Friday, April 29, 2011

End of Course Survey / Final 2 Surveys

I just wanted to say that I have taken the End of Course Survey and the Final two Surveys on the assignment list. This class has been very overwhelming at times, and it was a lot of work! Aside from those being the only downfalls of this course, I have really enjoyed learning about and using all the new and exciting technology tools offered in the assignments of this course. I have used several of the new tools in my classrooms just after learning about them! This class has to be the most useful college course I have taken. I am very glad it is offered! Good luck to anyone who decides to take it...it is a workload, but it is worth it in the end!

As for the two final surveys....I was definitely able to say that I could teach many of the tools and skills learned in this class, and I have!

Tuesday, April 19, 2011

Tiny cc / Bitly

For this assignment, I chose to use the "tiny" URL Shortening Service to shorten a URL for my photo page on Snapfish.com. The process of using the URL Shortening Service was just copying the very long URL and pasting it into the "tiny" URL creator box. The URL creator worked it's magic and came up with a much shorter version of my initial URL address. This type of tool is great for sending links to friends and family, without them being a mile long!

The original URL: http://www.snapfish.com/snapfish/shareereg/p=396191303268466288/l=8454368016/g=141618081/cobrandOid=1000/pns/snapfish/share/p=396191303268466288/l=8454368016/g=141618081/cobrandOid=1000

The "tiny" URL: http://tiny.cc/pkqtx

This assignment closely relates to the ISTE.NETS Standards for teachers, #5 Engage in Professional Growth and Leadership; this assignment allows teachers to demonstrate the effective use of digital tools and resources.

Sunday, April 3, 2011

Photostory 1: PSA

Public Service Announcement: Get Educated~STOP CYBER-BULLYING

The Photostory PSA allowed me to (1) use a technology tool that had only been used once in the past (2) to become educated on cyber-bullying, a very serious matter that happens every minute of every day among kids and teens, and (3) discover new ways to save a video file in order to upload it to a youtube video. My Photostory PSA defines cyber-bullying, describes ways in which kids, students, teens, and parents can prevent and deal with cyber-bullying, informs others of the legal issues involved with the school systems and cyber-bullying, and discusses ways in which the school systems can get involved to help prevent and stop cyber-bullying.

Check out my Photostory (Youtube) Video Below!



The Photostory PSA closely relates to the ISTE.NETS Standards: 3 and 4

As an educator, it is important to promote and model digital citizenship and responsibility by understanding local and global societal issues and model digital age work and learning...

an educator must: advocate, model, and teach safe, legal, and ethical use of digital information and technology, including respect for copyright, intellectual property, and the appropriate documentation of sources.

an educator must: promote and model digital etiquette and responsible social interactions related to the use of technology and information.

an educator must: communicate relevant information and ideas effectively to students, parents, and peers using a variety of digital-age media and formats.

an educator must: model and facilitate effective use of current and emerging digital tools to locate, analyze, evaluate, and use information resources to support research and learning.

File Converter

For the File Converter assignment, I used the provided YouTube Bender Converter website to change a 2010 PBHSC Band show from a YouTube URL to an MP3 Audio file. Once the Download was complete, I saved the file to my Windows Media Player. This program was super easy to use...3 steps and tada! I thought this assignment was simple but useful!

The File Converter assignment relates closely to the ISTE.NETS Standards 2c., teachers designing and developing digital-age learning experiences and customizing and personalizing learning activities to address students' diverse learning styles, working strategies, and abilities using digital tools and resources, and 3a., modeling digial-age work and learning and demonstrating fluency in technology systems and the transfer of current knowledge to new technologies and situations.

Jing Video Screencapture #2

Apparently I am an over-achiever! HaHa NOT! Seriously though, I completed the Jing Screencast assignment back in February and I was only supposed to complete the Jing Image, I think! That is what I gathered from the Discussion Board anyway. I did previously blog about the Jing Screencast assignment in February, so I am going to re-use that information, no need to re-invent the wheel if it's not necessary!

The Jing Screencast was pretty cool and could be used as a very fun technology assignment in the classroom.  I made a video explaining the concept of "readability statistics--Flesch Kincaid, which is a concept previously taught in this course.  The Jing Screencast is a fun way to get students involved in recalling information previously learned.  For example:  My DCT students could use the Jing Screencast to make a video on the correct way to sign onto the Wiki, find the week's assignment, and upload the completed assignment.  It is an excellent source of technology to use in the classroom!

The Jing Screencast assignment relates closely with the ISTE.NETS STANDARD 2c because it is using technology to teach something that was previously learned, but that possibly needs reinforcement.  Standard 2c talks about customizing and personalizing learning activities to address students' diverse learning styles, working strategies, and abilities using digital tools and resources.

YouTube Video!

I downloaded a youtube video from KHANACADEMY, a resource website that was given to me at a technology training seminar. I found a video on Current Economics, Economics of a Cupcake Factory. This youtube video relates to my Intro to Business classroom instruction.

In order to download and view this youtube video, I had to jump through several hurtles! I first found the video I wanted to save and view, I next clicked on the download link below the video. I tried to play the video in Windows Media Player and it gave me a screeching noise! Next I Googled "How to download and play an FLV video file. It gave me a download website that gave me another website and finally, I downloaded the Flash Video Player. After this process, when I downloaded the video a second time, it popped up with an option to play the video in the PlayItAll media player, that is now saved on my computer!  I then clicked on the "insert a video" on the toolbar above my blog to insert my youtube video into this blog post. 


The YouTube Video assignment closely relates to the ISTE.NETS Standard 5c:  Engaging in professional growth and leadership to evaluate and reflect on current research to make effective use of existing and emerging digital tools.  Youtube is an excellent source to use to get students involved and show them real-life examples of what they are learning in the classroom.  It is the job of the educator to go out and look for these types of tools to use in their classrooms.  It is a never ending cycle of research when you are involved in the teaching profession!

Voice Thread...

Voice Thread is a cool site to share conversations between anyone, anywhere. Voice Thread is a great technology tool to use as an activity in the classroom, collaboration with peers or colleagues, or communication with parents or students who may be learning from home. Voice Thread is a collaborative, multimedia slide show that holds images, documents, and videos and allows people to comment on the slide show. Comments can be left in several different ways using Voice Thread: using voice with a microphone or telephone, text, audio file, or video using a webcam.

This was my first experience with using Voice Thread, and I found it to be very fascinating, especially since I did not have to download a THING! It is very simple to use and is an excellent tool to try out in the classroom!

The Voice Thread assignment closely relates to the ISTE.NETS Standards 1 and 2, to facilitate and inspire student learning and creativity and to evaluate authentic learning experiences. This assignment is the mimic of inspiring creativity in students. It also engages in learning with students, colleagues, and others in face-to-face and virtual environments. The Voice Thread assignment also designs a learning experience that incorporates digital tools and resources to promote student learning and creativity.