Thing 23

I have been taking online courses through the Ed Tech program at MSU. I hope to earn a Master Degree in Educational Technology. My experience in the MSU program meant that most of the 23 Things were review for me. It also allowed me to move fairly quickly. I would recommend the MSU program to anyone who wants to move beyond this program. I enjoyed reviewing the material covered in 23 Things.

I plan to try to incorporate most of what we learned into my classes next year. We will use blogs, create group websites or wikis, RSS and Delicious pages. I know that my use of 2.0 tools will evolve over the next couple of years. Practice will dictate when and how we use the various tools. I have been trying to get YouTube unblocked for several months with no luck. Photo sharing will be a big part of our projects next year. We are talking about a podcasting requirement but have not worked out the details.

We are going to be making big changes in our method of delivery next year and Web 2.0 is going to be a big part of it.

Thing 22

Link to wiki.

The above link will take you to the wiki that I started. It will obviously be different when school starts. Ms. Laforest and I will be teaching a combined class and will collaborate on things such as a class wiki. I can see that wikis are useful but am not sure I will use one in place of a website.

As part of the New Tech Foundation our students will be working on several major projects a semester. A group wiki would be an ideal tool for collaboration. Projects can be outlined and developed using a wiki. This would also allow us to monitor participation by tracking changes made by individual group members. Group participation will be a major component of student grades.

Wikis differ from blogs in that blogs are the work of an individual and wikis are a group effort. Each will have its place in class next year depending on the assignment. Blogs-individual wikis-group.

Thing 21

I like the way that Westwood Schools and Welker's Wikinomics put Wikis to use. It is similar to what I have been planning to do using a Weebly website. They have set up course pages that appear to include all the information that students need for class. This is being done in a paperless format which is one of my goals for next year. Each included links and obviously allowed responses. Both were locked to prevent unauthorized changes.

I will now have to consider whether to use a wiki or website for my classes next year. I may use some combination of both. I do not foresee any problems using a Wiki. We will have classroom sets of computers making access easy. There should be no interference from administration because they will be used for educational purposes and monitored daily. I do not see any real hurdles at this time. The only problem I can anticipate at this point in inappropriate postings or changes. We will have to develop a policy to deal with this before the start of the school year.

Thing 20

I used iTunes to subscribe to the Wall Street Journal Morning Report. I am an Apple user and thought that iTunes was the easiest to use and the most visually appealing of the 3 services. I have used EPN in the past when looking for educational podcasts. I will use EPN for examples when we begin classroom podcasting next year. This was the first time I looked at Podcast Alley. I will use all 3 in the future when looking for specific topics. I especially liked the assortment of sports and travel podcasts available on Podcast Alley.

Thing 19

My favorite podcast so far is from the high school in Minnesota. The commercials for elements on the periodic table are great. I can see using them as part of multimedia presentations in class. I would use them just like a T.V. commercial. I teach Biology but most biological concepts are based on chemistry. It would be simple to match elements with topics being covered.

I also enjoyed the National Geographic site. They had many podcasts dealing with environmental issues and National Geographic material is always interesting and timely.

The New Tech Model requires students to make several presentations over the course of the year. Podcasts would be a natural fit for several of the presentations. We have also discussed making podcasts to emulate a radio station. We have not gotten past the discussion stage for this idea, but I am sure it will become part of our curriculum next year.

Thing 18

I picked a slide show dealing with DNA to embed. I liked this particular show because it is a good introductory overview
of DNA. The graphics were very good, I enjoyed just looking at some of the pictures. What is nice about Slideshare i you do not have to "reinvent the wheel." This type of tool will save me a lot of time and provide a high quality product. I will be able to find a Slideshare presentation for almost every topic. Slideshare and YouTube will make my classes more interesting next year.

DNA The Molecule of Life

View more presentations from Salwa Hassan Teama.

Thing 17

I have wanted to learn how to make a website so I picked Weebly as my 2.0 tool. Weebly is free ( up to 3 sites ) and easy to use. The first time I used it I was able to make a site in about 30 minutes. Weebly looks nice. It allows you to add photos and link to other sites. You can have multiple pages on one site. We will be using a course management system next year as part of New Tech. If not I would use Weebly as a course page. Assignments and announcements could be easily posted. It would be a great resource for absent students. Parents could use it to find out what is going on in class. You could probably make your own course management system using Weebly. I think Weebly would be a great organizational tool for both teachers and students. Everything you need for class could be at your fingertips.

