I appreciate the benefits that some of the researchers have put forward for the use of Social Networking Sites in schools, but I think the risks outweigh the benefits. I will probably never uses Facebook for any sort of educational purposes. I value my privacy away from school and I don’t want to communicate with my students in this manner. I remember when I first started teaching and my students continually wanted to be my “buddy” on MSN. I have always been very weary of having too much personal contact with students outside of school. Teachers that teach in larger centres may not appreciate this, but I grew up in a community with 1000 people and I taught in two places with similar populations. I ended up doing parent-teacher interviews in the grocery store or on the street corner. If I (or a group of teachers) went to the bar on a Friday or the weekend, you were stared at and the kids would comment on the following Monday. I quickly came to value my privacy when I wasn’t working. I know that other professionals have the same issues, but now that I’m in a larger centre not everyone knows I am a teacher I am more comfortable. I will not have my students as friends on Facebook as there are things on there that I don’t necessarily want my students to see- things (pictures and stories) from university, old boyfriends, etc. that I don’t want to share. I am also very weary of the professionalism of being too close to students and I don’t want to open myself up to any suggestion of impropriety. If students have to email me outside of school, they have to use my official school account. Some teachers are ok with this- I am not, therefore I will never allow my current students to see my profile.
I also cannot watch students 24/7 and the idea of using MySpace or Facebook as a way to complete assignments is not something that appeals to me because of some of the issues that arise between students. Currently our school is experiencing a lot of problems with cell phones, texting and IMing that has been causing issues with bullying and violence. For me to introduce something like a SNS into my classroom would be madness. I know that some teachers do use Facebook for clubs and communication, but I would prefer to use some other way to do this. I have been playing around with Blackboard and I think that I would prefer to use that as an online community for my students.
That's what I think of Social Networking Sites. Now I think that I will go and check my Facebook...
Katie
Saturday, March 29, 2008
Cons of SNS
CONS
When I was doing the research for SNS, I came across many, many sites that discussed the dangers and risks of allowing students to use SNS in schools and public library. I think that we all appreciate the risks involved in any online activity that is not monitored, but I chose to highlight some of the more interesting and school appropriate articles that discuss the cons of using Facebook or Myspace in schools.
When I was doing my search, I came across several articles that mentioned a new bill that was being put to the floor in the US Congress to have libraries, schools and any place that has public internet access to ban minors from using these sites. The people who are backing this bill feel it is necessary to protect children from online predators. The bill itself doesn’t surprise me, but when I read a this article further, I was surprised to read that there was already a law in place, signed by President Clinton in 2000, that compels librarians to block any “off colour” sites. The law was appealed in 2003 on the grounds that it was against the First Amendment, but the law was upheld. As far as I’m aware, we do not have anything like this in Canada, but I could be wrong. I think that a law like this is a knee-jerk reaction to technology that scares people and it is a little like using bubble gum to patch a hole in the Hoover Dam! There is always going to be something new and a new way to communicate. Kids are also much more internet savvy that many people would like to believe. I found out about proxy servers from a student who knew how to get around the blocks put in place at our school. They will find a way if they want to and now they are proposing that librarians need to police inventive and motivated students! (Find complete article here)
Most of the sites I came across listed child protection as the main concern. This particularly hits home in Saskatchewan as recently there was a case of a teen being abducted by a man and they were caught in Winnipeg. It was not clear how the girl communicated with the man, but it could have been through Facebook or MySpace. So what can schools do? How do we keep them safe at school without hindering their education? Education World suggests the following:
1. A clear policy with a strong focus on educationally valuable use of the Internet -- no "Internet recess." The policy must be supported by curriculum and professional development, and a clear expectation for teachers that all student use of the Internet should be for high quality, well-planned instructional activities.
2.Student education about online safety and responsible use.
3.Effective technical monitoring.
4.Appropriate consequences. Schools and districts should consider a full review of Internet use management policies and practices. A needs assessment and evaluation of Internet use would provide helpful insight. Safe school personnel must be involved in that process.
Education World also has guidelines for what students can do when they are using the internet and Social Networks:
* Be kind to others. Think how you would feel if someone posted similar things about you.
* Think before you post. Material posted in these communities is public, could damage your reputation, or could be used to harm you. It is not private!
* Take steps to protect yourself and others from bullying and harassment. Report concerns to the Web site and to a trusted adult.
* Report to an adult if someone posts threats of violence or self-harm. Such threats could be real threats. Don't post threats yourself. Someone might take you seriously.
* Develop "stranger danger" detection skills. People online might not be who they seem to be. Develop a safety plan for meeting online friends that is approved by your parent.
* Stop the predators. If you have been contacted by someone you think might be a sexual predator, report it to a trusted adult.
When I was doing the research for SNS, I came across many, many sites that discussed the dangers and risks of allowing students to use SNS in schools and public library. I think that we all appreciate the risks involved in any online activity that is not monitored, but I chose to highlight some of the more interesting and school appropriate articles that discuss the cons of using Facebook or Myspace in schools.
When I was doing my search, I came across several articles that mentioned a new bill that was being put to the floor in the US Congress to have libraries, schools and any place that has public internet access to ban minors from using these sites. The people who are backing this bill feel it is necessary to protect children from online predators. The bill itself doesn’t surprise me, but when I read a this article further, I was surprised to read that there was already a law in place, signed by President Clinton in 2000, that compels librarians to block any “off colour” sites. The law was appealed in 2003 on the grounds that it was against the First Amendment, but the law was upheld. As far as I’m aware, we do not have anything like this in Canada, but I could be wrong. I think that a law like this is a knee-jerk reaction to technology that scares people and it is a little like using bubble gum to patch a hole in the Hoover Dam! There is always going to be something new and a new way to communicate. Kids are also much more internet savvy that many people would like to believe. I found out about proxy servers from a student who knew how to get around the blocks put in place at our school. They will find a way if they want to and now they are proposing that librarians need to police inventive and motivated students! (Find complete article here)
Most of the sites I came across listed child protection as the main concern. This particularly hits home in Saskatchewan as recently there was a case of a teen being abducted by a man and they were caught in Winnipeg. It was not clear how the girl communicated with the man, but it could have been through Facebook or MySpace. So what can schools do? How do we keep them safe at school without hindering their education? Education World suggests the following:
1. A clear policy with a strong focus on educationally valuable use of the Internet -- no "Internet recess." The policy must be supported by curriculum and professional development, and a clear expectation for teachers that all student use of the Internet should be for high quality, well-planned instructional activities.
