If you don’t know the trees you may be lost in the forest, but if you don’t know the stories you may be lost in life. —Siberian Elder
Such is the way of foresters and story tellers. What has story to do with multimedia? With each multimedia production that is created, and shared, no matter how short, a story is told. These stories document lives, events, emotions, ideas, and philosophies so they remain alive.
Multimedia sharing is the process of sharing images, documents, video and audio all in one display and the end product is something called a “mashup”. A mashup is a web site or application that combines two or more sources of information to create an integrated experience. Many of the sites that offer multi-media mashup creations are presenting users with the means to create videos, accompanied by text, artwork and any other media, all available from the leisure of their home computer. The mashup may be comprised of a user’s own product or it may be a compilation of data from many sources. Multimedia sharing sites such as VoiceThread, SlideShare, and Animoto, assist users by storing, sorting, automatically creating and sharing audio, and video combined with photos, and artwork online. Unless your computer has immense storage, it is best to store media files and information on a company site since they take up so much space in the computer memory. By storing the files elsewhere, the company offering the service ensures that you can upload your information to any sort of social networking site, and they provide the technical expertise free. And should you wish to create longer videos or store a great number of files, these sites offer the option of purchasing more storage for a fee. The short creation is a quick enticement into longer more complex mashups. While creation is the key to any multimedia project, mashups allow the amateur an opportunity to create something worthwhile sharing with others.
Mashups are easy to use, and do not require programming expertise so they allow the inexperienced user to create something wonderful. Although the user does not control the order in which photos are viewed or the size of image to coordinate with the audio, the creation is a simple manifestation of a set of complex HTML language set to work. To date mapping, photo sharing, and video sharing services lead the pack of applications well-suited to mashups. Popular social sharing sites such as Google Maps, and YouTube make use of mashups that provide a service of another kind to internet users.
Although many of the new multimedia sharing applications are hosted on the internet, there is software that can be installed to operate from a browser for multimedia construction and sharing. One such application is Scratch, a free multimedia computer program that was developed for the education system and is changing how youth learn programming, create media-based projects, and develop literacy skills in schools. This creation software allows users to create animation, interactive games, and art, as well as to learn programming concepts. (Nelson, 2009) The Scratch community, currently numbering over 250,000, features projects as they are posted, downloaded, remixed, and uploaded. This collaborative environment protects posted projects through its Creative Commons license so that contributors retain ownership of their own work with an embedded code attributing content to the original source. This free downloadable software employs complex code and is hosted on the school browser. This program can be used to “create quite complex projects that involve multiple sprites (characters), variables, and background stages, each of which can be programmed to interact in a range of ways.” (Nelson, 2009) The projects that I checked out all used animation and symbols combined with music to create animation and although most of them are clever, the projects don’t seem to have much point to the end product. The point comes more in the students having learned something about programming and sharing information as Nelson points out that the“key to successful teaching lies in our ability to ask informed questions and encourage the program's users to consult one another for problem solving.” If I was teaching a programming or computer technology class, the site would offer some interesting possibilities and so I will suggest this site to my computer technology teachers. Since I am not interested in creating gaming-like individual scenes, this software does not interest me enough to make me want to proceed further than observation.
Voice Thread offers easy to use benefits, has minimal memory requirements, while focusing on content rather than technology. This application allows the user to upload a photo or video, apply text for additional information, and record audio that accompanies the visual. The demonstration video caught my eye and so I tried it out. As you see, I have chosen to use my project as an oral examination of visual media. I was easily able to record my directions, add another explanatory entry and input text for visual learners. I was rather pleased with the end product because it didn’t take long to complete and offered some worthwhile opportunities. This site is great for grandparents to share in the lives of grandchildren and their memories of an incident or work of art and allows them to offer comments as well. If the project is made open to the public, anyone can also comment on the project. This application could be used to allow numerous classes or fellow classmates comment on each others’ work. Potentially, authors, artists, teachers, and other students could all post comments that could prove beneficial to student learning in a subject area. In the science department, whole labs could be recorded, and the procedure and observations presented each step of the way. This would lend a whole new and interesting take to lab “write ups”. If each group of students was to present one lab using Voice Thread, other students and teachers would have the opportunity of commenting and questioning while experiencing each lab and furthering individual as well as whole class knowledge. In social studies, Voice Thread offers “a new dimension for creative analysis of historical photographs, maps and artifacts.” (Valenza, 2008) This site is also useful for storytelling of all kinds and I found a project called “My Father” particularly enjoyable as a student describes his father’s life in the military and his father as a hero. ESL students could benefit in the use of this application for personal story development as well as vocabulary. A picture, with accompanying text may be presented with students responding by saying the word and then explaining its meaning. It would be interesting to experiment further and create a tour of the library or step-by-step directions on how to use the OPAC. From “stories” that offer memories, to those that build understanding to those that inform and instruct, this site opens up incredible possibilities that could be used by every teacher as more participatory experience is created while facilitating collaborative interaction. The visual/verbal nature of this site appeals to a broad base of users and particularly to those who learn best using those modalities. Voice Thread has been so popular amongst educators that they have implemented a K-12 user section which offers privacy protection. This is a powerful feature when considering safety on the net and is made all the more powerful in that the company altered its standards when teachers demonstrated concern.
Another free site for creating mashups is SlideShare. This site encourages users to upload Power Point presentations or documents which, when created as a Slide Share, can be embedded into blogs and websites or Facebook. Slides can be linked with audio or videos. Users may add a movie clip to illustrate a point or create a compilation of videos or audio. This site seems useful for everything from photos and commentaries of the family to interviews or a compilation of conference presentations; however, it seems to be geared a bit more toward the business world. One benefit is that presenters can learn which websites are embedding their PPT presentations. Teachers could use this site to post notes or presentations that would normally take place in the classroom. This could be an advantage to students, particularly if they were absent or needed to review information. The site could also be useful for creating a set of directions or explanations supported by video. Students may find this feature useful when creating presentations or labs in order to demonstrate a technique or manoeuvre.
Animoto is the third free site mashup creation site and although, relatively new on the scene, is quickly rising in popularity. Taking into consideration music's genre, rhythm, and tempo, Animoto configures photos, to create a video that shifts and changes to the beat and tempo of the music. Users may select from creating either a short (approximately 15 photos) free video project or a long video for which the user pays. Music may be selected from the Creative Commons section of the site and then the software configures the photos and music to form the video. Unfortunately for those who enjoy getting their hands “dirty” with programming, they won’t be able to since you can’t control features such as: the timing or order between slides, the black background color, the limited number of characters usable in the text slides, the white text color and the font face or size. Should the song have an up tempo, transitions between photos will occur quickly so if there are special pictures that you wish to emphasize , select the video editor and click the spotlight button to allow you to do this. Since the end result video is approximately 30 seconds long, it is advisable to pick your best 15 to 20 photos. When the song selection is finished, Animoto automatically discards any photos remaining. However, Animoto for Education gives teachers and students unlimited access to its standard and premium services for free which is certainly a benefit to cash-strapped schools. This application was fun and easy to use. It serves well for movie trailer type projects such as featuring a novel or book that has just been read/studied, telling a photo/music story, responding to a poem or short story, creating a mood for a particular time in history, or a particular music genre, featuring student art work or the physical aspects of the school, or for creating collage of any type. Although the easiest application to use, it produces sophisticated videos with more improvements on the horizon according to the guys from Animoto.
As I ponder my own teaching circumstance, I know that students would enjoy and learn from each of these multimedia production applications. Many students already use Power Point supported with music particularly in social studies, but they either burn it to a CD or save it on a mobile device. If they were given the opportunity to produce their work using Slide Share, it would mean fewer forgotten tools and projects. It would also mean that students could work collaboratively on a project by sharing it between members of the group so that it could be changed and edited as needed rather than trying to convene physically at one student’s house when busy schedules will not allow given the due date of the project. Voice Thread would also prove beneficial for student use at my school in many curriculum areas and is definitely one of the applications I will be introducing to teachers this year in hopes that they will teach students or invite me to introduce this application to their students. Animoto is an interesting production application because of its quick creation and viewing makes it very accessible within short class times. The time within a particular block of learning does not allow individual multimedia presentations given 35 students in the class; however, Animoto would work wonderfully for a brief personal introduction by students to get to know one another at the beginning of the school year and the productions could encourage dialogue between students. Since teachers are always looking for a new means of getting to know students, something short but informative, this might just be the right tool.
Multimedia sharing projects are engaging and motivating as students are provided the opportunity to try new applications. Mashups allow teachers to turn learning over to students which means that teachers must know the applications their students are using so that teachers become facilitators. Differentiated learning takes place automatically when teachers use multimedia applications. The use of multimedia projects stimulates a number of senses at a time, which serves to grab the attention of the learner and holds it. When students are allowed to collaborate on a project, classroom management becomes less an issue and the locus of control is placed on the student.
Mashups provide students the opportunity to communicate and represent knowledge of a subject, as they act as designer, organizer, and creator and command deeper thinking in the process as students learn not just about the subject at hand but also about technology. In turn, students may also benefit as they learn to become more informed consumers of other multimedia presentations. Because they are working closely with the material for the presentation, they learn it more thoroughly than had they written a simple report. In a study of 8th graders, it was found that students who learned about the civil war using multimedia made long lasting connections with the material while students who learned traditionally had little to no retention of the material one year later. It was also noted that the level of student engagement was significantly higher amongst students with both high and low abilities.” (Lehrer) Learning becomes experiential in nature and therefore, memorable, as students attempt to produce a quality product. Engagement and learning go hand in hand. When students are interested in featuring content in the best means possible, they will be engaged and learning. Multimedia sharing is one means of binding content with enthusiasm and pride of production.
And so, our stories must live on and hence, are we saved just as this photo, A Mother of Seven Children has also been saved. I hope that my students will create meaning through their responses on this Voice Thread.
A Mother of Seven Children by Dorthea Lange
References
Barack, L. Pimp Your Library, School Library Journal, Vol. 54, Iss. 3, Retrieved March 2008 from http://proquest.umi.com.login.ezproxy.library.ualberta.ca/pqdlink?index=14&did=1438386211&SrchMode=3&sid=1&Fmt=3&VInst=PROD&VType=PQD&RQT=309&VName=PQD&TS=1248944762&clientId=12301&aid=1
Hargadon, S Web 2.0 Smackdown, School Library Journal, Vol. 54, Iss. 10, Retrieved Oct. 2008, from http://proquest.umi.com.login.ezproxy.library.ualberta.ca/pqdlink?index=24&did=1564977551&SrchMode=3&sid=2&Fmt=3&VInst=PROD&VType=PQD&RQT=309&VName=PQD&TS=1248944360&clientId=12301&aid=1
Harris, C A Prescription for Transforming Libraries, School Library Journal, Vol. 54, Iss. 10, Retrieved October 2008 from http://proquest.umi.com.login.ezproxy.library.ualberta.ca/pqdlink?index=3&did=1564977531&SrchMode=3&sid=2&Fmt=3&VInst=PROD&VType=PQD&RQT=309&VName=PQD&TS=1248944598&clientId=12301&aid=1
Langhosrt, E Golden Oldies. School Library Journal, Vol. 54, Iss. 3, Retrieved March 2008, from http://proquest.umi.com.login.ezproxy.library.ualberta.ca/pqdlink?
index=2&did=1438386031&SrchMode=3&sid=1&Fmt=3&VInst=PROD&VType=PQD&RQT=309&VName=PQD&TS=1248944175&clientId=12301&aid=1
Lehrer, R Studies to Support multimedia use in Education, Benefits of using Multimedia in Education, http://www.iste.org/research/reports/tlcu/multimedia.cfm
Nelson, J Celebrating Scratch in Libraries, School Library Journal, Vol. 55, Iss 5, Retrieved May 2009 from
http://proquest.umi.com.login.ezproxy.library.ualberta.ca/pqdlink?index=1&did=1694419001&SrchMode=3&sid=3&Fmt=3&VInst=PROD&VType=PQD&RQT=309&VName=PQD&TS=1248944433&clientId=12301&aid=1
Valenza, J (2008,, 03, 20). Benefits of VoiceThread. InfoTech4Lrng, from http://arllennium.wordpress.com/2008/03/20/voicethread-in-teaching-and-learning/ retrieved on July 27, 2009-07-30
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Sunday, July 26, 2009
Blog # 6 The Wonderful Worlds of Wikis
With his creation of Mickey Mouse, Walt Disney, famous film producer, director, screenwriter, voice actor, animator, entrepreneur and philanthropist, sped into becoming a pioneer in his field and one of the best-known motion picture producers and innovators in the world. Howard G. "Ward" Cunningham, designer and extreme programmer, pioneer American computer programmer, first developed the software WikiWikiWeb in 1994 and installed it on the website of his software consultancy, Cunningham & Cunningham as a means for programmers to be able to communicate and share their ideas more easily. (Wikipedia) Who knew then what we know now? Disney and Cunningham shared their genius so the rest of the world could benefit. Wiki" is a Hawaain word for "fast" which has had implications for collaboration and learning.
