Wednesday 29 May 2013

Week 2 - Worksheets


Week 4 - Baked goods selection flyer

The flyer below was made by the students asking their family and friends to assist them in selecting 3 baked goods to bake for the upcoming show.


Class blog


Week 7

I am very proud of everyone’s conduct at the show on the weekend.  Everyone done a great job working with money and your customer service skills were also great.  I look forward to reading your final blog reflections and hope that you had fun while learning lots of new knowledge and life skills.  
 

Week 6

Not long until the baked goods sale now!
Hope everyone is excited and your money skills are up to scratch ready to serve customers.
See you on Saturday bright and early for stall set up.
 

Week 5

Please use the link below to take you to the Woolworths online shopping site where you are to complete an order for all ingredients required for your 3 baked goods.
Please click on the link below which will take you to the Glogster website that you are to use to make your advertising poster. Have fun and be creative!
After you have had an opportunity to view everyone else’s advertising poster please send your votes to me via e-mail. My e-mail address is:
 

Week 4

REMINDER
Your baked goods forms filled out by family and friends are due back by our second mathematics lesson this week which is Thursday.
When you have discovered which 3 baked goods are the most popular and fit within the price and time requirements I would like you select 1 peer to put your selected items up on the class blog.

Week 3

Please use the link below for Woolworths online shopping to purchase the items on the general shopping list that you made as a class.

General shopping list

Item
Quantity
Estimated amount
Bread
2
$6
Milk
1
$3
Cheese (block)
1
$8
Eggs
1 dozen
$4
Apples
6
$5
Bananas
6
$7
Potatoes
6
$6
Pumpkin
1
$7
Broccoli
1
$2
Carrots
1kg
$4
Ham
500g
$3
Toilet paper
-           
$10
Margarine
1
$5
Chips
1
$3
Crackers
1
$3
Tomatoes
4
$4
Total
 
$80.00

After completing the activity, please print screen your shopping list making sure that you get the total cost and paste them here in the class blog.  
 


 
Please use the questions below to help you complete an analysis of the other groups shopping lists.

·         Why did each group have a different price?

·         Which group had the cheapest and most expensive total cost? Why? 

After reading the other groups analysis of your shopping list you are allowed to comment on their thoughts with nice comments only.

 

Week 2
The link below is for the money video that we watched this week. Please feel free to watch it again.
http://skwirk.com.au/esa/Notes_Coins.html


Please find the worksheets required for this week below.
 


 

Week 1

Hi Year 4,
Welcome to your class blog where I will upload worksheets and where you will add your opinions when completing activities. Feel free to add comments and questions you may have about the activities each week. Looking forward to working through this unit with you!
First activity - https://bubbl.us/
Miss Fernie 
 

Friday 24 May 2013

Class Profile documents

Individual student blog


 

Week 6

1.       How well did your group work in the kitchen?
I was in the group that made the jam drops. We worked well together as a group. Before we started we decided on a job for everyone. This made the making and baking run smoothly. Overall great team work by everyone.
2.       Are you looking forward to holding the baked goods stall?
I am very excited about working at the stall on the weekend. I think I will do well at serving customers as the role-play really helped me. I am a little worried that I might give a customer the wrong change however I am sure our teacher will help us out if we need it. I think it will really help everyone with their money skills.

Week 2

We completed lots of activities this week. My favourite part was talking to the lady from the bank over Skype.    
1.       Did you find the money video helped you to recognise the colours of notes and coins          I liked the video. I already knew the colour of the coins but it really helped me to tell the difference between the notes. I think that it is good that the teacher is putting the link on our class blog so that we can watch it again if we forget something.
2.       Did the money video help you with the valve from smallest to largest of the currency?
 The video helped me because you could see all of the notes and coins lined up in order. I sometimes get confused it with 50 cents, $1 and $2 because 50 cents is a larger coin so I think it is the coin with the largest value.
3.       What helpful tips and advice did you receive from the banker?
·         When adding count the notes first then the coins
·         If you have a large amount of money to count separate the money into same piles and count each value then add all of the amount together instead of adding 5cent + $50 + $1
·         When counting money you should always do a calculation twice
4.       What do you think your strengths were that helped you to complete the worksheets?
I am a pretty good reader so I was able to read all of the questions. I also have neat writing that helps keep the amounts lined up which makes adding and subtracting each column easier.  
5.       What areas were your weaknesses in completing the worksheets?
I sometimes have trouble carrying amounts to the next column and make mistakes when tying amounts into the calculator.
6.       Did you find collaborating with peers assisted you to complete more questions and gain new knowledge on working with money?
I liked the part of the lesson where we got to help each other with the questions. I could find someone to help me with a few questions and I was able to help some people as well which was great.
7.       Did you find the money section of Mathletics to be a good or bad revision activity?
I really liked this activity as a revision exercise. It was also good that it is in colour so you can identify the coins and notes by their colour. The questions were all similar which provided good practice.