2.Student education about online safety and responsible use.
3.Effective technical monitoring.
4.Appropriate consequences. Schools and districts should consider a full review of Internet use management policies and practices. A needs assessment and evaluation of Internet use would provide helpful insight. Safe school personnel must be involved in that process.
Education World also has guidelines for what students can do when they are using the internet and Social Networks:
* Be kind to others. Think how you would feel if someone posted similar things about you.
* Think before you post. Material posted in these communities is public, could damage your reputation, or could be used to harm you. It is not private!
* Take steps to protect yourself and others from bullying and harassment. Report concerns to the Web site and to a trusted adult.
* Report to an adult if someone posts threats of violence or self-harm. Such threats could be real threats. Don't post threats yourself. Someone might take you seriously.
* Develop "stranger danger" detection skills. People online might not be who they seem to be. Develop a safety plan for meeting online friends that is approved by your parent.
* Stop the predators. If you have been contacted by someone you think might be a sexual predator, report it to a trusted adult.
Pros and Cons of SNS
I thought I would try and divide my thoughts on SNS into pros and cons of using this Web 2.0 tool in schools. I found a lot of opinions and ideas about SNS, so it seemed to be a logical way to conquer and divide the information.
PROs:
One of the first sites that I came across was a pdf document called “Teen & Social Networking in School & Public Libraries: A Toolkit for Librarians and Library Workers” written by Young Adult Library Services Association. It is a 10 page document that explains exactly what a Social Networking Site is: “software that enables people to connect, collaborate and form virtual communities via the computer and/or Internet. Social networking web sites are those that provide this opportunity to interact. Sites that allow visitors to send emails, post comments, build web content and/or take part in live chats are all considered to be social networking sites.”
The YALSA suggests that SNS can be used as an area for teens to be able to reflect on their own learning, communicate with teachers (and librarians), to get feedback from educators, parents and peers and also to create a sense of community outside of the physical environment of the school. I do agree that teenagers may feel that this is something they know and feel comfortable with, so it may appeal to them in ways that traditional interaction cannot accomplish.
The YALSA also lists the following benefits for SNS:
Developmental Assets & Social Networking
When schools and libraries help teens use
social networking tools safely and smartly, they
also help teens meet their developmental assets
as defined by the Search Institute. (www.searchinstitute.
org) For example when teens:
Learn how to use blogs, wikis, and My
Space sites within an educational context
they learn about boundaries and
expectations.
Are able to use social networking tools in
learning they have a commitment to
learning.
Have the opportunity to communicate with
peers, experts, authors, etc. via online social
networking they develop social & cultural
competence.
Work with adults and peers on developing
social network sites and teaching how to use
these sites they are empowered.
Have a voice in the future of the school or
the library they gain a sense of personal
identity and value.
See how librarians and teachers use social
networks they are presented with role models.
A study done by Ellison, Steinfeld & Lamp for The Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication concentrated on looking at “the relationship between the use of Facebook… and the formation and maintenance of social capital.” The authors found there was a positive outcome for college students who use Facebook in terms of their self-image and esteem. “Facebook usage was found to interact with measures of psychological well-being, suggesting that it might provide greater benefits for users experiencing low self-esteem and low life satisfaction.” And that use of the internet alone did not necessarily help the esteem issues, but the use of Facebook did. The authors also suggest that the use of Facebook may also help other people with their social capital; “In addition to helping student populations, this use of technology could support a variety of populations, including professional researchers, neighborhood and community members, employees of companies, or others who benefit from maintained ties.”
PROs:
One of the first sites that I came across was a pdf document called “Teen & Social Networking in School & Public Libraries: A Toolkit for Librarians and Library Workers” written by Young Adult Library Services Association. It is a 10 page document that explains exactly what a Social Networking Site is: “software that enables people to connect, collaborate and form virtual communities via the computer and/or Internet. Social networking web sites are those that provide this opportunity to interact. Sites that allow visitors to send emails, post comments, build web content and/or take part in live chats are all considered to be social networking sites.”
The YALSA suggests that SNS can be used as an area for teens to be able to reflect on their own learning, communicate with teachers (and librarians), to get feedback from educators, parents and peers and also to create a sense of community outside of the physical environment of the school. I do agree that teenagers may feel that this is something they know and feel comfortable with, so it may appeal to them in ways that traditional interaction cannot accomplish.
The YALSA also lists the following benefits for SNS:
Developmental Assets & Social Networking
When schools and libraries help teens use
social networking tools safely and smartly, they
also help teens meet their developmental assets
as defined by the Search Institute. (www.searchinstitute.
org) For example when teens:
Learn how to use blogs, wikis, and My
Space sites within an educational context
they learn about boundaries and
expectations.
Are able to use social networking tools in
learning they have a commitment to
learning.
Have the opportunity to communicate with
peers, experts, authors, etc. via online social
networking they develop social & cultural
competence.
Work with adults and peers on developing
social network sites and teaching how to use
these sites they are empowered.
Have a voice in the future of the school or
the library they gain a sense of personal
identity and value.
See how librarians and teachers use social
networks they are presented with role models.
A study done by Ellison, Steinfeld & Lamp for The Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication concentrated on looking at “the relationship between the use of Facebook… and the formation and maintenance of social capital.” The authors found there was a positive outcome for college students who use Facebook in terms of their self-image and esteem. “Facebook usage was found to interact with measures of psychological well-being, suggesting that it might provide greater benefits for users experiencing low self-esteem and low life satisfaction.” And that use of the internet alone did not necessarily help the esteem issues, but the use of Facebook did. The authors also suggest that the use of Facebook may also help other people with their social capital; “In addition to helping student populations, this use of technology could support a variety of populations, including professional researchers, neighborhood and community members, employees of companies, or others who benefit from maintained ties.”
