Final Reflections (Week 6 - 8)

Assessment #1 Part B 

Wow what an interesting few weeks  I have had on my digital technology journey. I have learnt many new concepts and partaken in endless digital challenges that allowed me to engage with many different digital concepts and experiences. I have felt myself grow and learn so many new concepts and strategies for teaching the digital technologies curriculum strand.  I have found myself very engaged with these topics and now feel that I have some idea for teaching these elements. I have also increased my understandings for why it is so important to teach this curriculum. Teaching digital technologies is designed to help students understand the ever changing technological world that they live in ( ACARA, 2015). I feel that this is both important and relevant to my students future. I feel that digital technologies supports this because from my engagement and learning in the field  I definitely feel like I understand more about the technological world  I live in.  Please browse through the following four posts to get a better understanding and feel for my digital journey.

Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (Ed 7.3), (2015). //Australia Curriculum,// Canberra, ACT: Author, retrieved from www. australiancurriculum.edu.au/

Week 8 ( Algorithmic Programming) 

This week we continued looking into the fields of programming and coding with emphasis on algorithmic programming. I once again had very little experience with algorithmic programming, but felt confident on learning about it. From my first understandings Algorithmic programming is very much like a specific formula or recipe for achieving a solution or solving a problem. 

Algorithmic programming means that each step has to be completed before the next step is done. One of the digital challenges was to write algorithmic steps for making Vegemite on toast. I completed this challenge and found it a very appropriate way of explaining to students how algorithmic programming works. Teachers could use this example in many different ways when trying to explain algorithmic programming; such as how do we bake a cake or how do you make a sandwich. 

To continue engaging with coding and programming, I experimented with the games Frozen and Angry Birds Maze. I found both these games highly engaging, I really liked how they had targeted children's current likes and interests to create the basis for these games. I believe by doing this it helps to get students engaged in their learning. I found both games easy to use. 

I found engaging with these programs gave myself a better understanding of HTML. I learnt that HTML is the language that computers use. When using the Angry Birds Maze program, I discovered that if you clicked on the code button it would change the English written commands in to proper computer codes. 

 Engaging with these programs allowed me to understand that their is a very real and important language behind all technology. This is important for students to understand, because to think of new and innovative ways to use technology they must first understand how it works.

According to Younie, Leask and Burden ( 2015) for students to fully engage in technology studies and create innovative new means they must first learn the basics through the event of creating something meaningful. I felt that both these programs supported these ideas as they allowed children to complete tasks that had a purpose such as getting the angry bird through the maze.

These programs also allowed student's to try out codes to see if they worked. If they didn't succeed the program supported them in trying out a different code. This supports the ideas once again of the aims and rationales of the Australian Curriculum which states students need to critique, analysis and evaluate problems to create solutions (ACARA, 2015). These programs support this ideas by allowing children to go back, assess whats wrong and change it.

Once again its been a very enjoyable week of digital learning, where I find myself really enjoying engaging with the topic and learning more skills to take with me to the classroom.

Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (Ed 7.3), (2015). //Australia Curriculum,// Canberra, ACT: Author, retrieved from www. australiancurriculum.edu.au/

Younie, S., Leask, M. & Burden, K.(Ed.) (2015) Teaching and learning with ICT in the primary school. New York, USA : Routledge Press

Week 7 (Computational Thinking) 

So this week I decided to face this topic with confidence instead of dread. My combined successes from last week with Binary Code and this week with my great mark for the part A assignment; lead me to feeling like I might actually know what I'm doing when it comes to the technologies curriculum. This week we tackled computational thinking and some basic primary level programming. I once again have had very little experience with this element of technology, however my general understanding was that computational thinking was thinking in a way that was similar to a computer. I was kind of on the right track; computational thinking is actually formulating solutions to problems that could be also processed in a similar way by a computer.

 I have to admit that once again some of the information on moodle confused me. I came across the reading called '15 ways to teach students coding' I found this reading helpful as it provided direct examples of how to teach coding to students. It was broken down into age brackets which was helpful to see how you can expand on these activities as the students get older and more competent with computers. I also liked that there was a section for Kindergarten students. As some one who already works with this age group it was great to see ideas that I could be already implementing for practice. Another reason I found this reading helpful was that it included ideas for 'unplugged' learning of programming skills. This was very eye opening as it showed first hand how coding can be taught without always accessing a computer. 

To begin my engagement with coding and programming, I first tried out the code monster website. 

This was quiet good at explaining how codes affect outcomes and how changing the code changes the product. At times I found it a little boring and repetitive however this repetition may be helpful for some students to process the information on coding. 

