Sunday, January 31, 2010
Jing Still Shot
Some of my students have asked me to set up a Facebook page for my course. I did a little research on how to set up a group without having to be "friends" with my students. This seems like the least complicated method.
Blogs, Jing, Video Chat
This weekend has been full of enlightenment. I took a few risks and ended up having more fun than I thought I would.
Blogs
Reading the textbook, I realize I've always had the wrong idea about blogs. Maybe because many of the blogs I read I my friends' blogs about their kids, but I thought blogs were kind of like online diaries. The more I thought about the blogs I really like reading; however, the more I realized those were about reflecting on information. I love blogs that link to new sites and give me new ideas about cooking, teaching, or activities for my son.
Earlier in the year I surveyed my students about different technologies. Almost all of them said they would dislike using blogs in the classroom. At first I thought this was because they didn't want school infringing on technology they use socially and because blogs require lots of writing. Now I think they don't like blogs because they are not being used properly. Another case of trying to make the square peg fit in the round hole. Most of the time blogs are used for literary response. Students write something on the blog that they could easily have written in Word and turned in. Then the other students respond. From what I can tell, the responses are not as important (grade wise) as the initial posting. The students may or may not get any quality feedback. However, if students were required to post more quality feedback, perhaps link to a grammar website or a literary critique that countered their argument, it might be more useful for them.
Jing
I can't wait to use this with my students. I think I can use the idea for the project in this class. I will also use jing to post some tutorials on Moodle to help my students with some of their other assignments. I told my husband about Jing and he plans on using Jing and Snagit at work. He had never heard of them, but had been needing something to create tutorials for his employees. That was kinda fun since he always knows so much more about technology than me.
Video Chat
I've been wanting to try gchat or Skype, but I thought it would be hard. It wasn't hard at all. The worst part was trying to talk my sister through set up (she's sort of a drama queen), but we made it through with the help of my brother-in-law. We quickly discovered we preferred gchat to talking on the phone. The sound is clearer and my little boy talks more when he can see her. My brother-in-law wanted to try Skype so we played with that as well. We found Skype had better video quality and allowed the other person to see your computer screen. This would be helpful if someone needed help with an assignment. I'm not sure who my class could Skype with yet, but I'll know how to use it when I figure it out.
Blogs
Reading the textbook, I realize I've always had the wrong idea about blogs. Maybe because many of the blogs I read I my friends' blogs about their kids, but I thought blogs were kind of like online diaries. The more I thought about the blogs I really like reading; however, the more I realized those were about reflecting on information. I love blogs that link to new sites and give me new ideas about cooking, teaching, or activities for my son.
Earlier in the year I surveyed my students about different technologies. Almost all of them said they would dislike using blogs in the classroom. At first I thought this was because they didn't want school infringing on technology they use socially and because blogs require lots of writing. Now I think they don't like blogs because they are not being used properly. Another case of trying to make the square peg fit in the round hole. Most of the time blogs are used for literary response. Students write something on the blog that they could easily have written in Word and turned in. Then the other students respond. From what I can tell, the responses are not as important (grade wise) as the initial posting. The students may or may not get any quality feedback. However, if students were required to post more quality feedback, perhaps link to a grammar website or a literary critique that countered their argument, it might be more useful for them.
Jing
I can't wait to use this with my students. I think I can use the idea for the project in this class. I will also use jing to post some tutorials on Moodle to help my students with some of their other assignments. I told my husband about Jing and he plans on using Jing and Snagit at work. He had never heard of them, but had been needing something to create tutorials for his employees. That was kinda fun since he always knows so much more about technology than me.
Video Chat
I've been wanting to try gchat or Skype, but I thought it would be hard. It wasn't hard at all. The worst part was trying to talk my sister through set up (she's sort of a drama queen), but we made it through with the help of my brother-in-law. We quickly discovered we preferred gchat to talking on the phone. The sound is clearer and my little boy talks more when he can see her. My brother-in-law wanted to try Skype so we played with that as well. We found Skype had better video quality and allowed the other person to see your computer screen. This would be helpful if someone needed help with an assignment. I'm not sure who my class could Skype with yet, but I'll know how to use it when I figure it out.
Reflection on Lesson Accelerators
While I can't view the entire Lesson Accelerator, I think I have enough idea of what they are to figure out how they could be implemented in the classroom and in staff development.
