Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Using the Things
Today I took my fifth graders to the computer lab and had them go to stripgenerator. Because Flash hadn't been updated in the lab we were a little slow getting started, but once everyone was able to use the application they had a ball. Each student was asked to create one comic strip that had something to do with our studies of American history--most chose the Boston Tea Party or one of the tax acts--and then a strip of their choosing. They printed their creations and gave me one, which I trimmed and posted on our classroom bulletin board. My students were very proud of their work (and had never been more focused in computer class) and other students who saw the work were suitably impressed.
Monday, April 20, 2009
Thing 23 I Made It
We have covered a lot of material in a relatively short time. Some of it I cannot see myself using, partially because I couldn't see a meaningful use for it (Twitter), and some because other tools seem better.
Now the time comes for choices. If I want my elementary age students to do research using sites I know are reputable and age appropriate, will I set up a wiki with links and explanations, or should I set up a class delicious account? Should I change from doing a daily blog, as I do at present, to a classroom wiki page? Should I plan to have students present their research projects next year as slideshows that can be uploaded to whatever type of website I decide upon? Will I really enter most of my library into Librarything? Would that site be more useful if I just joined a group, or read reviews? Do I want to remain a member of two Ning groups, or would it be more efficient to stay with just one, but be more active in it?
Of some things I am certain. I am certain that my students' brief time in the computer lab each week will be more profitably spent. I am certain that my students will be posting examples of their work to a website next school year. I am certain that I will make better use of the resources available to educators on the web, so that I can better integrate technology into my classroom.
I am also certain that I will be frustrated with the limited amount of time my students can be on-line during the school day, with the lack of Internet access in my students' homes, and with the limitations of our aging hardware.
As far as how I will continue to learn about web 2.0 tools? I suppose someone will explain them on plainenglish, or someone will make a post about a great new tool on a blog that I've subscribed to, or maybe someone will even Tweet about it and I might listen in.
Even if each of us decides to become adept at just one or two of these "things" we will be making progress. I have a feeling though, that becoming skilled at one web 2.0 application will actually just serve to whet our appetites for the next new development.
Now the time comes for choices. If I want my elementary age students to do research using sites I know are reputable and age appropriate, will I set up a wiki with links and explanations, or should I set up a class delicious account? Should I change from doing a daily blog, as I do at present, to a classroom wiki page? Should I plan to have students present their research projects next year as slideshows that can be uploaded to whatever type of website I decide upon? Will I really enter most of my library into Librarything? Would that site be more useful if I just joined a group, or read reviews? Do I want to remain a member of two Ning groups, or would it be more efficient to stay with just one, but be more active in it?
Of some things I am certain. I am certain that my students' brief time in the computer lab each week will be more profitably spent. I am certain that my students will be posting examples of their work to a website next school year. I am certain that I will make better use of the resources available to educators on the web, so that I can better integrate technology into my classroom.
I am also certain that I will be frustrated with the limited amount of time my students can be on-line during the school day, with the lack of Internet access in my students' homes, and with the limitations of our aging hardware.
As far as how I will continue to learn about web 2.0 tools? I suppose someone will explain them on plainenglish, or someone will make a post about a great new tool on a blog that I've subscribed to, or maybe someone will even Tweet about it and I might listen in.
Even if each of us decides to become adept at just one or two of these "things" we will be making progress. I have a feeling though, that becoming skilled at one web 2.0 application will actually just serve to whet our appetites for the next new development.
Thing 22 On Line Video
I have watched YouTube once in awhile in the past. I get a monthly newsletter from a book designer and she posts how-to videos to YouTube. When I taught high school students, they were always suggesting videos that I "really ought to see." Though I had heard of teachertube, I hadn't really looked closely at it before.
Our school does let us access both teachertube and schooltube, though we cannot go to YouTube. I looked at several videos on both those sites and some of them could be used in my classroom. The visual quality of some of the videos left much to be desired, but the brevity of the films was definitely a plus. The videos on schooltube appeared to be primarily student/teacher made, but some of the videos on teachertube are more professional in appearance. Since I am attending a TAH grant workshop that AIHE is partially presenting, I was particularly interested in the videos they have on teachertube. Certainly many of these videos could be used to introduce or reinforce information in the classroom. They might also be inspiration to students to produce their own films, or at least slideshows, of content material.
I watched a couple presentations on TED and though they wouldn't be useful in my elementary classroom, they are great thought provokers for those of us who need to escape the world of ten year olds on occasion.
Our school does let us access both teachertube and schooltube, though we cannot go to YouTube. I looked at several videos on both those sites and some of them could be used in my classroom. The visual quality of some of the videos left much to be desired, but the brevity of the films was definitely a plus. The videos on schooltube appeared to be primarily student/teacher made, but some of the videos on teachertube are more professional in appearance. Since I am attending a TAH grant workshop that AIHE is partially presenting, I was particularly interested in the videos they have on teachertube. Certainly many of these videos could be used to introduce or reinforce information in the classroom. They might also be inspiration to students to produce their own films, or at least slideshows, of content material.
I watched a couple presentations on TED and though they wouldn't be useful in my elementary classroom, they are great thought provokers for those of us who need to escape the world of ten year olds on occasion.
Sunday, April 19, 2009
Thing 21 Twitter
At least I knew roughly what Twitter was--for the tv ad that says a certain percentage of people don't. I looked at the links and videos and tried doing searches on Twitter, but I think I need more convincing on this web 2.0 application. Most of the twits (tweets) that showed up on my searches made little sense to me and seemed to consist of links to other short posts or other websites. Maybe this is something that one just has to plunge into to appreciate.
I suppose keeping up a running commentary with someone with whom one was working on a project would make sense, though I'm not sure the immediacy seems that vital--wouldn't email or blogs work. This first look at Twitter just struck me as a lot of people who either felt their every move was so important that they had to broadcast it to the world, or that they were so lonely they were trying to reach out to anyone who would listen.
There have been reports on the news of employers who check the Twitter posts of potential employees as part of their selection process which would suggest to me that one should be a bit cautious about what they decide to share with the virtual world, implying that perhaps taking a little bit of time to consider how one might be perceived based on their cyberspace persona would be prudent.
Maybe in time I will appreciate this application more, but this introduction to it has not convinced me that it is anything that I really need to focus upon.
I suppose keeping up a running commentary with someone with whom one was working on a project would make sense, though I'm not sure the immediacy seems that vital--wouldn't email or blogs work. This first look at Twitter just struck me as a lot of people who either felt their every move was so important that they had to broadcast it to the world, or that they were so lonely they were trying to reach out to anyone who would listen.
There have been reports on the news of employers who check the Twitter posts of potential employees as part of their selection process which would suggest to me that one should be a bit cautious about what they decide to share with the virtual world, implying that perhaps taking a little bit of time to consider how one might be perceived based on their cyberspace persona would be prudent.
Maybe in time I will appreciate this application more, but this introduction to it has not convinced me that it is anything that I really need to focus upon.
