POST #3 RSS-Feeds added!!

Wow! I can't beleive it!! I actually did it!! I wonder does it work??
Here are the instructions I started with to set this up:

Edit Your Settings to Allow RSS Feeds

 

Sign in and access your blog's 'Dashboard' page

Click on the 'Settings' link in the 'Manage' menu.

.                 Find and click on the 'Site Feed' link in the 'Settings' tab

Select 'Full,' 'Short' or 'None' from the drop-down menu labeled 'Allow Blog Feed.' This allows for the full version of your text to be syndicated or just the first paragraph. 

Choose the 'Advanced Mode' link to have more control over your blog syndication. The advanced mode allows you to choose if you want posts, comments or per-post comment feeds. 

View your blog page to see the 'Subscribe to Posts' through the Atom feed method. If your viewers would like to change this to RSS, then they will need to add '?alt=rss' to the end of the site feed URL. 

How to set up RSS with Blogger.com

http://www.ehow.com/how_2031123_set-up-rss.html

**I just followed most of these instructions and then did what they told me to till it was done!!

Success!!!

I think I have the "RSS bug" as Richardson calls it!!

POST #2 RSS- will change my life??

Richardson says on page 72 that " RSS is a technology that will change your life." I'm not sure agree with him at this learning stage! Yes, I have found more sites to subscribe to just by going back to my bookmarks and seeing if there is an RSS feed. I have quickly learned how to add a subscription from that  site and now I have several new sites to view in Google Reader. I still haven't figured out how to delete the ones I read yet and the news is piling up. I don't know if I have enough time to read all the updates so I guess they will just stay there for now. I can always unsubscribe them if I want. Anyway, I found a couple of sites with tutorials and I think I might try to add an RSS feed to this site??? Here goes!!

http://www.mnot.net/rss/tutorial/

http://www.ehow.com/how_2031123_set-up-rss.html

Post #1 RSS starting out!

I have to say that this is a totally new tool for me! I know that it provides you with new information from a site, but the rest is a mystery. It’s a good thing there is a book to go with this course!

Here are some things I learned from reading chapter 5 in Richardson’s book.

-RSS means really simply syndication…..what does syndication mean??

-content comes to you instead of you going to get it

-uses a software called aggregator or feed collector

-it checks the feeds you subscribe to frequently, collects the new content

-when you want to see the new feeds you go to your aggregator and read, share or delete

Richardson mentions some reasons why you should use RSS. The first is so that you can read more content from more sources in less time.  The other reason is that the aggregator will let you know when someone on the internet has published a key word that you are interested in. This would be useful if you were doing a project in school and wanted all the new info on that topic coming to you instead of doing a search yourself. With all this new information coming to you, RSS may be adding to your information overload …..not easing it!!

Signing up: I believe I signed up earlier in the term??? I’m not totally sure ??

I followed the steps on page 73. I went to Google Reader and logged in using my account that I have with Google. What a surprise!! Guess what? I do have an account!! There were 290 feeds there for me from CBC news! I had a feeling I signed up….but I had no idea how to get the feeds! Now, I know what is going on.  I went in and deleted most of the messages….or whatever they are called. Next Richardson said to add subscriptions! I did a search for the Weather Network and Environment Canada but nothing came up?? I did a search for some other topics, but I didn’t find anything I want to subscribe to. I think I will leave this for now, do some more readings, and play with this RSS!

#4 Post on Blogs-Final post on this subject!

Advice from Richardson on using classroom blogs:

-start small by posting homework and links

-do some professional development before with parents, students and teachers

-talk about safety with the students right from the beginning

-get permissions and a write letter to parents informing them of the project

-have students read blogs first to show what other students are doing

-next let them respond to your class blog

-post a question each day and they have to respond a certain number of responses with expectations modeled beforehand

-finally let students have their own blog

-try to respond to student whenever possible

-teacher’s role becomes a connector, not just evaluator

I found some more good  examples of educator’s blogs worth looking at:

Viki Davis’s Cool Cat teacher blog: http://www.coolcatteacher.com/

Shelly Blake-Plock’s blog on teaching paperless: http://teachpaperless.blogspot.com/

Nice simple example of teacher blog with comments entered: http://attheteachersdesk.blogspot.com/2009/04/why-i-stream-video.html

Blog using Ustream to introduce blogging in the classroom: http://attheteachersdesk.blogspot.com/2009/04/why-i-stream-video.html

Examples of blogs in the classroom:

Good example of Math blog with a class: http://apcalc07.blogspot.com/

Totally amazing classroom blog for elementary children: http://mrcsclassblog.blogspot.com/

Excellent classroom blog! You can even go to the students’ individual blogs and see what they have written: http://itc.blogs.com/thewriteweblog/

Post #3 Blogs- the possibilites are endless!

Here are some YouTube videos that promote blogging in schools:

     From New Zealand

Interviews with students

Blogs used as a collaborative tool:

http://web.me.com/tammy.w/TipOfWeek/TammyWTechTipOfWeek/Entries/2008/8/4_Tip_50_-_Blogger_as_Collaborative_Tool.html

Post #2 Blogs: the possibilities are endless!



After doing  more reading and viewing  of  educational blogs I think I am hooked! I do enjoy blogging for this course, but I am definitely using it with my students when I go back to school next year!

Here's some things I discovered:



According to Wikipedia:  This is how you should conduct yourself in the blogging world:

The Blogger's Code of Conduct is a proposal by Tim O'Reilly for bloggers to enforce civility on their blogs by being civil themselves and moderating comments on their blog.


