My screencast!
I'm going to be completely honest. I went into this project with the intention of knocking out an easy final five points for my personal technology project; I had no interest in learning something that would actually be useful for me as a future teacher. Fortunately, my moment of apathy led me to discover an absolutely fantastic technology. I love Jing! It is so easy to install, so easy to use, and so applicable to a wide variety of different situations. I learned that Jing, a free software (though pricey upgrades are available), easily captures screenshots and screencasts. The simplicity is astounding, and the potential helpfulness of the technology is equally wonderful.
Jing could be so useful in alleviating certain instructional problems that arise from navigating certain websites and softwares. That's often one of the biggest pitfalls of teaching with technology--we assume that our students will be able to find and do what we need them to find and do on their computer, but sometimes words just aren't enough to adequately describe the steps in the process of navigating a website. On the other hand, Jing could also be useful for students who need to walk their peers and/or me through steps they took in finding something online or using some software for a project.
1) I can show students how to use the review feature in Microsoft Word. This is often tricky for students to figure out, and using Jing to show them could really help with those problems.
2) Students can show me the steps they took in finding sources for a research paper. This will allow me to help them in the research process because I'll know exactly what they did. It will also help prevent plagiarism. (Standard 3 of Utah State Core: Students will understand the process of seeking and giving information in conversations, group discussions, written reports, and oral presentations).
3) Assuming that I will use Ning or some other classroom network, I can use Jing to create a tutorial for navigating the site.
Monday, April 4, 2011
Friday, April 1, 2011
My Experience with Prezi
My First Prezi
Today I learned that Prezi is a technological tool that I absolutely want to use in my classroom. For some reason, when we were going over it in class, I was skeptical. But I have been converted, and I really look forward to implementing it in instruction, as will be discussed later. I learned that Prezi is easy to navigate, easy to embed, and easy to make awesome. I didn't spend a ton of time making my project, but if I were to spruce it up a bit, I can see it becoming something that really gets students excited about learning. I learned that it's free (not just a free trial or anything like that), and it's pretty fun to use.
Students who are visual learners and struggle to see connections between ideas could really benefit from this technology. In my project I didn't really show relationships among ideas based on size or layout or anything, but it would be super easy to do. While this would be especially beneficial for struggling students, the entire class would benefit from seeing ideas mapped out visually. A prezi could also help as an attention grabber for students who tend to lose focus quickly. Because the a prezi is much faster-paced and visually stimulating than a classic powerpoint, students would be more inclined to pay attention. This would also be a fantastic method of getting artistic/technologically savvy students interested in English projects.
Activities:
1) Just like the one I created, I could create a prezi as an introduction to a novel or other work of literature. I could specifically go into aspects on an author's life or the historical/literary background of the work.
2) Have students get in groups of several students at the beginning of the year and create their own prezis that draw connections among the lives/backgrounds/interests of the members of the group. This would build a ton of class unity, and it would really be a great way to introduce the technology while building a positive atmosphere. (Standard 3: Students will understand the process of seeking and giving information in conversations, group discussions, written reports, and oral presentations).
3) Students can create prezis to help them organize the ideas that they'll put into a written essay. (Standard 2: Students will write informational and literary text to reflect on and recreate experiences, report observations, and persuade others).
Today I learned that Prezi is a technological tool that I absolutely want to use in my classroom. For some reason, when we were going over it in class, I was skeptical. But I have been converted, and I really look forward to implementing it in instruction, as will be discussed later. I learned that Prezi is easy to navigate, easy to embed, and easy to make awesome. I didn't spend a ton of time making my project, but if I were to spruce it up a bit, I can see it becoming something that really gets students excited about learning. I learned that it's free (not just a free trial or anything like that), and it's pretty fun to use.
Students who are visual learners and struggle to see connections between ideas could really benefit from this technology. In my project I didn't really show relationships among ideas based on size or layout or anything, but it would be super easy to do. While this would be especially beneficial for struggling students, the entire class would benefit from seeing ideas mapped out visually. A prezi could also help as an attention grabber for students who tend to lose focus quickly. Because the a prezi is much faster-paced and visually stimulating than a classic powerpoint, students would be more inclined to pay attention. This would also be a fantastic method of getting artistic/technologically savvy students interested in English projects.