Uses for SNS in Schools
The YALSA provided me with several ideas about how teachers could use SNS in schools and why they could be beneficial:
- A math teacher has students serve as scribes on
class blogs. Students post notes, visuals, formulas,
activities and comments related to each day’s lesson.
They also post reflections about their learning at least
once before each test. Using the technology in this
way gives students the chance to process learning
and as a result better understand the content.
See http://pc4sw06.blogspot.com/ - A school uses blogging software to publish its
newspaper. The blog format allows for timely
publication and the ability to make updates easily.
This format also allows for comments from readers
and easy navigation to archived stories. Publication
costs are minimal (no color print costs!) and there is
no limit to the length of the paper, allowing for more
student participation. See
www.uni.uiuc.edu/gargoyle/ - An author creates a blog as a way to reflect on the reading and writing experience. Teens
who enjoy the author’s work keep up on what the author is writing and thinking through the blog. The author blog is used as a research source and as a way to communicate with the author about books, reading, and writing.
See www.sparksflyup.com/weblog.php
Two biology teachers in different parts of the country are working with students on the topic
of water quality and ecology. The teachers create a joint wiki for the unit of study. As
students find information on the topic, they post to the water quality wiki findings,
observations, and useful resources. Together students build an online resource (their own
encyclopedia) on the topic.- A high school student creates a My
Space site for a British poet she needs
to study. As she gathers information,
she enters it into the poet’s My Space
profile. She uses the blog function to
post the poems she analyzes. Before
long, other MySpace authors and poets
(some real, some not) befriend her
poet. They comment on what is written
and lead the student to more
resources. The student has to adopt
the persona of her poet and imagine
what the poet’s responses might
actually be.
Social Networking Sites
The Web 2.0 tool we are assigned to investigate this week is one of the only tools I feel totally comfortable with using and talking about – personally. Professionally, I have not used any Social Networking Sites in my classroom or school and I found a lot of information that highlighted the pros and cons of using SNS’s in schools.
Personal Experience:
I signed up for Facebook more than a year ago. I started taking notice of it when the school division blocked MySpace and the students started using Facebook. I also saw two different segments on CanadaAM and a CBC program that talked about Facebook as the “new internet craze”. It was thought to be more of a networking site for adults as opposed to MySpace which some felt was more popular with teens. I noticed all of these things in a one week span and I was curious, so I signed up.
I really liked the privacy controls- even though I am aware that there are some issues with privacy- and I liked the whole idea of sharing my life and interests with my friends. It would be easier to keep up-to-date with friends and family with a SNS than with traditional email, MSN, etc. I was never a very reliable letter/email writer and most of my friends aren’t either, so this has been a wonderful tool to keep in contact with everyone. I also loved the fact that I contacted people I hadn’t seen since high school or university. I quickly added many friends and I was able to see what they were doing with their lives.
I like to see photos that my friends put up and I like to share my photos with them as well. There are privacy controls that one must be aware of, but it’s pretty simple and I don’t put anything up that would allow anyone to invade my privacy. I also like “The Wall” and posting messages to the private inbox. Cindy and I organized our whole wiki using Facebook and we continue to communicate that way.
I’m sure that more than one person will complain about the silly requests that people get from their friends to add fun applications; I also find most of them very annoying, but what’s the harm in a little fun? Yes, I have some friends that have so many applications, it takes about 10 minutes to load their profile page and they send me about five requests a day, but it takes about 20-30 seconds to ignore them, so I don’t get too fussed up about them. I take longer to go through my junk mail on email. Some applications can be fun- like Scrabulous. I also like the ability to be able to personalize my profile page with things that I enjoy such as favourite television shows (with quotes and pictures) and other things that interest me. I do find that I have to “clean up” my profile every now and then because I don’t use all of the features. In my busy day, Facebook provides about 10 minutes of fun and I don’t usually have to think too hard- unless I’m playing Scrabulous with Cindy!! I don’t believe that it was ever meant to be a serious tool; it was meant to be a form of communication with entertainment. It is a just a bit of fun!
Personal Experience:
I signed up for Facebook more than a year ago. I started taking notice of it when the school division blocked MySpace and the students started using Facebook. I also saw two different segments on CanadaAM and a CBC program that talked about Facebook as the “new internet craze”. It was thought to be more of a networking site for adults as opposed to MySpace which some felt was more popular with teens. I noticed all of these things in a one week span and I was curious, so I signed up.
I really liked the privacy controls- even though I am aware that there are some issues with privacy- and I liked the whole idea of sharing my life and interests with my friends. It would be easier to keep up-to-date with friends and family with a SNS than with traditional email, MSN, etc. I was never a very reliable letter/email writer and most of my friends aren’t either, so this has been a wonderful tool to keep in contact with everyone. I also loved the fact that I contacted people I hadn’t seen since high school or university. I quickly added many friends and I was able to see what they were doing with their lives.
I like to see photos that my friends put up and I like to share my photos with them as well. There are privacy controls that one must be aware of, but it’s pretty simple and I don’t put anything up that would allow anyone to invade my privacy. I also like “The Wall” and posting messages to the private inbox. Cindy and I organized our whole wiki using Facebook and we continue to communicate that way.
I’m sure that more than one person will complain about the silly requests that people get from their friends to add fun applications; I also find most of them very annoying, but what’s the harm in a little fun? Yes, I have some friends that have so many applications, it takes about 10 minutes to load their profile page and they send me about five requests a day, but it takes about 20-30 seconds to ignore them, so I don’t get too fussed up about them. I take longer to go through my junk mail on email. Some applications can be fun- like Scrabulous. I also like the ability to be able to personalize my profile page with things that I enjoy such as favourite television shows (with quotes and pictures) and other things that interest me. I do find that I have to “clean up” my profile every now and then because I don’t use all of the features. In my busy day, Facebook provides about 10 minutes of fun and I don’t usually have to think too hard- unless I’m playing Scrabulous with Cindy!! I don’t believe that it was ever meant to be a serious tool; it was meant to be a form of communication with entertainment. It is a just a bit of fun!
Sunday, March 23, 2008
Voicethread
Using Voicethread
The media sharing site that I chose to investigate was Voicethread. I had a look at the Jumpcut site and at first glance, it appeared to be very similar to YouTube with the added bonus of being able to edit the video using the site. I felt that because of the simiarity to YouTube, I would look at Voicethread instead.
