Voki's are great!

"Hello everyone, I am the very first avatar that my creator, Jessica has created. She thinks I'm pretty neat and a good learning tool for students. I can provide speach for students with poor reading skills or hearing imparments or for those who have those days where they just dont feel like reading. I am a great tool to engage students as I provide for Visual, Auditory and Kinesthetic learning styles. Since students today are so involved with technology, they sure will love to use and listen to me. I'm also here to provide some online humour; Jessica laughed many times whilst creating me. Hopefully by adding humour, students are more likely to retain the informaiton. I also provide a fresh touch to the classroom, students and teachers can have a break from listening to the same voice."




References:
EDED20456, Class handout, Learning Styles, 22/3/2010

First glimpse of Mahara

For this weeks ICT topic (week 5), we were to familiars ourselves with the site Mahara. Even though I've only had today to play around with the site, I have come to see some great uses that Mahara can and will offer. Below is the link to some of the work that I have done today:

http://cqu-mahara.netspot.com.au/view/view.php?t=thZ8OHmUZAechBLNQPMw

I have also created a "Group" titled GDLT Secondary, please join as I would love to converse opinions and idea's with all you secondaries out there!

I thought the Mahara site provides great opportunities for professionals and students to store (informal and formal) information on. It's another great technological communication tool. To me, it seemed like a academic Facebook. I think students would be really engaged using a sites like this, since it's just like using a Facebook!

I found this great quote on google that I thought was a good explanation of why using sites, such as Mahara are a great learning tool for professionals and students alike. In my thoughts, this is what a site like Mahara can offer students:

“Learning is not a spectator sport. Students do not learn much just sitting in classes listening to teachers, memorizing pre-packaged assignments, and spitting out answers. They must talk about what they are learning, write reflectively about it, relate it to past experiences, and apply it to their daily lives. They must make what they learn part of themselves” (Chickering & Gamson, 1987).

Mahara definitely is a site that needs some time spent looking at all it's features; as their are many possibilities given when using it.

I found Scots Mahara tutorials to be a little bit more helpful than the mosep website videos, as their instructions were slightly different to what you saw on your Mahara page. Still, there were some great instructions on the mosep website.

The one thing I continuously find about these sites are they are so addictive! That may be a good thing though? When you sign up for Mahara make sure to add me as a friend!

Would love to hear your thoughts.

Week 4 - Roles of ICT in Education

Learning activity 1:

My Educational learning experience – Least to Most effective methods

Least	Copying off board
	Referring to text books and writing a paragraph on that topic
	Reading books
	Verbal
	Television/Films
	Field Trips – only ones that were valued as authentic, purposeful experiences
	Camps
	Teacher interaction/demonstrations
	Interactive/Group Activities
	Hands on/Doing
Most	Genuine activities/experiences

Dales Cone:

Verbal Symbols

Visual Symbols

Recordings, Radio, Still pictures

Motion Pictures

Television

Exhibits

Field Trips

Demonstrations

Dramatized Experiences

Contrived Experience

Direct, Purposeful Experiences

I think my learning experience was quite similar to Dales Cone. I thought during my education experience I had a mixture of these experiences. I would have to agree with Dale’s Cone, that the most effective methods are at the bottom of the cone which involves direct, purposeful learning experiences.

Technology could change the learning design in education as it opens a whole new pattern to the way in which students learn (George Lucas). Technology can change the learning experience from teacher-centric to student centric as it offers the students opportunities to have access to and independently discover new and different types of information (using Google for instance) to a question they might have. They can then maneuver the found information on the computer, for instance through graphic displays designed in their own way and communicate their results amongst the class or out and beyond the classroom experience. Computers could be used as a tool to help the education process, facilitating co-operate, interactive, project based learning (George Lucas). Teachers could also benefit from these technologies, finding new ways to connect with their students.

Children learn out of curiosity (George Lucas) and since technology today is rapidly used (and changing - always new and exciting) in today’s society, students want to discover more about it and find ways to use it. Activities that students find engaging build students’ knowledge. Effective learning happens when students use what they already know and then move beyond it.

