Final Post....Or is it?

Throughout this semester as a part of the 'Using Computers in the Classroom Ed 458' unit I have been introduced to, and I was a part of introducing, several 'new' web 2.0 technologies, their uses in general and in the classroom, their pros and cons and of course how to use each 'new' technology.

When I say web 2.0 technology I am referring to recent technology that is far more involved than its predecessors. Web 2.0 technology, in basic terms, is interactive, it involves users to share,communicate and add information. The web 2.0 technologies also talk amongst themselves and are seemingly all connected, for example when I use Jing I am able to add my capture to my blog or email it to a friend. The technologies we looked at in detail over the course of the semester are; Blogs, Wiki, Scratch, Bitstrips, Twitter, Glogster, Jing, Google Documents, Hot Potatoes, Voicethread, Edmodo and of course Game Maker.

My class and I needed to learn about twelve technologies in one semester we achieved this by having the class pair off and each pair become the 'expert' on a specific technology; then bringing the information and skills they have learned back and sharing with the class has been an excellent way of learning. As a class we have covered a vast amount of technology, to a fairly high level, in a reasonably short amount of time. This strategy of teaching and learning has not only been efficient but also highly effective. We students have learned each new web 2.0 technology almost to the same standard as the investigators or the 'experts'. And in saying that I do have the tools (the class wiki) and the skills (lessons from class) to become as educated as the 'expert' with minimal further effort on my behalf.

I am very pleased with the results of the semester's learning and the skills I have developed. I have seen and played with some really amazing technologies, including this blog, that I might not have come into contact with otherwise. Some will definitely improve my work at university and I can also see myself using in my own classroom to improve children's learning experience.

Game Maker

My partner, Christina Mold, and I presented the technology Game Maker. Game Maker is a free and quick to download technology that allows you to create and edit your own games, without the knowledge of game programing or advanced 'computer talk'. Please go to our Wiki page to see our knowledge and opinions of Game Maker in full.

http://curtineducation2009.wetpaint.com/page/Game+Maker

During the process of trying to help others learn about Game Maker I created this short video, using Jing, that goes through the key terms, resources and buttons of a basic game. Please watch :)

http://www.screencast.com/users/Farmiloe/folders/Jing/media/fc4c6b92-ac34-461b-b0e0-461920814cf2

Hot Potatoes

Hot Potatoes is a site that allows teachers to set up their classroom (teacher logs in then creates classroom users)online and create or use all sorts of quizzes and puzzles. These activities could be done as a class or the children could be asked to complete quizzes for homework or the children could go on the site in their free time to test their knowledge and play.

I like the idea of Hot Potatoes but I find that the site looks very unappealing and dull (black and white with basic design). If the site looks boring to me what are 8 year olds going to think of it? I think that because of the 'no distractions' way the site is set up it may make the quizzes and puzzles a bit of a chore to the children. This defeats the original purpose of Hot Potatoes, to engage the children. In saying that if Hot Potatoes is presented with enthusiasm and purpose the children will still become involved and have a good time learning.

Hot Potatoes would be a very useful teaching resource as there is a wide variety of made up quizzes, puzzles and games across a range of learning areas just waiting to be used. I feel it would be foolish of me not to attempt to use Hot Potatoes in the classroom for that very reason, despite my first impression of the technology.

Voice Thread

Voice Thread is a web 2.0 technology that involves log in to your own account (starting to sound familiar) and creating and sharing Voice Threads with others. These voice threads can consist of almost any media such as; Video, voice recording or pictures and photos. These things can be doodled on, spoken over and zoomed in on parts the creator wants to highlight. Once a voice thread has been created others can record or type comments that will stay attatched to the document.

I think that althought Voice Thread would make for amazing reading, speaking and listening activities in the classroom - It doesn't seem highly accessable unless you pay for the upgrade to pro or K-12 editions.

An activity I could do within a classroom using voice thread is to give the class (post on voice thread) a picture and ask the children to write or record the first and last sentence of a story about the picture. This would get the children using the technology and learning to think about plot and story structure in a new way.

Voice Thread is a realistic classroom technology if not for now then definitley the near future. The payment maybe needs to be tweeked and the whole thing could be properly ajusted to fully accomodate for schools; things like communication between accounts and control over what gets posted by students.

Edmodo

Edmodo is fascinating! I honestly did not realise that there was a free site out there that could do so much to enhance classroom life, for FREE. Edmodo is a site that teachers and their students can use to communicate, send reminders, set and hand in homework, grade work privately and comment on each others work.

