Tuesday, October 19, 2010

Week 5

Creating Digital films online

This week we looked at many different digital films websites and a few others. Following are a few short summaries of the websites and computer programs.




'Zimmer Twins' (http://www.zimmertwins.com/movie/create) allows you to create movies with two characters named Eva and Edgar and a cat named 13. This is a great way for students to first write their story, using talking marks for character's speech and then transferring their story into a cartoon version on this website. Speech bubbles can be used to show speech, along with sound effects. This website is easy to use and would be appropriate for students at VELS level 3 or 4.








'Xtranormal Videos' (http://www.xtranormal.com/index) is another video making website. I would recommend students to use this website as they can make more realistic videos as the characters are 3d and the lips are insync when they speak.


'Sketch Swap'(http://sketchswap.com/ ) has a very interesting idea behind it. The only options for the user are to draw something with the mouse and then to 'submit drawing.' There is no erase button, or star over, so that means whatever you draw you must submit. once you submit your drawing, you receive another one back. This is very exciting as you don't know what you will be receiving. Sketch Swap is not appropriate as a website for primary aged school children (or even high school!) as the teacher has no control over what the received item will be. In some cases they are not appropriate. We can learn from this website by starting up our own 'sketch swap' on the intranet, so that it can be monitored and only between students in the school, or even in the classroom. This is a very simple way for students to express themselves creatively and to undesrtand that you don't know what's going to happen on the internet all the time (which can lead into internet safety). This website is appropriate for VELS level 2, as students are able to practise drawing with a mouse - which develops eye-hand coordination.

I submitted this picture:

















and I received this:







As you can see, this received picture is not appropriate for children at the primary level (text reads: ''please kiss me.. touch the screen with your lips..oh you'')



'Roller maché' (http://www.abc.net.au/rollercoaster/rollermache/) is a great website which shows how experts in the field of animation create sketches, videos, tv shows etc.


'Photostory 3' allows you to store and display many many photos. This is the url: http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/digitalphotography/photostory/default.mspx. If the teacher is regular at taking digital photos throughout the year of the students and school activities, it is a great tool in the class room as it's free and students can see themselves in the photos - which they always find amusing.

'Reasonably Clever' (http://www.reasonablyclever.com/ ) is appropraite for primary aged children, as it has a 'kid safe' option, which is great!! students can create their characters, by choosing hair colour and style, clothes, eyes etc.

Below is an example of the character I created:





This is the homepage of the Reasonably Clever website:



This is an excellent way to spark ideas in students' minds, as they can create their own movies with lego, by using real lego. This will take a lot of patience each movement must be made by hand and then a photo is taken. Students can upload their images, add speech bubbles and text and have their very own lego story. This is much more exciting then just writing creative stories in their English books - as many students are pushed to do week after week in the classroom.

'Story Games' (http://www.storygames.com/TeachmanPF/Rebus.html) Shows a rebus:


A rebus is a story where some words are cut out of the story and replaced with pictures. Creating a rebus is a good activity for literacy. Students can make their own rebus on Microsoft Word by typing up their story first and then deciding which words to change to pictures. There are many moving 'gifs' online, which are moving images. If there is a school collection of these, students can choose from these and their rebus will look great with moving or flashing images. If there is not a school collection, students can be encouraged to find their own images under guidance of the class teacher. This activity is sure to capture students' attention and they will enjoy doing this.

Students tend to rely heavily on spell check. To overcome this, we took part in an activity called 'typing blind.' First we had to turn the computer screen off and the teacher read from a text and we had to type the words. We then turned the computer screen on to see how many words we had spelt correctly or incorrectly. This activity would be great to do with students in the computer lab, when all students have acess to a computer. This activity can further develop into a lesson on homophones (synonyms) - words which are spelt differently but sound the same.

This is what we did in class today:



As you can see, I made a few mistakes. Students can learn from this as over time they will get better at touch typing.


'Myths and Legends' (http://myths.e2bn.org/) is another movie making website, which is appropriate for students. Here is a screen shot of the homepage:


'Catchment Detox' (http://www.catchmentdetox.net.au/) allows you to play a game where you are in charge of creating a town. Students will see what effect virtually they can make on the environment. This will hopefully enable them to see that they are impacting their own real environment and encourage them to act more 'greenly.'


'Ziptales' (http://ziptales.com.au/ ) is a great website which shows step-by-step instructions to create art and craft. It is good for students who need very basic inctructions such as those at VELS level 2 or 3. To use this website the school needs to subscribe, but some of the resources are available for free. Students can use this in their 'buddy time' to help eachother create art. This will encourage interaction between senior and junior year levels.

'Dfilm' (http://dfilm.com/live/home.html) is a movie maker website for adults. This website is not to be used in school as some of the characters are not appropriate for children, as you can see in the movie I created below:






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20th October




First we looked at zimmer twins to create a movie http://www.zimmertwins.com/




We can use this site to do some storyboarding






















We then looked at the website http://www.xtranormal.com/

it allows you to create 3d videos along with lip sync
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Tuesday, August 17, 2010

Week 4

Dust Echoes



Dust Echoes is a series of 12 animated dreamtime stories, telling stories of love, loyalty, duty to country and aboriginal custom and law. In our workshop I watched ''Mermaid Story'' and then used Inspiration and Paint to copy and paste the images. I put these images in sequence order and used sentences from the study guide provided on the website.

Below is my final piece that i created in Inspiration.