Learning activity 2

My blog address for the GDLT program is as follows:

http://jhgdltlearningreflection.blogspot.com/

Learning activity 3 – Beyond School

The beyond school website has so many options! There were many good points on using technologies, with an overwhelming amount of links and subscriptions. I thought Clay showed numerous ways of presenting and making use of all aspects of technology. He presented his information in a way that wasn’t too formal. I think this approach is great for students as it shows them that learning can be enjoyable and they get the impression that the class is a team, with the teacher being a learner also, all working towards the same objectives.

I think starting off small is what builds student trust. If you allow students to use certain technologies such as Google to research information, by them proving that they will do the right thing and actually research what they are supposed to, you can move up using more advanced technologies. Using these more advanced technologies, such as a blog or twitter, shows students that you trust them to do the right thing and research/use the correct information/topic that’s being asked. It’s a great way to create an interactive environment where students and teachers can post their thoughts or comments. Students feel valued if they believe someone cares about what they want and have to say. It’s also a great way to post ideas if you feel threatened confronting someone (maybe a teacher or student) face to face?

Learning activity 4

Students from the GDLT program have been added to my blog feed to keep track with their learning journey. These feeds are a more convenient way to stay updated with their work and to converse ideas with each other.

Technologies such as Email, Blogs, Twitter, Facebook and so forth is the communication channel to interact with each other; not only in school but outside of school. It allows students to produce additional information than what is provided in class (EDED20491, class discussion, 22/3/2009). The internet is becoming an increasingly pervasive and persistent inference in people’s lives. Blogs for example, enable individual participation in the marketplace of ideas. They are convenient as postings are often short and frequently updated. The entries are similar to keeping a handwritten journal, which include posting dates and may contain area’s for other people to post their comments (Glenco & McGraw-Hill, 2000-2005).

Learning activity 5 – Wikis

Below is the link for my wiki site. I have created this site for future brides in the CQ are who are planning their wedding. I have called the site Wedding Bell, because my partner’s last name is actually Bell, so the wiki title could represent actual “wedding bells” and maybe my “wedding, Bell”. The site will include ideas such as wedding gifts (wedding registers) car hire, ceremonial and wedding reception locations, catering, dresses, tux’s, videos of other weddings and more!

Please feel free to start adding some idea’s:

http://wedding-bell.wetpaint.com/

Wiki’s are a great technology communication tool between people/s. Emailing a large document to several people can take time and some people may not receive it due to sending errors or spam filters. By using a wiki one user can share his or her work with all of the users at one time. When communicating through a wiki there is no concern about emails getting lost or thrown away. All communications will be kept inside the wiki, which is a great tool for collaboration.

Wiki would be a great device to use within schools because students can add their thoughts, opinions, questions and not only are they being answered, they are being heard. Students will be engaged in using wiki because since today’s youth are so technological minded, using a wiki would be a much more interesting approach to use rather than writing a paper for instance. The wiki provides all aspects of learning – visual, auditory and kinesthetic. They are able to read, listen (through videos or recording) and physically add things to the wiki.

By putting wiki’s into operation in schools you will be able to, for example, stay on top of student’s group projects and have a better sense of how they are coming along. It gives students the advantage of being able to put many ideas together and then going back to edit them when necessary. Teachers and students will be able to visualize group goals and the actions that need to be completed in order to achieve those goals.

For effective learning to occur, students must be meaningfully engaged in activities (Kearsley & Shneiderman p. 1). Technology provides an electronic learning environment that fosters the kind of creativity and communication needed to nourish engagement (Kearsley & Shneiderman p. 6).

Hopefully going to school won’t have to be like this. (Keep in mind this video was shot in good fun – you only have to watch the first 30 seconds to get the point!):

References

Glencoe/McGraw-Hill, a division of the Educational and Professional Publishing Group of The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., Using Blogs to Integrate Technology in the Classroom, Retrieved from: http://www.glencoe.com/sec/teachingtoday/educationupclose.phtml/47

Gadget Girl Accessories. Advantages of using Wiki’s. Retrieved from: http://www.gadgetgirlaccessories.com/2008/09/advantages-of-using-wikis/

Greg Kearsley & Ben Shneiderman, Engagement Theory: A framework for technology-based teaching and learning.

