LEARNING JOURNEY: The underlying driving force... Satisfaction... generated from... Positive Impact on Others... through the course of actions and interactions...
Through creative arts, students able to express ideas differently.
Example 1: Action Trailer "workpiece" by student
animation, accompanied by similar-to "Mission Impossible" sound track
Movie import into Garageband
Example 2: "Lively" storybook Turn book into scripts... and turn into movie
Students write the script, then they narrate story
'insert' real characters (students) into 'environment' (drawn background)
Students acted out the characters, expressions
Example 3: Splat Painting
Student being a "weather forecaster"... as they comment, the background - world map 'weather indications' changes, charts as background to make their reading/ narration meaningful.
Scaffolds...
Why do you choose to do a splat painting?
What emotions do you portray in your painting?
What colours did you use in your painting?
What do the colours represent?
Example 4: Creating Digital Children Storybook
Children's book published into a iMovie
Students' drawing + narration .... turn into a story book
Given a topic, students carry out research and put their findings into a story. They then draw pictures to express it in the form of story. Then, using iMovie to record the pictures, with narration - end product: Digital story book
Example 5: "I Miss Home" by Maya & Zoe
Students play (guitar) and sing the poem... composition of music to express themselves
Applications: Garageband
Changing a Move's Genre
Activity: Use iMovie to change the genre of the Horton Hears a Who trailer.
Example 6:
Origins: Humans explain their origins in different ways
Idea: Interviewer... interviewing people all over the world about their religion.
Start with the globe, map from Singapore to the various countries - interviewer to interviewee (dressed in the traditional attire), with image representative of country.
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Some Thoughts:
1. Useful for language subjects... in terms of contextualising the conversation or text
2. Does the teacher really need to know how to use the software? Or is knowing what features available and the affordances would be enough? ...
(to be continued...)
Continue... (18 Sep)
3. The examples were work by students that take hours to come up with the end-product.
What do I gather from these works?
Students definitely love to work with media applications - which is the same regardless primary school kids or the secondary teenagers.
On the other hand, how much time to be devoted into the production is considered as being reasonable, and not taken up too much time from the learning - curriculum-related knowledge and skill acquisition process? I wonder.
What's the emphasis of the learning? I think it depends on the key understanding and skills of "that" subject or topic.
Apart from the multimedia aspects, what else & how else have they done differently with other applications? I would love to know...
Signed up for the workshop at 8 am. It's the first time attending a virtual workshop... I guess it would be a good opportunity to experience it before moving on to consider 2nd life as a possible learning space.
Indeed, this notion first appeared in 2009 Term 1 when we were working on some publicity stuff for the school... considering it's a 'hip' thing... nevertheless, after some considerations, the idea was withheld.
The workshop I signed up this morning... "Use of Collaborative Tagging through Diigo to Promote Independent Online Research amongst Student" by Alicia Poo Peng Peng (aliciapoo2010@gmail.com).
Thought this would be the first "window" to open - to learn how others have used SecondLife in Teaching & Learning (This is precisely my objective of participating in this whole event). Synposis from the NMiEF event at http://www.mediaplaylab.sg/nmief/:
This paper investigates the potential of using Diigo to encourage interdependent online research among Economics students through the use of collaborative tagging.
The prevalent rise of various information repository and social networking platforms such as Google, Facebook and Moodle has provided vast opportunities for collaborative and interactive learning for both educators and learners of the current era.
Simultaneously, the tremendous rate at which knowledge and information has grown for the past decade has been astounding.
This poses challenge for any serious learner or researcher who wants to continually engage in research to renew his or her knowledge and keep abreast of the latest empirical developments and observations in relation to what is acquired theoretically.
The need to effectively sift out, organise and archive critical updated information is even more significant for A-Level Economics students who require supporting real world data, facts and observation for rigorous essays’ analysis.
Given the tight curriculum and the numerous commitment faced by a typical junior college student, researching into every topic of relevant interest for Economics is impractical and results in wastage due to the duplication of research efforts.
