Thursday, April 10, 2008

UCET Conference 2008

I tracked-off a day early and got a sub to cover my class so I could attend the annual UCET (Utah Coalition for Educational Technology) conference. I had a great time, even though I didn't win any prizes. :) I enjoyed being with my classmates from Grad School, meeting new people, and seeing old friends. I enjoyed attending the classes, learning about new technology for the classroom, wandering through the vendors, and getting free pencils. (Rossi, I KNOW I got more than you did! You should see the pile of Apple pencils I got!)

The keynote speaker was David Pogue of the New York Times. He was great! He spoke all about the world of Web 2.0. He talked about websites like facebook, digg, flickr, craigslist, youtube, slashdot, tripplanner, prosper, and goloco. Did you know 75 new blogs are created every minute?! Try listening to some interesting and informative podcasts like "Thinkin' and Drivin'".

David Pogue was hilarious! At the end of his presentation he sang a couple songs about technology. (He changes the lyrics to well-known songs.) One of them was to the tune of "I Did it My Way", only his version was all about the iPhone.


About half way through his song, members of the audience who had iPhones pulled them out and held them up, swaying to the beat of the song. (You know, like lighters were used in the olden days. :) We all started cracking up. Then, with a thrill, I realized I HAVE AN iPHONE! I grabbed my new iPhone out of my bag, and joined the crowd! Mr. Pogue finally became aware of what was going on and had to stop playing to laugh at us too. Very funny. A video of his presentation will be available online soon. When it is, I will add a link to it. But, for now you can view the music video of his iPhone song on YouTube.

I attended a lot of other great classes and visited plenty of cool vendors at the conference too:

Integrate Filmmaking Into the Core Curriculum with Public Service Announcements
by Stacy Ringo, Jarrett Reich, & Ann Riding
Rossi and I attended the PSA class together. The presenters discussed the benefits of using PSAs in the classroom. PSAs teach life skills in a way that helps the messages really stick with the kids. They teach story-telling skills and encourage creativity.

Next we discussed the major components of PSAs. They can only be 30 seconds long, they should be effective in getting across the message, and they should be on-topic. Students are encouraged to use a variety of tools ussed by advertisers to get the attention of the audience, such as humor, music, catchy phrases, mystery, emotion, and guilt.

We divided into groups and created our own PSAs about the use of technology in education. My group's project emphasized how technology can be a motivator and can help students interact and get excited about learning. I was the camera operator, Rossi was an anti-technology teacher, and John was a bored student. We even got Joanna to join in as a member of the class.



I enjoyed the class, and I agree that PSAs can be useful, fun projects to use in the classroom. I already knew a lot about using the digital cameras and video editing software. I did find out, however, that I don't particularly like iMovie '08. There are some cool improvements, but there are also a lot of things it can't do that the previous version could, like extracting audio. I think I would much rather just get Final Cut. Unfortunately, I believe that means I also need to upgrade to the Leopard operating system, and I just don't know when that might happen.

You can view free public service announcements on adcouncil.org.
Educators may attend a workshop in the summer with more in-depth training on the creation and use of Public Service Announcements.

30 Minute Technologies for Learning
by Kelly Dumont and Brad Caldwell

In this session we learned about various Mac applications: iCal, ComicLife, and GarageBand.
I enjoyed this session very much. For one thing, I love Kelly DuMont. And Brad Caldwell is my new friend. He tried his best to get me an invitation to the dinner Apple was taking all the UCET people to, but in the end Ross didn't come through. ;) In addition to liking the presenters, I liked the review of applications I have been using. Kelly and Brad were able to show ways to use these applications that I had not been aware of, had forgotten about, or had not been taking full advantage of. For example, I had no idea that I could email other people an even on iCal and add it to their calendar too. I was particularly inspired to use podcasting in the classroom through the use of GarageBand. My students are learning to use GarageBand to compose songs right now, and I would love to expand our use of that program into other areas of the curriculum by creating podcasts.

Audacity Effectively
by John Bryner
In this presentation we learned the basics of Audacity. It is similar to Sound Studio that came with my Mac, but it has some cool features that Sound Studio does not. For example, it has the ability to export sound files in a variety of formats. However, the additional download the instructor told us to get to allow exporting does not want to work on my computer. I'm not sure what I'm doing wrong. I'm going to have to investigate further.

