BP16_20091018_ReflectiveMediaAsset2

BP15_20091018_Research and Blogging about Web 2.0_Student Post

Student blog reading post

1 comments:

Steve Mohler said...

Kelly,
I like the fact that Noteflight has appeared. I hated losing my notepad program. I like this site too and I think it has a lot of uses. I would be excited to see some of the things your kids might produce. This could maybe something that we might be able to have our students look at each other's compositions and then exchange ideas and thoughts. This would be cool to use between two schools as a pen pal type of project.

October 14, 2009 7:38 PM

BP14_20091018_Researching and Blogging about Web 2.0

ClassTools.net

This site is tremendous! I love all the functionality of this site. There are so many options available in this site. I especially like the games that can be created. They are so easy to create and the students would be so engaged. It would be such a great tool for remediation, reinforcement of concepts, and assessment of material. I think I will get a great deal of use out of this site.

BP13_20091018_Research and Blogging about Web 2.0

Noteflight.com

I have used notepad with my students, but with the upgrading of our school labs we lost the free site. I was pleased to find this site. It is fairly easy to navigate and could be so useful for my intermediate classes to compose melodies. I can see this as a tool used in conjunction with Garage Band. Students create their compositions in notelight, transfer to Garage Band using the keyboard to enter the information, and add accompaniments to their melody to create an original orchestrated composition. A great composition tool for the moneyJ

BP12_20091018_Research and Blogging about Web 2.0

Easytest.com

What a great tool!!! I love how user friendly this site is to use. Even a novice can quickly generate great looking tests for their students. I thought this was so easy to navigate and understand, that a teacher could create any kind of test they would like. And the even better part is that it is free!!! Awesome!!!

BP11_20091014_MediaLiteracy-DB2

I really think that media literacy has made a huge change in our society. With the explosion of technology our society, our world has changed. The days of the pen and paper are gone and the possibilities for the future are endless. Tessa Jolls, President of Center for Media Literacy, gives the definition of Media Literacy as the ability to access, analyze, evaluate, and create media in all of its forms (print, video, internet) and really helps us understand the role of our relationship to media in our society. (Jolls, 2009)

Teachers will often insert technology into their curriculum as a means to help achieve standards. However, teachers who use technology for these purposes generally experience the greatest disappointment. A teacher incorporating technology where and when it makes sense will realize a greater sense of accomplishment in the completion of a project. Understanding that technology is not the main goal allows student’s to enhance their skills in writing, discussion, and analysis and to grow through their experience with technology. (Learmont, 2003)

Students generally show an increase in their general knowledge and basic communication skills. After all, one can’t understand without creating it yourself from the inside out. (Funesco)

Developing a rubric will help establish clear and concise goals for students in the creation of their product. However, teachers should keep in mind that some technological assignments can become overwhelming for both the students and the teachers. The student should be creating and learning through their research and implementation of the tools available to them, not the teacher. So a teacher must be careful not to let the task overtake their management of the project. Careful observation and monitoring of the students will help in the student’s development of critical thinking skills, understanding how media affects society, behavior, and health; identify sources of bias, and distinguish between fact and fiction. (Learmont, 2003)

I would want my student’s in my school to know that with all of the web’s potential for opening up the world of knowledge to the student’s of today and tomorrow media literacy can be a tremendous tool. Through developing communication skills and the ability to work collaboratively their daily lives and educational experiences would be truly enhanced. With ample preparation, video productions can become an exciting way to get students involved with classroom content. (Learmont, 2003)

References

Funesco, N. (Producer). Using video in the classroom [Episode 12]. Interview with Michael Needleman, Understand Media Podcast. Podcast retrieved from http://understandmedia.com/podcasts.html

Learmont, D. Collaborating for Success, June 2003. Cable in the classroom, June 2003. Retrieved from www.ciconline.org on October 11, 2009.

Jolls, T. (August,2008). Media Literacy, Education and Choice [YouTube]. Video posted to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yzeVjAM-drg&feature=player_embedded

Royalty free photo courtesy of Cinch.com

BP10_20091012_Flickr

In looking through some lesson plans incorporating Flickr I came up with an idea for a lesson that could be used with my high school show choir. Searching through Flickr I was pleasantly surprised to find so much available to my students.

The plan I would like to incorporate would involve my students searching through Flickr for photos of students involved in show choir. Students would choose five pictures and use them as a compare and contrast exercise in the use of facials when performing.

After comparing and contrasting the five pictures the student would then create a picture showing what they would consider to be appropriate facials to use in performance and upload it to a class site.

References

AuCoin, P. NYC Helpline: How To: Incorporate Technology in the Classroom; Using flickr.com in the Classroom. Retrieved on October 12, 2009 from http://www.teachersnetwork.org/NTNY/nychelp/technology/flickr.htm

BP9_20091011_ReflectiveMediaAsset

BP8_20091011_Student Blog Comments

Steve Mohler said...

