Final Day

Today was our last day of class. I was very glad our group had time to work. We needed it! We accomplished alot in the morning. Above is a picture of our group, the blue group.

After lunch, we got to present first. This helps take the pressure off. We had a basic presentation outline. I think it would have been better to delegate the outline a little better for more equal speaking time. I think it also would have been beneficial to discuss what main points we wanted to share with the class. I am proud of our work this week. We certainly put in a lot of effort and it was nice to see it come to completion!

Later in the blog, I have posted about authentic writing, this was a presentation that another group did. They asked us reflective questions to blog about during their presentation. Lisa, another class member talked about their presentation on her blog. She commented about how the teacher inservice is made more valuable when teachers are asked to think about how they will use what they have learned.

The other group that presented, presented on using nings. A ning could be a great collaborative tool. I think it will be a while before my third graders are able to comfortably use a ning, however it would be a great tool for teacher collaboration and networking.

Reflection on Authentic Writing

A group in my EIT class presented to us about authentic writing. They asked us to reflect as they presented their project to us.

Question 1: How would I use voice thread in my classroom.
One of the writing assignments the students are required to write are family stories. II could also use voice thread for this project. Students could post a picture and then tell a story about that picture. They would need to include a beginning, middle, and end in their voice thread story. Other students could then go in and comment on other student's stories. This would give the author feedback without the whole class having to listen to the student mumble and then give comments. Often, having students share stories and give each other comments, takes a long time. Because it takes so long, other students often become disengaged. By using voice thread, the same goal would be accomplished in a more engaging way.

Question 2: Reflect on 21Classes.com
This would be wonderful to use as an alternative to student daily journals. I have a few students that hate writing because of their handwriting. These students often benefit from having an electronic journal. This would be a great way for the teacher to post comments and to help ensure the privacy of the student.

Day 4 of Emerging Instructional Technologies Class

Today is day four of a five week on campus class. Yikes, I can't believe the class is almost completed. Today we learned how to make and edit movies using iMovie on Macs. I am amazed by how detailed the average person can get. By average, I simply mean non paid thousands of dollars to edit commercials and moives. I mean, Wow! Kids could use this program to get a sense of the profession. They could also capture class trips through film. I fear that I do not have a Mac and may not ever again get to play with iMovie (unless I go on campus and play with their computers). Our professor, Dr. Z, also gave us instrctions for a Windows version called Movie Maker. I am anxious to try it out and see if my students could use it with ease. Otherwise, it may have to be used by staff as an end of the year video or a video of the school to show at Meet the Teachers that occurs before the start of the school year.

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Last night, after I did my lovely blogs with video embedded, I was reading some fellow classmates' blogs. I had mentioned in an earlier blog about Steve Hagardon, creator of classroom 2.0 ning, and Chris Eller, a classmate of mine, also had posted about Steve Hagardon. He was talking about Steve's description of why social networking like nings are more valuable than a blogging. Chris wrote, "Blogging, according to Hargadon, has its limits. For one, it places the owner of the blog in the “expert” seat while commenters are in a secondary position. Second, blogging takes months to develop a readership. It takes a committed person to invest the time necessary to create valuable content and wait for the readers to discover you. "

I really liked Chris' comment about why blogs don't always work. To read more of Chris' blog you can link to it here: CENotebook

Podcasting

Well I am actually going to do one more post today. Boy my mind has been busy today!

I want to talk a little about some of the new to me technologies we learned today.

First, a couple of classmates demonstrated VoiceThread. This was one of the first technologies that I thought immediately I could use with my students. I thought about using it with the third grade trip we take every year to learn about the history of Waterloo. The students could comment on the pictures we take. I could then show this to the next class as a preview. Wow! I also thought it would be a neat center. Students could comment on writing that was done by other students.

The other technology we learned about was podcasting. I'd never heard of podcasting before this week. This is great for the auditory learners. I am more of a visual person so I find it hard to learn using a podcast, but for many of my students it would be a new way to learn. I also thought it would be a neat way for them to record themselves reading. They could then listen to themselves back to help increase their fluency.

I have to admit, I have never used iTunes. From the conversations around me I have gathered it is an online store to download music and podcasts. I am hoping that the podcasts are free, because I would like to try it later tonight.

Today I felt I was a little out of my league. Several classmates seemed to have a better handle on this new technology than I do. It is one of the first times that I can see how some of my students must feel. I also know that being able to collaborate with my classmates and having them helped me made my learning experience more positive. I need to remember this next fall and allow my students more time just to help each other. After all, they are more the experts on many things!

Well I think I am going to go try iTunes now.
-Angi

Podcast on Digital Citizenship

In my class, emerging instructional technologies, we are doing a group 3-day unit that will incorporate technology to help the students learn deeper. We have chosen digital technology.

Podcast

This podcast is an interview of Dr. Mark Ribble by Wesley Fryer. In this podcast, Dr. Ribble defines digital citizenship and discusses its importance in schools.

