Thing #2.9 Slideshare

Slideshare is super and would be even better if it supported Activstudio! There is a huge push to stop using powerpoint and start using Activstudio, which makes sense since SB is spending loads and loads of money on the software and hardware. I didn't use powerpoint much before, and so don't have much that I am giving up. You can share flipcharts with students, parents and colleagues, even those without the software, because Promethean offers a free flipchart viewer. You can use your flipchart to make a screencast to share, or you could create podcasts that go with your flipchart.

Yes it is important for the students to learn to use slideshare. I think that the students should learn how to use powerpoint, and these sites are great for sharing those presentations with family and friends. Since our goal is collaborative learning, students need to know how to share their work with others, and for others to comment and learn from that work.

Thing #2.10 Second Life

I can see some very promising learning opportunities with Second Life. The ability to create something in 3-D that can be explored by the students has some definite advantages. Whether fictional sites (like the one for MacBeth), or actual models (like the human cell), the students will be able to experience things first hand that they would not otherwise experience. This could be especially helpful with low SEC students who may not have very rich life experiences. Just being able to go to the beach or the mountains in Second Life could give them something to draw upon when studying habitats or regions. Is it ideal? Of course not, but it is a lot more reasonable than complaining in the teachers' lounge about how the kids can't picture what a wave looks like because they have never been to the beach!

I liked the Charles Darwin area where students could retrace his footsteps with a guide, or visit kiosks with more information. I also liked the astronomy tour, and know that the students would like it too. This is very novel for them right now, so even the slightest interaction with Second Life will have my students sitting up and paying attention.

I am worried about safety, but teenagers would be using their own second life, although I'm sure that there are still some corrupt thinkers using it too. I was trying to get my avatar clothed and was in my undies because I had no idea what I was doing, and some avatar came up and asked me "Sex?" I had been on for 5 minutes! So yes, safety is an issue for me, but I believe that kids shouldn't be sheltered, but taught how to deal with all situations. I told nasty man to move on about his business, and hope that my students will have the know how to do the same.

Something you will enjoy

Here is something new that I found from my pbworks "camp". It is called Read the Words, and it is very interesting. You can type in text, link a webpage, or upload documents, and an avatar will read the text to you. It is free, and there are many options to make it easy to use in the classroom--embed, download, or podcast. I just thought that I would share! (This is a letter that I sent home with my new students on Step Up Day.)

Thing #2.8 Screencasting

I really like screencasting. I never knew what it was before, and have often thought about how I would love to have this ability, and I do!

I immediately think of the computer lab and giving instructions a million times because someone misses one step because they sneeze or scratch their arm or talk to their neighbor. If I were record as I was giving instructions, I could then post the link on the wiki immediately and the students would then be responsible for figuring out what they missed! I would probably need to make a screencast of how to do that too.

I did download Jing, then it told me I needed some other Microsoft product in order to make it work, so I did not install it. I then downloaded GoView, and I like it better anyway because it has editing capability. I'm worried that it will not be free forever though, but I'll cross that bridge when they ask me to pay. This is the GoView(this one has sound from just the internal mic and I don't think it is that bad):


I played with the "no software" options, and settled on Screencast o matic, because it has such a cool name. It was easy to use, and had a variety of useful saving options. I also liked the blue indicator that showed on the video when I clicked on something. Since I have done all of the converting I wanted to for the evening, I exported it, and here it is (this one does not have sound, this was my first attempt and I didn't think the internal mic would work):




This will be a very useful tool as I put many of these "things" to work in the classroom.

Thing #2.7 Video Resources

I was happy to see this "thing" because I have heard in passing of many of these sites, and having them all together to compare and contrast was nice.

Obviously some of the sites seem better for education than others. The TOTLOL site does have some cute things, like the Animaniacs--I love them!, but was not full of educational content, and you would have to change everything. (When is the district going to cave on the Youtube ban?) PBS has great programming, but they are so long, and probably would need to be previewed before showing them to the class so that you show what is important and they aren't sitting through an hour of a documentary that is mostly over their heads. None of the videos on the National Archives Site worked when I tried, but it could be user error. Hulu had some useful videos, and I did like a couple from Blinx, but it took so long to load that I didn't spend a lot of time playing there.

Here is a Wildcast that I thought could be used in science to talk about learned and inherited behaviors and traits. In fact, most of the Wildcast videos could be used to in this way, as well as to lead off discussions about adaptations and environment.


Here are some water cycle videos:

This one I found from Google videos and it is a how to for teachers. It shows how to make water cycle bracelets. Obviously we wouldn't have the kit, but how hard would it be to get those beads? I'm going to make them this year (no stealing younger MDE grades!):


Here's the Magic School Bus (you can also find many of these on United Streaming, but Google was easier to search, and would probably be easier to use with flipcharts):


This is a ridiculously dated song about the water cycle that I would use for comic relief during the lesson. I love to sing, and try to incorporate songs as much as possible. Some of the kids will actually sing along, but we'll all laugh. I love finding videos like these:



I know you only wanted 2, but I got a little carried away. What a fun "thing"!

