Sorry, I forgot to add the link to my photo-sharing site; I thought people could find me by using my username, but when I tried it earlier it didn't work.
Here's the link:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/23201246@N05/
Katie
Monday, January 28, 2008
Sunday, January 27, 2008
My thoughts on Photosharing...
Here's what I think about photo-sharing...
Before I tried to do any research on the educational uses or benefits of photo-sharing websites, I sat down and made a list of all of the things I could see a photo-sharing site used for within a school setting. This is what I came up with:
1. Science experiments: kids could do things at home and post their results for the teacher and fellow classmates to see.
2. Weather events: students could capture local weather events and/or experiences and post them for the class to see.
3. Home Ec./Foods classes: students could cook things at home and share recipies and pictures of their completed creations.
4. Cosmetolgoy: students could share the work they have done outside of schools; things they have done for special events or just for fun.
I used my own professional setting to come up with these ideas and I thought about the classes that were offered at my school.
After I made this list, I went on the internet and did a Google search to see what kind of ideas, research and literature there is on this tool. I found a terrific site that talked about promoting "visual literacy". http://www.zardec.net.au/keith/digcam.htm It is a website that has so much information about the use of digital cameras in the classroom and it would really help both student and teacher. The site includes directions on how to use a digital camera, possible uses of cameras in the classroom, pros and cons of using digital photos, cost, buying tips and accessories. There was not much information on using photosharing sites specifically, but it does mention publishing photos to websites. Even though it not really about photosharing, I found it to be a great website for information purposes in getting started with using this technology in the classroom. It discussed using photo-sharing sites in art (I can't believe I didn't think about that one!), social studies, computer science classes (too obvious for my list), english (as a way to start a creative writing piece) and just about every subject taught in school today.
I also stumbled upon a University of Florida site that talks about many of the Web 2.0 tools mentioned in Joyce's podcast from the beginning of this course. One of the links lead me to a discussion of the use of Flickr in the classroom. http://www.citt.ufl.edu/toolbox/toolbox_photoSharing.php This site focused more on the uses for teachers. I was mostly focused on uses for teaching and student learning, but I never really thought about the uses for sharing resources with other teachers. The site had links to discussions about teachers who were looking for class room posters and science experiements. I think that photo sharing sites could be awesome for teachers to exchange and/or request information from other teacher throughout the world.
The last site that I went to was a wiki called Teaching Hacks; http://www.teachinghacks.com/wiki/index.php?title=Photo_Sharing_in_Education this site had heaps of information for teachers. It discusses why and how to use photosharing sites; again Flickr seems to be the site of choice. It also had links to elementary, high school, administrators and higher educational Flickr accounts. I found this to be really interesting because you could look around and see what other teachers are doing. If you have time to look at this site it is very interesting- in respects to both the information and the links to the teachers' sites.
After I did my search, I went back to the information on Topic One in the class notes. I was struck by the quote from Teaching and Learning in the Information Age that said, "Educational telecommunications offer powerful teaching and learning tools that can reshape the educatioal process in classrooms and demand a new set of skills from educators. This technology multiplies the power of modern computers by the power of connectivity, creating as a result, a potentially new approach to teaching." I think that because I have only been teaching for six years, I forget how much technology has changed how we do things in school. Even when I think back to my own educational experience. We use tools such as PowerPoint, digital projectors, DVD's, email, wesites, etc. without really even thinking about it. These are just part of what we do on a day-to-day basis. I think that we, as educators, are on the brink of a technological revolution in education and it is going to be a quick one. Some of us will be ready and some will resist and be afraid of it- I see this in my own school. Photo-sharing sites are only one of these new tools that we can use to enhance our students' learning and I believe soon, everyone will be using the Web 2.0 tools- like PowerPoint et al- without even thinking about it.
