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Resource: Visual Arts - QAGOMA Games

The Queensland Art Gallery of Modern Art (QAGOMA) has a variety of visual art games and crafts on the children's section of their website. Games include drawing portraits, painting landscapes and design objects. This website can be linked to school excursions or current visual arts lesson within the classroom. The games, crafts and videos are all focused on the use of art in a variety of forms and illustrations. 

Becuase QAGOMA games are linked to visual arts in the Australian Curriculum a link between these games and an excursion to the gallery will help develop students understanding and appreciation of Australian art. 

To view this resource:

http://www.qagoma.qld.gov.au/learn/kids

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Resource: Media - FUSE

FUSE is a Victorian Government online resources, which is designed to assist both students and teachers with educational learning and understanding. The website itself has resources for all areas of the Australian and Victorian Curriculum.

Fuse has a large collection of Media related resources such as Film education, stop motion, scripting and storyboards. One particular resource from FUSE which stood out to me was “Design a magazine cover”. This resource provides teachers with a complete package of lesson plans, student worksheets and the curriculum alignment related to the resource.

The resource covers the Australian Curriculum: General Capabilities of Literacy, Information and communication technology and Critical and creative while incorporating ICT into the lessons.

Although FUSE is a Victorian based website, all resources are applicable to Queensland because both states follow the Australian Curriculum and therefore all resources on FUSE can be used in Queensland classrooms.

To check out FUSE:

https://fuse.education.vic.gov.au/?SearchScope=All

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Resource: Drama - Drama Games

This resource was found on the QCAA website for year 6-7 students but can be altered for younger students. The purpose of the resource is to improve students improvisation skill (quick-thinking, reflexes and acting) but can be changed to suit any needs. When teaching drama, must teacher think of Shakespeare or acting out predictable situations. There is a popular style of drama known as TheatreSports which is the fusion of games and drama into acting scenes.

Appendix C and D of the resource give instructions and ideas of a few Theatresport games which can be quickly and easily enacted in a classroom. By turning Drama into games, it promotes inclusion of particular students who dislike drama and promotes students participation in games. Many of the games and scenes, can create a positive environment and foster social skills and inclusion. Depending on the students and their willingness to participate, even the audience may enjoy watching their peers and have a giggle or two.

To read more about how to incorporate TheatreSports into drama, open this link:

https://www.qcaa.qld.edu.au/downloads/p_10/els_sa_theatre_sportz_guide.docx

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Resource: Dance - BBC School Radio

This is an excellent resource to help teachers who have difficulty teaching dance as it provides a platform in which future lessons can be based off. The BBC School Radio is a resource which provides both students and teachers with lessons and ideas about dance.

The website provides a large range of videos, mp3 files and podcasts which are accompanied with notes and lesson plans for teachers. The each dance lesson provides a variety of different stimuli such as stories, poetry and specially-composed music. The lessons also provide students with the opportunity to create their own dances as individuals, groups or as a whole class.

As many teachers have difficulty teaching dance, the lessons in this resources could be used as a framework or template for the creation of original and relatable dance lessons for students.

To view this resource:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/schoolradio/subjects/dance

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Resource: Music - Musicadventures

Musicadventures are a collection of interactive digital books which were created by the world-renowned musical troupe - Musica Viva. These resources out students in charge of their learning and promote independent working. The books are focused on music education and encourage student participation through play, music and entertainment. There are 4 books in total and range from children aged 6-12. Each book within the collection supports and follows the Australian Curriculum. For example, the first book is about music and takes the reader on a journey trough the musical culture of Indonesia. Each consecutive book links music curriculum to other strands of the Australian Curriculum.

This resource may be a useful tool to reinforce the music curriculum while incorporating both HaSS and English into students learning. 

To have a deeper look into the resource:

https://musicaviva.com.au/education/musicadventures/

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Public Media: Visual Arts - ‘But I’m not artistic’: how teachers shape kids’ creative development

The article written by Gai Lindsay is a summary of the issues and fears teacher have with teaching visual arts to Australian students. The main issues teachers have teaching Visual Arts is a lack of belief in themselves, lack of skills and knowledge needed to provide and demonstrate quality visual art experiences. Due to the fear of teaching visual arts, teachers may create a negative stigma of visual arts which can impact students learning and can prevent students from reaching their potential.

