This activity was an interesting one. I continue to see Excel (spreadsheet) as such a powerful and useful tool.
Once again it tapped into my teacher artistry and resource to come up with an appropriate and creative response for this Activity.
Being a Visual Arts Teacher I tend to focus on doing activities which focus on my subject area. However I was unable to find an appropriate activity to engage in using spreadsheet in Visual Arts. So I decided to focus on my second best subject - Geography ( I did teach it in my earlier teaching life) and what better topic to use than "Weather" to teach this one computer concept.
I did quite a lot of brainstorming as to how to teach the topic and I must say that I am pleased with what I came up with even though now that I am thinking about it I can see how I can further improve on it.
Even though it as Geography, I realise that it would still allow for some creativity in terms of the use of colour and texture for the graphs and charts, back ground colour, smoothing out the line graph and so on. So again some Art will come into play.
In addition completing this activity indicates and further drives home the point that despite the unavailability of resources, a very good teacher is able to use limited resources to effectively teach once there is proper and effective planning.
Monday 23 January 2012
2A-5 - Activity 5 - Further ICT Skills (Exploring Scenarios)
How could I have missed out on blogging on this Activity... they are coming so fast and furious..
So far this has been my favourite Activity. I really enjoyed doing it as it afforded me the opportunity to "free style" that is to be creative and to show off in my own way (some what) the ICT skills which I possess. I was in my element in creating the PowerPoint presentation about Colour Theory and I had a blast creating the course oultine for the Visual Expressions course. Also as a member of my school's administrative team, this activity also tapped into my administrative skills and resources of which I was proud to share with my tutor.
I am sooooo excited about this ICT integration into Education phenomenon...
So far this has been my favourite Activity. I really enjoyed doing it as it afforded me the opportunity to "free style" that is to be creative and to show off in my own way (some what) the ICT skills which I possess. I was in my element in creating the PowerPoint presentation about Colour Theory and I had a blast creating the course oultine for the Visual Expressions course. Also as a member of my school's administrative team, this activity also tapped into my administrative skills and resources of which I was proud to share with my tutor.
I am sooooo excited about this ICT integration into Education phenomenon...
Saturday 21 January 2012
1B-4 - Activity 4 - Is there a need for Teachers?
After reading both articles I realise that both experts Vygotsky and Dr. Mitra have provided enough evidence to prove that children do come to school with some amount of previous knowledge and that it is the Teachers job to build on this foundation.
Vygotsky postulates that teachers should use the previous knowledge of the children to assist them in developing thier curriculum so that the previous knowledge can be a pivot or 'jump off' point and to help stimulate the new learnning that is to take place. Dr. Mitra's experiments on the other hand shows to us that children can learn without being in a "formal" classroom environment.
I can definitely see how both theories presented by these experts can be used to assist me in my teaching as I seek to continue to integrate ICT into my teaching. However, for this to take place I first must be aware of what is to be learnt and what knowledge is to be passed on to the students and what are the appropriate methods will be used to pass on that knowledge.
However, my highlight of this activity is that the writings indicate that the emphasis must be on the students and their learning and that my colleagues are in agreement that cooperative learning is one of the most powerful methods of teaching.
Placing children into groups and allowing them to experiment, explore and work together on their own can bring about tremendous results. But for this process to be successful the teacher plays an integral role. For it is with proper facilitation by the teacher in offering guidance and support by setting the rules which govern the group dynamics and the assessment of the group activity that one can fully assess the cooperative learning process.
Vygotsky postulates that teachers should use the previous knowledge of the children to assist them in developing thier curriculum so that the previous knowledge can be a pivot or 'jump off' point and to help stimulate the new learnning that is to take place. Dr. Mitra's experiments on the other hand shows to us that children can learn without being in a "formal" classroom environment.
I can definitely see how both theories presented by these experts can be used to assist me in my teaching as I seek to continue to integrate ICT into my teaching. However, for this to take place I first must be aware of what is to be learnt and what knowledge is to be passed on to the students and what are the appropriate methods will be used to pass on that knowledge.
However, my highlight of this activity is that the writings indicate that the emphasis must be on the students and their learning and that my colleagues are in agreement that cooperative learning is one of the most powerful methods of teaching.
Placing children into groups and allowing them to experiment, explore and work together on their own can bring about tremendous results. But for this process to be successful the teacher plays an integral role. For it is with proper facilitation by the teacher in offering guidance and support by setting the rules which govern the group dynamics and the assessment of the group activity that one can fully assess the cooperative learning process.
