Podcasts in the Classroom
http://www.det.wa.edu.au/education/cmis/eval/curriculum/ict/podcasts/
A podcast is an audio file stored on the Internet and can be automatically accessed by a personal computer, downloaded and transferred to a portable MP3 player. Podcasting can be used in the classroom because podcasts can be created by students and teachers and downloaded for educational purposes. There are three main steps in creating a podcast. First, the data is recorded using a microphone and is saved as an audio file. Next, the data is published by uploading it to a web server. Lastly, you need to provide a way for users to access the files. The easiest way to do this is to provide a link from an existing web page. It is another way for students to share ideas and learning experiences. Because it is on the web, the world is their audience, and that makes it more meaningful to them. One of the best reasons for teacher to use podcasts is that it can save alot of time for other things. Teachers are able to provide any additional material for their class to download and look at whenever it is most convenient for them. There are a number of websites that offer free creation tools and hosting for podcasts. They offer quick ways to record and publish a podcast. This is very beneficial because the teacher can focus their time on the material contained in the podcast, rather than wasting time trying to figure out how to use it.
Podcasting offers an ideal tool for the creative expression of knowledge preferred by today's students, and provides an exciting way for students and educators to explore and discover educational content. It allows educators to take their students beyond traditional assignments by allowing them to include voice recordings, photos, movies, and sound effects to share their knowledge. Podcasting is also a great way for educators to give content to their students. This is a great way to distribute their homework assignments. Another great idea is to record yourself narrating a book, so students can then listen along. Podcasting would be a great tool for foreign language teachers because they could create a lesson that students can review at their own pace. For educators can be a very effective tool for professional development, as well as for communicating with parents about classroom activities and school announcements. I think it is a great idea...especially because kids are natives to technology. They already use it in their everyday lives so incorporating their learning into it could prove to be a very beneficial way for them to learn.
here is a youtube video on how to integrate podcasting into the classroom:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ExkMeQfuLGc
Saturday, September 13, 2008
Web-Based Multimedia/Animation
There are many great benefits for using multimedia/animation in the classroom. First of all it is attractive to the student and grabs a hold of their attention. It is definitely more interesting than listening to a teacher lecture. Animation is engaging to the learner, not only because it is attractive to the eye, but it is challenging and worthy of their time. If students are engaged in an activity, they are more likely to come back to it again and again, increasing their overall daily performance. It also can fit the needs of all learners. It is hands-on, which is attractive to the kinanesthetic learner. Sound is involved, applying to the auditory learner. It creates a more comfortable and fun learning environment for the students who are too shy to participate in group discussion. The interactive environment of animation helps students learn faster and without the complexities of traditional school lectures. For example, a book could go on for several pages describing something, while through animation, they could see and experience it for themselves in minutes. Animation learning is actually fun for students which motivates them to continue learning, whereas in a traditional setting they may get bored and frustrated. Another great feature is that is has immediate feedback, so the learner knows his/her mistake right away and can fix it. With all of these perks, it seems like learning through animation is the way to go, but of course there is a downside. The socializing factor that is given through traditional lectures wouldn't be provided through animation. Students would lose the bond that they form with their teacher. I think that a combination of animation and traditional teaching would satisfy the needs of the learners. That way they could have the best of both worlds.
article link:
http://library.thinkquest.org/05aug/00066/content_education.html
article link:
http://library.thinkquest.org/05aug/00066/content_education.html
Digital Imagery
Digital Cameras & Digital Imaging in the Classroom
http://futureofmath.misterteacher.com/digitalcameras.html
This article focuses on how teachers can incorporate digital cameras and digital imagery in the math classroom. For those students who feel that math is not "their subject," are most of the time wrong. Its all in how they are taught. Most students don't respond well to lecture and homework alone. Students who are kinaesthetic and visual learners would benefit greatly if they saw the relationship to math and the "real world." That's one of the major complaints that math teachers hear..."when am I ever going to use this in real life!?!" Through the use of digital imaging, they can see and experience real-world math concepts, making learning more interesting and fun. In the perfect school, students would be provided digital cameras and be able to go out and identify angles, shapes, symmetry, or parallel and perpendicular lines in their schoolyard. If cameras are not available, the teacher can project pictures on an overhead and ask the class to identify what they can find in the photos. Another way math teachers can use digital imagery is by inserting images into worksheets. This comes in handy when the teacher is making a worksheet of word problems and they need an image to go along with it. For some teachers, drawing is not one of their talents!