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Thing 20 Continued
Del.icio.us really works! I uploaded all my favorites from home very easily--didn't even have to do the export step--and tagged them on Monday. Yesterday I was able to upload my bookmarks from school! It was very easy even though I used the export-import method for the second group. Once I have tagged the school set my life should be much easier.
Monday, April 13, 2009
Thing 20 Bookmarking with del.icio.us
Under the user name of rebeccast I uploaded all 100 or so favorites from my home computer to the del.icio.us site and edited each to add a tag, deleting some that are no longer of use to me. I then added a few sites that I had not bookmarked before, but could not do so automatically even though the buttons appear on my toolbar. Maybe after I have logged off and then back on again they will be fully functional. I used the copy and paste method to add the last few sites.
Now instead of scrolling through the mishmash of favorites I can choose one of the many tags I used to find the site(s) I want.
It was interesting to see that some of my favorites were already bookmarked by thousands of people and others by none or just a few. Unlike the information in the tutorial, my imported sites were all private until I unchecked a box in the editing window.
This would be a great way to collaborate with other teachers. All the teachers attending the TAH grant workshop that I am in could set up a single account for the group to use to add useful websites we have found. In our own schools we could set up accounts by subject matter or grade. I think having one account for several of us to share would be simpler than sharing user names or searching all the bookmarks in del.icio.us. Since it is so easy to add sites and to add descriptions, sharing resources by using this social bookmarking would be as easy as bookmarking for my own use, and more accessible because of the tags. Groups setting up accounts could agree to certain tags they would use, adding others as needed. I could see suggesting to one of the learning networks that I joined that we set up a del.icio.us account for the group to use.
Why does it seem that these later tools are more useful than some of the earlier ones? Does that mean we're learning?
Now instead of scrolling through the mishmash of favorites I can choose one of the many tags I used to find the site(s) I want.
It was interesting to see that some of my favorites were already bookmarked by thousands of people and others by none or just a few. Unlike the information in the tutorial, my imported sites were all private until I unchecked a box in the editing window.
This would be a great way to collaborate with other teachers. All the teachers attending the TAH grant workshop that I am in could set up a single account for the group to use to add useful websites we have found. In our own schools we could set up accounts by subject matter or grade. I think having one account for several of us to share would be simpler than sharing user names or searching all the bookmarks in del.icio.us. Since it is so easy to add sites and to add descriptions, sharing resources by using this social bookmarking would be as easy as bookmarking for my own use, and more accessible because of the tags. Groups setting up accounts could agree to certain tags they would use, adding others as needed. I could see suggesting to one of the learning networks that I joined that we set up a del.icio.us account for the group to use.
Why does it seem that these later tools are more useful than some of the earlier ones? Does that mean we're learning?
Thing 19 Social Bookmarking
Adobe Bridge has allowed users to tag photos for quite awhile, and though I haven't used that feature, I often regret that I haven't. Tagging websites though seems like a fabulous idea. I have a list of favorites at school and a list at home and invariably the site I need is listed on the other computer. Add to that the frustration of wading through the disorganized list of phrases that comprises my favorites list, looking for the one I vaguely remember, and using tags for social bookmarking looks better and better.
The feature that allows tags to be sorted with a + sign would allow me to refine my search of marked websites to separate the photography tutorials from the photography stores, and the social studies sites for teachers from the ones for students to visit.
As long as I overlap the tag lists of others at least some of the time, I can benefit from the research done by others and hopefully avoid some of the dead end, useless sites that come up in a search. I don't know yet how much of the description of the site will show, but it looks like there would be enough to let me know if someone else's photography or social studies site would be useful to me without actually visiting it first. Since the tag names can be edited, I should be able to make my list more useful to others and at the same time make other lists more accessible to me. This really looks like it could be extremely useful.
The only drawbacks I can wonder about are the possibility of someone tagging obscene material with innocuous tags, or some telemarketer somehow targeting people who tag sites in particular ways. I don't know if the second is possible, but some of those programmers seem to be able to do just about anything, and more junk mail is not what I want.
The feature that allows tags to be sorted with a + sign would allow me to refine my search of marked websites to separate the photography tutorials from the photography stores, and the social studies sites for teachers from the ones for students to visit.
As long as I overlap the tag lists of others at least some of the time, I can benefit from the research done by others and hopefully avoid some of the dead end, useless sites that come up in a search. I don't know yet how much of the description of the site will show, but it looks like there would be enough to let me know if someone else's photography or social studies site would be useful to me without actually visiting it first. Since the tag names can be edited, I should be able to make my list more useful to others and at the same time make other lists more accessible to me. This really looks like it could be extremely useful.
The only drawbacks I can wonder about are the possibility of someone tagging obscene material with innocuous tags, or some telemarketer somehow targeting people who tag sites in particular ways. I don't know if the second is possible, but some of those programmers seem to be able to do just about anything, and more junk mail is not what I want.
Saturday, April 11, 2009
Thing 18 Professional Learning Networks
When I first checked out the links on the task page for Thing 18 I became quite confused. Many of the networks listed on the sites were by invitation only, so I couldn't see what was being done, but persistence paid off.
Signing on to Ning, I was able to search around and found two groups dealing with teaching social studies. One was the National Council for Social Studies and the other was I Teach Social Studies. Both were open to new members, so after looking around a bit, I signed up for both and even posted a comment on one. Each gives a number of links to helpful resources and both appear to be good places to bounce ideas off peers.
This type of network would seem to be very useful on a district or intermediate district level. Since we are all trying to teach the same curriculum content within the state, groups that could share their approaches, successes, and failures would certainly be pertinent to all involved in the same subject/ same grade level. We could notify each other of conferences, classes, workshops, and other resources. We could recommend various print and digital resources. We could explain techniques that worked and ask advice for ones that didn't. We could certainly vent our frustrations and celebrate our successes.
Within districts, this type of network could be used for coordinating planning of events, getting advice from peers, sharing information and resources, and notifying staff of professional development opportunities. Comments posted by members could assist planners in evaluating these events, resources, and techniques. This could be very useful for planning and keeping in touch during the summer as well.
Signing on to Ning, I was able to search around and found two groups dealing with teaching social studies. One was the National Council for Social Studies and the other was I Teach Social Studies. Both were open to new members, so after looking around a bit, I signed up for both and even posted a comment on one. Each gives a number of links to helpful resources and both appear to be good places to bounce ideas off peers.
This type of network would seem to be very useful on a district or intermediate district level. Since we are all trying to teach the same curriculum content within the state, groups that could share their approaches, successes, and failures would certainly be pertinent to all involved in the same subject/ same grade level. We could notify each other of conferences, classes, workshops, and other resources. We could recommend various print and digital resources. We could explain techniques that worked and ask advice for ones that didn't. We could certainly vent our frustrations and celebrate our successes.
Within districts, this type of network could be used for coordinating planning of events, getting advice from peers, sharing information and resources, and notifying staff of professional development opportunities. Comments posted by members could assist planners in evaluating these events, resources, and techniques. This could be very useful for planning and keeping in touch during the summer as well.
Thursday, April 9, 2009
Thing 17: LULU
I started out scrolling through the list of the top 20 Web 2.0 sites and looking through several of them. I was interested in the photo sites, but we have already used Flicker and Picasa. I checked out one of the spreadsheet sites, but decided I still had little use for spreadsheets, and eventually moved on to Lulu.
