Web Cast on TAG

When people ask me what TAG is, I can send them my web cast. the quality was better originally, but I had to convert it to get it posted on Teachertube.

Medieval Role Play

I've created a pod cast explaining a role play I used to do with students as part of the Grade 8 History unit on Medieval Societies. I;ve explained it to several teachers over the years and now I can email them the podcast as an overview of what it is.

Zotero

I've checked out zotero. too bad I never had this tool 15 years ago when I was writing papers in my history courses. It is quite interesting to see the changes that have occured when searching and quoting references. Zotero makes this seem easier to do. I've experimented with zotero when I was researching Cyber-Bullying for a presentation I am doing for the school board. A question I had was how are you certain what the type of web page you are viewing? In other words how do you know if it is a journal, report, publication, etc. ? Is that important?

You Tube

I've done a podcast on You Tube and my thoughts about using this in the classroom based on the article by Stephen Downes. That was cool! I played with the effects, but just left it at normal.

Podcast

So I've set up a Pod cast and posted this to my blog. It took some time to get the microphone and headset properties configured, but overall it was fairly straight forward. There are some interesting elements to the Audacity program such as adding effects. While trying to make a test recording I noticed that when I retuned to the begining and tried to record over my previous recording it didn't record over top but recorded simultaneously. This created the effect of it sounding like there were several of "me" talking which was somewhat eerie. I will experiment with having the podcast play automatically when someone views my blog...that could get annoying though.

I am wondering about the applications for the program. Obviously making recordings and posting them to your blog is yet another way to pass on information. This would be quite useful for presentations. the school I am at has a homework hotline which is accessed through a landline. It is seldom used most likely due to the antiqueted technology. I can see a creating a school blog with each teacher peridocally creating podcasts for parents and students to access. Teachers could create a podcast of upcoming events and projects. they could review and edit this information quite easily through Audacity.

Mind Mapping

I've actually seen this before as part of an educational package. When I first logged onto mind mapper, it was slow and a little sluggish. Maybe it is my computer. Whatever the reason I have used these in classes before on a white board. I think students would react more positively to this digital version that can be updated quickly. Students could conceivably add to mind maps outside of the classroom and these could be used as part of their assessment, much like portfolios are used today.

After reviewing this for some time I began to think about how students learn now as apposed to the pre-digital age. Does there need to be an entertainment factor included in our lesson planning as compared to before? Or is the use of technology a natural evolution in how we now gather and process information.

del.icio.us

This is a terrific tool. It was easy to set up and I will no longer be using "My Favorites" as a way to track my web sites. I have many sites affiliated with Egyptian, Viking, Roman, Greek, Middle Ages, Renaissance, and Reformation history when I used to teach Grade 8 Social Studies. Frequently I would research at home and at work and more than once after I had found a relevant and interesting web page I lost it because I made it a favorite on another computer. This would be very beneficial for my school where there is a lot of team teaching. Teachers could build their own web site catalogue to share with other members of the team. I have already started tagging sites for administrators.

Goggle Docs

I found it interesting when we tried Google docs. Although at first it was a little confusing with people adding and changing text, I do see some practical applications. This would be quite useful in a classroom setting where you have multiple users posting and updating entries. Peer editing is a great way to use this tool. Students could edit each others' assignments. From an administrative stand point, I can see how this would save time and avoid confusion. When I publish a monthly newsletter, there are several staff members who need to contribute. I usually email them and they email me back with their versions and contributions. However, there have been times that they have needed to edit their contributions. I see an immediate use for Google Docs in these situations. By having just the one document, always updated by the staff, there would be less confusion and more collaboration.

Technology

I think I'm out of the starting gate. I have been trying to edit my blog and it looks better. As for the ICT course, I still have questions.

Recently I attended a conference on the Middle School Initiative and the question of the use of technology was raised. The issue was how to use technology more in the classroom. Most teachers were quite eager to share examples of their use of technology. Indeed, the students themselves have driven this multi media into the school, whether we want it or not. A debate did arise as to how much technology should be used. Should it be curbed or embraced? Needless to say, each side presented valid points. The proponents against technology were not denying its impact and usefulness, but focused their concerns on the the availability of technology in some regions of the province. They argued that a growing reliance on teaching through the use of the various technologies was not possible to them because of the lack of infrastructure. In effect they relied on more traditional methods and were sceptical about the loss of human contact. These comments received applause from several pockets of listeners.

Of course the majority of attendees agreed that technology can only enhance learning and in many ways allows students to experience more of their environment. While I certainly see the application of technology as an exciting way of teaching while enabling teachers to address the need for differentiated instruction, some of the issues raised by the "anti-techs" did resonate with me. Is the reliance on technology harmful to social relationships critical to the teacher - student instruction, or is this simply a natural evolution into a brave new world.

I'm blogging

Here I am blogging. Wow, look at me go.