Thing #7a

I have been following Scott McLeod blog, "dangerously irrelevant". He is very insightful when it comes to technology in the classroom. He writes...

Our intelligence tends to produce technological and social change at a rate faster than our institutions and emotions can cope with. . . . We therefore find ourselves continually trying to accommodate new realities within inappropriate existing institutions, and trying to think about those new realities in traditional but sometimes dangerously irrelevant terms. (War: The Lethal Custom, p. 441)

http://www.dangerouslyirrelevant.org/2009/11/survey-why-isnt-your-school-organization-making-more-progress.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+dangerouslyirrelevant+(Dangerously+Irrelevant)
This week he posted a 3 minute survey: Why isn't your school organization making more progress? He gives 8 responses to chose from and you can follow the results live. I am going to share this information with my department when the survey closes.

Thing #14 - Web 2.0 Tools

This lesson was so much fun! I have literally spent hours just playing with each one of these! I chose to blog about http://www.wordle.net/. Below are just a few uses for the classroom:


Characters in a Book
Spelling List
SAT Words
Key points in a Chapter
Poetry in Words
Vocabulary
Brain Storming
State Reports - which is my favorite for the younger students. They can place the state's name really big and then in the smaller fonts list all the facts about that state!

Thing #13

Link: www.imagechef.com

Okay, so this has got to be my favorite "thing" so far. I have spent so much time in the last 2 days just playing on these sites and uploading them to Facebook! I have made cartoons of my family, picture galleries of my grandkids, etc.

These site are very user friendly and easy to use. Basically, it is just a matter of picking your design and uploading a photo. One your creation is made, they offering emailing, uploading, Facebooking, printing, etc.

Using these tools in a classroom would be great for teaching the younger students keyboarding skills. Also, for visual presentations such as a cover for a book report, in a Power Point or even on a scient project board.

Thing #12 - Create A Slideshow

For my slide show, I chose RockYou. Although this project was fun, I felt there were not enough ways to individualize my show. I wish it had let me upload my own music. The reason I chose to use alphabet letters was to spell out TECHNOLOGY. I thought this might be a cute way to start a PowerPoint for staff development.

I am having Christmas at my house this year and I am going to make a slide show with family photos and music. I can play it on my big screen TV while my family is at my house and the photos will just continually loop while we have our get-to-get-there. I am thinking this will earn me brownie points with my husband's family and with Santa!!!

Attribution for Photos:
T=Leo Reynolds
E=duncan
C=monceau
H=mag3737
N=takomabibelot
O=dogwelder
L=Leo Reynolds
O=duncan
G=monceau
Y=claudecf

Thing #11

Few sites have had as much impact on digital photo sharing as Flickr.

Before Flickr , sharing photos was a long and not very user-friendly process of creating albums, uploading them, and coming up with a way for people to search them.

The whole idea of posting photos to the web was still based on the idea that they should come in a set. But with the use of digital photography; we no longer process rolls of film, nor do we have to file away groups of images in album-sized collections. Flickr allows the user to download one photo at a time.

The topic I chose for my image is crafting. This image was posted by Audaciousgloop.

I will use Flickr when creating presentations or handouts for technology. Because Flickr has so many photos to choose from, the images can help make my presentations visually appealing.

Thing #10- Creative Commons

Before this lesson I was not aware of Creative Commons. Thinking back, I wonder how many times I have violated the Copy Right laws! This is such a great idea. There are so many times, when creating a presentation for work or school that I have just gone on the web and hit "save as". This is also a great lesson for our students. So many times, they are taught what they can not use, but we should also give them instruction on what to use. Most students are not cyber criminals but some student lack creativity. To counteract the negative impact of this creativity, teacher should make an effort to teach students the importance of cyber ethics and safety. As online learning grows, the implementation of lessons in cyber ethics and safety will become necessary. The lessons should emphasize the students' role in protecting themselves as well as the school.

Thing #8-Part 1 - Wiki

This is really my first experience viewing wikis. They are incredible! Of all the wikis I have reviewed, my favorite is Code Blue. It is a web site designed for kids to explore the human body. It really looks to me that it would be good for any age. All you have to do click on a section of the human body and pick your topic. They even have a topic on Boogers! Now, what kids doesn't want to learn about boogers. Thousand Project is another wiki I reviewed. At first glance I like this site but after a couple of minutes, got very bored. Their object is to post questions and receive 1,000 answers. That is all well and good but then what? There really is not much you can do with the information after that. It is basically just a list of personal preferences. The last wiki I reviewed was Salute To Seuss. This site is wonderful. It has every book written by Dr. Seuss. It gives discussion ideas, coloring pages, background information, lesson plans, etc. It is perfect for the younger grades. It even gives recipe and art project ideas. Way over the top Wiki in my opinion.

Thing #7 - Commenting

After completing Thing #7, I cannot honestly say if commenting on blogs is something I would do on a regular basis. I am enjoying reading the blogs but really see them as informational not conversational.

