June 27, 2012
Tonight we met in the library to learn about web searching and evaluation. That's what the syllabus says anyways. Our first activity of the evening had us get in groups of 4 and explore the library. We were sent out with a worksheet with sets of questions on them.
The questions were...
How are student using technology in education? What technologies are they using?
My group essentially walked around the main level of the library and stalked people on their study habits. The majority of people who were studying or looking studious were using pretty standard forms of technology. Like the desktop computer provided by the library and then individually owned forms of technologies such as smart phones and tablets. One student was using headphones to listen to I'm assuming music while they typed something on a desktop computer. Double technology usage!
How is the library using technology and providing technology to support education?
I will confess that my group kind of cheated when finding this answer. We stopped at the librarian's help desk and he strongly hinted to us where we could find our answers. There was a list of all the types of technologies and services that the library offers. They were online catalog, ask an actual person, computers obviously, smart phones and tablets, electronic books, printable journals/newspapers/magazines, digital articles, print books which seem like an ancient form of technology now a days, music/film titles, a scanner, microfilm, and QR codes those things that you scan with a smart phone app.
We were also given our guidelines for our final assignment tonight. We are to create a lesson plan on a topic of our choice. Then insert some of the Web 2.0 activities we did throughout the semester. I made a glog or Glog, do you capitalize stuff like that? But I made one of those on The Butterfly Life Cycle. I am planning on creating a lesson plan on that and then having my fictitious students make a glog or Glog on an individual specific topic of their choice. So a student could choose to just do a glog or Glog page on the caterpillar stage. I also think it'd be great to have them make an Animoto video. Mainly just because I like using Animoto. It was so simple.
We also then got to explore Fairfield's data base online. Checking out the online books were pretty neat. It's amazing how much information we can access now via the internet. I often forget that I have literally every type of article, book, document on any given topic with the simple click of a mouse.
Friday, June 29, 2012
Wednesday, June 27, 2012
Class Nine - Blackboard
June 25, 2012
The discussion question was...
Should social networks be used as part of the school curriculum? What is the age limit? Can you see the possibilities or do you believe that it is still a tricky area for schools? On a professional note, should Facebook or other social networking sites be used to connect with students? This topic has been an area of contention for many schools and educators.
I responded with...
Should social networks be used as a part of school curriculum? I want to say yes, but part of me says no.
The yes side of me believes that we should teach students how to act on social networks as a part of the school curriculum. We should teach them the benefits of being part of a social community. How these networks can be used for good. In the video 'Internet Becomes a Lifeline to Haiti' is an example of how students could benefit from being on a social network. People were left without food or shelter, but had internet. They were able to communicate with their loved ones across the seas and let them know they were safe and alright. They were also able to share pictures of the destruction that earthquake caused their home. Through Facebook and Twitter people created pages for donations. Information through these social networks often shows and tells more than the evening news. People have instant and constant access to social networks at all times.
The one side of me believes that we should not teach or at least restrict the use of social networks in the school curriculum. The video 'University Tries Life without Twitter, Facebook' shows us that students have a hard time unplugging. This particular university allowed their students, while at school, to go on Facebook, Twitter, and Instant Messaging. I don't think they should be allowed to do that. I know, because I've done it, that it can be distracting and disturbing to others who are trying to learn. I think the only acceptable way that social networking sites should be used is if it somehow fits into the already planned curriculum. An example would be if the students were learning about natural disasters and how to recover from a natural disaster, exploring Facebook and Twitter pages of the Haitian earthquake would be beneficial to student's learning. But just allowing them to go or be on it constantly isn't healthy. Some student's claimed how miserable they were and others attended an internet rehab center. I mean come on! We are that obsessed and in need of the internet that we now have rehab centers for it?
Age limit. That's a tricky one. I don't think there is a specific age limit to when you can just set your kid free to a network of, well, anything. It makes me nervous to think of young children, like in elementary school, going on social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter. There is so much on there that can suck them in. I worry about the bullying issues and how words on a page can often be misinterpreted. I remember when Instant Messaging first came out. I would sign in, waited for my dial up to load, and then go crazy! I would explore chat rooms and make up stories about who I really was. Totally unsafe now that I think back to it! I work mostly in elementary schools and the students are always asking me if they can be their Facebook friends. It's wrong on so many levels because the things I post are not always elementary school age appropriate and student shouldn't be asking their teachers to be friends with them! Which goes onto the next question. I think social networking sites can be used to connect with students, but it needs to be for solely educational purposes only. Once you enter the personal pages or accounts of your student, barriers are broken and fine lines crossed between student and teacher. I keep going back to the Haitian earthquake example. If you are teaching your students something that has to do with the current curriculum and a Facebook page or Twitter tweets is only about a specific educational topic then social networking is fine.
Sorry, I really am all over the board with this discussion. I am so torn on what's right and wrong. I am a perfect example of a social networker. I live on Facebook. As I type my responses, I have my Facebook page open and am ready to read any new status updates or pictures that might pop up on my NewsFeed.
Twitter...
https://twitter.com/
I am actually not a fan of Twitter. I had a Twitter account for a short amount of time. I didn’t tweet my own life, but I enjoyed seeing tweets and posted pictures of celebrities. But for some reason my account suddenly getting all these X-rated followers. I can assure you that I am not the kind of person who looks at those kinds of things! Nor were any of the people I were following in that type of business. So out of frustration and disgust I ended up canceling my Twitter Account.
I do feel though it could be beneficial for the classroom. Students would be able to tweet about a topic during class. A teacher could also use it to tweet about a conference or convention they were at that might tie into their learning. I do though have concern for students who use it beyond anything academic. I’d hate to see a student of middle school age getting sent the things that I was getting sent.
The benefits of Twitter is it provides students an immediate connection to celebrities or teachers. It shows an inside life to someone who they may not be able to know in person. The drawbacks would be how much is too much exposure to things like this. A celebrity may tweet about something inappropriate or show a picture that isn’t appropriate.
Edmodo...
http://www.edmodo.com/
I like Edmodo. It webpage reminds of Facebook. It’s a teacher Facebook. There are spots for posting comments and assignments. A calendar is helpful because it can show students when their assignments and future assignments are due. There are also links on the side to GoogleDocs. Overall I can’t say anything bad about it.
This could definitely be used in the classroom. A teacher could post anything that is required for the class. This eliminates the mistake students have of “forgetting” to write down their assignments in their homework pads or “accidentally” losing their homework pads. Parents could even be added to see what their children are learning in class. It would give students the sense of online freedom, yet still provide restrictions necessary to keep them safe.
The benefits of Edmodo are it allows students go access everything in their class online through this teacher Facebook. I guess it’s a student Facebook too. Teachers can post assignments, grades, links, anything really. I really don’t see any obvious drawbacks. The only drawback I can think about is if students in a not so technological area or of low socioeconomic status might not have constant access to a computer.
The discussion question was...
Should social networks be used as part of the school curriculum? What is the age limit? Can you see the possibilities or do you believe that it is still a tricky area for schools? On a professional note, should Facebook or other social networking sites be used to connect with students? This topic has been an area of contention for many schools and educators.
I responded with...
Should social networks be used as a part of school curriculum? I want to say yes, but part of me says no.
The yes side of me believes that we should teach students how to act on social networks as a part of the school curriculum. We should teach them the benefits of being part of a social community. How these networks can be used for good. In the video 'Internet Becomes a Lifeline to Haiti' is an example of how students could benefit from being on a social network. People were left without food or shelter, but had internet. They were able to communicate with their loved ones across the seas and let them know they were safe and alright. They were also able to share pictures of the destruction that earthquake caused their home. Through Facebook and Twitter people created pages for donations. Information through these social networks often shows and tells more than the evening news. People have instant and constant access to social networks at all times.
The one side of me believes that we should not teach or at least restrict the use of social networks in the school curriculum. The video 'University Tries Life without Twitter, Facebook' shows us that students have a hard time unplugging. This particular university allowed their students, while at school, to go on Facebook, Twitter, and Instant Messaging. I don't think they should be allowed to do that. I know, because I've done it, that it can be distracting and disturbing to others who are trying to learn. I think the only acceptable way that social networking sites should be used is if it somehow fits into the already planned curriculum. An example would be if the students were learning about natural disasters and how to recover from a natural disaster, exploring Facebook and Twitter pages of the Haitian earthquake would be beneficial to student's learning. But just allowing them to go or be on it constantly isn't healthy. Some student's claimed how miserable they were and others attended an internet rehab center. I mean come on! We are that obsessed and in need of the internet that we now have rehab centers for it?