George Lucas "Edutopia" interview retrieved from EDED20491 Week 4 learning activity page

Week 3, Dimensions of Learning 1 & 5

Through this week I have gained knowledge in the rudiments of Dimensions of Learning (DOL). After reading Marzano & Pickering DOL Teachers Manual, I came across some great examples and strategies that can be used to facilitate successful learning environments and outcomes, whilst taking into account the individual differences and learning styles of others. I even learnt a little bit about myself through these readings.

Below are my thoughts on this weeks topic – Dimensions of Learning

Learning Activity 1: Contemplate how you might use the 8LMQs and DOL together:

I can see many familiarities and links between DOL 1 and LMQ 1, 2 and 3.

The 8 LMQs 1 links with DOL 1, “Feeling accepted by teachers a peers” section as it converses establishing relationships and engaging in classroom discussion about any goals or concerns related to student’s attitudes and perceptions; these goals and/or concerns are in general or ones that may be related to the specific unit. This parallels with LMQ 1 as it’s about profiling, data collecting and analysing the students thus finding what the students already know. For example, through discussion students can express their frustrations about the relevance of their school work and you as the teacher may become aware that an upcoming assignment may not be immediately interesting to students.

LMQs 2 and DOL 1 “Attitudes and Perceptions about Classroom Tasks” section link as its establishing where the students need and want to be. Students’ learning is influenced by the degree to which they perceive tasks as valuable and interesting, otherwise little to no effort will be put into doing it. Establishing a sense of academic trust ensures students that the teacher only assigns tasks that are valuable, whether the outcomes are set formally (Curriculum), informally (Personal requirements) and things students should unconsciously learn (Hidden Curriculum).

What will be done to address these goals and concerns? This is where DOL step 1 works in conjunction with LMQ 3 as you are finding anything specific that may help the students best learn. Whether that is class climate – feeling accepted by teachers and peers, experiencing a sense of comfort and order. Class tasks – are they authentic, interesting, do students feel they have the ability and resources, is the task understood. Recognising and providing for students’ differences – disabilities, gifted & talented.

I think that Dimensions of Learning 1 is a broadened example of Learning Management Questions 1, 2 and 3. When applying the LMQs, DOL 1 gives great tactics and situations when approaching classroom tasks.

Learning Activity 2: Similarities and differences between Marzano and Costa & Kallicks habits of mind

Costa & Kallicks and Marzano’s “Habits of Mind” in my opinion had the same type of definition when describing the Habits of Mind. Both meanings were around the idea that a “Habit of Mind” is identifying productive mental habits that when confronted with problems, having the temperament to behave intelligently unconsciously (without thinking). These behaviours are reflected upon, evaluated, modified and carried forth to assist to serve well into the future. In my words, having some morals.

What I noticed in Costa & Kallicks article “Habits of Mind” is that he didn’t locate the “habits” into sections of Critical Thinking, Creative Thinking and Self-Regulated Thinking as Marzano carried out. Costa & Kallick established 16 descriptions of “Habits of Mind” to what human beings do when they behave “intelligently” (Costa & Kallick, Describing the 16 Habits of Mind, p. 2).

I noticed some of Costa & Kallicks “Habits of Mind” definitions were similar to Marzano’s descriptions and slightly different. Below are some examples to which I thought were similar and different (see Figure 1 and 2).

Figure 1.

