Today reinforced the problem with looking at and signing up in a variety of new sites. Spam was sent from this "Hot Mail account to everyone in my address book and the best I could trace it to was this blog. I don't like to be compromised and feel as though so strange thing has happened to my laptop that I can't control.
I feel the experience with Web 2.0 allowed me access to many interesting and useful sites but did not teach me what the proper usage or the how to use part for these sites. I probably will not have a blog of my own unless I really feel I have something valuable to share. In the educational setting with Middle School I think it would be hard to get the time or the access for 125-150 students to use many of the tools we explored.
Part of the problem I experienced was lack of guidance and answers to some of my questions. To me this was a very new experience and I needed more hands-on instruction. I also found many sites were not working properly or were outdated and not updated or corrected.
When I did get feedback from the other class members I found it helpful and I enjoyed reading their postings. I hope to use some of the many new things I did explore in the class.
Friday, June 25, 2010
Friday, June 18, 2010
Week 9 #20 Teacher Tube, You Tube,21- podcasts22-Presentations including Glogsters, Animoto and Prezi
The beginning of this lesson has you explore some videos in several places. I found a couple of interesting ones on Teacher Tube, like the Statue of Liberty and School Rules. I would not have downloaded them to my blog because I think they take up too much time and often they are not of the quality in sound and vision that I would bother with. There are many things posted that are just a big waste of time and I don't see how I would use this in a Social Studies class except to critique something as being "poorly constructed".
Podcasts that I have been using I found on I-Tunes for my IPOD and find it a valuable way of sharing information. I especially would use it with a class for a special news event or National Geographic broadcast. I could easily hook it in to my Mac and show it on a large screen to the entire class. If I had easy access and the equipment to make my own podcast with one class of 30 or less students I may take the challenge, but to deal with 130+ students and one computer lab I would not attempt it.
Glogster and animato both allow you to make your own Videos and send them on the web. Today my grandson and I did the same thing using Disney, Phineas and Ferb to make cards for Dad and Grandfather. It was so easy and animated, he liked doing it and it was sent both by e-mail with sound and by copying to a hard copy. I prefer the easier fill in the blank kind of technology. These were free and you didn't need to sign up
or give any personal information.
The Educational Glogster looked like fun for a class to present a Video on a certain subbject. What I gained from looking at these sites was the knowledge that there are so many different opportunities with Web 2.0, that a teacher in the classroom, with 5 sections of Social Studies, limited computers and limited prep time would find many of them too overwhelming to explore. For personal use I have found several captivating sites that I would go back to and explore again.
I think what I would do for a project is let each class select one thing to focus on and present to the other classes. They would have to include a hands-on demonstration of what they create along with the trouble and problems they ran in to in exploring the project. So if they wanted to make posters, they would make the poster and teach the other classes how to do it.
Podcasts that I have been using I found on I-Tunes for my IPOD and find it a valuable way of sharing information. I especially would use it with a class for a special news event or National Geographic broadcast. I could easily hook it in to my Mac and show it on a large screen to the entire class. If I had easy access and the equipment to make my own podcast with one class of 30 or less students I may take the challenge, but to deal with 130+ students and one computer lab I would not attempt it.
Glogster and animato both allow you to make your own Videos and send them on the web. Today my grandson and I did the same thing using Disney, Phineas and Ferb to make cards for Dad and Grandfather. It was so easy and animated, he liked doing it and it was sent both by e-mail with sound and by copying to a hard copy. I prefer the easier fill in the blank kind of technology. These were free and you didn't need to sign up
or give any personal information.
The Educational Glogster looked like fun for a class to present a Video on a certain subbject. What I gained from looking at these sites was the knowledge that there are so many different opportunities with Web 2.0, that a teacher in the classroom, with 5 sections of Social Studies, limited computers and limited prep time would find many of them too overwhelming to explore. For personal use I have found several captivating sites that I would go back to and explore again.
I think what I would do for a project is let each class select one thing to focus on and present to the other classes. They would have to include a hands-on demonstration of what they create along with the trouble and problems they ran in to in exploring the project. So if they wanted to make posters, they would make the poster and teach the other classes how to do it.
