Blogging and Microblogging

This past semester at SUNY Cortland, my ENG 307 class required me to create and manage a blog and a twitter account that both center around technology and education. Over the course of this class, I learned that these two accounts are great resources and networks for teachers, especially those that are teaching in the Digital Age. This semester-long assignment taught my classmates and I how to create our own posts, short and long, and how to respond to the posts of others to teach each other various educational values.

Personally, I enjoyed the blogging assignments given to us. It was a simple, fun, and effective way for us to engage each other in a hybrid course, and a great way to reach those outside of our school. Posts and tweets were always a great relief compared to longer and more complex assignments as well.

Blogging and tweeting are something I will likely return to in the future, as they are invaluable to educators. Twitter and sites like WordPress are full of teaching accounts that other teachers can follow and learn things from constantly. There are ideas constantly being exchanged and shared among the education and ELA community, and places like this on the internet allow for this.

Blogging and tweeting can be used in a multitude of ways, for students, teachers, and parents alike. I think any educator who wishes to truly expand his or her knowledge on how to better their students should create at least one account on a website like this. Whether you join to post or just to sit back and learn, blogging and microblogging are a great idea for any educator.

Say Cheese!

 

When people think about technology in the classroom, their minds tend to stray towards iPads, computers, computer applications, or other complex tools. But one device that is often overlooked (perhaps for its simplicity) is the digital camera. When you think about it, a digital camera is typically easy to use, effective, and fun for people of all ages. So why not makes use of them?

The main issue, of course, is what teachers can even use digital cameras for in a classrooms setting. Sure, they’re entertaining, but what educational value do they serve?

Firstly, cameras provide a level of hands-on engagement that written assignments simply do not have. Getting students involved in their own education is always a benefit; you can’t teach those who aren’t interested in learning.

As for the school-related use of digital cameras, teachers of all subjects could easily integrate them into a new or pre-existing assignment. Here is a great list of uses from various educators and an explanation as to why digital cameras are so beneficial in the classroom.

Digital photographs are great as an addition to projects, or as a project themselves. The visual representation of things always helps in teaching children, and students of all ages could use a digital camera for educational purposes.

Most families typically own cameras already. If they don’t, cameras are not as expensive to provide students with as many of the other devices the school might buy. Digital cameras may also be a type of technology, but traditionalists are less threatened by them as they have been around longer than many other tools.

When it comes down to it, digital cameras are obviously not a necessity in classrooms. But what they stand for–providing a creative outlet, engaging otherwise disinterested students, holding interest in a typically boring subject–is important. Even if it is something as simple as a digital camera, classrooms need to be aware of the role digital devices can and will play in education.

Out With the Old and In With the New

Many ebook providers, like Amazon’s Kindle, have been expanding their demographics into classrooms all across America. The use of tablets and other electronic reading devices for education has been studied extensively for the past few years, and companies like Apple and Amazon have created various initiatives to introduce the devices into schools.

But the question many are still wondering is: will ebooks replace physical books?

It’s true that using tablets rather than textbooks may be more efficient in certain ways. Students would not have to lug around pounds upon pounds of heavy books in their bags, the school may save money, and the networks for the devices can be monitored and restricted, maintaining a safe learning environment.

Maybe students will even engage in the literature more. Tablets are cool, right?

But what about the detriments of introducing ebooks as a replacement? Schools cannot sell their textbooks back anymore, so they may lose money with a Kindle or Nook. Children may lose something in their education without the tactile advantage of physical pages, and if ever presented with a book later on, they may lack the knowledge necessary for comprehending it. Looking through multiple texts is also next to impossible on these devices; a task much simpler when done with textbooks.

Many may turn this debate into a competition between the traditional and the progressive thinkers. Do we prefer the weight of a book in our hands and the texture of printed pages, or do we prefer to keep with the Digital Age and organize ourselves with technology?

The truly important factor in making this decision must be the welfare of the students, however. It must be decided which medium will most benefit their education, and which will most harm it. Our values and beliefs are being placed in the forefront when it is the future of students that we must consider.

This also leads to the point that the reason companies like Amazon and Apple are pushing the integration of their tablets into classrooms is for profit. Schools would have to buy their products in bulk, as well as their applications and ebooks. School is primarily a market to companies like this, and this may alarm many educators and parents. Yet at the same time, textbook companies likely view schools in a similar way.

The truth is, the debate between ebooks and textbooks will likely last for quite a while. Everyone has something different to say about it, and there are still a large amount of studies that must be done to figure out what will most benefit students, teachers, and education as a whole. As of right now, all we can do is keep an open mind and await the final verdict.

Collaborate with Colleagues!

