Teacher Education

This week I read a blog post by Tina Barseghian about changes that need to occur in terms of teacher education.  I realize that this is an American based post, but it still outlines some important changes that I think need to occur for teachers in training here in Canada.  When I completed my degree I thought I was fully prepared to teach, but stepping into my own classroom for the very first time felt very different.  There were aspects of that day to day teaching experience that I was missing.  Now that I am learning about all of this integration of technology, I feel even further behind in my teacher training and learning some of this during my undergraduate definitely would have been a benefit.

Five Big Changes to the Future of Teacher Education

I also read a post about a programs that are being created to help teachers prepare to teach in a digital world (namely teaching courses online).  This would reqiure a very different outlook on teaching and presenting a course than the traditional classroom setting would.  The only arguement is whether it should be taught to at the undergraduate or only the graduate level.

Education Schools Lag Behind In Virtual-teacher Training

RSS Stiletto Style

Perfect Stilettos

Imagine that you have a black tie event to go to on Saturday night.  Of course to complete the outfit you need the perfect pair of stilettos (sorry guys!)  So what do you do?  You go shopping at every shoe store you can find.  Of course, the perfect pair of stilettos are never found where you go looking first.  After looking for a while and becoming exhausted, you go home and figure you have time to go back and look again another day.  A few days later you go back to that same first store and lo and behold, the perfect pair of stilettos are right there on the second shelf beside the bedazzled stilettos that you would never even consider wearing.  They are brand new in stock so it is a good thing that you returned to find the shining shoes.  Shopping for a pair of shoes is just that; exhausting, time consuming and you never know when the perfect pair are going to come in stock at a store that you have already checked.

This is how I sometimes feel when I am looking for information on the internet.  One day I could search and search for art lessons and never find anything inspiring.  A day later I can return to the same site and all of the sudden they have the perfect project just waiting for my arrival.

How often do I have to return to a site in order to ensure that I am not missing the important things?  Thanks to Google Reader and RSS, the answer is never!  Basically, my stilettos come to me!

RSS - "real simple syndication" according to Wikipedia (2011).  That is exactly what Google Reader is!  Real simple and it organizes common information.  With my Google Reader account, I never have to worry about missing those new possibilities that get posted to websites that I have already visited.  As Richardson (2010) states, its "getting the good stuff when I want it" (pg. 77).  If I find a site that frequently has information that is useful and I enjoy reading, I simply have to subscribe to the site and all the new posts will be sent directly to my devices. 

Google Reader in Plain English

*Some changes have occurred to the share features of Google Reader which you can read about here.

Over this term, I have subscribed to many sites, from our course blogs, to blogs outlining technology in primary classrooms to blogs about my community of Fort McMurray.

The biggest thing that I have found is not to get too carried away with RSS feeds.  At the beginning, I would read a post, enjoy it and subscribe to the blog.  This meant that I received every post created on that blog.  This led to an overwhelming number of posts being delivered to my devices, many of which I had no interest in reading.  Just because I liked one post did not necessarily mean that the overall blog was for me.  I have become more diligent at looking over the blog of the post that I enjoy prior to subscribing to see if it is worth my while, or subscribing temporarily to see whether or not I would enjoy reading it on a more consistent basis.

With this in mind, the idea of "shopping" for information on the web becomes a lot more simple.  I can now stay on top of my Google Reader account, which has actually allowed me to develop a meaningful list of blogs that account for a portion of my Professional Learning Network.  The blogs that I follow are there for a reason and I enjoy seeing the inspiring ideas that come from them each day.

References

Richardson, W. (2010). Blogs, wikis, podcasts, and other powerful web tools for classrooms. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.

Wikipedia contributors. (2011). RSS. Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  Retrieved November 20, 2011, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rss

Turning Students into Teachers

I found a blog post this week by Sam Gliksman called Turning Students into Teachers that outlined the potential of student learning when we turn the tables on our students.  It reminded me of Edgar Dale's Cone of Experience that was so frequently referred to in my undergraduate courses.

Cone of Experience

I realize that the percentages and such are hotly debated in the Cone of Experience, but I still believe that the ability for a student to accurately teach something to someone else is a great display of their knowledge.  Students love the opportunity to teach their peers and students also love the opportunity to learn from their peers.

I try to use this strategy in my classroom especially through research, projects and problem solving situations.  The learning that comes about when students are teaching one another is tremendous and it allows for students to put their own creativity and personal spin on things.

I also wanted to share this video from TED about Thomas Suarez who is a 12 year old App designer.  I think this is a very inspirational video that shows the potential that students can have when given the opportunity, support and encouragement to become lifelong learners and teachers at a very young age.

