Voicethread

So... I created a Voicethread slideshow last night. I did mine on the American Revolution, a basic 10 slide timeline... real basic. I found the software very easy to use. It only took me a few minutes to look it over and figure out how to use is. After finding out you could not add music I decided I would find some appropriate music for the slideshow and just play it through my laptop speakers as I spoke the audio into the mic. It worked brilliantly. I did it almost the same way I added music to the audio of my digital story/documentary. I just played music on my laptop while I recorded my voice onto my mp3 player’s voice recorder. Then I uploaded it to windows movie maker as one audio file. This, in my opinion, was a step backwards after using windows movie maker. Voicethread has simpler, more primitive interface and in turn produces a simpler, more primitive product. On the other hand, this is something that you could teach elementary school children and have confidence they will be able to produce a quick, concise product. As this is with everything else I am learning in this class… it is something to add to the mental rolodex of technology that is currently at our fingertips.

WoW Project & Digital Literacy

This past weekend I began researching my WoW Project: the Use of Digital Video and Media to Enhance Literacy Learning. Now, immediately upon getting started on my research I came across an interesting situation. Many search results were returning webpages and articles pertaining to digital literacy which is something completely different. But then it got me thinking… was it something completely different? I began wondering if one could exist without the other. Wouldn’t you need a certain level of digital literacy to grasp and appreciate using digital media and video as a teacher? As a student? Digital literacy is defined as the ability to locate, organize, understand, evaluate, and analyze information using digital technology. It involves a working knowledge of current high-technology, and an understanding of how it can be used. Digitally literate people can communicate and work more efficiently, especially with those who possess the same knowledge and skills. Now, I don’t think we are asking our students to be experts but I do believe that, as educators, it is our responsibility to get educated and become digitally literate. Dr. Smirnova made an interesting comment during last weekend’s Classrooms Without Walls literacy conference. The conference was being viewed all over the world and Dr. S asked us to give our thoughts to the viewing audience about the technologies we discussed and many of us commented that this and that technology and program was the future. This prompted Dr. S to reply that many of us pointed out that it was the future and then asked us, “Is it not now?” We kind of looked around at each other saying, “Hmm. You know what? It is now.” It is difficult to consider yourself a fore-runner because it carries historic and significant connotations. The global classroom movement going on across the world right now is in its infancy. The technology can be buggy and non-cooperative at times and other times it works like a dream. It is our responsibility, especially as educators, to become as digitally literate as possible. For all the students who can run technological circles around us there will always be ones who do not have the means or advantages to do so.

Engrade...WOW!

What a site! I have friends who teach and have created “class” websites and that’s great if you are a savvy web builder/designer. If you are not, Engrade is your new best friend. I was incredibly impressed with the site after spending only a few minutes with it. I am not currently teaching, I do substitute, so I created an imaginary class just to get started on the site so I could play around with it. The interface is smooth and slick. I didn’t have any problems getting started. I created some imaginary assignments like timelines and quizzes and such so that I could see the grading section in action. The graphing capabilities are a cool feature. The left side taskbar has some great options: attendance speaks for itself; a discussion forum is a great and potentially necessary tool. Calendar, comments, seating chart and reading list are all available in the taskbar… all ready to enhance your website beyond just classroom meetings and teachings. Lastly, the apps section is tremendous. It lets you know that you should allot at least 20 minutes to create and offers a plethora…yes, a plethora of opportunities. It can contain multiple pages including video, PowerPoint, image, quiz and more. It recommends always adding a review quiz on the last page which, in my opinion, may not necessarily always be graded but can account as CFU. To boot, your lessons will be seen around the world so be sure to have creative, descriptive and Specific titles. Engrade recommends using, for example, “Butterfly Migrations” as opposed to something specific only to your class like “Chapter 3 or Unit 4.” This site offers a wealth of opportunity and its slick, inviting interface will guarantee you will not be spending hours setting it all up. This is, without a doubt, a site I will be using when I have my own classroom.

And here is a copy of my rubric for my WoW Project (that i forgot to upload when I submitted the Engrade assignment, Sorry Dr. S.)

