What?
This last day of class before finals we worked on our digital stories. I did not go to class though because I am using iMovie and so I worked on my digital story from home.
So What?
This technology of being able to put videos on Youtube is really cool. It allows us to give back to the Youtube community because I am sure a lot of us have used Youtube in the past. I really like the digital stories but I didn't realize they would be so difficult to make. It is really time consuming.
As a student digital stories are great because when I see them I get more excited about what we are going to learn about. They really hook me in. Also as a student we could use them in presentation we give in other classes. In some of the history classes I have taken here we have had to do presentations. It would have been really neat if I had already known this technology because I could have created a digital story and used that in my presentation. That definitely would have hooked in the audience.
Now What?
Now that I know how to create a digital story I will be able to use them throughout my teaching career. The more I create the easier I am sure it will get too. I really feel that my students would really enjoy the digital stories and connect more and be more excited about the content we are learning about.
If my colleagues and I can collaborate using digital stories that would be great. We could have so many different videos if we all worked together and shared what we had created. We could also collaborate on new ones we create which would also make the workload lighter on all of us. I am sure some of us are better at different aspects of a digital story so we could share our talents with one another.
Video:
I thought as a music video that video was really cool. I liked how it gave the dates of the people and events it was talking about as well. For an overview of modern history I think it was really neat. I also liked how it had real video footage. I was kind of confused by the cartoon at the beginning...was it South Park or something? But overall I really liked it.
Friday, April 23, 2010
Sunday, April 18, 2010
Reflection 4/18
What?
This week we learned how to use Photostory. We also learned some places where we can get photos to use for the project that are not copyrighted.
So What?
I have a Mac and will be using imovie to create my digital story and so this lesson on how to use Photostory did not pertain to me. Learning where to look for non copyrighted material was very helpful. Creative Commons is a great resource to find media to use on the assignment. Another great source to use is UEN and Pioneer.
Because today's lesson was about Photostory I spent the majority of the time finding material to use for my assignment on Creative Commons. I also finalized my storyboard. Knowing where to find material that didn't have any copy right laws was really helpful.
Now What?
Now that I have decided to work on this project alone it has been much easier. I have been able to decide on a topic that interests me and am able to do it how I want. I also am able to work on it when I want and that has allowed me to get a lot of things done.
I am still really excited about this assignment and am looking forward to seeing my finished project as well as my classmates. Learning where non copyrighted material can be found will be extremely helpful in all things I do in teaching.
Video:
I am 99.8% sure that we watched this video before. I know that we watched the older one but I also think we watched this newer updated on as well. All the same I still think this video is really cool. It shows how technology is such a part of the world we live in and if we want to survive and do well in this world we have to know technology. We as teachers need to make sure we teach the students about through technology because that is how the real world is.
This week we learned how to use Photostory. We also learned some places where we can get photos to use for the project that are not copyrighted.
So What?
I have a Mac and will be using imovie to create my digital story and so this lesson on how to use Photostory did not pertain to me. Learning where to look for non copyrighted material was very helpful. Creative Commons is a great resource to find media to use on the assignment. Another great source to use is UEN and Pioneer.
Because today's lesson was about Photostory I spent the majority of the time finding material to use for my assignment on Creative Commons. I also finalized my storyboard. Knowing where to find material that didn't have any copy right laws was really helpful.
Now What?
Now that I have decided to work on this project alone it has been much easier. I have been able to decide on a topic that interests me and am able to do it how I want. I also am able to work on it when I want and that has allowed me to get a lot of things done.
I am still really excited about this assignment and am looking forward to seeing my finished project as well as my classmates. Learning where non copyrighted material can be found will be extremely helpful in all things I do in teaching.
Video:
I am 99.8% sure that we watched this video before. I know that we watched the older one but I also think we watched this newer updated on as well. All the same I still think this video is really cool. It shows how technology is such a part of the world we live in and if we want to survive and do well in this world we have to know technology. We as teachers need to make sure we teach the students about through technology because that is how the real world is.
Sunday, April 11, 2010
Reflection 3/11
What?
This week in class we were introduced to digital stories. As a group we came up with what we would do for our digital story.
So What?
Digital stories look really neat. I saw some of the ones my friends made last semester and they looked really good. I have been looking forward to making one. As a student right now I have seen some digital stories in my other classes. They really connect to your emotions, especially ones about history, which is my content area.
