Steph H.'s Blog

Final Project

sls24 — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 00:47:37 +0000

Here’s a link to my final project for 685; feel free to check it out and hopefully someone may find it useful! I’ve enjoyed working with everyone. Have a Merry Christmas and may God bless

www.distanceeds.com

Thoughts and Reflection

sls24 — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 00:07:04 +0000

As the class comes to an end, I recall some of the things that have been discussed this semester. We have spent a great amount of time working with various tools used to enhance not only distance education but regular classroom instruction as well. I have learned to view particular websites as more than mere ways to connect with friends. Take for example, the use of social networking sites such as Twitter and Facebook. I’m guilty of being a Facebook addict because I enjoy staying in touch with family and friends; but I had failed to consider the educational implications of such sites. Sites such as these can be used to connect students from across the world in an inexpensive and convenient way. Students can become much more involved when they are communicating on this level.

The same goes for resources such as YouTube. YouTube serves as a great way to edit and upload videos for students to access. I think it would also be a great way for students to engage in an enriching, technology project where they are able to create and upload their own videos. As teachers we are supposed to find a mean and various mediums in which students learn best; and with all that’s available in the world of technology the resources are limitless. I think some of the most important things that I have learned this semester is that we shouldn’t under-estimate the educational value of some of the everyday, technological resources available to us.

Blogging about Blogging (Week 16)

sls24 — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 22:28:38 +0000

As I continue my quest to complete my final project, I’m learning more and more about the educational uses of sites such as Facebook and Youtube. I’ve been researching how these sites can be used in the classroom and now I’m doing the same about blogging. I want to show how sites like WordPress, or other blog sites, can be used to enhance instruction.

From an education perspective the availability and ease of use of blogging software makes creating blogs a viable classroom activity and a means for teachers to communicate with other teachers. Along with the ease of teacher communication, it also makes it easier for students to connect with other students. This type of communication isn’t limited to their own classroom, school or even community; it allows students to connect with other students from across the world. Aside from the enhanced communication and opportunity blogging contains, I have found it useful just for personal reasons. I have blogged several times just to vent about the stresses that accompany the education profession! It’s been nice to share my thoughts and get suggestions and feedback from fellow teachers.

Facebook, YouTube, and blogging are just a few of the many exciting networking tools available for our use. But with all educational software, hardware, etc…, we need to keep in mind that these are more than cool toys and new gadgets. It is new opportunities for engagement, self-directed learning and initiative!

Final Update Week 16

sls24 — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 22:18:39 +0000

I have blogged about all of the uses I’ve recently discovered about Facebook. I’m now finding the same great things about YouTube. This is another site that I’ve used often but it’s mostly been to watch funny videos; I’ve never used it for educational purposes, nor have I given much thought about how it can be used in the classroom. Below are a few things that I’ve discovered about YouTube and it’s uses for education.

•Teachers can record education–related videos and students are able to view them anytime, anywhere a computer is accessible.
•It is the largest social website in the world.
•It is a good interactive means of communicating.
•It contains comprehensive rich media content.
•It stimulates interest that makes curriculum relevant.
•It has sources that can be used to build or expose an argument.

If you’re interested in using YouTube in the classroom, here’s some tips about how to do so.

*Go to teacher-specific sites. TeacherTube and WatchKnow aggregate thousands of videos from educators, YouTube, and the rest of the Web. In essence, they are clearinghouses of educational videos that cover most school subjects, categorized by subject and education level. WatchKnow has a review panel of educators and educational video experts that vet videos from first-time submitters before posting.
*Register with YouTube. Set up a video playlist or a collection of favorites, then click them to stream the videos from a laptop. Just remember that YouTube videos are often removed without notice, so the clip you watched at home last night may not be there the next morning. Also, your school or school district might block access to the site.
*In classrooms where YouTube is blocked, download the video. Convert it to your playback format of choice (mp4, FLV, HD, AVI, MPEG, 3GP, iPhone, PSP, mp3, GIF) and store it on your laptop or PDA, which lets you access it at any time, even if it’s removed from the site. YouTube doesn’t typically offer a way to download and save most videos directly, but if you use Firefox, you can use the free DownloadHelper extension, which makes most videos downloadable and convertible to several formats.
*Add the word kick to the URL before youtube. The URL kickyoutube.com will load with a KickYouTube toolbar that lets you download the file. Many Web sites can help you download videos, including Zamzar, YouTube Robot, and PodTube. According to YouTube’s terms of use, you’re not supposed to download unless you see a download link. (Tips taken from : http://www.edutopia.org)

