*** ICT U Can!

I have just spent a week in Christchurch at the ULearn 06 conference. It was a great learning experience. Speakers of note were Adam Lefstein and Tony Ryan among many others. I have asked my colleagues on this podcast their reflections on this conference.

I have just spent a week in Christchurch at the ULearn 06 conference. It was a great learning experience. Speakers of note were Adam Lefstein and Tony Ryan among many others. I have asked my colleagues on this podcast their reflections on this conference.

I have just spent a week in Christchurch at the ULearn 06 conference. It was a great learning experience. Speakers of note were Adam Lefstein and Tony Ryan among many others. I have asked my colleagues on this podcast their reflections on this conference.

I have been stating that podcasting is improving oral language in my classroom and now it is time to put my money where my mouth is. I decided to conduct research to support or refute this assertion. I gathered data using an attitude survey, audio recordings, video recordings and a reflection journal. This podcast outlines my study and the findings with theoretical backing. I can now say why what I do works. I mention the KPE podcast again in this podcast and the application that I mention for putting a map on your page can be downloaded from http://www.clustrmaps.com. I have two major points in this podcast. The first is that podcasting provides a vital middle step for students when crafting an oral language presentation. It gives them the chance to edit and revise their presentation and experiment when crafting the presentation as they don't have the audience present and can ask for feedback from peers. This means that students can practice, then record, get feedback, refine their presentation and then present it. The next step is to be able to present in person in front of an audience. The second point is that the use of podcasting supports a social constructivist learning environment and this creates thinking communicators and not just proficient speakers.

I have been stating that podcasting is improving oral language in my classroom and now it is time to put my money where my mouth is. I decided to conduct research to support or refute this assertion. I gathered data using an attitude survey, audio recordings, video recordings and a reflection journal. This podcast outlines my study and the findings with theoretical backing. I can now say why what I do works. I mention the KPE podcast again in this podcast and the application that I mention for putting a map on your page can be downloaded from http://www.clustrmaps.com. I have two major points in this podcast. The first is that podcasting provides a vital middle step for students when crafting an oral language presentation. It gives them the chance to edit and revise their presentation and experiment when crafting the presentation as they don't have the audience present and can ask for feedback from peers. This means that students can practice, then record, get feedback, refine their presentation and then present it. The next step is to be able to present in person in front of an audience. The second point is that the use of podcasting supports a social constructivist learning environment and this creates thinking communicators and not just proficient speakers.

I have been stating that podcasting is improving oral language in my classroom and now it is time to put my money where my mouth is. I decided to conduct research to support or refute this assertion. I gathered data using an attitude survey, audio recordings, video recordings and a reflection journal. This podcast outlines my study and the findings with theoretical backing. I can now say why what I do works. I mention the KPE podcast again in this podcast and the application that I mention for putting a map on your page can be downloaded from http://www.clustrmaps.com. I have two major points in this podcast. The first is that podcasting provides a vital middle step for students when crafting an oral language presentation. It gives them the chance to edit and revise their presentation and experiment when crafting the presentation as they don't have the audience present and can ask for feedback from peers. This means that students can practice, then record, get feedback, refine their presentation and then present it. The next step is to be able to present in person in front of an audience. The second point is that the use of podcasting supports a social constructivist learning environment and this creates thinking communicators and not just proficient speakers.

Today in Dunedin we had a snow day. This is when the weather is bad and all the schools in the area decide that students would be better off at home because of the conditions on the roads etc. Today I further learned about the beauty of web 2.0 features as I managed to teach and learn with a student while we were both in our respective homes. I discuss in this episode how to separate your web sites in iWeb and access a web site from two separate computers. For more information go to http://web.mac.com/will.englefield/iWeb/WillG4PB/2Macs1Site.html There is also a section on the apple support page that explains it further under the heading" iWeb 1.1: Changing your Domain file default location"

Today in Dunedin we had a snow day. This is when the weather is bad and all the schools in the area decide that students would be better off at home because of the conditions on the roads etc. Today I further learned about the beauty of web 2.0 features as I managed to teach and learn with a student while we were both in our respective homes. I discuss in this episode how to separate your web sites in iWeb and access a web site from two separate computers. For more information go to http://web.mac.com/will.englefield/iWeb/WillG4PB/2Macs1Site.html There is also a section on the apple support page that explains it further under the heading" iWeb 1.1: Changing your Domain file default location"

