Students today are faced with many internet and computer issues - some threatening and some not. Some threatening issues are: cyber bullying, adult chat rooms, online sexual predators, etc. Some other non-threatening issues are: lack of access to computers or having, say, a Mac whose internet program is not necessarily compatible with all internet explorer websites and programs.
Filters, guidelines, etc. are some helpful things that schools and teachers can do to help guard students from threatening internet issues. As for the other issues, there is often not much that educators can do to help, other than encourage use of public library computers, etc. Also - if as a teacher I knw that there are students in my class with limited or no computer savvy or access, then I can give assignments with alternate choices that do not necessarily need computers.
Tuesday, October 23, 2007
Thursday, October 18, 2007
Teach42.com
This website is really an interesting one...and I ran across it quite by mistake :) The main text (when I looked at it) was on how to get other teachers and people in general web 2.0 savvy. It also has "lonks" to other programs like Twitter which, as far as I could tell, was a sort of tech/teacher myspace...where poeple could ask questions to others and vice versa. Interesting. Another interesting site was del.icio.so - it seems that it was a site that has links to tech in ed info like "MODEL ACCEPTABLE USE POLICY INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY RESOURCES IN THE SCHOOLS."
All that to say, this may be a site you want to check out :)
All that to say, this may be a site you want to check out :)
Tuesday, October 16, 2007
K12 Online Conference
The conference I listened to was "Cell Phones as Classroom Learning Tools" by Liz Kolb. (A link to this online presentation can be found on my blog under the Projects title)
NOTES FROM THE CONFERENCE:
She has a corresponding powerpoint to go with her spoken presentation...really helpful!!!
1. Audio recording: the teacher could do so and then post lectures online for students to access; the student could record for their own personal reference
- cell recording could be transfered into podcasts (gabcast, gcast, hipcast, evoca) 3 of which are free. it transfers your cell data into a podcast. - no uploading, no hassle. you can set up your account to automatically post to your blog, and many other cool features.
she goes through one of the accounts step by step; the one she used had up to 60 minutes available per recording
2. Phone conferencing (with up to 200 people, depending on the program and account you use)
TalkShoe and FreeConferencePro are two available accounts that do this
3. Note taking (Jott, Brain cast, etc) - they are correlating online programs - either audio or the program will transfer the vocals to typed text.
4. Teachers are also going out and recording authors reading their own works, etc and then playing them for their classes as a sort of "interactive classroom experience"
5. Having kids use their cell phones as research or homework tools - conducting and recording interviews, recording library research, etc.
6. Giving quizzes, etc. over the phone - by having kids call in to the teacher's phone (and thus the program the teacher is linked to) and then follow the prerecorded instructions.
7. Photo blogging (using your camera feature on the cell phone) - using programs like Flickr and Bubbleshare to create slideshows, etc.
8. Video recording - Eyespot, Jumpcut, YouTube, etc are programs that students and teachers alike can use to prepare video presentations for the classroom. This could be useful for classroom projects, especially if the school does not have any available for classroom use.
9. She suggests creating ringtones (as a class project) where the ringtone is classroom information
10. Sending texts: as class reminders, especially (TextForFree, Reactee, etc.)
11. Field trip tools
12. Phone Search Tools (Dictionaries, encyclopedias, calculator, Internet on the phone, etc)
13. Calendar, Notepad, etc - using the calendar and notepad features on cell phones to help organize students and encourage time management and prioritization
* many of these things she outlined, however, are things for the teacher to do...except for perhaps the recording aspects
*many of these programs offer landline options for those who do not have cell phone access
* all of these programs have privacy capabilities and other options available
This was a fairly long presentation, and also fairly redundant, since many of the programs and options she talked about were linked or revolved arund the same topic, such as taking notes or recording lessons. One of the things I had a hard time with was getting my mind around the classroom settings where this type of learning may be useful. I could see it, perhaps, in a newspaper, journalism, photography, or research class...and perhaps even in a very lecture-laden class setting as a recording tool, but in the average everyday class setting, this may prove to be more trouble than it is worth. For myself, I lean more towards the interaction and discussion kind of teaching and class setting, so I really would not have much need for these programs. I think it is important for kids to learn good, solid note-taking skils, and if we give them technological "outs" they will never learn. I also think that this is something where students (and teachers too) could spend more time developing and using these programs that it may cut into time actually spent learning in the classroom.