In terms of my own teaching, I plan to use this tool more, specifically with my grade 10 science class. This is the only class I teach, so I will be using it for most of my personal veiws and uses for the upcoming tools. There is a weather dynamics unit that I will use a phot-sharing site to illustrate weather events. Right now, I have a collection of pictures that I have taken with my digital camera, such as cummulus clouds taken right before a thunder storm, lightning, etc. that I use a digital projector to show students. Many of my students live on farms or in different areas of the city and many of them travel. I would love for them to be able to take digital photos of weather phenomena and post them to a site with comments. I think that I could get quite a collection and also I think that students would be in to it because it would be their own- they could take ownership.
My Experiences with a Photo-sharing Site
So, I actually went and signed up for a Flickr account. As I mentioned in the previous post, I do have a Ringo account, but I couldn't seem to access it. I did have to create a Yahoo account, but it didn't take long. My only problem with it is now I have another email address, username and password to remember. I uploaded two pictures from my computer and typed some text to describe them. It was relatively easy and I think the whole process only took 10 minutes- including signing up for the Yahoo account.
I think that I will use the Yahoo account and Flickr for the assignment I described above, but only for school purposes. I think that for personal photos, I will stick with Facebook and then my friends can see what I want them to see and my students don't have access to my personal photos.
If any one is interested, my yahoo and flicker account is: bell.katie48.
That's what I think about photo-sharing! Katie
Before I tried to do any research on the educational uses or benefits of photo-sharing websites, I sat down and made a list of all of the things I could see a photo-sharing site used for within a school setting. This is what I came up with:
1. Science experiments: kids could do things at home and post their results for the teacher and fellow classmates to see.
2. Weather events: students could capture local weather events and/or experiences and post them for the class to see.
3. Home Ec./Foods classes: students could cook things at home and share recipies and pictures of their completed creations.
4. Cosmetolgoy: students could share the work they have done outside of schools; things they have done for special events or just for fun.
I used my own professional setting to come up with these ideas and I thought about the classes that were offered at my school.
After I made this list, I went on the internet and did a Google search to see what kind of ideas, research and literature there is on this tool. I found a terrific site that talked about promoting "visual literacy". http://www.zardec.net.au/keith/digcam.htm It is a website that has so much information about the use of digital cameras in the classroom and it would really help both student and teacher. The site includes directions on how to use a digital camera, possible uses of cameras in the classroom, pros and cons of using digital photos, cost, buying tips and accessories. There was not much information on using photosharing sites specifically, but it does mention publishing photos to websites. Even though it not really about photosharing, I found it to be a great website for information purposes in getting started with using this technology in the classroom. It discussed using photo-sharing sites in art (I can't believe I didn't think about that one!), social studies, computer science classes (too obvious for my list), english (as a way to start a creative writing piece) and just about every subject taught in school today.
I also stumbled upon a University of Florida site that talks about many of the Web 2.0 tools mentioned in Joyce's podcast from the beginning of this course. One of the links lead me to a discussion of the use of Flickr in the classroom. http://www.citt.ufl.edu/toolbox/toolbox_photoSharing.php This site focused more on the uses for teachers. I was mostly focused on uses for teaching and student learning, but I never really thought about the uses for sharing resources with other teachers. The site had links to discussions about teachers who were looking for class room posters and science experiements. I think that photo sharing sites could be awesome for teachers to exchange and/or request information from other teacher throughout the world.
The last site that I went to was a wiki called Teaching Hacks; http://www.teachinghacks.com/wiki/index.php?title=Photo_Sharing_in_Education this site had heaps of information for teachers. It discusses why and how to use photosharing sites; again Flickr seems to be the site of choice. It also had links to elementary, high school, administrators and higher educational Flickr accounts. I found this to be really interesting because you could look around and see what other teachers are doing. If you have time to look at this site it is very interesting- in respects to both the information and the links to the teachers' sites.