Thomas is a perfect example of the learning that can occur when students are given responsibility for their learning.  Thomas would have enormous amounts of knowledge to share with his peers!  (It also provides inspiration for myself to look more into app development and the potential in my own school or classroom setting)

Thomas Suarez: A 12 Year Old App Developer

Climbing Off of the Fence with Blogging

No!

Grade 2's can't blog!  Those kids are too little!  They don't know how to use a computer well enough to write on the computer!  That will be a waste of time!  These are just some of the judgements that I receive when I talk about blogging with my young elementary students.  I have to admit that at one point (probably not that long ago) I may have teetered back and forth on the fence, but more so leaning toward their side of the fence.

After all of this time I have spent exploring these Web 2.0 tools, I can say that I have fully committed to the YES! side of the fence.  YES grade 2's CAN blog and YES my grade 2's WILL blog.  Why would I have my students blog?

First of all, Prensky (2001) talks about "digital natives" that grow up around technology such as computers and the internet.  It is no wonder that Zawilinski (2009) talks about how the internet "is home to a continuously emerging set of new technology for literacy such as search engines, e-mail, blogs, wikis, instant messagenger, social networking tools, and many others yet to emerge.  Each [of which] requires new skills and strategies" (pg. 651).

So if we want students to be successful once they leave the classroom, they need to be prepared for these new literacies.  In order to prepare them, we need to bring these "new literacies" into the classroom in the way that Kist (2010) outlines.  Blogging is a great way to accomplish this.  

?

Secondly, not only does blogging allow for the learning of those new literacies, but it can give students an authentic reason and audience for writing beyond their peers or their teacher.  As Wiggins (2009) points out, "the point of writing is to have something to say and to make a difference in saying it."  How can students be expected to understand that they can make a difference with what they are saying if no one is reading it?

Network of Connections

By allowing blogging in the classroom, we are allowing numerous connections and relationships to form whereby students are writing for their intended audience and can receive support and feedback to further encourage and improve their writing. 

In my exploration of blogging in the classroom, I have come across several blogs that have been an inspiration to my desire to bring blogging into my own classroom.  These are blogs of teachers and/or students that integrate blogging into the classroom at the primary level:

Aviva Dunsiger - A Primary Blog for the 21st Century (a must see on both her Blog and Twitter!)

Grades 1 and 2 at Ancaster Meadow School (another blog by Aviva)

Mrs. Short's Second Grade

Step into 2nd Grade with Mrs. Lemons

Primary Preoccupation 

Now that I have spent the time exploring blogging on my own and following other teachers' blogs, I am ready to dive into the student world of blogging.  I am looking forward to my students having an authentic audience, as well as a portfolio of samples of their work in order to look back and see their progress.  We will prove other's wrong!

After exploring my options and gathering the opinions of others, I have decided to go with Kidblog.org for the kid friendly look and extremely user-friendly layout.  It gives me the opportunity to have students' work read by the online world but I can still filter the comments that are posted.  This way, parents can feel free to be involved without having to sign up for an account which, again, will add further motivation for the students to produce their best work.  Not to mention that it only took a matter of minutes to set up our class account.

Now we have this blank canvas just waiting for the students' to add their own writing flair.  Wish us luck!

References

Kist, W. (2010). The socially networked classroom, teaching in the new media age. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.

Prensky, M. (2001). Digital natives, digital immigrants. On the Horizon, 9(5), 1-6. Retrieved October 10, 2001, from ProQuest Education Journals. (Document ID: 10.1108/10748120110424816).

Wiggins, G. (2009). Real-world writing: Making purpose and audience matter. English Journal, 98(5), 29-37.

Zawilinski, L. (2009). Hot blogging: A framework for blogging to promote higher order thinking. The Reading Teacher, 62(8), 650-661.

Classroom Technology via Animoto

Here is a quick look at some of the technology that we currently use in our classroom:

Video Editing for Dummies Part II

Here is a second video that quickly explains the ways that you can share an Animoto video.

Video Editing for Dummies

Animoto

Getting Started
In the past I have created numerous videos, mainly using iMovie.  I have created videos for assignments, for happy occasions such as birthdays and anniversaries as well as somber occasions such as my father's funeral.

Previous to this course, I have never heard of Animoto and knew nothing about online video editing.  I was excited when I looked into it because of the mere minutes it took me to create a quick, test video in order to view the features.  This is another tool in which I did not have to go looking for outside help or assistance.  The tool itself is extremely user friendly and allows even the most basic computer user to create a video from scratch in a short amount of time.  I could see very quickly why Brisco (2009) said that Animoto could be "easily used with students with-out requiring instructors to have any previous experience with video-production software.  Brisco (2009) also states that Animoto is "one of the more eye-catching and easy-to-use programs available in this remixed 2.0 world."