Age limit. That's a tricky one. I don't think there is a specific age limit to when you can just set your kid free to a network of, well, anything. It makes me nervous to think of young children, like in elementary school, going on social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter. There is so much on there that can suck them in. I worry about the bullying issues and how words on a page can often be misinterpreted. I remember when Instant Messaging first came out. I would sign in, waited for my dial up to load, and then go crazy! I would explore chat rooms and make up stories about who I really was. Totally unsafe now that I think back to it! I work mostly in elementary schools and the students are always asking me if they can be their Facebook friends. It's wrong on so many levels because the things I post are not always elementary school age appropriate and student shouldn't be asking their teachers to be friends with them! Which goes onto the next question. I think social networking sites can be used to connect with students, but it needs to be for solely educational purposes only. Once you enter the personal pages or accounts of your student, barriers are broken and fine lines crossed between student and teacher. I keep going back to the Haitian earthquake example. If you are teaching your students something that has to do with the current curriculum and a Facebook page or Twitter tweets is only about a specific educational topic then social networking is fine.
Sorry, I really am all over the board with this discussion. I am so torn on what's right and wrong. I am a perfect example of a social networker. I live on Facebook. As I type my responses, I have my Facebook page open and am ready to read any new status updates or pictures that might pop up on my NewsFeed.
Twitter...
https://twitter.com/
I am actually not a fan of Twitter. I had a Twitter account for a short amount of time. I didn’t tweet my own life, but I enjoyed seeing tweets and posted pictures of celebrities. But for some reason my account suddenly getting all these X-rated followers. I can assure you that I am not the kind of person who looks at those kinds of things! Nor were any of the people I were following in that type of business. So out of frustration and disgust I ended up canceling my Twitter Account.
I do feel though it could be beneficial for the classroom. Students would be able to tweet about a topic during class. A teacher could also use it to tweet about a conference or convention they were at that might tie into their learning. I do though have concern for students who use it beyond anything academic. I’d hate to see a student of middle school age getting sent the things that I was getting sent.
The benefits of Twitter is it provides students an immediate connection to celebrities or teachers. It shows an inside life to someone who they may not be able to know in person. The drawbacks would be how much is too much exposure to things like this. A celebrity may tweet about something inappropriate or show a picture that isn’t appropriate.
Edmodo...
http://www.edmodo.com/
I like Edmodo. It webpage reminds of Facebook. It’s a teacher Facebook. There are spots for posting comments and assignments. A calendar is helpful because it can show students when their assignments and future assignments are due. There are also links on the side to GoogleDocs. Overall I can’t say anything bad about it.
This could definitely be used in the classroom. A teacher could post anything that is required for the class. This eliminates the mistake students have of “forgetting” to write down their assignments in their homework pads or “accidentally” losing their homework pads. Parents could even be added to see what their children are learning in class. It would give students the sense of online freedom, yet still provide restrictions necessary to keep them safe.
The benefits of Edmodo are it allows students go access everything in their class online through this teacher Facebook. I guess it’s a student Facebook too. Teachers can post assignments, grades, links, anything really. I really don’t see any obvious drawbacks. The only drawback I can think about is if students in a not so technological area or of low socioeconomic status might not have constant access to a computer.
Class Eight - Blackboard
June 22, 2012
The discussion question is...
What do you think about online learning or distance education? Should students be learning to take class online? Is that the wave of the future? These are questions for you to answer and consider on the discussion board.
I responded with...
I love the idea of online learning!
Both videos were supporters. The video 'High Schools Embracing Online Education' had one student saying that she liked it because she could take courses when you wanted and wherever you wanted. She also believed that because she took a different course that was not offered at her high school it helped her in getting into the college she wanted to. The 'Salman Kahn - Talk at Ted 2011' video had the creator of Khan Academy on it. He showed data that proved that students were benefiting from using a combination of his online math education and teaching in the regular classroom. The data can be broken down any which way the teacher desires to show the strengths and weakness of each student. He talked about how students who have mastered certain skills can then in return help other students who may be struggling. He claims they are "humanizing the classroom." That the typical teacher to student ratio and interactions are usually one-sided; the teacher only talks to the student if there is something in the classroom they are not understanding. Salman Khan's goal is to still have teacher to student ratios, but have them be more meaningful. He ends his talk by bringing up the notion of an emerging one world classroom. I think both videos showcased the benefits to online learning. The thing that is most important in discussion is that results are showing that online learning is improving students skills. In the first video the high school student got into the engineering program of her first choice college and in the second video a mother writes to Salman Khan about how his program helped her son with autism learn math. The 'K-12 Online Learning Article' I felt was less supportive of online learning. They talked about the benefits of it and how it has provided an important role in meeting diverse students needs and how it can help those who are struggling with issues on learning quality, student readiness, and teacher professional development. But also discussed the barriers that could keep it from becoming a success such as…concerns about the quality of the courses, the costs, the attendance rate of students, and the need for teacher training.
When I was in an undergraduate in Fairfield I took an online Psychology course over the summer. I was trying to get ahead of my studies so I could graduate in 4 years. I actually did not enjoy taking the online course. It was one of the most difficult and demanding courses I have ever taken. That particular professor required us to watch at least 1-2 hours of videos and read 5 to 10 articles due for each class. This class "met" 3 times a week, like this one. We were also required to post at least 3, 1 page, counter arguments to another students discussion that was to be posted on the discussion board. We had to be online from on the discussion board for a selected number of time. So between the high homework demands and requirement for meeting times I was not a fan of online learning at the time. But I look back at it today and realize that online learning is really limitless. It completely depends on the professor or creator of the course of program. It also depends on how willing the person on the other side of the computer is to learn. You get only the amount of learning you want from distance education. Hopefully that statement makes sense, it makes sense in my head when I read it.
I do think students should be learning to take class online. I think it is a positive skill that everyone, eventually, will need to know since we are becoming a society of technology and can do almost everything online now. It also is good for students who may not be able to express themselves fully in a classroom of 30 other students. I think Marianne was the one who mentioned something similar to this in class. She said students who may be just as smart as another student in class, but have trouble outwardly expressing themselves could be given the chance to fully express themselves through the use of online. But I also believe that students should still be in the physical classroom for part of the time. If you get anything from school it's the lesson of learning how to socialize and be around other people. A discussion on a topic in person is very different than one online.
I definitely think this is the wave of the future. We are becoming more and more technologically advanced everyday. We do shopping, dating, pay bills online already, why not education! If it makes students better students then let's do it!
Survey Monkey...
http://www.surveymonkey.com/MySurveys.aspx
I didn’t love, but didn’t hate SurveyMonkey. I think it is what it is, a tool for creating surveys. Creating the questions and answers were simple to do. But I ran into some problems trying to email it and the link out. I had to do it twice to make sure it actually was sent.
I could see how this could be used in the classroom. It would allow teachers or students to make their own surveys on a topic either chosen by them or their teacher. Each student could hand it out to their peers and see the differences or similarities in their results. Although I don’t know if something like this would be entertaining enough for students. The layout of the website is kind of dull. The only choices you are given is the color of the heading on your survey and how you want you answers laid out, whether it be only one answer or multiple answers. This also may be because it’s the free version.
The benefits of SurveyMonkey are it would allow individuals, teachers or students to create their own surveys and be able to see the direct results. The drawbacks would be there really isn’t much more than what you see. I don’t think it would keep the interest of students and they would most likely not return to the website after completing their assignment. I don’t think I’d revisit it unless I had another assignment due. Where as other websites like Wordle and Wikis I will most likely revisit.
The discussion question is...
What do you think about online learning or distance education? Should students be learning to take class online? Is that the wave of the future? These are questions for you to answer and consider on the discussion board.
I responded with...
I love the idea of online learning!
Both videos were supporters. The video 'High Schools Embracing Online Education' had one student saying that she liked it because she could take courses when you wanted and wherever you wanted. She also believed that because she took a different course that was not offered at her high school it helped her in getting into the college she wanted to. The 'Salman Kahn - Talk at Ted 2011' video had the creator of Khan Academy on it. He showed data that proved that students were benefiting from using a combination of his online math education and teaching in the regular classroom. The data can be broken down any which way the teacher desires to show the strengths and weakness of each student. He talked about how students who have mastered certain skills can then in return help other students who may be struggling. He claims they are "humanizing the classroom." That the typical teacher to student ratio and interactions are usually one-sided; the teacher only talks to the student if there is something in the classroom they are not understanding. Salman Khan's goal is to still have teacher to student ratios, but have them be more meaningful. He ends his talk by bringing up the notion of an emerging one world classroom. I think both videos showcased the benefits to online learning. The thing that is most important in discussion is that results are showing that online learning is improving students skills. In the first video the high school student got into the engineering program of her first choice college and in the second video a mother writes to Salman Khan about how his program helped her son with autism learn math. The 'K-12 Online Learning Article' I felt was less supportive of online learning. They talked about the benefits of it and how it has provided an important role in meeting diverse students needs and how it can help those who are struggling with issues on learning quality, student readiness, and teacher professional development. But also discussed the barriers that could keep it from becoming a success such as…concerns about the quality of the courses, the costs, the attendance rate of students, and the need for teacher training.