The article also mentions the effect the confusion teachers have about visual arts, as some teachers believe it can enhance students fine motor skills and therapy, while others believe it is an effective method to keep children busy, while it actually is an effective form of communication, problem-solving and making meaning for students.

As teachers, it is important to enhance and incorporate all aspects of the curriculum into students learning because the role of a primary school teacher is to develop students understanding and abilities in all aspect of the curriculum, regards of a teacher fear or position to that topic.

For a more in-depth read:

http://theconversation.com/but-im-not-artistic-how-teachers-shape-kids-creative-development-34650

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Public Media: Music - Fears industrial ruling will force SA public schools to abandon instrumental music lessons

The article by Tim Williams highlights the possible abandonment of instrumental music lessons within South Australian schools. The main issues arisen in the article was the lack of specialised music teachers in schools and therefore the majority of school outsources professional music instructors. Because of the lack of specialised music teachers, the SA Education Department has enacted a legislation that school must only hire external music professionals only as a last resort. 

The article states that professional music instructors fear to lose their jobs, while schools fear the negative effect of non-existent music programs for their student's music future if the legislation is passed. Another issue with the new legislation is schools fear the feasibility of complying to the legislations while many parents have voiced their concerns about a lack of successful music programs in schools. 

For a more thorough read:

http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/south-australia/fears-industrial-ruling-will-force-sa-public-schools-to-abandon-instrumental-music-lessons/news-story/8cd27f2da7acc6689ccd5ac94cecdbf0

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Public Media: Media - Media arts should be at the core of the Australian curriculum

The Conversation article written by Ben Goldsmith is a summary of the importance of Media Arts in the Australian Curriculum. The article emphasises Media arts as an immersive and life-long skill which will benefit the futures of Australian students. The article also highlights the importance of learning media art skills as media has become an everyday occurrence via smartphones, T.V, tablets, computers and social media.

This article suggests that media arts can be implemented into other curriculum areas, such as English, health and physical education, history and technology. Finally, the article concludes saying that teacher should emphasise the participation of student's in media arts to develop students creatively, safely and ethically in digital media culture.

From this article, the importance of media arts in the Australian Curriculum has been illuminated in my teaching pedagogy, and that all teachers should incorporate media arts in the classroom.

To read more:

http://theconversation.com/media-arts-should-be-at-the-core-of-the-australian-curriculum-33401

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Public Media: Drama - Teachers can use drama to bring writing to life for children

The article was written by Tom Dobson and Lisa Stephenson and posted on The Conversation about the integration of Dance into the writing section of the curriculum. The article identifies that 45% of students enjoy writing, however, students are in danger of disengaging from writing in school.

To counteract this ‘danger’ the article proposes the idea of incorporating drama into writing lessons to improve students involvement and engagement. The article introduces the idea of ‘Dramatic Enquiry’ which is the creation of imaginary world or space where students are given a difficult issue or problem in which they must solve. Dramatic enquiry is also complemented with a written journal entry, where students can write down their ideas and language which they could use in their writing. To conclude the article, Dobson and Stephenson highlight that the incorporation of drama in writing had improved students resilience and promoted a ‘can do’ attitude to writing.

Though this article was written in the United Kingdom, the article can give Australian teachers ideas about how to incorporate drama into the Australian Curriculum.

To read more about ‘Dance Enquiry’, read:

 http://theconversation.com/teachers-can-use-drama-to-bring-writing-to-life-for-children-71164

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Public Media: Dance - Schools Integrate Dance Into Core Academics

The Education Week article written by Erik W. Robelen introduces the infusion of Art into Core (main) subjects and its benefits. The author mentions that the integration of the Arts Curriculum can provide academic and social benefits to young people by enhancing their ability to read, language development, creativity, critical thinking and mathematics. 

The article introduces topics in which dance can help give students understanding to science, maths, geography and history subjects. For example, dance can be used to teach science concept of photosynthesis. They also emphasise the flexibility of dance and its ability to create meaning to human experience, while being more than just regular exercise or entertainment.

Becuase of the enactment of the Australian Curriculum, teacher’s need to understand the importance of dance in a student's life and how dance can affect a student's future trajectory.

To read more:

http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2010/11/17/12dance_ep.h30.html?tkn=YQVFtCtjQJQ6ptujvVfSEAkIi2G4BIjjKQRj&cmp=clp-edweek

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Public Media: Design Technologies - Are you ready for your child, the 3D printing genius?