These popular easy to add, remove and edit collaborative websites have served to benefit not only computer programmers but educators and librarians as well. With the added benefits of being able to track changes and see who has changed the information, being able to roll back and view previously developed pages, and that users don’t need to know the complexities of HTML, wikis have become THE collaborative tool. At its best, a wiki is a combination of a web site and a word document, while at its simplest it requires no access privileges and can be read just as one would read any other web page. A standard web browser since neither special software nor a third party webmaster is needed to post content, provides access to many wiki sites such as Pbwiki, WikiSpaces, WetPaint, and PikiWiki, where individuals and groups may begin creating their own wiki experience. Keeping track of copious numbers of files or Word documents is easily handled since once a version has been edited and saved in the wiki application, it is stored and can be returned to at any time, making it easy to compare versions of the same document side-by-side and it can be "rolled back" if necessary. By using multimedia plugins, videos and audio can be embedded with a few clicks. Tags, RSS feeds and full page revisions are possible in little time making wikis dynamic knowledge-building tools that increase content as they provide depth to an idea or topic. (Mindel and Verma, 2006) Because of these capabilities, wikis have been likened to “open, three dimensional Three Ring Binders” whereby expansion is next to infinite and organization may be rearranged or added to when new information is presented. Another such analogy is as “Fly Paper For Ideas”, the wiki becomes a catchment for all sorts of ideas related to one topic where all ideas are caught and held. Wikis are works in progress with immediate flow or no preconceived built-in hierarchy. (Mindel and Verma)
Increasingly wikis are being looked at by educators as an ideal tool for introducing and sustaining collaborative work between students and teachers. Students might use a wiki for collaborating on a group research or inquiry project, icebreaker exercises, knowledge management system experience, literature reviews, a living encyclopaedia about school learning communities, peer review of writing exercises, personal portfolios, signup sheets for intramural events, student journaling, study notes, book reviews, podcasts, reading, literacy and syndicating or aggregating web resources. Effectively, any class project with an encyclopaedic or bibliographic format, a handbook or textbook, or any project that does not require specific authorship is suitable for a wiki. Options for wiki use are endless.
Teachers could also make excellent use of wikis. From application of concepts to real-world scenarios used as examples of learning, how-to’s on technology or some other aspect of curriculum, collections of educational curriculum based readings and web sites, creating book lists for staff and students, a lesson plan collaboration site either intra-school or as a link to the district learning community, and a meeting repository site. Again, the options are endless.
Whenever information is shared among learners, wikis are useful tools of learning. They facilitate a cognitive information processing model of learning which stresses the importance of learning styles, an extension of the constructivist model. Because learners can choose which information is included and how to best present that information, the student is truly in control of learning and learning style. Should a team partner be in another location, team breakdown does not occur since Wikis affords team members the luxury of participating from remote locations and it can be worked on simultaneously by team members. Since wiki content is egoless, and timeless, all members may add and edit content. Wikis could influence students to work to the greater good of all team members as they enhance new cultural, leisure and sophisticated shared learning. Since the focus is usually on the wiki textual content, theoretically, student reasoning, writing, editing and collaborative skills should also be honed in the process. As long as students don’t simply employ the tactic of “I’ll do part 1, if you do part 2, and we’ll amalgamate them” the wiki environment should foster better skill development. If authors each present their own work on a distinctively different page from those of the team, then very little learning will take place and the students will likely be more focused on marks than an overall seamless presentation of ideas and content. Wikis could potentially aid immature writers since identification of textual input is not usually imposed, so the reader would not know who the author is. This is an added bonus since it reinforces that the whole team take part in every aspect of the wiki development while both writer and editor learn essential skills in a non-threatening environment. Having stated this, the success of the wiki depends on the maturity and motivation of the learners of the group as they collaborate in order to produce something of worth reflecting growth. This process makes assessment of wikis difficult but maybe the success of the project is in truly learning the content of a topic or project rather than reflecting a number on a mark sheet. In this instance, a case could be made by the teacher for a group grade with an individual metacognitive exercise which is also awarded marks. This would allow the greater mark to reflect what and how aspects of the learning were enhanced by any particular learner.
As I investigated numerous wikis, the ones I felt offered a great deal of information valuable to libraries were Wiki Booklists for Teens, with its easy to read format; Teach Library an information for lifelong literacy site which houses information on everything from “orientation to the library”, “encouraging reading and love of literature” to “social responsibility.” For those interested in developing textbooks, wiki books is an engaging information site including exam strategies for students while ESL learners and teachers would find simple wiki books useful since it is organized visually and textually thus making it accessible to not only ESL learners but anyone who is visually more adept. Teacher Librarian Wiki offers valuable lists and sites useful to librarians and teachers from elementary to high school. Although this site is arranged in very long pages of information which I find distracting and overwhelming as someone new to wikis, there is a wealth of information here. Teach Library covers significant information for teacher-librarians in a shorter less distracting format. It even appears that Google has also introduced a competitor to Wikipedia: Knol which includes a visual and textual category list plus a search box at the top. I think it has much to add in order to catch up to Wikepedia.
To my knowledge, wikis have not been used much in the high school setting yet there appears to be no good reason for this. I know that teachers feel an increasing demand of time on curriculum but are we serving our students by not introducing them to wikis? It is my plan to introduce wiki technology to the teachers at a PD event in order to access enough time for them to become comfortable with some of the aspects and values of wikis. I would like to address its use for projects such as the social studies vocabulary and chapter review lists, group history projects as an optional choice to Power Point, the study of a novel in English class where students must build visual and textual information, and in science a biomes project, to name a few. I think that a good introduction might occur by using the wiki application to record minutes for our technology meetings. This could be made public for all teachers to view and seek out information rather than attempting to locate emails or other such documents. It goes without saying that before I present this information to teachers and students, I will be “playing” with my own wiki to add information and next to invite other staff to add, edit and enhance it. Rather than transmitting knowledge, wikis work best when learning is shared. I look forward to experiencing and learning with peers in the Wonderful World of Wikis.
My Wiki Space Address http://wikiforeducation.wikispaces.com/
References:
Bowllan, A (2008, 01, 09). A Wiki Gives a Book New Life. School Library Journal, Retrieved July 24, 2009, from http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/article/CA6590061.html
Mindel, J and Verma, S(2006). WIKIS FOR TEACHING AND LEARNING. Communications of the Association for Information Systems,, Volume 18, 2006), 1-23, Retrieved July 25, 2009, from http://cais.aisnet.org/articles/18-1/default.asp?View=Journal&x=62&y=11
S, J (2007, 02, 19). Learn about wikis and discover some innovative ways that libraries are using them. Retrieved July 26, 2009, from School Library Learning 2.0 Web site: http://schoollibrarylearning2.blogspot.com/2007/02/16-week-7-learn-about-wikis-and.html
Rosenfeld, E and Loertscher, D (2007). Info Tech: An Inf0-Skills Workout: Wikis and Collaborative Writing, in Toward a 21st Century School Librariy Media Program. Lanham, Maryland: The Scarecros Press, Inc.
“Ward Cunnungham”, Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. 25, July 2009, Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. 10 Aug. 2004. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ward_Cunningham
These popular easy to add, remove and edit collaborative websites have served to benefit not only computer programmers but educators and librarians as well. With the added benefits of being able to track changes and see who has changed the information, being able to roll back and view previously developed pages, and that users don’t need to know the complexities of HTML, wikis have become THE collaborative tool. At its best, a wiki is a combination of a web site and a word document, while at its simplest it requires no access privileges and can be read just as one would read any other web page. A standard web browser since neither special software nor a third party webmaster is needed to post content, provides access to many wiki sites such as Pbwiki, WikiSpaces, WetPaint, and PikiWiki, where individuals and groups may begin creating their own wiki experience. Keeping track of copious numbers of files or Word documents is easily handled since once a version has been edited and saved in the wiki application, it is stored and can be returned to at any time, making it easy to compare versions of the same document side-by-side and it can be "rolled back" if necessary. By using multimedia plugins, videos and audio can be embedded with a few clicks. Tags, RSS feeds and full page revisions are possible in little time making wikis dynamic knowledge-building tools that increase content as they provide depth to an idea or topic. (Mindel and Verma, 2006) Because of these capabilities, wikis have been likened to “open, three dimensional Three Ring Binders” whereby expansion is next to infinite and organization may be rearranged or added to when new information is presented. Another such analogy is as “Fly Paper For Ideas”, the wiki becomes a catchment for all sorts of ideas related to one topic where all ideas are caught and held. Wikis are works in progress with immediate flow or no preconceived built-in hierarchy. (Mindel and Verma)
Increasingly wikis are being looked at by educators as an ideal tool for introducing and sustaining collaborative work between students and teachers. Students might use a wiki for collaborating on a group research or inquiry project, icebreaker exercises, knowledge management system experience, literature reviews, a living encyclopaedia about school learning communities, peer review of writing exercises, personal portfolios, signup sheets for intramural events, student journaling, study notes, book reviews, podcasts, reading, literacy and syndicating or aggregating web resources. Effectively, any class project with an encyclopaedic or bibliographic format, a handbook or textbook, or any project that does not require specific authorship is suitable for a wiki. Options for wiki use are endless.
Teachers could also make excellent use of wikis. From application of concepts to real-world scenarios used as examples of learning, how-to’s on technology or some other aspect of curriculum, collections of educational curriculum based readings and web sites, creating book lists for staff and students, a lesson plan collaboration site either intra-school or as a link to the district learning community, and a meeting repository site. Again, the options are endless.
Whenever information is shared among learners, wikis are useful tools of learning. They facilitate a cognitive information processing model of learning which stresses the importance of learning styles, an extension of the constructivist model. Because learners can choose which information is included and how to best present that information, the student is truly in control of learning and learning style. Should a team partner be in another location, team breakdown does not occur since Wikis affords team members the luxury of participating from remote locations and it can be worked on simultaneously by team members. Since wiki content is egoless, and timeless, all members may add and edit content. Wikis could influence students to work to the greater good of all team members as they enhance new cultural, leisure and sophisticated shared learning. Since the focus is usually on the wiki textual content, theoretically, student reasoning, writing, editing and collaborative skills should also be honed in the process. As long as students don’t simply employ the tactic of “I’ll do part 1, if you do part 2, and we’ll amalgamate them” the wiki environment should foster better skill development. If authors each present their own work on a distinctively different page from those of the team, then very little learning will take place and the students will likely be more focused on marks than an overall seamless presentation of ideas and content. Wikis could potentially aid immature writers since identification of textual input is not usually imposed, so the reader would not know who the author is. This is an added bonus since it reinforces that the whole team take part in every aspect of the wiki development while both writer and editor learn essential skills in a non-threatening environment. Having stated this, the success of the wiki depends on the maturity and motivation of the learners of the group as they collaborate in order to produce something of worth reflecting growth. This process makes assessment of wikis difficult but maybe the success of the project is in truly learning the content of a topic or project rather than reflecting a number on a mark sheet. In this instance, a case could be made by the teacher for a group grade with an individual metacognitive exercise which is also awarded marks. This would allow the greater mark to reflect what and how aspects of the learning were enhanced by any particular learner.
As I investigated numerous wikis, the ones I felt offered a great deal of information valuable to libraries were Wiki Booklists for Teens, with its easy to read format; Teach Library an information for lifelong literacy site which houses information on everything from “orientation to the library”, “encouraging reading and love of literature” to “social responsibility.” For those interested in developing textbooks, wiki books is an engaging information site including exam strategies for students while ESL learners and teachers would find simple wiki books useful since it is organized visually and textually thus making it accessible to not only ESL learners but anyone who is visually more adept. Teacher Librarian Wiki offers valuable lists and sites useful to librarians and teachers from elementary to high school. Although this site is arranged in very long pages of information which I find distracting and overwhelming as someone new to wikis, there is a wealth of information here. Teach Library covers significant information for teacher-librarians in a shorter less distracting format. It even appears that Google has also introduced a competitor to Wikipedia: Knol which includes a visual and textual category list plus a search box at the top. I think it has much to add in order to catch up to Wikepedia.
