Here is a new link to my podcast- it was brought to my attention that the previous link did not work, so I tried again.
I hope that it works now!
(My mum helped me!)
Katie
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
Saturday, February 23, 2008
Audio Reflections
Here is the link to my podcast. I'm not sure that anyone outside of this class will appreciate this particular podcast!
Enjoy!
That's what I think about podcasting!!
Katie
Enjoy!
That's what I think about podcasting!!
Katie
Do I want to be a Podcaster?
This week's topic for the blog is another Web 2.0 tool that I've never used before- totally new. Even though I had listened to Joyce Valenza's podcast at the beginning of the course, I really didn't know exactly what it was all about.
I started my research by looking up the actual term "podcast". I found the following definition on www.wikipedia.org:" A podcast is a collection of digital media files which is distributed over the Internet, often using syndication feeds, for playback on portable media players and personal computers. The term, like "radio", can refer either to the content itself or to the method by which it is syndicated; the latter is also termed podcasting. The host or author of a podcast is often called a podcaster." It confirmed what I thought it was and I was interested to see that it is compared to a radio. It seems like we are going a bit retro! I also found it interesting to see that the actual term was created or introduced by Apple and the iPod- duh?! It's just one of those terms that is used so often, I didn't really stop to think about the origins.
Use for teaching (Before Research):
When I sat down to think about when and where I would use this tool in my own classroom, I couldn't really come up with a scenario. Personally, I am a person who listens to things in the background and picks up pieces here and there. I am also a person who has to see, read or discuss things to really learn them and I feel that the majority of my students are the same way.
I could see podcasts being used for something like online courses or WebCT, but the only thing that I would use it for would be for students to report findings for projects. I could also see myself using this for a tool for students who have a learning disability and need to have my "lectures" recorded.
I did ask ask a couple of my colleagues about this tool and whether they would consider using it in their classes. One of the teachers, who teaches English thought that she might use it for doing things like Reader Theatre. The French teacher was a bit more excited because she felt that she could (and might) use it for oral tests or assignments. It is a very time-consuming process for her and she felt that she could use the MP3 format to have students record and submit their tests and she could evaluate them later and free up more class time for instruction. For either purpose, I'm not sure that they would need to actually have the file on a website- they could just hand it in electronically or email it to her. Some interesting responses that I never thought of!
Without doing more research, this would be one tool, I don't see myself using on a regular basis.
Use for Teaching (After Research):
After looking at a few websites that discuss the use of podcasts in education, I can see there are many more possibilities. Darcy Norman has a blog entry entitled "Podcasting for Education" and he has many suggestions for using this tool- although I do find that many of them would be more useful for post-secondary students Vs. secondary school. A couple of suggestions that caught my eye had to do with interviews and guest speakers- it is suggested that interviews with experts and presentations with guest speakers could be recorded and then put on a site so that the class (and future classes) could be able to access them at any time and go over the information repeatedly. I could see myself wanting to do this in the future.
Another area that I totally over-looked- and I'm a bit embarrassed to admit it- is to use podcasts to create audio files of books!! I came across and article by Kathy Ishizuka in the School Library Journal that outlines using podcasts for this purpose. I think that she is talking more about elementary schools, but I could see this working in a secondary setting as well. Sometimes it is extremely hard to find audio recordings of novels for students with disabilities and this could be an option. I will have to practice my "radio" voice! :)
I would also like to share this website that I came across for anyone who is interested. I came across it when I was researching and it has heaps of links to articles about using podcasts in education. There are too many for me to mention here, but I would suggest that if you are interested in using podcasts in your own program to have a look! Very interesting!
Reflections:
I will try and create my own podcast using my personal reflections as the topic. I am having a little bit of trouble with it, which I will discuss in my next post, but I have to send a shout out to my brother Nick, who is going to help me out! I'm sure I'm in capable hands.
Until next time....
Katie
I started my research by looking up the actual term "podcast". I found the following definition on www.wikipedia.org:" A podcast is a collection of digital media files which is distributed over the Internet, often using syndication feeds, for playback on portable media players and personal computers. The term, like "radio", can refer either to the content itself or to the method by which it is syndicated; the latter is also termed podcasting. The host or author of a podcast is often called a podcaster." It confirmed what I thought it was and I was interested to see that it is compared to a radio. It seems like we are going a bit retro! I also found it interesting to see that the actual term was created or introduced by Apple and the iPod- duh?! It's just one of those terms that is used so often, I didn't really stop to think about the origins.