Hence, this has brought us to examine the possibility of exploiting the Diigo platform for a collaborative research experience that maximises research efforts and outcomes among students.
This research project explores how the Diigo platform offering the online tools for quick annotation, highlight, archival and the adding of sticky notes of comments directly to online research materials fosters a social information network rich in collaborative research and self directed learning.
Now... awaiting for the lecture to begin (6:36 am)
Tagging Feature of Online Articles to Enable Efficient Archival and Faster Retrieval
Why is there a need to promote interdependent online research among economics students?
A comparison between the use of Google and Diigo
Teacher's observation:
The school compiles all relevant and important theories and examples for us, personal research is not important.
Even if research is necessary, I thnk it is more efficient ot conduct it personally.
Most essays written by students are theoretical
Students carry out research in an adhoc manner
Lack of organisation
Absence of sharing & collaboration for research efforts among students
Tapping on selected features of Diigo
Research: Annotate. Archive. Organize
Group Knowledge Repository: Share & Comment
Personal Learning Network: interact with others on content of interest
Implementation Approach
Identification of topics (that students need to research on)
List of prescribed websites
Findings of Research
Majority of students engage in little or no research (self directed/ mutual) despite knowing the importance of research
A high proportion of students (about 70%) will use the group repository for major exams like A Level
Most significant factors hindering intent and effort for mutual research
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Think this is a platform worth exploring. In fact, think it has high potential and relevance in our context, especially when it comes to managing online materials... will follow-up on this :)
Was quite excited over this event as it gives me the opportunity to 'wonder' in SecondLife. Haha... it was as if I don't already have one! (Indeed, I think I spend more time online than talking, in any day... unless I have no internet access! Oops! Yes, one could say, I'm addicted to the Internet... as I hop in not just for work, also for my leisure). 3 of us (Aurelius, Aidil & me) attended the same event.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Keynote 1: Learning in the Digital Age (by Erin Reilly)
Synposis from This talk will examine students’ daily practices situated within their learning ecologies and hence are dynamically interrelated to their existing conditions, infrastructures of place, and technologies. Although the classroom and interaction among teachers and learners is at the core of this ecology, research has shown that adults’ and kids’ worlds are co-constituted, suggesting that school, after-school, home, and online places are all organic parts of the ecosystem. There will be discussion on how the focus of literacy has changed from individual expression to community involvement where creative manifestation and active participation are the hallmark.
Some key points gathered from the talk:
(A) A framework was presented:
It describes the 3 stages that one would go through when given ubiquitous access to others (via the internet, when they are soically connected). The way they interact has changed. The purpose would evolved. It's like progressing from a novice stage to an amateur stage.
(B) Next is something we heard over and over again in the recent years, the change in the way 'routines' are carried out...
Reading a BookVS Reading a Trans-Media
Writing Alone VS Networked Writing
Memorising Formula VS Gaming as Problem Solving
Indeed, this is very true.
Take reading as an example. "Books" are no longer just limited to text and images when technology comes into the picture. Take the Channel NewsAsia website that I like to go to. There are videoclips (snippets from the TV news), there is polling features when sometimes they wanted to get feedback from the reader. There is also distribution feature where the reader could further broadcast selected articles to the others via other platforms like Facebook or Twitter. So, the entire 'reading' experience has changed. The reader is no longer passive, but could also play an active role to respond according to his/her own opinion.
Writing activities have certainly evolved from "self proprietory" to "shared and collaboration". Writing on a piece of paper has allowed one to "own" the full ownership - the creation. However, often it's one-perspective usually. With technology, I guess, the first stage of evolution took place was the introduction of "comments" features with the word processor. The first step to make it interactive, when someone could respond to the writer - to correct or to comment.The next turning point, I think is the idea of collaborative writing was made possibly through wiki! There, the collaboration, the building-on each others' thinking takes place in a borderless manner. Multiple readers, multiple-respondents (writers). One no longer in full control of the writing, the direction of the writing could just change because of the different perspectives and background, experiences that each writer brings to the 'table'. Nowadays, it's no longer just 'wiki', but many Web 2.0 tools that could facilitate networked writing in various look-and-feel.
