Technology is ever changing and it is so hard to keep up with it. This class gave me a lot of new information as to what technology is out there and how that can be used in a classroom. There are so many types of programs that I never knew of and how they could be used. This class gave me the chance to explore the tools (photoshop, wikis, blogs, and etc.) and I really how it is user friendly and can be another form of output from the students.
While this class gave me many resources, there are a few that I am unsure of (Classroom 2.0 and VoiceThread). These can be quite complex and it is here that I question if technology is to involved. I want to find the right balance so that I can allow my class to be part of this ever evolving age, butI also want the students to use regular pen and paper, call me a traditionalist, I guess :)
Friday, October 2, 2009
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
VoiceThread...Maybe later?
As much as I love Photostory, I was not feeling much of VoiceThread, even though it offers, I think, much more. Photostory allowed me to use it right away and it was user friendly. With voicethread, I somewhat got it from playing around, but it was a little difficult in figuring out what did what and how to do certain things. I do like the tools that it offers once you make a video (such as being able to draw, people can add their own thoughts into it), but it was just a little complicated for me. In an elemntary setting, I believe that this program, for me, would probably be used later on (as in 5-6th grade and up). I can see how it would be boring after doing so many photostories, so this would definately be an upgrade.
As for how I would use it? I like that other people can give their input and comments, so the book discussion was actually a pretty cool idea. I would use it as a way for students to share thoughts with their students, but in a creative and updated output. When I was in my undergrad classes, some teachers made me and my group do "group chats" so we can discuss about certain topics. VoiceThread is one way that they would be able to talk, hear, and respond to one another.
Randomness: I really like this website http://educationalsoftware.wikispaces.com/Online+tool It is a huge compilation of free (from what I saw) sites.
As for how I would use it? I like that other people can give their input and comments, so the book discussion was actually a pretty cool idea. I would use it as a way for students to share thoughts with their students, but in a creative and updated output. When I was in my undergrad classes, some teachers made me and my group do "group chats" so we can discuss about certain topics. VoiceThread is one way that they would be able to talk, hear, and respond to one another.
Randomness: I really like this website http://educationalsoftware.wikispaces.com/Online+tool It is a huge compilation of free (from what I saw) sites.
Saturday, September 19, 2009
Photo Story!
I have always seen little videos that are "made" by many people. Youtube is filled with them and I always wondered how it was done. Playing with Photostory in class, I never realized how easy it was to make one. Since the steps are so simple, and many younger children are tech-savvy, I think this would be a nice project, for any subjects, for the students to make.
I believe that this can be a great tool for the classroom as it allows the students to be involved with technology, but is also another way to present their ideas. Having voice overs can allow them to do their "oral" speech, as it can be an option for those that are very shy. It is also a creative tool. Students make the whole thing from start to finish, and I believe that lets them think outside the box to whatever possiblities they come up with. Creating any piece of work and "publishing" it, makes a big impact on students when they see ther finished work. If students can see an outcome right away, I think they will be more motivated to do the work.
I believe that this can be a great tool for the classroom as it allows the students to be involved with technology, but is also another way to present their ideas. Having voice overs can allow them to do their "oral" speech, as it can be an option for those that are very shy. It is also a creative tool. Students make the whole thing from start to finish, and I believe that lets them think outside the box to whatever possiblities they come up with. Creating any piece of work and "publishing" it, makes a big impact on students when they see ther finished work. If students can see an outcome right away, I think they will be more motivated to do the work.
Friday, September 11, 2009
Blog or Wiki
To blog or to wiki, that is the question. Learning about wiki this past class has made me wonder how I felt about wikis. It is definitely conflicting as there are pros and cons to it. One of my favorite website is wikipedia.org and I love it. When I start to read one page, I end up having up to ten tabs open because of the articles/links I find within the post. However, as much as I like to read the articles, I hate writing them. The wikipedia has everything! What can you add to it??? When I took a teachnology and media class in my undergrad, one of my assignment was to do a wiki post, and that was my thought exactly.
The wiki is a community where anyone can edit the content. That is something I am not sure about. If I was to use wiki's as a tool in my classroom, I need to make sure that the students can handle it if their post was greatly modified or erased. I know I felt horrible when I checked up on my wiki from my technology class to find that it had been deleted! How rude! But really, it was not fun to find it gone. Students learn from each other, but I would really question if I would have one in my classroom as I have to be aware of the students' and their sensitivity (if they are). Maybe to balance that out, I can have them do blogs as well, that way they can have options and not care as much since one is a classroom effort, while the other one is for themselves.
The wiki is a community where anyone can edit the content. That is something I am not sure about. If I was to use wiki's as a tool in my classroom, I need to make sure that the students can handle it if their post was greatly modified or erased. I know I felt horrible when I checked up on my wiki from my technology class to find that it had been deleted! How rude! But really, it was not fun to find it gone. Students learn from each other, but I would really question if I would have one in my classroom as I have to be aware of the students' and their sensitivity (if they are). Maybe to balance that out, I can have them do blogs as well, that way they can have options and not care as much since one is a classroom effort, while the other one is for themselves.
Friday, September 4, 2009
Blogs: Tool or Time Consuming?
In this Literacy and Technology class, I am looking forward to see what other means of technology there are that can be integrated into a classroom. It was a lot of information given in the first class, but I thought it was a nice introduction to what technology is or can be (Web 1.0 v.s. Web 2.0, or the LoTi system). I was familiar with one particular subject that we talked in class, blogging.
As a teenager, I grew up blogging as that was a very popular fad (Xanga or LiveJournal anyone?). So I was surprised to find a few blogs as I was looking up for resources on certain topics for previous reasearching. I was even more surprise to discuss about them in class and the blogs that were availible for us to explore. I visited http://readwithme.edublogs.org/ and had found several intersesting posts. However, I thought the 3 or 4 posts I found within a year's worth of post made me wonder, is blogging worth the time and energy?
One blog post that I liked was when the author talked about a book and how it can be used in the classroom. It was a mini lesson post, and while I believe in best practice, I thought that was pretty resourceful as it allowed me to see what other point of views or ideas that I had missed.
Blogging can be a useful implement, but it might not yield results or prove worth the effort for the amount of time required. Like most and many things, it is up to the teacher's personal choice, and time and effort they are willing to put forth. Yet, to play the devil's advocate, if everyone thought that way, many ideas would not be shared in this world we call Web 2.0...
As a teenager, I grew up blogging as that was a very popular fad (Xanga or LiveJournal anyone?). So I was surprised to find a few blogs as I was looking up for resources on certain topics for previous reasearching. I was even more surprise to discuss about them in class and the blogs that were availible for us to explore. I visited http://readwithme.edublogs.org/ and had found several intersesting posts. However, I thought the 3 or 4 posts I found within a year's worth of post made me wonder, is blogging worth the time and energy?
One blog post that I liked was when the author talked about a book and how it can be used in the classroom. It was a mini lesson post, and while I believe in best practice, I thought that was pretty resourceful as it allowed me to see what other point of views or ideas that I had missed.
Blogging can be a useful implement, but it might not yield results or prove worth the effort for the amount of time required. Like most and many things, it is up to the teacher's personal choice, and time and effort they are willing to put forth. Yet, to play the devil's advocate, if everyone thought that way, many ideas would not be shared in this world we call Web 2.0...
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
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