OlDaily…..is bigger always better??

sls24 — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 22:15:14 +0000

I was scrolling through the blog of Stephen’s Web: Old DAily and came across an article that hit close to home. The article was about a Washington DC that is in the works of being sold to condo developers. The school is one of historical significance and is sadly being recommended for condo development. Stephen writes, “The funny thing about this is that the local newspaper has recommended selling off a (historic) local school and turning it into condominiums. And I don’t believe in coincidences. “Either way, whether public space is turned over to private charter operating companies or to condo/hotel developers, the real losers are kids, parents and communities, who have lost a valuable resource as well as a voice on how public space is utilized.”

I couldn’t agree more with his statement that the real loser are the kids, parents and communities because they’ve lost a valuable resource. I can relate to this story because of a similar situation. I attended a grade school in a small, yet very close community. The school usually had around 300 students each year and that was grades K-8. The facility wasn’t state-of-the-art, but what it lacked in resources it made up in staff and relationships. Everyone in the community knew everyone and to this day I have yet to see any school match the parent involvement the small school had. It was a wonderful school and sadly after my 8th grade year it was closed in order to consolidate. While I know this is an unfornate reality in education, the community suffered a great lose. I try not to, but it’s difficult not to compare that school to the school I work at today. The school I teach at has around 800 students and is only K-5. The building is huge and there are teachers that I’ve rarely talk to simply because the school is so large. It’s the complete opposite of the small school that is now a parking lot. Stephen got it right that the real losers are the kids, parents and communities. The new schools may be better equipped, but have lost the personal connections between teachers, students and parents that the small, community schools once had.

Facebook cont…Week 15

sls24 — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 21:50:32 +0000

I’ve mentioned before how I’m frequent user of Facebook, but until I started working on my final, I had no idea some of the things the social networking site is capable of. I use Facebook almost on a daily basis. I check it regularly the same as I do my email… but that’s about the extent of it. Until I began researching the site in-depth, I wasn’t aware of the many uses it had for educators, including the numerous apps for both teacher and students. Here’s a list I compiled of the apps found on Facebook…hopefully they will be useful for someone!!

Apps for Students
•Books iRead: Share the books you’re reading, and see what others think of books.
•DoReasearch4Me: Makes it easy to gather information using your thesis statement, instructions, and more.
•Flashcards: Create flashcards to help you study
•Wikiseek Search: Use this to find Wikipedia articles and more.
•SkoolPool: Get the lowdown on schools, online and otherwise.
•RateMyProfessors: Find out what other students think of professors
•JSTOR: Find full text research articles on Facebook.
•Notely: Helps to organize your school life; calendars, notes, assignments and more.
•Study Groups: Bring people together for group collaboration.
•GetHomeworkHelp: Get connected with tutors and other students that can help with assignments.
•SwapRoll: Save on textbooks by trading them.
•Notecentric: Take notes and share them with classmates inside of Facebook.
•ClassNotes: Find scanned notes for your classes.

Apps for Teachers and Administrators

•BookTag: A great way to share and loan books out to students, plus create quizzes for studying.
•Webinaria Screencast Recorder: Record a video for students, and share it.
•Mathematical Formulas: Distribute formulas solutions, and more.
•Slide Share: Create presentations to send to students.