The project was introduced to the participants. Its key focus is on the 4Cs. Connect. Communicate. Create. Collaborate.
(D) Question: "Conservative with Content" VS "Radical" in approach
A photo of the entrance to the school computer lab/ library with a notice pasted on the door was shown to the participants. It read:
"Social Networking Sites (e.g. MySpace, Facebook) is no longer available on this Friday"
Haha... does that sound familiar?
So, is there anything wrong with this message?
What was the motivation behind this action?
What's the impact going to be like?
What's the reaction(s) from the students?
Does this really 'solve' the 'problem'
Lots of questions crossed our minds, isn't it? It goes back to... Social Networking is here to stay... So, how do we 'live in peace' with it and leverage on what it could bring to our everyday life.
Indeed, we recently 'blocked' Facebook because students were indulged in it... and have been 'dropping' by to play games. But this is only to buy time to educate the users. In fact, if we continue to 'block' everything, we are always in the firefighting end and it's bound to be a losing battle. No worth spending the time and effort in this.
(F) Participatory Learning Characteristics
The following diagram shows the 5 elements essential for participatory learning:
Indeed, if we look at it... it's commonsensical... for today's learning, we recognise that "Partcipatory learning" makes up the major mode of learning.
Authenticity: This has been something we emphasize alot in the school's approach - the connectedness - not just linking to real world (i.e. the environment), but also linking to oneself. This connection bridges the meaning of learning to what's intended for the learner.
Creativity: I forget who Erin Reilly spoke about "Creativity"... I think, creativity comes from both teacher and the learner. The teacher no longer can hold on to the old toolkit - the same 'strategies' used to deliver a lesson does not necessary bring out the desired (expected) impact/ effect that he/she would see in a conventional classroom. Indeed, if we look at cooperative learning strategies - it could be seen as a 'bridge' (of teaching strategies) of the old way (downloading mode) to today's preferred mode (interaction and collaboration). However, that set of strategies have to be modified in order to leverage on the environment. The same 'old' Cooperative Strategies have to change in order to fit into the technologically-pervasive environment. Hence, it calls for the teachers' creativity to create a new learner experience. Apart from this, because of the new environment and approach, learners are given more space and more stimulas to be even more creative :)
Co-configured Expertise: Teachers are no longer the sole knowledge provider. No... and I think there's no point for us to retain much of the theories we learnt in our head. These knowledge now are so easily available out there. So, what's the role of the teacher? Yes, that's why in recent years, the role of teachers has slowly (though not fully successful) to become facilitators - the one who show the learners the direction, provide the scaffold for them to seek the knowledge and construct knowledge. Well, expect the learners to be even smarter than who we are... so, what we could bring to this entire experience is our experience and foresightedness.
Motivation & Engagement - putting the right pieces together - the attitudes, the capabilities and setting the right context, that pitch at the right level. That motivates and engages. Imagine, when we talk about statistics and trends, use everyday examples that they are FAMILIAR with so that they could make connection and participate... Stocks and Insurance matters are not in their radar screen yet.
Learning Ecosystem - I guess it's really about putting everything together to create the environment - physical and affective aspects, with the necessary support structure - that is conducive to bring about the processes, to cultivate the kind of culture.
(G) Are you a ... MEDIA MASTER?
Check out our "Global Kids"...
Remixer?
Gamer?
Blogger?
Social Networker?
Cell Phone Addict?
The skills needed in classroom vs the skills needed in the workplace. How aligned they are?
"Teaching of Skill does not matter. but the disposition"
Side note: About the Experience - Well, this is the first SecondLife Talk that I attended... Though it is life, it's kind of funny to watch an avatar talking to the crowd. We could only 'feel' the presence of the speaker via the voice... there isn't much we could gather from the facial expression, the eye contact... these important elements are missing.
