Learn something new everyday

Reference on Microsoft Office Word

Today, during an ICT lesson, I learnt how to insert referencing into a Microsoft office Word document. I never knew you could do it, so I am writing to you in my blog to explain to others how to reference as it will make essay writing so much easier.

FIRSTLY.... make sure that you are using the correct referencing package for your essay. In Swansea Met, we have to use Havard referencing.

You need to select the 'References' option in the ribbon. Then click 'Insert Citation'. This will give you an option to choose where your source has been taken from. E.g. Website, book, journal, interview.

Select the correct option, then enter information into all of the fields provided.



Once you have entered the details, click ok. It will then enter the reference into the essay.

THEN!!

When you have to create a Reference List at the end of your essay, simply click 'Bibliography' and it will include all of the citations which you have included throughout. It will even organise them into alphabetical order for you!

Educational Blog

I have chosen http://swanfphase.wordpress.com/ as my educational blog.

I like this blog, I think that it is very appealing to the eye. The images they use are very basic with little detail. The information provided is about the Foundation Phase, and as a result they have made the page child friendly.

I have looked through a number of Educational Blogs, however, I chosen this one to talk about as it provides lots of information for practitioners and it is easy to read. It includes lots of pdf files, the pdf files are provided by the Welsh National Government, and therefore I feel that these are reliable sources.

Looking through the blog, I noticed that the latest post was published on 12th January 2015. We can see from this that it is up to date and relevant in today's education sector. As well as up to date, it is nice to see that the posts are regularly posted so information is constantly being updated. 

Providing a search gadget in the blog allows me to search freely. For example, when completing work I was able to search for 'outdoor play' and it showed me all of the information they had published about play outdoors in the foundation phase.

I think that it is important to notice that the blog is written by the Foundation Phase Coordinator. Their aim is to promote and encourage the curriculum within the City and County of Swansea, this is all part of the Education Effectiveness System. The co-ordinator, Jan Mills is also in charge of promoting the integration of ICT in education and learning. (Mills, 2013)

Animation fun!

I have created this animation on... http://www.abcya.com/animate.htm
I really liked this site, I thought it was easy to use and especially child friendly.

As you can see from the image (above) it uses simple picture buttons, it is colourful and does not have too much information on the screen. Despite being simple the site works perfectly well.

However, if I were recommending an animation site to a professional, I would not recommend this site as it appears to have the target audience of a child. I would recommend this website for pupils in Primary schools.

I did face one problem when using this site, which was saving it. Although this might have been to fault of lack of memory on my laptop, when I tried to re open the 'gif' after saving it, it froze my laptop.

To solve this problem I simply saved it in a smaller format and it worked. For example, looking at the image (below) when I saved the gif in 'Quarter' there were no problems at all.

I think teaching younger pupils about this animation program is significant in that it prepares them from a young age about the new focus of ICT at GCSE, where they are taught to program rather than simply use Microsoft software. 

What a wonderful world....

These are just a few of the views which you will discover when in Gower.
I believe that Gower is such a beautiful place to live, but we do not realise how lucky we are to live here.

I have taken all of these photos on my phone and created a collage, to highlight how pretty all of these places are.

Within the collage there are pictures of Three Cliffs, Mumbles and Swansea bay.

I have found a website that might be of interest, it contains lots of information about the Gower.
It describes the wonderful beaches and the walking routes which you can complete.

I have chosen this Youtube clip, below, because it came into my head when I was creating the collage. It is a lovely song and creates a happy, relaxing and ambient atmosphere.

Reflective process- do it, think, conclude, plan... do it again....

This is my Reflective Process, I have used a website called 'Bubbl.us' it allowed me to create a mindmap of the process. 

I have been thinking of ways in which I could use this site in the future, and it would be best used to create revision diagrams. Its very user friendly and because I learn by 'doing', also known as a Kinaesthetic learner, when I create a diagram I will also be learning. 

As a teacher I could also use this as a topic web- on here I would be able to demonstrate how the different ideas in the topic connect together.  

Webiste- RELIABLITY

It is essential that you choose a GOOD website that is appropriate for the task in hand.

For example: You will obviously choose a different style website for 'How to carve a pumpkin' than you would 'What is the Foundation Phase'.

How do you know a site is reliable and contains correct information?

Is the web page up-to-date?

Is the website created by a reliable source?

All of these questions (and more) need to be considered when choosing a GOOD website.

If you are choosing a website for an academic topic you will need to ensure the website is written by a reliable source.  

ACADEMIC- (adj) "learned or scholarly but lacking in worldliness, common sense, or practicality."

For this kind of information, I would usually use a website whose URL ends in either

https://www.gov.uk/    OR     https://www.____________.ac.uk/

Both of these websites will have been written by someone, with some academic background.

NEVER CHOOSE            http://wikipedia.co.uk/

Wikipedia can be edited by anyone and there is no filter to the information that can be added, even incorrect information can be added.

For a NON ACADEMIC site e.g. 'reviews about Iphone 4S' you will be able to search this online, and many sites will give you correct information. But how do you know which is the best?

You could choose http://www.apple.com/uk/ we know that this will be very reliable as the website is produced to sell Apple products-  IPhone 4S, however, they will need to keep their website up-to-date, and therefore older products which they may not produce anymore will be removed off their website. Also you will need to consider if the website is biased? Obviously the Apple website is set up to sell products, if they put up bad reviews they will not sell the product that they made.



Websites may be selected by users because they look nice, offer an interactive experience and easy to navigate.  For example this website (above) uses tabs at the top- interactive / easier to locate products, the search bar- narrows down the product, it has a clear set up and looks user friendly.

Year 1- Who, Why and What

I am in Year 1, studying Education Studies at UWTSD, Swansea Met. Although I am enjoying this course, I don't know exactly what I want to do when I am older. However, I do know that I want to work with young children.  I chose this course as it will hopefully allow me to work with children in the future, and also because has a higher percentage of coursework than exams, and I don't perform very well under exam conditions.

I am enjoying the 'student life' and have made loads of new friends, but next year I am hoping to move out to gain more independence and freedom.

I will be posting in this blog regularly throughout my educational experience, and am looking forward to seeing what the future holds.

WATCH THIS SPACE!!!