Tom, I really like this Weebly.com site that you have come across. I am impressed with the ease of use. I like the way everything is right there, and very accessible. I think this would be an awesome choice in your creation for To Kill A Mocking Bird. I like your thoughts and especially the gallery walk idea allowing students a chance to walk through each other's sites. What a great idea! I'm going to play around with the site a little bit and see if I think my sixth graders might be able to incorporate it into their classroom instruction. We are going to do a unit in the spring that involves researching music, art and culture of different major cities. This could be a great tool for that. Thanks for pointing it out.

Steve Mohler said...

Michael, Very nice slide presentation. that pretty much sums it all up in a nutshell, doesn't it?

BP7_20091011_Research and Blogging about Web 2.0

Sketchfu.com

http://sketchfu.com/home

A good site for creating rhythm cards and charicatures that I may want to include in lesson presentations An individual can go into sketch fu, create a drawing, designate the speed as to how fast the drawing should appear and then download the drawing to use with presentations. I’m not sure if it will work with smartboard just yet, but it appears that if I can’t get the animation to activate, I can still make use of the initial drawing.

Sketchfu.com. (2009). Web Applications Index. Retrieved October 9, 2009 from http://www.go2web20.net/

BP6_20091011_Research and Blogging about Web 2.0

Google Docs

I would like to make use of the google doc applications. I can see so many of them being useful in my learning situation and teaching environment. I love the many uses of google docs. The forms would be so helpful in quick onsite evaluations that I plan to use in my AR project, and the documents will be extremely helpful in collaborating with students and teachers for group discussions. The spreadsheets are an item that I can collaborate on with my fellow department members in working with student’s accounts and fundraising tracking.

Googledocs.com. (2009). Web Applications Index. Retrieved October 9, 2009 from http://www.go2web20.net/

BP5_20091011_ Researching and Blogging about Web 2.0

LooGix.com

http://www.loogix.com

What a great site for photo enhancements. I can see myself using this site in creating animations that I can incorporate into my lessons and presentations. The use of novel material is often to key to keeping a student’s interest in presentation. I can see how the picture animations created in this site might be use as a key part in a keynote or powerpoint presentation. I can see great versatility, especially with certain key features that will allow students to get a grasp on the point that is trying to be made.

I present a senior presentation each year of my graduates and it is something that is relished by all. I can see using some of these features to better enhance the work that I create. I think this will be a great site to become familiar with.

Loogix.com. (2009). Web Applications Index. Retrieved October 9, 2009 from http://www.go2web20.net/

BP4_20091011_Social Bookmarking

Social bookmarking can be useful as a way to access a consolidated set of bookmarks from various computer, organize large numbers of bookmarks, and share bookmarks with contacts. (Krause, 2008). Recently, collaborative tagging has grown in popularity on the web sites that allow users to tag bookmarks, photographs and other content. (Golder and Huberman, 2006).

The use of tags allows an individual to set up criteria that is not only meaningful for their purposes, but others may have similar interests or additionally tagged bookmarks that could be shared. I could see this being really useful in a learning environment where students or faculty may be working on a group assignment or project. They teams, or groups, could collaborate on a set of tags and contribute to them as they find relative web sites that would benefit the group.

The advantages of tagging are personal knowledge management; serendipitous access to resources; and enhanced possibilities to share content with emerging social networks. (Vuorikari, May 2007) This could prove extremely helpful in the world of education.

Social bookmarking as a team, or group
- allows individuals and the group to conduct and share research
- allows author and book updates
- allows individuals to follow student research direction
o ie. Teachers following students
- allows sharing of research and information
- creates unintended learning through resource discovery and information
- allows sharing of links to current news and classroom discussions
- allows sharing accounts between educators and students
These are just a few of the advantages to using the tool of social bookmarking for the enrichment of education. Students and teachers alike can all benefit from the use of these tools.

More and more social tagging services are becoming available to the consumer. But, along with the emerging of so many sites a fatigue in social networking has already emerged and there has been dissatisfaction occur. (Vuorikari, May 2007) Will the world wide internet become so engulfed that we will need to look for new and faster ways of utilizing information and tools? That is an overwhelming prospect of what the future may hold. Individuals should allow themselves to grow through these experiences and the use of the social bookmarking is the beginning of large things to come. More collaboration will be created upon much large scales and venues.

References

Vuorikari, R. (2007). Folksonomies, social bookmarking and tagging: State-of-the-art.
Retrieved October 5, 2009 from
http://life.eun.org/ww/en/pub/insight/misc/specialreports/folksonomies.htm

Golder, S. and Huberman, B. A. (2005). The structure of collaborative tagging systems.
Retrieved October 6, 2009 from http://www.hpl.hp.com/research/idl/papers/tags/tags.pdf

Social bookmarkings, 2007. Retrieved October 6, 2009 from
http://www.teachinghacks.com/wiki/index.php?title=Social_bookmarking_tools

BP_20091006_WGO Homepage

BP3_20091004_ Google Reader RSS Feeds

Blog #3 Google Reader

RSS Feeds
Music Teacher Resources
Music Education Research
Music Education Blog
MENC ?
List of Web 2.0 lists
Web2.0 Tools and Applications
YouTube-Web 2.0 Research

I have chosen to subscribe to these RSS feeds because they are pertinent to my career or continuing education. In reading through the music resource sites and blogs, each contains vital leads to information that may prove helpful to me professionally. Music Education Research supplies the latest in research trends and information, while the Music Education Blog allows insight into the dealings of other educators. Allowing me to see that perhaps I am not the only one dealing with some of the problems that brings one down. The Music Education Resources as well as MENC sites offer new ideas and thoughts for presenting and incorporating material into lesson plans.

