I started off searching for young adult book authors, quilters, readers, tennis players and found, of course, more than a myriad of information on anything you could want!! My husband was having some issues with our Fifth Wheel and he even found a discussion forum that helped him solve his problem, too. Discussion forums are extremely helpful when you have questions.
Anything having to do with communication on the internet is and will be a concern for us as advocates for our students. There are always those people out there that don’t believe rules are made for them. There are negatives but the positive aspect of discussion forums far outweighs them!
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
Digg and Yahoo Buzz
I created accounts in both Digg and Yahoo Buzz. If I had to choose one, I would definitely pick Digg. Personally, though, I will not continue using either one. There are so many superior ways to access information that I feel these don't warrant the time it takes to continue to use them.
I would be very hesitant to use these in the classroom. There are so many ways for students to access excellent information without having to weed through a lot of questionable information that I would not suggest these two sites in an educational setting.
I see a problem with language and reasoning within these types of sites. I feel that could be cyber-bullying could take place and that we should just not go there and save a lot of headaches for our classroom teachers and administrators!
I would be very hesitant to use these in the classroom. There are so many ways for students to access excellent information without having to weed through a lot of questionable information that I would not suggest these two sites in an educational setting.
I see a problem with language and reasoning within these types of sites. I feel that could be cyber-bullying could take place and that we should just not go there and save a lot of headaches for our classroom teachers and administrators!
I found using Twitter very fun and easy. Only two of the original five people I chose to follow were actually using it, so I searched for more and found several people from our class that were actively using Twitter on a daily basis. I thought it was interesting and could be useful in communicating. I didn’t think the site was as in-depth as, say, Facebook though so probably will not continue using it in my personal life.
I don’t see a lot of use other than superficial communications as far as an educational use. Any teacher could use it in planning and make it a tool for their class communications. Beyond that, I don’t see any many other benefits.
The fact students could user Twitter from their computer or cell phone causes me to consider some of the negative aspects of it but overall does not cause that much concern. Technology is developing every minute and there will be so much available on CPU and/or Cell phone very soon. I really think it’s a fact of life and we do not want to go backward – but rather forward.
I would tell my family that Twitter was a communication tool to use similar to instant messaging – rather one dimensional.
I don’t see a lot of use other than superficial communications as far as an educational use. Any teacher could use it in planning and make it a tool for their class communications. Beyond that, I don’t see any many other benefits.
The fact students could user Twitter from their computer or cell phone causes me to consider some of the negative aspects of it but overall does not cause that much concern. Technology is developing every minute and there will be so much available on CPU and/or Cell phone very soon. I really think it’s a fact of life and we do not want to go backward – but rather forward.
I would tell my family that Twitter was a communication tool to use similar to instant messaging – rather one dimensional.
Sunday, December 28, 2008
Skype Assignment
I installed Skype without incident and found it to be fairly easy to use! What a cool tool! If anything ever happened to my cell phone, this would be definitely worth having. Until that time, the cell is definitely my phone of preference! I don’t know of anyone else using Skype – other than peers also using it for this class.
Skype would be a great tool if students were to make calls to another school in a different state. Club or Student Council officers could use this to get tips and ideas from each other. This could introduce them to networking – something that will be important to them in their post high school future!
The video aspect would be fabulous for students to have that “visual” aspect of talking to someone in another state. If students were exchanging ideas, they could use the camera to actually show the product to the calling student[s].
Of course, adult supervision should always be first and foremost any time students are making calls on behalf of a class project. There are always those problem children or problem adults who think the rules of etiquette don’t apply to them!!
Skype would be a great tool if students were to make calls to another school in a different state. Club or Student Council officers could use this to get tips and ideas from each other. This could introduce them to networking – something that will be important to them in their post high school future!
The video aspect would be fabulous for students to have that “visual” aspect of talking to someone in another state. If students were exchanging ideas, they could use the camera to actually show the product to the calling student[s].
Of course, adult supervision should always be first and foremost any time students are making calls on behalf of a class project. There are always those problem children or problem adults who think the rules of etiquette don’t apply to them!!