Although this article is was written about United Kingdom curriculum, it has relevance to the design technologies strand of the Australian Arts and Technology curriculum. The article was written by Dinusha Mendis and focuses on the implementation of 3D printers in schools. She starts the article off about the threats which have been associated with 3D printing - Guns. 

The article continues and introduces the topic of intellectual property law and how 3D printers can cause intellectual property infringements. The author states to counteract possible illegal approaches to 3D printing, students should be educated on the protection, exploitation of 3D printed objects and notified about the regulatory legislation surrounding 3D printers and similar technology.

To read more:

http://theconversation.com/are-you-ready-for-your-child-the-3d-printing-genius-15943

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Research Literature: Digital Technologies

Nansen, B., Chakraborty, K., Gibbs, L., Vetere, F., & MacDougall, C. (2012). “You do the math”: Mathletics and the play of online learning. New Media & Society, 14(7), 1216–1235. doi:10.1177/1461444812442926

Summary: This article is the study of the subscription-based educational App Mathletics. Mathletics is an educational mathematics program which is extensively used throughout Australian schools as an online educational mathematics program. Mathletics is an extremely popular resource because it develops students’ mathematics abilities through game-based learning and is designed around the Australian Curriculum. The study highlights the programs multi-modal, ease of use, flexibility and engagement in students mathematical learning. Finally, the study concluded that theoretical and conceptual approaches to software in children’s education must be studied to determine its impact on a child's culture and play.

My Commentary: This article is an interesting read about one of the most popular Mathematical programs used in Australian education. This article highlights many issues both teachers and parents have with technology while identifying many benefits of Mathematics for students.

Here is a link to the article:

http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/1461444812442926

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Reflecting: Music

This post will be a reflection of the subject area of Music in primary schools through the use of the 5 R’s framework. 

Reporting: During my latest practicum, the Year 2 class which I was working with had a designated music period once per week. In these music class, students were learning about the fundamentals of rhythms and percussion instruments. Even though I sat through and experienced a few music classes, I knew I was not qualified to teach it.

Responding: An aspect of the weekly music class which spoke to me, was the engagement factor of music. The students seemed to love going to music class and developing their musical knowledge and understanding. The sad part was music class, only lasted about 25-30 minutes for the week, which I believed was quite short.

Relating: When I was in primary school, I learnt how to play the Cornet, but I would definitely not classify myself as musical, and how probably have great difficulty teaching moderate-advanced music lessons. Because of my inexperience of music theory and knowledge, I will have difficulty incorporating music into my everyday teaching pedagogy.

Reasoning: I understand how schools allocate minimal time to music because of the immensely diverse and sophisticated Australian Curriculum, where 98% of the time goes to the ‘three’ big ones - Mathematics, English and Humanities and Social Science. But, I have witnessed more enthusiasm and engagement in one music class, then an entire day of ‘regular’ classes.

Reconstruction: From both my personal, and limited teaching experience of music, I wholeheartedly recognise the importance and the engagement of music in the Australian Curriculum. However, without further exposure and understanding of music, my future students currently will have limited music integration in the classroom (outside specialised classes).

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Public Media: Digital Technologies - When Virtual Reality Meets Education

The Tech Crunch article written by Elizabeth Reede and Larissa Bailiff highlights the benefits of Virtual Reality (VR) in education. The authors also mention the benefits VR can have in the school curriculum of biology, anatomy, geology and astronomy as it gives students the ability to interact with 3-dimensional objects, animals and environments, which the classroom cannot provide. 

The article emphasises the price of VR, where advanced systems can cost upwards of $500, while some simpler systems which are used with smartphones can cost as little as $20 and state that VR is now accessible for all schools. They also mention Google Expeditions, which is a collection of over 1000 different VR environments such as the Great Wall of China or even Mars and its ability to expand a student's understanding of key learning concepts.   

As a future teacher, we need to understand and embrace technological advancements as technology is becoming a highly integrated resource of learning. 

If you’d like a more in-depth read:

https://techcrunch.com/2016/01/23/when-virtual-reality-meets-education/

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Resource: Design Technologies - Minecraft

Minecraft is not a ‘new’ thing, but it is a new educational thing. Minecraft was released in 2011 by Mojang and became and overnight sensation. Minecraft is a 3D open sandbox game (can do what you want, when you want) where the player can explore the world, from active volcanoes to undersea temples. Although played mostly for recreation, it’s new focus is towards education. Becuase of Minecraft’s freedom, players can create small, quaint huts, to exact replicas of the Eiffel Tower or New York City.