Animoto for Education
Animoto allows educators to apply for an education account for free.  This allows users to have a plus account which increases the time limit of the videos.  Without an education account, Animoto videos are 30 seconds in length (unless, of course, you purchase an upgraded account).  This was as simple as applying using my e-mail address, First and Last name, creating a password and my birthday.  I then had to wait (not very long) for an e-mail to let me know that I was approved for an education account and a promotion code to upgrade my account.

Once this was done I was ready to create videos!  Here is a look at the creation of a video using screencast.




References
Brisco, S. (2009). 10 Best digital resources. School Library Journal, 55(6), 36-37.

Social Media Via A New Magazine

The Social Media Montly

New Magazine

This weekend I was out of town visiting family and getting a head start on my Christmas shopping.  Since I was in a city that had places to shop I decided to browse one of my favorite stores, Chapters (I could spend hours there!).  While I was looking, I came across a magazine called The Social Media Monthly. I glanced through the pages and although the format did not really catch my attention, I saw a couple of interesting articles so I decided to pick it up.  The issue that I picked up was #3 so obviously it is a very new magazine.

On the very long drive home (the main highway was shut down), I read through and found a few interesting articles relating to our course.

Interesting Article

The most noteworthy was an article by Michelle Manafy called The Digital Native: 5 Things You Need to Know About this Generation to Succeed in Business.  Although it was speaking about the business world, you could relate the same ideas back to education and teaching.  She listed these 5 things as very important:

1.  "They live publicly online." (Many of our students live publicly online)

2.  "They share knowledge." (We all know that students are sharing knowledge daily on many social media websites)

3.  "They believe transparency yields trust." (We as teachers need to have some level of openness or transparency in order for our students to have that same level of trust)

4.  "They are timely, not time managed." (Many of our students are blurring the lines between school and social time.  Students have social media at their hands at all times throughout the day)

5.  "They believe in interactions not transactions." (Teachers who are able to develop good social skills at their students level will likely have an easier time engaging their students than those that do not)

I have not noticed this magazine around at local stores but I will keep my eyes open to see if I can find the next edition of the magazine because I think it would be a good way to keep up on some Social Media information on a month to month basis.

References:

Manafy, M. (2011, November). The digital native: 5 Things you need to know about this

generation to succeed in business. The Social Media Monthly, 3, 20-21.

Glogging about Twitter

Here is a look at the Glogster presentation that I created on the Professional Development possibilities of Twitter:




Or you can view the link here.

The Battle of the Brain

Glogster and the 21st Century Learner

According to Brenda's Blog, Glogster is a tool that "introduces students to 3-D communication skills, requiring them to merge the left and right sides of the brain as they seek to communicate and evaluate both information and meaning."  That is exactly what I experienced this week as I sought to create an effective poster for presenting Twitter to my colleagues at our staff meeting.  I had to try and balance my creative right brain with my logical and direct left brain (usually my left brain wins the battle). 

Creation

Of course I began with my left brain in control, which resulted in my poster taking on a very linear look, with straight lines, organized columns and very little creative flair.  My poster was beginning to look like a boring mess of information that would not appeal to anyone's senses. 

While I was working away, a friend stopped by who puts my creative talents to shame.  She is also an avid Twitter user, and without really meaning to, we began discussing my poster.  She gave me a few tips and I quickly realized that I had forgotten completely to involve the left side of my brain, which is exactly why I had chosen Glogster as an exploration tool.  There was no creativity involved, and instead I was creating a dry space of direct information about Twitter. 

Since I already had the information that I wanted to share with my colleagues, I put my left brain in its place and allowed my right brain more control.  I must say this is where things became a bit messy. 

Blur

Frustration

First of all, adding a bit of creative flair took a lot of decision making.  What shape should I use to display my information, how big should it be, what angle should it be displayed at, what color should it be, where should it be placed in the large scheme of the poster, etc.  The choices in each category became a bit overwhelming.  I spent an enormous amount of time playing with the look, style and color of each aspect of the poster in which seconds became minutes, minutes became hours, and very quickly my evening was gone and I felt like it was all a bit of a blur.  Frankly, when I realized that I better head to bed, I was a bit frustrated at the fact that I had spent so much time and still was not finished.

Second of all, I came to realize exactly what McTigue and Croix (2010) were talking about when they spoke of visual literacy being a skill that had to be taught and that it was not an innate skill that 21st century learners are born with.  Apparently visual literacy is not a skill that I am strong in which serves as a roadblock when I am trying to create meaning out of a very visual tool.  It also became an important consideration for those times when I have asked my students to create posters or visuals to display their understanding.  Have I taken the time to teach them about visual literacy skills to ensure that they are not frustrated by the visual aspects of the assignment?  I don't think so.

Choices

Taking a Step Back

The next night I took a stab at my poster again, this time realizing that I could not get lost in the endless choices that were given to me.  I decided that I would give myself a time limit in order to put some pressure on when making my choices.  With this time limit in consideration, I forced myself to mainly stick to the Edu categories of choices and have very little variation in my color choices.  