To my knowledge, wikis have not been used much in the high school setting yet there appears to be no good reason for this. I know that teachers feel an increasing demand of time on curriculum but are we serving our students by not introducing them to wikis? It is my plan to introduce wiki technology to the teachers at a PD event in order to access enough time for them to become comfortable with some of the aspects and values of wikis. I would like to address its use for projects such as the social studies vocabulary and chapter review lists, group history projects as an optional choice to Power Point, the study of a novel in English class where students must build visual and textual information, and in science a biomes project, to name a few. I think that a good introduction might occur by using the wiki application to record minutes for our technology meetings. This could be made public for all teachers to view and seek out information rather than attempting to locate emails or other such documents. It goes without saying that before I present this information to teachers and students, I will be “playing” with my own wiki to add information and next to invite other staff to add, edit and enhance it. Rather than transmitting knowledge, wikis work best when learning is shared. I look forward to experiencing and learning with peers in the Wonderful World of Wikis.
My Wiki Space Address http://wikiforeducation.wikispaces.com/
References:
Bowllan, A (2008, 01, 09). A Wiki Gives a Book New Life. School Library Journal, Retrieved July 24, 2009, from http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/article/CA6590061.html
Mindel, J and Verma, S(2006). WIKIS FOR TEACHING AND LEARNING. Communications of the Association for Information Systems,, Volume 18, 2006), 1-23, Retrieved July 25, 2009, from http://cais.aisnet.org/articles/18-1/default.asp?View=Journal&x=62&y=11
S, J (2007, 02, 19). Learn about wikis and discover some innovative ways that libraries are using them. Retrieved July 26, 2009, from School Library Learning 2.0 Web site: http://schoollibrarylearning2.blogspot.com/2007/02/16-week-7-learn-about-wikis-and.html
Rosenfeld, E and Loertscher, D (2007). Info Tech: An Inf0-Skills Workout: Wikis and Collaborative Writing, in Toward a 21st Century School Librariy Media Program. Lanham, Maryland: The Scarecros Press, Inc.
“Ward Cunnungham”, Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. 25, July 2009, Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. 10 Aug. 2004. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ward_Cunningham
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Blog # 5: Virtual Libraries: A Fun House Extravaganza
The season of local fairs and expositions is upon us! An avid midway follower can experience it only once a year. From scarfing down candy floss, mini-donuts, and elephant ears to the traumatizing rides of terror and excitement we take it all in. And then there’s the fun house where nothing is as it seems—costumed characters live to frighten and delight visitors with make-believe props. Wait a minute—are we talking about a local fight delight or the virtual experience? Hopefully the visit isn’t too frightening but that could almost serve as a description for Second Life where Avatars are assumed and the world is created. Welcome to the epitome of the virtual experience. So how does all this apply to libraries? Do all libraries have to be hosted in Second Life to be virtual? Let’s explore those and other ideas a bit further.
Increasingly, there is a need to invite and engage internet users used to obtaining the information they need within seconds. As of March 2009, approximately 1,596,270,108 people worldwide use the Internet, according to Internet World Stats, while the average user is 29.77 years of age. (de Argaez, 2009) These Web 2.0 users demand accessibility, flexibility, and collaborative ability as they have come to expect in the social networks that they frequent. With a decrease in the use of hard copy books as reference tools, it is clear that the internet is the most used source of information, not the public or school physical library. As a result, it has become necessary to meet the users where they are most comfortable—on the web.
In its purest form, a virtual library is an online location that offers information, services, archives, and exemplars that are not housed in a physical location. The library web page should have continuous access, from anywhere at any time. However, I suggest that most of our virtual libraries for major institutions are likely a cross between the physical and online environments because we need students, teachers and parents to know what’s available given any learning circumstance. Should the power go down or the district decide to shut down services for repairs or updates, teachers and students need to know that they can continue in a physical world when the virtual world is inaccessible. “The effective library Web page pulls together, in one unified interface, all of a library's resources--print and electronic... The library website represents the library program. It offers guidance and instruction while it fosters independent learning. It models careful selection. It offers valuable public service and can redefine “community.” The site supports reading, learning, and the building of knowledge.” (Valenza, 2007) The term, virtual, implies a hosted site whereby an institution or collective can post information about that library’s resources, whether they are online, e-books, or print resources. Several school and public libraries have sophisticated virtual libraries which offer open sources of information and access to Web 2.0 tools at any time of the night or day given that connection is available.
In keeping with one of the primary mandates of schools, the virtual library and all other school related web pages likely run from an intranet which is protected by a firewall. (Loertscher, 2007) An intranet is theoretically designed to keep predators or outsiders out of the system so that FOIP is not breached and our staff and students are relatively safe while using the system. Although this site will not carry everything available, it will contain everything available that library hosts or holds. The theory of school library collections is that they hold a small but large enough resource collection to challenge a targeted set of learners. Quality of resources, a curriculum match, appropriate level of difficulty and reader ability all should still be considered for any school library collection. The core collection will include the essentials for basic research such as encyclopaedias, dictionaries, atlases, and curricular based databases, and online resources. E-textbooks, curriculum based resources such as the Albert Online Reference Centre connections, non-fiction and fiction along with graphics packages, presentation software, web construction software, assistive technology, audio and video, student archives and other tools required by students and staff members so they may engage in quality learning and teaching will also be purchased or accessed through online services.
Each of the virtual libraries that I visited offered many of the same features although in very different manner. I chose to follow three high school virtual libraries since those are most synonymous with my school. All sites were eye pleasing but I found myself attracted to the two that had the visual components: Creekview offered a cheerful looping video of scenes from the library, while Penfield’s illustrated a Bart Simpson excerpt with advice from the library. Some of the sites that I looked at were much easier to navigate than others such as the Harry Ainlay site which offered a library search and search engines list so they could be seen immediately. I think this would be very useful to students. This site also ran an RSS news feed and a link to the Edmonton Public library. It listed together pertinent information that could be found in the community, again a useful and well organized feature. All sites offered an OPAC or information search, and to varying degree, tutorials. The informative tutorials from Penfield would be very helpful for students but may obscure the other aspects that this library has to offer. Each site offered information regarding reading, book lists or choices and literary awards. All sites appeal to students of Web 2.0 as they offer learning connections to social networks, intermingled with the databases and e-books hosted by the library. Creekview’s site has a fun-loving and personable charm while Penfield’s site was informative but significant information may be overshadowed by the tutorials which are very visible. Harry Ainlay, while being functional, is not as visually appealing as either of the others. There is a style of presentation for everyone and the style depends upon the individual(s) constructing the library site; however, if we are to follow Valenza’s advice, books and reading, information access and delivery, teaching and learning, and program administration are the categories that are significant for any school virtual library.
When I reflect on my school’s virtual library site, I immediately notice several differences when compared with what Joyce Valenza recommends and what is demonstrated at these other virtual libraries. In schools within our district, the library page is an extension of the school website template which follows system-wide guidelines and is run from an intranet. Although high schools have considerable open search capabilities, we are still blocked from some of the web 2.0 applications and tools. We can search and locate all of the sexual diseases because they relate to curriculum but we can’t access a tool such as Wordle which would benefit many curriculums.
My school library site targets high school students who include: the gifted, ESL, the worldly, and those with academic and physical challenges. Therefore, I purchase or supply resources which fit a reading range of teens from those who are beginning readers to those who are experienced and insightful readers. I also address a population of high school students who come from all over the world and who have specific learning and cultural challenges. And, of course, like all too many libraries, our already tiny budget which has steadily decreased for the past 3 years, draws upon the graces of the school Parent Council to host casinos in order to support learning. Because we do not have optimal funding and our students are more comfortable researching online, it is necessary that we meet the needs of these various learners and how better to do it than provide them with a virtual library that informs them which books are housed physically in our library, which e-books we own that are housed online for their specific use, which student vetted resources are available provincially and federally and which open source sites are best for the type of research students are engaging in. Primarily the information that I need to add to our school’s virtual library pertains largely to Web 2.0 tools such as searches for: video, wikis, audio books, images, RSS feeds, digital citizenship, how-to’s and orientation assistance. I see a benefit to offering social networking services to students but I also feel that it takes a wise student to know when their own social networking should be accessed and generally I have found that a large number of our students do not have these discretionary abilities yet unless guided by a teacher. I will need to ponder this one further. By providing the variety offered by a virtual library, we are serving all students from those comfortable and adept at using the web to conduct open searches to those who require guidance and specific direction.
Second Life, a free online virtual world created by its members called Residents, and filled with people, entertainment, experiences and opportunity is the full virtual treatment. Although it was conceived of as an entertainment site, societies, and institutions have seen worth in it as a means to inform those who are members. “Much of this population is homebound and virtual worlds give them the opportunity to experience things they would not otherwise get to do...The many library services available in Second Life increase its utility for people with disabilities and chronic health conditions.” (Lorelie, 2009) When explained like that, I can see the use of Second Life libraries; however, this requires extensive knowledge and time to set up and run as well as time to learn to manoeuvre around in this world. Since I am only just having some success in manoeuvring the various aspects of Web 2.0, a Second Life library is not one that I will be building any time soon. An interesting concept though not one that I would suggest for school library use.
Insert video
http://www.viddler.com/explore/sirexkat/videos/1/
References:
de Argaez, E Internet Usage Stats: The Internet Big Picture. 2009. In Internet World Stats [Web]. Bogata, Columbia: Nielson Online. Retrieved July 22, 2009, from http://www.internetworldstats.com/stats.htm
Loeartscher, David (2007) The Digital School Library: a Worldwide Development and a Fascinating Challenge. In Rosenfeld, E and Loertscher, D. (Eds.) Toward a 21st Century School Librariy Media Program (pp. 108-117). Lanham, Maryland: The Scarecros Press, Inc..
Lorelie, (2009). Alliance Virtual Library. Retrieved July 22, 2009, from The many library services available in Second Life Web site: http://infoisland.org/2009/05/14/share-the-health-project-report-in-second-life-now-available/
Valenza, J (2007). A WebQuest About School Library Websites. Retrieved July 22, 2009, from Virtual library Web site: http://schoollibrarywebsites.wikispaces.com/
Increasingly, there is a need to invite and engage internet users used to obtaining the information they need within seconds. As of March 2009, approximately 1,596,270,108 people worldwide use the Internet, according to Internet World Stats, while the average user is 29.77 years of age. (de Argaez, 2009) These Web 2.0 users demand accessibility, flexibility, and collaborative ability as they have come to expect in the social networks that they frequent. With a decrease in the use of hard copy books as reference tools, it is clear that the internet is the most used source of information, not the public or school physical library. As a result, it has become necessary to meet the users where they are most comfortable—on the web.
In its purest form, a virtual library is an online location that offers information, services, archives, and exemplars that are not housed in a physical location. The library web page should have continuous access, from anywhere at any time. However, I suggest that most of our virtual libraries for major institutions are likely a cross between the physical and online environments because we need students, teachers and parents to know what’s available given any learning circumstance. Should the power go down or the district decide to shut down services for repairs or updates, teachers and students need to know that they can continue in a physical world when the virtual world is inaccessible. “The effective library Web page pulls together, in one unified interface, all of a library's resources--print and electronic... The library website represents the library program. It offers guidance and instruction while it fosters independent learning. It models careful selection. It offers valuable public service and can redefine “community.” The site supports reading, learning, and the building of knowledge.” (Valenza, 2007) The term, virtual, implies a hosted site whereby an institution or collective can post information about that library’s resources, whether they are online, e-books, or print resources. Several school and public libraries have sophisticated virtual libraries which offer open sources of information and access to Web 2.0 tools at any time of the night or day given that connection is available.
In keeping with one of the primary mandates of schools, the virtual library and all other school related web pages likely run from an intranet which is protected by a firewall. (Loertscher, 2007) An intranet is theoretically designed to keep predators or outsiders out of the system so that FOIP is not breached and our staff and students are relatively safe while using the system. Although this site will not carry everything available, it will contain everything available that library hosts or holds. The theory of school library collections is that they hold a small but large enough resource collection to challenge a targeted set of learners. Quality of resources, a curriculum match, appropriate level of difficulty and reader ability all should still be considered for any school library collection. The core collection will include the essentials for basic research such as encyclopaedias, dictionaries, atlases, and curricular based databases, and online resources. E-textbooks, curriculum based resources such as the Albert Online Reference Centre connections, non-fiction and fiction along with graphics packages, presentation software, web construction software, assistive technology, audio and video, student archives and other tools required by students and staff members so they may engage in quality learning and teaching will also be purchased or accessed through online services.
