A voice thread is a tool that will allow you to, as the site says, have a conversation around specific media. A voice thread allows you to upload pretty much anything that you would like, and lets you add comments either through text or voice, allows you to make visual comments with a writing tool, and even allows others to collaborate on the project as well. This is another tool that I plan to create a professional development around in the up- coming school year in hopes that teachers will either use it to create tutorials or even allow students to create tutorials on their favorite topics for collaborative sharing.
It is a powerful tool that can be utilized to create training demos. Not only are you able to provide visual images; you can also make comments and draw on the screen in an effort to ensure clarity on any given topic. The site provides an embeddable code and a URL that can be hosted on a website so others can access it and use it for its intended purpose. The ability for viewers to post comments takes it to an even better level. This helps create a sense of team around the given topic.
I was first introduced to voice thread a couple of years ago by a co-worker. In the sample I saw a person was creating a family tree of sorts. Images were pulled in and audio provided descriptions of the images. The author posted comments as well. What made this so interesting to me were the comments made by other family members. It became a walk down memory lane for the whole group. Each one was able to provide a tidbit of information for the whole group. Even though I did not know the family personally I felt like I did after I was finished viewing it. I can easily see this tool being utilized in a History class for the creation of oral histories of a local community or even to recreate thoughts and ideas of historical figures of importance based on topic.
There are so many ways that this can be utilized to make the learning process more engaging. It is simply another tool that can be used to pull students further in and making them active participants of the learning process.
You can view my voice thread by clicking here or by scrolling down to the bottom of this page.
You can view my voice thread by clicking here or by scrolling down to the bottom of this page.
Saturday, June 12, 2010
Dropio
Dropio...wow this was fun. Dropio is a file sharing site where you can either collaborate via a unique conference call number or simply by forwarding your drop to anyone and asking them to leave comments. It allows users to create "drops". These drops can be documents, images, video, or audio.It is a very simple site and the learning curve is minimal. You can visit a recent drop created by me by clicking here. I could see this easily being integrated into my future professional developments. Teachers could use this as a podcasting alternative. Students could receive an invite to the drop via email, listen to the podcast, and then blog about material covered within the drop. This not only provides students with content, but it also requires them to access technologies that will reinforce their skills in this area. I think this will be very fun and exciting to investigate further.
I hope to introduce this mid-year in our district. I want to give as many options for technical use as possible. Giving students options for assignment production will give students the sense that their opinion counts. It will allow them to choose a medium that they feel can best meet the needs of the given assignment. It also helps get their buy in. Likewise giving teachers options does the same thing. Integrating technology can not only be used to better engage the student but to also re-engage the teachers. It gives them different avenues of providing instruction. They have options. It helps alleviate the boredom of doing the same thing year after year. While it is true that some are indeed resistant to learning new technologies, many are very excited about it. For the ones who are fearful it is important to find out exactly why this is and most cases it can be overcome.
A good way to introduce new technologies to teachers is to create the training in the technology that they are attempting to learn to use. Modeling will go a long way to ensure that teachers comprehend exactly what they are being asked to do. So not only are they able to see the technical aspect of what is being introduced they are better able to comprehend ways to integrate it. This is just one way that this tool could be used. The possibility for integrating this is endless. Like I said I really enjoyed working with this tool and all I was able to learn about it.
I hope to introduce this mid-year in our district. I want to give as many options for technical use as possible. Giving students options for assignment production will give students the sense that their opinion counts. It will allow them to choose a medium that they feel can best meet the needs of the given assignment. It also helps get their buy in. Likewise giving teachers options does the same thing. Integrating technology can not only be used to better engage the student but to also re-engage the teachers. It gives them different avenues of providing instruction. They have options. It helps alleviate the boredom of doing the same thing year after year. While it is true that some are indeed resistant to learning new technologies, many are very excited about it. For the ones who are fearful it is important to find out exactly why this is and most cases it can be overcome.
A good way to introduce new technologies to teachers is to create the training in the technology that they are attempting to learn to use. Modeling will go a long way to ensure that teachers comprehend exactly what they are being asked to do. So not only are they able to see the technical aspect of what is being introduced they are better able to comprehend ways to integrate it. This is just one way that this tool could be used. The possibility for integrating this is endless. Like I said I really enjoyed working with this tool and all I was able to learn about it.
Friday, June 11, 2010
Screentoaster and Youtube
Screencasting is a tool that I have used for several years. I used jing project for many screencasts and really enjoyed using it. I found staying within the allotted time to be difficult so I began researching other screencasting tools. One tool that I investigated was screentoaster.com. I like this tool. It is not as dynamic as jing, but it is free (unlike similar software like camtasia), user friendly, and for projects that do not need alot of editing, gets the job done. I love screencasting in education. It allows teachers to solve math equations, break down sentence structure, and create tutorials on almost any subject from the comfort of their desk.
