Bob

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Sunday, July 18, 2010

11.5 Things. Thing #11.5

1. What were your favorite discoveries of exercises on this learning journey?

There were many cool things on this journey, some of them I was already familiar with, others only partly, some, new and fun, and some ,new and not so fun. One of the things I found new and fun was the screencast. I found this very useful as a teaching tool in teaching things that have to do with a computer, including access to the Internet and Web 2.0. I also found that I liked the image generators. I was already very familiar with Animoto, but was surprised to learn about Voki, Bookr, and Glogster. I can see many uses for these in education. I also liked Wordle and Wordsift as they give meaning to text that might not jump out at you without it.

2. How has this assisted or affected your lifelong learning goals?

I see this as a catalyst to seeing the possibilities. Without teaching tools like this, we might become stagnant. This tool actually gave me a boost in wanting to see what else is out there and how I can use it in my life and my work. I don't see this just as a boost to my teaching credentials but also a boost to my personal life. While much of what is out there might appeal to other people, there is still much that appeals to me and this exercise helps me achieve accessing these opportunities.

3. Were there any take-aways or any unexpected outcomes from this program that surprised you?

Well, surprise is a strong word. I don't really get too surprised when it comes to new technology. I am a person fully aware of technological advances. However, that beign said, I still was surpried at how advanced virtual worlds have become. Many people are in the system at any one time and one can "run into" another just like in the real world. Scary.

4. What could we do differently to improve upon this program's format or concept?

I'm not sure you really couls improve this in its current form. This is a great tool to introduce people to the Internet and Web. 2.0. I think that you could improve upon this format for a differnet set of objectives and that is to realy make the player more involved in the process and create actual working products that directly relate to education. I know that there is a 6.75 things and that this might address this but I have not looked at them yet.

11.5 Things. Thing #11

Digital citizenship is all of the things that have to do with Internet access, from etiquette to literacy. I noticed that many of the blogs focused more on literacy than the others. I can see why since they are teachers and in education our primary focus is on how to use the Internet in teaching and research. I think that I would probably share that focus more with the other facets as the Internet is fast becoming a primary form of communication and information gathering tool for these students both formally and informally. I would probably start with the less "dry" part of digital citizenship to catch their attention. These would ecompass digital etiquette, communication, law, and security. We would cover how to properly use the Internet and how to not properly use the Internet covering things such as cyber bullying, putting too much personal information out, legal ramifications of plagerism, etc. Then I would move into digital literacy and talk about checking resources and not relying on Google, etc. I would finish with some of the more "sexy" parts of digital citizenship such as commerce. I could be fun to look at sites such as ebay, Amazon, etc. and how to trust them as well. Digital citizenship is pretty encompassing and might take more than one lesson.

Saturday, July 17, 2010

11.5 Things. Thing #10

I joined Second Life and another one I can't remember. I know I had to deal with a bunch of British girls. These sites can be fun for many but do not do much for me. I would much rather spend my time in the real world. That being said, I can see this technology finding itself in the educational technology of the future. In fact, I worked with a librarian in my district this summer who already uses it. She showed us how it can be used to bring people to many places that they would not be able to visit in real life. A geography or foreign language class can use this to visit foreign lands. There are also places like the Capital of Texas to visit or under the ocean. A teacher of librarian can use these places to augment an already existing lesson.

Monday, July 12, 2010

11.5 Things. Thing #9

Slideshare, Slideboom, and others are social networking sites that focused on presentations. A person can upload a presentation to share with others. They can be grouped by category. One can also sign into a like minded group to share and network. I see students using this as a way to share their work. For example, a science class has a project that has students make a presentation on ecology. Students could upload their presentations to a group that is the class and be able to share the presentations. They can do a voice over as if they were actually doing the presentation in front of a live audience. The site also will create an embed code to upload into blogs or other social networking sites. They can also comment and share ideas online. This could be a useful tool for specific projects.

11.5 Things. Thing #8

Well, certain things can be taught using this tool that could free up the librarian such as the one I made teaching how to use the OPAC. But a video could be used to teach how to access EBSCO and use it. Also, students could make some screencasts for other students to watch. In Spring Branch, students are required to do a "How to" speech. This could be a way of facilitating that project. I used Freescreencast to do mine. Below is my screencast. It's a bit subdued but it still works.

11.5 Things. Thing #7

I'm not sure exactly how to use many of the videos on totlol for the really young children except as a way to show them how to use technology as the videos really serve no educational purpose. However, I found some very appropriate videos under the tween filter. There was a bunch of videos on how things were made, such as gum, peanut butter and cheese. I would definitely have these videos available for science classes to watch, especially for students who might be doing a project. The students could link to them in a PowerPoint presentation to enhance the multimedia aspect of the presentation. totlol is powered by YouTube.

I also like
PBS Video, Nova. I can see some of the videos being showed on a projected screen for and entire class to watch. There are videos on different aspects of space and astronomyand the Sphinx in Egypt.

Thursday, July 8, 2010

11.5 Things. Thing #6

I do not own an IPhone or an ITouch or and IMac. I have, however; played around with other peoples devices. I like the idea of having particular applications to do specific things. One only has to push the button of the app to access a certain vehicle for information or guided research or play. Rather than having to go to different websites, the application is already at your fingertips. I think that the library can use certain applications on ITouches to facilitate learning. Applications such as USAFactbook can give students immediate information on the U.S. states. GoogleEarth is a great application for geography. WeatherBug is great for science. NetSketch is great for art. In LemonadeStand, the students can run their own lemonade stand from advertising to sales, etc.