Next I went and tried the Khan Academy's 'Hour of Code'. I really engaged well with this site, I felt that it explained elements of code well and I also found the program easy to step through with its tutorial and then activities set up. I really started to process the method of coding using this website. I would definitely consider using this in my classroom. Students could complete the challenges step by step saving their progress for next time. This program could be used individually by students or in small groups to encouraged scaffold-ed learning.  

Lastly I tried out the cargo bot app for I-pads. I found this app very engaging, it explained programming well and how I had to create programs to complete the levels. I felt this app had a very game like set up and I think this would really appeal to students. On of the aims of the technologies curriculum is for students to engage confidently with technologies and to learn to manipulate technologies to design and create solutions (ACARA, 2015). I believe using Cargo bot with students could help to support and achieve this aim. I would consider showing the children the app and what they had to do, then getting them to write some programming for homework (unplugged) to achieve the task. The next day I would allow students to test their programs and see if they can achieve the tasks on cargo bot. Students who achieve success can move onto the next challenge whilst other children re-asses their program and make improvements to achieve success. 

I have felt this week that I once again have been able to get my head around the course content. I have really enjoyed using the different coding and programming sites. I have actually continued to use cargo bot and the Khan academy programs to continue my own personal learning. I can also once again see the value in teaching coding and programming to produce efficient 21st century learners and citizens.

References 

Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (Ed 7.3), (2015). //Australia Curriculum,// Canberra, ACT: Author, retrieved from www. australiancurriculum.edu.au/

Week 6 ( Info pics) 

Students these days are working towards learning, living and working in  an unknown future. The world of technology moves fast and new inventions or processes are created every day. For students to be active citizens in this untapped future they must be able to comprehend, interpret and evaluate endless information. Info pics are a great way of providing concise and important information to students. This can be done digitally to save time. Info-pics are also helpful as they provide a visual way to learn, becoming visually literate helps students to understand the most important information in an info over loaded world. I definitely associate as a visual learn and I find that if information is presented in a visual way I am able to process and understand it much faster.

I decided to create my very own info pic using easelly. I found this program very easy to use and didn't encounter any Java script issues. What I liked most about easelly was that you can use already existing themes, which for a busy teacher would be very helpful. After all why re-invent the wheel. This program works on an easy drop and drag system which would be quite easy for student to use. I also like that all created info pics can be saved as a PDF which allows teachers to gather a collection of info pics to save for easy access at any time. I believe that this digital info pic program could be used by students and teachers alike to develop visual learning aides that get important messages across without sifting through endless text.

Week 0000 0110 ( Binary Code ) 

Wow once again I feel like a fish out of water. I have just got my head around design challenges and bam! Now I'm facing another 6 weeks of computer speak. I can honestly say I have never really come across Binary Code on any level in my schooling. Having attended high school from 2002-2006 these in depth computer skills were only covered in advanced ICT electives which I can say I had neither any interest in or skill at.

So I went into this week of Binary Code with very little experience or clue. I began by reading through the moodle site information, I can't say at first this was not any real help in fact in just made my brain swim with 0's and 1's. Then I came across the Binary Baubles lesson plan, this lesson plan was set out well and it enabled myself to really understand the purpose of why and how we as teachers, can teach Binary Code to students. There was some great ideas in this PDF and by reading through. I was able to successful write the numbers 1-10 in Binary correctly on my first go. I felt really proud of myself and had to admit I was actually enjoying myself and very keen to learn more.

Next I went in and played the Binary Game by Cisco. This was very fast paced but I found myself getting the answers right. This game would be great for older students in grades 5 and up. I only say this as it was very fast paced.

After connecting and experiencing ways of teaching and learning with Binary Code I can see why it will be beneficial to students. I understand now how Binary Code is used and why it is important for students to understand how and why it is used. According to the Australian Curriculum rationale for the technologies strands students need to learn to work with traditional, contemporary and emerging technologies  so they can understand the technologies that shape the world we live in (Australian Curriculum Assessment and Reporting Authority, 2015). I can see links between students learning Binary Code and this idea from the rationale as it would help students better understand how technologies work and process information. This could lead to students assessing how we could use technologies to better process information and aide us in our everyday lives.

My Binary Code Game
After assessing the resources and videos on moodle, I have devised this game to teach students Binary Code. To start with pick 8 students to be the numbers (128, 64, 32, 16, 8, 4, 2, 1). These students stand at the front with their binary number written on a card. Individually the teacher picks students to come up and create the number written on the board by the teacher. To do this they must decide if their peers are switched on or off. To switch a number on the student gets their classmate to stand up. To switch off they sit the class mate down. The teacher and the rest of the class decide if they have the correct binary number to match the teachers number. So for example if a teacher writes 19 on the board, the coder would switch on the peer with the 16 card the 2 card and the 1 card. So the students would be sit, sit ,sit, stand, sit, sit, stand, stand. Representing 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 1 as the Binary Code for the numerical number 19. The teacher can switch up students to make sure all students get a turn at each part of the game.

