This week for class we were to explore a new Web 2.0 application/tool that hasn't been brought up in class yet. I decided to research and explore QR codes since I've bene quite intrigued by them but didn't know much about them. QR (Quick Response) codes are 2D bar codes that can store much more information than the tradition bar code that you see on products at the store. Now that I know what they are and how to create them, I am looking at how I can use them in the classroom. I've seen blog posts from people explaining how they use them in the classroom - to share answers to worksheets with students, more information about a particular topic, a link to a YouTube video, create a scavenger hunt around school, and so much more.
The other assignment that is coming due next class is to create a Google site or a wiki. I have many wikis for my classes as well as my tech coach position where I share information/links/resources as well as my embedded Google calendar to let the teachers know where I will be & when. Instead of creating a new wiki or site, I have been spending my time re-vamping my existing wiki to make it more user-friendly and easy to navigate. It is always difficult spending time on something that you aren't sure is going to get used by other people but even if other people aren't utilizing the resources/information, at least it is helping me stay organized and definitely cuts down on the prep time for me when I have to give presentations or inservices on various tech related topics.
Sunday, January 30, 2011
Sunday, January 23, 2011
CEDO 535 Week 4
This week in class we are looking at social bookmarking, podcasts & screencasts, social networks, & microblogging (Twitter). I've been using these tools for quite some time now. I look at social bookmarking & Twitter as going hand-in-hand. While I'm on Twitter, I'm not sure how I would keep track of or organize all of the resources I gather in just one hour on Twitter. I mainly used Delicious but recently have exported all of my bookmarks to Diigo after the talks of Delicous's possible demise and/or sale by Yahoo! I just wanted to be safe so I imported all of my Delicious bookmarks into my Diigo account. I've been using Diigo since mid-December & it works just as easy as Delicious.
I've also used Facebook (social network) in order to keep in touch with family and friends across the miles. Actually, the main reason I joined Facebook was to share pictures of my son when he was born (instead of emailing pictures, etc). My brother lives in Florida so it is a great way for him to see pictures of the kids since he only gets to see them a few times a year (and thank goodness for Skype as well!) :). There have been talks about teachers using Facebook for school purposes as long as the teacher has a separate school & personal Facebook account. I'm still on the fence with that issue. I totally see the value in teachers connect with students to share news, assignments, etc since they practically live on Facebook anyway but I want to see a policy in place to lay out the guidelines, etc before I'm jumping on board with that. I know our school has a general Facebook profile that is mainly used by alumni to stay in contact with fellow classmates & get any school updates that relate to them.
The last two applications, podcasts & screencasts, I have the least amount of experience. I've made a few "how to" videos for a teacher who was leading a committee and wanted to set up a wiki and an etherpad for group collaboration. I couldn't be at the meeting to explain the tools so I created a screencast for a few "how to's". I didn't use an official "screencast" application but simply used my Flip video camera to record myself going through the steps as I narrated as well. I also used the Windows 7 Problem Steps Recorder to show teachers how to create a Custom Google Search. It turned out really neat; it took a screenshot of each step I did in the process as well as the narration below each image. It was super easy to use! To find out more information about it, go here.
I'd love for my students in Web Tools to create podcasts & screencasts of various Web 2.0 applications that they explore so they can be shared with teachers as they have questions about that specific tool/application. It would be neat to have a wiki full of "how to" tutorials that are student created. I think I'm going to add that to my list of activities for that class...
I've also used Facebook (social network) in order to keep in touch with family and friends across the miles. Actually, the main reason I joined Facebook was to share pictures of my son when he was born (instead of emailing pictures, etc). My brother lives in Florida so it is a great way for him to see pictures of the kids since he only gets to see them a few times a year (and thank goodness for Skype as well!) :). There have been talks about teachers using Facebook for school purposes as long as the teacher has a separate school & personal Facebook account. I'm still on the fence with that issue. I totally see the value in teachers connect with students to share news, assignments, etc since they practically live on Facebook anyway but I want to see a policy in place to lay out the guidelines, etc before I'm jumping on board with that. I know our school has a general Facebook profile that is mainly used by alumni to stay in contact with fellow classmates & get any school updates that relate to them.
The last two applications, podcasts & screencasts, I have the least amount of experience. I've made a few "how to" videos for a teacher who was leading a committee and wanted to set up a wiki and an etherpad for group collaboration. I couldn't be at the meeting to explain the tools so I created a screencast for a few "how to's". I didn't use an official "screencast" application but simply used my Flip video camera to record myself going through the steps as I narrated as well. I also used the Windows 7 Problem Steps Recorder to show teachers how to create a Custom Google Search. It turned out really neat; it took a screenshot of each step I did in the process as well as the narration below each image. It was super easy to use! To find out more information about it, go here.