1. Take responsibility not just for your own words, but for the comments you allow on your blog.
2. Label your tolerance level for abusive comments.
3. Consider eliminating anonymous comments.
4. Ignore the trolls.

5. Take the conversation offline, and talk directly, or find an intermediary who can do so.
6. If you know someone who is behaving badly, tell them so.
7. Don't say anything online that you wouldn't say in person.




troll

 

T    What's a troll?-someone who posts inflammatory, extraneous, or off-topic messages in an online community

#1 Post on Blogs

I am somewhat familiar with Blogs since I had to use a blog for a course last year and am obviously using one now for LIBE 477. I used Blogger.com for both these courses and found it quite easy to use. Last year I basically used it as a reflective assignment or journal entries. I only used it to add text then and had no need to try anything else. This year I learned how to add pictures, video, audio and anything else off the internet. I really had not background in blogs and I didn’t even know anyone who used it. After reading Richardson’s book I learned a lot. Richardson says weblogs or blogs

·         are easily created and easily updated

·         are comprised of reflections and conversations

·         engage readers with ideas and questions and links

·         ask readers to think and to respond

·         demand interaction

·         can include graphics, photos , video and audio files (p.18)

He says millions of young adults have created sites at weblog hosting services like Facebook, MySpace.com, and Beebo.com (which I never heard of).  These students are really journaling and are in danger of revealing too much information with potentially negative impacts. That could be true for everyone. This is something that needs to be addressed in school! However, the benefits outweigh the detriments. Here are some positive aspects of using blogs in school from page 20.

·         can promote critical and analytical thinking

·         can be a powerful promoter of creative, intuitive and associational thinking

·         can used  for increasing access and exposure to quality information

·         can be the best mix of solitary reflection and social interaction

Richardson suggests using blogs in classrooms as class portals, online filing cabinets, e-portfolios, collaborative space, knowledge management and even web sites. He says that students will be building relationships with peers, teachers, mentors and professionals in the blog environment. (p. 21)

I have not used blogs in my classrooms but I like Richardson’s idea of creating an online filing cabinet. Students would be given their own blogs where they can post their work online for peer and teacher response. The advantage of this is that students never misplace work, it is a good place for student reflection, and work can also be shared with parents. The only issue here I believe is with computer  and internet access from home. Not every family can afford this technology and parents are not always able to help their children. In those cases the teacher would need to provide internet access from school.

Another way I would like to use blogs is in a collaborative space for a project where other schools or professionals get on board with it. I’m not sure how I would find other groups to link up with??

I found some examples of edublogs that would give me some ideas: http://edublogs.org/blog-directory/directoryelementary/

This page is the curriculum corner where you can find helpful information about using blogs in the classroom: http://edublogs.org/curriculum-corner/

I love this blog: http://www.langwitches.org/blog/! But it almost seems like a website!

I don’t see why all teachers can’t use blogs in the classroom!

I think I could go on for hours talking about blogs!

I’ll blog you later!

#3 Twitter- final thoughts!

There is always more to learn! Well, I have to say that I am still learning new things from Twitter, collecting some cool technology tools,and finding useful website along the way. What I thought was a silly useless tool has turned into one of my favourite things to explore in the last week or so. It’s free! It’s fast! It doesn’t require downloads and anyone can use it. As it turns out…..you have to be 13 to get an account, so that limits my use in an elementary setting. However, I did watch a video today where the teacher put up her Twitter account on the Smart Board and she tweeted another teacher from a different country. The students watched and she let them add short comments and they shared ideas in Spanish. So, there is a way around the 13 rule.

Here is the link for that video about Online Communities in the classroom: http://www.teachers.tv/videos/online-communities-in-the-classroom

Richardson has some examples for the use of Twitter with high school students.(p.89) . http://twitter.com/teachpaperless

Here are also some ways to use Twitter with university students: http://academhack.outsidethetext.com/home/2008/twitter-for-academia/

Here are some things I picked up from Twitter over the weekend that I thought they were worth sharing:

YouTube video about librarians and fashion: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TMYRRWT3JSU&feature=youtu.be

Let kids rule the school article:

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/15/opinion/15engel.html?_r=2&scp=1&sq=let%20kids%20rule%20the%20school&st=cse

Why social media can and is changing education:

http://georgecouros.ca/blog/archives/1860

For now, I will be using Twitter for my own personal learning! We will have to wait and see what happens in the future!

Tweet, Tweet for now!!

#2 Twitter- I chickened out!

I have to admit that I haven’t tweeted anyone over the last couple of days. I think that I like being a bird watcher! I know it sounds creepy, but I like to follow people to see what they are saying and what they are doing! Since I don’t have any friends or relatives that use Twitter, I am simply watching strangers. I am going to keep looking at #tlchat and #edchat and maybe I will have something to share with them? For now, I will stay on the sidelines and collect some useful information from others.

I did find some interesting ways that Twitter can be used in the classroom!

