My “Favorite” Web2.0 Tools

When the internet was developed, it was mainly used as a a one-way communication tool, place to post and retrieve information. In the past few years, it has exploded into a whole other world. Web2.0 is a place to create, share, connect and most of all interact with the world. You no longer have to physically travel to another country to see it – you can go online and get real-time, live feeds to what is going on. You don’t have to go to a library and look through stacks of books to find a single piece of information – you can type in the information you are looking for and instantly be connected to billions of resources. “Snail mail” is slowly fading into history as families connect through the internet – they can not only talk to each other while on opposite sides of the world, they can see each other, too.  Face-to-face interaction is no longer required to live your daily lives, as everything you need, including education, is accessible with the click of a button.

Two Web2.0 tools I recently explored are 4Shared and VoiceThread.

4Shared is a free online storage space for all your files. You can store documents, photos, music, video, and books. You can retrieve these files from anywhere (including mobile devices), so there is no need to be tied to one computer or computer system. Better yet, you can also use 4Shared to share your files with others.  Because of the large file size you can store, there is no worry about attachment limitations through e-mail. By using a tool like this, you can make important files accessible to students, parents and colleagues, and they can retrieve the information when it is convenient to them. You can store the most recent copies of files, so students know when they retrieve the file, it is the most current copy available. This will save time looking through e-mails to determine if they have the latest copy. Accessibility to needed information is key in saving time searching, thus making time for learning.

VoiceThread is a really cool tool that lets you share a variety of files, from PDF's, pictures, documents and videos so you and your group can collaborate on the same content by leaving real voice comments on the file. Your group can use a doodle feature to draw on and highlight the file, and rewind and fast-forward videos,. This can be a powerful tool to use when you want to share one presentation for your class, but would like each individual student to comment on, or collaborate on, that one presentation. By putting it on the web, you are creating a workspace for your students to be able to access outside of class, and when they have time to do so. The particular project can then be shared in class, with parents, or be part of a student's educational portfolio.

I can see benefits of both of these tools in a educational setting, and am interested in learning the nuances of them in an actual classroom setting.

Piaget's Sensorimotor Stages of Development

A presentation by Jeff, Michiel and myself, using screenr to record our powerpoint presentation and collaborating by Google docs.

http://screenr.com/xtZ


We found this was a relatively easy process, and we were able to compose this podcast in under 10 minutes. This will definitely be something I can use in my classroom.

FaceBook Police

I have been seeing a lot of stories about how people in public positions are being not so smart about what they post on public forums. This one takes the cake...as of today...

Arkansas officials condemn anti-gay comments on Facebook

 Remember...what happens on FaceBook is published to the world.

Student Growth Chart

The students shown fell below the class average for the selected test scores. As this chart illustrates, even though they fell below average for the class as a whole, each student shows improvement over time. One student, Katherine, appears to have made a rapid increase in her score, and then decreased on the next test. As a teacher, I would want to look at this to determine the reason. I would also want to meet with each student to identify the reasons their test scores are increasing, so I can provide support them to continue in their upward trend.

This type of graphing was relatively easy and quick, and gives a great visual for the progress of students. When used in a classroom setting, it can give a teacher a quick insight to which students are meeting or exceeding test score expectations, and which ones are falling behind.

To view the Google spreadsheet and chart, simply click HERE.

Reflection of Ed Tech Standards

The Oregon Ed Tech Standards are trying to create a baseline of education and knowledge that all students will have when completing their education through high school. The standards recognize that we are, indeed, living in a digital world, and if you aren't technologically literate, you will be left behind. The Millennial Generation is the generation that is currently in primary education, that expects technology to be a part of their everyday life; they expect to see technology in school, play, and eventually careers. They cannot imaging a world without a cell phone, laptop or wireless internet. Due to this societal expectation, schools need to provide all students with an opportunity to gain skills and knowledge in technology, regardless of their socioeconomic status. By doing this, they are helping students gain the skills they will need to be successful in the digital world.