Audacity is available for both Mac and PC, but I think it was designed by PC people. I think I would prefer to get something like Soundtrack Pro, or just use GarageBand which comes with the iLife package. Nevertheless, I was glad to learn about Audacity. It is a fairly easy-to-use application, and it's free!

NASA Digital Learning Network - Connect to the Stars!
by Greg Pitzer, NASA Digital Learning
Network

This was a fun, hands-on presentation aimed at showing teachers what NASA's digital presentations are like. We participated in a mini-lesson from the presenter - who happened to be in California and was teaching us via his computer's webcam, and learned how to set up similar presentations for our school. I liked the variety of topics available for presentations and how willing NASA is to arrange schedules and offer tech support so schools can make presentations like this possible. I like the idea of having a presentation set up for a family science night at the school. That could be really cool. I have already spoken with my principal and my teammates about scheduling a presentation. NASA's site is very informative if you're interested in scheduling a presentation. And, once again, this is free!

In the presentation, the presenter mentioned that NASA offers opportunities in the summer for teachers to participate in research projects with NASA scientists. That would be a great experience. I looked on the UCET site, and it appears that there is just such a project this summer. I tried to arrange funding so I could attend, but unfortunately my district science specialist said she has no money to give me. I will have to try again next year. Click here to learn more about the program.


Over-the-Shoulder Sessions

Ross Rogers - GPS in the Classroom
I like Ross's ideas of using the GPS unit in conjunction with an ecology service learning project.

Kelly Dumont - Mac Freeware
Kelly had a lot of suggestions of great freeware for Mac computers. Here is a list of the applications he discussed, listed by category:
Programming - Scratch
Sound Recording - Audacity
Media Player - VLC Media Player
Astronomy - Stellarium
Paint Program for Younger Kids - TuxPaint
Image Editing - Seashore
Social Studies / Mapping - Google Earth
Time Management - Alarm Clock

Here are some sites that list more Freeware:
The FreeMac
Software for Starving Students
Free MacWare

"Don't forget the cool stuff that comes on your Mac":
Dictionary
Thesaurus
Photo Booth
QuickLook


Favorite Vendors
Apple-Sponsored Vendors & Brad Caldwell:
AquaMinds NoteTaker - I thought this was cool note-taking software for Macs.

MightyAuthors.com - Book publishing company with Brad Wilcox

Audio Enhancement - We already have this at our school, and it's great, but I want my microphones fixed!

General Communications - I want some sort of system like this in my classroom. Although, if Jordan District will simply get a projector and screen in each classroom, I can connect the sound through my Audio Enhancement System. But, we would also need our in-house system fixed and hooked up to the projectors. The point is, we should have technology like this! The new high schools and middle schools have it, and it is very cool. I think we're gradually building up to it.

Ellsworth Publishing - My school already has KBK for 4th through 6th grade. It is a great keyboarding program. I was able to get the big keyboard posters I wanted for my computer lab!

School Tip Line - An interesting idea. The idea has potential, but is it necessary? I wonder how well it works. This one made me curious at least.

TV Specialists - I have been to the TV Specialists store before and really like everyone who works there. They are helpful and informed. I only wish they would give me a big-screen plasma TV.

UCET Grant
Ross encouraged me to apply for the UCET Technology Grant mentioned at the conference. I applied to get the needed equipment to produce a school news broadcast. I produced a news broadcast with the students at my previous school, but have not done so at my current school mostly because there are no televisions in the classrooms, the in-house system apparently is not functional, and I don't have video equipment. So, I hope by applying for this grant, I will at least get closer to being able to produce our broadcast.

Monday, April 7, 2008

Information Literacy

Tips:

Pioneer Library
"Support Materials" at the top - Everything from brochures and one page guides to 52 page documents and 6 week courses to help you effectively use Pioneer and other search tools.

Don't Buy It - talks about tricks used by advertisers, television and music producers, etc. Info. on smart buying and sorting through what's real and not real. Click on all banner advertisements too and it will show the kids that the banner ads are not what they seem.

Information Literacy Power Point - on module 9 on the left hand side of the page.

The Big 6 Website - How to solve an information problem. This site goes through all the steps. A game at the end to test you on what you have learned. This is the library media state curriculum.

