Running head: Assessment 1

Planning Stage of the ICT integrated curriculum project

Andrew Silveira

University of Notre Dame Australia, Fremantle

Assessment 1 2

ICT Tools.

Explain Everything

Explain Everything is a useful learning tool in classrooms as it can be used by both teacher

and student. The teacher can use Explain Everything to make a video of themselves teaching

a certain method or approach to a topic that a student can then go and watch multiple times

and have access to it whenever they like instead of a teacher getting up and writing notes on

the board. This means that the student could be so engrossed in writing the notes down that

they miss something important said by the teacher, this cannot happen on Explain Everything

as the student has the ability to re-watch the video. The students can also use it themselves to

make their own video describing a topic (as used in my second lesson) showing their

understanding of the content and if they do not understand it then the teacher will be able to

see that. The students will also benefit as explaining content to others is an extremely

valuable way of learning.

Pear Deck

Pear Deck is a valuable ICT tool that resembles PowerPoint however, Pear Deck

presentations can be made to be interactive with students. The level of interactivity can be

controlled to however the teacher sees fit, it can also be set teacher-paced mode or student-

paced mode meaning once again when the teacher is done explaining something they can

change it to student-paced to allow students work on their own accord on what they need to

improve on. This can be used as a learning tool as students can be given questions as they are

learning a topic and will feel more inclined to answer the questions as the teacher can see

how many have answered and who has answered compared to a normal ‘chalk and talk’

where it may be harder for the teacher ensure students are answering questions given to them.
Assessment 1 3

Google Docs

Google Docs has multiple valuable uses that can be utilised in the classroom. The way that I

proposed to use it was for student submission, this can be done by having a ‘master’

document that students can upload the links to their personal documents so that I have access

to their work. So, for example in a Math class if I ask students to do some work on an iPad I

can get them to screenshot it and put it in their document for me to look at. It can be also be

used for collaborative work amongst students which would be ideal for investigation

purposes in a Mathematics class.

Mathisfun.com

Mathsisfun.com is a useful ICT tool that can be used for learning as it not only provides an

alternative source of information that is engaging it is very handy when you need to think

about catering for students of different ability. It is a useful learning tool as it provides

multiple different explanations that may be able to get through to a student who is struggling.

It is also useful for students who may be operating at a level higher than the rest of the class

as you can give them a link from the website that is on a future lesson’s topic so that they can

look at it and get a head start, keeping them engaged.

Assessment 1 4

Social Constructivism. (285 words)

Social Constructivism has a direct use to education as it is a theory that explicates how

students may gain knowledge and learn (The University of Sydney, 2019). Social

Constructivism suggests that students build their knowledge and understanding from past

experiences (The University of Sydney, 2019). This relates my FPD as I know that students

often have a negative attitude towards Mathematics so I have tried to make my lessons more

engaging by using ICT in a way that will attract students to partaking in the lessons. Students

will hopefully come to my classes knowing that the way I teach Mathematics is different to

their former teachers and therefore look forward to my classes and be willing to learn. I

personally think that is the first step towards greater Mathematics education. Instead of just

forcing students to take notes and do book work every lesson, I have tried to vary the ways

they receive their information and then put the content into practice to keep them mentally

stimulated, this will hopefully provide students with a positive experience in Mathematics

and set them up for a brighter Math education in high school.

Social Constructivism suggests that students construct knowledge rather than simply

acquiring it (The University of Sydney, 2019). I have tried to encompass this in my FPD

through the creation of the Explain Everything video task in lesson 2 as students will have

received information from me during that lesson, but then I am asking them to construct their

own knowledge or version of the information that I give them in order for it stay with them.

The task requires students to construct the knowledge in their own terms which is related to

social constructivism theory.

Assessment 1 5

References.

Greenwood, D., Goodman, J., Humberstone. B., Vaughan, J., & Godwin B. (2012). Essential

Mathematics for The Australian Curriculum Year 7. Melbourne, Australia:

Cambridge University Press.

MathsIsFun. (2018). Fraction Number Line. Retrieved from

https://www.mathsisfun.com/numbers/fraction-number-line.html

The University of Sydney. (2019). Constructivism. Retrieved from

http://sydney.edu.au/education_social_work/learning_teaching/ict/theory/constructivi

sm.shtml