Stats Assignment
I setup an account with www.sitemeter.com because I liked the way the results were shown better than the other statistic site. I placed the counter at the bottom of my blog site using the directions they gave on their page. That simple step-by-step directions on how to add to blogger really simplified finding where to position it – very nice! It will be very interesting to see how many people access the site and where they are from.
Once again, I disagree with your view that there is no value in these stats to education other than showing or proving there are readers all over the world. I think that using this tool with students gives them some real world interest. It may just provide enough interest to one student that reaches them - - when no other could! Never under estimate thechnology OR statistics!
Once again, I disagree with your view that there is no value in these stats to education other than showing or proving there are readers all over the world. I think that using this tool with students gives them some real world interest. It may just provide enough interest to one student that reaches them - - when no other could! Never under estimate thechnology OR statistics!
Map Assignment
I took a look at both of the Social Map sites but didn’t spend too much time dwelling on them. Adding the Cluster map was very straight forward and not difficult at all. I will be anxious to see those hits start happening on my map!
I disagree with your statement that there is no value in these maps to education other than showing or proving there are readers all over the world. First of all, you are tweaking the interest of KIDS looking at MAPS and helping them discover there are people all over the world doing the same thing they are doing on a COMPUTER! Any tool using technology that allows students to discover things about their world is of great value in my book!
I disagree with your statement that there is no value in these maps to education other than showing or proving there are readers all over the world. First of all, you are tweaking the interest of KIDS looking at MAPS and helping them discover there are people all over the world doing the same thing they are doing on a COMPUTER! Any tool using technology that allows students to discover things about their world is of great value in my book!
Thursday, December 25, 2008
Animoto
I look forward to using Animoto in my personal life to share pictures and videos with friends. I think I will have to consider buying the longer version as I uploaded about 15 pictures and due to the size only about 3 or 4 pictures show in the 30 second video.
Animoto will be a great tool to use with kids once again as a final product for a class assignment. One concern would be the quality of photographs the students would have available to them.
Animoto will be a great tool to use with kids once again as a final product for a class assignment. One concern would be the quality of photographs the students would have available to them.
Slideshare.net
Slideshare.net could be added as a terrific final product for a research project that would take the PowerPoint presentation to another level! I think audio enhances any presentation and would allow the viewer to “hear” the presenter’s findings – but many times pictures say it all and audio is not necessary.
Slideshare.net could be used for products that were purely informational or even those that are supporting opinions on topics. Any curricular area would be able to use this in so many different ways.
As always, inappropriate content would be the major concern for use with students. There is always the issue of it being accessible on the school web as well – is the firewall going to block it? I think this is a really great tool and will be back to use it again. I used a font in the title that they do not support as it was skewed when uploaded – oh, well.
Slideshare.net could be used for products that were purely informational or even those that are supporting opinions on topics. Any curricular area would be able to use this in so many different ways.
As always, inappropriate content would be the major concern for use with students. There is always the issue of it being accessible on the school web as well – is the firewall going to block it? I think this is a really great tool and will be back to use it again. I used a font in the title that they do not support as it was skewed when uploaded – oh, well.
Sunday, December 21, 2008
Slide.com
There are so many uses for Slide.com in the classroom. Students could use it for projects, admin could use it on the portal page for school events, and teachers could use it for demonstrations about their curriculum area. I thought it was very user-friendly and easy to create. I will have to use both Slide and Flickr more before choosing between the two – they are both very attractive tools. Flickr might have more to offer. I will definitely be doing some more searching on both of these sites. There are so many advantages to storing photographs on someone else’s server space!! :>)
YouTube, TeacherTube, etc...
I had seen the Did You Know videos previously on YouTube – pretty amazing stuff! I really like the remix he did – I think it improved with every version. He started with a lot of text and added more visuals each time. There are so many of “us” that like to see the picture of what the text represents!!
There are so many good things that take place on YouTube that would be terrific to use in the educational setting. Of course, there is a lot of inappropriate content on it as well, so discretion has to be of the utmost importance. Students run across inappropriate content in books and have to make that judgment call so why shouldn’t it happen on the internet, too? Students self censor when reading text in books – they will have to become quick to censor their internet use, too. Of course, parents will be concerned – I would be, too. Our district firewall will protect them while at school and parents have to help them when at home.
