1. Web2.0 is any tool, program, or product that allows you to access your files where ever you are, when ever you need them by using the internet.
2. DropBox: This is a website that allows people to create a web-based folder in which to put important files, music, videos, pictures, etc that can then be accessed from any computer or internet connection (including phones). The folder is automatically synched when changes are made at any location - so if I, for example, I had one, and I put a new presentation into my folder on my laptop, I could open that presentation on any of the school computers. For me, that means I wouldn't need to carry my laptop around with my where ever I go, or if I forgot it one day, I could access my work using any computer. It also appears that you can share a DropBox folder with someone else, if you wish. That means that students could share their folders with me and would no longer need to email me attachments of their documents for feedback or even to turn them in. It would also mean that not every student is required to have a laptop - they can work from parents' home desktops, put their work into their DropBoxes, and then open up that work at school in the lab.
3. Voice Thread: This tool allows you to upload images and create a narration over them. You can use one slide and simply talk about that, or create a Powerpoint-like slide show and talk through the slides. It creates a web-based way to give presentations. So, if a student had a lasting illness, or had to be out of school for an extended period of time (or even just one day, really), he or she could create a Voice Thread presentation, post it to the web, and I could play it in class in lieu of a live presentation. It is also a good way of reporting on something that is not the usual way of creating a report, which may play to some students strengths in a more equitable way.
Friday, August 27, 2010
Google Drawing
My group had Google Drawing, which is Google's version of MS Paint. It is a drawing tool that can be used to make drawings or illustrations of all kinds, either to stand on their own or to be inserted into other documents. Here are a few of the things you can do with the Drawing tool:
- Create drawings and diagrams that can be inserted into other Google Docs products
- Import and edit images
- Create custom shapes and lines OR insert pre-made shapes and lines (or a combination of both)
- Insert text with your images
Just as with Docs, Drawings can be published and shared with others, to allow multiple editors and artists to work on the same document. Because of this, it makes for an easy way to make collaborative projects - all invited members can contribute to the picture in real time. It cuts down on "waiting for communication" time, as students can all work on the drawing simultaneously without being in the same place, also using gchat to discuss what they are doing while they work. They no longer have to wait for emails, phone calls, or class time for feedback (both from each other and from the instructor) or bounce around ideas. And, since Drawings is pretty easy to use, students can easily teach the program to themselves, both speeding up instruction time and facilitating student-driven (teacher-directed) learning.
For me, this tool was very simple to navigate: Google does a great job of labeling and making clear what each part of the program does. I was able to pick it up quickly and feel as though I was accomplishing a lot with just a few clicks. Also, since another great feature of the Google products is continuous, automatic saving, I never felt as though I couldn't explore - I wasn't worried that I would lose everything I had done, because I was confident that it had been recently saved.
For our group project, we all took some time to explore the program separately, playing around and figuring out what it could do for ourselves. We then conferred, pointing things out that others had missed, and helped Trevor to create our final drawing. All of us contributed to the document as well, making sure we each had input into all of the areas (especially reflection).
- Create drawings and diagrams that can be inserted into other Google Docs products
- Import and edit images
- Create custom shapes and lines OR insert pre-made shapes and lines (or a combination of both)
- Insert text with your images
Just as with Docs, Drawings can be published and shared with others, to allow multiple editors and artists to work on the same document. Because of this, it makes for an easy way to make collaborative projects - all invited members can contribute to the picture in real time. It cuts down on "waiting for communication" time, as students can all work on the drawing simultaneously without being in the same place, also using gchat to discuss what they are doing while they work. They no longer have to wait for emails, phone calls, or class time for feedback (both from each other and from the instructor) or bounce around ideas. And, since Drawings is pretty easy to use, students can easily teach the program to themselves, both speeding up instruction time and facilitating student-driven (teacher-directed) learning.
For me, this tool was very simple to navigate: Google does a great job of labeling and making clear what each part of the program does. I was able to pick it up quickly and feel as though I was accomplishing a lot with just a few clicks. Also, since another great feature of the Google products is continuous, automatic saving, I never felt as though I couldn't explore - I wasn't worried that I would lose everything I had done, because I was confident that it had been recently saved.
For our group project, we all took some time to explore the program separately, playing around and figuring out what it could do for ourselves. We then conferred, pointing things out that others had missed, and helped Trevor to create our final drawing. All of us contributed to the document as well, making sure we each had input into all of the areas (especially reflection).
