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 The material in this chapter is outdated as FaceBook has changed some of the features and terms found on it's website.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. 

Chapter 1, Web 2.0 Tools

Choosing Web 2.0 Tools for Learning and Teaching in a Digital World is a book that helps an educator understand how digital tools can help them during their instructional time in a classroom. The book also aims at helping teachers recognize that Web 2.0 tools are a form of technology that can aid students in their classroom learner. Chapter one provides the foundation that the rest of the book refers too. The chapter starts off by explaining that Web 2.0 is the second wave of world wide web resources that individuals can interact with. Unlike Web 1.0 were users simply surfed the web or downloaded content, Web 2.0 allows users to take ownership of their online activity by posting photos on a social media website or sharing personal stories through blogging.

In the contest of  a classroom setting Web 2.0 technology allows for active and collaborative efforts on behalf of the teachers and students. Web 2.0 supports education in the following ways:

• Users participate by sharing their ideas, opinions and classroom content. 
• Harnessing collective intelligence
• Collaboration

With Web 2.0 terminology comes the term that users of the technology are referred to as 21st century learners. These learners are to be tech savvy and know how to navigate the technology at their own level. The Web 2.0 tools that they use simply act as enrichment and stem from the perspective of I get to use computer versus I have to use computers.  21st century learners also have a set of skills they are to know. These help them as they approach Web 2.0 technology. 

As a young, tech savvy educator I see Web 2.0 tools as a benefit to any classrooms. I accept the view that older generations may struggle with the topic, but when approached from a foundation rooted in the technology skills anyone should have success in achieving learning through the technology skills. I do not see myself having any challenges or challenges that I can think of with my students using technology in the classroom. As younger and younger generations become exposed to technology more and more the skills of a 21st century learner will be implemented in a preschool setting before too long. Regardless though, the issue at hand is that technology should be approached with the mindset of I want to use and not that I have have to use. 

The Digital Diet, Day 1

Today I reviewed a chapter from the book The Digital Diet: Today's digital tools in small bytes by Andrew Churches, Lee Crockett, and Ian Jukes. The book highlights several of the ways web 2.0 tools are being incorporated into the classroom. The book is heavy on the educational use rather than the typical or everyday use. The chapter I reviewed focus on the topic of collaborative editing. This is basically editing of  different files over the web with individuals in different locations. The book used the Adobe application to edit information online, but I would prefer to use the Google platform. The basic concept with collaborative editing is that groups or pairs can work on a document at the same time when they are not together.

As far as classroom implications the book suggest that collaborative editing would be great for teachers that incorporate a heavy emphasis on group work. In addition to group work, the teachers can take advantage of the comments sections to leave feedback in either a formative or summative assessment check. The ideas seems simple and as long as the teachers and students know how to use the programs that enable group sharing and editing via the web, I do not see why schools could not use this teaching tool.

I have personally used Google in several of my graduate classes. I have started to use it more and more as i like the ability work on a document or a spreadsheet with my classmates without having to save a file, upload it, attach it to an email, and then follow up to make sure they got it. The ability to log into my Google account and click share to the provided email address is ingenious. It allows for twice the work to get done and allows for us to see realtime updates as we both edit the same document. I am pro collaborative editing.

Laptops and Students

Today I looked at a chapter from Matt Levinson's book entitled From Fear to Facebook. The chapter comes toward the end of the book and discusses how a laptop program can be beneficial to a school educational program. The chapter discusses both pros and cons of having students use their own laptops on a day to day bases. The chapter highlights some general concerns that I have heard with schools trying to use the 1 to 1 program. This chapter, however, did present a new perspective that I never really thought of. It mentioned that today we are living in a wired wold, meaning that we want everything at our fingertips. We want twitter, Facebook, news, the weather, etc. all at an easy to reach convince. We want to be able to be walking down the street and tell others that follow us online what we are doing. The chapter focuses on how the school was resistant to accept this perspective and thus resulted in some negative attitudes toward students using laptops as an educational tool in the classroom. In my honest opinion, I think people (not all) are resistant to change especially when it comes to technology. Technology is constantly changing. What was new yesterday is now old and outdated today. The best mindset to have, especially with schools, is that technology is a friend not a foo. Once educators, parents, and peers alike realize this then technology success will be great among the educational platforms. At least that was the case of the school in the book.