Activities:
1) Just like the one I created, I could create a prezi as an introduction to a novel or other work of literature. I could specifically go into aspects on an author's life or the historical/literary background of the work.
2) Have students get in groups of several students at the beginning of the year and create their own prezis that draw connections among the lives/backgrounds/interests of the members of the group. This would build a ton of class unity, and it would really be a great way to introduce the technology while building a positive atmosphere. (Standard 3: Students will understand the process of seeking and giving information in conversations, group discussions, written reports, and oral presentations).
3) Students can create prezis to help them organize the ideas that they'll put into a written essay. (Standard 2: Students will write informational and literary text to reflect on and recreate experiences, report observations, and persuade others).
Friday, March 25, 2011
My Experience with Wall.FM
In a class last semester I experimented some with Ning, and I became very interested in creating a social network for a classroom as a means to share work in a fun, interactive atmosphere outside of class. Because Wall.FM is free, I thought it would be an excellent alternative to Ning, so I was very enthused to learn the technology.
The network itself is incredibly easy to make, but it is a bit trickier to navigate. It feels kind of like an archaic version of Facebook. After a couple of days of playing around with it, I learned that it would take some getting used to, not only for me, but also for my students. My experience with Ning was a lot smoother; therefore, I learned that not all personalized social networking sites are created equal. To be completely honest, I couldn't see myself using Wall.FM in my classroom. It looks unprofessional (there are very few templates to choose from, none of which are especially attractive), and, to me, it isn't nearly as straightforward as it should be. Though I am the administrator of the network, I imagine it would be way too easy for students to make it sloppy. Ning is neater and more straightforward, probably because it is designed for education.
So, even though I didn't create a Ning account for this class, I will answer the questions regarding instruction through social networking assuming that I will use Ning in my future career as a teacher, because I certainly won't use Wall.FM. Social networks are a great alternative to class websites because they offer more upfront interaction. I don't believe that any class should have both a website and a network; that just gets too messy. Ning provides a medium for all information typical of a class website, which allows for the class syllabus, grading policy, calendar, assignment list, and similar information to be available to all students and teachers at any time. It also provides a simple way for students to submit work that is meant to be interactive. The teacher can ask questions related to a particular reading, and students can chime in with their answers, building off of what others have to contribute. It's a really great way for students who are a bit shy in the classroom to make meaningful contributions to class discussion, but it is also important to remember to incorporate what is discussed in the cyber world into the physical classroom. Students are also more enthused about peer revision when it is done online. They tend to enjoy giving their input when it is done virtually, because this is what they do on their own time when they're on their computers after school. On a class social network, instead of commenting on friends' statuses, they're commenting on peers' papers; the transition is logical and, for high school students, not too painful.
I would use a class social network for many activities. Of particular interest to me are:
1) Interactive discussions of reading questions
2) Publication of writing and peer revision
3) Publication and discussion of multimedia projects (movies, photography, music, etc.)
Though Wall.FM was a bit of a disappointment to me, I could definitely see myself paying $10 or $20 a year for a Ning account. The concept of incorporating social networking into a subject area that is all about communication makes perfect sense, and I believe it could greatly benefit students.
The network itself is incredibly easy to make, but it is a bit trickier to navigate. It feels kind of like an archaic version of Facebook. After a couple of days of playing around with it, I learned that it would take some getting used to, not only for me, but also for my students. My experience with Ning was a lot smoother; therefore, I learned that not all personalized social networking sites are created equal. To be completely honest, I couldn't see myself using Wall.FM in my classroom. It looks unprofessional (there are very few templates to choose from, none of which are especially attractive), and, to me, it isn't nearly as straightforward as it should be. Though I am the administrator of the network, I imagine it would be way too easy for students to make it sloppy. Ning is neater and more straightforward, probably because it is designed for education.
So, even though I didn't create a Ning account for this class, I will answer the questions regarding instruction through social networking assuming that I will use Ning in my future career as a teacher, because I certainly won't use Wall.FM. Social networks are a great alternative to class websites because they offer more upfront interaction. I don't believe that any class should have both a website and a network; that just gets too messy. Ning provides a medium for all information typical of a class website, which allows for the class syllabus, grading policy, calendar, assignment list, and similar information to be available to all students and teachers at any time. It also provides a simple way for students to submit work that is meant to be interactive. The teacher can ask questions related to a particular reading, and students can chime in with their answers, building off of what others have to contribute. It's a really great way for students who are a bit shy in the classroom to make meaningful contributions to class discussion, but it is also important to remember to incorporate what is discussed in the cyber world into the physical classroom. Students are also more enthused about peer revision when it is done online. They tend to enjoy giving their input when it is done virtually, because this is what they do on their own time when they're on their computers after school. On a class social network, instead of commenting on friends' statuses, they're commenting on peers' papers; the transition is logical and, for high school students, not too painful.