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Keynote 2: Learning in New Media Blended Environments (by Dr Tan Beng Kiang)
Synposis: Learning does not just happen in classrooms in a teaching-centered paradigm. As educators, we know the importance of other modes of learning such as experiential learning, peer learning, collaborative leanring and the importantce of learning out of classroomswith field trips to different spatial context. With technological advancement of new media,
How do we leverage on it to enrich learning?
How do we "blend" new media to our physical space?
Is there a need for balance between learning in brick-and-mortar space and total virtual environment?
Is there a need for balance between high tech and high touch?
From the keynote:
1. Learning from passive to active (trends):
Collaborative learning
Experiential learning
Participatory/ Collective Learning
Spatial Context: different stimulas. With new media advancement:
2D & 3D platforms
more affordable
more pervasive
2D refers to platforms like blogs and facebook while 3D refers to platforms like WOW, SecondLife (social networking, commerce), Google Earth 3D (info)
Single user immersive virtual reality environment - Heritage
Multi-user online virtual world - Educational & Heritage (e.g. Forbidden City, Lourve Museum)
Some examples of collaborative learning:
1. Experiential Learning:
Sungei Buloh Wireless Trail
UNPC and barcode
Dr Tan commented that it has the right concept but encounters hardware issue; and therefore it was not natural. Indeed, technology distracts learning.
2. Experiential Engagement
Characteristic: One learns according to one's onw interest at one's own time
This is my very first avatar in SecondLife... haha... Have not done any touch-up yet... except changing the pair of shoes...
Looks pleasing, at least... with the dark long locks and that unbelievably tiny waist... except that it doesn't look Asian (which I still prefer that) haha... :)
Indeed, it isn't the first time I come across SecondLife. 2 years ago, there's this interest to explore the potential of SecondLife in Teaching and Learning. Think the Consultancy section introduced this to the Principals and at PD section, Soh Tin also took the lead to bring in Kenneth from NIE to introduce it to us. In fact, I have a blog post for this too! Sharing on 2nd Life & Pedagogical Benefits (10 Sep 2008)
It's a new move to explore learning... Guess there are lots of potential in it... except that we've yet found the right key to open the door that shows us how it could do in an effective, yet practical manner (which includes the amount of time and effort), making it worth every single cent and amount of effort put in.
Attended the lesson by Aurelius this afternoon. It was the 2nd time... er I should say the 3rd time I heard about similar thing - Population Pyramid and the Demographic Transition Model (DTM). Thanks to James, too :) The preliminary introduction of the big topic during the meeting :)
The purpose is not just a lesson visit to see how lessons could be further sharpened, but also for us to learn and possibly surface good classroom practices. Hence, it's also part of my learning journey :)
The lesson started off by helping students to understand what it meant by "Trend". I was still quite puzzle over why the teacher needed to take length to explain the word. Well, I think that's where I learnt that it's important to explain the words with a relevant context even though it might be just a simple word.
For example, in Maths, we ask students to observe trends or patterns established by numbers. However, in this subject, to describe a trend, it's more than words, but in broad areas like "form", "functionalities". It seems to be a different kind of 'animal' in another subject.
1. Understanding of Trend... with Phone as an example
The Form
"Old phones are bulkier and newer phones are much more smaller and light"
TR: What else do you see in the outlook?
The screens of the newer phone gets bigger.
The old phone - keypads are big big while the new ones touch touch
The new ones are more stylish ?
Functions
Nowadays have lots of functions like internet... now only can call
So, there were so much to get out of the population pyramid! Not just superificial information based on comparison of the bars. There were so much to get out of it, when breaking the pyramid into 3 tiers!
Here were some questions and responses. Indeed, I was impressed by some of the questions and responses from the students :)
TR: Tell me what's the birth rate like for Congo?
High Infant mortality rate
TR: What group are we talking at the middle tier?
Death Rate.
