Podcasts

According to the article, Podcasting 101, and the New Oxford Dictionary, podcasting is ?a digital recording of a radio broadcast or similar program made available on the Internet for downloading to a personal audio player. It?s a digital audio file that?s created, shared and heard. (Eash, 2006) Some instructional uses of podcasting would be to deliver a remedial or extension lesson or research information. It states in the article that students learn to ?research, write, develop vocabulary, speak effectively, manage time, solve problems and grab attention? through creating podcasts. (Eash, 2006) Some examples of student projects using a podcast include reporting on visits to places in the community, oral history interviews, dramatization of student?s creative writing and book reviews

Some instructional reasons that the author gives for supporting the use of this new technology in schools is that it gives ?learners point of need access to information, and it disseminates information in exciting ways.? (Eash, 2006) 

Podcasts use RSS (Really Simple Syndication) technology, which allows you to find, subscribe and download podcasts from the Internet. With RSS, if you subscribe to a podcast, updates are immediately downloaded to your computer, you don?t have to look for them.

I searched for Coulee Kids Podcasts, which the article used as an example of using podcasts as a way to share student learning. I was very impressed. The students recorded on podcast a week and each podcast was delivered by a different student on a subject of choice. Access to the podcast was through their website which also included a Book Blog and an Online Journal. Under the link, teacher materials, they included a podcast rubric and a podcast planning sheet which were created through a collaborative classroom effort.

There were several ideas in the article and on the Coulee website that I would like to use next year. I will be a new Media Coordinator, so the idea of using a podcasts as part of the Media Center orientation tour really interested me. I could see how much more fun it would be for the students and myself! A podcast would mean that I won?t have to repeat the same directions a million times and the students can work in smaller groups! I think that I would record the directions so that the students begin at different points in the media center and perhaps have activities that they are to do along the way. I might also use the idea from Geocaching and leave tips for the next place in the media center they are to go to. I am also thinking about doing an oral history project with the 4^th grades next year, and if I do I would like to have a website that keeps track of our progress. As a part of that website, the students could record interviews on a podcast and record their reflections on either a podcast or a blog which I think would be of interest to the whole community. Another general use would be to podcast book reviews or to have older students read aloud stories for younger students to listen to.

Posted at 05:14PM Jun 18, 2006 by LEOUSIS, REBECCA in General  |  Comments[0]

Webquests

Webquests are inquiry-based projects where most, if not all, information is taken from the web. All websites that the student needs to complete the webquest are given, so that the students? energies are focused on completing the task, not on searching for resources. Webquest are engaging, motivating and encourage higher level thinking skills. In addition, webquests, very often give the students choice in what tasks they complete and how they complete them.

In the article, Focus: Five Rules for Writing a Great Webquest, Bernie Dodge, the creator of webquests lists the qualities that define a great webquests.  Thsee qualities make up the acronym, FOCUS. Find great sites, Orchestrate your learners and resources, Challenge your learners to think, Use the Medium, and Scaffold high expectations. To find great websites, the article encourages the use of powerful search engines and the ?deep web? by using databases, archives and directories of museums. These deeper sources add a lot of interest and relevance to the webquest. A great webquest also organizes the resources so that every student has something to do even if there is a limited amount of computers. Organizing also involves organizing the students? activities through different roles and cooperative learning experiences. Webquests should be challenging and the task should be engage the student in solving an authentic problem using higher level thinking skills. Great webquests should also use the medium by capitalizing on what is unique to the internet---add a blog or discussion board to your webquest and use all its multimedia capabilities. Last, a great webquest should scaffold the learning so that all students are working at their highest level by using templates, writing guides, how-to resources, etc.

I have used webquests and have created my own (only 2---one was written over 4 years ago and the other I wrote this year as part of a class requirement). I love creating them and I have enjoyed watching the students complete them. What I particularly like is that they are focused?.on the resources, the curriculum and student expectations, and that they usually give the students choice in completing the assignment. Webquests are naturally differentiated and involve student collaboration.

I have a new job a Media Specialist in an elementary school next year. I hope during the summer to create a separate webquest for 3 rd, 4^th and 5^th grade which integrates media and technology curriculum with the core subjects. Something new that I would like to include in these webquests are blogs or discussion groups that will allow the students to reflect on their progress as they are completing the assignment. I would also like to include resources from the ?deep web? to give the task authenticity and relevance. I?d like to use ?deep web? resources like the American Memory Project, or the archives of The NC Museum of Art or Natural History.  A third thing that I would like to try is to create a webquest with different student roles. I think that this helps to differentiate the task and to give student choice, two elements that are important in students? success.