Minecraft has been identified as improves students language, reading and writing abilities through the multiplayer chat functions and social community forms, events and the creation of stories or adventure maps. Minecraft has also been extensively used to help students with Mathematics in schools. Teachers around the world have used Minecraft to teach and develop mathematics concepts such as ratios, area and volume.

In November 2016 Minecraft released a new edition focused towards education and schools - Minecraft Education Mode (MinecraftEDU). This new mode still has the original sandbox world, but with a few additional extras. 

1. Students will be able to download the game and home, without purchasing their own version of the game.

2. Teachers can ‘import’ pre-built structures such as the Globe Theatre or Coliseum into the world so that students can virtual walk around the famous landmark.

3. Students can now take in-game photos which are stored on a digital notebook. Students can add additional notes to the photos, and can be shared with other students or teachers.

As stated above, Minecraft is not a new thing, but with the addition of MinecraftEDU, teachers can now completely integrate Minecraft into all areas of the Australian Curriculum.

https://education.minecraft.net/

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Resource: Digital Technologies - Lego Boost

My previous post analysed three digital tech’s which introduced and developed programming skills in the form of a PC game, robot and App for children. On the 9th of January 2017, Lego the same company which created the Mindstorm, unveiled their newest line of programmable toys: The Lego Boost.

So most would jump to the conclusion that because Lego already had the Mindstorm, the Boost would just be their “upgraded” version of the Mindstorm. Well, you would be wrong.

What makes the Mindstorm groundbreaking is its ability to integrate with already existing Lego bricks. The Boost contains new programmable motors and sensors which can be attached and connected to any Lego brick. These motors and sensors can be controlled and reprogrammed by any Bluetooth device. The accompanying App created around the idea of drag-and-drop programming, create ease of use and simplicity for young children.

Simon Kent, the lead designer of the Boost claims that “the Boost is similar enough that a seven-year-old can connect and program it, while versatile enough to engage kids and help them develop and hone their skills by making the blocks talk, flash, move or even dance”.

The Lego Boost, which is expected to be released in August this year for about $160 ($214), revolutionises the programmable robot sector. 

https://www.lego.com/en-us/boost

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Digital Technologies: Responding Critical Analysis - Lego Mindstorm Vs. Code Combat Vs. Light Box

Teaching coding is the new technological trend in primary school in recent years. The introduction of the Australian Arts and Technology Curriculum has driven schools to buy and invest in coding programs, mobile applications, and software/hardware application.

A program which can teach students coding skills is the Code.org program called Code Combat. Code Combat is fun and engaging Role Playing Game (RPG) coding game which teaches students how to write and program with Python or JavaScript while advancing through the story. The program starts by asking the player if they would like to learn either Python or JavaScript coding language. After the initial choice, the program begins to teach the player the basics of coding. The program contains over 500 individual levels, which slowly increases the game's difficulty and complexity. The program also contains many challenges and competitive functions. The program has a few constraints, such as a subscription to continue to play the game after level 40, the program itself is quite complex and would be appropriate for students in year 4,5 or 6.

An application which can help students develop and learn their coding skills is a mobile application called “Lightbot: Code Hour”. The application itself is a simple and basic introduction to coding using simplified code segments. The application is based on people learning how to code during their free time when on public transport or when procrastinating. The only downside of this application

One such software/hardware application is the Lego’s Mindstorms EV3 which is a constructible robot which can be programmed to follow a set of specific commands. These commands can be as simple as moving the robot forward and backwards to more complex commands such as following a moving object. The software helps develop students coding and programming skills and a quick transfer of the commands to the robot can result in a physical articulation of the programme commands. The major downfall of the Lego Mindstorm is the cost of the resource and the complexity of the programming.

The criteria I use to evaluate the usefulness of coding and programming resource is engaging, educational, cost-effective, and time-efficient. Of all the resources the application which fits best the evaluation is Code Combat. Although it is not the cheapest, it contains over 500 levels of learning and skill development. It also contains the RPG element and a competitive leaderboard which will challenge and motivate students to complete against their peers.

Test these resources yourself!

Mindstorm: https://www.lego.com/en-us/mindstorms/about-ev3

LightBot: https://lightbot.com/

Code Combat: https://codecombat.com/