To use screentoaster one simply has to visit screentoaster.com, create an account and begin recording. Storage space is provided at no cost. When a user has recorded any desired material they can upload it to screentoaster for a URL or get an embeddable HTML code that can be used on many websites. The only tools really needed are a laptop, screencasting software, and a noise reducing microphone. It is important to utilize a mic to help minimize as much background noise as possible. I have run into many issues with this even using the mic. My recommendation is to find a space that is as quite as possible and simply do the best you can.
Screentoaster is another tool that is perfect for knowledge sharing. You can send your link to others or they can visit your website to receive information that is being projected. Videos/screencasts created on screentoaster are taggable. You can also attach them to a specific category to help accommodate searching. This helps ensure that your message gets out to people who need it and whom you will never meet.
This can be a very powerful tool teachers can use to create tutorials to add to their web pages or CMS sites. Students should also be allowed in the creation process. About two years ago I attended the Boston Learning Confrence which is a product of November Learning. There a math teacher brought several of his students and demonstrated the way the more advanced students created tutorials for the other students. It was amazing to see how involved the students were in this process. I hope to implement this to a large degree during the upcoming school year.
I used this in conjunction with youtube which is another site for video sharing and searching. First I created the video in screentoaster and then shared it to youtube where people can either subscribe or simply access since I made it public. To see an example of this please visit
To use screentoaster one simply has to visit screentoaster.com, create an account and begin recording. Storage space is provided at no cost. When a user has recorded any desired material they can upload it to screentoaster for a URL or get an embeddable HTML code that can be used on many websites. The only tools really needed are a laptop, screencasting software, and a noise reducing microphone. It is important to utilize a mic to help minimize as much background noise as possible. I have run into many issues with this even using the mic. My recommendation is to find a space that is as quite as possible and simply do the best you can.
Screentoaster is another tool that is perfect for knowledge sharing. You can send your link to others or they can visit your website to receive information that is being projected. Videos/screencasts created on screentoaster are taggable. You can also attach them to a specific category to help accommodate searching. This helps ensure that your message gets out to people who need it and whom you will never meet.
This can be a very powerful tool teachers can use to create tutorials to add to their web pages or CMS sites. Students should also be allowed in the creation process. About two years ago I attended the Boston Learning Confrence which is a product of November Learning. There a math teacher brought several of his students and demonstrated the way the more advanced students created tutorials for the other students. It was amazing to see how involved the students were in this process. I hope to implement this to a large degree during the upcoming school year.
I used this in conjunction with youtube which is another site for video sharing and searching. First I created the video in screentoaster and then shared it to youtube where people can either subscribe or simply access since I made it public. To see an example of this please visit
Scribd
Scribd is an online publishing site. This is where a person can share/publish personally written academic material. This is an interesting concept. I have never seen this site before this class. It appears to me to be a social sharing site for articles, documents, papers, etc. Access to these documents can be provided via a URL. Currently I use Google Pages and Google Sites. I do this so that I have a place to host my training sheets that will provide a URL that I can send out for people to access. It appears to me that Scribd does the same think. Recently one of my professors needed a URL to upload a document in Second Life and I was able to use Scribd to accommodate that.
I found it very interesting that you can log into Scribd with your Facebook account. Doing so allowed me to see anyone of my friends who happened to be using Scribd as well. Out of approximately 180 friends 2 were using Scribd. I was able to view any documents that they had uploaded. I found that very enjoyable. In this sense it can also be considered another avenue for knowledge sharing. Topics would likely be very diverse as you are able to pull information from a network like Facebook. However that could simply be another advantage for utilizing this site.
I am interested to learn and discover ways to utilize this in the classroom. As of now I am thinking English and History classes would benefit much from this site. This is a place where students can share documents and information with the class as a whole. Not necessarily a turn it in site, in my opinion, but a sharing site for certain. The upload process was very simple. Students and teachers alike should find this site very simple to use. This would be a great way for teachers to ensure that students have around the clock access to any class materials handed out. A teacher could offer extra credit work to any student who accesses supplemental material from this site and either makes comments on or uploads a simple report to their own scribd site. There are so many possibilities for integration with this. I will explore this site further, collaborate with teachers, and together we will develop a project with this site in the upcoming school year and see where it takes us.
You can access scribd by visiting http://www.scribd.com/.
You can see an upload from me by clicking here.
I found it very interesting that you can log into Scribd with your Facebook account. Doing so allowed me to see anyone of my friends who happened to be using Scribd as well. Out of approximately 180 friends 2 were using Scribd. I was able to view any documents that they had uploaded. I found that very enjoyable. In this sense it can also be considered another avenue for knowledge sharing. Topics would likely be very diverse as you are able to pull information from a network like Facebook. However that could simply be another advantage for utilizing this site.
