Week 1 Tech Task 1
Week 1 Tech Task 2
It's far from perfect but I'm starting to get this site to look and feel a little bit more like me! Initially, I had a different theme/template than the one you see now - it was pretty basic and I didn't like the colours but I chose to overlook that because I wanted my site and blog to be as easy to manage as possible. But as I played around with it more I decided I wanted something a little more 'D-9-like' and found this template, which I absolutely love! Firstly, my favourite colour is and always has been purple. Secondly, I like having the pages tabs at the top of the screen (as opposed to a sidebar) because they seem easier to find that way. Thirdly, this template has a HUGE area to post a main display picture (or pictures) to each page, whereas the other template did not. And, for anyone that knows me and/or has been in my house, they know that I love to surround myself with pictures and collages of everything and everyone that is important to me.
As I said though, I still have a lot of work to do on this page. I want to have a different display picture on each page and quotes that reflect what each page is about. I also want to get some of my education and radio work samples up here to get some feedback on and expand more under each tab (and add more tabs!) I'm glad I added the Google Calendar to my home page because I often lose track of what day it is and seeing as I'm going to be spending so much time on here now, the calendar will keep me up-day-ted (har har!) I also really like having the Twitter widget on here because it will hopefully lead to me having more followers!
What I think I like the most is that nothing I do on here is set in stone or has to be permanent. I sometimes struggle with typical 'print-this-off-and-hand-it-in' type of projects and assignments because after I hand one in it feels so final and as if that's the best it's ever going to get. On here, however, I can change my features weekly, daily, or even hourly, depending on what I'm feeling or what I've recently learned or experienced, and that feels awesome! So don't be surprised if D-9's Domain never looks the same twice, because, as the saying goes, variety is the spice of life!
As I said though, I still have a lot of work to do on this page. I want to have a different display picture on each page and quotes that reflect what each page is about. I also want to get some of my education and radio work samples up here to get some feedback on and expand more under each tab (and add more tabs!) I'm glad I added the Google Calendar to my home page because I often lose track of what day it is and seeing as I'm going to be spending so much time on here now, the calendar will keep me up-day-ted (har har!) I also really like having the Twitter widget on here because it will hopefully lead to me having more followers!
What I think I like the most is that nothing I do on here is set in stone or has to be permanent. I sometimes struggle with typical 'print-this-off-and-hand-it-in' type of projects and assignments because after I hand one in it feels so final and as if that's the best it's ever going to get. On here, however, I can change my features weekly, daily, or even hourly, depending on what I'm feeling or what I've recently learned or experienced, and that feels awesome! So don't be surprised if D-9's Domain never looks the same twice, because, as the saying goes, variety is the spice of life!
Week 2 Tech Task 1
Yesterday I participated in an educational chat on Twitter that's dedicated to the collaboration of elementary school educators. It uses the hashtag #elemchat and participants meet every Saturday at 4pm (Canadian) Central Standard Time to discuss a topic that #elemchat users have voted on. This week's discussion topic was one that I was particularly interested in - Extending Learning Into Summer - because I am going to be the educator of the summer program at the daycare I work at. So, I figured this chat would be a perfect opportunity for me to ask questions and get some programming ideas.
Before the chat began, I installed Tweetdeck to my Twitter account so that I could organize my feeds into columns, and have one column dedicated to #elemchat. I searched for videos on Youtube of how to use Tweetdeck and I came across a video for a site called Tweetchat that lets you enter a hashtag and focus on one specific chat. I found Tweetchat was better than Tweetdeck for me because it made the screen one big #elemchat chatroom, so each post was much easier to read.
When the chat finally got going I was overwhelmed at the volume of tweets that were coming in - even though I had Tweetchat I found it very hard to keep up with what everyone was saying. But then, I remembered what Dean Shareski had said about learning to filter posts on the internet and I began to look for keywords that interested me. Lots of the posts were very similar in nature and in their wording so, by quickly scanning over them, I was able to skip to new ideas.
A great deal of the posts were about how teachers could motivate parents to continue their child's learning over summer to prevent their child from losing the skills they had learned during the school year. Some of the tweets were difficult for me to relate to because I have not had to worry about student learning outcomes and test scores yet, but some of them had links to websites that had great summer activity ideas (and I retweeted those ones and/or credited the original tweeter for posting a great resource by using the @ symbol and then their name.) Tania Ash, a fifth grade teacher from Morocco, was the facilitator of the chat and she posed ten questions to us; one of the questions that got the most response(s) was: "How can we foster an eagerness to learn that extends beyond the time and space of classroom walls?" A lot of the participants tweeted about how summer can offer more natural learning experiences and can allow students to pursue more of their personal interests at their own pace, so I paraphrased those tweets by saying "One of the main messages I am getting from this #elemchat discussion is that summer gives you the (much needed) time for learning." I was pleasantly surprised at the amount of people who retweeted that - it made me feel included and that I had contributed something meaningful to the chat. I started following a lot of people associated with #elemchat and I, also, now have some followers from #elemchat, which, again, makes me feel like I'm part of the group.
