I just got through checking out a social networking site called Ning
and it looks like it could be a great tool for the future English classroom. Although, I haven't created a social network at this time, I did check out related information for the creation of one. I noted that when you do create a social network it can be listed as private, a feature that I know many of us would enjoy if we were to use this in the classroom. All in all, this site offers an opportunity to create your own profile questions, and to upload all kinds of media, such as photos and videos. From what I could see the possibilities are almost endless!
Now, with the end of the semester approaching, I will share with you the wonderful source of the above information and various other new technology related informational sites I have posted at various times to my blog.
I received the information about the site in an S.O.S.: Help for Busy Teachers e-mail from Kathy Schrock. The e-mail is part of a free newsletter subscription I have through Discovery School.com, and offers plenty of useful technology sites and tips that can be used in the classroom. I would highly advise signing up for this e-newsletter(Kathy Schrock's Guide for Educators) by going to the Discovery School website. Although the main focus is on science, there are enough extras that make this more than worthwhile.
Monday, April 30, 2007
Sunday, April 29, 2007
Small-Biz Owner Blogs
I found this article quite by accident while I was looking for an old Las Vegas article dealing with students and guns in school.
The article, What Small-Biz Owners Can Learn From Blogs, might deal with small business owners, but it is a real nice reminder of how more and more of us are using the internet for not only fun and games, but also for educational and business-related purposes. It's also a great way to show students that there are more uses for blogging than just fun. It helps to show a link to the real world that many might not think of when using blogs.
Take a look at the site and see what you think. There are some really good blogs here.
The article, What Small-Biz Owners Can Learn From Blogs, might deal with small business owners, but it is a real nice reminder of how more and more of us are using the internet for not only fun and games, but also for educational and business-related purposes. It's also a great way to show students that there are more uses for blogging than just fun. It helps to show a link to the real world that many might not think of when using blogs.
Take a look at the site and see what you think. There are some really good blogs here.
Friday, April 27, 2007
Cyber Bullying YouTube Video
This is the Video about Cyber Bullying referenced to in our Movie Maker and iMovie Videos for Project III.
watch video
I e-mailed this to myself from YouTube and the following information was a part of what I received. Basically, the information is provided by the maker of the video BlueSky2006. There is a website included at the bottom of the message for anyone interested in learning more about Cyber Bullying. This is a serious issue that continues to grow almost as rapidly as weblogs and it definately deserves our attention -- Barb
I e-mailed this to myself from YouTube and the following information was a part of what I received. Basically, the information is provided by the maker of the video BlueSky2006. There is a website included at the bottom of the message for anyone interested in learning more about Cyber Bullying. This is a serious issue that continues to grow almost as rapidly as weblogs and it definately deserves our attention -- Barb
Video Description
In the short time I have been active in the YouTube community (since December 2006), I have found cyber-bullying to be prevalent, and it really needs to stop. It's mean, hateful, disrespectful, abusive, and it hurts people.
Cyber-bullying is turning YouTube into trailer trash - people have also committed suicide because of it.
FYI: You can also be arrested for cyber-bullying.
So treat others the way you would want to be treated, and there will be more peace in the world and more peace on YouTube.
Many adolescents face being potential victims of violence in their communities, schools and homes on a daily basis. For some young people, those external threats create a hopelessness and depression that can lead to suicidal thoughts or actions.
The spike in teen suicides in the United States is staggering. In 1950 the rate of suicide for 15-19 year-olds was 2.7 per 100,000. Two generations later, in 1990, the rate had increased to 11:1; a jump of more than 300 percent. Current statistics suggest that a young person in America attempts to take his or her life every 42 seconds.
Though few would argue that bullying alone is to blame, the current literature includes many references to students being driven to suicide by peer abuse. In 2003, the journal Adolescence published a study on bullying and victimization which describes how "exposure to repeated insults and rejection by peers can generate deadly results such as suicide or homicide." Clearly, ongoing victimization can create or exacerbate adolescent depression and low self-esteem, perhaps raising the risk of a suicide attempt.
Bullying is not isolated only in schools. It happens in work, in church, and in other arenas in life.
Bullying Statistics: http://www.highlands.k12.fl.us/~msdp/BullyingStatsResources.htm
Question?
Does anyone know why my blog archive is showing up in Spanish? I didn't change anything and everything else is in English. This is kind of weird.
All right, after I posted this the first time around it seemed to fix itself. Still though, I'm wondering if anyone else has had this type of thing happen?
All right, after I posted this the first time around it seemed to fix itself. Still though, I'm wondering if anyone else has had this type of thing happen?
iPods banned in schools?
