Wednesday, 6 April 2011
#9 Virtual Worlds
Problem solving, role playing, collaborative learning opportunities are some possible benefits gained through interaction/ participation in virtual worlds. I will have to do some more thinking and exploring to find the role for virtual worlds in our curriculum. The mention of "high speed internet access" raises the issue of equity of access.
#8 iGoogle
Still MORE! With so many options for a home page, it could quickly become the only place one goes, rather than the page which is the launching pad.
#7 Google Books
SOOOO many books, so little time to read them. Google Books could be a useful tool for finding particular titles. It gives access to e-versions of classics, and provides the opportunity to locate overseas publications. My default is to look for children's literature, so the results were limited - however, I did spend quite a time catching up with Calvin and Hobbes!
#6 Google Maps
I'm determined not to be seduced by the new toys, but to try to focus on the value adding to teaching and learning that the "toys" enable. The Stage 2 Local Area unit could be enhanced by a personalized Google Map - identifying the details of points of interest, providing a virtual tour guide (if the children had hand-held devices to take on the walk with them). Alternatively, following the traditional walk around the historic sites of the local area, labeling a Google Map would be an interesting way of demonstrating new knowledge & understandings. The range of digital literacies required is a challenge, if you are deconstructing the task and identifying specific skills the children will need to undertake the activity.
Tuesday, 15 March 2011
Success
Got it this time. It's the digital literacy of the blog itself that causes problems. Once again, we need to be conscious of explicitly teaching the skills of reading the blog tools.
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