Sunday, June 13, 2010
Chapter 10 Tutorials Web 2.0 My Choice Chapter
In Chapter 10, many free programs for computers are explained and offered. I found this interesting especially because with the new popularity of NetBooks to travel with. Often these have a limited access to programs.
The program that I liked was "ZohoWriter.com, where you can write and share and edit. It was suggested to copy and paste into the writer from a word processor so you can have the benefit of all the options before you put it on Zoho to be shared.
Another program was the Open Source painting tool, Tux Painter at :
www.breedsoftware.com/tuxpaint
Class Blogmeister for Educational Use was also a good option. The last program I looked at and was familar with was Google Earth and Google Reader both are popular and useful.
The program that I liked was "ZohoWriter.com, where you can write and share and edit. It was suggested to copy and paste into the writer from a word processor so you can have the benefit of all the options before you put it on Zoho to be shared.
Another program was the Open Source painting tool, Tux Painter at :
www.breedsoftware.com/tuxpaint
Class Blogmeister for Educational Use was also a good option. The last program I looked at and was familar with was Google Earth and Google Reader both are popular and useful.
Chapter 9 Web 2.0-New Schools
I liked the main idea of this chapter, "What Should We Expect From New Schools?"
Our schools today are already dealing with the new virtual learners. Kids are learning from games that allow them instant feedback and the satisfaction of achieving new levels and awards when they invest their time on line with motivational learning levels. Recently, my 7 year old grandson spent the night and asked if he could use my computer for a math game. I sat with him and found this web game intriguing as you had to build bridges and connect paths in order to get to the next level. We worked together and only reached level 7 after one hour and there were 20 levels of difficulty. Why did my 7 year old grandson keep at it? He was motivated by the challenge and the instant feedback. My point is that how can teachers compete with this? We must incorporate the advances and advantages of using Web 2.0.
Teachers are overwhelmed by normal duties and often do not have the opportunity to be trained on the technology available at their schools. Why have the computers and programs if most of the staff do not have the comfort zone or the knowledge to incorporate the use of Wikis, school libraries,flickr, etc to their lesson plans. In some cases teachers do not have computer access in their room and they get to go to the computer lab once a month.
Until the funds, training and importance of "Virtual Learning" is recognized by the community, only selective schools, teachers and students will be part of New Schools!
Our schools today are already dealing with the new virtual learners. Kids are learning from games that allow them instant feedback and the satisfaction of achieving new levels and awards when they invest their time on line with motivational learning levels. Recently, my 7 year old grandson spent the night and asked if he could use my computer for a math game. I sat with him and found this web game intriguing as you had to build bridges and connect paths in order to get to the next level. We worked together and only reached level 7 after one hour and there were 20 levels of difficulty. Why did my 7 year old grandson keep at it? He was motivated by the challenge and the instant feedback. My point is that how can teachers compete with this? We must incorporate the advances and advantages of using Web 2.0.
Teachers are overwhelmed by normal duties and often do not have the opportunity to be trained on the technology available at their schools. Why have the computers and programs if most of the staff do not have the comfort zone or the knowledge to incorporate the use of Wikis, school libraries,flickr, etc to their lesson plans. In some cases teachers do not have computer access in their room and they get to go to the computer lab once a month.
Until the funds, training and importance of "Virtual Learning" is recognized by the community, only selective schools, teachers and students will be part of New Schools!
New Tools-New Schools Web 2.0 Chapter 7
This chapter is important because the biggest fear of educators, parents and bloggers deals with the issue of "Safety and Security"! With the changing way information is received nearly everyone uses the web. To protect our young people schools, parents and providers of social networking have to work together to insure the safety and privacy of users of some excellent programs on WEB 2.0.
The reading mentions how quickly things are changing regarding the Web and as the book was written new programs and uses are being created. The nature of the web fascinates our young people and often they are more knowledgeable then teachers or parents.
Monitoring and educating our young to the dangers of predators, porno and false information helps some along with teaching our kids about plagiarism and using words, articles and research that doesn't belong to you is like telling a lie.