Ties back to the field work out there
Harsh brought up a possible observation (which could probably be used to argue about the trend) that it could be in the past that the birth rate was not that high. Hence, resulting the concave shape
Next, by comparing the birth rate of India and Congo; both countries have high birth rate; but India's might not be as high
Another question was asked: Which group actually has a larger group of people in the society working?
For India, the change of population from one group to another (upwards) is quite minimal, as compared to Congo.
By comparing the "tip" of each pyramid, one is able to tell people from which country live longer.
Other observations of low birth rate:
Because living standard is high, and therefore have less children.
Does it mean that in a develop country, the country will spend less in infant or children?
The parents tend to spend more money on the children because they have less children.
So, it doesn't necessary mean there's less money spend on infants.
Into the next activity, which was to draw distinguishing features of both developed and less developed countries throuh 3 pictures (which broadly focused on transport, standard of living and infrastructure). I think it would be easier for students to remember if these 3 broad areas were articulated at the start of the task. Some responses from students include:
The road is pretty rough and that means the government might have spent less money in its infrastructure.
The picture with a truck carrying more people - Soh Fan: Because the population was very dense. The crowd in the tiny truck. So, it means that they don't have money to spend on taxis.
Ziying: Why is it that while the country is poor, there's such high birth rate
Mayur: It's because the survival rate of their children is low
Moving on to the Demographic Transition Model
Here's an interesting explanation about the DTM?
Stage 1: High birth rate & High Death Rate (e.g. tribal society)
Stage 2: With a bit of technology, but people still cling to their culture... better living, better food... need people to work... so still high population, and birth rate start to grow
Stage 3: Start to have stage 3, death rate has dropped... death rate is low... however, birth rate starts to drop
Stage 4: Standard of living has gone up, people also doesn't want to bear so much children.
Today attended the lesson by Jason... which led the students to see what the link between 2 linear equations with a quadratic equation.
The scaffold came through several activities:
(1) The first activity of this lesson is to find a linear equation when given 2 points.
Question If A (2, -2) and B (-2, 4), find the equation of the line AB. And hence, state the value of the x-intercpet and y-intercept.
Students were able to use the formula to find the gradient using the formula, (y2-y1)/(x2-x1), which is - 3/2.
One question from the student was... "when m could be written as 6/(-4) and subsequently (-3)/2. So, does it matter where the negative sign is? Is it with numerator or the denominator?" Hm... while the response to the student was, "It doesn't matter..." Well, I think it's where the students always get confuse over... at any level. So, would writing - 3/2 helps? Maybe... when the negative sign belongs to the entire fraction 3/2.
It was also noted that students were introduced to the fact that the y-intercept can be expressed as (0, c) that is, when the x coordinate is zero. Well, this is an important concept that students must understand.
To find the y-intercept, it was quite obvious that students knew that they would substitute any of the coordinate to the "half-found" equation: y = -3/2 x + c
(2) Indeed, I enjoyed the next part of the activity :) an interesting one - getting students to learn the 'beauty' of expressing the equation in the form of x/a + y/b = 1
I could not recall my teacher was able to explain so clearly what's the significance of expressing a linear equation in the form x/a + y/b = 1 Hm... I think this was introduced in Secondary 3 Additional Mathematics then. The key deliverable at this point, I guess is leading the students to be able to how the x- and y-intercepts could be so well represented in an equation expressed in the form of x/a + y/b = 1
The process to elicit responses from students really made their minds spin. Hahah...
The best part is really asking the students "Why" the a is the intercept and why b is the y-intercept... and how they derive the explanation through application of the following concepts and solve algebraically:
what happens to the equation when the line cuts the y axis (i.e. to find the y-intercept)? i.e. x coordinate = 0, hence y = b.
similarly, to show why a is the x intercept. The same concept applies: when the line cuts x axis, the value of y is zero. Hence x/a + 0/b = 1; therefore, x = a.