Time of War
The first lesson accelerator I looked at was Time of War. The lesson used Excel to make a timeline of major events in World War I. I'm excited for the tutorials to work so that I can follow the tutorials to make my own timeline. I've tried to make timelines before and they never look very good.
I'm not sure if I would use this exact assignment in my classroom. I usually use timelines if I want students to see relationships between what is happening in different parts of the world, when events/timing are confusing, or as a big picture review. I don't want to spend a lot of time on the creation of the timeline itself. Therefore, I would probably give the students a template with the format and let them fill in the events and perhaps the pictures. Some students would need the tutorials for this part and they would need the tutorials for the finishing touches (printing, fitting on one page, etc). I do think many of my students would find knowing how to make timelines in Excel useful as some create their own timelines to study. Once I figure out how to make the timelines I will probably make my own tutorials for the students to use. They would definitely need the tutorials as many of my students do not know how to use basic functions in Word and Excel.
Wonder Wander
Wonder Wander is designed for a 10th grade English class. The lesson teaches students how to conduct a web search. This looks like it would be a useful tool at the beginning of the research unit. This could also be useful in other subjects for the same purpose (if students are not taught in English class). I might skip the first tutorial (how to put an address into the browser), but the rest looks pretty useful. The students simply follow the tutorials and answer questions in a Word document using cut and paste.
Both of these lesson accelerators could be used in staff development. They could be used in pretty much the same way as you would with students or to model how to make your own lesson accelerators. Many of the people in my department would like to have their students create timelines or teach them how to conduct quality web searches. However, they would not know how to create these lessons themselves. They would need the step by step instructions lesson accelerators provide. I know I get frustrated when someone presents a great idea but does not give me instructions on how to create it myself. I also want to be able to access the instructions again when I attempt to create my own product.
Viewing a sample lesson accelerator would also be a good way to instruct teachers on how to create their own. The technology teacher could also provide instructions on using screen capture, Moodle, or whatever tools were necessary for teachers to create their own lesson accelerators. While some students are comfortable experimenting with technology, many want detailed instructions. I've heard many student complaints about teachers assigning "technology" projects that are beyond the skill level of students. Further, the teacher does not know how to work the technology either so they are not able to help. Many problems and frustrations could be avoided if teachers would create detailed instructions for the students to follow as they create their projects.
Time of War
The first lesson accelerator I looked at was Time of War. The lesson used Excel to make a timeline of major events in World War I. I'm excited for the tutorials to work so that I can follow the tutorials to make my own timeline. I've tried to make timelines before and they never look very good.
I'm not sure if I would use this exact assignment in my classroom. I usually use timelines if I want students to see relationships between what is happening in different parts of the world, when events/timing are confusing, or as a big picture review. I don't want to spend a lot of time on the creation of the timeline itself. Therefore, I would probably give the students a template with the format and let them fill in the events and perhaps the pictures. Some students would need the tutorials for this part and they would need the tutorials for the finishing touches (printing, fitting on one page, etc). I do think many of my students would find knowing how to make timelines in Excel useful as some create their own timelines to study. Once I figure out how to make the timelines I will probably make my own tutorials for the students to use. They would definitely need the tutorials as many of my students do not know how to use basic functions in Word and Excel.
Wonder Wander
Wonder Wander is designed for a 10th grade English class. The lesson teaches students how to conduct a web search. This looks like it would be a useful tool at the beginning of the research unit. This could also be useful in other subjects for the same purpose (if students are not taught in English class). I might skip the first tutorial (how to put an address into the browser), but the rest looks pretty useful. The students simply follow the tutorials and answer questions in a Word document using cut and paste.
Both of these lesson accelerators could be used in staff development. They could be used in pretty much the same way as you would with students or to model how to make your own lesson accelerators. Many of the people in my department would like to have their students create timelines or teach them how to conduct quality web searches. However, they would not know how to create these lessons themselves. They would need the step by step instructions lesson accelerators provide. I know I get frustrated when someone presents a great idea but does not give me instructions on how to create it myself. I also want to be able to access the instructions again when I attempt to create my own product.
