Something to Think About

Really interesting article from GOOD education - Read here!

Merry Christmas!

I got a Kindle from Santa!  I am so excited to start playing with it.  Updates on what I think to follow!

Wikis...and Websites...and Blogs

As I am finding, it is incredibly easy to be overwhelmed by technology - I know I have stated it several times in real life and on this blog. It's so exciting and so intimidating to know the extent of what you can create, share, and discover online. There are many different online resources that are being created and changed daily, but there are some that have been around for a long time. So what is the difference between blogs, wikis, and websites? Obviously, a website is the easiest to understand and most recognizable of these three mediums. It is a location on the internet that provides any type of information. Originally, they were difficult to make and code but they are becoming a lot more user friendly. You don't need to know how to use html or any type of coding to create a personal website thanks to sites like Weebly. So next, wikis. Wikis are very similar to websites but the main difference is that anyone can be invited to share and contribute information to them. They are slightly less professional and polished and there is little to no flexibility in the design of them. The purpose of a wiki is mainly to serve as an online resource and workspace for a specific group. Lastly, we have blogging. Since the days of LifeJournal, blogs have been a type of online journal that individuals can use for everything from everyday rants to organizing social movements. Blogs allow ideas to transmit very quickly in an informal setting. One thing that I see as both a positive and negative is that you are allowed to say virtually anything on a blog. This allows for complete freedom as an author, but also leads to a lot of claims or thoughts with no basis.

This week I spent some time creating a Wiki. I chose to use a site called PBworks. I found it fairly easy to use and easy to edit while I was making the page, but my only complaint would be that the design and creativity level is fairly inflexible. You can put any amount of content on it, but visually it is not as interesting as some sites. I have also continued my work on my website, which I am becoming more and more proud of. I think it will be such a great tool to have at my disposal and something to show off in interviews. It is a smart and professional way to display my skills and interests and I am looking forward to developing it even more. I definitely plan on keeping up with it beyond this class to change with me and my studies. I would also really like to continue using my blog as a way to network with others and organize my thoughts. Hopefully I have enough to say to keep people interested!

Skeptical about the iPad

To be entirely honest, I still don't understand the purpose of an iPad. Is it a laptop or just an over sized iPhone? It seems awkward and bulky, which is very unlike most Apple products, and all around kind of unnecessary. I would like to play around with one to see what the hype is about - if anyone can explain it to me, be my guest. It is really too bad because Apple is very much a company with its finger on the pulse of the next big thing. I guess every single product can't be a huge success. Here is a really interesting article I found by an Education student suggesting ways the iPad could be used in classes. The biggest problem I have with most suggestions for technology integration in classrooms is the complete disregard for issues of funding. Of course I want every one of my students to have a laptop to do in-class research, but realistically I am planning on working in districts that currently have textbooks that are years out of date, so no matter how much I would like to incorporate technology, it just isn't feasible. Such a frustrating dilemma! iPad Stand - Flickr Photo

Click, Click

I hate multiple choice questions with a passion. I think they are meant to confuse and trick students without actually testing knowledge. I dread these types of tests, exams, and quizzes as a student and I have vowed to never use them as a teacher. I view assessments as a chance for students to prove how much they know and understand - it should enforce good things, not punish bad things. I personally think that writing and discussion are the best ways to test knowledge and I plan to use them as much as possible in my future classroom.

This brings me to the idea of clickers. I have had one class while in college that I was required to purchase and use an iClicker for. In case you haven't heard of them, these are hand held remotes that allow everyone to 'click' in an answer to a question. These keyed responses then show up on the screen instantly. There are many different types but the one I used just had options for A, B, C, or D. The idea behind these systems seems good. It allows the teacher to get immediate feedback, if there is confusion it allows for questions, and it is an easy way to take attendance. My personal issue with these systems is that is only lends itself to more multiple choice questions. Of course, as with anything, it can be used creatively to elicit discussion, but unfortunately that is not their prominent use.

I can see many opportunities for uses of Classroom Response Systems (CRS) similar to iClicker in schools but I worry that it breeds a mentality of 'just showing up' without actually comprehending the work. I may be jaded since this is the overall opinion at the college level, but it is not something I would want to start in younger grades. Another negative aspect of them is the expense. In a high school it would be unrealistic for each student to be required to buy them, and for a school district to foot the bill would also be inappropriate. Overall, I am intrigued by CRSs but definitely not converted. Photo

Hmm..

I thought this video was really interesting! I'm not 100% sure if we should trust all of the statistics because I'm not entirely sure where it came from but it is thought provoking and definitely something to think about - enjoy!

Getting Jing-y With It

My frustrated battle with technology continues on. The thing that I have noticed most about working with various types of technology is that, for the most part they are created to make a task easier. However, they take several hours to find, register for, confirm, and figure out before you can even start using them. I have created so many new combinations of user names and passwords, my head is spinning. Ultimately, the programs do prove to be useful or time effective, but it always seems to take a lot of trail and error before reaching that point.

I have been playing around with a program called Jing. This is an online screen capture that allows you to take real time pictures or videos of your computer screen as you work on it. The purpose is to create short tutorials or explanations while using certain programs. One really interesting feature that not many other free online programs have is the ability to add a voice narrative as you work.