Use for teaching (Before Research):
When I sat down to think about when and where I would use this tool in my own classroom, I couldn't really come up with a scenario. Personally, I am a person who listens to things in the background and picks up pieces here and there. I am also a person who has to see, read or discuss things to really learn them and I feel that the majority of my students are the same way.
I could see podcasts being used for something like online courses or WebCT, but the only thing that I would use it for would be for students to report findings for projects. I could also see myself using this for a tool for students who have a learning disability and need to have my "lectures" recorded.
I did ask ask a couple of my colleagues about this tool and whether they would consider using it in their classes. One of the teachers, who teaches English thought that she might use it for doing things like Reader Theatre. The French teacher was a bit more excited because she felt that she could (and might) use it for oral tests or assignments. It is a very time-consuming process for her and she felt that she could use the MP3 format to have students record and submit their tests and she could evaluate them later and free up more class time for instruction. For either purpose, I'm not sure that they would need to actually have the file on a website- they could just hand it in electronically or email it to her. Some interesting responses that I never thought of!
Without doing more research, this would be one tool, I don't see myself using on a regular basis.
Use for Teaching (After Research):
After looking at a few websites that discuss the use of podcasts in education, I can see there are many more possibilities. Darcy Norman has a blog entry entitled "Podcasting for Education" and he has many suggestions for using this tool- although I do find that many of them would be more useful for post-secondary students Vs. secondary school. A couple of suggestions that caught my eye had to do with interviews and guest speakers- it is suggested that interviews with experts and presentations with guest speakers could be recorded and then put on a site so that the class (and future classes) could be able to access them at any time and go over the information repeatedly. I could see myself wanting to do this in the future.
Another area that I totally over-looked- and I'm a bit embarrassed to admit it- is to use podcasts to create audio files of books!! I came across and article by Kathy Ishizuka in the School Library Journal that outlines using podcasts for this purpose. I think that she is talking more about elementary schools, but I could see this working in a secondary setting as well. Sometimes it is extremely hard to find audio recordings of novels for students with disabilities and this could be an option. I will have to practice my "radio" voice! :)
I would also like to share this website that I came across for anyone who is interested. I came across it when I was researching and it has heaps of links to articles about using podcasts in education. There are too many for me to mention here, but I would suggest that if you are interested in using podcasts in your own program to have a look! Very interesting!
Reflections:
I will try and create my own podcast using my personal reflections as the topic. I am having a little bit of trouble with it, which I will discuss in my next post, but I have to send a shout out to my brother Nick, who is going to help me out! I'm sure I'm in capable hands.
Until next time....
Katie
Sunday, February 10, 2008
Sorry...
Sorry, I just realized I forgot to add the link to my del.icio.us account!
Here it is:
http://del.icio.us/Katons
Here it is:
http://del.icio.us/Katons
Social Bookmarking Part 2
Using del.icio.us
Well I signed up for a del.icio.us account last week and I have found the basic set up quite easy and user friendly. I was able to install the icons into my web browser and had no problems accessing it. I started using it mainly this weekend. I didn’t have a lot of time during the week to play around with it, but I was able to spend some time on the weekend.
I have been planning a trip, with my cousin, to Britain in 2010. It has been a life-long dream of mine to go and see the sites of Britain. I am a huge history buff and I have been dying to see some of the historical sites. Both my cousin and I are HUGE Jane Austen fans- of both the books and the films, so we also want to see a bit of that. We were speaking on the phone on the weekend and it occurred to me that del.icio.us would be a great tool to use when planning this particular trip! In fact it was one of the suggestions on the help page. We were able to go to various web sites and the ones that were interesting to us we could tag in del.icio.us. I wasn’t able to spend as much time looking at my trip stuff, as I do have other things to get to- like this blog- but I did manage to get four or five good sites on my account.
I was also able to find a couple of teacher-librarian sites through a search on del.icio.us and I tagged a few of those as well.
I must confess that I have not had as much time as I would like to have to look and play around with all of the features, but I plan to in the future. I tried to organize the tags into groups, but I think that I did it wrong- I think that I should have only used one-word tags for my trip website to make it easier. I also have not been able to subscribe to any networks or other accounts. Maybe I will look on my classmates’ blogs and try to subscribe to a few of theirs. My only complaint with this tool is that it does try and help people out with instructions, but it seems a bit complicated and time consuming. I do intend to go back and have a look at the help section and see what I can find out, but all in good time. Maybe I’m just a bit thick to figure this one out!!