Lulu is quite an extensive publishing site. For the casual user, it allows one to create calendars with their own pictures, photo books, pamphlets, fully bound books, poetry books, and textbooks. There are template to choose from and text can either be uploaded or typed in at the site. For the more serious publisher, books can be created with the help of editors and designers (for a fee), can be assigned an ISBN number (for a fee), and can be posted for sale. With this type of self publishing, the actual copy of the book is not printed until a buyer has requested it, then Lulu prints and ships the book and the author gets a portion of the sales.
Books and creations can be made public on the site and people can read and comment on them. Forums and blogs about books and writing are hosted at Lulu. Each author can set up a "storefront" with the name of their choosing to display all their creations.
The introductory video claims that there are hundreds of thousands of individuals who visit and use Lulu, which would make it a seem like a good jumping off place for the frustrated writer. It also makes the site good for the niche writer/reader since quantity of sales is not a concern. The opportunities for discussion and research seem very promising.
I have made photo books at Shutterfly and compared the Lulu options with that. In Shutterfly I had made a book featuring old family photos and was able to add text about the individuals in the photos. In Lulu, I could add captions to photos, but not quantities of text. Shutterfly also gave me more flexibility in layout and more editing capabilities. I could upload photos once to Shutterfly and then use them in a variety of ways. In Lulu, photos must be uploaded separately for each project in which they are going to be used--a drawback, but at least they upload very rapidly.
Several years ago I wrote a short book about American architecture and illustrated it with drawing done in Adobe Illustrator. I also had created a book in Quark. Unfortunately, none of those files can be uploaded into Lulu. I exported several of the Illustrator images as jpegs and could upload them then but that didn't solve my problems. A "book" in Lulu must have at least 100 pages. Less than that qualifies for a poetry book. The templates for pages in the poetry book have rigid frames for photos and text. There is no photo editing capability for pictures uploaded that are a different height and width ratio, and in order to upload a full page of text, I had to copy and paste sections onto several pages of the book. I think the site would work better if the requirements for the artwork and the limitations of text were clearly spelled out so that pages could be designed in other programs to fit the templates.
The calendar option is easy to use. Photos upload rapidly to the site and the creation process lets one add notations onto days on the calendar--holiday, birthdays, etc. Again, some clear directions about file size and ratio before uploading would be useful. I'm not sure this site is cost effective for someone wanting just a single copy of a calendar, but probably would be for someone who is hoping to sell copies of one.
Projects that are in progress can be saved and worked on at a later time, which is a very good feature.
Lulu appears to have a great range of uses. Some projects can be created very simply, others would definitely require a great deal of planning and preparation. The opportunity to interact with a large number of people interested in similar topics is also a great feature. Like some of the other web 2.0 tools, this is one that merits more investigation.
Lulu is quite an extensive publishing site. For the casual user, it allows one to create calendars with their own pictures, photo books, pamphlets, fully bound books, poetry books, and textbooks. There are template to choose from and text can either be uploaded or typed in at the site. For the more serious publisher, books can be created with the help of editors and designers (for a fee), can be assigned an ISBN number (for a fee), and can be posted for sale. With this type of self publishing, the actual copy of the book is not printed until a buyer has requested it, then Lulu prints and ships the book and the author gets a portion of the sales.
Books and creations can be made public on the site and people can read and comment on them. Forums and blogs about books and writing are hosted at Lulu. Each author can set up a "storefront" with the name of their choosing to display all their creations.
The introductory video claims that there are hundreds of thousands of individuals who visit and use Lulu, which would make it a seem like a good jumping off place for the frustrated writer. It also makes the site good for the niche writer/reader since quantity of sales is not a concern. The opportunities for discussion and research seem very promising.
I have made photo books at Shutterfly and compared the Lulu options with that. In Shutterfly I had made a book featuring old family photos and was able to add text about the individuals in the photos. In Lulu, I could add captions to photos, but not quantities of text. Shutterfly also gave me more flexibility in layout and more editing capabilities. I could upload photos once to Shutterfly and then use them in a variety of ways. In Lulu, photos must be uploaded separately for each project in which they are going to be used--a drawback, but at least they upload very rapidly.
Several years ago I wrote a short book about American architecture and illustrated it with drawing done in Adobe Illustrator. I also had created a book in Quark. Unfortunately, none of those files can be uploaded into Lulu. I exported several of the Illustrator images as jpegs and could upload them then but that didn't solve my problems. A "book" in Lulu must have at least 100 pages. Less than that qualifies for a poetry book. The templates for pages in the poetry book have rigid frames for photos and text. There is no photo editing capability for pictures uploaded that are a different height and width ratio, and in order to upload a full page of text, I had to copy and paste sections onto several pages of the book. I think the site would work better if the requirements for the artwork and the limitations of text were clearly spelled out so that pages could be designed in other programs to fit the templates.
The calendar option is easy to use. Photos upload rapidly to the site and the creation process lets one add notations onto days on the calendar--holiday, birthdays, etc. Again, some clear directions about file size and ratio before uploading would be useful. I'm not sure this site is cost effective for someone wanting just a single copy of a calendar, but probably would be for someone who is hoping to sell copies of one.
Projects that are in progress can be saved and worked on at a later time, which is a very good feature.
Lulu appears to have a great range of uses. Some projects can be created very simply, others would definitely require a great deal of planning and preparation. The opportunity to interact with a large number of people interested in similar topics is also a great feature. Like some of the other web 2.0 tools, this is one that merits more investigation.
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
Thing 16: Teach Digital
I came away with mixed feelings about the three videos. The first and last both seemed accusatory and made me react defensively. In the first, the argument seemed to have been reduced to black and white, when it seems certain that there are plenty of grays in between. The university students were speaking as if all college classes are lectures that ask only for rote memorization of facts. I earned my BA an awfully long time ago, and even then I had classes that required me to think creatively, to perform experiments, to demonstrate learning in a variety of ways. Since then I have taken a number of on-line courses and hybrid courses as well as traditional in the classroom courses that have encouraged discussion among class members, creative thinking, and the use of technology. Certainly there are professors and teachers who are teaching in the lecture/regurgitate style, but I would contend that they are becoming more and more rare. If these students really felt that they had a better way of expressing their learning than the ones their professors required, what was stopping them from doing so? Did they feel that unless they were receiving a grade for their efforts, their time and talents were wasted? Would not a demonstration of alternate ways of documenting proficiency make a stronger argument for changing the education system than just complaining?
In the third video, I kept waiting for suggestions. I was told that the "future is ours, you have to give it to us", and "teach us to think," but again, the message seemed to be more criticism than critique. I did appreciate the plea for allowing students to try and try again. In the 1970's I had a summer job putting together slide trays for teaching special needs students how to work in nursing homes. The technique was called "programmed learning" and after each bit of instruction the student was asked a question. If they had understood the instruction and answered correctly, they would continue, if not, they would back up and repeat the section again until they did understand. Many years later, when preparing for the math MTTC, I used a programmed text in analytical geometry, which allowed me to try, try again until I got it right. I guess my point is that much of what these students are calling for, exists already, we just have to make better use of the techniques. We also have to figure out a way that all the curriculum we are expected to cover can be packaged and delivered efficiently and effectively so that there is time for exploration and experimentation in our schools. Certainly technology can assist with that, but technology is a tool, not a solution. As a graphic design professor once told our class, "there is no keyboard button marked creativity".
