VoiceThread

This chapter of The Digital Diet dives right into a multimedia tool that can be used in all areas of education. The authors take a gander at the Web 2.0 tool known as VoiceThread. VoiceThread is one of the various online tools that educators can use to create engaging slideshows that combine images, video, text, and voice. I was first introduced to this website in my undergraduate career in my technology class and then its use was reinforced in my graduate career.  I have only used this program for required assignments and for one aid in presenting my teaching portfolio to my advisors.

The use of the application is beyond easy. The authors take the time in this chapter to walk the user step by step through its various uses. It is pretty basic and simple. Plus the website is heavy on how to videos and guided tours. Outside of time management issues I think this would be a success in the classroom.  Teachers can use this software for their students to create and share projects with their peers. One of the great features of using VoiceThread is users can publish their created slideshows for others to view. It gives a student a sense of ownership of their work. Also, students can have fun making their projects.

Social Networking

This chapter of The Digital Diet is all about the famous social networking website known as, you guessed it, FaceBook. This chapter walks the reader through anything and everything they will need to know about the popular networking site. At the time that it was published, I am sure the material was relevant and the most current, but as we know with technology it is constantly changing. The material in this chapter is outdated as FaceBook has changed some of the features and terms found on it's website. The book does provide a very clear and simple foundation for those that might be new to FaceBook or social networking in general, but for a more up to date guide, this chapter would not suffice.

As I have said in previous post about social networking, I believe it has a place in the classroom, but limited at that. As long as the use of such a website can be monitored and used for intentional educational value, I think teachers would have great success in student response to using it in the classroom. The only caution I would advise is the safety of the students that use it. Again, if teachers monitor it this should not be a issue. I would probably advise teachers to create a class FaceBook account so students would not be distracted by using their own account.

Using FaceBook would be a great way to allow students to incorporate technology and global studies into one focused area within the classroom. Students could use a class FaceBook account to connect with other classes all over the world. It could be a souped up level of pen pals within the classroom. I do not see a problem with teachers using Facebook within the classroom as long as it's use is structured and monitored.

Blogging with Blogger

This chapter of The Digital Diet discusses the importance of using blogs as a technology output. The chapter discusses what blogging is, how to create a blog account using Google's Blogger, and why blogging should be used in the classroom. The chapter is pretty simple and basic for the avid online writer. It details all the ends and outs of the terms associated with using online blogs. To think about a blog, I would compare it to a journal, just a blog is electronic in format and usually hosted online for others to read. The idea is simple. The intention is simple. The concept is simple. It just takes the motivation of the user to intentionally use this type of writing for a specific use. In the case I would be interested in, that would be education.

Education and blogging have a relationship that if cultured, the product will be that of intent  purpose and great results. I think blogging in the classroom provides a twist to the traditional written assessment that many teachers use today. I am not saying that written activities should not be included in the day to day instruction, but allowing students the opportunity to get on a computer and type out their thoughts would be nice. Simple as that. Typing allows students to output what their brain is processing at a faster rate. For me, I would rather type something versus writing it out with pen and paper. It seems to go faster plus my audience can actually read what I am saying.

In the classroom there are several ways that the teachers can use blogging. The book provides an example of using blogging as a form of journal writing. There is not much to that scenario other than the fact that students get to publish their material on the web versus in the traditional format. Some other ways I can see blogging be used in the classroom would be that of a way of creating an online portfolio or database of all types of publishable material. That way students can have all their documents with them wherever there is an internet connection.

Blogging should never replace the writing curriculum wholeheartedly, but rather supplement it as an incentive to foster proper writing skills. Students still need to learn the fine motor skills that go along with writing. Blogging works the fine motor skills in a different way. With the rate technology is being integrated in the classroom, I am fearful that students might get away from writing and more to blogging on day to day bases. This could happen, but I do not see it happening anytime soon.

Twitter

Twitter. What is it and how is it used? Well, let me explain. Twitter is a social media tool that has become one of the biggest social networks used today. It falls behind Facebook, but it is still pretty popular. It is so popular that Apple has actually integrated the technology into its new operating system for their iOS devices. Twitter allows users to express what they are doing, thinking, or going on around them in 140 characters or less. It essence, twitter is a form of blogging but at the micro level. User tweet what they are doing and twitter keeps a feed of them as users post these to the world wide web. Users can tag their tweets using a feature called a hashtag (#). This is simply used in a tweet if users want to classify their tweet to a category.

The Digital Diet includes a chapter on this form of blogging and covers all the foundational behind the scenes work that a user would need to know. The book goes into detail on how to create an account, tweet your first tweet, and review and follow other users of Twitter. The book also discusses classroom implications. The example listed in the book is geared more for a secondary or a college level setting, but nonetheless it still has an educational purpose. The example goes on to explain that teachers can have students discuss what they are learning by using twitter and using hashtags. The teacher then looks at their tweets to see what students are saying.