Implications for Teaching:
I do see myself using this tool as both a t-l and as a class room teacher. I would like to set up a different account as a teacher though, and have one for strictly personal purposes and professional purposes. I am not comfortable with students having access to my personal spaces on the internet- I never have been- maybe that is just me, but I don’t feel the need to share all of my plans and business with staff and students. I will create an account that staff and students can access and I will place the link on my resource centre website.
I have many sites that I use in my classroom that would help my students with their work. Some of the sites have tutorials, practice assignments and pictures or videos of things that could help them with their understanding of particular concepts. As I’ve said in earlier postings, I usually end up using a projector to show these sites and it would be quite handy to have the students be able to go to a lab or at home and look at these sites.
I would also like to see my students creating their own accounts and tagging their own sites. While I was tagging my sites for my trip, I thought it would be a great assignment for students to create their own accounts that tagged sites they found interesting or helpful and to explain in the tag why they wanted to save the site. I’m not sure if it would work or not, but I would like to find out. I could use social bookmarking sites as a type of learning journal and even devote some time in class for the students to use the internet and find the sites they would like to use. The only con with this idea would be that my students are not terribly self-driven and I can foresee many, many questions of, “is this what you want us to use?” being asked.
In the December 2007 issue of Teacher-Librarian there is an article by David Loertscher (P.14-17) where he discusses the benefits of students constructing their own information spaces on the internet. (Children, teens, and the construction of information spaces). He believes that it is beneficial for students to create their own spaces, but they need us to help them organize these spaces and direct them towards learning. I was struck by the following excerpt: “For years we have built computer systems on the idea that ‘if you build it, they will come.’ Well, they came, but instead of staying, they worked around it because of their needs in social networking. Instead, we propose that: ‘If THEY build it, they will LEARN.’ Learn what? Children and teens will not only learn how to construct a learning space, but in doing so, will surround themselves with tools that will help them learn.” So, maybe instead of creating a collection of sites for my students- they could create their own collection and give it to me. Would they learn more from just reading mine or from creating their own? After being a student again, I don’t think that I would learn as much by reading about Web 2.0 tools as I would actually trying them and using them for myself! I certainly didn’t learn a lot from just reading the help section of del.icio.us. I had to actually use the tool before I found out how it works. I still don’t know how to use it completely, but I’m sure that after using the help page and making a few mistakes, I’m more likely not to forget how to use it and I’ll probably have a better understanding of del.icio.us in the end. I think that my students would gain more from creating their own bookmarks as well.
Reflections:
I am currently reading the course materials on Topic 2- Professional Development and I am struck by some of the readings. As I mentioned in the previous blog, this is the first tool that I had not used at all. I didn’t know anything about it and had to start from scratch. Many teachers that I work with don’t use computers at all and are very intimidated by it. I felt a little intimidated by the tool as well and I couldn’t help thinking that a PD session on Web 2.0 would help teachers. The link to Michigan State University’s Big 10 Ideas has a quote that sums up what I believe about learning new things, such as del.icio.us, etc. They state: “teachers are also learners, and through integration of the Internet into their classroom activities, they can broaden their experiences, connect and benefit from the experiences of other teachers, learn about new ways of teaching, and reflect on their own teaching practice.”
By posting to my blog every week I am finding that I am examining my own teaching techniques and practices in a way that I haven’t done since my undergrad days. I am re-evaluating my program and the way that I present information, create assignments and evaluate students. I think that this revelation has come because of the learning that I have had to do and the information that I am reading in this course. In the past, I have only just related my experiences, but now I find myself reflecting- without being forced to! J
I’ve gotten a bit off topic, but I’m having one of those days (and weeks). That is what professional development should do! It has been great!
That`s what I think about Social Bookarking! Katie
Well I signed up for a del.icio.us account last week and I have found the basic set up quite easy and user friendly. I was able to install the icons into my web browser and had no problems accessing it. I started using it mainly this weekend. I didn’t have a lot of time during the week to play around with it, but I was able to spend some time on the weekend.
