What I learned this summer:
I was excited to start the 23 Things journey at the beginning of the summer. Many of the "things" were web 2.0 activities I had heard of but never tried my hand at. I found some that I loved, some that I dreaded, but all seem very useful both in the classroom in in my personal life. Being an art specialist, I tended to enjoy the creative project more than others, but I also found some useful "things" to assist with researching art and connecting with other art educators. My favorite creative project was definitely Photostory. As I "directed" my own video, I thought about the combinations of transitions, music, text, and image--utilizing multiple learning styles and both sides of my brain. Tools for organization are always important, and as an avid reader, am excited to use the LibraryThing for personal and classroom books. The potential for narrowing searches (Rollyo) and bookmarking websites (Delicious) will make researching easier and more efficient. I look forward to starting out the new school year with a new wealth of tech knowledge.
8.10.2009
THING #22
Nings:
I can see the benefits of nings in bringing together people with similar interests from a broad geographical region. Much like facebook, people can find each other, keep in touch and share ideas. For educational purposes I can see participating in a ning for art educators to share curriculum, lesson plans, and ideas. I can see how older students might use a ning to keep up with a class, share information, and keep track of assignments and topics.
I can see the benefits of nings in bringing together people with similar interests from a broad geographical region. Much like facebook, people can find each other, keep in touch and share ideas. For educational purposes I can see participating in a ning for art educators to share curriculum, lesson plans, and ideas. I can see how older students might use a ning to keep up with a class, share information, and keep track of assignments and topics.
THING #21
Podcasts & Videocasts:
I enjoyed making my Photostory of my summer in Ireland. Previously I would have just used a slideshow format, but using Photostory adds more control and dynamics to the final product. I plan to show it to my students on the first day of school as a introduction of me.
I enjoyed making my Photostory of my summer in Ireland. Previously I would have just used a slideshow format, but using Photostory adds more control and dynamics to the final product. I plan to show it to my students on the first day of school as a introduction of me.
THING #20
YouTube and TeacherTube:
I found this great video on TeacherTube demonstrating weaving techniques. Weaving can be one of the most difficult arts to teach in the classroom because the movements and details are so finite that you often end up teaching it one-on-one to students. Also, since a completed weaving takes time, students do not get a full picture of what the weaving will look like. The video speeds up the process. Not only does the video show how-to weave, buy it also demonstrates mistakes to avoid.
I found this great video on TeacherTube demonstrating weaving techniques. Weaving can be one of the most difficult arts to teach in the classroom because the movements and details are so finite that you often end up teaching it one-on-one to students. Also, since a completed weaving takes time, students do not get a full picture of what the weaving will look like. The video speeds up the process. Not only does the video show how-to weave, buy it also demonstrates mistakes to avoid.
THING #19
Web 2.0:
Well, I did not realize how many web 2.0 tools I do use almost everyday--google maps, citysearch, pandora . . . the list goes on. I decided to take a look at The One Million Masterpiece. While I have not created a square yet, I plan to do so. I love the idea of a wolrd wide collaborative art projects presenting an image of society, especially with the idea that it will re-connect people to creating art. I big part of teaching art, especially in elementary school, is really teaching creativity, not perfect skills. Everyone has creativity.
Well, I did not realize how many web 2.0 tools I do use almost everyday--google maps, citysearch, pandora . . . the list goes on. I decided to take a look at The One Million Masterpiece. While I have not created a square yet, I plan to do so. I love the idea of a wolrd wide collaborative art projects presenting an image of society, especially with the idea that it will re-connect people to creating art. I big part of teaching art, especially in elementary school, is really teaching creativity, not perfect skills. Everyone has creativity.
THING #18
Online Productivity (Google Docs):
While I have shared Google docs before, I still tend to create most documents in MS office on my computer. I do like the sharing capabilities in Google docs, and the ease of editing with multiple contributors all at once if needed. And of course there is always the problem of creating something on one computer and forgetting to send it through email or bring the flashdrive along. So why do I still use Office? I think some of it is just habit. I am used to opening Word to create a text document or Powerpoint to create a presentation. I will have to play with Google docs more to see if I am fully committed to them, but for documents that need to be sent to multiple people, I really like the online documents.
While I have shared Google docs before, I still tend to create most documents in MS office on my computer. I do like the sharing capabilities in Google docs, and the ease of editing with multiple contributors all at once if needed. And of course there is always the problem of creating something on one computer and forgetting to send it through email or bring the flashdrive along. So why do I still use Office? I think some of it is just habit. I am used to opening Word to create a text document or Powerpoint to create a presentation. I will have to play with Google docs more to see if I am fully committed to them, but for documents that need to be sent to multiple people, I really like the online documents.
THING #17
Rollyo:
I did not know that you could create your own search engine based on your own sources. This is a wonderful tool, but you have to already know sources for the information you want. If it is a new topic, I think a broad search is still the first place. That said, I can see great implementation in the classroom when you do want to limit a student's search--making sure they have reliable information. I think it can be a fine line between limiting the search to ensure reliable information, and allowign a broad search to provide the opportunity for discovery, and how to determine reliable sources.
I created a search for american artists, which I plan to use for research in my classroom next year.
I did not know that you could create your own search engine based on your own sources. This is a wonderful tool, but you have to already know sources for the information you want. If it is a new topic, I think a broad search is still the first place. That said, I can see great implementation in the classroom when you do want to limit a student's search--making sure they have reliable information. I think it can be a fine line between limiting the search to ensure reliable information, and allowign a broad search to provide the opportunity for discovery, and how to determine reliable sources.
I created a search for american artists, which I plan to use for research in my classroom next year.
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