PLNs (Personal Learning Networks) and PLCs (Professional Learning Communities) are necessities for any successful teacher or educator. These learning networks have always existed in some shape or form, but can now focus more on convenient social medias. PLNs are the way in which teachers socialize and exchange information, whether it be over the internet or face-to-face.

(Click here or here for more information on Personal Learning Networks.)

The reason PLNs are, and always have been important is that they are constantly growing as various forms of communication grow. At first, teachers had to meet in person within schools and at conferences. Slowly, as phones and email expanded, so did the networks; today there are endless possibilities for creating a PLN with colleagues from all over the world.

One of the most popular ways to create a network is via Twitter and TweetDeck. Educators can easily find and follow one another and send out messages with a 140 character limit. Twitter is simple and easy to use, and allows the use of hash-tags, which can be more easily tracked in TweetDeck. Many teachers from across the world participate in Tweet Chats, where they discuss specific topics within a single hash-tag.

Another great resource for making a PLN is Facebook. Educators can create a page with ease, where they can post various sorts of media and information. Most people are already familiar with this medium as well, making the learning process far easier. 

Blog sites are also a great resource for teachers, like Blogger or Edublogs. Educators can make longer posts with easy formatting; links, pictures, information, videos and more can also be shared. Teachers can follow one another and search through specific tags to find posts on  certain topics. (WordPress is a great resource too of course!)

There is a long list of other resources educators can use to create Personal Learning Environments or Professional Learning Communities. Ning, Diigo, YouTube, and Wiki’s are only a few of the numerous options to choose from (for some more options, click here). 

Collaborating using these networks creates a more well-rounded teacher with unlimited information at their fingertips. Social media sites, like those listed above, are free and easy to use. With all of these possibilities at your disposal, why not make use of them?

 

My First Radio Show

This week I had the privilege of creating a radio show online with two of my fellow classmates. After hearing about the project, I was curious as to how it would be done and how well it would turn out. I’ve had to do plenty of collaborative projects with other mediums, like video or PowerPoint, but never a project that was solely audio. 

At our first meeting over Skype, Kim, Ryan, and I went through the proper preparation steps and came up with the idea of creating a show that centered on something all college students could relate to–late night homework sessions. We left the meeting with plenty of ideas so that we could create outlines in time for our next meeting. I already felt a lot better with this unfamiliar project.

The next time we met in person, after Spring Break, and immediately got started. We decided to use GarageBand to record our show, which we would later upload to Soundcloud. 

Everything went well that first time, although creating an introduction took longer than one would expect. We each created separate personas, and came up with the name “What the FM I Still Doing Up Radio.” 

Of course, as with any assignment, we hit our fair share of bumps. None of us had used GarageBand extensively before, so we lost recordings multiple times and were forced to re-record. Kim especially put a lot of effort into learning how to work the program, watching a 30-minute instructional video to edit our project as well as possible. 

We all worked well together, creating scripts, characters, commercials, and transitions with ease. Everyone kept busy and the process took a few days at the library. We were all happy with the final product.

We decided to format our show as a sort of competition between callers so we could vary voices and keep it interesting. We included several relevant songs and commercials to break up the radio show hosts and the callers. Our callers included two stereotypical late-night students and one professor.

Overall, this was a fun and interesting project. It could definitely be utilized by either teacher or student in a classroom, and it was a very useful skill to learn. 

You can listen to “What the FM I Still Doing Up Radio” here.

TV Land

Television is usually a technological medium kept at home rather than at school. Children and adults alike are typically glued to this device for hours every day, except for while they are supposed to be learning or working. But it is important to realize that TV can be a useful tool for teachers, especially those in ESL classrooms.

First, teachers planning to use some form of television for their students must view what they are showing beforehand, and must pick something appropriate for a classroom setting. They should make sure the links, DVDs, flash drive, or whatever other method they will use to find the program or movie are functional and compatible with the classroom technology.

Teachers, while showing any sort of TV, should always remain vigilant for any students using this assignment as a means of using a cell phone or taking a nap. Television also should not be used out of laziness, meaning students should be expected to do at least some small form of assignment after viewing what the teacher picks.

Television will work in any classroom because it is entertaining, holding the interest of students who are familiar with this medium and keeping them amused. It can break the monotonous routine of books and worksheets, and will relax educators and pupils alike. Simultaneously, shows and movies can present the same old boring information in a new and interesting way.

Television can also improve listening skills, especially in ESL classrooms. ESL educators can also teach culture using news programs like CNN or BBC. Some programs can even help teach students how to speak English.

Another way TV can be used in the classroom is as a means of introducing other course work and as a clear visual representation. The visual aspect is greatly beneficial to ESL students, as is the simple English often used on television shows.