Thing #6

Okay, after several weeks I have decided maybe, just maybe blogging is pretty cool. I have been searching and reading several blogs. Some I like and others........ Before this class, I'm not sure if I really understood the power of a blog. You see, I have a side business and I make crafts. For years everyone has been telling me that I need a website. So I have researched and have been trying to create the "perfect" website, but what I have really learned is without a lot of $$$$$ the perfect website does not exist. All I wanted was a place to put pictures of my crafts, tell what they are and how much they cost. It would be a place were people could go and look at my stuff at their leisure and if they are interested in purchasing them, email me. Well guess what???? That is a blog. Then I found all these other people just like me with the same crazy ideas as me and low-and-behold, I'm not alone anymore!!!!!

My favorite blog so far is Today's Creative Blog. It is a blog for crafters to share their ideas.

As far as educational blogs, check this one out: Dangerously irrelevant. This is the guy who did "Shift Happens". His blogs are really insightful in an educational way. He posted a blog about 7 Steps to success When Working with Administrators". He states that those of us that work in Educational Technology can assist our principals and superintendents by the following:

1. Administrators are unknowledgeable, not evil. Recognize that most of them are dedicated educators who want to do the right thing but may not have the necessary knowledge base or skill sets.
2. The world has changed. Help them see the big picture: the larger, deeper societal shifts and transformations that form the external context within which schools are operating.
3. We need to keep up. Help them see that the larger context is a desirable and/or inevitable destination for school systems generally and for their school organization specifically.
4. We’re not keeping up. Help them see that the school system’s not where it should be in regard to the big picture. Create cognitive disconnects for them between their school organization’s status quo and the desired destination.
5. Facilitate success. Help them gain the knowledge, skills, and tools necessary to move toward the desired destination.
6. Rebut the naysayers. Help them counteract the inevitable yabbuts (“Yeah, but…”; “Yeah, but…”).
7. Rinse and repeat. Do this over and over again until they, you, and the system win.

Good rules to practice!

Thing #5

The blog I chose to reply from comes from a high school student who compares life with the Greek Tragedy Oedipus. http://students2oh.org/2008/09/21/tragedy-of-the-student/. She writes about life being a journey of self discovery. She comments on whether a tragedy defines who we are or does it bring about what was to be our reality in any circumstance.

What I liked about this blog is it reminds me of what is is to be a life long learner. Part of the charm and beauty of life is that it is a never ending search for meaning. Basically, it ain't over till its over! A person is never becomes who they really are until we die. There are basic parts of your life that will have similar traits but we are consistently evolving and changing through our history, life experiences and knowledge.

Thing #4

There are many reasons why people blog: they can voice an opinion, be used as a marking tool, used in education or even as a campaign strategy. When reading several blogs, the thing I noticed most was the passionate tone in which people write. Most people who blog, have strong feelings about the subject matter and I feel are trying to persuade the reader. Commenting on a blog contributes by adding your opinion to the subject matter or even giving additional information that the writer may have missed. One interesting way blogging could be used in the classroom would be for book discussions. Students read the same novel but can have very different views on its content. Each student blogs their thoughts and educators can post questions to provoke certain thoughts or ideas about the book.
We do need to be careful though when reading blogs and realized it is just someone's opinion not necessary the facts.

Thing #2 - Thoughts about Web 2.0

With the technology and design of Web 2.0 users can actively participate and produce content instead of just passively viewing it. Students can actively engage in the learning process and even add to the lesson with their own ideas and thoughts. Companies can connect with users on a more personal level. We now have sites where we can describe how we feel and what we are going to do about it. No event happens in isolation. No company exists in a vacuum. No person lives alone.

Not with that said..... are we loosing some of the human interaction that our students need? When a student can get his assignments online, turn them in to a drop box and then check his status page for find out a grade, how has that teacher impacted that student on a personal level?

I do believe that technology has a major role in our society and each of us needs to continually learn and progress with the times but I also feel there is a fine line that needs to be treated lightly.

Reflections on Lifelong Learning

learn·ing (lûrnng)
n.
1. The act, process, or experience of gaining knowledge or skill.

Please, please let this always be me. I have to admit when I first looked at the list of 7 1/2 Habits, I was surprised at how much of myself I saw in these traits. I have never been one to just stay with what I know and am always looking to learn something new. Now with that said, I also tend to shy away from starting things that seem to hard. Let's just say I learn things that come easy to me and well for the others....... The habit which will be most challenging for me is Habit 7. I tend to lack self confidence and am very nervous when I have to teach someone else what I "think" I know. The habit that will be the easiest is Habit 7 1/2. Technology is meant to be played with. You really can not "mess up" your computer by trying something. Remember, delete and backspace are your friends! The habit that will be most important for me is definitely Habit 6. I work in Technology and anything I can learn will only make me a stronger team member in my department.