After I did my search, I went back to the information on Topic One in the class notes. I was struck by the quote from Teaching and Learning in the Information Age that said, "Educational telecommunications offer powerful teaching and learning tools that can reshape the educatioal process in classrooms and demand a new set of skills from educators. This technology multiplies the power of modern computers by the power of connectivity, creating as a result, a potentially new approach to teaching." I think that because I have only been teaching for six years, I forget how much technology has changed how we do things in school. Even when I think back to my own educational experience. We use tools such as PowerPoint, digital projectors, DVD's, email, wesites, etc. without really even thinking about it. These are just part of what we do on a day-to-day basis. I think that we, as educators, are on the brink of a technological revolution in education and it is going to be a quick one. Some of us will be ready and some will resist and be afraid of it- I see this in my own school. Photo-sharing sites are only one of these new tools that we can use to enhance our students' learning and I believe soon, everyone will be using the Web 2.0 tools- like PowerPoint et al- without even thinking about it.
In terms of my own teaching, I plan to use this tool more, specifically with my grade 10 science class. This is the only class I teach, so I will be using it for most of my personal veiws and uses for the upcoming tools. There is a weather dynamics unit that I will use a phot-sharing site to illustrate weather events. Right now, I have a collection of pictures that I have taken with my digital camera, such as cummulus clouds taken right before a thunder storm, lightning, etc. that I use a digital projector to show students. Many of my students live on farms or in different areas of the city and many of them travel. I would love for them to be able to take digital photos of weather phenomena and post them to a site with comments. I think that I could get quite a collection and also I think that students would be in to it because it would be their own- they could take ownership.
My Experiences with a Photo-sharing Site
So, I actually went and signed up for a Flickr account. As I mentioned in the previous post, I do have a Ringo account, but I couldn't seem to access it. I did have to create a Yahoo account, but it didn't take long. My only problem with it is now I have another email address, username and password to remember. I uploaded two pictures from my computer and typed some text to describe them. It was relatively easy and I think the whole process only took 10 minutes- including signing up for the Yahoo account.
I think that I will use the Yahoo account and Flickr for the assignment I described above, but only for school purposes. I think that for personal photos, I will stick with Facebook and then my friends can see what I want them to see and my students don't have access to my personal photos.
If any one is interested, my yahoo and flicker account is: bell.katie48.
That's what I think about photo-sharing! Katie
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
Photosharing
In anticipation of the next blog entry, I have started looking at photo sharing sites. I did sign up for Ringo a long time ago and today I found that I still have an account, but the site was having problems, so I couldn't navigate my way around. I also went a looked af Flicker because some of my friends use it, but I'll have to create a Yahoo account to use it, so I'll wait and see what Ringo does tomorrow. If I still get the same run-around, I might just take the time and set up a Yahoo account.
Since I have started using Facebook, I have not really looked into any more photo sharing sites, because I can share photos on Facebook and only my friends can see them. I think that Facebook may save a step, because I believe that you have to send out messages and tell your friends that you have added new pictures or they have to have accounts on that site as well. With Facebook, the announcements happen automatically and you already have your friends on the site. You can also add an option where anyone can see your pics if you wish.
I think that I will try one of the sites for this class, but so far I can't really see why I wouldn't continue using Facebook.
That's what I think- for now...
Katie
Since I have started using Facebook, I have not really looked into any more photo sharing sites, because I can share photos on Facebook and only my friends can see them. I think that Facebook may save a step, because I believe that you have to send out messages and tell your friends that you have added new pictures or they have to have accounts on that site as well. With Facebook, the announcements happen automatically and you already have your friends on the site. You can also add an option where anyone can see your pics if you wish.
I think that I will try one of the sites for this class, but so far I can't really see why I wouldn't continue using Facebook.
That's what I think- for now...
Katie
Monday, January 21, 2008
A new learning curve!
So, I just got a new computer in December and it has Vista. I am just learning all of it's little quirks and quacks. I just learned how to use the RSS feed on Explorer. It is actually really cool. I think it was on the updated version of Explorer for XP, but this is the first time I have actually used it.
Speaking of XP, my students are learning that things created on Vista will not work with XP unless you save them in the correct way. Lots of scared students looking tired and tearful at the end of the semester! I am trying to get a little presentation together with the division IT guy to help students and teachers, but I foresee a long road ahead.