Thing #2.6

I love my iPhone, and not for the games. Since I have gotten it I've been more in-touch with people, better organized, and actually keep up with the news and weather. I know that it is a powerful tool in the hands of someone who is willing to put forth a little effort into using it as a tool, but am I willing to fight that battle everyday with my students?

I have a hard time picturing 19 kids with touches at their desks at all times. What would they do with them? Obviously use the calculator, use the maps, do some research, but all of these things can be accomplished with tools already in the classroom. The productivity apps available are nice, and I would like my students to get their little selves organized. So there are many things that I can see my kids doing with them, but I guess my main concern comes with time constraints. How can I fit all of this in with what I already have to do? I'm not saying that it can't be done, but I can't figure it out.

My main problem is that I am not inventive. I love to see things working, and steal those ideas to use in my classroom. I didn't write the grant for technology (and I thought about getting the touches) because I have no idea how I would use it. I have lots of great ideas for things that they could do with the technology, but when I try to incorporate those ideas into my curriculum I run out of time in my school year. Show me someone who it using it, and I'm sure I can use that as my jumping off place, but just reading about the apps and playing with some of them aren't doing the trick for me right now. So I will keep researching, and let you know what I find.

In my free time

I kept a wiki for the class last year, and this summer thought that I would take the PBWorks "summercamp" in an effort to improve my wiki skills. (And I get a premium wiki if I finish, and maybe continuing education credit, I'll try anyway.)

The following wiki is an example used in our homework for this week. It is exceptional, for many reasons, but I thought you all might be interested in it because it is very collaborative. The students used tons of technology, some we have learned about here, and some new (the comic strip generator was of special interest to me), and they had to comment about their work and others throughout the site. The kids are fifth graders, and they are collaborating and creating, just like the video said! Take a look through the wiki--I think you will enjoy it.

Mr. Boyer's Class

Thing #2.5 Microblogging

I joined Facebook last summer when I worked through the 23 things, and have enjoyed using it to "stalk" my friends. I do enjoy seeing what everyone is up to, although I don't really want to know everything! I have also noticed that some people don't really know where to draw the line in regards to who they are "friends" with. Co-workers, yes, but students? Parents? Adminstrators? I think that the lines are very blurry and who you choose to be friends with really depends on how you use the site. Since I don't post about all of my drunken exploits (or wouldn't if I had any), I don't mind if administrators are my friends. I made a Library2Play2 group,
http://www.facebook.com/topic.php?topic=8624&uid=88014389693#/group.php?gid=88014389693. It might be fun if we all were on and chatting about the "things" we are learning about.

I agree with the article that talked about why educators should "tweet", although I don't know that I think Twitter is the best way for teachers to get feedback and stay connected. Schools do a good job these days of making sure that teachers get out of their rooms and talk to one another. I like meeting with my team, and love our lunch and recess chats, which is where the best idea swapping comes from. I tried a lot of new things this year, and shared a lot with my team. There really is nothing like face to face contact, especially over the sugary rim of a mango margarita! I signed up for some news tweets, because a headline is all I really want to read anyway, and I only had 2 contacts on Twitter anyway.

I do have fourth graders using Facebook, and I don't really see the harm as long as they are monitored. One of my darlings "friended" my Future Teacher, which was awkward for her. There are so many more social protocols now than when I was growing up, and parents need to be vigilant about teaching them at home, as we would do in the classroom. I don't know how I would use microblogging in an elementary setting, although I do like the idea of back-channeling. People interrupt too much with mind-bogglingly ridiculous questions, and it would be nice for them to have the option of not asking the questions out loud and interupting everyone in the audience. I guess it would be most effective in college lectures, since there is usually a TA present that could field the questions. In high school and middle school, the kids could send their questions and the teacher could answer them after they have left, allowing the kids ask before they forget. Teachers probably wouldn't be happy with the fact that they would have to spend more time answering questions after the kids leave (oh some wouldn't mind, but the lounge complainers would moan and moan and moan).

Mostly I just feel that microblogging is for an older crowd, and I although I am trying to keep an open mind I am having a hard time envisioning it in my classroom. All of the ideas I have could also easily be done with my wiki or blog, and would be in a more controlled environment. That way I can do the project, while teaching them cyber-manners, and getting them ready for upper grades. Although...if we did have iphones or ipod touches, there could be some cool discussions that the kids could get in to, and we could get much more input than from just our class. Hmm.

Thing # 2.4 Video

Here is a short Animoto I made at Christmas:



On the personal side of things, I like that I can create little videos, like this and some that I have taken with my camera, upload them and then they are automatically shared via Facebook. I have successfully gotten grandparents and great-grandparents signed up for Facebook, and I know that they will enjoy seeing those. It will also make it easy to post on our family blog.

