Relief after handing in assignment 2 for EDC3100

Wow this semester has been hectic and gone a whole lot quicker than I had hoped it would.  A load was taken off my shoulders yesterday when I handed in my second assignment for EDC3100 and a big feeling of relief came over me.  However now there is the nervous wait for the mark to come back and fingers crossed I am happy with the result when it does come back.  I really worked hard on this assignment to try and get my head around it and do my absolute best, so hopefully that shows in the mark that I get for it.  After reading Leisha’s blog post titled ‘Finally submitted’ it is definitely clear that I’m not the only one who has felt like this semester has possibly been hectic, busy, crazy or even a little bit stressful.  Lets just say it has been all of the above…haha.  Leisha mentions that the next 7 weeks will be very busy.  I definitely agree with this because I have 2 more assignments to finish and then there is also prac and in between all of that life gets in the way.  So I guess it’s just a matter of being organised and prioritizing and making sure I don’t totally crash and burn before the end of the semester.

I’ll leave you with some interesting websites that may help you get through the busy and stressful times that the rest of the semester may bring.  These websites can be retrieved here and here.  There is so many more websites available out there for helping uni students combat stress.  So next time your feeling stressed and overwhelmed make sure you do a google search for how to help uni students cope with stress and you’ll be surprised how much good advice you’ll find.  Anyway now that I’ve finished assignment 2 I guess it’s time to catch up on the learning paths for weeks 9 and 10.

 

References

 

Assignment done [Image].  (n.d.).  Retrieved from http://www.keepcalm-o-matic.co.uk

        /p/keep-calm-assignment-done–1/

Blogs are a great learning tool!!!

 

So it suddenly dawned on me today that I actually don’t mind writing blog posts.  It’s kind of like a diary, except you are sharing your thoughts with a lot more people than just yourself.  I love how people can read your blog posts and then comment on them in their own blogs.  I have found throughout the EDC3100 course that the use of a blog can enhance my learning from other EDC3100 students. It also helps me understand how other people are feeling throughout the course and to my surprise I have quite often found that they are feeling exactly the same way as I am, which is always reassuring.  I have found blogs to be useful in letting out my thoughts and feelings when I’ve been feeling a little bit stressed about the assignments.

In Sarah’s blog post titled ‘My Light Bulb is Finally Alight’ she makes a comment about how she was not happy when she found out that we would have to use programs like feedly and diigo while also writing a blog.  I was also on the same page as Sarah at the beginning of EDC3100 because I thought it was daunting and overwhelming to use all these new programs that I had never used before. Like Sarah I also didn’t see the value in these things and I felt like it was just a waste of time spending all this time writing a blog that I was sure no one would read.  Gee was I wrong.  It’s quite exciting to know that people are taking an interest in what I write and maybe even getting something out of my posts.

It’s also pretty cool how you can use the internet to search for other blogs that may be helpful to your learning about how to best teach the children of the future.  Because of this I decided to do a google search and I found some pretty awesome blogs.  They can be accessed here and here.  I hope everyone finds these blogs useful and is getting as much out of writing blog posts as I am.  Until next time happy blogging.

 

References

Blog on a laptop [Image].  (2013).  Retrieved from http://blog.tiching.com/la-semana-

       del-blog-educativo-pon-un-edublog-en-tu-clase/

The implications of stage 3 of Assignment 2

 

After reading Talitha’s blog post titled ‘Whilst Creating A#2’ it has become apparent that I am not alone in the feeling that the hardest part of assignment 2 is stage 3.  I thought I was doing really well with the assignment until I stumbled across stage 3 and that’s when I really hit a road block and assignment 2 started to take a lot longer then it had been.  While I was working through stage 1 and 2 I felt like I was getting through assignment 2 at quite a good pace.  Developing learning experiences for a unit plan has been quite a challenging task for me because I am so used to completing detailed lesson plans.  Funnily enough the picture at the top of this post is quite fitting I believe, as it represents how it has been for me while working through stage 3 of assignment 2.

All I can say is thank goodness for the learning paths on the EDC3100 StudyDesk.  These have been my saviour throughout stage 3 of assignment 2 and have really helped me to finally understand what is required of us in stage 3.  The sample unit plans have also been fantastic and in  particular the year 12 legal studies unit plan has helped me immensely.  This is because I have mainly used this unit plan, as a guide to what is required of us.

While writing this post I found a website that gives a detailed guide to unit and lesson planning.  You can check it out here.  As I finish this post I only hope that everyone gets through assignment 2 with little stress and feeling quite confident with what they are handing in.  Good luck with assignment 2 everyone and good luck with the rest of the semester.

