Week 9 - A Post Chewing on "Caught on Video"

"Caught on Video" by Bob Spankle

Oh Bob Spankle, what curious wisdom you have.

I was challenged, confused, turned upside-rightside-downside-up, and all over unsure about video recording in class.

Bob (as I will call him so informally because I prefer Bob to Mr. Spankle), discussed using video cameras in the classroom. This can DEFINITELY be helpful. But I found his suggestions less helpful than I would've liked. Things I think would be counterproductive (or at least not as productive as Bob would like to think):

• "Film a completed product from a student before it is sent home." - how would I do this Bob? A 2-dimensional art project, a poster board, an in-class essay... I don't know how helpful this would really be. What if I didn't record it well enough, the student took it home, by the time I realized I needed to see it again it had been recycled to save a tree??? I just don't know Bob, I just don't know.
• "Film the progression of fluency on a weekly and monthly basis." - How? I want to see Bob do this so I know what he means. Fluency... what does he mean by that? How would I videotape that? Frustration Bob, frustration.
• "Create video time capsules." - Where would I sign this virtual yearbook for my friends? How would we compile this? What would make the cut and what would be labeled a level of importance too low? Forget yearbooks Bob? Forget yearbooks?????
• "Film all teacher/student writing conferences." - Okay, so this makes sense - mostly. Except that writing on the paper, using sticky notes - that's all actually helpful. If you record the session but don't use SOME sticky notes the student may not understand the specifics of the information being spoken. I like sticky notes Bob, I like them.
• "Never write another long note for a substitute teacher." - what if they forget what I said in the video - should they watch it again during class? Perhaps I should write a note and record myself Bob, perhaps I should do both.

Alright... I did like some ideas.

I like the idea that we should record stuff outside of the classroom that is relevant to the subject and then bring it in to show the students - that's creating connections Bob, that's good.

Filming lesson highlights, study guide discussions, and entire lessons is always a good idea. Props to you Bob, props to you.

Film myself reflections on the school day to send to the parents... alright, I can take that Bob, I can take that.

Podcasts/Videocasts for homework - definitely Bob, definitely.

Recording answers to questions at the start of a unit and then re-asking those same questions after the unit is a good idea - good for the teacher I think. Spectacular insight Bob, spectacular.

Anyways - I can definitely see potential in recording in the classroom. I appreciate Panopto here at NU. I appreciate podcasts from different places when I miss events. I appreciate it - I really do. Just, silly Bob, you took it to too many weird places. But I am content with the ideas and information I have gleaned. My hat's off to you Bob, my hat is off.

Until next time.

Reflection #6 - Daytum.com Online Data Tracking

Hello, my wanna-always-talk-about-myself personality. My name is Jordan and today I'd like to take this opportunity to use you to help myself learn.

WHAT?:

Data. It's all around us. All the time. Especially with all this technology. So why not REALLY use it. Make it about the students. Put them in-charge.

Daytum is an online, Web 2.0 tool that allows users to track data about anything they want. The user creates a data chart (pie charts, grids, flow maps, etc.), titles it, and inputs data whenever they want to. I considered making one: "Television shows and the hours I waste watching them." But I didn't want to face the reality of how much time I actually do waste. It would've hurt my pride too much.

Here's Hayden's daytum. She talks about her TV watching and that makes me feel better.

Daytum is fun. And it seems easy. As far as I can tell.

SO WHAT?:

Teachers can use this site in the classroom to engage students. To get them thinking about their lives. To get them thinking about their potential. To get them thinking about watching less TV. Joke.

Daytum, I think, could be adapted to the classroom in many creative ways. Unfortunately. I have not thought of any of those creative ways. But I will continue to ponder. Sadly, I've been pondering for about 3 weeks now and have still come up with nothing. Nothing but this: track books read, books want to read. Mold it to the lesson plan. If I had a lesson plan in mind right now, I would use Daytum like Play-dough and find a way to use it. Because there ARE ways. For sure. I just have to find them. I have to ponder. Continue pondering.

And ponder I shall.

NOW WHAT?:

Now think of the creative ways you can use this site to benefit your students and your classroom - cause obviously I can't think of any.

Math and Science teachers could probably find more use for this.

I want to use it for English. I will find a way. Write me a comment if you thought of one.

Until next time.