My Digital Story/Documentary

This Digital Story/Documentary, the Redemption of Titletown, is as much a story of my love of the Green Bay Packers as it is of a project that was meant to be simple and kind of took on a life of its own. In my opinion, this documentary is loaded with “emotional appeal with STRONG use of imagery” but some Steelers or Bears fans may have a different opinion. I used Windows Movie Maker because the program Dr. Smirnova recommended was not compatible with Windows 7. I found Movie Maker simple and easy to use. I didn’t use many effects but I have a feeling I will use Movie Maker again. I toyed around with a lot of them on different frames but was not too thrilled with them in the end. There were only a few that I felt were truly practical. It’s easy to use and great for editing family movies and photos as well as school projects and teaching tools. I would definitely use it again for other video products. It affords you the opportunity to put out professional quality products and allows you to publish in full 1080p HD. Being that Windows Movie maker is a Microsoft product and saves in .wmv form, it is best viewed using Windows Media Player but this is uploaded to YouTube so you don't need to worry about that. It is available in high def if you care. I hope you dig it.

The Return of the Automation Foundation!

The Automation Foundation is back with two more projects to add to our resume. Both required in-depth research, analysis and teamwork. The first presentation we put together was on the subject of Internet Safety. We completed a Webquest as certain characters which we used as springboards as to what we would be bringing to the presentation. I researched and presented on the pitfalls of chat rooms. Looking back, I don’t particularly care for PowerPoint’s. I feel like they are a dinosaur in a world of technology that is sprinting right past them. I understand that there is a lot you can do with a PowerPoint and maybe I haven’t given the program a fair shake but I feel like it has many drawbacks as well. Web based presentations are more easily shared with colleagues who don’t have to be tied down by a specific Microsoft file type. Google has honestly revolutionized PowerPoints with it’s Doc’s application. The ability to have one collective document that many people can edit is both amazing and productive. The second presentation revolved around Constructivism. This was an in-depth research based presentation that required a 5E Science Lesson Plan attached. This presentation we decided we would create on Google Docs so that everyone could easily access it through Gmail. Once it was completed we decided to share it via SlideShare as per the “high achiever” instructions. Again, the outcome is a matter of preference. It looks less busy and sleeker when viewing on full screen in SlideShare. I recommend giving it a try to see how you like it.

My Digital Footprint

It’s funny. Considering how much time I spend on the web… I live fairly anonymously. Googling my full name brings no results for until page 5 which is where my WDYDWYD profile appears. I would need to add more detailed information to my name in order to pull up specific information. By entering in my screen name dbarry1917 I began to see more results specific to me. A number of YouTube videos that I uploaded popped up as well. I like to video some songs when I go to concerts and have a lot of videos of my daughter that I upload for friends and family to watch. My screen name search also returned some of my Automation Foundation work.

Letterpop & an Event Poster

Letterpop, Letterpop, Letterpop… Where do I begin? Now, Letterpop looks really simple and it is. But underneath that simplicity lays some disturbances that just irk me. Multiple times I lost what I had typed and was never able to figure out how to access the editing bar once I had typed past the allotted view. There were a few other things about it that rubbed me the wrong way for such a simple program but I would like to get into what I did like about it. I will just say that I now understand why these are the high achievers projects. Ha! I really liked the look of the completed newsletters. There is a spectacular assortment of templates to choose from and the finished products have this smart, sleek look to them. The Event Poster I thought was cool. I decided to have a little fun with it and created a Beatles concert poster for a fictional 1963 concert in the Mount St Mary Auditorium.

Welcome to the World of Blogger

Internet Safety in the 21st Century

Event Poster – Beatles @ MSMC ‘63

Welcome to the Automation Foundation

Creating our group projects has been a blast! My group is extremely laid back (sometimes to a fault) but we brainstorm well, laugh a lot and the projects always get done. The business card was fun and I thought all the groups came up with snazzy team names... all very clever. We went with a robot theme and incorporated it into a few of our projects. That was fun. The business card was easy because pbworks is a site we have become familiar with over the years with Dr. Smirnova. Personally, I love its ease but I do not enjoy its appearance at all. We decided to use a wiki site for our Teacher's Tool-Kit and the results were significantly more satisfying. The appearance and color schemes looked great and it just looked like a more streamlined site. I will definitely use it again in the future.

Time to Catch Up on Some Blogs!

So, this semester has had no shortage of work and keeping up on my blogs has been one of the things that have, unfortunately, fallen through the cracks. March has slipped away from me so I will now attempt to jump back in feet first, backtrack and get this tech blog running full steam ahead...