You can find my screencast at:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Wexg75eHHg
I actually liked making this. I used the Camtasia program to make this. They provided many programs to walk you through each step. I chose to make my video about creating a blogger account because it was one of the more simplier assignments and I was able to complete the task without messing up my other blogs.
-Emily
Saturday, December 1, 2007
Youthwiki
I chose Teachers Teaching Teaching on the Edutech Talk page, for the educational technology blog I wanted to listen and respond to. You can find it at: http://www.edtechtalk.com/taxonomy/term/58
Episode 79 was a collaboration of many teachers and students that are using Youthwiki http://youthwiki.wikispaces.com/ . They have formed a partnership in discussing “culture”. Many social studies classes are on the wiki to write about their culture and reflect on the culture of the other students. From what I listened to, they were giving suggestions of possible discussion topics. I gained much from this discussion. We reflect often in this class how we can use technology to bring the world closer together. That is a desirable goal, but how do you go about doing that? For this teaching community, they set the task of defining culture in a community or a larger area.
Once students knew what culture was, they could post a definition of what their culture involved. Students could go into the wiki to look at all regional communities. It gave many teachers an opportunity to speak to their kids about the customs of their homes and the homes of kids from around the world.
Students from Virginia saw that a class of Alaskan students listed hunting as being important to them. Alaskan students wrote they often miss school to hunt. The Virginian students thought that was odd. The teacher then asked the kids "When do people miss the most school here?" After some discussion, the kids realized that attendance is low, in their own school, the first day of hunting season. What could have been a difference in customs, was actually a similarity.
This leads me to a point from Woddy Woodgate, a teacher in Alaska. He told the other educators that he wants his students to share culture without giving up their own culture. He went on to say he feels you gain less from the experience if you look for differences first. If students are looking for the differences in their cultures, they not going to see that we are all essentially the same.
Imagine a collaboration between students from schools in geographically different areas. Which will bring more of relationship: realizing that they both play soccer after school and fight with their sister, or a culture change such as the role of the family in society? I think we as educators separate cultures by their differences instead of seeing what we all share. As one of the students on the podcast said "We have so much we can learn from each other."
-Emily
Once students knew what culture was, they could post a definition of what their culture involved. Students could go into the wiki to look at all regional communities. It gave many teachers an opportunity to speak to their kids about the customs of their homes and the homes of kids from around the world.
Students from Virginia saw that a class of Alaskan students listed hunting as being important to them. Alaskan students wrote they often miss school to hunt. The Virginian students thought that was odd. The teacher then asked the kids "When do people miss the most school here?" After some discussion, the kids realized that attendance is low, in their own school, the first day of hunting season. What could have been a difference in customs, was actually a similarity.
This leads me to a point from Woddy Woodgate, a teacher in Alaska. He told the other educators that he wants his students to share culture without giving up their own culture. He went on to say he feels you gain less from the experience if you look for differences first. If students are looking for the differences in their cultures, they not going to see that we are all essentially the same.
Imagine a collaboration between students from schools in geographically different areas. Which will bring more of relationship: realizing that they both play soccer after school and fight with their sister, or a culture change such as the role of the family in society? I think we as educators separate cultures by their differences instead of seeing what we all share. As one of the students on the podcast said "We have so much we can learn from each other."
-Emily
Sunday, November 25, 2007
First Podcast
Below is my first podcast. It is a review of class assignments and news for my sixth graders. I used this to explain a project that is due for Bible class; a listing of spelling and vocabulary to be learned for the week and I ended with a literature game "Guess the Novel". I hope to do this often, if not weekly. Right now my parents check Schoolnotes site for updates, but I like that I can expand on what I am asking of the kids.
Enjoy my attempt at podcasting.
or http://hyperfileshare.com/d/9c9f8f06
-Emily
Enjoy my attempt at podcasting.
or http://hyperfileshare.com/d/9c9f8f06
-Emily
Who Said?