I was most impressed with the second video, perhaps because I didn't feel accused, so didn't become defensive. The call to acknowledge and develop the "richness of human capacity" is so Biblical in nature, yet so difficult in practice! The demand to let people be wrong also struck a chord with me. I have known so many whole classes of students who had already come to the conclusion that there is only one right answer and only one way to reach that answer, and that the teacher had a secret key to knowledge that trying to get them to hypothesize, imagine, experiment, role play, or otherwise deviate from a textbook has often been akin to pulling teeth.
Though I did not appreciate the way the messages were delivered by the students, I do agree that we educators must be willing to be much more flexible in how we teach and how we assess learning. Ideally we would be facilitators of learning, not repositories of information, doling out wisdom at a prescribed rate. Students must also realize that this puts a fair amount of responsibility on them as well. They must also realize that technology is a tool and no amount of glitz can make up for a lack of content--on either side. Much of the argument here goes back to the very first videos we watched about learning in this century and the need for both teachers and students to embrace technology and fill their toolboxes with the best tools for the job.
In the third video, I kept waiting for suggestions. I was told that the "future is ours, you have to give it to us", and "teach us to think," but again, the message seemed to be more criticism than critique. I did appreciate the plea for allowing students to try and try again. In the 1970's I had a summer job putting together slide trays for teaching special needs students how to work in nursing homes. The technique was called "programmed learning" and after each bit of instruction the student was asked a question. If they had understood the instruction and answered correctly, they would continue, if not, they would back up and repeat the section again until they did understand. Many years later, when preparing for the math MTTC, I used a programmed text in analytical geometry, which allowed me to try, try again until I got it right. I guess my point is that much of what these students are calling for, exists already, we just have to make better use of the techniques. We also have to figure out a way that all the curriculum we are expected to cover can be packaged and delivered efficiently and effectively so that there is time for exploration and experimentation in our schools. Certainly technology can assist with that, but technology is a tool, not a solution. As a graphic design professor once told our class, "there is no keyboard button marked creativity".
I was most impressed with the second video, perhaps because I didn't feel accused, so didn't become defensive. The call to acknowledge and develop the "richness of human capacity" is so Biblical in nature, yet so difficult in practice! The demand to let people be wrong also struck a chord with me. I have known so many whole classes of students who had already come to the conclusion that there is only one right answer and only one way to reach that answer, and that the teacher had a secret key to knowledge that trying to get them to hypothesize, imagine, experiment, role play, or otherwise deviate from a textbook has often been akin to pulling teeth.
Though I did not appreciate the way the messages were delivered by the students, I do agree that we educators must be willing to be much more flexible in how we teach and how we assess learning. Ideally we would be facilitators of learning, not repositories of information, doling out wisdom at a prescribed rate. Students must also realize that this puts a fair amount of responsibility on them as well. They must also realize that technology is a tool and no amount of glitz can make up for a lack of content--on either side. Much of the argument here goes back to the very first videos we watched about learning in this century and the need for both teachers and students to embrace technology and fill their toolboxes with the best tools for the job.
Thing 15 Using Podcasts
More research has revealed that there are some content worthy podcasts that could be useful in an elementary classroom. The Williamsburg site, which I have gone to for other types of information, does have a number of podcasts, both audio and video that explain aspects of Colonial life. I listened to one about spies during the Revolution and another about the role of women during Revolutionary times.
http://www.history.org/media/podcasts.cfm is a website that has primary source documents and advice for using them in the classroom. This would also be useful in my classroom.
Since my students are young, I would see us viewing podcasts in the computer lab or the classroom and possibly linking to them in my classroom blog. Links could be added to our wiki page as well and these could then be automatically updated. I have a number of special needs students for whom reading the text is difficult, so any podcast that I could find that would duplicate the material from the text would be very helpful to them.
I suppose, if I were to get a microphone, we could podcast students reading or explaining the text on the wiki or blog. Supplementing the reading with slides and graphics would also help those whose learning style does not conform to the standard, "read the text". This would be a project, valuable to at least my students, that could be done partially by students.
http://www.history.org/media/podcasts.cfm is a website that has primary source documents and advice for using them in the classroom. This would also be useful in my classroom.
Since my students are young, I would see us viewing podcasts in the computer lab or the classroom and possibly linking to them in my classroom blog. Links could be added to our wiki page as well and these could then be automatically updated. I have a number of special needs students for whom reading the text is difficult, so any podcast that I could find that would duplicate the material from the text would be very helpful to them.
I suppose, if I were to get a microphone, we could podcast students reading or explaining the text on the wiki or blog. Supplementing the reading with slides and graphics would also help those whose learning style does not conform to the standard, "read the text". This would be a project, valuable to at least my students, that could be done partially by students.
Thing 14: Podcasting
So, I watched all the tutorial videos and went to itunes, Podcast Alley, and EPN to see some examples. I can see that having students make podcasts would be a very high interest activity for them and one in which they would be motivated to research, pratice, and produce their best work. I can also see that they and their parents and friends would love to watch the podcasts. However, I didn't find the elementary class podcasts that I watched to be especially informative or valuable to anyone other than the students who produced them or to students who wanted to create their own. So that means elementary podcasts are helpful to other elementary students if those student also want to make podcasts? As with any part of the web, the ease with which a webpage, podcast, or other post can be made does not mean that it is of particular worth other than an exercise in using technology. Technology for technology's sake?
The professional development casts that I found dealt mostly with producing technology, not with enhancing content or disseminating content.
I did find a podcast with digital photography tips http://feeds.tipsfromthetopfloor.
com/tftf that might prove helpful--though the lengthy introduction was a bit much. The grammar girl casts could be useful too--students often find it easier to listen to someone other than me when it comes to grammar http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/default.aspx. I downloaded several interviews with authors from itunes--ones that my fifth grade students might enjoy. Probably the podcast that would generate the most excitment in my class though, is the Harry Potter prognostication podcasts from http://www.hpprogs.com/ .
Several of the sites that were listed as having podcasts did not make the viewing of the cast at all simple. I clicked on icons, links, hot buttons, you name it and sometimes I got lucky and other times no sound or video appeared.
After this ramble, I would summarize by saying that I think there is potential for the production of high quality educational podcasts that could be used in the elementary classroom, and maybe even produced by the elementary classroom, but the emphasis needs to be placed on content rather than technology--the technology should be seen as the vehicle for delivering the information, not an end in itself.
The professional development casts that I found dealt mostly with producing technology, not with enhancing content or disseminating content.