Now that I had limited myself to not browsing through every possible combination of effects, I was able to get somewhere.  Still very slowly, my poster was beginning to take shape and I was starting to see the end in sight.  By the time my time limit arrived, I had to spend an extra few minutes ensuring everything could be easily read, and finally link to my resources.  I was finally finished.

Final Considerations

After exploring the tool and creating my own poster, I have to say that it was not an overly pleasant experience.  When I initially began exploring, the freedom of creating nothing, with no pressure was fine because I was not envisioning the overall poster effect.  The endless possibilities seemed inspiring and wonderful.

Once I really got into the nitty gritty of creating a poster, those endless possibilities became an overwhelming experience that pitted my left and right brain against each other rather than the "merging" of the two (Brenda's Blog).

Do I think that my experience proves that Glogster is not an effective tool for students?  Definitely not!  Do I think that my experience proves that Glogster is not an effective tool for myself?  Definitely!  As I said before, I am a very left brained type of person, colors, style and effects are just not forte. 

Would I use Glogster EDU as a frequent classroom tool?  Probably not.  Would I teach students about Glogster and allow them the opportunity to explore Glogster as an option for displaying their learning?  Definitely.  I still believe that Glogster is a user friendly tool that even my students would be able to navigate, but I think it opens up a creative venue that is not as friendly for all users.  Having the knowledge now about Glogster, opens up possibilities for creating differentiated assignments in which Glogster could be a tool that students could use to create posters to display their learning as an option. 

I think that if I were a student and were forced to use Glogster for an assignment, I would be frustrated and that would effect the overall impression of the presentation.  If I were given the option of using Glogster, I may explore the possibility, realize that it is not for me, and move onto a tool that is much more effective for my own learning.

Overall, Glogster is an effective tool for creating that visual space and allowing the creative juices of the right brain to flow while allowing the left brain to present information.  It is a tool that I can see many of my students enjoying and being able to create beautiful presentations, and a tool that I can see frustrating and turning away many of my students. 

References
 

McTigue, E., & Croix, A. (2010). Visual literacy in science. Science Scope, 33(9), 17-22. 

Goodreads vs. Shelfari

Getting Started 
When I began exploring my social cataloging options (Jeffries 2008), I initially thought I would prefer Shelfari because of its connection to Amazon since I already use the Kindle app and Amazon store quite a bit for shopping.  I spent time working with both and it took me quite a while to make my decision.  Each has pros and cons that make each tool unique and with features that made me waver in my decision.

Common Features:  

• Both are linked to social networking sites 
• Both are free services
• You can rate your books
• One major con that I found for both sites was the social features.  I searched through many discussions and groups for books that I have read and enjoy, but overall I felt that the conversations were inconsistent and largely out of date.  I found some great conversation topics but some have not had any posts on the discussions for weeks, or even months.  It is more of a forum feel where you never know when you will get a response rather than an instant message feel where you can have a conversation with a person or group of people.  Not quite the book club that I was looking for.
• Another con of both sites was that there is relatively little to no discussion about the books that I do have time to read, such as our course textbooks.  Books such as these or books related to curriculum are the type of books that I have time to read and make an effort to read.  It would be nice to have more discussion centered around these, but I suppose these discussions are happening through other tools (namely, Twitter!).

Shelfari

Shelfari
Since I was already familiar with Amazon, I decided to give Shelfari a try first.  Right from the get go, I was excited by Shelfari because of the bookshelf design and the easy sign up due to already having an Amazon account (1 less password to remember!).  

Pros:

• Design: Stylish wooden bookshelf design
• Login: No need to create a new login name and password if you already have an Amazon account
• Book Information: Lots of information provided for each book
• Purchases: Access to purchase new books
• Tags: you can add additional tags to further classify books and it gives you popular tags that other users have used for the same book

 Cons: 

• Book labeling: I feel a bit overwhelmed by all of the options that are given for classifying my books in Shelfari.  First of all I can choose whether I plan to read it, I am reading it or if I have read it, then I can choose whether it is a favorite, if I want to own it or if I own it.  Then I can also add my purchase price, when I purchased it, the condition it is in, whether it is signed and whether I have lent it to a friend.  Being a stickler for details myself, I would feel the need to fill in all details just to have consistency between books, which would take up too much of my time.
• Bookshelves: I can not create my own bookshelves or categories
• Design: The long skinny bookshelf on the home page of my account makes it difficult to view all of my books all at once.  The view that opens up on my public page is a much more viewer friendly display that should also be used on my own home page.  I am not a fan of the scrolling sideways to see all of my books.