I listened, this week, to “Who Said” a literature game in podcast form. http://www.whosaid.org/index.htm . The host, Amy, reads a passage from any classical literature text and you must guess the character, novel and author.
What gives this podcast life and makes it so enjoyable, is the host’s personal takes on the passage she is reading from. When a listener writes that a character sounds like a mother calling her children in; Amy adds her own memories of being called in by her parents. Amy enjoys what she is reading.
Every podcast follows the same order: she tells them the answer from the last episode, reads off those that emailed with the correct answer and discusses the passage with her own insights or information from the author. Amy then reads the next passage for the listeners to guess. Another variation I heard was when a listener, from Australia, sent in her own mp3 of a passage. Amy was then one of the guessers.
I loved listening to these episodes. The host has the personality of your favorite literature teacher. She is kind, friendly and makes you feel part of the discussion. I do need to say that of the six passages I heard, I did not get a one right. Even with my losses, I made notes of the novels and looked forward to each new episode. Amy celebrated not only those that guessed correctly, but those that tried. Along with the podcast is a discussion board of hints from Amy and other listeners. This discussion board was updated after each episode to include what the correct answer was and anything that was discussed.
I find this idea for a podcast to be fantastic. I teach sixth grade literature. This game would be an asset to my students. They would love to be part of a game where they can guess and be rewarded for knowing their literature. Having a discussion board where students can receive hints or discuss it together would keep them engaged and provide support. As the teacher, I would enjoy picking passages from the class library. It would keep my students involved and talking about class. I plan to use this in some form in the near future.
“Who Said?” is a great podcast for those that think they know literature or like hearing literature read to them.
-Emily
What gives this podcast life and makes it so enjoyable, is the host’s personal takes on the passage she is reading from. When a listener writes that a character sounds like a mother calling her children in; Amy adds her own memories of being called in by her parents. Amy enjoys what she is reading.
Every podcast follows the same order: she tells them the answer from the last episode, reads off those that emailed with the correct answer and discusses the passage with her own insights or information from the author. Amy then reads the next passage for the listeners to guess. Another variation I heard was when a listener, from Australia, sent in her own mp3 of a passage. Amy was then one of the guessers.
I loved listening to these episodes. The host has the personality of your favorite literature teacher. She is kind, friendly and makes you feel part of the discussion. I do need to say that of the six passages I heard, I did not get a one right. Even with my losses, I made notes of the novels and looked forward to each new episode. Amy celebrated not only those that guessed correctly, but those that tried. Along with the podcast is a discussion board of hints from Amy and other listeners. This discussion board was updated after each episode to include what the correct answer was and anything that was discussed.
I find this idea for a podcast to be fantastic. I teach sixth grade literature. This game would be an asset to my students. They would love to be part of a game where they can guess and be rewarded for knowing their literature. Having a discussion board where students can receive hints or discuss it together would keep them engaged and provide support. As the teacher, I would enjoy picking passages from the class library. It would keep my students involved and talking about class. I plan to use this in some form in the near future.
“Who Said?” is a great podcast for those that think they know literature or like hearing literature read to them.
-Emily
PSU Podcast
This week I listened to an Educational Technology podcast to gain insight into current classroom technology. I went to http://podcasts.psu.edu/node/324 for the podcast “What Works in Educational Technology for May 7” a podcast that encourages Penn State faculty to create podcasts in their classrooms. I found this podcast encouraging for those of us new to podcasting. Two people were interviewed extensively, Carla Zembal Saul, a professor that successfully created a podcast for her courses that gained nation-wide acclaim, and Chris Millet, the manger of advanced learning projects, the man that can is encouraging PSU staff to create their own podcasts.