1B-4 - Activity 5_ Reflections on Myths of Computer Literacy - Integrated Approach
This activity was a challenging one in terms of all the reading that was there to be done and also having to analyse the varying views of the experts and then arriving at my own conclusion on the matter. It was also a challenge since I tend to be pro Technology integration and often times fail to see the other side of the coin. However the reading material was very engaging and reviewing the different views on what is 'computer literacy' and the integrating of technology offered much food for thought.
I have come to the conclusion that anyone who has a working knowledge of computers can be considered to be computer literate once they are able to use the knowledge and skills in a context or environment pertaining to thier need at any given time to achieve the best possible outcome.
As an Educator I have been using the technology in my teaching, however I am excited about the new discoveries that I have been making and I am beginning to feel more empowered as to how I can use this powerful tool in the classroom, not only as a teaching tool but more as a resource material and storage device. I AM EXCITED!!!!!
However, I must remind myself that I must not get carried away and must remember that as an Art Educator that I must first teach Art and not computers. My whole objective should always be to INTEGRATE the technology in my curriculum - create activities where the children can learn ICT skills while doing Art.
( PING!!! light bulb - a bright idea for a lesson using the technology just lit up in my head.) WOW!!!!!)
I have come to the conclusion that anyone who has a working knowledge of computers can be considered to be computer literate once they are able to use the knowledge and skills in a context or environment pertaining to thier need at any given time to achieve the best possible outcome.
As an Educator I have been using the technology in my teaching, however I am excited about the new discoveries that I have been making and I am beginning to feel more empowered as to how I can use this powerful tool in the classroom, not only as a teaching tool but more as a resource material and storage device. I AM EXCITED!!!!!
However, I must remind myself that I must not get carried away and must remember that as an Art Educator that I must first teach Art and not computers. My whole objective should always be to INTEGRATE the technology in my curriculum - create activities where the children can learn ICT skills while doing Art.
( PING!!! light bulb - a bright idea for a lesson using the technology just lit up in my head.) WOW!!!!!)
Wednesday 11 January 2012
2A-5 - Self Activity 4 - Reflections on Spreadsheets for Administrative Purposes
This Activity was a powerful one in that I discovered just how powerful a tool Excel is. I have been using it to input data and sort them alphabetically but have never used it to calculate data. Now I am aware of possibilities that exist in using this program I sure will be using it and I know it will make me much more efficient in calculating my grades and averages and even to analyze the statistics. It is a great administrative tool.
Even though I am not a confident Excel user I found the activity to be totally engaging in that as I began I found myself wanting to continue to gain more knowledge. I manage to get up to Step 11.
Even though Steps 9 - 14 were not required to be done by "New Users" I decided to attempt them because of the engaging nature of the activity and to gain knowledged and equip myself. However I found that the steps began getting very "techy" at Step 10 but I experimented and consulted with my colleage Karen Pioche who provided an excellent explanation. Thanks Mrs. P.
The question was asked in Step 10 "Why is K made absolute?" I was able to learn what is an Absolute reference and what is a Relative reference. Hence the answer to the question is that "K is made absolute to keep the cell range from changing so that the totals could be calculated correctly;"
The layout of the activity was an excellent one in terms of the Instructions given ( simple language) and not too much to be done in each step. Also the addition of "tabs" which gives explanation and more information about certain subtopics allowed for easy understanding of the process. It is the perfect way of how an online lesson should be constructed.
I am excited to learn more about using Excel.
Even though I am not a confident Excel user I found the activity to be totally engaging in that as I began I found myself wanting to continue to gain more knowledge. I manage to get up to Step 11.
Even though Steps 9 - 14 were not required to be done by "New Users" I decided to attempt them because of the engaging nature of the activity and to gain knowledged and equip myself. However I found that the steps began getting very "techy" at Step 10 but I experimented and consulted with my colleage Karen Pioche who provided an excellent explanation. Thanks Mrs. P.
The question was asked in Step 10 "Why is K made absolute?" I was able to learn what is an Absolute reference and what is a Relative reference. Hence the answer to the question is that "K is made absolute to keep the cell range from changing so that the totals could be calculated correctly;"
The layout of the activity was an excellent one in terms of the Instructions given ( simple language) and not too much to be done in each step. Also the addition of "tabs" which gives explanation and more information about certain subtopics allowed for easy understanding of the process. It is the perfect way of how an online lesson should be constructed.
I am excited to learn more about using Excel.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)