From this week I have learnt to have more faith in myself when it comes to these types of skills. I actually found Binary Code interesting and at times fun. I will endeavor to teach this element of digital technology to my students so that hopefully they come away feeling the same sense of understanding and achievement that I have personally felt this week.

References

Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (Ed 7.3), (2015). //Australia Curriculum,// Canberra, ACT: Author, retrieved from www. australiancurriculum.edu.au/

Jodie’s Design Challenge Journey (Assessment part A)

Wow, what a ride it has been. At the beginning of this assignment I found myself lost and very afraid that I wouldn't be able to complete it. I had nightmares of my lack of technology skills ending my dream of becoming a teacher. Four weeks later and how my feelings toward design challenges has changed.

Whilst working through the four steps of the design cycle, I have found myself being creative with design and using various technological devices and programs. Technology I would have never believed I could use, let alone use well. From this journey I have taken away many ideas and lessons that I will implement in my own classroom.

I have learnt that design challenges are a creative way of teaching design technologies. Children are given the chance to identify needs in their own world and create imaginative solutions. I feel that I will use the design cycle in the classroom as it easily shows students the four steps and what is entailed in each step. I also personally like the design cycle as it supports students in understanding that it’s acceptable to make mistakes and have to go back and forth between areas of the design cycle to create the most appropriate solution or product. I will use design challenges in my design technologies strand because it encourages students to ‘think outside the box’, a skill I feel is needed for modern learners.

When stepping through each area of the design cycle I found my thinking changed and became more creative and technical. I also found that with each stage the work load become less. I put both these observations down to the previous amounts of work done in each prior stage. For example creating the prototype was quite easy as I had done all the previous planning which had stemmed from the investigation stage. When completing each step of the design cycle I felt a great sense of accomplishment and I feel this would be very beneficial for students.

When completing the design challenge I found myself acknowledging two personal weaknesses. The first being using the different technologies such as the blog and wiki. I had never had any previous experience with these sites and at first the idea of navigating them seemed very daunting. Though throughout the process and with guidance from Heather and my peers, I found myself using them quiet efficiently. I have really enjoyed using both the wiki and blog and can see myself using them with my students. For younger grades possibly in group learning situations and for older students as personal journals for their learning experiences.

The second weakness I had to address was my sometimes limited ability to partake in innovative thinking. I’m not the most creative person and at times I felt myself pushed to ‘think outside of the box’. I found researching products that already existed really helped with getting the mind going. I can also see how this would challenge some students and that if I was doing a design challenge in class that some students may need a little bit extra motivation or ideation stimulus.

Whilst completing the design challenge I found clear links to Lewis’s (see blog post re: summarising key ideas) reading on creativity (2008). I understand how design challenges can foster this in children. From fact  the challenges may be determined by criteria; however the outcome or solutions can be very varied and creative.

I understand fully why participating first hand in a design challenge will help when teaching our students the design technologies strand. I as a teacher was able to experience and work with the design process and cycle first hand, giving me an idea at what my students will go through when they complete their own challenges. I can know also understand the benefits and challenges that my students may experience as I have experience my own personal journey.

The peer feedback process was both challenging and rewarding. I was really lucky to work with some very accomplished ladies who had brilliant ideas and presented this ideas professionally using the wiki. I enjoyed reading everyone’s ideas, and felt that by working alongside these ladies helped my own journey as well. I did find it hard to be critical in this feedback process as my teammates work was at a very high standard. I felt that my own feedback I received made me alter a few elements of the challenge. I found the use of the wiki supported the feedback process as it may it easy to access my team mate’s work.

Overall I have thoroughly enjoyed the design cycle journey and have already began to mind-map ideas that I may hopefully put into place for my own students to support the design technology curriculum.

Reflections on Online Mind Mapping

I found the use of online mind mapping tools very helpful and easy to use. I had previous experience with Bubble.us, so I decided to experiment with Mindome this time around to create some visual mind maps for both my wiki and blog. I found this site very easy to log in, open and use. My computer obviously supported all its needs as I didn't receive any of those terrible alert messages that I usually get. The tool was quick and easy to use and produced a visually appealing mind map. I feel teachers and students alike could use this online tool to produce well thought out plans and maps for design challenges. I feel that using a tool like this allows students to get down all there main ideas and opinions, with out fussing around with making it legible and visually appealing as the program takes care of these aspects for students.  

