Final Video for ETC

This is a video about the need for more web 2.0 tools access in Chicago Public Schools. It shows how my students are engaged when interacting with these tools and how if we could have access to more sites such as YouTube, it would be a great benefit to our students. All images and video clips are taken by me (screen shots, screen recordings of YouTube and CPS policy site, pictures, and videos of my students). A special thank you to all my students and their families for allowing me to video tape them throughout my graduate program!

BP12_201053_ OneMinuteMessage #2

The following is a one minute video that I have created for teachers. It is about the web 2.0 tool Tag Galaxy (http://taggalaxy.de/).

Image and video are screen shots/recordings that I have taken.

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Click here to see my comment that I posted on Michelle Boayke’s blog in regards to her web 2.0 tool of tizmos.com

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I learned about Animoto by reading a blog by one of my classmates, Dan Dolce. It is a web 2.0 tool that allows people to create slideshows. To learn more about it and to see my comment click here.

BP9_201053_Web2.0T3-TagGalaxy

I came across a very unique and fun web 2.0 tool last week while using my previous web 2.0 tool kindersite.com. I’m starting to love web 2.0 tools because there are hundreds of them out there. What’s neat is that within one web 2.0 tool, you can find another tool and another tool within that one. It’s a community of tools. The recent one I came across is called Tag Galaxy (http://taggalaxy.de/). This is such a fun site. It’s tied into Flickr. At Tag Galaxy, you can find thousands and thousands of pictures, all of which have been uploaded on Flickr. When you enter the site, you’re asked to enter a tag. The tag can be anything you want from a country to a fruit. You can even get more specific and type in a specific country or fruit such as Egypt or apple. When you click go, Tag Galaxy will search Flickr for any photos pertaining to the tag you entered. “You are whisked away to what looks to be a star, surrounded by “planets” that represent complementary tags” (Aune, 2008, para. 2). Before seeing any pictures, it will break your tag down to more specific categories. Take for example the word apple. After clicking go, you will be asked what type of apple you are looking for such as red, green, tree, etc. When you make your choice, this sphere shape is then covered in thousands of pictures. You can see a small image of each one and click on the one you like and it will become enlarged. You can even click on the enlarged picture to see more information and clicking again will take you to where it is posted on Flickr where you can see comments or if you’d like to use it, ask for permission. It’s a phenomenal site and a very interesting way of presenting pictures. Wood’s states, “Tag Galaxy is a very good flash application that uses Papervision3D with beautiful transition effects to explore Flickr photos via virtual planetary systems” (para. 1).

The best thing about this site is that anyone can use it. It can be of use to educators of all grade levels. It’s also free. Teachers can do lessons and search thousands of images pertaining to their lessons. They can also have students find images pertaining to their assignments. It’s nice to have a site that provides a wide variety of images that students can see without having to search through Google images and finding images that don’t even pertain to what they were searching for. With Tag Galaxy, it sorts through the images and finds you exactly what you’re looking for. If you want students to explore a specific category, Tag Galaxy allows them to do that while focusing on all areas addressing the tag name you have selected. I highly recommend teachers to at least check it out.

Below is a brief video that gives a glimpse of this site.

References:

Aune, S. P. (2008). Flickr visualization tag galaxy: Out of this world! Mashable The Social Media Guide. Retrieved May 19, 2010, from http://mashable.com/2008/05/25/tag-galaxy

Wood, S. (n.d.). Tag galaxy. Retrieved May 19, 2010, from http://www.koflash.com/tag-galaxy/

Image is a screen shot that I have taken and the video is of clips that I also have taken. All visuals are from http://taggalaxy.de/

BP8_2010052_OneMinuteMessage-#1

The following is a one minute video that I have created for teachers. It is about the web 2.0 tool kindersite.com.

Image of student sleeping is courtesy of http://www.dailyclipart.net/

Animated cartoon clips are clips I created in http://goanimate.com/

Copyright free image (girl at computer) from Microsoft Office

Images and video recordings of kindersite.com in the video were done by me.

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Click here if you would like to see my comment on Mollie Sterling's web 2.0 tool blog post on Wordpress.

Copyright free image from Microsoft Office

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Click here to see my comment on Kevin McAllorum's post on the web 2.0 tool Wimba.

