Podcasting

Podcasts are digital media files which are downloaded through the Internet. Podcasts can be a useful tool in the classroom for delivering content. They also allow alternatives to reading in literature classes, can provide sound bytes of plays, poems, and novel, and can even relay news events from news sites such as CNN and NPR. NPR, for instance, now publishes most of their interviews on their website for users in this format so that you can listen to them anytime and anywhere.
As an addition to my WebQuest "Voices from the Holocaust" students are encouraged to listen to the Podcast on the blog as well. The podcast features the book "An Unbroken Chain" by Henry Ortelt, a Holocaust survivor.

WebQuest

A WebQuest is a learning activity used by educators. During this activity learners read, analyze, and synthesize information using the World Wide Web.
I adapted the classroom based lesson "Voices from the Holocaust" to an interactive WebQuest, in which students explore the Holocaust through the novel, The Boy in the Stripped Pajamas by John Boyne. Teaching the Holocaust introduces students to the dangers of prejudice and promotes tolerance and compassion. Furthermore Holocaust education gives students an opportunity to understand their own feelings toward issues such as peer pressure, stereotyping, bullying, and discrimination. The character of Bruno in The Boy in the Striped Pajamas reflects this effectively and this novel is the main focus of our study.

You can find the link to this WebQuest in the Educational Links section in the top right corner of this blog.

YouTube

YouTube is streaming video website which allows users to post and share video clips. Unregistered users can watch videos, while registered users are permitted to upload an unlimited number of videos. YouTube is often criticized for its failure to regulate user content and adhere to copyright laws. Likewise, parents and educators should use caution when using YouTube, especially in the classroom. While the site contains useful information such as clips of famous speeches and performances, informational videos, and humorous content, it also contains material which may be offensive or inappropriate.
I chose to post on this blog Maya Angelou's poem "Still I Rise." Maya Angelou is one of the greatest living American poets and has received countless awards for her poetry and other written work. She wrote and delivered a poem, "On the Pulse of the Morning," at the inauguration for President Bill Clinton at his request.
I would use YouTube and Podcast technology to introduce new poets and their work, and allow students to hear poets read their own work. Beside YouTube, the web site Poets.org has many recordings of poets reading their selected works which could be used in the classroom to avoid inappropriate content on YouTube.

Knol

Knol is a tool from Google that allows individual authors to create a page on any given topic. I thought it would be a great resource in a writing course. You can have students publish their papers on Knol. This would give them experience with publishing and encourage them to write on various subjects.

iGoogle

iGoogle is a good choice for a personalized home page, especially if you prefer to use Google as your search engine. If you have used Google, you know that there is a lot of empty space on the main Google page under the search box. What iGoogle does is allow you to fill that space with handy little gadgets like a calender, a clock, or your favorite news feed. It can even bring up your local TV listing and Movie showtimes. It's easy to use and there are so many gadgets you can really personalize it and make it your own.

The gadgets in this application can help to keep me uptodate on information from a variety of sources. Likewise the application links to your Google calendar and has a to-do list to help someone keep on track. Beyond this I don't know how I would use the application in the classroom.

Picasa

Picasa is a free photo organization and editing tool from Google, and for a free program, it really has a lot to offer. Picasa is desktop software that runs on Windows, and it can be downloaded from the web. After you install Picasa, it asks you if you'd like to scan your entire computer or if you'd like to scan just the desktop, my photos, and my documents folders. I'd really suggest restricting your search to just those folders, unless you've got more than one hard drive or you've been storing photos in odd locations. You can also import photos directly from a digital camera, which is a handy way to keep them organized from the start. Overall, the effects are pretty advanced for a free software program. You don't get as much control as you would in an advanced photo-editing package like Adobe Photoshop, of course, but the options and controls for photo editing are still really nice.

I'm really impressed with the newest version of Picasa. I've used Picasa for years and the earlier versions often were slow and took up a lot of vitual memory. The newest version runs a great deal faster.

I plan to use Picasa in the classroom, using the album options to show in graphic form the characters, settings, and contexts of books students are reading.

Google Caldendar

The Google Calendar is a free Internet calendar that lets you keep track of your own events and share your calendars with others. It's the ideal tool for managing personal and professional schedules. It is both simple to use and very powerful. You can register for a free Google Calendar account. One of the problems with an Internet calendar is that it's on the Web, and you may be too busy to check. Google Calendar can send you reminders of events. You can get reminders as emails or even as text messages to your cell phone. If you have a compatible cell phone, you can view calendars and even add events from your cell phone. This means you don't have to carry a separate organizer to events that will be within cell-phone range. Many people with Blackberrys use this tool to keep up-to-date on their schedules.