Summarising key ideas

After completing the readings from week 2 and 3, I have gained a better understanding of the pedagogies needed to teach the technologies strands to students. These reading were also very insightful in explaining why it is important to teach these subjects well. The following information is some points from the three readings that I found very interesting:

-         - There are both strengths and weaknesses to the current set up of the technologies curriculum. I found it extremely interesting that according professionals the technologies greatest weakness is teacher learning and lack of professional development for teachers. I could sympathise with this idea as at times I feel like I’ll never know enough about the subject to be able to keep up with the very tech savvy children of today.  

-      -    Another area that I found interesting was when the technologies and creativity were discussed as a partnership. When I first thought of technologies as a subject I have to admit that ‘creativity’ was probably not the first word that came to mind. Though now having worked through a design challenge I can see very much where creativity plays a part in these subjects. It allows children a very similar channel of problem solving and designing that can also be seen in the arts subjects. There is freedom that allows children to create ideas and solutions out of this current world that can project them into the future.

Having been exposed to these kinds of ideas, as a teacher I will strive to keep my own professional learning up to date and current with new developments in technology to help pass on and teach my students. I will also be mindful of creating design challenges and experiences that foster creativity. 

Using Design Challenges in the Classroom 

So far completing the design challenge has been both interesting and at times confusing. I have rather enjoyed using the wiki page as it looks so professional having all the information and steps of the design challenge collated together. It is time consuming uploading everything to the site, however once it’s on I feel a great sense of satisfaction at seeing each step completed. I could see how this sense of accomplishment would be beneficial for students.

 I also like the wiki as it provides students with a permanent collection of work that they can keep and refer back to throughout their education. The main confusing element so far of the design challenge has been to understand which elements of the design challenge I prepare as the teacher and which elements I complete as the student, however Heather has been very good at helping to work this out. This would not be an issue though when teaching students how to complete a design challenge as it would be clearly defined what they had to complete.

I have really enjoyed ‘thinking out the box’ with this task; I have to consider elements of the design cycle that I wouldn't normally come across in my everyday life and work. I have found myself looking at various elements of life in a different way because of what I learnt from this subject. I can see how using design challenges would be beneficial to students as they get to experience that content of digital technologies and design first hand, instead of just learning them via the text and talk method.

The peer feedback aspect of this design challenge has been rather helpful. It is great to know what others think of my design challenge; and it’s also interesting to find out how they personally interpret the challenge. From the feedback I received I was able to tweak my challenge here and there to add more information into the wiki. Using the wiki made this feedback process easy, as you can just access everyone’s challenges very easily to give feedback.   I think I would consider teaching using this wiki method to complete a design challenge in a class room setting as so far I have found no real downsides to it. 

The Re-created Design Cycle 
It is important to remember that the cycle is not linear, it is expected that during the cycle students will jump back and
forth between the four areas.

I must admit this world of technology is quiet daunting for me. I still buy books from the book shop and I’m a self-proclaimed old fashioned pen and paper, note-taking kind of girl. So I went into designing my word clouds with an already impeding sense of dread. To begin with I tried using Wordle or Tagxedo as these were the suggested ones; I was unable to get either to work as according to the endless pop-ups I received my Jarva subscription was not up to date. At first I panicked however after some google work I found the program Word-it-out. I attempted this program and it actually worked. It took the very long rational and aims of the Australian Curriculum for the technologies subjects and turned it into a beautiful visual learning tool. This program was very easy to use and the only real skill needed was a pre-existing understanding of the copy and paste functions. It produced a very appealing visual learning tool that would help to get across key words and ideas of text. This could be used with very young children to learn sight words and with higher grades to introduce them to new subject topics. In the end i was very proud that I was able to eventually successfully produce my word cloud. I would definitely use a program like this when teaching as in the 21^st century visual learning tools are needed to entice and engage students who live in a visually saturated world (Younie, Leask & Burden, 2015).

Reference

Younie, S., Leask, M. & Burden, K. (Ed.). (2015). Teaching and Learning with ICT in the primary school. New York, NY : Routledge Taylor and Francis Group. 

The following is a word cloud designed on Word-it-out, a word cloud program designed to turn large sections of text into visual learning tools. This one is created out of the rationale and aims for the digital technologies and design and technology subjects from the Australian Curriculum. Programs like Word-it-out pick out the most used words and create a visual learning tool that helps to get across the main key words or ideas of the text. 

The following table is taken from my own understanding of what the Australian Curriculum states as achievements and learning that students will get out of  Digital Technologies and Design and Technologies. The following table consists of verbs taken from the overviews of both subjects. Associated pedagogies have then been formed to help students achieve and do these elements.