I would use a class social network for many activities. Of particular interest to me are:
1) Interactive discussions of reading questions
2) Publication of writing and peer revision
3) Publication and discussion of multimedia projects (movies, photography, music, etc.)
Though Wall.FM was a bit of a disappointment to me, I could definitely see myself paying $10 or $20 a year for a Ning account. The concept of incorporating social networking into a subject area that is all about communication makes perfect sense, and I believe it could greatly benefit students.
Monday, March 14, 2011
2nd Internet Safety Post
I discussed the permanency of everything on the internet and the importance of maintaining a good internet reputation with my little sister, 16, and my little brother, 14. We also talked a little bit about safety issues such as not announcing via Facebook status the dates of upcoming trips, not providing too much information, and not posting pictures that provide too much information.
At first my sister didn't seem very receptive to what I was telling her, but I think she was primarily just being stubborn in an effort to live up to teenage stereotypes. Ultimately, both she and my little brother seemed to recognize how careful they need to be when posting things online. My mom, too, was listening in on the conversation, and she certainly learned some things for herself as well as for monitoring my little brother and sister. Because of the topic, the discussion wasn't too difficult (we weren't talking about sexting or pornography or anything; I think those would be trickier), but it was, I hope, quite valuable.
At first my sister didn't seem very receptive to what I was telling her, but I think she was primarily just being stubborn in an effort to live up to teenage stereotypes. Ultimately, both she and my little brother seemed to recognize how careful they need to be when posting things online. My mom, too, was listening in on the conversation, and she certainly learned some things for herself as well as for monitoring my little brother and sister. Because of the topic, the discussion wasn't too difficult (we weren't talking about sexting or pornography or anything; I think those would be trickier), but it was, I hope, quite valuable.
Friday, March 11, 2011
1st Blog on Internet Safety
Rather than reading or watching, per se, I opted to listen to a couple of podcasts concerning internet safety (together, they totaled 60 minutes). Both are from the Internet Safety Podcast with Dr. Charles Knutson from BYU. The first interview was with Marsali Hancock, President of iKeepSafe. The second interview was with Nancy Willard, director of the Center for Safe and Responsible Internet Use. Here is the hyper link for both of these podcasts: http://www.internetsafetyproject.org/podcasts/.
1. The podcasts I listened to focused very much on internet (and cell phone, in the case of the second podcast) safety for children and teens. Interestingly, both Hancock and Willard stressed the importance of parental involvement. Parents need to know what technologies their children are using, what they are using them for, and they need to interact with their children positively regarding technology.
2. As a future parent, I will definitely take an active role in monitoring what my children do on the internet and with their cell phones, but I will make sure to do so positively and openly. The second podcast discussed the trend of sexting, and I feel that adolescents and teens should be warned of the dangers of sending scandalous photos and videos via texting, and they need to be aware that their parents and teachers are aware of it. As a teacher, just like as a parent, I want to have open discussions with my students on these topics so that I can best inform them how to keep themselves safe.
3. I am definitely going to talk to my little brother and sister about the permanence of everything they put on the internet. I will also warn them about the serious security threats that arise when they download various files in a peer to peer environment. I might mention some of the five top threats to teens that Hancock mentioned in her interview, which include giving out too much information, encountering pornography, violence/hate, bullying, and receiving unwanted sexual comments.
4. Cyber bullying is a serious issue, and like all problems with internet safety and security, it is best addressed through the involvement of concerned, caring, and positive parents. Parents (and teachers, when the internet is being used in or for school) need to closely monitor their children and teens and be aware of how they interact with others online. Also, it is important to be completely open and upfront on the issue. Parents must educate their children on the potential dangers of cyber bullying before their children have already encountered it.
