Digital Booktalk

I exerted a good deal of effort in creating my digital booktalk. Initially, I spent a few days deciding what book I wanted to do. I ended up changing my book choice because I read this book with the little boy that I babysit and thought it had beautiful illustrations. I also loved the poetry format and felt that many children would love to read this book. The other book was a chapter book, so there were no pictures to share. I then decided to use iMovie, which I had never used before. First, I took pictures from the book and imported them into iMovie. Then, I had to re-read the book and write down a brief synopsis for each image. I then used the microphone on my computer to record these as voiceovers to go with each illustration. I had also never tried this before, and I had to adjust some settings to make it sound clear. It took me the longest time to do this part. Once I did a few, however, it was not too difficult. Last, I added music from iTunes, and it took awhile to find a song that was a good length and also matched my book. I had to adjust the length of some images in order for the song to not get cut off at the end, but it was simple to do. Overall, I was surprised to learn that iMovie is fairly easy to navigate. I enjoyed the process of creating my book, even thought I spent several hours on this assignment in order to complete it. I think it will be much faster in the future because I am not familiar with the tools it offers.

I thought that this was valuable because it allowed me to learn how to use a new program, iMovie. I am a new Mac user, so it is great that I could complete an assignment and learn more about the programs on my computer. Further, I was proud of myself for conquering a new program without any help. This assignment helped to increase my level of confidence in using (and comfort with) technology. Last, this is a great resource for my future classroom. I will definitely use this program again for other projects besides booktalks. Of course, I could also use this program to create other digital booktalks in order to get students excited about books that they will be reading.

This assignment impacts my future teaching because again, it has introduced me to another resource that I could utilize in the classroom. I shared my completed project with my roommates, and they were very engaged as they viewed it. I believe that my students would be too. Having a book presented in this format, with music, voice, and images, rather than me simply talking about a book, makes the book seem more enticing and exciting to read! Additionally, I would definitely let students use iMovie in order to create their own booktalks or other projects in my classroom. It is hands-on and fun, so it allows students to have a meaningful learning opportunity with technology. After each subsequent assignment, I am becoming more and more excited about incorporating technology into my classroom.

Site Credibility

Students often do not understand what distinguishes a credible website from a non-credible website. I remember that I often had difficulty with this in school, because my teachers did not have us practice nor gave us any guidelines as to what made a site credible. They just assumed that we would realize if one was not. Unfortunately, that is not the case. That being said, having us review several sites allowed me to think about what we should truly look for when selecting a site. On the sites, I found that they lacked references, had contradicting statements, tried to market a certain viewpoint, sell things, and more. My students need to know that before attempting to gather research, one must determine credibility. I will use sites such as these, as well as credible websites, and explore them with students. I will let them do some exploration on their own and then discuss the process of site verification with students. To do that, I feel that they need a list of a few simple questions that they can easily remember to ask themselves while reviewing a site. These include:

1. Is there a reference page? Can these sources be checked?

2. Is the author credible? (Where does it show that he or she has the authority to publish this information? Is there any contact information? Is the author associated with an organization that has authority?)

3. Is there a copyright date listed? Is it recent?

4. Does the content sound like fact or opinion? (Does it seem biased? Are they trying to sell something to you?)

5. Does is appear professional? (Do they use proper spelling and grammar? Do they write in a formal manner, or do they make jokes or have silly/strange comments?)

6. What is the extension: .edu, .com, .org, etc? What can this tell us about the site? (Students need to know what each of those mean and what they may entail.)

This can be remembered by the acronyms ACE CAR.

A (appearance)

C (content)

E (extension)

C (copyright)

A (author)

R (references)

By using this approach, each of the example sites given to us in class would have be determined to be not credible due to at least one of the 6 reasons.

Chapter 2 Reflection

This reading made me really think about how essential online search tools have become to education. I complete searches online daily, yet I have no idea how they work. Prior to reading this chapter, I in fact had no idea that there were two types of search tools (search engines and directories). I am now more likely to use a database, as what I need may be part of the “invisible web”. I knew that Google was very popular (I use it several times a day) but was interested to hear that the word “google” has now been added as a term in some dictionaries. It just shows how big of a role it plays in many of our lives: After all, when we don’t know something, we often say that we will “google it”. Additionally, I had never considered the fact that researching is pointless unless it is used intentionally. The book specifically stated that merely asking students to find some type of information on the web will probably not lead to learning (p. 15). I feel like that may be why I am not always successful when completing searches for information for a project or paper. Instead, I feel that it would be more beneficial to utilize the 4-step method suggested -- planning, using strategies to search, evaluating websites, and triangulating sources. Something else I began to think about while reading this chapter was how some words may be blocked by filtering software because they may be inappropriate in certain contexts. This is definitely problematic and can take away from the student’s learning experience. I am a proponent of filtering software, but after reading I agree that at some point, students need to learn to filter material for themselves. The problem is that parents will likely not agree to this, and I also do not want my students to look at explicit material, whether purposely or accidentally.