I found this program incredibly visually appealing and easy to use at first. It's pretty straight-forward because it doesn't perform a huge range of functions. That being said, I was really disappointed when it came time to save and attempt to export the video I had made. Even after watching several tutorials and trying several different things, I was unable to figure out where my projects were saving and how to get them into a usable format. One tutorial gave an explanation for how to embed a file, which I got very excited about. After signing up for yet another program that was meant to house my work in between Jing and it's final destination, I found out there is a size restriction on uploads. The video is of me simply opening Firefox and finding a website. Overall i think this could be a really interesting tool but I can't see there being many instances for use in a classroom.

Fools!

Happy April Everyone - you know what that means...watch out for pranks all day! Leave it to Google, who have a monopoly over most things on the internet, to pull a trick on all of its customers. Not that it was super convincing, but fun nonetheless. Google claimed ot have changed their official name to Topeka to honor the city in Kansas that wants to change their name to Google.

Just for fun and in case you didn't know, the history of playing jokes on April 1st is thought to have come from Chaucer's Canterbury Tales. Check this out for a list of classic pranks that TV stations, radio stations, and newspapers have played on their viewers.

Digital Stories

The History of the Peace Sign on Prezi

This week I've spent some time playing with various different digital presentation programs that are available online. The one I chose to use is called Prezi. In the most basic sense, it is a really creative and interactive version of PowerPoint. You can still give a cohesive and interesting presentation with pictures and text, but it can be controlled by the viewer so it is more conducive to being shared online (such as in a blog) than only for use as a presentation. It makes the project much more entertaining and interesting to watch and explore than a simple PowerPoint.

I chose to put together a very brief project on the history of the peace sign. The idea behind it was for a lesson on counter culture of the 1960s. I really enjoy planning lessons that employ collaborative learning. There is that old adage that you learn more by teaching others, but I really do believe it is true. I like the idea of having students research something specific in groups and then sharing it with the rest of the class. This could be incorporated into a current US History class (usually 10th or 11th grade). I would be really interesting to hear how effective my sample presentation was. Since I know the full narrative in my head, I would like to know if I was able to convey the information with minimal text.

Overall I really enjoyed using Prezi. It was a little bit difficult to get used to the different wants to manipulate text and pictures because it is so different from any other program. Also, there are several tutorials on the site but once you enter the design template there is not much assistance. Some of the sample presentations on the site are really amazing but they unfortunately require a higher (i.e. you have to pay for it) version of the program. I'm looking forward to playing with the site more to see what else you can do with it. I think the future I would make sure I pick a topic that lends itself to using a lot of visuals. The peace sign was an interesting idea but I didn't realize that pictures for it would not vary much.

Flying with Google Earth

This week I spent some time exploring and playing with the Google Earth download available through Google. I've heard so much about it and seen it used mostly just for fun. Now that I have downloaded it I've realized what an awesome tool it could be in a classroom. With budget cuts and funding in schools being revoked, as well as the logistics usually involved, field trips are scarce at every level of school, but Google Earth would enable me to take a class half way across the world to look directly at some of the things we are studying. They have really neat historical and location features that I could use to show landmarks, geographical areas, cities, and interesting sites that correspond with lessons. This goes nicely with the last TPACK exploration that I did about virtual field trips as well. To pair a virtual tour of the Smithsonian with a walking tour of downtown Washington D.C. and the Smithsonian museums would be an incredibly effective lesson without leaving my classroom. Here is a screenshot I took while I was exploring the MSU campus -

Another feature that could be really useful is the Tour function. This allows you to record and share a tour of a specific area and provide narration. This could be used to either supplement a lecture or lesson, or as a presentation school for student projects.

Also, here is a really interesting blog (unofficial yet endorsed by Google) that explains some of GoogleEarth's features, gives tips, and information related to using the download.

Interesting Article...

Big tech news today...Google is choosing to not withdraw their company from China but instead route searches through a Hong Kong server in order to go around Chinese censorship laws. This article was really thought-provoking and I will be interested to hear more on the topic. I did know that China had very strict rules regarding internet usage by its citizens but I didn't really realize that something like this would be an option for Google. I commend them on their attempt at bringing equal and fair access to everyone but at the same time it seems to violate pretty serious social norms. It is a very western approach that Google would know better than the Chinese government. I am interested to see what, if anything, is done about this move. Check out the article on CNN.

I am Back!

After a week spent relaxing and enjoying the sunshine - I am back into the swing of things at school. I had a great time catching up on some much needed rest over my Spring Break. It was so refreshing to come back to nice weather instead of snow! As for the week of no technology, I hate to admit that I actually enjoyed it. It was kind of a relief to be unreachable for a little while. I didn't feel like I had to be in constant connection and I could just enjoy being outside and going on adventures. I say this with complete understanding that having no technology would be completely impractical to my life on a long term basis. I still think it was a nice break and gave me an appreciation for the minute by minute access I have to news, information, and everyone's lives. I am finding it kind of hard to get back into the swing of things though. Email and Facebook usage are back to normal but the blogging and my Twitter account have suffered a little. Hopefully this will come back without completely starting over because I was just getting used to these various means of communication.