Each of the virtual libraries that I visited offered many of the same features although in very different manner. I chose to follow three high school virtual libraries since those are most synonymous with my school. All sites were eye pleasing but I found myself attracted to the two that had the visual components: Creekview offered a cheerful looping video of scenes from the library, while Penfield’s illustrated a Bart Simpson excerpt with advice from the library. Some of the sites that I looked at were much easier to navigate than others such as the Harry Ainlay site which offered a library search and search engines list so they could be seen immediately. I think this would be very useful to students. This site also ran an RSS news feed and a link to the Edmonton Public library. It listed together pertinent information that could be found in the community, again a useful and well organized feature. All sites offered an OPAC or information search, and to varying degree, tutorials. The informative tutorials from Penfield would be very helpful for students but may obscure the other aspects that this library has to offer. Each site offered information regarding reading, book lists or choices and literary awards. All sites appeal to students of Web 2.0 as they offer learning connections to social networks, intermingled with the databases and e-books hosted by the library. Creekview’s site has a fun-loving and personable charm while Penfield’s site was informative but significant information may be overshadowed by the tutorials which are very visible. Harry Ainlay, while being functional, is not as visually appealing as either of the others. There is a style of presentation for everyone and the style depends upon the individual(s) constructing the library site; however, if we are to follow Valenza’s advice, books and reading, information access and delivery, teaching and learning, and program administration are the categories that are significant for any school virtual library.
When I reflect on my school’s virtual library site, I immediately notice several differences when compared with what Joyce Valenza recommends and what is demonstrated at these other virtual libraries. In schools within our district, the library page is an extension of the school website template which follows system-wide guidelines and is run from an intranet. Although high schools have considerable open search capabilities, we are still blocked from some of the web 2.0 applications and tools. We can search and locate all of the sexual diseases because they relate to curriculum but we can’t access a tool such as Wordle which would benefit many curriculums.
My school library site targets high school students who include: the gifted, ESL, the worldly, and those with academic and physical challenges. Therefore, I purchase or supply resources which fit a reading range of teens from those who are beginning readers to those who are experienced and insightful readers. I also address a population of high school students who come from all over the world and who have specific learning and cultural challenges. And, of course, like all too many libraries, our already tiny budget which has steadily decreased for the past 3 years, draws upon the graces of the school Parent Council to host casinos in order to support learning. Because we do not have optimal funding and our students are more comfortable researching online, it is necessary that we meet the needs of these various learners and how better to do it than provide them with a virtual library that informs them which books are housed physically in our library, which e-books we own that are housed online for their specific use, which student vetted resources are available provincially and federally and which open source sites are best for the type of research students are engaging in. Primarily the information that I need to add to our school’s virtual library pertains largely to Web 2.0 tools such as searches for: video, wikis, audio books, images, RSS feeds, digital citizenship, how-to’s and orientation assistance. I see a benefit to offering social networking services to students but I also feel that it takes a wise student to know when their own social networking should be accessed and generally I have found that a large number of our students do not have these discretionary abilities yet unless guided by a teacher. I will need to ponder this one further. By providing the variety offered by a virtual library, we are serving all students from those comfortable and adept at using the web to conduct open searches to those who require guidance and specific direction.
Second Life, a free online virtual world created by its members called Residents, and filled with people, entertainment, experiences and opportunity is the full virtual treatment. Although it was conceived of as an entertainment site, societies, and institutions have seen worth in it as a means to inform those who are members. “Much of this population is homebound and virtual worlds give them the opportunity to experience things they would not otherwise get to do...The many library services available in Second Life increase its utility for people with disabilities and chronic health conditions.” (Lorelie, 2009) When explained like that, I can see the use of Second Life libraries; however, this requires extensive knowledge and time to set up and run as well as time to learn to manoeuvre around in this world. Since I am only just having some success in manoeuvring the various aspects of Web 2.0, a Second Life library is not one that I will be building any time soon. An interesting concept though not one that I would suggest for school library use.
Insert video
http://www.viddler.com/explore/sirexkat/videos/1/
References:
de Argaez, E Internet Usage Stats: The Internet Big Picture. 2009. In Internet World Stats [Web]. Bogata, Columbia: Nielson Online. Retrieved July 22, 2009, from http://www.internetworldstats.com/stats.htm
Loeartscher, David (2007) The Digital School Library: a Worldwide Development and a Fascinating Challenge. In Rosenfeld, E and Loertscher, D. (Eds.) Toward a 21st Century School Librariy Media Program (pp. 108-117). Lanham, Maryland: The Scarecros Press, Inc..
Lorelie, (2009). Alliance Virtual Library. Retrieved July 22, 2009, from The many library services available in Second Life Web site: http://infoisland.org/2009/05/14/share-the-health-project-report-in-second-life-now-available/
Valenza, J (2007). A WebQuest About School Library Websites. Retrieved July 22, 2009, from Virtual library Web site: http://schoollibrarywebsites.wikispaces.com/
Monday, July 20, 2009
Blog #4: What’s that Buzz—tell me what’s a happenin’
A few years ago, I hired an audio archivist to interview my, then, 85 year old mother. You see, my Mum, was the last of her generation in our family and as such, the keeper of our memories. Whenever we browsed the old photo albums, Mum would break into story—stories of the prairies, of her parents coming to Canada, of herself as a little girl. What I began to notice is that as the years went by, Mum was forgetting some of the significant events of her life and our oral history. Hence, the interview. I am so very happy that I had the forethought to archive some of those memories before they completely disappeared through the effects of aging and finally with my Mum’s recent death. What I didn’t know then was that this was a form of podcasting—a form of computer generated talking, chatting, dispensing of information and stories which are then shared with others who may have the same interests. What is Podcasting? The word podcasting is derived from combing the words iPod and broadcasting . Now add video-editing, and the concept become a new word, vodcasting. “Because bloggers are using built-in web feeds, many have chosen this format for their Podcasts, using each posting as an individual episode. These are often called audioblogs or vlogs.” (Lamb and Johnson, 2007) Podcasts are created using software that is easily downloadable from the internet. Audcacity, is one example of software designed to record and edit the audio components. Something as simple as recording one voice or as complicated as producing a show with dramatization, sound effects, and music is what this type of software handles. Skype, a free internet phone service can even be used effectively to communicate with others from around the world. It’s a good idea to check the communication speed when using Skype in countries such as Cuba. Their speed of connection is slower and therefore, it takes significantly longer to host an interchange of ideas amidst frequent disconnections. No matter what software is used, it must be able to record, edit, and export your creation as an MP3 file so that it may be heard on your blog. You may upload the file to your iPod to be heard instantly or to a site such as OurMedia.org which stores your file for free so you can link it to your blog. (Richardson, 2009) Selecting Podcasts for a Purpose: When looking for podcasts to supplement learning, teachers begin their search with the question: “What are the information needs?” When considering learner needs we might think of the curriculum outcomes, the types of learners in class, for instance “Who might benefit from hearing the information rather than reading about it or from the textbook?” and the grade level expectations. Supplementation of information for a course indicates that one is interested more in the quality of content rather than quality of recording. A person would not expect many added features other than the dissemination of information but it pays to give consideration to the technical quality of the sound. Some other aspects to consider here might be the audience, the authority of the author of the podcast and length. Selecting a well-known and qualified source such as the BBC would be a good idea when selecting a podcast for history or some aspect of culture. A short segment such as a part of a series might be a good option to hold student interest. (Lamb and Johnson, 2007) With the ease of video downloading today, likely a teacher would select course supplementation with a video which is more appealing to today’s learner. Check out “What makes a Good Podcast?” on Kathy Schrock’s website. Podcasts are an interesting means of delivering information to students with alternative learning needs or who require extended support. Primarily serving auditory learners, podcasts when incorporated into the curriculum component as a listening activity; however, when students are given the task of creating their own podcast in relation to curriculum, the kinesthetic and visual learner are also engaged. Much can be learned through the incorporation of podcasts into curriculum areas. “While creating podcasts, students learn to research, write, develop vocabulary, speak effectively, manage time, solve problems, and grab attention.” An added bonus is that many of our students have created YouTube videos so podcasts will seem a related medium. Given the expertise of the students, they can now share in the creation of classroom content and act as a learning leader in any particular class where podcasting is required. Guaranteed, today’s learner feels more at home with podcasting than many teachers will. Another bonus should a teacher decide to add an audio component to the notes provided for a course, students can easily transfer and listen to them on an iPod or another portable MP3 device as a means of study. This really makes learning portable and can serve to decrease stress should a student need to miss class. If the teacher’s podcasts are available on a website to which students have access, parents can feel included in student learning. The main questions that educators need to ask when thinking of incorporating podcasts into student learning are: • Is a portable audio format the best format for this task? • How does the podcast support my goals? • How does a podcast enhance student learning? (Esch, 2009) “While podcasting is getting easier as the software and equipment for it becomes more user-friendly, teachers who aren’t techies still need to carve out some time to negotiate podcasting’s learning curve.” (Borja, 2005) I stumbled across Audacity in 2004 when our school was looking for a way to record final examinations for students with learning needs. After playing around with the software, I was eventually able to record two sets of examinations and demonstrate the use of this technology for others to use. However, that was the last time I used it and I had to save the files so they could recorded onto CD’s to be used over several years. Do I recall how I did any of the recordings? Very little yet I distinctly recall how frustrated I felt because I truly knew nothing about MP3 files, or recording devices. It took me days to finally record, without error even one of those exams because I had to rewind, and record over the areas where I had made mistakes or misread lines. Remember, I am a Digital Immigrant! After my recent podcast, I am not much further ahead regarding downloading the podcast to my blog. I was, however, able to link to the address of my podcast which is hosted at Internet Archive . After I got the hang of saving my podcast as an MP3 and then creating an account at Internet Archive, things progressed rather smoothly. I still havne't been able to upload the image through my RSS feed but will continue trying. I'm still a Digital Immigrant! This all takes time out of a teacher’s long and stressful dayand makes for some very sleepless nights.
Teaching Suggestions using Podcasting:
- Poetry and short story and drama readings
- Oral history recording • Current events
- Collaborative projects such as reading buddies or interviews
- Debate of issues
- Language lessons—ESL
- School radio programs or the gripe of the day
- Virtual tours such as those used by the Calgary zoo for animal formation using audio
- Conduct and listen to author readings or interviews • Conduct audio readings for the book of the month featured by the student book club
- Explain “How to…” of technology along with the written format on the library web page • Recording readings and questions for final exams for those students who are required to have audio along with the readings.
- Advertising events such as book fairs, or banned book week
My podcast:
http://www.archive.org/details/PodcastJoExamples of Free Quality Podcast Sites:
Free Audio Stories for Kids http://storynory.com/
NASA science Stories: http://science.nasa.gov/
Math Grad Podcasts: http://www.podcastdirectory.com/podcasts/7095
Family Health Radio: http://fhradio.org/
Reader’s Digest http://www.airsla.org/readers_digest.asp http://www.rd.com/all-podcasts.do
Scholastic Podcast href="http://www.scholastic.com/harrypotter/multimedia/podcast.htmStone">http://www.scholastic.com/harrypotter/multimedia/podcast.htmStone
News (archaeology) http://recap.ltd.uk/podcasting/humanities/stonepages.php
EPN http://www.epnweb.org/index.php?view_mode=questions
CNN News Updates http://www.cnn.com/services/podcasting
History According to Bob http://www.summahistorica.com
The New York Times http://www.nytimes.com/ref/multimedia/podcasts.html
National Public Radio http://www.npr.org/rss/podcast/podcast_directory.php
PBS American Experience http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/podcasts.html P
residential Radio Addresses http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/radio
Sites for Free Music and Sound Effects Creative Commons:
- Sound effects only: http://www.freesound.org/
- Creative Commons Music http://freeplaymusic.com/
References
Borja, R (2005). Educators discover value of Internet audio programs.. Podcasting Craze Comes to K-12 Schools, Vol. 25, Issue 14,, Retrieved 07,16, 2009, from http://chatt.hdsb.ca/~elses/boylit/edweek%20article.pdf
Esch, E (2009,07, 19). Podcasting 101 for K–12 Librarians. Information Today, Inc., Vol. 26, No. 4, Retrieved July 19, 2009, from http://www.infotoday.com/cilmag/apr06/Eash.shtml
Islam, K (2007). Podcasting 101 for Training and Development: Challenges, Opportunities, and Solutions. San Francisco: Pfeiffer.
Richardson, W (2009). Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts, and Other Powerful WEb Tools for Classrooms. Thousand Oaks, California: Corwin Press.
Rosenfeld, E and Loertscher, D. (2007). Toward a 21st Century School Library Media Program. Podcastingin the School Library Part 1, Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow Press, Inc..
