Voki

   What is Voki?

Voki is a FREE service that lets you:

• Create customized avatars.


• Add voice to your Voki avatars.
• Post your Voki to any blog, website,  or profile.

• Take advantage of Voki's learning resources. 

Watch the "Voki" below, make an account and create one for yourself! I enjoyed creating an avatar for others to see. You can choose from the style and color of hair to the outfit and jewelry you want your avatar to wear! So, how can I use this in my classroom you may ask?

Classroom:

• Motivate students to participate
• Students will become intrigued and excited to use this technology tool! They can design and become creative when creating their own speaking avatars. 
• Improve message comprehension
• Various options to have your avatar convey a message: Microphone, type a message, phone call and more! Students can record a message and share it with the rest of their classmates!
• Introduce technology in a fun way
• Super easy and fun! Giving students an opportunity to play around with Voki will allow them to see the many features it offers
• Utilize Voki as an effective language tool

Voki
Click here to create your own Voki!

Where the rain meets forest

     Here is my first digital story! Creating a digital story takes hard-work and a lot of time, but in the end, you wind up with an awesome final product! I had a blast creating this, my friend's 9 year old twin sisters had a blast creating some of the pictures you'll see in the story! This is a project in which both teacher and students will enjoy creating. I created this digital story based on a Rainforest unit I created for a Language Arts course I took last semester. If I were to teach this unit in the classroom, I would go about incorporating this digital story as follows: 

1. Create a class KWL(Q ) chart to activate prior knowledge
2. Share "Where the rain meets forest" digital story 
3. Fill out the Q section of KWL chart for students who have additional questions after digital story OR L section of chart for what students learned from digital story
4. Since this digital story gives a snipet of each topic or aspect of the rainforest, a culminating activity that students could engage in throughout the unit is researching more in depth about each aspect and present it to the class through their own digital story. For example, a group of students can focus on researching information about the climate and create a digital story on the research they have gathered. Another group can focus on the various animals and plants and present their findings about how these animals and plants adapt to living in the rainforest.

     It would be interesting to know how many students know or have an idea of what digit storytelling is, so I would like to conduct a quick survey to see where students stand. From there, I would show the students different examples of digital stories that others have created and explain that there is a central theme, a collection of images and pictures and finally, narration (telling the story). I think that this project should be done together-teacher/student. Mostly, having the teacher be a facilitator but still teaching students what they need to do in order for them to successful and enjoy creating their digital story. 

     What are some ways or steps you would have your students go about creating a digital storytelling project in your classroom? Or, if you have a classroom, how have you had your students go about creating a digital storytelling? How did you introduce digital storytelling?

iPhones, blogging, Twitter used in the classroom???

     Let's think about how technology has evolved throughout the past century. I remember the days when I would click on my AOL icon to get onto the Internet and I would hear the dialing sound, wait between 5 (on a good day) and 10 minutes to get logged on and wah-lah, finally be connected!!

     Today, internet connection is instant since the majority of places have Wi-Fi or if you have internet already on your mobile device.
     Children are being born into this world of technology as parents are buying their kids cell phones, iPod's, iPod touch's, iPhones, smart phones, and many more devices. Can you agree with me that it is rare seeing a child playing with action figures, dolls or any other type of toy? These have been replaced with Nintendo DS's, Leapfrog devices and iPads. Surprising?
     What's great is that these devices are accompanied with being able to download educational resources, games and activities that children enjoy playing and that may reinforce concepts taught in school. For example,  I have downloaded several apps on my iPad that students are able to practice math facts, learn about various science topics, view images, and many more.
      Technology is evolving and WILL continue to evolve. It has become a part of this generation's culture.
Since I am currently taking two technology courses, I have seen the countless ways that technology can be incorporated in the classroom! Teachers use blogging, Edmodo-fake Facebook, Twitter, Skype, Prezi, Wikispaces, and so much more!
     However, it is important to educate our students on how to use these technology tools appropriately because we all know that once something is posted or seen on the internet, it is there forever and that's your first digital footprint. It's important that students:

• see how a specific type of tool is used by the teacher- Modeling
• see examples of how the tool is used in an appropriate way- Examples
• practice using the tool in an appropriate way (when it is not used appropriately, this is the perfect time for the teacher or parent to help the student be aware of how it was used inappropriately)
• respect others as they would in person-the same respect is given online

Please share your thoughts!!

Check out this blog post too: Social media is not the problem

How have teacher's used technology with you? 

If you could choose a technology tool you'd like a teacher to work with in the classroom, which one would it be?

   

Screencasting Part 2: Prezi Basics

2nd Screencast: Prezi Basics

How can screencasting be used in the classroom?

