iMovie Software Proficiency-NETS-T 1, 2, 3

This video about California State University San Marcos was created using iMovie.
Please enjoy!

Journal 10-Online Classes

Bethel, Brian "Learning Outside the Classroom". (2009, 4,14). Reporter News, p. EDU.

"Learning Outside the Classroom" is an article about how enrollment is up for online classes at community colleges. Many schools are finding that the demand for on-line classes exceeds the amount of classes, and they are scrambling to add more. Between the academic year of 2006-2007, the Instructional Technology Council tracked and 1.6 percent bump in students taking distance-education courses, and those numbers continue to grow. Many students who live on-campus take on-line courses, as well as those who leave far away from the school and find it difficult to get there. The convenience of on-line education appeals to many people, and students are increasingly going back to school because they can now take courses that better fit their schedules. At some colleges it is possible to complete almost all of ones undergraduate work simply taking online courses. Although advertising for many of these classes has been minimal, schools are not having trouble filling the open positions in both core courses, like English and math, to specialized classes such as criminal justice.

What are some of the benefits of on-line college courses?
On-line college courses are great because they encourage people who may otherwise not have time to supplement their education. Many colleges offer night courses, but with jobs and families it is difficult for many people to get away to school. With on-line classes, all an individual needs is a computer and internet access, and they can complete their course work on their own schedule, and at a pace that is most comfortable for them.. This is especially beneficial in difficult economic times, when people often want to go back to school to create more job opportunities for themselves.

What are some of the draw-backs?
No matter how well an on-line course is written, there is no substitute for one-on-one interaction with a teacher. Questions will always come up, and a teacher trained in the subject is the best for providing explanations. Also, a computer program cannot express passion for a subject. There are no doubt many students who take on-line courses to complete the bare minimum and who will not pick up much from the course because of a lack of enthusiasm.

Journal 9-Geeking Out

John K. Waters, "The Kids Are All Right," T.H.E. Journal, 3/1/2009, http://www.thejournal.com/articles/24104

This week I read "The Kids are All Right" by John Waters. This article is a bout a study done by the MacArthur Foundation called "Kids' Informal Learning With Digital Media: An Ethnographic Investigation of Innovative Knowledge Cultures." Basically it researched how kids are using the internet and for what purposes. The article was very reassuring in that it places importance on all interactions students have with technology, whether it be academic or not. The study created 3 categories of how students use the computer. The first is "hanging out" which is the equivalent of checking email, and brief online visits. The 2nd is "messing around" which is slightly more in-depth perusal. I like that the researchers describe this phase as when you ask a student what they are doing and they say "nothing." The final phase is "geeking out", which is when a student is intensely doing something online. The article is nice because it finds the value in any way a student uses a computer, whether it be MySpace or an academic pursuit, the bottom line is that they are learning something.

In what way could Facebook be beneficial to student learning?:
While on Facebook a student uses many applications that are great skills to posses. Uploading pictures and videos add a great visual component to reports and presentations, and this is basic everyday stuff on Facebook. Also, a student on Facebook may join a group that has some interest for them and research and communication skills are necessary to be a good contributor.

How can a teacher get her students to geek out in class?
If a teacher makes the course content interesting, new, and relatable, and allows her students to incorporate current events and personal interests, she may be able to peak there attention so that they find an assignment worthy of "geeking out" over. For example, a history teacher may ask the class to create a present day interpretation of Lewis and Clarks Expedition. Students could use Google maps to map the journey, Expedia to book lodging along the way, iTunes to create a mix for the roadtrip, and information from Weather.com and national park websites for places of interest and possible hazards for the trip.