Culture Grams - You have to enter through Pioneer because it's a paid resource. Recipe collection. Photo Gallery. Videos. Graphs and tables compare different countries.

Utah Digital Newspapers - Primary source documents. Old newspaper, ie. 1911 Park City newspaper. Learn history the way historians do. Social Studies, Language Arts, etc. Check out the article and the ads: gender issues, writing style, agriculture, etc.

World Book Encyclopedia on Pioneer - atlas, dictionary, encyclopedia, UK website links, Spanish language encyclopedia, "Surf the Ages" and "Back in Time" links show what info. would have been available at that time.

SIRS Knowledge Source - Tons of information and articles updated constantly. Check out the TOP 10 LEADING ISSUES which shows articles about the issues and gives the pro and con debates about the issue. Click on "Database Resources" to get a snapshot of everything available on SIRS.

Wikis - Webpages where everyone in your group can add to the page. Better than email for coordinating information from various people. Try wikispaces, pbwiki, or wetpaint.

SIRS Discoverer - articles about various topics, some with pictures. Sorted by reading level as well as subject area.

EBSCO - All sorts of research article data bases. Try "Add to folder" to keep track of the articles you are considering using, then "Sign In" and create a user account that you can access later with all your articles. Very current information. Try the "Visual Search" tab.

EBSCO Auto Repair Reference Center - Recall notices, repair manuals, etc. for cars sorted by year, make, model.

Counties of Utah - Information about every county. Good for reports, traveling, etc.

MWDL - Mountain West Digital Library - A portal to all the university digital libraries in the mountain west. One example: Check out the Dee Family Letters on the Weber State website.

Search Tips for Pioneer - video on module 9 - use precise terms, use NOT, AND, OR, ADJ, "", etc. to help narrow your search. (Copies of this and others are on the Support Materials link on Pioneer.)

Visual Thesaurus - A visual thesaurus showing relationships between words. It has sound, various languages, etc. You can link to other words. It is color coded by part of speech. It can show you antonyms. It can go 3-D. You can also buy your own visual thesaurus products! Use it to help the kids do their writing or vocabulary homework.

Soundzabound - Royalty free music. Use the guided search on the left hand side. You can sort by style, clip length, etc.


Searching on Google

subject filetype:ppt - End your search in filetype:ppt to find only power points

Find out who has linked to a certain website.
link: url of the site
ex. link: disney.com

Find a webpage that is related to a certain webpage.
related: url
ex. related: disney.com

Get information that Google has about a certain page
info: url
info: disney.com

Google Phonebook
phonebook:first name, last name, area code (no dashes)
phonebook:phone number with area code (no dashes)

Stocks
stocks: Symbol1 Symbol2

Dictionary
define: word

Calculator
Type in a formula
Roman Numerals - type a number, then "in english" ex. IV in english
Math Problems
Look at "More about calculator" to find more options, like a currency calculator

Weather
weather city
weather state
weather city state zip code

Movies
movie: city and state (or zip)
movie: keywords

Pizza
pizza: city state zip

Sports Scores

Text Google
In the text number field type "google"
Use the following phrases:
weather zip code
movies zip code
flights flight number
price product
translate word in language
sports score team
Q&A
currency
stock
define

iGoogle

Google More
Google Even More
Goog-411
Patent Search
Google Scholar
Google Labs - Still under development by google - Tons of great stuff!

Monday, March 31, 2008

Rubrics

Designing Rubrics
Have an even number of rating possibilities.
The best rubrics are the ones the students design themselves.

UEN Rubric Tool
http://www.uen.org/rubric/

Monday, March 17, 2008

Multimedia

Photography
Tips:
1) Use the rule of thirds.
2) Look your subject in the eye - take a photograph of a person, animal or object from their eye level instead of yours.
3) Simplify your background.
4) Be a picture director
5) Alter your camera angle
6) Play with the flash
7) Move in close... then get closer

Video (& TV)
A lot of learning goes on in a short amount of time.
You can see context with key words and information
Seeing is believing but seeing is also remembering
Myth: Viewing is passive
Fact: Viewing is active - many different parts of the brain are engaged - learning is taking place
Zone of Proximal Development (Vygotsky) - make sure the video is age appropriate, learning level appropriate, time appropriate, etc.
Teachers use video.
Why use video? - develops language skills, it is a social activity, young children in particular interact and role play
Video helps develop a common knowledge base (schema) among students
Video enhances comprehension and discussion
Video supports diverse learners
Video has influence

We're not talking about showing feature films to kill time, we're talking about teaching with video - showing clips that make the point you're trying to make or review something you've taught. You use video the same way you would other instructional material, like books or articles.