Week 1

I have filled in K and W on the KWL chart below. It shows my prior knowledge, what I learnt from my peers and what I want to learn about money. After the first week of this unit I think I am going to enjoy learning about money.  

K
What I know
W
What I want to learn
L
What I have learnt
Coins – silver & gold – different sizes -  5c, 10c, 20c, 50c, $1, $2
To be better at using a calculator
 
Notes – different colours - $5, $10, $20, $50, $100
Budget my money and save to buy an iPad
 
Need money to buy things
How long would I need to work to earn $100?
 
You put money in the bank to save it
Learn to do calculations without using a calculator
 
Have to work hard to get paid money
 
 
Additional information I know after collaborating with peers
 
 
Different items cost different amounts of money – a car cost lots and lollies cost a small amount
 
 
Kids get pocket money from their parents for doing jobs around the house
 
 
Saving your money is a good idea
 
 
Some people have a lot of money and others having very little depending on what they do for a living
 
 

 

Week 6 - Labels for baked goods

The students were asked to type up ingredients labels to put on their baked goods once they have been packaged for people with food allergies.  The ingredients lists are below.

Chocolate brownie ingredients label

Butter, brown sugar, cocoa, vanilla, egg, SR flour, nuts

Jam drop ingredients label

Butter, sugar, egg, vanilla, SR flour, salt, jam

Butterfly cakes ingredients label

Butter, sugar, egg, vanilla, SR flour, salt, jam




Thursday 23 May 2013

Week 4 - Deciding on baked goods for the stall

List of 10 baked goods made by the students on the interactive whiteboard


1.       Choc chip cookies

2.       Anzac biscuits

3.       Caramel cornflake cookies

4.       Chocolate brownies

5.       Apple and sultana muffins

6.       Jam drops

7.       Blueberry muffins

8.       Caramel slice

9.       Butterfly cakes

10.   Chocolate slice

Wednesday 22 May 2013

Week 3 - Purchasing items from a general shopping list

 
All groups purchased the same items and number of each item. The students are to anaylse the shopping lists and explain why all of the groups have a differnt total cost. Two of the groups shopping lists are provided here.
 
Group1  
  


Week 1 - Brainstorming activity

One students mind map constructed when brainstorming indivudal prior knowledge.


The same students mind map after collaborating with their peers to extend their knowledge and add futher ideas to their mind map. (The students additional ideas are in purple bubbles)

Monday 20 May 2013

Week 5 - Students advertising poster



E-mail sent from a student to the class teacher with their vote for the posters.

Hi Miss Fernie,
I would like to vote for Abby Jones poster because it is bright and colourful and she has covered all of the information that people need.
From Ivy Smith

Thursday 18 April 2013

Analysis of Digital Technologies


The 21st century has seen the introduction of many new technologies and continual increased use of these technologies in education. The term e-learning is used to refer to the intersection of education, teaching and learning with information and communications technology (ICT) (White 2013). E-learning is an important aspect of today’s curriculum as it aids in engaging, enhancing and innovating learning (Fasso 2013) that will improve students chances of becoming a success in their life after school. In order to improve learning outcomes with the incorporation of ICT, effective pedagogy is essential. Pedagogy can be defined as the craft of teaching, with a positive interaction occurring between teacher and student (Fasso 2013). There are three interconnected and mutually depending components of e-learning, which include digital pedagogy, digital content and eLearning spaces. These three aspects create a new light on education for the new generation of digital learners. All three aspects must be present and balanced as displayed in figure one in the classroom in order for effective learning outcomes (Education Queensland 2008). 

 
Figure 1: The three components required for balanced and effective eLearning (Education Queensland 2008) 

 