There is definite value in TeacherTube due to it being created specifically for an educational setting. The speed will be an issue, but the fact that it is geared to students is huge. It would be fun to post some of the library How To documents and send the teachers and students there! Then we wouldn’t sound like a broken record all the time! :>)
I would love to have students create a video on what the library means to them – then post it on TeacherTube. That would be a great tool to have running during specific times to peak student interest!!
I would definitely tell the parent that I understand their concern and would be totally up front about the student AUP and that they share in the responsibility of content used at school.
There are so many good things that take place on YouTube that would be terrific to use in the educational setting. Of course, there is a lot of inappropriate content on it as well, so discretion has to be of the utmost importance. Students run across inappropriate content in books and have to make that judgment call so why shouldn’t it happen on the internet, too? Students self censor when reading text in books – they will have to become quick to censor their internet use, too. Of course, parents will be concerned – I would be, too. Our district firewall will protect them while at school and parents have to help them when at home.
There is definite value in TeacherTube due to it being created specifically for an educational setting. The speed will be an issue, but the fact that it is geared to students is huge. It would be fun to post some of the library How To documents and send the teachers and students there! Then we wouldn’t sound like a broken record all the time! :>)
I would love to have students create a video on what the library means to them – then post it on TeacherTube. That would be a great tool to have running during specific times to peak student interest!!
I would definitely tell the parent that I understand their concern and would be totally up front about the student AUP and that they share in the responsibility of content used at school.
Podcasting
The names of the podcast shows for which I subscribed are:
1 ITunes presents Meet the Author -
2 Cook’s Illustrated Video Podcast –
3 Grey’s Anatomy Official Podcast –
The topics of the shows were: 1 Miranda July – writer of short fiction; 2 Purchasing and Searing Steaks; 3 Betsy & Shawnda talk about Grey’s show. The format of the first podcast was an Audio interview of the author; the second had video that showed you how to sear the steak as well as how to purchase and cut a rib eye. The Grey’s Anatomy podcast was an audio discussion between two people. The quality of the content was very good in all three podcasts. I enjoyed the dialogue between the author and interviewer especially well! I would definitely listen to them all again and have them downloading to my IPod now.
I think this would be a GREAT tool for students that are sick or missing school due to activities, etc. They would be able to hear what they missed during the class period. I definitely think I would use Podcasting in the classroom. I really like the idea of communicating with parents through Podcasting rather than boring newsletters or a million and one emails!
Thursday, December 18, 2008
Voice Thread
Kids [most of them] absolutely hate to stand up in front of the class for presentations. I can see someone getting this started and running with it! Little shy Susi would just have to record her voice in the privacy of her home OR type in her text. That is one thought and is just beginning to scratch the surface of all the tools that will soon be available [and old hat] to our student population!
The students would be able to use this when peer teaching – why not solve problems in math and talk or type the answers? I can see this as an across the board tool! Very nice!
There will always be a concern of inappropriateness but I think we could use peer pressure to help curb that. Most students follow the guidelines – and those that don’t would be doing the same thing in some other way without technology!
http://voicethread.com/share/300218/
The students would be able to use this when peer teaching – why not solve problems in math and talk or type the answers? I can see this as an across the board tool! Very nice!
There will always be a concern of inappropriateness but I think we could use peer pressure to help curb that. Most students follow the guidelines – and those that don’t would be doing the same thing in some other way without technology!
http://voicethread.com/share/300218/
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
Bubble Guru
I think Bubble Guru could be absolutely awesome when used correctly! We could use it in much the same way podcasts are used to help assist when accessing web sites or instruction pages. It is a perfect tool to inform students and teachers how to utilize our digital tools, too. I think it would be worth having on our website. I looked at the cost and it did not seem prohibitive.
I think we should buy it on a school by school basis – not a flat purchase for the entire district. I know some may or may not use it and others would use it daily!!
I think a less expensive way to add instructions would be to use our podcasts. The video is great for those visual learners that need to see it to really comprehend. I think it makes a real difference, adds value to our projects and I can’t wait to utilize it further.