Live Blogging, Day 2

Today is day two of attempting this whole live blogging concept. Today I will be taking notes as our guest speaker talks about other aspect of being a Technology Coordinator. Here we go:

• A large part of the being a TC is an integrated role of many hats.
• Management vs. Leadership 
• leadership creates and guides how technology is used
• leadership has a long term goal in mind (3-5 years). 
• Leadership vision is linked to student skills and school goals. 
• Technology is there to help and facilitate, it is not everything (not the important part). 
• Technology's main role is to SUPPORT. 
• Create a strategic plan: a long term vision of a technology plan
• not a planned bound by specifics in technology 
• more broad and general 
• After a strategic plan (transition to management) 
• equipment and software
• peripherals 
• financial resources 
• TCO (Total Cost of Ownership) 
• over the entire lifespan of a project
• Staffing is important with technology 
• older teachers have harder times working with technology 
• TRAIN
• Professional Development 
• Budgeting 
• most difficult thing  you can do ("Nailing Jello to a wall!")
• Constant change in technology affects funding amount
• July 1 to June 30
• options for Title Funds (Public Schools), grants, gifts, donations
• Set aside funds for technology research (yearly) 
• set asides funds for infrastructure
• servers, routers, etc. 
• stuff people do not see, but supports technology uses
• Major discounts on Software purchases 
• Equipment 
• Recommendation of buying new
• Warranties (on site) 
• Purchase through a vendor or a manufacturer
• Terms Account: pay within a period of time and submit a purchase order; billed to school
• have spares or backups to limit downtime in case of failure 
• Policies
• Governs expectations 
• a legal documentation to serve as a boundary

From today's presentation I thought that it was very informative. The speaker did a really good job at summarizing what the text from the prior night's reading discussed. The number one thing that I really took from today's speaker was the concept of purchasing spare equipment of technology that is purchased. This make sense, but I never really thought of it. It might cost more upfront, but in the long term it would save headache if something was to happen to a laptop a teacher has a backup to use. 

Live Blogging, Technology Cordinators

Today a guest speaker from Grace Christian Academy came in to talk to the class about being a technology coordinator and how that role plays into professional development. The presentation started off with a little bit of professional background. The most intriguing fact from the speakers past was the fact the guest speaker had in fact joined the Marines as an avenue to learn about technology. The speaker stated that at the time she joined the Marines, the idea of looking at technology from an educational standpoint did not even cross her mind.  Below are some comments and highlights from the presentation.

• Technology Coridniator was not her goal from the start, it ended up by chance by means of implementing an after school computer program as a result of lack of school technology. 
• The school the guest speaker worked at allowed for her personal envision to be melded together with what the school had in mind. It was a hand in hand cooperation. 
• She created most of the policies with the help of other resources that the school used. 
• Professional development started once she had to work with the teachers
• initial role of being hired was to just work with the teachers, not train the other teachers. 
•  Networking is a vital role of a technology coordinator (sharing resources among schools)
• Technology integration is good among all grade levels, especially in the upper levels because it connects to real world experiences. 
• Technology integration goes hand in hand with teacher training and professional developement
• place close attention to learning curves
• hands on instruction
•  integration technology specialist

•  Professional Training 
• get teachers, principals, and adminsitrators on board. 
• Teachers will not learn on their own (internal and external motivation)
• Dedication (DUH!)
• willingness to teach teachers
•  TIME
• willingness to train after normal school hours (off hours)

•  Technology Resources For Teachers
•  School Wide Blog
• updated once a month
• a go to place for teachers
• free resources (webinars)
• email subscription
• nonabrasive way to learn or "Ask" for help
• www.freetech4teachers.com 

