Teaching with Digital Images (Ch 5)

This was another helpful chapter out this book. This chapter focused on why we should use digital images in education. First the author began by citing a study by National Standards for ArtEducation that found students not only need to learn to communicate verbally, but they should also learn how to process information visually. The author also reminds us how images are significantly important in memory and imagination, which of course are key in education. The author illustrates the importance of images by showing two pictures that convey the same story, but they use different artistic elements in order to get there. I like that this shows how you can express two different feeling about the same story simply by using pictures, I think this is an important concept for students to grasp through education. Byincorporatig the arts students give moreo of themselves than the normally would in the general subject areas. I liked the quote the author used byEric Jensen "Good learning does not avoid emotions, it embraces them." this was a pretty nice quote since he is who we are studying in our brain based learning class. I definitely agree with him. I think students will learn more easily if they are emotionally connected to the material they are learning. The author then discussed several reasons why teachers should do storytelling with digital images, which include: humanistic, cross-disciplinary, cross-cultural, multisensory multimodal, constructivist, and memory and narrative. There are too many positives to not include digital images into the educational environment. It can really only serve to enhance your classroom.

Teaching with Wikis, Blogs, Podcasts, and More (Ch 3)

This chapter focused on teachers can appropriately incorporate interactive whiteboards into their classrooms. This is rather valuable, because I think teachers often have the technology in their classrooms, but they are not quite sure how to use it. The book first suggests to simply acquaint your students with the interactive whiteboard. This can be done by having students give presentations using the whiteboard. I thought this was a good way to instruct students on the interactives use, while at the same time supporting other subject areas through the presentation. Next the chapter gave a list of uses for the classroom. They listed multimedia presentations, video, notes, critical thinking, and special needs students. The first three options I was fairly familiar with , but I don't believe i would have thought of the last two onmy own. The author suggest using an outline to organize a classroom brainstorming session. The teacher can then use concept mapping software and graphic organizers to better present the information. I thought this was a really great idea that will help to engage the students in the learning process. The author also discussed how the interactive board is capable of producing larger fonts and brighter colors, so it would accommodate some vision impaired students. I really like the fact that technology can help to better our special needs students. It truly is a great tool to use for ALL students in the classroom. The whiteboard can also be used for a number of classroom response systems, such as : taking attendance, student feedback, classroom voting, student surveys, etc. This chapter was full of helpful suggestions to help better employ the interactive whiteboard into the classroom!

Teaching with Digital Images (Ch 4)

This was a good chapter to support the book, Copyright Clarity, that we are reading and focusing on this week in class. The firs topic that was discussed was Fair Use in the classroom. It quotes section 107 of the 1976 Copyright Act " the fair use of copyrighted work, including such use by reproduction...for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching...scholarship, or research, is not infringement of copyright". This supports the fact that teachers and students can legally use copyrighted material without an author's expressed permission as long as It falls under the aforementioned guidelines. In order to be eligible for this there are four factors that should be considered: purpose of use, nature of the work, amount used, and effect on the market. In order for teachers or students to be able to use copyrighted material they must first ensure that the meet the guidelines set up by those four factors. The next issue discussed was Creative Commons as a classroom resource. Creative Commons is something of a middle ground. While it protects the rights of creators, it also still allows for some educational uses. It can be used to search through images, music, and text that can be used in the classroom without permission. I believe this is a great resource for teachers! The final topic to be discussed is public domain. When copyright has expired it will automatically be made a liable for public use. I thought this chapter provided a variety of ways that teachers can find media material to use without breaking the law. This text was very informative, especially for educators that have not had formal training in the topic.

Teaching with Digital Images(Ch 2)

This chapter focused on how classroom teachers can incorporate digital photography into their everyday lessons. It started of with a section instructing teachers as to how they should select a digital camera. It is important for teachers to do their research before buying a digital camera. They should decide of what features are Needed to support the goals of its use in the classroom. The next important topic in the chapter discussed megapixels, file size, and resolution. The author does a good Jon for defining these terms for someone who may not be familiar with them. It theme discusses he use of megapixels. It explains that depending how you plan on sharing your photos can effect how many megapixels you will need to use. There is a very helpful easy to read table included that illustrates this. It also discussed the proper format for saving files.i found this helpful, since I sometimes get confused as to what format to save my images under.i generally used JPEG, but I now know when saving higher quality materials that I can save it under the format TIFF. The author then discusses how the teacher should organize their photos on the computer. It is easiest to do this through the use of albums, since the computer will generally number the photos for you. Also, when you use an album program there is generally some minimal editing software, which is great to use with students. The author then transitions to discussing how to introduce students to digital photography. He basically stressed to give the students basic instructions to get them. Omfortable With the new technology. Then it would be a good idea to introduce increasingly complex skills do they can ultimately be the best photographer they can be. I really like this idea. It is quite practical for the classroom. It then gave an idea to do a photographic scavenger Huntley this would be a fun idea , because it would engage students, while also honing their photography skills. This was quite a helpful chapter!