When I was in an undergraduate in Fairfield I took an online Psychology course over the summer. I was trying to get ahead of my studies so I could graduate in 4 years. I actually did not enjoy taking the online course. It was one of the most difficult and demanding courses I have ever taken. That particular professor required us to watch at least 1-2 hours of videos and read 5 to 10 articles due for each class. This class "met" 3 times a week, like this one. We were also required to post at least 3, 1 page, counter arguments to another students discussion that was to be posted on the discussion board. We had to be online from on the discussion board for a selected number of time. So between the high homework demands and requirement for meeting times I was not a fan of online learning at the time. But I look back at it today and realize that online learning is really limitless. It completely depends on the professor or creator of the course of program. It also depends on how willing the person on the other side of the computer is to learn. You get only the amount of learning you want from distance education. Hopefully that statement makes sense, it makes sense in my head when I read it.
I do think students should be learning to take class online. I think it is a positive skill that everyone, eventually, will need to know since we are becoming a society of technology and can do almost everything online now. It also is good for students who may not be able to express themselves fully in a classroom of 30 other students. I think Marianne was the one who mentioned something similar to this in class. She said students who may be just as smart as another student in class, but have trouble outwardly expressing themselves could be given the chance to fully express themselves through the use of online. But I also believe that students should still be in the physical classroom for part of the time. If you get anything from school it's the lesson of learning how to socialize and be around other people. A discussion on a topic in person is very different than one online.
I definitely think this is the wave of the future. We are becoming more and more technologically advanced everyday. We do shopping, dating, pay bills online already, why not education! If it makes students better students then let's do it!
Survey Monkey...
http://www.surveymonkey.com/MySurveys.aspx
I didn’t love, but didn’t hate SurveyMonkey. I think it is what it is, a tool for creating surveys. Creating the questions and answers were simple to do. But I ran into some problems trying to email it and the link out. I had to do it twice to make sure it actually was sent.
I could see how this could be used in the classroom. It would allow teachers or students to make their own surveys on a topic either chosen by them or their teacher. Each student could hand it out to their peers and see the differences or similarities in their results. Although I don’t know if something like this would be entertaining enough for students. The layout of the website is kind of dull. The only choices you are given is the color of the heading on your survey and how you want you answers laid out, whether it be only one answer or multiple answers. This also may be because it’s the free version.
The benefits of SurveyMonkey are it would allow individuals, teachers or students to create their own surveys and be able to see the direct results. The drawbacks would be there really isn’t much more than what you see. I don’t think it would keep the interest of students and they would most likely not return to the website after completing their assignment. I don’t think I’d revisit it unless I had another assignment due. Where as other websites like Wordle and Wikis I will most likely revisit.
Class Seven
June 20, 2012
Class Notes...
Gaming
- Good if it's purposeful
- Bad for special education kids because it's hard to get them back
- Big to some people and not others
- Tendency targeted towards males
- 2nd Life Game: recreated places and events
- Example: the tsunami, colleges, Michaelangelo's 16th Chapel
TED (Technology Entertainment Design) Video
- Organization that runs talks for educators
- Speaker: Jane McGonagal
- 3 billion hours a week playing online games
- Claims we need 21 billion hours a week of game play
- Solve obesity
- Camera set up in front of gamers
- Epic win: an outcome that is so extraordinarily possible and you are shocked when you get there and win
- Why we are better at games than in real life
- We achieve more in game world
- Inspired to collaborate and cooperate
- In game world we are able to overcome things VS real life we shutdown with problems
- 10,000 hours gaming by the age of 21
Big question: what exactly are gamers getting so good at?
1) Urgent optimism: the desire to act immediately in the belief there is hope of success
2) Social fabric: we like people better after we've played a game with them, even if they beat us, builds up bonds, trust, and cooperation
3) Blissful productivity: happier working hard
4) Epic meaning: love to be attached to awe aspiring missions
- Super empowered hopeful individuals: people who believe they are capable of changing virtual worlds, not the real worlds
- The problem she is trying to solve
- We are using games to escape the real world environment
- Created real world game scenarios
- Oil, Human Extinction, Evoke
- Hope to play games that matter
- We can make any future
Gaming...
Free Rice
freerice.com
I love this website. It’s cute and simple. It also really makes you think. I found that I was better at the Spanish category then any other. Which is funny because I haven’t taken Spanish since high school. But having a variety of different categories does make it more fun and you are working towards a good cause of donating rice to help end hunger.
Fat World
http://fatworld.org
I was depressed by this game! It made sad to have to choose the weight of my character and of course whatever selection you choose your character becomes either thinner or fatter. I chose average because I would be too embarrassed to pick the other ones! Then having to pick socioeconomic status. I mean come on! I picked poor because I wanted to see what happened when you chose that. It kind of reminded me of the games The Sims, but much harder to navigate. My character walked very slowly and I had trouble entering places. But I like the idea of it. I think it would be beneficial for students to play on because it teaches them about nutrition and spending money. It might work for an older elementary school age group.
Hot Math
http://hotmath.com/hotmath_help/games/kp/kp_hotmath_sound.swf
I literally laughed out loud when I was playing this game. First off because the concept is hilarious, you need to kill a cockroach by entering the correct answer. Second off because the music was amusing, it sounded like cockroaches on parade. Third off because it showed how terrible I am at x and y integers. If that’s even what they’re called! This game would be fun for students learning math in that specific area. The fast paced game makes them think on their feet and if they get the answer right they get the satisfaction of killing a cockroach. No one likes cockroaches.
I also found this additional website on various educational games!
http://www.cookie.com/kids/games/viewallgames.html
Class Notes...
Gaming
- Good if it's purposeful
- Bad for special education kids because it's hard to get them back
- Big to some people and not others
- Tendency targeted towards males
- 2nd Life Game: recreated places and events
- Example: the tsunami, colleges, Michaelangelo's 16th Chapel
TED (Technology Entertainment Design) Video
- Organization that runs talks for educators
- Speaker: Jane McGonagal
- 3 billion hours a week playing online games
- Claims we need 21 billion hours a week of game play
- Solve obesity
- Camera set up in front of gamers
- Epic win: an outcome that is so extraordinarily possible and you are shocked when you get there and win
- Why we are better at games than in real life
- We achieve more in game world
- Inspired to collaborate and cooperate
- In game world we are able to overcome things VS real life we shutdown with problems
- 10,000 hours gaming by the age of 21
Big question: what exactly are gamers getting so good at?
1) Urgent optimism: the desire to act immediately in the belief there is hope of success
2) Social fabric: we like people better after we've played a game with them, even if they beat us, builds up bonds, trust, and cooperation
3) Blissful productivity: happier working hard
4) Epic meaning: love to be attached to awe aspiring missions
- Super empowered hopeful individuals: people who believe they are capable of changing virtual worlds, not the real worlds
- The problem she is trying to solve
- We are using games to escape the real world environment
- Created real world game scenarios
- Oil, Human Extinction, Evoke
- Hope to play games that matter
- We can make any future
Gaming...
Free Rice
freerice.com
I love this website. It’s cute and simple. It also really makes you think. I found that I was better at the Spanish category then any other. Which is funny because I haven’t taken Spanish since high school. But having a variety of different categories does make it more fun and you are working towards a good cause of donating rice to help end hunger.
Fat World
http://fatworld.org
I was depressed by this game! It made sad to have to choose the weight of my character and of course whatever selection you choose your character becomes either thinner or fatter. I chose average because I would be too embarrassed to pick the other ones! Then having to pick socioeconomic status. I mean come on! I picked poor because I wanted to see what happened when you chose that. It kind of reminded me of the games The Sims, but much harder to navigate. My character walked very slowly and I had trouble entering places. But I like the idea of it. I think it would be beneficial for students to play on because it teaches them about nutrition and spending money. It might work for an older elementary school age group.
Hot Math
http://hotmath.com/hotmath_help/games/kp/kp_hotmath_sound.swf
I literally laughed out loud when I was playing this game. First off because the concept is hilarious, you need to kill a cockroach by entering the correct answer. Second off because the music was amusing, it sounded like cockroaches on parade. Third off because it showed how terrible I am at x and y integers. If that’s even what they’re called! This game would be fun for students learning math in that specific area. The fast paced game makes them think on their feet and if they get the answer right they get the satisfaction of killing a cockroach. No one likes cockroaches.
I also found this additional website on various educational games!
http://www.cookie.com/kids/games/viewallgames.html
Class Six
June 18, 2012
Class Notes...