Similarities

Kallick & Costa	Marzano
Persisting (Costa & Kallick, Describing the 16 Habits of Mind, p. 2)	Perseverance (Marzano, 1997 p. 284)
Listening to others & Thinking Flexibly (Costa & Kallick, Describing the 16 Habits of Mind, p 3). I thought both of these readings were similar to what Marzano explains as Maintaining and open mind	Maintain an open mind (Marzano, 1997 p. 277)
Thinking about our thinking (Costa & Kallick, Describing the 16 Habits of Mind, p. 5)	I thought Costa & Kallicks definition of thinking about thinking had elements of Marzano’s definitions of “Generate Trust and Maintain Your Own Standards of Evaluation”, “Plan properly” and, “Monitor your own thinking” (Marzano 1997 p. 287, 291 & 290)

Figure 2

Differences

Kallick & Costa	Marzano
Managing Impulsivity (Costa & Kallick, Describing the 16 Habits of Mind, p. 2)	I thought Marzano’s definitions were slightly different as Costa & Kallick described this habit of mind as just “think before you speak”. Marzano had a further explanation that went on to say that is it more than just “think before you speak/act”, it includes the understanding of situations in which restraint is needed and then knowing how to stop yourself from acting to quickly (Marzano 1997 p. 279)
Gathering data Through All senses. I noticed I couldn’t really find a sub topic in Marzano’s writing relating to Costa & Kallick's “Gathering Data through all senses” (Costa & Kallick, Describing the 16 Habits of Mind, p. 8). The only slight connection I could make was with Marzano’s “Responding Appropriately to Others’ Feelings and Level of Knowledge” (Marzano Dimensions of Learning, 1997, p. 282) Although explained differently; I could vaguely make connections between the two.	Respond Appropriately to Others’ Feelings and Level of Knowledge

Overall I thought both Cope & Kallick and Marzano’s explanations were on the same track. Either way, one of them had a continuing explanation or a different type of description for a “habit”. Although the headings for each “Habit of Mind” were different between readings (and some sections were more in-depth or had a different definition), I saw aspects of each “Habit of Mind” conveyed throughout both readings in some way or form.

Learning Activity 3: Strategies suggested for each Dimension of Learning

Dimension 1 strategies

What will be done to help students develop positive attitudes and perceptions?

• Are there any goals or concerns related to student’s attitudes and perceptions?

- Identify any goals or concerns in general or related to the specific unit (Marzano p. 15)

Share with students how your own learning has been influence by your attitudes and perceptions (Marzano p. 15)

Help students become aware of fictional, historical, or famous people who have enhanced their own learning by maintaining positive attitudes (Marzano p. 15)

Present a variety of hypothetical situations in which an individual students negative attitude is effecting his or her learning (Marzano p. 15)

Group Discussions which then one by one resent their concerns and/or goals to classmates and teacher/s

• What will be done to address these goals or concerns?

Establish classroom climate:

Feel accepted by teachers and peers – Talk informally with students before during and after class about their interests (Marzano p. 16)

Acknowledge (greet) students out side of the classroom (Marzano p. 16)

Be aware and comment on their social events (Marzano p. 16)

Know what the latest trends and fashions are

Listen to the latest music is and know what techno is

Remember names

Experience comfort and order – Take short breaks to stand up, move and stretch (Marzano p. 23)

Seating arrangements – switch from independent work to activities I which students organise themselves into small groups (Marzano p. 24)

Ask students what they would think ideal as to how they arrange their personal space (Marzano p. 26)

Generate clear rules and standard operating procedures for the classroom (Marzano p. 16)

Have students discuss their idea of appropriate rules and procedures? (Marzano p. 25)

Provide appropriate consequences

Establish clear policies about physical safety for students (Marzano p. 26)

Establish an environment which put downs are no acceptable (Marzano p. 26)

Promote anti-bullying campaigns

Establish Classroom Tasks:

Explain to students how this information will be useful to them laster on in life (Marzano p. 30)

Construct tasks that are “authentic” – which students can relate to (Marzano p. 31)

Provide appropriate feedback – more than just “Good job!” (Marzano p. 33)

Teach students to replace negative self talk with positive. I can do it! (Marzano p. 33)

Create tasks that relate to students interest - through music and sports, technology, games, acting etc

Provide students with directions and demands of the task. Ask students if they understand what they are being asked to do (Marzano p. 35)

Read there body language as to whether they are into a task or not. Be willing to change the activity/approach as it permits

Dimension 5 strategies

What will be done to help students develop productive habits of mind?

