ICTs in the Classroom
Working through this week's topic, I am quite surprised by the resources out there for the different ICTs and how to use them, especially for specific classes. There are so many different options out there with ICTs, and I guess the only way to figure out which one really works for your class specifically is to test them out!! If you've got the time, it's certainly fun to have a play with them yourself - remembering who your target audience is, and how they will be able to USE the technologies to LEARN.
First thing's first - I am totally not a VOKI fan! I've seen so many blogs with them on, and it's awesome, but I just can't seem to develop a liking for them. To me they seem so outdated and SO ridiculously computerised (especially when not using a recorded voice of your own), and to be completely honest - quite uninteresting. Personally I prefer a more realistic avatar, that moves more realistically, and actually looks like it's talking to you! This may be just a liking that I have, but as I am the teacher, I guess I'm allowed to experiment with these different things, and see if my students feel the same way! I did create a VOKI however, just to ensure that I wasn't being biased to the poor little guy. I've also found a new software called Crazy Talk7, it takes real photos and turns them into avatars, and you can record your own voice behind it, and animate it how you like, and I'm SUPER EXCITED, to really get into that & see what I can do with it! Here's a quick (& friendly!) example below.
I spent some time creating my website on weebly - http://missmelomaniac.weebly.com - and actually had some fun doing it! I think this would be a great tool for a secondary drama class, as they could each create a different website for a specific play, or playwright and let everyone view it. You could also embed a link to a video of you/your group performing a piece from that particular piece, as well as interesting facts and fun things about your chosen piece/person! I find that a website is the more useful tool for this, being that you can embed different things into them, and it isn't somewhere that can be changed by just anyone, and it's also not a place JUST for personal opinions, which I find is what blogs seem more to be. A blog is a great tool to use for a reflection on these websites, or for a reflection on your process through a performing piece.
Although only one person can technically use a website, if it is a group assessment there is still the opportunity to share the login/URL editing information to each member of the group and have it edited by more than one person that way, it is possible that an individual assessment would make better use of this tool though.
It is definitely MOST important to ensure that whatever ICT tool you use, it is effective and engaging for your class and their learning. It may be fun for you to play with, and to use for showing information to your class, but if they can't actually USE it, then it is USELESS as an ICT in the classroom. It can be tough to figure out which tools are going to work best in your classroom, but with some experimentation, hard work, and a little bit of creativity - and knowing your learners and their interests - you'll get it right, the students will really enjoy a very valuable learning experience... and you may even have fun doing it as well!!
Finally, below is an interesting Youtube video I found online of some great ideas for using different ICTs in a Drama classroom, my area of teaching! It is called: What's my iPad Doing on Stage? - Dr Rachel Perry ... Enjoy!
RESOURCEShttp://crazytalk.reallusion.comhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R-4D5_qclNgshamymanic.wordpress.com
I spent some time creating my website on weebly - http://missmelomaniac.weebly.com - and actually had some fun doing it! I think this would be a great tool for a secondary drama class, as they could each create a different website for a specific play, or playwright and let everyone view it. You could also embed a link to a video of you/your group performing a piece from that particular piece, as well as interesting facts and fun things about your chosen piece/person! I find that a website is the more useful tool for this, being that you can embed different things into them, and it isn't somewhere that can be changed by just anyone, and it's also not a place JUST for personal opinions, which I find is what blogs seem more to be. A blog is a great tool to use for a reflection on these websites, or for a reflection on your process through a performing piece.
Although only one person can technically use a website, if it is a group assessment there is still the opportunity to share the login/URL editing information to each member of the group and have it edited by more than one person that way, it is possible that an individual assessment would make better use of this tool though.
It is definitely MOST important to ensure that whatever ICT tool you use, it is effective and engaging for your class and their learning. It may be fun for you to play with, and to use for showing information to your class, but if they can't actually USE it, then it is USELESS as an ICT in the classroom. It can be tough to figure out which tools are going to work best in your classroom, but with some experimentation, hard work, and a little bit of creativity - and knowing your learners and their interests - you'll get it right, the students will really enjoy a very valuable learning experience... and you may even have fun doing it as well!!
Finally, below is an interesting Youtube video I found online of some great ideas for using different ICTs in a Drama classroom, my area of teaching! It is called: What's my iPad Doing on Stage? - Dr Rachel Perry ... Enjoy!
No comments:
Post a Comment