There is no denying how fun television can be outside of school, but it is using it inside of the classroom that will simultaneously educate and delight students. Here is an article that explains some of the many ways TV can be used in an ESL classroom. Countless programs and websites grant us access to infinite shows, movies, and programs from all over the world, and it would benefit both teacher and student to learn from the ever-expanding medium of television.

The Social Network

It’s safe to say that nearly everyone in our culture has created a Facebook account at some point. It’s widely known that this social media site is one of the most used methods of communication, entertainment, and connectivity on the internet at the moment, and that it will likely stay that way for quite a while. So why shouldn’t educators utilize it?

To be fair, there are some issues in using Facebook in the classroom. One of the largest is privacy settings, and what they do or do not mean for young students. It can also be a bit of a distraction for some children and teenagers.

Yet at the same time, isn’t it safer to be using Facebook in a classroom rather than in an unsupervised environment?

Universities can use this site for recruitment (as some already do). It is also a great way for students of all ages to connect with each other for projects or other types of collaborative processes. It’s a great place to organize events, share links or other medias, and/or collect information.

Simply put, the site is fun and easy to use. It even has a page dedicated to the use of Facebook in education that educators, students, and parents can “like” to get important information and updates. Students and even teachers are intimately familiar with the inner workings of this website, therefore it is much easier for both groups to learn its uses.

It’s true that Facebook may not always be the perfect classroom medium. But in an age where information and technology rule our lives, teachers must learn to utilize the features these things provide.

It’s just like Facebook creator Mark Zuckerberg claimed: “The biggest risk is not taking any risk… In a world that’s changing really quickly, the only strategy that is guaranteed to fail is not taking risks.”

Connecting With Webcams

Anyone who has ever been a student could give you a list of uses that a webcam can have in a classroom setting. But did you know that there are programs that give schools this device to help students with cancer?

For children who must miss days upon days of school because of treatments or other medical reasons, webcams can connect them with their peers and teachers while helping them keep up with their education. Just look at this article, which centers on a young girl named Becky, a leukemia patient who uses a webcam to stay connected with her class. 

One program that provides these devices is Hopecam. Hopecam is a nonprofit organization that helps to connect young, homebound cancer patients with their classrooms, friends, and families.

Founded by the parent of a leukemia patient, Hopecam has helped over 225 cancer patients. It costs less than $500 to connect one child, and Hopecam seems to want to expand their aid in the coming years.

Programs like Hopecam illustrate the importance of technology in schools not only for educational purposes, but to better the lives of all kinds of students. Webcams can provide better socialization for many sick students while simultaneously giving them the same learning opportunities as their peers. 

There are not many organizations that provide the necessary devices for this type of program. It would be ideal for schools to be able to afford to provide these services when necessary, but obviously that could not always be the case. Many schools are limited by a lack of funds and resources. It seems as though outside programs, like Hopecam, are the only possibility of providing these services to students with cancer and other deadly diseases. 

Technology may be condemned by many, but there is no denying how helpful it can be in situations like this. 

 

Laptops in Schools

The concept of giving every student in a classroom their own individual laptop may induce panic for many educators and parents. What if a child never learns to write because they only learn to type? What if a high schooler spends more time on Facebook than Biology? What if this device hinders a student’s education?

Personalized computers in schools do come with a fair amount of risk. But by holding off on introducing laptops until after the age a student learns to write and by placing restrictions on certain types of websites on the school’s network, schools can put those concerns to rest.

As for whether using laptops hurts or helps in a student’s learning experience, I would like to think it would greatly aid in education. Laptops with unlimited programs, applications, and connectivity not only entertain children, but provide them with outreach and opportunities that they could not otherwise receive in a classroom setting.

The problem with most school systems today is that they are obsolete in their methods. The outdatedness of modern teaching methods creates a rift between the student and the information he or she is there to learn. A device like this, which provides far more individual attention, will solve this issue of disinterest by engaging children and young adults.

How else could students connect with a peer in, say, Japan? How else could they have this immeasurable amount of information presented to them in a way that is quick, entertaining, and relevant to how modern students interact with the world?

There are certainly risks that must be taken when deciding to introduce classroom laptops into a curriculum today. There are a multitude of other factors that must be taken into account, and certain preparations must be made.

But when it comes down to it, the risks are outweighed by the benefits.

Using Emerging Technologies in a Classroom Setting

Horizon Report Presentation

More PowerPoint presentations from Cassie

Although most people my age are intimately familiar with using PowerPoint, the use of narration and authorstream was new to me. Through use of the instruction given to me, I was able to complete the project with minimal issues and am happy with this final product. This presentation goes over NCM’s 2012 The Horizon Report (K-12), highlighting upcoming technologies and the reasons they must be utilized in a classroom setting.