Literacy in Health and Physical Education Glogster

This post contains the link to my essay (including references) titled:

Literacy Education in Middle School Health and Physical Education. 


As a part of this assignment, I was required to produce a multimodal presentation about my essay and write a reflection on the process of creating the presentation.


Self-Reflection on ICT Learning

My goal for creating the multimodal presentation was to use a new program and include a significant amount of visual elements. These restrictions challenged my learning, as creating visual texts is difficult for me. I also wanted to use this opportunity to extend my knowledge of available programs that could be used once I am teaching. I chose Glogster as the medium to present my multimodal text as I have seen reviews from educators in my Personal Learning Network (PLN) that recommend using it for creating visual information graphics. Once I started to create my text, I discovered that audio can be included on the infographic. As I always have difficulties with articulating my thoughts while being recorded, I decided that I would also need to include a short audio clip. It required 5 attempts at recording to produce something that was adequate to include.

From the process of creating the infographic, I have learnt that it is possible to learn while doing as long as you have enough background knowledge to identify the features of the program in order to effectively use them without creating havoc with the existing design. I did not become an expert in Glogster, nor did everything go smoothly. I had problems using the image and text boxes already included in the template. I eventually just used them to scaffold my layout, and then deleted them so that I could add my own pictures and text boxes. What appeared to go smoothly was the attachment of my essay, including my reference list. However, when I viewed the published version, the attachment would not work. To overcome this, I added the link to a post I made on my blog and created a hyperlink from my infographic to the post.  The difference between how text is spaced in the text box in preview mode and publish mode also created problems. My attempt to re-edit and publish again did not work. I have concluded that the problem may be a glitch with the program itself or my internet connection as I found that when I attempted to view my infographic in a different web browser, even more viewing problems occurred. As the view looks correct on my preview page, I am unsure how I can go about fixing this problem. This will be something that I can discuss with my peers in my PLN.

To improve my results in creating a visual infographic, next time I will allow more time for editing and trialling of the published text. This will allow opportunity for requesting a peer to give me feedback about my design and to help me to fix the problems I encountered. The experience I gained completing this task that I can use to inform future literacy teaching includes gaining a practical understanding of the importance of design elements in the different modes of communication and recognising how important identifying what prior knowledge is available to be utilised in the designing process.   

Multiliteracies, Literacy and HPE.

How do multilitericies, literacy and HPE fit together in the middle school context? 

I am researching aspects of literacy and how it can be applied to teaching and learning in HPE. Currently I am reading about how ICT's can assist with this... The information found is focused mostly towards literacy in general, and in particular, with strong links to the English curriculum area. I must admit that I am in the very early stages... And so the purpose of this post is help focus my thoughts on what I am looking for.

Focus 1: What literacies are relevant and important to teaching and learning in HPE? Be broad... Then specific to HPE. What are multiliteracies? I can think of where literacy is important in HPE straight away... Specific language and terminology knowledge and understanding. Ability to read and interpret graphs and charts. Using measuring equipment and recording devices. Understanding rules of particular sports. Internet competency for searching and obtaining information relevant to the topic. How does multiliteracies fit into HPE? What learning theories are relevant to HPE?

Focus 2: What teaching resources and strategies can be used to support language and literacy development in HPE? Here i need to consider different backgrounds and abilities of students. How can ICT's be used? I also need to think about what frontloading strategies could be used. HPE is unique, in that I need to consider both the physical and theoretical situations. I should be able to draw strategies from other curriculum areas such as mathematics as HPE does cross over into many other areas. I can gather ideas and resources for this focus from sites such as HPE teachers, Scootle and the UDL website. 

Focus 3: What pedagogical strategies can be used for teaching and assessing literacy in the HPE context? How will I explicitly teach and assess literacy? How do these strategies fit with my pedagogical theoretical beliefs? What challenges to language and literacy learning can I anticipate? Especially in consideration to ICTs?

I think i have a good starting point for my assignment about literacies in HPE. I welcome any comments and suggestions on this topic. 

Playing with PhotoPeach

This is a quick slide show that I created using PhotoPeach. 

It was very easy to add photos and write a caption. There is even the ability to make your slides into a quiz!

Life stages of a butterfly 

How Twitter is working to build my PLN

I began using Twitter in December 2010 to become familiar with it as my son was beginning to explore the different social platforms on the internet. I believe that it is important to have some knowledge of the different applications our children are using. I soon realised that I would have a hard time keeping up... but not through lack of trying, simply because there is so much out there and I don't nearly have enough time to explore and learn in great detail all there is to know.