Final Project Status Week 15

sls24 — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 20:06:45 +0000

In a previous post I discussed my final project and how I wanted to research Facebook, YouTube and blogging for it. As I research these tools I realize the social and educational implications they have and the potential they contain for using them in the classroom. I began the project by researching social networking sites such as Facebook. I have a Facebook account and I use it quite frequently to stay in touch with family, friends and colleagues. But I wanted to research it further to find out the ways it can be used for an educational purpose. We sometimes fail to recognize the potential of social networking sites . Young people are more likely to have learned their social networking skills from friends or classmates than from formal instruction. While researching Facebook, I have found the following…

* Most students are familiar with computers and applications. We can capitalize on their existing skills with technology for our teaching and their learning.

* Facebook has more than 110 million active users

* It is one of the most trafficked social networking sites

* It has 6 million active user groups

* It has over 24,000 applications (many which are educational apps)

* 95% of users use at least one application

Final Project

sls24 — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 01:22:30 +0000

For my final project I am going to create a presentation that demonstrates how social networking sites can be used as educational tools. I am further researching Facebook, blogs and YouTube to show the educational value of them. Since these sites are extremely popular with students and teachers, I think they can be used in learning situations and be a motivational tool as well.

To create this project, I’m going to research the correlation between these sites and learning. I would like to search the web to see if and how these sites are being used in classrooms as well as talk to other educators. I intend for this project to be targeted toward fellow educators, both classroom and online teachers. I think that both types of teachers can benefit from know how these sites can be used as part of a curriculum.

I have decided to do my project over these tools because I feel that they have the most relevance to today’s youth. They are easily recognizable and serve as a great way to connect students and teachers from all parts of the world. It’s also a great way to expand a lesson and make real life connections.

Getting Caught Up!!

sls24 — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 03:06:51 +0000

As my luck would have it, I have done really well at staying caught up with my assignments until these last few weeks of classes! It has been a little crazy here lately, to say the least. Along with all of the normal school things keeping me busy with paperwork, ballgames and festivals, we have been swamped with illnesses within the family which has made it extremely difficult to keep up lately. My husband is recently getting over type A flu, followed by surgery and I’m currently trying to get rid of a bad sinus infection….so it has been an interesting few weeks. In addition, I will be an aunt for the first time hopefully at any minute! I’ve been anxiously awaiting the phone call…but my niece should be here on Friday!!!!

And last but not least I’ve been called out for Jury Duty once again. (yayyyy) I have to miss school again tomorrow for it; and while I do not mind fulfilling my civic duty, everyone knows how difficult it is to miss…my kindergarteners are much harder to control the next day when I come back! Alright, I’m finished venting and ranting about my distress….sorry to go on, but it feels good to get that out!!!

The Only Way to be Great at Something

sls24 — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 02:52:45 +0000

As a child I developed an early love for books. I enjoyed reading, and still do, a variety of books and found myself wanting to read all of the time. One of the reasons I think I developed an early love for books is that I was given a choice about what I wanted to read. I was fortunate to have parents and teachers who encouraged reading and allowed me to choose what interested me. I think as teachers this is so important in the classroom. When students are given a choice, they are more engaged in what they are learning. This is a great way to encourage reading. We should let students have input in their reading selections along with choices with the instruction being taught. I recently read an article by Stephen Daily titled The Only Way to Become Amazingly Great at Something

He gives a list of things you must do in order to become great at something. The list discusses how the learner must be willing to try something and learn from it, whether it be good or bad. If we let students have a choice in their learning and encourage this type of risk, I think we can create a stimulating learning environment where students are eager and engaged. The following is the things we must do in order to be great something according to Stephen Daily…

This, I think, is true: “There’s only one way to become good at something:
1. First, you must learn it by reading or listening to others who know how to do it, but most especially by doing.
2. Then do some more. At this point, you’ll start to understand it, but you’ll suck. This stage could take months.
3. Do some more. After a couple of years, you’ll get good at it.
4. Do some more. If you learn from mistakes, and aren’t afraid to make mistakes in the first place, you’ll go from good to great.”
Now if we think about that, and realize that you become great “by loving it so much your morning bowel movement takes second seat” then it follows – doesn;t it? – that if we really want to promote greatness in learning, we have to let learners pick whatever it is they love (rather than to prescribe something to them, no matter how ‘core’ we think it is). Leo Babauta, Zen Habits, November 4, 2009