One thing that I liked that was mentioned was that often we give students "thou shalt nots". To correctly teach students about digital citizenship, the students need to learn how to correctly use the medias. This is also accomplished by modeling the correct use.

Mark Ribble also listed other areas of digital citizenship besides safety. While it is a part of it, there are other areas.

To read more see by Mark Ribble go to coe.ksu.edu/digitalcitizenship

Guest Speakers

Wow today in class we had several guest speakers. The first thing that I must mention is that a few of them were not even in our classroom! They used a video conferincing called Skype and a virtual world called Second Life. I have not explored Skype yet, but I intend to. I have blogged about Second Life previously.

Bringing guest speakers to the class in this method gives students a sense of belonging to a larger world. I imagine it would also be easier to line up guest speakers since you are not limited to a location. My third graders would not be able to meet a speaker in Second Life, but could benefit from Skype. Since each classroom in my school has a projector, my students could easily be a part of the conversation. It reminds me a lot of ICN on a larger scale.

Our first guest speaker, Steve Hargadon, created the classroom 2.0 ning. He said something that really resonated with me and I believe will have the greatest, easiest impact in my teaching. He commented that in school he wrote many papers that he still has to this day, that were only viewed by his teacher, himself, and his family. Students want a broader audience for the work they do. By publishing student work on the web, then others could view it. This could be by posting to a class blog, class newsletter, or in the final step of the writing process, publish to the web instead of a nice handwritten copy.

Our other guest speakers expanded my awareness of educational uses of Second Life. I also heard about the NETS, which I suspect will be used by many schools in the future as they write their standards.

All Things Google

Yesterday, June 16, in my emerging instructional technologies class, we learned about different tools that Google has to offer.

The first thing I learned was how much the simple Google search has to offer. It can be used as a spellchecker, to find synonyms, and as a calculator. These would be very useful in class. Especially if each student had their own computer.

Another useful google tool was google.com/mobile. Through mobile devices, like cell phones, students can find locations and do searches. Although my elementary students may not have many uses for this, it is amazing to think of high schoolers using these tools! (Most have the tool anyway.)


I also learned how to use Google Docs, Forms and Pages. This lets you collaborate at the same time or different time as other members. Google Pages lets you create web pages. This would be great for WebQuests. It would also work to have a class newsletter that students could contribute to.

I have never explored Google before, but I am anxious to pass these ideas on to other teachers.

Blogging from e-mail

I am trying something new! I am blogging from my e-mail. I have even
taken a photo of myself using a mac. Not the best photo, but not bad
for an 8:00 class.
We've been exploring mobile tools like Google 411 and SMS.

Other Blogs

I was researching some other blogs today. I noticed that it is hard to find a blog through the generic google search. I wondered how people find others blogs. Then, I saw that my professor had a link to a google blog search.

I tried it out and was amazed at how much easier it was. I guess when you're a novice like me, simple things can be hard!


As I was enjoying all the blogs (I happened to search a generic "grade three") I noticed one that a teacher used to inform her parents. It was a lot like a weekly newsletter. This would prevent the stuffing of the papers in the bags by students and the parents never getting those papers! You would need to make sure that all families have access to a computer. I love how this teacher also used the blog as a calendar for the parents of upcoming events.

Grade Three Blog

Blogging Assignment about Multiplie Discussions

Before I begin my thoughts on multiple avenues for chatting, I want to send my best wishes to those affected by the floods. As someone who has loved ones that have lost their house, I am thankful for all the help and compassion being shown.

Last Thursday night, June 5, my class held a discussion. This online discussion was unique because it was being held across three venues, a chat room, mebeam, and secondlife. I found it hard to follow a linear conversation. There were several side conversations going on in each venue. Digital Natives would have an easier time with this multi-tasking. I however, am a very linear person and found myself getting confused and perhaps a little frustrated.

I do have a little pride that I was able to attempt all three. You do need the right equipment (microphones, speakers, cameras, high-speed internet, sound cards, video cards, and lots of other equipment I can't even comprehend) to make it the most successful. If you have the right equipment, I could see mebeam being benefically the most because you can have images and sound.

Deb, another student in my EIT class also tried to use all three. She saw some value in using mebeam and chat. She said in her blog, "As far as an aspect of distance learning, chatting and mebeam are a couple of venues which make it possible for individuals from a large geographical area to come together and share thoughts at one time. "

It was a great experience that encouraged me that I was more capable than I previously thought!

I am off to do more sandbagging.

Changing Profession

I was talking to my students the other day about space exploration. They wanted to know more about Neil Armstrong. I did not remember much from many years ago when I was a student. However, I was able to go to my computer and search Neil Armstrong. I then put up the information on the projector so the students could see pictures of him. We learned together.
As a teacher, my role was to have all the facts and information and help the students learn those facts. Now, through technology, we can learn together. This gives them endless learning opportunities since I do not know everything! They can learn beyond my limited knowledge. I just wonder how long until others catch on and realize that learning is different for kids today, so teaching must be different as well.