Digital Imagery can be used in any classroom and for any subject. Students can use digital cameras to record a field trip and then later insert those photos into a PowerPoint presentation showing what they learned. It can be used to create a virtual field trip, like we will do for our final project in this class. Students can use digital images to enhance their projects, illustrate concepts, create brochures, or to create graphs. We have already used digital imagery in this class by uploading photos of ourselves so others can see who they are taking this course with. I think digital imagery is a wonderful addition to any classroom.
http://futureofmath.misterteacher.com/digitalcameras.html
This article focuses on how teachers can incorporate digital cameras and digital imagery in the math classroom. For those students who feel that math is not "their subject," are most of the time wrong. Its all in how they are taught. Most students don't respond well to lecture and homework alone. Students who are kinaesthetic and visual learners would benefit greatly if they saw the relationship to math and the "real world." That's one of the major complaints that math teachers hear..."when am I ever going to use this in real life!?!" Through the use of digital imaging, they can see and experience real-world math concepts, making learning more interesting and fun. In the perfect school, students would be provided digital cameras and be able to go out and identify angles, shapes, symmetry, or parallel and perpendicular lines in their schoolyard. If cameras are not available, the teacher can project pictures on an overhead and ask the class to identify what they can find in the photos. Another way math teachers can use digital imagery is by inserting images into worksheets. This comes in handy when the teacher is making a worksheet of word problems and they need an image to go along with it. For some teachers, drawing is not one of their talents!
Digital Imagery can be used in any classroom and for any subject. Students can use digital cameras to record a field trip and then later insert those photos into a PowerPoint presentation showing what they learned. It can be used to create a virtual field trip, like we will do for our final project in this class. Students can use digital images to enhance their projects, illustrate concepts, create brochures, or to create graphs. We have already used digital imagery in this class by uploading photos of ourselves so others can see who they are taking this course with. I think digital imagery is a wonderful addition to any classroom.
Storyboarding
Storyboarding 101: Turning Concepts into Visual Forms
Lin Huff-Corzine
University of Central Florida
http://www.ibiblio.org/ism/articles/huffcorzine.html
This article is written by a professor at UCF. Professor Huff-Corzine describes how she uses storyboarding in her classroom as a tool for learning. She believes that storyboards serve as powerful tools for learning more about one's self, as well as for organizing stories to be shared with larger audiences in auditory formats. Storyboarding is the use of a series of pictures in separate frames to outline or brainstorm ideas about how to tell a story. By using this format, students are encouraged to analyze events more critically and be able to develop, evaluate, and explain these events with greater detail. Students do not have to be artistic to create storyboards, it simply serves as a tool for them to map out their thoughts and ideas. Professor Huff-Corzine uses storyboarding in her classroom to help students recall and express experiences that have shaped their self-identities. "The experience of drawing rather than writing often serves surprisingly well to cue people in to many childhood memories." She gives them the option to share their storyboards with the class or not, whatever they feel comfortable with, because this exercise is ultimately for themselves. To begin with many students are worried that they won't have enough memories to fill the sheet of paper, but in they end they find that they run out of room. Once something triggers their thoughts, the memories come streaming in. Through this exercise, not only do the students learn alot about themselves, but they also get to know a little bit about their peers. Whether they felt they had learned more about themselves or others, students generally enjoy the exercise and find it a worthwhile reflective endeavor. Similar to cave drawings and even Walt Disney, by using storyboards, students are able to visually map out the key scenes of their stories and place them in sequential order using group discussion. Once the students have finished their storyboard, filling it with all the details, they can then use it as a guide to begin writing how their visual story will be told. I never really new how much I use storyboards! I guess I have never really thought about it too much. I love to to doodle, so when I am trying to learn a process that I need to memorize, I will sketch it out. I am a visual learner so when it comes time to take a test, I can remember my drawing and it refreshes my memory. I used it alot when I was in speech too. I always created a storyboard using poster boards. Not only did it help me out with remembering my speech, but it also was more visually stimulating for my audience. I think storyboarding is not only a great way for students to express their thoughts and ideas, but also to help them organize them. I agree with Confucius, " a picture is worth a thousand words."
