Q1 In simply delivering a PowerPoint presentation, we as teachers would simply be using technology as a means to present or dispense information.

This use of technology may allow information to be presented to the students, but will not actively engage them in the learning process. For the students this lacks depth and meaning. They may hear or see what it is that we have presented, but will they have learnt it and will they be able to remember and apply this knowledge in the future? I would explain that as teachers in the 21st century, we need to model learning, rather then simply directing through step-by-step tasks, or pass information directly from text books or presentations. In this style of teaching students are merely the recipients of information, but are not engaged in the task. Providing an authentic context, an environment that reflects the way in which that knowledge will be used in the real world, is an effective way of engaging students in the task. We need to allow our students to be able to construct their own meanings and manage their own learning by providing Authentic tasks in which technology can support and engage students in real life environment and they can facilitate self -directed and independent learning. We need to put technology in the hands of the students. -To further my explanation I would ask the teacher to consider what creates meaningful learning for students? Whether through these tasks our students will be actively engaging in the learning task, are they able to collaborate, and is there a reason or intention to learn? -In order to actively engage students in the task we need to ensure that we use technology effectively. The task needs to be authentic and meaningful for our students. The technology we use needs to be used as a cognitive tool to engage and connect with students in meaningful learning, rather then a means of just presenting them with the information and expecting them to learn it. As teachers we should not only focus on what information is important for the students to know but also look at how they will learn it. -The PowerPoint presentation and online quiz on their own would be meaningless; it has no real life relevance and no meaning behind its purpose. I would suggest a task that requires students to work collaboratively to create their own PowerPoint or quiz of the topic of discussion. This creates an environment that is motivating and engaging where students are able to take control of their own learning, develop collaborative learning skills, and allows for personal learning approach. Q2: Subject Area: Biological Science- Understanding of living things with a focus on life cycles. Students will use technologies as cognitive tools to engage in constructive thinking. Technology will be used as a thinking tool to support learning. Students will work collaboratively in small groups on a joint topic of investigation. Students will work both individually and as a group to conduct research, compile the appropriate research needed to give a class presentation on the animal or plant of their choice to demonstrate their understanding of the life cycle of a living thing. Brainstorming/organisation of knowledge: There are many different mind tools such as spreadsheets, databases and concept mapping that could be considered for students to brainstorm, organise and represent their ideas through models. Through this subject area modelling technologies like concept maps would be appropriate for students to use as a cognitive tool to assist students in actively evaluating and organising their ideas as they generate them. To illustrate external spatial representations of their ideas as they research and acquire new knowledge on living things. Concept mapping programs include Sematica, Inspiration or online tools like Mindmeister. These will all allow students to show and build a model on their learning. Allowing students to demonstrate knowledge and relationship of ideas related to their chosen life cycle of a living thing. By using concept mapping students will all be able to contribute to ideas, communicate and organise their information effectively to demonstrate an understanding of their living thing. Researching: You Tube video technology to support inquiry. You Tube provides can provide access to a wide variety of educational videos on life cycle of living things from multiple different sources, perspectives and expert advice. e.g. Biological scientists. This can help students learn from others, engage in the topic and give a starting point for conversation. This cognitive tool can be used in allowing students a clearer explanation of the process of a life cycle, through motion instead of still diagrams found in textbooks. Not only can it be used as an online virtual library of resources to support material on the topic of lifecycles or living things but it creates a network in which students can interact with other students, experts on the topic and wider community allowing to see its real life relevance in their everyday lives and reason for learning. Presenting: Presenting using visualisation tools Students can use digital video technology as a cognitive tool to create a Claymations or slow-motion animations of a life cycle on living things. Video technology can be used to enhance students understanding. Students engage by visually presenting and articulating their understanding on scientific concepts through digital technology (camera, tripods). Students through this technology can work in a collaborative manner to communicate and use technology to assist, discover and show their understanding on the topic in a learning environment that is both fun and engaging. Reflection: Using community building collaborating technologies as cognitive tools for reflection. Social networking technologies such as blogs (Blogger, Edublog, kidblog) or Twitter can be used to promote reflection both in action and on action by the students creating online reflective journals or a space where they can reflect on their own feelings, thoughts, record their findings and what they have learnt from the project. Students can use this