NOTES FROM THE CONFERENCE:
She has a corresponding powerpoint to go with her spoken presentation...really helpful!!!
1. Audio recording: the teacher could do so and then post lectures online for students to access; the student could record for their own personal reference
- cell recording could be transfered into podcasts (gabcast, gcast, hipcast, evoca) 3 of which are free. it transfers your cell data into a podcast. - no uploading, no hassle. you can set up your account to automatically post to your blog, and many other cool features.
she goes through one of the accounts step by step; the one she used had up to 60 minutes available per recording
2. Phone conferencing (with up to 200 people, depending on the program and account you use)
TalkShoe and FreeConferencePro are two available accounts that do this
3. Note taking (Jott, Brain cast, etc) - they are correlating online programs - either audio or the program will transfer the vocals to typed text.
4. Teachers are also going out and recording authors reading their own works, etc and then playing them for their classes as a sort of "interactive classroom experience"
5. Having kids use their cell phones as research or homework tools - conducting and recording interviews, recording library research, etc.
6. Giving quizzes, etc. over the phone - by having kids call in to the teacher's phone (and thus the program the teacher is linked to) and then follow the prerecorded instructions.
7. Photo blogging (using your camera feature on the cell phone) - using programs like Flickr and Bubbleshare to create slideshows, etc.
8. Video recording - Eyespot, Jumpcut, YouTube, etc are programs that students and teachers alike can use to prepare video presentations for the classroom. This could be useful for classroom projects, especially if the school does not have any available for classroom use.
9. She suggests creating ringtones (as a class project) where the ringtone is classroom information
10. Sending texts: as class reminders, especially (TextForFree, Reactee, etc.)
11. Field trip tools
12. Phone Search Tools (Dictionaries, encyclopedias, calculator, Internet on the phone, etc)
13. Calendar, Notepad, etc - using the calendar and notepad features on cell phones to help organize students and encourage time management and prioritization
* many of these things she outlined, however, are things for the teacher to do...except for perhaps the recording aspects
*many of these programs offer landline options for those who do not have cell phone access
* all of these programs have privacy capabilities and other options available
This was a fairly long presentation, and also fairly redundant, since many of the programs and options she talked about were linked or revolved arund the same topic, such as taking notes or recording lessons. One of the things I had a hard time with was getting my mind around the classroom settings where this type of learning may be useful. I could see it, perhaps, in a newspaper, journalism, photography, or research class...and perhaps even in a very lecture-laden class setting as a recording tool, but in the average everyday class setting, this may prove to be more trouble than it is worth. For myself, I lean more towards the interaction and discussion kind of teaching and class setting, so I really would not have much need for these programs. I think it is important for kids to learn good, solid note-taking skils, and if we give them technological "outs" they will never learn. I also think that this is something where students (and teachers too) could spend more time developing and using these programs that it may cut into time actually spent learning in the classroom.
Monday, October 15, 2007
Distance Learning
This article was interesting because I had never really thought about how far-reaching and involved distance learning could be. To quote the article:
"But these virtual field trips, as Moncrief calls them, go way beyond traditional distance learning. Rather, vRoom offers realtime, two-way communication that includes social networking tools such as instant messaging, application sharing, breakout rooms, interactive whiteboards, and a live webcam—ensuring meaningful communication and offering a project-based learning environment that engages all students in the subject."
I read this and think: "Wow - I would love those experiences!" It is amazing how involved distance learning has become...to think that students can now engage in webcam conversation, instant messaging, and interctive whiteboards is just mind-boggling. The interesting thing, too, is that in order to have this kind of distance learning there needs to be professionals on the other ned of things that are willing to put in the time and energy to enter into conversation, etc. with students.