One (technology) tool that came up very often in the discussion was Edmodo, which I now know is a social networking site that allows teachers to connect and collaborate with their students and other teachers. It's an online way for teachers to assign homework and post grades, notices, and schedules. Lots of the participants in the #elemchat were discussing how they could use Edmodo over the summer to keep in touch with parents and students, to suggest activities to do at home, and to, possibly, arrange class meeting times to maintain the relationships they had built over the school year. Do you have any experience with Edmodo? If so, I'd like to know your thoughts on it (pros, cons, other). If not, though, here's a quick video to give you an overview of Edmodo:
Before the chat began, I installed Tweetdeck to my Twitter account so that I could organize my feeds into columns, and have one column dedicated to #elemchat. I searched for videos on Youtube of how to use Tweetdeck and I came across a video for a site called Tweetchat that lets you enter a hashtag and focus on one specific chat. I found Tweetchat was better than Tweetdeck for me because it made the screen one big #elemchat chatroom, so each post was much easier to read.
When the chat finally got going I was overwhelmed at the volume of tweets that were coming in - even though I had Tweetchat I found it very hard to keep up with what everyone was saying. But then, I remembered what Dean Shareski had said about learning to filter posts on the internet and I began to look for keywords that interested me. Lots of the posts were very similar in nature and in their wording so, by quickly scanning over them, I was able to skip to new ideas.
A great deal of the posts were about how teachers could motivate parents to continue their child's learning over summer to prevent their child from losing the skills they had learned during the school year. Some of the tweets were difficult for me to relate to because I have not had to worry about student learning outcomes and test scores yet, but some of them had links to websites that had great summer activity ideas (and I retweeted those ones and/or credited the original tweeter for posting a great resource by using the @ symbol and then their name.) Tania Ash, a fifth grade teacher from Morocco, was the facilitator of the chat and she posed ten questions to us; one of the questions that got the most response(s) was: "How can we foster an eagerness to learn that extends beyond the time and space of classroom walls?" A lot of the participants tweeted about how summer can offer more natural learning experiences and can allow students to pursue more of their personal interests at their own pace, so I paraphrased those tweets by saying "One of the main messages I am getting from this #elemchat discussion is that summer gives you the (much needed) time for learning." I was pleasantly surprised at the amount of people who retweeted that - it made me feel included and that I had contributed something meaningful to the chat. I started following a lot of people associated with #elemchat and I, also, now have some followers from #elemchat, which, again, makes me feel like I'm part of the group.
One (technology) tool that came up very often in the discussion was Edmodo, which I now know is a social networking site that allows teachers to connect and collaborate with their students and other teachers. It's an online way for teachers to assign homework and post grades, notices, and schedules. Lots of the participants in the #elemchat were discussing how they could use Edmodo over the summer to keep in touch with parents and students, to suggest activities to do at home, and to, possibly, arrange class meeting times to maintain the relationships they had built over the school year. Do you have any experience with Edmodo? If so, I'd like to know your thoughts on it (pros, cons, other). If not, though, here's a quick video to give you an overview of Edmodo:
In summary, I really enjoyed participating in the #elemchat yesterday. I, practically, have my whole summer program planned now and I have made some great connections through this experience. I will, definitely, participate again next Saturday. If you would like to, too, then here's the link to the #elemchat wiki again where you can go and vote for the discussion topic :)
Week 2 Tech Task 2
This week I have been checking out other blogs and websites to get some more ideas for my own and to learn about the different tools that other people are using. Some of the blogs that I've subscribe to include:
Mrs. Grayson's Class - Through this blog, I was introduced to the program called Glogster EDU, which allows you to create custom and interactive online posters that include pictures, videos, text, audio, graphics, and links. I wrote a blog post yesterday about Glogster and in it I included a sample glog that I made. On Mrs. Grayson's Class Blog, each student made a glog research paper and I really enjoyed looking through all of them to get ideas for how I would use this program with my future students. I also really enjoy this blog because each student has their own blog linked to it. Each student posts stories on a regular basis and I am blown away by the level of creativity this class possesses.
Children's Book-A-Day Almanac - I subscribed to this blog because, as the name says, it features a write-up on a new children's book everyday. I think this site will be very useful to me because I am always looking for new books to read to the kids at the daycare I work at and I don't always have enough time to research and read up on new children's book at the library. This way, I can just go to this site and quickly access new titles. I really like the "Yesterday's/Tomorrow's" scroll feature on this page because incase you miss a day or if you want to look ahead to upcoming posts, you can!
For the Love of Learning - I found out about this blog through the educational chat I participated in yesterday on Twitter with #elemchat. Multiple people tweeted about Joe Bower's blog and how his teaching techniques are really progressive and challenge our 'common sense.' After reading only one of his posts, I was hooked! His writing is so fluid and I love his use of metaphors to make his thoughts clear. You can tell he's one of those really special teachers that really cares about his students and the future. One of my favourite posts of his is from May 15th - all it is is a caption that says "School should not feel like this" and a picture of a cheese grater... it doesn't need anything else. Joe Bower's ideas and philosophy really resonate with me. I think we all could learn a lot from this guy!
Art Lessons for Kids - I chose to follow this blog because it, basically, makes me feel inspired. The creator is a teacher who has taught elementary art in many countries like Bolivia, Turkey, Indonesia, Venezuela, and Bahrain. Even though I really enjoy making crafts, I don't consider myself to be the most artist person when it comes to visual art so I think this site will be a great resource for me. I particularly like two semi-recent posts of hers: one showcases art ideas for boys. From working in the daycare, I know how challenging it is to maintain some boys' attention when it is craft time - they like to just get the activity done and go back to free-play. One of the ideas is to have a salad decorating activity - not only does this idea think outside the box of 'traditional' art, it also allows for a healthy snack afterwards. The other post I really enjoyed is the one from January 29th that lists all the household materials you can reuse for art. I am a huge fan of recycling so I am definitely going to keep this list on hand to give to my students' parents.