Posted at 05:13PM Jun 18, 2006 by LEOUSIS, REBECCA in General  |  Comments[0]

Digital Stories

As described in the article, Constructing Digital Stories, digital stories are pretty much what they sound like; they are a series of digital pictures with narration that tell a story. I think that the story can be narrative or expository. The digital photos can be those taken from a digital camera or photos that have been scanned. The steps as outlined in the article are to write the initial script, plan a storyboard, revise the script, sequence the images using a video editor, add narration, add special effects and add music. I really liked how the article explained and outlined every step clearly. The directions were easy to follow; even for a novice.  The steps also ensured that areas of the writing curriculum (script, storyboard and revision) were addressed and not lost in the excitement of the technology. I thought that the idea of a ?ticket? to enter the computer lab was excellent! I can see using digital stories as a powerful way to motivate reluctant writers.

One of the points that the article made is that teachers rarely have access to all the equipment and this is so true! However, the steps as they are outlined, allow for students to be at different stages during the process, so the whole class does not need to be using the equipment at the same time---some may be still working on their story board when others are ready to edit. When I was reading the article, I was wondering if you couldn?t use PowerPoint. Our school doesn?t own iMovie or MovieMaker, but we have PowerPoint on the network, so each student has access to it. It wouldn?t have the fancy transitions, but they can sort and organize the images in the storyboard mode. I have never added recorded sound to a PowerPoint, but I believe it has the capabilities with an external microphone. 

Next year I plan to try digital stories with my 3-5th graders using PowerPoint. I would like to have the students create narratives based on the character traits. The stories could take place in school and their peers could be the characters. I think that they would love acting in each others stories and taking the photos for them. It would also make the digital stories realistic and authentic. For the lower grades, I might try creating concept books for numbers or the alphabet.  Another idea for 3-5 would be to create simple digital stories that take place around the school and give them to our ESL teacher. Very often the older ESL students are at a much lower reading level then their intellectual and emotional level and the books that they have are babyish. Digital stories could involve students their own age in stories that interest them. We could even ask the ESL teacher for essential vocabulary to use in the stories.

The only problem that I found with the article is that I am a visual learner and would have liked to have seen examples of the stories that were created. I would have liked to know some of the subjects that the students choose to write about and how they used photos to illustrate. 

Posted at 06:03PM Jun 15, 2006 by LEOUSIS, REBECCA in General  |  Comments[0]

Spreadsheets

The article, Scaffolding Math Learning with Spreadsheets, outlines five activities where students in grades 6-12 use spreadsheets to solve mathematical problems. What I thought was most interesting is that these activities were designed to help teach the spreadsheet as well as the math skill, so that learning the technology does not interfere with learning mathematics. I liked that the students were learning the parts of the spreadsheet and how they interact at the same time that they were exploring math concepts like order of operation. Teachers? curricular responsibilities are so extensive that in order to cover as much as possible, contents have to be integrated and integrating content areas makes the learning more authentic and exciting for the students. I especially liked Problem 2 which had the students find the pattern for a group of numbers, then extend the pattern to the 1000^th value. This exercise encouraged higher level thinking because the students had to think abstractly about the pattern in order to create the formula. At the same time, the students learned the spreadsheet skill of how to copy formulas from cell to cell.

I have used spreadsheets in grades 3-5 for Social Studies and Science applications and we have primarily used the sorting and the graphing functions of Microsoft Excel. Next year, I would like to use one of the problems from the article to begin teaching the students how to create formulas to have the spreadsheet perform calculations. I might begin with Problem 3, where the students are asked to create a multiplication table. This would be a great review of the math skill for 4^th graders and a good introduction to spreadsheets. Because they are familiar with what the results should be, they can check their own formulas to see if they work. Both the 4^th and 5^th graders learn about Mean, Median and Mode and I wonder if that might be a good application that may also help the students to abstract the mathematical idea from concrete numbers to cell addresses. We could integrate this with social studies and have the students compare resources in Canada, US and Mexico, enter the data (say population or highest altitude) create a graph comparing, and enter the formulas to find the mean, median and mode. I would also like to come up with an activity that uses a ?what if? question. I think that they would love to see how the spreadsheet can manipulate data for them.

Posted at 05:01PM Jun 15, 2006 by LEOUSIS, REBECCA in General  |  Comments[0]

Laptops and Tablets

Laptops and tablets are increasingly making their way into the classroom in order to achieve the optimum one-to-one student to computer ratio---- which is referred to as ?ubiquitous computing.? Though wireless laptops have been the tool that most schools have used to achieve this ratio, tablets have been considered, also. Tablets have several advantages over the traditional laptops. First, they can be loaded with the same software as laptops, but they also have ink-enabled applications. These ink-enabled applications allow the student to interact directly with the screen with a stylus. Students can practice handwriting and solve math problems, tasks which can be difficult to impossible using a traditional laptop. Tablets also provide teachers with some advantages. They can project and change material for a lesson and return to that same material the next day. Teachers also say that projecting material using the tablet keeps students attention, because they can highlight and circle information for the students to focus on. In addition, teachers can electronically access the students work, make comments and return it. Other advantages include a longer-life battery, the capability to view the screen in both landscape and portrait mode and they are lighter to carry. Disadvantages are that tablets are still more expensive that the traditional laptop and the screens may be hard to see for some users. After reviewing the Tablet Feature Chart in the article, Exploring Table PCS, I thought that the Gateway M273 had the best features for the price. The screen is large, 14:1, which should help with the display problem, has 1.6 GHz hard drive, a DVD/CD drive and is moderately priced at $1,799. (Godsall, 2005)