So, I continue to see what Vista has to offer and hopefully it will only be good things.... I'm not too hopeful!
Katie
Speaking of XP, my students are learning that things created on Vista will not work with XP unless you save them in the correct way. Lots of scared students looking tired and tearful at the end of the semester! I am trying to get a little presentation together with the division IT guy to help students and teachers, but I foresee a long road ahead.
So, I continue to see what Vista has to offer and hopefully it will only be good things.... I'm not too hopeful!
Katie
My Blog Introduction
Hi All!
This is my first actual blog post- well a post where I actually have something to say! I chose Blogger because my brother uses it and he told me that it was actually pretty user-friendly and the templates were pretty neat. It's a bit of a lame reason, but it is the truth.
This will be the first time that I have actually used a blog to share my own thoughts. I do tend to use blogs to find out information about questions I have- about all aspects of my life- and to see what other people think. I must admit that I find the idea of blogging a bit daunting, as I'm not sure there are a whole lot of people out there who would be interested in what I have to say. I was thinking that the whole idea of the blog has replaced the idea of a journal and I think this will be a great way for me to reflect on my thoughts and ideas and perhaps get some feedback on them. I will view this blog as my own professional journal and will try and get some of my internal feelings out into cyber space.
I have found a great site that I go to that has blogs for all sorts of areas relating to being a t-l. It is: http://www.shambles.net/pages/learning/infolit/libblogs/ it has a great selection of blogs for all levels of school. I stumbled upon this site when I was "google-ing" some information about the AL SC. Some of the blogs are quite funny and the ones that I have seen have great information.
So far, I feel pretty comfortable with the course and the tools that we are being asked to use. I was looking at some of the readings and I am a little bit nervous about some of the things that are coming up, but I have lots of resources and the best resource (I found just last week) are the students that are in my library and classroom every day. I have a couple of student resources picked out already and they have told me that they will help me if I have any trouble. It is very reassuring.
That's what I think for now, but I'm sure I'll have more thoughts later on!
Katie
This is my first actual blog post- well a post where I actually have something to say! I chose Blogger because my brother uses it and he told me that it was actually pretty user-friendly and the templates were pretty neat. It's a bit of a lame reason, but it is the truth.
This will be the first time that I have actually used a blog to share my own thoughts. I do tend to use blogs to find out information about questions I have- about all aspects of my life- and to see what other people think. I must admit that I find the idea of blogging a bit daunting, as I'm not sure there are a whole lot of people out there who would be interested in what I have to say. I was thinking that the whole idea of the blog has replaced the idea of a journal and I think this will be a great way for me to reflect on my thoughts and ideas and perhaps get some feedback on them. I will view this blog as my own professional journal and will try and get some of my internal feelings out into cyber space.
I have found a great site that I go to that has blogs for all sorts of areas relating to being a t-l. It is: http://www.shambles.net/pages/learning/infolit/libblogs/ it has a great selection of blogs for all levels of school. I stumbled upon this site when I was "google-ing" some information about the AL SC. Some of the blogs are quite funny and the ones that I have seen have great information.
So far, I feel pretty comfortable with the course and the tools that we are being asked to use. I was looking at some of the readings and I am a little bit nervous about some of the things that are coming up, but I have lots of resources and the best resource (I found just last week) are the students that are in my library and classroom every day. I have a couple of student resources picked out already and they have told me that they will help me if I have any trouble. It is very reassuring.
That's what I think for now, but I'm sure I'll have more thoughts later on!
Katie
Monday, January 7, 2008
Welcome!
Hello to everyone reading my little piece of cyberspace! I have created this blog for a course that I am taking, but I have a feeling that I may enjoy writing down my thoughts for anyone who wants to listen!
This post is short, but keep checking back because it is going to be pretty interesting soon!
That's what I think! Katie
This post is short, but keep checking back because it is going to be pretty interesting soon!
That's what I think! Katie
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