 

• Amazon: as it is owned by Amazon, I feel like the need to purchase a Kindle is forced in my face with the advertisements all over the place.  Along with the categorization of whether I own the book or if I want to own it, I almost feel like I am creating a Santa wish list so that I can give others a not so subtle hint of what to buy me for Christmas.
• Book Information: although I already listed the book information as a pro, I also consider it a con because the vast amount of information about each book makes me think that if I look at the information about a book that I would like to read I will already know what the entire book is about before I even open the book.  There is an overload of information that includes characters, settings, quotes, a glossary, etc.
• No Twitter Connection: I am currently using Facebook for my personal life and Twitter strictly for my professional life.  Since I am looking to use a social cataloging site for my classroom, I would prefer to attach it to my Twitter account rather than Facebook.  When trying to add friends, Shelfari only gave me the option of joining it to my Facebook or e-mail address.  For this reason I found it much more difficult to find professionals to add as friends on the site.
• Profile completion: I came across a feature to download my list of books, but ran into a problem because my profile is not 100% complete.  I tried to check off the list that it gives me, but because of the problem listed above, I did not have enough friends to add to my list and I did not find any additional details that needed to be edited in my book profiles.  Therefore, I was unable to see how this feature works.

 

Goodreads
Goodreads initially caught my attention by the simplistic design of the front page as well as the bottom section with the Trivia, Quizzes and Quotes.  These are three things that I love!  One of my favorite things to read in passing is the Coffee News at local stores because it incorporates trivia, quotes and funny stories.  It allows me to learn a tidbit of information as well as give myself a little challenge.

When reading a bit further, I really liked the way that they worded their mission in the About Goodreads section:
 "Goodreads' mission is to help people find and share books they love.  Along the way, we plan to improve the process of reading and learning throughout the world."


Pros:

• Bookshelves: I can create my own shelves to keep myself organized.  Not only do I have books organized into the categories of Read, Currently Reading or To-Read, but I can also create my own categories.  So far I have categories for Digital Literacy, Personal Reads and Classroom books.
• Giveaway Section: I can enter to win free books and it is as simple as a click and entering my shipping address
• Author Created Pages: Goodreads gives you the option of viewing Authors' profiles where you can see books on their bookshelves as well
• Local Events: Although there is not a lot of information specifically provided about Fort McMurray, there is the opportunity to view local book events in more major cities. 
• Link to Twitter: I can keep my professional accounts joined

Cons:

• Recent updates: When I log in and see a whole page of new updates, it reminds me of Facebook or Twitter.  This makes me think that it is just another tool that I have to constantly keep on top of or else I end up feeling overwhelmed by all of the new information each time I log in.
• Advertisements: As it is a free website, there are "sponsored links" as you navigate around the site but because they are all book related they are not too distracting 

The Decision Goes To...
Of course there are dozens of other features available on both sites but these are the majority of features that I have explored.  I am still unsure of which site I prefer and for what reason.  I think if I were to use one of the sites as a personal reading collection, it would be Goodreads for the more simplistic and minimalist feel that it gives me.  It gives me a more at ease feeling, I was able to complete my profile very quickly and connect with friends in a more easier fashion. 

Unfortunately, I do not find that I have the time to use a site such as Goodreads to keep track of my personal reading because of everything else that I have on the go.  I am still looking for a way to keep track of the books that I have in my classroom library in order to maintain a catalog of the books that I have so that I can keep track of what books are good for different curriculum areas, which ones I have duplicate copies of for partner reading, which ones I would like to order for the classroom, etc.  I think the search will have to continue...

References:

Jeffries, S. (2008). Social cataloging tools: A comparison and application for librarians. Library Hi Tech News, 25(10), 1-4. doi: 10.1108/07419050810949986

Social Networking Through Books

Books

Before Getting Started

Before becoming a full time teacher and now a part time student, reading for leisure was part of my everyday life.  I love the idea of getting lost in a story and the imagination that comes from fully immersing yourself into a great fiction story.  Fiction is what I typically prefer when I am reading for leisure.  Now reading is definitely still part of my everyday life, but it has taken on a whole new role, and unfortunately fiction has, for the most part, been left by the wayside.

Ways That I Read Daily:

"Apple" reading technology

• Twitter
• Facebook
• Google Reader
• E-mail
• Moodle (U of A course)
• Textbooks
• Curriculum guides
• Journal Articles  
• Fiction in the form of children's stories for read alouds, partner reads, read to self, etc.

Basically, the majority of my reading occurs on either my iPhone or iPad.

Social Cataloging

When I was choosing tools for my inquiry project, I was intrigued by the idea of Goodreads and Shelfari.  My initial reaction was that I could use this opportunity to get back into reading and be motivated by the social aspects of the tools.  I like the discussions that can occur over the course of a great read but I knew I would never have time for an actual book club with everything else that I have on my plate at the moment.  