TweenTeacher.com - This blog sparked my interest because it deals with issues teachers are facing with emerging bilingual (ESL) students. Last semester, I was in ELNG 200, a class focused on language diversity, and I found it to be very interesting. One component of ELNG 200 was to volunteer with emerging bilingual students, which was very insightful and rewarding. The latest post on this blog has 40 techniques to try with emerging bilingual students, many of which coincide with my teaching philosophy to allow students to represent their learning in different ways. The author of this blog, who is an award-winning middle years teacher, seems to really be on top of the whole getting-connected-with-technology idea, too, which I really respect.
Mr. Peterson's Blog - I'll be honest, I only looked at this blog because the author shares the same last name as me. But after I browsed around a bit, I noticed that it was a blog I could really get on board with. He points out some of the paradoxes that surround technology such as how texting is one of the most powerful forms of communication today but yet texting decreases the amount we actually do communicate (i.e. verbally.) Mr. Peterson also draws attention to how technology can be dangerous, which is good for a not-as-experienced user like me - because of him, I now know what "phishing" is!
Horizon Education Centres - This blog has tons of ideas for helping children develop certain skills and learn how to do certain activities. It has tips for everything from learning math to falling asleep. Some of the tips are what some might consider to be common sense, but, as teachers, we sometimes focus too much on the end result than the process it takes to get there. I would recommend this blog to any educator is just starting out. It also has some great links for summer programs, which will really come in handy for me!
Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day - The author of this blog is a high school teacher from California that specializes in English language development. Many of his posts contain ideas that I learned in my ELNG 200 class, which is really encouraging to see that there is consistency between Canada and the U.S. He always links a site to support his argument(s), which I feel is also a very important aspect of blogging. He has written several books on English-language acquisition that discuss how the success of learning English depends on the amount of support a learner receives from his/her family, teacher, and the community. His newest book, "The ESL/ELL Teacher's Survival Guide", will be published this summer and I am looking forward to reading it. I know Larry will be an excellent person to write-to for help when I need it with my students.
Reception @ Hunslet St. Mary's - I found this blog through the Twitter hashtag #comment4kids. I really like it because you can tell this school cares about parental involvement. They regularly post pictures of school events that parents/guardians can look at to see what their child(ren) have been up to in and out of the classroom. My one complaint is that you cannot comment on their blog because they have their privacy settings set to not allow outside(r) posts. I follow them on Twitter, though, so if I have something to say about their posts I just tweet them.
Mrs. Grayson's Class - Through this blog, I was introduced to the program called Glogster EDU, which allows you to create custom and interactive online posters that include pictures, videos, text, audio, graphics, and links. I wrote a blog post yesterday about Glogster and in it I included a sample glog that I made. On Mrs. Grayson's Class Blog, each student made a glog research paper and I really enjoyed looking through all of them to get ideas for how I would use this program with my future students. I also really enjoy this blog because each student has their own blog linked to it. Each student posts stories on a regular basis and I am blown away by the level of creativity this class possesses.
Children's Book-A-Day Almanac - I subscribed to this blog because, as the name says, it features a write-up on a new children's book everyday. I think this site will be very useful to me because I am always looking for new books to read to the kids at the daycare I work at and I don't always have enough time to research and read up on new children's book at the library. This way, I can just go to this site and quickly access new titles. I really like the "Yesterday's/Tomorrow's" scroll feature on this page because incase you miss a day or if you want to look ahead to upcoming posts, you can!
For the Love of Learning - I found out about this blog through the educational chat I participated in yesterday on Twitter with #elemchat. Multiple people tweeted about Joe Bower's blog and how his teaching techniques are really progressive and challenge our 'common sense.' After reading only one of his posts, I was hooked! His writing is so fluid and I love his use of metaphors to make his thoughts clear. You can tell he's one of those really special teachers that really cares about his students and the future. One of my favourite posts of his is from May 15th - all it is is a caption that says "School should not feel like this" and a picture of a cheese grater... it doesn't need anything else. Joe Bower's ideas and philosophy really resonate with me. I think we all could learn a lot from this guy!
Art Lessons for Kids - I chose to follow this blog because it, basically, makes me feel inspired. The creator is a teacher who has taught elementary art in many countries like Bolivia, Turkey, Indonesia, Venezuela, and Bahrain. Even though I really enjoy making crafts, I don't consider myself to be the most artist person when it comes to visual art so I think this site will be a great resource for me. I particularly like two semi-recent posts of hers: one showcases art ideas for boys. From working in the daycare, I know how challenging it is to maintain some boys' attention when it is craft time - they like to just get the activity done and go back to free-play. One of the ideas is to have a salad decorating activity - not only does this idea think outside the box of 'traditional' art, it also allows for a healthy snack afterwards. The other post I really enjoyed is the one from January 29th that lists all the household materials you can reuse for art. I am a huge fan of recycling so I am definitely going to keep this list on hand to give to my students' parents.
TweenTeacher.com - This blog sparked my interest because it deals with issues teachers are facing with emerging bilingual (ESL) students. Last semester, I was in ELNG 200, a class focused on language diversity, and I found it to be very interesting. One component of ELNG 200 was to volunteer with emerging bilingual students, which was very insightful and rewarding. The latest post on this blog has 40 techniques to try with emerging bilingual students, many of which coincide with my teaching philosophy to allow students to represent their learning in different ways. The author of this blog, who is an award-winning middle years teacher, seems to really be on top of the whole getting-connected-with-technology idea, too, which I really respect.