Rosenfeld, E and Loertscher, D. (2007). Toward a 21st Century School Library Media Program. InfoTech: Podcasting in the School Library, Part 2, Lnham, Maryland: Scarecrow Press, Inc.. Schrock, K (2009). Teacher Helpers. Retrieved July 19, 2009, from Kathy Schrock's Guide for Educators Web site: http://school.discoveryeducation.com/schrockguide/evalpodcast.html
http://proquest.safaribooksonline.com.login.ezproxy.library.ualberta.ca/9780787988494/ch01lev1sec4
Thursday, July 16, 2009
Social Bookmarking with Diigo
Social Bookmarking with Diigo
Shared via AddThis
If anyone could advise me as to how to embed videos on this basic blog site, I would greatly appreciate it. I have attempted several different ways and I can't seem to get the photo link to come up along with the site feed. I attempted to alter the html and lost my blog but was able to finally get it back after much stress.
Thanks
Shared via AddThis
If anyone could advise me as to how to embed videos on this basic blog site, I would greatly appreciate it. I have attempted several different ways and I can't seem to get the photo link to come up along with the site feed. I attempted to alter the html and lost my blog but was able to finally get it back after much stress.
Thanks
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
Social Bookmarking: What’s That and Why Should I Care?
Blog Entry #3
At one time the only tags that I had ever heard of were graffiti tags and likewise, the only bookmarks were ones that I put in my books to mark a page so that I could return to it and pick up reading where I left off. It’s interesting how these words “tags” and “bookmarks” have made their way into internet lingo but it’s also understandable. When I ponder the meaning of graffiti tags, I am amazed at how similar these are to the keywords or “tags” that we use to assist in identifying information for future reference. “Graffiti tags, simply put, is the way that people who know anything about graffiti, can tell one piece of graffiti from another.” (Graffiti-Letters.com, 2008) The whole social bookmarking scene recognizes the value of tags and we use them so that we can identify and locate someone else’s work of note.
With the burgeoning of Web 2.0 information and applications, it is necessary to use some means of social bookmarking to record information and sites that I may wish to return to at a later stage. Until last year, I had always bookmarked websites using my browser or by adding the url to my “Favorites”. I had bookmarks and favourites on four different computers but when I needed them, I couldn’t access them necessarily if I hadn’t saved the site on the particular computer I was attempting to use at the time. Frustrating? You bet! When I would attempt to show a student or teacher some nugget, it was embarrassing and frustrating to admit that I had the information saved but I’d have to get back to them. By the time I was able to locate that information, the moment had passed and the information was no longer required. As a result, it was with great excitement that I read about something called a social bookmarking site called del.icio.us. I eagerly and easily set up my account and began saving sites from my previous “favourites” and bookmarking lists and more importantly, the information is at my fingertips when needed.
Del.icio.us has been the most popular Web-based tool and actually “coined the term ‘social bookmarking...Introducing tagging to the mix, which enabled the sharing of links and of globally aggregated results based on tag phrases.” (Hargadon, 2007) The social part of the term comes into play as “entries that are tagged the same way” are connected to all of the people “who posted those links in the first place.” (Richardson 2009) Instantaneously, people who think alike and have the same interests are connected through one keyword or tag. If I enter “education” as a tag for a website, theoretically, I could be connected to thousands of other teachers and be able to see their bookmarks on education as well. As a result of Del.icio.us the art of reading, learning and interacting has become collaborative as people of the same interest connect, converse, and create meaning. As Richardson says, “Back in the old days, we used to rely on librarians..to sort and categorize information for us...we now have the resources to organize vast libraries of information on our own...” This is exactly what makes social bookmarking into “folksonomy”. As we each associate and assign keywords to numerous topics and websites, new tagging systems emerge. By seeing how others tag resources, we are able to learn how they also tag their entries and are able to search using far more keywords than initially possible, thus tapping into far more information and sometimes, too much information. What are the benefits of Del.icio.us? It is a free, easy to operate site that assists in keeping us organized particularly when researching, whether out of personal or educational interest. It offers an easy to use and honest set of “Help” files. I was going to upload the tag cloud to my blog, but when I found the directions, I was advised “Don't do this unless you are a geek.” Since I’m not a geek yet, I will leave that alone for now for fear that my blog will disintegrate. I think I will obtain assistance for this from one of our techno wizards at school. Another observation that I have made about this social bookmarking site is that it isn’t very social. It is difficult to make contact with others so this may make it less viable as an educational tool that enhances the social, empathic side of curriculum.
Diigo is another free social bookmarking site that is also relatively easy to set up. Please have a look at the previous post for a tour of Diigo. Once I had registered, I selected the green button on the right side of the page to download the Diigo toolbar and began using the site after I had received my verification email from the company. I like the fact that when I locate a site and click on Bookmark, instantly a box appears with the critical information such as url , Title, ad Brief Description with a place for Tags at the bottom. Although Diigo is similar to Del.icio.us, it also allows me to highlight part of the text that may be of significance later and save that along with the other information. Richardson’s Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts, and Other Powerful WEb Tools for Classrooms provides detailed instruction about the various features of Diigo. Although this site requires a little more engagement, it offers more features that would be useful in the classroom. By opening an account and adding each student to the group, teachers and librarians can leave feedback for individuals, and through an RSS feed connect to any other site with the same tags as those being used. For students writing term papers or completing inquiry based learning, Diigo allows sticky notes to be attached with information that could be used in the final project. I know that this application will be extremely useful for students and teachers who are engaged in inquiry projects, and I will continue using this so that I am able to pass along this information and the application’s usefulness.
Larry Ferlazzo outlines a number of social bookmarking sites applicable to English Language Arts and ESL learners such as 2Collab, Web2Wave, Only2Clicks and Wallwisher to name but a few text and visual based bookmarking sites. “Wallwisher appears to me to be one of the most useful Web 2.0 sites I’ve found in awhile. It can be a great place for students to use higher-order thinking by creating categories of images (and descriptions) or short texts they copy and paste (or write themselves).” (Ferlazzo, 2009) Furl is also another site that provides a broader scope for adding comments, and notes while collecting bookmarks. (Harris, 2009) I will need to try these applications at some point and consider the various curriculum expectations as I do so and so that I may share my insights and have professional discussions with staff.
What do social bookmarks have to offer students? Rather than viewing a static webpage, students can now communicate their ideas critically about the webpage and its contents while appealing to many different interests. One of the major benefits of social bookmarking for students is that “they learn the importance of social intelligence.” (Lamb, Johnson, 2007) Howard Gardner “identified the interpersonal intelligence as one of the multiple intelligences.” (Gardner, 1983) and it has been added to Bloom’s taxonomy and “includes skills in seeking/giving information, proposing, building and supporting, disagreeing, and summarizing.” (Lamb, Johnson, 2007) Social interaction and bookmarking provides “students with an opportunity to practice their interpersonal skills through cooperative learning” within a safe setting. (Lamb, Johnson, 2007) Social networks that develop as a result of social bookmarking can increase self-esteem and provide creative outlets for the student. It can promote confidence in storytelling and dialogue creation, and develop problem-solving skills and strategies. (Huffaker, 2009) If educational institutions, hence teachers and librarians are charged with preparing students to meet the challenges and skills beyond the school walls, then social bookmarking and networking is an essential set of technology and skills that need to be trained for.
What impact does social bookmarking have for teachers and librarians? Lamb and Johnson share a list of ways that teachers, librarians, and parents can guide students in the effective use of social networks and social network sites:
1. Know the Networks—educate yourself about safe conduct, privacy policies. Set up an intranet for school-based projects.
2. Be Proactive—talk to youth about their needs and help them to meet those needs within a safe environment.
3. Discuss Identity, Profiles, and Personal Information—teach the use of safe identification on the Web ie. don’t use full names, locations, phone numbers, social security numbers, photographs identifying others, using nicknames that draw unwanted attention
4. Stress Caution—educate about marketing, scrutinize information carefully, restrict friends, victimization of others, what to do if you are victimized
5. Discussion Misinformation and Misunderstandings—fact check, think before you write, be aware of who will be reading postings, be aware of consequences of actions
6. Address Peer Pressure—carefully select friends, what do you know about them, who can you contact should someone encourage you to do something that you’re not comfortable with
7. Help Students Manage Time—help students to recognize that multitasking really means “continuous partial attention”
8. Revisit Acceptable Use Policies—update these and post them on intranet
9. Promote Online Safety—use school newsletter, website, parent nights to share information
10. Application to Information Inquiry—help students, teachers and parents to understand implications both inside and outside the school setting
What sorts of projects can facilitate learning through the use of social bookmarking applications? An environment of interaction, responsible risk taking, and collaboration can have wonderful outcomes advocate Lamb and Johnson through projects such as the following:
• Small meaningful assignments that generate curiosity and sharing
• Design interactive, community based collaborative projects
• Provide formal and informal social tools to promote in and out of class discussion
• Invite new member through jigsaws with another class, or community expert
• Provide social tools and let the students lead
• Celebrate successes
A significant passage that drew my attention in one of the readings says, “...the role of librarians has shifted from hunting for scarce resource to selecting the best among the bunch.” (Harris, 2009) There certainly is an overabundance of social bookmarking applications available to students, teachers, and librarians. It is our responsibility to select an application that ensures student safety, provides for student needs within the spectrum of curriculum and inquiry based learning while celebrating successes along the way. All of this will take much further thought and examination in order to best serve teaching and learning in the 21st Century.
References
Ferlazzo, H The Best Social Bookmarking Applications for English Language Learners and Other Students. Retrieved July 15,2009 from Larry Ferlazzo's Website of the DAy Web site: http://larryferlazzo.edublogs.org/2008/04/16/the-best-social-bookmarking-applications-for-english-language-learners-other-students/
graffiti tags BY GRAFFITI-LETTERS.COM (2008) http://www.graffiti-letters.com/graffiti-tags.html
Hargadon, S (2007, 12). Best of Social Bookmarking. School Library Journal, Vol 53, Iss. 12, 20
Harris, C. (2009, 02). What's Next for Social Bookmarking?. School Library Journal, Vol.55, Iss.2
Huffaker, D. (2009, 06, 01). Storytelling in New Media. Retrieved July 15, 2009, from First Monday Web site: http://www.uic.edu/htbin/cgiwrap/bin/ojs/index.php/fm/article/view/2484/2199
Lamb, A and Johnson, L (2007, 10). Social Technology and Social Networks. School Library Media Activities Monthly, Vol. 23, Retrieved 07, 15, 2009, from http://proquest.umi.com.login.exproxy.library.ualberta.ca/pqweb?index=9&sid=3&srch...
Richardson, W (2009). Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts, and Other Powerful WEb Tools for Classrooms. Thousand Oaks, California: Corwin Press.
Walling, S (2009, 07, 01). Google Apps Go Social With Improved Contacts and New Appi. Retrieved July 15, 2009, from Read Write Web Web site: http://citationmachine.net/index2.php?reqstyleid=2&reqsrcid=39&mode=form&more=&source_title=Web%20Page&source_mod=&stylename=APA
At one time the only tags that I had ever heard of were graffiti tags and likewise, the only bookmarks were ones that I put in my books to mark a page so that I could return to it and pick up reading where I left off. It’s interesting how these words “tags” and “bookmarks” have made their way into internet lingo but it’s also understandable. When I ponder the meaning of graffiti tags, I am amazed at how similar these are to the keywords or “tags” that we use to assist in identifying information for future reference. “Graffiti tags, simply put, is the way that people who know anything about graffiti, can tell one piece of graffiti from another.” (Graffiti-Letters.com, 2008) The whole social bookmarking scene recognizes the value of tags and we use them so that we can identify and locate someone else’s work of note.
With the burgeoning of Web 2.0 information and applications, it is necessary to use some means of social bookmarking to record information and sites that I may wish to return to at a later stage. Until last year, I had always bookmarked websites using my browser or by adding the url to my “Favorites”. I had bookmarks and favourites on four different computers but when I needed them, I couldn’t access them necessarily if I hadn’t saved the site on the particular computer I was attempting to use at the time. Frustrating? You bet! When I would attempt to show a student or teacher some nugget, it was embarrassing and frustrating to admit that I had the information saved but I’d have to get back to them. By the time I was able to locate that information, the moment had passed and the information was no longer required. As a result, it was with great excitement that I read about something called a social bookmarking site called del.icio.us. I eagerly and easily set up my account and began saving sites from my previous “favourites” and bookmarking lists and more importantly, the information is at my fingertips when needed.
