Integrating ICT Resources to Enhance Student Learning

We plan to incorporate 6 ICT Tools into our 4 Geography lessons; QR reader,

Google Earth, Popplet, iPad Voice Recorder, Storyboard That and Kahoot. Our aim
is to use these tools to enhance student learning by making tasks more practical,
exciting and relatable. Effective learning occurs when ICT is used in conjunction with
the Western Australian Course Curriculum (SCSA, 2014). Our ICT tools will support
Year 2s learning how to describe the scale of places, from the personal (home), the
local (their suburb, town or district), the regional (state) to the national (country)
(Outcome: ACHASSK048) (SCSA, 2014).

QR Readers

During our first lesson, to encourage active participation, students will source
information from QR codes displayed around the classroom. Students will use the
QR reader app on their iPads to scan the code to reveal a name of a place within
Australia, for example Broome. This triggers the students curiosity, where is this
place? How far away is it from me? This creates an adventure, where sourcing
information is more exciting and engaging.

Google Earth

In their small groups, students will use their iPads to search the name of the place
(revealed by the QR reader) on Google Earth and the app will zoom in to show
where this place sits within Australia. Students can use Google Earth to explore
these new places and get a feel for where local, regional and national places sit in
comparison to their personal home. Retrieving this information from QR readers and
Google Earth aligns with the ICT capability that year 2s are able to locate
information from a given set of digital sources (SCSA, 2014). In order to do this they
must reflect on current understanding of the topic, aligning with the Questioning and
Reasoning Capability in the Western Australia Course Curriculum (SCSA, 2014).

When using Google Earth, students will see where Perth is and where the Western
Australia border is, making it easier for students to answer the question, is this place
defined as local, regional or national? For example, students will search Broome to
find that Broome is quite far north of Perth but that it hasnt crossed the Western
Australian border, therefore it must be regional. In their small groups, students may
ask questions about the familiar and unfamiliar and participate in decision-making
processes which supports the Humanities and Social Sciences Questioning and
Researching and Evaluating capability (SCSA, 2014). When they evaluate the
Google Earth image, students draw conclusions based on information and/or data
displayed, aligning with another, another Humanities and Social Sciences Skill
(SCSA, 2014).

Google Earth can drive enquiry as students make connections between contextual
knowledge and where they live. For example, students may have heard of the
Sydney Habour Bridge but havent developed an understanding of where it is
compared to their own location. It allows students to develop their spatial awareness
as they become aware of distances in a more practical and visual sense. Students
are able to see the 3D nature of the world, something that non-ICT resources lack. A
2D map will make it very difficult for students to find places and comprehend the
scale of places, a point that needs to be met to satisfy the course curriculum. It
allows for self driven learning rather than the lesson being entirely directed by the
teacher where learning is more interactive, realistic and novel.
 Popplet

Popplet, an online brainstorming tool, is utilised in lesson 2 when the class

collaborates their responses to the QR reader/Google Earth questions; is *insert
name of place* defined as local, regional or national? The brainstorm will extend to
include the reasons why we categorised as local, regional or national (e.g Park is
local because I can ride my bike there). The Popplet becomes a resource that
displays the definitions of local, regional and national as well as examples and
common features of each.

By using an online brainstorming tool that appears interesting, colourful and exciting,
students are more likely to want to join in and participate. This group task allows
students to think for themselves but also learn from other students ideas, which can
deepen their understanding of the concept. Therefore, in accordance to the Western
Australian curriculum, using Popplet supports two ICT capabilities for year 2s; use
purposefully selected ICT tools to safely to share and exchange information with
appropriate local audiences and use ICT to prepare simple plans to find solutions or
answer to questions e.g. brainstorming as a class (SCSA, 2014). This task also
allows for the development of Humanities and Social Sciences Skills such as
reflecting on current understanding of a topic and posing questions about the familiar
and unfamiliar (Questioning and Researching) as well as participating in decision-
making processes on what to include in the brainstorm (Evaluating) (SCSA, 2014).

