Week7

Google earth and google map (especially, satellite pictures) are connected to authentic learning; a teacher bring real life topic to class using google earth and google map. Also everybody who has internet connection is able to see this site any time; therefore, it is easy to bring this to classrooms.

For example, I utilize this topic for holiday plan in Japanese classes and website design in computer science plan. For example, in Japanese classes, we could talk about what kind of entertainment Japanese people have. Students are required to research the places and the maps to get there. In computer science classes, students can create website about places such as restaurants, studiams and shops where they are interested in. In this website, students can upload the link of google map or upload the map.

Pictures are the examples of Japanese classes. They are in Tokyo.

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Week 5

One of the ways I can provide is to have groups of students create movies for topics such as environment, Australian culture or events. For example, a teacher will form groups of students and let them choose the topic for their movies. A group of students can go around the school (or outside of school) in order to find some information related to their topics and/or interview other students, and they should record them to upload to their movies. Finally, students will be asked to present their movies and reports. Their movies should be clear and visible; however, creating movies is only the way to present; the important part is what students have learnt about their topics using these tools. This approach engages students will motivate students since they need to use cameras and microphones with other group members.




I will say that YouTube or other videos are utilized both for engagement of interest and learning. For example, teachers show YouTube video about the environment, and then teachers provide handouts with questions related to the video. Then the whole class can discuss and share their ideas about what they think about the environment.
When students see and hear that the video is from YouTube, that video will fascinate them as all of them know what YouTube is. Also most students are visual learners. Once teachers tell students that they are going to watch a video, they are already interested in it. Therefore, YouTube can be used to engage students’ interests. If teachers prepare handouts like above, they need to watch carefully what the content of video is to prepare their answers. Also, when they verbalize and share their ideas, they learn from videos and peers. As a result, YouTube or other videos are not only the entertainment but also the tool for teaching and learning.

As YouTube video above shows, teachers can utilize those videos as instructions.

Week 4

This technology could fit in computer classes such as computer science. For example, I could ask students to make websites as an assignment using flickr and podcast. The topic of each website would include real life contents since they need to utilize pictures and audio and videos. A teacher could show how to create a website using flickr and podcast effectively. In addition, teachers and students can utilize flickr and podcast with PowerPoint which we learned in the previous week. Teachers and students will create exciting PowerPoint slides which facilitate visual and audio learners.

My Podcast address: http://aoigonza.podomatic.com/
My link of photos: http://www.flickr.com/photos/managingelearning/4896769089/#/photos/managingelearning/4896769089/lightbox/

My first teaching area is Japanese language. As I teach Japanese language, students will need to know Japanese culture as well. This shows two typical Japanese traditional customs which are Yukata and Taiko. I could utilize this picture when I teach about festivals in Japan. Also, in this picture you can see a girl who is not Japanese; therefore, I could show that anyone can experience this festival.

I found this picture from the ‘Japanese Culture’ group in flickr. There are many pictures, comments and topics about Japanese cultures. I also can introduce this group for students to discuss about Japan so they will experience learning the Japanese language.

Week 3

As the pedagogy is described as ‘tool of teaching’, those blogs and PowerPoint are very good examples of tools. Since young children in this era were born in the digital world, studying on the computer via internet is much more common and friendly for them. The eLearning and PowerPoint are not only visual learning but also they can be interactive. For example, I could write the summary of the lesson and several practice quizzes on the blog, and then students could post their answers. Also when students work on presentations, they can utilize PowerPoint. After their presentations a teacher can upload all groups’ PowerPoints on the blog so other students can come back to what they learned. Therefore, I will be able to utilize PowerPoint as a follow-up tool.

Week 2

My wiki link is: https://www.wikispaces.com/user/my/aoigonza
As I explore wiki, I realized that wiki is more interactive than Blog. For example, you can edit or add more content on someone's posts with pictures or videos via wiki, whereas you can just leave comments on blog. As a learning tool, wiki would be effective for group work since students will learn cooperation with colleagues while working on blog is the same as online study such as the Moodle site.

My Weebly website is: aoigonza.weebly.com

Big 6 is more specific and clear for me. For example, as Eisenberg (2001) stated, the Big 6 is based on six stages such as: Task Definition: Information Seeking Strategies: Location and Access: Use of information: Synthesis: Evaluation. In addition, Eisenberg (2001) mentioned that the Big 6 is effective with assignments. Therefore, the Big 6 will facilitate students' learning.