The four learning theories that need to be understood by teachers in order to design effective learning activities for students include behaviourism, cognitivism, constructivism and connectivism. Please click here to view an infographic that does a brilliant job of explaining the basics of each theory. As described by Edudemic (2013) and Fasso (2013) each of the learning theories being the traditional three and connectivism introduced in the digital age all overlap in one way or another making a combination of the four necessary for a complete learning experience. To plan effective e-Learning the TPACK framework and Blooms Taxonomy are essential. The TPACK framework helps teachers make informed decisions about how technology can support the content to transform learning and pedagogy that supports the best learning outcomes. Whereas Blooms Taxonomy allows the teacher to decide on the complexity and level of thinking their students will engage in when undertaking an e-Learning activity (Fasso 2013). This reflective synopsis will address how wiki activities, blogs, digital videos, prezi and bubbl.us are effective e-Learning technologies that can support, facilitate and enhance learning for the new generation ‘digital natives’.
Wikispaces is a fantastic digital tool that allows teachers to support their students through online activities that are able to be scaffolded in accordance to the level of thinking and complexity a teacher thinks their students are capable of. An example of a scaffolded activity in wikispaces is the one that we participated in where de Bono’s Six Thinking Hats were used as the scaffold. Please click here to view the wiki activity which I participated in to observe the scaffold of the activity. This type of activity allowed the participants to use their prior knowledge on the contentious issue provided by the lecturer. The collaborative nature of this activity saw everyone contributing their perspectives, resulting in a broad array of thoughts that allowed the participants to analysis and make a final decision on the issue with the assistance of the knowledge contributed by their peers. When I revisited the wiki that I participated in for this activity I was sad and annoyed upon discovering that the thoughts I had contributed were gone. To avoid similar disappointment for students in my class some ground rules and edict on editing a group wiki will need to be enforced. The internet offers students an incredible abundance of resources that can benefit their learning greatly, however as teachers it is our responsibility that our students are working within the legal, safe and ethical guidelines when working online. Please click here to view my thoughts on this learning experience, the use of wiki activities in my classroom, the rules and edict that I would deliver to my class before allowing them to undertake a group wiki activity and the guidelines that should be followed when working in wikispaces.
 
 
The group one tools that were explored and created include blogs, wikispaces and websites. After an exploration of each tool we were asked to use an analytical tool/thinking routine such as PMI or SWOT analysis to evaluate each one. Through my investigations with these three tools I have decided to analysis blogs, however please feel free to explore the link to the other two tools first. Please click here to be taken to my blog posting where I have identified the features of wikispaces and websites, undertaken a PMI chart for each, provided examples of how I would use these tools in my classroom and provided links to the wiki and website that I made. I have chosen blogs over the other two tools in this group because each child in my class will be individual, seeing carefully scaffolded activities allowing students to work in their individual zone of proximal development. If desired a group blog can also be effective seeing students collaborate and work as a team. I am aware that high-quality learning activities can be scaffolded using wikispaces or websites and will be used at some point in my teaching; however I think blogs are more of an individual approach to a students learning. Effective scaffolded activities allow learners to ‘climb the ladder’ so to speak of Blooms Taxonomy from lower to higher order thinking and increasing the complexity of their activities at a pace that challenges them but at the same time is not too hard seeing them give up or work that is too easy, seeing a student not being challenged and gaining new knowledge. Please click here to read about the functions and facts of blogs, including a PMI chart on the use of blogs in the classroom, examples of how to incorporate blogs into classroom activities and the legal, safe and ethical guidelines that should be followed when working in a blog. Make sure you check out the cyber safety quiz, that I recommend all primary students undertake before being allowed access to the web. To demonstrate that I am capable of using a blog and therefore will be able to use it effectively in my classroom click here to view the features of text, images, videos (using embed codes) and web links that I have incorporated into a blog posting.
 
The group two tools that were explored and experimented with include images, podcasting and digital videos. After exploration of these three tools I decided that I would investigate and analysis digital videos further. Please click here to view my resized images, voki and thoughts on the ease of use, benefits for learning and use of these tools in the classroom. Digital videos were selected from this group of tools as you can incorporate the use of still images and sound files into videos, making use of all three tools in one activity. A well scaffolded digital video creating activity can provide learners with challenging situations, encourages engagement and allows learners to use their prior knowledge and experience (Larkin 2012). Challenging aspects of the activity would force improved collaboration skills between learners, see them share their prior knowledge and make creative decisions using their higher order thinking skills. The making of a digital video allows learners to explore a wide range of computer software and technology, including image editing software, sound recording devices, video recording devices and movie maker programs. Due to the large array of aspects that can be incorporated into a digital video makes this activity appealing to multiple intelligences, also increasing learners visual and media literacy skills (Bell 2004). Please click here to view the ease of use, learning benefits, examples of how digital videos can be used in the classroom, the digital video that I constructed and the legal, safe and ethical guidelines that both students and teachers need to follow when using or creating digital videos.