One of the great advantages of the Web 2.0 is the ability to have things published and teachers and students be able to edit and add comments on line to help perfect one's writing. Schools that are worried about Security can set up social text programs from their own Servers and only reach within that school community.
An example of using the Web for research in a history class that can easily cause problems would be research on the Renaissance Artists. I had this experience although I had several parent volunteers in our lab one student managed to get photos that were inappropriate for 7th graders. We were suppose to have firewalls and limited access but it still happened. It is mentioned later on in the book that teachers need to be trained to handle the new schools but how can you have the time to do this if it isn't provided?
The reading mentions how quickly things are changing regarding the Web and as the book was written new programs and uses are being created. The nature of the web fascinates our young people and often they are more knowledgeable then teachers or parents.
Monitoring and educating our young to the dangers of predators, porno and false information helps some along with teaching our kids about plagiarism and using words, articles and research that doesn't belong to you is like telling a lie.
One of the great advantages of the Web 2.0 is the ability to have things published and teachers and students be able to edit and add comments on line to help perfect one's writing. Schools that are worried about Security can set up social text programs from their own Servers and only reach within that school community.
An example of using the Web for research in a history class that can easily cause problems would be research on the Renaissance Artists. I had this experience although I had several parent volunteers in our lab one student managed to get photos that were inappropriate for 7th graders. We were suppose to have firewalls and limited access but it still happened. It is mentioned later on in the book that teachers need to be trained to handle the new schools but how can you have the time to do this if it isn't provided?
Saturday, June 12, 2010
Week 8, Lesson 18,19,19A
In this lesson we explored setting up a library reading list and posting some of our favorite reads. I found many people that shared similar tastes in books as I have. It also connected with several book reviews and new comments from others. A good site and very interesting. Below is my URL for the list. I also registered using the name tjobrien the site was Library Thing. www.librarything.com/catalog/tjobrien/yourlibrary This is the library URL.
The next site I investigated was Alaska Digital Pipeline which opens up all sort of availability to kids sites, publications like Science, Smithsonian and New Yorker Book Reviews as well as podcasts and other media. I also signed up on this site but I think I was previously listed as I had used it when teaching for research and homework help for my students. Although I am retired I could see incorporating this site for a 7th grade project on articles relating to Safety and Security on the internet.
The next site I investigated was Alaska Digital Pipeline which opens up all sort of availability to kids sites, publications like Science, Smithsonian and New Yorker Book Reviews as well as podcasts and other media. I also signed up on this site but I think I was previously listed as I had used it when teaching for research and homework help for my students. Although I am retired I could see incorporating this site for a 7th grade project on articles relating to Safety and Security on the internet.
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
Web 2.0 Chapter 1 New World, New Web, New Skills
As I read the Introduction and Chapter 1 in our Web 2.0 book it clarified what the benefits of Web 2.0 are. We are offered a wonderful way to communicate, collaborate,socialize and respond in a rapid way. This new technology with allowing people to write and share on-line with possible immediate responses opens up an innovative way to collaborate in a variety of ways.
Previously, Web 1.0 offered programs that weren't free and often were not easily accessible and may have involved copy right or permission issues. With or changing world and many of our large tech companies farming out the work to countries like China, India and some other countries the United States has to become more competitive and our schools are the tool for teaching how to use this 2.0 technology in the Educational Arena.
Our children learn any computer related program faster than adults and this is shown by how many of our young use Facebook, Twitter and other networking sites. Many of these sites are mentioned in Web 2.0, and can be used for communicating and research when properly taught by their teachers or parents. Students can find free books and programs that would help their education.
Previously, Web 1.0 offered programs that weren't free and often were not easily accessible and may have involved copy right or permission issues. With or changing world and many of our large tech companies farming out the work to countries like China, India and some other countries the United States has to become more competitive and our schools are the tool for teaching how to use this 2.0 technology in the Educational Arena.
Our children learn any computer related program faster than adults and this is shown by how many of our young use Facebook, Twitter and other networking sites. Many of these sites are mentioned in Web 2.0, and can be used for communicating and research when properly taught by their teachers or parents. Students can find free books and programs that would help their education.
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