This, I see, as an amazing tool for homework both setting and handing back. Also to keep in touch with students who cannot be in the classroom for whatever reason. When I was on practicum there were a few students who were away at various times due to family holidays, sickness, bones breaking and so on. One girl in particular was only in the school for 4 days of my three week practicum! Edmodo would come in handy in this situation and many others like it, the student would not have to slip behind and could come back to school feeling up to date with both classroom work and the current classroom status.

I could see myself using Edmodo in my classroom for the above uses (at LEAST) and finally finding a way to bridge that gap between school and home, the gap in both space and time where homework and assignments go missing! :)

Second life...and some.

Second life is first and foremost an adult site. It is an online community, no an online world or country, where people work, play, and socialise all as an avatar of themselves. The avatars are hand picked and changed by their puppeteer, they have clothes and accessories and friends all within second life.
To me, second life is a collection of ugly dark 'islands' created by people who don't care weather or not their particular plot of land is aesthetically pleasing.

Any positives of Second Life are that it could engage children who otherwise would not be interested in school, and it could expose children to a variety of people, places and cultures that they would not otherwise see from the classroom. Even if the teacher opened Second Life and was the only one to touch it (to monitor child use)it is still an extremely demanding technology as it would require an up to date graphics card and a reasonably quick internet system, neither of which my practicum school had. Also the school has some blocked sites and Second Life would surely be one of them.

Second Life in education is a site that shows you the pros of using second life in an educational manner and even suggests some places that a classroom or teacher could visit. Through this site we were shown a cool Macbeth Island where one goes in avatar form and is dropped into, and fully immersed in, the happenings of the play Macbeth. This is just one of many, according to Kim Flintoff, places within Second Life where children can go and have a positive learning experience.

Over all I do not think I will use Second Life either personally or professionally as it is impractical and a bit sketchy to take children to, and it does not interest or inspire me.

Google Documents

When you are on any google page, in the top left had corner there are some options, and a 'more' button. The fact that I have never seen the more button before both surprises and worries me. How long has it been there? When I click on the more option I get just that. One of the various drop down options is in fact Google Documents.

Google documents is, to me, like a free version of Microsoft word, it is just as simple to use. You do your work (which can include tables and other Word-like features)then save it. It is secure and safe and now can be accessed from anywhere that has the Internet, no need for USB sticks or lugging around stacks of paper, it's all on the google documents database, waiting for you to log back in. That is not the only unique feature that comes with Google Documents, you can also invite other Gmail account users to look at the document. These people can have 'read only status or you could also make it so that someone else can edit and add to the document. No matter what, you are always the creator of the document and can change members' status within the document at any point.

I have used Google Documents during my Technology and Enterprise unit to create a working document that the lecturer checked. First I wrote my own part of a particular document then invited three others to look at the document. I had to change the status of the people I had invited (once they had accepted the invitation) so that they too could edit, in this case add) to the document. Lastly I invited the lecturer to view the final document, he then emailed me his response.

I enjoyed using Google Documents and could see it being both practical and useful in the classroom. When I went on my practicum there, of course, was always the problem of completing work. The children would start typing out a story or a report and would only get to work on it in lab time, or any spare time they could scrounge on the four classroom computers. The work could not be taken home as the children did not have USB sticks and the teacher knew that work done at home could also be left at home. The answer to this particular problem is Google Documents. The children could begin typing out in Google Documents at school, then at home log on with their email and password and carry on. The next day at school the typing could be continued in class computer time. This process could be continued until the typing is complete. Then, if the teacher wanted, the children could copy and paste the whole document to Microsoft word for final touch ups and printing off. Though I am sure that once the children are familiar with it, Google Documents would suffice.

I am excited by the idea of Google Documents and love the direction it takes us in technologically. I will definitely use it in the future and already know of friends and classmates who use it confidently

Twitter

Twitter...I dislike it as I am not a user and do not really understand why anyone would want an account - At the same time I do enjoy the witty quips or ranting banter people come up with in that little box as much as the next person. Twitter is actually a reasonably attractive technology on the 'sharing your thoughts with others' bandwagon and consists purely of status updates. On Twitter you can make an account and start adding your thoughts to the pool. You can also find friends and even strangers to 'follow' and have your own 'followers' in return. Twitter is explained as keeping all your friends and family in touch with your daily grind, letting them know all the details of your life that happen between phone calls, emails and blog posts. This is an exciting pitch and I believe Twitter is a success according to meeting their own goals.