Del.icio.us has been the most popular Web-based tool and actually “coined the term ‘social bookmarking...Introducing tagging to the mix, which enabled the sharing of links and of globally aggregated results based on tag phrases.” (Hargadon, 2007) The social part of the term comes into play as “entries that are tagged the same way” are connected to all of the people “who posted those links in the first place.” (Richardson 2009) Instantaneously, people who think alike and have the same interests are connected through one keyword or tag. If I enter “education” as a tag for a website, theoretically, I could be connected to thousands of other teachers and be able to see their bookmarks on education as well. As a result of Del.icio.us the art of reading, learning and interacting has become collaborative as people of the same interest connect, converse, and create meaning. As Richardson says, “Back in the old days, we used to rely on librarians..to sort and categorize information for us...we now have the resources to organize vast libraries of information on our own...” This is exactly what makes social bookmarking into “folksonomy”. As we each associate and assign keywords to numerous topics and websites, new tagging systems emerge. By seeing how others tag resources, we are able to learn how they also tag their entries and are able to search using far more keywords than initially possible, thus tapping into far more information and sometimes, too much information. What are the benefits of Del.icio.us? It is a free, easy to operate site that assists in keeping us organized particularly when researching, whether out of personal or educational interest. It offers an easy to use and honest set of “Help” files. I was going to upload the tag cloud to my blog, but when I found the directions, I was advised “Don't do this unless you are a geek.” Since I’m not a geek yet, I will leave that alone for now for fear that my blog will disintegrate. I think I will obtain assistance for this from one of our techno wizards at school. Another observation that I have made about this social bookmarking site is that it isn’t very social. It is difficult to make contact with others so this may make it less viable as an educational tool that enhances the social, empathic side of curriculum.
Diigo is another free social bookmarking site that is also relatively easy to set up. Please have a look at the previous post for a tour of Diigo. Once I had registered, I selected the green button on the right side of the page to download the Diigo toolbar and began using the site after I had received my verification email from the company. I like the fact that when I locate a site and click on Bookmark, instantly a box appears with the critical information such as url , Title, ad Brief Description with a place for Tags at the bottom. Although Diigo is similar to Del.icio.us, it also allows me to highlight part of the text that may be of significance later and save that along with the other information. Richardson’s Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts, and Other Powerful WEb Tools for Classrooms provides detailed instruction about the various features of Diigo. Although this site requires a little more engagement, it offers more features that would be useful in the classroom. By opening an account and adding each student to the group, teachers and librarians can leave feedback for individuals, and through an RSS feed connect to any other site with the same tags as those being used. For students writing term papers or completing inquiry based learning, Diigo allows sticky notes to be attached with information that could be used in the final project. I know that this application will be extremely useful for students and teachers who are engaged in inquiry projects, and I will continue using this so that I am able to pass along this information and the application’s usefulness.
Larry Ferlazzo outlines a number of social bookmarking sites applicable to English Language Arts and ESL learners such as 2Collab, Web2Wave, Only2Clicks and Wallwisher to name but a few text and visual based bookmarking sites. “Wallwisher appears to me to be one of the most useful Web 2.0 sites I’ve found in awhile. It can be a great place for students to use higher-order thinking by creating categories of images (and descriptions) or short texts they copy and paste (or write themselves).” (Ferlazzo, 2009) Furl is also another site that provides a broader scope for adding comments, and notes while collecting bookmarks. (Harris, 2009) I will need to try these applications at some point and consider the various curriculum expectations as I do so and so that I may share my insights and have professional discussions with staff.
What do social bookmarks have to offer students? Rather than viewing a static webpage, students can now communicate their ideas critically about the webpage and its contents while appealing to many different interests. One of the major benefits of social bookmarking for students is that “they learn the importance of social intelligence.” (Lamb, Johnson, 2007) Howard Gardner “identified the interpersonal intelligence as one of the multiple intelligences.” (Gardner, 1983) and it has been added to Bloom’s taxonomy and “includes skills in seeking/giving information, proposing, building and supporting, disagreeing, and summarizing.” (Lamb, Johnson, 2007) Social interaction and bookmarking provides “students with an opportunity to practice their interpersonal skills through cooperative learning” within a safe setting. (Lamb, Johnson, 2007) Social networks that develop as a result of social bookmarking can increase self-esteem and provide creative outlets for the student. It can promote confidence in storytelling and dialogue creation, and develop problem-solving skills and strategies. (Huffaker, 2009) If educational institutions, hence teachers and librarians are charged with preparing students to meet the challenges and skills beyond the school walls, then social bookmarking and networking is an essential set of technology and skills that need to be trained for.
What impact does social bookmarking have for teachers and librarians? Lamb and Johnson share a list of ways that teachers, librarians, and parents can guide students in the effective use of social networks and social network sites:
1. Know the Networks—educate yourself about safe conduct, privacy policies. Set up an intranet for school-based projects.
2. Be Proactive—talk to youth about their needs and help them to meet those needs within a safe environment.
3. Discuss Identity, Profiles, and Personal Information—teach the use of safe identification on the Web ie. don’t use full names, locations, phone numbers, social security numbers, photographs identifying others, using nicknames that draw unwanted attention
4. Stress Caution—educate about marketing, scrutinize information carefully, restrict friends, victimization of others, what to do if you are victimized
5. Discussion Misinformation and Misunderstandings—fact check, think before you write, be aware of who will be reading postings, be aware of consequences of actions
6. Address Peer Pressure—carefully select friends, what do you know about them, who can you contact should someone encourage you to do something that you’re not comfortable with
7. Help Students Manage Time—help students to recognize that multitasking really means “continuous partial attention”
8. Revisit Acceptable Use Policies—update these and post them on intranet
9. Promote Online Safety—use school newsletter, website, parent nights to share information
10. Application to Information Inquiry—help students, teachers and parents to understand implications both inside and outside the school setting
What sorts of projects can facilitate learning through the use of social bookmarking applications? An environment of interaction, responsible risk taking, and collaboration can have wonderful outcomes advocate Lamb and Johnson through projects such as the following:
• Small meaningful assignments that generate curiosity and sharing
• Design interactive, community based collaborative projects
• Provide formal and informal social tools to promote in and out of class discussion
• Invite new member through jigsaws with another class, or community expert
• Provide social tools and let the students lead
• Celebrate successes
A significant passage that drew my attention in one of the readings says, “...the role of librarians has shifted from hunting for scarce resource to selecting the best among the bunch.” (Harris, 2009) There certainly is an overabundance of social bookmarking applications available to students, teachers, and librarians. It is our responsibility to select an application that ensures student safety, provides for student needs within the spectrum of curriculum and inquiry based learning while celebrating successes along the way. All of this will take much further thought and examination in order to best serve teaching and learning in the 21st Century.
References
Ferlazzo, H The Best Social Bookmarking Applications for English Language Learners and Other Students. Retrieved July 15,2009 from Larry Ferlazzo's Website of the DAy Web site: http://larryferlazzo.edublogs.org/2008/04/16/the-best-social-bookmarking-applications-for-english-language-learners-other-students/
graffiti tags BY GRAFFITI-LETTERS.COM (2008) http://www.graffiti-letters.com/graffiti-tags.html
Hargadon, S (2007, 12). Best of Social Bookmarking. School Library Journal, Vol 53, Iss. 12, 20
Harris, C. (2009, 02). What's Next for Social Bookmarking?. School Library Journal, Vol.55, Iss.2
Huffaker, D. (2009, 06, 01). Storytelling in New Media. Retrieved July 15, 2009, from First Monday Web site: http://www.uic.edu/htbin/cgiwrap/bin/ojs/index.php/fm/article/view/2484/2199
Lamb, A and Johnson, L (2007, 10). Social Technology and Social Networks. School Library Media Activities Monthly, Vol. 23, Retrieved 07, 15, 2009, from http://proquest.umi.com.login.exproxy.library.ualberta.ca/pqweb?index=9&sid=3&srch...
Richardson, W (2009). Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts, and Other Powerful WEb Tools for Classrooms. Thousand Oaks, California: Corwin Press.
Walling, S (2009, 07, 01). Google Apps Go Social With Improved Contacts and New Appi. Retrieved July 15, 2009, from Read Write Web Web site: http://citationmachine.net/index2.php?reqstyleid=2&reqsrcid=39&mode=form&more=&source_title=Web%20Page&source_mod=&stylename=APA
Sunday, July 12, 2009
Blog Post #2
Video Sharing On the Web
Can designing, producing and publishing digital video provide a meaningful and productive learning process for students, and contribute to their involvement?
Videos are for sharing!
When I was a child, I thought my uncle’s face had a movie camera attached to it. I’m talking a device that was about three feet wide with huge lights mounted at the end so that he would get optimal shots with enough light. There were no editing devices other than cutting, and splicing images together. If the record button was held down too firmly while recording, the frames actually burned and your movie or at least part of it was destroyed. My uncle took footage of everything he could at each family gathering. The unfortunate part was that we only got to see those movies at his house and only if he felt like setting up the equipment since that alone took a good hour. The whole procedure was such an onerous one that some of the footage was never viewed. My uncle finally gave up making home movies and it took 20 years to convince him that the ones he had made from our childhood were works of art for the time.
Well, thankfully, creating videos these days does not take the hours or frustrations that making an old style movie did. Digital cameras, and camcorders, cell phones and laptops are used by students, teachers, and the general public to create videos of various quality and purpose. One of my tasks for the coming year it to create an archival video of our library and school which will be destroyed in two years to make way for an LRT extension in our city. That’s sort of how I feel about Web 2.0 tools, there’s a train on the tracks but I’m standing right in the middle of the crossroad.
Video sharing is changing our world. Now, with the use of free video creation and sharing sites such as Flickr, Facebook, Animoto, Photobucket, Teacher Tube, YahooVideo, SchoolTube, and the top rated video share site, YouTube, anyone is capable of becoming a producer or celebrity. One of the reasons that YouTube makes it to the top of the list is that it is possible to find a video on almost any topic, interest, or occupation plus it has the added bonus of features that make creating and uploading videos extremely easy. I have used You Tube to download various music videos for use in my classroom, as well as for personal enjoyment; however, I have not used it to produce a full video as yet. I now own a Canadian YouTube account so I will be able to play more extensively with creating videos. YouTube allows users to upload and view movies from many interest areas, using various channels. While registered users are allowed to upload extensively, unregistered users may only download. Using Adobe Flash Player, YouTube offers quality uploading and viewing with over 100 million videos being watched (Richardson, 2009) YouTube video is easy even for an amateur like me.
Unfortunately, while I was creating my video, there was too much noise in the background so I will try it again. Using my laptop with its built in camera and mic system provides great ease for a beginner; however, if I was creating a video in a larger venue, I would need to use a camcorder with a microphone system. Our school dance instructor uses the camcorder to record her dance performances and finds that she is able to produce quality video that students and parents wish to download. Richardson comments that YouTube, while being highly popular is the most likely site to be blocked by schools. This is also true of my school. It isn’t that we do not wish students to be on YouTube but rather we are attempting to create a learning space for students. If a student is working on an assignment that requires YouTube, we provide headphones so that student may complete the task.
After reading Joyce Valenza’s article, Announcing: Animoto for Education I did take a few moments to attempt a video using Animoto. Creating a mini-video on this site takes only the time to upload photos, select a piece of music and allow the application to configure them. I created a short video which I have uploaded to my Flickr account. I won’t say the photos I selected were wonderful and I did select the shortest length video but the application worked well. This is certainly a site that could be used to create a video type collage of sporting events, personal art collections or daily school happenings for presentation to a variety of audiences.
What does technology offer students? Technology makes learning complex but it also brings added value. According to Coleman, Neuhauser, and Vander Zwaag, in their “Play it Again, Zack!” Video Classrooms: Proven Practice and Projects, “students gain many beneficial skills through the use of student produced digital video: project planning, collaborating, critical and reflective thinking, organizing, communicating, fostering media literacy, and researching,” (2004) to name a few. They discovered in addition that students accessed emotions and drew upon the community of family in order to gain the information and knowledge required for the project. For Jonassen (2000) , meaningful learning is active, self-directed, constructive, individual, collaborative, conversational, contextual, guided, emotionally involving, goal oriented, reflective, transferable, abstract, and leading to an awareness of different perspectives.
Video sharing is very beneficial to students who are audio/visual/kinesthetic learners. Because students would be working with images, labeling and/or attaching narration or music or both, the application becomes more meaningful and students are better able to engage in their learning. Numerous student projects using video sharing enhance learning and build visual literacy in the classroom. These projects range from viewing and commenting on current events , giving book chats, sharing student life and family stories, presenting story or poetry representations, showcasing learning such as art displays or sports drills and techniques, advertising special events, feeling a part of special events or places around the world, and building community through parent/teacher/student cooperation. Video sharing has much to offer students and the community of learners in any school.
So, how does video streaming and other technology work for students outside a classroom influence? Does this mean there is a digital rift in our society? While others claim that access to technology creates a difference between the “have’s and the have not’s”, Professor Stephen Heppel in Connected Magazine, claims that technology attracts those who have been dis-enfranchised by typical verbal infrastructures found in most schools. Students are excited by technology and produce some amazing videos while imposing their personal style just as does any producer. It is his opinion that technology does not create a digital divide if one is exposed to schools and libraries that offer 21st Century learning tools. Students can talk to other students around the world, build their own web sites, and exchange stories with anyone, anywhere as a result. They may not have a computer at home, but they do have access through local libraries and schools. This is the case with several students who come to the library after school hours to not only socially connect but to work on their various video projects since school is the only place in which they have access. They are more than willing to spend their lunch, pre and post school time doing just that.