Journal 7: Mining for Gold

Bigenho, R. (2009, March ). Mining for Gold. Learning and Leading with Technology, 37, Retrieved April 2, 2009, from http://www.learningandleading-digital.com/learning_leading/200904/

The article Mining for Gold is about RSS feed (Real Simple Syndication) and how it can effectively be used in the classroom. RSS feeds can be set up to blogs, podcasts, and news searches to a particular topic, and then whenever that topic comes up in a blog or article, it goes to you. This saves lots of time searching through Google for pertinent stories, as all you have to do is turn on your computer and all the information you care about is waiting for you. You are also notified throughout the day whenever new blogs and stories are posted. An example of a use for this is if I was a super fan of Mariah Carey. Any time new info came out about Mariah, I would be notified. Think how useful this is for obsessed fans and possible stalkers!

What is a good use for RSS feeds in a classroom environment?
RSS is great to use in a variety of classrooms. For example, in a US History class, the teacher can set up a web-based learning management system for the class, and have the RSS feed set to topics that relate to what the class is studying. If students are learning about the Alamo, they can also read about current Mexican-American relations, about anniversary celebrations for the Alamo, and even reenactments or blog posts from other classes elsewhere that are studying the same topic.

How can RSS help a teacher with time management?
An RSS feed can save tons of time for educators. Instead of spending lots of valuable time searching the internet for authentic and useful websites and news stories, an RSS feed finds all this for you, and is constantly working, so you have the most current information 24 hours a day. Also, if a teacher has students post assignment to individual blogs, instead of repeatedly visiting blogs to see if the students have posted their work, an RSS feed automatically notifies you when the specific assignment has been submitted.

Journal 6

Warlick, D (2009, March ). Growing Your Personal Learning Network. Learning and Leading with Technology, Vol. 37, Retrieved April 2, 2009, from http://www.learningandleading-digital.com/learning_leading/200904/

This article was about PLN's or personal learning networks. Personal learning networks are tools like Twitter, wiki's, iChat, Second Life, Skype, basically web-based applications that allow you to communicate and share information with others. The author discusses the advantages of using these tools and breaks them into separate categories. The first category is personally maintained synchronous connections, traditional networks that include people and allow you to consult with others to solve problems and answer questions (ie iChat, Skype, uStream). Personally and socially maintained semisynchronous connections are conversations that are not exactly real-time, but pretty close (ie GoogleDocs, Twitter). The third category is dynamically maintained asynchronous connections; while the other two connect you to people, this connects you to information (ie RSS feed).

How would RSS feed be useful in a classroom?
RSS feed can allow a teacher to stay connected to current information on a particular topic by having a feed set up to blogs, podcasts, news searches and articles, that cover that topic. Each student could be assigned a different source to find information related to the topic, and then report back to the class.

RSS feeds can be very active, what is a good way to not overwhelm yourself with information?
You can limit the amount of information you get by not subscribing to too many blogs,organizing subscriptions by topic, scanning feeds for pertinent info, and turn your PLN off every once in a while.

Journal 8-Google Earth

Google Earth is a satellite imagery tool that allows the viewer to type in a location and see it from multiple views, or "fly" over locations across the earth. It was created by Keyhole, Inc., a company that was acquired by Google, thus the name Google Earth. The clarity and accuracy of this tool are amazing, and the applications are endless. To get such accurate images, Google uses satellite images, aerial photography, and street views. To obtain the street view images, Google has vans that plan to drive around every street in the world, and get an actual view of what it's like to drive up these streets. You can do anything from soar over the peaks of Mt. Everest to get driving directions to your local CVS pharmacy! The conversations that I followed on Web 2.0 were both started by a middle school math teacher who is constantly looking for new ways to inspire his students outside of a textbook. He uses lessons incorporating longitude and latitude, as well as population projections, all features that can easily be found on GoogleEarth. Other very cool features include trip mapping, diving into the oceans, and time mapping, to see what a location may have looked like hundreds of years ago. The applications for GoogleEarth are great for inspiring students, and the graphics and images are so clear, anyone who views it would be impressed. I think a cool project idea would be to have students create video maps that follow the trails of historic expeditions, like Lewis and Clark, Columbus...Google Earth is also a great application to use in elective courses, such as drafting, as you can incorporate GoogleEarth with 3D modeling programs like 3D max and Sketch Up.

Inspiration-NETS (1,2,3)