And the winner is...

One thing that I'm pretty proud of that I did this semester is my multimedia project video. I think it's pretty cool! Maybe that's just because I know how much time, sweat, and tears went into it...

Final Reflection

Ok, so now this course is over and I'm supposed to know everything I need to about teaching with technology, right? Obviously, no--and even if I did my knowledge would be outdated 5 minutes ago because technology changes that fast. I guess the big take away I have from this course is that you need to keep yourself educated and updated in the field of teaching with technology, like you do with everything you teach. Teachers have to be lifelong learners if they truly want to make a difference and be amazing teachers.

So that's one of the reasons why I feel that one of the most useful technologies I've learned this semester is Google Reader. It makes everything so much more efficient and it really is a big timesaver and lifesaver. As long as I stay connected to it and I keep doing the work of finding new tools, then Reader will keep working its magic.

I think all of the technologies I've learned this semester are all helpful! I think learning about blogs and wikis is crucial for anyone teaching in this day and age, and it's important to know the advantages and disadvantages to both. I really also really enjoyed making my own class website and I can see myself using that.

Lastly, I loved making the mindmap on mindmeister. It was so much fun and it was a really cool tool to work with. I can see using mindmaps in such a variety of ways in the classroom; students could use them to take notes and they could also use them as a final project.

With all of the technologies, especially blogs and wikis, I want to emphasize that students are their own creators of knowledge. I think these two technologies offer much potential as forums for students to interact with others, to share their own knowledge, and to make connections between what they learn in class and what they experience in life.

I want to teach students that even though I am the teacher, I'm not the one with all of the answers, or that everything necessarily has one right answer and one wrong answer. These technologies will help students to see that learning is about seeing possibilities and then exploring these possibilities.

Mindmeister

Here is the link to the wiki where I have posted my mindmapping lesson plan and the mindmap I made to go along with it.

Personal Technology Project Proposal

For my project I want to research Webquests. I've heard a lot about them but I don't know what they are other--other than a "quest" for knowledge on the internet, I'm assuming.

Internet Safety Continued

I talked with my 18 year old brother who is currently a senior in high school. He is very computer/internet literate and loves to play games with his friends via the internet. I tried to approach the subject in a non-confrontational way--I didn't want him to think I was prying into his life or I was going to preach to him.

I talked with him in general about internet safety and what he thought was acceptable information to put up. He said as a guy he feels a little safer so he doesn't worry about predators, but he still tries to keep his personal information private.

I also talked with him about internet addiction, and whether he thought it was a bad thing that kids are all so obsessed with using it. He said that everyone, including adults, are addicted to the internet unless they're totally disconnected from the world, so he doesn't think it's fair that the blame is always put on the kids. But he said that he knows kids who do create total alternate realities on the internet and he thinks that's dangerous. He said what keeps him from trying to put on an "act" is that all of his close friends know who he is and they would call him out if he was trying to be someone he's not. He said that he doesn't feel the need to make a million friends online because he has his close friends.

I was surprised by a lot of his answers and also happy with most of them. I think he makes a valid point that we all use the internet more and more extensively each day, and everyone relies on it. When said that way, then we all need to be more aware of the potential dangers on the internet and work on making it a safe place for everyone.

Internet Safety Assignment

I watched the PBS video and read the article "Fighting Internet Filth."



1. What were the most important things I learned from the readings?



After watching the video, I was completely freaked out and determined to not even have a computer in our house. K this is crazy and I realize that this isn't possible. The reason I felt this way is because the things the kids they were doing on the internet were unhealthy and scary. The overall message I gained from the video is that we live in a different world than our parents, but it doesn't have to be two separate worlds. The video mentioned this generation gap, which is the reason for all of the unhealthy and unsafe practices kids engage in. Parents may not even know what is possible on the internet or may not even imagine that their child would do something harmful, and so they're not able to teach their children about these dangers. I think as time goes on then the next more technologically literate generation will be more prepared to teach their kids. The overall message I gained from the video is that we all need to be more responsible on the internet. Parents need to be responsible for their kids and know what's going on, but kids need to also be taught how to be responsible for themselves.



The article goes hand in hand with this video I think, because it is an outline of several things parents can teach their children about internet safety. It aims to make parents aware of the dangers so that they can protect their kids. Again, be responsible. Be knowledgeable and don't let your lack of knowledge be an excuse to disengage and not be accountable for what your kids are doing on the internet.