It is surprising how many of the students with whom I come into contact have created and posted a short video to YouTube or an ipod. As a result of this trend, many teachers are offering video creating and sharing as a presentation choice for students. This means that students select their own applications, create the video, and present it to their classmates, keeping in mind the objectives of the assignment. Although videos do not lend themselves to all assignments, I have seen some commendable videos produced by students particularly with the use of YouTube technology. The downside of allowing students to select their own video applications is that our school system blocks several of the options available at home. It is my opinion that teachers and teacher-librarians need to become more proactive in letting students know which applications are available at the school.
What does video sharing offer teachers? In 2007, Japan underwent a reconstruction of its special needs education largely due to there not being enough teachers with special education expertise in the classrooms to teach these children. The concept of special needs classrooms was so new that Masahito, Masaki, Maomi decided to use video to capture behaviours students were exhibiting so that they could develop teaching strategies in collaboration with the few special education teachers that existed. Through the use of video sharing, they were able to archive information, develop case studies and teaching strategies within a collaborative community. As a result, teachers have been able to create a series of videos demonstrating the behaviour and the way the teacher attempts to deal with the behavioural problem. In this manner video sharing has been used by teachers for teaching. Teachers use video sharing to communicate lessons or to drive home a point for students every day somewhere in our school. In this manner, teachers are more connected to students and are employing best practice. The first and final point that comes to mind regarding photo or video sharing of any kind is that we are making memories live.
The Japan study, although the video was discrete and did not show student faces, still causes me to stop and remind myself that FOIP guidelines still need to be respected to maintain student safety. Despite there being many excellent video sharing opportunities, we still must follow the rules of FOIP in order to maintain safety for all. I find that students are usually sensitive to following those rules but the following video is an excellent form of reminding students that “once you’ve posted online, you can’t take it back”.
http://www.teachertube.com/viewVideo.php?video_id=660&title=Think_Before_You_Post
I have shied away from working with videos and video sharing in the past because of the sophisticated software that I was attempting to use. I had been advised by a colleague to purchase Pinnacle Software for creating, editing and streaming video; however, I was only able to flounder around unsuccessfully. This proved to be very frustrating so I have not gone back to attempt further extensive video construction. With user friendly applications available, I will create my library video.
References
Connected Magazine, issue 17, Stephen Heppel http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W2YCOhljF6U
Coleman, B., Neuhauser, J. & Vander Zwaag, C. (2004). “Play it Again, Zack!” Video Classrooms: Proven Practice and Projects. In L. Cantoni & C. McLoughlin (Eds.), Proceedings of World Conference on Educational Multimedia, Hypermedia and Telecommunications 2004 (pp. 4723-4728). Chesapeake, VA: AACE. Retrieved from http://www.editlib.org.login.ezproxy.library.ualberta.ca/p/11745.
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Jonassen, D. H. (2000). Computers as Mindtools for Schools. Engaging Critical Thinking. New Jersey: Prentice-Hall.
Jonassen, D. H., Peck, K.L. and Wilson, B.G. (1999) Learning With Technology: A Constructivist Perspective, New Jersey, Prentice Hall.
Kougar-Melton, P. & Johnson, P. (2006). 24/7 Video Storytelling. In C. Crawford et al. (Eds.), Proceedings of Society for Information Technology and Teacher Education International Conference 2006 (pp. 692-695). Chesapeake, VA: AACE. Retrieved from http://www.editlib.org.login.ezproxy.library.ualberta.ca/p/22125.
McCulloch, A., Smith, R., Wilson, P., McCammon, L., Stein, C. & Arias, C. (2009). Creating Asynchronous Learning Communities in Mathematics Teacher Education, Part 1. In C. Crawford et al. (Eds.), Proceedings of Society for Information Technology and Teacher Education International Conference 2009 (pp. 2872-2875). Chesapeake, VA: AACE. Retrieved from http://www.editlib.org.login.ezproxy.library.ualberta.ca/p/31075.
Nagamori, M., Nagasawa, M. & Ueno, M. (2008). Webcam-Based Knowledge Management System for Special Needs Education. In Proceedings of World Conference on Educational Multimedia, Hypermedia and Telecommunications 2008 (pp. 3500-3509). Chesapeake, VA: AACE. Retrieved from http://www.editlib.org.login.ezproxy.library.ualberta.ca/p/28870.
Pena, C. & De Leon, L. (2009). The Use of Digital Video to Foster Reflective Practice in a Teacher Education Program. In C. Crawford et al. (Eds.), Proceedings of Society for Information Technology and Teacher Education International Conference 2009 (pp. 667-669). Chesapeake, VA: AACE. Retrieved from http://www.editlib.org.login.ezproxy.library.ualberta.ca/p/30679.
Richardon, Will (2009) Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts, and Other Powerful Web Tools for Classrooms, California, Corwin Press.
Valenza, Joyce (2008) Announcing: Animoto for Education, School Library Journal. Retrieved from http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/blog/1340000334/post/1560024356.html
Can designing, producing and publishing digital video provide a meaningful and productive learning process for students, and contribute to their involvement?
Videos are for sharing!
When I was a child, I thought my uncle’s face had a movie camera attached to it. I’m talking a device that was about three feet wide with huge lights mounted at the end so that he would get optimal shots with enough light. There were no editing devices other than cutting, and splicing images together. If the record button was held down too firmly while recording, the frames actually burned and your movie or at least part of it was destroyed. My uncle took footage of everything he could at each family gathering. The unfortunate part was that we only got to see those movies at his house and only if he felt like setting up the equipment since that alone took a good hour. The whole procedure was such an onerous one that some of the footage was never viewed. My uncle finally gave up making home movies and it took 20 years to convince him that the ones he had made from our childhood were works of art for the time.
Well, thankfully, creating videos these days does not take the hours or frustrations that making an old style movie did. Digital cameras, and camcorders, cell phones and laptops are used by students, teachers, and the general public to create videos of various quality and purpose. One of my tasks for the coming year it to create an archival video of our library and school which will be destroyed in two years to make way for an LRT extension in our city. That’s sort of how I feel about Web 2.0 tools, there’s a train on the tracks but I’m standing right in the middle of the crossroad.
Video sharing is changing our world. Now, with the use of free video creation and sharing sites such as Flickr, Facebook, Animoto, Photobucket, Teacher Tube, YahooVideo, SchoolTube, and the top rated video share site, YouTube, anyone is capable of becoming a producer or celebrity. One of the reasons that YouTube makes it to the top of the list is that it is possible to find a video on almost any topic, interest, or occupation plus it has the added bonus of features that make creating and uploading videos extremely easy. I have used You Tube to download various music videos for use in my classroom, as well as for personal enjoyment; however, I have not used it to produce a full video as yet. I now own a Canadian YouTube account so I will be able to play more extensively with creating videos. YouTube allows users to upload and view movies from many interest areas, using various channels. While registered users are allowed to upload extensively, unregistered users may only download. Using Adobe Flash Player, YouTube offers quality uploading and viewing with over 100 million videos being watched (Richardson, 2009) YouTube video is easy even for an amateur like me.
Unfortunately, while I was creating my video, there was too much noise in the background so I will try it again. Using my laptop with its built in camera and mic system provides great ease for a beginner; however, if I was creating a video in a larger venue, I would need to use a camcorder with a microphone system. Our school dance instructor uses the camcorder to record her dance performances and finds that she is able to produce quality video that students and parents wish to download. Richardson comments that YouTube, while being highly popular is the most likely site to be blocked by schools. This is also true of my school. It isn’t that we do not wish students to be on YouTube but rather we are attempting to create a learning space for students. If a student is working on an assignment that requires YouTube, we provide headphones so that student may complete the task.
After reading Joyce Valenza’s article, Announcing: Animoto for Education I did take a few moments to attempt a video using Animoto. Creating a mini-video on this site takes only the time to upload photos, select a piece of music and allow the application to configure them. I created a short video which I have uploaded to my Flickr account. I won’t say the photos I selected were wonderful and I did select the shortest length video but the application worked well. This is certainly a site that could be used to create a video type collage of sporting events, personal art collections or daily school happenings for presentation to a variety of audiences.
What does technology offer students? Technology makes learning complex but it also brings added value. According to Coleman, Neuhauser, and Vander Zwaag, in their “Play it Again, Zack!” Video Classrooms: Proven Practice and Projects, “students gain many beneficial skills through the use of student produced digital video: project planning, collaborating, critical and reflective thinking, organizing, communicating, fostering media literacy, and researching,” (2004) to name a few. They discovered in addition that students accessed emotions and drew upon the community of family in order to gain the information and knowledge required for the project. For Jonassen (2000) , meaningful learning is active, self-directed, constructive, individual, collaborative, conversational, contextual, guided, emotionally involving, goal oriented, reflective, transferable, abstract, and leading to an awareness of different perspectives.
Video sharing is very beneficial to students who are audio/visual/kinesthetic learners. Because students would be working with images, labeling and/or attaching narration or music or both, the application becomes more meaningful and students are better able to engage in their learning. Numerous student projects using video sharing enhance learning and build visual literacy in the classroom. These projects range from viewing and commenting on current events , giving book chats, sharing student life and family stories, presenting story or poetry representations, showcasing learning such as art displays or sports drills and techniques, advertising special events, feeling a part of special events or places around the world, and building community through parent/teacher/student cooperation. Video sharing has much to offer students and the community of learners in any school.
So, how does video streaming and other technology work for students outside a classroom influence? Does this mean there is a digital rift in our society? While others claim that access to technology creates a difference between the “have’s and the have not’s”, Professor Stephen Heppel in Connected Magazine, claims that technology attracts those who have been dis-enfranchised by typical verbal infrastructures found in most schools. Students are excited by technology and produce some amazing videos while imposing their personal style just as does any producer. It is his opinion that technology does not create a digital divide if one is exposed to schools and libraries that offer 21st Century learning tools. Students can talk to other students around the world, build their own web sites, and exchange stories with anyone, anywhere as a result. They may not have a computer at home, but they do have access through local libraries and schools. This is the case with several students who come to the library after school hours to not only socially connect but to work on their various video projects since school is the only place in which they have access. They are more than willing to spend their lunch, pre and post school time doing just that.
It is surprising how many of the students with whom I come into contact have created and posted a short video to YouTube or an ipod. As a result of this trend, many teachers are offering video creating and sharing as a presentation choice for students. This means that students select their own applications, create the video, and present it to their classmates, keeping in mind the objectives of the assignment. Although videos do not lend themselves to all assignments, I have seen some commendable videos produced by students particularly with the use of YouTube technology. The downside of allowing students to select their own video applications is that our school system blocks several of the options available at home. It is my opinion that teachers and teacher-librarians need to become more proactive in letting students know which applications are available at the school.
What does video sharing offer teachers? In 2007, Japan underwent a reconstruction of its special needs education largely due to there not being enough teachers with special education expertise in the classrooms to teach these children. The concept of special needs classrooms was so new that Masahito, Masaki, Maomi decided to use video to capture behaviours students were exhibiting so that they could develop teaching strategies in collaboration with the few special education teachers that existed. Through the use of video sharing, they were able to archive information, develop case studies and teaching strategies within a collaborative community. As a result, teachers have been able to create a series of videos demonstrating the behaviour and the way the teacher attempts to deal with the behavioural problem. In this manner video sharing has been used by teachers for teaching. Teachers use video sharing to communicate lessons or to drive home a point for students every day somewhere in our school. In this manner, teachers are more connected to students and are employing best practice. The first and final point that comes to mind regarding photo or video sharing of any kind is that we are making memories live.
The Japan study, although the video was discrete and did not show student faces, still causes me to stop and remind myself that FOIP guidelines still need to be respected to maintain student safety. Despite there being many excellent video sharing opportunities, we still must follow the rules of FOIP in order to maintain safety for all. I find that students are usually sensitive to following those rules but the following video is an excellent form of reminding students that “once you’ve posted online, you can’t take it back”.
http://www.teachertube.com/viewVideo.php?video_id=660&title=Think_Before_You_Post
I have shied away from working with videos and video sharing in the past because of the sophisticated software that I was attempting to use. I had been advised by a colleague to purchase Pinnacle Software for creating, editing and streaming video; however, I was only able to flounder around unsuccessfully. This proved to be very frustrating so I have not gone back to attempt further extensive video construction. With user friendly applications available, I will create my library video.