Some techniques I plan to use in my classroom is the use of podcasting to help middle-school students demonstrate their knowledge of mathematical concepts. They will need to successfully collaborate the use of video, audio, and the web in order to create the podcast. I will also be asking students to create slideshows and blogs, as my school district allows. I would like for them to have skills in using a variety of tools, so that they have the opportunity to see where their strengths and weaknesses are, and develop skills that will prove to be useful in their careers.

Technology is ever-changing and advancing, and it will be exciting to see what is available in the next few years, and how school districts have incorporated the use of these tools.

EdWeek Article, "New Projects Aim to Help Gay Teens Who Are Bullied"

By Lornet Turnbull, The Seattle Times (MC)

posted October 6, 2010

http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2010/10/06/07mct_lgbt.h30.html 

This article highlights the problems that LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bi and Transsexual) students are facing in today’s schools. Though administrators are recognizing the problem, and the rights of all students, the bullying continues, even to the point some students have committed suicide. Some states, such as Washington, have passed anti-bullying laws to include bullying people because of their sexual orientation. Even with these laws in place, it is still up to school officials to enforce them. Schools around the country are starting to see this as a real problem, and have taken steps to enforce the laws and policies that have been put in place.

Dan Savage, editorial director of The Stranger, a weekly newspaper tailored to LGBT teens that face issues such as harassment, has started a project named It Gets Better. This project gives hope to LGBT teens by letting them know that things get better after high school (where they are primarily bullied in their teen years). Another project, Make It Better, has been started by the national Gay-Straight Alliance network. This project allows adults to make videos aimed at LGBT teens to deliver messages about what it is like to be a LGBT adult in their community.

In our Equity class this term, we talk a lot about the differences between students and consider how to help make education more equitable for them. Reading this article today makes me realize that we, as a class, have talked about all kinds of differences that can be variables in a students’ education, but we have not once really talked about sexual orientation. It makes me wonder if our class has just not realized that this is a factor in a students education, along with culture, family orientation and socioeconomic status, or if we are not ready to talk about it as a class because we, ourselves, are not comfortable with the topic. I know this is a very real issue for many students not only in our own community, but also nationwide. My hope for our class is that we will begin to consider and explore topics like this, in addition to the obvious barriers some students face, so we can become teachers who can teach to, and advocate for, all of our students.

OTEN 2010

At the OTEN 2010 Conference on September 25, 2010, I learned about a variety of current technology tools that can be used in my classroom to enhance my students' learning experience. I first thought that it would be challenging to incorporate some of these tools into a middle school mathematics classroom, but after attending the conference, I gained an insight to how it is currently being done. Talking with teachers who are currently using technology in all levels of education has sparked some ideas that I hope to try out in my own classroom someday. With the Yodio tool that I learned about in my Ed Tech class, I was able to put together a summary of my experience.

Picasa

To put it simply, Google Picasa is a free online web photo album management tool. With an application that you can download, you are able to edit and share pictures. These pictures can be uploaded from your camera, taken from your computer, or found on the web. In addition to editing photos, you can use these photos to create a slideshow, collage, add text and tag both people and places. If you choose not to download the application, there is the option of a web-based editing tool called Picnick. You have the same options as before without being limited to the application being downloaded on the computer you are using.

While exploring this tool, I found it pretty easy to use for the moderately knowledgeable. It is not as intuitive, or user-friendly, as I would have liked to see. Someone with prior experience in photo editing tools would have an easy time finding their way around, but those without this experience would be recommended to use the tutorials and online help that is available through Google. The site for the tool was easy to navigate, making it relatively quick to find the basic information needed to decide whether the tool would be useful. The creation of the album was painless, as was uploading, tagging and editing the album.