Carla set up a podcast for her students on the decrease in honeybee colonies or "Colony Collapse Disorder". The podcasts were student-created interviews of experts on this problem. When asked her reason for assigning a podcast as her assessment she explained that she wanted her students to work to solve a current problem. She felt that students should create content by meeting with experts. Carla felt that making her “Honeybee Podcasts” would give the students the opportunity to share the problem with the world while also helping them to reach a higher understanding.
With her success in podcasting, Carla was asked to give advice to those starting out in podcasting. What she said, I feel sums up the feelings of many educators new to this process, “Don’t let the technology intimidate you.” That statement spoke to me. I know what I want to get out of making a podcast and I have plenty I could say to my students; but, the thought of creating my podcast is held up by my fear of the process of making and publishing it. In this class we have received many ideas for using a podcast or screen capture. These ideas are only stopped by our concerns of making and publishing what we have created. I know that once we make a few podcasts and get the hang of it, we will be confident in what we have produced. Am I the only one that has ideas for dynamite podcasts, but am fretting that I won’t be able to get them out there?
This is a fantastic podcast for those timid of jumping in. They recommend making a discussion board of those new to podcasting. It will open you up new ideas and solutions to technical problems. I hope that as my school moves into the podcast pool, we can create such a support group.
Have a great week!
-Emily
Carla set up a podcast for her students on the decrease in honeybee colonies or "Colony Collapse Disorder". The podcasts were student-created interviews of experts on this problem. When asked her reason for assigning a podcast as her assessment she explained that she wanted her students to work to solve a current problem. She felt that students should create content by meeting with experts. Carla felt that making her “Honeybee Podcasts” would give the students the opportunity to share the problem with the world while also helping them to reach a higher understanding.
With her success in podcasting, Carla was asked to give advice to those starting out in podcasting. What she said, I feel sums up the feelings of many educators new to this process, “Don’t let the technology intimidate you.” That statement spoke to me. I know what I want to get out of making a podcast and I have plenty I could say to my students; but, the thought of creating my podcast is held up by my fear of the process of making and publishing it. In this class we have received many ideas for using a podcast or screen capture. These ideas are only stopped by our concerns of making and publishing what we have created. I know that once we make a few podcasts and get the hang of it, we will be confident in what we have produced. Am I the only one that has ideas for dynamite podcasts, but am fretting that I won’t be able to get them out there?
This is a fantastic podcast for those timid of jumping in. They recommend making a discussion board of those new to podcasting. It will open you up new ideas and solutions to technical problems. I hope that as my school moves into the podcast pool, we can create such a support group.
Have a great week!
-Emily
Sunday, November 18, 2007
Flickr pictures
You can view my pictures at:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/20984542@N05/
They are mostly pictures from trips I've taken.
-Emily
http://www.flickr.com/photos/20984542@N05/
They are mostly pictures from trips I've taken.
-Emily
Tag Cloud of Cyberbullying Article
I chose to do a Tag Cloud of the Cyberbullying article.
-Emily
-Emily
academic (22) achievement (12) average (14) being (19) beta (13) bullying (127) canadian (14) chinese (15) computer (27) culture (21) cyber (86) cyberbullying (127) cyberspace (17) different (16) educational (17) factors (25) frequency (14) gender (25) grade (14) harassment (24) http (14) important (15) involved (16) journal (13) knowledge (14) less (12) li (18) likely (21) mobile (13) others (18) predictor (13) reported (28) research (29) result (20) safety (28) school (84) significant (24) strategies (18) students (65) study (35) suggests (13) table (13) times (33) traditional (21) used (13) variables (13) victimisation (42) victims (64) www (13) yes (16)
created at TagCrowd.com
Social Bookmarking
I included a few pages that will help me as a teacher of literature. I am also a movie fan and history buff and a fan of differenct cities. I found it relatively simple to set up the account and to add to the site. Students could use this to collect pages on their topic and then find new sources. I can imagine them following a trail of sites to construct a deeper understanding of what they are researching. Enjoy my page.