Viewing a sample lesson accelerator would also be a good way to instruct teachers on how to create their own. The technology teacher could also provide instructions on using screen capture, Moodle, or whatever tools were necessary for teachers to create their own lesson accelerators. While some students are comfortable experimenting with technology, many want detailed instructions. I've heard many student complaints about teachers assigning "technology" projects that are beyond the skill level of students. Further, the teacher does not know how to work the technology either so they are not able to help. Many problems and frustrations could be avoided if teachers would create detailed instructions for the students to follow as they create their projects.
Jing Screencam Video--Lesson Accelerators
When I created this, I didn't know you needed to set up another button with an embed option to automatically embed. I did figure out you can go into your files and find more options, including embed. I did have to adjust the size manually in order to get the video to fit on my page. I need to research an easier way to embed the correct size automatically. Here is a link to tutorial on how to embed and how to use folders in Jing:
http://www.screencast.com/users/Jing.User/folders/Jing/media/a707ebc9-918c-42db-9baf-ec20373fba6a
I'm not really sure if I'm looking in the right place or not for the Lesson Accelerators. I made a jing video to show you what I've found. I didn't tell my husband and son I was recording, so please excuse their madness in the background!
This is really small, so here is a link as well:
When I created this, I didn't know you needed to set up another button with an embed option. I can't figure out how to go back and embed this one (let me know if you can figure it out). Here is a link to a tutorial on how to embed and how to use folders in Jing:
http://www.screencast.com/users/Jing.User/folders/Jing/media/a707ebc9-918c-42db-9baf-ec20373fba6a
http://www.screencast.com/users/Jing.User/folders/Jing/media/a707ebc9-918c-42db-9baf-ec20373fba6a
I'm not really sure if I'm looking in the right place or not for the Lesson Accelerators. I made a jing video to show you what I've found. I didn't tell my husband and son I was recording, so please excuse their madness in the background!
This is really small, so here is a link as well:
When I created this, I didn't know you needed to set up another button with an embed option. I can't figure out how to go back and embed this one (let me know if you can figure it out). Here is a link to a tutorial on how to embed and how to use folders in Jing:
http://www.screencast.com/users/Jing.User/folders/Jing/media/a707ebc9-918c-42db-9baf-ec20373fba6a
Friday, December 4, 2009
Topic 20. Final Reflections
The Course
While I didn't enjoy it, the Spreadsheet and Database assignments were helpful. I needed to learn to use Excel and Access, but could never make myself spend the time. Now that I know the basics I will feel more comfortable using these programs in the future. I also found the blogging useful. This was my first experience blogging. I can understand why some people really like it. You can vent your frustrations, explore how you feel about a topic, or simply tell the cyberworld how you see things. However, I can see why some people don't care for it. I was always worried about writing about my school or my students or expressing an opinion that would not be viewed favorably by the administration. I also struggled sometimes when I was given a topic I didn't have a great deal of interest in.
My biggest struggle was finding the time to get the work done. I thought an online course would be easier for my schedule because I didn't have to go to class each week. However, when I'm in class, I'm there. My family can't bother me and it is time set aside for school. When I try to set aside time at home, my family easily distracts me.
Another thing that was hard for me was the discussion board. When I'm in a classroom I rarely say anything. The discussion boards force you to put your opinions out there and to comment on other people's discussions. I'm still not completely comfortable with putting my opinions out there for everyone to read.
The final struggle I encountered stems from not being a digital native. I need to print stuff. I need instructions to be in one place. It was difficult to do the assignments at first because the instructions were on one page, the information I needed was on another, and the space to enter your answer was on another. I'm getting better, though. Currently, I'm navigating between the blog instructions and my blog. I didn't print!
We've made a great deal of suggestions over the semester and Dr. Lan has been quite accomodating to our needs. I think it might have been easier if the course started with a face to face meeting. That way the instructor could explain the setup of the course on Blackboard and clarify any questions. It would also be helpful if assignment instructions, examples, and rubrics were all in the same folder.
Overall, I don't think I learned any more or any less content than I would have in a classroom setting. It was just different. I do think I've become a bit more comfortable conversing with my peers via the discussion boards. I learned a great deal about different types of technology through the assignments. The resources that I've aquired through the reading, suggested resources, and the blogs and discussion boards have been tremendously helpful. I don't think I would have acquired so many new ideas in a face to face class. Its much easier to click on a link than to ask somebody for a website and remember to look it up on your own time.
