Attached is my first vlog. I found it hard to record myself and I had to start over several times. Hopefully, you learn something more about me.
Sunday, September 27, 2009
Week 3 - Digital Concept Map
I am interested in exploring the possibilities of research using the technical tools we have been studying. Attached is my concept map for my final project. There are still details that I need to understand more clearly to be successful at implementing my ideas into my classroom.
Week 3 - Vlogs
I watched several of the attached vlogs and realized that vlogs can have many different purposes. The one I liked was "2012-The End of the World". It was intended to be informative and had a definite focus. She spoke rapidly throughout the vlog. She opened by throwing out several natural disasters and illness in rapid succession. The image was edited every few seconds, which worked well with the pace of her speaking. Throughout her vlog she used a sarcastic, light tone to inform her audience of a serious issue. The audience is probably anyone interested in this topic or someone following this topic. Since the image was spliced, she continued to enter the frame from different angles (close up, etc.). This keep the viewer interested in the vlog.
Monday, September 21, 2009
What to do with all this information?
I don't know that I have a clear idea for my final project at this moment, but definitely a few initial thoughts. I originally wanted to create a blogging projects where my students would post responses to a piece of literature and then follow and respond to a classmates blog. At this time blogger is not available at my school, however they are creating a school Moodle site. I think that will be a great place to start.
After reading the assignments this week, I am interested in how my students can use all of these new tools to do research. They do a research paper in 8th grade and are required to use internet sources. We talk about a more valid source being a source that is .edu or .gov. Also, a source that has an author and copyright date, etc. I have always warned them against wikipedia because others can add to it and therefore it may not be as reliable. I am beginning to realize that there may be formal sources and collaborative sources that come together in the research process of the 21st century.
I would like to explore the possibility of my students using Delicious or Diigo and tagging to collaborate their research, however I feel that I need to understand how to do this effectively myself before I can teach them how to do this. I did set up a Google Reader, Delicious, and Diigo account and I started adding a few RSS feeds to my Google Reader. I agree with others that sifting through all the information to find what is relevant will be a challenge and could be very time consuming.
Other tools that seem natural to use in the research process are note taking, clustering ideas, and outlining tools. I would like to explore these tools further to see how to incorporate them into a research project.
As far as my our research habits, I am guilty of Google for quick searches and the university library system for formal projects. I do tend to feel that what I find online is more unreliable than what I find at the library. This is an area that I hope to become more familiar with as this course continues.
After reading the assignments this week, I am interested in how my students can use all of these new tools to do research. They do a research paper in 8th grade and are required to use internet sources. We talk about a more valid source being a source that is .edu or .gov. Also, a source that has an author and copyright date, etc. I have always warned them against wikipedia because others can add to it and therefore it may not be as reliable. I am beginning to realize that there may be formal sources and collaborative sources that come together in the research process of the 21st century.
I would like to explore the possibility of my students using Delicious or Diigo and tagging to collaborate their research, however I feel that I need to understand how to do this effectively myself before I can teach them how to do this. I did set up a Google Reader, Delicious, and Diigo account and I started adding a few RSS feeds to my Google Reader. I agree with others that sifting through all the information to find what is relevant will be a challenge and could be very time consuming.
Other tools that seem natural to use in the research process are note taking, clustering ideas, and outlining tools. I would like to explore these tools further to see how to incorporate them into a research project.
As far as my our research habits, I am guilty of Google for quick searches and the university library system for formal projects. I do tend to feel that what I find online is more unreliable than what I find at the library. This is an area that I hope to become more familiar with as this course continues.
Monday, September 14, 2009
Week 1 - Digital Writing Blog
I will start by saying that I have never had a blog. I actually never really understood what they were. The use of technology has always intimidated me probably because I didn’t grow up using it regularly. I already feel that my 9 year old is more comfortable than I am with technology. The reservation I need to overcome is the vulnerability of it - you are out there for anyone to read. However, I feel that I have developed a much clearer understanding in the last week of the benefits associated with this technology.
After reading Richardson’s Blogs, Wikis, and Podcast, it became obvious that I need to use a blog and become familiar with it before having my students use one. I also realized that there is a lot more to it than just setting up a blog. Parent and student education as well the district restrictions are all aspects that would need to be considered.
The question I keep asking myself is how digital writing will fit into the curriculum or more accurately, how will I change my approach to incorporate digital writing into the curriculum? I think a blog would be an effective way to do journaling. I also think that it would be a useful tool for literature circles. Being able to see what your classmates write and how the teacher responds adds another layer to learning. As I became more familiar and comfortable with the technology, I will hopefully be able to provide more opportunities for my students. At this moment, I see blogging as an enhancement to the writing I currently do in my classroom, but not a replacement. I am curious to see if my thinking changes as I learn more throughout this class.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)