http://dmavro.edublogs.org Subject 013002: Designing Learning for a Digital Generation Sat, 15 Nov 2008 10:18:12 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en I took on writing a Scratch application as my immersion task for Elective 'E'. To avoid starting from 'scratch' (is that where the name comes from?) I loaded an existing Maths project (solving quadratic equations) from the collaborative web site and improved it by changing the interface and adding a ... http://dmavro.edublogs.org/2008/11/15/a-scratchy-beginning/ Todd Oppenheimer is the author of a book "The Flickering Mind: The False Promise of Technology in the Classroom and How Learning Can Be Saved". He participated in an interview with an on-line education site in which he was asked to put his views on the use of technology within schools. ... http://dmavro.edublogs.org/2008/11/11/does-technology-bring-false-promises-to-schools/ "Why mindmap?" is a very good question raised by Matthew. I've seen a few mind-maps now from both teachers and students at UTS and invariably they have been complex, with connections going everywhere, and difficult to read and understand. One part of me thinks, yes that looks pretty and obviously ... http://dmavro.edublogs.org/2008/11/06/reaction-to-why-mindmap/ This is a reaction to Don Black's article on "OpenOffice". I have been using OpenOffice from OpenOffice.org for more than two years. It is very compatible with MS Office. That includes not just Word (.doc) documents but also Excel (.xls) files. My wife and I exchange documents all the time (she ... http://dmavro.edublogs.org/2008/11/06/reaction-post-on-openoffice-software/ Annie posted a youtube video on this amazing new technology being developed by Microsoft and others. I must admit that even I, someone who has seen quite a few IT fads in my time, was impressed! Annie commented: "Whilst this clip is about commercial applications imagine what you could do in ... http://dmavro.edublogs.org/2008/10/31/reaction-to-the-future-is-getting-closer/ Some rights reserved:http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3145/2631276107_a7b0e207a2.jpg?v=0 My partner and I chose the elective 'E' with the immersion task of analysing a couple of games in our KLA of Mathematics. This seemed like it would be a fairly straightforward exercise. We both read "Game-Based Learning" by Richard Van Eck and were enthused to find some ... http://dmavro.edublogs.org/2008/10/30/immersion-activity-maths-games-digital-game-based-learning/ I have just discovered an even better resource here: Wikipedia selection for schools "SOS Children UK, in coordination with the Wikimedia Foundation, has released a complete 2008/9 revision of the Wikipedia Selection for Schools, which is perhaps the most successful 'checked content' project derived from the ... http://dmavro.edublogs.org/2008/10/23/further-to-my-article-on-wikipedia-and-google/ It's probably time for a little rant on my part. I worry about the prospects facing us as teachers in our first year of full-time teaching. It seems to me that the current system of assimilating graduate teachers is inherently flawed and in need of reform. Let me explain why. We ... http://dmavro.edublogs.org/2008/10/21/problems-facing-first-year-teachers/ From wikipedia: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/08/Ishango_bone.jpg These are not really specialised e-learning resources as such. However, used wisely, these two relatively recent innovations to the Internet can be invaluable learning aids. As an example, if you went to wikipedia and entered the topic name “Mathematics” the following page would be displayed. Mathematics Not only is ... http://dmavro.edublogs.org/2008/10/12/wikipedia-and-google/ This is educational software for mathematics that is widely available in Australian schools. I have seen it used in both of my practicum experiences and it seems to be accepted and enjoyed by the students, mainly in years 7 to 9. The software can be used in two ways. The ... http://dmavro.edublogs.org/2008/10/12/mathletics/