• Historic tweets- students develop interface and messages as historic or fictional characters
• Adopt someone- use Twitter to keep grandparents or other community members in the loop
•  Summary- students summarize in 140 characters or less. Forces them to focus on the important stuff!
•  Book Lists- Create a classroom Twitter account and use it for book recommendations. Keep kids reading through the summer!
•  Bonus/Fun Homework- tweet a bonus or fun assignment at night, like "bring me a drawing of a snail" and give students a small prize or sticker.
•  School wide Puzzle- tweet a puzzle every week on Monday at 10:17 and give a prize to the first student who turns in the correct answer to the office. Well, this would just motivate students to use their cell phones in class, but it would be fun!
•  Tweet Pals- Have pen pals at another school over Twitter.
• Attendance Reminders- create a Twitter group of students who could benefit from on-time reminders. Send tweet to group in am before school, reminding students that you are looking forward to seeing them that day. (http://twitterforteachers.wetpaint.com/page/Elementary+School)

In a way, Twitter is like using text messaging or mini-blogs with your students! I can see this becoming very popular and motivating with children in school! There are of course issues with using this tool. You will be allowing cell phones in the classroom. Parents might not be on your side here and students might not just be texting you, but their friends instead. Also, students need to be taught that there are certain dangers with Twitter, Facebook or other social media! “You are what you Tweet!” Whatever you tweet can be viewed by anyone! This site gives short stories about the good and bad results of using Twitter http://twitterforteachers.wetpaint.com/page/Cautions+for+Educators

I found that this site had lots of tips for teachers about how to use Twitter in the classroom: http://twitterforteachers.wetpaint.com/

Also of use to teachers is the Twitter dictionary which shows you how to abbreviate words so you can say more: http://twitterforteachers.wetpaint.com/page/Twitter+Dictionary

Since most students have their own cell phone this is definitely an educational tool for the future. Getting everyone on board and doing some professional development with staff and parents is needed in order to get idea up and running.

#1 Twitter- For the birds??

Well, I have to be honest! I really had no interest in getting a Twitter account until I did this course. I had no desire to follow Lady Ga Ga or any other celebrity, and I didn’t have any friends that were using this tool in education. However, now that I have joined up, I do see the appeal, but I am still trying to find the use in the classroom.

Earlier in March I signed up for an account. This of course, was the easy step. The next part was a little more difficult for me. I got an email conformation and that gave me a link of suggestions on what to follow. I really had no idea which people or interests to follow so I just chose Rick Mercer, Bill Gates, David Spade, Kathy Griffin, Danny Devito, Jim Cary, The Telegram- local newspaper, the Library of Congress, The NY Public library and CBC NL. I discovered that some of the celebrities don’t tweet very often and others write meaningless stuff. I did get some updates on the news and the weather with CBC and the Telegram.  Then I didn’t know what else to do or look at, so I just left Twitter for a while.

During the week, I sat down and read the chapter in Richardson’s book on Twitter. I learned that it is simply a great way to share, ask questions and get answers to just about anything. I don’t know why I have been afraid of Twitter! Reading more about it and how it works gave me a little more confidence so last night I tackled it again!

This time there were new suggestions for me! I found Joyce Valenza! I followed her and then found the #tlchat and #edchat!  Wow, there was a lot more interesting conversations going there! I also got sites that had useful topics for my courses:

YouTube video about librarians and fashion: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TMYRRWT3JSU&feature=youtu.be

Let kids rule the school article:

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/15/opinion/15engel.html?_r=2&scp=1&sq=let%20kids%20rule%20the%20school&st=cse

Why social media can and is changing education:

http://georgecouros.ca/blog/archives/1860

Later, I decided to do my first tweet. The instructions were right there on the Twitter page for me to follow! It was quite easy! I had not idea what so say so I said “I'm just following some tweets and saving some excellent websites for teacher-librarians!” I don’t know who will see my tweet??? Success, never the less!

My next goal is to tweet someone in particular! What will I say?? After that, I want to find ways to use Twitter in the classroom!

p.s. my Twitter name is newvalhelen!

#3 Social Networking Sites

Over the weekend, I looked at LibraryThing and Shelfari. I had run across those names before and had no idea that it had anything to do with a book networking site. To me I thought Librarything was about a library monster and Shelfari was some sort of safari. As it turns out they are both places for storing and sharing books. Sorry, I was a little disappointed that it wasn’t some wild crazy site about libraries. Is there such a site about libraries? Anyway, I decided that I didn’t want to sign up for both, so I chose LibraryThing because I had heard of it more often.

LibraryThing- It was relatively easy to sign up for. You give a user name and password and you’re on. Next I spent a few hours just trying to figure out what it was all about. There is a lot to read and a lot of text on the main page…maybe a little overwhelming. On the home page I like the Group suggestions, Popular this month, Hot reviews, Top wishlisted books, and what members are reading. This tells me what great books are out there and tells me more than Amazon or Chapters. For some reason, the site knows where I live and this pops up everywhere. I don’t recall telling them my address, so it kind or bothers me! I took a Very Short Introduction to LibraryThing and learned a few tips, but I think it is something that you need to play with in order to figure it out. I made my own mini library with a few of the books I had lying around the family room. I was surprised it was so easy to do. You simply type in the ISBN and the book pops up. I put in a few tags, but I haven’t figured out how to give them a rating yet. This site also tells you what local events are going on in your area. So far, there has been nothing going on? I will try and play with LibraryThing little more in order to figure out how to display children’s books. For now, it looks like an adult book sharing site that I will be using for my own personal reasons and for sharing reviews with friends  at the my Book Licker’s Monthly Club.