This technology means that we can create movies. I think this is really neat not just for educational purposes but we can also create personal digital stories. It would be cool to create one using pictures from a vacation and putting some music to it. This technology can be spread out to other areas of our life which is really really cool.
Now What?
Digital stories are really cool because they can say and express a lot more than we teachers can do with lectures. In history I think this tool is especially powerful. Students will get so much more out of watching a digital story about genocide in Rwanda than they will by me talking about it. The students become much more engaged by viewing digital stories.
Another idea I was thinking about was having our students make digital stories in our content area. For history I think that this is would be great because the students could have a lot of freedom in choosing a topic. This would allow the students to learn about a subject more in depth and become an expert in it. Then they could share them with their classmates and learn more. This would also allow the students to collaborate with one another and learn from each other.
Video:
I liked the NASA digital story. My favorite thing about it was that it used real audio from actual speeches and events in history. I also thought it flowed well and got across the message it was suppose to. The narration did not always sound like it was done on high quality but it was pretty great overall.
This week in class we were introduced to digital stories. As a group we came up with what we would do for our digital story.
So What?
Digital stories look really neat. I saw some of the ones my friends made last semester and they looked really good. I have been looking forward to making one. As a student right now I have seen some digital stories in my other classes. They really connect to your emotions, especially ones about history, which is my content area.
This technology means that we can create movies. I think this is really neat not just for educational purposes but we can also create personal digital stories. It would be cool to create one using pictures from a vacation and putting some music to it. This technology can be spread out to other areas of our life which is really really cool.
Now What?
Digital stories are really cool because they can say and express a lot more than we teachers can do with lectures. In history I think this tool is especially powerful. Students will get so much more out of watching a digital story about genocide in Rwanda than they will by me talking about it. The students become much more engaged by viewing digital stories.
Another idea I was thinking about was having our students make digital stories in our content area. For history I think that this is would be great because the students could have a lot of freedom in choosing a topic. This would allow the students to learn about a subject more in depth and become an expert in it. Then they could share them with their classmates and learn more. This would also allow the students to collaborate with one another and learn from each other.
Video:
I liked the NASA digital story. My favorite thing about it was that it used real audio from actual speeches and events in history. I also thought it flowed well and got across the message it was suppose to. The narration did not always sound like it was done on high quality but it was pretty great overall.
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Technology Review
During this unit the students will be learning about other cultures. We will be learning about the history of other areas of the world as well as customs, traditions and their way of life. During this unit the students will be assigned a pen-pal from Germany. Their pen-pal will be their same age and will be attending school as well. Throughout the unit students will be required to email back and forth with their pen-pal by creating a gmail account. Luckily our German pen-pals know English so language won't be an issue. The students will be able to see how life is for someone their age in another country. They will be able to see some similarities and some differences between their lives and their pen-pals. Our students should be able to learn a lot from this experience. Another thing the students will be required to do is to make an account on Picasa. On Picasa they will create a photo album. Students will be required to take pictures of their daily life and post them in photo album on Picasa for their pen-pal to see. This will help the students in Germany be able to see what their life is like. The students in Germany will be doing this as well.
Gmail Email:
Our students will use gmail to email back and forth with their German pen-pal. Students will be required to answer and ask certain questions in their email. Emails will be sent out every other day. Gmail email is great. First of all creating an account is free. There is also tons of storage room. Students will be able to create files and save the emails that have been written back and forth with their pen-pal. Gmail offers great organization to keep everything sorted. By creating this account students will also be able to keep in contact with me as will the parents. This will really help our class stay on the same page. This will really impact the classroom and the curriculum because what we learn by using gmail for this activity will help us throughout the semester as we integrate more and more technology into the curriculum. Gmail also does a great job of keeping junk mail out of your account. Gmail is very user friendly and easy to use. One con about gmail is that ads do show up on the side of your screen. It uses key words in your email to see what things you would be interested. This should not be a problem for the students though. Gmail does not allow inappropriate ads to show up. To further understand the pros and cons to gmail please read the two articles that I have linked above. That is where most of this information came from.