Watching video programs in connection with activities planned by the teacher that go with it is more effective.

Effective Teaching with Video:
Prepare
Preview the video
select the sections and length to use
set clear expectations
have equipment and materials ready
Participate
Don't turn off the lights
preface the viewing with key questions or objectives
Use the pause button
turn on the closed captioning
Leadership Opportunities:
Help get media into teachers' hands
Research copyright and fair use
Check district policy
Support professional development
Encourage innovative practices
Provide time for planning and preparation

What is available in Utah?
Children's Educational Programs:
"Super Why"
"Between the Lions"

All PBS content from 9 AM to 2 PM is approved by the school district.
UIMC - checking out media from your district media library
KUED (7) and UEN-TV (9) have educational programs 11 hours a day.
KBYU (11) rebroadcasts a lot of the educational programs that are shown on PBS.
You can record something off of regular TV and show it within 45 days.
You can record something off of public TV and show it within 1 year.

EMEDIA - download movies
Go to the UEN website You can enter through the Pioneer Library with your UEN password.
Public username is Pioneer, password is Look
These movies are not coded for play in a comercial DVD player, but they will play on your computer when burned to DVD or CD.
If downloading for an iPod, download as a Quicktime movie.
You can buy a cable for $35 from apple to connect your video iPod to any projector.

EMEDIA science videos:
Visual Learning Co. and Bio Media have great, quality, iPod compatible videos

Audio
SoundzAbound - free music clips on EMEDIA - click on the Audio catalog when on EMEDIA

PhotoStory
Free download from windows - PC only

Virtual Gift:
Virtual Easter Eggs (hidden surprises)

www.google.com/googlegulp
search on google: google gothic and click I'm feeling lucky

Google Languages:
xx-bork
xx-elmer
xx-piglatin
xx-hacker
xx-klingon

google easter egg

for each of the above items search the term on google then click "I'm feeling lucky"

Search google hoaxes on wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Google's_hoaxes

To see where google earth's easter eggs are hidden, look at:
googlesightseeing.com
www.gearthblog.com

www.eggheaven.com

Visit google on April Fool's Day because they always have hoaxes on there (and real new things)

Aaron told me about a few more google tricks to try:
Search the following using "I feel lucky":
Find Chuck Norris
Chuck Norris
French War Heroes

Friday, March 14, 2008

Web 2.0 Assignment

Instructions:

After reading more about Web 2.0, this assignment requires you to jump in. Visit the list of Web 2.0 Award Winners to learn more. You should experience at least three of the sites and contribute or build to at least one of the sites you select.

You can create your own blog page using blogger, build a delicious site for social bookmarking, create your own facebook or myspace page, create or edit a Wiki entry, participate in the "43 things" page, or open a flickr account and upload some photos. Send me a paragraph explaining your description, or better yet post it to your blog and send me that link instead. What did you like or dislike? Can you see any use in an educational setting?

My Assignment:

Blogger
I have been using Blogger since the beginning of last semester, and I am definitely a fan. I keep a blog for each of my grad school classes and a personal blog. I also read several of my friends' blogs. I like blogging because it gives me an outlet for my thoughts. It is also a great way to keep friends and family updated on what is going on with me. I know a lot of people who don't tell their friends or family they have a blog. They like blogging because of the mystery - not knowing who is reading your blog and feeling like it's your own little secret world. (It's secret to everyone except the 500 people who have visited it! :)

Blogging has many educational applications. I love taking notes on a blog rather than just in a word document or on note paper. My notes are automatically saved, they are accessible from any computer, they are automatically filed by date, they are easily linked to my other class notes, and they are easily linked to my friends' notes. Posting links in blog notes is incredibly helpful too. Blogging can also be a great way to promote writing, submit assignments, and complete group projects. It is an excellent form of journal writing (as long as entries are not too personal for students to publish). The fact that others may comment on a student's blog is a great way to give feedback and share thoughts and ideas on any topic.

del.icio.us
I like delicious because you can access your bookmarks from any computer, not just your own. I wish there were more options for how to arrange the bookmarks on the site. But, I am a fan of the tag system. This is a nice, simple way to search through the bookmarks for what you may be interested in.