This chapter impacts me as a future teacher because searching the web is something that my students are going to need to be able to do to be successful in this day and age. When I teach students to search the web, I will have them use the 4-step method. I will make sure they are able to use search tools to solve actual problems and answer questions, not just to learn how to search using a random and meaningless term as I was taught. Students need to be able to determine if a site is relevant and credible, but I now realize that they would learn much more if they were actually evaluating a site that they needed to answer a question or solve a problem for instance. The idea of triangulating the search is a great rule of thumb that students can use to verify sources. I also now think that I will design an online survey for students to complete to get to know them at the beginning of the year. They could also design surveys for a project or use them to learn to record/analyze data and to create graphs in math. I had also never considered using handhelds and GPS systems in the classroom, and I am now interested in learning more about how these can contribute to more meaningful learning. The activities suggested in the book are ones that I think would be enjoyable for students in my future class. WebQuests are also something that I want to have students complete in my class because I believe they can surely assist students in becoming self-directed learners.

Second Class Exit Slip

Today I learned about several new programs/websites inlcuding Prezi, TeacherTube, and Glogster. Prior to class, I had never heard about any of these websites. Again, I am realizing how technology is becoming more and more accessible to teachers for free over the internet, and how many things are available yet unknown to many teachers. I also realized how important it is to keep up with new technologies in order to keep kids engaged in the classroom, as well as the importance of simply talking to kids about dangers of the internet and social networking. I am also aware of the challenges that I will face this semester as I learn to use several new programs. I liked the presentation and am more interested in learning about tools such as the clickers because I have never seen them used in class or used them myself. I think there is a whole world of technology out there of which I am not aware.

"Growing Up Online" Reflection

Although I know that technology plays such a central role in many of our lives. I think we tend to not realize how much it truly dominates society, especially the lives of teens. To them, having a social life that takes place over the internet is completely normal – even socializing with people they have never met! After viewing this movie, I realized that teens don’t understand the gravity of their actions while online. Mainly, I realized how dangerous technology can be to teens and how “essential” technologies like the internet seem to their everyday lives. Being a teenager is difficult, and the fact that teens are now using the internet as a way to develop an alternative persona by taking graphic pictures of themselves for example is truly an unsafe way for them to grow. It seems to satisfy their need for attention and helps to boost their self-confidence, but the attention they are getting is inappropriate. I was not surprised that one girl sent a picture of herself to a guy online, but more concerned that she felt it was “just a picture”. I was surprised however, that she had a relationship with a classmate online and did not even talk to him in person. That would never have happened in the past – and to hear her talk about it made me realize how strange it is. Additionally, it scares me that teens in the video used the internet to find information about suicide and how to become anorexic. The internet seems to have a greater influence on them than their own parents – after all, many of the teens interviewed said that their parents had no idea about their internet life. Social networking sites can truly cause more conflict due to personal information being so public; however they are great ways to communicate with friends. The other drawback is that we tend to get addicted. This video made me realize that all too often, teens are playing on the internet instead of spending time with family or working on other hobbies or physical activities.

I think students are aware of predators (most students realized when someone could be unsafe, as shown in the video) but they do not realize other potential dangers on the internet. As a teacher, I will make my students aware of these by showing them real-life examples. They also need to know that there is a lot of inconsistent, incorrect, and dangerous information out there. Teens need to her stories such as that of the boy who killed himself and got help from an online website. Ideally, they need to know that many things they post on the internet (especially social networking sites) can give off a wrong impression or cause trouble that can have unforeseen consequences. Again, they need to be shown examples of this. Basically, students need to be taught guidelines for social networking in addition to when a site is safe or not, etc. I will also encourage my students to share with me what technologies they use and why (although they may not be completely honest). They could conduct research studies of sites in class and discuss which are safe. Mainly, I will encourage my students to use things like social networking to communicate with me and other students about topics in a positive manner (such as a classroom discussion site that is required for participation points). I am going to use technology that interests students and keeps them engaged, but also have them do activities that do not require the internet or computers. They must be able to function without them!