I have been planning a trip, with my cousin, to Britain in 2010. It has been a life-long dream of mine to go and see the sites of Britain. I am a huge history buff and I have been dying to see some of the historical sites. Both my cousin and I are HUGE Jane Austen fans- of both the books and the films, so we also want to see a bit of that. We were speaking on the phone on the weekend and it occurred to me that del.icio.us would be a great tool to use when planning this particular trip! In fact it was one of the suggestions on the help page. We were able to go to various web sites and the ones that were interesting to us we could tag in del.icio.us. I wasn’t able to spend as much time looking at my trip stuff, as I do have other things to get to- like this blog- but I did manage to get four or five good sites on my account.
I was also able to find a couple of teacher-librarian sites through a search on del.icio.us and I tagged a few of those as well.
I must confess that I have not had as much time as I would like to have to look and play around with all of the features, but I plan to in the future. I tried to organize the tags into groups, but I think that I did it wrong- I think that I should have only used one-word tags for my trip website to make it easier. I also have not been able to subscribe to any networks or other accounts. Maybe I will look on my classmates’ blogs and try to subscribe to a few of theirs. My only complaint with this tool is that it does try and help people out with instructions, but it seems a bit complicated and time consuming. I do intend to go back and have a look at the help section and see what I can find out, but all in good time. Maybe I’m just a bit thick to figure this one out!!
Implications for Teaching:
I do see myself using this tool as both a t-l and as a class room teacher. I would like to set up a different account as a teacher though, and have one for strictly personal purposes and professional purposes. I am not comfortable with students having access to my personal spaces on the internet- I never have been- maybe that is just me, but I don’t feel the need to share all of my plans and business with staff and students. I will create an account that staff and students can access and I will place the link on my resource centre website.
I have many sites that I use in my classroom that would help my students with their work. Some of the sites have tutorials, practice assignments and pictures or videos of things that could help them with their understanding of particular concepts. As I’ve said in earlier postings, I usually end up using a projector to show these sites and it would be quite handy to have the students be able to go to a lab or at home and look at these sites.
I would also like to see my students creating their own accounts and tagging their own sites. While I was tagging my sites for my trip, I thought it would be a great assignment for students to create their own accounts that tagged sites they found interesting or helpful and to explain in the tag why they wanted to save the site. I’m not sure if it would work or not, but I would like to find out. I could use social bookmarking sites as a type of learning journal and even devote some time in class for the students to use the internet and find the sites they would like to use. The only con with this idea would be that my students are not terribly self-driven and I can foresee many, many questions of, “is this what you want us to use?” being asked.
In the December 2007 issue of Teacher-Librarian there is an article by David Loertscher (P.14-17) where he discusses the benefits of students constructing their own information spaces on the internet. (Children, teens, and the construction of information spaces). He believes that it is beneficial for students to create their own spaces, but they need us to help them organize these spaces and direct them towards learning. I was struck by the following excerpt: “For years we have built computer systems on the idea that ‘if you build it, they will come.’ Well, they came, but instead of staying, they worked around it because of their needs in social networking. Instead, we propose that: ‘If THEY build it, they will LEARN.’ Learn what? Children and teens will not only learn how to construct a learning space, but in doing so, will surround themselves with tools that will help them learn.” So, maybe instead of creating a collection of sites for my students- they could create their own collection and give it to me. Would they learn more from just reading mine or from creating their own? After being a student again, I don’t think that I would learn as much by reading about Web 2.0 tools as I would actually trying them and using them for myself! I certainly didn’t learn a lot from just reading the help section of del.icio.us. I had to actually use the tool before I found out how it works. I still don’t know how to use it completely, but I’m sure that after using the help page and making a few mistakes, I’m more likely not to forget how to use it and I’ll probably have a better understanding of del.icio.us in the end. I think that my students would gain more from creating their own bookmarks as well.
Reflections:
I am currently reading the course materials on Topic 2- Professional Development and I am struck by some of the readings. As I mentioned in the previous blog, this is the first tool that I had not used at all. I didn’t know anything about it and had to start from scratch. Many teachers that I work with don’t use computers at all and are very intimidated by it. I felt a little intimidated by the tool as well and I couldn’t help thinking that a PD session on Web 2.0 would help teachers. The link to Michigan State University’s Big 10 Ideas has a quote that sums up what I believe about learning new things, such as del.icio.us, etc. They state: “teachers are also learners, and through integration of the Internet into their classroom activities, they can broaden their experiences, connect and benefit from the experiences of other teachers, learn about new ways of teaching, and reflect on their own teaching practice.”
