Friday, 16 December 2011

Using advanced tools in Teaching


With the spanking development of science and Technology, more and more educational institutions and teachers would like to spread a new kind of teaching which called E-learning, it’s a new kind of online teaching and teachers generally use some new technical tools like Blog, Wiki or weebly and so on. These lead a new teaching style that will be more fit the new century.
E-learning provides a new way for learners, provides learning anytime and anywhere thus offers a possibility for lifelong learning. E-learning also changes the teachers’ effect in education and the relationship between teaching and learning, thus changes the essence of education. And another piont of E-learning is save time. But do these new technical tool really good for our modern teaching and E-learning , or how does teacher use these tools to make the E-learning prefect?
For me, I think teachers should use these modern technical tools when teaching, and it will make a big change in our old teaching system and make the study and teaching more easier and interesting.
These modern technical tools are easy to use for both teachers and students,
And all the data is online, shared with a wide group of people, it’s good for exchange ideas and chat with others online. Some tools are really powerful like google earth, it show us a real world in 3D view, it’s the ‘superman’ of Geography teacher. Teachers can leave message online for students and can also store teaching files online, students can review the subject by just download files from website. Teaching materials turning into digital materials (for example, Audio, Video, Images, E-books, Slide show….)from books, more convenient to carry and getting. By using these tools we can teaching and learning everywhere anytime if we have website or Wi-fi.
But on the other hand, these tools may also have some weaknesses.For example, we cannot use these tools without internet, the files can be deleted by mistakes and it’s not easy to restore.Another problem is that our data is opened to all people online, so there must have some problems of data security.
I will show my ideas of using technical tools in teaching and learning by some examples.
The firest tool is the Wiki, WIKI is a kind of website that let teachers and students add, modify, or delete its content by using a web browser.
 I really like to use WIKI to teaching my students if I am a teacher cause I like the way how it show, exchange and share the different ideas between teachers and students. I can open it and easily find what my students studing and working on their subject, and also I can help them by leaving messages on it or edit some information for them directly. It's so easy and convenient to supervise and control the studys’ study online.Another point that i like WIKI is that  I would like to know each step of my students doing and how they doing their subject, WIKI is a good tool to do that. And for my students, I also want them working together, share their ideas, solve problems together by themselfs. So WIKI is good for students' cooperation and also high-order thinking.
I am very happy to let my students working on WIKI doing their group work, help other members by themselve, they can editing and checking others work,and help others by finding mistakes and editing tasks. All these work in under my watch,I can easily find their problems and help my students fix it up instead of asking every students and checking everyone’s work.
The second tool is BLOG, Blog is another kind of website that can let teachers and students creat their own pages,and they can updated new content anytime online. I use my personal BLOG nearly everyday, it is so easy to share my new content with my friends and seeing what my friends doing by visiting and checking their homepages.But for teaching or learning, I dislike to use BLOG because I need to check everyone’s homepages to get the information and it will cost lots time. In another words, I will not use BLOG to be the main tool for teaching as a teacher, but I do not disavow it can be an aid tool, I can share new content for my students on BLOG if they need personal assistance.
And there are more technical tools, Weebly is an amazing tool that teachers can use to make a classroom website, easily and quickly ‘drag and drop’ content into the currently open Web page. As the reason of WIKI, I can use Weebly to share information with my students by using it. It’s better to teaching if I creat a classroom website and add all my students in.
Prezi is another amazing tool that easy for us to making a slide show instead of powerpoint. And it can be saved online, the effect is beautiful and not hard to make a prefect slide show. I will use it to improve my teaching quality, making lectures in slide show and share with my students, both of me and my students will feel comfortable with this.
In my summary, to be a E-learning teacher, It is very important to use these tools to improve the teaching, I will use Wiki in group work to exercise stydents’ team cooperation skills and communication skills. And use blog to share some messages and give students individual help. Weebly is necessary to use, a online classroom website can be used to store teaching lectures and mainly used of share all my files. And a nice slide show is also important in modern online teaching. Differend types of lecture files is important because for different learners have different habit, audios,videos,images,text files are all need to be shared to the learners. The best way is to use different kinds of technical tools together and put them in different use in teaching. If we mix these tools well, our modern E-learning system will be more practical and have better results.


Reference:

Wiki as a teaching tool:

11 advantages of using a blog for teaching:



A short video of E-learning from youtube:

Thursday, 15 December 2011

Museum Box - SWOT analysis

Museum Box is a website that we can create our own subject by putting files in a virtual box.And you can share it on the website, others' subject is open to you as well.




