I just made a new Voki. See it here:

 




I found this cool tool called a Voki early this week, I found it rather awesome actually. The whole idea of having control of what the avatar says is something which left me in awe, especially that it seemed to pick up everything I typed even an acronym in ICT. I think that this would be a useful tool in the classroom for introducing topics and gaining students attention. This tool could also be used as a way of presenting small assignments or presentations. I think students would really get into creating their own avatar and it could be an innovative and "cool"  technology to be used within the classroom.

Constructivist PMI

Myself and Michaela Garratt have done a PMI review on the constructivist learning theory. Since she lives in Mackay and myself in Rockhampton we exchanged ideas via emails, txt and skype chat.

I found this learning theory very interesting and think there is a lot of merit in teachers adopting this method of teaching. Like many learning theories there is many pluses and minuses and these have been outlined below

In my own teaching and learning I am hoping to take the good points from each learning theory and adopt them into my classrooms. 

Constructivist PMI

It says that people construct their own understanding and knowledge of the world, through experiencing things and reflecting on those experiences

Plus

• Involves a lot of experiments, real-world problem solving to create more knowledge and then to reflect on and talk about what they are doing and how their understanding is changing

•     Constructivist teachers encourage students to constantly assess how the activity is helping them gain understanding. By questioning themselves and their strategies, students in the constructivist classroom ideally become "expert learners." This gives them ever-broadening tools to keep learning, the students learn HOW TO LEARN. That is s skill is learns will be able to use throughout there life

•  Constructivism transforms the student from a passive recipient of information to an active participant in the learning process

•   Children learn more, and enjoy learning more when they are actively involved, rather than passive listeners.

•  Constructivist learning is transferable. In constructivist classrooms, students create organizing principles that they can take with them to other learning settings.

•  Constructivism gives students ownership of what they learn

•  By grounding learning activities in an authentic, real-world context, constructivism stimulates and engages students. Students in constructivist classrooms learn to question things and to apply their natural curiosity to the world.

•  Constructivism promotes social and communication skills by creating a classroom environment that emphasizes collaboration and exchange of ideas. This is essential to success in the real world,

Minus

•  Having to understand the students' preexisting conceptions, takes a long time

•  Students work primarily in groups. Students who are lazy or just relay on others to do all the work can just float by without being found out

•  Students have ideas that they may later see were invalid, incorrect,

•  The new information doesn't match previous knowledge, and it is ignored

•  Harder to test/ assess learning outcomes.

•   It's elitist. Critics say that constructivism and other "progressive" educational theories have been most successful with children from privileged backgrounds who are fortunate in having outstanding teachers, committed parents, and rich home environments. They argue that disadvantaged children, lacking such resources, benefit more from more explicit instruction.

•   Social constructivism leads to "group think." Critics say the collaborative aspects of constructivist classrooms tend to produce a "tyranny of the majority," in which a few students' voices or interpretations dominate the group's conclusions, and dissenting students are forced to conform to the emerging consensus.

•  There is little hard evidence that constructivist methods work. Critics say that constructivists, by rejecting evaluation through testing and other external criteria, have made themselves unaccountable for their students' progress.

Interesting

•  Constructivism does not dismiss the active role of the teacher or the value of expert knowledge.

•  Constructivism modifies that role, so that teachers help students to construct knowledge rather than to reproduce a series of facts

•  The focus tends to shift from the teacher to the students

Learning styles results

I have taken the felder test and my scores are as follows

Active learning 3 which mean I am fairly well balanced on the two dimensions of the scale.

Sensory learning 9 Which means I have a very strong preference and may have real difficulty learning in an environment which does not support that preference.

Visual learning 7 moderate preference

Sequential learning 5 moderate preference

ME IN A NUTSHELL......

Hello, my name is Chris Beasley and I am currently studying GDLT (Secondary) part time. Specializing in business studies and PE with CQUniversity as a flex student. I live in Rockhampton QLD. After pretty much being a gypsy for the past 4 years having lived in France, Spain and Wales.

I currently work as a teacher's aide for students with special needs. However, this will all change in 3 weeks, as I have been lucky enough to score a job as a firefighter with the Queensland Fire and Rescue Service. After my training, I will then be posted at the Gladstone Fire Station. I have decided to go back to university after completing a degree in Sports management in 2005, so that I can teach on my off days. 

To be honest I took this job as a teacher aide for a paycheck but I have found that it has sparked an interest in teaching I never knew I had. Within my role, I witness first hand the hardships that many students face in their day to day schooling. Many of these difficulties arise from the low socio-economic backgrounds, disabilities and poor parenting/teaching skills. I also work with up to 10 different teachers per week and have witness what works and doesn't within the classroom. I feel that this job as been the prefect apprenticeship for my studies throughout 2011 and 2012.  


I believe that to become a good teacher you must first gain the student's respect and build strong relationships with them, based on mutual respect. Once this has occurred everything else will fall into place. I believe that not every student learns the same way and will endeavor to vary the way I deliver information. 

I am excited about starting this course and look forward to meeting you all at the residential school next week. 


Cheers
Chris