By posting to my blog every week I am finding that I am examining my own teaching techniques and practices in a way that I haven’t done since my undergrad days. I am re-evaluating my program and the way that I present information, create assignments and evaluate students. I think that this revelation has come because of the learning that I have had to do and the information that I am reading in this course. In the past, I have only just related my experiences, but now I find myself reflecting- without being forced to! J
I’ve gotten a bit off topic, but I’m having one of those days (and weeks). That is what professional development should do! It has been great!
That`s what I think about Social Bookarking! Katie
Friday, February 8, 2008
Social Bookmarking Part 1
I'm going to try and split my blog up a bit, so it is not so long. Divide and conquer!
Social bookmarking is a Web 2.0 tool that I have not had any experience with. I’ve heard of it, but I’ve never personally used it, so this is brand new for me. I looked at three sites - del.icio.us, ma.gnolia, and diigo to try and get a feel for what exactly social bookmarking is.
I chose del.icio.us as the site that I am going to use and create an account with. I chose this particular site because of their help section and because it was the original social bookmarking site that actually coined the phrase, "social bookmarking". I started the whole process by using Google.ca to find out information about social bookmarking and what exactly it was. I found the About section of del.icio.us to be very helpful. It explained exactly what social bookmarking was, why I would want to use it, how to use it and examples of how others have used it. There is also a great Help section that has answers and tips on just about every aspect of the site. I like that there is a section on more advanced features- for people who want to do more with this tool. If anyone is leaning towards using del.icio.us I would highly recommend looking at this site. It would even be helpful for anyone wanting to know more about social bookmarking in general.
I am a person who uses my web browser’s bookmarking feature a lot. I have many sites that are either important for my work or that I think would be useful for students and teachers. Of course the limitation for that tool is that it is only good for my computer and unless I speak to the teacher or student, they won’t know about it. This topic is quite timely for me as I am currently in the process of re-doing the website for the resource centre. The previous one was quite dated and many of the links did not work anymore. I am trying to put together a collection of links for staff and students to help them with their work. It would be great to have a link to my del.icio.us account instead and then I can keep the list updated- as I don’t believe I will always have access to the server for the website.
I also found the potential to use these sites as research tools very appealing. I can see the benefit of this as a student myself and a teacher. So often when I am researching and looking at many different sites with so much information it is easy to lose track of what exactly I have read. I am going to try and do some research on a topic- something fun like going on a vacation- and see exactly how it works and if it would be a good tool to use or not.
I’ll report back with my findings in a couple of days! I am actually very excited about trying this new tool out!
Until next time…
Katie
Social bookmarking is a Web 2.0 tool that I have not had any experience with. I’ve heard of it, but I’ve never personally used it, so this is brand new for me. I looked at three sites - del.icio.us, ma.gnolia, and diigo to try and get a feel for what exactly social bookmarking is.
I chose del.icio.us as the site that I am going to use and create an account with. I chose this particular site because of their help section and because it was the original social bookmarking site that actually coined the phrase, "social bookmarking". I started the whole process by using Google.ca to find out information about social bookmarking and what exactly it was. I found the About section of del.icio.us to be very helpful. It explained exactly what social bookmarking was, why I would want to use it, how to use it and examples of how others have used it. There is also a great Help section that has answers and tips on just about every aspect of the site. I like that there is a section on more advanced features- for people who want to do more with this tool. If anyone is leaning towards using del.icio.us I would highly recommend looking at this site. It would even be helpful for anyone wanting to know more about social bookmarking in general.
I am a person who uses my web browser’s bookmarking feature a lot. I have many sites that are either important for my work or that I think would be useful for students and teachers. Of course the limitation for that tool is that it is only good for my computer and unless I speak to the teacher or student, they won’t know about it. This topic is quite timely for me as I am currently in the process of re-doing the website for the resource centre. The previous one was quite dated and many of the links did not work anymore. I am trying to put together a collection of links for staff and students to help them with their work. It would be great to have a link to my del.icio.us account instead and then I can keep the list updated- as I don’t believe I will always have access to the server for the website.