The moment I went onto the Voicethread site, I was intrigued. A site that allows you to both share photos and allow you to record a commentary that goes along with the photo! My immediate thought was that it would be great for personal photos. I must admit I didn’t really start thinking about the educational purposes right away- that came a few days later when I was thinking about my blog.
I found the sign-up process really straight forward and simple. Some sites that require sign-up want to know more information than a passport application! It was easy and I had an account in less than five minutes. I also found the tutorials really informative and I got to see a voicethread in action, which helped when I had to think about how I would use the site, both personally and professionally. My only problem was to figure out the subject of my own voice thread. I had originally thought that I would take some pictures of my dog and my parents’ dogs (I was home for Easter weekend) and do a mini biography for them. When I went to upload the pics, I had a bit of trouble (still don’t know why) and I saw that one could upload from Facebook. I have several pictures of my dog, Paddy, on Facebook and they were already organized in an album dedicated to him, so I thought that would be easier. I connected to my Facebook account and uploaded the pictures without any problems and it was extremely quick. You can also connect with other sites such as Flickr.
The actual process took very little time and the steps are very clear. My biggest problem was being interrupted while I was recording or making mistakes. I always have that problem when I have to record things- I am much better live!
The link to my Voicethread presentation is here. Please let me know if there is a problem with the link. I am not really clear on how to share files without emailing them or adding everyone in the class as my friends. I am crossing my fingers that this will work!
Using Voicethread in the Classroom
As I mentioned earlier, I thought that Voicethread would be an excellent tool to use for personal photos. When I thought about how I would use it in the classroom, I had a bit of trouble. I initially thought it would be an awesome tool for students to create story books or as a tool to help with creative writing. Students could use their own pictures and create a plot with characters to share with their classmates, teachers, parents and others. When I started doing research about using Voicethreads, I came across the wiki called The Connected Classroom that talked about digital story telling. There are links on the site that explains the concept and thinking behind using various tools for oral and digital story telling. It also has many examples of voicethreads and digital stories.
Beyond digital story telling, I was a bit stumped about what I could use Voicethreads for in my own teaching. I thought about using it for history; scanning and uploading historical pictures and adding a commentary. But, using pictures that aren’t your own brings up the copy right issue and I don’t believe it would be good to encourage copyright violation. As I kept on reading various sites, I found a blog by a technology manager in Maine called The TechKnow Blog. He lists the following suggestions for using Voicethread in the classroom:
ev--> In Lower School, classes can use Voicethread with their own class pictures to create a audio/visual newsletter. Especially in the younger grades where students cannot write yet, this would be a great tool for the kids to use in order to better express themselves.
-->In Science classes, students could use Voicethread to document an experiment - a kind of visual lab report.
-->In Math, students could use Voicethread to narrate their way through solving a math problem in order to demonstrate their understanding.
-->In English class, they can put original poems or short stories to pictures.
-->In Art class, Voicethread can be use a tool to reflect on their work.
-->In Foreign Language, kids can create stories or tours using Flickr images and narrate them in their language.
-->In History, they could use use flickr images in a digital narration of a historical event.
I could see myself assigning the kids to do an experiment and have them document it on Voicethread. It would free up some classtime and make it a bit more exciting for kids to find, perform and record their labs. Sometimes ordinary labs and experiments need a bit of spice or something different and this could be it. Each student could do a different experiment and share it with their classmates.
There are also really interesting links on the blog that connect you to sites that deal with using Voicethread in art classes, elementary schools and story telling. I spent a great deal of time looking at this blog and the links. Very interesting reading.
I found a lot of sites and information about using Voicethread in elementary schools. One of the best sites I found was Talkabout Primary MFL blog; I found it had a lot of ideas for the primary grades. I must say that I did have a lot of trouble finding sites with suggestions for the secondary level.
Reflections:
At the risk of sounding like a broken record, I found my opinion of this Web 2.0 tool running to the personal side. I have many pictures that I would like to share with my friends and family that live far away. It is a way for me to connect with them in a different way. I used to send pictures to them with typed comments, but I feel that by having my voice recorded, it is in someway a bit more personal and adds a new dimension to media sharing. I am actually going to make a Voicethread presentation of a variety of pictures and send them to my granny in BC. She is in a care home and I have not been able to get out and see her as much as I would like. I have arranged for my uncle to bring his computer to show her and it will be really special I think. I also have a few pictures of different vacations I’ve been on and I would like to create a presentation with commentary for those photos as well. I have big plans!
As for using this tool in my classroom, I’m not entirely convinced that it would be beneficial enough for me to use. In all honesty, I’m not sure that it wouldn’t take too much time to organize a project like this and present them to the class. I don’t see this being as useful to my teaching as other tools that I have used and investigated. I mentioned that I would be able to have students perform their own experiemnts, but I think that the time involved in organizing the experiment, the materials and explaining the process (of both the experiement and Voicethread) would be too time consuming. It is not one of my "Must Use" new tools.
I can see that it would be useful for PD. It would be a good way of sharing information with other teachers. You could take pictures of lessons, have examples of work and have a way of orally explaining what was happening. I think that it could be a good way for teachers to collaborate and exchange ideas.
That's what I think about Voicethread! Katie
P.S. Please forgive any typos, sentence errors, etc. I am writing this post after a lovely turkey dinner with my extended family and I think the chemicals are kicking in! Happy Easter to everyone!
The media sharing site that I chose to investigate was Voicethread. I had a look at the Jumpcut site and at first glance, it appeared to be very similar to YouTube with the added bonus of being able to edit the video using the site. I felt that because of the simiarity to YouTube, I would look at Voicethread instead.
The moment I went onto the Voicethread site, I was intrigued. A site that allows you to both share photos and allow you to record a commentary that goes along with the photo! My immediate thought was that it would be great for personal photos. I must admit I didn’t really start thinking about the educational purposes right away- that came a few days later when I was thinking about my blog.