I read with both shock and dismay an article on Yahoo News entitled, "Schools banning iPods to beat cheaters."
The whole article dealt with how school districts are trying to stop students from cheating on tests by banning iPods. I was shocked that school districts found it necessary to do this. One paragraph in particular caught my attention and made me think of Dr. Stearns.
"Mountain View recently enacted a ban on digital media players after school officials realized some students were downloading formulas and other material onto the players."
The reason I thought of Dr. Stearns was because of the "downloading" of formulas. All I could hear in my mind, when I read those words, was Dr. Stearns asking us "Why are we concerned with getting students to memorize the formulas? They can get this information anywhere." I have to say this is so right. This paragraph is an excellent example of "traditional" education in action. Instead of being concerned with how students might be using the iPods to cheat, I think that more emphasis should be concentrated upon how iPods can be used in the classroom to make the lesson clearer and more exciting for students.
I have to add that I was disappointed with this article mainly due to the fact that the writer didn't balance her article very well. She waited until the last two paragraphs to introduce Tim Dodd the executive director of The Center for Academic Integrity at Duke University.
Dodd, commented about how the university not only provided students with iPods, but experimented with the students and the devices to see if they could be utilized for learning purposes. The journalist quoted Dodd as saying, in the last paragraph, "'Trying to fight the technology without a dialogue on values and expectations is a losing battle . . . I think there's kind of a backdoor benefit here. As teachers are thinking about how technology has corrupted, they're also thinking about ways it can be used productively'."
This comment should have been placed a lot closer to the beginning of the article, since journalism handles the most important details first and uses the not so important details at the end of the article. To me, this is stating that, although, the topic is worthy of comment, it really doesn't mean that much overall. It's almost as though the journalist was treating this as an afterthought and that is what really upsets me the most with this article.
Check out the article and let me know what you think. I've linked it twice in this post, because I really think this is an important article.
The whole article dealt with how school districts are trying to stop students from cheating on tests by banning iPods. I was shocked that school districts found it necessary to do this. One paragraph in particular caught my attention and made me think of Dr. Stearns.
"Mountain View recently enacted a ban on digital media players after school officials realized some students were downloading formulas and other material onto the players."
The reason I thought of Dr. Stearns was because of the "downloading" of formulas. All I could hear in my mind, when I read those words, was Dr. Stearns asking us "Why are we concerned with getting students to memorize the formulas? They can get this information anywhere." I have to say this is so right. This paragraph is an excellent example of "traditional" education in action. Instead of being concerned with how students might be using the iPods to cheat, I think that more emphasis should be concentrated upon how iPods can be used in the classroom to make the lesson clearer and more exciting for students.
I have to add that I was disappointed with this article mainly due to the fact that the writer didn't balance her article very well. She waited until the last two paragraphs to introduce Tim Dodd the executive director of The Center for Academic Integrity at Duke University.
Dodd, commented about how the university not only provided students with iPods, but experimented with the students and the devices to see if they could be utilized for learning purposes. The journalist quoted Dodd as saying, in the last paragraph, "'Trying to fight the technology without a dialogue on values and expectations is a losing battle . . . I think there's kind of a backdoor benefit here. As teachers are thinking about how technology has corrupted, they're also thinking about ways it can be used productively'."
This comment should have been placed a lot closer to the beginning of the article, since journalism handles the most important details first and uses the not so important details at the end of the article. To me, this is stating that, although, the topic is worthy of comment, it really doesn't mean that much overall. It's almost as though the journalist was treating this as an afterthought and that is what really upsets me the most with this article.
Check out the article and let me know what you think. I've linked it twice in this post, because I really think this is an important article.
Monday, April 23, 2007
Exploring History
Once again I have discovered a really neat site, thanks to Kathy Schrock. It is called Old Magazine Articles, and I really enjoyed looking over some of the articles and cartoons I found at this site. The articles were published from 1860 to 1922 in a wide array of magazines from those time periods.
Some of the topics deal with weird science, such as the egg laying hens that were fed wine to "up" the egg production, and the cartoons showing a German occupation of New York City. That one was quite strange, but intriguing when you think about it.
Besides those items what I really found neat about this site are all the articles that can be found there. Some of them are very nostalgic and I can easily see the connection between then and now that could be made by using these in the classroom. Students would be able to glimpse the world of say, WWI, and then be able to compare and/or contrast it with Vietnam (or another war), and then go further to take a look at what is going on today in Iraq. Many critical questions could be asked and students would be able to use the internet during the process.