I am interested to learn and discover ways to utilize this in the classroom. As of now I am thinking English and History classes would benefit much from this site. This is a place where students can share documents and information with the class as a whole. Not necessarily a turn it in site, in my opinion, but a sharing site for certain. The upload process was very simple. Students and teachers alike should find this site very simple to use. This would be a great way for teachers to ensure that students have around the clock access to any class materials handed out. A teacher could offer extra credit work to any student who accesses supplemental material from this site and either makes comments on or uploads a simple report to their own scribd site. There are so many possibilities for integration with this. I will explore this site further, collaborate with teachers, and together we will develop a project with this site in the upcoming school year and see where it takes us.
You can access scribd by visiting http://www.scribd.com/.
You can see an upload from me by clicking here.
Thursday, June 10, 2010
Diigo
Diigo is an on-line bookmarking website, or atleast that is how I sold it to our teachers in our district. However, it is that and so much more. Diigo allows sharing of bookmarks, commenting on posted bookmarks, groups, and even networks. It is a network of sharers of information. Diigo also has a downloadable toolbar that allows for text editing, highlighting, note taking, etc. of website pages. I think this tool can be very valuable in an educational sense. Just this past month the technology department within our district was taking up teacher laptops, blowing them away (cleaning them up), and re-loading them. The problem of on-line bookmarks came up. Our teachers were not aware of on-line bookmarking. I was a little disappointed in my self for not having pushed this harder sooner.Upon realizing this problem I sent out emails and DOT Interns to assist our teachers in getting this taken care of. Next year this will be a scheduled training that I facilitate.
Many individuals do not realize that when you bookmark only to a computer, that is where that bookmark stays. The beauty of Diigo is that no matter what computer one accesses the internet from, one can have access to their bookmarks as well.
This will hold true for students as well. We have to begin teaching our students to think globally in regards to technology, and quite often digital access is not static. Access happens in many different places for many individuals. Online tools make accessing our data when ever, where ever a much easier process.
Many individuals do not realize that when you bookmark only to a computer, that is where that bookmark stays. The beauty of Diigo is that no matter what computer one accesses the internet from, one can have access to their bookmarks as well.
This will hold true for students as well. We have to begin teaching our students to think globally in regards to technology, and quite often digital access is not static. Access happens in many different places for many individuals. Online tools make accessing our data when ever, where ever a much easier process.
Twiiter
Twitter is another very exciting social networking tool. To access twitter visit twitter.com, create an account and start tweeting. You can also find others on twitter who you either have a professional or personal interest in. To do this use the find people search and either search them by name or search them by interest. Once the person you have made the request to approves you, you will then begin seeing their updates in your friend’s time line. Keep in mind that your tweets will post in their timelines as well so if you are following for professional reasons be sure that you use correct grammar and sentence structure. Also be mindful of the information that you share through this type of medium. That is a rule that should be followed no matter what social networking tool you are using. I follow for both professional and personal reasons and I find value for using it both ways.
I have followed educators on twitter and have been very impressed with their information. While in the classroom I taught U.S. History. I have found someone who uses tiny URL to provide very interesting resources. This has helped me so much in that area. Currently I am the Coordinator of Instructional Technology for a school district and I have been able to use twitter to solve technology problems, get ideas and direction on integration strategies, and share information as well.
My director asked me not too long ago if we could set up a twitter account for our district without enabling replies so that we could minimize the level of monitoring that would be needed for usage of this type of tool. We want it to be a tool, not another task. I am still exploring this, so if any readers know the answer please share. I am very excited to explore it further and see what educational value for students it will have. So far the things that come to mind are that it can be a place for teacher to place class updates, assignment reminders, or announcements. However, I do feel we have tools better suited for those needs. I want to find a unique uses for twitter and this is why I will be investigating it further and will appreciate any information readers may have. In the mean -time feel free to follow me on twitter at http://twitter.com/Chacha03
I have followed educators on twitter and have been very impressed with their information. While in the classroom I taught U.S. History. I have found someone who uses tiny URL to provide very interesting resources. This has helped me so much in that area. Currently I am the Coordinator of Instructional Technology for a school district and I have been able to use twitter to solve technology problems, get ideas and direction on integration strategies, and share information as well.