I'd love for my students in Web Tools to create podcasts & screencasts of various Web 2.0 applications that they explore so they can be shared with teachers as they have questions about that specific tool/application. It would be neat to have a wiki full of "how to" tutorials that are student created. I think I'm going to add that to my list of activities for that class...
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
Sunday, January 16, 2011
CEDO 535 Week 3
This week one of the main applications explored was RSS feeds. Five years ago I worked for an entrepreneurship website in its beta stage gathering entrepreneurial resources. In order to find the latest articles and resources I set up RSS feeds (first I started using Google Alerts but then migrated over to using RSS feeds because then all of the resources were in one place & I could quickly scan through them to see if they were "post worthy". Since leaving that position I haven't used RSS feeds much but now that I'm reading more blogs on a regular basis I've decided to re-establish using this tool. I like the idea of the updates all being in one place rather than having to go to each site individually to see if any new changes have been made.
Many people worry about adding one more thing to their plate & often say, "I don't have time for (you fill in the blank)" when it comes to new tech tools/applications. I can't tell you how many times I've gotten that response when talking to teachers about Twitter..."I don't have time for that!" If they only new how much time it saves me, just like RSS feeds, because the information/resources COME TO ME! I don't have to do any work finding the resources....zero time spent researching. It only takes me time to quickly determine if it is something I want to read through in more detail, "favorite" to read in greater detail at a later time, or take a few minutes to read through at that moment. I don't quite get it...if it is something that is going to make your life easier, why not take the hour (if that) to set up your account and subscribe to some sites/blogs/etc? The amount of time it takes to set up the account will quickly be made up in the time you will save finding resources later since you don't have to find them....they find you. :)
Many people worry about adding one more thing to their plate & often say, "I don't have time for (you fill in the blank)" when it comes to new tech tools/applications. I can't tell you how many times I've gotten that response when talking to teachers about Twitter..."I don't have time for that!" If they only new how much time it saves me, just like RSS feeds, because the information/resources COME TO ME! I don't have to do any work finding the resources....zero time spent researching. It only takes me time to quickly determine if it is something I want to read through in more detail, "favorite" to read in greater detail at a later time, or take a few minutes to read through at that moment. I don't quite get it...if it is something that is going to make your life easier, why not take the hour (if that) to set up your account and subscribe to some sites/blogs/etc? The amount of time it takes to set up the account will quickly be made up in the time you will save finding resources later since you don't have to find them....they find you. :)
Sunday, January 9, 2011
CEDO 535 Week 2
This week we were to examine some more resources and information on blogs, wikis, photo sharing, and Twitter. I've used blogs, wikis, and Twitter personally and professionally but haven't done much with photo sharing. The main method I use to share photos with my family and friends is via Facebook. I'm not sure how I would integrate photo sharing into my content area or why I might use this tool with students. I can certainly see this being integrated very nicely into the arts but right now I'm stuck with how I might use this tool in my business classes.
As mentioned before, I've used blogs with my students but would like to use blogs in more of my classes. Right now I only use the tool in my Web Tools class but could see it fitting nicely especially in my Intro to Business class. One topic we cover in that class is investments, specifically stocks. It would be cool to have a weekly blog discussion about the happenings of the economy and the effects on the market, current events that discuss the market, or news bits about specific companies.
This is my second year using wikis as my online tool for all of my classes. My school subscribes to a service for all teachers to have a webpage but it is very limiting. One can only have 30 documents, 30 links, 30 pictures, and a few more options. It is extremely difficult to embed any Web 2.0 application unless one can stumble through turning on the source code and working with the HTML code. Instead of putting up a few documents for each class at a time on my teacher webpage and then having to delete the documents to free up space for new documents (and having to do this over and over through out the year), I have created a wiki for each of my classes, put basic information on my teacher webpage, and use the wiki as my main resource to organize all of my class content. I post all of my handouts digitally so the amount of copies I have had to make since I've started using wikis has been cut down tremendously. I used to go in over the weekend to run copies or spend hours a week at the copy machine. It would be really neat to get a report on my usage from this year and last and compare it to my first 4 years at Xavier to see how much paper I'm saving. :) In many of my classes I will have my students do an online poll or a Wallwisher as a KWL or something like that. I'm able to easily embed these other applications right on the wiki so the students can easily review what was created. By having it embedded right on the wiki, they don't have to remember a link to the other application which is nice. I also have a Google calendar embedded on each wiki so I can quickly and easily update what was covered each day, plot test dates as soon as I know when they will be, etc. This makes it easy for the students to plan ahead and also know the basics of what they missed if they are absent.