2. How will what I have read influence my actions as a parent and/or teacher of children and youth?



The video presented a variety of parents--those parents who were too paranoid and over-protective, and those who didn't have a clue. I want to be somewhere in the middle. I want to protect and teach youth and children but I have to allow them their own agency. The best thing I can do is continue to educate myself about the internet and its possibilites and ways to keep kids and myself safe. I have to realize that even though the internet is public, social networking sites are a weird realm because they are highly personal and can be private. Kids view their facebook page as their private space, and any intrusion in that is seen as a personal invasion. A facebook profile could be like some kids' diaries. I have to respect this and show them that they can still have a personal space without putting themselves in danger.



3. How can I use what I learned from the reading to have a positive influence on family and friends?



I have a brother who is a high school senior; he is very into gaming and the internet. I consider him to be responsible and smart, but I could talk with him more in a non-confrontational way about the internet and his thoughts on how to be safe and what is dangerous. I could also discuss with my parents what they know and I could direct them to helpful websites and articles that could offer them more information if needed.



4. Am I aware of the benefits and dangers children face when online with cyber bullying and online predators? Do I know how to prevent cyber bullying?



The most tragic story in the video was about the young boy who committed suicide because of cyber bullying. One of the things his parents mentioned was that they should have never put his own computer in his room. I think this is key for all internet safety--internet access should always be public. The way to prevent cyber bullying is to teach kids what to do if it occurs. In the video there were examples of kids saying to stop it, block it, and then tell it. Kids need to always feel safe and comfortable and parents and teachers should be constant supports for them whenever they need it.

Multimedia Project: Romeo and Juliet

Well, here it is! After many hours of frustration and computer problems, e.g., imovie unexpectedly quitting every 2 minutes without saving, it is finished for your viewing pleasure.




I really love the idea of having students create multimedia projects as their final assessment. The possibilities are endless and you could have students use video projects to explore all areas of English, such as genre, plot, various novels, short stories, poems, themes, characters, etc. You'd have to do extensive scaffolding throughout the process, guiding students through mini projects that help them complete the larger project step by step. Recently I learned in my teaching literature class about Ekphrasis, or the process of responding to art with writing. A simple instructional video to create could be of various works of art which students could then respond to, perhaps in the voice of the character from the novel. Incorporating video and music would only enhance the sensory experience and give students more ways to connect with what we're studying.

Prezi-licious

So recently I taught my practicum classes about Totalitarianism to boost their background knowledge for their novel, Fahrenheit 451. I wanted to incorporate YoTube clips of different totalitarian governments and such, but I wanted to also include a few key words and facts to help students visualize the words and concepts. I'm a little over PowerPoint, mostly because I think it has been used way too much. While it used to be the new thing that got everybody's attention, now it's just another sure-fire way to put students to sleep--that is, if you use it incorrectly. However, I'm a very organized person and I like the idea of having all of my information in one place, rather than opening up a web browser and navigating through 50 million tabs while I'm trying to teach.

Enter in Prezi.

Prezi is like a beefed up version of PowerPoint, but even that description doesn't quite do it justice. Prezi easily (and I mean with one simple click) allows you to incorporate YouTube videos, pictures, text, etc. But it is just so cool. You really have to play around with it in order to see what I mean, but Prezi is interactive on many levels. While I don't want it to sound like some gimmick teachers can use to get students' attention, it does have the benefits of engaging students; when I taught, students' eyes were literally glued to the screen. Prezi allows to organize information more precisely, such as according to hierarchy, and it takes you through an information journey, if you will (I know, cheesy).

Hopefully we won't fall into the same rut of overusing Prezi like we do PowerPoint, which I think is the key to presentation technology in general. By presentation technology I mean things like movies, pictures, slideshows, etc. These tools are really great ways to present information in a different way for students, but we have to make sure that it doesn't become to familiar to0 them or they may tune out. Anyway, check out Prezi!

Storyboard

Here is the link to my storyboard in Google Docs https://docs.google.com/document/edit?id=10xVxnLbsE5tzgloHL1gjetvMLxedPr7gUS14aE1LbgY&authkey=CPLp2O0C&hl=en#

Copyright Examples

In this video, the person sings their own song that parodies Taylor Swift's song. While she says it's a parody of Swift's song, I think she could do a better job of giving more copyright information, such as which album it's from and other info so the listener could buy the real song if they wanted to.



