My experience with ICT on my first practicum was very different to the experiences on my second practicum. My first mentor teacher was the ICT co-ordinator at the school so he was very comfortable with using ICT in his classroom. On my first day at the school the interactive whiteboard broke and was not fixed for the four weeks that I was there. Therefore I was limited in what I could show the students as a class and what I could do with in my focus group teaching. The classroom had four computers which the students used to type up stories and for mathletics. However in their free time the students also used the computers to make claymation films and websites such as build your wild self. The students absolutely loved build your wild self and it provided great entertainment during wet day timetables. It was fantastic to see this website firing their imaginations. My mentor teacher must have shown the students how to make short claymation films earlier in the year prior to my visit.
My second mentor teacher was not as comfortable with ICT and it was reflected in her teaching. The students on my second practicum used the four computers in the classroom to type up their narrative stories, to research different information and to do online testing that the school required them to undertake as part of a university study. The highlight of the students’ ICT use was the interactive whiteboard which they used to create stories using Aboriginal symbols and to draw aerial pictures of the Yarra River. These could have been really rich tasks if they were integrated with literacy but it felt as though they were not done to their full potential.
However towards the end of my second practicum the students were given a design brief on bridges. The students had to base their bridge design on a Melbourne bridge and then decide what materials they were going to make the bridge out of to ensure it could hold at least 1 kilo in weight. The design brief stated the bridge was not to be more than 50cms long. The students conducted research about Melbourne's bridges before designing their own bridge and sourcing the materials to build it. This reminded me of the jumping frog design brief we had completed in one of our workshops. The students really enjoyed the bridge task and it really sparked their creativity as they began to work out what materials they could use. The students were told they were not allowed to buy any special things to build their bridges. Instead they had to think of things already in the classroom or things they could easily bring from home to build their bridges. It was so interesting to see what each pair of students came up with, no two bridges were remotely similar. Some of the materials the students chose to use included straws, toilet rolls, icy pole sticks and play doh. A couple of students even used clay that they had bought in from their holiday farms.
In today's workshop we covered quite a few websites. I was really interested in the animation sites we looked at such as Dvolver and Zimmer Twins because it gave me the opportunity to build the layers of my own animation. Websites such as Zimmer Twins also gives students to experience how animation is layered. Zimmer Twins would be easy for the students to use and this website could easily be added to a WebQuest. Zimmer Twins gives students the opportunity to type in their own text and work in teams to write and design a movie. Zimmer Twins could integrate any subjects such as ICT, maths and literacy.
We also looked at xtranormal which students could have great fun playing around with and making movies. The students could then also send the clips they make to their friends.
Build Your Wild Self is a website that my students on my first practicum loved. They would happily spend all of their lunch times on wet days creating characters on this site. While you could let students design whatever character they wanted you could then also turn it into a learning activity by asking them to go and research 5 facts about the animals that they'd chosen to use on their character. Alternatively you could set the students the task of listing what characteristics their character had to have. Students could also create characters, print them off and put them in a pile. They could then cut them into thirds to create different characters. The students could then write stories about these weird and wonderful creatures that they've created. Websites like this make it really easy to fire students' imaginations which is what we need to be doing in our classrooms.
Sketch Swap is a great way to practice your drawing skills on the computer however it is not appropriate to use in the classroom because you can't be sure what kind of image the site will generate and return to you. To get around this problem you could have students draw their own pictures and email or post them to pen pals that you've set up for them. This way they're still swapping sketches but you know the sketches they receive in return will be appropriate.
Story Games was a website that has good example of rebus writing. I think it's a really creative way to get students reading and writing. It would be a good website for students to see what rebus writing is and then they could make their own stories using this technique.
Catchment Detox is a site that is all about the environment. It involves information and a game where students step up their catchment ares and have to carefully maintain it. If the students do not maintain it it begins to go downhill and they can see the consequences. I think being able to see the ramifications visually through a game is a great way for students to understand the topic. This site could easily be incorporated into a WebQuest.
On the Reasonably Clever website students can create lego characters which they can then print off and write stories about. This is an easy way to integrate ICT, art and literacy. But you could also give students real lego and get them to create characters that way. By giving students real lego, real paints and materials to work with you're getting them involved.
We also looked at the Roller Mache website which is a guide to animation and has great videos showing how artists actually make animations. The website has activities for students and takes them through the process of 'inspire, plan, create.' Greg pointed out there are also the extras sections on DVDs such as Toy Story that you can show to students to show them the process of animation.
We also looked at Dvolver Movie Maker. This is not appropriate for children but it's a good tool for getting your head around animation. There's music, backgrounds, text boxes which are all fun to play around with but the nature of the characters are not suitable for children. It would be fantastic if there was a version aimed at children though.
