A Wiki is like a blog. According to this article, "A Wiki can be thought of as a combination of a Web site and a Word document. At its simplest, it can be read just like any other web site, with no access privileges necessary, but its real power lies in the fact that groups can collaboratively work on the content of the site using nothing but a standard web browser". The best part is, you don't have to be that great with technology. Also, Wikis are just a great way to collect data.
Some of the tips the article gives to use in a classroom are:
•Easily create simple websites for class projects.
•The students are able to review, revise, and submit other classmate's projects with a Wiki.
•Through group authoring collaborating on a document becomes easier with editing and sharing information.
•Wikis are very useful for tracking and completing group projects. It allows group members to track their research and ideas from anywhere they have internet access.
•A Wiki is an easy way to collect data for a group of students.
•A Wiki is a good place for students to write reviews of courses they have taken by sharing their comments.
•Some classrooms are using a Wiki in place of conventional presentation software.
So, all in all Wikis are just another way that new day and age technology helps everyone out in the classrooms.
I also like the riddle that was included:
Q. How many Wiki people does it take to change a lightbulb?
A. One, but anyone can change it back. -langreiter.com
Saturday, September 29, 2007
Sunday, September 23, 2007
Digital Imagery and Photgraphy
Smile, digital cameras can make your day!
Digital cameras are a great tool to use in the classroom and they are now becoming more financially feasible for schools to buy. Digital cameras can be used by teachers and students in many different ways. Cameras are a great way to get students more interested in their assignments. Kids love to take pictures and get physically involved in their assignments. Now they can incorporate pictures taken by themselves rather than downloading them from the Internet. Digital cameras and photography gives the students a chance to control what they're learning. This tool opens a whole new world to the students and allows them to really explore other subjects. "Lori Miller, technology instructor at Wacona Elementary School in Waycross, Georgia, who uses digital cameras with students in grades K-5, offered a variety of suggestions for the uses of digital cameras."
•The use of digital cameras results in no wasted film and the students can be flexible with the pictures they're taking.
•There are photography important places in the school, such as the main office, nurse's office, and media center. These places display photos to help students visually identify key places in the school.
•They can snap pictures of body parts and make puzzles with them.
•The students can take pictures of other students and let them make trading cards with facts about themselves. They can print the pictures and let students write basic favorites or facts on them. This is a good activity for the beginning of the year when they're getting to know one another.
•Students can take pictures to represent nouns, or of students in action to show verbs.
•They can take pictures related to whatever topic you're studying. Display the pictures and have students write journal articles or short stories about them. The pictures provide a good visual prompt for creative writing.
•If you really want to be creative, let students save pictures of their favorite cartoon characters. Have them take pictures of their own faces. Then, using a graphics-editing program, let students brush out the character's face and insert their own.
The safety of a camera plays a big role while using one. Some of the last couples tips for teachers are to show and teach the students the proper way of handling a camera. The article says that you should always obey someones privacy, to know what appropriate pictures are, and to never be afraid of the digital camera!
Digital cameras are a great tool to use in the classroom and they are now becoming more financially feasible for schools to buy. Digital cameras can be used by teachers and students in many different ways. Cameras are a great way to get students more interested in their assignments. Kids love to take pictures and get physically involved in their assignments. Now they can incorporate pictures taken by themselves rather than downloading them from the Internet. Digital cameras and photography gives the students a chance to control what they're learning. This tool opens a whole new world to the students and allows them to really explore other subjects. "Lori Miller, technology instructor at Wacona Elementary School in Waycross, Georgia, who uses digital cameras with students in grades K-5, offered a variety of suggestions for the uses of digital cameras."
•The use of digital cameras results in no wasted film and the students can be flexible with the pictures they're taking.
•There are photography important places in the school, such as the main office, nurse's office, and media center. These places display photos to help students visually identify key places in the school.
•They can snap pictures of body parts and make puzzles with them.
•The students can take pictures of other students and let them make trading cards with facts about themselves. They can print the pictures and let students write basic favorites or facts on them. This is a good activity for the beginning of the year when they're getting to know one another.
•Students can take pictures to represent nouns, or of students in action to show verbs.
•They can take pictures related to whatever topic you're studying. Display the pictures and have students write journal articles or short stories about them. The pictures provide a good visual prompt for creative writing.
•If you really want to be creative, let students save pictures of their favorite cartoon characters. Have them take pictures of their own faces. Then, using a graphics-editing program, let students brush out the character's face and insert their own.
The safety of a camera plays a big role while using one. Some of the last couples tips for teachers are to show and teach the students the proper way of handling a camera. The article says that you should always obey someones privacy, to know what appropriate pictures are, and to never be afraid of the digital camera!