Jeffries (2008) describes tools such as Goodreads and Shelfari as "social cataloging sites [that] allow users to catalog their personal book collections, make the collection known to all web users, and connect with users who have similar tastes."  This social cataloging is what I thought I wanted out of a personal Web 2.0 tool.


Unfortunately, what I have discovered is that I really do not have enough time for reading for leisure and instead would have to focus my attention on Goodreads and Shelfari towards children's books and the application of these tools into the classroom setting.



Books as a Social Networking Site?


What I found most surprising about both of these tools was how much of a "social networking site" they really were as Berger and Trexler (2010) pointed out (pg. 160).  The similarities between both Goodreads and Shelfari and my own Facebook page was remarkable.  As Berger and Trexler (2010) point out, just like Facebook, they both incorporate a profile page, a network of friends, public commenting and private messaging (pg. 160).  Sounds just Facebook to me.


Unfortunately, this is where I began to lose interest.  Do I really want another social networking site to keep track of on top of Facebook and Twitter?  Since I do not have enough time for reading for pleasure, would a social networking site as such be appropriate for my classroom setting?  Wanting to give each a fair chance, I signed up for accounts with both and decided to give them a try.  Stay tuned for my reviews of both...

References:

Berger, P., & Trexler, S. (2010). Choosing web 2.0 tools for learning and teaching in a digital world. Santa Barbara, CA: Libraries Unlimited Inc. 

Jeffries, S. (2008). Social cataloging tools: A comparison and application for librarians. Library Hi Tech News, 25(10), 1-4. doi: 10.1108/07419050810949986

Google Reader No Longer Social?

Google Reader

Change is Inevitable

As is typical of technology, Google introduced some changes to its Google Reader this week.  At first glance, I thought it was just in the visual aspects of the application but then I discovered something more significant.

Social Changes

With my recent investigation into various tools, I have been looking at the social aspects of Google Reader so that it qualifies as a Web 2.0 tool.  I have been getting used to using the share feature and even embedded my Google Reader share list into my blog so that I could share interesting blog articles with my blog readers.  This week I discovered that I can't do that anymore (or at least not in the same way).

The share feature is now gone and instead users have to use Google+ in order to share posts with other users.  I do not know a lot about Google+ but I have heard that it has some similarities to applications like Facebook and Twitter.  I decided that I should look into it more so that I can continue to share blog posts with others instead of just through Twitter.

Google+

Google+

I found an article by Ryan Tyler, If You're a Teacher, You're Nuts Not to Use Google+ outlining many of the features that educators can use in classroom settings.  I really like the discussion of Privacy and how Google+ allows you to share items with certain circles of friends so that you do not have to keep track of both professional and personal accounts.

I also found an article by Audrey Watters, Google Plus: Is This the Social Tool Schools Have Been Waiting For? that gives some of the "potentials" and "minuses" of Google+ for education.

In our district all staff and students have Google accounts but we do not yet have access to Google+.  Without having looked too far into it, I think it has good potential to be used as a Web 2.0 tool in the classroom with the added bonus that it isn't yet another account that we need to sign up for.  I'm looking forward to learning some more about this tool and hopefully Google+ for education will be available to explore in the near future.

Learning Through the Lens

Glogster

Getting Started 

Before beginning this course, I had never heard of Glogster before.  When I first looked into it, Glogster immediately appealed to my senses.  The combination of visual and auditory stimuli in an environment that allows creativity and artistry with no need to pick up a pencil was right up my alley.  I can be a very creative person but have difficulties with the whole paper and pencil venue.

I can remember being a student and struggling with creating posters for projects.  I would rather hop on the computer, type in my titles and information, print off pictures and paste it all onto the poster than even think about picking up a pencil.  My artistic abilities with a pencil are very limited and my desire to have things look just so would make creating a poster by hand very intimidating and frustrating.

Visual Literacy

According to Felten (2008), we live in a culture where "images no longer exist primarily to entertain and illustrate.  Rather they are becoming central to communication and meaning making" (pg. 60).  We live in a society where images are everywhere, from the home computer and TV to newspapers and computers to almost any available public space.  There is no escaping from images. 

Glogster allows us to make meaning and display our learning not only through text, but the visual and auditory aspects of pictures, videos and sound clips.

Glogster

Glogster provides a platform where students can create "interactive posters loaded with text, graphics, music, videos and more."  According to McTigue and Croix (2010), it is important to pay attention to graphics for the following reasons: "graphics can contain important and unique information that is not in text, graphics more easily represent certain types of information than text, graphics can serve as organizational tools for learning."

Learning the Tool
Before getting started, I watched a Detailed Tutorial on Glogster EDU - Online Teaching and Learning Tool.