• Are there ay goals or concerns related to students’ habits of mind?

Identity anything you have noticed in general about students habits of mind (Marzano p. 298)

Think about the activities, experiences, and tasks that will be included in the unit and identify mental habits that will contribute to students’ performance or level of learning (Marzano p. 298)

• What will be done to address these goals or concerns?

Help students to understand habits if mind –

Provide students with the time to label, define and talk about each habit so that they can associate each habit with specific behaviour (Marzano p. 264)

Use examples from literature such as Romeo & Juliet to explain how they lacked the ability to restrain impulsivity, suffering consequences (Marzano p. 264)

Share personal examples of when and why a particular habit was beneficial or when and why the lack of on was problematic (Marzano p. 265)

Students share their personal experiences when a particular habit was beneficial or when the lack of one was problematic

Help students identify and develop strategies related to the habits of mind –

Demonstrate a strategy while students listen to you talk through the mental steps (Marzano p. 265)

Ask students to explain a strategy they used when you’ve noticed them using or have used a habit (Marzano p. 265)

Look for examples of strategies that relate to the habits of mind as they read literature, new papers, magazines, technologies (Marzano p. 264) such as blogs, emails, text messaging.

Create a culture in the classroom and the school that encourages the development and use of the habits of mind –

Model productive habits of mind; be an example! (Marzano p. 267)

Create a classroom debate to strengthen habits of critical think (Marzano p. 267)

Be clear and seek clarity or to respond appropriately to others’ feelings and levels of knowledge

Get students to solve structured problems found in textbooks, games magazines, puzzle books (Marzano p. 268)

Acquire students to identify and pursue long term goals, for example a student might identify the goal to join a particular athletic team (Marzano p. 268)

Display posters of habits of mind as reminders (Marzano p. 268)

Provide students with positive reinforcement to students who exhibit habits of mind –

Offer reinforcement through verbal praise, specific comments or ratings on reports, positive notes and calls to parents (Marzano p. 269)

Assign certain roles to students who will show positive examples (Marzano p. 269)

Ask students to self asses habits of mind either in a journal or learning log (Marzano p. 269)

Give formal feedback on a report card (Marzano p. 270)

Give small rewards to students who have behaved and done what was required, such as chocolate!

Have a behaviour chart; add or remove sticker stars for good/bag behaviour

ICT week 2, Learning Design Fundamentals

Learning activity 1- My own experiences during school

Student centred

• I thought my drama class was very student centred. It involved a lot of individual and group work that required you to make your own discoveries and figure out tasks on your own (with the teacher being a guide) The teacher explored our interests and we discussed as a group what we thought we had to learn to finish certain projects.
• Woodwork class. We decided what we wanted to make. People who gained a higher skill level with the tools were able to choose more complex assignments. As opposed to other students who were less confident with the tools were allowed to choose a more basic assignment.
• In English we had a decision on a select group of novels to choose. Although we didn’t have complete choice over the novel, we were still given selected option.

Teacher centred

• PE teachers never asked what sport we wanted to learn, it was always pre organized. We weren’t given the options to discuss what sports and physical activities we wanted to learn as class, it was always pre arranged.
• During biology, our classes abided by the learning curriculum and student interest was never considered.
• In general there was never a time given where we could have an open forum between student and teacher.

Learning activity 2- 8QLMs

I feel that I didn’t experience these 8 learning design processes to the full extent at my school. I didn’t think our interests or the way in which we learnt best was taken into consideration. It seemed more teacher-centric to the extent where it seemed the teachers only motivation was to get through curriculum because it was “their job”. That question on of where do my students want to be wasn’t really considered. There were a few teachers who, looking back now I can tell, who took the 8 key learning area approach. Classes were interesting, we were engaged, our ways of learning were considered, we wanted to learn and we remembered what we learnt. We had choices.

My school was behind with “the times” I suppose you could say. We always seemed to be behind with times. I think they had to do with budget. It wasn’t until high school (year 8, 1998) when we got our first computer lab and had access to resources (such as internet).