11.5 Things. Thing #5

I have had a Facebook page for just over a year now. I like it because I get to keep up with my many friends in ways that I would not ordinarily have. It keeps me in touch with them and their lives when I normally would be estranged. Facebook has also brought old friends of 10, 15, 20, and even 30 years apart back to me. I do not like having thousands of friends like some do. I do not see the purpose in that and I do not know how anybody could keep up with that many anyway. I just reserve my friends to the ones who mean the most to me. Even so, I still have 109 friends. I don't post very often to Facebook because I don't feel I have much to say that anybody would be interested in even though my friends usually do. I will post pictures or web articles from time to time. I have not Twittered before today so I do not have much to say about this. I don't see myself as a Twitter person because I do not care what one ate for dinner or if one is going to buy shoes. However, I can see some use for it when events happen or groups want to communicate. As for school, I could see a class project being facilitated by Facebook as a place to communicate 24/7. Twitter could be used to back channel things that the teacher is teaching. Again, this could be used in a project. Of course, the students would have to be interested in the subject enough to want to back channel.

Wednesday, July 7, 2010

11.5 Things. Thing #4

Basically, YouTube is a publishing site. I allows for someone to post a video in a manner that other people can have access to it. This can be useful in the classroom if you were to ask the students to create something in a video format to enhance their learning experience. This can be anything from a movie to an Animoto or Photo Story. Once again, this is something on the highest level of Bloom's taxonomy, synthesis. It allows students to analyze their information and then reform it into a format for dissemination. When a student does this, he is most likely to remember the information for a much longer period of time or even maybe forever. One advantage is the ability to embed the video into another medium such as a blog or Wiki or Glog. Another advantage is that the work can be viewed by other students around the world if the right keywords are put in. Another advantage would be for the free and easy access to the video by anyone at anytime should one have a need to see it without having to bother the originator of the video.

11/5 Things. Thing #3

The article 50 ways to use Skype in the classroom tells us of many ways to use Skype in the classroom but it all comes down to videoconferencing. Students can video conference with other classrooms around the world. They can conference with students from other countries to find out about their culture. They can talk with a professor about science or with a fireman about his occupation. They can talk with an author without the school paying the expense of transportation. There are many ways a classroom can use Skype. I recently was in a summer school library for an elementary problem based learning program. The students were supposed to use technology to research a problem on how natural changes to the earth such as earthquakes and volcanoes affect us. They set up Skype to talk to a professor knowledgeable about earthquakes at the University of Texas about earthquakes. The professor was able to see the whole class and pick out individual students who raised their hands to ask a question. The professor actually remembered some of the students names and used them again when they raised their hands another time. I've heard of a larger session with several classes using an auditorium to ask questions. This time the students came up to a podium to ask their question.

11.5 Things. Thing #2

I think WordSift can be very helpful in focusing students on research. Say, for example, a student is doing a paper on a particular essay or speech, he can put the text into the WordSift and then get a word cloud that would size up the words most used in the text. This can give him a better idea of what the main ideas of the work are. He can then use this to focus his attention in dissecting this work. He can also use the web links to research more on the subject and even link other ideas and works to the one he is studying. He can also use the Visual Thesaurus to find other similar concepts and opposite concepts as well. I definitely can see a student using this site to focus his mind on the work at hand as well as using it to point him in new directions. Additionally, if the student has to do a presentation, he can use the word cloud to convey the work's main ideas to his fellow students visually.


Now there is Glogster .com and there is edu.Glogster.com. Both allow the user to make electronic posters but edu.Glogster.com is geared toward the student. The difference between electronic posters and regular posters are the dimensions. Regular posters are two dimensional and the electronic posters are three dimensional or even fourth dimensional, if you count the time it might take to navigate through a more complicated Glog.. If a student made a regular poster, he would be somewhat limited in his expression of his learning. He could cut out related pictures and paste them onto the poster and use written language to enhance. He could even make a pop-up to create the illusion of 3 dimensions. With Glogster; however, he could add in videos relating to the subject or videos of himself. He could put in animated gif's and other things that might enhance the presentation. This would require a more critical type of thinking. It would also require a more full synthesis. which is the highest part of Bloom's taxonomy. The only downside to this at the moment is access. Regular posters can be posted up on walls for others to review. Glogs can only be seen through a computer.



I just love Voki. While Voki could be use on all levels of students. I see it more effective with elementary and middle school students. I think that if one created and avatar with a particular bent or look, it could definitely help in getting a message across. Let's say, for example, you are one of those kooks who believe in man made global warming (don't worry, I still love most of you anyway), you could create an avatar that maybe like the Toxic Avenger, and use him to convey your message. (See Voki Avatar to the right.) That would definitely create more interest in the subject. Speaking of interest, an avatar speaking to yo might be more interesting than just the written word.
Bookr is a really cool photo album because it actually turns pages like a real book. This feature adds flavor and interest to a presentation. I could see students using this tool instead of a simple PowerPoint presentation. I'm not sure that you could add in hotlinks so the presentation would have to be simple. A student could use it for a creative writing assignment and create a picture book or a history assignment told in chronological order, or not.

11.5 Things. Thing #1

This video definitely points learning, the library and the classroom towards the future. The library will become a virtual library where much of the learning and research will be through electronic resources. What this video proposes is that the teacher will become the facilitator of the process of learning and the student will be much more involved in the learning than in the past. It suggests that the teacher will do less lecture and let the student authentically learn the material through the many resources created through the advancement of technology. Not only will the student be able to take advantage of the many databases, RSS feeds and Internet searches to find the material, he will also be able to share the material for others in many ways. He could blog an opinion, post web links on Delicious, create a Wiki, etc. I see students of the near future finding a wealth of information at their fingertips after future students post all of their sharing. I definitely see the librarian taking the role of the teacher in the video. The librarian is perfectly poised as the information specialist in the school. The librarian can help set up the students for success in their information searches.