I found the sign-up process really straight forward and simple. Some sites that require sign-up want to know more information than a passport application! It was easy and I had an account in less than five minutes. I also found the tutorials really informative and I got to see a voicethread in action, which helped when I had to think about how I would use the site, both personally and professionally. My only problem was to figure out the subject of my own voice thread. I had originally thought that I would take some pictures of my dog and my parents’ dogs (I was home for Easter weekend) and do a mini biography for them. When I went to upload the pics, I had a bit of trouble (still don’t know why) and I saw that one could upload from Facebook. I have several pictures of my dog, Paddy, on Facebook and they were already organized in an album dedicated to him, so I thought that would be easier. I connected to my Facebook account and uploaded the pictures without any problems and it was extremely quick. You can also connect with other sites such as Flickr.
The actual process took very little time and the steps are very clear. My biggest problem was being interrupted while I was recording or making mistakes. I always have that problem when I have to record things- I am much better live!
The link to my Voicethread presentation is here. Please let me know if there is a problem with the link. I am not really clear on how to share files without emailing them or adding everyone in the class as my friends. I am crossing my fingers that this will work!
Using Voicethread in the Classroom
As I mentioned earlier, I thought that Voicethread would be an excellent tool to use for personal photos. When I thought about how I would use it in the classroom, I had a bit of trouble. I initially thought it would be an awesome tool for students to create story books or as a tool to help with creative writing. Students could use their own pictures and create a plot with characters to share with their classmates, teachers, parents and others. When I started doing research about using Voicethreads, I came across the wiki called The Connected Classroom that talked about digital story telling. There are links on the site that explains the concept and thinking behind using various tools for oral and digital story telling. It also has many examples of voicethreads and digital stories.
Beyond digital story telling, I was a bit stumped about what I could use Voicethreads for in my own teaching. I thought about using it for history; scanning and uploading historical pictures and adding a commentary. But, using pictures that aren’t your own brings up the copy right issue and I don’t believe it would be good to encourage copyright violation. As I kept on reading various sites, I found a blog by a technology manager in Maine called The TechKnow Blog. He lists the following suggestions for using Voicethread in the classroom:
ev--> In Lower School, classes can use Voicethread with their own class pictures to create a audio/visual newsletter. Especially in the younger grades where students cannot write yet, this would be a great tool for the kids to use in order to better express themselves.
-->In Science classes, students could use Voicethread to document an experiment - a kind of visual lab report.
-->In Math, students could use Voicethread to narrate their way through solving a math problem in order to demonstrate their understanding.
-->In English class, they can put original poems or short stories to pictures.
-->In Art class, Voicethread can be use a tool to reflect on their work.
-->In Foreign Language, kids can create stories or tours using Flickr images and narrate them in their language.
-->In History, they could use use flickr images in a digital narration of a historical event.
I could see myself assigning the kids to do an experiment and have them document it on Voicethread. It would free up some classtime and make it a bit more exciting for kids to find, perform and record their labs. Sometimes ordinary labs and experiments need a bit of spice or something different and this could be it. Each student could do a different experiment and share it with their classmates.
There are also really interesting links on the blog that connect you to sites that deal with using Voicethread in art classes, elementary schools and story telling. I spent a great deal of time looking at this blog and the links. Very interesting reading.
I found a lot of sites and information about using Voicethread in elementary schools. One of the best sites I found was Talkabout Primary MFL blog; I found it had a lot of ideas for the primary grades. I must say that I did have a lot of trouble finding sites with suggestions for the secondary level.
Reflections:
At the risk of sounding like a broken record, I found my opinion of this Web 2.0 tool running to the personal side. I have many pictures that I would like to share with my friends and family that live far away. It is a way for me to connect with them in a different way. I used to send pictures to them with typed comments, but I feel that by having my voice recorded, it is in someway a bit more personal and adds a new dimension to media sharing. I am actually going to make a Voicethread presentation of a variety of pictures and send them to my granny in BC. She is in a care home and I have not been able to get out and see her as much as I would like. I have arranged for my uncle to bring his computer to show her and it will be really special I think. I also have a few pictures of different vacations I’ve been on and I would like to create a presentation with commentary for those photos as well. I have big plans!
As for using this tool in my classroom, I’m not entirely convinced that it would be beneficial enough for me to use. In all honesty, I’m not sure that it wouldn’t take too much time to organize a project like this and present them to the class. I don’t see this being as useful to my teaching as other tools that I have used and investigated. I mentioned that I would be able to have students perform their own experiemnts, but I think that the time involved in organizing the experiment, the materials and explaining the process (of both the experiement and Voicethread) would be too time consuming. It is not one of my "Must Use" new tools.
I can see that it would be useful for PD. It would be a good way of sharing information with other teachers. You could take pictures of lessons, have examples of work and have a way of orally explaining what was happening. I think that it could be a good way for teachers to collaborate and exchange ideas.
That's what I think about Voicethread! Katie
P.S. Please forgive any typos, sentence errors, etc. I am writing this post after a lovely turkey dinner with my extended family and I think the chemicals are kicking in! Happy Easter to everyone!
Sunday, March 9, 2008
Connection to Learning and Personal Reflection:
After careful consideration, I think that the benefit to learning is more for the teacher than for the student. I could see this being used in a classroom as a teaching tool, but I think that personally I would prefer to use a wiki for professional development.
I think that wikis could be used in a classroom as an on-going project that could span a long period of time, such as a semester or term. Student could be required to add their own research, thoughts, or questions to the class wiki and have it as a way to change up the learning process. Instead of being passive about the learning, they could be active and actually initiate or control the process. I could see this working in a few subjects.
To me the benefit of wikis can be found in the opportunity for professional development and professional collaboration. This is my fifth online course from the University of Alberta and I find that by far, the most beneficial aspect for me is the discussion portion of every course.
When I started my graduate studies, I had only been a TL for one whole school year; before that I had only been a classroom teacher for two years. I was still thinking like an undergraduate in many ways and I was very unsure of myself and what I was doing in the library. I found that my first couple of courses enabled me to ask questions of other teachers and TLs from around the province and country and to compare my practices to other librarians. I found out that I was not way off the mark and most of what I was doing was correct. The confidence that gave me was and is indescribable! I compare the online discussion in our WebCT to wikis. The ability to read, respond and question other professionals in the same area is extremely useful to me. Even though I don’t feel that I need to respond to every post or topic, I do read them all and I learn something new just about every day- I found that responding to questions or topics on the wiki was very similar to the discussion process in the course.