SAFE Internet Safety Activities Ch. 1

The first chapter in this book discussed Internet safety, and it contained a unit for either a kindergarten or first grade classroom. I really enjoyed reading through this chapter, because there was a plethora of good ideas and activities to be implemented in the classroom. The unit begins by stating the overarching goal for they unit, which is " learners will begin to develop an understanding of the need to make responsible choices, beginning with always having an adult's help when going online to ensure personal safety". This UBS an excellent beginning point for such a young age group. Safety, at this point, is much more valuable than skills on the computer. This unit would also takes time to discuss pre and post assessments, which take the form of an online quiz. I think this will help to get the students acclimated to computer use, while also testing their knowledge of Internet safety. It also make suggestions as to implementation options, so teachers can choose whether they would like to present this unit in whole group, small group, or semi- self- guided. This is really nice to have as a teacher, because it allows you decide which option will work best for your classroom. This unit is also helpful for teachers because it so well laid out and goes very in depth as far as details. IT would be completely plausible for a teacher to teach straight from this text. As I read through the activities I was ablet to see that these activities would've both engaging and developmentally appropriate for these young primary grades. I particularly enjoyed the Fish Swim Together activity. This activity compares the students' physical community to the cyberspace community. I think this would give the students a better understanding of the cyberspace community because they are able to associate it with something they have prior knowledge of. At the close of the chapter there are printable for each activity enclosed, which would be another major help to the teacher. Overall, I thought this was a quite a helpful book.

Adam Hotchkiss

I really enjoyed Mr. Hotchkiss' presentation. He began by detailing the importance of planning out the use of technology to reach and meet the goals of the student and the school. He discussed how it is important to look at what you are going to need to fulfill your plan. He said to look at financial and human resources that you will need to fulfill your plan. He also placed heavy importance of knowing where your teachers are in regards to technology knowledge, so you re able to train and assist those who need it. In order to do all of this a budget must be set in place. He talked about trying to gain grants, donations, or gifts from family in order to supplement budget. This is something I have heard quite a bit lately. There are a wide array of grants available out there for teachers and technology facilitators as well, so that is definitely something I will keep in mind in the coming years. He then began to talk about gaining the products. Something I found important was the topic of warranty. He suggested getting a warranty that allows the manufacturer to fix the product. I like this ide, because I only from personal experience that technology fails and always requires maintenance. Lastly he discussed forming policies. I agree with Mr. Hotchkiss in that policies must be put into place so students and faculty will be using the technology and it provides a legal document to hold them accountable. It's always good to cover all of your bases to protect yourself. I thought Mr. Hotchkiss' presentation was quite valuable and informative.

Polly Brake

      I enjoyed Mrs. Brake's presentation on being a technology coordinator. I can tell she is truly passionate about the job she is doing and this is always a positive thing to hear! You could tell this by her urging us to soak up all learning experiences, such as seminar, webinars, classes, books, etc. A good teacher never stops learning. It really struck me when she was talking about offering technology classes to the teachers and faculty at her schools that no one was interested enough to attend her classes. I think it was a smart thing for her to begin offering incentives in order to boost attendance, but it really bothered me that the teachers at her school were so disinterested in technology and had such a negative attitude toward allotting time for learning and personal development. At the school I am teaching in now learning opportunities are viewed in a positive light and are something to look forward to. I can attribute this to the positive supportive administration, but also to the teachers desire to further their teaching skills. Our technological world is changing everyday, and I think it is our job as educators to stay up to date on the latest technology so we can then teach it to our students. I was also really pleased to see in Mrs. Brake' presentation that she offers a variety of resources to the staff at her school. Having such resources can really help and support teachers who may not be as technologically aware. Overall I thought this was a very helpful and informative presentation.