It really required them to have solid understanding of the intercepts (i.e. the y-coordinate of the x-intercept is zero while x coordinate of the y-intercept is zero, too).
It sounds easy, but definitely not something simple for a 13-year old mind who just started to touch-base with the Cartesian Coordinate Geometry.
Indeed, I'm really curious to find out how many in the class would be able to explain...
(3) The 3rd part was something new to me... which did not cross my mind in the past until the recent discussion when Sarah proposed the possibility of looking at the relationship between linear lines and parabolas, focusing at the roots.
In fact, I like it very much... it's like gaining enlightenment at this age - making new discovery in what I was familiar with!
Students observation, for students to the relationships of lines passing through the same point: What kind of lines pass through the point (-2, 0)?
What kind of gradient and y-intercepts do we get?
2 linear equations contributed by students:
y = x + 2 [root = -2]
y = x - 4 [root = 4]
y = (x + 2)(x - 4) [roots = -2 and 4]
Why is the roots (x-intercepts) of the straight lines are the same as the roots of the parabola? I guess that's where technology came in very handy that allows students to see how the lines coincide with each other.
Of course, the other part was when students were guided to check out the "signs" of the gradient and y-intercepts at the 4 different quadrants.
By the way, I wonder, after this first introduction, how many students were able to explain the process they went through in this activity. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ All in all, I enjoyed this very energetic lesson :)
The explanation was clear... though it's a bit quick in the pace.
On the other hand, I think too much things were packed into this 1-hour lesson.
Perhaps some breathing space for the students to attempt some tasks would help to check their understanding.
In a recent trip to Japan, I attempted to do a "full scale" documentation of the observations of the trip with both blog and googlemap (including several other elements) - to figure out how massive it is if we were to do one for potential upcoming study trips.
In general, the following were incorporated to create the entire 'sensation': - Blog - Images (using digital camera) - Video clips (using digital camera) - Movie editing tools like iMovie, Windows Movie Maker - Internet links (for information) - Search tools (to find out background of places before traveling) - GoogleMap (to mark down the places of visit) - Online Image storage platform like PICASA - Online Video storage platform like YouTube
Pre-trip Preparation: 1. Knowing the itinerary is critical as this would decide the format and the layout of the documentation. - The general concept of the structure should be ready before any work is done electronically. Else, it would be massive and messy to re-organise the information and media at the end of the trip. Of course, we also leave room for refinement along the way. 2. Deciding on the choice of platforms. For instance, I like to use Google suite because most applications are interlinked (Blog, PICASA, GoogleMap) 3a. Setting up the blog - to decide what should be in the main blog and what else appear in delicated pages or appear in the widget. 3b. Setting up the GoogleMap - to decide what to be reflected in the map. Indeed, it would be great if we could reflect the flow of the trip in the map, too. 4. Input the known information into the blog first. This includes - Creating the Googlemap specially for the trip & marking the places on the map - Embedding the Googlemap in a delicated page in the blog - Creating the relevant widgets and put in the relevant links
During the Trip: 1. Take lots of images - depending on the use of these images - unless they are meant for print in posters or magazines - Image of resolution about 2MB would be more than enough 2. Take video clips - each not longer than 1 minute, they could be stitched with movie editing software. This would reduce the 'bulkness' of the clip. 3. Download (from the digital camera) images and videoclips regularly (e.g. once a day) to organise and categorise when necessary. 4. Upload the images into the online image storage platform and organise further into smaller albums for the ease to manage. 5. Identify videos that are relevant and related - stitch them together and upload to online media storage platform regularly. 6. Select the more significant or representing images to be put up in the blog. 7. Embed the respective online photo albums and embed it as slideshow in the blog.
To 'announce' the completion of the blog, insert the "addthis" feature to the blog. Upon completion, share the blog via Twitter and Facebook :D
Here is an example of the map created for the recent trip: The blog that goes with this map could be found at http://lohky-tohoku.blogspot.com
Would not have thought of presenting any paper in a Conference that's targeted mainly for the "Chinese World" of Educators - but it happened. So, it once proved again, its the relevance that overrule the medium of communication (Mandarin vs English).