PowerPoint Presentation
- Media provides all these teachable moments
- Examples: economy
- Media literacy is a 21st century approach to education
- Television viewing is still the #1 after school activity for kids
- In the average American home the television is on 60 hours a week
- 85% of teens are involve din their personal electronics
- Based on the partnership for 21st century skills
- Every student in this country must be a critical thinking, a problem solver, an innovator, an effective communicator, an effective collaborator, a self-directed leaner
- Information and media literate
- Globally aware
- Critically engaged
- Financially and economically literate
- Visual literacy: how people see and understand things
- Most of our learners today are very visual
- Kids are very affected by images, especially girls
- Examples: magazines
- Information and media literacy is the set of skills needed to find, retrieve, analyze, and use information
- Learning outcomes: critical thinking, analysis, organization, brainstorming, cooperation
Class Notes...
PowerPoint Presentation
- Media provides all these teachable moments
- Examples: economy
- Media literacy is a 21st century approach to education
- Television viewing is still the #1 after school activity for kids
- In the average American home the television is on 60 hours a week
- 85% of teens are involve din their personal electronics
- Based on the partnership for 21st century skills
- Every student in this country must be a critical thinking, a problem solver, an innovator, an effective communicator, an effective collaborator, a self-directed leaner
- Information and media literate
- Globally aware
- Critically engaged
- Financially and economically literate
- Visual literacy: how people see and understand things
- Most of our learners today are very visual
- Kids are very affected by images, especially girls
- Examples: magazines
- Information and media literacy is the set of skills needed to find, retrieve, analyze, and use information
- Learning outcomes: critical thinking, analysis, organization, brainstorming, cooperation
Glogster...
Overall I enjoyed this activity. I like the idea of creating something that is informational and interactive. I enjoyed being able to choose my topic and spend time researching it. I liked how you could click and drag your various items around the pathfinder page. I also thought uploading pictures and texts were fairly simple. I did run into problems trying to insert videos and links. I was finally able to insert a video after plugging in my mouse to my laptop. I was still unable to create a clickable link though. There are several links in the bottom left of my pathfinder page that I’d like to be clickable. I also found myself spending far too much time searching through all the options for types of chat bubbles, text colors, and then general placement of each item.
This could definitely be used in the classroom. It would allow students to choose their own topics and create their own unique pathfinder page. It also provides a way to access and control recourses for that particular topic, students aren’t just surfing the web clicking on unapproved websites.
The benefits of Glogster is the customization part of it, you can literally make it look anyway you want. There are enough options for text (colors, sizes), inserting images and videos, sound. The list goes on. Glogster would allow students to do research on approved websites. The drawbacks are the amount of time one can spend trying to perfect it. There were also some technical aspects that I struggled with, I was unable to make my links clickable and could initially not figure out how to insert a video.
Class Five - Blackboard
June 16, 2012
I really dislike Blogger so far. I will confess that I have not been keeping up with putting posts up on the website. But I have all that I want to say typed out into Word Documents. The problem I'm having is when I copy and paste what I've typed onto Blogger it changes how I typed it. I've also discovered that you can't use the tab key in the post. What a pain! I want to express myself, but can't use the tab key. Come on!
Moving on though.
The discussion question was...
Before reading the articles and seeing the video, had you heard of the term "media literacy education?" Does this literacy study belong in today's classroom? Why or why not? How can we move forward with teaching students how to understand the impact of the media, in all its formats (computers, television, film, etc...)?
I responded with...
I have definitely heard of the term "media literacy education" before reading the articles and watching the video, but I most likely could not have defined it. I probably would have said something like, "Media literacy education is where we teach media so that students can be more literate in it." This, obviously, makes no sense.
After reading the articles I got a better understanding of what media literacy education is, but it wasn't until watching the video where it all started to click.
The article, "A Plea for Media Literacy in Our Nation's Schools," I felt didn't give it a solid enough definition. It more sptt out a lot of nonsense facts about how much time we spend using media or how obsessed children are with media. I already knew this. I see it everyday in the classrooms I work in. Examples are when kids in middle school show me the "right way" to use PowerPoint. Another example is when kids in first grade tell me about their Facebook accounts or show me how to find certain things on the internet. It blows my mind how much they have already absorbed! The article also says we should start teaching early. I agree with this 100%. I think with the large overwhelming and constant influx of knowledge that kids are exposed to, they should know how to control all of it. A quote that I think rings true to this is, "The internet caused a sea of change in what kids need and how teachers should teach and in what parents want for their kids. The internet changed our understanding of how kids are learning, in every sense of the term, and now instead of parents worrying about their kids watching too many commercials on Saturday morning, there is the much larger issue of all the images and messages that come pouring over the internet." The article concludes that medial literacy education needs to be geared towards the handling of data rather than the accumulation of data. We need to teach kids how to process information. Yes!
The article, "Are We Speaking the Same Language?," was extremely drawn out. It discussed the general trends on why teaching media literacy has been a flop (formal introduction to the US lagged behind other major English-speaking countries in the word, the majority of initiatives and scholarships had been geared towards K-12 education, and the existing definition is very broad). The article concludes with saying, "Media literacy can provide a critical approach to media that allows students the opportunity to become active media users, participants, and informed citizens." But still I feel there wasn't a solid definition of what media literacy is.
Then the video, "A Portal to Media Literacy," is where I had my "ahhh ha" moment. The speaker begins by saying that most students are bored in large classrooms. They are really only there to sit and listen and absorb the necessary information to do well on tests and receive good grades. They are there to listen to the professor and not question any of the information that is given out because the professor is the authority, therefore the information must be correct. This is wrong! We know that media is all around us. So why not use it to aid in learning? He says at one point, "Towards media literacy, I often push the students to go beyond what they're normally used to doing." He wants students to use media less for entertainment, but more for learning. Like Facebook and YouTube. I know I fall directly into this category. I've turned into a media potato. My daily ritual when I come home to is plop myself on the couch, turn the television on (but mute it), turn my computer on to Facebook (stalk some people), and have my cellphone sitting directly next to me (just incase someone decides to text me). But now, taking this course, I've realized that I can still be doing my media thing, but not becoming stupider while doing it. I really enjoyed the last Web 2.0 project (Wikis) and was bummed that we didn't get to see examples of other students in class. I know I especially wanted mine to be shown because I thought it was so clever. I actually bragged about it a little bit. But the conclusion proposed a challenge; to create learning environments that realize and leverage the emerging media environment. Use media technology to teach!
I think the literacy study does belong in today's classroom. We are quickly becoming a society of media and technology. We need to know how to manage it and students who are using it. We to need to know at what rate and risk can we teach media literacy education in the classroom.
I think the best way to move forward in teaching students how to understand the impact of the media is to expose them to it in a safe manner. Teachers need to create curriculum that
1) Teaches students how to handle the overwhelming and constant influx of knowledge that students are exposed to,
2) Allow students opportunities to become active media users, participants, and informed citizens,
3) Show them how media can be used less for entertainment and more for learning.
If we do these three things then students may not find a need to explore media by themselves and get themselves into trouble with it. The documentary we watched in class is a perfect example. It discussed how there are girls all over the internet willingly exposing themselves for one reason or another. I would like to think that if they had a better understanding of the harm a picture like that can do to not only them, but their families, and their life to come, that they would think twice about doing it.
What do you think? Should be dishing out or withholding information from kids and students on media? Which one results in a better outcome for kids and students in the long run?
We also had to post our Animoto or Flixtime Videos we created about technology in education and us.
I really dislike Blogger so far. I will confess that I have not been keeping up with putting posts up on the website. But I have all that I want to say typed out into Word Documents. The problem I'm having is when I copy and paste what I've typed onto Blogger it changes how I typed it. I've also discovered that you can't use the tab key in the post. What a pain! I want to express myself, but can't use the tab key. Come on!
Moving on though.
The discussion question was...
Before reading the articles and seeing the video, had you heard of the term "media literacy education?" Does this literacy study belong in today's classroom? Why or why not? How can we move forward with teaching students how to understand the impact of the media, in all its formats (computers, television, film, etc...)?
I responded with...
I have definitely heard of the term "media literacy education" before reading the articles and watching the video, but I most likely could not have defined it. I probably would have said something like, "Media literacy education is where we teach media so that students can be more literate in it." This, obviously, makes no sense.
After reading the articles I got a better understanding of what media literacy education is, but it wasn't until watching the video where it all started to click.
The article, "A Plea for Media Literacy in Our Nation's Schools," I felt didn't give it a solid enough definition. It more sptt out a lot of nonsense facts about how much time we spend using media or how obsessed children are with media. I already knew this. I see it everyday in the classrooms I work in. Examples are when kids in middle school show me the "right way" to use PowerPoint. Another example is when kids in first grade tell me about their Facebook accounts or show me how to find certain things on the internet. It blows my mind how much they have already absorbed! The article also says we should start teaching early. I agree with this 100%. I think with the large overwhelming and constant influx of knowledge that kids are exposed to, they should know how to control all of it. A quote that I think rings true to this is, "The internet caused a sea of change in what kids need and how teachers should teach and in what parents want for their kids. The internet changed our understanding of how kids are learning, in every sense of the term, and now instead of parents worrying about their kids watching too many commercials on Saturday morning, there is the much larger issue of all the images and messages that come pouring over the internet." The article concludes that medial literacy education needs to be geared towards the handling of data rather than the accumulation of data. We need to teach kids how to process information. Yes!