Here is a video on youtube about storyboards and how they are useful in the classroom
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pWPjjoOFIu8
Lin Huff-Corzine
University of Central Florida
http://www.ibiblio.org/ism/articles/huffcorzine.html
This article is written by a professor at UCF. Professor Huff-Corzine describes how she uses storyboarding in her classroom as a tool for learning. She believes that storyboards serve as powerful tools for learning more about one's self, as well as for organizing stories to be shared with larger audiences in auditory formats. Storyboarding is the use of a series of pictures in separate frames to outline or brainstorm ideas about how to tell a story. By using this format, students are encouraged to analyze events more critically and be able to develop, evaluate, and explain these events with greater detail. Students do not have to be artistic to create storyboards, it simply serves as a tool for them to map out their thoughts and ideas. Professor Huff-Corzine uses storyboarding in her classroom to help students recall and express experiences that have shaped their self-identities. "The experience of drawing rather than writing often serves surprisingly well to cue people in to many childhood memories." She gives them the option to share their storyboards with the class or not, whatever they feel comfortable with, because this exercise is ultimately for themselves. To begin with many students are worried that they won't have enough memories to fill the sheet of paper, but in they end they find that they run out of room. Once something triggers their thoughts, the memories come streaming in. Through this exercise, not only do the students learn alot about themselves, but they also get to know a little bit about their peers. Whether they felt they had learned more about themselves or others, students generally enjoy the exercise and find it a worthwhile reflective endeavor. Similar to cave drawings and even Walt Disney, by using storyboards, students are able to visually map out the key scenes of their stories and place them in sequential order using group discussion. Once the students have finished their storyboard, filling it with all the details, they can then use it as a guide to begin writing how their visual story will be told. I never really new how much I use storyboards! I guess I have never really thought about it too much. I love to to doodle, so when I am trying to learn a process that I need to memorize, I will sketch it out. I am a visual learner so when it comes time to take a test, I can remember my drawing and it refreshes my memory. I used it alot when I was in speech too. I always created a storyboard using poster boards. Not only did it help me out with remembering my speech, but it also was more visually stimulating for my audience. I think storyboarding is not only a great way for students to express their thoughts and ideas, but also to help them organize them. I agree with Confucius, " a picture is worth a thousand words."
Here is a video on youtube about storyboards and how they are useful in the classroom
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pWPjjoOFIu8
Wikis
Using Wiki in Education
http://www.scienceofspectroscopy.info/edit/index.php?title=Using_wiki_in_education
A Wiki is a website that includes the collaboration of work from many different authors. A wiki site allows anyone to edit, delete, or modify the content on the web. Another great feature of a wiki site is that it is capable of keeping track of previous documents as they are revised. Every time a person revises the contents of the page, that revision becomes the currents version, and the previous version is stored. This can be useful because the old and new documents can be compared side-by-side and students are able to edit them if it is necessary. Because the wiki is such a great tool for collaborating, it is becoming more and more popular in schools. It allows students to work together more easily than through e-mail. I know when I had group projects in school it was so hard to get everyone together at one time because everyone had different schedules. Through e-mails, information is scattered everywhere and there is not form of organization, making it harder to compile. The Wiki is not only useful for students, but for teachers as well. Through a Wiki site they can collectively form the structure and curriculum of a course. I found this article to be very useful. I have never even heard of Wiki sites until this assignment. It sure would have come in handy last year. This article basically covered it all. It also showed some courses in which Wiki sites were used...followed by blogs from teachers that used it. It also provided related links and demo videos to further explain. In this day in age, everything can be done on the internet, especially writing. Students are designing web sites, blogging, and creating wikis.
Here is a cute little joke from the article:
Q. How many Wiki people does it take to change a light bulb?
A. One, but anyone can change it back:)
An interesting fact:
The first wiki creator named the site after a chain of buses in Hawaii; Wiki means "quick" in Hawaiian.
http://www.scienceofspectroscopy.info/edit/index.php?title=Using_wiki_in_education
A Wiki is a website that includes the collaboration of work from many different authors. A wiki site allows anyone to edit, delete, or modify the content on the web. Another great feature of a wiki site is that it is capable of keeping track of previous documents as they are revised. Every time a person revises the contents of the page, that revision becomes the currents version, and the previous version is stored. This can be useful because the old and new documents can be compared side-by-side and students are able to edit them if it is necessary. Because the wiki is such a great tool for collaborating, it is becoming more and more popular in schools. It allows students to work together more easily than through e-mail. I know when I had group projects in school it was so hard to get everyone together at one time because everyone had different schedules. Through e-mails, information is scattered everywhere and there is not form of organization, making it harder to compile. The Wiki is not only useful for students, but for teachers as well. Through a Wiki site they can collectively form the structure and curriculum of a course. I found this article to be very useful. I have never even heard of Wiki sites until this assignment. It sure would have come in handy last year. This article basically covered it all. It also showed some courses in which Wiki sites were used...followed by blogs from teachers that used it. It also provided related links and demo videos to further explain. In this day in age, everything can be done on the internet, especially writing. Students are designing web sites, blogging, and creating wikis.
Here is a cute little joke from the article:
Q. How many Wiki people does it take to change a light bulb?
A. One, but anyone can change it back:)
An interesting fact:
The first wiki creator named the site after a chain of buses in Hawaii; Wiki means "quick" in Hawaiian.
Monday, September 8, 2008
Blogging
Blogging?It's Elementary, My Dear Watson!