PLN

So far I feel fairly successful in developing a PLN that works best for me. I enjoy blogging and twittering the most because it is personal and immediately rewarding. I think the biggest downside of all of this online communication is that there is just so much information. It is overwhelming to sift through all of the sites, blogs, articles, posts, tweets, etc. regarding education. I am learning more about what styles and opinions I enjoy reading and am getting more comfortable contacting others about their thoughts or ideas. In my opinion, the latter part is the real purpose of PLNs and networking.

My Very Own Website!

I just put the finishing touches on my midterm project for CEP 416. So far, it is the majority of my online portfolio including my resume and a potential lesson plan using technology. I am very proud of it considering a few months ago I was happy to be using e-mail effectively! I am really impressed with the amount I have learned and the amount of information I can actually see myself using in a classroom. I would love feedback or input of any kind about my work. Check it out - Lauren's Website

Finally..

Here is the finished project of the presentation I posted the other day. I added a narration using VoiceThread. I can totally see the benefits of using this in more of a business or networking sense but it is harder to apply in a classroom - seeing as how I would be delivering the lecture in person. Something like this really could revolutionize how teachers give students their work for days they were absent though. Enjoy!

Practice with Presentations

This week I have been playing around with a couple different applications that allow users to create effective and interesting presentations. Similar to PowerPoint, these programs create a slide-show that you can personalize and use for many different purposes. I tried to use the concept of Beyond Bullet Point or BBP for this sample lesson. Basically, the developers of BBP explain that both the positive side and downfall of PowerPoint presentations is that they are easy to create. That being said, they aren't always made effectively. Individuals learn in many different ways but there are some basic concepts to understand before giving a presentations. Learning is multi-faceted and in order to be effective, the presenter must strike the perfect balance between simple, easy to understand slides, and information overload. The slides need to use the space, time, and images to convey important points.

Too often in classes that I have taken a teacher has created presentation to guide a lecture that was only bullet points, and then simply read us these slides. While being un-creative, these types of presentations are insulting to one's audience. If learning were as simple as reading, we wouldn't need to attend a lecture on it. Effective presentations waste nothing - they use speech, text, and images to the best of each of their abilities. Here is a look at a sample presentation that I have created as an introduction to the US Supreme Court.

Go Green!

Here is another really interesting aspect of using technology in classrooms. It isn't discussed too much but it really tied to the overwhelming Green (big G as in environmental, not political party) movement that is happening right now. I came across this blog the other day...I think it's a really great idea and it can definitely be aided by using things like online documents and resources. Many university classes are now paperless for the most part due to budget costs, but it doesn't seem to be embraced as much by grade school classes.

GoogleDocs

I've always really liked the idea of peer editing and collaboration. As a teacher, I plan on having my students complete writing assignments fairly often. I am aware that they are more time consuming than tests for them and for me but I personally think there is a lot more to be gained from writing than from multiple choice exams. I think peer editing is a really beneficial way to get students reading and thinking critically about each others works. By sharing ideas and analysis, they can strengthen their own argument or potentially think about a topic in a different way than they saw it originally.
GoogleDocs is a really interesting tool that can be used to take peer editing to a new level. As long as everyone involved has access to a computer and a Gmail account (which can be made for this purpose) all of the students can become collaborators. This opens up a lot of opportunity for new types of homework assignments. Students can upload their own work and have it edited or critiqued by peers, or they can use it for group projects and brainstorming. Another aspect of GoogleDocs that is useful in the classroom is that, as a teacher, I would be able to see each part that an individual student contributed to a project. This would help with accountability and equality of work.

Classroom Encounters

I am slowly getting more and more used to the idea of blogging about things that happen to me. It is luckily becoming less of a chore as long as I remind myself to fit it into my routine. Recently I was talking to a friend of mine and we ran into a tech problem that fit nicely into what I've been talking and thinking about lately. In the process of making a lesson plan about subliminal messages in advertising, he came upon a video that he wanted to show his class. The problem was that it was in a format such that we couldn't figure out how to make it full screen (or any larger for that matter). I found the exact same video on YouTube and thought I had saved the day! As it turns out, YouTube is blocked on all of the classroom computers at his school.

A couple things about this occurrence struck me. First of all, I was excited to be able to find what I was looking for and know that I was legally able to use it. Second, I was shocked that a resource as simple and well-known as YouTube would be blocked. I understand that there are less than desirable things available on the internet, but it seems like there would be better ways around this that banning the entire site. There is such a wealth of information that teachers could use in class that is being denied to them. It's difficult to think about integrating more complicated technology if some classrooms aren't even allowed to use YouTube. Lastly, this brought up the question of what to do now. A different acquaintance suggested ripping it from the website and using it in a different player. After doing some research, I found that there is in fact software available to do just that - but didn't want to wrestle with the legality of doing so. So, back to square one - a teacher with a perfect example of tech that he is unable to use.
Photo Credit: Flickr

Progress...

On a side note, I'm really excited that I was able to figure out how to embed that video. I'm finally feeling like I am getting the hang of a few of these things!