Mr. Peterson's Blog - I'll be honest, I only looked at this blog because the author shares the same last name as me. But after I browsed around a bit, I noticed that it was a blog I could really get on board with. He points out some of the paradoxes that surround technology such as how texting is one of the most powerful forms of communication today but yet texting decreases the amount we actually do communicate (i.e. verbally.) Mr. Peterson also draws attention to how technology can be dangerous, which is good for a not-as-experienced user like me - because of him, I now know what "phishing" is!
Horizon Education Centres - This blog has tons of ideas for helping children develop certain skills and learn how to do certain activities. It has tips for everything from learning math to falling asleep. Some of the tips are what some might consider to be common sense, but, as teachers, we sometimes focus too much on the end result than the process it takes to get there. I would recommend this blog to any educator is just starting out. It also has some great links for summer programs, which will really come in handy for me!
Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day - The author of this blog is a high school teacher from California that specializes in English language development. Many of his posts contain ideas that I learned in my ELNG 200 class, which is really encouraging to see that there is consistency between Canada and the U.S. He always links a site to support his argument(s), which I feel is also a very important aspect of blogging. He has written several books on English-language acquisition that discuss how the success of learning English depends on the amount of support a learner receives from his/her family, teacher, and the community. His newest book, "The ESL/ELL Teacher's Survival Guide", will be published this summer and I am looking forward to reading it. I know Larry will be an excellent person to write-to for help when I need it with my students.
Reception @ Hunslet St. Mary's - I found this blog through the Twitter hashtag #comment4kids. I really like it because you can tell this school cares about parental involvement. They regularly post pictures of school events that parents/guardians can look at to see what their child(ren) have been up to in and out of the classroom. My one complaint is that you cannot comment on their blog because they have their privacy settings set to not allow outside(r) posts. I follow them on Twitter, though, so if I have something to say about their posts I just tweet them.
Week 3 Tech Task 3A
This week, I've been familiarizing myself with the art of podcasting. Having worked in radio, I've developed an ear for audio that's been well-executed. That being said, though, I'd never really listened to a podcast, per se, until a few days ago and I'm not really sure why that is. I know the power of the human voice, and now, after listening to only a few podcasts, I know the power of podcasting. Like radio announcers, podcasters have to express complete thoughts in as few words as possible. Stated a different way, every word a podcaster says has to count, otherwise his or her message could quickly become meaningless and/or muddled. Podcasters can also incorporate sound effects and music into their recordings but they must choose those elements carefully so that they compliment the overall tone of the podcast.
Here is a review of three podcasts that I have recently listened to, all of which are very different in style and delivery.
Big Ideas by TVO: Graeme Gibson on our human connection to nature - This particular podcast is number nine when you open up this link. The Big Ideas series features guest speakers who discuss various aspects of culture, history, economics, and politics. I found this podcast from the Higher Education category in i-Tunes; the audio was taken from a lecture Canadian novelist Graeme Gibson delivered titled "Echoes of a Working Eden." In this podcast, Gibson discusses how humans have abandoned nature, due to reasons such as the increasing amount of technology, urbanization, and domestication in today's society. This topic resonates deeply with me because I, too, believe that humans, especially children, are very much disconnected from our natural world, or suffer from what Gibson calls 'nature deficit disorder' (N.D.D.) Although Gibson's voice is the only source of audio in this podcast, Gibson was able to maintain my interest throughout the podcast by incorporating personal memoirs, quotes from other authors, and strategically placed humour. Some statements from this podcast that really stood out to me were:
"Technology is a way of organizing the world so that humans don't have to experience it."
"The Oxford Junior Dictionary has dropped nature words from their most latest edition. Blackberry, the fruit, is gone, and so is beaver, dandelion, heron, magpie, otter, acorn, clover, ivy, and willow. Partial replacements include blackberry - the phone, blog, MP3 player, voicemail, and broadband."
"Human food is composed of souls... some animals' lives have no purpose other than to die for human consumption."
Other important (and more positive) aspects of this podcast are when Gibson talks about how his parrot, Harold, identified himself as one of Gibson's children, and how "forest bathing" has been proven to have many health benefits such as lowering stress and blood pressure, improving behavioural issues, and strengthening the immune system. Gibson also references many books, articles, and authors, which, I'm sure, would be great resources for teachers to use to help implement environmental education in their classrooms. This podcast is a real eye... er... I mean ear opener! Please take the time to listen to it and pass its message(s) on.
Willowdale Elementary School's Willowcasts -
Will Richardson highly recommends Willowdale Elementary School's podcasts in his book Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts, and Other Powerful Web Tools for Classrooms, so I figured I should have a listen. I chose to listen to Willowcast #26, which was created by a Grade Three class. It's called "Explore the World of Sound." The podcast is hosted by two students, who facilitate the discussion, and it features the other classmates in various segments like Poetry Corner, Vocabulary Theatre, Wonderful Websites, and Did You Know? The students do a fantastic job in sharing the mic and presenting their material; they obviously spent a lot of time preparing their parts and making sure that it flowed from one segment to the other.