Indeed, I think many a time, because we were so exposed to the articles and educators in the English speaking world, we were pretty ignorant of the vast amount of work carried out in the Chinese-speaking world. Yes, look at the papers that were presented in the conference! On the other hand, it's through this one-time experience that made me wonder... does this group of educators do things differently, as compared to those in the English-speaking world?
Things that could be better...
I guess, it's really a matter of expectation and preparedness - which was 'shaped' over time and our previous experiences when presenting papers in conferences - be it big or small.
What would cross one's mind when one is told it is a Workshop? The physical layout, settings (including equipment) would definitely be different! One would not expect it to be a tutorial set-up with rows of chairs and tables lined up in straight rows. That defeat the objective and the strategies that people would normally employ in workshops!
It's the engagement level that one looks out for - participation is one of the key highlights, what's more if it's an ICT-enabled workshop! (Hahaha... I could find my ex-ETO self coming back again!). Unfortunately, there seemed to be disalignment in expectations, and perhaps interpretation of what a workshop entails! {sigh...}
I guess nothing got more frustrated when the enquiries went nowhere... it went like a ping-pong ball that bounced around because there was no 'ownership' or clear direction on management of enquiries by the organiser! {another sigh...}
Well, of course, the last assumption we had was the event took place in NIE! Hahaha... We presume the event 'must' be taking place in NIE since NIE is the co-organiser. Nevertheless, we were lucky to have the logistic personnel in NIE to assist. Phew! Else, we'll be late too!
Indeed, not knowing that there was a chairperson assigned to the session (oh yes, we were not told), we started at 1.35 pm about 5 minutes before the organiser (and his team of people came in). Hahah... in chinese, we really 喧宾夺主. It's both unforgetable to us as well as the organiser, I believe.
This is the 2nd time presenting a paper that is related to the use of Web 2.0 applications and platform. Indeed, it's a collaborative effort with Ching Ya - to share good practices we have in SST, in particular, for this conference, those that were implemented in the Chinese Language subject. It's heartening to be able to surface good practices within just 6 months.
Revisited Glogster this morning,hoping to generate some good ideas that could bring this tool/ application into teaching and learning... but I think, at this point, is still very much for the 'creation' - as an end-product. While explorating, I discover that some features are really very easy to use - that helps in the user experience! Of course, there are also limitations (which I always find the excuse for it - because it's free! What more could we ask for?)
Of course, apart from just creating the Glog, I've also embedded it into the blog (which is habitual of me!), to go with further elaboration...
I think, one of the greatest advantage, as compared to direct upload to the blog is - one could layout several objects in the poster, and possibly making use of the non-standard text format. It certainly encourages creativity.
Illustration 1: Using photographs to create an digital poster, to be accompanied with text. One could also select appropriate text and images (including animation) to create the 'ambience' and enhance the "message" in the presentation.
Illustration 2: A video clip is embedded into the poster, with appropriate text. The additions around the 'key' components enhances the context of the content.
One potential activity: Students capturing acts of goodwill - a description, followed by one's own response to what's observed. Images and clips speak a thousand words.
Glogster has made it quite easy to upload video clips - as it allows one to copy the link of clips that are already uploaded to media repositories like YouTube. The only thing which is not obvious is, after clicking at the 'upload' button, one doesn't know whether the operation is activated or not until the image/ video clip appears in the uploaded window.
One other aspect - layout - it's limited to portrait only. There is no way to change the final display (in blog) by editing the size under the html environment. It simply conforms to portrait and 're-size' accordingly.
Was quite excited over this event as it gives me the opportunity to 'wonder' in SecondLife. Haha... it was as if I don't already have one! (Indeed, I think I spend more time online than talking, in any day... unless I have no internet access! Oops! Yes, one could say, I'm addicted to the Internet... as I hop in not just for work, also for my leisure).