Support staff at my school were scarcely available. I did organise a teacher aid that help me tremendously with my math work. This was organised privately and not through the school.

The only type of informant of our progress was at the end of term when we got our reports, or at a parent teacher evening. Half the things I learnt (tried to) I didn’t seem the point and it was brought across very “boring”

I consider the 8 key learning design processes to have many advantages within the education system. Being aware of who each individual student is, how they learn, what their interest are I think, really engages them in their learning and appropriate student teacher relationships are formed. Getting help where needed, inviting speakers to give a fresh approach to the topic, exploring students interest, creating a sense of togetherness amongst groups in the classroom, using the right resources, giving authentic reasoning all contributes to effective learning.

The only pitfall I think that might occur is if students get too much choice in what they learn; they might think they can have choice over everything (realistically that just doesn’t happen!).

Learning activity 3- Kinds of learning activities

After completeing the Indicators of Engaged Learning quesitonare, I have created 2 learning activities that relate with my results. My higher results in Indicators of Engaged Leanring were Vision of Learning, Assesment, Leanring Context, Grouping, Teacher Roles, Students Roles. Results for Indicators of High-Performance Technology were Acess, Ease of Use and Funtioality.

Grouping: Creating group activities to plan worthwhile and meaningful tasks that involve communication, planning, management and social skill. Some authentic tasks may be:

· Firstly, create a group environment where students can interact with one another and are able to brainstorm ideas.

• Outline a layout to build a children’s play set. Students will need to figure out measurements, materials needed costs/budgets, safety requirements.

• Creating a new design for the high school courtyard. Students would need to think of practical things that they would want in the courtyard. The type of plants safe for the environment and easy to maintain. They would need to figure out what materials they need, measurements, and costs/budget.
• Designing year 12 graduation shirt. Students will need to come up with shirt designs, costs on shirts for the whole year 12 class, learn how to use screen printing, or even learn how to sew.

Technology based learning; using technology as a means of engaged learning:

• Instead of asking the students to open a book and write a paragraph on what they think it means, they will use the computer or personal mobile phones to research the information. Once they have found the correct information they will present it to the class either in the matter of a PowerPoint presentation, using print outs from the computer, using the interactive white board (if one available), showing pictures they took with their mobile; maybe they could Bluetooth to other phones.

If computers are limited, I would pair students up into groups. One scenario might be students looking for information about (topic). Each group can choose to find information about one particular thing about (topic) and prepare a brief report about (topic) for the rest of the class. Another way to make efficient use of limited computer resources could be to encourage students to print the resources they find. While students are going though material they printed, sorting and examining the information they found, other students can be using the computer to find and print pages with the information they need.

Learning activity 4 – Dale’s Cone

Formal learning experiences:	Category
Acing for Film and Television degree	10/10
Masters of Arts in Worship Studies, with and emphasis on Ethnomusicology	6/10
Bachelor of Performing Arts degree	10/10

Results:

10 + 6 + 10 = 26 divided by 3 = 8.6

By categorising my formal learning experiences using dales cone, my results have shown that my learning is where it should be.

Learning activity 5- Learning styles

Learning Styles Results

Results for: Jessica Havens ACT X REF 11 9 7 5 3 1 1 3 5 7 9 11 <-- --> SEN X INT 11 9 7 5 3 1 1 3 5 7 9 11 <-- --> VIS X VRB 11 9 7 5 3 1 1 3 5 7 9 11 <-- --> SEQ X GLO 11 9 7 5 3 1 1 3 5 7 9 11 <-- -->

· If your score on a scale is 1-3, you are fairly well balanced on the two dimensions of that scale. · If your score on a scale is 5-7, you have a moderate preference for one dimension of the scale and will learn more easily in a teaching environment which favours that dimension. · If your score on a scale is 9-11, you have a very strong preference for one dimension of the scale. You may have real difficulty learning in an environment which does not support that preference.