I did find a podcast with digital photography tips http://feeds.tipsfromthetopfloor.
com/tftf that might prove helpful--though the lengthy introduction was a bit much. The grammar girl casts could be useful too--students often find it easier to listen to someone other than me when it comes to grammar http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/default.aspx. I downloaded several interviews with authors from itunes--ones that my fifth grade students might enjoy. Probably the podcast that would generate the most excitment in my class though, is the Harry Potter prognostication podcasts from http://www.hpprogs.com/ .
Several of the sites that were listed as having podcasts did not make the viewing of the cast at all simple. I clicked on icons, links, hot buttons, you name it and sometimes I got lucky and other times no sound or video appeared.
After this ramble, I would summarize by saying that I think there is potential for the production of high quality educational podcasts that could be used in the elementary classroom, and maybe even produced by the elementary classroom, but the emphasis needs to be placed on content rather than technology--the technology should be seen as the vehicle for delivering the information, not an end in itself.
Saturday, March 28, 2009
Thing 13 Continued
I was unable to reach the first two presentation sites listed. The last post was with slideshare, this one is with Slide. I just uploaded some pictures I took in Milwaukee of various chairs, copied the code and pasted it into this post.
I can see where this could be very useful. I have several presentations that I have kept on disc, but by uploading them to the web, I could easily show them in class, or let students look at them in the lab or at home. Sharing presentations that tie to class curriculum with other teachers would also be great. Teachers who live near historic sites could photograph them (or landforms, animals, insects etc. etc) and upload their presentations. Teachers and students could make presentation that could be viewed in the computer lab, at home, or by students in other schools. What a way to share!
After receiving word that there was loud distracting music playing with the slide show, I removed the original and went back to Slide and redid the show eliminating the music. Apparently some music is added as a default. Since I usually leave my speaker turned off, I didn't know that a song had been added to the slide show and was annoying people.
I can see where this could be very useful. I have several presentations that I have kept on disc, but by uploading them to the web, I could easily show them in class, or let students look at them in the lab or at home. Sharing presentations that tie to class curriculum with other teachers would also be great. Teachers who live near historic sites could photograph them (or landforms, animals, insects etc. etc) and upload their presentations. Teachers and students could make presentation that could be viewed in the computer lab, at home, or by students in other schools. What a way to share!
After receiving word that there was loud distracting music playing with the slide show, I removed the original and went back to Slide and redid the show eliminating the music. Apparently some music is added as a default. Since I usually leave my speaker turned off, I didn't know that a song had been added to the slide show and was annoying people.
Thing 13 Slideshows
While I attended a workshop on new lithographic techniques, I photographed the process and created this slideshow to share with coworkers. I tried uploading the presentation to the blog first, but it the loading dial just kept circling forever, so instead I went back and created the widget and pasted the code into the post. That seemed to work. Then I just added to the post.
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Thing 12: Library Thing
When I saw the description of LibraryThing I knew that was what I wanted to try out. I have a couple thousand books in my home, and frequently buy books at used book sales. My problem is that I often end up with duplicates because I can't remember which ones I already own. I also spend an awful lot of time looking for volumes that I know are somewhere, but can't find.
I went to the site and took the tour, then signed up. The first feature I checked out was becoming a reviewer. It took only a minute or two to read the terms of agreement and sign up to review advance copies of books. Then I simply scrolled through the current list of options and selected a couple books that sounded interesting. Hopefully, in a week or two the books will arrive at my home ready for me to read and review.
Then I decided to start entering some of my books into "My Library". The member enters the title, author, or ISBN number and a list of possible matches appears on the right side of the screen from which the correct book can be selected. I tried entering book titles, but that gave me way too many choices to look through. Entering the author's name not only gave me better results, but streamlined the process of selecting multiple titles by the same author. This looks like a great pass time for a rainy day in spring, or a few of the long, hot, summer days. If I enter more than 200, I will be charged an annual fee.
Once my library has a number of entries, I can ask for recommendations or join a group of members who have read the same or similar titles. This could be a book lover's dream site.
I went to the site and took the tour, then signed up. The first feature I checked out was becoming a reviewer. It took only a minute or two to read the terms of agreement and sign up to review advance copies of books. Then I simply scrolled through the current list of options and selected a couple books that sounded interesting. Hopefully, in a week or two the books will arrive at my home ready for me to read and review.
Then I decided to start entering some of my books into "My Library". The member enters the title, author, or ISBN number and a list of possible matches appears on the right side of the screen from which the correct book can be selected. I tried entering book titles, but that gave me way too many choices to look through. Entering the author's name not only gave me better results, but streamlined the process of selecting multiple titles by the same author. This looks like a great pass time for a rainy day in spring, or a few of the long, hot, summer days. If I enter more than 200, I will be charged an annual fee.
Once my library has a number of entries, I can ask for recommendations or join a group of members who have read the same or similar titles. This could be a book lover's dream site.
Thing 11, Google Docs
A couple weeks ago I was at a workshop at which we used samples of forms that could be used with students in the classroom. On the last day of the workshop, the presenter told us that she would share these forms with us through google docs. Now I am a little clearer how that works! I have sent her my new gmail address and will anxiously await an invitation to share.
I set up a google docs account/page and uploaded a word file. Later I added a few worksheets that I made in Illustrator and saved as pdf's. I am hoping that now I can work and the answer key from either home or school without having to email them back and forth or carry them on a flash drive.
My next task was to try creating a document in google docs. Since I usually do my lesson plans in excel, I decided to try the spreadsheet option. It worked fairly well, except that I couldn't figure out how to edit a cell after I had moved on to another. Each time I tried, I had to completely redo the typing within the cell. Using excel, I could just enter the cell and edit it, so that from week to week, portions of the daily plan did not change (times, subjects) so did not have to be retyped.
Certainly this Thing has a range of uses for members of any type of group that wants to create, update, share, or complete a document. I am not sure how much use my young students would get out of it now--though perhaps their parents could.
Accessibility from any location is a great feature, though since my school blocks gmail accounts, I won't know till tomorrow whether the files I gave myself access to will be accessible there.
I can see that this is definitely an effective route to follow--eventually the range of files that can be created on the web will increase, the usability of the tools will increase, and users' expertise will make the use of google docs, or a similar opportunity, an everyday occurrence. But until the level of computer literacy raises, I think Microsoft is safe. (In the video about 2020, didn't all these companies end up merging and developing products together anyway?)
I set up a google docs account/page and uploaded a word file. Later I added a few worksheets that I made in Illustrator and saved as pdf's. I am hoping that now I can work and the answer key from either home or school without having to email them back and forth or carry them on a flash drive.
My next task was to try creating a document in google docs. Since I usually do my lesson plans in excel, I decided to try the spreadsheet option. It worked fairly well, except that I couldn't figure out how to edit a cell after I had moved on to another. Each time I tried, I had to completely redo the typing within the cell. Using excel, I could just enter the cell and edit it, so that from week to week, portions of the daily plan did not change (times, subjects) so did not have to be retyped.
Certainly this Thing has a range of uses for members of any type of group that wants to create, update, share, or complete a document. I am not sure how much use my young students would get out of it now--though perhaps their parents could.
Accessibility from any location is a great feature, though since my school blocks gmail accounts, I won't know till tomorrow whether the files I gave myself access to will be accessible there.