References
Connected Magazine, issue 17, Stephen Heppel http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W2YCOhljF6U
Coleman, B., Neuhauser, J. & Vander Zwaag, C. (2004). “Play it Again, Zack!” Video Classrooms: Proven Practice and Projects. In L. Cantoni & C. McLoughlin (Eds.), Proceedings of World Conference on Educational Multimedia, Hypermedia and Telecommunications 2004 (pp. 4723-4728). Chesapeake, VA: AACE. Retrieved from http://www.editlib.org.login.ezproxy.library.ualberta.ca/p/11745.
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Jonassen, D. H. (2000). Computers as Mindtools for Schools. Engaging Critical Thinking. New Jersey: Prentice-Hall.
Jonassen, D. H., Peck, K.L. and Wilson, B.G. (1999) Learning With Technology: A Constructivist Perspective, New Jersey, Prentice Hall.
Kougar-Melton, P. & Johnson, P. (2006). 24/7 Video Storytelling. In C. Crawford et al. (Eds.), Proceedings of Society for Information Technology and Teacher Education International Conference 2006 (pp. 692-695). Chesapeake, VA: AACE. Retrieved from http://www.editlib.org.login.ezproxy.library.ualberta.ca/p/22125.
McCulloch, A., Smith, R., Wilson, P., McCammon, L., Stein, C. & Arias, C. (2009). Creating Asynchronous Learning Communities in Mathematics Teacher Education, Part 1. In C. Crawford et al. (Eds.), Proceedings of Society for Information Technology and Teacher Education International Conference 2009 (pp. 2872-2875). Chesapeake, VA: AACE. Retrieved from http://www.editlib.org.login.ezproxy.library.ualberta.ca/p/31075.
Nagamori, M., Nagasawa, M. & Ueno, M. (2008). Webcam-Based Knowledge Management System for Special Needs Education. In Proceedings of World Conference on Educational Multimedia, Hypermedia and Telecommunications 2008 (pp. 3500-3509). Chesapeake, VA: AACE. Retrieved from http://www.editlib.org.login.ezproxy.library.ualberta.ca/p/28870.
Pena, C. & De Leon, L. (2009). The Use of Digital Video to Foster Reflective Practice in a Teacher Education Program. In C. Crawford et al. (Eds.), Proceedings of Society for Information Technology and Teacher Education International Conference 2009 (pp. 667-669). Chesapeake, VA: AACE. Retrieved from http://www.editlib.org.login.ezproxy.library.ualberta.ca/p/30679.
Richardon, Will (2009) Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts, and Other Powerful Web Tools for Classrooms, California, Corwin Press.
Valenza, Joyce (2008) Announcing: Animoto for Education, School Library Journal. Retrieved from http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/blog/1340000334/post/1560024356.html
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Photo Sharing
Blog Post #2
Photo Sharing
Now more than ever offers opportunity to share photos and videos on the Web with a variety of audiences. The Read/Write Web offers many free hosting sites for large numbers of photos in order to create everything from albums to school projects.
While there are ample hosting sites, likely one of the easiest to use and most popular is Flickr. Here, anyone can upload, organize and share their photos with the world. Although Flickr allows drawings or videos, it does not encourage their submission since this is optimally a site for photos. Content uploaded to the site is safe and can generally be used by anyone so long as one cites the source. Other features available here are Flickr maps where you may link on the map where your photos or videos were taken. Flickr has it all, providing users with the capability to make gifts like cards or framed prints, or to simply stay in touch through posting your family photos. Flickr is a free hosting site for up to 500 downloaded images per month; however, only the most recent 200 are available in your photo stream of images. (Richardson, Will 2009) Should the user wish to post unlimited numbers of photos, a fee of $24.95 is charged. Recently Flickr has begun asking everyone to register, even if you are only downloading images. For directions in how to use Flickr, try out the tutorials at Flickr Tutorials Series or check out. Fun With Flickr, chapter 7 in Will Richardson's Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts. Another valuable resource is Searching 2.0 by Michael P. Sauers (2009). In the chapter titled Searching for Media, Sauers focuses on the various types of searches that can be done for searching and sorting photos using Flickr.
Another equally easy to use, free photo share site is Picassa a web album which can be accessed through signing in to Google Accounts. It operates on much the same basis as Flickr by asking clients to log in but it also offers free software that can be downloaded to your computer for organizing, editing and printing your photos. For video files that teach how to manipulate various aspects of Picassa, About.com offers several very good ones or try Picassa’s teaching video on YouTube.photo by Karin Dalziel
A similar photo sharing site is photo bucket which offers videos, photos, quotes and illustrated sayings. When you log in to a membership, the site allows up to 10,000 photos and hours of video free. You have the ability to share your videos or pictures by email,IM or mobile phone; make slideshows and mashups using special effects, and link to your profile, blog or website. It offers one-click posting to sites such as Facebook, Blogger, iGoogle and many more. All of this is free but the site seems to be a bit more liberal in the types of images it allows stored. Anything from photos, videos, images and signs seems to be in order.photo by How Big
Dumpr offers much the same fare as the other three sites. It advertises as a place where you can create photos, choose from numerous effects presentation such as museum, photo to sketch, alien vision, jigsaw, puzzle, lego and more. However, the basic free version only allows for 50 photos in the album. For a fee of $19.95 per year, the site offers, full size resolution (where available),unlimited Photos, access Pro-only effects , ads free, premium e-mail supportPhoto by Sue Moore
Check out another 45 Photo Sharing Sites.
As the concept of “text” has expanded within the Alberta curriculum, it is an opportune time to introduce students to photo sharing sites and an alternative means of expressing themselves. Most students and teachers have submitted photos to either a social network or a photo sharing site without much thought of using these same photos online or for publishing purposes. They were largely uploaded for the family and friends to view, yet in courses such as information processing, English, social studies, or almost any course for that matter, students now have the capability of using photos to support and enhance their learning.
I have limited background in using photo sharing sites but have uploaded a small selection of photos to my Facebook social network site. I am reluctant to add many other photos due to the fact that Facebook holds ownership of any photos posted to their site. Although the photos that I have posted are harmless and would not likely be the quality required should someone wish to use these photos, I have seen others that border on pornographic. As the saying goes, “A picture is worth a thousand words” but sometimes, it’s worth way more than bargained for, especially when the teacher-librarian is on your case about appropriate use of visuals as a learning tool. Countless times each day, the youth at my school who visit the open library computers access Facebook accounts to view the latest in their friends’ lives or to show friends their most recent downloads. While many photos are innocent in nature, numerous others are definitely not for public viewing. The point that I am making with this scenario is that photo sharing is fun and creative but appropriate use must also be shared with students whether they are using a social network or a photo sharing site. It is important to reinforce appropriate rules of etiquette and copyright. Having said this, I suddenly realized that the photo that I had uploaded from Flickr as my blog feature photo was one that is copyrighted; therefore, I resorted to selecting one that I took of a small portion of my garden. It isn’t as beautiful as the one on Flickr but at least it’s legal and I am not infringing on someone’s ownership. See how easy it is to infringe on those rules when excited?
Students love photo sharing whether it regards bragging rights over who has the “best” (insert your own definitions of “best”) graduation photo or of the most recent trip to the mall. Teens feel the need to share the visuals of their lives even more than writing about what happened, what was said or done. By having students create a blog and make use of photo sharing sites, accompanied by some form of written expression, a teacher can cater to what is most interesting yet build a valuable set of skills for students.
I have frequently asked students to read a story or poem and create a visual representation of the reading by creating a Power Point. Why not have students do the same assignment but show them also how to upload, download, and create a blog that features their project and the use of a photo sharing site. Then, other students could also comment on classmates' projects and offer useful suggestions. I can also see uses for art and information processing whereby, students could download several photos that they feel meet the requirements of the assignment which asks them to look for various photo qualities. They could then use photo shop to create the effect required and/or comment on what the photographer has accomplished in the photos while learning a new means of sharing their own photos. Social studies could use a photo share site for building timelines or creating a blog about some component of world history. The options seem limitless.
So, as David Warlick indicates in his post Classroom Uses of Flickr why not cater to student interest and strength by introducing various projects using photo sharing or try even more educational uses of Flickr.
I know that I will be attempting to create assignments that I can introduce to students in classes so that they are more capable of meeting the ICT curriculum and becoming more adept Web users.
Monday, July 6, 2009
Pondering Learning
In my last post, I alluded to the fact that I am finding the use of various tools associated with Web 2.0 a bit frustrating, frightening yet fascinating. I consider myself to be more adept at computer usage than several others with whom I associate yet I'm far less capable than a whole world of teachers and students who are already adept at using these tools for learning and business. It is my goal to catch up and become more secure in my use and knowledge of them because I can see that my students will desperately need to be knowledgeable with Web 2.0 tools. I can also see how many of the tools can provide students with for greater choice and more engaging means of completing assignments.
It has been my pleasure to dabble with the D2L shells set up through the Calgary Board. I am currently building one for my library which will provide students and staff with information pertinent to functioning in the library. I quite look forward to unveiling this site and training others how it will benefit them. I am registered to take a course in Dreamweaver which should assist me in building the
D2L shells and having them look consistent and professional. It is also my hope that my work with both of these tools will build my knowledge and assist me with teaching and learning.
The blog that I chose to use is a rather simplistic one offered for free through blogger.com. as sugggested in Blogs, Wikis, Posdcasts, and Other Powerful WEb Tools for Calssrooms. I felt that since I am such a neophite, I should begin with something a bit more basic that I can add to if I get to the point of feeling more comfortable. Already I am learning that some of the features are limiting and maybe this is because I am still so new at the blogging picture. I am hoping to become more comfortable with blogging as we continue. Since searching other blogs on tinyurl, I do feel that should I set up an educational blog site for my library, I will likely use this site. The work seems more professional but since it's summer, I still agree with my current choice--whimsical yet to the point, I feel.
I am quite excited about working with web pages and shells for learning as well as other tools. I also very much appreciate the hands on approach taken for the current university course that I am taking since I have been assigned buidling my first blog site. I know intensely how my students feel when I assign something to them and then assume that they will pick up on the tricks as they go along. This is very true and valuable; however, frustrating for someone who is also a visual learner and concrete sequential to boot. I must remember these things when introducing technology to my students. I think that blogs offer students a voice that they may not otherwise assume in class. They are able to reflect information gathered and conjecture without feeling threatened by the knowledge of others or their styles of communicating. By setting criteria for numbers of postings on a topic, numbers of replies to the postings of others and teaching web log set up and techniques of editing, the class could host very worthwile discussions and presentations of information acquired and learned. As mentioned by Will Richardson,
"blogs can promote critical and analytical thinking" (2009) for all students.
In the meantime, I feel like a true gardener, "So many seeds -- so little time." The pressure is on!
It has been my pleasure to dabble with the D2L shells set up through the Calgary Board. I am currently building one for my library which will provide students and staff with information pertinent to functioning in the library. I quite look forward to unveiling this site and training others how it will benefit them. I am registered to take a course in Dreamweaver which should assist me in building the
D2L shells and having them look consistent and professional. It is also my hope that my work with both of these tools will build my knowledge and assist me with teaching and learning.
The blog that I chose to use is a rather simplistic one offered for free through blogger.com. as sugggested in Blogs, Wikis, Posdcasts, and Other Powerful WEb Tools for Calssrooms. I felt that since I am such a neophite, I should begin with something a bit more basic that I can add to if I get to the point of feeling more comfortable. Already I am learning that some of the features are limiting and maybe this is because I am still so new at the blogging picture. I am hoping to become more comfortable with blogging as we continue. Since searching other blogs on tinyurl, I do feel that should I set up an educational blog site for my library, I will likely use this site. The work seems more professional but since it's summer, I still agree with my current choice--whimsical yet to the point, I feel.
I am quite excited about working with web pages and shells for learning as well as other tools. I also very much appreciate the hands on approach taken for the current university course that I am taking since I have been assigned buidling my first blog site. I know intensely how my students feel when I assign something to them and then assume that they will pick up on the tricks as they go along. This is very true and valuable; however, frustrating for someone who is also a visual learner and concrete sequential to boot. I must remember these things when introducing technology to my students. I think that blogs offer students a voice that they may not otherwise assume in class. They are able to reflect information gathered and conjecture without feeling threatened by the knowledge of others or their styles of communicating. By setting criteria for numbers of postings on a topic, numbers of replies to the postings of others and teaching web log set up and techniques of editing, the class could host very worthwile discussions and presentations of information acquired and learned. As mentioned by Will Richardson,
"blogs can promote critical and analytical thinking" (2009) for all students.
In the meantime, I feel like a true gardener, "So many seeds -- so little time." The pressure is on!
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