An overview thought about today's presentation leads me to think that technology in schools is more than just a mere computer and few clicks on a website. There is so much that goes on behind the scenes that go into play for normal day of computer use and technology integration.  I thought the speaker did a really good job explaining in detail particular areas that she deals with as taking on such a large task at her school. She expressed over and over that though she is the key person for technology for the classroom, everyone in the school has a link to how technology is used in one way or another. She pretty much gives the impression that with the way that technology is becoming more and more common in everyday functions, in schools it should not be a fear for teachers. The end result is that technology is not really for teachers, despite it makes the day easier, it is really for the students. Technology exposure and integration helps students learn and succeed in academics.

 

A break from the books...

Today I decided to take a break from reading the provided literature and peruse the resources found on the chapter four link on tonykrug.info. Though there were a handful of resources, one in particular caught my attention. It is a website called Kathy Schrock's Guide For Educators. This website does not seem a lot at first, however, once looking at it, the website can be very beneficial for teachers. The website is full of links to rubrics that educators can implement in everyday instruction. The list of rubrics is endless. The topics that the website covers include Multimedia & Apps, Web 2.0, Rubric Builders, Generators, and Support, and Subject-Specific rubrics.  Many of the links take the user to a website were the rubric is hosted, but they can easily be downloaded.  An error of caution is that some of the links are broken and some of them require them to be used only if the user as authorized access (a particular school district).

The website is helpful in the regards that teachers do not have to take the time to create rubrics. But if a teacher does not want to use the linked rubric, the website provides links to sites that can generate rubrics in a plug and chug format. The rubrics that the website link to are a generic model of assessment and if a teacher wants to assess on a more in-depth level, the rubric will more than likely have to be adapted to meet the needs of the teacher's assessment.

In respect to classroom use, I think students enjoy having rubrics. I know I do. They are a great way to help motivate the student to perform to the teacher's expectations. Rubrics are not for everyone though. Some students and educators think that rubrics limit creativity. That is a different story for a different blog. The point is that rubrics are useful and the majority of students find the useful. They like to see the big picture and all the expectations as opposed to doing work that has vague measurement criteria.

While looking at the links on the website, the majority of the rubrics provided are your basic rubrics for basic subjects and assignments. There was one that I found interesting and never really expected to find. Someone had created a rubric for twitter. Twitter is the online social media tool that allows user to express thoughts in 140 characters or less. I just never really thought that someone would be assessed on if they know how to use twitter or not. Though if a student is working in a technology class, the concept makes sense. Also having a rubric about this type of topic provides a teacher with an uniform way to assess every student. Therefore rubrics create uniform accountability.

Check out the site. It might appear bland, but I assure it's full of useful links.

Teaching The iGeneration

For today's blog post I took the time to review another chapter in a different book besides our text book for the class. I looked at chapter three of Teaching the iGeneration written by William M. Ferriter and Adam Garry. Though the book focuses heavily on integrating technology into all areas of teaching, chapter three stood out to me as it involves working with learning by seeing. Many students in today's classroom learn by being more auditory or being more visual in their learner response. This chapter focuses on the ways teachers can make teaching come alive through digital storytelling and the proper use of technology as aides for visuals.

At this point in my Graduate Career, I do not feel it necessary to embellish anymore on digital story telling as I have spent two weeks learning about it in another one of my graduate classes. Thus I simply glanced over that section of the chapter. Do not get me wrong, that part of the chapter is beneficial but for me, I do not need to keep beating a dead horse. What really impressed me about this chapter was the five reasons that the authors mentioned as to how and why stories stick with students. This is impart connected to what the students see, but also impart to what the content of the story holds. The five reasons the authors listed as to why stories are made to stick include the following:

• Simplicity: don't over load a student with too many ideas, it ends up being that a student learned nothing as they have to much to focus on. 

