Virtual Class Meetings

I enjoyed our last two virtual class meetings. In the beginning of the semester, I don't think I would have been confident enough to try out all of the different programs and learn to use them by myself. For example, Skype and digital texts/videos would have been pretty difficult for me to figure out alone. However, social bookmarking, blogs, and Webquests I probably could have created independently with support from a tutorial and threaded discussions. Now that I am comfortable with all of the different types of technology, the virtual meetings are great! I have been able to spend more time exploring technology and discussing it with my classmates instead of wasting hours (and gas) driving! If it were my decision, I would meet in person a lot in the beginning of the semester and gradually drop it to every other week virtual. If more meetings were virtual, there would have to be some form of accountability to make sure everyone participated. Some people do great with the autonomy, but others need more structure.

My first Podcast

Today I created my very first podcast! I wasn't even planning on creating one during the school day, but I started experimenting with Gabcast and realized how easy it was! I made one with my students right away! All I had to do was create a channel (having no clue what that meant), dial a number (because there was nothing else to do), and it was cake from there! I was initially worried about taking too much instructional time away to create a podcast, so I admit I was very reluctant to try this with my students. Now that I know it only takes five minutes, I will create a lot more in the future! I highly recommend Gabcast to other teachers. I can't imagine another podcast site being easier. Check our podcast out!!


Gabcast! Miss Cunningham's Class #1



How I plan to use podcasts in my classroom: I was really inspired by the idea of a Reader's Theater! I will definitely be posting a Reader's Theater podcast by the end of the year. What a great way to integrate a content area, reading, and technology! Next year I would like to put important announcements into a podcast so that parents can be notified of upcoming events. Heather gave me the idea to let students create interviews (real or fictional). OR the teacher could really interview someone(ex. a WWII veteran) and play it to the students. I want my students to recite some of the poetry they just created and put it on a podcast. This way the parents who cannot make it to our poetry coffeehouse can attend "in spirit."

Photo Story

Today I learned how to use Photo Story. It was extremely easy after I learned all the quirks. I may decide to go back and turn the digital PowerPoints I made into movies through Photo Story. Check out my Claymation (Thanks to Cher's daughters Emily and Jenny).

I like all the features you can add to Photo Story that make it more like a video than a digital PowerPoint. I plan to use Photo Story to make a slideshow of all of our pictures to play during our fifth grade graduation. Also, in science we have been observing plant and animal growth under different conditions over a period of time. Next year I want the kids to take pictures of similar experiments to put in a Photo Story, where they can explain the scientific process and see the over time easier. Photo Story is also always great for reading books!

Digital Poetry Continued

You'll be so proud of me when you check out the digital poetry book I created with my class! Click where it says "Sick" by Shel Silverstein. The kids had so much fun with this! Next time I'll let my kids narrate, but I kept it simple this time. It was so easy with the template! Also, while you're on our poetry page, you can check out some student responses as a "before" activity for our poetry unit. Enjoy :)

Tutorial on digital book

View my tutorial on how to create a digital book on PowerPoint.

I am really glad I created my tutorial on digital books. I plan on sharing my tutorial with my colleagues in a staff meeting. It was easy to create, because I just typed what I would have wanted to know. It is simple enough to give people as a handout for them to figure out on their own. I chose to create a tutorial on digital books, because my students and I are making a digital poetry book on Powerpoint this week. I easily forget things if I don't take notes, so it was important for me to create instructions for myself to use in the future. I learned how to use the print screen button--it is so easy, and makes reading the instructions much easier.

Tutorials really do make a world of difference. I would like to make some simple tutorials for my students, such as how to create a PowerPoint presentation. The print screen feature is so cool. I can't believe I had never learned how to do it before! I like to make the kind of tutorials that I would like to read...short, sweet, to the point, and with important things in bold. If it gets too complicated you might as well read the manual--and no one wants to do that. Maybe I'll get really ambitious and help my kids create their own tutorials after they become experts in a program. They would get a kick out of the print screen button.

Social Networking-an educational outlook

Facebook and Myspace have the potential to be very educational, but they must be used with caution. These sites are blocked in our school system. When we were at new teacher orientation, they told us (targeting high school teachers mostly) to absolutely refrain from adding our students as "friends." I think they were more concerned about teacher-student "relations" than anything else like online predators/bullying (which is probably more prevalent).

Educational benefits: Students can type their thoughts on certain topics in the "notes" section in facebook (which functions as a blog). They can join groups pertaining to issues they support (or don't support and wish to debate on). Students could email messages to other students about homework assignments. They could post digital video or photo projects onto their websites. Not to mention, it's always good to learn technology for technology's sake (ex. typing skills, discovering new ways to communicate). Why not use a form of technology that kids are really "into" (which they are apparently already into networking sites, considering the percentages of students who already have accounts) and "trick" them into thinking they are just having fun when they are really learning! Why not take advantage of a learning tool that kids are already motivated about?

While I advocate for the use of social networking sites, I also think safety education is very important. I know that kids can hear "safety guidelines" over and over and over, but many times they don't take these things seriously until something bad happens. This is why we as parents and educators are responsible for safeguarding kids and protecting their sites from predators. I personally would not want to take the responsibility for my studnts viewing bad language etc. via Facebook or Myspace. Sites like Ning seem a lot more promising. These sites would be a lot more useful in the classroom if all students had internet access at home. However, like the PBS article said, maybe this should turn into a community issue (ex. keep the library open longer). My superintendent claims that he eventually wants each kid to have his/her own laptop to take home daily. While a great idea, I couldn't help but laugh at the thought of my kids taking a big laptop home on the bus each day...we would never see them again!

Social Networking-What Facebook means to me

From a personal standpoint, I love social networking sites like Facebook. In fact, this may be strange to say, but I really think my life would be a lot different without Facebook. This is not to say that I live through my computer, but I do rely on it for a variety of things. I communicate with old friends that I may not otherwise think to connect with. It also keeps me up-to-date on a lot of "happenings" around ASU, home, and the world! There are so many different "groups" to join for different causes you support or discussion boards to debate on certain topics. The email on facebook is easy to use, and the "wall" is nice for a quick comment. I think it's great you can write a simple hello on someone's wall without having to write a lengthly email. You can also search so many different networks and locate old childhood friends. Even if I don't care to really "reconnect," I always think it is interesting to see where people end up. Facebook is a great way of just expressing who you are in a few lines. You can sum up what is most important for others to know about you, and update it whenver you want. What I love about facebook the most is being able to download my photos to albums! It is an easy way to let all my friends know what is going on in my life. It also serves as a good back-up in case my computer dies or my hard copies disappear...they will be saved on the internet! I can look at my pictures with such ease, and it makes it easy if I'm out of town and want to show my grandparents or somebody a vacation. You can also type "notes" on facebook, which is somewhat like a blog entry. I really enjoyed facebook more when it was only open to college people, but I can definitely understand why everyone would want to use it. It is also kind of annoying to me now that they added all of these extra features...every now and then I'll get a request for some neat application, but more often than not they are annoying. All in all, I give Facebook an A++