Some other topics I noticed while browsing the site included the Civil War, Prohibition, Women's issues, Immigration, the Titanic, the Ku Klux Klan, Native Americans, Opinions about Americans and even old movies.
Some of the topics deal with weird science, such as the egg laying hens that were fed wine to "up" the egg production, and the cartoons showing a German occupation of New York City. That one was quite strange, but intriguing when you think about it.
Besides those items what I really found neat about this site are all the articles that can be found there. Some of them are very nostalgic and I can easily see the connection between then and now that could be made by using these in the classroom. Students would be able to glimpse the world of say, WWI, and then be able to compare and/or contrast it with Vietnam (or another war), and then go further to take a look at what is going on today in Iraq. Many critical questions could be asked and students would be able to use the internet during the process.
Some other topics I noticed while browsing the site included the Civil War, Prohibition, Women's issues, Immigration, the Titanic, the Ku Klux Klan, Native Americans, Opinions about Americans and even old movies.
Wednesday, April 18, 2007
Savanna Smiles
When Dr. Stearns asked us to comment about someone we admire or would like to be more like I immediately thought of Savanna K.
I greatly admire how Savanna is always so well organized, enthusiastic, and cheerful. Don't get me wrong, I have seen Savanna in a down mood before, but most of the time she is very upbeat and caring. She is so well organized that she always has her work completed and always seems to have something intelligent and thought provoking to say.
I wish in some respects I could be more like this. Unfortunately, I have trouble thinking on my feet (I know probably not a good thing to admit, especially when wanting to be a teacher, but . . .), and quite often I will come up with something intelligent to say well after the fact. In Savanna's case though, she never seems at a loss and is always considerate of others. All are skills that I know will be a great asset for her when she begins teaching.
Savanna is the future teacher I know that I would love to have had.
I greatly admire how Savanna is always so well organized, enthusiastic, and cheerful. Don't get me wrong, I have seen Savanna in a down mood before, but most of the time she is very upbeat and caring. She is so well organized that she always has her work completed and always seems to have something intelligent and thought provoking to say.
I wish in some respects I could be more like this. Unfortunately, I have trouble thinking on my feet (I know probably not a good thing to admit, especially when wanting to be a teacher, but . . .), and quite often I will come up with something intelligent to say well after the fact. In Savanna's case though, she never seems at a loss and is always considerate of others. All are skills that I know will be a great asset for her when she begins teaching.
Savanna is the future teacher I know that I would love to have had.
Teachable Moment With Charity
Charity was interested in learning more about how to change the colors in the posting text while writing a blog post. It was interesting to show her this, because from there the short hands on lesson became an extended lesson on working with changing colors and text fonts within the actual blog template. Charity is now happily changing all of her fonts and colors and smiling while she does it.
Google Tips - Neat Blog
Kathy Schrock shares a lot of great information based upon teaching and technology. She has a blog and this entry features some Google search tips. Many of you probably already know these, but I thought some of them might be useful for those who don't. Also, her blog features other items and I believe is accessible through this link.
Try it and see what you think.
Try it and see what you think.
Teacher Tube
Wow did I find a really interesting site! It's called Teacher Tube.
You've got to check this one out. I didn't have a lot of time to look everything over, but basically this site is like You Tube, only it's for teachers. Way cool. The first opportunity I have, I will be rechecking this site believe me.
Just the few minutes I spent looking at this site told me enough to realize that there are a lot of useful tips for teachers and plenty of information about using technology in the classroom.
You've got to check this one out. I didn't have a lot of time to look everything over, but basically this site is like You Tube, only it's for teachers. Way cool. The first opportunity I have, I will be rechecking this site believe me.
Just the few minutes I spent looking at this site told me enough to realize that there are a lot of useful tips for teachers and plenty of information about using technology in the classroom.
Tuesday, April 17, 2007
Edutopia
I really found the edutopia reader's survey helpful and informative. Four items in particular caught my eye as I perused the survey list results.
Best site to download free lessons
Best blog for educators
Amount you spend out of pocket each year on classroom supplies
Greatest concern expressed by parents
The free lesson site at marcopolo-education.org offers plenty of free lesson plans that I know I will be able to incorporate, expand upon, or just plain generate ideals from for future lessons in my classroom. As I'm always on the lookout for these types of items I was happy to see this site listed. In conjunction with it, I noticed that a free wiki called Curriki, for educators, students, administrators and parents was offered as edutopia's "Our Take." After looking at this site I would highly recommend that everyone take a minute or two to look this one over!