The advantage of using an online brainstorming tool as opposed to using a

whiteboard or Butchers paper is that the completed brainstorm is easily accessible
to students. They have the opportunity to revert back to this resource during lessons
or at home. This allows for better consolidation, which increases their ability to recall
what they have learnt. Popplet can also incorporate images to accommodate for
students who learn better with visual aids. Therefore, Popplet is a fun, collaborative
activity that is easy for students to use and access.

iPad Voice Recorder

The use of the iPads voice recorder is a way of testing the students
understanding. The students will explain to their Avatar that they are going on an
adventure to three places (one from each category; local, regional and national). The
students must define each category and provide one example. The students are
reflecting on their learning and responding to findings, a Communicating and
Reflecting capability from Humanities and Social Sciences (SCSA, 2014). Students
will have to describe the idea of local, regional and national in their own words, which
is a key way of testing understanding. By getting students to upload their recordings
to dropbox the recordings are made easily accessible to the teacher. Before the next
lesson, the teacher can check for any errors so that any misunderstandings are
clarified before completing the next mode of assessment (Storyboard).

Teaching someone else a concept is one of the best ways someone to consolidate
information. Therefore the tool is not only valuable for teacher assessment but for
student learning as well. By doing this task, students have displayed this information
in two forms; written (Popplet) and oral (Voice Recorder) which supports the
Communicating and Reflecting Humanities and Social Science skill to present
findings in a range of communication forms, using relevant terms. Students also
understand that their voice recordings must be different from other classmates hence
they can comprehend the ICT capability to recognise ownership of digital products
that others produce and that what they create or provide can be used or misused by
others.
 Storyboard That

Students will present their avatars adventure through a postcard made on the online
tool, Storyboard That. Each section will display the name of the place, a picture of
the place and whether it is local, national or regional. This tasks tests the students
knowledge and understanding of the concept as it assesses their ability to portray a
sequence based on distance. Therefore the use of Storyboard That supports the
Humanities and Social Sciences skill of Analysing; processing information and/or
data collected (e.g. sequence information or events, categorise information, combine
information from different sources) (SCSA, 2014). It allows students to become
creative as they communicate and reflect on the concepts by developing texts that
describe an event or place, another Humanities and Social Sciences Skill (SCSA,
2014). This task provides an example of how understanding the concept of local,
regional and national places is relevant to us when we would go travelling.

Students have displayed their knowledge in picture format aligning with the
Humanities and Social Skill, to present findings in a range of communication forms,
using relevant terms (Communicating and Reflecting) (SCSA, 2014). The task
accommodates for students who may be more advanced with technology as they are
able to extend themselves by downloading and using images on the internet as
apposed to using the images provided on the Storyboard website. These students
would satisfy the ICT capability that they could locate information from a given set of
digital sources (SCSA, 2014).

The advantage of using Storyboard That is that it can be posted online for other
students and parents to see. Students are able to read other classmates storyboards
to further develop their understanding of the topic. By using a caricature version of
the class avatar and by giving it a nickname, it reinforces the idea that we shouldnt
post personal information on the internet. This supports ICT capability in the Western
Australian Curriculum that students follow class guidelines when sharing personal
information and apply basic social protocols when using ICT to communicate with
known audiences (SCSA, 2014).

Kahoot

For our final mode of assessment, Kahoot, an interactive online quiz will be used to
test the knowledge of the students and establish whether further teaching needs to
occur. The test will ask questions on local, regional and national knowledge. The
advantage of using Kahoot over a written test is that the correct answers are
displayed on the board for students to reflect on. The teacher also accesses data on
which questions students got right or wrong. The interactive quiz is an exciting way to
assess knowledge as it takes away the pressure and negativity of a test situation
and encourages students to participate.

References

School Curriculum and Standards Authority (SCSA). (2014). Humanities and Social Sciences.
Retrieved from http://k10outline.scsa.wa.edu.au/home/p-10-curriculum/curriculum-
browser/humanities-and-social-sciences