I think we should buy it on a school by school basis – not a flat purchase for the entire district. I know some may or may not use it and others would use it daily!!
I think a less expensive way to add instructions would be to use our podcasts. The video is great for those visual learners that need to see it to really comprehend. I think it makes a real difference, adds value to our projects and I can’t wait to utilize it further.
Bubble Share
I don’t know if I am just getting tired, the computer is getting tired or the web site was glitchy – but it took a long time to register for this site. I finally had success and then uploaded my four photos you find on my Flickr page. It kept saying there was a problem with the upload, but when I took a look down farther all four pictures appeared! It must have been a touch of luck but I did it!
I liked the Bubble Share site even though it does not seem as sophisticated as others we have visited. I like the ability to use gadgets – that was really fun. I don’t think this site has as much to offer as others and was a little cumbersome in the sign up process.
I can see this being used in the classroom – project pictures scrolling across the screen on parent teacher night would be really impressive!
http://www.bubbleshare.com/myalbum/518736.a4718e77d0a/editor
I liked the Bubble Share site even though it does not seem as sophisticated as others we have visited. I like the ability to use gadgets – that was really fun. I don’t think this site has as much to offer as others and was a little cumbersome in the sign up process.
I can see this being used in the classroom – project pictures scrolling across the screen on parent teacher night would be really impressive!
http://www.bubbleshare.com/myalbum/518736.a4718e77d0a/editor
Flickr Tools
The tools I chose to play with were the Mosaic Maker, Jigsaw Puzzle and AlphaLearner. The tools were fairly easy to manipulate. I had a lot of success with Mosaic Maker and AlphaLearner but every time I uploaded a photo with Jigsaw Puzzle the puzzle was completely black. I will have to spend some time on this to perfect it. I love the tools and I will always love a challenge. I especially liked how they were all linked to Flickr – made that part a little easier. I have limited time right now so only spent a couple of hours playing but I plan to use them in the future which will demand additional "mass" quantities of hours spent seated right here!! There are soooo many tools listed I could spend the next month on this alone – but, alas, I do have to get up in the morning. I saw many other tools I am anxious to try.
There are numerous ways to use these tools in the classroom. One obvious use would be with Alpha Learner tool and the SEI kids. They can select a letter and up pops a word that begins with the letter and a filmstrip of pictures that align with the word. Very cool!!
There are numerous ways to use these tools in the classroom. One obvious use would be with Alpha Learner tool and the SEI kids. They can select a letter and up pops a word that begins with the letter and a filmstrip of pictures that align with the word. Very cool!!
Flickr photos
• Well! This was experiential learning at it finest!! I started with uploading a ton of pictures from a recent camping trip. I then decided, rather than to bore everyone with a million and 1 pictures of my granddaughters, I would delete those and upload more scenic pictures from a trip to Lake Powell. I did not realize that when you delete pictures they still count in your “allocated space” for our free accounts – and after uploading one scenic shot I was out of room. SO!! I proceeded to create a different account [oh boy! I used a different username/logon and pray that I don’t forget that one] and then uploaded my five scenic shots. It was a very straightforward process – I just didn’t realize we were limited.
• Students could easily use this for their projects if they were only able to access it at school. There are so many times that teachers require pictures to be included in their projects. This would eliminate them having to bring the photos on a disc, thumb drive or emailing them to themselves. I love this tool! We have to protect our students so my main concern would be that they may access content that is inappropriate. They address this very well in their Community Guidelines but it seems there is always someone that doesn’t play by the rules.
• I will definitely use Flickr in my personal life. I may have to upgrade, though, as I am heavy with the finger on the camera button. My theory there is too much is way better than little or no photos!! [grandkids comprise 90% of them!!]
http://www.flickr.com/photos/barbsaunders
Social Bookmarking
I chose Delicious as my Social Bookmark site. Many of the others were way too busy and unfriendly for a novice. The Delicious site seemed very clean and user-friendly.
