By Silver Spoon (Own work) [GFDL or CC-BY-SA-3.0-2.5-2.0-1.0], via Wikimedia Commons
I see,
I’m amazed how we can find analogies to course content with almost mundane and unexpected objects.
It’s either that or I need to put the books down and take a break.
Assignment 1 Web-based Artifact – http://goo.gl/s6nnoH
Alternative Url – http://lessons.t15.org/lessons/Artifact/story.swf
Please find my assignment submission at the above links
What would an assignment submission be without a hiccup or two.
Work found at http://uncleserb.deviantart.com/art/404-error-page-122364265 / CC BY-NC-SA 3.0
What can I say, It has been an adrenalin rush today. I finished my artifact last week and held off publishing the link until today. In the meantime I thought I might be able to clean up the code a bit and include the creative commons attribute icons. All was good, I edited the code and ran the simulation. Output was okay, upload to website and the formatting was corrupted.
Back to the drawing board, code tested and uploaded again. The formatting problems seem to have gone and the site has been tested with Internet Explorer v11, Firefox v28, Chrome v33.0.1750.154 m as well as 3 different browsers for Android phones and tablets.
It’s working, and the assignment link is below.
Backwards design is part of the curriculum model Understanding by Design (UbD), posited by Jay McTighe & Grant Wiggins.
The whole process of backward design strikes a chord with me for it reminds educators to focus on the requirements of the child.
Sometimes educators can get excited with the array of technology tools available and the mandated requirement to integrate into the curriculum that they may loose sight of what the child needs.
It’s great to have that whiz bang Interactive White Board, Ipad or BeeBots but the initial curiosity and quality of engagement can wane if not used effectively. Backward design is an instrument that teachers should utilise to ensure the balance between curriculum needs and those of the child. The following book links two of the foci of this course, digital technology and UbD with Universal Design for Learning (UDL).
This book can be read online here. And more information on UDL can be found here.
Teaching Every Student in the Digital Age: Universal Design for Learning David H. Rose & Anne Meyer ASCD, 2002
http://fc01.deviantart.net/fs71/i/2011/186/c/3/drowning_by_stargirl10173-d3l3eue.jpg
I think that now is a good time to resurface and collect a breath of fresh air.
I have finally finished part ‘B’ of assignment 1.
This assessment has pushed me to the limits. I know I said in an earlier post that I was prepared to follow the road less traveled but this was bordering on the insane.
I managed to find plenty of new resources and try my hand at HTML5. For this assignment I wanted to create an artifact that was not only accessible by computers and laptops but also mobile devices such as Ipads and Android tablets. To accomplish this task I needed to source a place on the internet that would host my artifact. My first port of call were places like Weebly and Wix but unfortunately the template based nature of these hosts proved to restrictive.This necessitated the sourcing of a webhost and the creation of a website to support my artifact. A new set of skills and resources were needed to transfer the information from my computer to the internet by ftp. The learning curve was quite large and I needed to remind myself “NOT drowning, swimming”, mostly underwater but still swimming.
Mostly finished now, and regardless of the result I’m happy with not only what I have produced but mostly that I’ve gone out on that limb and had a go.
It is amazing how information and how it’s communicated can influence our lives. I was with a group of students yesterday participating in a tutorial session when the news reader apps on our mobile devices started relaying feeds from some of the blogs and comments being posted.
The fact that the news reader apps were doing their job wasn’t remarkable, but it was that we all received the information at the same time. The blog posts caused an emotional response within us, and collectively; we were astonished and amazed. Our emotions varied as they do, but we were focused on the developing news feeds oblivious to the tutorial occurring around us.
Later in the day this prompted my reflective process to look back to the past and how news may have been days, weeks, months or possibly even years old before being delivered to the end consumer. It was in the middle of this self-indulgent reflection that a twitter message heralded its arrival with a customary whistle notification. Andy Cope ( an educator I follow) retweeted a link to a YouTube video by a Tiffany Shlain with the comment “ remarkable vid… everyone should watch”, so I obliged.
What a truly uplifting and motivational 8 minutes, this video even gave me a deeper conceptual understanding to some of our course material. Remember the Fixed or Growth Mindset activity.
A truly positive way to communicate information.
The following is in response to a request that we locate a digital resource from Scootle. Australian Curriculum Science
Year 5
Science Understanding Strand
Earth and space sciences:
The Earth is part of a system of planets orbiting around a star (the sun) (ACSSU078)
Scootle Resource
This resource consists of a short video and suggested questions and activities to support students conceptualise the size and distance within our solar system.
Catalyst, ‘ Make a mini solar system’, ABC Splash abcspla.sh/m/30339
The current suggestions for this subject have students reading from tables and entering data onto worksheets. This resource is much more engaging and teacher friendly.
I first heard of this metaphor quite some time ago whilst listening to an educational podcast series titled “Teach with Tech” (2005 – 2007) episode 19 “Special Education and Universal Design for Learning.”
The special guest was a Teacher by the name of Dave Burgess speaking about incorporating technology into classrooms using Universal Design for Learning (UDL). Although the podcast is a little bit dated now the philosophies hold true even today.
If the name Dave Burgess rings a bell, he’s the gentleman behind the inspirational book and successful teaching program “Teach Like a Pirate.”
Dave runs a successful consulting business but also gives his time freely to motivate teachers to encourage creativity within their classrooms and students.
After the heavy workload of the last two weeks, the EDC3100 team rewards us with a quick gaming session to unwind and release a bit of stress. HANG ON A MINUTE! What are they trying to do, I smell a rat here?
I’m not quite sure, but I think they (EDC3100 team) have entered into a bit of subterfuge and have made me learn some Algebra without realising it. It’s just not fair, how dare they introduce mathematics into a game and subtlety scaffold the algebraic process into a fun activity.
Next moment, I suppose they will be informing us that you can have a fun, engaging and motivational mathematics program in our classrooms.
It’s just not fair!
Learning Innovation 55 uses Augmented Reality to overlay computer generated objects, pictures, video or animations on top of real-world physical scenes most often view with the help of a tablet computer. This type of innovation is just like any other, as it through thoughtful and appropriate usage that benefit can be gained.
I can see this type of innovation being used in the classroom to help cement and reinforce concepts, particularly within groups of students.
I believe that the included videos describe the technology more eloquently than I can with mere written words.
Padawan Teacher 
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