cognitive tool in a collaborative manner allowing for discussion to compare thoughts share ideas and make choices with other students. Blogs provide a communication space for both student and teacher; it allows students to apply new literacy skills and address writing for an authentic audience using different media. Assessing meaningful learning and teaching with technology. Students create individual online or electronic portfolios using online web creation technologies or wikis such as Weebly, Iweb, wikispaces as their integrated authentic assessment. Wiki technologies are used as a tool to assist students in creating a polished product. This becomes a space in which all drafts of work can be uploaded including but not limited to data and tables of information, observations, notes, sketches, photographs, lists of resources and maps and link to their online reflective journals. Completed portfolios for the project can become part of the overall assessment of the student as opposed to an exam or test that is unauthentic and meaningless. Q3: -The 21st century now requires the demand for higher-level literacy skills to be acquired such as critical thinking, problem, solving, communication, collaboration, and creativity for us to be able to negotiate the world in which we live in. Our role as teachers is to use technology successfully in a way in which it will foster meaningful learning of our students. We should be trying to create a physical or virtual environment within the school that reflects the way in which the knowledge will be use by our students in a real life setting. Therefore it is important that when teachers chose a task, it should be authentic as to learn students need to be actively engaged in the task. Technology should be used across the whole school to enhance and support teaching and learning across all subject areas to enrich the students learning, develop their ideas and skills to improve their understanding and be able to use their new technologies effectively to support learning in other subject areas. We want students to be able to take control of their learning so Instead of yourselves, teachers, using technology to deliver information in the classroom put in the hands of your students. Students can use these technologies as a cognitive tool to help engage in constructive thinking, problem solving and learning. We can all use technology to within school learning environment. Teachers can use technologies effectively to learn and connect from other teachers. We should not be trying use technology to learn through but instead learn with and from. For example set up a wikis, read and reflect on other educators blogs, these often can provide great ideas for teaching and learning. Use Twitter as a social medium to communicate to support reflection and articulation. Q4: Wikis are software that allows you to create, edit and link webpages. Wikis can provide a space where both teacher an d students can work collaboratively on a project-based activity within a subject area. Wikis can be used in Science learning as cognitive tools to support and engage students in critical thinking, problem solving, collaboration, reflection, presentation and assessment of knowledge. (inquiry based learning) -Wikis are great collaborative tool that can be edited by many people. In Science it can allow students to work collaboratively on a project or activity or particular area of study (eg.photosynthsis) and encourage students to share and exchange information. The progress of this can be monitored by the teacher. For example students may collaborate through a wiki site to produce an interactive glossary of scientific terms as they learn throughout a given science project on plant life. -Students can connect with each other, different schools and community members or experts from around the world to research and collect data needed on a given project such as a life cycle of a living thing. -Students could use wikis to find and store web-based resources to define scientific concepts or processes such as their knowledge on identifying living things in a biology unit. -Wikis allow students to problem solve through collaboration with others. Wikis can help support students engage in meaningful learning given a real world problem or scenarios to address and investigate for example on an environmental issue like global warming. There are many online internet communities supported through wiki technology such as Global Schoolhouse, Kidlink that provide students with a safe environment to contribute to these online projects, make global connections, gain different perspectives of others, work together with other students to research, collect data and develop a solution to problems. -As teachers we may want to create a class wiki as a place to store and share information with our students or a portal to store and deliver lesson content to students. The technology helps assist storing and sharing of recommended resources and links students may want to access for that semesters unit of work or area or particular area of study. A tool for students to be able to use, share and exchange information. -Wiki allow for authentic assessment. Students create individual online or electronic portfolios using online web creation technologies, wikis such as Weebly, Iweb, wikispaces as their integrated authentic assessment. Wiki technologies are used as a tool to assist students in creating a polished product. This becomes a space in which all drafts of work can be uploaded including but not limited to data and tables of information, observations, notes, sketches, photographs, lists of resources and maps and link to their online reflective journals. Completed portfolios for the project can become part of the overall assessment of the student as opposed to an exam or test that is unauthentic and meaningless. Q5: Subject Area: Biological Science: Topic: Ecosystems Native Vs Introduced Species. Aim: Use of mobile tech/rsesearch tech to develop students understanding and knowledge of ecosystems, the effect of introduced species within Australia and what we can do to help maintain these.

