USQs StudyDesk that crashes probably once a day. Get it together!
2. When they change something that had no problems in the first place – also referring to USQs StudyDesk where they changed the Assignment submission/results system when EASE was perfect as is. The new system is crud and is one of the main reasons why StudyDesk is crashing!
3. When you can’t work them out; When you change all the settings and press all the buttons you can think of but it just doesn’t work the way you want it to.
4. When they overrule people’s lives and you can’t talk to someone without their face being stuck in their laptop/phone.
5. How they very often just provide as a means for procrastinating and only starting an assignment 2 days before it’s due.
6. Last, but most importantly, is that I HATE it when companies make ‘new’ or ‘upgraded’ technology when they haven’t even perfected it the first time.

Even though most of these are about USQ’s StudyDesk, I have definitely got things to add to this list, while refraining to comment about the StudyDesk!! These include, but are not limited to:

1. When my device decide to shut down unexpectedly and the things you are working on DOES NOT save!!!! – Definite tears and tantrums.
2. When the glare of the sun shines on my phone screen and I cannot see a thing – two things can happen here, either you accidently do something like send a very jiberish-ed text to a random, or you look like a complete crazy person with your face screwed up and your eyes squinting to try and read the words on your screen – #FirstWorldProblems #ITellYa
3. When my laptop charger chooses the absolute best time to stop working mid-semester. So, I had no laptop, no charger and the resolution to this was a hefty $60 to actually buy a charger that fit my computer – apparently Samsung don’t manufacture laptops anymore….. Not to mention how many times I have had to buy another iPhone charger due to the cord breaking
4. Finally, the depressing moment when I just finish updating my computer, only to have ten more updates waiting for me the very next day! Why so many updates? It is a definite time waster, and a procrastination booster. I always find myself saying, well my computer is updating, therefore it will have to restart, therefore I better not start my work until it has finished updating in two hours’ time.

So, this is my list of pet-peeves with ICT. Does anyone else have anything to add?? I am sure we can find 100 bullet points of ICT going wrong by the end of the semester. What do you think?

Thanks,

Brendan

Reference:

Meme Generator. (2014). Sunshine Lollipops and Rainbows Everywhere [Image]. Retrieved March 3rd, 2014, from http://memegenerator.net/instance/34316861

River Deep, Mountain High!

Hi Everyone,

Okay, I am a big believer of going ‘green’, and I am not talking about going green relating to the Hulk (I just watched the latest Avengers by the way, it was epic!! #MustSee). I am talking about our carbon footprint!

Ever since I have left school, I have tried my best to save paper. I have literally completed my whole university degree so far from my computer. Not only is it much easier for me to type notes, keep everything saved and highlight/bold important information, I am saving so much paper and trees at the same time! Maybe I should become a superhero on the side of my university work?

Marianne has also converted to the digital world of university this year. She states

“My book usage decreased to zero, and I have adapted to saving all of my modules onto my Mac book and can easily access them for assignments etc. So I have now fully adapted to using ICT and using zero paper.”

This is awesome work Marianne!! I’m am really proud of your effort to go green!!

Lily and Tayla have also written about this modern day issue, but have related their blogs to achieving a paperless classroom. If you haven’t read it, you should definitely check it out! I hope to one day try and achieve a ‘paperless classroom’.

Lily recounts what her mentor would do on her professional experience. She states that

“On Practical experience, my teacher would sometimes have a worksheet shown on the overhead projector and the students would write the answers down into their books. This method enabled her to save paper on worksheets”

Tayla has also commented on her thoughts on teachers using projectors and computer to cut down on worksheets and handouts. She states:

“While classrooms may not become completely paperless, using this approach is sure to cut down on excessive paper while allow students to create more dynamic records of their work, research and ideas.”

This is a great YouTube video that demonstrates how you can reduce your carbon footprint – I think it is worth the two minutes.

What are your thoughts? Do you agree with going green? Or, do you believe in a more traditional, worksheet pedagogy?

I would love to hear from you.

Regards,

Brendan

References:

Ricketts, C. (2011). Climate Change [Image]. Retrieved March 2nd, 2015, from http://www.earthtimes.org/encyclopaedia/environmental-issues/climate-change/

Cyber Bullying #StopTheHate

Hi Everyone,

I was perusing through some blog posts that have been written and I have come across a contentious issue that both Missahunt and Tegan have blogged about. This issue is Cybersafety. Missahunt describes how

“bullying is a big problem in schools, and something that we, as teachers, must be aware of and actively educating our students about”

I remember when I was in school, each student received a personal laptop computer to use within class and at home. Before we were able to receive our laptops, we had to sign a legal document stating that we would ensure we were cyber safe at all times, and if we broke this contract our laptop was taken away from us – we would have had to hand write everything once more #cavemanstyle.