Copyright free image from Microsoft Office

BP5_2010052_Web2.0T2-kidthing

Since I have been employed as a special education teacher, I have grown more and more interested in incorporating technology-based tools inside my class. Over the years, I have continuously searched for educational websites that are interactive and engaging for my students. In researching, I have stumbled upon a very educational yet fun web 2.0 tool called Kidthing (http://www.kidthing.com/). What really grabbed my attention was the fact that this site allows students to communicate with others. To me that’s very important in establishing communication skills. By being able to chat with other users, it enables kids to practice their writing skills. This site is user friendly and safe. My students have a tendency to click on any ad that pops up causing them to see some inappropriate images and becoming distracted every two minutes. With Kidthing, there are no pop-up ads. Instead, they can spend an entire period focused on the site itself. “It really harnesses the ability of a computer to translate into a learning tool for young children” (Jane, 2008, para.1). Kidthing states that it’s, “The only app of its kind that lets kids play, read, learn, create, personalize, mix, share, and chat all in one place” (2005). They provide its users with a variety of educational games, books, and endless possibilities to learning. “Kids are in control. It’s all about empowering children and unleashing their creativity in a safe environment” (Jarrett, 2008, para. 3). I have only tried this application twice with some of my students, but they seemed to be engaged and enjoyed it. I’m planning to utilize the Kidthing books with the SMART Board so I can teach all my students at once. This way we can read together as a class and learn together as well. One of the games that I had my students try was for math and the theme was basketball. They were given an addition problem and had to solve it by choosing the player with the correct answer on their jersey. The player they chose would then shoot the basketball; if they made it in, they were correct; if not, then they had to try the problem again. To me, it’s a great way to learning math while having fun.

I would highly recommend any primary or elementary teacher and special educators to use this tool in their class. Teachers can create a classroom account with up to 25 student accounts. By doing this, it will allow you to keep tabs on what your students are doing and help create an educational account that’s personal to the student, but also in coherence with your lessons. You can even find teacher guides for different topics. It’s absolutely free to sign up as well as some of the games, books, and videos. Just search the word free in their store, which is part of the program. Unfortunately, some of the activities you have to purchase if you want them. Prices tend to range from $.99-$5.99. However, after partnering with the National Education Association (NEA), Kidthing offers NEA learning materials free to teachers. The only downside to Kidthing is that it’s only available for Window users right now. They are however, working on making it available for Mac users. If you are a Windows user though, you basically download Kidthing and after you do that, you have it available to you even without an Internet connection.

The following video shows two of my students interacting with the site and a glimpse to how the site works.

References:

Jane. (2008). Review: Kidthing.com. Dear Arthur. Retrieved May 12, 2010, from http://dearauthor.com/wordpress/2008/04/27/review-kidthingcom/#comments_accesskey

Jarrett, K. (2008). Kidthing.com beta: Jump on! Retrieved May 12, 2010, from http://www.ncs-tech.org/?p=1158

Kidthing. (n.d.). Our Story. Retrieved May 12, 2010, from http://www.kidthing.com/aboutus/

The image is a screenshot I took of the website (http://www.kidthing.com/) and the video is my recording of two of my students interacting with the site.

BP4_2010051_Web2.0Tool#1

Being a Chicago Public School (CPS) teacher, I sometimes get frustrated with Web 2.0 tools. It’s not that I don’t like them; it’s because CPS has a lot of them blocked. For example, I’d really like to be able to use YouTube and Facebook with my students, but any time you try to access the site, you hear the sirens go off, which doesn’t make sense because according to Blackboard Inc., “Academic and professional organizations agree that using web-based learning environments can offer sound pedagogical benefits” (2000, p. 1). It’s unfortunate because there are a wide variety of Web 2.0 tools out there that teachers can use, but unfortunately they’re off limits in the classroom. In reference to students, Prensky (2001) stated, “They have spent their entire lives surrounded by and using computers, videogames, digital music players, video cams, cell phones, and all other toys and tools of the digital age” (para. 3). If this is the case, then educators need to focus more on using technology-based tools, such as Web 2.0 tools, to enhance the education of today’s students. We need to educate the students based on their needs of comprehension. Poole, McIlvain, and Jackson claimed that using online learning tools had an impact on learning targeting, “Skill reinforcement, human interaction, assessment, research and resources, and knowledge construction” (2004, p. 247). Luckily the web has tons of other tools that teachers are permitted to use.

Prof Rena recommended a website (http://www.kindersite.org/) for me to check out to see if it would be of use for my students. It’s called Kinder Site and their mission is basically to help students learn technology skills and basic learning skills such as colors, numbers, and letters. I played around with this site and found myself getting addicted to it. It’s a perfect site for my students because I teach Special Ed. Although I’m a high school special education teacher, my students function at a Pre-K level; therefore, making this site more beneficial to my standards for my students. There are thousands of links on this site that take you to games, songs, stories, etc. What I like most about this site is that it seems to be like a collection of activities from a nice mix of educational sites such as PBS Kids, BBC, and Starfall. Instead of having to go to each site individually, you can find links within Kinder Site. I can see myself actually incorporating this website into my curriculum and building lesson plans based off of the multitude of activities. I’d be able to use this site in numerous ways. I could teach the students math skills, reading skills, art skills, language skills, and computer skills. Those are just a few of the academic areas this site touches on. While exploring this site, a few activities stuck out that would be perfect for my students. I recorded a few clips and meshed it into one to give you an idea of some of the things students can do at this site. The clip includes learning the alphabet with animals and students have to match the first letter of the animal to the corresponding capital letter of the animal that can be found in the zoo. I’ve also included in the clip a multitude of math activities from counting to quizzes to how to tell time and a presentation on a healthy diet. There are hundreds of other activities for every subject, but this is just a glimpse of what’s available and beneficial for my students. Feel free to click on the clip or simply check the site yourself (http://www.kindersite.org/).

