Module 10

another intensive module with plenty of places to explore. one can certainly waste a lot of time navigatting. personally can't see me using wikis in my classroom. the disadvantage of not having a specific class means so many of these great Web tools won't be effectively utilised. however, i do like the new Bloom's taxonomy. i have kept a copy to include these verbs when writing programs for next year. even if it is only a resource for me to consider rather than specifically including them.
overall i have enjoyed the WEb 2.0 experience, certainly an intensive crash course in IT. will try to provide as many opportunities as possible next year when programming. needless to say permanent access to a Smartboard would be a huge difference. certainly something on my wish list.

Module 9

certainly one of the most needed research modules i've completed so far. made sure i watched all the little clips as there is a lot to take in.
fortunately our school has been a keen user of scootle so this section required minimal input. managed to save quite a few more learning paths, none that i am currently using, but will endeavour to include them in the programs next year. found several learning paths that support units of work i am currently completing, eg storyboards, so will modify the programs next year to include them.
having two teenage sons means social networking is a huge part of our computer time. it isn't always easy to get them off - one of the comments stated students spend up to four hours on various social network sites - i'd disagreee, it can be much, much more. however, i certainly enjoy checking out the boy's facebook as that is the only way i mange to get photos of them. their photo collections have expanded exponentially since facebook and it certainly is easy to find out what is going on in their lives (and their friends).
second life was a completely new experience as my sons haven't found this one yet!!! i am used to their activites on Xbox live where they interact with both friends and others from around the world, but second life was taking this virtual reality to a whole new level. originally sceptical, i found the educational uses quite worthwhile once i watched the youtube clips. this is certainly one i will explore during the holidays and consider implementing next year. i would need to feel very comfortable with the concept before encouraging students to participate, certainly something in the 'to be considered' basket.
twitter doesn't feature much in our household, facebook seems to be the preferred site, although the media constantly refer to twitter and who is saying what on twitter - so many possibilities!!!

Module 8

Certainly one of the easier and quickest modules to complete. a good place to have a summary of all the different blogs i am viewing. managed to add a few music blogs so an easy way to have everything so well organised. the major benefit obviously is the addition of the gadget to the igoogle page so i can easily see who has updated their blogs rather than physically click on each individual blog. Yeh, love organisation!

Module 7

another interesting session, this time using delicious to do a bit of social bookmarking. found it very easy to add more people to my network. it also proved exceptionally efficient to find great websites to add to my own account. certainly one of the quickest and straightforward sessions. plenty of educational wesites to add, will just have to find a few more focusing on creative arts and add them myself. also managed to navigate around a few other people's online journey. it certainly is interesting to observe the range of skills and how people are improving every week.

Module 6

created my bubbl.us account, another one to add to my growing list of usernames and passwords. looks like a pretty good mindmapping tool, certainly more interesting than using than using pen and paper and much easier to alter if you change your name. love being able to change the colours etc, lots of fun. concerned why one of the bubbles won't stay where it is supposed to, just off sets my sense of organisation and it looks untidy.
took the next step and created my glogster account - another username and password!!! enjoyed playing around with all the features. uploaded the image without any trouble at all and then continued to add and delete features to the page. will try creating a poster next.

web 2.0

Module Five

wow! it works!!! At today's session we explored embedding a clip from Teachertube onto our blogs. the usual technical difficulties arose where so many of the tags didn't embed correctly. however, with perserverance, and a tour of Youtube clips, found one that worked. Therefore as a result of today's experience, I feel that the Youtube clips embed easier. Also checked out the copyright restrictions as that was my only concern just copying them from the Web. Plenty of opportunity to use them in the classroom. Personally i like the idea of including music clips and videos that link with the units of work i am teaching. Already have a few ideas for including them in Term 4 programs - back to the drawing board!!!

Module 5

MODULE 4

had a little more of a play with Flickr - managing to get the hang of adding photos. particularly like the ones around Paris, they are my favourite scenes at the moment. good to know there are so many photos eg The Commons that are in the public domain. certainly is a new place to look for photos that are free on the web. Have added quite a few to my own gallery.

MODULE THREE/2

we tried again at school to share documents using google docs - fantastic it worked. however, we did try sharing a spreadsheet but the school's filter blocked us. fortunately a word document worked. therefore one of the disadvantages is obviously the security of the school's computers. when working at home this issue doesn't arise. therefore using google docs works privately but there are limitations in the school environment.

MODULE THREE

After a few technical difficulties with Module 3, we fast tracked to Module 4. Found the issues to copyright particularly interesting. As a musician, i am constantly aware of endeavouring to keep up to date with copyright issues, certainly not an easy task and the guidelines change for so many different situations. Fortunately, being familiar with this, ensures i at least THINK ABOUT checking what the copyright is. Using photos from the Internet is always an issue, i endeavour to ensure i copy the URL - MOST TIMES!!!

decided to have another try at Module 3 at home where there arent the security issues that occur at school. have checked out a few tutorials. the amusing point when i was listening to the Youtube clip, was my son who is a first year uni student mentioned he had been shown the same clip as a suggestion for how to share documents at uni. i felt very technologically current knowing i was doing something the same as the current unis are teaching. Managed to create a document, will need to check out exactly how to share as i'm not sure which email addresses i should be including to allow me to share my document - homework for this week.

actually started looking at Module 4 at school when Module 3 didn't go according to plan. managed to create the Flickr a/c and endeavour to upload a photo. of course the first task was to create a Yahoo a/c - SO MANY ACCOUNTS. wouldn't it be great if i could have the same password for all accounts. fortunately i took Nic's advice and have kept a spreadsheet on my home computer with all the account names and passwords, and a paper copy for school. let's hope i don't loose anything!!!

anyway time to upload a few more photos to continue module 4.

Module Two

Managing to get into the habit of completing my homework. The desktop at home is currently on a roster basis, my two teenage sons definitely do not like having to share it. Looks like it's time to go back to the laptop!!! successfully managed to add my blog details and even posted a thread. my vocab is certainly expanding. checked out a few other blogs, actually checked out more than a few, could spend hours just on blogs. managed to find a few i liked, particularly relating to creative arts. this of course sparked a session checking out suggested websites. now i know why my sons need to be dragged off the computer, it certainly becomes obsessive checking out new stuff. will try to drag myself away. dinner is awaiting!!!

Module One

Hi, my name is Annette.

Talk about a crash course in ICT. Managed to watch all those videos, was it my imagination or did different people just say the same thing!!! I successfully managed to create my own gmail account - a great start. Then, i managed to log into igoogle and create my own webpage. I searched for an appropriate theme and after checking several pages, spotted the search button in the top right hand corner and was able to check out the 'music' themes. found something i liked and am very pleased with the result. decided to leap out further and started adding gadgets. having conquered that without any trouble, proceeded to create my own. not content with only creating one, i managed two. the focus is my planned trip to London and Paris next year so created a Countdown. Secondly, planned my 'to-do list' for the end of year Christmas concert. i know it is only september, but i need to be organised early.

certainly enough ICT for one night. overall a very successful (although time consuming by the time i check everything out) session.

Take care,

annette.