I agree with Missahunt where she states that it is:

“essential that students understand cyber bullying, as it is not something that can be seen by outside parties, and it is a form of bullying that students most often use outside of school.”

I couldn’t have said it better myself! I believe cyber bullying is as crucial or even more detrimental than physical bullying as you are open to the comments from people around the world and keyboard warriors are out there to cause harm to people.

Tegan also states that:

“It is essential for students to understand cyber bullying and ways in which they can deal with it.”

I believe that to overcome the effects cyber bullying can have on people, teachers must educate students on ways to deal with cyber bullying. This is more important than ever, as more and more students are connecting to the internet at a much earlier age, they are leaving themselves open to online predators.

This is a very powerful YouTube clip that uses a metaphor for cyberbullying as a virus to humans.

If you know someone, or have had to deal with cyber bullying previously, we must all advocate to stop this epidemic to ensure our friends and family are safe and supported.

These links can help if you know someone that is suffering from cyber bullying.

http://au.reachout.com/cyberbullying

http://www.cybersmart.gov.au/teens/how%20do%20i%20deal%20with/cyberbullying.aspx

 http://www.kidshelp.com.au/grownups/news-research/hot-topics/cyber-bullying.php

I hope everyone can take the time out of their day to say something nice to someone – you never know how much it can help!

Thanks for reading,

Brendan

Reference:

Brindetta, C. (2013). Cyberbullying [Iamge]. Retrieved Saturday, 2nd May, 2015, from http://www.slideshare.net/bl03cook/csis200-cyberbullying

Teaching an ICT-rich Curriculum in Rural or Low Socioeconomic Areas of Australia?

Hi Everyone,

In a never-ending search for new topics to write a blog about, I have just stumbled across a blog post that Hayley has written titled ‘What About Me? It Isn’t Fair!’ Great song reference by the way, I LOL’d a little. She writes about rural schools that are disadvantaged by ICT as they do not have the funding or resources to integrated a strong ICT-rich curriculum. She states that:

“Students who have low to no home access to computers at home tend to perform lower academically than those who do have computers at home.”

This is astounding! I found through the Australian Bureau of Statistics that less than 30% of homes have access to internet in remote and rural areas of Australia. Very remote areas had a decline of less than 10%. When our cohort graduate at the end of next year #HappyDance, some of us will choose to teach in these remote areas of Australia.  We must ensure that we have the knowledge and skills to try and bridge this gap in education and integrate some form of ICT to benefit these future students. I am glad that through this course my mind has been opened to the importance of an ICT-rich curriculum.

This is a video that I have found that details ICT in very remotes schools of Australia and how the advancement of technology has help students. I am an advocate for students having the same opportunities no matter where they are situated or what school they attend. I hope that this gap in education is rectified as students can gain many educational possibilities and resources through ICT.

Thanks,

Brendan
References:

Australian Bureau of Statistics. (2008). Australian Social Trends: Other Areas of Social Concern (cat. no. 4102.0). Retrieved April 24, 2015, from http://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/abs@.nsf/Lookup/4102.0Chapter10002008

Gow, B. (2012). What’s Web 2.0 [image]. Retrieved April 24, 2014, from http://brittgow.global2.vic.edu.au/page/2/

The Scary Truth!!! #MustRead

Hi Everyone,

Mobile apps are fun, motivating and stimulating for children when they use an iPad, iPhone, iPod or android device. However, it is really as safe as it seems? Even though apps have found to be extremely beneficial for education and children’s development, safety concerns suggest that kids may not potentially be safe when using them.

When I was growing up, I really didn’t have much of a digital footprint. The first company that I signed up to was MySpace in year 8 because ‘it was the coolest thing to have‘. However, the popularity for MySpace has dramatically crashed due to Facebook, I still don’t know if my account is even active anymore – maybe I should find this out.

Kids today are developing a much larger digital footprint as they are signing up to gaming websites and downloading apps. Without their knowledge, these apps are taking very personal information from their devices without their consent prior to using it. Information such as the unique identifying device on mobile phones, the users phone number, the devices locations and audio recordings of the person #yikes.

The daily Mail has found:

“Fruit Ninja collects a phone’s location, which could be passed on to advertisers. And Talking Tom, where kids can talk to and ‘tickle’ an alley cat using the touch screen, collects a child’s audio recordings along with other information that can uniquely identify a phone” (Associated Press, 2014).

Have you ever played Angry Birds, Despicable Me or Cut the Rope? These are all children’s games and the companies that have made these apps have access to your phones status and identity, has full network access, your location and can find all of your accounts that are linked to your device.

