I have to admit that before today, I did not have a Facebook account. I am not particularly interested in sharing information about myself with many people online, partly because I am a rather private person and I do not trust the privacy settings of Facebook, and partly because I would rather spend my limited free time interacting with my family, talking with friends, reading a novel, or exercising. I decided, however, that now is a good time to sign up for Facebook. I do have some friends who live far away and who use Facebook regularly. I would like to keep in touch with them more easily. Also, even though I currently teach at the primary level, I might find myself working with older students again in the future, and Richardson makes a compelling argument for familiarizing ourselves with the social networking spaces frequented by our students. So off I went to sign up and "find friends"!
Less than half an hour ago, I received my first email confirming that I am a friend on Facebook. I enjoyed viewing the pictures on Kathy's Facebook page--especially the recent photos of her three adorable kids--but I felt a bit weird about leaving comments that all of her other friends could see. As I perused Kathy's site, I was surprised by the number of people from my high-school grad class who appeared as potential friends. Kathy went to high school in a different country, and I didn't add any information to my profile, so I'm not sure how Facebook could identify my former classmates. Friends of friends, I guess.
Although I will probably grow to appreciate Facebook, I am more interested right now in exploring the world of Ning. Richardson recommends some Ning sites as valuable professional development tools, and he is certainly right! I just visited the Classroom 20 Ning and discovered a wealth of information even before signing up to become a member. On a digital storytelling forum, I found an excellent blog post called Digital Storytelling for Beginners. This post describes four Web 2.0 tools (Little Bird Tales, JAMU, Blabberize, and VoiceThread) that can be used with young students (kindergarten and up) and provides examples of products created with each tool. On the same forum, another educator recommended Kerpoof as a site that is user-friendly and safe for young students. I visited the site and discovered a variety of comprehensive lesson plans. One on patterns, for example, offers suggestions for teaching patterns in the classroom (not using computers) before showing students images of patterns in art, provided on the Kerpoof site, and for getting students to create patterns online. In addition, there are many links to relevant websites and a list of picture books that contain patterns. I am also going to have a closer look at Kerpoof's lesson plan on the planets, a topic I will soon be exploring with my Grade 3 class.
I definitely have underestimated social networking as an educational tool! I will be spending more of my prep time exploring Classroom20 and the tools suggested by its members. I also hope to visit ArtSnacks, another Ning recommended by Richardson. I signed up this morning, but have not yet received confirmation that I have been accepted as a member.
Thursday, November 15, 2012
Thursday, November 8, 2012
Web 2.0 Presentation Tools
Of the tools listed in the course materials--Prezi, Glogster,
Voicethread, Animoto, and Xtranormal--I had used only Voicethread before this week. I had
heard of the other tools, but the only example I had seen was an Animoto video slideshow that the coordinator of my district's gifted program created to showcase the students' activities and
projects. My first step for this week was, therefore, to explore some Web 2.0 presentation tools. On Prezi, I viewed a couple of visually impressive presentations, one about Remembrance Day that had me reaching for
kleenex. I like that Prezi creations are more animated than Powerpoint presentations, and I think that the ability to zoom from one image to another would appeal to students. The animation achieved with Xtranormal would also appeal to students, but I did not want to spend
$10.00 to try it out.
I decided to create an Animoto video because it appeared to be simple enough for Grade 2 and Grade 3 students to use successfully. My first attempt at creating a video went smoothly, although I had to wait quite a while for my video to save. (The site did have a note stating that some users were having difficulty creating videos and technicians were working to fix the problem.) I was impressed by the ease with which I could upload photos from my computer and drag the images to rearrange their order in the video. I also was pleasantly surprised by how quickly I could link the video to my blog and email the video to family and friends. Here is the link: September 2012.
Initially, I signed up for a "lite" account, which allowed me to create only a 30 second video. I discovered that text is not layered on the images, but must be typed on a separate blank image. As each blank image takes the place of a photo, I chose to include text only for the title of the video. In the final product, the quality of the images wasn't bad, but the images changed too quickly. Without upgrading to a "plus" account, the only way to slow down the slides was to use the spotlight feature on one or two images. (I had to delete an image to make room in the video.)
I was excited that my primary students would be able to create using Animoto, as it is so user-friendly and includes a library of pictures, video clips and songs, but I began to wonder how they would get accounts (as most do not have email addresses.) I then asked the question I should have asked at the beginning of this process: Does Animoto offer free accounts for educators? Yes! I was able to upgrade my account in a couple of minutes. I now can produce unlimited full-length videos and access more tools. Even better, I can create up to 50 accounts for students and/or colleagues.
With my upgraded account, I decided to edit my original video by adding pictures, by choosing a different song (because I didn't like the initial lyrics after 30 seconds), and by changing the speed of the image transitions. Here is a link to my upgraded version: September 2012.
Some of the images in this version are a bit blurry, perhaps because I slowed down the speed of the transitions too much. I will play around with this feature before I introduce a class to Animoto. I am looking forward to seeing how my students react to this presentation tool and to viewing their creations.