Introduction: Students will use their mobile phones to take photographs of species of plants and animal life found in the school grounds. Students will record details on their habit, their location that will be compiled into a map to analyse the schools ecosystem. With the use of mobile technology students are able to document and identify animal and plant species within the school ground. In doing so the mobile devices are been used as a cognitive tool by students, rather than a delivery tool by the teacher to engage them in constructive thinking on the topic. Mobile technology can be seen to be most effective in providing motivation when used in mobile locations as apposed a classroom environment. OBJECTIVE: -work collaboratively to explore and document using mobile technologies animal species and plant life on the school ground. Classify and determine whether they are native or introduced. -Research the effects of introduced species within Australia using a range of software, applications and web-based technologies. -Determine whether there is a need for any form of management or protection. (Problem solving reflection) Materials required: -Mobile Phone with camera (ideally Smart Phone with location services) -Computer with Internet connection - Create class Flickr account Task Overview:-Begin by asking students to take out their mobile phones and enabling the location services if available. Students will have 30 minutes to explore the school grounds using their camera function on their devices to take photographs and send/upload to the online class Flickr site to review. -Inform the students that they should try and include as much detail of the surrounding habit as possible in the photograph to help with identification. -Students are to take notes using their mobile technology to write a brief description of what they think the animal or plant species is and where on the school ground they discovered it before uploading/posting to the class online Flickr account created by the teacher. -On return to the classroom teacher will display their findings using the Internet and interactive whiteboard/projector to display their online map pin- pointing the location of students photographs including their brief descriptions. Students will then will use this information and the Internet/other researching technologies to identify and classify into animal or plant species and whether or not they are native or introduced? Possible Extension Tasks: Design and create a management plan to include modifications to protect species or eradicate pests. Q6: Background: This Authentic learning project is set out to provide students with a knowledge and understanding around the issues of sustainability within the school and local community. This project will allow students to become independent thinkers, to take charge in identifying a real life problem, analyse, ask questions, think and make decisions to come up with possible solutions to a everyday issue within their community. This project allows students to demonstrate leadership, and requires students to collaborate in teams to problem solve and manage a project. The Task: Students are introduced to the topic by being shown with use of an interactive whiteboard or projector a letter or invitation addressed to the class from the local council inviting them to take part in making their local community more sustainable. -Students will work collaboratively and connect with other locals schools over numerous weeks through online collaboration tools such as wikis (wikispaces, pbwiki, googlesites), blogs (blogger, edublogs, kidblog), social networking sites (Skype) or other internet community supported websites such as Global Schoolhouse which can offer an environment that students can join together through the power of technology to participate in a collaborative project, collect and analyse data on water usage in their school communities. -Students are to conduct a water audit on their schools water usage. Students are to create maps to reflect the water data content gathered from around the school. Identifying any leaks, underlying problems or current water storage solutions in place. This can be recorded through visualizing technologies like digital cameras. -The data will be collected using spreadsheets (Excel or similar) so that students can identify and compare patterns among the data. The spreadsheets will act a mind tool used by students to effectively construct models of their data to support meaningful learning and problem solving. This will help them analyse, summarise and report the information they have collected and make informed decisions to identify solutions. Students will need to use the information accurately and creatively for the issue at hand. -Students will need to evaluate information critically, be involved in decisions and make judgments on appropriate information sources for the task. Students will be required to research methods on reducing water consumption such as runoff and rain solutions for watering the school grounds using the internet and seeking expert advice from people in the field by conducting interviews, emailing experts, watching educational videos (You Tube) and possible excursions to water corporations. -Twitter can be used to expose and connect students to the wider school community. Students will reflect on their ideas, thoughts and discoveries and exchange or