When my group talked about the benefits of this tool, we looked at how it could enhance the learning experience both in the classroom and beyond. With a tool like this, a teacher and their students can build an online album that is accessible to the student while at school and while at home. Teachers can load photos that are “safe” and approved by their school and/or school district, as well as engage students in creating this album by allowing them to add to it. Students can use the pictures in this album to enhance projects, link content with real-world application, and share their class work with their peers as well as their parents. These albums can kept by students as a portfolio of their work in the class, and can come back to it year after year. They can look at past years to see what has been done before, and find an inspiration for the current years work.

Overall, I enjoyed the opportunity to explore this tool. I found ways that I can use it personally as well as professionally. The accessibility to the tool, as well as the price (free), are two benefits that are hard to beat. I am so excited about Picasa that I am already planning ways to incorporate it into my future classroom!

For a summary of our groups work on Picasa, please use the following link:

https://docs4.google.com/document/edit?id=18tK0FElpMhlwvu4RvxlOtCRD_dUTueX7OlyF8g8vCr0&hl=en#

EdWeek Article, "Iowa High School Uses Cell Phones In Classroom"

by The Associated Press
posted September 20, 2010
http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2010/09/19/376626iexchangetextingfortests_ap.html

Now here's a school that is really trying to take the negatives of today's technology and turn it into a positive! And, it's right in line with our Ed Tech class (can we say bonus?). This is a great real-world example of how a high school is working with students to enhance their learning.

This high school in Iowa is allowing students to use their cell phones in class and participate in multiple choice quizzes using the online tool, PollEverywhere.com. This online tool allows teachers to get real-time answers to the questions they ask. The teachers in this high school have found it gives them a better sense of what material needs to be covered in more detail as they are teaching, and the students are more engaged in the learning process because it's fun. The school district has considered what issues the leniency could potentially cause, so they have strict consequences for misusing a cell phone in the classroom. To date, they report they have had little problem with students following the rules.

But what about the students without cell phones or plans that allow for texting? The school provides them with laptops to participate. The school district superintendent reports they are committed to incorporating technology into the classroom, as many colleges and universities are using similar technologies for emergency notifications (including Willamette University).

Wow. Wouldn't it be nice if all school districts were so excited about the benefits that technology can bring to the learning experience?

EdWeek Article, "Teen Fights Nose Ring Suspension on Religious Grounds"

by The Associated Press

Posted September 16, 2010
http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2010/09/16/376056usrelpiercingchurch_ap.html

With such a vocal society that will fight for it’s independent rights, it’s hard to draw the line sometimes between what can and cannot be allowed in schools. Considerations such as religion have to be carefully looked at. The idea of separation between church and state means different things to different people.  But the question is: What constitutes a religion? Can schools simply look at the dictionary definition of religion, or do schools need to take more of a sociological approach? Where is the line drawn from allowing students to bring their culture, which includes religion, into the classroom with them, and disallowing them to do so. On the contrary, each student has a right to attend school without having other’s views forced upon them…but what does this mean, exactly.

This article highlights what I think will be an ongoing issue in schools and school districts that struggle to hold the fine line between allowing students to express themselves independently, and create a safe learning environment that has minimal distractions to the learning process. 


Many school districts I have had experience with have found a "safe" ground with issues such as this. They allow student's freedom of expression so long as it does not create a distraction. In the Northwest, this allows students to have body and facial piercings, tattoos, mohawks and rainbow colored hair. Perhaps these things are not a distraction to the learning environment because they are mostly accepted in the society in which we live. Apparently, these freedoms are not as acceptable in North Carolina.

What's a Jedder?

Every once in a while, this is the question that I am asked. My response? I just smile and chuckle, and say something like, “Who really knows.” What they are referring to is my nickname, Jedder. I can explain how I got it, but the underlying humor is that you can’t really define a person by only using a few words, or at least I don’t think so. There are so many facets to what makes a person who they are. However, I will try to share some things to help you understand me just a bit better.

I have always wanted to be a teacher. All of my career choices have had something to do with teaching and training. I played in the social work field for a bit, and am now doing “computer stuff”, administering a statewide system for state agencies, which includes developing and implementing training to state employees. I think all of my experiences in my life have prepared me to teach, and will play a huge part in the kind of teacher I am and will become.