I was tickled to see that Warlick "walks away with it," as the best blog for educators. His "2 cents worth" offers a "fresh and forward thinking" approach to teaching. It is nice to see that someone we have been avidly reading has managed to receive recognition for his contributions to education.
As an upcoming 20th century teacher I'm concerned with being able to provide my students with approbriate classroom supplies and tools. I want to be able to have a class library and I know that it is likely I will have to get many of the books with my own money. So, when I saw the link for the amount a teacher might spend out of pocket, I just had to take a look. It was interesting to note that Uncle Sam will allow us a deduction on our taxes, even though it is likely going to be worth, at most, about $50. At least there is some form of payback available, although I'm not all that sure that it matters that much to me, since I want my students to have the tools and books they need to succeed. Other tools I would be interested in procuring would have to include technology related items such as digital camera cards, microphones for pod casting and movie making, and a bunch of rechargable batteries!
I can't say that I was surprised to read that parents greatest concern dealt with the safety of their kids, the school district, and teachers. In particular, I noticed that on-line safety was the second listed item under the heading of safety. This is a concern that I share, particularly with the increase in cyber bullying. This has become a topic I would like to hear more about and I'm sure it is a topic that parents would like to see addressed in a positive way. There are just way too many young teens that have decided to commit suicide rather than face the pain, and humiliation of cyber bullying.
Best site to download free lessons
Best blog for educators
Amount you spend out of pocket each year on classroom supplies
Greatest concern expressed by parents
The free lesson site at marcopolo-education.org offers plenty of free lesson plans that I know I will be able to incorporate, expand upon, or just plain generate ideals from for future lessons in my classroom. As I'm always on the lookout for these types of items I was happy to see this site listed. In conjunction with it, I noticed that a free wiki called Curriki, for educators, students, administrators and parents was offered as edutopia's "Our Take." After looking at this site I would highly recommend that everyone take a minute or two to look this one over!
I was tickled to see that Warlick "walks away with it," as the best blog for educators. His "2 cents worth" offers a "fresh and forward thinking" approach to teaching. It is nice to see that someone we have been avidly reading has managed to receive recognition for his contributions to education.
As an upcoming 20th century teacher I'm concerned with being able to provide my students with approbriate classroom supplies and tools. I want to be able to have a class library and I know that it is likely I will have to get many of the books with my own money. So, when I saw the link for the amount a teacher might spend out of pocket, I just had to take a look. It was interesting to note that Uncle Sam will allow us a deduction on our taxes, even though it is likely going to be worth, at most, about $50. At least there is some form of payback available, although I'm not all that sure that it matters that much to me, since I want my students to have the tools and books they need to succeed. Other tools I would be interested in procuring would have to include technology related items such as digital camera cards, microphones for pod casting and movie making, and a bunch of rechargable batteries!
I can't say that I was surprised to read that parents greatest concern dealt with the safety of their kids, the school district, and teachers. In particular, I noticed that on-line safety was the second listed item under the heading of safety. This is a concern that I share, particularly with the increase in cyber bullying. This has become a topic I would like to hear more about and I'm sure it is a topic that parents would like to see addressed in a positive way. There are just way too many young teens that have decided to commit suicide rather than face the pain, and humiliation of cyber bullying.
Monday, April 16, 2007
Video on Demand
"'It's a delivery system for our own knowledge assets . . ." In the eSchool News article " Video helps overhaul district's curriculum" I found this comment interesting, especially when compared to data in the Technorati report.
1.4 new blogs every second
1.5 million posts every day
17 posts per second
70 million weblogs
It's mind boggling to think that these statistics are real and that they continue to grow and grow as more and more adults, students, and professional people create and use blogs, and other resources on-line. This in turn, means that we all need to become better prepared to use these on-line resources in the classroom.
I love the fact that video streaming allows for students to learn in different ways. In particular, students who are visual learners can benefit from video streaming. It's always smart to try and include all learning styles in the learning process. If we don't how are we going to get through to all of our students? Technology is obviously a great way to do this and it should offer a great alternative for students with learning styles that are different from those needed for the "traditional" teaching approach.
I did encounter one problem though with the Baltimore article. I decided that I wanted to learn a bit more about the Safari Montage program so I Googled it and found the safarimontage.com website. Unfortunately, I didn't find it overly helpful with providing information about what it actually is and does. Yes, it's video on demand, but it didn't list the many benefits, at least that I could see, that could be derived from the service.
1.4 new blogs every second
1.5 million posts every day
17 posts per second
70 million weblogs
It's mind boggling to think that these statistics are real and that they continue to grow and grow as more and more adults, students, and professional people create and use blogs, and other resources on-line. This in turn, means that we all need to become better prepared to use these on-line resources in the classroom.