The article, "Are We Speaking the Same Language?," was extremely drawn out. It discussed the general trends on why teaching media literacy has been a flop (formal introduction to the US lagged behind other major English-speaking countries in the word, the majority of initiatives and scholarships had been geared towards K-12 education, and the existing definition is very broad). The article concludes with saying, "Media literacy can provide a critical approach to media that allows students the opportunity to become active media users, participants, and informed citizens." But still I feel there wasn't a solid definition of what media literacy is.
Then the video, "A Portal to Media Literacy," is where I had my "ahhh ha" moment. The speaker begins by saying that most students are bored in large classrooms. They are really only there to sit and listen and absorb the necessary information to do well on tests and receive good grades. They are there to listen to the professor and not question any of the information that is given out because the professor is the authority, therefore the information must be correct. This is wrong! We know that media is all around us. So why not use it to aid in learning? He says at one point, "Towards media literacy, I often push the students to go beyond what they're normally used to doing." He wants students to use media less for entertainment, but more for learning. Like Facebook and YouTube. I know I fall directly into this category. I've turned into a media potato. My daily ritual when I come home to is plop myself on the couch, turn the television on (but mute it), turn my computer on to Facebook (stalk some people), and have my cellphone sitting directly next to me (just incase someone decides to text me). But now, taking this course, I've realized that I can still be doing my media thing, but not becoming stupider while doing it. I really enjoyed the last Web 2.0 project (Wikis) and was bummed that we didn't get to see examples of other students in class. I know I especially wanted mine to be shown because I thought it was so clever. I actually bragged about it a little bit. But the conclusion proposed a challenge; to create learning environments that realize and leverage the emerging media environment. Use media technology to teach!
I think the literacy study does belong in today's classroom. We are quickly becoming a society of media and technology. We need to know how to manage it and students who are using it. We to need to know at what rate and risk can we teach media literacy education in the classroom.
I think the best way to move forward in teaching students how to understand the impact of the media is to expose them to it in a safe manner. Teachers need to create curriculum that
1) Teaches students how to handle the overwhelming and constant influx of knowledge that students are exposed to,
2) Allow students opportunities to become active media users, participants, and informed citizens,
3) Show them how media can be used less for entertainment and more for learning.
If we do these three things then students may not find a need to explore media by themselves and get themselves into trouble with it. The documentary we watched in class is a perfect example. It discussed how there are girls all over the internet willingly exposing themselves for one reason or another. I would like to think that if they had a better understanding of the harm a picture like that can do to not only them, but their families, and their life to come, that they would think twice about doing it.
What do you think? Should be dishing out or withholding information from kids and students on media? Which one results in a better outcome for kids and students in the long run?
We also had to post our Animoto or Flixtime Videos we created about technology in education and us.
Class Four
June 13, 2012
Class Notes...
Cyber Bullying
- A lot of teachers just turning the other way
- Bullying is taking on a whole new form because of technology
- Teachers can be bullied too by other teachers
- Then students see it happening to those who are supposed to be role models
- Problem with technology piece is that kids don't turn it off
- Bullies can continue to bully others even in their most personal times
- Examples: texting, creating websites, Facebook
- The concerns are real
- There is actual state statues in place now for bullying and it can go to court
- Is bullying worse if it's physical or psychological?
- The truth is it's the psychological piece because then kids commit suicide
Movie: Bully
- Documentary about 3 different areas
- Lesbian girl who was disowned by own town, premature baby had birth defects,
ABC Primetime video on cyber bullying
- Cameras and cellphones are "weapons of mass destruction"
- Girls can use words as their weapons
- Study conducted that shows that some girls are bullies at age 3
- Girls are going after the "emotional jugular"
VoiceThread
- Conversations in the cloud
- Have an account for the rest of the semester
- Assignment due Monday: Record comment on voice thread
- Need to register to comment: just create a new email
Audacity
- Assignment due Monday: record what we thought about VoiceThread on this and then send it to the professor
- This is a free program that can be downloaded on Google
- You can layer your tracks on this program
Below are the recorded responses that I used. Hence the "..." marks. I am not a fan of hearing my own voice.
Voice Thread...
http://voicethread.com/
It's halftime at the Superbowl and this message comes up on television. What does it say to you? What does it say to all of us?
"I love that Clint Eastwood is narrating! I think his voice is perfect for the narration of this message. His voice is the voice of every hard working American. At one point he says, "We all rallied around what was right and acted as one. Because that's we do. We find a way through tough times and if we can't find a way then we'll make one. All that matters now is what's ahead."
What this says to me is that I need to keep moving forward. That no matter what's going on in my life I should live in the now and continue working towards the future.
What this says to all of us that "anything can be conquered in numbers." That, yes, America is suffering, but we are suffering together, and, to overcome the suffering, we must rise up against it, but united."
Audacity...
http://audacity.sourceforge.net/
"I think I like the idea of VoiceThread more than I like using it. The idea of it is fantastic. It creates a visual and interactive way for people to share their thoughts about media.
I watched the video on "What's a VoiceThread Anyway?" and it showed the 5 different types of ways you could share your thoughts (telephone, webcam, microphone, text, and file upload). I recorded my comment instead of typing it because I figured that I should step out of my comfort zone and not use text. I found that I was far more nervous about what I was actually going to say. I took, maybe, 20 minutes, to write out my thoughts. Then read it out loud to my dog several times. I'm sure she thought I was crazy. Once I finally felt confident enough to hit the record button, I immediately pronounced Clint Eastwood's name incorrectly. So I started again. After 4 unsuccessful tries I finally recorded one I was satisfied with.
I think this could be used in the classroom. It would give students s a "voice of their own," literally. It really is just another fun way to express yourself through technology."
Class Notes...
Cyber Bullying
- A lot of teachers just turning the other way
- Bullying is taking on a whole new form because of technology
- Teachers can be bullied too by other teachers
- Then students see it happening to those who are supposed to be role models
- Problem with technology piece is that kids don't turn it off
- Bullies can continue to bully others even in their most personal times
- Examples: texting, creating websites, Facebook
- The concerns are real
- There is actual state statues in place now for bullying and it can go to court
- Is bullying worse if it's physical or psychological?
- The truth is it's the psychological piece because then kids commit suicide
Movie: Bully
- Documentary about 3 different areas
- Lesbian girl who was disowned by own town, premature baby had birth defects,
ABC Primetime video on cyber bullying
- Cameras and cellphones are "weapons of mass destruction"
- Girls can use words as their weapons
- Study conducted that shows that some girls are bullies at age 3
- Girls are going after the "emotional jugular"
VoiceThread
- Conversations in the cloud
- Have an account for the rest of the semester
- Assignment due Monday: Record comment on voice thread
- Need to register to comment: just create a new email
Audacity
- Assignment due Monday: record what we thought about VoiceThread on this and then send it to the professor
- This is a free program that can be downloaded on Google
- You can layer your tracks on this program
Below are the recorded responses that I used. Hence the "..." marks. I am not a fan of hearing my own voice.
Voice Thread...
http://voicethread.com/
It's halftime at the Superbowl and this message comes up on television. What does it say to you? What does it say to all of us?
"I love that Clint Eastwood is narrating! I think his voice is perfect for the narration of this message. His voice is the voice of every hard working American. At one point he says, "We all rallied around what was right and acted as one. Because that's we do. We find a way through tough times and if we can't find a way then we'll make one. All that matters now is what's ahead."
What this says to me is that I need to keep moving forward. That no matter what's going on in my life I should live in the now and continue working towards the future.
What this says to all of us that "anything can be conquered in numbers." That, yes, America is suffering, but we are suffering together, and, to overcome the suffering, we must rise up against it, but united."
Audacity...
http://audacity.sourceforge.net/
"I think I like the idea of VoiceThread more than I like using it. The idea of it is fantastic. It creates a visual and interactive way for people to share their thoughts about media.
I watched the video on "What's a VoiceThread Anyway?" and it showed the 5 different types of ways you could share your thoughts (telephone, webcam, microphone, text, and file upload). I recorded my comment instead of typing it because I figured that I should step out of my comfort zone and not use text. I found that I was far more nervous about what I was actually going to say. I took, maybe, 20 minutes, to write out my thoughts. Then read it out loud to my dog several times. I'm sure she thought I was crazy. Once I finally felt confident enough to hit the record button, I immediately pronounced Clint Eastwood's name incorrectly. So I started again. After 4 unsuccessful tries I finally recorded one I was satisfied with.