I have used these apps, and I am not quite worried what information companies have been secretly storing away without my knowledge and consent.

This finding has really made me think of using apps within my classroom. I am unaware of what companies are storing and I am responsible for keeping my future student’s information and identity safe. A landmark case was held in 2013 regarding children’s privacy and privacy laws however, the Daily Mail report that apps that are aimed for children are still collecting and storing information on their devices and usage data.

There is a website called Privacy Grade in which it assesses apps and grades them on their privacy settings.

What are your thoughts? I am quite astounded what information apps store away – maybe I should throw my iPhone into the river? Along with all of my other devices.

Thanks for reading,

Brendan

References:

Associated Press. (2014). ‘Kids are a lucrative market’: Mobile app developers still collect information on children despite privacy laws. Retrieved April 24, 2015, from http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2865169/Mobile-apps-collect-information-kids.html  

Curtis, S. (2014). One in three smartphone owners uninterested in apps [image]. Retrieved April 24, 2015, from http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/news/11041015/One-in-three-smartphone-owners-uninterested-in-apps.html

Privacy Grade. (2014). Apps. Retrieved April 24, 2015, from http://privacygrade.org/apps

Curriculum into the Classroom

Hi There Everyone,

Okay, if you have ever asked anyone that is remotely involved in the education sector about the Curriculum into the Classroom (C2C) package, you will definitely get mixed feedback. I have certainly heard both ends of the spectrum. Within the professional experiences I have completed, I have not had the opportunity to use the C2C myself, however I would like to investigate further into the resources and information that is within the package and create my own opinions.

I was reading through Tegan’s blog who writes her opinions of the C2C and links her writing into Jess’s blog. Tegan has stated that the C2C is:

“Designed as a starting point for school curriculum planning, C2C is essentially a digital resource that can be adopted or adapted to meet individual student learning needs and to suit local school contexts.”

Tegan has summarised her and Jess’ findings and states:

“Jess discusses and I have to agree that teachers need to know how to effectively plan a unit of work because the C2C has not done all of the work for them. When creating unit plans the C2C can be adapted in order to meet the students’ needs and cater for their level of ability.”

I totally agree with Tegan and Jess’ writing.

While considering assignment two, I believe it will be extremely beneficial for myself to learn how to effectively design and hopefully one day implement my unit plan that is ICT rich and ensure students are getting the most out of their education.

Only having created one unit plan before, I am looking forward to this assignment as it is a learning experience and an assessment at the same time. I can definitely take what I learn from this assessment and most definitely use it in my teaching career.

Thanks for reading,

Brendan

References:

Department of Education and Training. (2015). Curriculum into the Classroom (C2C). Retrieved April 16, 2015, from http://www.education.qld.gov.au/c2c/index.html

Network Educational Australia. (2014). C2C – Curriculum into the Classroom. Retrieved April 16, 2015, from http://www.network-ed.com.au/c2c/

MASSIVE!!

Hi Everyone,

So, like Laurenn, I too am steadily running out of things to write about! However, I have just stumbled on her blog, and was really interested in her last post. She writes about a video that she has embedded – it is really worth checking out #highlyrecommend.

You can view the following video here:

How amazing would it be if we could utilise these technological resources into our future classrooms. How motivating and inspiring would it be for students to connect with people with similar interests and learning outcomes. I for one will really hope this can one day become embedded into the modern education classroom.

Kerry has also emphasised this in her blog when she writes about learning spaces and how important they are in relation to student’s self-esteem and motivation to learn. She writes:

“I can’t wait to create a classroom space with lots of colour, inspirational pictures and inviting spaces where students feel that their learning and sense of belonging are very important to me.”

I agree with you Kerry, I cannot wait to display artwork and innovate spaces within my future classroom. I remember when I was in year three, my teacher was very creative. I loved walking into the classroom because there was something new added every day and I always felt so happy in my learning space – maybe because she used A LOT of yellow and warm colours.

Did you know that the colour yellow psychologically makes people feel happier when they see it? #funfactfortheday 

This is an example of innovative learning spaces, how amazing is this early years classroom!?

There are many more like these in this website from classrooms around the world. Some of the designs that teachers have improvised will blow you away! You can view this link here:

http://dailyedventures.com/index.php/classrooms-of-the-world-tour/

Would anyone like to share their past experiences with different learning spaces within the classroom?