I decided to create an Animoto video because it appeared to be simple enough for Grade 2 and Grade 3 students to use successfully. My first attempt at creating a video went smoothly, although I had to wait quite a while for my video to save. (The site did have a note stating that some users were having difficulty creating videos and technicians were working to fix the problem.) I was impressed by the ease with which I could upload photos from my computer and drag the images to rearrange their order in the video. I also was pleasantly surprised by how quickly I could link the video to my blog and email the video to family and friends. Here is the link: September 2012.
Initially, I signed up for a "lite" account, which allowed me to create only a 30 second video. I discovered that text is not layered on the images, but must be typed on a separate blank image. As each blank image takes the place of a photo, I chose to include text only for the title of the video. In the final product, the quality of the images wasn't bad, but the images changed too quickly. Without upgrading to a "plus" account, the only way to slow down the slides was to use the spotlight feature on one or two images. (I had to delete an image to make room in the video.)
I was excited that my primary students would be able to create using Animoto, as it is so user-friendly and includes a library of pictures, video clips and songs, but I began to wonder how they would get accounts (as most do not have email addresses.) I then asked the question I should have asked at the beginning of this process: Does Animoto offer free accounts for educators? Yes! I was able to upgrade my account in a couple of minutes. I now can produce unlimited full-length videos and access more tools. Even better, I can create up to 50 accounts for students and/or colleagues.
With my upgraded account, I decided to edit my original video by adding pictures, by choosing a different song (because I didn't like the initial lyrics after 30 seconds), and by changing the speed of the image transitions. Here is a link to my upgraded version: September 2012.
Some of the images in this version are a bit blurry, perhaps because I slowed down the speed of the transitions too much. I will play around with this feature before I introduce a class to Animoto. I am looking forward to seeing how my students react to this presentation tool and to viewing their creations.
Thursday, November 1, 2012
Wikis
As Richardson explains in Chapter 4, wikis have great potential as a tool for professional collaboration. When the teacher-librarians in my district were required to provide 90 minutes of prep time each week for kindergarten teachers, the district teacher-librarian set up a wiki where teacher-librarians could post ideas or documents that others could extend or modify. Unfortunately, because our schedules were already full, more was accomplished during the face-to-face meeting that prompted the creation of the wiki than through the virtual meeting place of the wiki. Nevertheless, a wiki could result in better library programs because many heads are better than one.
I also noticed that the new TTOC rep in my district has set up a wiki where union and other information important to TTOCs will be posted, allowing all TTOCs, not just the rep, to have a voice in communicating information and determining what is important.
Richardson also outlines several excellent ideas for using wikis to teach students skills required for successful collaboration and to provide students with a means of creating and/or sharing projects with people living in other parts of the world (63-66). After reading Richardson's chapter on wikis, however, I was not sure how I would use these ideas with my Grade 2 and Grade 3 classes. I decided to explore some of the educational wikis described by Richardson to see whether they would provide me with a better idea of how to use a wiki with primary students.
I first visited Wikijunior, thinking that my students could contribute to an online book for children. I examined the Wikijunior style guide, which has excellent points, but is written for an adult audience. The main points in the guide could be adapted for children and taught one at a time in mini-lessons. In each mini-lesson, the teacher could explain the writing tip and have the class compose a sample Wikijunior entry, focusing on the tip. Students could then add to a Wikibook on their own or with a partner and try to write using the stylistic tip.
Next, I looked at the Wikibook Geometry for Elementary School, as we are currently studying 2D shapes and 3D objects. In the entry about points, one of the first sentences contains a typo: "Even though everything in the physical world around us of things larger than atoms, it is still very useful to talk about the centers of these atoms, or electrons" ("Points"). I noted at the bottom of the page that the content has not been updated since November 6, 2011. So much for someone picking up errors within a few hours! Obviously Wikijunior has a much smaller number of contributors than does Wikipedia! I also realized immediately that the reading level of this entry is too difficult for all of my Grade 2 students (except one for boy) and for most of my Grade 3 students. Many of the Grade 5 students I taught last year would also have had trouble understanding this text. According to the site, the geometry book is meant for beginner readers: "Books at the beginner skill level are intended for readers that may have some difficulties with pronunciation and comprehension when new vocabulary is encountered. Uncommon and difficult words should be properly introduced or defined when used. New concepts may rely heavily on pictures or illustrations to assist comprehension. These books should be accessible to readers with no education in the subject area, and should keep new vocabulary and long sentences to a minimum" (Geometry for Elementary School). Despite the reference to the need for illustrations, the page about shapes has only one picture. None of the different triangles, quadrilaterals, or polygons are shown.
The Wikijunior page about the sun (part of the book about the solar system) is much better, with illustrations, simpler text, and an interesting fact box; however, this site would still be difficult for some of my Grade 3 students. I might refer some students to this wikibook if they are doing research, but I will not ask the whole class to evaluate or contribute to it. I will share the Wikijunior link with the teacher who works with several gifted students in Grades 3-5 at our school. Perhaps they can improve the geometry book!