I think this could be used in the classroom. It would give students s a "voice of their own," literally. It really is just another fun way to express yourself through technology."
Class Three
June 11, 2012
Class Notes...
'Did You Know 4.0' Video
- Campaigning between McCain and Obama
- Obama used social networking
- Social networking is starting to take dominance now
- YouTube videos getting over a million hits
- Vomiting material on the web
- People putting up ads
- Musicians are now saying to politicians they don't want their music associated with their campaigns
- Social media now: they change the way it looks to suit their purpose
- Sony is now developing a chip
Book "Feed" and talks about what happens if our society goes totally technological
- Google is not allowed to operate in China: they feel that Google is trying to control too much of the information
- Irony: coming from a communist country
- Google operation is weird because they run by this motto of "do no evil"
- But what they are actually doing is evil and they follow your search terms and changing your
search terms according to what you search
- Side boards of advertising changes
- Advertising is based on your interest
- Your emails in Google are not private because they are trying to figure out how you speak
- They are trying to figure voice
- Trying to piece together the way we request things and talk
- Siri on the iPhone
- One of the hardest things for kids is what you put out on the internet today lives with you forever
- Twitter is totally open to everyone if your account is not set to private
- Conversation amongst teachers about how much is out there
PowerPoint Presentation
Technology and Learning
- We retain what we want when it comes to information
- The survival of the newspaper will not necessarily continue in paper form
- People going online to read newspapers
- In 2009 Twitter took off
- Plane landed in the Hudson: there was no news people there, but people were taking pictures and Tweeting their information that were actually standing there
- Where the future is going and being plugged in?
- 2045 the year the man becomes immortal: we are going to become part of the computer
- Virtual reality has been something that has been talked about for years
Do you have a sense of what information is?
- Many think that zeros and ones or streams of zeros and one is just data
- Information is processed data (not raw), organized, communicated, and useful
Communication Model
- Encoder channel, decoder
- Most of use cellphones now
- It's not as simple anymore (encoder, channel, decoder)
- Filters into everything we do with technology: why we have to be careful how we present it to our learners
- Information and Technology Become One
- A process that involves transference or communication
- The channel or format is important
- Observes that coding and decoding is a strong element between the sender and receiver
- Suggest that there might be problems associated with that process that causes some loss as noise
The Blending of Both
- Where is the information: is it in the mind of the sender or receiver?
- Both
- Or somewhere else?
- Does it have to be in a mind? Can it be in a machine?
- Can information be machine generated?
- Yes, but still put in by humans
- Is it still information if no ons sees or reads the information?
- Or if all human memory has forgotten the supposed information?
- Computer that played on Jeopardy, Watson: had trouble processing puns and emotions
Bloom's Taxonomy
- We used to look at it in terms of verbs, but now we look at it in terms of nouns
- All the words we used are associated with technology
Technology Changes Our Worlds
- Examples: Toy Story 1 came out in 2009, Google clip with Toy Story characters in 2010, difference between Toy Story 1 and Toy Story 3 is 3D and Google, Futurama spoof on the iPhone and Apple
- How did the computer change the classroom?
- How was it used in the beginning? Now?
- What about technology in general - what is its impact on the classroom?
- How do we create bridges of learning for our students?
Wordle
- Can actually drop a whole paper into it
- Another program is similar: Tagxedo
iGoogle
- Can set it up as a classroom account
Wikis
- The idea behind is that you are creating a webpage
- Like the idea of Wikipedia
- A collaborative took
- Can be found in multitude of areas
- Based on HTML language
- Using PBWorks for class assignment
- Click on education
- Get started
- Basic
Class Notes...
'Did You Know 4.0' Video
- Campaigning between McCain and Obama
- Obama used social networking
- Social networking is starting to take dominance now
- YouTube videos getting over a million hits
- Vomiting material on the web
- People putting up ads
- Musicians are now saying to politicians they don't want their music associated with their campaigns
- Social media now: they change the way it looks to suit their purpose
- Sony is now developing a chip
Book "Feed" and talks about what happens if our society goes totally technological
- Google is not allowed to operate in China: they feel that Google is trying to control too much of the information
- Irony: coming from a communist country
- Google operation is weird because they run by this motto of "do no evil"
- But what they are actually doing is evil and they follow your search terms and changing your
search terms according to what you search
- Side boards of advertising changes
- Advertising is based on your interest
- Your emails in Google are not private because they are trying to figure out how you speak
- They are trying to figure voice
- Trying to piece together the way we request things and talk
- Siri on the iPhone
- One of the hardest things for kids is what you put out on the internet today lives with you forever
- Twitter is totally open to everyone if your account is not set to private
- Conversation amongst teachers about how much is out there
PowerPoint Presentation
Technology and Learning
- We retain what we want when it comes to information
- The survival of the newspaper will not necessarily continue in paper form
- People going online to read newspapers
- In 2009 Twitter took off
- Plane landed in the Hudson: there was no news people there, but people were taking pictures and Tweeting their information that were actually standing there
- Where the future is going and being plugged in?
- 2045 the year the man becomes immortal: we are going to become part of the computer
- Virtual reality has been something that has been talked about for years
Do you have a sense of what information is?
- Many think that zeros and ones or streams of zeros and one is just data
- Information is processed data (not raw), organized, communicated, and useful
Communication Model
- Encoder channel, decoder
- Most of use cellphones now
- It's not as simple anymore (encoder, channel, decoder)
- Filters into everything we do with technology: why we have to be careful how we present it to our learners
- Information and Technology Become One
- A process that involves transference or communication
- The channel or format is important
- Observes that coding and decoding is a strong element between the sender and receiver
- Suggest that there might be problems associated with that process that causes some loss as noise
The Blending of Both
- Where is the information: is it in the mind of the sender or receiver?
- Both
- Or somewhere else?
- Does it have to be in a mind? Can it be in a machine?
- Can information be machine generated?
- Yes, but still put in by humans
- Is it still information if no ons sees or reads the information?
- Or if all human memory has forgotten the supposed information?
- Computer that played on Jeopardy, Watson: had trouble processing puns and emotions
Bloom's Taxonomy
- We used to look at it in terms of verbs, but now we look at it in terms of nouns
- All the words we used are associated with technology
Technology Changes Our Worlds
- Examples: Toy Story 1 came out in 2009, Google clip with Toy Story characters in 2010, difference between Toy Story 1 and Toy Story 3 is 3D and Google, Futurama spoof on the iPhone and Apple
- How did the computer change the classroom?
- How was it used in the beginning? Now?
- What about technology in general - what is its impact on the classroom?
- How do we create bridges of learning for our students?
Wordle
- Can actually drop a whole paper into it
- Another program is similar: Tagxedo
iGoogle
- Can set it up as a classroom account
Wikis
- The idea behind is that you are creating a webpage
- Like the idea of Wikipedia
- A collaborative took
- Can be found in multitude of areas
- Based on HTML language
- Using PBWorks for class assignment
- Click on education
- Get started
- Basic
Wikis...
http://pbworks.com/
I will immediately say that I loved this activity. I think what I loved most about it was the true sense of customization. I disliked iGoogle because of the lack of customization. But with Wikis you are given a blank page to do what you please. My topic of cows sounds like a rather silly one, but I do have a certain adoration for cows and I think a student in elementary school a Wikis page like this would be perfect. I included, what I believe is enough media (pictures, videos, and links) to keep a student of elementary school age engaged. If you want to view it you'll need to be a PBworks member and search for 'moogoesthecow.'
http://pbworks.com/
I will immediately say that I loved this activity. I think what I loved most about it was the true sense of customization. I disliked iGoogle because of the lack of customization. But with Wikis you are given a blank page to do what you please. My topic of cows sounds like a rather silly one, but I do have a certain adoration for cows and I think a student in elementary school a Wikis page like this would be perfect. I included, what I believe is enough media (pictures, videos, and links) to keep a student of elementary school age engaged. If you want to view it you'll need to be a PBworks member and search for 'moogoesthecow.'
This could definitely be used in the classroom. What comes to mind is having students use this as a platform for research projects. My student who is finishing up 5th grade this year had to complete several non-fiction projects on topics of his choice. He did one on alligators, Dale Earnhardt Junior., and one on tornados. Every one of his research projects was put into a boring PowerPoint. He then had to stand up in front of his class and present them, read through what is exactly written on the slides, as the teacher clicked through them. He’d briefly talk about the pictures and why he put them there. Then he’d receive a grade and that was that. Project complete. But With Wikis each student could create their own frontpage and however many pages they want filled with content on their topic. The students then would be able to view each other’s Wikis page, post comments on what they liked or didn’t like. Additionally the students could develop a one-page questionnaire based on their topic and have it be given to their peers. The student would then have to navigate through each other’s peers Wikis page in order to complete the questionnaire. Wikis would give students a sense of ‘coolness’ because they would be developing their own information webpage. They can put as many pictures and as many interactive items on it as they desire.