The group three tools that were examined and created include PowerPoint, Prezi and Glogster. After exploration of these tools I decided to analysis Prezi as it was the most appealing to me. Before discussing Prezi further, please click here to view my exploration of PowerPoint and Glogster. Prezi was the most appealing tool to me because of its effectiveness in engaging an audience due to the fantastic zooming feature. The ability to zoom in on text or images allows teachers to get their students focused on the most important aspects of the lesson. Arrows can be an effective feature used to point out minute detail in images. When the arrow is clicked on, the screen is zoomed in to the tiny detail that would otherwise not be seen if using PowerPoint. Prezi is an excellent tool that can be used by all students in the class as it accommodates all learning styles; visual, kinaesthetic and auditory (Rivers 2011) seeing each student create their own individual presentation that suits their learning style. Prezi can also be used as a collaborative tool seeing students from schools around the world working on and adding to the same Prezi which would be a fantastic cultural and educational learning experience for all involved. Please click here to view the ease of use, benefits for learning, examples of how I would use this presentation zooming tool in my classroom, the Prezi that I made and the legal, safe and ethical guidelines for using Prezi as it requires internet access.

The wide variety of group four tools provided for exploration inspired many ideas for their use in the classroom. The tool that I consider to be most valuable to me in my classroom is the online concept mapping tool bubbl.us. Bubbl.us is a Web 2.0 tool that is simple and easy to use, allowing the creation of an online mind map (Web 2.0 Teaching Tools 2009). The simplicity of this tool and its technology based nature makes it a fun and educational tool to incorporate into many classroom activates. Mind mapping allows learners to arrange information or ideas to suit their pre-existing ideas, prior knowledge and schema (Fasso 2013) which encourages learners to express their creativity. The many features of this tool allows learners to display their ideas on a topic, emphasizing connections with the use of images, colours and symbols. By allowing students to express their ideas using their most effective learning style with the use of images, colours and symbols improves memory retention significantly (Web 2.0 Teaching Tools 2009). Teachers have the ability to scaffold student thinking with the use of concept mapping to analysis the elements of a new or complex subject initiating the use of critical thinking skills. Collaboration on a topic causes students to build on each others ideas improving their critical thinking and communication skills (Web 2.0 Teaching Tools 2009). Please click here to read about the ease of use, benefits for learning, some ideas on incorporating this tool into classroom activates, the mind map that I created using bubbl.us and the legal, safe and ethical guidelines that should be followed when using this online tool.
In summary, e-Learning aids teachers in supporting, facilitating and enhancing learning for digital natives. To plan effective e-Learning lessons it is essential that teachers have the TPACK framework and Bloom’s Taxonomy in mind. When scaffolded correctly and incorporated into class lessons wiki activities, blog’s, digital videos, prezi and bubbl.us support cognitive development, facilitate learner centred activities and enhance learning by forcing students to express their creativity, critical thinking and higher order thinking skills. The four tools that have been analysed in this reflective synopsis link ICT with the other Key Learning Areas, hence teaching students the skills required in the 21st century workforce. These tools are very versatile allowing teachers to create either collaborative team or individual activities that are not restricted to the classroom. As technology is a continual increasing factor in education it is essential that legal, safe and ethical practices are discussed with students and modelled by teachers to prevent any breaches of the guidelines.
The cyber smart quiz discussed earlier is a great way to test primary school student’s knowledge of web safety before allowing them access.

After exploration of many digital tools over the last five weeks I have learnt that technology is a must in the classroom of 21st century learners, new educational technology resources are becoming available all of the time and when using technology in the classroom you should always have a plan b and c. I cannot wait to put some of my ideas discussed in this reflective synopsis into action in my own classroom!      

 

References

Bell, A. (2004). Digital video tips for the classroom. Retrieved from   http://www.nevada.k12.ia.us/DigitalVideoTips.pdf
Educational origami. (2013). Bloom’s Introduction. Retrieved from http://edorigami.wikispaces.com/Bloom%27s+-+Introduction
Education Queensland. (2008). eLearning for smart classrooms. Retrieved from  http://education.qld.gov.au/smartclassrooms/documents/strategy/pdf/scbyte-elearning.pdf
Edudemic. (2013). A Simple Guide To 4 Complex Learning Theories. Retrieved from
Fasso, W. (2013). EDED20491 - ICT's for Learning Design: Study guide. Rockhampton, Qld: CQUniversity, Australia
Larkin, J. (2012). Teaching, technology and professional development. Retrieved from http://www.larkin.net.au/
Rivers, J. (2011). Benefits of using prezi in the classroom. Retrieved from http://prezi.com/zgb-avk7pnfm/benefits-of-using-prezi-in-the-classroom/
Web 2.0 Teaching Tools.  (2009). Bubbl.us – Brainstorming, Critical thinking, Creativity. Retrieved from  http://www.web2teachingtools.com/bubbl_us.html

White, G. (2013). E-Learning Definition. Retrieved from  http://apo.org.au/commentary/e-learning-definition