 

This was a good place to get started and give me a couple of idea.  From there, it took only a matter of minutes to get signed up for my own account and to get started.  I explored a variety of sample Glogsters in order to get the feeling for what I would be creating.  The types and designs of Glogsters that I viewed differed drastically, which gave me the impression that I had a lot of creative freedom when it would come time to creating my own Glogster presentation.  Initially, I took the approach of just exploring.  I did not intend to make anything in particular, I just wanted to explore the tools and see what I could create.  


The tool itself was very straight forward.  Choose the category (graphics, text, image, video, sound, etc.) and let loose!  The possibilities were endless as everything could be personalized from size, direction, color, etc. 


When it came to uploading, linking or embedding outside sources, once again, it was very straightforward.  With many of the other tools that I have explored, I have found myself turning to Google to get answers to questions that I just can not figure out.  With Glogster, I did not have to turn to Google because everything just happened and worked so smoothly that there was no frustration, anxiety or difficulties.  


The Experience
From my exploration, Glogster has been very user friendly and has allowed me a creative space to share text, images, videos, etc.  Although I have not created a formal presentation yet, I like the creative possibilities that Glogster allows for.  Glogster will now be my jumping board for presenting Twitter as a professional development tool to my colleagues at an upcoming staff meeting.


Stay tuned...

Resources

Felten, P. (2008). Visual literacy. Change: The Magazine of Higher Learning, 40(6-), 60-64. 

McTigue, E., & Croix, A. (2010). Visual literacy in science. Science Scope, 33(9), 17-22.  

Never Lose a Note with Evernote!

Evernote

Before I Began

Evernote is a tool that I have liked from the very beginning.  Before using it, I had no idea that such a tool existed and had never really thought about taking and saving notes digitally in this manner before.  When I was in university I would take notes in class using Microsoft Word, but I never thought about taking notes digitally in the classroom or being able to share them in the way that I can now.  

When I first discovered Evernote, I downloaded it onto my iPad.  It was recommended to me by a friend who thought it was useful for jotting down notes and creating checklists.  When I first explored it, I didn't see how it was any different from the notes app on my iPhone and very quickly brushed off the app.

Then Evernote was brought up again through our course, and over and over again by many of the people that I follow on Twitter.  I figured that there must be more to it and began to look more deeply into the tool.

Features and Uses of Evernote

Here is a screencast that I created using Jing about the features of Evernote that I like best.

 

Personal and Professional Implications

Since beginning to use Evernote, it has become one of my most used Web 2.0 tools.  The biggest benefit has been for my classroom, but it also has benefited my personal and educational lives.    Typically I do most of my reading on my iPhone (both personally and for my EDES course) because it is with me and accessible all the time.  I read my Google Reader, Twitter, e-mails, etc. all from my iPhone.  Now that I have begun using Evernote, I typically e-mail interesting links directly to my Evernote account.  Since Evernote is on all of my devices, I can access those links from anywhere.  It does not have all of the features of Diigo (such as highlighting and sticky notes), so I still rely on Diigo if I am reading journal articles, or am focusing on researching.  Personally with Evernote, I can type or create my own notes (such as my list of potential Christmas presents to buy), save any recipes that I would like to use at a later date, or keep track of interesting photography articles.  In terms of my course, I typically send any interesting articles that I read that relate to any of my selected Web 2.0 tools or current events to Evernote so that I can look back at them later.

Evernote in the Classroom

I have learned a great deal about Evernote through my Twitter PLN.  There are numerous teachers who Tweet about their use of Evernote in the classroom which has inspired me to do the same.  My biggest influence was Laura Komos who blogged about her use of Evernote as a Digital Pensieve for Daily 5 (a Language Arts approach that I began exploring last year) in her post called Digital Pensieve (sounds so fancy!!).  I began using Evernote regularly on my iPad about a month ago in the classroom.  My students are now used to the fact that I bring my iPad around with me and jot down little notes as I observe or interact with the students while they complete activities in the classroom.  It has been a fantastic tool for keeping track of my conferencing notes especially when reading or writing with students especially because I can quickly create an audio note and record the students reading to me.  Here are a couple of students writing, while I conference with them and jot down some notes using Evernote:

In the past I have carried around a large binder with many dividers to keep track of notes.  When it came to report card time or communicating with parents, I was forced to open up my binder and search through pages and pages of notes.  Evernote allows me to have everything all together in a device as small as my iPhone, that can be searched and organized conveniently.  I can glance through notes at school, at home and on the road as I am creating lesson plans or creating small groups to review certain concepts or skills that I notice they could use extra instruction in.  Overall, Evernote has allowed me to organize and maintain better anecdotal records that have improved my teaching.