-Emily
Cyberbullying
Journal article “Bullying in the new playground: Research into cyberbullying and cyber victimization” from Australasian Journal of Educational Technology
http://www.ascilite.org.au/ajet/ajet23/li.html
At the start of this school year my school used one our in-service opportunities to have a speaker from the AIU present on bullying. It was on the level of “If you see. . .” or “If you hear…” My school, like many, has a “no cell phone” policy. The extent of what I see in my small school happens from person to person in verbal or written ways. If there is a nasty note, it can be found; if something is said, others could have overheard it. But what if bullying could occur through IM at home or through text messages after school?
I read the article “Bullying in the new playground: Research into cyberbullying and cyber victimization” from Australasian Journal of Educational Technology. The writer did a professional study to determine the factors that encourage cyberbullying. She looked at culture, gender, technology use, knowledge of cyber safety and academic achievement. She found culture to be the strongest point. Cyberbullying happens around the world. How the culture allows for it or encourages it, effects the rate in which it happens.
The author gave many helpful terms to explain cyberbullying and cyber victimization:
“Bill Belsey, developer of the award winning webpage http://www.bullying.org/, defined cyberbullying in his website http://www.cyberbullying.ca/:
Cyberbullying involves the use of information and communication technologies such as e-mail, cell phone and pager text messages, instant messaging, defamatory personal Web sites, and defamatory online personal polling Web sites, to support deliberate, repeated, and hostile behavior by an individual or group, that is intended to harm others.
Different types of cyberbullying were reported ranging from flaming to cyberstalking. In her book, Nancy Willard (2004) identified seven different categories of common cyberbullying actions:
Flaming: Sending angry, rude, vulgar messages about a person to an online group or to that person via email or other text messaging.
Online harassment: Repeatedly sending offensive messages via email or other text messaging to a person.
Cyberstalking: Online harassment that includes threats of harm or is excessively intimidating.
Denigration (put-downs): Sending harmful, untrue, or cruel statements about a person to other people or posting such material online.
Masquerade: Pretending to be someone else and sending or posting material that makes that person look bad.
Outing: Sending or posting material about a person that contains sensitive, private, or embarrassing information, including forwarding private messages or images.
Exclusion: Cruelly excluding someone from an online group. “
Reading this list of terms, I fear for our students today. It is one thing to fear a bully at school, another to have threats invade your personal space on the web. As their teachers we need to be aware of these threats and plan for prevention. With any form of bullying the effects on students are the following: lack of focus, fear for their safety, and a feeling of being isolated from help. We need to stay aware of possible cyberbullying and prepare students on what to do if they are cyberbullied. As a district we need to make policies on how to handle these attacks, especially how to hand it over to official authorities.
On a final note, several years ago, a local high school fell victim to cyberbullying/harassment. High school boys rated the top girls in the school sexually. Only one student was punished. The victims felt violated, but the predators felt they had gotten away. There was not a way to prove who was involved, and no way to hold anyone accountable. I don’t want this to happen to anyone else. We are teaching our students to use these new and expanded technologies; but are we prepared for the students who abuse them?
http://www.ascilite.org.au/ajet/ajet23/li.html
At the start of this school year my school used one our in-service opportunities to have a speaker from the AIU present on bullying. It was on the level of “If you see. . .” or “If you hear…” My school, like many, has a “no cell phone” policy. The extent of what I see in my small school happens from person to person in verbal or written ways. If there is a nasty note, it can be found; if something is said, others could have overheard it. But what if bullying could occur through IM at home or through text messages after school?
I read the article “Bullying in the new playground: Research into cyberbullying and cyber victimization” from Australasian Journal of Educational Technology. The writer did a professional study to determine the factors that encourage cyberbullying. She looked at culture, gender, technology use, knowledge of cyber safety and academic achievement. She found culture to be the strongest point. Cyberbullying happens around the world. How the culture allows for it or encourages it, effects the rate in which it happens.