This podcast is very creative in that it is informative and funny at the same time. It incorporates music and sound effects throughout the recording. Whoever wrote the script for this podcast and edited it created a nice balance between words and sounds. My favourite part is when they have a spring sound after each joke is told - it adds a nice touch because sometimes jokes aren't conveyed that easily when you can't see the person who is telling them. I really respect the teacher of this class, Mrs. Huryta, for finding a fun way for her students to learn about the senses and, also, to represent this learning. I am definitely going to listen to the other Willowcasts that they have posted. Projects like this podcast really help me to get over my fear of using technology in the classroom. I can't wait to make podcasts with my students!
Explore Music - This is another podcast that I found through iTunes; it's under the Music category. What drew me to it was that it features music of and interviews with new and upcoming musicians. I am always looking for new bands to listen to so hopefully these podcasts will help me find some gooders! The Explore Music podcasts are hosted by several Canadian radio personalities and they follow the basic format of a live radio interview except there aren't any commercials (yay!) I have subscribed to the Explore Music podcasts so, that way, whenever a new one is published it will automatically download to my iTunes. Here's a few videos from the bands that I have discovered on Explore Music, so far.
Here is a review of three podcasts that I have recently listened to, all of which are very different in style and delivery.
Big Ideas by TVO: Graeme Gibson on our human connection to nature - This particular podcast is number nine when you open up this link. The Big Ideas series features guest speakers who discuss various aspects of culture, history, economics, and politics. I found this podcast from the Higher Education category in i-Tunes; the audio was taken from a lecture Canadian novelist Graeme Gibson delivered titled "Echoes of a Working Eden." In this podcast, Gibson discusses how humans have abandoned nature, due to reasons such as the increasing amount of technology, urbanization, and domestication in today's society. This topic resonates deeply with me because I, too, believe that humans, especially children, are very much disconnected from our natural world, or suffer from what Gibson calls 'nature deficit disorder' (N.D.D.) Although Gibson's voice is the only source of audio in this podcast, Gibson was able to maintain my interest throughout the podcast by incorporating personal memoirs, quotes from other authors, and strategically placed humour. Some statements from this podcast that really stood out to me were:
"Technology is a way of organizing the world so that humans don't have to experience it."
"The Oxford Junior Dictionary has dropped nature words from their most latest edition. Blackberry, the fruit, is gone, and so is beaver, dandelion, heron, magpie, otter, acorn, clover, ivy, and willow. Partial replacements include blackberry - the phone, blog, MP3 player, voicemail, and broadband."
"Human food is composed of souls... some animals' lives have no purpose other than to die for human consumption."
Other important (and more positive) aspects of this podcast are when Gibson talks about how his parrot, Harold, identified himself as one of Gibson's children, and how "forest bathing" has been proven to have many health benefits such as lowering stress and blood pressure, improving behavioural issues, and strengthening the immune system. Gibson also references many books, articles, and authors, which, I'm sure, would be great resources for teachers to use to help implement environmental education in their classrooms. This podcast is a real eye... er... I mean ear opener! Please take the time to listen to it and pass its message(s) on.
Willowdale Elementary School's Willowcasts -
Will Richardson highly recommends Willowdale Elementary School's podcasts in his book Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts, and Other Powerful Web Tools for Classrooms, so I figured I should have a listen. I chose to listen to Willowcast #26, which was created by a Grade Three class. It's called "Explore the World of Sound." The podcast is hosted by two students, who facilitate the discussion, and it features the other classmates in various segments like Poetry Corner, Vocabulary Theatre, Wonderful Websites, and Did You Know? The students do a fantastic job in sharing the mic and presenting their material; they obviously spent a lot of time preparing their parts and making sure that it flowed from one segment to the other.
This podcast is very creative in that it is informative and funny at the same time. It incorporates music and sound effects throughout the recording. Whoever wrote the script for this podcast and edited it created a nice balance between words and sounds. My favourite part is when they have a spring sound after each joke is told - it adds a nice touch because sometimes jokes aren't conveyed that easily when you can't see the person who is telling them. I really respect the teacher of this class, Mrs. Huryta, for finding a fun way for her students to learn about the senses and, also, to represent this learning. I am definitely going to listen to the other Willowcasts that they have posted. Projects like this podcast really help me to get over my fear of using technology in the classroom. I can't wait to make podcasts with my students!
Explore Music - This is another podcast that I found through iTunes; it's under the Music category. What drew me to it was that it features music of and interviews with new and upcoming musicians. I am always looking for new bands to listen to so hopefully these podcasts will help me find some gooders! The Explore Music podcasts are hosted by several Canadian radio personalities and they follow the basic format of a live radio interview except there aren't any commercials (yay!) I have subscribed to the Explore Music podcasts so, that way, whenever a new one is published it will automatically download to my iTunes. Here's a few videos from the bands that I have discovered on Explore Music, so far.
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Week 3 Tech Task 3B
Please have a listen to my first podcast, which discusses the (in)accessibility issues that surround people with disabilities.
Week 4 Tech Task 4A
Week 4 Tech Task 4B
Before I was enrolled in my ECMP 355 class, I used Google for the basics - searching, (g)mailing, mapping, word documenting, and, without even knowing it was part of Google's empire, Youtubing. Since enrolling in the class, however, I've learned a few other Gricks (that's Google + Tricks!) that are sure to help me personally and professionally. Here's a breakdown of my new Gricks:
Google Play was one of the first services I played around with - it's basically a one stop shop for books, music, movies, applications, and games. One of the problems that I have, now that movie rental places like Blockbuster have closed and music stores like HMV are slowly becoming obsolete due to the digital age we live in, is that I can't always find certain movies on our Apple TV or Netflix nor can I find all the songs I want on iTunes, so Google Play is another place to check for the titles I want. I have to say that Google Play's Music Tour Page is probably one of the most fun pages I've come across on the web. It's got this musical rainbow toolbar that I scrolled over (and over) for probably a good hour (off and on) today.