Thing 16

I became familiar with Google Docs during my New Tech training this spring. We will be using it as a part of the New Tech High next year. Every student will have an account. I like the way Google Docs is a web based application. We will have access to it anywhere we have the internet. We will not have to worry about outdated versions. Students will not have to worry about using specific computers. Once we are familiar with it, Google Docs will be much easier to use. It seems that the number applications that are part of Google Docs is growing almost daily. The New Tech people introduced us to several beyond the basic word processor, spreadsheets and presentations.

Each student will get extensive training at the begining of the year. They will be expected to use Google Docs for most assignments.

Thing 15

RSS has not become an obsession for me at this point. I guess I am old fashioned. I still like holding my reading material in my hands. I would much rather read the Free Press as a newspaper rather than the online version. Luckily we have a neighbor kid who delivers it daily. I do understand the advantages of RSS feeds. Instant updates, focused material etc. I check my feeds several days a week and enjoy some of them. I will be eliminating several this week because I do not read them. Some were not what I thought they were when I first subscribed.

I think that we will use RSS feeds in our classes. I see it as a great way to expose our students to a wider variety of material than has been possible in the past. I am sure that some students will take to it quickly. I have found it relatively easy to use.

Thing 14

My delicious page.

The link above is to my Delicious page. We had to keep one to organize our resources for a project in an Ed Tech class I took through MSU. As part of the project we had to form Special Interest Groups who worked around the same topic. Each of us did an individual project but used the group for support. We shared resources through Delicious and critiqued each others work. At first I did not see the value to Delicious, but when I started to prepare my final report it was great to have everything in one place. It saved me a lot of time and paper. I will continue to use Delicious as I work on my Master's.

Thing 13

I have used Delicious in the past. We were required to keep a page for an Ed Tech class I took through MSU. Once I got the hang of tagging it helped keep me organized. At first I was not very efficient in picking my tags. I ended up with unrelated articles tagged together. I also had related articles with different tags. The more I used tagging the better I got at it. I eventually learned it was better spending some time determining the best tags early rather than wasting time trying to organize later.

Thing 12

I picked ESPN Bottom Line for my widget because I love sports. Most of my family and friends feel the same way. Using ESPN will allow them to check scores when visiting my site. Embedding is very easy, at least from the sites I looked at. If it wasn't easy people wouldn't do it and the sites would not get as many visitors. It seems to be all about exposure.

I have a Facebook page that I started to keep in touch with my kids who are away at college. Once my name was out there old friends found me. The contact we have through Facebook is not as meaningful as face-to-face contact but it is an easy way to stay in touch. I had lost touch long ago with several of my Facebook friends. We now talk about getting together when they are back in Michigan.

Thing 11

Commenting is important because that is what keeps online communities going. Without comments blogs would just be a series of proclamations. The give and take that occurs through comments adds the spice that makes blogging worthwhile. I think that when my students blog online they will be more careful with things like grammar and spelling. Nobody wants to look bad to the entire world.

I have not received any comments to my blog yet. I do know that as a beginning blogger I worry about offending people. Without facial expressions and body language comments can be taken wrong.

Thing 10

Here is a video of my son #61 ( left guard )playing for Grosse Pointe South last season.

I selected it because I enjoyed watching him play.
I was able to down load it also.

Thing 9

YouTube is amazing. I could not believe the amount of material found in it. That is something I liked and disliked. I found video of my son playing football last season. Practically the whole season was on YouTube. It also appears that we have no privacy. Almost anything we do could end up on YouTube.
I tried several key word searches using biology terms. There were many videos for each. Some of them very good. YouTube is blocked at our school so they would be unavailable directly from the Internet.

Thing 8

These are great tools! I have used several of them in the pst. This is the first time I have used spell with flickr. One of my favorites is the jigsaw. I have used it on several occasions. Jigsaw makes a great poster. I made one of my son after his team scored a touchdown last fall. It went over big at his grad party. The uses will be almost endless next year. My students will be making several presentations over the course of the year. I am sure that Flickr will be among the most popular tools.