The author gave many helpful terms to explain cyberbullying and cyber victimization:
“Bill Belsey, developer of the award winning webpage http://www.bullying.org/, defined cyberbullying in his website http://www.cyberbullying.ca/:
Cyberbullying involves the use of information and communication technologies such as e-mail, cell phone and pager text messages, instant messaging, defamatory personal Web sites, and defamatory online personal polling Web sites, to support deliberate, repeated, and hostile behavior by an individual or group, that is intended to harm others.
Different types of cyberbullying were reported ranging from flaming to cyberstalking. In her book, Nancy Willard (2004) identified seven different categories of common cyberbullying actions:
Flaming: Sending angry, rude, vulgar messages about a person to an online group or to that person via email or other text messaging.
Online harassment: Repeatedly sending offensive messages via email or other text messaging to a person.
Cyberstalking: Online harassment that includes threats of harm or is excessively intimidating.
Denigration (put-downs): Sending harmful, untrue, or cruel statements about a person to other people or posting such material online.
Masquerade: Pretending to be someone else and sending or posting material that makes that person look bad.
Outing: Sending or posting material about a person that contains sensitive, private, or embarrassing information, including forwarding private messages or images.
Exclusion: Cruelly excluding someone from an online group. “
Reading this list of terms, I fear for our students today. It is one thing to fear a bully at school, another to have threats invade your personal space on the web. As their teachers we need to be aware of these threats and plan for prevention. With any form of bullying the effects on students are the following: lack of focus, fear for their safety, and a feeling of being isolated from help. We need to stay aware of possible cyberbullying and prepare students on what to do if they are cyberbullied. As a district we need to make policies on how to handle these attacks, especially how to hand it over to official authorities.
On a final note, several years ago, a local high school fell victim to cyberbullying/harassment. High school boys rated the top girls in the school sexually. Only one student was punished. The victims felt violated, but the predators felt they had gotten away. There was not a way to prove who was involved, and no way to hold anyone accountable. I don’t want this to happen to anyone else. We are teaching our students to use these new and expanded technologies; but are we prepared for the students who abuse them?
Sunday, November 11, 2007
Wikipedia
I chose to edit the page on Mt. Lebanon School District at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mt._Lebanon_School_District#Theater. They have had changes in principals. I changed it from the previous principal to the current one. I also edited the SAT information from 2005 to 2006 information. I changed some of the percents to fit current information. Lastly, I changed the number in the graduating class. I found all my information on at www.mtlsd.org, the district website.
I found that going through the tutorial helped me when editing. There were many times my helper and I could look up how to cite our information. It was harder then it seems to edit the information. I was so concerned with messing up another person's writing.
Have a great week!
-Emily
I found that going through the tutorial helped me when editing. There were many times my helper and I could look up how to cite our information. It was harder then it seems to edit the information. I was so concerned with messing up another person's writing.
Have a great week!
-Emily
RSS
I found setting up my Bloglines subscription to be a relatively easy task. Within Bloglines, I was given many blogs to subscribe to. I started with the 200 most popular feeds, to get an idea what was out there. After picking a few from searching Bloglines, I moved into finding outside feeds. For some sites I had no problem subscribing, but other sites had problems allowing me to join.
At the end of my first day of using an RSS aggregator, I had 13 feeds to keep up with. They range in subject matter, from local and national news, informational, entertainment to profession-related. I hope to weed out the feeds I don't use and add new subscriptions as I continue to work.
I enjoyed having my favorite blogs and feeds there for me to check on my schedule. I imagine students would like having all their resources organized together. For a student, having to continually search out articles can get in the way of their writing. If they could be notified whenever there new content on their topic, they could keep current with what they are researching. I agree, also, with the idea in the book; the teacher could have a class RSS account to keep all students aware of resources.
My only mishap with using Bloglines occurred the second time I used it. I didn't think to mark or save the posts I had read. I was mildly surprised to find I would need to look up the posts I threw back into the blog. In future visits, I marked the pages I wanted to see again.