My use on twitter in the early days was limited to fumbling around trying to decipher what all the @ and # tags meant and how or even what to post. (I am of a  mind that posting should be reserved for things that I think are especially useful rather than just a running commentary on my daily adventures).

Last year when I began to build my PLN in education, I steadily increased my use in and knowledge of how to use Twitter. It has taken me a year, but I am cheery to say that I am getting there! Today I updated my profile to reflect my professional image and focus. I am beginning to utilise the features available such as # tagging to groups that are relevant and may be interested in my tweets. I have engaged with other users and I am constantly building my network by following 103 other members, with 21 of my own followers. My goal over the next few months is to explore more of the features and become more efficient with using Twitter because at the moment it takes a considerable chuck of my time to engage with the Twitter community.

Despite my slow start, I strongly believe that Twitter is a great tool for engaging with and building my PLN!

Reflection opportunity from my EDP3333 professional experience

It has been quite a time since my last post, much to my frustration and disappointment. My family, work and uni commitments had put posting on hold. But the opportunity to reflect on here from my last practical experience is too great to resist, so over the next few weeks I will be discussing what worked and what didn't work during my prac.

My first focus is on impression and building rapport. I was so nervous and anxious that I'm afraid I did not make the best impression. I lacked confidence and had trouble articulating a clear idea of who I am as a teacher. In addition to this, the students were expecting a replica of their teacher which I imagine would be pretty rare (however my EDC3100 prac, the students came close as my teaching and behaviour management style were quite similar to my mentor). By the end of my prac I am happy to say that I built a great relationship with the students and taught more in my own style that felt right for me. My intention is to do this right from the start of my next prac as I found that I was more successful as a teacher when I was myself, than when I was modelling my mentor.

So, what can I do in preparation for my next prac and for my future teaching as a whole, focusing on impressions and building rapport? Here are my thoughts so far:

• Unpack who I am and what teaching means to me... make a video that I can show the class as an introduction to myself and my pedagogy. Present it to my mentor prior to prac and to the class at the start of prac.
• Improve my confidence. Ideas to do this include doing things that make me step outside of my comfort zone to prove to myself that I can be successful. Research the topic of building confidence and increasing assertiveness. Be confident in my own abilities!
• Have a clear written focus on what my expectations are and questions that I want to ask my mentor prior to attending prac such as: Can I wonder around and support students while you are teaching or would you like me to wait until you have indicated for me to join in and support students? Can I utilise you as a resource in the classroom to assist students during lessons that I am teaching? What are some of the behaviours that the students exhibit, that I can expect? What are your expectations of behaviour and standard of work that is important that I maintain? Perhaps do a looks like, feels like, sounds like sheet from both my perspective and  from the mentors perspective prior to prac. 
• Provide copies of my classroom management plan, class rules and consequence posters to my mentor teacher and unpack it prior to prac so that I can be confident to create a classroom environment that promotes positive relationships and quality learning that works within my teaching style.
• Think about how I am presenting myself in terms of body language, tone and speech content to ensure I am presenting myself in the best way possible that builds a great rapport with both my mentor and students. 

I am sure that I will think of some more or if you have suggestions or experiences that you would like to share, feel free to comment on this post.

A great you-tube clip that I found about building rapport and making great first impressions from The On Demand Coach can be found by clicking here.

Quality ICT Integration

What makes quality integration?

This article Key characteristics of good quality teaching and learning with ICT: a discussion document lists five features of effective practice:

1. Autonomy
2. Capability
3. Creativity
4. Quality
5. Scope

The article provides key words and defines the characteristics of these features. It provides examples of what you might see in the classroom in different grades and discussion points for reflection and collaboration with educator peers.

I intend to review this once I am teaching to assess and improve the quality of my ICT integration.

Technology Integration Planning Model

I have used the Technology Integration Planning Model to guide my planning on how I can integrate ICT into my professional experience. Information describing this model can be found at this blog post 

I like this model because it can be easily used with the Backwards Design Model of planning units. This means that unit and assessment objectives are identified first and then ICT integration fits in with that planning.

For example: Within a history unit, one objective is to identify and use primary and secondary sources to gather information. ICT can be used when students search the internet and add websites into their favorites to be later retrieved.

The model also helps you to consider the context of the class such as what resources are available and how you will structure the lesson and classroom environment to best suit the transformed learning.