Yeah - finished! Almost made my July 1 deadline !!
1. Favorite discoveries - Facebook - been meaning to do it & this forced me to .. Second Life - something I will go back to for sure!
2. I will probably utilize a lot of these things lifelong - like Facebook .. & it helped me to organize what I want to focus on for next year as an educator.
3. I am surprised & confused about skype & all the VOIP opportunities out there. Personally, I'm struggling as I think LOTS of folks - do I want to keep a landline? Why am I paying for long distance still? Things like that - I knew about some of these technologies, but your post - REALLY opened up pandora's box for me. Not sure if I'm more confused, but in a good way ;)
4. Honestly, I cannot think of much .. I did 23 things last summer & really learned SO MUCH. This is absolutely the best professional development that I have ever had in my 20 years of education. It is VERY time consuming however - the hours I spend are not equal to the hours that I'm getting in prof. dev. - however that is probably my little perfectionist fault!
Thanks for the experience !!
Thursday, July 2
Thing # 11 - Digital Citizenship
I know my district is looking hard at coming up with some standards to put in our student beginning of the year handbooks. I think this is a must ! As Librarian & campus technology representative .. my campus will be looking to me for some direction as we have lots of new technologies & opportunities for our students awaiting us all in August. So, if I were to name 5 top items to focus on this concept with my students during their Library orientation - these would be :
1. Where & Why - I will have to go over all the technology available to them next year which will be much more than was available last year. Then I will need to discuss a sort of priority list .. why do I need an itouch rather than a laptop? questions like that to make sure students are choosing a technology that fits their needs & not taking up technology-time with our equipment in a frivolous manner.
2. Access - how to access our digital information. I will show students subscription databases & discuss sites open & some blocked at the school level. How to make alternative choices when they are at school - for example if you tube is blocked try teacher tube .. etc.
3. Literacy - so many students do not seek information when they are online. Help menus - tutorials - & plain old reading .. escape them. So, I wish to impress upon them there is a certain skill level to teach yourself & locate information when you encounter a new technology online.
4.Privilege - now that I have them excited about our new technology - I would discuss privilege & taking care of things that we are lucky to have ... pointing to our district's AUP will take place here.
5. Etiquette - I'm thinking I can jumble together the concepts of safety, using correct online etiquette, & paying attention to copyright .. giving credit .. fair use etc... Good luck, right??
My digital lesson will hopefully include a little technology petting zoo - in which I will have out a lot of the new technology that we have available to them. I would have some of these attached to a video projector so I can share things like the difference between using open office & Microsoft Office. I would also have a handout that includes tips .. & post all of this info on my website/blog for them. I think as a reinforcement .. & since I rarely get enough time to talk to students - I want to create a little fun online web quest or something along those lines for them to do at home on their computer.
1. Where & Why - I will have to go over all the technology available to them next year which will be much more than was available last year. Then I will need to discuss a sort of priority list .. why do I need an itouch rather than a laptop? questions like that to make sure students are choosing a technology that fits their needs & not taking up technology-time with our equipment in a frivolous manner.
2. Access - how to access our digital information. I will show students subscription databases & discuss sites open & some blocked at the school level. How to make alternative choices when they are at school - for example if you tube is blocked try teacher tube .. etc.
3. Literacy - so many students do not seek information when they are online. Help menus - tutorials - & plain old reading .. escape them. So, I wish to impress upon them there is a certain skill level to teach yourself & locate information when you encounter a new technology online.
4.Privilege - now that I have them excited about our new technology - I would discuss privilege & taking care of things that we are lucky to have ... pointing to our district's AUP will take place here.
5. Etiquette - I'm thinking I can jumble together the concepts of safety, using correct online etiquette, & paying attention to copyright .. giving credit .. fair use etc... Good luck, right??
My digital lesson will hopefully include a little technology petting zoo - in which I will have out a lot of the new technology that we have available to them. I would have some of these attached to a video projector so I can share things like the difference between using open office & Microsoft Office. I would also have a handout that includes tips .. & post all of this info on my website/blog for them. I think as a reinforcement .. & since I rarely get enough time to talk to students - I want to create a little fun online web quest or something along those lines for them to do at home on their computer.
Thing # 10 Virtual Worlds, Gaming
Well, my little avatar, Ivy Catnap is pretty beat up - running into walls & swollen ankles from all the sudden falls after I stopped flying - Ok, she is NOT very graceful yet! The directions on the naming bit really helped me pick out a good one. Again, the possibilities to students is endless. I tried to scuba dive, but could not yet figure it out .. but what a great way for students to learn about the continental shelf .. or just see some sea life up close. I'm very excited to keep exploring & share this with my teachers - especially (I think) science & social studies! So, where is my waiter with the libations?
Wednesday, July 1
Thing # 9 - Slideshare
I think slideshare is one of THE most important things we have discussed so far in Library2Play2. Why? we are moving down a slippery slope away from having PCs with all the bells & whistles in our schools. Mobile devices are prevalent - school funding is short - so why not allow students to make use of cheaper mobile devices if they don't need programs anymore like PowerPoint to share their work. For instance, instead of purchasing a full blown laptop for $1200+ your school can purchase notebooks for a fraction of the cost - which can get to the Internet & away we go - ... Plus we don't need complicated servers to save student work.
I use a slide share program called Picassa to share slides of books we read in my teacher book club. They display on my blog http://after4bookclub.blogspot.com/ - & everyone likes seeing where we have been, what we read etc. I just add slides as we read new novels throughout the year.
It is sort of like an ongoing time line of an event that I wish to document. So, I see a lot of parallels for students' work. We are all about portfolios - right? What an awesome project if you could have students keep adding a slide or two each year & watch how they progress.
