Week 4: Day 2

Preempting difficulties to log in I have created 5 Google accounts, 1 per team, so they would be able to log in and save their work in Google Earth. Each team was given their username and password and 1 main computer where they would be working on. However they could still use their own netbooks if they needed it for research.

I had to help each group individually to log on because most students did not know or never been to gmail before.

It was a little chaotic, in hindsight I should have been more prepared and have all the log-ons activated before hand, but this was a learning experience for me, as I have not done anything like this before.

Once we were all logged in I asked them all as a class to go to Google Earth and have a little play with the program. There were many students that were familiar with it, but most only played with the 'Fly to' feature.

I explained that today we would be refining our research by visiting some websites and collecting some images and maps that would be useful for us. The lesson took a life of its own as I realised that I had to focus more on how to refine a search to find what you want than what I really wanted to do. I showed them how by grouping words using Boolean logic: or, and, or not you can narrow your search and find what you are looking for faster and more effectively.

The students had a quick practise at searching for information regarding cats and dogs (completely out of topic, but it was a good example to prove the point) using this terminology. By the end of the lesson I wanted them to have collected some images and maps of the historic trip.

Students saved their images in their writing folder and I printed a map of Australia in A3 size to put at the front of the room and use it as a reference.

Wow! What an exciting lesson this was. At least that is how I lived it. I was excited so I think my enthusiasm rubbed on the students. I have learnt so much today! There are so many things I need to prepare before a lesson for it to be successful. I had to try actual searches to see if I could find images and maps, I had to check that the internet settings of the school did not block the features of Google Earth that I want to use. I also had to check that internet was working and create the Google accounts before hand. I learnt today that it pays off to be well prepared and that it would be impossible to improvise a lesson like this.

Week 4: Day 1

This week I have planned a fantastic activity using Google Earth. Students will have to recreate the journey of Australian explorers Robert O'Hara Bourke and William John Wills. The idea is that students will research and map the trip on Google Earth. They will have to place markers, measure distances in kilometers and retrace their path.

Today being the first lesson students were introduced to the expedition and we did a little bit of brainstorming about it. They were placed in groups of 5 and asked to use Google and the school library to research about the expedition. They were asked to produce a fact sheet using Word for Windows, stating accurate information including dates and place of departure and arrival as well as 10 stops along the way that were significant. The fact sheet had to be clear and referenced. They were asked to check at least two sources.

The students were very enthusiastic about the task. It was a very noisy lesson but it was "good learning noise". I had been to the library earlier to borrow some books that the students could use so some chose them to be their main source of information. Two groups decided they would google-it instead.

As I roam around the room, the students were working enthusiastically, they all have a netbook, so they were all googling at the same time and jotting things down on paper. This made me think of another lesson I could teach about using Google documents and share a document amongst all students and teach them how to copy and paste information straight into the document for later editing. (Too much to do!!!)

The students encountered only little problems, more to do with the content that with the technology. Luckily internet was working today!

Week 3: Day 4

Today we revisited the stories the students wrote on Tuesday. Using Word for windows, the students were shown how to highlight a word and insert a comment. I have planned the lesson to focus on editing, but instead of editing their own work they would be reading a friend's story and making notes that will help them improve their writing.

Before we started we discussed using positive feedback, offering ideas on how to improve a sentence or add adjectives, adverbs or better verbs.

As the class doesn't have an interactive whiteboard or projector, I divided the class in two groups and showed them with a desktop computer how to insert comments. This brought about some initial problems as the students waiting at their desks became a bit restless. I also told them once the comments were in place they would have to save the document with a new name so as to not affect the original document.

Of course some students did not really understood all the instructions and when the time to save came around the teacher and I had to attend to many students asking "How do I save?". The task was completed more or less and the students really participated by adding as many comments as they could. However, a more detailed grammar lesson should be planned to make this activity more meaningful. The students loved adding their little comments and fortunately it was a positive experience for all students to receive some feedback about their stories. The task was left as it was, and should be picked up later on next week for more editing. We run out of time for the students to start re writing incorporating the feedback received.

I was quite happy with the outcome of this activity. What I am noticing is that even using simple tools with simple software creates havoc, as students knowledge and problem solving skills are quite limited. When I started my project I have assumed a higher level of ICT skills from the students that what they actually have. This worries me as I think that students in Grade 6 should be able to be more independent when using everyday software tools like word processing.

Week 3: Day 3

Today it was a sports day: Cross Country. We spent only the hour after lunch in the classroom and the students were tired. The teacher asked them to do silent reading.

Week 3: Day 2

Another slow day, however the technician was able to put all the new netbooks on the wireless internet again! Everyone was absolutely ecstatic, and the teacher gave the students some time to look in the internet for pictures to personalise their desktops as they hadn't been able to when the netbooks first arrived. A myriad of sports personalities, famous celebrities and game character inundated the screens.

The students love using the netbooks. No matter what the task is, there is never complaints. I found this to be revealing: so long as they have the netbooks in front of them they are happy to complete their tasks. It seems to me this is reason enough for including technology in my teaching daily.

Week 3: Day 1

Today the students again were asked to use Word and type a story. The students had been visited by an author the Friday before and they took part in a workshop where she talked about the process of editing and publishing a book. The students were asked by the teacher to type a story from the point of view of a wombat (as it was related to the author's book). The students were happy to write using the computer and the stories seemed to flow. They were eager to finish and share their funny stories.

One thing I noticed throughout this process was how enthusiastic the students were typing their stories. In contrast, when they are asked to write in their books or their journals you can listen to the collective moan that follows the teacher request. I believe one of the reasons is that students feel the process of handwriting a story to be tedious and slow. Typing is faster and they can get immediate assistance with their spelling, hence they can concentrate more on the actual development of the plot, character or setting. This has given me a great idea on a follow up lesson using technology to edit writing.