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.