Picasa:
Once students create a gmail account they will also be able to use Picasa, a photo sharing site from Google, for free. Picasa is awesome. It lets your upload your photos and place them in an album. Once you create an album you are able to share them (through email) with anyone. The students will create an album about their daily life for their pen-pal in Germany and then share it with him or her. Picasa is very user friendly. Students are able to create titles for their albums as well as captions for each picture. This will be great because their pen-pals will be able to understand the picture better when their is a caption. Picasa also makes it easy to organize your photos. Another great thing about Picasa is that it allows you to edit your photos. Another cool thing is that you are able to add text anywhere on your picture. After reading up on Picasa and doing a little exploring I have decided that I am definitely going to download it and use that instead of iPhoto. This will be great for our students because after they learn how to do this in class they will be able to use it for themselves anytime. Another great thing about Picasa is you can create slide shows. This would be really neat to create for our pen-pals. For more information read the two articles above.
Sunday, March 28, 2010
Reflection #6
What?
This week we learned how to make videocast, podcasts, acquiring videos from various sites to use in the curriculum and how we can use National Geographic in the curriculum. In our teams we are going to create a video and a podcast.
So What?
This technology is really neat. In my current classes some of my teachers use podcasts. For some class periods my teacher records the session on her ipod and then links it onto the classroom website. This is great for those who might be home ill or have some circumstance that did not allow them to come to class. Another way I have teachers that uses podcasts is by having us listen to ones made by other people that have to do with the content we are studying. It is really cool because it allows you to listen in on something without being there. It also is cool because you are able to replay it. I find a lot of times that hearing something something once is not enough. Over time I will forget. By having lectures or other important messages on podcasts we as students are able to listen to them again and are able to get clarification on things we might not have understood super well before.
The things we learned in class this week are really cool because they can be applied to many other areas in our life, not just education. If there is anything we are interested in we are likely going to be able to find podcasts, videocasts and videos to learn more about the topic. I especially like Zamzar because it does not require us to download something to convert files. I don't like having to download applications onto my computer very much so I really like Zamzar.
Now What?
I loved the National Geographic site, especially the interactive where you could learn all about the landing on the moon. Students would probably really enjoy exploring sites and things like that. I definitely planning on using these resources in my future classroom. I also think that podcast and all the video tools we learned about will be neat to use in the classroom as well.
Podcasts and the video tools we learned about are really great because they allow us to collaborate with our colleagues. From what I have heard teachers are really busy and put in a lot of work. I am sure that we won't have a time to create tons of videos but if we work with our colleagues I am sure we will be able to share with each other and have a wider variety to work from. I also think that it would be really cool to have guest speakers come to the classroom and create a podcast from it. In that circumstance it would be great to be able to hold on to what messages was delivered. Especially if that person we unable to come in the future, you could have your future classes listen to the podcast. I like learning about all these different tools because it gives us many more options of what we can do as teachers to make the content richer for our students.
Video:
The video was pretty funny. At first I thought it was really a segment done on Letterman but then I realized it wasn't and I felt kind of silly for thinking it was at first. The video showed the top 10 things they don't teach your in college about teaching.
It seemed like most of it was geared toward elementary teachers and I am hoping that is the case! Hopefully I don't have to worry about cleaning up a student's pee! I am sure though some of those things ring true for us secondary teachers too though.
This week we learned how to make videocast, podcasts, acquiring videos from various sites to use in the curriculum and how we can use National Geographic in the curriculum. In our teams we are going to create a video and a podcast.
So What?
This technology is really neat. In my current classes some of my teachers use podcasts. For some class periods my teacher records the session on her ipod and then links it onto the classroom website. This is great for those who might be home ill or have some circumstance that did not allow them to come to class. Another way I have teachers that uses podcasts is by having us listen to ones made by other people that have to do with the content we are studying. It is really cool because it allows you to listen in on something without being there. It also is cool because you are able to replay it. I find a lot of times that hearing something something once is not enough. Over time I will forget. By having lectures or other important messages on podcasts we as students are able to listen to them again and are able to get clarification on things we might not have understood super well before.
The things we learned in class this week are really cool because they can be applied to many other areas in our life, not just education. If there is anything we are interested in we are likely going to be able to find podcasts, videocasts and videos to learn more about the topic. I especially like Zamzar because it does not require us to download something to convert files. I don't like having to download applications onto my computer very much so I really like Zamzar.