The only thing that's really missing from Google Calendar is a to-do list. It would be nice to see tasks that are not necessarily scheduled for a certain time, and it would be nice to be able to send or receive them like calendar events.

The Google Calendar would be great to help organize the busy schedule of an educator, and publish to students and parents available times for meetings and office hours.

Wikis and Wikipedia

A wiki is a website where every page can be edited in a web browser, by whomever happens to be reading it. It's so terrifically easy for people to jump in and revise pages that wikis are becoming known as the tool of choice for large, multiple-participant projects.

Wikipedia has enjoyed a charmed life, however, I would not allow it as a resource in my classroom. The site contains articles which are an incoherent hodge-podge of dubious factoids that adds up to something far less than the sum of its parts. Wikipedia aspires to be a reference work, but falls soundly short. In theory, Wikipedia is a beautiful thing, a collaborative site of information. However, without someone checking the citations and the information it is inconsistent and not a valid resource. One of the ways I would suggest students using the site would be by having them use links from the reference/citation section at the bottom of every article. By doing this they can go back to the original source and get accurate, unbiased information.

I created a PBwiki, but to be perfectly honest don't completely understand how this wiki site is different form a blog. I created a wiki classroom page and uploaded a report from my Race in America course on Angela Davis, I thought this would be relevant since she is speaking tonight at Ritsche Auditorium and because its a good example of a sample research paper for my students.

Blackboard, Desire2Learn, and Moodle

Blackboard is an online course management program which aides educators in classroom instruction.

Features of the Blackboard include:

• Ease of use
• Customizable Learning Environment
• Collaboration and Communication tools such as online discussions, chat, and virtual classrooms
• Access to information anytime - anywhere
• Access to Grades and Personal Information as well as grade management
• Links to a virtual content space
• Easy access to Library Resources
• Webspace for course materials
• Tests and Quizzes
• Digital assignment submissions for students
• Group collaboration within courses

However, despite Blackboard being the forerunner in classroom technology the cost is extremely expensive. Diversly, Desire2Learn is much less expensive than Blackboard, and has many of the same features, such as an eLearning Suite which provides group collaboration tools and course management tools.

The product also offers:

• D2L Learning Environment: web-based suit tools of teaching and learning tools for course development, delivery, and management
• D2L Eportfolio:intuitive platform for collecting, organizing, reflecting, and presenting learning artifacts
• D2L Learning Repository: enables organizations to effectively manage and share content across institutions, programs, courses, and sections
• D2L Live Room: real-time communication tools
• D2L Essentials: similar to D2L Learning Environment, but for the smaller eLearning programs and institutions
• D2L 2Go: mobile learning application, accessible from the blackberry
• D2L Competences: intergrates with other accessment tools

Although Desire2Learn's cost is much cheaper than Blackboard, the system works as such: the more students you buy for the less the cost. So if you have a smaller school system you many decide you want to go with a third alternative, Moodle. Moodle is a free web based software package for producing Internet based courses and websites. It is designed for collaboration, activities, and critical reflection and can be used to help organize assignments. Their are different roles for teachers and students and the software can be manipulated for the needs of the school or classroom using it.

Some of the features include:

• Polls and chat
• Modules for lessons, quizzes, forums, resources, surveys, wiki, and workshops

One of the downsides to using Moodle, however, is the low tech support which the company offers. Despite this fact I believe I will likely use Moodle as I desire to work in low-income school systems which will most likely be unable to pay for programs like Blackboard and Desire2Learn.

Zoho and GoogleDocs

Trying out Zoho and Google Docs was an interesting experience. On the one hand I found Google Docs limiting in the design and scope of the document. In comparison, Zoho was much more like Microsoft Word and Microsoft Excel in capabilities. However, I found myself frustrated with the difficulty of navigating Zoho. In comparison Google Docs is much faster and easier to use because of its simplistic application system. It also has a number of interesting templates available such as workout schedules, wedding planners, to-do lists, lesson plans, resumes, and much more. Although I was annoyed with the fact that it had such a limited font selection in the Docs program and was unable to paste a table into the Spreadsheet program, I think I'm more likely to use the Google Docs program because of its convenience (you can get to it from Google homepage which is my homepage) and easily navigated site layout. However, I had a problem with both applications printing options which tried to use other applications on my computer to open and print from. I was unhappy with this because if we are using these programs to try and replace current applications on our hard drives than why would we want the document to open from other applications to print. It just seems like a waste of time. Although, both applications I found have the option to print as a web page as well.