Now that I have a few years under my belt, I feel that I have some useful things to say; things I have learned from my own experiences and things that I have read or discussed in my courses. It is an awesome thing! I know that some of the wikis (and blogs) that I have come across during my research for this particular class will be permanently in my bookmark tool (actually on my del.icio.us account now as well). The potential for collaboration cannot be understated and to people (like myself) who don’t get to do a whole lot of one-on-one collaboration with fellow teacher librarians, I think that this provides the perfect vehicle for just that. I will be spreading the word!
I want to share some interesting information I found on the Boston College website. It addresses the advantages of using wikis in the classroom. I think that one could also apply these benefits to teachers as well. The list of benefits for collaboration learning is:
"Learning from others. Collaborative authoring allows students to learn from one another – both in terms of viewing each other’s content but also by seeing the quality of other students’ work. In a traditional classroom, a student writes a paper, the teacher grades it, and then returns it to the student. Other students rarely have the opportunity to see and therefore learn from the information in that paper. Seeing other students’ work on a continuous basis can cause a student to evaluate his or her own work and see how it compares in quality. The comparison may cause the student to raise his or her work to a higher level.
Developing a higher level of critical thinking. Students can develop critical thinking skills by critiquing other students’ information and learning how to defend their views when critiqued by other students.
Deepening investigative skills. Working collaboratively on one document can encourage a student to do more investigative work. When information is critiqued as incorrect or underdeveloped, the author is encouraged to do additional research to respond to the critiques.
Developing skills for negotiating conflict and facilitating effective teamwork. Professors at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi found that working on a wiki helps co-authors negotiate conflict. In Wiki As a Collaborative Writing Tool, they write that “conflict … is an inherent part of the collaborative process…Wikis provide a means to negotiate conflict and to build upon the positive aspects of conflict. In writing and working collaboratively with wikis, users must create and agree on the structures, forms, and methods that are necessary to accomplish their collaborative task….[The] required negotiation of space can lead to a better understanding of the social processes that underlie any collaborative activity. In these ways, wikis not only build constructive communities of writers, but also accommodate differences among members of these communities, which in turn can allow all voices to contribute to the conversation.”
Building a class community. "
© Boston College 2007
The site has many more benefits, but this entry would be a little long if I included them all! I think that as a profession that likes to encourage life-long learning, wikis could be one of the greatest tools we have to achieve that goal. Everything on this site is directed at students, but it could be applied to teachers or just about any profession.
Conclusion:
I think that wikis have become my favourite Web 2.0 tool- in case you couldn’t tell. It is not really for the teaching aspects, but for my own personal learning and professional growth. I find that speaking with people who are in similar situations and have been there before is one of the best ways for me to learn and grow as both a classroom teacher and a teacher librarian. Long live the Wiki!!
That is what I think about wikis- please excuse the gushing!
Katie
After careful consideration, I think that the benefit to learning is more for the teacher than for the student. I could see this being used in a classroom as a teaching tool, but I think that personally I would prefer to use a wiki for professional development.
I think that wikis could be used in a classroom as an on-going project that could span a long period of time, such as a semester or term. Student could be required to add their own research, thoughts, or questions to the class wiki and have it as a way to change up the learning process. Instead of being passive about the learning, they could be active and actually initiate or control the process. I could see this working in a few subjects.
To me the benefit of wikis can be found in the opportunity for professional development and professional collaboration. This is my fifth online course from the University of Alberta and I find that by far, the most beneficial aspect for me is the discussion portion of every course.
When I started my graduate studies, I had only been a TL for one whole school year; before that I had only been a classroom teacher for two years. I was still thinking like an undergraduate in many ways and I was very unsure of myself and what I was doing in the library. I found that my first couple of courses enabled me to ask questions of other teachers and TLs from around the province and country and to compare my practices to other librarians. I found out that I was not way off the mark and most of what I was doing was correct. The confidence that gave me was and is indescribable! I compare the online discussion in our WebCT to wikis. The ability to read, respond and question other professionals in the same area is extremely useful to me. Even though I don’t feel that I need to respond to every post or topic, I do read them all and I learn something new just about every day- I found that responding to questions or topics on the wiki was very similar to the discussion process in the course.
Now that I have a few years under my belt, I feel that I have some useful things to say; things I have learned from my own experiences and things that I have read or discussed in my courses. It is an awesome thing! I know that some of the wikis (and blogs) that I have come across during my research for this particular class will be permanently in my bookmark tool (actually on my del.icio.us account now as well). The potential for collaboration cannot be understated and to people (like myself) who don’t get to do a whole lot of one-on-one collaboration with fellow teacher librarians, I think that this provides the perfect vehicle for just that. I will be spreading the word!
I want to share some interesting information I found on the Boston College website. It addresses the advantages of using wikis in the classroom. I think that one could also apply these benefits to teachers as well. The list of benefits for collaboration learning is:
"Learning from others. Collaborative authoring allows students to learn from one another – both in terms of viewing each other’s content but also by seeing the quality of other students’ work. In a traditional classroom, a student writes a paper, the teacher grades it, and then returns it to the student. Other students rarely have the opportunity to see and therefore learn from the information in that paper. Seeing other students’ work on a continuous basis can cause a student to evaluate his or her own work and see how it compares in quality. The comparison may cause the student to raise his or her work to a higher level.
Developing a higher level of critical thinking. Students can develop critical thinking skills by critiquing other students’ information and learning how to defend their views when critiqued by other students.
Deepening investigative skills. Working collaboratively on one document can encourage a student to do more investigative work. When information is critiqued as incorrect or underdeveloped, the author is encouraged to do additional research to respond to the critiques.
