Module 5

I had no idea that YouTube could be an educational resource. I thought it was just a site with music videos and people doing crazy things. Using this site to access educational videos to support classroom learning would reinforce the effectiveness of lessons. It would also make the subject more relevant to the student, particularly students who find it difficult at times to remain focussed in the classroom. I also thought Teachers TV and School tube were good resources for school staff. I particularly liked the section on Teachers TV for teachers assistants. There were lots of tips from other TA's regarding working with small groups and behaviour management. A great way of getting new ideas and feeling connected.

Beautiful Lake Tekapo

Beautiful Lake Tekapo
Originally uploaded by louise2206

A happy snap from our trip to New Zealand last year!

Module 4

Flikr would be a great classroom resource for students to post images and photos and for them to learn editing skills as well. The copyright issues were an eye opener for me. I found the various creative commons licenses a bit confusing:- attribution license, no derivative works etc. I think you would have to use this site on a regular basis to get the full benefit from it but overall an interesting resource and it's free!!

Module 3

Enjoyed learning about google documents. What a great resource for secondary students for essay writing or for group study activities.
I also thought of the many timetables and duty rosters we have around our school and how they could all be greatly reduced using google documents.Any changes could be made before a final hard copy of the document could be printed and then put up on the noticeboard.
Research tasks and projects could also be completed in collaboration with numerous students in class.
I also sent a copy of my new timetable to a work colleague using google documents!
Loved this and will find more applications for this at work.

Module 2

I think blogging would be a great tool for children with special needs such as poor fine motor skills or behavioural issues. They would be able to see the results of their work immediately and what a boost to their confidence! The idea of students being able to reflect on a unit covered in class via a blog would be a tremendous tool for the classroom teacher.
I wonder though whether children are losing the ability to interact face to face with these new Web tools and will we will see problems with social skills development in the future?

Module 1

Wow ! the Web has certainly evolved. I now know what my sons are doing on the computer (I think!!) We certainly have to embrace these changes in the classroom setting to make our teaching practices relevant to the students and maintain their interest. As a teachers aide I used to get nervous about having to assist a student with a computer based task but after this course I hope to improve both my skills and confidence.