Overall, I don't think I learned any more or any less than I would have in a classroom setting. It was just different.
While I didn't enjoy it, the Spreadsheet and Database assignments were helpful. I needed to learn to use Excel and Access, but could never make myself spend the time. Now that I know the basics I will feel more comfortable using these programs in the future. I also found the blogging useful. This was my first experience blogging. I can understand why some people really like it. You can vent your frustrations, explore how you feel about a topic, or simply tell the cyberworld how you see things. However, I can see why some people don't care for it. I was always worried about writing about my school or my students or expressing an opinion that would not be viewed favorably by the administration. I also struggled sometimes when I was given a topic I didn't have a great deal of interest in.
My biggest struggle was finding the time to get the work done. I thought an online course would be easier for my schedule because I didn't have to go to class each week. However, when I'm in class, I'm there. My family can't bother me and it is time set aside for school. When I try to set aside time at home, my family easily distracts me.
Another thing that was hard for me was the discussion board. When I'm in a classroom I rarely say anything. The discussion boards force you to put your opinions out there and to comment on other people's discussions. I'm still not completely comfortable with putting my opinions out there for everyone to read.
The final struggle I encountered stems from not being a digital native. I need to print stuff. I need instructions to be in one place. It was difficult to do the assignments at first because the instructions were on one page, the information I needed was on another, and the space to enter your answer was on another. I'm getting better, though. Currently, I'm navigating between the blog instructions and my blog. I didn't print!
We've made a great deal of suggestions over the semester and Dr. Lan has been quite accomodating to our needs. I think it might have been easier if the course started with a face to face meeting. That way the instructor could explain the setup of the course on Blackboard and clarify any questions. It would also be helpful if assignment instructions, examples, and rubrics were all in the same folder.
Overall, I don't think I learned any more or any less content than I would have in a classroom setting. It was just different. I do think I've become a bit more comfortable conversing with my peers via the discussion boards. I learned a great deal about different types of technology through the assignments. The resources that I've aquired through the reading, suggested resources, and the blogs and discussion boards have been tremendously helpful. I don't think I would have acquired so many new ideas in a face to face class. Its much easier to click on a link than to ask somebody for a website and remember to look it up on your own time.
Overall, I don't think I learned any more or any less than I would have in a classroom setting. It was just different.
Saturday, November 28, 2009
Topic 19. Sometimes It All Works
For some strange reason I cannot make myself unsubscribe to the AP World History listserve. There is something useful on the thing maybe once every month. Most of the time a bunch of middle aged, history teachers argue over things that have nothing to do with World History. In the midst of one such discussion, a teacher decided to try to change the subject by posting something useful. He suggested using the Miniature Earth video in class to give students some perspective as they embark on their Thanksgiving celebration. I watched the video and thought it would be a good thing to show. Of course, I figured it was political and probably had a few errors (what historian wouldn't), but the overall message can't be denied.
Of course, other teachers had the same thought and set out to debunk the usefulness of the video. A teacher posted a link to a site that pointed out all the mistakes in the Miniature Earth video. I went to the site and read the critique. I quickly realized the person who posted the critique site had not watched the Miniature Earth video posted. The Miniature Earth video has been around for a number of years and the critique site had been written several years ago. Apparently, the people who produced the video saw the critique and addressed the issues in an updated version. The updated version reflects the criticism. The new video makes more precise arguments rather than generalizations and has taken out several statistics that the site criticized as hard to prove (such as what percentage of the world population are homosexuals).
The cool thing about this exchange on the listserve was that the internet created this whole conversation and would create many more in the classroom. The video is circulated on the internet. The critique of the video was published on the internet, the producers read the critique, and then updated the video based on the critique. Teachers found the video online and then recommended it to other teachers through a listserve. Then teachers went online to examine the validity of the claims in the video. The teachers then shared the critiques with other teachers. I got a two fold lesson out of this video for my students. They learned they were pretty lucky in life and they learned about doing a little research on stuff you find online before you take it as truth.
Of course, other teachers had the same thought and set out to debunk the usefulness of the video. A teacher posted a link to a site that pointed out all the mistakes in the Miniature Earth video. I went to the site and read the critique. I quickly realized the person who posted the critique site had not watched the Miniature Earth video posted. The Miniature Earth video has been around for a number of years and the critique site had been written several years ago. Apparently, the people who produced the video saw the critique and addressed the issues in an updated version. The updated version reflects the criticism. The new video makes more precise arguments rather than generalizations and has taken out several statistics that the site criticized as hard to prove (such as what percentage of the world population are homosexuals).