Google Play was one of the first services I played around with - it's basically a one stop shop for books, music, movies, applications, and games. One of the problems that I have, now that movie rental places like Blockbuster have closed and music stores like HMV are slowly becoming obsolete due to the digital age we live in, is that I can't always find certain movies on our Apple TV or Netflix nor can I find all the songs I want on iTunes, so Google Play is another place to check for the titles I want. I have to say that Google Play's Music Tour Page is probably one of the most fun pages I've come across on the web. It's got this musical rainbow toolbar that I scrolled over (and over) for probably a good hour (off and on) today.
Google Translate is a service that will help me adapt to the increasing amount of diversity in our province and country. It can translate pretty much any word or phrase into over 50 languages. If/when I have any emerging bilingual students in my classroom(s), I can use Google Translate to look up key words and phrases from their native languages so that I can communicate better with them and, possibly, create assignments that incorporate their native language and English, so that their transition and learning curve is easier.
Google News is a really good resource, in my opinion, because it allows you to search for news stories from a variety of sources. If I don't hear about an event until a few days after-the-fact, I sometimes can't find the stories/transcripts from certain media sites (i.e. CTV, Leaderpost, etc.) By using Google News, I think my chances of finding the information I want will be better because you can really refine your search by using categories and by searching different archives. Google News will also be beneficial for research papers because news stories usually contain statistics and personal interviews.
Google Spreadsheets - I have used Google Documents before for various group projects because it's a great way to collaborate but I have never attempted to create a spreadsheet. Thanks to Michael Wacker, I learned that you can create all kinds of educational and interactive spreadsheets by adding gadgets to them, like locator maps, pie charts, word searches, and more. Here's a word flashcard gadget that I made using a spreadsheet - part of my background is Swedish, so I used Google Translate to look up technology-related words in Swedish. Then I created two columns in Google Spreadsheets and highlighted them - one for English words and one for Swedish words - and went "insert --> gadget --> flashcard" and the flashcard was set up to use the words that I had typed into each column. This gadget would be great to use with kids who are learning new vocabulary words.
Google News is a really good resource, in my opinion, because it allows you to search for news stories from a variety of sources. If I don't hear about an event until a few days after-the-fact, I sometimes can't find the stories/transcripts from certain media sites (i.e. CTV, Leaderpost, etc.) By using Google News, I think my chances of finding the information I want will be better because you can really refine your search by using categories and by searching different archives. Google News will also be beneficial for research papers because news stories usually contain statistics and personal interviews.
Google Spreadsheets - I have used Google Documents before for various group projects because it's a great way to collaborate but I have never attempted to create a spreadsheet. Thanks to Michael Wacker, I learned that you can create all kinds of educational and interactive spreadsheets by adding gadgets to them, like locator maps, pie charts, word searches, and more. Here's a word flashcard gadget that I made using a spreadsheet - part of my background is Swedish, so I used Google Translate to look up technology-related words in Swedish. Then I created two columns in Google Spreadsheets and highlighted them - one for English words and one for Swedish words - and went "insert --> gadget --> flashcard" and the flashcard was set up to use the words that I had typed into each column. This gadget would be great to use with kids who are learning new vocabulary words.
I also made a QR Code with Google Spreadsheets in the same way I made the flashcard. I don't have a phone that is able to scan this, though, so could someone who does please let me know if it works and tell me if you got the message? :)
Google Reader makes blogging a breeze! It allows you to subscribe to any blog(s) you want and then whenever there are new posts in those subscriptions, they show up in Google Reader. So, instead of having to check each individual blog that you want to read, a feed of new comments from each blog comes right to your reader!
Google Forms - Google Forms helps you create surveys/questionnaires so that you are better in-tune and/or connected with your audience. And once you make a survey, you can embed it onto your page and Google compiles the results into an easy-to-read spreadsheet. I created a survey on Google Forms earlier this week that asks people what they think of the look and layout of my site. I thought that by creating this survey, I would be able to get some really good feedback and adapt my site based on the comments I received (I am always worried that my site doesn't look as nice as some of the other ones I've seen.) However, only one person answered my survey (thank-you to whoever you are!) What he/she said was that my homepage looks too busy and that I should add Flickr to my site, so I am going to take that advice and rearrange some of the elements on my site so that it is more eye-friendly. Here's my survey again just incase you decide to help a sister out!
Google Forms - Google Forms helps you create surveys/questionnaires so that you are better in-tune and/or connected with your audience. And once you make a survey, you can embed it onto your page and Google compiles the results into an easy-to-read spreadsheet. I created a survey on Google Forms earlier this week that asks people what they think of the look and layout of my site. I thought that by creating this survey, I would be able to get some really good feedback and adapt my site based on the comments I received (I am always worried that my site doesn't look as nice as some of the other ones I've seen.) However, only one person answered my survey (thank-you to whoever you are!) What he/she said was that my homepage looks too busy and that I should add Flickr to my site, so I am going to take that advice and rearrange some of the elements on my site so that it is more eye-friendly. Here's my survey again just incase you decide to help a sister out!
