I am not 100% sure yet how I will use this blog after our course closes. I would love to use it for the classroom, but I do not think my district will approve. I believe they have strict regulations, which I am looking into currently. Therefore, I will most likely continue to use this blog for personal use, including both random pleasurable rants :P and hopefully professional discussions about the merging of technology and the classroom.
I hope this blog will evolve with time and really live up to its name, whisper-ma-phone. Through that device, a young boy learned the insidious history of industrialization. It would be nice to use this space to uncover those stories and ideas that remain concealed. I am for progress, both personal and professional, through our whisper-ma-phone.
Friday, December 21, 2007
Monday, December 10, 2007
Defining a Podcast
After listening to several podcasts, I have decided that I want the podcast to have its own identity. I do not want a podcast to be a radio show, such as some podcasts I found on New Jersey's Teacher's Podcast. The podcast I attempted to listen to was 45 minutes long (way too long!), and it wasted time in the beginning of the "broadcast" giving listener updates and other useless information for infrequent listeners. In fact, the podcast spent a few minutes giving itself accolades.
I also don't want a podcast to be "inaccurate" information titled under certain "attractive" euphemisms. For instance, Podcast Alley offers "sax tips" and "grammar girls quick and dirty tips to writing." I wonder how those titles could catch the unwilling student's attention... The latter claims that punctuation, grammar, and other English specifics can be learned within 5 minute podcasts through fun and friendly methods... It's a wonder that I would ever spend more than 5 minutes discussing these topics with my students when I could easily let the sensual grammar girls explain the information. Then again, they forgot to make girls possessive (girls' tips).
A perfect podcast should run for about 10-15 minutes (depending on material). It should also incorporate creative means to present the information (skits, songs, and variety!). Music is always a plus because it keeps the listener alert and peppy. Also, the best podcasts will provide an outline of the information being presented so that a viewer can follow along visually or refer to the information later without listening to the podcast again. Kudos to a 5th grade class on Radio WillowWeb who meets all of these requirements with their podcast titled "Writing Traits." Their podcast is 13 minutes and 50 seconds long, includes creative skits, incorporates music, and has an accompanying outline!!!
I also don't want a podcast to be "inaccurate" information titled under certain "attractive" euphemisms. For instance, Podcast Alley offers "sax tips" and "grammar girls quick and dirty tips to writing." I wonder how those titles could catch the unwilling student's attention... The latter claims that punctuation, grammar, and other English specifics can be learned within 5 minute podcasts through fun and friendly methods... It's a wonder that I would ever spend more than 5 minutes discussing these topics with my students when I could easily let the sensual grammar girls explain the information. Then again, they forgot to make girls possessive (girls' tips).
A perfect podcast should run for about 10-15 minutes (depending on material). It should also incorporate creative means to present the information (skits, songs, and variety!). Music is always a plus because it keeps the listener alert and peppy. Also, the best podcasts will provide an outline of the information being presented so that a viewer can follow along visually or refer to the information later without listening to the podcast again. Kudos to a 5th grade class on Radio WillowWeb who meets all of these requirements with their podcast titled "Writing Traits." Their podcast is 13 minutes and 50 seconds long, includes creative skits, incorporates music, and has an accompanying outline!!!
Sunday, December 2, 2007
WikiStudent
After viewing some wiki project sites, I am impressed with the technology and convinced that it can be beneficial in the classroom when incorporated with care.
One benefit I noticed while perusing the educational wikis is that the wiki allows students to publish significantly more material than they ever could on paper. The more quality work students do, the more they learn. The Holocaust Wiki Project is stunning. It allows students to combine history with imagination (creativity), explore decision making, experience cause and effect, and share the final projects (choose-your-own-ending books) with classmates, teachers, friends, parents, and the entire online global community.
Also, several of the sights were privacy protected in one form or another. The first thing I noticed when I signed into the 1001 Flat World Tales site was a lock at the top, left-hand corner of the page notifying the visitor of safety precautions. Also, the Pay It Forward wiki had specified privacy; only subscribers to the feed could view all of the updates to the wiki. I am not sure if subscribing can be controlled, but I imagine that such a function would be beneficial.
While I didn't run into many of the cons mentioned in several critiques of wikis, I did notice a few annoying and distracting advertisements, hard to navigate sites, and discussions that were near impossible to contribute to, let alone follow.
One benefit I noticed while perusing the educational wikis is that the wiki allows students to publish significantly more material than they ever could on paper. The more quality work students do, the more they learn. The Holocaust Wiki Project is stunning. It allows students to combine history with imagination (creativity), explore decision making, experience cause and effect, and share the final projects (choose-your-own-ending books) with classmates, teachers, friends, parents, and the entire online global community.