The Web 2.0 sites simply supply me with lots of information that I may be able to use in my master?s program study and general education classroom.

BP2_20091004_ Anti-Teaching

Blog Post #2 Week 1 Anti-Teaching

Today?s educational systems are not necessarily accommodating for the students of today. In terms of the Multiple Intelligences theories of Gardner, there is not enough open ended learning for students. Students come in so many different shapes and sizes, and bring along with them the many different types of learning in which they learn best.
In order to help the students of today and tomorrow, an approach that would allow students to explore, process, and implement information obtained would be more beneficial to much of their learning. I see a strong lean towards the histories, maths, and sciences, and languages in these concepts. Although offering available resources, subjects that involve a physical component such as a choir, band, or physical education would have more difficulty in totally implementing a technological curriculum. The use of technology in attaining some base knowledge skills would prove helpful, but not be able to interject the human factor needed in these areas. Incorporation of technology with learning environments could assist many brain-based learning functions.
Are virtual learning environments with course management systems the answer? The answer? To all of education?s problems? No I don?t think they are ?the answer?. I think they can be used as a part of the puzzle completion, but not totally relied on as the answer to educating every child in the school system. Allowing access to tools of Web 2.0 can only benefit and enlighten the child of today to an even greater degree. Having the resources for exploration at a child?s finger tip, can only open endless doors of knowledge.
Is it enough? Can technology be the answer to reaching every student? No, I don?t believe it is the answer. I believe it can open avenues of question and inquiry for a student, but not be the total answer to their success. As stated in the Anti-teaching article, we are only human, and learning is the hallmark of humanity. Can technology help? Yes, through the use of blogging, students open themselves and the world up to a multitude of new ideas, thoughts, and philosophies. They can interact with other humans, creating a family or group, and openly explore new avenues of interest or commonalities. Students have the freedom to question. They can explore for information, answer a question, and create new questions, finding the answer to them, exploring over and over and discovering new ideas and solutions as questions appear. In the Anti-teaching article the statement reads, the only answer to a good question is another question.
Proper encouragement from a teacher (who becomes more of mediator) allows students opportunities to collect information, draw connections, acquire information, disseminate it, and collaborate on the use of the information. The teacher helps to direct the entire spectacle of exploration of the student?s. It is the job of the teacher to provide an environment conducive to the learning, allowing them to manage as opposed to conveying information (Portman/Weingartner).
I would like to see schools start out by incorporating a learning strategy that is bought into by all of the participants (district, teachers, parents, students). All teachers would work off a single format such as google docs with all of its vast availability. Teachers would encourage student writing through the use of a unified blogging site that would allow student interaction and collaborations. Students and staff would have accessibility to technological tools that would allow students to present visual documentation of classroom projects.

BP1_20091004_ Educational Blogging?

Several interesting findings have surfaced in researching uses of blogs for educational purposes. Most of us know that blogging can be very journal entry oriented. A blog can be a way of organizing one?s own thoughts, maybe putting things into perspective.
Probably one of the most common uses for blogging would be it?s use as a peer review tool. A tool in which students can post and their work can be responded to by other students. Blogs are a means of communication. A way of allowing yourself to observe, reflect, and write. Learning from others by reading their writings.
I really like the box statement:

1. Blogging is about reading and writing.

2. Literacy is about reading and writing.

3. Blogging is about literacy.

The use of blogging in educational can be beneficial to so many groups of individuals. Not just a student to teacher, but other?s such as administration, district wide staff, and global communications.
The use of blogging educationally in the classroom allows students the opportunity of being the teacher because they are actually presenting the material.
When we teach, we learn. (blogging reading) It also allows a connection to develop between teacher and student - adult and child. I can see blogging being of great use in many educational arenas. I would say that every subject in some way or another could incorporate blogging, allowing for development of student skills that would enhance their general overall contribution to education.
Blogging allows a student or individual to have a voice. For the quiet and withdrawn a chance to find others with like interests. Empowering a students allows them to develop natural growth and to create teamwork. It fosters improvement in technological skills without their actual knowledge and allows for more engagement of the heart and head, rather than just the head.
Three different studies (University of Florida, Caldwell Public Schools, and the Internet and American Life Project) all showed similar results from the use of educational blogging. Reports of increased student understandings of topics, both in academic and social situations, creating clearer organization of student thoughts, and the benefitting from other classmate?s constructive criticism all proved to be common links between the three studies. For the majority, students were aware of and excited by the increase of knowledge and skills generated through the use of blogging.
Using blogging allows for experimentation of new avenues for students to grow. As stated by Honeywell, "If you keep adapters from experimenting, you don't have access to new things."