Preface/Chapter 1 Reflection

Prior to reading these chapters, I had never considered how prominent technology truly is in teaching and learning. I use my computer, camera, phone, ipod, and other items daily for school or work (I teach dance classes). Ever since I was in elementary school in New Jersey, when we used computers to play math games, I realized that technology has been infused into the curriculum. While reading, I began to think back on all the different types of technology that I have been exposed to at school and realized that there are a huge number of them. I also was amazed to read that technology can contribute to causal, analogical, expressive, and experiential thinking as well as problem solving. That alone makes technology a vital aspect of education. Similarly, I really liked how the book states that we must learn with technology, not from it. To me, that means having students use computers to create projects and do research rather than have them sit and watch as the teacher reads a powerpoint to the class. It makes sense that the former would result in more learning for students. It is definitely more engaging and teaches students to become independent learners rather that relying on the teacher to supply information to be learned.

What impacted me the most from this reading (that will impact my teaching) was the idea that teachers need to give up some authority in the classroom. The idea scares me a little bit, because I am not sure how much authority a teacher would have in some classrooms if only serving as a “coach”. As a student myself, I enjoyed having the teacher directly convey knowledge some of the time. However, the reading has made me consider how I would get students to take more of a teacher role themselves, such as by sharing methods and developing ideas on their own. I also noted how the book states that learning how to take a standardized test does not lead to meaningful learning. I believe that standardized testing is important, but I wonder how much knowledge it actually measures. Many students become good at selecting choices that may look more correct in order to score high, yet have no idea how to complete the problems. Many probably could not explain how they got their answers or why they used the method that they used. As a teacher, I will make sure NOT to teach to the test, but to teach my students how to think and use technology in order to do well on these tests. The job of a school is to give students the tools they need to succeed in life, so I realize that having problem-based lessons and using technologies to develop understanding is far better than bubbling in answer choices. Lessons and topics need to be connected to real-life experiences or students will not be able to transfer them. Another idea that I will use is combining many standards into one large project. The constructivist approach seems like it would take longer to cover a specific standard, so being able to combine them frees up time to focus on one more in depth project, rather than many small assignments that will soon be forgotten. I agree that overall, a large, combined, standards-based activity that engages students at many cognitive levels will result in much more learning.

Digital Autobiography Reflection

I put a lot of effort into creating my digital autobiography. First, it took me a few days to decide on a topic. Once I decided on a topic, I chose to use animoto.com because I enjoyed Jeff’s presentation that was shared in class. Upon starting my project, I found the Animoto website very simple to navigate. The video-making process was step-by-step and had detailed directions (which I needed because I do not have much experience making digital movies). The only drawback was that I could not figure out how to change the font styles/colors and the way in which the pictures would change from one to another. I am not sure if that is possible on the site though – I spent several minutes looking but decided I liked the default settings. I found a perfect song to fit my theme from the clips available, so I did not have to worry about uploading a file and making sure it was in the right format. The hardest part of this assignment was to select such a limited number of pictures to include. This took me a decent amount of time because I have an entire scrapbook of pictures from the trip – probably around 200 – and with only 30 seconds in which to display pictures, I had to somehow condense my content but still share the important parts of the trip. Additionally, I didn’t realize that the text displays would take up so much time on my movie. I had to create four different versions of the video to make it work properly, which was a little bit frustrating and time consuming. The first time, I had too many text slides and pictures, so the end was cut off. The second time, I liked it, but felt that the pictures went too fast. The third time, it went quickly through the first set of pictures and slowly through the second set. That seemed inconsistent to me, so I was not satisfied. The fourth time, I did not like how the pictures changed from one to another. I ended up using the second version.

Overall, I enjoyed this project and feel that this helped me to learn about a new site for creating digital slideshows. It was really valuable because it exposed me to the newest form of digital movie-making and how it is now tied in to social networking. Prior to this activity, I had only used Windows Movie Maker. I liked being exposed to a site where I could easily make videos to share with friends and family. I actually shared the video with my parents, sister, and the friends with whom I went to Europe. I simply sent them a link on Facebook – I never knew that I could make and share a digital move so simply! This assignment impacts my future teaching because it made me realize how far technology has come since I was in elementary and even high school. It made me understand that it is important to keep up with new technologies in my classroom because they are constantly evolving and continue to get better and better. I am likely to use this site again, possibly even in my classroom. I think that students in upper elementary grades and up could create a video such as this as part of a getting-to-know-you activity at the start of the year, similar to what we are doing in class.