Obviously, this blog post only hits the tip of the iceberg when it comes to Google. I would love to hear your reviews - good and bad - of other Google services so that I can learn other hidden Gricks!
Week 5 Tech Task 5A
This week I read an article entitled Why Twitter and Facebook Are Not Good Instructional Tools by an English and digital media teacher named Paul Barnwell. In his article, Barnwell discusses how students do not use certain social networking sites, such as Twitter, to their full potential but, rather, they use them as a distraction from their school-work. Barnwell also argues that certain web services, like Poll Everywhere and Prezi, do not offer any educational value because they allow students to use gimmicks, such as colourful graphics and fragmented text, to convey their ideas, and their novelty only lasts for a short amount of time. Barnwell references the study noted in this article to suggest that only tools like blogs and wikis promote "academic rigor." Several people, who commented on this article, contend that it is a teacher's job to be familiar with both the limitations and advantages different tools in order to implement them successfully into their classroom, which implies that Barnwell did not investigate all of the applications of the tools he mentions. MelindaB, the head of marketing for Poll Everywhere, actually corrected Barnwell about two things he says in his article about Poll Everywhere. Everyone is entitled to his or her opinion but, as many of the people who commented on this article have said, people should choose their words wisely and they should be able to back up their opinion(s) with some kind of reasoning, especially if they criticize popular tools and services.
Many people who commented on this article were quick to state that they do not believe that it is a student's fault for not knowing how to use social networking sites for educational purposes but, rather, it's because he/she has not been shown how to use them for education and research, so he/she continues to be what Teachcmb56 calls a "digital tourist," in that he/she only understand bits and pieces of certain tools. Coach G says that "schools need to cultivate... resourcefulness" and he gives the link to a blog post of his in which he discusses how teaching kids about social media now, will help them continue to use these tools throughout their life for things like research and collaboration. Another commenter, whose screenname is DrSpector, has an opposing view to Coach G's ideas; he says it is not his/her job as a teacher to teach social media to students because he/she has too much on his/her plate, as it is, with all of the mandated curriculum content he/she has to cover. DrSpector argues that if school administrators feel it's necessary to teach such social media skills, that they should offer a (separate) technology-specific class, which suggests that DrSpector's school division may not be providing their staff with enough support and/or professional development opportunities. DrSpector also writes that he/she has no desire to learn how to teach with technology, and his/her additional posts get increasingly angry-sounding, which caused other people to question him/her on whether or not the purpose of teaching is to also learn, yourself. DrSpector replied by saying that teachers possess the necessary information and skills to teach, which they've learned through their training but, yet, he/she admits that he/she is not willing to learn how to adapt to today's learners.
Another issue that is supported and refuted in the comments surrounding Barnwell's article is whether or not social networking and other web tools can help improve student engagement and learning. @cerniglia writes that he/she attended a conference called Learning and the Brain and that Dr. Rey Junco presented research that states that when Twitter is used properly in classrooms it can foster motivation. @cerniglia does not provide any links to this conference or to Dr. Junco's research, however, which makes me wonder how valid @cerniglia's information is. DrSpector contests against the idea that technology can improve student motivation by saying that students in elementary and middle years levels are not developmentally ready to use it. But, as many other people point out, young people are surrounded by computers and technology in other aspects of their lives (i.e. at home, at work.) And, in the Saskatchewan Curriculum, one of the major English Language Arts outcomes for all grades, as far as I can tell, is for students to be able to comprehend and respond to a variety of texts, including multimedia texts.
Many of the people who commented on Barnwell's article also have issues with the article's title. One person, who uses the screenname, isalaur, commented that Barnwell's argument is not very strong because Barnwell does not offer any concrete examples of how he tried to use Facebook or Twitter in his classroom. Barnwell actually only mentions Facebook once during the whole article (and it's in a list), and he calls Twitter a source of "mindless banter." As an experiment, I used my own Twitter account to search for ways in which Twitter can be used in a classroom, other than as a site to post blurbs to. I found this article under the hashtag #elemchat that gives specific examples of how to use Twitter with elementary grades, including rules of (Twitter) conduct, as well as this video:
Many people who commented on this article were quick to state that they do not believe that it is a student's fault for not knowing how to use social networking sites for educational purposes but, rather, it's because he/she has not been shown how to use them for education and research, so he/she continues to be what Teachcmb56 calls a "digital tourist," in that he/she only understand bits and pieces of certain tools. Coach G says that "schools need to cultivate... resourcefulness" and he gives the link to a blog post of his in which he discusses how teaching kids about social media now, will help them continue to use these tools throughout their life for things like research and collaboration. Another commenter, whose screenname is DrSpector, has an opposing view to Coach G's ideas; he says it is not his/her job as a teacher to teach social media to students because he/she has too much on his/her plate, as it is, with all of the mandated curriculum content he/she has to cover. DrSpector argues that if school administrators feel it's necessary to teach such social media skills, that they should offer a (separate) technology-specific class, which suggests that DrSpector's school division may not be providing their staff with enough support and/or professional development opportunities. DrSpector also writes that he/she has no desire to learn how to teach with technology, and his/her additional posts get increasingly angry-sounding, which caused other people to question him/her on whether or not the purpose of teaching is to also learn, yourself. DrSpector replied by saying that teachers possess the necessary information and skills to teach, which they've learned through their training but, yet, he/she admits that he/she is not willing to learn how to adapt to today's learners.