There are several benefits. The first is Wikis gives you a blank canvas to start on. There are the options of positioning texts and pictures in any orientation (left, center, right). You can also choose your type of text (type and size) and font color. It lets you add in pictures from either the internet or your own personal library. You can add in movies and links. I truly cannot think of any drawbacks to Wikis, but then again I loved it, so why would I say bad things about it?
Tuesday, June 19, 2012
Class Two - Blackboard
June 8, 2012
Tonight was the first class where we got to use Blackboard.
https://fairfield.blackboard.com/webapps/login/
We were to complete a list of various assignments, such as readings, watching a videos, and creating an iGoogle and Wordle frontpage.
The discussion question was...
"As a part of your discussion, consider the technology assessment which you took in class. Part 1: What did you learn about yourself? The expectations of 8th grade students? As you read through the ISTE standards, could you see the implications on this assessment? How does that relate to the revised Bloom's Taxonomy? Part 2: What do you think of the clip 'Did You Know 4.0?' Surprises? Expectations?"
I responded with...
Tonight was the first class where we got to use Blackboard.
https://fairfield.blackboard.com/webapps/login/
We were to complete a list of various assignments, such as readings, watching a videos, and creating an iGoogle and Wordle frontpage.
The discussion question was...
"As a part of your discussion, consider the technology assessment which you took in class. Part 1: What did you learn about yourself? The expectations of 8th grade students? As you read through the ISTE standards, could you see the implications on this assessment? How does that relate to the revised Bloom's Taxonomy? Part 2: What do you think of the clip 'Did You Know 4.0?' Surprises? Expectations?"
I responded with...
Part 1
From the first class I learned that I am not nearly as tech
savvy as I thought I was. I believed I was a pro at all technologies because I
could use Facebook and check my email on my phone. I’ve even laughed at my mom
because she can’t figure out how to move files on her computer to an external
hard drive. I think what really made me realize that I know little to nothing
about technology is when we were given the checklist of all the different
programs that we will be learning about this semester. The majority of my
checks were in the “I’ve never heard of this” column. I, of course, then showed
my mom the syllabus and she said she knew of about half of the programs we’d be
learning. I felt ridiculous because the tables had turned. I would say that just
from the first class I am more aware of the technology that surrounds me.
I think the expectations that Branford Public Schools has of
their 8th graders is outrageous! Even though the assessment that we
took was not part of our grade I still felt it was a direct reflection my
overall knowledge of everything, not just of technology. The first question
that I got was asking to put how to write and email in sequential order. I
immediately ran into trouble because I couldn’t figure out how to move the sentences
from one side of the screen to the other. Not being familiar with the
assessment’s interface caused an immediate incorrect answer. There were
definitely other implications of this assessment. I found that I had trouble
paying attention being surrounded by other students whispering the questions to
themselves and listening to the constant clicking of their mouse. I also
thought the wording of the questions were difficult to understand. It took me
one or two incorrect questions to realize that you could/had to select multiple
answers. I found the wording of the questions had terms that I either never
seen or had seen maybe one other time in my life. There was a question about
Word and they asked to locate, on the ribbon (toolbar), where you would change the
size of your font. I had never heard the term ribbon before this assessment. I
will also admit that I failed, with a whopping 65, and am still in shock that I
am not even close to having the competency of an 8th grader!
The ISTE Standards for students and teachers are kind of two
fold I think. They are very specific in where students and teachers should be
in their knowledge of technology, but do not specify how in depth one’s
knowledge should be. As I read over the standards, I think that, yes I can do
a, b, c, d in each of these categories. But after diving in the recent
projects, like the blog, iGoogle, and Wordle I realize that, no I really can
only do a and b of each of these categories. I think this relates to Branford
Public Schools assessment because most 8th grade students have
experienced technology only to a certain level. I think teachers are generally
apprehensive to introduce technology in its fullest because of the safety and
risk factors that can often accompany some types of technology. An example
would be YouTube. You can type the word “puppies” in search box and not only
come up with videos of puppies rolling around in all their cuteness, but videos
of things that aren’t even closely or appropriately related to puppies!
Bloom’s Taxonomy is an interesting way of looking at
categorized and ordered thinking. The article says, “you cannot understand a
concept if you do not first remember it, similarity you cannot apply knowledge
and concepts if you do not understand them.” This can relate to the Branford
Public Schools assessment because most of the questions contained concepts that
I had knowledge and some comprehension of, but very little application or use
of. If I did not have those previous steps mastered then I obviously could not
remember them. I may have gotten the question about how to write an email
incorrect because maybe I do not have the needed knowledge and comprehension
necessary to reach the higher order thinking skills (HOTS) of evaluation and
was unable to recall the steps in sequential order. Although, I’d like to think
I got it wrong because I was distracted and could not figure out how to move
the sentences from one side of the screen to the other.
Part 2
I thought the clip ‘Did You Know 4.0’ was fantastic.
I think we often forget how much technology we rely on and how much technology actually surrounds us on a daily basis. The fact that I found most ridiculous was that there are 240,000,000 televisions in the United States alone, but 2,000,000 are in bathrooms. My first thought was “who on earth would put a television in the bathroom?” I told my boyfriend this fact and his response was “why wouldn’t you put a television in the bathroom, in the future we are going to have television microchips implanted in our brains, we will be able to blink and turn on or off the television.” Initially I thought this comment was a bit extreme, but now looking back on it after watching the entire clip of ‘Did You Know 4.0’ it doesn’t seem that outrageous, especially if everyday we accumulate and put televisions in more absurd places in our homes and our general usage and need for technology continues to increase. I also found it interesting that Wikipedia was launched in 2001. I was 15 years old when it started. But the amount of times I’ve used in the past 11 years makes me feel like it has been around forever. It also blows my mind that it is produced in 200 different languages. I don’t think I could name half of them. I found it intriguing that among United States companies, 17% disciplined an employee for violating blog or message board policies. The first thing that came to mind was Facebook. I think it’s fair to say that pretty much everyone and their mother has Facebook now. I know my mother does and uses the news feed as daily news in which she reads to my poor father everyday. She often reminds me not to post comments or pictures that may make me look like less than the person that I really am. I remember listening to a story on the evening news where a company was requiring, upon hire, that employees give them access to their Facebook accounts. Many people were appalled by this, but in all fairness if you are willing to post a comment or picture publicly on the internet you are already agreeing to let everyone view it, so why not an employer?
I think we often forget how much technology we rely on and how much technology actually surrounds us on a daily basis. The fact that I found most ridiculous was that there are 240,000,000 televisions in the United States alone, but 2,000,000 are in bathrooms. My first thought was “who on earth would put a television in the bathroom?” I told my boyfriend this fact and his response was “why wouldn’t you put a television in the bathroom, in the future we are going to have television microchips implanted in our brains, we will be able to blink and turn on or off the television.” Initially I thought this comment was a bit extreme, but now looking back on it after watching the entire clip of ‘Did You Know 4.0’ it doesn’t seem that outrageous, especially if everyday we accumulate and put televisions in more absurd places in our homes and our general usage and need for technology continues to increase. I also found it interesting that Wikipedia was launched in 2001. I was 15 years old when it started. But the amount of times I’ve used in the past 11 years makes me feel like it has been around forever. It also blows my mind that it is produced in 200 different languages. I don’t think I could name half of them. I found it intriguing that among United States companies, 17% disciplined an employee for violating blog or message board policies. The first thing that came to mind was Facebook. I think it’s fair to say that pretty much everyone and their mother has Facebook now. I know my mother does and uses the news feed as daily news in which she reads to my poor father everyday. She often reminds me not to post comments or pictures that may make me look like less than the person that I really am. I remember listening to a story on the evening news where a company was requiring, upon hire, that employees give them access to their Facebook accounts. Many people were appalled by this, but in all fairness if you are willing to post a comment or picture publicly on the internet you are already agreeing to let everyone view it, so why not an employer?
iGoogle...
http://www.google.com/ig
http://www.google.com/ig
My iGoogle page is titled Live, Love, Learn. It is divided
into four different columns, each representing a different area of interest in
my life. The first section contains several different types of social
networking and email address. I like to be connected. The second section has
gadgets that link you to various cooking and baking websites. I hope to own a
restaurant or bake shop one day. The third section contains pictures of nature
and anything National Geographic. I love to look at pictures of animals and
people around the world without actually leaving the comfort of my own home.
The forth section has gadgets that keep me updated on any news about autism and
how to be a better, more creative educator. The background is colorful and
vibrant and I believe suits my personality well.
