Snow!

For the past week I spent my time stuck in my house due to this delightful stuff....

        

but I wasn't one to complain as I do find the snow make some scenery very pretty

Referencing

During a seminar one of our lectures, Mandy, introduced us to a way of making referencing easy rather than stressful !!

By using Microsoft Word to help with your referencing I found it easier and quicker to write essays and assignments. For the past few years whilst doing my GCSE's and A Level's I dreaded ending the essay's and coursework knowing that I would have to add bibliography's to the end. I knew when entering my university course this was something I would have to resolve due to the fact referencing is an important part of essay's and assignments, which is an important part of university.

Here is a blog post I found which explains the process of referencing through Microsoft Word throughout your essay. 

*****  remember NO referencing means Plagiarism  *****

Using Ipads in Education continued

In a previous post I mentioned the use of Ipads in education and classrooms becoming more and more popular. I also introduced on a seperate post edudemic. Whilst exploring their blogs I came across multiple posts on the Ipad in education. These posts ranged from ideas of work using the Ipads, to educational apps, to mistakes being made by educators using the Ipad to teach.

explore the many posts and find one which interest you here: http://edudemic.com/tag/ipad/

Up To Now

Since starting my course at university in September, I have realised there's a lot of technology which a lot of people doesn't know exists. The visual communication section of the course has introduced me to a wide range of these websites, applications and web tools. Many you can find mentioned in my posts on my blog. I have had the experience to explore some of the many and found them very interesting and fun . Most importantly I have learnt how to use them properly and how they can benefit me and my in the future.

Differences between a blog and a website

One of our weekly tasks was to choose a blog and a website on the same topic and explore the differences and similarities. Topic I was given was cars. The blog I used was "the blog about cars" and the website I chose was "Piston Heads".

Similarities 

• both easy to access through multiple search engines 
• easy to navigate
• similar features: images, advertisments
• both contained a huge amount of information

Differences

There are many noticeable differences between the both. Blogs tend to have plain and dim colours where as websites tend to have bright more colourful colours. a blog seems to have a less formal approach to their layout and format. When it comes to features they both quite similar but approach them in different ways. Blogs comment section on posts so you comment directly on the post, where as the website contains a forum where you have to set an conversation on the topic in matter.

Blog Review

One blog which I thought was important enough to add to my blog list was, Edudemic Edudemic aims to connect education, educators such as teachers and administrators, and students with the updated technology currently circulating the world's population.

Beginning in April 2010 by Jeff Dunn, Edudemic has become a very popular website. Along with Jeff Dunn, Katie Lepi helps run the site and a Edudemic magazine app which recently launched in the summer.

The site is easy to navigate, with an 'choose a category', 'All Topics' and 'Archive' tab, visitors are able to find a blog which will suit to them.

One particular blog I liked was a blog by Katie Lepi, "How Music Can Become A Bigger Part of Your Classroom".  The expresses music in education shouldn't just be associated in the music department. Music can be used as much as other web tools. the blog introduces a site which teaches subject through lyrics in a song. I believe this is a good idea which will have a great effect on learning.  

Outside the music classroom, I have experienced music in other classrooms. My French teacher taught the class the days of the week in French to the theme tune of Eastenders. It was fun but it also worked really well, still today when I hear  the tune I think of them. Other lessons such as art played music in the background creating a calming and relaxing work atmosphere.

As student myself, I find listening to music whilst doing homework and assignments. Personally I find it relaxing and uses it as a form of stress relief . I agree with the article and believe more music in education should be encouraged.

Ted

   

Ted Talks

Ted is a website designed on combining the worlds of  'technology, entertainment, design', originating in 1984. Promoting 'the spread of good speeches' worldwide,Ted talks contains thousands of videos from inspirational speeches to controversial arguments. 

One video I found inspiring was Sue Austins: Deep Sea Diving.....In a Wheelchair. Sue is founder and artistic director of her own charity, 'Freewheeling'. Her aim is to change peoples perception and outlook on how a disability affects a life.

 Due to illness some years back Sue was left facing the rest of her life in a wheelchair.First thing she noticed is how differently, the public treated her. She began to question how we think about disability and what it means.

Sue proved that having a disability and being in a wheelchair doesn't restrict you from things nor does it limit you. She went on expressing the freedom and joy using her wheelchair gave her by sharing her ''most amazing journey'' to change people perception.

Using Ipads in education

The use of technology within education has developed greatly over the years and is consistently changing. Many people have mixed views on how effective this is. Many believe the use of technology is striping the pupils of their literacy and grammar skills, with numerous tools already installed in technology to provide these skills for them. Others believe technology should take a more permanent role.

  Today the use of Ipads within schools and education is becoming more common. Recently, as apart of my university course, I was set a task to film a short video on a life as a student and what it meant to us. As a student I found this task fun,  it was something different and creative. 

To complete the task each group was presented with an ipad and the app Imovie. The app was easy to use and instruction were clear, with choices of themed music to add to the film and the option to combine videos and pictures, the app was really effective in making a film.

Web 2 Tested

Wordle www.wordle.net

How To Use?

Wordle is used to create a word cloud. The process is based upon the text or url you provide wordle with. Wordle generates the word cloud by generating the word cloud by extracting common words such as ‘a’ or ‘the’, along with repetitive words from the text.

Once the word cloud is generated, you have a choice to design your word cloud. If you click the edit button you get to choose from a multiple of layout designs, colours, fonts and languages to customise your word cloud. If you click the randomise button your letting wordle choose the design, there's no limit to the amount of times you click the button, so you can keep clicking until you find a design you like.

Educational context

Wordle can be useful within the classroom. Wordle is an easy web 2 to use, the website is easy to navigate around and most of all quick enough to use.For younger children, with a little guidance from a peer they shouldn't find any trouble with using wordle. 

For teachers, the Wordle gallery will be useful, providing a huge range of word clouds already made by users. All teachers will have to do is type a key word to do with the subject they are teaching, into the search box to retrieve the relevant word clouds. 

Web 2 explored

Wondering what a web 2  is???

 A web 2 is an expression used to label any websites and technology which allows you to create, share and communicate information online. There are many Web 2 applications which are being used today these include social networking, wiki’s, blogs and many more.  Some popular Web.2 sites you may have come across are YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and Wikipedia.




The web 2 website I have chosen to explore is Twitter, a site I use regularly. Twitter is an social networking site allowing users to send ‘Tweets’ (messages) in a blog style.  Originating in 2006 Twitter is still classed as fairly new,  with its popularity growing by day, twitter now oversees over  500 million users including celebrities.

Positive Aspects
ü  Free to join  -  signing up to twitter is easy and instant
ü  Security   -  users has a choice whether to make their Twitter profile private
ü  Celebrities   -  with the blue verified badge, this indicates the authenticity of the user of the account
ü  Privacy     -   the direct messaging gives users the options to chat with others privately 
ü  Accessible  - can be used on the go can be downloaded on smatphones and tablets

Negative Aspects
û  Confusing  -  using twitter can be seen as confusing as it’s difference to other social networking sites
û  Viruses  -  spread through direct messages
û  Limited  -  tweets are restricted to 140 characters, although you can add images to your tweets and profile               
                    you can't add videos without using links. However, it's currently being looked and addressed   
                    by twitter officials http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-21180000

Like with any social networking site, twitter can be dangerous to anyone but especially with children. there is a chance that the person your speaking to isn't be honest about their true identity