Reflection #5 - Penzu.com Online Journaling

"Penzu is a free online diary and personal journal that is

focused on privacy. You can keep your thoughts and

ideas to yourself and share only if you want to!"

WHAT?:

This is what I see after clicking "Try It Out":

Just lined "paper."

A template for my thoughts.

A canvas for the paint of my mind.

A slate for the arithmetic of my soul.

An empty plate for the cuisine of my conscience.

Oh, the possibilities!!!

Penzu.com is online journaling. Plain. Simple. Priva

te. You can print your journal entries. Access them anywhere you get internet access. Email them to people (teachers, friends, colleagues, etc.). Anyone. Anytime. Anywhere. It could be turned into a simply intricate pen-pal system. Or a monologue of the soul.

Click "Why Journal?" at the top and you are shown this:

I don't know about karma, but inspiration is good. Inspiration. The word itself conjures up something within us that makes us want to enjoy life. Journaling can be the root to an infinite tree of creative writing - fiction, non-fiction, poetry, short story, novel, fable, and folk tale alike. All rooted in the fertile ground of inspiration and watered by journaling.

SO WHAT?:

I'm going to be an English teacher (Lord willing). And I want creativity to flow like the rivers in the Garden of Eden. Rushing, full, clear, and beautiful. Journaling is so helpful. I hate journaling personally. I've just never gotten super into it. But I do confess, when I have journaled, I see myself and my world different. As if I'm some outside spectator looking in. It can be helpful. So I want to encourage that in my students. I want to encourage that in myself. Penzu.com makes it easy (I feel like a sales-person). Don't worry about loosing your journal. Carrying it around with you all the time. Online. Clean. Ready. And waiting.

I'm an old-school kind of person though. So nothing will ever fully suffice for the good-ol' composition notebooks that you take permanent marker to and script your name on the front of in big, prideful letters that announce your arrival in the coming pages.

But something must be said for this Web 2.0 tool. It's a teacher's dream. No worrying about poor, illegible handwriting! They type. You read. YES!

That's "so what."

NOW WHAT?:

Use this in a class. Assign a journal entry every week. Provide one prompt each week that they must respond to. Encourage them to write more than that. Provoke their minds into vomiting their thoughts out onto these technology bound pages. The teacher reads one entry a week. The rest can be private. The more the merrier. Write. Write. Write. Get them to write.

So, really, truly, now what?

Now you find a way to get them to write - whether it's with Penzu or not - so that they know how to express themselves in words that fold like origami. People like to talk about themselves. So let them talk. Let them write.

WRITE. WRITE. WRITE. get them to write. good writing. thoughtful, inspired, meaningful writing.

Until next time.

Reflection #4 - Looking at What I Learned About the ActivBoard

I just finished observing Mrs. Wageman use the ActivBoard at Lake Washington High School, and this is what I learned and what I think about WHAT I learned:

• The ActivBoard is actually super easy to use!
• You can use your fingers on the ActivBoard like you can with the SMARTBoard.
• The ActivBoard seems less glitchy.
• ActivBoard has fewer pre-made resources than SMARTBoard, but does have different tools and more easy-to-find images.
• ActivBoard seemed easier to create programs/flip-shows on than SMARTBoard is.
• ActivBoard has more academic backgrounds (graph paper, lined paper, handwriting lined paper, etc.).

SO WHAT?:

• I'm not going to say that I'm absolutely sure I like the ActivBoard better than the SMARTBoard, but it does have some wonderful features that SMARTBoard does not. It makes me curious - what's the percentage difference between how many SMARTBoards are in schools versus how many ActivBoards are in schools. I have definitely seen more SMARTBoards in my time, but ActivBoard almost seems easier. I think the main thing for me is ease-of-creation. I know that being a teacher is hard, time-consuming, tiring, and challenging, and I have a feeling that I'm not going to want to be completely reformatting slides so that they fit what I want to teach while using the SMARTBoard. But the ActivBoard seems to make it easier and less complicated. I like the option to "right-click" also. That is very nice. However, the language arts tools in the ActivBoard software are all very elementary level. Fortunately, it's simple to make my own activity... :D

NOW WHAT?:

• I don't really know the answer to that. I suppose either way I would just like to have an interactive white board in my classroom - regardless of what kind (would probably prefer the ActivBoard though). Now, I have thought through this decision and reconciled in my heart that it's okay to let SMARTBoards take second place in the race for my heart.