5. Through the podcasts I found a few great sites: internetsafetyproject.org, ikeepsafe.org, and cyberbully.org. There are also many other resources that Brother West posted on the class site. Really, there is great information and resources on internet safety all over the place, and much of this material is incredibly intriguing to students, particularly because it is so relevant to them.
6. As a teacher, pretty much all internet safety issues that teenagers struggle with will come up if students are given access to the internet in class. Cyber bullying, pornography, illegal downloading, malicious viruses, and many other major issues can be stumbled across or pursued in a matter of seconds. The first step, I believe, is education. As a teacher, I will need to let my students know what issues are out there and how to avoid incidentally falling into them. The second step that I'll take is laying down specific rules for internet use (many schools have forms that students must sign for this, but I will go over them again). I will explicitly tell them that deviating from appropriate sites will not be tolerated in the slightest. The third, and perhaps most important step, is close monitoring, accompanied by positivity.
7. There is no reason for students to have the internet at their fingertips every day in an English class. Their access, in the first place, should be limited and occasional. The rest of the leverage comes from what I already discussed: proper education, setting up guidelines and boundaries, and careful monitoring.
1. The podcasts I listened to focused very much on internet (and cell phone, in the case of the second podcast) safety for children and teens. Interestingly, both Hancock and Willard stressed the importance of parental involvement. Parents need to know what technologies their children are using, what they are using them for, and they need to interact with their children positively regarding technology.
2. As a future parent, I will definitely take an active role in monitoring what my children do on the internet and with their cell phones, but I will make sure to do so positively and openly. The second podcast discussed the trend of sexting, and I feel that adolescents and teens should be warned of the dangers of sending scandalous photos and videos via texting, and they need to be aware that their parents and teachers are aware of it. As a teacher, just like as a parent, I want to have open discussions with my students on these topics so that I can best inform them how to keep themselves safe.
3. I am definitely going to talk to my little brother and sister about the permanence of everything they put on the internet. I will also warn them about the serious security threats that arise when they download various files in a peer to peer environment. I might mention some of the five top threats to teens that Hancock mentioned in her interview, which include giving out too much information, encountering pornography, violence/hate, bullying, and receiving unwanted sexual comments.
4. Cyber bullying is a serious issue, and like all problems with internet safety and security, it is best addressed through the involvement of concerned, caring, and positive parents. Parents (and teachers, when the internet is being used in or for school) need to closely monitor their children and teens and be aware of how they interact with others online. Also, it is important to be completely open and upfront on the issue. Parents must educate their children on the potential dangers of cyber bullying before their children have already encountered it.
5. Through the podcasts I found a few great sites: internetsafetyproject.org, ikeepsafe.org, and cyberbully.org. There are also many other resources that Brother West posted on the class site. Really, there is great information and resources on internet safety all over the place, and much of this material is incredibly intriguing to students, particularly because it is so relevant to them.
6. As a teacher, pretty much all internet safety issues that teenagers struggle with will come up if students are given access to the internet in class. Cyber bullying, pornography, illegal downloading, malicious viruses, and many other major issues can be stumbled across or pursued in a matter of seconds. The first step, I believe, is education. As a teacher, I will need to let my students know what issues are out there and how to avoid incidentally falling into them. The second step that I'll take is laying down specific rules for internet use (many schools have forms that students must sign for this, but I will go over them again). I will explicitly tell them that deviating from appropriate sites will not be tolerated in the slightest. The third, and perhaps most important step, is close monitoring, accompanied by positivity.
7. There is no reason for students to have the internet at their fingertips every day in an English class. Their access, in the first place, should be limited and occasional. The rest of the leverage comes from what I already discussed: proper education, setting up guidelines and boundaries, and careful monitoring.
Friday, March 4, 2011
Monday, February 7, 2011
Copyright Assignment
This video is pretty legitimate; in fact, it has its own copyright and was posted by the owners of that copyright. Nevertheless, there seem to be a few citations missing. One of the songs, Tomoyasu Hotei's "Battle Without Honor or Humanity," is cited and available for download, but two or three others are used that are not cited. That is really the only problem I can find because Jane Austen's works are public domain, plus this falls under the category of parody. Assuming that not citing these songs is, in fact, infringement (though they don't use the songs for a significant duration of time, so I'm not completely sure that they're doing anything wrong), they could simply add the song's information to the credits already attached to the video. No matter what, it would be a good idea to do that just so anyone who wants access to the songs can find them.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)