The cool thing about this exchange on the listserve was that the internet created this whole conversation and would create many more in the classroom. The video is circulated on the internet. The critique of the video was published on the internet, the producers read the critique, and then updated the video based on the critique. Teachers found the video online and then recommended it to other teachers through a listserve. Then teachers went online to examine the validity of the claims in the video. The teachers then shared the critiques with other teachers. I got a two fold lesson out of this video for my students. They learned they were pretty lucky in life and they learned about doing a little research on stuff you find online before you take it as truth.
Topic 18. When Technology Goes Wrong
The last week at school has been completely frustrating. My computer became a little bit more human than anyone cares to believe. I'm not kidding. It refused to access any site hosted by my school district. It was in rebellion. I could google, use private e-mail, check my bank account, or access anything NOT hosted by our school district. No one could fix it until 8th period on Tuesday afternoon (15 minutes before the break).
Now this story is hilarious in retrospect but it made for a super stressful week. No one believed the problem. I had to log on to another computer to do all my attendance, grades, and posting to moodle which was inconvenient and I usually forgot. Then they kept interrupting my class to try to fix the darn thing. Most annoying was that they reimaged my computer without telling me. I lost an entire program and hours worth of work.
Technology is an amazing and wonderful thing. However, when it goes wrong it causes the teacher tons of stress, wastes hours of work, and creates more work. I share a room with another teacher who is not familiar with a lot of the technology in my room. When something doesn't work properly he lets a kid try to fix it. Many students are good with their own computer, but a networked computer is completely different. They are constantly messing with the settings on the Promethean and randomly pushing buttons. My 4th period class is always behind my other classes because I spend 20 minutes at least once a week trying to fix some sort of technology glitch.
Another frustration is reliability. At the beginning of the school year, we were all encouraged to use Moodle for assignments. The first night I wanted my students to access Moodle for their homework, the server crashed. The students were completely unprepared the next day. This went on for 2 more days. Luckily after the second crash I developed plan B.
Finally, using technology in the classroom is difficult because we are in transition as a society. While most of my students have wireless access at home, a computer, and the ability to use all sorts of programs, I have a few that are resistant. I can't assume everybody will be able to use the technology so I have to teach technology as well as history OR create another lesson plan. We have all sorts of technology that is supposed to help communicate with students and parents more effectively. However, we can't rely on it because some parents don't check their e-mail or use the online gradebook. Therefore, teachers have to use all the new technology and then the old fashioned approach as well.
Now this story is hilarious in retrospect but it made for a super stressful week. No one believed the problem. I had to log on to another computer to do all my attendance, grades, and posting to moodle which was inconvenient and I usually forgot. Then they kept interrupting my class to try to fix the darn thing. Most annoying was that they reimaged my computer without telling me. I lost an entire program and hours worth of work.
Technology is an amazing and wonderful thing. However, when it goes wrong it causes the teacher tons of stress, wastes hours of work, and creates more work. I share a room with another teacher who is not familiar with a lot of the technology in my room. When something doesn't work properly he lets a kid try to fix it. Many students are good with their own computer, but a networked computer is completely different. They are constantly messing with the settings on the Promethean and randomly pushing buttons. My 4th period class is always behind my other classes because I spend 20 minutes at least once a week trying to fix some sort of technology glitch.
Another frustration is reliability. At the beginning of the school year, we were all encouraged to use Moodle for assignments. The first night I wanted my students to access Moodle for their homework, the server crashed. The students were completely unprepared the next day. This went on for 2 more days. Luckily after the second crash I developed plan B.
Finally, using technology in the classroom is difficult because we are in transition as a society. While most of my students have wireless access at home, a computer, and the ability to use all sorts of programs, I have a few that are resistant. I can't assume everybody will be able to use the technology so I have to teach technology as well as history OR create another lesson plan. We have all sorts of technology that is supposed to help communicate with students and parents more effectively. However, we can't rely on it because some parents don't check their e-mail or use the online gradebook. Therefore, teachers have to use all the new technology and then the old fashioned approach as well.
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