I can see that this is definitely an effective route to follow--eventually the range of files that can be created on the web will increase, the usability of the tools will increase, and users' expertise will make the use of google docs, or a similar opportunity, an everyday occurrence. But until the level of computer literacy raises, I think Microsoft is safe. (In the video about 2020, didn't all these companies end up merging and developing products together anyway?)
Friday, March 20, 2009
Thing 10 My Own Wiki!
When I looked at wikis I figured that some of the features that I thought were quite useful would be too difficult to set up without a lot of help BUT it seems that the wiki set up sites have already done the technical part and all I have to do is to decide what I want to include and how I want it arranged.
My wiki is at http://tiedtclass.pbwiki.com . I decided that since I wanted a site to use for Social Studies research that I may as well start with that--I can always change later. I chose the pb wiki because I had heard of them before and had been told that they were quite simple--though already there are features that the free hosting does not allow, so I may investigate the other hosts to see if they provide more choices.
Setting up the wiki was very simple and I can easily make changes. I set the site up last night, and then this morning changed the title and added the quote for the day, and another folder. I can gather resource links from some of the wikis I looked at in Thing 9 as well as some sites that I have been using throughout the school year. Hopefully some other teachers will suggest additional resources, ideas, and files.
I probably should have named the wiki something that would have come up in a search--that would be a good reason to redo it before adding too much more.
My wiki is at http://tiedtclass.pbwiki.com . I decided that since I wanted a site to use for Social Studies research that I may as well start with that--I can always change later. I chose the pb wiki because I had heard of them before and had been told that they were quite simple--though already there are features that the free hosting does not allow, so I may investigate the other hosts to see if they provide more choices.
Setting up the wiki was very simple and I can easily make changes. I set the site up last night, and then this morning changed the title and added the quote for the day, and another folder. I can gather resource links from some of the wikis I looked at in Thing 9 as well as some sites that I have been using throughout the school year. Hopefully some other teachers will suggest additional resources, ideas, and files.
I probably should have named the wiki something that would have come up in a search--that would be a good reason to redo it before adding too much more.
Thursday, March 19, 2009
Thing 9 Wiki
In a search for material that I could use teaching fifth grade Social Studies, I went to a number of history related wikis and found several that looked like they would be helpful. Interestingly enough, the three I chose to look at more closely all had RSS feeds. That seems very fortunate because I was less than pleased with the RSS feeds I was able to locate in Thing 8.
The Native Indian wiki (http://www.mahalo.com/Native_Americans) is a one stop shopping experience for information about Native Americans. Not only is it searchable, but there is even a box for entering a question for which the viewer has been unable to find an answer. There are a great number of links, all neatly categorized and described for easy use. Along the left side of the page are short articles titled History, Fast Facts, and Timelines all of which are full of links. On the right, larger side of the page are the Top 7 Links, the question box, and the long list of categorized links. From this site one can locate the tribes that once lived in any state, research genealogy, or learn about Indian customs.
The wiki (https://linderolibrary.pbwiki.com/Colonial-America) has a simpler arrangement. On the right are the folders that would be of most interest to members of the school (?) who have set up the site. On the left above a list of links to very reputable sites are links to three databases AND USER NAMES AND PASSWORDS to use to access them. The first database of world history can be searched by century, country, and subject. The second covers just American History and the third gives access to newspapers and magazines. Though this site has a log in, I was still able to access the databases and links without doing so.
The third wiki (http://wapedia.mobi/en/American_Revolution) is part of a larger wiki and is set up a lot like wikipedia. Within each article are words that link to other articles. There is an outline of the article so that one can skip to the portion he wants to read, and a list of links at the end. As the name implies, this (portion of the) wiki deals with events leading up to, during, and just after the American Revolution. This site seems very useful, but in appearance it is rather plain.
Though I haven't tried setting up a wiki yet, the third wiki above appears the simplest, the first the most complicated. Any wiki should be set up so that its use is intuitive--the user should not need special instruction about how to find information. Grouping links into easily understood categories also facilitates its use. Giving a brief statement about what can be found at each link in the category also saves time for the user. Creating a wiki that is searchable by keyword is helpful, but may be beyond the beginner (what do I know, I'm a beginner).
Since my next THING is to set up a wiki, I would like to make a wiki that my students can use to find information to supplement their social studies text and as a source for research when they write papers for class. If it is set up so that other people can add to it, perhaps other American history teachers could add links (with descriptions of course) to the site, or my students could post the results of some of their research. I would like to limit who could make changes in the wiki, since it is for young students and they don't readily recognize misinformation.
Because I teach elementary students having one site from which they could select sources to investigate would ensure the appropriateness of those sources and make their limited computer time more profitable. That wiki should be logically arranged, probably to correspond to the units in our textbook. A running commentary/ summary could go along the left side of the page, with appropriate links on the right. An alternative arrangement would be to have a series of questions and links to answers, or some form of graphic beside each category of links to make finding the group of links even easier. An attractive and unique banner across the top would have the advantage of allowing a teacher to tell at a glance whether students were at the correct site.
If this works out well, I could envision spending portions of the summer setting up a class page/wiki that could serve as the portal for computer investigations and activities for both social studies and language arts next year.
The Native Indian wiki (http://www.mahalo.com/Native_Americans) is a one stop shopping experience for information about Native Americans. Not only is it searchable, but there is even a box for entering a question for which the viewer has been unable to find an answer. There are a great number of links, all neatly categorized and described for easy use. Along the left side of the page are short articles titled History, Fast Facts, and Timelines all of which are full of links. On the right, larger side of the page are the Top 7 Links, the question box, and the long list of categorized links. From this site one can locate the tribes that once lived in any state, research genealogy, or learn about Indian customs.
The wiki (https://linderolibrary.pbwiki.com/Colonial-America) has a simpler arrangement. On the right are the folders that would be of most interest to members of the school (?) who have set up the site. On the left above a list of links to very reputable sites are links to three databases AND USER NAMES AND PASSWORDS to use to access them. The first database of world history can be searched by century, country, and subject. The second covers just American History and the third gives access to newspapers and magazines. Though this site has a log in, I was still able to access the databases and links without doing so.
The third wiki (http://wapedia.mobi/en/American_Revolution) is part of a larger wiki and is set up a lot like wikipedia. Within each article are words that link to other articles. There is an outline of the article so that one can skip to the portion he wants to read, and a list of links at the end. As the name implies, this (portion of the) wiki deals with events leading up to, during, and just after the American Revolution. This site seems very useful, but in appearance it is rather plain.
Though I haven't tried setting up a wiki yet, the third wiki above appears the simplest, the first the most complicated. Any wiki should be set up so that its use is intuitive--the user should not need special instruction about how to find information. Grouping links into easily understood categories also facilitates its use. Giving a brief statement about what can be found at each link in the category also saves time for the user. Creating a wiki that is searchable by keyword is helpful, but may be beyond the beginner (what do I know, I'm a beginner).