Web 2.0: Making the web work for you (Unit B: finding media for projects)

      This book is a really great tool for teachers in incorporating web 2.0 tools in the classroom. The chapter begins by helping the instructor to better understand copyright. It discusses the purpose of copyright by explaining that the majority of parts consist of originality, fixation, and expression. As a teacher who plan on using a variety of multimedia in my classroom, I was glad that the chapter broke down copyright, so I know how to properly use it in my classroom. There is even a chart that breaks down uses into fair use and unlikely fair use. This is extremely helpful. It even introduces the website www.creativecommons.com to the instructor so they may license their own work easily by breaking down each step in the process.
      The chapter then goes on to assist the instructor in finding images. The author chooses to use Flickr as his means of finding images, so he instructs the teacher to go to flickr and make or sign into their account. Then to use the explore list and creative commons in order to view a variety of license types. Then he instructs the teacher to choose the attribution-only CC license, which will then bring up the one hundred most recent photos with that license. You can also search for whatever you would like, and you can limit the license type by using the advanced search feature. I really liked how they broke this down. While I am familiar with searching for images, I am not as familiar with searching for photos with particular licenses.
      The chapter then proceeds to finding video. It instructs the teacher to go to www.archive.org, which contains a collection of a variety of video clips. You can then search the site using key words for the type of clip you need. You can then view and download any clip that you deem as useful for you classroom. I had not previously heard of this website, so I was excited to gain another useful tool to use as a teacher.
      Next the author goes into detail of how to find music. This time he uses www.jamendo.com to find audio clips. You can take a tour of the site to help you better understand what you are looking for. You may then listen and download any track you like. Again I had not previously heard of this site. This was an extremely helpful site, especially to teachers who may not be very familiar with technology.

Getting the Most Out of Your Interactive White Board (Chapter 6: Students Examine and Create)

      I chose to do chapter six in this book, Getting the Most Out of Your Interactive Whiteboard, because I think it is extremely beneficial to have students both explore and examine quality work form both their peers and other professionals. This is something that can be easily accomplished when using an interactive whiteboard. Allowing students to view models of good work will help them to develop an understanding of what good work looks like. One way the book suggested this could be done is through the use of the Notebook software. A sample can be brought up on the board and students can then underline or highlight what is being studies, i.e. parts of speech, hyperbole, transtion words, etc.
      Another useful way to incorporate the interactive white board is for students to present their own learning to both the class and teacher. Using the whiteboard students can present their work to an audience which also helps reinforce public speaking skills as well as being an accurate representation of what the child has learned. Children can use sites such as blogs, wiki dot, classchatter, etc. All of these can be accessed through the internet browser and shared with the entire class. As a teacher I really like this idea, because it allows the classroom to be student-centered while also allowing the teacher to see what exactly the students have learned.
      Another way is to have students produce input into their assessments.Firstly, students can be involved in the assessment design process. The books suggests to ask the students to discuss in small group what could be good ideas for indicators on a rubric, such as proper blog writing. The teachers can record groups responses on the white board. A rubric can then be created. The teachers can also share each class' ideas to share with other class, so it is a good point of reference to be able to save on the whiteboard.I really liked this idea, because I know that when I was in high school I would have really liked to have a say in what my assessment would be. I think it would have helped me to take more ownership and also have a better understanding as to what would be expected in the assessment.
    
      

Teaching with Wikis, Blogs, Podcasts, and More (Chapter 6: Audio)

      This book, Teaching with Wikis, Blogs, Podcasts, and More, is a really great technology idea book for grades three and up. I read chapter six, which focused on ways to incorporate audio technology into the classroom.
      The first suggestion the book had was to have the students create their own podcasts. It gives step by step instructions of how to accomplish this. This was incredibly informative for me, since I have never attempted to make my own podcast. I think this would be a useful tool to use in the classroom for things such as giving a report or making a presentation, however I think finding the time to spend on a podcast would be quite difficult.
      This chapter also spent time discussing how to incorporate MP3s into the classroom learning environment. It suggested that using MP3 players allows students work individually on a myriad of different project, however I think it would make it difficult to tell if the students were actually working on a project or listening to music. Unless a class set could be purchased in which the teacher could control what is is on the player, it might not be the best idea. The book suggested a variety of way to use MP3s, such as downloading famous speeches, music lessons, foreign language podcast, and students could even read and record their own writings. As I said previously, if a class set of MP3 players are possible these would all be very valuable resources to integrate into the classroom.