Some of the best things I found using my aggregator include:
-Technology and the Scholar-Teacher This is site with advice for teachers integrating technology. I hope to add more to my list.
-Adolescent Literature These are reviews from teachers on current literature. I am a middle school Literature teacher. It is an asset to read other educators reviews of novels I am consider using.
-Only Riddles My students love riddles and jokes. I was able to use this keep them stumped. Even as a sub. it was great to have a resource for riddles to keep the kid's attention.
-Emily
21st Century
This week I am responding to the article "21st Century Learning: 'We're Not Even Close,'" by Dave Nagel. His article was reporting the findings of the State Education Technology Directors Association (SETDA), the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE), and the Partnership for the 21st Century Skills as the SETDA Leadership Summit and Education Forum in Washington D.C.
In the paper, "Maximizing the Impact: the Pivotal Role of Technology in the 21st Century Education System", they tell us that we are not effectively preparing our students for the 21st Century. The industrial and business world knew they had to transform themselves within technology to make be competitive in the world market. They provided staff training to ensure they were ready for the technology changes that constantly occurring. Education, on the other hand, is lacking in preparing our students for their futures in the workspace and post-secondary education. Furthering this point, our students are lacking in technology skills because we are lacking.
The Forum pointed out the problem, then gave suggestions to remedy the gap and bring our classrooms up the needed level. The three suggestions start with, "Use technology comprehensively to develop proficiency in 21st Century skills." They feel the students are learning their core skills, but the workforce needs more than the core skills.
Next, "Use technology comprehensively to support innovative teaching and learning." Give students more opportunities, not just to get them on the computers, but to really use these resources effectively. Our students deserve us pushing them to seek higher analysis in technology.
Lastly, "Use technology comprehensively to create robust education support systems." This is saying train your teachers and administrators to use new technology in their professional fields. This article goes on to layout how schools and administrators can move into the 21st Century. They further give advice to local, state and national educational authorities to rethink their policies.
One point I wanted to visit within the article is the line dealing with suggestion #1, ". . . post secondary institutions and workplaces, which increasingly value people to can use their knowledge to communicate, collaborate, analyze, create, innovate and solve problems." I had to ask myself if I was expecting all that of my students. Are we looking at what the workforce is requiring and then giving them a chance to demonstrate those skills? New technologies are the gateway to the 21st Century student. If we lag, our students suffer. We must be the first to use these skills, not wait for the next educator to pick it up.
-Emily
In the paper, "Maximizing the Impact: the Pivotal Role of Technology in the 21st Century Education System", they tell us that we are not effectively preparing our students for the 21st Century. The industrial and business world knew they had to transform themselves within technology to make be competitive in the world market. They provided staff training to ensure they were ready for the technology changes that constantly occurring. Education, on the other hand, is lacking in preparing our students for their futures in the workspace and post-secondary education. Furthering this point, our students are lacking in technology skills because we are lacking.
The Forum pointed out the problem, then gave suggestions to remedy the gap and bring our classrooms up the needed level. The three suggestions start with, "Use technology comprehensively to develop proficiency in 21st Century skills." They feel the students are learning their core skills, but the workforce needs more than the core skills.
Next, "Use technology comprehensively to support innovative teaching and learning." Give students more opportunities, not just to get them on the computers, but to really use these resources effectively. Our students deserve us pushing them to seek higher analysis in technology.
Lastly, "Use technology comprehensively to create robust education support systems." This is saying train your teachers and administrators to use new technology in their professional fields. This article goes on to layout how schools and administrators can move into the 21st Century. They further give advice to local, state and national educational authorities to rethink their policies.