I use a slide share program called Picassa to share slides of books we read in my teacher book club. They display on my blog http://after4bookclub.blogspot.com/ - & everyone likes seeing where we have been, what we read etc. I just add slides as we read new novels throughout the year.
It is sort of like an ongoing time line of an event that I wish to document. So, I see a lot of parallels for students' work. We are all about portfolios - right? What an awesome project if you could have students keep adding a slide or two each year & watch how they progress.
Thing # 8 - Screencast
There are so many screen capture capabilities out there. I chose one that would capture my video & audio at the same time (screencast). I'm still a fan of Camtasia - but it does cost $$. The reason you would want to purchase rather than use free - only if you want to produce really high quality video - like adding menus to your video, controlling the product output of your video, adding captions, & having a high level editing component where you can cut/splice & make all sorts of edits. I like to make really good video for tutorials for tech purposes so that is why I choose Camtasia. Also, our multimedia teachers prefer it - the output is important if you are creating media that you plan to use for a long time & play on various devices - like ipods, etc. If you are making quick easy video - then I think free is good, but sometimes you run into tech issues depending on where & how you wish to play it.
Here is a short tech tip on saving files that I created using Screencast:
Here is a short tech tip on saving files that I created using Screencast:
Thing # 7 - Video Resources
Video has become such a terrific part of the school environment. Sharing, watching, creating - in my opinion it is ALL good. I've been in the middle school environment for longer than I care to remember - & I just think that middle school students need visuals they need a big variety in the way content is presented to them. True for everyone - but especially for the adolescent brain which is often exhausted from all the changes they are experiencing.
I have explored Hula, & many of these video resources. I would love to use all or part of:
as an intro - with humor about what Libraries are not - how to respect Library materials .. etc. Big fan of Mr. Bean who transcends every language barrier.
These are great video sites listed on Library2Play2, but I often use video that I find just by using Google for a connection to a book or author we are talking about.
For instance, we used this video along with the book Iqbal as a discussion vehicle for my sixth grade student book club. I just typed in "Iqbal + video" in Google & it was the 2nd link "The My Hero Short Film Festival." This video had SUCH an impact - after reading the book - our discussion would not have been the same without it. In order to give correct credits .. I often make sure I am at the original source.
For instance this film is originally displayed from the My Hero web site which has a Teachers Room - great resources - if you want to get students involved in this topic.
Watch: (takes a minute to load - but it is worth waiting for ...)
Courage
By Anson Schloat and John G. Young (5.29 Minutes)
I have explored Hula, & many of these video resources. I would love to use all or part of:
as an intro - with humor about what Libraries are not - how to respect Library materials .. etc. Big fan of Mr. Bean who transcends every language barrier.
These are great video sites listed on Library2Play2, but I often use video that I find just by using Google for a connection to a book or author we are talking about.
For instance, we used this video along with the book Iqbal as a discussion vehicle for my sixth grade student book club. I just typed in "Iqbal + video" in Google & it was the 2nd link "The My Hero Short Film Festival." This video had SUCH an impact - after reading the book - our discussion would not have been the same without it. In order to give correct credits .. I often make sure I am at the original source.
For instance this film is originally displayed from the My Hero web site which has a Teachers Room - great resources - if you want to get students involved in this topic.
Watch: (takes a minute to load - but it is worth waiting for ...)
Courage
By Anson Schloat and John G. Young (5.29 Minutes)
Thing #6 - iTouch Apps
A lucky librarian just happens to have an itouch this summer & loving it! Got some apps in & found a good visual .. from Dave Taylor
Here are some ideas for using the itouch with multiple students ...
1st - I really am just chomping at the bit for the cable that will connect the itouch to a video projector. In that way .. students, teachers, & I can share some things as we learn on the itouch
2nd - If you can display it - then you can share it .. so Google earth on display through your projector onto your ActivBoard ? not sure how that will all dynamically fit together - but I am excited to try it.
3rd - I would like to see an app used by a group of students while they backchannel so I can get feed back immediately on which apps they like & why?
4th - as a former science teacher .. I see a lot of educational apps that can be used by multiple students - If I were still in the classroom - I would love for kids to use the itouch to gather data in the field .. like our school pond. So much easier than carrying around a bulky laptop. Ditto for math & calculator apps.
5th - my students are very capable of sharing the itouch to view video - like an teacher tube video - maybe a way to reinforce some of my first of the year library lessons? also want them to learn together to download an audio book & perhaps a pdf book on the itouch.
Enjoyed the Wikipedia links .. especially what Wikipedia is not. Must share next year as there is a lot of confused ideas about Wikipedia out there.
Here are some ideas for using the itouch with multiple students ...
1st - I really am just chomping at the bit for the cable that will connect the itouch to a video projector. In that way .. students, teachers, & I can share some things as we learn on the itouch
2nd - If you can display it - then you can share it .. so Google earth on display through your projector onto your ActivBoard ? not sure how that will all dynamically fit together - but I am excited to try it.
3rd - I would like to see an app used by a group of students while they backchannel so I can get feed back immediately on which apps they like & why?
4th - as a former science teacher .. I see a lot of educational apps that can be used by multiple students - If I were still in the classroom - I would love for kids to use the itouch to gather data in the field .. like our school pond. So much easier than carrying around a bulky laptop. Ditto for math & calculator apps.
5th - my students are very capable of sharing the itouch to view video - like an teacher tube video - maybe a way to reinforce some of my first of the year library lessons? also want them to learn together to download an audio book & perhaps a pdf book on the itouch.
Enjoyed the Wikipedia links .. especially what Wikipedia is not. Must share next year as there is a lot of confused ideas about Wikipedia out there.
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