Within the classroom I would try and use all these learning styles at once. If that is difficult to do, I would alternate these learning styles with each lesson. I would try to create activities that incorporate all individual differences, for instance group activities that would assist Active and Reflective learners, Sensing and Intuitive learners, Visual and Verbal learners, and Sequential and Global learners. Mixing learning styles may contribute to a group. Individuals can take charge of their learning style and contribute to the group with their learning style, for example the sensing and visuals of the group might research required information, the doer might be “in charge” of the group and scout the school for required materials, the sequential learning might go through the steps as to the layout of the project, and so forth. Place in students in these groups or using different methods of teaching will aid them as to how to learn in different ways.

Overall I would want to make the learning experience as diverse as possible so all students get a chance at learning.

If I was to teach someone with the same results as above, there would be a lot of visual and doing activities.

Learning activity 6 – Personality

My personality type: ESFJ. Extraverted – 78%, Sensing 25%, Feeling 62% and Judging 11%

You are:

• very expressed extravert
• moderately expressed sensing personality
• distinctively expressed feeling personality
• slightly expressed judging personality

I can see that there are similarities between personality type and habits of mind. For example, active learners are most commonly out going people who love being with people. If you look at my personality type and learning style results, you see that my learning style result is more towards active learning (7) and my personality type is 78% extravert, which are both similar.

Funnily enough when I checked to see what job would suit someone of my personality, Education was on the job list!

Firstly understanding your own personality makes you familiar with how you would most likely teach. For instance, an extraverted person would be very outgoing, active and learn with more hands on activities, so you would incorporate that into the learning experience. However, what needs to be taken into consideration is that your learning style should not be the only way you teach. Students have different learning styles which will need to be accommodated for. Familiarising yourself with different learning style approaches will better help you achieve effective learning.

Overall I think it would be a challenge trying to accommodate all learning styles. That’s why its importance to familiarise yourself with different learning approaches so you can accommodate all learning styles.

Learning activity 7- Kunc’s article

After reading Kunc’s article, my opinion for ensuring that students are ready to learn would be to firstly create a welcoming and safe environment, a sense of community, and a authentic sense of belonging within the classroom. Kunc mentions how important it is for children to develop a sense of self-worth and confidence, which is the essential pillar within the education system (Kunc, 1992 p 3&4). As Maslow claims, students haven’t had their physiological and safety needs meet at home and are expected learn the curriculum without having any self-esteem built (Kunc, 1992 p4). A way of building self-esteem would be to provide students with opportunities where they can gain a great deal of success.

Marlow’s hierarchy of needs is a great example to show us how necessary it is for people to live within the framework of community. Not only that, it shows the need for self-actualization, implying that every person has abilities that necessitate specific developments within themselves (Kunc, 2008 pg 5).

Maslow’s understanding counterparts with the learning diversities as it parallels with the importance of creating appropriate teacher/students relationships, the importance of creating authentic activities, valuing diversity, the understanding that everybody has different needs and acknowledging that there is a new world that brings new challenging requirements.

Learning activity 8

Results for this test:

Again as mentioned in learning activity 6, I would begin by firstly understand my own personality and find ways of teaching effectively through that. Whilst at the same time taking into consideration that others are different and have their individual types of learning styles, so understanding and finding different approaches to accommodate everyone’s needs would need to take place.

Summary

What stood out to me the most this week was the importance of belongingness within the classroom (and the disastrous effects it has on those who feel segregated), and the importance of having a safe classroom environment.

During this topic I have also come to understand there are many different personalities, learning styles and approaches to accommodate those learning differences. The only concerns I have with the 8Qlm approach is the likelihood of "burning out" as a teacher due to trying to accommodate those needs in a classroom full of 30 kids. This to me seems very challenging and almost near impossible to accomplish this each lesson. Would alternating learning styles be an approach? Would like to be acquainted with your thoughts?

This YouTube link show’s two year 1 students using technology. I was amazed, not so much on what program they were using (although effective) but how switched on and interested they were using the technology. Sometimes using such technologies seems “crazy” to us, but useful to others.