One-to-one or ubiquitous computing allows each student and teacher 24/7 access to computers and has been used to reduce inequities in access, raise student achievement, improve classroom culture, increase students? engagement, encourage more student centered instruction through differentiation and problem/project based learning, increase the economic competitiveness of the region (Maine) and to improve home school connections. The article, Lessons Learned About Providing Laptops for All Students, Learning, stressed the need for a methodical and comprehensive implementation of the   program and strong leadership if it is to be successful. I agreed with the authors that the leadership needed to be able to look at things through ?three different lenses: the lens of the curriculum and content; the lens of the culture of the building; and the lens of technical needs.? I also agreed with the authors that training and professional development was essential. I liked the idea of co-teaching which I have used for literacy training and think that would work well for technology integration as well. You can learn so much from just observing other teachers. I also think that teacher collaboration in creating technology rich lessons provides all teachers, no matter what level of expertise, support and encouragement and helps to build confidence.

I have used technology with a 5:1 ration and a 1:1 ratio and there is no doubt that 1:1 ratio makes a big difference on student achievement. All students are engaged, there are few behavior problems and more time for the teacher to work one on one with students. I think that most teachers would embrace the use of technology if given the opportunity to have a 1:1 ratio. The classroom management and equity issues with a   5:1 or even 3:1 ratio can be daunting. I thought that it was interesting that studies found that ?it is only when you implement one-to-one computing that the power happens.? Muir, 2004)

Posted at 03:49PM Jun 15, 2006 by LEOUSIS, REBECCA in General  |  Comments[0]

Handhelds

Handhelds---usually in the form of PDA?s or Palm Pilots are making their way into the classroom. It makes sense in that they are cheaper than traditional workstations stations and much more mobile. These two features allow a school or classroom to come close to the optimum 1:1 ratio of tool to student and allow the student to have access to the tool at home. In addition, the handhelds do not take up as much physical space in the classroom as a traditional workstation and as Baumbach noted, the students are comfortable using the technology which is learned very quickly. Problems with the handhelds include theft and damage because of their size and the need for organized syncing.

Handhelds can be used in a variety of classroom applications from language arts to science and math. Several of the readings indicated, however, for the need to purchase a keyboard for writing applications.  Up until now, I had only heard of handhelds being used by the teacher for assessment and could sort of imagine how it could be used for Math and Science. However, I was generally amazed with the number of software applications for language arts---most of which I had not heard of---such as FreeWrite, FlingIt, eReader, ThoughtManager and eBook---to name a few. I liked the lesson plan described in the Buambach article where the students write an ?autobugography.? The descriptions in the article helped me to see how the handheld can be used in all phases of the writing process from brainstorming to researching to the actual writing and presenting.

Geocaching using GPS is another way to use handhelds as a tool to integrate the curriculum. Geocaching is sort of like a scavenger hunt where a person hides a cache (item(s) usually in a waterproof container) and then posts the coordinates on a geocaching website for others to find. In the article, Hide and Seek, the author lists several examples as to how this activity can be used in instruction. I really liked the idea of geocaching to create a ?historically based multi-site goecache that focuses on the community.? What an interactive and creative way for students to learn about their community?s history. I also liked the idea of the ?Travel Bug.? The Travel Bug is placed in a cache for others to find. Each time a person finds the bug and moves it to another cache, the information is posted on a web site. I can think of all sorts of writing, research  and math activities that could be spin-offs from this idea.

I was skeptical at first about the instructional uses of handhelds in the classroom. The readings and the session introduction really helped me to see its viability in the classroom. I worked in a school building that was built in 1923 and the classrooms were very small. Even in the classes where we had the optimum of 5 workstations for 25 students, we were very cramped. I can see how the handhelds would allow access for all students at the same time, which can make instruction easier and free up space for small group work. However, I still have some reservations?Even after reading the Buambach article, I still think that older students would find the handhelds awkward to use for lengthy papers. I can see its potential for brainstorming and organizing the information, but I think that it would be hard to use for the 2-3 page writings that are expected of them.

Posted at 03:46PM Jun 15, 2006 by LEOUSIS, REBECCA in General  |  Comments[0]