Today in Dunedin we had a snow day. This is when the weather is bad and all the schools in the area decide that students would be better off at home because of the conditions on the roads etc. Today I further learned about the beauty of web 2.0 features as I managed to teach and learn with a student while we were both in our respective homes. I discuss in this episode how to separate your web sites in iWeb and access a web site from two separate computers. For more information go to http://web.mac.com/will.englefield/iWeb/WillG4PB/2Macs1Site.html There is also a section on the apple support page that explains it further under the heading" iWeb 1.1: Changing your Domain file default location"

Over the past two weeks we have had two groups of teachers visit our school from the middle of the South Island of NZ to have a look at our learning and teaching programmes. During one of these visits two of my students decided to interview the teachers about their first impressions of our school. I was very proud of how my students could articulate their learning. An interesting element was that my students seem more at home speaking into a computer than did some of their interviewees... I think podcasting is having an impact on their confidence, oral language abilities and their ideas of themselves as global citizens! I've said it before... Podcasting is doing amazing things for my students :-) Enjoy

Over the past two weeks we have had two groups of teachers visit our school from the middle of the South Island of NZ to have a look at our learning and teaching programmes. During one of these visits two of my students decided to interview the teachers about their first impressions of our school. I was very proud of how my students could articulate their learning. An interesting element was that my students seem more at home speaking into a computer than did some of their interviewees... I think podcasting is having an impact on their confidence, oral language abilities and their ideas of themselves as global citizens! I've said it before... Podcasting is doing amazing things for my students :-) Enjoy

Over the past two weeks we have had two groups of teachers visit our school from the middle of the South Island of NZ to have a look at our learning and teaching programmes. During one of these visits two of my students decided to interview the teachers about their first impressions of our school. I was very proud of how my students could articulate their learning. An interesting element was that my students seem more at home speaking into a computer than did some of their interviewees... I think podcasting is having an impact on their confidence, oral language abilities and their ideas of themselves as global citizens! I've said it before... Podcasting is doing amazing things for my students :-) Enjoy

In this episode I outline the language unit I taught this term which resulted in my students podcasting their original pieces of poetry. It was an amazing journey and all students were proud of their accomplishments. The students were given a timetable to plan their own week in which they had to complete some reading, maths, writing and complete their podcasts. I had no management issues at all. The students were so focussed on their tasks and so involved in their learning that I just helped out when I was needed. I only let the students completely run their own learning for one week of the term but they really enjoy it. And the results speak for themselves. The podcast below, A Poem by Jade, is one of the resulting poetry podcasts. I would be really interested to hear from other teachers who have used podcasting in interesting ways in their classrooms. (The images in this podcast are a selection of photographs taken by my students in this unit)

In this episode I outline the language unit I taught this term which resulted in my students podcasting their original pieces of poetry. It was an amazing journey and all students were proud of their accomplishments. The students were given a timetable to plan their own week in which they had to complete some reading, maths, writing and complete their podcasts. I had no management issues at all. The students were so focussed on their tasks and so involved in their learning that I just helped out when I was needed. I only let the students completely run their own learning for one week of the term but they really enjoy it. And the results speak for themselves. The podcast below, A Poem by Jade, is one of the resulting poetry podcasts. I would be really interested to hear from other teachers who have used podcasting in interesting ways in their classrooms. (The images in this podcast are a selection of photographs taken by my students in this unit)

In this episode I outline the language unit I taught this term which resulted in my students podcasting their original pieces of poetry. It was an amazing journey and all students were proud of their accomplishments. The students were given a timetable to plan their own week in which they had to complete some reading, maths, writing and complete their podcasts. I had no management issues at all. The students were so focussed on their tasks and so involved in their learning that I just helped out when I was needed. I only let the students completely run their own learning for one week of the term but they really enjoy it. And the results speak for themselves. The podcast below, A Poem by Jade, is one of the resulting poetry podcasts. I would be really interested to hear from other teachers who have used podcasting in interesting ways in their classrooms. (The images in this podcast are a selection of photographs taken by my students in this unit)