Sometimes I do things backward, sideways and/or upside down…but those ways usually work for me better that the traditional ways in which something is taught. Because of this, I fully appreciate learning several different ways to accomplish the same task. I understand that everyone is different, and in order to learn something, you have to have it make sense for you.

I love being outside (except when it’s hot), and like to at least try any kind of outdoor activity I can. I have a long list that I am slowly checking off. I also enjoy skating. I’m involved in roller derby and have to work to not let it take over my life. Paired with my involvement in my roller derby club, I volunteer on a weekly basis. We are partnered with the Boys and Girls Club, and trade volunteer hours for time to use their gym for practices. I really like working with the kids there, and learn something from them every time I go.

I am really enjoying the MAT program so far, and look forward to taking this journey with my fellow cohorts. 

Try First!

It Couldn't Be Done by Edgar Albert Guest

Somebody said that it couldn’t be done,

    But, he with a chuckle replied
That "maybe it couldn’t," but he would be one
    Who wouldn’t say so till he’d tried.
So he buckled right in with the trace of a grin
    On his face. If he worried he hid it.
He started to sing as he tackled the thing
    That couldn’t be done, and he did it.

Somebody scoffed: "Oh, you’ll never do that;
    At least no one has done it";
But he took off his coat and he took off his hat,
    And the first thing we knew he’d begun it.
With a lift of his chin and a bit of a grin,
    Without any doubting or quiddit,
He started to sing as he tackled the thing
    That couldn’t be done, and he did it.

There are thousands to tell you it cannot be done,
    There are thousands to prophesy failure;
There are thousands to point out to you one by one,
    The dangers that wait to assail you.
But just buckle it in with a bit of a grin,
    Just take off your coat and go to it;
Just start to sing as you tackle the thing
    That "couldn’t be done," and you’ll do it.

This limerick is something that was introduced to me by my current manager. I try to keep it in mind when I struggle with something, like this blog, that does not come easy to me. Whether it is an internal or external struggle, I think it applies.

It isn’t the technology that slows me down. In my current position, I work with many different types of technology. To list a few…content management systems, online collaboration tools (that feature online discussions, documents, blogs, and projects), learning management systems, virtual classrooms, issue tracking systems, training and education building tools, and the list goes on. What I have trouble with is the idea of a blog. When they were first introduced as a web log, they were meant to be something like an online diary…and are still used this way today. As I am a relatively private person, putting my thoughts out on the World Wide Web is not something I am having an easy time considering. However, as this new world called the internet has grown, so have the uses for blogs.

In the past few years, I have seen blogs be used as more of a newsletter, flyer, or announcement. They are now being used as a way to get information to a group of people that may be interested in the subject at hand. Taking this into account, they can have a very useful place in education. Some ideas that for using blogs to enhance teaching and learning in my math class that initially came to me include:

Transparency in the classroom: Parents, students, and colleagues will be able to gather information on what is happening in the classroom. Parents and colleagues can check the blog to see what the current math topic is, as well as dates to keep in mind. Students can use the blog to answer the age-old question of, “What did you learn today?”

Assignments: Assignments, whether daily, weekly, or extra credit, can be posted for review. If a student misses a class, they will be able to still complete their assignment and be prepared when they return.

Knowledge-sharing: Blogs can be used to share information that will benefit not only myself, but also my colleagues and students.  By posting the information online, I am able to share the information with a wider audience. Students can also blog to the class site to share information they have found, thus participating in the knowledge sharing.

I have a passion for education because I truly believe that knowledge is power. By using the current technology to enhance the traditional teaching approaches, we are not only meeting our students expectation of providing education in a way they are able to learn it, but we are also ensuring learning beyond the classroom by incorporating lessons with their everyday lives. If the student can relate to the lesson, they are far more likely to retain the knowledge as they move forward.

I also believe that I shouldn't ask someone else to to what I am not willing to do myself. So now the secret is out. I am not a blogger. However…I will try first!