This assignment immediately started with problems when I
could not open the example document on how to create an iGoogle frontpage. The
document was composed in a newer version of Word, which I do not have on my
computer. Fortunately, my boyfriend is an engineer and possesses an incredibly
powerful computer with every version of Word one could ever need. He was able
to open the document on his computer and email it to me.
I fall in the middle when it comes having to make a decision
on whether or not like liked or disliked this activity. There were things I
thoroughly enjoyed and did not enjoy about creating an iGoogle frontpage. I
enjoyed the idea that I could create a custom, more semi-custom, page according
to the interests of both my life and job. I used the term semi-custom because
the only thing that makes it custom is being able to choose from an already
prefabricated set of backgrounds and gadgets. I would’ve liked the option to
use a background of my choice, a picture of my dog perhaps! But there was no
application that I could find that would let me use my own photos. I liked that
there were gadgets for almost everything. But I disliked having to look through
the incredibly high volume of gadgets to find one that I thought would look
best on my frontpage. An example was that there were literally hundreds of
weather gadgets and after already picking one I found myself continuing to
scroll through the next 5 to 10 pages just to see if there was another one that
I may have liked better. I like that the pictures on the gadgets change. I
found myself just sitting watching the changing pictures instead of actually
clicking on them to get me to the link. I like the idea of being able to have
everything that interests me stuck to one page in my web browser as opposed to
having to open multiple browsers.
I think this could be used in the classroom because it would
give kids, especially those who are may be shy, a canvas for personal
expression. Due to its semi-custom and prefabricated backgrounds and gadgets it
would be a safe way for kids to express themselves, yet it would still give
them a sense of being independent because they can choose how and what they
want on their iGoogle frontpage. Students in a classroom could share, like we
are doing, why they like or dislike it and the reasoning for why they chose
certain gadgets.
There are definitely benefits to iGoogle. Some I’ve already
discussed before; being able to share your personal interests with others and
having all your interests in one web browser. Student benefits would include
being able to share it with other peers and teachers could feel safe allowing
students to navigate it independently. The drawbacks to iGoogle are not being
able to fully customize your frontpage and having to sort through thousands of
gadgets. Student drawbacks would may be the overwhelming amount of gadgets to
choose from may cause a distraction of focus from the original goal of creating
an iGoogle frontpage.
Wordle...
http://www.wordle.net/
http://www.wordle.net/
I liked this activity. I thought the website was easy to
understand and even easier to navigate. It explained what Wordle was and what
it did; it’s a “toy for generating word clouds from text you provide.” Simple
enough! It’s also nice to see examples of other people’s word clouds on the
bottom of the page. I think it gives the creator a sense of what to expect
before they hit the ‘create your own’ button. The button to start the activity
is clearly visible. The woman talking on the instructional video said she
copied and pasted her list of words from another source. I composed a brief
list of things about myself and my interests into a TextEdit document and then
pasted it onto the box. I hit go and got my first Wordle frontpage, the letters
were black and the background was white. I hit randomize once and my second
World frontpage was letters in white and the background in black. I then chose
custom settings. I enjoyed playing around with the fonts, layout, and color
scheme options. I also thought their names and choice of words were clever. It
makes sense for them to do that since it is a website based on word play.
I think this could definitely be used in the classroom. The
first thing that comes to mind is having students use this activity for
creating poetry. The schools that I work in do a whole month of poetry;
students read, write, and are exposed to different forms of poetry. It would
allow students to be able to customize and show their poetry in a unique way. I
think no matter how you choose to place your words or what you do with your
fonts, layout, and color schemes, each end result is beautiful and exciting to
look at.
The benefit of creating a Wordle frontpage is that it’s fun.
It shows your personal words in a different way than just typing them in a Word
document. It also allows students to add their own spin through the editing
tools. The drawbacks are there isn’t really anything academic you can learn
from this. The only thing you may learn from this is how to read directions and
to follow the steps given to you.
Class One
June 6, 2012
Class Notes...
Branford Technology Assessment
http://branfordtech.assessment.howtomaster.com
- Technology competence test that all kids should know by the 8th grade
Pretest
- Platform is difficult
- Paying attention
- Reading the questions clearly
- Wording is not commonly used on questions
- Big issue in state is not everyone is getting the same access to technology
Reason
- There is a national core standard
- Article: "The ISTE National Educational Technology Standards (NET-S) and Performance Indicators for Students/Teachers"
- Just a plan, not a common core curriculum
Smartboards VS iPads
- Smartboard: only one person can interact at a time
- iPad: more than one person can use it at a time and interact with the teachers and other students also connected to iPads
- Change of cellular technology
Tech Savvy
- There can be too much technology out there and there is no level of mastery
- Technology depends on area
- Assumption that kids know how to use technology
- Example: kids may know how to use Microsoft Word and can type something, but cannot edit it
- A lot education programs, graduates, did not touch technology
Google Docs
- Allowed people to stop sending documents as email attachments
- Why use it in the classroom?
- Can see in real time what your students are working on
- Teachers can see progress of students
- Free program
- Collaborative
- Purpose for chat feature
iForms
- Spreadsheet format
http://branfordtech.assessment.howtomaster.com
- Technology competence test that all kids should know by the 8th grade
Pretest
- Platform is difficult
- Paying attention
- Reading the questions clearly
- Wording is not commonly used on questions
- Big issue in state is not everyone is getting the same access to technology
Reason
- There is a national core standard
- Article: "The ISTE National Educational Technology Standards (NET-S) and Performance Indicators for Students/Teachers"
- Just a plan, not a common core curriculum
Smartboards VS iPads
- Smartboard: only one person can interact at a time
- iPad: more than one person can use it at a time and interact with the teachers and other students also connected to iPads
- Change of cellular technology
Tech Savvy
- There can be too much technology out there and there is no level of mastery
- Technology depends on area
- Assumption that kids know how to use technology
- Example: kids may know how to use Microsoft Word and can type something, but cannot edit it
- A lot education programs, graduates, did not touch technology
Google Docs
- Allowed people to stop sending documents as email attachments
- Why use it in the classroom?
- Can see in real time what your students are working on
- Teachers can see progress of students
- Free program
- Collaborative
- Purpose for chat feature
iForms
- Spreadsheet format
After tonight’s class I’ve learned that I am not only boring but technology impaired. My introduction of myself was probably the worst, "Hi my name is Lauren and I'm getting my Masters in Special Education. I work with children on the spectrum. I used to ride horses when I was younger and more fit." Stupid. Maryann talked about her time traveling to a foreign country where they got bitten by a bullet ant. It's apparently called that because its bite supposedly feels like a bullet just hit you. The locals thought she was going to die because she was not only pale and white but a woman. Mike next to me said he had a loud mouth and sometimes can't contain his sarcastic comments. This is true. The other Mike said he enjoys using puns in his everyday life. He feels it brings humor to the crazy situations he gets involved in working with emotionally disturbed children. Justin told us a story how one time in college he branded his leg with a blow torch and a wire coat hanger. Ridiculous.
Professor De Abreu was going over the syllabus and all I kept thinking about was, "How did Maryann survive that bullet ant bite? Mike next to me is fidgeting like crazy, it needs to stop. What pun might beat out Mikes best pun? I cannot believe Justin thought it was a good idea to brand his leg." But once sucked back into the reality that I am in a class called Introduction to Educational Technology, I suddenly realize that I know very little about anything on the syllabus. The syllabus had a section in it called perquisites and requirements. Uh oh. It stated that we either needed to have already taken a prerequisite technology course or needed to have extensive experience prior to taking this course. I’ve done neither! I was now in panic mode. Then we were handed out a long checklist of technology based programs. As I read down the list I thought, oh crap, I know maybe 5 of these. All my checks landed in the “I have never heard of this” column.
Feeling completely dumb I pushed all my papers under my folder hoping they’d disappear and that they'd somehow take me with them.
Professor De Abreu was going over the syllabus and all I kept thinking about was, "How did Maryann survive that bullet ant bite? Mike next to me is fidgeting like crazy, it needs to stop. What pun might beat out Mikes best pun? I cannot believe Justin thought it was a good idea to brand his leg." But once sucked back into the reality that I am in a class called Introduction to Educational Technology, I suddenly realize that I know very little about anything on the syllabus. The syllabus had a section in it called perquisites and requirements. Uh oh. It stated that we either needed to have already taken a prerequisite technology course or needed to have extensive experience prior to taking this course. I’ve done neither! I was now in panic mode. Then we were handed out a long checklist of technology based programs. As I read down the list I thought, oh crap, I know maybe 5 of these. All my checks landed in the “I have never heard of this” column.
Feeling completely dumb I pushed all my papers under my folder hoping they’d disappear and that they'd somehow take me with them.
Dates
I just figured out how to use this. Yes. It's been almost 3 weeks since I started my Introduction to Educational Technology summer course.
Hush.
Please follow the dates that are typed above each new post, they are the actual dates I typed my entires.
Thanks.
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