Thing 7

We are moving to a project based instructional model next year developed by the New Tech Network. A major part of the model is technology based student presentations. I can see us creating a photo bank on Flickr for use in presentations. I also think thatI will be able to find useful photos for power points etc. My biggest concern with any type of online sharing is privacy. I also worry about students posting material that they shouldn't.

Thing 6

I chose a photo of a Spartan for Thing 6 because I titled my blog Spartytime. I will have 3 children at MSU next fall. My wife and I both graduated from MSU so the Spartan nickname has meaning to us. I picked that particular photo of a Spartan because I liked it. The background is great and it reminds me of the Spartan scene they put on the scoreboard screen before the third quarter.

Thing 5

The biggest question I have right now about Bloglines deals with classroom use. My first thought is to have my students maintain a page with feeds dealing with current topics in biology. We would probably spend some time finding appropriate feeds to be included on student pages. We would then do some type of current events journals on a weekly basis. I am not sure yet, still trying to work it out in my head. Personally I use it to keep track of several sites I visit often, mainly sports and outdoors.

Thing 4

It is easy to succumb to information overload. I think sometime people cope with it by withdrawing. There is so much out there to keep up with that I wont even try. RSS feeds can help you narrow your focus. Concentrating on specific topics or subtopics makes it easier to keep up. You are not trying to cover the whole world just that piece that is important to you.

Thing 3

I am also thinking about going paperless next year. Blogs will be a major tool in this effort. Many assignments can be done using a blog. I think that a blog will encourage students to be more careful in their writing. Many students may actually write more knowing that classmates will be able to view and comment. Blogs may also be useful in the editing process. Students can use their peers as a resource before turning work in. My main concern with using blogs in this manner is that some students will not use them constructively. The is the real possibility that inappropriate comments could cause problems. We will have to monitor what is actually published.

Thing 1 and Thing 2

I have several plans for blogs next year. As part of our New Tech High each student will create and maintain one. We will start out using it for a weekly journal exercise. Each Friday there will be a prompt to focus their writing. I am sure that this evolve over the year. The blogging exercise will probably look very different at the end of the year.

Final 811 Thoughts

I thought that the course was great. When I started out in 810 this winter I was a total technological neophyte. Now I know how to create websites. I have come a long way. Thanks for all the help. I am much more confidant in my use of technology. I am using it at school on a daily basis. My students enjoyed the StAIR and I will be starting my WebQuest soon. I am looking forward to the start of 812. I hope to begin working on a Masters Degree at MSU this fall.

Michigan Merit Curriculum

I think that the best way for me to integrate an online experience into my classes would be through the use of WebQuests. I plan on trying to create one for each unit. Over the course of the year the students would have more than enough time to meet the state requirements. A WebQuest would allow me to employ several pedagogical strategies while keeping the students focused of the topic at hand. I enjoyed creating my Asian Carp WebQuest and think that the students will have fun with it. In the future I plan on having WebQuests that deal with the scientific method, cell structure and function, genetics, evolution and homeostasis.

WebQuest

I was very disappointed that my mic was not working last night. When it was my turn to present my WebQuest I could not be heard. Everyone did a great job with the assignment. My own kids are older so I did not realize how much tech there is in the elementary schools. I was impressed with what the kids are doing these days.

Widgets

This was probably the most difficult Thing to date. I have had trouble remembering how to embed code. I do not feel that online communities are as meaningful as face to face contact. That is probably due to my age. My own children spend a lot more time on facebook than I ever will. I like to use it to touch base with friends and relatives but it is not the same as actually talking to them.

http://surveys.polldaddy.com/s/5997A150C9BE5C2E/

Thing 11 of 23

Comments are what keep online communities together. I kind of dreaded receiving my first comments. I did not know what to expect. As far as commenting myself, if the blog is interesting I have no problem. My concern with students is the possibility for inappropriate comments causing fights.

Google Spreadsheets

I have been experimenting with Google Spreadsheet for our class participation assignment. I picked the spreadsheet application because we do not have access to an office suite on our classroom computers. The cost and memory requirements limit us to using free source material. I was not aware that Google had a spreadsheet application available until I began this assignment.

I found the Google application easy to use. After learning how to use Microsoft Excel in CEP 810, the Google version of a spreadsheet was a breeze. The majority of my students have no experience working with a computer spreadsheet, so several class sessions will need to be devoted to the learning process. I will probably start out with the students working in groups of two, creating a model spreadsheet that uses all of the functions we would use in class. I will model the input and manipulation of data. The next session will involve the students inputting data on their own. It will probably take several days at this point to teach my students how to use formulas and create charts. Some students will always require help with these processes.

