My Practical Experience school

The school that I had for placement was absolutely beautiful. When I first walked in the teachers were friendly and welcoming. I had actually arrived early before my mentor, so I waited and looked around the office area. They have a massive fish tank positioned right in front of you and it has the most amazing calming effects… which I needed! I am then welcomed warmly by my mentor and taken down to the classroom. As I walk through the playground it is tranquil and quiet. There are chalkboard characters on the fence with writings of learning from the last week… so creative and what a wonderful way for the parents to see the children’s love of learning. There are giant statues of animals – panda, goanna and turtle – in the gardens, an Avery and a chicken coop. They have four different bins that help with recycling and the children are fairly confident when throwing out their rubbish. I was just blown away from this initial experience and it just got better and better. What a wonderful place for learning to happen!

My first day of Prac

Well my first day at my Practical Experience school was absolutely amazing! I instantly LOVED the classroom, the children, the teacher aide and most of all my mentor. The way that she controlled the classroom and how the children responded to her and each other with such respect was beautiful to see. The learning that evolved from this classroom environment was great. The children had every opportunity to think for themselves to find the answer using the skills and knowledge that they already had. The classroom itself and how it was set out made it feel like so much learning was taking place. Absolutely Brilliant.

Connect.ed

The connect.ed course was absolutely amazing! So many things that I assumed that I knew and I didn’t know the half of it. To be able to interact with a simulator gave me such a different perspective on how children think and how words can be taken so differently. This certificate shows that I have had the privilege of completing these modules and now have a better understanding of the ways in which social media can effect children and the dangers involved. I would definitely recommend this to any teacher or parent who want to do the best to protect their children.

Table of theories

It is very overwhelming when looking at the different theories and frameworks that are involved in learning. To sort through them and figure out which ones suit your particular need and teaching style is very time consuming. The ones that have been taught throughout this course are quite useful in lesson planning and delivery. Here is the table I have filled in as part of this course which will give me easy access to them and their uses. Hopefully it can be useful to others out there – if I have indeed filled it in correctly! It would have been more useful had I actually done it before Professional Experience!

Theory	Purpose	Application to Assignment 3/Professional Experience
CLEM Model	Help understand how to learn about a new ICT and how to use it to enhance student learning.	If there are any new ICTs you need to use it might help your explorations. Hence might be useful as a part of the planning process for Part B.
TPACK framework	To help teachers take advantage of technology and teach it effectively in their classrooms.	This will help us provide students with lessons that use ICTs to enhance their learning.
Backwards design	To set the goals before you set the instructional methods and assessments	This can help greatly on Professional Experience when completing lesson plans
SAMR Model	Shows the progressing levels of the students interaction with ICTs in their learning	Can help on professional experience when gauging the students and the interaction that they are ready for in regards to ICTs in their classroom.
TIP Model	To integrate ICTs into planning and teaching	Can be useful while on Professional experience
The 5Es	Instructions on how to extend on students current knowledge	Can help with lessons and their planning while on Professional Experience
WALT & WILF	To encourage the involvement of the students in their own learning	Can use these on Practical Experience to help the children be involved in their own learning and they know exactly what is needed to succeed.
Connectivism	To connect learning with ICTs	As this shows that learning can happen in various ways, being able to make connections with this theory during prac may be useful to help teach your students.
Bloom’s taxonomy	To help with the progressive steps that students take in the cognitive domain	This can help with lesson planning while on practical experience and used as a guide to see where the students are in their learning.
Postman’s 5 things	Culture always pays a price for technology. There are always winners and losers in a technological change. Every technology embodies a philosophy, an epistemological, political or social prejudice.. Technological change is not additive, it is ecological. Technology becomes mythic, it becomes seen as part of the natural order of things The purpose is to show that technology is not without impact but also it is a natural progression.	Help us understand why we use ICTs with the children in the way we do today and how we can embrace it.
Toolbelt theory/TEST framework	To help recognise from a range of tools which will be best for them to use in certain situations Task, Environment, Skills, Tool	Can be used on Professional Experience to help the students decide the tools they will use to learn in different areas for different tasks
PKM	Personal Knowledge Management Understanding the information in your own way Seek, Sense, Share	Through going on Professional Experience, you are able to process the experience and how it related to you personally through reflection.