I think this clips does a pretty good job of following copyright guidelines. It only uses clips from the movie, Pride and Prejudice, which it gives credit to. It also gives credit to the artist of the song, as well as to the Shakespearan sonnet that he sings. Lastly, it's just barely three seconds over of being three minutes worth of video footage.

Class Website!

I am so excited about my class website! It took me forever to make because I didn't know how to do anything, so it's probably not that amazing to anyone else but to me it's awesome! I am really blown away by the tool, google sites. I had no idea that you could create a website with google, or that you could so much with it. I think I've been living under a rock. I've never had to use technology in such a practical way before, but thinking about it as a teacher has really helped me to see the possibilities I was blind to before. I had a lot of fun creating the different pages I have and uploading different gadgets, documents, and forms. I definitely plan to use this when I teach so I'll be adding much more to it as I go along. Yay for google sites!

TED: Ideas Worth Spreading

Thanks to my subscription to Free Technology for Teachers on my Google reader, I've discovered TED: Ideas Worth Spreading. TED is a database of sorts of Technology, Entertainment, and Design ideas (TED). There are all sorts of videos of speakers, music, lectures, and so much more--all for free that you can watch. There are also a variety of subjects, such as science, beauty, technology, business, etc. The fact that it's videos reminds me of YouTube, but TED's focus is to provide learning experiences for viewers, experiences of a richer nature I guess you could say. I am really excited about finding this website, because I can see it being a great tool for teaching. For example, I could have the class watch a video under the subject "Media with Meaning," which could lead to multiple discussions on interpreting media's audience, purpose, and more. Through TED, students can be exposed to more texts than the traditional texts such as novels. The world is full of texts through music, art, movies and TED provides some thought-provoking texts worth analyzing.

Converted

Well, I think I have converted to the world of blogging. Lately it seems that I just can't escape it, and it's forced me to really learn how to use it. In fact, I've finally caved in and have started a blog about me and Clarence--I never thought I'd make a married life blog. A blog is one technological tool that I can really see myself using in the classroom. I would love to have a class blog where students post assignments and other things. Or, students could also make their own personal blog and be required to post once a week, like how we use it in IP&T. I could really see having students use a blog to keep a writing journal. I think students would be more willing and excited to write if it was online. I know personally that I write much easier when it's on a computer. Of course, there will be challenges like what if not all students have a computer (school library!), or what if parents don't want their kids on the internet. However, I think if I go about it in the right way then using blogs as teaching tools could really create a classroom community as well as a personal space for each student. The possibilities are endless! I've been finding that's true for a lot of things lately.

Personal Learning Network

And my journey into discovering technology continues this week with the creation of my Personal Learning Network. Everything is a little overwhelming right now and I'm not used to being so connected, but I think I'm really going to like using all of the new tools I've discovered. I am following my group members' blogs: I find this really useful because the members in my group are very tech savvy and I learn a lot just by reading and following their blogs. I am also following 2 people on Twitter. One is a professor here at BYU, Sirpa Grierson. She is very connected with technology and has great resources and ideas. The am also following Jim Burke, the creator of English Companion Ning and another well of English teaching tools and knowledge.

To my surprise, I find myself enjoying Twitter. I like how easy, simple, and fast it is. When I have limited time, Twitter will be a great place to go for quick ideas at a glance.

Google Reader is also awesome--how have I never used this before?! I can see this as being the most useful to me in all aspects of my life, not just for teaching but for everything! The possibilities are endless and I'm loving it. Really great stuff.

On Google Reader I am subscribed to my group member's blogs, The Edublogger, My Dog Ate My Lesson Plans, and Weblogg-ed.

Blogging Newbie

I have finally joined the world of blogging. Although many of my friends and family are long-time bloggers, I was always a bit reluctant to start my own blog. Mainly, I was a little intimidated and not sure how to even begin making one. So I'm happy IPT forced me to make a blog, because now I have no more reasons to fear! My experience with technology has always kind of been "deal with it as it comes." I've never been one to actively seek out new technology on my own; I usually get into something as it becomes more popular, accessible, and necessary to know. I feel really out of touch with technology sometimes. My goal is to be a more active participant in the technology world and to not be afraid of trying something new. First thing under my belt: this blog!