Since my next THING is to set up a wiki, I would like to make a wiki that my students can use to find information to supplement their social studies text and as a source for research when they write papers for class. If it is set up so that other people can add to it, perhaps other American history teachers could add links (with descriptions of course) to the site, or my students could post the results of some of their research. I would like to limit who could make changes in the wiki, since it is for young students and they don't readily recognize misinformation.
Because I teach elementary students having one site from which they could select sources to investigate would ensure the appropriateness of those sources and make their limited computer time more profitable. That wiki should be logically arranged, probably to correspond to the units in our textbook. A running commentary/ summary could go along the left side of the page, with appropriate links on the right. An alternative arrangement would be to have a series of questions and links to answers, or some form of graphic beside each category of links to make finding the group of links even easier. An attractive and unique banner across the top would have the advantage of allowing a teacher to tell at a glance whether students were at the correct site.
If this works out well, I could envision spending portions of the summer setting up a class page/wiki that could serve as the portal for computer investigations and activities for both social studies and language arts next year.
Monday, March 16, 2009
Things 7 and 8-- RSS Feeds
If someone is just starting the seventh thing, you may find, as I did, that you can not get directly to the Plain English tutorial. Paste the address into the browser, then remove the last two portions of the address and you will come to the commoncraft website. Find "Plain English" on the page and click on it. The RSS tutorial is on page four.
Setting up the Google Reader is simple, but finding items about which you want to keep updated is not as easy. There are some suggested groups of feeds--news and sports--and you can type in keywords and get back a list of feeds. I selected several feeds with the keyword "photography" and then unsubscribed from the ones I didn't like. I did the same thing with the keyword "weaving". Then I did a couple regular Google searches for teaching American history and found a pbs site and a couple others that looked like they might be helpful. Those I added by copying and pasting the address onto the reader home page.
I did have a scare when I left Google Reader after having set up some feeds and then didn't know how to get back to it. When I finally found it again it didn't show any of the feeds I thought I had subscribed to. I added the feeds again and then bookmarked the reader site and that works well. Why doesn't Google have reader as one of the options on the search page like has gmail? I did find the link from my profile, but that seemed a bit awkward to use.
The other problem I have--which I have had ever since I first started saving files--is that I did not put the feeds into folders as I subscribed and now I have to try to figure out how to do it after the fact. (It took long enough to find out how to unsubscribe from a feed.)
Setting up the Google Reader is simple, but finding items about which you want to keep updated is not as easy. There are some suggested groups of feeds--news and sports--and you can type in keywords and get back a list of feeds. I selected several feeds with the keyword "photography" and then unsubscribed from the ones I didn't like. I did the same thing with the keyword "weaving". Then I did a couple regular Google searches for teaching American history and found a pbs site and a couple others that looked like they might be helpful. Those I added by copying and pasting the address onto the reader home page.
I did have a scare when I left Google Reader after having set up some feeds and then didn't know how to get back to it. When I finally found it again it didn't show any of the feeds I thought I had subscribed to. I added the feeds again and then bookmarked the reader site and that works well. Why doesn't Google have reader as one of the options on the search page like has gmail? I did find the link from my profile, but that seemed a bit awkward to use.
The other problem I have--which I have had ever since I first started saving files--is that I did not put the feeds into folders as I subscribed and now I have to try to figure out how to do it after the fact. (It took long enough to find out how to unsubscribe from a feed.)
Sunday, March 15, 2009
Thing 6
"If a teacher today is not technologically literate - and is unwilling to make the effort to learn more - it's equivalent to a teacher 30 years ago who didn't know how to read and write. "
Karl Fisch is quite a visionary. I found it easy to relate to his chagrin at hearing parents say that they were not good at math, therefore they didn't expect their child to be good in math. As a former art teacher I heard a similar line often enough, and found it just as confounding. To think that anyone would want to limit future generations by their own shortcomings seems counter intuitive in a country where we are appalled when we hear that the next generation may not have a higher standard of living than the current one.
The main problem with becoming technologically literate is that the goal if constantly moving further and further ahead. When I first started using a computer in college classes it was no more than a glorified typewriter, but if I could format a paper and successfully print it, I was fairly computer literate. Later I had to be able to use printers, scanners, the Internet, and a digital camera. Now I need to upload my pictures, my ideas, my image, and my voice. I need to discover, develop, share, communicate, investigate, synthesize, analyze, enjoy, and still write lesson plans.
I had pretty much learned how to read and write at an adult level by the end of high school and have just been changing the content since. But to become technologically literate puts new meaning to the title of a life long learner. Once I begin to feel comfortable with on-line class development, on-line grading, blogging, e-mailing, searching, and spreadsheets I discover that new developments have passed my by while I was struggling with the last generation of "new".
But looking back at the quote from Mr. Fisch, "unwilling to make the effort"--he's not saying we all have to be to go to tech guy, but we should be trying to go to that guy less and less often and be more and more able to answer our own questions--ask our own questions--and help our students develop their own questions and answers. Without their questions, those dream of free university level education, cheap power-- not from fossil fuel--and a more equalized access to the blessings of technology worldwide will not materialize, and the next generation--and the next--may indeed have a lower standard of living than the last.
I might also add that in light of the budgetary constraints under which our state and many of our schools (and families) find themselves much of Mr. Fisch's vision for 2020 may be delayed, but at least he has a dream and prophets can not be bogged down with details like dates.
Karl Fisch is quite a visionary. I found it easy to relate to his chagrin at hearing parents say that they were not good at math, therefore they didn't expect their child to be good in math. As a former art teacher I heard a similar line often enough, and found it just as confounding. To think that anyone would want to limit future generations by their own shortcomings seems counter intuitive in a country where we are appalled when we hear that the next generation may not have a higher standard of living than the current one.
The main problem with becoming technologically literate is that the goal if constantly moving further and further ahead. When I first started using a computer in college classes it was no more than a glorified typewriter, but if I could format a paper and successfully print it, I was fairly computer literate. Later I had to be able to use printers, scanners, the Internet, and a digital camera. Now I need to upload my pictures, my ideas, my image, and my voice. I need to discover, develop, share, communicate, investigate, synthesize, analyze, enjoy, and still write lesson plans.
I had pretty much learned how to read and write at an adult level by the end of high school and have just been changing the content since. But to become technologically literate puts new meaning to the title of a life long learner. Once I begin to feel comfortable with on-line class development, on-line grading, blogging, e-mailing, searching, and spreadsheets I discover that new developments have passed my by while I was struggling with the last generation of "new".
But looking back at the quote from Mr. Fisch, "unwilling to make the effort"--he's not saying we all have to be to go to tech guy, but we should be trying to go to that guy less and less often and be more and more able to answer our own questions--ask our own questions--and help our students develop their own questions and answers. Without their questions, those dream of free university level education, cheap power-- not from fossil fuel--and a more equalized access to the blessings of technology worldwide will not materialize, and the next generation--and the next--may indeed have a lower standard of living than the last.
I might also add that in light of the budgetary constraints under which our state and many of our schools (and families) find themselves much of Mr. Fisch's vision for 2020 may be delayed, but at least he has a dream and prophets can not be bogged down with details like dates.