I use twitter almost everyday. I use it to follow the most update to news and keep a watch over what my friends are doing or thinking. I use twitter more so to express things that I do not want my friends on Facebook to see (mainly family). I have never really thought about using it in the classroom as I plan to teach the primary grades. But all I know is that at the rate young children are learning how to use technology, my future second grade class might be using twitter by the time they reach my classroom. I like the idea of it being used in the classroom. I would just be concerned that some students would become more distracted with the idea of "tweeting" their thoughts than actually being engaged in the lesson.

VoIP

Imagine you are sitting at home watching your favorite movie on some online streaming service. All of sudden your iOS 5 device starts to ring. At first you think its a normal phone call, but after looking at the screen of your iPhone or iPad your realize that someone is calling you via Skype. Skype is a type of VoIP software. VoIP stands for video or voice of internet protocol. Skype is the most common type of VoIP software that we use today, or at least I think its the most common VoIP tool we use today. I might be a little biased as it works really well across my different technology platforms (iOS, mobile, and desktop machines).

In the book The Digital Diet, there is a full chapter dedicated to VoIP services and the chapter specifically focuses on Skype. The chapter discusses more so how to use Skype in the beginning and provides educational uses toward the end. The start of the chapter walks any user new to Skype through the entire process of how to use and even explains what tools one will need. It is pretty self explanatory. At the end the educational use that it provides is that teachers can use it to have video conferences with a guest speaker or talk to a class around the world. The book suggest teachers that use this VoIP service implement the 5P rule. The 5P rule states: Proper Planning Prevents Poor Performance. This basically means that before teachers use Skype in the classroom that they have everything done that needs to be done from a planning standpoint prior to putting their class in front of a camera. This makes sense!

My opinion, I think that this type of technology tool should be used in the classroom. I understand that it should be used carefully and only when appropriate. I would almost use it as a reward or a culminating event for a lesson I would be teaching. It would also be a great way to incorporate a global perspective on some things that you are teaching. I think using VoIP services would be a great way to help students that are absent from school due to illness still be able to attend class without having an absence counted toward them. I always that that was a good idea, though the actuality of it happening is probably few and far between.

Web 2.0, Chapter 3

In chapter 3 of Choosing Web 2.0 Tools for Learning and Teaching in a Digital World, the authors discuss the Web 2.0 concept known as social bookmarking. Social bookmarking is the simple concept of classifying and organizing websites as well as applying higher order thinking skills found on blooms taxonomy. Social bookmarking is very similar to favorites that can be found on any web browsing tool such as firefox, internet explorer, or safari. When using social bookmarking users use a website that works in conjunction with their internet browser. The users install a toolbar and tag websites they go to so that they can go back to one location and filter through their tagged sites. For example, a user might use the website diggo.com and as they are browsing sites about the brain they might tag certain websites with various information on the brain to one specific part of the brain. Then they go back to diggo.com and search their tagged sites to filter their content to meet a specific need.

How do social bookmarking and education work together? The authors of Choosing Web 2.0 Tools for Learning and Teaching in a Digital World suggest ten reasons why this Web 2.0 tool needs to be used in the everyday classroom. The common theme bedded within these 10 reasons can be based on the understanding that social bookmarking allows for free, efficient, and reliable collaboration among their peers. Social bookmarking also provides educators and their students a resource to use to share information in a union and free way. This is probably one of the biggest pluses for social bookmarking and education.

This chapter was much better than the previous chapter. That might be because this is something that I have actually used and have seen implemented in a classroom. There are a variety of websites that can be used, it just depends on the teacher's preference. For me diggo.com seems to work the best. The idea of storing websites you visit and being able to classify them by tagging them just fits in with our generation and the way we use social media. We tag pictures on facebook so it only makes sense that we tag websites we like.

Web 2.0 Tools, Chapter 2

In Chapter 2 of Choosing Web 2.0 Tools for Learning and Teaching in a Digital World is all about using the internet and more specifically using the internet and the various search engines found on the world wide web. The chapter starts off by giving a brief history of how searching engines have progressed over time. More specifically though it talks about how search engines use has improved over time, meaning how they have been adapted for Web 2.0 use.

In addition to basic knowledge about search engines, the authors provide a few steps on how to teach the search engine process. This is an important skill that I never really thought of having to be taught. But after thinking about it, it only makes sense that classroom teachers do some type of instructing on how to use the average search engine found on the web. Plus the added bonus of teaching a few minutes about how to use search engines makes sure that all students are at the same level of expectations when they are released to use google search for instance in a classroom project. The authors provide the following steps when approaching search engines from an instructional standpoint:

1. Go Beyond the basic Google Search. 
2. Use Synonyms 
3. Use word definitions 
4. use more than one search engine 
5. take advantage of advanced search features in advanced searching 

Overall this chapter was useful but to be honest a little dry. Reading about searching the internet is not the most of interesting topics. I would compare it to literature you would read if you were waiting at the doctors office. It something you only read because it's the only thing relatively available. With that statement, the material is not irrelevant to everyday classroom instruction. This chapter I think would be more beneficial to the student than the teacher. I would think of it as the way a bike is approached. You never really forget to ride a bike. A student never really forgets how to search the internet after they use it for everyday classroom instruction.