Overview for this week

 ...and SAMR for chosen favorite....

The Prezi!

PowerPoint has been my friend for a very long time and I have used these many times. They are a fabulous hook if used correctly and creatively, however they can be very boring too. See this page of my Blog for more on Power point:
http://deejaycqu.blogspot.com.au/2013/11/playing-with-power-point.html

I love the idea of using this virtual room in a classroom. students can create interactive presentations of the information they gather on a chosen topic in a very engaging way for both the author and the audience.

Glogstar is an interactive poster. I think of this as almost a 'living'poster and I enjoyed playing with this. Time however limited what I created and here is my example of a very simple Glogster: http://deejaycqu.blogspot.com.au/2013/11/this-is-my-first-try-at-glogging.html
I imagine the girls in the class particularly loving this as they create colourful posters. It would be appealing for both visual and creative students and the ability to embed videos and audio elements adds to its many possibilities. I found the Glogster repetitively easy to build and with guidance students would welcome this as an alternative to the old draw/paint and design a poster on a piece of cardboard.

I loved the PREZI. This is amazing and its possibilities are mind blowing or should I say endless as the circles get smaller and smaller and smaller...
Although I still love PowerPoint I think the only reason is familiarity. Stepping out with Prezi is like venturing into unknown territory. The more I explored this the more I liked it. Here is the Blog and Link for a simple Prezi.

So, how could I use the Prezi in one real life teaching situation? Let's use a SMAR to explore this.

Substitution: same task, new tech.
Year 7 students create an information booklet describing the local flora and fauna in Bundaberg.
Augmentation: same task, text increases functionality.
Students create a Prezi with each habitat represented as individual sections (circles?) These include smaller sections to represent images of the various flora or fauna that inhabit these areas.
Modification: Redesign parts of the task:
Information text circles are added and audio sounds of various animals calls.
Redefinition: New tasks, once unimaginable:
Videos are embedded, as are extra links to added information about the flora and fauna. Students select individual animals or plants and using smaller circles they go deeper... such as ... interesting facts about the turtle... the internal organs of a mud crab... life in a mangrove tree. Students create and embed  a video of as they discuss their favorite sea or land animal and plant.Students could also interview local park rangers and embed these interviews as well.


So back now to see if my very large PowerPoint is ready to embed on my Blog...wish me luck.