Geoff Innovation

Well there it is, near on the last week of uni and I have felt somewhat challenged, however how much I have been challenged, I have started to accept the fact that as much as I may dislike technology, I don’t mind some of them being incorporated into the class.

This weeks FINAL PRESENTATION!!! was on the Smart board. Something which I would be more than happy to bring into my class (pending the school pays for it). The level of detail that the students put into this presentation was awesome. They went through every little detail that can make a lesson flow nicely, from the toolbar to the “what if’s”

Asking me to accept almost any type of technology into the class room is risky at best. Having said that, throughout this semester i would be more than happy to integrate a couple of them into my class,,, Google Earth, Smart board etc. Brilliant innovations, ultimately a simple idea used to encourage and help students to learn with different multiple intelligences and keep them relatively focussed.

At the end of this class I will have completed all that is needed for my finished thingo (including my FLIMBY’S!!!) To have gone from someone that said “NO NO NO!” to someone that says “You know what? I might just try this” is a phenominal accomplishment. I have always been against the use of too much technology in the classroom, but now, just maybe, there might be some hope to bringing me up with the rest of the world and trying something old vs something NEW!

Thanks for reading my WebLogs or as I like to call it my Flimby’s, i have enjoyed knowing that there is people out there commenting and judging me for my one-eyed views in this life.

Have a good one!

Geoff

Well todays class was somewhat different. It was different because it was bloody interesting. Interactive and it kept my stimulus, stimul-ied (i’m sure its a word) The clicker seems to be a groovy little thing. I see many benefits and some negatives, but i’m choosing to ignore the negatives cause damn it, it’s just groovy.
The groovy part of todays class was the clickers, it was just groovy, the other groovy part was how confident the boys were when it come to presenting.

 I learnt a fair chunk and I enjoyed the class given. If I knew how to or could afford it, I would love to incorporate the clickers into the class. That is something, however that seems to be a challenge. Unfortunately, like most things now a days, it cost money, a fair few dollars at that. Being a teacher, there is no way I could fork out the money for this innovation, and i’m guessing the government is not all that interested in educational benefits, I mean when have the ever been?

The second presentation was about Search engines and related thingos. Interesting to see that there is more than msn, google and yahoo. Who would have thought that there would be a whole range of search engines, I mean in todays society I could never imagine companies fighting to get your approval. I just won’t believe it.

Interesting to learn about Kidzui, something that is designed for kids to safely use the internet. Unfortunately, as a teacher, you have to do certain searches will always conflict. The I.T “professionals” (yeah right) tend to block anything that relates to breast cancer – because apparently if a child is doing a report on breast cancer then that must mean they are looking up pornography. Both kidzui and zoeybot need to take a bit of a lax approach, yes filter out the bad stuff but allow real life problems on there and give the kids the opportunity to actually learn about todays society and environment. Zoeybot however, is a rude mean woman. I’m Australian and i use Australian slang, and the bloody dragon robot thingy kicked me out. WHAT THE HELL!!!

All in all, both presentations were somewhat mind opening and interesting. Well done.

This week has not been the best week for me. First of all I no longer have my bloody good grade on my e-portfolio because it no longer exists. That’s right some… teacher I had last year lost it, and it was art. Aawesome in fact. This means I had to do the whole thing again including this semesters work by 3 weeks time, not an easy task. So I went home to start it and ALAS, my computer was stolen, some terrors broke into my house and stole me puter, and people wonder why I don’t like technology.

It is difficult to to start a rather large assignment when the computer is gone but it’s harder to do the assignment when ALL of my university work was on the puter. FUN FUN FUN.

Now that I have had my winge, my computer has been retrieved, must be the first positive experience with police, it really was amazing. Strange when the people you pay for out of your tax money actually does something productive directly for you. Not going there though.

So here I am still complaining about technology, but truth be told I am warming to the idea of computers in the classroom. There are some things which, well I am not keen on with children, but there are others and I’m guessing a bucket load of applications that can help with in the classroom.

I have a prac in a couple of weeks and I have discussed with my prac teacher about the use of computers in the classroom and she is all for it. So it looks like I’ll be doing a fair bit of computer classes. Wish me luck!

So today was all about Google Docs and related thingo’s. We were given a quick video to watch with some American Dude talking about this program with the assistance of pictures… caught my attention (I’ve got a really short attention spam {yes spam, my mind goes into junk mail mode}) The video explains, instead of e-mail attachments have it all in one spot and e-mail people the web address. If I’m wrong that’s how I took it.