I think the bookmarking site is a great tool to use and keeps everything so neat and clean. I have used it to suggest great book lists and the plagiarism checking site to several of our language arts teachers here at school. I think I will begin using it in my personal searches as well!! I really do plan to use it rather than the IE browser tool in the future.
I would absolutely recommend this to my friends and will do so when second semester begins! Can’t wait!
I don’t think I will use another site until I find that Delicious does not successfully meet my needs!
I was just shocked that this existed at all. There are so many new tools on the web that I have not even scratched the surface in discovering them all.
This will be such a great tool to teach students and teachers as they work and save web sites to their favorites. I can’t wait to introduce it to them in the future. I love that we are able to access some of the sites from our district portal.
http://delicious.com/pusdbarbsaunders
I think the bookmarking site is a great tool to use and keeps everything so neat and clean. I have used it to suggest great book lists and the plagiarism checking site to several of our language arts teachers here at school. I think I will begin using it in my personal searches as well!! I really do plan to use it rather than the IE browser tool in the future.
I would absolutely recommend this to my friends and will do so when second semester begins! Can’t wait!
I don’t think I will use another site until I find that Delicious does not successfully meet my needs!
I was just shocked that this existed at all. There are so many new tools on the web that I have not even scratched the surface in discovering them all.
This will be such a great tool to teach students and teachers as they work and save web sites to their favorites. I can’t wait to introduce it to them in the future. I love that we are able to access some of the sites from our district portal.
http://delicious.com/pusdbarbsaunders
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
Wiki Discovery!
• I enjoyed reading the information about Wiki’s and their many uses in the world of education. It seems to me it is a great collaborative tool to use with our students and their many projects. There are many teachers’ classes that come in to work in the library on projects and the process is just so cumbersome. The students are emailing slides and information back and forth to create that lovely power point assignment as a “collaborative group”. I can not wait to tell them about creating a class wiki for their projects!! I don’t know who will love me more: the teachers or the kids!! It’s a win-win for all parties involved.
• The big concern would be the same as all technology presents. What happens when the internet is down and the class is set up to present that day? Well, you have to be flexible and adjust your plans until it is available again. I know this doesn’t happen often, but it always seems to be the same teacher that is scheduled to work in the lab on those tech issue days!
• The history is a very valuable tool in that it keeps all students’ motivation in place. We could be sure they know #1 that we know who posted what and #2 have a time line as to when and how often they must post. That’s just a couple of great things about the history tool.
Image by FlamingText.com
• The big concern would be the same as all technology presents. What happens when the internet is down and the class is set up to present that day? Well, you have to be flexible and adjust your plans until it is available again. I know this doesn’t happen often, but it always seems to be the same teacher that is scheduled to work in the lab on those tech issue days!
• The history is a very valuable tool in that it keeps all students’ motivation in place. We could be sure they know #1 that we know who posted what and #2 have a time line as to when and how often they must post. That’s just a couple of great things about the history tool.
Image by FlamingText.com
Thursday, December 11, 2008
Favorite Blog site
I have chosen the Blogger site as the blog to keep – in part because I think it affords us more creativity in the visual aspect – but quite possibly because I am more familiar and comfortable with this site. I have created another blog here in the past and feel it is tremendously user friendly.
I would definitely use this site with students. I think we are slowly moving in this direction [Really!] as we have started using our online discussion boards on our portal pages quite effectively. The students are posting answers to discussion topics, posing and answering questions of their own with responses to their teachers and peers. This is a great tool and I hope it becomes more readily accepted in the educational setting as well!!
I would definitely use this site with students. I think we are slowly moving in this direction [Really!] as we have started using our online discussion boards on our portal pages quite effectively. The students are posting answers to discussion topics, posing and answering questions of their own with responses to their teachers and peers. This is a great tool and I hope it becomes more readily accepted in the educational setting as well!!
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
Tagging Assignment
The search term I selected for this task was “globalization”. I don’t think I was either amazed or disappointed when I first searched in Technorati and found this resource to be clean and well organized. I liked the videos they offered as well as the filtering search option. I looked specifically at pictures as I knew the next site to search would be Flickr.com
I searched the flickr site and found none of the same photographs although I must admit I did stop before getting to the end. I did accomplish some extemporaneous viewing of the Grand Canyon and some quilts while on this site. They were fabulous pictures and it made me want to go up there to hike before it gets too cold - - oops- - I think I’m too late! I especially liked the “notes” that you could see when moving your mouse across the pictures. The Grand Canyon shots made me want to do a better job when out with my camera!