Like I said, I think this site is great for my students and more on their academic level. I was just introduced to this site so I haven’t tested it out on my students, but I’m more than certain they will enjoy it. Next week I will be able to test-drive it with my students in the computer lab. It should be interesting because I know that some students may get bored with the same activities and with this site they have a wider selection to choose from. If it is a success, then I will start checking out the laptops more often so that I can utilize some of the activities during my math, science, and language arts lessons.

If you’re an elementary teacher, I highly recommend this as a great Web 2.0 tool for your classroom. It’s very engaging and interactive. You can become a member and receive monthly newsletters absolutely free. Teachers can create a profile for each student in their class allowing students to have their favorite links bookmarked or ones that you choose for them as part of a lesson. You can also print of worksheets. ESL (English as a Second Language) students can practice their English skills with this site. It even includes a handful of activities available in Spanish. If you’re looking for a place where your students can learn the basics of education and practice using computers, then I really don’t think you’d be disappointed with this site. Teachers shouldn’t have a problem accessing this Web 2.0 tool in their school and the beauty of it is that students can get on the site at home if they have Internet access. If kids today are hooked on technology such as video games, then why not utilize technology-based educational sites that will grab the students’ attention? In my opinion, students don’t always care to learn so why not entertain them while learning because they often don’t realize that while they’re having fun, they’re actually learning.

References:

Blackboard Inc. (2000). Educational benefits of online learning. Retrieved May 5, 2010, from http://med.uth.tmc.edu/administration/edu_programs/ep/blackboard/text/Online_Learning_Benefits.pdf

Prensky, M. (2001). Digital natives, digital immigrants. On the Horizon, 9(5). Retrieved May 5, 2010, from http://www.marcprensky.com/writing/Prensky%20-

Poole, B. J., McIlvain, E. S., & Jackson, L. (2004). Teaching in the computerized classroom, 5th edition. Education for An Information Age. Retrieved May 5, 2010, from http://www.pitt.edu/~edindex/InfoAge5thEdition/Chapter9.pdf

Images are screen shots taken by myself as well as the video. Images and video are based on Kinder Site (http://www.kindersite.org/).

BP2_2010051_Educational/ProfessionalUsesforBlogs

Growing up, I’ve always wanted a place to vent and find people who shared the same thoughts and feelings. I felt like there was never any outlet or at least the type I longed for. Even in school, I wished there was a place where I could journal my thoughts or ideas and have others comment on it. The closest thing I had to that was my journal in English class, but that was for my own personal use and the teacher would just walk around to make sure we were writing in it. Nowadays though, there is a place for students to do that. It can be found in a place that I like to call blogger city.

According to Wikipedia, “A blog is a type of website, usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video” (“Blog,” 2008, para. 1). Being an educator, I think it’s important for students to connect with other people on an educational level whether they are fellow classmates, educators, or individuals with a common interest. I have recently just learned about blogging and I can already see the educational benefits of it. According to the Digital Media Center (2007, para. 3), “Blogs help writers make reflective writing, and engaging audiences through effective writing, a habit.” Blogging enables students to practice their writing skills and receive feedback from peers. In any class, a blog can be used as a journal reflection on what the student is learning. It’s like a public diary with dates of entries and information. Students can utilize blogging as a source of finding information. It’s like having your own community and everyone is the mayor entitled to their own opinion and they can share it freely.

A blog doesn’t just have to be words. It can be anything from words to music, art, videos, and so much more. By having that variety, it allows any type of educator to use blogging as an educational tool. Art teachers can have students post their artwork and fellow classmates comment on it. Photography students can use blogging as a personal portfolio. A math teacher can post an exercise problem and students have to comment on how they solved it enabling students to see the different ways to solve a math problem. These are just a few examples of what I believe teachers and/or students can do with blogging. “Instructors post class times and rules, assignment notifications, suggested readings, and exercises…Blogs are used to organize in-class discussions…Some instructors are using blogs to organize class seminars and to provide summaries of readings” (Downes, 2004, paras. 21-25). A teacher can have a blogging site where students can post their questions about a homework assignment and they can reply with a how to video or simply words that students can always go back to as a reference; parents can become more involved in their child’s education by participating in blogs; students can build social networks with individuals from all over the world, and so much more. There isn’t only one educational use for blogging. Every teacher has their own idea of how they like to incorporate it into their curriculum.