"But these virtual field trips, as Moncrief calls them, go way beyond traditional distance learning. Rather, vRoom offers realtime, two-way communication that includes social networking tools such as instant messaging, application sharing, breakout rooms, interactive whiteboards, and a live webcam—ensuring meaningful communication and offering a project-based learning environment that engages all students in the subject."
I read this and think: "Wow - I would love those experiences!" It is amazing how involved distance learning has become...to think that students can now engage in webcam conversation, instant messaging, and interctive whiteboards is just mind-boggling. The interesting thing, too, is that in order to have this kind of distance learning there needs to be professionals on the other ned of things that are willing to put in the time and energy to enter into conversation, etc. with students.
"On a Quest for English"
This article was really interesting, which is why I posted a link to it under the special needs heading on my blog. Basically the article's premise was that video games and virtual/online program can be effective tools for helping ELL students master conversational English. At first I was skeptical, especially since one of the games highlighted in the article was World of Warcraft, but as I read I began t see that perhaps the people spearheading this idea may be on to something. The cool thing about video games and virtual programs is that they are available to everyone...and with advances in the internet, people can link to and play with other gamers from across the world.
I encourage everyone to read this article and look for other articles about related things - it really is interesting!
I encourage everyone to read this article and look for other articles about related things - it really is interesting!
Assignment #3
Adding technology to my lesson plan would be relatively easy...and would actually be something that the students kept a part of their assignments throughout the semester. Since the mediums for their technology integration would be already in place in public areas of the internet (blogging, etc.) there would be no need for software or anything like that that I would need to install on indiidual school computers. I had also considered having a class blog like the one we do for this class set up so that the students could just post to that, but at this point that is not in existence so I just went with the individual approach. I think that adding a technological aspect to the assignment would give students another outlet besides just writing to express themselves. Students may also feel a bit more comfortable with web-based assignments since many of them will spend time doing things like that on their own time. Some possible challenges to this particular lsson plan would be the variety of online ways that students have available to post things. A myspace posting of the assignment for example would possibly be less in-depth and academic than, say one posted to a uniform class blog may be. There are just a lot of variables and unknowns with doing the assignment this way...but I think that it also gives the students more room to be creative. NETS for this assignment include: (based on student NETS, since the given address in our hw assignment was not loading)
1. Creativity and Innovation
Students demonstrate creative thinking, construct knowledge, and develop innovative products and processes using technology. Students:
a. apply existing knowledge to generate new ideas, products, or processes.
2. Communication and Collaboration
Students use digital media and environments to communicate and work collaboratively, including at a distance, to support individual learning and contribute to the learning of others. Students:
a. interact, collaborate, and publish with peers, experts or others employing a variety of digital
environments and media
1. Creativity and Innovation
Students demonstrate creative thinking, construct knowledge, and develop innovative products and processes using technology. Students:
a. apply existing knowledge to generate new ideas, products, or processes.
2. Communication and Collaboration
Students use digital media and environments to communicate and work collaboratively, including at a distance, to support individual learning and contribute to the learning of others. Students:
a. interact, collaborate, and publish with peers, experts or others employing a variety of digital
environments and media
Wednesday, October 10, 2007
Google Docs and Spreadsheets
I posted a link to Google Docs and Spreadsheets - found under TEACHING links. it seems that it is a means of posting documents...even insofar as to allow others to post their own documents on your site as well. I m going to play around with it...then blog more about how it works. :)
Mac users please note: Safari currently does not support this program, but they are working to extend Safari to be able to. In the meantime, firefox WILL support the program, so that may be a viable second option for Mac people.
Mac users please note: Safari currently does not support this program, but they are working to extend Safari to be able to. In the meantime, firefox WILL support the program, so that may be a viable second option for Mac people.
Inspiration and gradebook technology
The two links I aded to my blog are my feeble attempts to use Inspiration technology. In my mind, that software has great potential - especially for those students that are more abstract thinkers or are technologically geared. I hope to experiment with the program a lot in the next thirty days...perhaps if I get proficient with it I may get the actual software. The gradebook software we played around with in class really amazed me. It has potential to be a really effective tool in the clasroom - making life easier and more organized for the teacher. I really am interested in experimenting with different programs; hopefully I will find one to use when I am a teacher.
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