Another issue that is supported and refuted in the comments surrounding Barnwell's article is whether or not social networking and other web tools can help improve student engagement and learning. @cerniglia writes that he/she attended a conference called Learning and the Brain and that Dr. Rey Junco presented research that states that when Twitter is used properly in classrooms it can foster motivation. @cerniglia does not provide any links to this conference or to Dr. Junco's research, however, which makes me wonder how valid @cerniglia's information is. DrSpector contests against the idea that technology can improve student motivation by saying that students in elementary and middle years levels are not developmentally ready to use it. But, as many other people point out, young people are surrounded by computers and technology in other aspects of their lives (i.e. at home, at work.) And, in the Saskatchewan Curriculum, one of the major English Language Arts outcomes for all grades, as far as I can tell, is for students to be able to comprehend and respond to a variety of texts, including multimedia texts.
Many of the people who commented on Barnwell's article also have issues with the article's title. One person, who uses the screenname, isalaur, commented that Barnwell's argument is not very strong because Barnwell does not offer any concrete examples of how he tried to use Facebook or Twitter in his classroom. Barnwell actually only mentions Facebook once during the whole article (and it's in a list), and he calls Twitter a source of "mindless banter." As an experiment, I used my own Twitter account to search for ways in which Twitter can be used in a classroom, other than as a site to post blurbs to. I found this article under the hashtag #elemchat that gives specific examples of how to use Twitter with elementary grades, including rules of (Twitter) conduct, as well as this video:
So, in summary (and in my opinion), if technology is kept separate from everyday classroom activities, then students and teachers will continue to be technology tourists. Another example of this type of segregation that has occurred, and is still occurring, in schools, which will hopefully clarify my last statement, is with First Nations content, in that it is excluded from many core curricula. Many First Nations students do not receive culturally-relevant education so they experience a disconnect from their schooling, as this First Nations Education Report indicates. The same kind of disconnect is occurring with students and technology and teachers and technology; we use technology and social networking outside of school but if we don't have opportunities to use these tools inside a classroom, we might not realize that they are valuable learning resources. As some of the comments from Barnwell's article suggest, there is a need for professional development regarding technology in classrooms. Teachers need to be willing to learn and to try new instructional approaches and administration needs to support them in their efforts. Teachers also need to examine their own practices before discounting the quality of the tool(s) they've selected to use in their classroom(s). For instance, instead of just using Poll Everywhere to have students answer a few questions after a lesson, teachers could use it for school elections, school fundraisers, to communicate with a student privately, and even for flipped classroom assignments. And, as I've learned through my ECMP 355 class, social media can be used in conjunction with other, more academically supported, forms of technology like blogs and wikis (according to Barnwell), through elements like widgets, badges, and links. So, after reading this article and its comments, I say, "Yes, social networking does belong in classrooms."
Week 5 Tech Task 5B
You know what's better than giving your students fun and engaging assignments that incorporate technology? Giving your students fun and engaging assignments that incorporate technology that are already planned for you and ready to go! Introducing DS 106 - the coolest site for teachers to find ideas for multimedia projects on. I found about DS 106 through Alan Levine, who spoke about it during one of my ECMP 355 class' live sessions, and now, thanks to him, I am hooked on it! DS 106 has pages upon pages of audio, video, visual, writing, and digital storytelling and design assignments that get students (and teachers) to explore the web and learn how to use new tools. Basically, if you've ever been like, "Whoa! How did they do that!?!" DS 106 helps you learn how to do that on your own!
Take that Much More Music show, Pop Up Video, for example, which I have been a fan of for years (when I found out last year that they were bringing it back and making new episodes, I, literally, jumped up and down in excitement in front of the TV!) I have always wanted to create my own pop up videos because I have a plethora of random music facts that need to be put to good use but I figured only TV stations could afford the expensive editing programs to make them. But, as I learned from this video assignment in DS 106, that is not the case! Let me present to you my first ever pop up video of Gotye's Somebody That I Used to Know (feat. Kimbra), which was created using Mozilla Popcorn (if for some reason the video is cut off or it takes too long to load, click on this link and the video will open up in a new browser.)
Take that Much More Music show, Pop Up Video, for example, which I have been a fan of for years (when I found out last year that they were bringing it back and making new episodes, I, literally, jumped up and down in excitement in front of the TV!) I have always wanted to create my own pop up videos because I have a plethora of random music facts that need to be put to good use but I figured only TV stations could afford the expensive editing programs to make them. But, as I learned from this video assignment in DS 106, that is not the case! Let me present to you my first ever pop up video of Gotye's Somebody That I Used to Know (feat. Kimbra), which was created using Mozilla Popcorn (if for some reason the video is cut off or it takes too long to load, click on this link and the video will open up in a new browser.)
Another assignment that I thought would be neat to try is this visual one, where you compose a poem or story from the song titles in your Windows Media or iTunes library. I used Jing to capture a screenshot of my iTunes story. The basic premise of my story is that a guy is dumping his girlfriend and she doesn't want him to (for some reason I seem to have a lot of breakup-type songs in my library!) For the most part, the story alternates from the woman's voice to the man's voice but there are a few parts where two or three titles belong to the same person's voice (i.e. 6, 7, & 8 to the man and 9, 10, & 11 to the woman.)
And because I had so much fun with those two assignments, I did one more just for the heck of it. It's this visual assignment where you find a picture of a celebrity and then find a quote about that celebrity that can serve as a caption for it. I chose, what some might consider to be an easy target, Britney Spears: