Week 15: Games for Teaching and Learning

This week we read and found out about games and their influence on education.  More specifically, we looked at Second Life.  I have never heard of Second Life before and was certainly surprised when I saw the video about what Second Life is.  It is basically a virtual world in which people live.  However, this is completely virtual and on the computer.  One can live as if he or she is in the real-world.  Educational aspects are also incorporated and there are games that help students read, write, and do math.  I think that as far as education is concerned, Second Life is a great invention.  This is a fun way for students to learn and can easily keep them interested.  However, I think that this can also be detrimental because it can have a potentially negative impact on real-world socializing.  Students can start to rely on the virtual world too much and forget that they are indeed in the real-world and forget how to communicate with people.  I always think that as far as computers and virtual games are concerned, there needs to be monitoring.

As a teacher, I would definitely look into using Second Life or something similar to it.  I think that gaming is a great way for students to learn and to stay engaged.  However, as mentioned, I think that computer games should be supplementary to the teacher actually teaching.  I would not treat computer games as a lecture, but would include them as an addition to a lecture.  This way students can reinforce what they learned form me through a more interactive way (by students' standards).

I found a quick review about Second Life on YouTube.  This video looks at how Second Life can help students with exam reviews.  The video uses the SAT and the ACT to show how students can have review sessions through Princeton Review in the virtual world.  I think that this is a great way to get some important information about education and the exams that are necessary for college entrance.

Week 14: Distance Education and Virtual Schooling

This week we looked at distance eduction and virtual schooling, as in online schools and classes.  This is yet another way that technology has been changing education.  Having all of our classes online is now a possibility.  There are even online colleges where a person can receive a degree without ever stepping foot in a classroom.  This is certainly due to the new technological resources.  As noted in class, there are a lot of benefits to online education, students can, in a way, be their own teachers and follow their own pace.  Nonetheless, I think that it is important to limit entire online education, because communicating and socializing with other students is limited.  Also, we looked at how gaming has an effect on education.  Some of the websites that are posted for this week are extremely helpful to students and teachers.  For example, Star Fall has a word hunt which students can use to practice words and spelling.  Another site, Planet Buster, lets students do math problems.  All of these are beneficial to students.  They also use technology, the computer and the internet, which is becoming more and more popular in classrooms and something that just about all students are familiar with.

I think that using technology and websites, especially the ones that are presented in this class, is a great way to engage students.  I think that they can easily mix education and fun.  A lot of students can be impatient when they need to use a paper and pencil to do work, so being able to go on the computer to complete assignments would certainly be more fun.  Also, I think that a lot of students will go on the computer and will play games anyway, so we might as well provide them with educational activities and games.  As a teacher, I will definitely look up websites that students can use to help them with classwork and homework.  I think that by the time I become a teacher, technology will be even more advanced, therefore, I need to prepare for this fact.

This video discusses virtual schooling.  The video recognizes some of the benefits of virtual schools by looking at a young student who is able to pursue here athletics as well as her academics. Virtual schooling helps her stay on track with education as well as providing her with the time to practice tennis and travel for tournaments.  This certain virtual school is free and provides books and computers for students to use.  The parents also see the benefits and entirely agree to this type of schooling.  This video is good at showing some of the benefits that students experience because of online schooling.

Week 13: Web Presence

This week we learned about making our own website.  We went over the importance of having a website, especially for work purposes.  Making a website appear professional is extremely important because potential employers will be viewing the page.  We will be using Google Sites to make out own websites.  These will include a welcome page, a personal page, a page with our portfolio and our resume.  Theses are all a great way for employers to get to know a person.  We were also able to read up on distance education and the many aspects of it, both negative and positive.  Technology is highly important in distance education because a lot of the coursework, if not most of it, is done on the computer and online.  Many of the assignments are turned in online, as with the Florida Virtual School.

Distance education is important for me to know and be familiar with because teachers are involved in teaching these courses, even if they are online and no formal contact is made with the teacher.  I also need to be aware of distance education, in case I need to teach an online course, especially with older-age students.  Distance education is in the education field and as a teacher I need to know about this.  Additionally, creating a website can be beneficial for teachers.  This can be used to find jobs (when applying) and to share information with students and parents.

Here is a YouTube video which explains the process of setting up a Google Site.  The narrator goes over everything that we did in class in order to set up our own sites.  This is great to look at for further help, as well as many of the other videos that are on YouTube.

Week 12: Social Tools and Cloud Computing

Today we began by learning about cloud computing, which means that we can save and use applications on the web without having to actually use the same computer to access that information.  The whole idea is that we know that cloud computing is there without really knowing how it works.  One such example is Google Docs.  We went over how to open up Google Doc and actually use it.  We also discussed Social Bookmarking and one site that we went over is Delicious.  Delicious allows for people to bookmark web pages and save them, so that they can be accessed on any computer.  Delicious is very organized in that it lets people tag their bookmarks so that they can easily find a certain bookmark in the future.  Delicious functions similar to the tabs on our computer, however, the Delicious web page can be accessed from any computer, which is very convenient.

Social tools are very helpful for teachers.  Teachers can share web pages, websites, and information through Delicious.  Everyone can view each others bookmarks and this allows for easy sharing.  Teachers can take advantage of this and help each other out.  As a teacher, I would like to use Delicious to bookmark web pages about lesson plans.  Then I can share these pages with other teachers who can also benefit form the information.  Additionally, Google Docs can be used to interact with students as well as parents.  Also, students can collaborate and work on group assignments using Google Docs.

This article is an interesting one, because it discusses Google Docs and the competing apps from Microsoft.  It introduces topics and then explains which features fare better.  This article goes along with what we learned in class about Google Docs and the real time collaboration that Google Docs is famous for.

Week 11: Open Source Software

This week we did not have class, however, we had to read up on Open Source Software.  This was the first time that I heard about this free software and I was really excited to look into it.  Open Source is free for anyone to download to their computer and includes programs just like Microsoft Word, Excel, Spreadsheet, and even Photoshop.  It was interesting to see all the programs that can actually be downloaded for free to someone's computer, instead of having to pay the hefty price for these programs.  OpenOffice.org is great to have because with it, a person can get all the essential programs for free.  Source Forge also provides people with numerous programs that can be downloaded to the computer.

When I become a teacher, I will certainly advocate and advertise open source software, because it is a shame that so many people do not know about it.  This will be something that I would let the parents know about.  They can download these programs for their children while their kids are still young, so that parents do not have to spend so much on buying the programs.  Also, I will let the school administrators know about open source and other teachers as well.  I think since school budgets are so tight, it is important to know about this free software.

This is a video from YouTube that discusses a few open source programs.  The lady in the video talks about Open Office as well as Mozilla Firefox and many other programs.  She actually goes on to define what open source actually is and gives examples of how open source is made.  This is a great video for people who want more information about open source programs and it even parallels with what we learned in class.

Week 10: Spring Break :)

My Podcast

My podcast is a fun little poem by a children's author named Jack Prelutsky.  As well as being funny and interesting this poem is for children and this is a poem that I would certainly read to students in my class one day.  I think that podcasts are important as far as presentations are concerned, because they can be downloaded and listened to whenever.  For example, I can record lectures and my students can download them and listen to them on their own time.  Podcasts can also be crucial for online or distance classes.  Teachers can record their lectures and presentations and send them out to students, who can then get the information without having to be in a real-time classroom.   

Week 9: Podcasting

We learned the way to Podcast during today's class.  We need to use that information to make our own 30 second podcast and upload it online.  A podcast is interesting because it can be uploaded over and over and followers can continually download a person's podcast, either on their computer or their mp3 players.  Podcasts are mp3's so it is easy to download them.  We also looked at Mac's Garage Band, which allows for its users to easily create a podcast.  It is relatively simple to do since the program basically does it all.

I think that making a podcast can be useful in the classroom because it can be used to send students lectures and assignments.  If I am not able to go over something in class, then I can easily created a podcast, upload it onto a class website, and send it out to students.  Additionally, I think that podcasts are great for staying in contact with parents as well.  It is important for parents to be aware of what is happening in the classroom and this way I can have a "podcast newsletter" for the parents.  I can inform them of the general happenings in the classroom.  I think that a podcasts is a fun and effective way to reach both students and parents.

This video from YouTube discusses how podcasts can be used in the classroom.  The speaker takes into account that students are very well knowledgeable on new technological tools and that podcasts are great way to engage the students.  He mentions that podcasts are new and that they are still interesting enough to keep the students engaged, as opposed to having them read books all the time.  This video is good for teachers to look at to get some basic information about podcasts and it can be a stepping stone to finding out more information.
  

Week 8: Digital Storytelling

Digital storytelling is certainly a new and modern way to look at and present information.  Digital storytelling is important in a number of fields, such as business, education, technology, and entertainment.  Digital storytelling presents information in an exciting way and with so much information in the world, it becomes necessary to be creative in order to gain an audience and keep the audience engaged.  Using audio is often a part of digital storytelling which can help to capture an audience.  Audio has become increasingly popular in our society, especially with the use of mp3 players.  Today, music is able to be downloaded on phones and listened to.  Our technology has certainly come a long way from Walkman's.

I think that teaching incorporates a lot of digital storytelling.  As mentioned before in my previous blog, Smart Boards are becoming more and more common in classrooms.  They allow for teachers to present information in an efficient and effective way.  Smart Boards can also incorporate digital storytelling because they allow for teacher to include pictures, videos, and music in the learning experience.  Students can experience learning in a new and interesting way.  These new technological improvements can also help to engage students, because they can make their own digital stories and easily present them in class.

Here is great information on digital storytelling and how it can be included in education to facilitate learning.  A PDF file is available and it can be a great tool for teachers if they choose to teach through digital storytelling.  On page in particular is informative because it discusses the "learning power of digital storytelling."  There are also videos that teachers can look at to better prepare themselves and understand the effects of digital storytelling.    
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This is my Digital Story.  I used photos that I took from a few of my summer road trips to numerous National Parks in the West and Southwest.


Create your own video slideshow at animoto.com.

I will use digital storytelling because it is a creative way to organize information.  I think that in the teaching field, as in many other fields, information can often times get a little boring.  Using digital storytelling can spice up a presentation and make it enjoyable.  I am always interested to see what type of details are added to a presentation, and this can be in the form of pictures, videos, or even music.  I feel that digital storytelling allows for all three of these to be incorporated to make information fun to watch and listen to.

Week 7: Visual Literacy

This week we expanded on the visual literacy content we learned last week and also learned about digital storytelling.  We were shown a video about the importance of visual literacy and how everywhere we look we see images and most of these images tell a certain story.  We also learned that a digital story is a visual-narrative that tells a story through the use of images, videos, and music.  We were also taught how to make a digital story on our own using internet resources.  It is interesting how a few pictures can actually turn into a story and can be something really meaningful to people.  Furthermore, we will be making our own Photoshop project in which we manipulate images to make our own story.  This will incorporate both our knowledge of Photoshop and digital storytelling.

This information is important to the field of teaching because it incorporates a lot of creativity.  I believe that children should be able to show their creativity in all that they do and digital storytelling is certainly something that allows for this.  Digital storytelling is also great for presentation purposes.  When preparing a project, students can easily use images, music, and videos to make a presentation more interesting and exciting.  Also, digital storytelling is a great way to keep students interested.  It is a fun way to do assignments and a fun way to do and compile research.  

The website The Educational Uses of Digital Storytelling is great at describing what digital storytelling is and how it related to the field of education.  There are numerous examples on this website that incorporate different school subjects.  The site also helps and prepares a person to make their own digital story.  There is also a section about Web 2.0, which we learned about earlier in this class.  This website is certainly educational and is very useful for educators.   
 

Week 6: Media and Information Literacy

We were introduced to visual literacy this week and the effects of images.  Even though images have no words, they do say a lot.  One example is the bathroom sign.  The figures of the male and female are universal for bathroom and no matter where a person is and in what country a person is, he or she will always know that the lady in the skirt and the gentleman symbolize the female and male bathrooms.  Images provide us with a lot of information without the actual words.  It is actually pretty amazing the effect that images have on our society.  We were then introduced to Photoshop.  We started out first Photoshop project and were shown how to use some of the different features. 

I believe that Photoshop is certainly important as far as creativity is concerned.  I would like for my students to use all of their resources and I think that Photoshop is certainly a resources that allows for them to experiment.  I think that Photoshop can also be used for a lot of class projects and it is a fun and exciting way to do assignments.

This video that I found on YouTube is great at explaining visual literacy and showing examples.  It goes with what we learned in class about how images can be read into and interpreted.  The video also explains in the end how it is important to teach children about visual literacy and reading these signs in order for proper growth and development.

Week 5: Tech Tools for Critical Thinking

During the 5th week of class, we learned how to use technological tools and apply them to our fields of study and professions.  First off, we looked at Webspiration and were taught how to construct maps and organize our thoughts.  This is definitely a useful tool, especially for outline making in order to write an essay.  It is also good for organizing ideas, especially for people who are spacial learners.  Going off of learning theories, we were also given information about the different learning theories.  These include Behaviorism, Information Process Theroy, and Constructivism.  These are further explained in the presentation, however, the main idea that I got from the video is that it is important to incorporate all different types of learning styles in order to reach all of your audience.  Moreover, we looked at what Open Source Software is and what its benefits are.  Open Source Software allows users to use the software and work the software in a way that benefits them.  This is especially important in order for people to share information and collaborate.  One such software is Wordle, which allows for easy organization.

I enjoyed looking over Wordle and its benefits for teachers and education.  I definitely see many uses for Wordle once I become a teacher.  I think that it is a great and creative way for students to organize their thoughts and their information.  In today's technological world, it is important for education to keep up and I think that such fun resources, like Wordle and Webspiration, are necessary in order for students to stay engaged.

I looked up the following video on YouTube because I found Wordle very interesting and wanted to know more about using it.  The video shows how to copy and paste the information that you want to incorporate and also how to play around with the settings, such as font, color, layout, to make the Wordle your own.

Social Tools for Education

Here is the Webspiration for Social Tools in Education.

Week 4: Copyright, Plagiarism, and Ethical Issues

This week we read about copyright laws as well as fair use and other ethical issues.  We read information on what exactly copyright laws are, what they are needed for, and why they are important.  I learned that copyright laws are necessary in order for authors to protect their original ideas.  It is important to give credit to the people who came up with the ideas.  In order to use peoples' information and their ideas users need to read up on fair use rights so that they understand what information they can use and how.

For me it is important to understand copyright laws, fair use, and plagiarism because I need to be able to teach students that plagiarism is wrong and teach them the correct ways in which to use resources.  If I do not understand the copyright rules then it is impossible for me to teach others.  Also, the tools and resources that I will use in class have certain copyright laws that I need to be aware of when planning my lessons and using other people's ides.   

I looked at a website that offers some general information about copyright laws and fair use for teachers.  This website related directly to what we learned in class as well as to the occupation that I want to pursue.   

Week 3: Web 2.0

This week we were introduced with information that describes some important changes that have occurred to the internet.  Our digital world has become very modernized and with it so has the internet.  The internet now functions as Web 2.0 which allows users to interact much more with internet applications as well as socialize with others who are using similar applications.  Before, users were only able to look up and read information on the web and now they are much more involved with the web and can make their own websites, blogs, and participate in social networks.  We also looked at numerous tools which allow web users to look at information as well as subscribe and socialize with others who are online.  There are tons and tons of tools that a person can view and sites that users can visit relating to any topic that a user can think of.  It is very interesting to see all the ways in which people can socialize today.

As an elementary school teacher, it is important for me to be aware of the benefits of the interactive web.  Students are now being taught more and more using internet tools and applications and I need to be up to date on all of the web's possibilities.  Socializing with parents could also be done through social networks or internet tools, such as a blog, and I need to be aware of the types that are out there.  Furthermore, there are a lot of homework help websites that students can access and, as a teacher, I should be able to provide them with the links so that they know what is available to them.  Overall, as someone who will one day be educating others, I find it necessary for me to know the current events and happening on the web.

This video that I found on YouTube explains the main difference between the old web, Web 1.0, and the new web, Web 2.0.  The purpose of the video is evident in that it shows that Web 2.0 allows users to interact with each other and share information through many different technological means.  Users can share information on a more global scale.         

Copyright Law- Embedding a Video

I found this video on YouTube and taught it was very interesting.  This video is a bit different in that it discusses the negative effects of copyright laws.  The presenter shows numerous variations of videos made by people of songs that are extremely popular in our culture.  He attempts to explain how people are expressing and sharing their creativity with the world and that because of copyright laws, these people could be silenced.  What I found even more interesting was when he talks about a mother who uploads a video of her young baby dancing to a song onto YouTube in order to show her child's accomplishment to her own mother.  This woman is then made to take the video off because of the song owner's copyright laws.  Even though copyright laws certainly have a purpose, this video argues that they can sometimes infringe on people's everyday accomplishments and their creativity.

Week 2: Mac vs. PC

During the second week of class we were introduced to the differences between the Mac and the PC.  We were presented with information about the Mac and the advantages of working with a Mac.  There was also a marketing video that we were able to look at and the video provided a funny explanation of the advantages that the Mac had over the PC.  Also, we got an in depth introduction on how to use a Mac computer.  It explained the different parts on a Mac computer as well as comparing it to the PC, so that people who are more familiar with the PC are able to relate the new information to something.  Furthermore, we were told how to create and save files and folders on the Mac as well as additional information that is necessary for us to know in order to use the Mac effectively.

Knowing how to use Mac computers is important to me and for my major because I am an elementary education major and computers, usually Mac's, are most often used in the school setting.  Even when I was in school, elementary, middle, and high, we used Mac computers for the majority of the time.  Mac's also seem to be very compatible with the new Smart Boards that have become popular in schools.  When I volunteered last semester at an elementary school, I noticed that most of the teachers had Smart Boards and used Mac computers to access their lessons and activities that they used the Smart Board for.  Also, it is important to know how to used the computer, especially in education, because our world is becoming more modernized each day and mostly everything now is accessible online.  This is important because teachers need to keep up with the new changes and one way to do that is by researching and looking up this information online.

This article describes the pros and cons of the Mac and the PC.  It states how there has and there still is an ongoing battle between the Mac and the PC and which one is better.  The article compares the cost, selection, operating system, security, and service between the two.  What I found interesting about this article, however, is that the author avoids being biased and simply states the facts, instead of favoring one computer over the other.