Group items tagged

Tan, Hu, Wong, Wettasinghe (2003) on Information Technology and Singapore Education, Instructional Framework, Instructional Strategies (Direct Instruction, SDL, Group Work, Computer-Mediated Communication, Constructivist Learning, Learning through Experience) Computer As an Administrative Tool - Blackboard ! Computer As a Presentation Tool - from PPT to Prezi? Computer As a Tutor - engage the learners in higher order thinking Computer As a Cognitive Tool - mindtools Conclusion: To successfully integrate IT into teaching and learning in schools is a challenging task that hinges on a lot of factors, including effective teacher training. Darling-Hammond (1994) describes the new paradigm of teacher learning as a place in which opportunities are provided for "learning by teaching, learning by doing and learning by collaborating." In our attempt to avoid reducing such training into teaching of discrete IT skills, or merely talking about it through lectures, we presented an approach that modeled various pedagogies, including direct instruction, self-directed learning, group work, computer-mediated communication, and constructivist learning. We also provided a holistic technology-enhanced environment, for the trainees to experience the use of the computer as an administrative tool, as a presentation tool, as a tutor, and as a cognitive tool. These strategies are built upon theories and studies of learning, as well as the use of IT in education. The results of the trainees' evaluation of the module indicated a generally positive reaction to the module and the perception that the instructional objectives have been achieved. These are encouraging indicators of the effectiveness of our instructional strategies, which we will build upon for further improvement in the subsequent delivery of the module.

Now you can prepare and present a Prezi the Google docs way with Prezi Meeting!

Embed real-time tweets and even real-time voting via Twitter in your Powerpoint presentations...

This software has a trial period that allow users to publish up to 5 presentations. Good for users who only need to create a few presentations.

Here is a list of free tools for educators/teachers for presentation and slideshow. Some of the free tools we are currently using or some we have yet to use. 

The voice over for each slide is easily done via online access or phone. I experience it during the Blackboard User Group presentation, it's a great e-tool.

I have download the PDF for some do not have the Guild membership yet. Here is the link to my dropbox public folder, http://dl.dropbox.com/u/8867598/guildresearch_rapid2011.pdf. Here are the product overview. - Adobe Captivate- Adobe Connect- Adobe Presenter - Articulate Engage - Articulate Presenter - Camtasia Studio - Raptivity Niko, you ask me about Raptivity some time back, check it out!

Something for the ETs and Jason to read and react to.

Interesting article! I think one reason why many teachers keep on sticking to the defaults is because _precisely_ BB can be so flexible and do so many things, and there's a lot of templates available. This panoply of choices leads to decision fatigue on the teachers' part: "Which features should I use for presenting to my students? how can I package and so on... arrrrh I'll just stick with the defaults and customize another day." (Can read more about decision fatigue at http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/21/magazine/do-you-suffer-from-decision-fatigue.html) So, I think our training strategies would have to recognize and take into account this human tendency to choose the easy defaults, especially when mentally tired.

Defaults are bad? hmmm... My son started using the kiddy skate scooter about 4 mths ago and he does it like a pro now. When I bought the scooter, it came with 'default settings', i.e. all fixed up and ready to use. He had a go at it and we adjusted the height and widen the handles along the way. He grew more confident and I removed the trainer wheels. I cannot imagine when the scooter came without any 'default settings', i.e. 4 wheels, 2 bars, rubber tubes, etc, I will be quite frustrated setting it up from scratch and my son will be climbing all over me. Defaults cannot be seen as something bad in my opinion. It gives new users or busy people something to start with, I personally appreciate that. When we design instructions, we provide foundations to get our learners started, building blocks or scaffolding their learning as they progress. A range of basic, intermediate or advanced instructional plans can also be presented later on. Essentially, what are the characteristics of our learners or the users of BB? What do you think they need? Demographics of our acad staffs for example are quite 'senior adult learners' (correct me if I am wrong). Do we think we want to present a blank BB page and tell them, 'hey, guess what? its all about customisation now, whatever you want, put it in.' No prize for guessing what their reactions will be. On the other hand, there maybe a group of people who do not want to conform to defaults but to change things or customise their experiences. Nothing wrong with that too. My point is, let's provide a range of options for users, we inform that there are default settings to get them started but there are also room for customisation for the adventurous. We want to be learner centric, hence customisation of experiences but we also do not want to leave anyone behind. That said, I am going to change all my default passwords and user ids of my mobile.... no wonder banks have been calling me to ask if I needed loans.

Crowdsourcing the flipped classroom - one step further?

Reccommended by Sally to me. Freeware, and only 267KB in size.

An innovative concept where you do a collaborative group presentation on multiple iPads remotely using a common PDF linked via Dropbox.

Air Projector is free right now. Present wirelessly from the app to a web browser on the same network.

A useful tool for wirelessly projecting and "laser-pointing" photos. Projecting and presenting with PDFs is less direct but just as nifty.

Speaker Deck allows you to upload your PDFs and have them displayed as slideshows. Speaker Deck will divide and format your PDF for optimal display. Unlike a lot of other services Speaker Deck doesn't appear to have a voice-over capability, but if you're just looking to share slides, Speaker Deck's clean and simple interface offers what most people need.

Dressing tips that may help us present a better and more professional image - with minimal effort. I especially love the one on how to remove wrinkles from your clothes without an actual iron.

A research paper on how low-tech SMS can be highly effective for certain learning tasks such as teaching social English. And now, there's Whatsapp and other social-messaging platforms that can be an intermediate level between simple text messages that work on any basic phone, to sophisticated native apps that must be programmed for a specific operating system. "As SMS is technologically and functionally very simple, it can be considered to be a relatively primitive  technology. However, viewing it from another angle, we see that SMS ranks very highly in terms of user  convenience. Successful uptake of mobile learning strategy is more likely in the situation when "learning activities can integrate into our lives in an unobtrusive fashion". SMS can deliver information in this unobtrusive fashion more readily than other strategies. SMS, thus, can be regarded as a practical and realistic mLearning technology for use in natural settings at present."