In the context of education, delicious can be useful in helping students link to sites they have worked with in class. I teach 6th graders, and they are still not completely skilled at searching on the internet, nor is it always safe for them to do so. A delicious site they can go to for the class links they need would be very helpful. It can even be a place where a teacher lists sites that are to be used in homework assignments. Students would only have to remember one site rather than a whole list. I am using the bookmarks on my myuen page to accomplish this same thing. Even in higher education or in teaching, delicious can be helpful as students and teachers try to search for informative, useful sights. For example, linking to Laura's delicious site helps me save time as I look for great educational technology sites, since she has already spent a lot of time finding them.

Peer Trainer
Peer trainer is a sight designed to help people reach their nutrition and fitness goals. It links members to nutrition and fitness sites, articles, information, and tips. It also allows them to join discussion and support groups so they can have help, encouragement, and advice from others with similar goals. A great idea! I was hoping that Peer Trainer would have a calorie and nutrition tracker. Unfortunately, it looks like they simply refer you to myfooddiary.com, which is good but costs money. I am looking for something free! I do like the calorie wiki. It has a huge list of foods and their calorie information to help you keep track of your caloric intake. I also like that myfooddiary.com and other sites linked to Peer Trainer have iPhone web applications which make it very easy to track exercise and nutrition at all times from the palm of your hand.

I see Peer Trainer being helpful in education specifically in health, nutrition, and physical education courses. This could be a great resource for student research and could link students to sites to help them track their own fitness goals. A teacher could even start a discussion group on the site just for his/her students. I would be careful as an educator, though, because you cannot control everyone else who uses the site. I would want to be very cautious about students joining discussion groups that are not controlled by me.

Facebook vs. MySpace
I know I only had to review three Web 2.0 applications, but I felt like discussing Facebook and MySpace just because.

I like Facebook better than MySpace. I don't like having to find out the html code to design pages on MySpace. The MySpace helper guy - What's his name? Tom. - says that people will help you figure it out, but so far that hasn't been true for me. I guess I've asked the wrong people. It also seems like Facebook is cleaner and safer. But then, I suppose that all depends upon who you are friends with.

Ultimately, I just think Facebook is easier and faster. It's very clear to me how to do things, like set my privacy settings. However, I do not like having to invite 10 people every time I want to try a new application. And I do think it would be fun if there were more options for making my profile look the way I want it to, but not if it means spending time finding someone who will tell me the html code. Besides, I have my blog for that. I'd rather spend time figuring out how to make my blog look cool than my MySpace page.

My friend once compared Macs to PCs by saying that Macs are like automatic cars and PCs are like stick shifts. He couldn't explain to me why, but he said it's just more fun for him to "drive a stick". I would venture to say the same comparison could be used for Facebook and MySpace. Facebook is the automatic, and MySpace is the stick. I suppose that would explain why he prefers MySpace. But, we were both willing to compromise: He created a Facebook account, and I created a MySpace page. He doesn't use his Facebook account and I don't use my MySpace page, but at least they stand there as a symbol of our willingness to do what it takes to keep our friendship strong. :)

Monday, February 25, 2008

Module 10

Module 6
Thinkfinity assignment
Read Harris 1998 OR 2000. Pick one.
Bring images for class on March 17.

No in person class on March 3.
No class March 10. (Because of the UCET Conference)

Module 9
Read handout given in class.