Also, several of the sights were privacy protected in one form or another. The first thing I noticed when I signed into the 1001 Flat World Tales site was a lock at the top, left-hand corner of the page notifying the visitor of safety precautions. Also, the Pay It Forward wiki had specified privacy; only subscribers to the feed could view all of the updates to the wiki. I am not sure if subscribing can be controlled, but I imagine that such a function would be beneficial.
While I didn't run into many of the cons mentioned in several critiques of wikis, I did notice a few annoying and distracting advertisements, hard to navigate sites, and discussions that were near impossible to contribute to, let alone follow.
I like how the wikis can include other media such as videos and podcasts. The poignant video for Pay It Forward peaked my interest and encouraged me to continue exploring the site. However, other media can have the opposite effect. For example, the 1001 Flat World Tales site forced me to listen to a podcast before navigating the site; worse yet, all of my Internet windows closed due to the complications with the podcast.
Overall, I think the wiki is a great educational tool when there is an instructor to oversee the site and bring structure/organization to the project.
P.S. - All of the sites I visited were aesthetically pleasing enough... (another con disproved).
Thursday, November 29, 2007
Wikitravel
I am super stoked about wikitravel! Not only will it help me plan my vacations (and save $), but I also hope to add my own experiences to the site. Even if someone hasn't traveled far, he/she can still add to wikitravel by writing about his/her hometown and/or local attractions! However, it is difficult for a homebody to view his/her turf with a foreign eye...
Tuesday, November 27, 2007
Pros/Cons Educational Blogs
After reading the educational blogs for the read/write web 2.0 class, I created a list of pros and cons for each site. Overall, the pros outweighed the cons, so my initial vibes to jump on board the educational blog "train" has been validated.
The pros included: parents, teacher, and students from diverse locations around the world connecting, assignments clearly posted online with links to information that is easy to access in electronic format, essential English writing links such as dictionary.com and sonofcitationmachine.com, the ability to keep in contact with teachers that are on sabbatical (and for that teacher to check in on student progress), and protection by using initials instead of full names.
However, I had a long list of cons for the Upton and the Mini Legends blog sites. I spotted lots of grammatical mistakes such as run-ons. I also saw very little punctuation usage. Together these downfalls reveal that little to no proofreading skills are being reinforced on those sites. Also, one of the sites revealed too much personal information (full names and pictures) that I feel could cause safety issues. Once teachers have the needed knowledge, they can regulate educational blogs in order to eradicate the cons. For instance, a teacher can set grammar requirements and even install spell and grammar check buttons. As for safety, I feel that the more precautions the better.
Overall, educational blogs are a positive growth for the academic field when the site is maintained appropriately by the instructor.
The pros included: parents, teacher, and students from diverse locations around the world connecting, assignments clearly posted online with links to information that is easy to access in electronic format, essential English writing links such as dictionary.com and sonofcitationmachine.com, the ability to keep in contact with teachers that are on sabbatical (and for that teacher to check in on student progress), and protection by using initials instead of full names.
However, I had a long list of cons for the Upton and the Mini Legends blog sites. I spotted lots of grammatical mistakes such as run-ons. I also saw very little punctuation usage. Together these downfalls reveal that little to no proofreading skills are being reinforced on those sites. Also, one of the sites revealed too much personal information (full names and pictures) that I feel could cause safety issues. Once teachers have the needed knowledge, they can regulate educational blogs in order to eradicate the cons. For instance, a teacher can set grammar requirements and even install spell and grammar check buttons. As for safety, I feel that the more precautions the better.
Overall, educational blogs are a positive growth for the academic field when the site is maintained appropriately by the instructor.
Tuesday, November 20, 2007
The World of Web 2.0 - Middle School "Team/House" Blogs
Even in the most fortunate districts where middle school teachers have "team" time built into their schedules, these educational professionals still need to collaborate outside of the provided period. Why? Team time is often eaten up by important meetings with counselors and/or parents (Bite 1). Team time is often wasted because teachers would rather talk about personal issues (Bite 2). Teachers may not be prepared during team time to share "academic" ideas they want to discuss (Bite 3 - swallow and digest).
Therefore, teams need a blog that is accessible at all times (when you have a midnight bite and start brainstorming), so that teachers can effectively plan cross-curricular activities, pass ideas by other teachers on the team, etc. Plus, this allows teachers to see ideas in print and manage them better. So often, what is said during a team meeting is taken with a grain of salt and lost forever. As long as all members of the team are on the same page, they can use the blog at their own discretion. Nothing is forced on anyone.
Happy Turkey Day!
Therefore, teams need a blog that is accessible at all times (when you have a midnight bite and start brainstorming), so that teachers can effectively plan cross-curricular activities, pass ideas by other teachers on the team, etc. Plus, this allows teachers to see ideas in print and manage them better. So often, what is said during a team meeting is taken with a grain of salt and lost forever. As long as all members of the team are on the same page, they can use the blog at their own discretion. Nothing is forced on anyone.
Happy Turkey Day!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)