• Unexpectedness: appeal to the student's curiosity; do not bore them to death. 

• Concreteness: appeal to the sense or the tangible concepts; don't go all crazy and ambiguous on the students. 

• Credibility: tell and create ideas that are approachable and ready to test. 

• Emotion: makes students feel, rather than just think; it helps with their ability to remember.

These five reasons on how to make stories stick, when aided with technology that helps promote visual learning promote a road to success in teaching with almost any age level. The reason mentioned seem to be practical and common knowledge, especially with all the training we have in teacher preparation. I agree with all the reasons the authors listed and think that it takes some intentional planning on the teachers end to make a lesson be successful using these five methods. I also think they can be stretched from not just using stories and visuals but to all areas to teaching. They make a nice foundation for a "rock solid" lesson plan. 

Also in the chapter, the authors discussed different avenues teachers could take in order to use technology to promote visuals in the classroom. The sources mentioned are more linked to video sources, thus the chapter is about digital story telling. The authors suggest that teachers use youtube or hulu. After all those two online services are the cause of such a digital explosion on the world wive web. The mine point emphasized from the authors about using online services to engage students in visual learning is that those students of the iGeneration need visuals that are stimulating and engaging. The book mentions that most students today spend time playing video games or participating in online video games or virtual worlds. The teacher, with the five reasons of making stories stick in mind, needs to find a way to bridge the students interest in video games or online communities to that of the classroom. 

Using Chapter three of Teaching the iGeneration provides a good starting point. It provides several different avenues for teachers to travel down as they incorporate more and more visual technology int eh classroom. I do believe there are other sources out there and simple sources that can be used. Not all school are going to have access to the top of the line technology. Teachers can use PowerPoint to engage their students in classroom learning, just as long its not the sole source of visual technology used. With all this said, teachers will have to be creative when thinking about their students and meeting their needs and all their learning styles. This chapter focused mainly on the visuals, but I am sure it does not stop there. I would recommend this book as a resource more so than a good read. Its a little wordy and somewhat a repeat for all of us on the graduate program now. It really does not teach us many new things, well at least this chapter did not. 

The Socially Networked Classroom

For today's reading, I reviewed a chapter out of William Kist's book entitled, The Socially Networked Classroom. Though the title lends the reader to think that book is all about using social networking in the classroom, one is easily fooled. The premise of the book rest on the foundation of using social networks in everyday educational instruction, but that is not the sole discussion of the book. The book is divided into several chapters with adaptions of how to use technology, with an emphasis on social networking, among students who come from differing levels of technology availability in the classroom.

I took a look at chapter two of Kist's book and it discusses simple and easy ways classroom with limited technology access can still use the coveted media in everyday instruction.  The main emphasis on this chapter rested on the understanding that there are reveal free sources available to teachers and they need to maximizes their capital on them. Basically Kist was saying that if you have one computer in the classroom, use a free resource found on the web that all students can use at any given point throughout the day. He started his chapter off discussing how to engage students in everyday lessons and then connecting those lessons to a simple online activity such as blogging or using a wiki for class discussion. The purpose of this type of "hook" per lesson is to provide an engaging lesson, yet not rely too heavily on the technology aspect of it. The technology discussed in this chapter was mainly that of blogging or other form of online collaborative writing. Students were to use the provided time at the end of lessons or throughout the day to reflect or post comments about what they learned.

Though the chapter did not really interest me to the notion that I am anti-technology in the classroom, the practicality of the chapter is nice. The discussions around creative and engaging lessons is encouraging to understand as not every classroom is going to be decked out in the latest technology. Just as Kist states   in this chapter, not letting students rely solely on technology is a good thing. I agree with that. Technology can become a crutch for students and an easy way out of meeting the basic standards (depending on the lesson objectives, etc.).  I would like to have seen more discussion on the social networking side of things as I believe social networks have a place and a time in the classroom. It would have been helpful to see how to use social networking sites in a low technology classroom besides just blogs or wikis.