Developing skills for negotiating conflict and facilitating effective teamwork. Professors at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi found that working on a wiki helps co-authors negotiate conflict. In Wiki As a Collaborative Writing Tool, they write that “conflict … is an inherent part of the collaborative process…Wikis provide a means to negotiate conflict and to build upon the positive aspects of conflict. In writing and working collaboratively with wikis, users must create and agree on the structures, forms, and methods that are necessary to accomplish their collaborative task….[The] required negotiation of space can lead to a better understanding of the social processes that underlie any collaborative activity. In these ways, wikis not only build constructive communities of writers, but also accommodate differences among members of these communities, which in turn can allow all voices to contribute to the conversation.”
Building a class community. "
© Boston College 2007
The site has many more benefits, but this entry would be a little long if I included them all! I think that as a profession that likes to encourage life-long learning, wikis could be one of the greatest tools we have to achieve that goal. Everything on this site is directed at students, but it could be applied to teachers or just about any profession.
Conclusion:
I think that wikis have become my favourite Web 2.0 tool- in case you couldn’t tell. It is not really for the teaching aspects, but for my own personal learning and professional growth. I find that speaking with people who are in similar situations and have been there before is one of the best ways for me to learn and grow as both a classroom teacher and a teacher librarian. Long live the Wiki!!
That is what I think about wikis- please excuse the gushing!
Katie
Friday, March 7, 2008
Wiki Madness!
I have found that many of the blogs that I have discovered in the course of doing these weekly blog posts also have wikis- like the Cool Cat Teacher Blog. I also found out from the Cool Cat Teacher blog that the term “wiki” is Hawaiian and it means “quickly”. I wasn’t aware that it meant anything at all- I figured it was one of those internet words that just sounds cool. One more thing for the brain! I knew that the term “wiki” has to be related to www.wikipedia.org, but I wasn’t quite sure how- after a little time on Google, I found out!
As with most of my Web 2.0 research, I started- where else?- wikipedia . That site provided me with a very clear definition for the term “wiki”:
“A wiki is software that allows users to easily create, edit, and link pages together. Wikis are often used to create collaborative websites and to power community websites. These wiki websites are often also referred to as wikis; for example, Wikipedia is one of the best known wikis”.
I have to admit that after looking at a few wikis, I feel they are very similar to blogs- there is a post and people are encouraged to respond. The main difference being that blogs are more of a vehicle for individuals to express their opinions and the readers can leave their feedback, comments or questions to the author. The public can see these comments, but there is not usually a whole lot of interaction. Wikis provide a similar opportunity, but instead of just one person sharing their thoughts and opinions, they encourage many people to contribute and it is more of an actual dialogue between the readers, or contributors.
This past week I have only had the opportunity to respond to group 1’s wiki space- I will go to group 2 after I complete this post- and Cindy and I are still organizing ours, but we have yet to add anything to it. I found the whole process quite easy. The first time I tried to edit the site a little red message popped up and said that Ronda was editing the page and I should try back in 5 minutes. I was wondering how they would do that, as there could be a lot of people trying to edit the same page. I actually waited 10 minutes and I had no problems. Very simple. It was encouraging to see that because I was a little apprehensive about creating our wiki. It seems to work in a very similar way to creating or editing a blog post.
I just wanted to share my initial thoughts on wikis before the weekend got too far away from me. I am going to have a peek at the next group’s page and see if I can’t fit more into this head of mine!
That's what I think of wikis- so far... Katie
P.S. My new library program is great and I think that it accounts for the lack of brain function this week- lots of new things to learn!!
Sunday, March 2, 2008
Virtual School Libraries
Starting Out
At the beginning of this course we heard a list of Web 2.0 tools in Joyce Valenza’s podcast. I mentioned that I had heard of all of them, but that was about it. Virtual school libraries were one of those mysterious tools that I had heard about, but didn’t know much about. In my mind I thought they were websites with lists of e-books or maybe even a new, fancy name for an iPAC. I wasn’t really sure. I was pleasantly surprised when I did some investigating and found out exactly what they were!
So, what exactly is a Virtual School Library. I put this term into my Google search engine and I found a number of site, but one seemed to sum up or define it in terms that seemed to make sense to me:
“This information on this site will be useful to teachers, teacher-librarians, administrators, and students as they incorporate information technology into the curriculum in their schools. Tips and guides for search engines and power searching should make your Internet searching more productive. The Computers in Education section deals with some of the current issues in technology integration in the curriculum: plagiarism, intellectual property and copyright, Internet addiction, and girls and computers. You will also find lesson plans for K-12 sites, and local education links. The WebQuest page contains both theory and relevant WebQuest curriculum links. The Virtual School Library was designed for secondary students to be their home reference library.” Holly Gunn- Halifax Regional School Board
I really liked how Gunn summed up all of the information that I had been reading on various sites. Some sites differed- some were more student-oriented and some were for teachers, but they all seemed to have similar qualities. Most of the sites I looked at had tips on using search engines effectively, access to an iPAC, copyright and plagiarism information, citation instructions and information, and access to useful links. Some sites were very plain and to the point, like the Birch Lane website and others were very eye catching and had extra information, like Joyce Valenza’s site. I think that both would be useful to the average student or teacher.
Implications for Teaching
I have found the research for this blog post very useful for not only the assignment, but for my own school library. I am currently entering a period of great change in my library. Starting on Monday, I will be having a whole new LAS installed- the data conversion has taken place and the IT guys are going to be over to install the new system. I think that people think that I am a bit strange because I’m like a kid at Christmas!! I really hate my current system (Library World) and I’m very excited to get my new program (L4U). I was on the committee that helped chose the new program for the whole division, so I also feel very involved and a bit like I have some ownership of this choice. This will be the first time that I will have an iPAC available for students and teachers to use and I’m very excited.
I have also joined forces with one of the Information Processing teachers to design a new library website. We are going to have two sections of IP create a version of the website and I will choose one to have as the official site. I will be in her classroom on Monday or Tuesday to present my information to her students so they can get started. It kills two birds with one stone because I don’t have the time to create a whole site from scratch and the teacher was complaining that the students take so long to come up with an idea or subject for their websites- problem solved.
I did have the whole thing somewhat built in my mind, but after seeing these Virtual School Libraries, I think that I am going to have to sit down tonight and rethink what I want. I am more inclined to create more of a virtual library than just another website. I want to go through many of the examples and see what I would like to include on my site. One site that I really admire is Angela Langadar’s VSL. It appears to have been designed as an assignment for EDES 545 and I have been a classmate of Angela in my last course and admire her input and ideas. I would encourage everyone who is interested in creating their own VSL to have a look at Angela’s site.