I love the fact that video streaming allows for students to learn in different ways. In particular, students who are visual learners can benefit from video streaming. It's always smart to try and include all learning styles in the learning process. If we don't how are we going to get through to all of our students? Technology is obviously a great way to do this and it should offer a great alternative for students with learning styles that are different from those needed for the "traditional" teaching approach.
I did encounter one problem though with the Baltimore article. I decided that I wanted to learn a bit more about the Safari Montage program so I Googled it and found the safarimontage.com website. Unfortunately, I didn't find it overly helpful with providing information about what it actually is and does. Yes, it's video on demand, but it didn't list the many benefits, at least that I could see, that could be derived from the service.
Monday, April 9, 2007
NAEP Writing Exams Going Digital in 2011
I found this "older" article from "Education Week" (3/14) rather interesting. It talks about testing students writing skills on the computer. I really liked the quote that I pulled from the article listed below:
“ 'One of the things that we’ve seen in sites across the country is a huge increase in the uses of computers for writing, both in school and out of school,' said Richard Sterling, the executive director of the National Writing Project, a nationwide professional-development program for teachers housed at the University of California, Berkeley, which applauded the new framework."
When I read the above quote it really hit home just how much the internet and computers are being used now. The article states that they have seen "a huge increase" in writing that isn't all for personal use, but it is also for school use. The need for incorporating technology into our ELA classrooms needs to be now, not later. This article really does seem to support what we are learning in class.
“ 'One of the things that we’ve seen in sites across the country is a huge increase in the uses of computers for writing, both in school and out of school,' said Richard Sterling, the executive director of the National Writing Project, a nationwide professional-development program for teachers housed at the University of California, Berkeley, which applauded the new framework."
When I read the above quote it really hit home just how much the internet and computers are being used now. The article states that they have seen "a huge increase" in writing that isn't all for personal use, but it is also for school use. The need for incorporating technology into our ELA classrooms needs to be now, not later. This article really does seem to support what we are learning in class.
Another item to check
This is not meant for students! There is some content that might not be appropriate for students. Make sure you check it out first!!!
Scribd
http://scribd.com/
...a very useful Web 2.0 online application which allows you to upload a file in common formats (i.e. PPT, DOC, TXT, XLS, etc.) and an Adobe Flash Paper version is created in a player. You can easily embed the player and the content on your own Web page or blog, you can have the item viewed and even read-aloud right from Scribd's site, or you can download the uploaded file in PDF, TXT, and even the read-aloud file in MP3 format for putting on an audio device
Scribd
http://scribd.com/
...a very useful Web 2.0 online application which allows you to upload a file in common formats (i.e. PPT, DOC, TXT, XLS, etc.) and an Adobe Flash Paper version is created in a player. You can easily embed the player and the content on your own Web page or blog, you can have the item viewed and even read-aloud right from Scribd's site, or you can download the uploaded file in PDF, TXT, and even the read-aloud file in MP3 format for putting on an audio device
Clip Art - most of it Free!
I don't know how many of you remember my mentioning a web page that contains links to free clip art, icons, and photos during our newsletter project presentation, but here's the link to get you to the sites. Clip Art Collections.
Most of the items are free. The only thing that is asked is that you acknowledge your source if you use them. There are some really great pictures of foreign countries, like Ireland at one site. You can even submit photos to it if you so desire.
Again have fun and enjoy.
Most of the items are free. The only thing that is asked is that you acknowledge your source if you use them. There are some really great pictures of foreign countries, like Ireland at one site. You can even submit photos to it if you so desire.
Again have fun and enjoy.
Interesting Web Site
I found this site quite interesting to poke around in. It contains lesson plans geared towards elementary, middle school, and high school levels. I actually found a reference to Arthur Miller's The Crucible, which is the play I am working with for Dr. Hill's class.
I also noticed that this site has something called Digital Investigation/Language Arts, which is really information about digital fluency. There is even a three-hour complete training course you can take (Believe me - I know time is a premium) if you want to learn more about using information ethically from the internet. It's kind of like a twist on finding good websites for research, and yes, that is included!
Here's the name of the site take a look and have fun with it;
21st Century Information Fluency: Resources
I also noticed that this site has something called Digital Investigation/Language Arts, which is really information about digital fluency. There is even a three-hour complete training course you can take (Believe me - I know time is a premium) if you want to learn more about using information ethically from the internet. It's kind of like a twist on finding good websites for research, and yes, that is included!
Here's the name of the site take a look and have fun with it;
21st Century Information Fluency: Resources
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