I also found the potential to use these sites as research tools very appealing. I can see the benefit of this as a student myself and a teacher. So often when I am researching and looking at many different sites with so much information it is easy to lose track of what exactly I have read. I am going to try and do some research on a topic- something fun like going on a vacation- and see exactly how it works and if it would be a good tool to use or not.
I’ll report back with my findings in a couple of days! I am actually very excited about trying this new tool out!
Until next time…
Katie
Sunday, February 3, 2008
I saw it on YouTube...
Once again I began the research into video sharing sites by reflecting on my own experiences with them- I think that this will be my MO for these blog entries!
General Observations:
I was only really familiar with YouTube for video sharing. I have had an account for a number of years, but I only really used it for my own entertainment. It was about a year ago that I began to see its potential for teaching. It began when the Mentos and Diet Coke craze started; I was in the middle of teaching my chemistry unit and we were discussing catalysts and how they affected the rates of reactions. I had heard about the Mentos and Diet Coke on CanadaAM and that there were many more videos on YouTube. I found out for myself and then set up a digital projector in my class room and we were able to view a number of different people doing this experiment. (Side Note: in case you haven’t seen this, the powder on the Mentos reacts with the Diet Coke and it shoots the coke very high into the air- like a geyser. If you want to see it for yourself, just type the words “Mentos” and “Diet Coke” in the search engine.) After we watched a few of them, we were able to discuss what had happened and we actually went outside and did the experiment ourselves.
I am also going to use YouTube next year when I teach Science 10 because there is an experiment called Liquid Ice, where you take Sodium Acetate and water, boil them up together, and refrigerate. When it comes out of the fridge it is a liquid, but as soon as you touch it, the liquid turns into a solid block of ice. Very cool! One of my students showed me this one and I’m very excited to try it.
I also recently used YouTube for an assignment on Extreme Weather events. My students were asked to research an event and create some kind of presentation for me. Only one group chose to do a video on blizzards. We had been having problems with our server at school and they were afraid that the Assignment In folder would be out of commission, so they suggested that instead of taking a chance, they could just post it on YouTube and I could see it there. It turned out to be a great idea and they did a pretty good job- I don’t think that they are going to win an Oscar anytime soon, but it was a good effort nonetheless. Please feel free to have a look http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qEDhWIJTuS4 . I’m not sure about the bloopers; I can’t vouch for the language in it!! We ended up having to use a DVD in the end anyway for the presentation because I didn’t realize that our division had blocked YouTube and we are not supposed to use it anymore- I will discuss what I think on this topic later in this blog! L I do have permission to show this video and it is on YouTube for all to see, but I thought I should cover my bases anyway.
When it came time for me to research video sharing sites, I had trouble finding information on the benefits for education and learning. I may have been looking in the wrong places and soon I will have my classmates’ blogs to read and learn from, but the majority of the sites I found were warnings against using YouTube (that was the site most cited). I did find one site that mentioned other beneficial uses of videos in the class room, but side-steps the issue of video sharing. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qEDhWIJTuS4 . I like the author’s thoughts about using video as a new “report”. Instead of having students write reports, videos can be a new way of presenting information. I have done many research assignments that use presentations as the final product and I always find that the students who do videos have way more fun doing the assignment and have the best product. The rest of the class is always entertained and they usually remember the information presented in a video rather than an oral report or even a PowerPoint presentation. I also find that the students who know they are doing a video are way more enthusiastic about doing the research, planning the video and creating the finished project! They really love to do the assignment! Shocking!
I went to TeacherTube to have a snoop around- I had never heard of it before this course. What an awesome site!! I signed up immediately. I spoke of using photo sharing sites as a way for teachers to share resources with other teachers in my previous blog, but this may be even better! I know that I will be using this site for gathering information for my own use and I will be telling all of the teachers I can about it. I spent about an hour poking around and I have found a few things for just about every subject. One of the best things is the French content. We have a fully bilingual French teacher in our school and she is always looking for ways of exposing her students to French. There are quite a few videos on the site that are done in French- there was actually a weather report about blizzards in French on there too- what a coincidence! I might have to upload my kids’ report to the site!! I also thought that Mrs. Burkes Perimeter Rap was a hoot! If you have a chance, look at it! URL
I am using YouTube and TeacherTube as my main points of reference because I think they are the most popular and the kids will know about YouTube. I know that I would love to continue using this as a tool in my classroom for demonstrations that I am not always able to perform and as a way for students to showcase their work. I know that I would be really excited to see some of my work in cyberspace- heck I was even excited about this blog- so I know that students would be happy for their work to be recognized as well. I think that YouTube or other similar sites will replace the fridge door or classroom wall as one of the best places to display their work!