Where to Go From Here: Evernote for Students

To further my use of Evernote, I would like to expand the use to my students.  An important tool for students to learn in Social Studies is to research.  I am not yet comfortable with allowing my students free, open assess to research online using google or other searching sites, but I think that Evernote can help me to bridge the gap.  I would like to improve students' research skills using Evernote so taht they are not only researching like this:

I would like to create stacks that relate to curriculum areas in order to have students find information in safe, previewed websites that relate to our content areas.  According to Magolda & Platt (2009), tools such as Evernote "allow students to create rich content for their coursework and, in doing so, assume greater control of their studies" (pg. 14).  This way, students can have greater control over their research and make their own connections rather than having me directly give them the information.

References:
Magolda, P. M., & Platt, G. J. (2009). Untangling web 2.0's influences on student learning. About Campus, 14(3), 10-16. doi:10.1002/abc.290

Breathing a Sigh of Relief with Diigo

Diigo

Creating Organization

Since discovering Diigo, I have become a very frequent user.  What with all of the blogs, Twitter posts, websites, podcasts, journal articles, etc. that I have been reading, I feel like Diigo allows me breath a sigh of relief and say goodbye to the disorganization that previously haunted my bookmarks.  I finally have the opportunity to have some organization in the midst of a very chaotic online world.  I am so impressed with all of its features as well as how user friendly it is.  

One of the most important features is that I can use it across my devices (iMac, iPhone and iPad) and my bookmarks can be organized into one unified system.  When I bookmark a site on my iPhone, almost instantaneously I can access it on my iPad or iMac.  

Unfortunately, when I use Diigo on my iPhone it lacks the highlighting and sticky note features.  Since I prefer to read on my iPad screen anyways, it hasn't caused too much of an inconvenience.

Step by Step

The bookmarklet that I setup on my iPad is my most used feature of Diigo.  It allows me to use all of my favorite features conveniently from within my Safari webpage.  It took me only a few minutes to setup by following the instructions on the Diigo website Web Highlighter for iPad Safari.  Once it was installed I was able to get started right away.

Here are some views of how I use Diigo on my iPad:

I put the Diigo bookmarklet link on my Bookmark Bar so that it is always easily accessible.

 

The one drawback that I find is that the Diigo bookmarklet takes a while to load.  I'm not sure if that is standard or if it is just because I have my iPad so full and overused, but in my experience it takes longer than I would like for the toolbar to load.

Once it opens up, the bookmarklet displays all of the features that are available on the desktop version of the bookmarklet and is definitely worth the wait of loading.
 

Once the bookmarklet is open, I can select text on the webpage, press the highlight button and it will highlight just like on my desktop version.  I find the highlighting function is extremely important for when I look back at webpages.  Sometimes I bookmark a webpage for a particular reason but when I return to the same webpage I have no idea why it is in my bookmarks.  This feature allows me to keep track of all those important features of a webpage that I want to remember for next time.




The other feature that I enjoy from the bookmarklet is the ability to use sticky notes.  Not only can I highlight the important parts but I can type in my own thoughts and reminders and post it anywhere I choose on the page so that I don't lose those thoughts when I return to the page next time.  It also gives the opportunity to choose when the sticky note will be public or private right from the same pop-up screen.

Finally, the bookmarklet also lets me save my bookmarks without having to load a new webpage.  It is really convenient to have it all accessible without having to load separate webpages especially since I am frequently using my 3G services instead of WiFi.

Since I am learning how to keep my online life organized as of late, I also really appreciate the ability to add tags right away.  This allows me to categorize my bookmarks before saving them into Diigo.  This way, when I return to Diigo to access a webpage, they are easy to find which causes less stress on my part when I am trying to find things.

Not only can I categorize my bookmarks by tags, but I can also add them to lists.  I can either add it to a list that I have already created or create a brand new list, and again, all of this happens without navigating to a new webpage.  This further categorization makes it extremely easy to find the webpages that I am saving for later.  Plus, combined with all of the other features I can remember why I saved them and keep track of my own thoughts on the idea presented on the webpage.


 


The last feature of the bookmarklet is the accessibility to my Diigo account.  If I want to view my bookmarks it only takes a simple click.  I can also turn on or off highlighting that I have left on previously bookmarked websites, view my lists, etc.

When I do access my Diigo account, I can then see the full bookmark, categorized by list and tags, with highlighted portions and sticky notes that I created all listed in my bookmark library.

Personal & Professional Implications

Since beginning to use Diigo and the bookmarklets for iPhone and iPad, I have been able to create a unified system to organize my bookmarks for both my personal and professional life.  When I find a creative art project or math lesson that I would like to try with my students, I save it to Diigo with my highlighting and/or sticky notes to refer to later and have no problem returning and implementing it later.  In my personal life, I am able to organize my recipes, photography links, etc. that I find and want to return to at a later date.  Overall, it has given bookmarks meaning and they have now become a major resource for both my home and school lives.