When I took part in class discussion we decided it would be difficult to use Twitter in the classroom with the children as it would be extremely difficult to monitor the children's private accounts. Twitter would work however to keep the parents in touch with going's on in the classroom, the class could have a twitter account (a private one)that the parents and other teachers 'follow' the teacher and students could then take turns at announcing what the class has achieved for the day or simply the activity they are currently doing. This would give parents the chance to be more involved with the goings on in the classroom and allow for up to date information to be shared constantly, filling in the gaps between newsletters and parent teacher nights.

Overall Twitter is an exciting avenue for communicating with and connecting people. I can't see myself using it it a personal way but would definitely consider it for class use in the future.

Glogster

"forget blogs, glog!"

Glogster was incredible, I can't believe I have never heard of some of these technologies, it is essentially an interactive poster that you can make at glogster.com. You log in and get started straight away - FOR FREE! You start with a page (it's not exactly blank) that you can manipulate and make your own. You change the background (wall) then select graphics, pictures, videos or sounds/music to add to your poster. The end result looks amazing.

You can be so creative whilst 'building' your poster there are so many colours, patterns and graphics to choose from, not to mention the edit tool which allows you to change the colours and effects of each object on your poster.

We were shown examples of how glogster could be used to present topics and assignments (anything you would normally do in poster form and more) in the classroom. I could definitely see myself using Glogster as a form of assessing children's knowledge and as a final presentation or part of a project. It is fun, free and easy to access. The only problem, the same with the other online technologies, is that the school network may have the web site blocked making it difficult to use or to get permission to have access to.

I will definitely attempt some more glogging in the future, personally and professionally, as it was a great creative outlet and it would be great to spend some more time on. My only hope for Glogster is that it stays free...

Bitstrips

Bitstrips! I loved Bitstrips! It was so easy to figure out by using the information on the class wiki and having a play with Bitstrips myself at home. I sat on Bitstrips for a solid hour and a half and played with the character creation part and the actual making of a comic strip, it was so much fun. I loved how easy it was to figure out and I was genuinelly impressed with the detail you could add to a character and their expressions and range of motions. I found the end product to look totally legit and loved having a go at my own little gag.

Would I use Bitstrips in the classroom? Similarly to Scratch I could use Bitstrip to cover the topic of plot or narrative. I love it and can really see children loving it too. I felt so creative while using this technology and I really believe I could intergrate it into a classroom one way or another.

I will use Bitstrips in the future as a lesure activity or to convey something to friends. I can't wait till I next attempt a comic on Bitstrips :D

Scratch Project

Scratch is a fun cartoon builder where you play the director. You decide which characters are in the show and what they do when, in relation to movement, body position and sounds.
I found scratch quite complicated to use as the buttons were confusing and frustrating. There are definitely holes in my Scratch knowledge which makes me think I might grow to like it over time as I become more familiar with it and its characteristics. I struggled to manipulate my 'sprites' in the way I wanted but I feel I took advantage of the time we had available to play.

I could use Scratch again but I would need to do a lot more 'research'/play with it as I could not hope to be successful in a classroom using Scratch with out actually understanding and enjoying Scratch myself. I could use Scratch to look at narrative with a class, first they would make their own simple plot and we would tackle it bit by bit with Scratch. Maybe doing one plot as a class before the children work on their own individual stories. It would be hard to monitor and help the children but I sense that they would really have fun with it and pick it up a lot quicker than me, making the lesson motivational and exciting to them.

Again my opinion is a bit premature as to really know how I feel about Scratch I would need to become much more familiar with it. I enjoyed it a bit, though I did not fully understand it and became frustrated when I could not manipulate my characters in the way I wanted.

Jing

Jing. This is my first experience with Jing, not only have I never heard of it but I have never seen anything quite like it.
It's a free technlogy that you download and use your gmail address and password to get access. It is a screen capture device that can be used live. Jing takes pictures (screen captures) and video captures of up to five minutes. Although I liked Jing and found it pretty interesting to play with I would not say it is one of my favourite technologies. It was fairly simple to use but now that my video is on my blog, it takes a long time to buffer.

I believe Jing would be a handy classroom tool as you could make videos of some kind of instuctions on the desktop then each child could look at them and refer to them whenever they wanted. What I did notice from my prac, is that the school's network was very slow so if Jing's videos are already slow to buffer it would be an unjustified amount of time before it was complete.
And as for screen capture, I can already do this without Jing. Though I did like how you could change the size and postion of the screen capture, when I do a normal screen capture I have to paste the capture to an empty paint screen to be able to cut the part out I require. Jing would save my time in this case.
Jing is fun and new to me, I can see my self using it to assist with easy screen capture.

My First Time...

This is my first ever post and blog :D
Here is a Wordle exercise I completed in class that shows the key features and uses of blogs.
Exciting stuff...