Because I am a former English teacher, I decided to explore Shelley Paul's class wiki about the novel Turn Homeward, Hannalee (a wiki recommended by Richardson). Although I was unable to access this wiki, I did find a link that she posted to the following site: Examples of Collaborative Project Wikis. Teachers Cindy Bode and Allyson Carroll worked with their third grade students to create an impressive wiki about western expansion along the Oregon Trail: http://gowest.wikispaces.com/ . I found the teacher reflections to be particularly informative, especially as I had some questions about the sources of the students' information. For example, while the students clearly cited the sources of all images, there is no in-text reference to the sources of their written information. I did locate a long list of references on the wiki, and I appreciate that for primary students, an understanding of plagiarism, not the ability to provide complete, accurate in-text citations, is important. The students listed their sources and, according to the teachers, used their own words. I was a bit overwhelmed by the vast number of skills that I would need to teach--and in some cases, to learn--for students to complete such a research project, but I think that the process would be very worthwhile. Because I teach my Grade 3 class only one day a week, I am a bit hesitant to begin such a complex project, but I will consider using a wiki next term when we focus on the solar system.
Richardson, Will. Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts, and Other Powerful Web Tools for Classrooms. Thousand Oaks: Corwin, 2010.
I also noticed that the new TTOC rep in my district has set up a wiki where union and other information important to TTOCs will be posted, allowing all TTOCs, not just the rep, to have a voice in communicating information and determining what is important.
Richardson also outlines several excellent ideas for using wikis to teach students skills required for successful collaboration and to provide students with a means of creating and/or sharing projects with people living in other parts of the world (63-66). After reading Richardson's chapter on wikis, however, I was not sure how I would use these ideas with my Grade 2 and Grade 3 classes. I decided to explore some of the educational wikis described by Richardson to see whether they would provide me with a better idea of how to use a wiki with primary students.
I first visited Wikijunior, thinking that my students could contribute to an online book for children. I examined the Wikijunior style guide, which has excellent points, but is written for an adult audience. The main points in the guide could be adapted for children and taught one at a time in mini-lessons. In each mini-lesson, the teacher could explain the writing tip and have the class compose a sample Wikijunior entry, focusing on the tip. Students could then add to a Wikibook on their own or with a partner and try to write using the stylistic tip.
Next, I looked at the Wikibook Geometry for Elementary School, as we are currently studying 2D shapes and 3D objects. In the entry about points, one of the first sentences contains a typo: "Even though everything in the physical world around us of things larger than atoms, it is still very useful to talk about the centers of these atoms, or electrons" ("Points"). I noted at the bottom of the page that the content has not been updated since November 6, 2011. So much for someone picking up errors within a few hours! Obviously Wikijunior has a much smaller number of contributors than does Wikipedia! I also realized immediately that the reading level of this entry is too difficult for all of my Grade 2 students (except one for boy) and for most of my Grade 3 students. Many of the Grade 5 students I taught last year would also have had trouble understanding this text. According to the site, the geometry book is meant for beginner readers: "Books at the beginner skill level are intended for readers that may have some difficulties with pronunciation and comprehension when new vocabulary is encountered. Uncommon and difficult words should be properly introduced or defined when used. New concepts may rely heavily on pictures or illustrations to assist comprehension. These books should be accessible to readers with no education in the subject area, and should keep new vocabulary and long sentences to a minimum" (Geometry for Elementary School). Despite the reference to the need for illustrations, the page about shapes has only one picture. None of the different triangles, quadrilaterals, or polygons are shown.
The Wikijunior page about the sun (part of the book about the solar system) is much better, with illustrations, simpler text, and an interesting fact box; however, this site would still be difficult for some of my Grade 3 students. I might refer some students to this wikibook if they are doing research, but I will not ask the whole class to evaluate or contribute to it. I will share the Wikijunior link with the teacher who works with several gifted students in Grades 3-5 at our school. Perhaps they can improve the geometry book!
Because I am a former English teacher, I decided to explore Shelley Paul's class wiki about the novel Turn Homeward, Hannalee (a wiki recommended by Richardson). Although I was unable to access this wiki, I did find a link that she posted to the following site: Examples of Collaborative Project Wikis. Teachers Cindy Bode and Allyson Carroll worked with their third grade students to create an impressive wiki about western expansion along the Oregon Trail: http://gowest.wikispaces.com/ . I found the teacher reflections to be particularly informative, especially as I had some questions about the sources of the students' information. For example, while the students clearly cited the sources of all images, there is no in-text reference to the sources of their written information. I did locate a long list of references on the wiki, and I appreciate that for primary students, an understanding of plagiarism, not the ability to provide complete, accurate in-text citations, is important. The students listed their sources and, according to the teachers, used their own words. I was a bit overwhelmed by the vast number of skills that I would need to teach--and in some cases, to learn--for students to complete such a research project, but I think that the process would be very worthwhile. Because I teach my Grade 3 class only one day a week, I am a bit hesitant to begin such a complex project, but I will consider using a wiki next term when we focus on the solar system.
Print Works Cited
Richardson, Will. Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts, and Other Powerful Web Tools for Classrooms. Thousand Oaks: Corwin, 2010.
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