 

References

Road block [Image].  (2012).  Retrieved from http://recoveryhelpnow.com/2012/01/16/getting-

       through-the-roadblock-of-fear/road-blocks-3/

 

 

Lest We Forget

Today on Anzac Day we commemorate those who participated or died in military action, particularly on the Gallipoli Peninsula in World War I (The Australian Army, 2015).  I commemorated at an Anzac Day parade at Kallangur and as the serviceman and women marched past me I could feel some tears welling up in my eyes.  Anzac Day is particularly personal to me, as my Poppa served in WWII.

I am very grateful for the sacrifices that were made by the serviceman and women in all of the wars, so that we could live in freedom.  After reading Jodie’s blog post today titled ‘Lest We Forget – Anzac Day’ it really made me think about how  I would teach young students about Anzac Day and I also started to think is there any ICTs out there that would help me teach them about Anzac Day?  Because of this I googled online ICTs for Anzac Day and I came across a website with some digital resources for teaching students about Anzac Day (Spencer, 2012).  This website can be accessed here.  I also did a search for picture books that teach children about Anzac Day because I have always felt like picture books are a great teaching resource for using with young children and I found a list of books that can be accessed here.   One of these books is ‘ANZAC Biscuits’ by Phil Cummings.  This book provides children with discussion points both relating to the subject of war and the use of language (My Book, n.d.).  Another book on this website is ‘A Day to Remember’ by Jackie French.  This book teaches children about respect and thoughts for those who have fought to give us freedom.  It also stresses the personal element of the war (My Book, n.d.).  I was really happy to find this website as I may use some of these books in my future teaching in order to help young children learn about Anzac Day.  Like Jodie after doing some research on how to teach children about Anzac Day I am feeling more confident in approaching this very important and sensitive topic with young children in the future as a teacher.

References

Anzac Day [Image].  (2016).  Retrieved from http://crossfittorian.com/2016/04/2016-

        anzac-day-opening-hours-crossfit-torian-brisbane-barbell-club/

 

My Book.  (n.d.).  ANZAC Day Books for Children.  Retrieved April 25, 2016, from

       http://www.mybookcorner.com.au/articles/899-anzac-day-books-for-children

 

Spencer, K.  (2012).  Digital resources for ANZAC Day.  Retrieved April 25, 2016, from

       http://www.vln.school.nz/discussion/view/68418

 

The Australian Army.  (2015).  Anzac Day.  Retrieved April 25, 2016, from

       http://www.army.gov.au/Our-history/Traditions/ANZAC-Day

 

 

 

 

 

My Perfect Study Space

I recently read a blog post written by Elly that was all about the different sorts of places that she usually does her study. I found this post quite interesting to read, as it gave me an incite into how someone else studies and does their uni work.  The way Elly studies sounds quite fun.  I especially like how she sometimes studies in a blanket fort and being the big kid that I am; this particularly caught my interest and sounds like my kind of study space.  However being the organised person that I also am I like to do my study sitting at a desk looking outside to the front yard.  By doing my study this way I find that I am more organised and I also know where everything is.  A big thing for me is having a tidy area to study at, so that I can concentrate and not feel like my mind is all cluttered with mess.  By sitting at my desk I tend to keep everything together in one area and I’m able to easily keep the area tidy.  I like it this way because I find that it keeps me more engaged and on the task ahead of me; whether it be an assignment, a reading or the learning activities.

After writing part of this post I decided to google study spaces; solely because I wanted to see if I could find any good tips on how to create a study space that allows you to study more effectively and efficiently.  My google search led me to a website that has some interesting tips on creating a study space that does allow for effective study habits.  It can be accessed here.  As I know uni can be stressful; having a study space that helps you to concentrate on the task at hand is very important and since it’s quite an interesting read I thought I should share it.  I am quite interested to hear what everyone else’s study spaces might look like and why you study this way.  Hearing from others is always helpful, as it can provide others with ideas on how to continue to make their study space a place that is always going to be an area that allows for effective study habits.

 

References

 

Fleming, G.  (2015).  Create a Study Space.  Retrieved April 25, 2016, from

       http://homeworktips.about.com/od/homeworkhelp/a/studyspace.htm

 

Study Space [Image].  (2015).  Retrieved from http://blog.upskilled.edu.au/tag/interior-

       design/

Reflecting on week 8 and what’s ahead

It’s coming to the end of week 8 already and luckily I am thankfully almost finished the week 8 learning paths for this week and moving along quite nicely with assignment 2.  However this was not always the case.  I really struggled to get started with assignment 2 after feeling quite stressed and exhausted from a busy and overwhelming start to the semester.  Hence the picture at the top of this post.  I think it really shows how I was possibly feeling at the beginning of this semester and because of this I found it hard to get back to it all again once the uni holidays had concluded.  After reading Becs blog post titled ‘The week that was (Week 7 & 8) it is clear that I am not alone in my struggles to get motivated and started on assignment 2 and like everyone else in EDC3100 I really want to do well with assignment 2, so I am putting my all into it.