Professional Development
The whole idea of a Virtual School Library is wonderful, but it will only take off if teachers buy into the concept and use it. I am currently involved with a group of t-ls from my division who are trying to create a PD presentation for teachers on effective resource-based learning and to provide them with ideas and tools they can use with their students. If I am able to have the VSL ready in time, I would also like to be able to include it with our information and encourage teachers to have their students use it for their research projects. In Janet Murray’s article “Teachers Teach; Teachers Learn” she talks about strategies for PD within the school and I particularly like the idea of becoming a teacher-mentor. She states the qualities needed for a teacher-mentor:
“Effective technology instructors serve as mentors to those they teach. Ideal mentors have very specific characteristics, abilities and personality traits:
They should be peers of those they are training, i.e. classroom teachers or building library/media specialists.
They should be effective teachers, capable of "translating" technical information into language which can be readily understood by novices.
They should be patient tutors able to provide over-the-shoulder training without succumbing to the temptation to take over the keyboard.
They should be available by telephone or fax for followup questions, and promptly responsive to those questions.”
I think that many t-ls would be performing these duties already, without even knowing it. I would like to think that I do all four of those duties both in my t-l role and as a classroom teacher.
VSL could provide teachers with a great tool for learning and provide t-ls with a fantastic opportunity to become a mentor and provide informal PD for teachers who can sometimes be resistant to it.
That's what I think about Virtual School Libraries. Katie
P.S. Here is a link to another great VSL.
At the beginning of this course we heard a list of Web 2.0 tools in Joyce Valenza’s podcast. I mentioned that I had heard of all of them, but that was about it. Virtual school libraries were one of those mysterious tools that I had heard about, but didn’t know much about. In my mind I thought they were websites with lists of e-books or maybe even a new, fancy name for an iPAC. I wasn’t really sure. I was pleasantly surprised when I did some investigating and found out exactly what they were!
So, what exactly is a Virtual School Library. I put this term into my Google search engine and I found a number of site, but one seemed to sum up or define it in terms that seemed to make sense to me:
“This information on this site will be useful to teachers, teacher-librarians, administrators, and students as they incorporate information technology into the curriculum in their schools. Tips and guides for search engines and power searching should make your Internet searching more productive. The Computers in Education section deals with some of the current issues in technology integration in the curriculum: plagiarism, intellectual property and copyright, Internet addiction, and girls and computers. You will also find lesson plans for K-12 sites, and local education links. The WebQuest page contains both theory and relevant WebQuest curriculum links. The Virtual School Library was designed for secondary students to be their home reference library.” Holly Gunn- Halifax Regional School Board
I really liked how Gunn summed up all of the information that I had been reading on various sites. Some sites differed- some were more student-oriented and some were for teachers, but they all seemed to have similar qualities. Most of the sites I looked at had tips on using search engines effectively, access to an iPAC, copyright and plagiarism information, citation instructions and information, and access to useful links. Some sites were very plain and to the point, like the Birch Lane website and others were very eye catching and had extra information, like Joyce Valenza’s site. I think that both would be useful to the average student or teacher.
Implications for Teaching
I have found the research for this blog post very useful for not only the assignment, but for my own school library. I am currently entering a period of great change in my library. Starting on Monday, I will be having a whole new LAS installed- the data conversion has taken place and the IT guys are going to be over to install the new system. I think that people think that I am a bit strange because I’m like a kid at Christmas!! I really hate my current system (Library World) and I’m very excited to get my new program (L4U). I was on the committee that helped chose the new program for the whole division, so I also feel very involved and a bit like I have some ownership of this choice. This will be the first time that I will have an iPAC available for students and teachers to use and I’m very excited.
I have also joined forces with one of the Information Processing teachers to design a new library website. We are going to have two sections of IP create a version of the website and I will choose one to have as the official site. I will be in her classroom on Monday or Tuesday to present my information to her students so they can get started. It kills two birds with one stone because I don’t have the time to create a whole site from scratch and the teacher was complaining that the students take so long to come up with an idea or subject for their websites- problem solved.
I did have the whole thing somewhat built in my mind, but after seeing these Virtual School Libraries, I think that I am going to have to sit down tonight and rethink what I want. I am more inclined to create more of a virtual library than just another website. I want to go through many of the examples and see what I would like to include on my site. One site that I really admire is Angela Langadar’s VSL. It appears to have been designed as an assignment for EDES 545 and I have been a classmate of Angela in my last course and admire her input and ideas. I would encourage everyone who is interested in creating their own VSL to have a look at Angela’s site.
Professional Development
The whole idea of a Virtual School Library is wonderful, but it will only take off if teachers buy into the concept and use it. I am currently involved with a group of t-ls from my division who are trying to create a PD presentation for teachers on effective resource-based learning and to provide them with ideas and tools they can use with their students. If I am able to have the VSL ready in time, I would also like to be able to include it with our information and encourage teachers to have their students use it for their research projects. In Janet Murray’s article “Teachers Teach; Teachers Learn” she talks about strategies for PD within the school and I particularly like the idea of becoming a teacher-mentor. She states the qualities needed for a teacher-mentor:
“Effective technology instructors serve as mentors to those they teach. Ideal mentors have very specific characteristics, abilities and personality traits:
They should be peers of those they are training, i.e. classroom teachers or building library/media specialists.
They should be effective teachers, capable of "translating" technical information into language which can be readily understood by novices.
They should be patient tutors able to provide over-the-shoulder training without succumbing to the temptation to take over the keyboard.
They should be available by telephone or fax for followup questions, and promptly responsive to those questions.”
I think that many t-ls would be performing these duties already, without even knowing it. I would like to think that I do all four of those duties both in my t-l role and as a classroom teacher.
VSL could provide teachers with a great tool for learning and provide t-ls with a fantastic opportunity to become a mentor and provide informal PD for teachers who can sometimes be resistant to it.
That's what I think about Virtual School Libraries. Katie
P.S. Here is a link to another great VSL.
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