Never in my life did I think that I would create a blog. I have never been someone who is interested in social networking on the internet or sharing my thoughts with the world. Email and a recent introduction to Facebook were pretty much as exciting as it got. Then I found out that one of the requirements for my subject EDU4PLT was to create an online blog, so here I am! During the semester I will be writing a number of blog's updating you on what I am doing in my classes. With any luck it will not just be me learning something new, you might learn something too!
ICT is becoming an increasingly important aspect in the education of today's students. Technology surrounds the students of today's world and this creates a strong thirst for students to learn more about it. With the reliability on and ever changing nature of technology within the community, it is important that teachers provide students with as many opportunities as possible to experiment with different types of technology.
Students are increasingly becoming visual learners, therefore the ability of teachers to incorporate ICT within their curriculum has become even more vital. It provides teachers with the chance to inspire a student who struggles in English to try harder, it can flick a switch in the mind of a student who struggles with Mathematics, whilst also providing an outlet for students who struggle with a pencil and paper to show their true potential.
Today I was introduced to a software program called Inspiration. Continuing what I think may be a theme, this is a program I have never used before. The first task we were given was to make a concept map utilising the diagram function on the Inspiration software. The concept I used for my map was 'Me and My Music'. After I had established my concept the rest was a matter of formatting and a little bit of trial and error. I had to add pictures to my concept map as well as adding comments to these pictures explaining how the various images were related to the concept.
After we had completed our concept maps we were given the opportunity to walk around the classroom and view everyone's concept maps. It was very interesting to see the different tangents and ideas people utilised when creating their concept maps. This gave me the opportunity to take a number of different ideas on board that I could possibly use in the future.
After finishing our concept maps the next challenge was to create a mind map. The topic I used was 'Places I've Been and Things I Did'.
I can honestly say that I have learnt a lot from my work in the computer lab today. The possibilities when using a program such as Inspiration are endless. With appropriate computer resources in the classroom there is no reason why students could not create their own concept or mind maps on the computer rather then using pencils and paper. Students could use concept maps to demonstrate their understanding in respect to a particular learning area, using both text and pictures etc. whilst using mind maps to display information such as family trees, planning essays, tree diagrams etc.
For those who are interested, this is a link to the Inspiration Software Inc website http://www.inspiration.com/. It gives you a range of details on the different software they have available and also provides you with the opportunity to download a free trial of their software.
I am eager to continue to learn more throughout the semester as this is a subject that I can see being extremely useful in the classroom. I look forward to getting into the classroom next year and implementing activities that engage students whilst also providing them with the opportunity to use techology and improve their technological skills.