As Bec also mentioned in her post; prac is not that far away and I am feeling very nervous about it, but also excited at the same time.  I hope I get placed with a really supportive teacher who is willing to help me out and give me great advice.  While sitting at my laptop feeling nervous about what’s ahead for uni this semester I decided to brush up on preparing for prac.  So I visited USQ’s Education placements – professional experience page to help me brush up on everything there is to know about prac.  It’s quite helpful and can be accessed here.

 

References

Nervous Patrick [Image].  (n.d.).  Retrieved from http://spongebob.wikia.com

       /wiki/File:Nervous.jpg

 

Apps that support teaching and learning

I was reading Leisha’s blog post today titled ‘Apps for teachers’ and it made me feel inspired.  It was also encouraging to know that there are plenty of resources out there to support teachers.  In particular in this digital age it is quite encouraging to know that there are plenty of digital resources out their for providing this support.  In Leisha’s post she mentions that the resources that she found remind her of the many things available to teachers.  She also mentions that we just need to try out different options and see what will work best for us in our classrooms.  I definitely agree with Leisha because as a pre-service teacher the prospect of teaching a classroom full of young children is a little daunting.  However the knowledge of knowing that there are resources out there to support teachers in the classroom is quite encouraging (Luchetti, 2016).

I have found some websites that provide a variety of different apps that have been developed to support teachers in their quest to educate children and I thought it would be helpful to share these with others.  The first website provides teachers with a variety of educational apps that teachers can utilize with their students in their classroom to help the students further their learning (Connell, 2012). This can be accessed here.  The second website provides apps that will help teachers organize their life inside and outside of their classroom (Bird, 2013).  This website can be accessed here.  The third website provides a variety of apps that have been recognized as the best apps for teaching & learning in 2014 by the American Association of School Librarians.  These apps have been identified as fantastic apps for developing inquiry-based teaching and learning (American Library Association, 2016).  This website can be accessed here.

These are just a few websites that provide different apps to support teaching and learning in classrooms during the 21st century.  Therefore if you are interested in finding more apps available to teachers I would suggest you type apps for teachers into google and you will soon find that the support is never ending.  In conclusion of this post I am relieved to know that teachers have so many resources out there to support themselves as well as their students through teaching and learning in the 21st century.

 

References

American Library Association.  (2016). Best apps for teaching and learning 2014.  Retrieved

April 19, 2016, from http://www.ala.org/aasl/standards/best/apps/2014

 

Bird, K.  (2013).  100 apps for teachers.  Retrieved April 19, 2016, from

http://www.rasmussen.edu/student-life/blogs/main/100-apps-for-teachers/

 

Connell, G.  (2012).  My 35 favorite free apps for teaching.  Retrieved April 19, 2016, from

http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/top-teaching/2012/12/my-35-favorite-

free-apps-teaching

 

Luchetti, L.  (2016).  Apps for teachers.  Retrieved April 19, 2016, from

https://leishaluchetti.wordpress.com/2016/04/19/apps-for-teachers/

 

Amplifying and Transforming learning experiences using ICTs

While working through assignment 2 for EDC3100 I have been conscious of having to find ICTs that amplify and transform the learning of the students throughout the unit. However Courtney mentions in her post titled ‘On the journey to ICT-rich learning experiences’ that a major problem with developing ideas to amplify and transform learning experiences with ICTs; is knowing what ICTs are available and what ICTs might be applicable.  I totally agree with Courtney, as this has been a major setback for me while working on assignment 2.  To help me with this setback I have found google to be a helpful resource for developing ideas and I have also used assignment 1, as a guide to certain ICTs that could be used throughout assignment 2.  Scootle is also another good resource to use.  I also found a webpage that provides some of the best apps and web tools to utilise for each of the six thinking levels in Bloom’s digital taxonomy.  This webpage can be accessed here.  For example in order for students to develop understanding they could use ICTs such as Diigo and Weebly (Educational Technology and Mobile Learning, 2016).  All of these resources are helping me to establish what ICTs are available and applicable to use throughout my unit for assignment 2.  I hope they are just as helpful for others also.