Saturday, March 14, 2009
Thing 5 Is Great
This trading card was made with the trading card maker application for Flickr. This would be a great activity for students--making cards for historical figures that they research, printing them, and then using them as study guides.
Cards could also be made to go along with science--animals, planets, or just about any categorizable subject.
I used the magazine cover maker, the montage tool, the comic strip generator, and this card maker. There do seem to be lots of possiblities for making materials that would be interesting to the students. Unfortunately we currently have so many filters and blocks on our system at school that the students would not be able to access these tools for their own use there.
Cards could also be made to go along with science--animals, planets, or just about any categorizable subject.
I used the magazine cover maker, the montage tool, the comic strip generator, and this card maker. There do seem to be lots of possiblities for making materials that would be interesting to the students. Unfortunately we currently have so many filters and blocks on our system at school that the students would not be able to access these tools for their own use there.
Thing 5 Continued: Montage
The montage application with flickr is interesting too. I tried giving some of my own uploaded photos a unique nonsense tag so that I could make up a montage of just my own images, but when I fed that tag into the montage maker it said there were no images with that tag. Perhaps it was because to work, the montage maker needs a significant number of images. I was hoping it would just repeat the same ones over and over to get enough. However, my montage for Clock is: http://www.deviousgelatin.com/montager/image.php?image=3351649488
Thing 5: Comic Strip Generator
Here is the link to my comic strip. This was fun. Now I need to find a good use for it. Though I would imagine writing out directions for an assignment with the comic figures would be popular. http://stripgenerator.com/strip/219134/
I did not set up an account at strip generator, but it still lets me link to the strip I made and to print out the strip.
I did not set up an account at strip generator, but it still lets me link to the strip I made and to print out the strip.
Urban Country Lane
While wandering around Portland one spring afternoon I happened upon this lane that looked so incongruous within the city limits. I like to take photos of lonely places, mysterious places, locks, keys, windows, and doors. They make me wonder where they lead, what's behind them, how does one get in.
This image I actually successfully loaded directly from Flickr. The image in the last post was uploaded from my computer, but blogged in Flickr.
Setting up the Flickr account was at least as easy as setting up ones in Snapfish, Shutterfly, or Adobe, and the uploading seemed a lot easier, even without downloading their software.
I made a badge, but when I tried to paste the html into my blog the html code printed too. That was a mess to get rid of without destroying the rest of the page. How can I get just the badge image without the code? Where do I paste the code? Can it even be done here?
I plan to upload more of my photos to Flickr just because they are so much easier to share there, but I need to work on putting them into sets so the grouping will make sense. For this practice I just uploaded some random files to use.
Thing 4 Photo from Flickr
Last week I spent three days at a TAH (teaching American history)grant funded workshop in Ithaca. This portion of the workshop was put on by the Smithsonian. All the presenters were very skilled and knowledgeable and gave the teachers numerous ideas for making the teaching of American history richer and more exciting.
One presenter helped us recreate some of Benjamin Franklin's experiments with electricity using everyday items, as Franklin had.
The picture is of Steven Edenbo, a Thomas Jefferson scholar, who does interpretive presentations. One day he spoke as a most convincing Thomas Jefferson, the next as William Clark. He also gave teachers several ideas about using interpretation in their classrooms--even having students give interpretations of an historical person they have researched.
Dr. Herman Viola, curator emeritus of the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History and author of numerous books on American history--especially of Indians--presented us with a wealth of background information about Indians and the Lewis and Clark expedition.
Heather Paisley-Jones, of the National Museum of American History, guided us through exercises in examining artifacts and paintings, using primary documents, and planning lessons using historical fiction.
I would encourage any teacher of American history to take advantage of any TAH grant workshops in their area.
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Thing 3: Being a Lifelong Learner
Of the seven and a half traits of a lifelong learner, I think the hardest for me will be to teach/mentor others. I am a hoarder and hoard everything from bits of colored paper, to books, to information. Add to this an assumption that other people are not be as interested in some things as I am and the likelihood of my voluntarily sharing technology techniques with others becomes even more reduced. I have more than once exasperated friends by stopping numerous times on a walk to photograph doorways or leaves or whatever strikes me as interesting, and that experience makes me wary of reaching out with ideas that I find fascinating.
The easiest of the seven and a half traits would be to accept responsibility for my own learning. I think that the confidence (4) and play (7.5) traits figure into this trait as well. Perhaps because I have often been curious about things that others do not seem to be all that interested in, I have often turned to books, workshops, or on line sources to learn. When a source has been hard to find, I have been known to just experiment with different techniques to see if I can solve the problem/reach the desired result on my own.
I suppose the only way to improve the likelihood of my teaching or mentoring others is for me to first demonstrate competency and comfort with the new technology. The next step would be to show enthusiasm for the technology openly thereby inviting queries from others which could lead to a teaching/ mentoring opportunity.
The easiest of the seven and a half traits would be to accept responsibility for my own learning. I think that the confidence (4) and play (7.5) traits figure into this trait as well. Perhaps because I have often been curious about things that others do not seem to be all that interested in, I have often turned to books, workshops, or on line sources to learn. When a source has been hard to find, I have been known to just experiment with different techniques to see if I can solve the problem/reach the desired result on my own.
I suppose the only way to improve the likelihood of my teaching or mentoring others is for me to first demonstrate competency and comfort with the new technology. The next step would be to show enthusiasm for the technology openly thereby inviting queries from others which could lead to a teaching/ mentoring opportunity.
Monday, March 9, 2009
Three Questions
What makes a good blog? A good blog is easy to access, has real content, is attractive, and doesn't waste the reader's time. When I want to find ideas or information I don't want to have to go through multiple links to do so. The content of the blog should be as advertised--no cutesy titles that may bring in readers only to disappoint them by being misleading. The content also should have some real value and not just take up space or be posted for the sake of posting. An attractive, eye catching layout that can be followed intuitively is also a real plus. Ease of access, value of content, and maneuverability mean that the reader's time is not wasted as he looks for the promised information.
How do blogs enhance existing web sites? Blogs can give a website a more personal touch--the human factor. They can also let the reader respond to the website and interact with other viewers and the poster. Since blogs are so easy to update, they also can serve to keep a website current without totally redesigning the site.
Are blogs an easier way for people to self-publish? Definitely. Text can be copied and pasted into a blog and uploaded in seconds allowing virtually anyone to put their two cents worth on the web for free.
How do blogs enhance existing web sites? Blogs can give a website a more personal touch--the human factor. They can also let the reader respond to the website and interact with other viewers and the poster. Since blogs are so easy to update, they also can serve to keep a website current without totally redesigning the site.
Are blogs an easier way for people to self-publish? Definitely. Text can be copied and pasted into a blog and uploaded in seconds allowing virtually anyone to put their two cents worth on the web for free.
23 Things--The First Thing
Though in the past I have set up on-line modules for courses and I currently keep a blog to update parents and students of assignments and activities, I know very little about other types of posting to the web and have avoided social networking sites. I would like to find out more about using the Internet as a tool to bring outside resources to my students without having them wander about the Internet where they might get into trouble. Maneuvering around various blocking and filtering software is also a concern in making web resources available.
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