adding audio and podcasts

I love the idea of using podcasts in my future classroom. The extent to which I would use the podcast would depend on the grade level I was teaching. For the upper elementary it would be beneficial for the students to create their own podcast, or have an ongoing podcasts that we do regularly each week on a certain topic (like a radio show). If I were teaching in a lower elementary grade I would use podcasts to show them how to do things, or to help with their listening skills. I think the podcast would be helpful in a universal way of demonstrating a new skill. For instance the tutorial video we had today would be an example, obviously it would be with only audio. Or another idea for using the podcast in a universal way would be to read a chapter of a book we were reading as a class, or have the students read a page each.

There are so many different ways to use the podcast with a class. I think a lot depends on the age of your students and the resources available. It is quite simple to put together, but I would make sure the students know how to use the equipment and feel comfortable about what they are talking about when they are constructing the podcast.

At the technology conference I listened to a speaker who talked about podcasts and how third graders used it in their class as a news report...they were reporting on the revolutionary war. This makes kids involved with the topic and gets them excited about it.

podcast

Digital Media and Adding photos

Here is a picture of erickson hall by: Joe Freidhoff













Today was a really helpful class in explaining copyright and how to use creative commons and the proper way of adding a picture with attributions and links back to the original source. I really like the use of flickr and flickrcc to search for images and pictures in a way to know that they are safe to use. Also, the use of licensing your work through creative commons is important so other people can use your work.

I really like the google maps too. It's a great way to get a real image of where you are going or might go. It is great for people who use landmark directions, or people who know street names. I love the idea of using it in the classroom on certain units and having students find places that we use on that unit or book. This way the kids are getting involved directly to the assignment and with what they are learning. Google earth is also fun to play around with and use for students to see what is happening around the world or places around the globe. Plus it is fun for the kids to use and a great learning tool!

Adding images and making sure people receive the credit for their work will be very beneficial to my students. I didn't even know that anything off of google images or any other such search, that the images were all rights reserved. This means that I will have to make sure to make my students well aware of this and also for them to know that their work is reserved to only them unless they decide to change it. It is very important for them to use pictures they are allowed to use. I would ask them that if they published something on the web, if they would want just anyone using it, if they did not provide permission for them to be able to use it.

The challenges that exist to help students think of the use of images more critically is that it is so much easier to use pictures or download pictures. It is so common to just copy and paste an image. Many do not think that copying and pasting an image is the same as illegally downloading music. Plus it is sometimes harder for someone who is very fluent with computers to download music, but you do not need much computer experience to use an image from the web. Also, using images doesn't necessarily get the press as other illegal downloads or uses from the internet. If there is a lack of exposure or evidence, then it is not brought to the children's attention.

I will make sure to explain to my class that they have to provide the link and the credit where they get pictures. I think flickr cc is an excellent source to get images from, because you can use the images that fit into your criteria.

bookmarks and calendars

Bookmarks and calendars are a great way to get organized personally and professionally. I could use it to post events, due dates, or meetings for myself. For the personal use, I could really use it for remembering birthdays, or a way to keep myself on task for upcoming events. In the professional setting I would definitely use it to remind me of meetings or professional development opportunities with education. Bookmarking would be a great way to organize different websites that I want to use in the classroom, or several references for approaches and concepts to use with kids. Also, there are a lot of great lesson plans that are online, and I could bookmark those according to subject.

I could also use the bookmarks and calendars for the students. I could have a class account with a variety of websites that may be references for them or that offer homework tips. Other pages that would be great to bookmark would be extension of what we covered in class for a deeper understanding of the content, or in case we ran out of time in class and there was more that I wanted the students to look into. I could also make a tab for current events for a social studies page, or add several other sites for various subjects. I'm not sure how the filter would work in certain schools to distinguish what sites I can and cannot use. The calendar for the students could consist of all the due dates and would be updated as needed. This will allow the students to be able to look ahead in the schedule to see when things are due, as opposed to asking me several times a day. It is an easy click away to see due dates or holiday breaks.

In using the bookmarks and calendars for parents, it will be very helpful and beneficial. On the bookmarks I would offer study tips or help tips for parents with their students work. Also, I would provide family and parenting websites for common areas parents get frustrated with (getting kids to bed on time, helping with homework, talking to their children about school, open communication with children, etc.). This will hopefully help parents to become involved with school or help them with things that happen outside of school. It is important that children learn not only in school, but in the home as well. The calendar will be used to keep parents posted about homework and project dates, along with conferences and other after school/community activities.

The idea of using online bookmarks and calendars is very beneficial in all realms of education. It is also easily accessible from any computer, which also makes it a very attractive tool to use in the future with my students.

personalizing the internet

Today in class we talked about ways to personalize the internet, and I absolutely love igoogle. There are so many different gadgets, games, and ways to get organized! Also, the google reader and google alert is another great way to get up-to-date information about subscriptions or even searches you are looking for.

This would be a great tool to have in the classroom. I think a really beneficial way to use it in the classroom is for research projects, or if the class is collectively working on something. If you are working with younger kids and possibly getting a class pet such as chicks, fish, or even hamsters, the whole class could type in the animal into a search in reader or alert to get new information about it. We could also organize the various projects by separating all of our subscriptions into folders using google reader. We could even have a blog or website where we post information about the class pet and post new updates based on the information we obtain from our alerts or reader. That way if a student misses class, they will still be able to get the information that we talked about on that specific subject.

In the upper elementary levels, we could use these personalization tools for similar topics of research projects or something we decide as a class we want to learn more about (maybe outside academics, such as healthy lifestyles, etc.). We could define our search to subscribe to certain websites or blogs to get more information, or create an alert when something new comes in on that topic. It could turn into something really fun and just helpful for the students to learn.

I really enjoyed todays class in learning new ways to use the internet and various ways to get organized. iGoogle is my favorite and I love all the different applications. I'm not sure how much I would use the google reader/alert. The alert would be really useful when looking for a teaching job. That way you get the job posting right away and don't have to search various websites all day!

Website

Last Wednesday in CEP we had to create our website. I plan to use this website for professional purposes to give to employers. With the portfolio I have created links to my resume, course work, internship year, and to my blog. It will be easy for employers to access this information about me and to actually see what I have done and the experience I have/will have. I'm thinking of creating a photo gallery in my portfolio. Does anyone know if I need to get consent forms from parents in the after school program I work in, if I take or use any pictures of their child? I'm not sure about the legalities of it all. I also have another question regarding the portfolio: I inserted a picture on my home page that I downloaded from google images and the picture shows up for me, but when I sign out and go to the website, the picture isn't there. What did I do wrong and what else should I try?

With my course work I was going to put the major projects or papers that I worked on throughout my academic career in the college of education. I also wanted to make a spot for my study abroad trip, however I don't know if I should put it under course work or make it a separate link...? If anyone has an suggestions please let me know! It would be greatly appreciated!

website



Oh and how about our Spartans?!?!?! 3-0
I think we have a chance to beat Notre Dame next week :)

My first try

Right now I am currently a senior in the College of Education at MSU. I am from Clinton Township, MI; which pretty much means I am from the metro Detroit area. This semester I am an America Reads tutor, where I go to elementary schools and tutor little kids. I love working with kids and helping them learn. I am also very close with my family and go home some weekends to spend time with my 6 and 3 year old nieces.

I'm also a huge pistons fan :)