One good site that I did find in my search was this blog: http://fabricoffolly.blogspot.com/2006/08/top-20-video-sharing-sites-rated.html . It is a blog that Dan Taylor created that rate 20 video sharing sites. I must confess that I didn’t get a chance to visit them all, but I thought the rating system was very helpful.
Concerns and Questions:
#1- My division blocks YouTube and has a ban on all live streaming sites!! What a pain in the butt! Of course I enlisted my little computer savvy students to help me with this problem, but I’m sure I could get in trouble if caught! I now use a proxy server to view YouTube, but they are getting crafty as blocking the proxy sites as well. I may have to use the information I gather from this class to make a plea. The computer teacher and I have had this discussion many times as YouTube is a huge part of the curriculum for his Computer Production and Technology class. I’m gathering stats and information and I will be making a case in a couple of months. The reasoning for blocking this site (and others ) is that our server can’t handle the bandwidth necessary, harrumph! We are getting a new server in two weeks, so I think I will let the dust settle and then see what I can do!
#2- Appropriate Content: I may be using my account and the site for appropriate things, but sometimes the students are a little less genteel.
#3-Parental Permission: Some parents might not feel comfortable with having their children on the internet. We have to have permission for students to have their picture taken for the yearbook, website etc. I’m not really sure what kind of problem this might become in the future, but it concerns me.
In Conclusion...
I think that these sites are an awesome way to gather information, share information, and to present a final product. I plan on expanding my use of these sites in the future- if I am allowed- and who knows maybe I’ll even start a video blog for my students to use and get information about assignments and discussions they may have missed- then there will be NO excuse for not getting their home work done!!
I do have an account on both YouTube and TeacherTube (Username: Katons8 for both), but I don’t own a video camera, so I am not able to upload any video- maybe I’ll ask for one next Christmas! I have subscribed to a few channels on YouTube, but I’ll have to spend more time on TeacherTube and see what’s out there for me and my school. My account link is: http://www.youtube.com/user/Katons8
That’s what I think about video sharing sites! I can’t wait to read what everyone else thinks!! Katie
P.S. I found a good site about Web 2.0 tools and I’ve added it to my blog roll. It’s called Ubernoggin- Check it out!!
General Observations:
I was only really familiar with YouTube for video sharing. I have had an account for a number of years, but I only really used it for my own entertainment. It was about a year ago that I began to see its potential for teaching. It began when the Mentos and Diet Coke craze started; I was in the middle of teaching my chemistry unit and we were discussing catalysts and how they affected the rates of reactions. I had heard about the Mentos and Diet Coke on CanadaAM and that there were many more videos on YouTube. I found out for myself and then set up a digital projector in my class room and we were able to view a number of different people doing this experiment. (Side Note: in case you haven’t seen this, the powder on the Mentos reacts with the Diet Coke and it shoots the coke very high into the air- like a geyser. If you want to see it for yourself, just type the words “Mentos” and “Diet Coke” in the search engine.) After we watched a few of them, we were able to discuss what had happened and we actually went outside and did the experiment ourselves.
I am also going to use YouTube next year when I teach Science 10 because there is an experiment called Liquid Ice, where you take Sodium Acetate and water, boil them up together, and refrigerate. When it comes out of the fridge it is a liquid, but as soon as you touch it, the liquid turns into a solid block of ice. Very cool! One of my students showed me this one and I’m very excited to try it.
I also recently used YouTube for an assignment on Extreme Weather events. My students were asked to research an event and create some kind of presentation for me. Only one group chose to do a video on blizzards. We had been having problems with our server at school and they were afraid that the Assignment In folder would be out of commission, so they suggested that instead of taking a chance, they could just post it on YouTube and I could see it there. It turned out to be a great idea and they did a pretty good job- I don’t think that they are going to win an Oscar anytime soon, but it was a good effort nonetheless. Please feel free to have a look http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qEDhWIJTuS4 . I’m not sure about the bloopers; I can’t vouch for the language in it!! We ended up having to use a DVD in the end anyway for the presentation because I didn’t realize that our division had blocked YouTube and we are not supposed to use it anymore- I will discuss what I think on this topic later in this blog! L I do have permission to show this video and it is on YouTube for all to see, but I thought I should cover my bases anyway.