Thanks,

Brendan

References:

Clara & Kirsty. (2014). Capturing Colour – Mellow Yellow [image]. Retrieved April 16, 2015, from http://mytwomums.com/capturing-colour-mellow-yellow/

DailyEdventures. (2012). Classroom of the World [image]. Retrieved April 16, 2015 from http://dailyedventures.com/index.php/classrooms-of-the-world-tour/

Up The River Without A Paddle…

Hi Everyone,

Some people say that when things get hard, they are going ‘up the river without a paddle’. However, in my case, the river is a raging torrent and I am pretty sure my boat has a leak. Okay, I am being a little bit dramatic, but before the holidays I felt like my uni work was on track and I was on top of things, maybe I was on a sugar rush (this is extremely possible) – I don’t know.

Now uni has returned, I feel like I am running a half marathon and I am on the sideline with a major leg cramp. I think it’s time to stop using imagery now – you get the picture. At least I am not the only one, Jessica states in her blog that she is feeling very much the same – I feel you Jess!

Now, onto the main point to my blog post, Brittany made a fascinating point which she has linked to Marianoble’s blog. It was about paper trails and whether if it is safe to become fully reliant on technology, or if students should still use paper to write notes.

I have researched this aspect and scientists have found through numerous studies that:

 

“Writing notes by hand is much better for long-term memory of ideas, or conceptual information” (Matteo, 2014)

 

Furthermore,

 

“Researchers found that those who wrote their notes remembered conceptual information better a week later. Researchers believe that the students who wrote notes long-hand had a deeper understanding of ideas and concepts.” (Matteo, 2014)

Who else is guilty of this? 

I have never thought about the difference note-taking can have through the method in which it is undertaken. I type basically everything university related – maybe I should evaluate my life choices. What do you think? Which side are you on?

 

Thanks Everyone,

Brendan

 

References:

PackBack Blog. (2015). Taking Notes in the 21st Century [image]. Retrieved April 15, 2015, from http://blog.packbackbooks.com/

Indulgy. (2015). I’m So Far Behind I thought I was First [image]. Retrieved April 15, 2015, from http://indulgy.com/post/1O3Tu144v1/im-so-far-behind-i-thought-i-was-first-funny-b

Matteo, A. (2014). Is Writing Notes by Hand Better Than Typing? Retrieved April 15, 2015, from http://learningenglish.voanews.com/content/writing-notes-by-hand-better-than-typing/2459536.html

Assignment 1 Artefact

Hi Everyone!

For my EDC3100 Assignment 1, I made a web artefact for the parents that are in my Year 5 classroom. I discuss the use of ICTs in English, Mathematics and Science in this website. I used Weebly to create and design this webpage. I have integrated YouTube videos, a Prezi presentation, a PowToon video and a StoryBird for the parents and carers to easily view.

Here is the link to my artefact: http://brendanturner.weebly.com/

Thanks,

Brendan

Technology Is Taking Over!

Hi Everyone,

I have just finished reading Brittany’s blog in which she writes about the effect of technology on future employment. She quotes an article from the Courier Mail which states:

“If your job does not require creativity or social intelligence you may be replaced by a computer in the next decade.”

This is crazy!!! This also made me think of the movie iRobot in which the character Laurence Robertson, the CEO of U.S. Robotics argues

“I suppose your father lost his job to a robot. I don’t know, maybe you would have simply banned the Internet to keep the libraries open.”

This made me think, when was the last time you went into a public library to find information? Or to borrow a book? I cannot ever remember actually setting foot into a public library. However, growing up with the internet never required myself to find information in books, the information was always just a quick Google search away. The realisation that our society is on the brink of change is quite confronting. Are we about to live in a world without libraries and books?

It seems that the future is set to be technologically dominated. This brings me to a second post about the idea of Wall-E. As I have stated before, Wall-e is a Disney movie where planet Earth has become inhabitable and the human race is continuing life on a spaceship. Then, to make matter worse, robots have taken over the employment industry to serve humans. In this image below, you can see that the education of young children has been taken over by a teaching robot.

Do you think this could ever become a possibility? I hope not, because I don’t know what else I would do with my life and I would be out a job. This concept of technology replacing humans in the employment industry is imminent though. Within the next decade hundreds of thousands of thousands of people will be unemployed and will have to see an alternate industry pathway. It is said that within our life time, people on average will have over 15 different jobs.

I’m not quite sure if replacing jobs with computers is one of the best moves. What are your thoughts?

Thanks for reading,

Brendan

References:

Henneberg, M. (2011). [Image] The end of the great Australian growth spurt. Retrieved March 29, 2015, from http://theconversation.com/the-end-of-the-great-australian-growth-spurt-29

IMDB. (2004). iRobot quotes. Retrieved March 28, 2015, from http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0343818/quotes

Mckinnell, J. (2015, March 23). Half US jobs done by computer next decade. The Courier Mail. Retrieved from http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/breaking-news/half-us-jobs-done-by-computer-next-decade/story-fnihsfrf-1227274916147