Finally, after being introduced to Twitter 2 years ago, I thought the same thing that many people probably think....First, I don't have time for this. Second, I don't care to know if people are going to coffee or walking their dog. After hearing so many good things about Twitter from a friend I finally decided to sign up and see what all this talk was about. I can say with confidence that Twitter is the tool that has changed my professional development and learning of new technology applications and ways to integrate it. I've realized that I don't have to have time for Twitter....There are times that I'm on Twitter every day during a week but there are also times that I don't get to go on Twitter for a few weeks because life is crazy. Twitter SAVES me time because the resources come to me; I don't have to seek out the resources so in the end it saves me time! Also, the wonderful people in my PLN (personal learning network) are so generous and share so many valuable resources or helpful tips. If you are new to Twitter, I have 2 tips for you. Find 2 or 3 people that have similar interests/content area/etc. All you need to do is find 2 or 3 good people to follow; from there, just look at the people they are following and branch out to follow some of the people they are following. Second, develop a method to organize all of the resources that you are going to get. I used Delicious (social bookmarking) but they are no longer. I also have an account with Diigo (another social bookmarking site) so I've now imported all of my bookmarks to Diigo. For those new to social bookmarking, think of it as your online version of "My Favorites". The wonderful benefit of organizing your resources with a social bookmarking site is that they are stored online and not to a specific computer. I can access my Diigo bookmarks at home or work or wherever I can access the Internet. Also, if something happens to my computer I know I won't lose all of the resources I've gathered because they are stored online & not to that specific computer. For those new to Twitter, don't be scared off....It isn't all about knowing where the Hollywood stars are going for coffee or if someone chipped a nail. This used to be the reputation Twitter had but educators have figured out its potential. I hope you do as well... See you in the Twitterverse! :)
As mentioned before, I've used blogs with my students but would like to use blogs in more of my classes. Right now I only use the tool in my Web Tools class but could see it fitting nicely especially in my Intro to Business class. One topic we cover in that class is investments, specifically stocks. It would be cool to have a weekly blog discussion about the happenings of the economy and the effects on the market, current events that discuss the market, or news bits about specific companies.
This is my second year using wikis as my online tool for all of my classes. My school subscribes to a service for all teachers to have a webpage but it is very limiting. One can only have 30 documents, 30 links, 30 pictures, and a few more options. It is extremely difficult to embed any Web 2.0 application unless one can stumble through turning on the source code and working with the HTML code. Instead of putting up a few documents for each class at a time on my teacher webpage and then having to delete the documents to free up space for new documents (and having to do this over and over through out the year), I have created a wiki for each of my classes, put basic information on my teacher webpage, and use the wiki as my main resource to organize all of my class content. I post all of my handouts digitally so the amount of copies I have had to make since I've started using wikis has been cut down tremendously. I used to go in over the weekend to run copies or spend hours a week at the copy machine. It would be really neat to get a report on my usage from this year and last and compare it to my first 4 years at Xavier to see how much paper I'm saving. :) In many of my classes I will have my students do an online poll or a Wallwisher as a KWL or something like that. I'm able to easily embed these other applications right on the wiki so the students can easily review what was created. By having it embedded right on the wiki, they don't have to remember a link to the other application which is nice. I also have a Google calendar embedded on each wiki so I can quickly and easily update what was covered each day, plot test dates as soon as I know when they will be, etc. This makes it easy for the students to plan ahead and also know the basics of what they missed if they are absent.
Finally, after being introduced to Twitter 2 years ago, I thought the same thing that many people probably think....First, I don't have time for this. Second, I don't care to know if people are going to coffee or walking their dog. After hearing so many good things about Twitter from a friend I finally decided to sign up and see what all this talk was about. I can say with confidence that Twitter is the tool that has changed my professional development and learning of new technology applications and ways to integrate it. I've realized that I don't have to have time for Twitter....There are times that I'm on Twitter every day during a week but there are also times that I don't get to go on Twitter for a few weeks because life is crazy. Twitter SAVES me time because the resources come to me; I don't have to seek out the resources so in the end it saves me time! Also, the wonderful people in my PLN (personal learning network) are so generous and share so many valuable resources or helpful tips. If you are new to Twitter, I have 2 tips for you. Find 2 or 3 people that have similar interests/content area/etc. All you need to do is find 2 or 3 good people to follow; from there, just look at the people they are following and branch out to follow some of the people they are following. Second, develop a method to organize all of the resources that you are going to get. I used Delicious (social bookmarking) but they are no longer. I also have an account with Diigo (another social bookmarking site) so I've now imported all of my bookmarks to Diigo. For those new to social bookmarking, think of it as your online version of "My Favorites". The wonderful benefit of organizing your resources with a social bookmarking site is that they are stored online and not to a specific computer. I can access my Diigo bookmarks at home or work or wherever I can access the Internet. Also, if something happens to my computer I know I won't lose all of the resources I've gathered because they are stored online & not to that specific computer. For those new to Twitter, don't be scared off....It isn't all about knowing where the Hollywood stars are going for coffee or if someone chipped a nail. This used to be the reputation Twitter had but educators have figured out its potential. I hope you do as well... See you in the Twitterverse! :)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)