information throughout the project with other school communities through use of blogs or tweets. -Finally students will develop a plan to reduce water consumption within the school. Small groups of selected students from participating local schools will be responsible for presenting their findings/research to their local council using a presentation tool such as PowerPoint, digital videoing or screencast technology such as screen-O-Matic to put forward their plan and suggestions for ways of reducing water consumptions. Students will need to be able to demonstrate the ability to communicate appropriate information and their ideas effectively to multiple audiences using a variety of media. BLOG Question: Explain what I have learnt and taken away from the unit. Not only there to assist teachers but tech are more importantly used as tools for learning as aposed to teaching. Eg. Its not about tech teachers use to make their job easier but tech teachers use to make learning more effective for their students. As the semester and unit come to an endfeel proud of the active learning demonstrated through my online E -portfolio. A perfect example of a final polished product achieved through an authentic learning task. -Gained an understanding of how tasks can be made meaningful and purposeful to students. -Allowed me to engage in real world task, collaborative with other students. -Learning through technology has increased my own technological skills that can been used both in my personal and professional life. -as a result of studying this unit, surprised how it has changed my outlook on technology, my perceptions on how technology is used and how I would like to integrate it into my future teaching. -Importance of the task when planning with technologies, authentic task will become an integral part of my teaching philosophies. -Information (Tech toolbox) wiki allowed valuable access to a wide variety of resources. Good example of how wiki technology is successful as a cognitive tool to engaging us as students in critical thinking to support our learning. -Whole unlike traditional delivery approach on universities, based around the elements of authentic learning. -Provided me with information on what others are doing in the profession, able to learn from each o thers, gain new ideas or perspectives. --- Engaging in an online community results in meaningful dialogue, new professional growth and connections. -Thought about how I may want to plan and use technology in the classroom, as cognitive tools rather than presentation tools. Students need to learn to be collaborative. Engage in authentic tasks. Learnt there are many new ways to research, valuable research technologies not just Google search. -Initial feelings, thought I was up to date in touch with technologies only to soon discover that there was an extensive range of other technologies available in the 21st century. Feel far behind technological world, challenging, unfamiliar, unit will be of great benefit, excited to access all the available information lms soon became overwhelmed on how much there was to learn. Discovered there was endless opportunities for m to connect with tutors and my peers, discussion boards lms, social media to support my learning. I wasnt alone. Start of unit anxious, nervous about the tasks ahead. Worry lack of communicate/interaction as external. Was hoping first assignment would be something I was familiar with. Create a blog, whats this and a website -unit provided exposure to these diff technologies. -Examples subscribed to professional networks, social networking site such as diigo, Skype as apposed to just f.book allowed me to connect with other students. -Google drive to collaborate remotely. -Blogs, portfolio, website, hyperlink allowed me to reflect on my learning of new technologies. -Referencing technologies (endnote) valuable to university learning, storing accessing references. - How I might want to consider using my portfolio in the future- to reflect on other education units, gather evidence and examples of my work. -Acquired skills that I will continue to develop for my future teaching. Learnt how important it is to keep up to date with new resources and technologies. - Reason for writing a reflective journal is to recall experience and to try to understand it. -Encourage you to engage deeply and regularly with the course content. Assignments guide your learning journey. -Looking back through my blog, it highlights my learning journey how I have progressed as I have learnt new knowledge. Allowed me to reflect on my feelings about the course, the lecturers, other students, my progress; things I found difficult or challenging; changes in your attitude or motivation; how I tackled tasks my strategies.; things I find out about myself; thoughts about how I learn best; ideas that arise from your studies 9 elements of A.Learning= A.context(physical/virtual environment that reflects the way knowledge will be used real life) A. Task (provide motivation, most important, clear goals, at length) Expert performance,(opportunities for sharing)Multiple perspectives, support Collaboration (encouraged through tech,tasks aimed at groups),Articulation (opportunity ideas to be made explicit (presentating microblogging) promote reflection( opportunities to make decisions/choices-online journals)scaffolding/coaching, authentic assessment (combined with task/polished product)