RSS Feeds: Importance in Professional and Personal Life

RSS feeds are an excellent resource to track and browse a variety of websites. Most of us have lots of web sites that we visit regularly. With RSS, you subscribe to a feed that sends you a summary of new content, with links to the updated stories. RSS keeps you current, and you're in control, since you decide what you want to see. There are also a number of useful ways you can use this tool. For one you can forward emails to RSS feeds or send feeds to social networking sites such as Twitter. You can even send RSS feeds to your phone. All of these, however have the same goal to eliminate the amount of time each of us spends perusing through various websites to track down information. RSS feeds save time for each of us, so that we can devote ourselves to spending time with family and friends and still remain up to date in our fast track society which is constantly changing and adapting.

I personally plan to use RSS to keep up on educational sites and to also follow friends and family members blogs.

Using Big Huge Labs in the Classroom (and other Online Generators)

As I considered the possible uses of this site in the classroom I noticed their trading card section which allows you to create a trading card of just about anyone. Immediately it struck me! Why not use these trading cards for a "Poet's Corner" to introduce students to noteworthy poets, playwrights, and writers. Often time we do not get to read a wide variety of authors in our literature courses. However, by uploading a new trading card with a different person each week the student's at least get a taste of other poets. You could even pair this with a blog where you could post a sample of the author's work or link it directly to the trading card with a URL. Other Online Generators can also be useful in adding variety in your lesson plans as well as spicing up student presentations.

The Uses of Splashr in the Classroom

As I considered the possible uses of a program like Splashr my mind turned to its uses in Communication Studies. The program would be wonderful to use as a first speech. Consider this, you have a student introduce the album they are going to show to the class briefly. From this point on the student simply discusses each photo (who's in it, where they are at, etc.) at the end of the slideshow the student gives a short conclusion. This would help so many students feel more comfortable with speaking to their class, and moreover, it helps the class to get to know one another.

The Benefits of Flickr in the Classroom

The use of Flickr imagery enables teachers to design lessons that promote and build visual literacy skills in students. A wide variety of applications to learning exist by using Flickr photography, from using single photographs as writing prompts to using multiple image sets in digital storytelling projects. Other applications of Flickr include using Flickr to create virtual field trips and as a source of imagery to improve student presentations.
Flickr’s use in education settings does have some considerations to review. The Flickr site allwos users to upload any and all types of imagery. Some of this may not be appropriate in the classroom. Caution should be used when searching specific topics and a discussion with students about what should take place when inappropriate imagery is located should be done prior to use. As always, the use of Flickr, or any other resource like this, should be balanced against the climate and culture of the school or school district.

Social Networking in the Classroom

While many schools discourage the use of social networking sites in school, these sites often have unharnessed potential in the classroom. For instance, Facebook has an application weRead (formerly iRead), which allows users to recommend books, rate them, and write critiques. This program reflects the practices of the much praised Nancie Atwell, who has her students write in journals about their reading experiences allowing other students to comment on their peers reflections as well as herself. Social networking sites can be a valuable discussion tool for literature. The blogging feature also allows students to post their creative writing work and others to make comments. Such a feature helps to build student confidence in their writing. Overall I believe students should be allowed to use social networking sites within schools. The important issue is guiding them to productive use rather than simply posting comments to friends and watching videos. It simply comes down to an educator having the classroom management skills to guide his or her students.

Autobiography

There has always been something drawing me to the field of education. It started as a fascination with my parents careers. My mother was an elementary school teacher and eventually was drawn into the field of Special Education and Administrative Education. Growing up I spent a great deal of time assisting her in her room and working with students with special needs. Through these experiences she has undoubtedly been my greatest influence in the pursuit of my career. As I watched her influence the lives of her students, through her devotion and compassion for them, I was changed.

In school I found enjoyment in helping other students, and in the back of my mind I considered becoming a teacher. In my junior year of high school I met a teacher who inspired me with her love of teaching. Every year she seemed to breathe new life into her subject matter. I enjoyed her so much that I later became her teacher’s aid, a task which involved tutoring, correcting papers, editing for the newspaper, and organizing her class materials. At times she even asked me to present in class or to help her choose a lesson plan. Through this experience I gained confidence in my abilities, but it was not until one of my other teachers suggested education that I truly considered it. My teacher’s faith in my abilities made me realize that teaching was what I loved most. I found that I was happiest when I was teaching others and helping them achieve unknown levels of academic achievement.

A fresh start

This blog is a documentation of my educational goals, beliefs, and practices. It will serve as a portfolio for my work.