Article by Lorrie Jackson
Education World®
Link:
http://www.education-world.com/a_tech/tech/tech217.shtml
Blogging is becoming more and more popular in the educational system. Blogging or web logging is kind of like an online diary or journal. Although this form of communication is typically used for middle and high school grade levels, more and more elementary school teachers are introducing it to students as young as kindergarten. The article I chose focuses on how blogging at such a young age is possible.
Blogging is actually a very good way for students to express themselves. It allows anyone to publish their thoughts, ideas, and opinions on the internet. It can make anyone into a columnist. Younger children especially feel important knowing that what they write is on the internet for everyone to read. Knowing that their entries are out there for the world to see actually helps them become better writers. They write more, in greater detail, and with greater care knowing they have such a large audience instead of one teacher.
For a teacher blogging is fairly easy to set up. Although web-based programs such as Blogger or Livejounal work very well, they might not have all the supervisory features an elementary teacher is looking for. For younger students, teachers might try downloading programs such as Blogmeister or KidzBlog because they will have more control as well as safety.
I think blogging is a great way for students to express themselves. Journaling is so therapeutic for the mind and it helps with writing skills. Most students this day in age are already used to this form of journaling because of such web-based programs as myspace and facebook, where they are free to create blogs and post pictures, ultimately putting themselves out there for everyone to see. So if kids are already blogging on sites like these, it just makes sense to introduce it into the world of education.
Article by Lorrie Jackson
Education World®
Link:
http://www.education-world.com/a_tech/tech/tech217.shtml
Blogging is becoming more and more popular in the educational system. Blogging or web logging is kind of like an online diary or journal. Although this form of communication is typically used for middle and high school grade levels, more and more elementary school teachers are introducing it to students as young as kindergarten. The article I chose focuses on how blogging at such a young age is possible.
Blogging is actually a very good way for students to express themselves. It allows anyone to publish their thoughts, ideas, and opinions on the internet. It can make anyone into a columnist. Younger children especially feel important knowing that what they write is on the internet for everyone to read. Knowing that their entries are out there for the world to see actually helps them become better writers. They write more, in greater detail, and with greater care knowing they have such a large audience instead of one teacher.
For a teacher blogging is fairly easy to set up. Although web-based programs such as Blogger or Livejounal work very well, they might not have all the supervisory features an elementary teacher is looking for. For younger students, teachers might try downloading programs such as Blogmeister or KidzBlog because they will have more control as well as safety.
I think blogging is a great way for students to express themselves. Journaling is so therapeutic for the mind and it helps with writing skills. Most students this day in age are already used to this form of journaling because of such web-based programs as myspace and facebook, where they are free to create blogs and post pictures, ultimately putting themselves out there for everyone to see. So if kids are already blogging on sites like these, it just makes sense to introduce it into the world of education.
Friday, September 5, 2008
Virtual Field Trips
The article I chose focused on the many advatages of virtual field trips, especially with the rising fuel costs. With gas prices above $4 dollars now, the interest in virtual field trips is rising significanty. Schools are having to make budget-cuts, which means field trips are out of the question. Virtual field trips typically involve students using video conferencing software or web browser to visit an online destination. More and more teachers are turning to this new form of technology to take their students to places they may never get to go, without stepping a foot out of the classroom. Many are finding it extremely convenient and very simple to use. In addition, each program is directly tied to academic standards so teachers have a built in assurance that these field trips are tied to precise learning objectives. With regular on-site fieldtrips this can be hard because the teacher is unable to control the learning environtment their students are in. For example, a student with bad behavior may ruin the experience for the rest of the class. Through these field trips teachers, students, and even parents are able to explore places that aren't practical to visit in person such as outer space or volcanoes. Teachers have the option of allowing their students to explore in groups, on their own, or on separate computers but connected with the rest of the class. Students can also listen to guest speakers from all the way across the world! Some teachers believe that virtual fieldtrips rob students of the traditional experience of regular on-site trips, but their purpose is not to replace them, only to provide an alternative option. In my opionion it is a pretty awesome alternative. Of course it is more fun to actually go to the physical location, but when that is not an option, teachers and students couldn't ask for anything better than a virtual field trip. Before this class, I never knew that such a thing existed. I am really excited to create one of my own . I want to make it on Canada so I can share all the wonderful things I get to enjoy up here with everyone down in Florida.
Gas Prices Fuel Rise in Virtual Field Trips
By Laura Devaney
eSchoolNews
link:
http://www.eschoolnews.com/news/top-news/?i=54518
Gas Prices Fuel Rise in Virtual Field Trips
By Laura Devaney
eSchoolNews
link:
http://www.eschoolnews.com/news/top-news/?i=54518
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