 

References

Educational Technology and Mobile Learning.  (2016).  Bloom’s digital taxonomy cheat

       sheet for teachers.  Retrieved April 18, 2016, from

       http://www.educatorstechnology.com/2016/02/blooms-digital-taxonomy-cheat-

       sheet-for-teachers.html

Reflection of the EDC3100 course so far…

 

I have been working through week 7 of the course this week and like Leisha Luchetti I too feel less overwhelmed, confused and scared about this course.  I remember in the first couple of weeks I felt very overwhelmed about what was required of us throughout this course and I was also worried that I would not be able to complete the amount of work required of us.  I was also feeling nervous about using new ICT resources to complete this course.  For example even writing a blog was new to me at the beginning of this course and now I am a competent blog user on wordpress.  Much the same as Leisha Luchetti I too have changed my feelings about this course and now that we are in week 7 I am feeling interested, excited, happy and eager to learn more in regards to EDC3100.

I’d also like to reflect on my thoughts about how the EDC3100 StudyDesk is set up.  Firstly I really like how EDC3100 has been set out for students to complete this course.  Seeing the boxes ticked once I complete a moodle book helps me keep on track with where I’m at throughout the course and also helps me to stay engaged with the online learning activities provided throughout the course.  I have often found while completing my degree that sometimes with my busy lifestyle it’s hard to stay engaged with the StudyDesk activities and modules throughout each course while also working on the assignments.  However the way EDC3100 has been set up helps me to ensure that I make time to complete the StudyDesk activities.  I think this aspect is great.  I also love how the moodle books are easy to understand and follow along with and I also love the way that the moodle books help with working through each assignment.  This is also a bonus in keeping up to date with the learning activities throughout the course.

I hope everyone else’s feelings have changed about this course since week 1 of EDC3100 to a more positive point of view about the course.  I also hope that everyone is learning as much as I have so far throughout EDC3100 and if your still feeling stressed I thought I would share a link to a webpage that describes how to reduce stress.  The link can be found here.  I hope you all find this link helpful while completing the second half of semester 1.

 

References

 

Guardian News and Media Limited.  (2013).  Students: 10 ways to beat stress.  Retrieved

Wednesday March 13, 2016, from http://www.theguardian.com/education/mortarboard

       /2013/nov/06/students-ten-ways-to-beat-stress

 

Person reflecting [Image].  (2013). Man Reflecting Istock.  Retrieved from

       http://danblackonleadership.info/archives/2511/man-reflecting-istock

Learning can be fun!

After reading Elizabeth’s blog post today I was encouraged to find out more about a fascinating and fun teaching resource called 4D Cityscape time puzzles.  I watched the YouTube video in Elizabeth’s post that explains what this resource is and I found it quite fascinating.

I bet your all wondering what this fascinating learning resource is.  Well it’s a multi-layer puzzle that incorporates 4 Dimensions, so that you can recreate cityscapes or Ancient cities.  This puzzle is evidence that learning really can be fun.

I definitely think this would be a fantastic resource for engaging young children in learning geography to explore the changes in natural, managed and constructed features in a place.  This could be done through the use of the 4th Dimension time poster, which is used to locate & place buildings on the puzzle map according to the year it was built in chronological order.  The year of the last building that is placed on the puzzle map represents the year you are in the puzzle. This resource is educational and could be incorporated into a geography lesson to help children learn how a city develops and evolves overtime and they could also learn about the geography of a particular area (4D Cityscape Time Puzzle, 2016).

ICT is incorporated into this resource through the 4D National Geographic Puzzles App. This app can be used on an iPad to scan the puzzle in order to identify and learn more about each location (4DCityscape, 2015).  I am very grateful that Elizabeth introduced me to this educational resource, as it was great to learn about something that I had not heard about before and it was definitely good to find an educational tool that would be engaging and interesting for young children to learn and develop inside and outside the classroom.  It’s also even more cool that it incorporates the use of ICTs.

4D Cityscape time puzzles truly demonstrates how learning can be fun.  All you need to do is research in order to find the right resources.  This resource could also be incorporated into a history lesson.  I encourage everyone to check out Elizabeth’s blog post and share your thoughts.

 

References

4DCityscape.  (2015).  4D National Geographic Ancient City App Series [Video file].  Retrieved

from https://youtu.be/419t46pii6o

 

4D Cityscape Time Puzzle.  (2016).  Retrieved April 6, 2016, from

       http://www.4dcityscape.com/index.php?m=content&c=index&a=lists&catid=6

 

Phoenixedublog.  (2016).  Rome wasn’t built in a day!.  Retrieved from

       https://phoenixedublog.wordpress.com/2016/04/05/rome-wasnt-built-in-a-day/