"Life begins at the end of your comfort zone."

~Neale Donald Walsch~

Thursday 30 October 2014

Identify, Analyse and Evaluate

Over the last few weeks my History students have been working on a new essay. They have been considering how continuity and change effects the topic they have chosen. Yesterday I had a discussion with some students about the fact they weren't enjoying this essay and just struggling with the subject in general. I was a little gutted for a few moments and realised this wasn't about me but about the fact that for whatever reason the students were not really understanding what I was asking them to do. So... last night I did some hard thinking about how it is I can really engage them not only in the topic they are researching but really develop their analytic skills. So I have a new strategy now with some fun and engaging activities for next week to get them thinking and build their skills but it has really got me thinking about critical thinking.


So what is critical thinking?

Image c/o B. McCallum
Because we live in a media saturated world students often take what they see and hear for granted. The expression "Curiosity killed the cat" is one that does not apply here. We want students to question what they reading in relation to what they know.

So much of what students see or hear is sensationalised and writers are often paid to persuade us to believe what they write. What is needed is a good dose of skepticism in order to start thinking more objectively about things.






Developing your own views

Image c/o B. McCallum
Often students read information and only consider what they comprehend in what they have just read. They need to connect the information they have read into other aspects of what they know or how it might link in or be in relationship with other information they have at hand or have experienced.










Identify, Analyse and Evaluate

Image c/o B.Mccallum


I find sometimes that students lack logical flow in how they think when they are developing ideas. Some students like structure in order for them to develop their ideas and opinions. Sometimes students just don't seem to know which questions to ask in order to dig a little deeper in a complex problem or issue. 









As students develop their higher order thinking skills they will begin to ask more complex questions on the issue they are considering however for some students they just need a starting point. I need to help my students really understand the importance of analysis and the ability to account for the information they are reading in relation to their topic. The thing I like about this essay is that the students need to consider continuity and change and this in itself is asking them to make connections and see how complex issues form relationships within the historical context. 

So I have a challenge that awaits for me and only 3 weeks until their final exam. 

Until next week,
K








Saturday 18 October 2014

YouTube's Creator Studio


So I mentioned in my last blog post that my students have been using the latest in You Tube's video application. Many of my student have had no experience with videos and video editing and they have picked it up as though it was child's play. It's not the Rolls Royce like Adobe's Premier Element 11 which is fantastic if you can master it but it's great to put together something if you have little time or experience.

The example I am using below is from one of my students. This term we have been talking about different cultural values we all possess. We have been examining how we are shaped by stereotypes and how we can overcome some of these negative stereotypes and break down some of these barriers we place on people. This student created this video with no knowledge of video editing. I think he did a great job but I'll let you be the judge.


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YouTube's Creator Studio
One of the best features about this program is that it's really easy to use and the interface is similar to all other Google products.



Students like the freedom to be expressive using technology and this new application really does tick a lot of boxes. Have a play with it and see what you think. Probably 3 of my favorite features are:

1. Creative Commons
I am always banging on to my students the importance of copyright on the internet. The videos in CC are great because the students can use them to get the message across legally without having to worry if they are using someone's work without permission.

2. Audio
There are many different sounds and songs that are free that they can use to make their videos interesting. I was really surprised at the range of music and genres and there are plenty to choose from.

3. Cutting Tool
Once you have dropped in your video you can cut and move it around very easily. Students were able to add in images, video and music and manipulate them into different time frames and places within the video. This gives so much flexibility for students to be creative and publish a really nicely finished video.

So why not have a play around with the new Video Editor in YouTube. You can't break it and you might actually have fun.

Until next week,
K

Favorite Google Docs Tools

Well it has been some time since my last blog and so much has happened. My TPC History class handed in their essays and I was so proud of their efforts. So pleased everyone passed and 3 got full marks. So after a lot of sweat and tears some excellent results. It's a bit stressful to get them all through (50 of them) however it has been very rewarding. So many of them have improved in their skills and really that's all I expect of them.

Loving Google Docs.....

My greatest tool this term has been Google Docs. I have been using Google Docs now for about 4-5 years. I can't really remember when I started using them but I really find this technology extremely useful and they are the best way to work with students on their essays or pieces of writing. I also like to use them for collaborative purposes and they also like to use them this way. Clearly the sharing option in Google docs is so great and one I use all the time.  My favorite function is the comment function followed closely by revision history.

Sometimes in class the students and I work on the document together in real time and they find this so helpful. I also work with them outside of class time if need be and Google docs gives you the freedom to do that. It's great that you don't have to print out multiple copies of drafts. One of my other favorite new features in comments if one of the add-on called Kaizena. 


You can voice record your comment rather than typing it out. I like this option when you have a little more to say about a paragraph and I use this option rather than have a really long comment on the side of the page. 

As I mentioned earlier I also love revision history. It's great to see when your students are working and also great if they make a mistake and accidentally delete a paragraph or sentence and they can easily go back and restore it to an earlier time when they were working. The only time I know that you can rewind your life. You can click on any of these time and the document will be restored to this time. If you are working on a doc with multiple students then you can see how much each student has contributed to the assessment or classwork. It's such a great feature. 


In one of my other classes the students have been using the relatively new 'YouTube' Creator Studio. It was launched in July this year and it has been great for them to create some videos about negative stereotypes we have about people and how we can overcome them. I'll blog about that one next week. 

Happy playing in the land of Google. 

Until next week,
K