Our most obvious use for an application such as Google Spreadsheet, is the organization and analysis of lab data. Google Spreadsheet will make this process simple once the students have mastered the application. I can also see us using it to practice graphing and interpretation skills. Many standardized tests require these skills, and a spreadsheet application would allow students to create and manipulate their own. Once I am able to get email addresses for all of my students I am going to have them set up Google accounts.

Blogs in Biology

I see blogs as a great way for students to show me what they know about a topic without the fear of a grade. I can foresee using them as a weekly journal. Each Friday students would spend some time recapping the week. What they liked, disliked and learned. I would set it up in a non-threatening way so that the students can provide feedback without fear of retribution. They can be a good way to monitor progress between tests.
The use of a blog will also reenforce the writing skills of an English class. I think that our entire school could use blogs in our writing across the curriculum exercises.

Wikipedia

The was not any information listed for River Rouge High School on Wikipedia. Someone had created the page, but did not write anything. I added the information about the name change that has occurred this year. The url and screen shot of the page and addition follow.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/River_Rouge_High_School

River Rouge High School has been renamed River Rouge Middle College High School Academy starting with the 2009/2010 school year.

RESA 23 things #7

I think that I will use Flickr to store the photos that I will use in class. I take a lot of photos over the course of the year for use in my biology classes. Flickr will give me a convenient place to sore and organize them.
I do not see any problems with using Flickr. I will not post pictures of students for privacy reasons. The photos I use are all tied to concepts being taught not people. If I need pictures of people I would use open source.

Computer Based Instruction Objects

I am almost overwhelmed by the amount of computer based material that is out there. I never realized what was available. I think that the most important consideration when using computer based objects is that they meet the needs of the student. With the huge variety of material and the skills that we are developing in class it seems that it will be possible to achieve this for everyone. I hope to spend time this summer developing several computer based activities for each topic that I teach.

I have looked at a lot of WebQuests over the last week. Some of them were not very good. My favorite was titled: The Baffling Baby Mix Up www.uni.edu/schnedj/webquests/spring05/baby/index.html. I found the concept to be an interesting way to reenforce a unit on DNA. The problem is realistic in that the students are to play the role of detectives. They have to try to determine the parents of babies who were mixed up at birth. Problem solving and scaffolding are built in. Each of the 4 activities in the webquest contain review links. Students who were absent or did not understand the concepts can receive remedial help at each step. The activity was designed well and visually appealing.

Flickr Photo 23 things

I did not have any special reason for posting this particular photo. It was my first photo post so I just picked one from my computer. It is one of my pumpkins from last year. I have been hesitant to post personal things due to privacy issues. I guess I am going to have to get over it.

Blogs vs traditional web pages

The main difference between a blog and a traditional web page is that a blog is interactive. Blogs are easy to use and anyone can publish anything they want. Each blog post is a opportunity for discussion. The user can share their interests with others who have similar interests. Communities can develop around those interests as bloggers share their ideas with each other. Traditional web pages are more static and do not allow for this.

Duel Use

My blog has two main uses. It was started as part of the Wayne RESA 23 things class. I am now also using it for my educational technology classes at MSU.

RSS

I have had to maintain a RSS page for an on-line class I am taking through MSU. Once you have the system figured out it is not hard to do. The reader I used for my class is Netvibes. I like netvibes better because I think it is easier to organize. Each feed can be placed in a box which is more visually appealing. The ability to keep web sites that you visit often is the best feature of RSS. Its almost like having a library on your computer.

RSS

RSS seems to be easy to use. I think that I will use it in class next year as a way to encourage students to read. They will each create a page then blog about it on a weekly basis.

Uses

I think that a blog may encourage my students to read. By posting various articles to my blog my students may begin to read more. They may not even realize what I am trying to do. By posting articles pertaining to the subject matter I can motivate my students to read more.

This is my first post to my first blog. Web 2.0 looks like it has a lot to offer. We are years behind in employing technology at school. I look forward to learning how to use it. If the video from step 1 can be believed we have a lot to do. I found the video and article interesting I am now trying to digest all that was talked about and how I will use it in my own practice. Im sure that as we move through the 23 things it will become more obvious.