I know how important it is for people to share what they are learning, and this is an opportunity for the students to create their own videos and share them with the class and their families and friends. Its all about the global collective brain, and sharing what we know!

Thing #2.3 Like Skype

Not sure what I think about Skype. I'm irritated that it doesn't work with Google, who uses Yahoo anymore?

I did a Google search to see if there was a site that listed Skype classrooms, so I could perhaps find another classroom in the world that was looking for a Skype partner. Alas, I did not find one. So how do you connect with other classrooms.

From my elementary perspective it would be nice to have the students share lessons and projects. They could collaboratively research, and work to create an end result using Google Docs or Glogster. I just don't have great ideas for this, so I'll be interested to see what everyone else is saying.

Thing #2.2.3 Animoto, Voki and Bookr

Our school has an animoto account, and I have enjoyed using at home and in the classroom.

I think that all three of these are fun, and of them, Bookr has the most practical classroom basis. Last year I had the students make trading cards for 3D shapes, and they found their images mostly from Creative Commons. I can see Bookr being used in the same capacity.

Of the image generators I have been most excited about the Wordle and Wordsift. I can picture me using them regularly in the classroom.

Thing #2.2.2 Glogster and Voicethread

I didn't really love glogster, but I think it was because there were no clear directions (I had trouble getting a link to work and my video and pictures wouldn't load, even after I resized). Some of the examples were very cool, and I think that I will use this as one of the options for students to show what they have learned from their research. I will just have to make sure that the students have pictures and whatnot saved before they start the project, that will make using the program easier.



I didn't make a voice thread, but I do like the implications. I can see this being useful as they work on their research projects as well. Since the class will be divided into 2 or 3 groups, they could find pictures and make comments about what they learned. I also think that I will share this with our art teacher. The kids could comment on one another's work, or on famous paintings that follow lessons, and parents could see and comment as well. Given exact parameters, ie discuss how you feel the student/artist used color in this painting, this could be used very constructively. I think that I will take pictures throughout the year and start a class "scrapbook" and let them comment on the pictures and what they were doing at the time. How priceless will that be?

Thing #2.2.1 Wordle and Wordsift

I am going to have to do this thing in many different posts because I am spending so much time playing! I love both of these, and can imagine their very different applications in the classroom.

I like wordle because you can instantly see what words you are OVERUSING! So important when teaching fourth graders to write. I put in my summer reading blog address, and loved the result. I like that you can play with the color, font, and arrangement of words too. The kids will really enjoy this. Since I have them spend a lot of time typing on the wiki, they will have plenty of work to choose from.

I like wordsift because of the word web and the more academic application. I think they could use this in science and social studies when they are researching. The quick links will help them find pictures, or more information, and the visual thesaurus has the potential for helping them understand vocabulary they would usually skip over. My mind is in overdrive right now with ideas for using this!

Thing #2.1 What Can students/Teachers/Libraries Achieve?

Although I love the idea of teaching this way, and I see the paradigm shift happening all around me, I also see teachers backed into a corner by test scores and the sacred cow that they just can't seem to kill. So until the powers that be are caught up to the rest of us, and we have a way to show growth and learning that doesn't put all kids in the same box, there will be teachers standing at the front of the classroom dispensing knowledge the old fashioned way--teacher talks and kids listen. Teachers are accountable for learning, and at this point teachers won't give up the control because they don't trust the kids to do a good enough job.

The problem I see is that students are becoming more and more dependent on teachers to help them solve problems, do their work, wipe their noses, etc. Each year I feel like the students are less and less independent, and spend more energy getting them to do what I think they should already know to do. I have students who will not even attempt a math problem without raising their hands, and some that will try once and quit. If they are going to enter a world that expects them to do things for themselves, I am a bit worried. I am tough, and my grades reflect it, but parents don't want to hear it. They want to protect their little babies, but at what age do you stop doing for and start teaching to do for themselves? As a society, responsibility for self is not highly valued, there is always someone to blame. Until we start teaching responsibility, and rewarding it, I don't see schools embracing the new paradigm.

Libraries could be a valuable tool in helping achieve this goal, but that would take getting all librarians up to speed and on board. Teaching the students how to use these tools, then getting them started on a research project would be an excellent way to spend the hour of library time each week, and would give kids something to work on in class when they are finished, etc. Or something to work on at home that is not going to rot their little brains. The students will also then have the chance to work with a subject they really enjoy, and find that learning can be fun and entertaining.

For a couple of years I have toyed with the idea of research groups, a balanced literacy activity, and now see that I could use the research groups to help my students utilize these tools. I have yet to do it, but resolved that 09-10 would be the year, and so am glad to see this video and get a clearer picture of how it works. Unfortunately I have not worked out how to get the kids e-mail addresses. Most of the tools mentioned in the video, and needed for research do require some kind of e-mail address. Ideas?