Now What?
I loved the National Geographic site, especially the interactive where you could learn all about the landing on the moon. Students would probably really enjoy exploring sites and things like that. I definitely planning on using these resources in my future classroom. I also think that podcast and all the video tools we learned about will be neat to use in the classroom as well.
Podcasts and the video tools we learned about are really great because they allow us to collaborate with our colleagues. From what I have heard teachers are really busy and put in a lot of work. I am sure that we won't have a time to create tons of videos but if we work with our colleagues I am sure we will be able to share with each other and have a wider variety to work from. I also think that it would be really cool to have guest speakers come to the classroom and create a podcast from it. In that circumstance it would be great to be able to hold on to what messages was delivered. Especially if that person we unable to come in the future, you could have your future classes listen to the podcast. I like learning about all these different tools because it gives us many more options of what we can do as teachers to make the content richer for our students.
Video:
The video was pretty funny. At first I thought it was really a segment done on Letterman but then I realized it wasn't and I felt kind of silly for thinking it was at first. The video showed the top 10 things they don't teach your in college about teaching.
It seemed like most of it was geared toward elementary teachers and I am hoping that is the case! Hopefully I don't have to worry about cleaning up a student's pee! I am sure though some of those things ring true for us secondary teachers too though.
Sunday, March 21, 2010
Field Work Reflection
These last two weeks I have spent a lot of time in the classroom for my fieldwork. I have completed most of it but still have my technology interview. In my fieldwork thus far though I have been able to technology used in the classroom, or the lack thereof.
These last two weeks I spent time in a high school and in a junior high. I really enjoyed my experiences teaching and observing in these settings. Everyone hears those horror stories about teaching in junior highs but I loved it. Maybe it was this particular class, but the kids were great. They were well behaved and really sweet and fun. I noticed this class had a cart that had a projector on it and other cables that I believed would be used for powerpoint presentations and such. When I went to teach this class I asked the teacher before hand if I could use the projector for a powerpoint I wanted to create. The teacher said I could but that it was kind of a pain to set it up. I felt that the teacher did not want me to use it, so I told it that it would be OK. Due to the teachers response I gathered that that element of technology was not used in this class much. I felt it was a shame to not use the great resources available.
In the high school I went to I observed a teacher who had created a really great powepoint that involved the students and had many objectives, graphic organizers, and questions. I was happy to see this teacher use the technology and resources available to her. The students seemed more engaged in this classroom and seemed to like this method of teaching.
From my observations and teaching in these two classroom I was able to see how one teacher used technology in the classroom and how the other felt it was somewhat of a pain to try to incorporate technology in the curriculum. I really enjoyed these experiences and learned a lot. I saw firsthand how technology helps students be engaged in learning. My observation and first hand teaching experiences got me more excited to conduct my technology interview in the coming weeks.
These last two weeks I spent time in a high school and in a junior high. I really enjoyed my experiences teaching and observing in these settings. Everyone hears those horror stories about teaching in junior highs but I loved it. Maybe it was this particular class, but the kids were great. They were well behaved and really sweet and fun. I noticed this class had a cart that had a projector on it and other cables that I believed would be used for powerpoint presentations and such. When I went to teach this class I asked the teacher before hand if I could use the projector for a powerpoint I wanted to create. The teacher said I could but that it was kind of a pain to set it up. I felt that the teacher did not want me to use it, so I told it that it would be OK. Due to the teachers response I gathered that that element of technology was not used in this class much. I felt it was a shame to not use the great resources available.
In the high school I went to I observed a teacher who had created a really great powepoint that involved the students and had many objectives, graphic organizers, and questions. I was happy to see this teacher use the technology and resources available to her. The students seemed more engaged in this classroom and seemed to like this method of teaching.
From my observations and teaching in these two classroom I was able to see how one teacher used technology in the classroom and how the other felt it was somewhat of a pain to try to incorporate technology in the curriculum. I really enjoyed these experiences and learned a lot. I saw firsthand how technology helps students be engaged in learning. My observation and first hand teaching experiences got me more excited to conduct my technology interview in the coming weeks.
Sunday, March 14, 2010
Field Work Reflection
This week we are suppose to blog about our field experience. I am doing my field work on Tuesday so I will blog about it next Sunday.
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