iMovie: NETS-T II

iMovie PSA from Kayla Richardson on Vimeo.

I created a short 40 second PSA about the CSUSM campus using iMovie. I used different clips of films and added music to the background with small amounts of text about CSUSM. I also added transitions and different effects that iMovie has to offer to make it more visual pleasing.

Wiki Page: NETS-T V

This is a wiki page that I created based on GoogleSites. I gave information about why it would be advantageous to use it in the classroom, some recommendations when using the program, and maybe why it would not be as successful in some classrooms/situations. The purpose of a wiki page is to post information that would be useful to others and, furthermore, by being members of the page, you can contribute ideas, thoughts, and suggestions of your own.

Journal #9 "Scribble Maps Helps Students Visualize Their Worlds" NETS-T III

Hill, W. (2010, November). Scribble maps helps students visualize their world. learning and leading through technology, 38(3), Retrieved from http://www.learningandleading-digital.com/learning_leading/201011?pg=43&pm=2&fs=1#pg43

 Summary
Wanda Hill, the author of the article, describes being fascinated by geography as a young student and the difficulties with creating the same excitement for students today--in a time where classrooms are driven by standards and tests. In light of her frustration, Hill introduces a new web-based map program called Scribble Maps. Through Scribble Maps, users can create maps full of color, adding pictures and text boxes for information. Users can also view their maps in standard map view, satellite view, hybrid view, and night sky. Hill describes a school in Washington who used Scribble Maps to study their state. Students were able to embed pictures and information relating to population, historical sites, landmarks, industry, and climate.  Another project Hill describes was with a fifth grade class who study four biomes connected to historical parks; including the climate, plant life, and animal life found in each. The students learned about  the ecosystems found there and how they survive in that environment, moreover, it was relevant because these parks were in Washington where the students could actually visit.

Q#1- What else can students learn from using Scribble Maps?

Through Scribble Maps students learn a lot about research and research tools. In order to create a map a lot of knowledge needs to be known, for example, what animals live there, what bodies of water are within proximity, important landmarks, and any other fun facts. Students will learn how to research this information using the internet or print media. Using Scribble Maps in this manner is a lot like doing a research report without having to write a  lengthy research paper.

Q#2- What if students do not have access to computers?

Like always, I suggest using class time in order to get projects like these accomplished. The program is free, which is convenient, and as long as a computer has internet they can be accessed at anytime. It is advantageous if students do have a computer at home to work with, however, with the time permitted in class it should be sufficient to get the project complete.

Inspiration: NETS- T III

Inspiration is a unique way to form diagrams and create visual representations of information. It is very much like a blank canvas allowing for a lot of creativity and inventiveness. I created a tree diagram to illustrate how the artifacts I have created through Education 422 have met the NETS-T.

Journal #8 "I Can See Me: Webcams In The Classroom" NETS-T II

Frey, T, Houlton, A, & Gruis, E. (2010, November). I can see me: webcams in the classroom. Learning and leading with technology, 38(3), Retrieved from http://www.iste.org/learn/publications/learning-and-leading/digital-edition-november.aspx

Summary
I'd like to start by saying, this article was really interesting. Incorporating webcams into the classroom started with a third grader named Sam, who was having trouble with his reading skills. Sam didn't enjoy reading at all or aloud to the rest of the class. His teacher had an idea of having him read in front of a webcam so he could see himself and correct his errors. It turned out to be a great idea and Sam, and now other students who are using the webcam as a tool, have greatly increased their reading skills. The webcam is also used for academic skills such as listening comprehension and spelling. Another advantage to using the webcam is that students can videotape themselves or audiotape themselves and then share their work and ideas online via social networking sites, DVDs, emails, or just loading it on to flash drives. Again it's just another tool to open up the doors to more opportunities.

Q#1- What's another way to use the webcam in the classroom?
The first thing I thought of after reading this article was using the webcam to practice giving speeches. So many students, actually people in general, fear public speaking. A great way to practice would be using the webcam. Although it is different because you are just staring at yourself and not a classroom of 30 people, it still allows you to work on skills like looking up and making eye contact and not moving around a lot. Students can record themselves and play it back to see what needs improvements and what they did well.

Q#2- How do you get webcams in the classroom?
Like everything they cost money but are fairly inexpensive. Also, a webcam for each computer would be unnecessary; I would imagine that 10 or so per classroom would be plentiful and like many activities that take place in the classroom the webcams can be set up as stations where kids take turns using them. Some sort of rotation could be put into place so everyone gets a turn. Just like using the computer to write word documents, students can use the webcams each week to better their reading skills.

Journal 7: My Personal Learning Network NETS-T V

My Personal Learning Network is in development so it is not terribly large yet. I am currently following six people on Twitter, some of which are individual people involved in the educational field and others that are educational organizations. On Delicious I have seven people in my network of the same variety as I mentioned with Twitter. The purpose of my PLN is to be in contact with other individuals who have the same common interest of education. By doing so, we can bounce ideas off one another and it is a very give-take type of relationship. An advantage is that it's not necessary to personally know these people, I can just follow them to see what new things they discovered or are incorporating into their classroom.

The people I am following on twitter are all educators themselves except for one (one is an education and technology organization). What they all have in common is the passion for teaching and the determination of incorporating more technology into the classroom. I chose to add these people as my followers because I liked that they were just regular teachers with a common cause. That is to say, I will one day be a teacher like themselves so what they say is very relevant to me. I chose to participate in a middle school topic discussion using twitter (#midleved), and it was very interesting. The chat went on all day long and it was simply anything involving middle school. People were tweeting about what they were doing in their classroom that day, what units they were working on, lesson plans they found useful--all kinds of stuff. It was basically just a period of complete resources. I liked it a lot. It was a very fast paced chat and tweets were continually popping up, however, no two were the same; everything everyone tweeted was unique and I liked that a lot.

From this assignment, I gathered that I like Delicious more than Twitter. I like the more slow pace of Delicious and that comments (tweets) are not constantly popping up making it hard to follow at times. The way I found people was by searching education and then adding technology to make it more narrow. I got a lot of results and ended up searching a few pages and adding people who I thought were interesting. I bookmarked the pages I did because they were all tools I could see myself using. I bookmarked a digital storytelling tool, tutorials on using google and using google in unique ways, an article on cyber safety and the prevention of cyber bullying, and the last was a website on integrating different technologies into the classroom.

Finally, I joined The Educator's PLN and I watched a video about using Google Calendar as a way to lesson plan. It was actually very useful and something I could definitely see myself using. The narrator of the video describes how it's so useful and beneficial to have lesson plans on GoogleDocs so you never loose track of anything, you can access it from any computer at anytime, and lastly because it keeps your desk a lot more neat! And I love organization!

Internet Safety Google Site: NETS-T IV

I created a collaborative website with two other classmates about cybersafety and ways to be responsible citizens while on the web. It was created through GoogleSites, so it was free and also made it accessible to every group member--allowing us to work on it at our own convenience.