Playing with fire...or Google Forms, and how to be ridiculous when overtired.

Answer at your own risk, I'm feeling punchy. You might even smile...you have been warned!

Woman at Work: a Work in Progress

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My Digital Story is an attempt at introducing the topics of internet safety and cyber-bullying to high school students.  I don't have a classroom currently, but I have observed similar discussions in high schools.  Ideally, these children, who have already had years of access to the internet, already know some rules to keep themselves and their computers safe.  It's my hope that the idea of cyber-bullying has also already been introduced, but I'm approaching both topics as if they may not have been.  I would use this before introducing new technologies (blogger, twitter for research, Animoto, or other Web 2.0 tools) as an ice breaker, and a brainstorming session to make sure the students would be practicing the right methods and strategies, in the school and at home, for work, or for recreation.

This is a VERY rough draft.  My purpose of this draft was to make sure I understood how to use PhotoStory3, and that each part of the technology I intend to use in the final version is working from my home computer with the equipment I have.  Additional images, and fleshed out narration will be added during the next week (when I don't have multiple midterms, observations, and a crazy work schedule!)  I wanted to see how well my microphone picked me up, get use to the recorded sound of my voice, and decided on pacing compared to what I imagined in my storyboard.

 

I apologize that there is not much at the moment to critique - but please fill out the survey, and if you have any recommendations, please leave me a comment! Thanks!

Diigo - I dig it!

 

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Diigo is at it's heart a bookmarking site/tool that is handy even for those who only use one computer for everything.  You can label your bookmarks to make it easier to find them later, you can share your bookmarks and labels, and you can search other shared labels to find sites to add to your collection.  Beyond that though, you can highlight pages, leave sticky notes, collaborate and even mark up images.  While not all of the utility is free, there is enough that is to make it worth using anywhere, anytime.  You can chose to keep bookmarks private as well, so it is not something that should only be used for work!

I have found it to be an interesting experiment at times to bookmark and label, and then follow the labels to other links and see where it takes you.  I think when used correctly, the use of Diigo also embraces the NETS-T #5, because you can use the labels as a form of research into other databases you wouldn't normally know about.  Teaching the use of the technology as well to students can give them streamlined access that a Google search doesn't often provide.  What sites have you found that weren't your original bookmark intention?  Is there any of mine you liked, or others you'd recommend?

GoggleDocs - the collaborative awesome awaits!

Last semester, I had a group project assignment where each individual was assigned their own unique question/aspect to research for an overall research paper.  We had to follow this up with a class presentation, which also had to include a powerpoint style element.  Since my partner and I didn't live close by each other, and had weird schedules outside of the 3 classes we had together, we chose to use GoogleDocs to collaborate our work.

What we both loved about the process was we could each access the document at the same time, and chat through the comment option in real time - no need to text, or IM in a separate window or program.  We could each add in our paragraphs and works cited, chat about transition sentences and even leave links for each other we found that helped the other with their part of the research.  I haven't used the discussion feature of a wiki yet (though I may tonight) but I imagine it functions similarly.

The presentation tool was also useful for us each creating slides before we were able to meet up and finalize it.  The downside to the GoogleDocs is that the options for finalizing and polishing are limited compared to Microsoft Office, or OpenOffice.  I chose to copy our paper into an OpenOffice document, and finish the APA format tweaks, namely the header and pagination styles.

Have you used GoogleDocs to collaborate?  What was your impression?

The Idea Pheonix: Killing and Resurrecting Creativity

Sitting here with writer's block, I decided to search for ways to break the block down in a classroom - maybe helping students know it happens to adults too would be useful, as well as introducing strategies to get beyond the blank page.  What I found were both ways to stifle creativity as well as how to generate ideas in the classroom.

Marvin Bartel posted 10 ways he can kill creativity in his classroom, as well as explaining how and why what we do stifles the creativity and how we can change our responses to encourage creative expression.  He also explicitly allows duplication of his information for Educational Fair Use, which I found to be interesting after our review of Digital Storytelling.  I enjoyed his comments on cliches, especially from an English classroom point of view - while they are not ideal, critiquing the use of them instead of bolstering fresh ideas to move beyond the cliche is a great way of getting beyond the obvious.

Suzie Boss on MindShift had 8 great ideas for generating ideas beyond the graphic organizer method.  What I liked best about her list is that the topics cover a wide range of ways to stoke creative fires in young minds, and old.  I also liked the MindShift site as a whole, and found it to potentially have other interesting blogs for all educators.

What ways have you found you either killed creativity or brought it back?  What was an exceptional class discussion you had and how did it start?

60 Not-So Inspiring Examples of Twitter...

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I've never been a big fan of Twitter, and find the instant gratification of the tweets to be used mostly for information I'd have been happier not knowing.  I've read a few blogs, some from classmates, that have begun to change my mind, but then I find things that remind me why I really don't care for it overall.

One blog we were introduced in class listed 60 Inspiring Examples of Twitter in the Classroom, but there were many I felt took the personal interaction, or responsibility out and replaced it with 140 characters.

I don't think it's asking too much for students to arrive on time, or for a teacher to have set office hours that can be flexible as needed.  Even for the things I could use Twitter for, I don't see how a forum discussion is any harder.  Students and teachers can still leave comments for each other, and other people can read them.  I've yet to see a school that doesn't have email for the faculty, so sending an email versus sending tweet means it's one more thing to check every day.