Final Project
Read the Reiser article or you won't understand the final project.
There are learning center links on Module 10:
http://school.discoveryeducation.com/schrockguide/edlearn.html
http://www.eduplace.com/rdg/res/classroom.html
http://www.pickens.k12.sc.us/HollySpr.es/Instructional_Staff/Kind_Chastain/mrs_chastain.htm

Theme vs. Topic:
Theme - big, universal ideas
Topic - more narrow, specific
There are theme ideas on Module 10:
http://www.education-world.com/a_special/
http://www.edhelper.com/
http://www.uen.org/themepark/
http://www.emints.org/ethemes/

My sample lesson plan:
http://www.uen.org/Lessonplan/
just login and go to my plan

Virtual Gift
http://www.lyrics.com
http://www.apple.com/itunes/overview/
http://www.finetune.com/

Monday, February 11, 2008

Geo Caching / Web 2.0

Geo Caching

www.geocaching.com

DelSol company's cache

Web 2.0
social
collaboration
marketing
new economics
innovation
open source
dynamic
interactive
personal
changing
fluid
organic
adjustable
custom
network

Podcasts

http://bobsprankle.com/bitbybit_wordpress/

http://www.uen.org/is/podcasting.shtml

npr "this american life" "wait, wait, don't tell me"

the grammar girl's

Go to iTunes, and click on podcasts. They are free. You can search by category, top podcasts of the day, etc.

Laura's Favorite Web 2.0 Applications
zillow.com
threadless.com
43things.com
www.wefeelfine.org

Discussion:
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/extra/

Virtual Gifts
http://del.icio.us/ - Social bookmarking site
http://del.icio.us/lhunter - Laura's delicious page
http://artport.whitney.org/commissions/thedumpster/ - people's blogs about their breakups

Next Week
Module 10 (out of order)
Optional Discussion this week - questions about the project, etc.
Read before class so you are prepared to ask about / work on the project.
No class next week - Presidents' Day

Monday, February 4, 2008

Module 4

Questioning Activities Assignment

Title (Image)
Introduction
Core Area Citation

Link 1
Title
URL
Description/Directions
1. Question
2. Question

Link 2
Title
URL
Description/Directions
1. Question
2. Question

Link 3
Title
URL
Description/Directions
1. Question
2. Question

*The questions need to be a range of questions from Bloom's Taxonomy
*Questions and websites need to be grade level appropriate.
*Plan out on a word document first, so you don't make mistakes when entering on the site b/c it is difficult to change it later.
*To turn in to professor, simply submit the URL on WebCT

Good websites for getting kids sites and educational materials:
http://www.pbs.org/teachers
http://www/thinkfinity.org

Module 4 has links that describe Bloom's Taxonomy.

Virtual Gifts:
http://americanrhetoric.com
Figures in sound:
http://americanrhetoric.com/rhetoricaldevicesinsound.htm
Samples of real speeches using traditional figures of speech

http://www.uen.org/wethepeople/
Information on the constitution

http://www.uen.org/3-6interactives/index.shtml
Funny Farm
http://shygypsy.com/farm/p.cgi?state=bacbaaaaaaaaabacaaaaaaaaaaabaaaaaaaaaaaabaabaaaaaaaaaaaaacaaaaaaagliaaaaibaaeaaaaaaaaaagaaaafaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa&style=rweuxqzpyvdtsbrspyptreqqxvxczywbuqxeswdmzseayudcarxwonulprlzyoicgkuaacii&i=2&j=2&cmd=guess&guess=+

Monday, January 28, 2008

Online Class

Wimba

Need to do discussions before class.

Spend some time on the class website and explore.

Create a direct instruction power point by Feb. 4.

UEN has a link to multimedia resources for teachers.

581-4000 Campus Information Systems - call to have them forward my email

"Lost in 8:15 (official recap)" on YouTube

Monday, January 14, 2008

Module 2

http://my.uen.org

http://www.uen.org

How to Cite the Core Curriculum:
Course (subject)
Standard (number)
Objective (number)
Intended Learning Outcomes (ILO) (paraphrase this)

Citation Machine

Core Search Tool on uen.org

WebCT

Word Tutorials
http://www.word07.com
more listed on module 2 on WebCT

Use APA style for citations

Virtual Gift:
http://software.utah.edu/
Buy reduced price software for students

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Luther_King_Day
Check out the part about Utah.
Check out the external links. The Apollos

http://www.americanrhetoric.com/
Famous speeches from history

Monday, January 7, 2008

First Day of Class

See the syllabus.

Utah Coalition for Educational Technology Attend the conference and write a one page review instead of a term paper.

Technology Endorsement requirements

Good Election Websites:
npr
cnn

Virtual "gift" of the day:
Jane Austin Film Festival