Prezi, Glogster and Powerpoint

PowerPoint, Prezi and Glogster

Wow I never realised power point could do so much. Maybe I have been living under a rock. This week my favourite tool for exploring has been power point. This is my website of the week: http://www.pptmagic.com/downloads.htm

Mathematics is one of those subjects, which students either love or hate. Developing skills to integrate and combine content with technology could assist students to learn and understand mathematic concepts in an accessible and relevant way. I can see how this would benefit students in my classroom immensely. Hopefully, I will be able to help students learn content AND, influence pre-existing negative perceptions, so that maths becomes fun.

This week I have focused on PowerPoint. Click here to see my first Power Point embeded into my wiki http://staceyselearning.cquniversityschoolofeducation.wikispaces.net/weebly+and+blog+links or here to see my Power Point uploaded to Slide Share http://www.slideshare.net/staceyelearning/math-is-fun-power-point-upload
I love the fact that you can add sounds, links, movies, and games. PowerPoints that include interactive features would work well in a maths classroom as students would be able to actively engage with the content. One example would be a PowerPoint in which students click on one picture, that leads them to a corresponding link containing relevant information.

Another example of creating an interactive PowerPoint would be to construct the PowerPoint into a game. Minecraft is an example of this type of learning where students are required to build and learn at the same time.

Students today are constantly occupied by digital gadgets it is part of their every day world. For this reason, and as suggested by Prensky (2005), it is unfair to expect students to be seated and be passive participants in learning. The TPACK Framework is essential, in that, we create learning environments and activities for students in ways that are familiar as well as engaging. When teachers have the adequate skills to be able to combine pedagogy, content and technology (TPACK), the benefits to learner are immeasurable. Though creating games would be challenging as suggested by Shulmen, and pedagogy and content are messy, it’s still worth the effort.  Creating games that appeal to certain students will not necessarily appeal to others. However, this is already a challenge faced by teachers in teaching students within the classroom without technology.

I have been fortunate enough to have had a mentor teacher that let me explore the Oneschool website, where I have already been exposed to different math games and sites recommended by Education Queensland.

 I am enthusiastic toward the concept of Prezi, which is capable of bringing new life to the familiar PowerPoint style of presentation. Visualising the presentation as a whole on one canvas, and then being able to zoom in and focus on one particular area of the subject was an absolute highlight in my exploration. Creating a Prezi presentation could be more appealing to students than the traditional power point. However, this would require the students to become familiar with Prezi with guidance from competent Prezi user. One of the disadvantages would be too many zoom-ins could create motion sickness. Prezi’s layout and concept is foreign to my instinctual navigating process, and will require further investigating and exploring on my part. Another issue is that its online only access, making it inconvenient at times; however, this can also an advantage. Prezi has easy to follow templates which would assist students in creating their own Prezi.
Click here to see my Prezi http://prezi.com/zxzpybo2dxta/5-meals-all-teenagers-should-learn-to-cook/?kw=view-zxzpybo2dxta&rc=ref-25188227

Glogster is a remarkable idea, enabling students to create their own learning interactive poster; I can see students creating their own Glogsters to consolidate learning. Having students creating their own Gloster, is more beneficial than being presented a Glogster, causing them to learn as they create. However, I have struggled to adapt to Glogster, after spending two hours uploading and mucking about, I have just one thing to say:  ALWAYS SAVE YOUR WORK!
Click here to see my Glogster

http://misssh.edu.glogster.com/tips-for-teenagers-using-social-media