I like the idea of keeping parents updated, or making notifications easy to see since people who don't have a Twitter account can still follow a twitter feed and receive texts on their phone.  But I don't see how making a classroom even more instantaneous is helping the students learn respect for someone else's ideas, or fostering patience in waiting their turn.  I see the instant gratification making people more antsy to be heard, right now, and it frustrates me.

I definitely don't like the idea of Twitter to build reading and writing skills.  I like the idea of technology in building the skills, but Twitter and texting are not the way to go.  I think students flipping back to a Twitter account or feed while in class is taking time away from them learning directly from each other, or from the teacher.  Even if trying an exercise in learning to be concise, there is a word count feature on almost every word processor application, or even barring that - you hand write a sentence or two and manually count the words.

Don't get me wrong, the applications for Twitter in a school system are growing and very useful in staying in touch with the community when instant conversation is necessary - I just don't think asking the students to interact with it in the classroom is the best option, for me.

The Read/Write Web 2.0

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I've considered my self a computer nerd/geek my whole life, partly due to having access to a computer since I was 4 or 5, and partly due to using it as often as I could.  I was exceptionally excited to see there was a class that would merge literacy and technology and I could get credit for learning new things.  The first book we've finished reading, Blogs, Wiki's and Podcasts by Will Richardson,  did not disappoint me with the creativity and novelty of the ideas that were expressed so enticingly and with such great enthusiasm.

I've come to embrace the blogging idea for a classroom, though I'm not sure how often I'll do it for personal reasons - I may surprise myself and find something I can't shut up about!  I can also see the appeal and amazing strength of really using RSS to pull sources together.  I look forward to our own class work on a wiki, and the digital storytelling.  There was one part of the technology that left me a little leary because I don't think the safety measures of the sites have been addressed considering the information on Facebook and Twitter is over 3 years old, and both sites have changed policies a bit since (especially Facebook).

I think in the case of both of those social networking sites, I would make a case that they have educational value, but there is so much identity safety that needs to be established, that I'd rather use other sites for a classroom.  The ability to create a page, have a discussion or forum, talk about interests and things relevant to the work, and to host images and video isn't unique to Facebook and Twitter, and I don't like how especially Facebook has changed so much into a corporation content to sell the information of the average person, no matter how private you make yourself.  At the time the book was written, I'll acknowledge Facebook was a fair more user friendly, but I wouldn't trust the direction it's been heading in with my students and their work.  I've even stopped using the site myself because I don't believe in plugging something you personally don't agree with.

Ultimately the book was an awesome and eye-opening look at the way the Web has evolved and what it means for us in the classroom, but I think we need to look past some of the enthusiasm built into selling us on ideas, and remember we're still the ones responsible in the classroom for the safety of our students and their intellectual property and identities.

Garden of Your Mind

It's been 45 years since Fred Rogers made a different kind of name for himself, and started helping children find out who they would be.  Despite TV still showing the kinds of programs he hated, the show that prompted him to create his own "Neighborhood," his impact is still felt, by our own generation, by the lessons he taught us that we hand down, and even by a few in this current generation who were able to see him before the end of the broadcast.

I've come across two videos today that made me not only reflect on the lessons he taught me, the same lessons I want to teach (especially to the older kids who may not have learned them when they were younger, and to my own child I can't wait to hold by the end of the year), but also on the reasons he had for doing so.

Today I offer educational tools of a different sort - something he'd have called food or flowers for the "garden of your mind." This video is tribute from the Symphony of Science and the PBS Digital Studio (something that could be a tool for the classroom!)



The second video is from his convincing speech in defending the need for funding for PBS.


Please tell me what he taught you, what you know you've passed on, what you hope to pass on because of him, and what legacy do you think you may leave?

In fair Verona, where we Animoto

I wish I had found more images for public use, but I'm surprised with how well it turned out compared to what it looked like while creating it - not too painful, even for the first time!  I decided to use Romeo & Juliet as a topic because I knew it would be a likely subject for me in a public high school, and if not this play specifically, surely one of the Bard's other tragedies would be.  I owned the song, and forwarded the music to a more economic starting point, shaving off almost a minute of instrumental and initial verses.  There were other images I had in mind, but I really wanted to stay with what was open to use to have a better feeling of what my students would face as a challenge to being honest with their own work.

This Animoto would be for use in a high school English class as an introduction to Romeo & Juliet, before discussing vocab, setting or expectations.  It fulfills the NETS-T 1, 2, & 3 standards for Facilitating & Inspiring, Designing & Developing, and Modeling technology that would be further used in the classroom.  It could be the first time Animoto is used, as a way of also introducing one method a student could utilize it for in a later project.



Let me know what you think!

Making music when talking history

There is a site I've run into a few times over the years, and I'm happy to see it stay relevant.  There is a channel on youtube from History teachers in Hawaii who take popular songs and remake them into music videos for unit topics.

When I was subbing, and the students would beg to listen to music, I would open this channel and watch to see how long it took for them to realize it wasn't what they were expecting.  I love each video, but one of my favorites is their video for the French Revolution:



Do you see any tie to how you'd use Animoto, or think there is a video they made you find exceptional?