Until next time.

Week 8 - A Post Praising the ActivBoard (required)

"My ActivBoard Top Ten" by Nigel Pearce

Here are the ten points summarized:

1. 'Mouse Over' - the pen acts and performs exactly like a computer mouse
2. 'Left and Right Click' - the pen can be used like a computer mouse in regards to the option of left or right click
3. Superb Accuracy - great control and precision due to the pen
4. Highly Responsive - write fast or slow, the board can pick up the pen's every movement
5. Durable Surface - it's strong like Muhammad Ali
6. Keeps you in Control - the only recorded input is taken solely from the pen
7. Natural Writing Posture - put your whole hand on the board when you write, rest the side of you palm, it's okay
8. Allows use of Real Objects - ActivBoard only records the pen, so you can touch it with anything else (compass, ruler, hand, etc)
9. Unaffected by Lighting or Line-of-Sight - the pen just works; light doesn't affect the board, write away
10. Multi-input Pen Device - two people can write simultaneously with separate pens; it's fantastic!!!

Okay, from what I just read - I'm beginning to like the ActivBoard A LOT. Especially since more than one person can write at once and you can have other things/objects touching the board at the same time as you write. What genius!

I just want to know if the ActivBoard has software like the SMARTBoard and if you can do all the fancy links and double taps to open things like the SMARTBoard?

Until next time.

Week 7 - A Post Questioning School Websites (required)

Edmonds Woodway High School

The initial visuals of this site are pleasing - white background, calm green accents, friendly picture at the top, appears very organized, announcements down the middle, etc. There is a bar on the left side that provides links to school programs, tools, and information. From those links, you are brought to a plethora of pages ranging in format/style/formality. Some are highly standard and purely html made; others possess a framework similar to or exactly like the home page.

I looked more in-depth at the Athletics page(s). Since I went to EWHS and played both soccer and softball, I referenced the athletic page a lot during my high school years. When I needed information on that site - it wasn't there. There were no updates or valuable information when I wanted it. But now... the site is much better.

Things that are improved: coaches and contact information are updated and available, provides meeting information, discusses eligibility, has links to documents, etc.

I wish that it had more specific pages for each sport though. It'd be cool to have pictures of past teams and coaches, and team/sport schedules specific to a page.

Overall, the format and appearance of the athletic site is well organized and easy to read. There probably should be more separation between information, or separate links to things, but as a whole - it's VERY much improved.

I noticed while looking at the home-page, a note about who created the site:

Credits

This site was designed and created by Edmonds-Woodway High School Students in the Advanced Web Authoring course in the 2008-2009 school year. Click here for more info.

Reflection #3 - YouTube, Posting the Video on Your Blog: a tutorial

As per the request of DeAnna, I will now attempt to give instruction on how to go about adding a YouTube video to a blog post. I will end this "tutorial" with the questions, "so what," and "now what."

WHAT:

• How to start? - Pick a video of course! For this purpose I choose to add an interview my friend Devin had with a girl band, Vivian Girls. I have "screen captured" the page that I see when I go to Devin's video. Here it is:

- below is this bit "enlarged" -

• Now, as you can hopefully see, in the very bottom right corner, the word "Embed" is there followed by a sequence of symbols and text (looks strangely like that of the html coding we learned the other week). At the end of the box containing the html coding, there is a little gear, it's blue and it's a button. Click it. Your screen will then look like this (only smaller because I'm blowing mine up):

• From here you just choose which settings you would like. When you click, unclick, and select colors/sizes, the little gray box in the corner there will change to show you what the video will look like when you put it on your blog/website/etc. Here is what my selections look like if I were going to put this video on my blog:

• Now all you do is click in the box next to "Embed" and copy that coding. You place it directly into your blog/website in the exact location in the text that you want it. Depending on the size of your blog format, the video could be bigger or smaller - you should just work with trial and error. Here's my final product all copied and pasted into my text:

• Hopefully those were good directions - comment or email me if you are confused or have questions!!!

SO WHAT?:

Knowing how to imput videos onto your class website or blog is beneficial for everyone. You now know exactly where to find it when you need it; parents can watch the videos that their children do in class; students can re-watch the videos if necessary.

NOW WHAT?:

Now go out and use this information! Put it to work - practice, practice, practice. And find out something new about technology that you can do on your computer that you didn't know how to before. :D

Until next time.