One point I wanted to visit within the article is the line dealing with suggestion #1, ". . . post secondary institutions and workplaces, which increasingly value people to can use their knowledge to communicate, collaborate, analyze, create, innovate and solve problems." I had to ask myself if I was expecting all that of my students. Are we looking at what the workforce is requiring and then giving them a chance to demonstrate those skills? New technologies are the gateway to the 21st Century student. If we lag, our students suffer. We must be the first to use these skills, not wait for the next educator to pick it up.
-Emily
Saturday, November 3, 2007
First Post
Welcome!
This blog is meant to reflect on “Educational Technology” sites for the EDU 595 class. Before I get too far into my post, I’d like to tell you a little about me. This is my second year into the Masters of Education with Technology Certification program. I am attempting to use what I learn in my school, but can’t always integrate everything. I am in my first year teaching middle school at a local private school in Pittsburgh. I am really looking forward to keeping this blog over the course.
This week at looked at The Savvy Technologist at http://technosavvy.org/. The site is run by Tim Wilson. From what I have read he works through conferences to train people on using technology. His recent entries include such topics as “Podcasting Nuts and Bolts” with equipment tips for podcasting in your classroom. For the “Podcasting Nuts and Bolts” section, he gives particular equipment he recently bought to start his own podcast. He focuses on price and its use in the classroom. He also gives advice on how best to use this equipment. As we get into learning about podcasting and their use in our schools, we will have to think about the need for equipment. We will need to think about it’s availability to our students and what will need to be purchased. Will our districts support it or will it be put off for more pressing purchases?
Tim also links to a “Podcast Toolbox” from Mashable. As he writes “it’s really a comprehensive collection of all the web-based tools and services out there.” As I look into making or just listening to different podcasts, this site will help.
The post that I got the most from was “Assignment Calculator 2.0. Here he writes about an “Assignment Calculator” used in universities and a “Report Project Calculator” that can be used grades K-12. The calculator will send emails to the students reminding them when their project is due and “The calculator prints out a five-step research guide and deadlines for each step to discourage procrastination.” I know I could use this now to keep students from waiting until the last night. It would also keep kids accountable for their work. I found the calculator at http://www.elm4you.org/research/ . I feel it is worth investigating for my classroom.
I hope you all enjoy the work that we will do for this course.
-Emily
This blog is meant to reflect on “Educational Technology” sites for the EDU 595 class. Before I get too far into my post, I’d like to tell you a little about me. This is my second year into the Masters of Education with Technology Certification program. I am attempting to use what I learn in my school, but can’t always integrate everything. I am in my first year teaching middle school at a local private school in Pittsburgh. I am really looking forward to keeping this blog over the course.
This week at looked at The Savvy Technologist at http://technosavvy.org/. The site is run by Tim Wilson. From what I have read he works through conferences to train people on using technology. His recent entries include such topics as “Podcasting Nuts and Bolts” with equipment tips for podcasting in your classroom. For the “Podcasting Nuts and Bolts” section, he gives particular equipment he recently bought to start his own podcast. He focuses on price and its use in the classroom. He also gives advice on how best to use this equipment. As we get into learning about podcasting and their use in our schools, we will have to think about the need for equipment. We will need to think about it’s availability to our students and what will need to be purchased. Will our districts support it or will it be put off for more pressing purchases?
Tim also links to a “Podcast Toolbox” from Mashable. As he writes “it’s really a comprehensive collection of all the web-based tools and services out there.” As I look into making or just listening to different podcasts, this site will help.
The post that I got the most from was “Assignment Calculator 2.0. Here he writes about an “Assignment Calculator” used in universities and a “Report Project Calculator” that can be used grades K-12. The calculator will send emails to the students reminding them when their project is due and “The calculator prints out a five-step research guide and deadlines for each step to discourage procrastination.” I know I could use this now to keep students from waiting until the last night. It would also keep kids accountable for their work. I found the calculator at http://www.elm4you.org/research/ . I feel it is worth investigating for my classroom.
I hope you all enjoy the work that we will do for this course.
-Emily
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