This activity would be useful for VELS level 4 as they can 'improve the appearance of a finished product' (VELS level 4) by using different tools and techniques. By practising cutting, pasting and editing pictures and writing, students will gain a better understanding of how these tools work.



M &Ms and Microsoft Excel


Next we looked at M&Ms and how we can use them to create tables and charts on Microsoft Excel. The M&Ms website (www.m-ms.com/us) has tables which provide information (percentages) about energy, sodium etc in each packet of M&Ms (ie: nutrition panels). Students can use this website to further investigate the percentages of each ingredient in the chocolate, which can lead to a maths lesson.

We did an activity, where we had a packet of M&Ms and we had to create a frequency table of the different colours of the M&Ms found in the packet. First we created this frequency table in Microsoft Excel and then we created a bar graph. Students will find this computer program easy to use and navigate.

Below is the frequency table and bar graph that I created:








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Tuesday, August 10, 2010

Week 3




How to Make a Frog Jump ?


Today in our workshop we tried to make a 'frog' jump. the materials we were allowed to use:


1. a small piece of carboard
2. picture of a frog
3. rubber band
4. sticky tape
5. glue-stick
6. scissors



our group stuck the picture of the frog to the cardboard and folded the cardboard into a sort of table looking structure and wrapped the rubber band around the cardboard. we then pushed down on the rubber band and the frog appeared to 'jump.'

After completing this activity, students can be encouraged to create a flowchart or poster on the computer (using programs like Inspiration, Microsoft Word or Microsoft Publisher), describing the steps/stages taken in order to make the frog jump.

If students were to complete this activity in class, for an extension activity, students could use a bigger piece of cardboard.



QUIA Website



The QUIA website (www.quia.com/web) can be used to make quizs with multiple choice answers. This is a great way for students to test their knowledge about a topic. Not only can they be given these quizes to complete on the computer, but they can create their own quizes and complete other students' ones.


I created a quiz about zoo animals. the link to my quiz is http://www.quia.com/quiz/2514028.html


A snapshot of my quiz is displayed here :



















The Quiz website can also be used to create different activies, such as hangman, jumbled words, scavenger hunts and many more.

I created a 'hang man' game about underwater animals. A link to my hangman game is here : http://www.quia.com/hm/668203.html

This is a snapshot of my hang man game:





Websites such as Quia are helpful for students to revise for a test or assesment in a 'fun' way on the computer. It will encourage them to develop their hand and eye coordination (especially in the junior levels) by using the mouse, whilst making them think about the questions.
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Tuesday, August 3, 2010

Week 2

Brochure Designs & E-portfolios


Today's workshop consisted of lots of information about the process of applying for jobs as graduate teachers. Greg Powell provided interesting ways on how to handle an interview.

We were then shown how to create a pamphlet on Microsoft Publisher. I created one about the attractions which can be found in France. Please see below for my finished product.





Microsoft Publisher is an excellent program for students to express themselves using ICT. According to VELS students will need to be able to use recommended search engines to find information about their topic. Once they have done this, they can display their findings in a range of ways on Excel.


Rather than always writing information, it is useful for students to type and to create brochures and collages on the computer in order to express their creative sides as well. They can use their brochure to advertise an item or a holiday destination.When students have completed their brochures, they can look at different writing styles, formating and how the information is presented, which can lead onto lessons about how effective advertising is and how it can be improved.


In our workshop we were then directed to create an e-portfolio on Microsoft Publisher. A portfolio is a way to relfect on one's experiences and beliefs and an e-portfolio allows you to upload your portfolio onto the internet, so that potential employers are able to gain a better understanding about their future employees. Progression Point 3.25 in VELS says that students should be able to create an electronic portfolio to display their work. This program makes it easy for students to do this.

Below is an example of an e-portofolio which I created on Publisher.



Microsoft Publisher allows students to create many different types of texs such as menus, news letters, banners and many others. In this day and age, where computers and the internet are used daily by many people all over the world, it is important for students to be exposed to computers and to become familiar with useful programs such as Publisher.

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Tuesday, July 27, 2010

Week 1


'Inspiration' is a computer program which allows students to brainstorm ideas visually . It can be used to create webs, idea maps, mind maps, concept maps, graphic organisers, process flows and other diagrams to organise ideas and thoughts. The links between concepts enables students to make connections and see relationships between ideas. The built in library of many different graphics allows users to visually represent information. This program extends students from simply writing/drawing a brainstorm in their workbooks to visually creating a piece of extraordinary work using ICT skills in the classroom. It is a wonderful way to help students to clarify their thinking.


The url for this program can be found at : www.inspiration.com/inspiration



In our EDU4PLT workshop today, we used Inspiration to create a concept map. I chose 'wedding' as the theme and incorporated different aspects of wedding planning as can be seen in my concept map:

















Next we created a mindmap in Inspiration. As can be seen below I chose nature as the starting point. The many arms leading off the main idea can allow students to add information as necessary.










In Conclusion, I found 'Inspiration' to be a a very useful tool for brainstorming, creating mind maps and other forms of visually representing connected ideas. ICT skills are evident in VELS from level 2 upwards and programs like Inspiration will help them to display these skills.



****Update (2/9/10)
On my placement in a grade 4 class, the students used 'kidspiration' to create a family of four and their weekly grocery list (only healthy foods). Using this program students were actively involved in creating their own mindmap, using arrows to ideas that were related/connected. The students' final products looked really creative and very colourful as they had used images from the in built library as well as finding images on the internet and 'copying' and 'pasting' them in. This is the website for kidpsiration: www.inspiration.com/kidspiration****
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