Saturday, August 21, 2010
So, I have a blog - now what do I do? - Post #2
Blogging is a pretty popular activity these days: from travel blogs, to sports blogs, to food blogs, people like the idea of being able to talk about what they like in public. (Don't we all.) But blogging is a pretty sharp technological tool, if you think about it, and it is interesting to consider how we can use it in the classroom. So, here are a few ideas:
Blog is short for web log - it's a place to log information, to keep a record of thoughts, ideas, projects, and other work. In this regard, just as Barry suggests, it is like a digital portfolio. In today's day and age - the era of the digital native - the concept of a digital rather than paper portfolio is probably more appealing to students than having to keep extensive records and files that invariably get lost, scrambled, and messy. Probably one of the most obvious ways to incorporate blogging into a class room, then, is to have each student create one, and use it to post [informal] work and reflections. That way, they have kept a record of their thought processes and work for later use.
Another way to use a blog is similarly to the way that Willamette uses WISE - as a place for the teacher to post assignments, lesson plans, reminders, et cetera. However, unlike WISE, students can then respond to the teacher - ask questions, clarify assignments or instructions, give their own opinions or ideas. This is a useful, immediate (as long as the teacher and students is good about checking the blog) way to stay in communication about course work.
Something that I have considered is to use blogging in almost a combination of these two previous ways, as a forum for the students and the teacher to interact about assignments and course work - in other words, to use the blog as an extension of classroom discussion, in order to facilitate further conversation. Students from other classes of the same grade level and subject could also be involved, creating a means of cross-class discussion which could open students up to even more opinions and ideas.
Blog is short for web log - it's a place to log information, to keep a record of thoughts, ideas, projects, and other work. In this regard, just as Barry suggests, it is like a digital portfolio. In today's day and age - the era of the digital native - the concept of a digital rather than paper portfolio is probably more appealing to students than having to keep extensive records and files that invariably get lost, scrambled, and messy. Probably one of the most obvious ways to incorporate blogging into a class room, then, is to have each student create one, and use it to post [informal] work and reflections. That way, they have kept a record of their thought processes and work for later use.
Another way to use a blog is similarly to the way that Willamette uses WISE - as a place for the teacher to post assignments, lesson plans, reminders, et cetera. However, unlike WISE, students can then respond to the teacher - ask questions, clarify assignments or instructions, give their own opinions or ideas. This is a useful, immediate (as long as the teacher and students is good about checking the blog) way to stay in communication about course work.
Something that I have considered is to use blogging in almost a combination of these two previous ways, as a forum for the students and the teacher to interact about assignments and course work - in other words, to use the blog as an extension of classroom discussion, in order to facilitate further conversation. Students from other classes of the same grade level and subject could also be involved, creating a means of cross-class discussion which could open students up to even more opinions and ideas.
A bit about me - Post #1
I grew up in Southern California, in a small town called Ojai, nestled in the foothills of the Los Padres National Forest and 20 minutes from the beach. My parents live on a 10-acre orange orchard, and we grow a lot of our own fruits and vegetables. Being outdoors and involved in my food production are important parts of my background that inform how I live today: I enjoy being active, going on camping or hiking adventures, and growing and cooking with whatever herbs or veggies I can.
I am a middle child: my sister is six years older, graduated from Washing University in St. Louis with an MFA, specializing in photography, video art, and print making. My brother is six years younger, involved in sports and music in his high school. Although we are all fairly far apart in age, having siblings has had a profound impact on me and how I think about myself. Apart from them, I have a large, close-knit extended family on both sides, and that sense of family and community plays a large part in my identity. In my family is also based another important part of my self-identity: my mother’s family is Catholic, and my father’s family is Jewish. Although I practice neither religion, I identify culturally with both and have made it a priority to understand their respective customs and practices.
As far as my scholastic interests, I am working on endorsements in both English and Spanish at the high school level. I was a Comparative Literature major in undergrad, with a focus on Latin American literature. I have been studying Spanish since the second grade, and I studied abroad in both Spain and Ecuador. Literature is a passion of mine, and has been since an early age, and that is where my teaching interest most strongly lies, both in English and in Spanish. It is my belief that the study of literature is the study of human beings, and it is first and foremost the most effective tool we have for studying the human condition.
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