Friday, September 14, 2007
Get Outta Class With Virtual Field Trips
Sherril Steele-Carlin with Education World, who wrote Get Outta Class With Virtual Field Trips, talks about what a great experience virtual field trips can be. If, as a teacher, you want to take your students on a field trip, but the school’s budget is too tight, or the timing on things would not work out well, then a virtual field trip is your answer. Virtual field trips are designed to be educational and entertaining. There are virtual field trips up on the web for every grade level, and that go to many different places, so the trip can cater to whichever subject is being taught. Even though the students are still sitting in the classroom, the whole world is opened up to them through the computer. In the article, Steele-Carlin quotes a Maine high school student, Emily, about the virtual field trip she just took to the Natural Wonders of the World. "It's better in that I could view each place in my own time; I wasn't rushed through, like on many field trips. I would gladly go on this type of field trip [again]. It saves time and money and is very convenient," Emily stated. By taking students on a virtual filed trip instead of a regular field trip, learning time is utilized for the students. No time is wasted loading a school bus or van, the travel time is cut out, the weather isn’t a problem, and the students can go at their own pace, and really make sure they get all that they can out of the “trip”. The virtual field trips include auditory and visual aids to help students learn. Virtual field trips are partially so great because students can go to places that they may never have been able or ever will be able to go to. For example, a virtual trip to a dairy farm, Antarctica, and even to the solar system! Anyone “who is even remotely computer savvy can create a virtual field trip!” When you go a field trip with your students, or even just a trip, simply snap some pictures! Upload “them to your class or school Web site” and just like that, you have created your very own virtual field trip. You also can have your future classes go on these virtual field trips and you can share with them your very own stories of when you visited there. Steele-Carlin also set up links at the end of her article that can provide further instruction and ideas for virtual field trips. This article is great if you want to take your students on, or create your own virtual field trip.
Here is the link for the article, enjoy!
http://www.educationworld.com/a_tech/tech/tech071.shtml
Here is the link for the article, enjoy!
http://www.educationworld.com/a_tech/tech/tech071.shtml
Sunday, September 9, 2007
Storyboarding 101: Turning Concepts into Visual Forms
According to Storyboarding 101: Turning Concepts into Visual Forms, written by Lin Huff-Corzine storyboarding can be explained as,” The use of a series of pictures in separate frames to outline or brainstorm ideas about how to tell a story can lead to such descriptions”. It is important in the educational process to be able to describe and explain the material that one has just learned. This idea, as sociologists point out, tends to stress the importance of analyzing events rather than "just" describing them. What we often forget is that before any well-developed understanding of phenomena can be achieved, clear, concise, complete, and accurate descriptions are a must.
There have been many different theories about the origin of the storyboard. According to this article, “Some will argue that "storyboarding originated with the Walt Disney Company in the early days of animated films" where it was, and still is, used to create the story line for a film by laying out the scenes in sequence”. Although the use of storyboarding may play a important role in animation, it also plays a vital role in communication. This article also suggests that, “The concept of storyboarding has a much longer history, however, with it most likely being as old as the desire of persons to express themselves, perhaps evolving even before the ability to use verbal language for communication. From drawings in the caves of our early ancestors to the storyboards of Palau, these works which are usually labeled art forms rather communication forms, "were used to tell legends, to record events, and to teach social values".
Storyboards play an important role in education. This type of activity in the classroom allows all types of learners, auditory, visual and kinesthetic, to play an active role in the learning experience. The use of storyboards expands a child's mind. Students are expected to be able to expand their thoughts in abstract ways. When students have to layout the scenes of their storyboard, and when they do that they have to use abstract thought. Storyboarding also encourages creative analysis, not just run of the mill thinking. They have to picture their concept then relate it to a story. Story boards can be used in a wide variety of classes, from elementary school to college. Students have fun making storyboards and can learn without realizing that they are learning. Storyboards also work great for video assignments, the students would have to write out what goes on in the video and also make a storyboard for it. This shows the teacher that the students really understand what the video was about and also individual credit can be given. They can be used in elementary classrooms to help students learn more about themselves and other people and learning about diversity. They can be used in classes like a gender issues class to begin a discussion about gender roles and how they affect each student. The role of storyboards in the classroom is endless. We as teachers should find different ways to incorporate storyboards into our assignments to help students not only hear but also see what we are trying to convey.
