the great divide.

this image, from leah, is slightly irrelevant at the moment.
but i thought her blog was awesome about giving thanks all the time. and also, sometimes i don't want to post a flickr picture of a computer.
so maybe, sometime soon, this image/text can become relevant.

Last Monday we had a great tutorial with Glynis Jones, discussing the 'Gender Divide'.
It was a really informative, theory based tutorial which actually was great and different from the usual hands-on activities that we are used to. I find it good to sometimes not look at a computer screen and just listen to someone speak.

We talked about ICT issues such as:
> the technology divide
> the international divide
> the economical divide
> the gender divide
> the teacher skill set divide
> the access and connectivity divide

In future tutorials we will be discussing topics such as:
> pedagody and inquiry-based learning
> games in education - are they educational?
> the anti-technology movement
> the standards movement (NSW Institute of Teaching)
> special needs and assistive technologies
> plagerism (All My Own Work)
> social networking

Not sure really what to comment on right now, it was a slight case of information overload, so maybe I will make some more insightful comments after next tutorial. I should get reading on some literature!

Selah.

{Selah - 'to pause and reflect'.}

We have just had another superb tutorial, with everyone giving their presentations and introducing us to a bunch of fantastic resources that promote 'meaningful learning'. To record our attendance at the session we needed to post a thread on the discussion board relating to our two favourite resources and a little commentary on the issue of 'evaluation'. Additionally, we needed to post a link to our 'Delicious' social-bookmarking site. Here is what I wrote:

After hearing so many wonderful presentations this afternoon, I have decided that I like the look of the StoryBird Website, and the FossWeb site. The StoryBird website is very sweet, and basically allows students to write and draw their own 'online story' for them to export and share with family/friends. It also is free, which is such a major benefit. The FossWebsite is a science based website that has really fun and interactive games for students to learn about science based content such as 'Solids and Liquids'.

The process of evaluation, for me, is actually quite tricky. There are so many aspects to consider when analysing a type of software/hardware, such as:
- how does it promote meaningful learning?
- how can teachers use this in the classroom with it being beneficial?
- can students 'construct' anything out of these soft-wares to make their learning more in-depth?
(These are just a few questions you need to ask yourself)
Additionally, you must weigh up the positives and negatives, and relate them to studies/research and readings! Despite the lengthy process, evaluations must be done in order for us as pre-service teachers to sort the meaningful learning technologies from the dodgy ones. I would like to find out how other people evaluate resources, so that if I have missed out on something, I can learn how to better evaluate and analyse.

It is also interesting to note what other sites my fellow bloggers found interesting. Hannah raised some interesting points on what whether sites that are interactive, are automatically promoting meaningful learning. Additionally, Martine (whose blog you may not be able to access, only if you are included in UTSonline) finds the iPhone Basic Maths Deluxe application really innovative and educational. It is always good to be looking at what other students find interesting, as they may introduce you to an amazing resource that you would never have found on your own.

Now, I'm off to prepare my 'Mid-Semester Statement'!

*image thanks to Shirshir Naik, who posts his art on the 'StoryBird' website.