When it came time for me to research video sharing sites, I had trouble finding information on the benefits for education and learning. I may have been looking in the wrong places and soon I will have my classmates’ blogs to read and learn from, but the majority of the sites I found were warnings against using YouTube (that was the site most cited). I did find one site that mentioned other beneficial uses of videos in the class room, but side-steps the issue of video sharing. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qEDhWIJTuS4 . I like the author’s thoughts about using video as a new “report”. Instead of having students write reports, videos can be a new way of presenting information. I have done many research assignments that use presentations as the final product and I always find that the students who do videos have way more fun doing the assignment and have the best product. The rest of the class is always entertained and they usually remember the information presented in a video rather than an oral report or even a PowerPoint presentation. I also find that the students who know they are doing a video are way more enthusiastic about doing the research, planning the video and creating the finished project! They really love to do the assignment! Shocking!
I went to TeacherTube to have a snoop around- I had never heard of it before this course. What an awesome site!! I signed up immediately. I spoke of using photo sharing sites as a way for teachers to share resources with other teachers in my previous blog, but this may be even better! I know that I will be using this site for gathering information for my own use and I will be telling all of the teachers I can about it. I spent about an hour poking around and I have found a few things for just about every subject. One of the best things is the French content. We have a fully bilingual French teacher in our school and she is always looking for ways of exposing her students to French. There are quite a few videos on the site that are done in French- there was actually a weather report about blizzards in French on there too- what a coincidence! I might have to upload my kids’ report to the site!! I also thought that Mrs. Burkes Perimeter Rap was a hoot! If you have a chance, look at it! URL
I am using YouTube and TeacherTube as my main points of reference because I think they are the most popular and the kids will know about YouTube. I know that I would love to continue using this as a tool in my classroom for demonstrations that I am not always able to perform and as a way for students to showcase their work. I know that I would be really excited to see some of my work in cyberspace- heck I was even excited about this blog- so I know that students would be happy for their work to be recognized as well. I think that YouTube or other similar sites will replace the fridge door or classroom wall as one of the best places to display their work!
One good site that I did find in my search was this blog: http://fabricoffolly.blogspot.com/2006/08/top-20-video-sharing-sites-rated.html . It is a blog that Dan Taylor created that rate 20 video sharing sites. I must confess that I didn’t get a chance to visit them all, but I thought the rating system was very helpful.
Concerns and Questions:
#1- My division blocks YouTube and has a ban on all live streaming sites!! What a pain in the butt! Of course I enlisted my little computer savvy students to help me with this problem, but I’m sure I could get in trouble if caught! I now use a proxy server to view YouTube, but they are getting crafty as blocking the proxy sites as well. I may have to use the information I gather from this class to make a plea. The computer teacher and I have had this discussion many times as YouTube is a huge part of the curriculum for his Computer Production and Technology class. I’m gathering stats and information and I will be making a case in a couple of months. The reasoning for blocking this site (and others ) is that our server can’t handle the bandwidth necessary, harrumph! We are getting a new server in two weeks, so I think I will let the dust settle and then see what I can do!
#2- Appropriate Content: I may be using my account and the site for appropriate things, but sometimes the students are a little less genteel.
#3-Parental Permission: Some parents might not feel comfortable with having their children on the internet. We have to have permission for students to have their picture taken for the yearbook, website etc. I’m not really sure what kind of problem this might become in the future, but it concerns me.
In Conclusion...
I think that these sites are an awesome way to gather information, share information, and to present a final product. I plan on expanding my use of these sites in the future- if I am allowed- and who knows maybe I’ll even start a video blog for my students to use and get information about assignments and discussions they may have missed- then there will be NO excuse for not getting their home work done!!
I do have an account on both YouTube and TeacherTube (Username: Katons8 for both), but I don’t own a video camera, so I am not able to upload any video- maybe I’ll ask for one next Christmas! I have subscribed to a few channels on YouTube, but I’ll have to spend more time on TeacherTube and see what’s out there for me and my school. My account link is: http://www.youtube.com/user/Katons8
That’s what I think about video sharing sites! I can’t wait to read what everyone else thinks!! Katie
P.S. I found a good site about Web 2.0 tools and I’ve added it to my blog roll. It’s called Ubernoggin- Check it out!!
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