There have been many different theories about the origin of the storyboard. According to this article, “Some will argue that "storyboarding originated with the Walt Disney Company in the early days of animated films" where it was, and still is, used to create the story line for a film by laying out the scenes in sequence”. Although the use of storyboarding may play a important role in animation, it also plays a vital role in communication. This article also suggests that, “The concept of storyboarding has a much longer history, however, with it most likely being as old as the desire of persons to express themselves, perhaps evolving even before the ability to use verbal language for communication. From drawings in the caves of our early ancestors to the storyboards of Palau, these works which are usually labeled art forms rather communication forms, "were used to tell legends, to record events, and to teach social values".
Storyboards play an important role in education. This type of activity in the classroom allows all types of learners, auditory, visual and kinesthetic, to play an active role in the learning experience. The use of storyboards expands a child's mind. Students are expected to be able to expand their thoughts in abstract ways. When students have to layout the scenes of their storyboard, and when they do that they have to use abstract thought. Storyboarding also encourages creative analysis, not just run of the mill thinking. They have to picture their concept then relate it to a story. Story boards can be used in a wide variety of classes, from elementary school to college. Students have fun making storyboards and can learn without realizing that they are learning. Storyboards also work great for video assignments, the students would have to write out what goes on in the video and also make a storyboard for it. This shows the teacher that the students really understand what the video was about and also individual credit can be given. They can be used in elementary classrooms to help students learn more about themselves and other people and learning about diversity. They can be used in classes like a gender issues class to begin a discussion about gender roles and how they affect each student. The role of storyboards in the classroom is endless. We as teachers should find different ways to incorporate storyboards into our assignments to help students not only hear but also see what we are trying to convey.
Sunday, September 2, 2007
Week 2 Blogging
The article that was chosen discusses how blogs are becoming a new creative tool for teachers and students to use in the classroom. The article was written by Jeffrey Solingo titled, "In the Classroom, Web Logs are the New Bulletin Boards". Solingo explains how "For teachers, blogs are attractive because they require little effort to maintain, unlike more elaborate classroom web sites, which were once heralded as a boon for teaching. Helped by templates found at sites like tblog.com and movabledtype.org, teachers can build a blog or start a new topic in an existing blog by simply typing text into a box and clicking a button." Blogging can also be a helpful learning tool for the students. If a student needs to ask the teacher or another student a question the response can often be replied to sooner through blogging. Another great point the articles has is that the use of blogs gets students writing more often. "Teachers who use blogs say that students put a lot more thought and effort into their blog writing, knowing that parents and others may read their work on the Web. Also, some students are more comfortable expressing themselves through the blogs than they are raising their hand in the classroom. Debbie Contner, an assistant principal who used a blog last year in her class said, "if it gets kids excited about learning, we might as well try it." The use of blogs creates a new opportunity for students and teachers to communicate in the classroom.
Here are some of the pros and cons our team has come up with about blogging in the classroom.
Pros: 1. Allows students and teachers to communicate on a different level.
2. Can give nervous or quiet students a chance to speak up and have their voice heard in their classroom.
3. Some students work harder on their blogs to make sure their spelling and punctuation are correct because they know students, teachers, and parents can look at their entries.
4. Blogs are also a great new tool because they allow students to help and learn from each other. Some students might respond to and understand a peer
better than they would an adult.
Cons: 1. The internet can be unsafe for younger students if they aren’t taught how to use it safely and properly use it.
2. Some students do not use proper spelling or punctuation on the internet which would and should be essential if it is in a classroom blog.
3. Interaction with adults and peers is something students learn a lot about in the classroom. I think we really need to make sure we don’t forget to teach our students how to relate and communicate face to face.
This is Jeffrey Selingo's article. http://www.nytimes.com/2004/08/19/technology/circuits/19blog.html?ex=1250568000&en=33627811ca310596&ei=5090
Here are some of the pros and cons our team has come up with about blogging in the classroom.
Pros: 1. Allows students and teachers to communicate on a different level.
2. Can give nervous or quiet students a chance to speak up and have their voice heard in their classroom.
3. Some students work harder on their blogs to make sure their spelling and punctuation are correct because they know students, teachers, and parents can look at their entries.
4. Blogs are also a great new tool because they allow students to help and learn from each other. Some students might respond to and understand a peer
better than they would an adult.
Cons: 1. The internet can be unsafe for younger students if they aren’t taught how to use it safely and properly use it.
2. Some students do not use proper spelling or punctuation on the internet which would and should be essential if it is in a classroom blog.
3. Interaction with adults and peers is something students learn a lot about in the classroom. I think we really need to make sure we don’t forget to teach our students how to relate and communicate face to face.
This is Jeffrey Selingo's article. http://www.nytimes.com/2004/08/19/technology/circuits/19blog.html?ex=1250568000&en=33627811ca310596&ei=5090
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