If this was available for students it would be an excellent educational tool! They could add their recommendations, share with others, read and write their own reviews. The teacher would have everything under one roof for evaluation and students would love it! This is something that I will look into for next year!
Here is a link to my catalogue! http://www.librarything.com/catalog/vhspen1

Oh, No! I have made a terrible mistake!!!! Shelfari is awesome!!!! Wow, it is so much cleaner, brighter and simpler than LibraryThing. I love the size of the books and the little book shelf you can create! When you hold the mouse over the book jacket, up pops a quick preview, a rating and how many members have read it. It looks like you can do basically the same things with each site, but the main page in Shelfari is more visually appealing and user friendly. I believe that I will have to switch over to Shelfari and say good-bye to LibraryThing!

Get a load of Neil Gaiman’s bookshelves: http://blog.shelfari.com/my_weblog/2009/09/neil.html

Here are some reviews of LibraryThing and Shelfari: http://librarytwopointzero.blogspot.com/2006/10/librarything-shelfari-and-gurulib.html

There are good and bad things about each. Shelfari doesn’t have separate groups and communities like LibraryThing, but Shelfari lets you input any many books are you like. I guess it depends on your preference. I know that I don’t have time to keep both going though.

So many things to do….so little time…
Valerie

#2 Social Networking Sites

Facebook in the classroom. Well after reading up in this issue, I have realized that I am not supposed to use this tool in the elementary grades, where I teach. I knew that children were using Facebook, but I actually didn’t recognize the fact that they were lying about their age and therefore weren’t aloud to be using this social media until they turned 13.  How naive I am! I guess I should get my head out of the sand as Tami Lewis Brown says in her blog! http://throughthetollbooth.com/2011/01/21/kids-books-and-facebook-taking-our-heads-out-of-the-sand/ Apparently, millions of children under 13 are using it every day. Why don’t we simply let those children join, since they are doing it anyway? I know that the age thing is there to protect children from the dangers of society, but sometime they have to learn about this. They are on the internet for hours every day with no supervision. Would being on Facebook be any different?

I spotted an excellent book from the public library that is a useful guide for parents and educators; A Smart Kid’s Guide to Social Networking Online (2010) by David J. Jakubiak published by PowerKids Press, New York. This resource is worth having in a school library. It deals with games, rules, bullies online, predators, leaving a Network and gives safety tips.  The safety tips could be discussed with students and linked to the school’s website.  Here are some of the safety tips that should be shared with parents:

·         Personal facts do not belong in profiles or blogs. Keep that off the internet

·         Keep your time online to 2 hours or fewer a day

·         Have an adult use security software to block out bad words and sites that are not meant for kids

·         Keep your passwords to yourself. If someone finds out a password, change it.

·         If someone puts your personal facts online, have an adult contact the site right sway to get them taken down

·         Spend some time checking out a site before you sign up. Make sure it is right for you

·         Always have a parent or guardian read over the site’s rules with you when you sign up for a social-networking site.

Obviously I digress from my topic! Back to Facebook in the classroom.  In Richardson’s book he mentioned talking to the administration before you begin a project and also get the parents approval.  Richardson talked about another teacher’s project where they created a private group. Here the students could exchange information on each others walls, answer questions and create shared space or materials for the course. This must have been with high school students.

For another teacher’s project Richardson described the buzz and excitement from students with the idea of using Facebook. The teacher first had a couple of lessons on the Internet and appropriate use of technology in the classroom. Next, the teacher posted a question or topic that students had to respond to by a certain length of time. They posted photos and videos and built a class community. He said that the quiet kids actually spoke up online and when someone was sick they used Facebook to keep her up to date. I think that this would be a great idea for older students who are mature enough to know how to behave online and can work independently! I had to wonder if this was anything different than doing a class blog?? Can’t you do the same things with blogs or even wikis?

The Unquiet Library looks like a great Facebook portal for students, teachers and librarians to share and give feedback. I just don’t know why the TL didn’t use a blog, wiki or website software. http://www.tinyurl.com/1956sc

Here are a couple of sites that I found interesting related to Facebook in the classroom:

Educational value:http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2008/jun/25/schools.uk2

Facebook degree: http://www.online-degree-programs-guide.com/is-facebook-educational.html

A final quote from Anthea Lipsett’t article in guardian.co.uk; Stephen Crowne, Becta's chief executive, said: "As technology increasingly becomes a key ingredient in classroom learning, broadening our knowledge of the technology used in school can really bring benefits, whether you are a parent, carer, governor or teacher."

#1 Social Networking Sites

Beware of Facebook!

Facebook is fun! Last year, I finally joined up to see what the fuss was all about. My husband didn’t want me or my daughter to join Facebook because he said that your privacy could be invaded. For our daughter he had heard stories of young girls being friends with older men and secretly meeting up and running away. All my daughter’s friends were on and even my mother had an account.  So, last fall, when I was home alone doing 3 online courses, I decided it was time.

Getting an account was very simple, but you do have to put in some personal information and give an email account, so I got my first Hotmail account.  Once I was signed up, friend requests starting coming in. Soon I was able to talk to relatives and see pictures of my cousins in Toronto and Montreal. At work, I could keep up on people’s birthdays, vacations and special events. I enjoyed viewing the videos that friends put up on the wall and sent messages to my friend in Carbonear, who I don’t see very often. I even found an old high school buddy that I haven’t been in contact with in twenty years. I quickly learned how to post photos and make an album, plus tag them. Now, I post pictures all the time! I did make a short video of my tree swaying in the front yard during the Igor hurricane and posted it on Facebook. It sure took a long while to download and I was holding my breath the whole time. I am not worried about displaying personal photos because I know all the friends and there is no security breach there. A couple of times I did a chat with friends, but I really haven’t delved into special functions. Sometimes, I get invited into doing a survey or some other game, but I have stayed away from those activities.

A couple of months ago we let my daughter join Facebook. She wasn’t all that excited because the thrill had essentially gone with her friends…..it wasn’t a big deal anymore.  I was very careful not to let her reveal too much information. We set up a fake address and phone number. I debated revealing her real birthday. However, if you don’t list the correct one, your friends can’t wish you a happy birthday. She doesn’t show personal pictures of herself on the site and her profile picture is our family pet. I have been on her site and she has only invited friends she knows. She is careful not to say too much, because she knows that I can see her wall anytime.

Anyway, at this point I have been using Facebook as a social tool. I don’t stay on too long, but I do check it every couple of days to see what’s on the go. Recently, I saw a TV. program about Facebook where a boy had his account hacked. Someone got in and messed up his profile. The techie person showed the mother how to set up privacy settings so that this would not happen to her son again. The next day I got an email from my sister in Calgary who told me I should change my privacy settings. This convinced me to go right away and change the privacy settings to friends only. This was a simple thing to do so I told my daughter to do the same.  I didn’t realize that anyone could view my information. I thought that only my friends could view it….boy was I wrong! Today, I feel a little bit safer!

Hi Joanne, I looked for you on Facebook, and found a couple of people with names like yours. The ones with profile pictures weren’t you, but there was one with no picture. I didn’t put in a request because I wasn’t sure if it was you. If you want to be my friend send me a request! My email is valeriesb@hotmail.ca You can also send me a request through my Facebook page here:http://www.facebook.com/home.php?ref=hp#!/profile.php?id=100001691580280

Here is a screen shot of my Facebook page!

Next post- Facebook in the classroom!! Are we ready for that!

#7 Final post on Presentation tools

Although I liked using Animoto, I would recommend that you put this free animation software tool goanimate.com on your list for next year. With this tool students can create a sort of comic. You can choose characters, setting, voices, movements and background music. Students can write a story or have a conversation. They get to choose dialogue baloons ,add text and voice. There doesn't seem to be any limit to how many you can create for free and it is so easy to create. I know students will love it! Have a look at one I did for a course last year.
http://goanimate.com/movie/0Ru10thoPam0/1


Here is another free presentation tool for sharing photos: Zooburst.com. It is a popup book. You can take your mouse and move around the sides of the book to see all the pictures, plus you can add text to explain the photos.


http://www.zooburst.com/zb_books-viewer.php?book=zb0_4ceec4c9e9016#embed

#6 presentation tools: Animoto

Further thoughts on Animoto:
I went back in and made another 30 second video for free. It looks like you can make as many 30 videos as you like! Definitely worth using in class, but I tried embedding it and it wouldn't work!
http://animoto.com/play/dKTFzXzrzs8al6BHSJ3lHQ?utm_content=challenger

#5 presentation tools Xtranormal

Update on Xtranormal:

I went back to try to make another movie with this tool, but found that I still did not have enough free points to even finish making one. I read up on creating an educational account and it said that educators could get discounts or grants to produce their own movies. It says that this does not apply to entire classes or schools. I did not figure out how to get this discount!! I would not recommend this tool to anyone.

#4 Presentation tools Animoto reviews

Since Richardson’s book did not have discussions on presentation tools I looked to the internet to see what people had to say. Here are two reviews of Animoto:

Primary Learning Technologies Network by Chris Pearson:
http://www.ltnetwork.edublogs.org/animoto

• Can be used to create powerful multimedia quickly and easily.
• helps to promote an understanding of visual literacy
• Students can shoot and/or collect potent images,
• Students can create powerful verbal audio to accompany their images or compose songs to accompany their visuals.
• provokes the student to consider both the impact of their work and the media choosen for that work.
• When embedded in other web 2.0 tools it encourages real world feedback on student work.
• Can be used for literacy assessment


Trey Ratcliff’s blog on Animoto: http://www.stuckincustoms.com/animoto-review/

Benefits of Animoto

• Easy to use and fairly idiot-proof
• Make something that looks professional even if you are a rookie, hack, miscreant, or all three
• The video is online immediately and very easy for you to embed into your website, blog, and the like
• Looking to deliver an “added feature” to your clients, this is something that is easy and has an amazing “wow” factor

Reasons Not to Use Animoto

• Do you already have a Mac and iPhoto + iMovie? If so, you can create very similar effects with these programs… However, these are a little harder to use and don’t have some of the “themes” that Animoto offers
• You only have a few photos or very little “source” material. Animoto can’t help you with that
• Cost – if you are on a super-tight budget, then the “free” parts of Animoto might not have enough power for you


Comments by other reviewers on this site:

David: “i have been using Animoto for over a year now and find one thing annoying…you are limited to the length of the song you choose in the presentation. I would like to see the capability of using more than one song back-to-back. I find the use of video and still photos to be particularly effective. However, this increases the overall length of the Animoto production and requires a longer tune. Their choices aren’t particularly great, and you must be careful of copyright laws using other music. Overall, I would give it an “A” grade for wow factor, a B+ for ease of use, but maybe a C for flexibility.”


Jake Laughlin “I love everything but the music choices. I wish there was a way to use your own music! Otherwise, I have no complaints!”

I agreee with many of their ideas. The length of the video depends on the length of the song. You have limited choices when it comes to the music. I didn't have any issue with the pictures because they were mine and the quality was fine. Again, if you want the upgraded version, you can do much more, but you have to pay for it.
I would still use this with my students! It is so simple to teach and very effective. I am now giving it a two thumbs up!
Val

#3 presentation sites

Today I tried out another presentation tool called Animoto. This tool turns pictures into a sort of video presentation. It appears to be free, but I believe that you can only create a 30 second video and then it will cost money. I will have to get back to you on that.

Anyway, I signed up using my email and a password then I waited for an email. It came right away! I had a look at the demos and the tutorial and started immediately. This is definitely the easiest tool that I have used by far. It tells you what to do every step of the way.

First you import pictures from your computer (or you can download from the internet). Then you can scramble them up or put them in a particular order. You can showcase a certain photo that you the show to pause on.
Next, you can add text to the frames if you want. I just added a couple of things.

Finally you pick the music to go along with it. I was not totally in love with the music. I had my daughter help me pick the music. We didn’t know any of the artists in the top 40 songs. It said you could download you own, but I didn’t try that option.

Once you have the photos, text and music Animoto puts the media together and creates a one of a kind cute little video. Apparently you can share with Facebook , YouTube and other social media but I didn’t figure out how to do that. I couldn’t find the embed code so I chose to save the link. Students will love this presentation tool. It is so simple, but amazingly engaging. I wonder how many videos you can create for free…something else to investigate. At this point though I give it a one thumb up!

Here is the link to what I created. These are photos of the library at my school and a few pics of the kids.

http://animoto.com/play/m9ro0YRghBosNQ10YefNOw?utm_content=challenger

#2 Presentation sites

I am not impressed!
Today, I set out to make a better video with Xtranormal.com. I was feeling more adverturous this time, so I made a longer video and put in more camera angles and actions. When I went to publish it, a box came up and said that I needed more points in order to publish it.Then I would have to buy a points bundle. It looks like it is not free after all!! I saved the movie, but am not sure if I can publish it without paying for a points bundle. I give this presentation site a 2 thumbs down! I will try again later to publish it, but I am not paying a thing!

Very disappointed Valerie...

#1 Presentation sites first try

Today I signed up for movie making with Xtranormal.com. I have already tried Voicethread, and Prezi so I thought I would try something different.

Step 1: I signed up for an account on Tuesday, March 8th at about 8:30 pm NT. The process was simple, just like all the others.

Step 2: I spent some time looking at the demos and videos to see what this presentation tool was all about. It looks like a movie making site. I have made some comics with Goanimate last year, so Xtranormal reminded me of that technology. There are characters, scenes, text to type in and some sounds to add.

Step 3: Play with it. I picked the actors, the background scenery (not to many choices there) and sound effects. I added some text and previewed it. The difficult thing was deciding what to say, so I chose to have a conversation about wikis. Students will need to have something in mind for a script before they start. I am not totally impressed with my first results. I like how you can upload to Youtube and other sites.

Step 4: embed the video into my blog. Copy and paste the embed code like all the other tools.

Here is my first production:



You might have to click on the green screen to get it started.

#6 Final Tips on wikis

Here are some tips I learned from Vicki Davis's website:


1. Students should do small edits and not leave the page open for too long. This could be a problem for students. They will need to have their written material ready and work fast!
2. You should refresh before writing- never tried that!

3. You need to discuss ethical use and websafety with students before starting a project

4. Communicate often.

5.Use the history button to find out what edits have gone on lately.

6.Discuss with students after each session.

Ways to use wikis:

1.lesson summaries
2.notes for collaboration eg. studying
3.concept introduction and exploration projects
4.learn shares?
5.individual assessment
6.rewards- wiki hall of fame or honourable mention.

http://k12wiki.wikispaces.com


Students will love to use wikis in school and they won't even realize that they are learning so much!!
Totally my favourite tool so far!! Did I already say that??

Val...trying to get 14 or 15 out of 15......

#5 wikis in the classroom by Vicki Davis

Wikis in the Classroom

View more presentations from Vicki Davis.

I saw this on Vicki Davis's website @ http://k12wiki.wikispaces.com and thought I would share it.

#4 Other wikis

Here are some other examples of other wikis worth sharing:

http://minddrive.wikispaces.com/



http://newteacherchat.wikispaces.com/



How to set up WetPaint.com Youtube video with music: More of a Social Networking site


Pbwiki Youtube video:



Tutorial for how to create a wiki:

http://www.wikispaces.com/content/wiki-tour/introduction

#3 Implications and Applications for wikis

Since I am familiar with wikis I already knew quite a bit about them. By reading Richardson’s article I learned more interesting facts and found some more uses for them in education. As you are aware “wiki” means short or quick in Hawaiian. Which is what wikis are all about. Wikipedia is one of my favourite places to find information and I know my students use it regularly. I frequently use it myself, but am unsure of the accuracy and lately I have been wondering if everything is true in this site. I don’t think that students know that anyone can edit anything on Wikipedia. Richardson however commented that ”there are vastly more editors who want to make it right then who want make it wrong.”(p.56) This reassures me that at least someone is monitoring the sites and the false information being added is removed quickly. Richardson says that Wikipedia is becoming a trusted and cited source. However, I still wouldn’t use Wikipedia as my only source in an assignment. I would say to students that it is a good starting point for research which would give a basic understanding of a topic and supply further links to more detailed information.

One of my favourite uses for wikis is for sharing and collaborating information. This idea has not caught on in my school at the moment but I think that with a little demonstration, teachers would love it. I have collaborated on an assignment for a course this term and it was very convenient for displaying information and discussing ideas. You didn’t have to email files back and forth and you could edit the other person’s text on the spot.

I was at a T-L inservice last month where a school did a collaborative wiki for the Oil and Gas Industry week. Students researched information and made their own wiki pages. The technology teacher put it all together and now they have an excellent resource that can be shared with the school community and the whole world. http://skh-careers-oilandgas.wikispaces.com/ This kind of wiki could be done in any school. Now that I have become more confident in creating my own wikis, I am going to promote this activity with teachers in my school and I can’t wait to do it in my own class.

I would recommend Joyce Valenza’s wiki page for school librarians and educators in general. http://informationfluency.wikispaces.com/21st+Century+Librarians. This is an excellent resource about reading, collection development, new technology, professional development, teaching and learning and so much more.

I had a look at some of the wikis that Richardson suggested.
http://k12wiki.wikispaces.com Vicki Davis presents an excellent wiki to show all the uses of wikis in the classrooms.

http:/pbwiki.com is more suited towards businesses that want to collaborate.

Westwood.wikispaces.com was old and not in use at the present.
http://www.seedwiki.com- I didn’t really understand what this was all about. All I got when I searched for this was a one page explanation.

http://www.schtuff.com looks like a photography site which I am not really interested in at the moment and wikicities.com doesn’t work anymore.

Two wikis that I will definitely be using in my classrooms are: wikibooks http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Main_Page and wikijunior. http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Wikijunior Richardson suggests that you could have students create or add entries to Wikibooks, then keep track of how someone else edits them on the site. With Wikijunior the editors are looking for students’ contributions to the full-colour booklets for children ages eight to eleven. (p.63)

As online tools and internet accessible text becomes more available to the world one may wonder what will happen to print material and textbooks on paper. Do we do away with books in the library and simply rent out e-readers? This is something for me to ponder for the Vision of the Future Project.

#2 The progress I have made with wikis

Here is a screen shot of my first attempt at wikis:
1. http://libe465digitallibrary.wikispaces.com/

This is my first attempt at a wiki in winter 2010 that I didn’t like, so I didn’t continue with. You couldn’t copy and paste pictures and basically I didn’t know how to edit. Also, I needed to have books available to read through the website. I’m still not sure how to do that.

2. http://lled465creativesynthesis.wikispaces.com/
This is my second attempt for a Creative Synthesis last term. I did videos and just left the links on the screen. Now I know how to imbed the videos and files!

3. http://lled462assignmentnumber2.wikispaces.com/
This is my third wiki that I created with another UBC student in B.C. She had never used wikis before and it worked out pretty well. We copied and pasted our parts of the assignments into the wiki. My partner had trouble putting items in though. I did leave the wiki open to the public, so I thought anyone could put items up, however, this seemed to be a problem for her. In the end, I guess I should have sent her invitation to my site. I’ll know better for next time. She also sent me comments in the discussion area. That was neat, I didn’t even know about that.

4. http://libe463valassignments.wikispaces.com/
Here is a wiki that I am doing this term for LIBE463- all my assignments are put on the wiki pages. This is where I have learned the most. By simply playing with the tools I figured out how to insert pictures, files and widgets and so much more.

5. http://mpiteachers.wikispaces.com/
Here is a wiki I started today for the teachers in my school to share websites and resources.

#1 Wikis are the best!

Wikis are now my favourite educational tool! I started out about a year ago making my first wiki and didn't really know what I was doing, so instead I used Weebly.com to create my first website. Since then I have used wikis for my courses at UBC and now I know all about their uses. I can't wait till I get back in the classroom so I can share what I have learned!! In my next post I will show you the wikis I created and the progress that I have made. I have also started a new wiki for staff sharing of resources. cheers, val

#8 Podcasts in the classroom

Here is a Youtube video on podcasts that I found. I think it would be a great way of introducing Podcasts to a staff.

#7 podcasting sites

Here are some useful websites I found for educators with more ideas.

1. Podcasting in the Classroom http://userwww.sfsu.edu/~nshelley/ is a great introductory website for teachers, full of lessons ideas for teachers and tips for the students.

2. Educational Podcasting Resources http://www.stager.org/podcasting.html contains podcasting information and related sites from Gary Stager with topics such as "What is Podcasting?" to "How Do You Create Podcasts?"

3. Podcasting 101 for K–12 Librarians by Esther Kreider Eash http://www.infotoday.com/cilmag/apr06/Eash.shtml discusses just what a podcast is, reasons to use podcasts in school libraries, how to create a podcast and suggests websites and software.

4.NASA Podcasts http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/podcasting/ contains podcasts on the solar system, the universe, earth, shuttle, station and human research and so much more.
http://vocaroo.com/?media=vgJo0Uvu3eVvEneBe

5. http://www.podomatic.com poscasting site with links to podcasts from around the world

6. http://www.Vocaroo.com a voice recording service newly developing

Podcasting #6

Please listen to my podcast as I discuss ideas from the textbook and applications in the classroom.

#5 podcasting

I don't know which I like better Podomatic or Vocaroo? I think Vocaroo would be easy for students to handle and you don't need to sign up for an account. However, I'm not sure if you can do editing or be able to save all you podcasts with Vocaroo. This is something to experiment with.

#4 Trying out new podcasting technique

Boy that was easy!

Podcast #3

It was a success!
I just signed up for PodOmatic and recorded right off my webcam. The first post I made a mistake and posted the website. The second post I embeded the podcast. More on Podcasting later!
Val

postcast test #2

this is a podcast test #1

http://valeriespencerbarron.podomatic.com/entry/2011-02-21T10_19_20-08_00

Social Bookmarking #3 Diigo

Now that I have been playing with Diigo for a while, I am starting to like it. Whenever I go to a different computer in my house I can still find all my bookmarks. I have also learned how to find other people's bookmarks with similar tags such as mine. I am still working on making groups or lists. At the moment, it just looks like a list of bookmarks without any order.
From reading a recommended sites about Diigo at http://wiki.classroom20.com/Social+Bookmarking and reading Richarson's book I have learned a few applications for the classroom.
-you can create accounts for your school's departments or grade levels and teachers can all contribute to the databases of web resources
-you can collaborate on projects with other schools
-you can network with other teachers from around the world
-it gives the students live links to select instead of typing in the exact URL
-it let's students choose from a variety of acceptable trusted websites
-students can access the bookmarks outside of school for projects and research
-you can highlight or add sticky notes for your students
-the teacher can leave feedback on a student blog post and he/she can leave notes for the teacher
Richardson suggested setting up a "Best Practices" tag to share with parents and the school community.

The only problem I see right now is when students leave notes and comments for the teacher. Will the educator have time to read and check all the notes. Would it be safe to have students contacting people from around the world? Who is responsible for their activities at home on the Internet?
Just some thoughts.

Here is a link to my Diigo account:
http://www.diigo.com/user/snowdays

Social Bookmarking #2 Let's get it started!

I decided not to sign up for Delicious, because I tried that once and found it overwhelming, plus I can't find the username and password. Instead, I signed up for Diigo. I figured since the instructions were in the book it would be quite helpful.It was very easy to sign up! I picked an simple username and password that I could share with my students. I like the fact that it is primarily safe to use in schools and teachers can set privacy settings to classmates only. Unfortunately, it appears that there will be some educational ads. I would prefer no advertisements, but I will have to see what they're like.
Anyway, I now have an account. I had a little difficulty in putting Diigo on the toolbar. The instructions in Richardson's book are different now. There was a little symbol of a yellow star with a green arrow on it ...and that is where you add items to the tool bar.I also started to put some of my favourites in Diigo. Here are the problems here: While on the site I have to copy and paste the site into Diigo. After the set up, I can't click the back button to go back to that site again. With just adding to favourites you click add and then it is done, plus you page is still there. Maybe I am doing something wrong??
As of now, I have added several sites to Diigo. I haven't figured out how to share them or see others?? That is my next challenge. How will I share this social bookmark with you?? I don't think there is a link? How will I use this in the classroom? The adventure begins!

Social Bookmarking #1

I have been reading up on social bookmarking in Will Richardson's book. I really didn't think there was anything special about social bookmarking, but now I can see some of the benefits. I am not the most organized person out there and when I see a page on the internet I simpy select favourites and then add. No one had told me any other way to do it. Now, I have hundreds of favourites and sometimes I can't find them. Like just before I did this blog, I couldn't find the site under my favourites. Maybe my mind is just not working right....or there's that organizational problem again!
According to Richardson there are over 10 billion pages of we information up right now and there are millions being added each year. (p.89).With social bookmarking you can keep you favourites organized and share them with others. You can find these bookmarks any time you are on the internet and not just from your home computer. I like the idea of putting tags and annotations to help keep them together.
Richardson says that it "creates your own community of researchers that is gathering information for you."(p.89). I am looking forward to sharing and seeing other bookmarks for the social bookmarking.

video sharing #5

Video sharing post
In chapter 8 Richardson focuses much of his discussion on podcasting, but I am more interested in his ideas on video production. I was rather surprised with a statement that Richardson said “elementary school kids seem to love podcasting.”(p.121). I have never heard the kids talk about podcasting. I have only seen it done once with the older students in our school. Maybe it’s more common wherever he is from. Any way, Youtube is the definitely the best way to get your video out to the world. Richardson points out that it is the first thing blocked in schools. I understand why. I have been on YouTube many times and some videos are not fit to watch. I never let my students do searches on YouTube for that reason. Instead, I do my own search for appropriate videos that go with the curriculum and always preview them before hand. What they see at home is not my problem, but in school I want to make it suitable for students. At the same time, children need to be taught how to deal with, as Richardson said, “less than salient content”. (p.121). I am pretty sure that parents don’t know what they are watching.
Let me go back to my thoughts on video production. Richardson talks about the great online services that are free, there is unlimited usage and you can even record right from your computer. He suggests trying Movie Maker or iMovie where you can record audio voiceovers right into your movie. That looks like something you would have to play with. I’m sure the students would be able to figure that out pretty quick. When it comes to video editing that is something I know nothing about. I will have to have a look at JayCut.com and see how that works. Another place to investigate is Teacher Tube. I have gone to this site before looking for good videos to use in class. I guess it is a safer version of YouTube.
Screencasting looks like an interesting tool to use to explain something to students. Richardson suggests students could annotate their work in voice as they show it on screen. There are many other uses, but this seems to be podcasting again.
I thought would try Ustream.tv to see how it works so here we go!