Its a small world afterall!

To coin a phrase ... "Its a small world afterall", but I still wouldn't like to paint it!  The whole time I was engaging with the Google Earth activity, I was reflecting back on my life and I couldn't get past a childhood song that kept going on in my head - "Its a small world afterall". It really has become a small world after all! How prolific the words to that 1964 Nursery Rhyme have come to ring true after almost half a century!

I could not get the song out of my head, so I went to youtube to see what would come up. I soon located many versions of the song and settled on the following with tongue in cheek.

Having accomplished rediscovering the nursery rhyme, I now wanted to recall the details of it and where it had come from.  Wikipedia was were I headed intuitively because I always to to wikipedia to get grounding knowledge on anything.  I was not disappointed and it only took me a minute or two.

As Wikipedia describes, "Its a small world afterall" is perhaps one of the most translated songs in the world.  So, I could not help but to look for the following in Japanese, which of course I found on youtube also...
I grew up using dictionaries and encyclopedias and cannot do without either.  I thought I was very old school until I realised that I had just transferred my habits over to the electronic world.  It just so happens that these days, it is through the computer that I find all of the information I need.   I have my dictionaries close by (both English, Japanese and Japanese script), but 99 times out of 100, I will use the immediacy of the internet for my answers.  What is this telling me?



GOOGLE EARTH & GOOGLE MAPS
I have been so inspired by Joe Wood's blog on Google Earth.  Having observed and assisted in a Learning Experience recently where my MT (Mentor Teacher) introduced the students to Google Maps, I am very excited about the applications of Google Earth and Google Maps tools in my pedagogy.  Having seen their successuf application and how my MT adapted their use to a Year 9 SOSE learning experience, I will utlise them as a learning tool for cultural aspects of learning, also for storytelling, application of learned knowledge though recording of learned information in appropriate locations, geography, politics, just about any topic imaginable could include these tools.  And what I could incorporate into my Japanese LOTE Planning!

WIKIPEDIA
As I have touched on above, I personally use Wikipedia for finding grounding information on about any topic I am engaged in.  Having had discussions with my MT, and listening to the advice that she has given her classes, I have come to the professional conclusion also that Wikipedia is a fantastic tool for finding out about a topic and getting ideas.  As it holds common licence, the concepts it can help learners with does not need  referencing, but rather can give then a kick start in the right direction.  I will be encouraging my learners to utilise Wikipedia, however, as an academic reference, I will be advising my students not to cite it.

This is the exact place that I went to when I first found out what I would be engaged in teaching this term at my Learning Site.  And this is another example of the wonderful information availalble immediately at my fingertips: Japanese adjectives, a very complex part of Japanese grammar that I am teaching my Year 9 Japanese students at the moment. Incredible and I will not be wasting such wonderful resources!

Kylie B