The idea of a school not having to download so many attachments all the time and have one simple web address is brilliant. Talk about your savings account savings. I would like to implement something like this into the class (that’s right, I would actually like to try it) To have one place for all the students and access for the parents to see what their kids are doing in class is brilliant.

I always worry about parents questioning what is happening in the classroom, this way is a good little check point for them. Hopefully their child can show them how to navigate and use the groups as well. Then there is no denying that something is happening within the class and parents can still remain involved with the classroom without having to be biast either way within the class. (confusing yes, but I know what I mean)

So where does the Complex issues come into it. Good question. Ummm. Having learnt Microsoft Office to a T, the complex thing for me is learning something similar that is limited and really quite different. The complex-ish thing is having to learn how to convert what you have already done into the docs. However, both the complex thingo’s don’t seem to be all that difficult once you have tried it once or twice.

Basically, the complex issue of all this is the initial start up of Google groups/Docs. To start a lot of things on the World Wide Web of information is quite simple, name e-mail address and enter. When it comes to something like this however, it’s new e-mail address (which involves a whole bunch of other details) then name, username etc etc. Too much for the younger crew, too complex for the youngens (it’s a word in the dictionary of Geoff) So maybe I will be leaving this for the upper primary kidlets (see K under dictionary of Geoff)

All in all, I am happy with this whole Google-ness that we have been bombarded by over the last couple of weeks.

Yes, thats right. It’s been a fair few weeks between posts for me, mainly because I have been slack. I have found it difficult to write on what I have just done because half the time I struggle to see the point. Then I remember why I am meant to do this.

The whole point of this Flimby’s thing is to understand and hopefully integrate such a use into the everyday classroom. It’s not easy half the time because I always manage to find faults in everything I am introduced too which is ‘new and improved’. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. I am Geoff Clarke, I am of the old school, I am going to be slack about this because I am still not sure if I agree with it all.

Over the last couple of weeks (barring last week- apparently a week off) we have learnt a whole range of different programs and uses for these in the classroom. Once again I managed to find faults with almost all of them, however, there is one that I found to be completely brilliant. I could see the benefits of it with in the classroom and have decided that I will be incorporating it into the everyday. A couple of good looking blokes, I think it was some guys named Geoff and Wayd introduced me to Google Earth. Well hello geography and T&E in one. What a brilliant way to see live pics and up to date satellite imagery of the world we live in. In some cases the ability to zoom in and out, around on top or level with certain structures and nature based landmarks. This tool I will be incorporating. Yes it’s important, yes I am slack, but not when it comes to the brilliance of Google Earth. I am a believer.

Times are changing, but unfortunately I am not changing as fast. I consider myself to be slack because technology scares me, the problem with this is that it appears to be more and more integrated into the classroom. There have been a couple of other programs introduced apart from Google earth. This Second Life thingo, well for starters I was away that lesson, however I turned to my Uni husband (referring to Wayd, my room mates consider us to be hopeless without the other, sadly it’s true) for a run-down of what it was all about.

The whole concept of Second Life disturbs me to be a little honest with you. Allowing students access to the internet and a ‘Game’ such as this seems a little,,, well stalkish. I don’t think I will be confident in adding something like this into a primary class. Having said all the negatives, I can see the positives, allowing the children to ‘have a coffee’ with someone in Ole Paris but it still seems a little difficult to control. Who knows maybe I am just being close minded.

Well let’s get straight to it shall we? No beating around the bush here. Today’s class was not only disturbing but brain overloading. TWITTER,,, i know what you’re saying… what-er??? Yes, Twitter. This thing or ‘web site’ is remarkably like MSN but slightly more in-depth. That is, i can update my status like any other MSN or Facebook status, however, Twitter allows me to find new people through mutual friends.

All sounds nice but once again I just can’t wrap my head around it. I could see the benefits of it and that’s fine, but for use with education. I don’t think so. I’m a 20-something year old and I still don’t understand what I am doing now on this site, let alone on a new site such as Twitter.

With everything we have learnt in the last couple of weeks in Lina’s class is in-depth and detailed. The problem with it all though is it seems to complex for primary students. Currently I have 6 pages (7 including Facebook, don’t tell Lina) opened up on my internet browser and it’s all related to this class, three of them are Twitter related. It just seems to difficult or overloading on my small, size 3 brain.