I had no previous experience with the Delicious site and I certainly was not disappointed. I thought it was a very user friendly site with an interesting Popular Bookmarks list on the front page. This is a quick solution to get to numerous topics that have been highlighted for you. I thoroughly enjoyed this site.
I searched the flickr site and found none of the same photographs although I must admit I did stop before getting to the end. I did accomplish some extemporaneous viewing of the Grand Canyon and some quilts while on this site. They were fabulous pictures and it made me want to go up there to hike before it gets too cold - - oops- - I think I’m too late! I especially liked the “notes” that you could see when moving your mouse across the pictures. The Grand Canyon shots made me want to do a better job when out with my camera!
I had no previous experience with the Delicious site and I certainly was not disappointed. I thought it was a very user friendly site with an interesting Popular Bookmarks list on the front page. This is a quick solution to get to numerous topics that have been highlighted for you. I thoroughly enjoyed this site.
Technorati Tags: k12;wheelerweb2;globalization
Sunday, December 7, 2008
Blog Searching
WOW – there are just a few [tongue in cheek] blogs out there! I chose the search terms of: Literacy, Quilting and Young Adult Authors. It would be very easy to let this take you from one article to another until you suddenly realize you have been online for HOURS - DAYS - WEEKS - or even MONTHS [grin]! I really liked all of the blog searches equally except perhaps Sphere. They were easy to maneuver and you are able locate links to thousands of blogs on each topic. IceRocket seemed to have a very clean front page with the fewest distractions but I really liked Blogsearch for speed and ease.
There is an immense amount of advertising on all sites and I think this would be our biggest challenge when using blog search engines with students. Not all, but many students are easily distracted when using the internet to search topics. This would be an ongoing challenge to us as teachers and librarians to keep them focused and on track to successfully searching. Having said this though, I think it is a terrific tool to use to locate informational blogs.
There is an immense amount of advertising on all sites and I think this would be our biggest challenge when using blog search engines with students. Not all, but many students are easily distracted when using the internet to search topics. This would be an ongoing challenge to us as teachers and librarians to keep them focused and on track to successfully searching. Having said this though, I think it is a terrific tool to use to locate informational blogs.
Monday, December 1, 2008
Adding a Blogroll
I was able to successfully add blogrolls to my three sites quite easily. I didn’t let it rattle me as in the past couple of assignments – the learning curve is huge here!! I looked calmly at the site and tried to figure it out rationally and things seemed to go much more smoothly. The Edublog site seemed the easiest [and first] to handle. The blogroll was already established on the right hand menu and I was able to go to the dashboard, manage links and add new links there. The Blogspot was cool because I got to add gadget [blog list] and add by URL, name and description. I had to search a little more on Wordpress but finally found it on the dashboard, clicked Design and added Blogroll. From there the process was very straight forward.
I definitely think ease of use would be a factor in choosing one site over another. There is just not unlimited time in our universe [oh, darn] and we do need a life, too. So, I think the possibility of being comfortable and able to create what we want within a reasonable time frame is very important.
A Blogroll is a great tool for teachers to use with students in the classroom. I feel it is a great organizational tool to teach students – and organizing comes hard to many of them. It is a lifelong tool they will need – post high school as well! We need to prepare them for their college years and this is a great tool for them to become acquainted with.
I definitely think ease of use would be a factor in choosing one site over another. There is just not unlimited time in our universe [oh, darn] and we do need a life, too. So, I think the possibility of being comfortable and able to create what we want within a reasonable time frame is very important.
A Blogroll is a great tool for teachers to use with students in the classroom. I feel it is a great organizational tool to teach students – and organizing comes hard to many of them. It is a lifelong tool they will need – post high school as well! We need to prepare them for their college years and this is a great tool for them to become acquainted with.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