Most teachers have at least one quiet student in class. Blogging provides that student with an opportunity to be vocal in a different way. Teachers may even be surprised by the response they see from that one student because he or she is always too shy in class to respond; however, through blogging, teachers may be learning things about that student they never knew. Davis claims, “Students begin to feel motivated to write as they receive feedback and realize that they have a voice that others are interested in listening to” (2007, para. 2).

To me, blogging is one of the many technology-based tools that can help enhance and build another social learning environment for students that is more hands-on, engaging, and interactive. It’s an opportunity for students to learn about a new tool that they can take with them even after they graduate.

Blogging may not be for everyone and it’s just like everything else where it has some disadvantages. One major disadvantage is that some students may not have a computer or Internet access at home. Some other disadvantages include: students may use improper writing skills such as slang, it’s open to the public-which can be both an advantage and disadvantage, and students may be uncomfortable with others seeing their thoughts or work (OnlineEduBlog, 2009). Although blogging has its disadvantages, educators shouldn’t knock it until they try it.

There’s a multitude of educational blogging sites available right at your fingertips. If you’re interested in seeing some examples, just Google educational blogging sites. If you’re an educator and you would like to learn how to create a blog site so you can start utilizing it in your classroom, Google how to create a blog site.

Here are some examples of student blogging sites that teachers use in their classrooms:

http://classblogmeister.com/blog.php?blogger_id=102127

http://classblogmeister.com/blog.php?blogger_id=207257&show=all

http://classblogmeister.com/blog.php?blogger_id=56473

References:

Blog. (2008). In Wikipedia. Retrieved May 4, 2010, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blog

Davis, A. (n.d.). Why use blogging in the classroom? Blogging. Retrieved May 4, 2010, from http://t4tl.wikispaces.com/Blogging

Digital Media Center. (2007, June 19). Uthink. Retrieved May 4, 2010, from http://dmc.umn.edu/technologies/uthink.shtml

Downes, S. (2004, September/October). Educational blogging. EDUCAUSE Review, 39(5). Retrieved May 4, 2010, from http://www.educause.edu/EDUCAUSE+Review/EDUCAUSEReviewMagazineVolume39/EducationalBlogging/157920

OnlineEduBlog. (2009, June 19). Blogs-Advantages and disadvantages. Retrieved May 4, 2010, from http://www.onlineedublog.com /blogs/

(Images are copyright free from Microsoft Office Word)

BP3_2010051_RSSFeeds

(Copyright free image from Microsoft Office)

* Educational Technology: feed://people.uis.edu/rschr1/et/?feed=rss2

I chose this feed because I am doing my AR (Action Research) on how technology based tools (particularly SMART boards) enhance education amongst students in the classroom. This feed contains articles on technology in education along with people’s opinions on utilizing technology in the classroom that I plan to use as resources for my AR.

* National Association of Special Education Teachers: http://www.naset.org/

I chose this general site because it includes a wide variety of feeds that relate to anything and everything about special education. Being a special education teacher, I believe this site will be useful for my own personal benefit of keeping up to date on things happening in special education and to possibly start connecting with other special educators. This site also provides a wide variety of resources, latest special education news, a career center, and publications that will be valuable to not only myself, but my colleagues as well.

* Bright Hub-Special Education: http://www.brighthub.com/education/special.aspx

Being a special educator I believe it’s important stay current on special education as well as keeping your mind open to new ideas that can help you, your students, and your school overall. I chose this feed because it offers a wide variety of information from new strategies that I can try in my classroom to general information that is good to know in regards to my profession.

* SMARTBoard Lessons Podcasts: http://pdtogo.com/smart/

To be honest, I chose this RSS feed because it was different from the other feeds I have joined. I like this one because it’s a collection of podcasts that people post in regards to SMART Boards. My AR is focused on SMART Boards and our school received our very first one. I haven’t had much experience with our board because it is fairly new in our school so http://pdtogo.com/smart/ is perfect for me because here I can find anything from how to use the SMART Board to different lessons that I can use with my students. I plan to use this as a guide for me in learning more about SMART Boards.

* Free Technology for Teachers: http://www.freetech4teachers.com/

Everybody’s four-letter favorite word-FREE. What more can I say? I chose this as one of my RSS feeds because it not only provides free technology for teachers, but it also offers ideas and lessons plans for incorporating technology in the classroom. I haven’t had much experience with using technology in my class except with using PowerPoint with my students and basic educational websites, so I’m hoping this will introduce me to a whole new list of things I can do with my students and possibly finding more resources for my AR.

BP1_2010051_iGoogleScreenShots

Here is a screen shot of my home page:

Here is a screen shot of my FSO tab:

Here is a screen shot of my AR/CBL tab:

Here is a screen shot of my ETC tab: