Wednesday, December 9, 2009
Sunday, December 6, 2009
Hi everyone, I posted a new episode to my podcast, Ann Riders Podcast. Please click the link below to view it. http://anniebrider.podOmatic.com/entry/2009-12-06T17_36_35-08_00 See you there! - Ann
Saturday, December 5, 2009
Playing catch-up...putting it all together
I am playing catch-up for sure. It's been a crazy 2+ weeks of being sick, kids being sick, having relatives come for days (with all the requisite shopping and cooking) and then a long weekend in Philadelphia at an Irish Dance competition (which required several extra practices since October.) It really set me back even farther than I was. I took a lot on this Fall and am not sure that I have been able to do any of it truly well. I will not make that same mistake next semester.
I have been able to think about many of the topics addressed in this class, but not write about them. This post will begin to remedy that, hopefully.
First of all...the Nokia. Ugh. I couldn't get past the frustration. I had such a problem switching between cameras. I took it to the Turtle Back Zoo but missed a lot of shots because I was switching between cameras. I just can't figure out why there were two cameras in that thing. Redundant and confusing. How many times do you need to take a picture of yourself? Seriously. And I had to use the stylus because I couldn't get the touch screen to reliably work for me, I guess I didn't have "the touch." This is ironic to me, because I can use the touch screen fine on my iPod Touch. So I just failed miserably at getting the Nokia to work for me. I just didn't persevere enough. Not intuitive at all.
Next. The Will Richardson book, Blogs, Wikis and Podcasts. I really, really like this guy. I like what he has to say about the future of education. I like how he doesn't treat Web 2.0 tools as "educational technology." It's just education. I like how he's not scared of the future and is making attempts to manage the direction that education and the role that technology plays in education. I follow him on Twitter and very frequently read what he tweets and pass it along or save it for future reference, (using Diigo, which he so succinctly describes in Chapter 6, the Social Web. I have previously posted about my success in sharing about using iPod Touches using Diigo with my colleagues. I felt very smart. Thanks, Will.) Did I mention that I love him?
I did read his comments on Wikis and blogs. I had already been using a Wiki for the World Languages Department in my School District, with mixed results. It's been good for me a few other teachers who are willing to use it, but there was little (useful) training or explanation of use/benefits for my colleagues last year for them to use it with any regularity. And I didn't have the time to proselytize as it was my first year there. Can't be too pushy right out of the gate, kwim? I have found the wiki to be super useful in some respects, as I have gotten some good ideas/comments/resources from the willing colleagues. A fifth grade teacher at my school uses a wiki for her book groups and reading responses with great results. There are uses for a Wiki.
One thing that I will continue to do outside of this class is blog. I like it. I have my son doing a blog for his reading/language arts class. He was thrilled the first time he got a comment from his teacher and wrote right back to her. There you go, writing for an audience! An authentic audience! We have been changing his backrounds with pyzam.com and are on our third holiday template. Although I am not a blogger in the true sense of the word, as there is no real "focus" yet to my posts other than my experiences in using technology in the classroom and beyond, I follow people on Twitter who are prolific and true bloggers. Blogging is a valid and useful resource.
I am looking forward to reading Chapter 9 What it All Means. But right now, I will peruse the podcasting chapter as I have just posted a podcast on podomatic.com. In Garageband, there are so many controls, I don't know what the hell does what. The audio sounds a little tinny and volume levels are inconsistent because I did 5 different poems. I had the best time putting the little Stingers in as transitions. I hope to complete my book excerpt tonight, from Little House in the Big Woods, but the kids are running around making all kinds of noise, which is not the most conducive environment for recording. And man, does your mouth get dry or what when you're reading these long passages? Ok, now I'm going to figure out how to post from Podomatic onto this blog.
I have been able to think about many of the topics addressed in this class, but not write about them. This post will begin to remedy that, hopefully.
First of all...the Nokia. Ugh. I couldn't get past the frustration. I had such a problem switching between cameras. I took it to the Turtle Back Zoo but missed a lot of shots because I was switching between cameras. I just can't figure out why there were two cameras in that thing. Redundant and confusing. How many times do you need to take a picture of yourself? Seriously. And I had to use the stylus because I couldn't get the touch screen to reliably work for me, I guess I didn't have "the touch." This is ironic to me, because I can use the touch screen fine on my iPod Touch. So I just failed miserably at getting the Nokia to work for me. I just didn't persevere enough. Not intuitive at all.
Next. The Will Richardson book, Blogs, Wikis and Podcasts. I really, really like this guy. I like what he has to say about the future of education. I like how he doesn't treat Web 2.0 tools as "educational technology." It's just education. I like how he's not scared of the future and is making attempts to manage the direction that education and the role that technology plays in education. I follow him on Twitter and very frequently read what he tweets and pass it along or save it for future reference, (using Diigo, which he so succinctly describes in Chapter 6, the Social Web. I have previously posted about my success in sharing about using iPod Touches using Diigo with my colleagues. I felt very smart. Thanks, Will.) Did I mention that I love him?
I did read his comments on Wikis and blogs. I had already been using a Wiki for the World Languages Department in my School District, with mixed results. It's been good for me a few other teachers who are willing to use it, but there was little (useful) training or explanation of use/benefits for my colleagues last year for them to use it with any regularity. And I didn't have the time to proselytize as it was my first year there. Can't be too pushy right out of the gate, kwim? I have found the wiki to be super useful in some respects, as I have gotten some good ideas/comments/resources from the willing colleagues. A fifth grade teacher at my school uses a wiki for her book groups and reading responses with great results. There are uses for a Wiki.
One thing that I will continue to do outside of this class is blog. I like it. I have my son doing a blog for his reading/language arts class. He was thrilled the first time he got a comment from his teacher and wrote right back to her. There you go, writing for an audience! An authentic audience! We have been changing his backrounds with pyzam.com and are on our third holiday template. Although I am not a blogger in the true sense of the word, as there is no real "focus" yet to my posts other than my experiences in using technology in the classroom and beyond, I follow people on Twitter who are prolific and true bloggers. Blogging is a valid and useful resource.
I am looking forward to reading Chapter 9 What it All Means. But right now, I will peruse the podcasting chapter as I have just posted a podcast on podomatic.com. In Garageband, there are so many controls, I don't know what the hell does what. The audio sounds a little tinny and volume levels are inconsistent because I did 5 different poems. I had the best time putting the little Stingers in as transitions. I hope to complete my book excerpt tonight, from Little House in the Big Woods, but the kids are running around making all kinds of noise, which is not the most conducive environment for recording. And man, does your mouth get dry or what when you're reading these long passages? Ok, now I'm going to figure out how to post from Podomatic onto this blog.
Sunday, November 15, 2009
iMovie training
Participated in an iLife/iMovie 09 training that was offered by my district yesterday. I learned a lot of great tricks like green screen and PIP. Thinking about how a teacher will incorporate digital storytelling in the classroom is a long process. There is so much planning involved. Also, choosing source material, like cameras or online content is a lot of work. I will probably do one on my own first to show the class before I have them participate and eventually take ownership of the process.
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
creativity, digital story telling and handwriting
Been thinking lately about how digital story telling can really work for a lot of kids who have writing issues, like my son. Digital story telling offers a way to present knowledge/understanding using organization and creativity without the difficult writing/handwriting process. And I mean not only handwriting, but keyboarding as writing as well.
I am going to apply to pilot the use of iPod touch as a tool to create podcasts at my elementary school. I think that until they Touch gets a built in camera, we will primarily use it as a recording device. There are headsets with microphones and earbuds which I am hoping will make it easier to record in a classroom setting. There are always recording issues. The Touches do have wifi and safari for internet access. And there are quite a few apps, but I have to investigate whether you actually create the podcast on the touch or record and sync the audio to a desktop/laptop for the actual creation in like Garageband or whatever.
I am so interested to hear other teachers' opinions about podcasting/digital story telling because of how "wed" to the writing process teachers can become sometimes, for obvious reasons. I think I see this because at the level of language learning/acquisition that my students are, they do almost no writing, just language production. So I know there are alternative means of expression/presentation/assessment that can be used effectively. Storyboarding is a big element in good digital storytelling which is an organizational tool. The editing process is well, just that, editing...choosing the most important material to include and checking for meaning/correctness. A well done digital story can be a very complete representation of a students thoughts/understanding/ideas.
I keep meaning to read more of the text Digital Storytelling in the Classroom, but quite frankly not only is it like a user's manual, which I am notorious for eschewing in favor of just trying things out, but it's also dry as toast and about as indigestible.
I'm proud of myself for finally quieting my mind enough to finish another assignment and thankful that I have 2 days over this teacher's convention that I can spend some time and get things done.
I am going to apply to pilot the use of iPod touch as a tool to create podcasts at my elementary school. I think that until they Touch gets a built in camera, we will primarily use it as a recording device. There are headsets with microphones and earbuds which I am hoping will make it easier to record in a classroom setting. There are always recording issues. The Touches do have wifi and safari for internet access. And there are quite a few apps, but I have to investigate whether you actually create the podcast on the touch or record and sync the audio to a desktop/laptop for the actual creation in like Garageband or whatever.
I am so interested to hear other teachers' opinions about podcasting/digital story telling because of how "wed" to the writing process teachers can become sometimes, for obvious reasons. I think I see this because at the level of language learning/acquisition that my students are, they do almost no writing, just language production. So I know there are alternative means of expression/presentation/assessment that can be used effectively. Storyboarding is a big element in good digital storytelling which is an organizational tool. The editing process is well, just that, editing...choosing the most important material to include and checking for meaning/correctness. A well done digital story can be a very complete representation of a students thoughts/understanding/ideas.
I keep meaning to read more of the text Digital Storytelling in the Classroom, but quite frankly not only is it like a user's manual, which I am notorious for eschewing in favor of just trying things out, but it's also dry as toast and about as indigestible.
I'm proud of myself for finally quieting my mind enough to finish another assignment and thankful that I have 2 days over this teacher's convention that I can spend some time and get things done.
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