SWOT analysis of Museum Box:

S - It's a free website
    Easy to use
    Easy to share 
    Others' subject is also open to you.
    Good exchange ideas
    All kinds of file can be used in museum box .(Audio,Video,Pic,Text......)

W - Cannot work without internet
    Cannot chat 
   
0 - Good for exchange by looking others' subject


T - Easy to upload files.



   

SWOT analysis for google earth



Google earth is a really amazing stuff and it's free !
It gives great 3D view.
It also very interesting to use.
Creating and explore skills can be improved when using google earth.

But it's a little bit huge for some laptops to use(Like mine...).
Need to spend more time on it.
Have to download the program to use, cannot be used online.


SWOT analysis of Using Google Docs

Google Docs is a free, Web-based office suite, and data storage service offered by Google. It allows users to create and edit documents online while collaborating in real-time with other users.




SWOT analysis :


S - It's web-based and free, can be saved  and shared online. Easy to learn and easy to use. Can be used to store your files.


W - Can not do anything without Internet.


O - Good for editing and sharing documents with other people.


I would like to use it as a teacher. learners can upload their documents here and i can check it here as well, convenient to mark and help my students. But i think it's lake of communication.Chat always be more powerful than just leaving messages. 

SWOT analysis of Using Prezi



How to use Prezi:

How amazing it is, I really like Prezi.It can be used instead of Powerpoint, you just need a internet and few steps then you can get a beautiful products.

SWOT analysis:

Prezi VS Powerpoint:



About the Windows Movie Maker

Movie maker is a software which is easy for making,editing and videos. And it is include in Windows system. It contains features such as effects, transitions, titles/credits, audio track, timeline narration, and Auto Movie. New effects and transitions can be made and existing ones can be modified using XML code. Windows Movie Maker is also a basic audio track editing program. It can apply basic effects to audio tracks such as fade in or fade out. The audio tracks can then be exported in the form of a sound file instead of a video file.
(Getting from wikipedia : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_Movie_Maker)

This is video shows us how easy it is to make a video by using Movie maker.
If I am a teacher, i will not use this cause it takes lots of time on it. except some subject that need to use,when teaching some computer programs(Photoshop,Indesign,3Dmax...) It's more easier than just read some text and pictures.We can followed the video step by step.

Wednesday, 14 December 2011

SWOT analysis of using Podcasts



  (Getting from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Podcasts)

And this video also show us what is a Podcast.



And the following is the SWOT analysis for using podcasts:

Strengths: It's clearly and easily for students to understand the subject by themselves. It can be used on ipad and mobile phone for learning.


Weaknesses: It will cost you lots of time on creating a podcast file.
And maybe it is not very good for some oversea learners if they don't have high English level. 


Opportunities: It's up-to -date material.


Threats: Increased absences when lectures are available online.




I can use this tool in teaching and learning but i won't rely on it.
I will use it when i want to review my subject quickly.



SWOT analysis of using FLICKR






Next picture shows the SWOT analysis of Flickr using:


I didn't use this tool before so i really do not know too much about it, but i think it is not easy for us to commnuicate with others cause everyone is just uploading their files and searching, checking others files.
You can share ideas online but with no chat and commonuicate, it can be used to save your files and share data, but i think i cannot learn too much by just seeing others' pictures.

Flickr is really easy to use, but i can't learn some techonologies by using it.
Not like other tools, when i using blog i can learn how to manage my own stuffs and tasks.
From using wiki I can learn how to work with a group and good my commounication skills..

SWOT analysis for Weebly in teaching and learning


Weebly's WYSIWYG editing interface allows users to easily and quickly "drag and drop" content into the currently open Web page, which Weebly considers its flagship feature. Consistent with this design are also a blog editor, a simple method of implementing and customizing its library of themes, and a policy of no forced advertising on even free accounts' Web sites. Pro accounts include more capabilities such as the adding of in-site audio or video content, up to 100MB uploads, up to 10 sites, favicon, removal of the Weebly footer message, advanced collaborative editing, HTML5 video playback and more; "premium" support, and advanced site statistics. It has recently introduced a Collaborative Website Editing which allows users to invite other users to edit their website. This function is similar to Lifeyo's collaborating with other editors to edit on a website, with the exception that Weebly has separated how you can invite additional users to edit, with the Pro function allowing said user to allow invited users to edit only a certain part or only limited access, while the basic function gives the invited user complete control over editing your website.
(Getting form wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weebly)



Next picture shows the SWOT analysis of  Using weebly:
I would like to use this amazing tool in my learning and teaching(If i am a teacher).
To make a classroom website can make all students or classmates working and studing together online.
Easy to share and creat ideas, but it's also showes to all others.

