Module 4

Today we met and learnt about Podcasts, Vodcasts and different video sites we can use in  our classroom. I am more familiar with these tools as I have previously used both in my teaching. I have always used these tools to present information to the class in an engaging and motivating way, but  I am keen to look for ways that students can use the tools to present their own work.
YouTube is a website that is constantly used in my year 1 classroom. The students really enjoy the visual learning that is often accompanied by a song that they can learn and sing a long to. Below is an example of a video that I have used with great success in the classroom.

 I like the idea of using podcasts to allow the children to listen to themselves read. This is a great technique to improve fluency and I have previously used Audacity with the students to accomplish this. Downloading Stories that the students can listen to would also be a great literacy group activity.

We also explored iTunes in this module. I have not had a lot of experience using iTunes for school or personal use but I am currently involved in an iPad trial at my school,so I have been using iTunes to download apps. After reading more about iTunes this week I'm excited about utilising the tool in more ways.

Module 3

Today we met to complete Module 3. Again being altogether made the experience easy and enjoyable. Module 3 introduced us to Google Docs. I have previously heard of Google Docs but had never used the tool. We were all able to create a document and share it with each other.

Google Docs could be used in many different ways in the classroom. The collaborative nature of the tool would definitely suit the classroom environment. I'm considering using the tool in the classroom to complete a survey but will need to give it a bit more thought. Another idea would be to put a picture up on a document and then the children could add nouns or adjectives to describe the picture. Google Docs could also be a great tool to use for programing and collaborating with other staff members.