My director asked me not too long ago if we could set up a twitter account for our district without enabling replies so that we could minimize the level of monitoring that would be needed for usage of this type of tool. We want it to be a tool, not another task. I am still exploring this, so if any readers know the answer please share. I am very excited to explore it further and see what educational value for students it will have. So far the things that come to mind are that it can be a place for teacher to place class updates, assignment reminders, or announcements. However, I do feel we have tools better suited for those needs. I want to find a unique uses for twitter and this is why I will be investigating it further and will appreciate any information readers may have. In the mean -time feel free to follow me on twitter at http://twitter.com/Chacha03
An Overview of this Blogfolio
Welcome to my blogfolio. This blogfolio will document my experience in IT 860. I really enjoy blogging and feel that the blogfolio assignment will add even further value to the course as a whole. This blogfolio will not only allow me further introspection of what I have learned but also provide a sharing point for this material. I will document all assignments, and what I have learned from these assignments. Utilizing this blogfolio will allow me a point of reference, not only for this course but for future research and development as well.
During this course, as a part of material assigned, I will further investigate blogging. I have used blogs before in trainings that I have facilitated, or even for trainings that I sent teachers to as well. I found them very useful and am excited to further my knowledge of blogging in education. I will also be investigating twitter which is a social networking site that allows a user to provide either professional or personal updates limited to 140 characters. I have used twitter previously for mostly personal use, but some professional use as well. I am interested in learning how to better integrate twitter at a district level and investigating the pros and cons thereof. Diigo, google, dropio, and voicethreads are some other sites that will be investigated for educational purposes as well.
This blogfolio will not only contain assignment postings, but will also contain my personal feelings on the way that researched technologies will impact education as a whole. I also plan to include lesson plan/project ideas on researched material. I am very excited about what will be learned during this experience as well as what I will be able to share here as a direct result of that learning.
During this course, as a part of material assigned, I will further investigate blogging. I have used blogs before in trainings that I have facilitated, or even for trainings that I sent teachers to as well. I found them very useful and am excited to further my knowledge of blogging in education. I will also be investigating twitter which is a social networking site that allows a user to provide either professional or personal updates limited to 140 characters. I have used twitter previously for mostly personal use, but some professional use as well. I am interested in learning how to better integrate twitter at a district level and investigating the pros and cons thereof. Diigo, google, dropio, and voicethreads are some other sites that will be investigated for educational purposes as well.
This blogfolio will not only contain assignment postings, but will also contain my personal feelings on the way that researched technologies will impact education as a whole. I also plan to include lesson plan/project ideas on researched material. I am very excited about what will be learned during this experience as well as what I will be able to share here as a direct result of that learning.
My Introduction
My name is Rachel Mercer. I am currently the Coordinator of Instructional Technology for Moss Point Schools. My educational background includes a Bachelors in Secondary Education from USM, a Master’s in Education from William Carey, and now I am back at USM for my Ph.D. in Instructional Technology.
I absolutely love this position and am very passionate about integrating technology in education. I heard about this program while at MECA this year and felt that it was perfect for me and my future goals. I feel that educating students through a medium that is meaningful, relevant, dynamic, and interactive in nature will help nurture the desire to learn within the students.
Prior to taking this position I taught history at the secondary level. I was able to see first-hand how students reacting to the initial infusion of technology as my classroom transitioned from one where notes where presented on a projector to one where we had and interactive white board and a portable pc lab. The integration of these tools allowed me the opportunity to create a more student centered, interactive environment in which the students were able to become researchers and developers. Behavior problems decreased and student engagement increased, and this had very little to do with the teacher and a lot to do with the presentation of the lessons through a medium that the students enjoyed. It is for this reason that I am so passionate about instructional technology. I am very excited to learn new and innovative was to integrate technology into the curriculum.
On a personal level I have been married to an incredible man for the past fourteen years. We have two amazing boys. One is twelve years old and the other is five years old. They keep us both busy and entertained. My interests include reading, socializing with friends and most importantly my children.
I am very excited to be a part of this class and look forward to learning all that I can.
I absolutely love this position and am very passionate about integrating technology in education. I heard about this program while at MECA this year and felt that it was perfect for me and my future goals. I feel that educating students through a medium that is meaningful, relevant, dynamic, and interactive in nature will help nurture the desire to learn within the students.
Prior to taking this position I taught history at the secondary level. I was able to see first-hand how students reacting to the initial infusion of technology as my classroom transitioned from one where notes where presented on a projector to one where we had and interactive white board and a portable pc lab. The integration of these tools allowed me the opportunity to create a more student centered, interactive environment in which the students were able to become researchers and developers. Behavior problems decreased and student engagement increased, and this had very little to do with the teacher and a lot to do with the presentation of the lessons through a medium that the students enjoyed. It is for this reason that I am so passionate about instructional technology. I am very excited to learn new and innovative was to integrate technology into the curriculum.
On a personal level I have been married to an incredible man for the past fourteen years. We have two amazing boys. One is twelve years old and the other is five years old. They keep us both busy and entertained. My interests include reading, socializing with friends and most importantly my children.
I am very excited to be a part of this class and look forward to learning all that I can.
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