SWOT analysis of BLOG teaching and learning

A blog (a blend of the term web log)is a type of website or part of a website supposed to be updated with new content from time to time. Blogs are usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Entries are commonly displayed in reverse-chronological order. Blog can also be used as a verb, meaning to maintain or add content to a blog.
(Finding these infor from wikipedia : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blog)

For studying and teaching ,
Blog's STRENGTHS : It's a good tool to share things with others and easy to edit any information on your own page. And you can hide or show anything you want to others, you can decide it by your own mind.Videos, pictures, links is also well used in blog.

Blog's WEAKNESS: You have to visit others homepage to see there ideas and information and it is not very convenient to have chat or exchange ideas.
And you need to pay more time on it.

Blog's OPPORTUNITIES: Good for learner's ‘independent working’ and exchange ideas with more people instead just your calssmates.
Blog's Threats: If you do something in mistake, it's not easy to fix cause other cannot help you to find and edit the wrong information directly and immediately.





Blog is one of my favorite tool to share information and my mind with others .
I use my personal Microblog everyday, i can see my friends ideas and states very quickly and Conveniently everywhere and anytime, and also share things with them, it becomes one of my life part.

But If  I study with using blog, i think maybe i gonna feel boring cause i have to visit other students' and teachers' personal homepage. To pick up what i need is not easy from thousands of informations.
And for teachers, need to pay lots of times on checking every students' homepage and finding their steps of subjects as well . I dislike to use blog for teaching and learning.

SWOT analysis for Wikis learning & teaching



Wiki is a not bad way for teaching and learning .
A wiki  is a website whose users can add, modify, or delete its content via a web browser using a simplified markup language or a rich-text editor.Wikis are typically powered by wiki software and are often used collaboratively by multiple users. Examples include community websites, corporate intranets, knowledge management systems, and notetaking.
Wikis may serve many different purposes. Some permit control over different functions (levels of access). For example, editing rights may permit changing, adding or removing material. Others may permit access without enforcing access control. Other rules may also be imposed for organizing content.




Firstly is the STRENGTHS :
1.Wiki can be used to share data and information convenient and easily with your team members or partners.
2.Pictures and videos and also some digital stuffs can be shared on wiki.
3.It's good for change ideas and share different ideas with other learners.
4. We can use it everywhere if there has web or wifi.
5.Teachers can also take part in learners study and working, help them more easily.


But it also has some WEAKNESS:
1. We can not edit on wiki together in the same time , it must be one by one.
2. Sometimes you delete others' information by mistake.
3. Sometimes it is not very safe.(Your information is also available for others)


And the opportunities :
1.It is good for getting ideas and information from other learners all over the world instead of not only the students in your class.
2.It's also give you a good opportunity to change your ideas with other people which has so different way of thinking .
3.Searching and picking information that you want.


The last one is the THREATS:
1.Be careful! Your information and ideas and stuffs is also under others ' control.
2. Think about how terrible it is if you get wrong information from others although it is just a mistake.



For me , I would like to use WIKI to teaching my students if I was a teacher cause I like the way how it show, exchange and share the different ideas between teachers and students. I can open it and easily find what my students studing and working on their subject, and also I can help them by leaving messages on it or edit some information for them directly. It's so easy and convenient to supervise and control the study online.
Another point that i like WIKI is that  I would like to know each step of my students doing and how they doing their subject, WIKI is a good tool to do that.
And for my students, I also want them working together, share their ideas, solve problems together by themselfs. I can also give them individual works and WIKI is easy for me to check their works.  So WIKI is good for students' cooperation and also high-order thinking. Why not use this amazing tool to prove our teaching and studing !

Debono's Thinking Hats

Six Hats is a kind of thinking tool for both group and individual discussions, it can make groups thinking together more effectively.And this method is really good for teachers in there teaching.



















This tool is focus on the ‘thinking' of the subject.
It's good for creat more ideas, and make learners doing brainstorm in every step.
Each hat focuses on different point of the subject , and all these together gonna make your subject prefect.


Checked from :  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Six_Thinking_Hats