Twitter, for me at this stage is purely a personal interactive web-site. Until I start to make friends with random people sharing similar interests to myself, albeit teaching, surfing or hopping on one leg, I can not see myself using this website all that often. Granted I am being one-eyed and close minded, but enough is enough. There is too much ’stuff’ on the internet and I’m sure a lot of it can be used for education uses, mostly, when it comes to these type of programs and applications, I would say NO! to the younger students and possibly, maybe, when you’ve grown up and moved out of home, feel free to use it.

To me all this is disturbing, there is too much access to too much people out in the world. Please feel free to change my mind. My comment section is waiting… 

Todays class was much like last week, except I felt on top of the world-ish. That is to say I was not dying or sick. To boil what we did yesterday in class would be to tell you to read my previous post. It practically was a repeat, but well needed. As you may have figured I am not the cluiest person when it comes to puters (my slang for computers, I’m male, I’m lazy) So to do what we did last week this week helped to solidify what i did and did not know.

After calling Lina one too many times I believe, I started to realise that i actually was getting the hang of the whole Flimby thing (remember i hate the b word so I’m changing it, come join me it’s so much greener on this side). When being asked a few questions on where people were up to, it became evident that I, Geoffrey Clarke, was a nerd. SHOCKING!!! I had done most of it already, granted I ramble and I was sick but it was done.  Here I was thinking I was mundane, I don’t fit in to this whole puter Y thingy and i find it all a bit, well mundane. But here I am, pushing buttons writing my Flimby. Next thing you’ll see is me running for ummmm, I dont know how to finish that sentence.

Truth be told, I’m starting to warm to the idea of Flimby’s. Having said that it seems very complicated to try and incorporate this into a primary classroom. Maybe I still don’t know or understand the whole concept and shortcuts to Flimb’y but I reckon give me 1 or 2…. years and I will have it down pat.

Well after last week it became very evident to me that I really have no idea what’s going on. I thought I was computer savvy or educated, turns out im just confused. Take this morning for example, a little under 27 mins just to get to this page to write down that I am confused. 27 minutes, seriously. In that time i could have prepared a cake mixture and was half way through baking it.

Im not offering any excuses but last week I was sick, not just sick but I was going to die in class, and im not being a typical male that when they get sick the whole world is falling down around them, I was gonna die! So when i got bombarded by all this “This is how to start and set-up blogging” all i heard was “Blog in your eye!” That’s right, makes no sense, because it didn’t.

The day after last lesson i spent near on 3 hours trying to do a standard first blog with my ugly mug in the writing somewhere. I eventually got it. I have no idea and still can’t instruct anyone as to how to do it. But at least I am on the way…

When it comes to confused vs. educated I think its pretty clear where i lay, CONFUSED! I have always been taught by friends, family and teachers that practice makes perfect, so here I am practicing how to Blog. The frustrating thing about blogging for me is the word blog. I HATE IT! for some reason, each time i hear that word i want to rip off my own arm and throw it at it, just so i have something to throw at it. I know its a silly thing to get annoyed over but in my head it makes no sense. I would prefer it if it was called Flimby’s. “Students, have you done your Flimby’s yet?” See it makes for much more fun.

Anywho, enough jibber jabber, back to class today to relearn what i didnt learn last week. I really feel for my teacher, she is a great lady but i fear by the end of semester I will have her in a mental institution…

Well where to start? Im a mid to late 20 year old (closer to mid) Australian guy. I have never been all that interested in computers but realise it is the way of the future so i best get used to it and adapt. That’s where the title comes into it. I’m stuck in the old days where people did things with hands, such as writing a letter – I’m the old. The new comes into play with the letter writing turning into e-mail writing. It’s me against the world…

I have travelled around Australia and seen and done a lot of things other people would never get to do. I love surfing and the outdoors in general and would go camping at the drop of a hat.

I started university at the beginning of 2007 and so far am loving it. Teaching is a passion of mine that i have always wanted to do. Earlier i mentioned I am not a fan of computers, truth be told i hate technology in general but I do understand it’s part and parcel of today’s lifestyle, so I took this little course  named Computers in the Classroom. So far i have learnt a lot about… well stuff. I’m not entirely sure what but I’m using it now, so it’s a good start.