The videos and articles below offer a great deal of ideas as to how screencasting can be used in the classroom. 

For example: 

• Offering additional on particular concept or topic
• Additional steps and support for certain homework assignments

Creating Simple Screencasts to Enhance your Classroom

5 Ways Teachers can use Screencasts

Screencast: Twitter in the Classroom

How Kids Teach Kids About Math

First time screencasting!

Image Credit

Check out this screencasting wiki-page introducing what screencasting is and the types of programs and software that can be used to screencast: Screencasting 584projects

Screencasting is quite simple.

• You can select and capture an image
• You can record exactly what is going on on your computer screen
• Your voice can also be recorded

How do I begin screencasting? 

What do I need to screencast?

On  this wiki page: Screencasting 584projects, there are several programs listed and described that enable you to screencast. Some do not require download while others do; however, they are very simple to use and quick downloads. 

Below, you will find my first screencast:

 

Wow, creating tutorials and screencasting is not easy! I did several screencasts before I finally uploaded two videos. I found myself having to script what I was going to say in order to fulfill the 5 minute limit that Jing enables me to work with. I suppose that would be the only downfall to using Jing-the fact that it only allows you 5 minutes. Then again, many of the best attention grabbing videos are less than 2 minutes. However, I am not a screencasting pro yet! 

     You might notice that on the Prezi Basic screencast I am speaking quickly. Only reason being is Jing allows you to see how much time you have left and whether you are about to reach your 5 minute limit. I was close to reaching that limit which is why I was speeding up towards the end! 

     Please post any questions you have about Prezi if you did not understand something on the screencast!

  2012 Snagit Overview Video
Above, is a link that briefly describes the program Snagit! Check it out!

**Embedded second screencast on another blog post**

Zoom In & Zoom Out with Prezi!

Prezi

What's great about Prezi??

• With Prezi you are able to zoom in and zoom out to point out and emphasize your ideas!
• In the classroom, students can collaborate and work with each together. This feature allows students to edit and work on their Prezi in different locations
• Prezi allows you to easily upload videos from Youtube and images from Google or they can be uploaded from your PC!
• You can also add PowerPoint presentations!
• One does not necessarily need internet connection to present their Prezi
• You can download your Prezi onto your PC, open it and present it offline!
• You can add a story line to your Prezi by creating a journey through your slides to create eye-catching effects! 

• You are provided with a white canvas to begin your presentation
• You may be wondering what the blue circles are on the top left-hand corner??
• Well, that is called the Bubble Menu which is the tool that helps you create your presentation!
• You can control the way your Prezi looks by changing color font, frames, adding images, videos, and much more
• Zoom in and zoom out using the buttons on the right hand side  

What is Prezi?

Check out the video above to learn more about Prezi

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This is a Prezi I created for a religion course I am currently taking this semester. 

I had a great time creating this Prezi and even though it was rather time consuming, I learned about how to use the Bubble Menu and the different effects to make the presentation stand out! Check it out!

Suu Kyi on Prezi

More Tools!

21st Century Educational Technology and Learning

This week in 21st Century Educational Technology and Learning, there many great tools introduced to the educators to use with students. 

I checked out Remind 101! It is great because the teacher is able to send out text messages to the students reminding them about readings, upcoming tests and quizzes, etc. Many children now a day walk around with a cellphone in their purses or pockets-24/7-if I may add. They never let go of their phones! Therefore, what a better way to directly send your students a text message with a quick reminder. I wish I knew about this when I was in high school! However, a few questions that popped into my mind when I was researching this tool was:

-Are there any charges to the sender's phone or the recipients phone?

-What would parent thoughts and opinions be on this?

-What would the school say about this form of communication between teacher and student?

Remind 101

I am taking another technology course this semester and we were introduced to Socrative which is an awesome tool for surveys, quizzes, etc! What is neat about this tool is that as the teacher you can create a class survey, have each student log in with a class assigned code and anonymously have students begin to answer the questions to the survey! Since the teacher created the survey or quiz, he/she can still see individual responses-the rest of the class cannot. Check out this instructional video!  

Socrative Video

Putting a Stop to Bullying

I was able to create this word cloud on Taxedo. I had a lot of fun creating it because I was able to customize it any way I wanted it to appear. You are provided with various options to choose from such as the theme, colors, fonts and shapes you would like to design your cloud. 

What a great tool to use with students as an activity to a lesson! Various ways this could be used in the classroom are: Creating a word cloud with the students-If a new vocabulary word or concept is being introduced, the students can brainstorm different words that come to mind when the concept or vocabulary word is mentioned-activating prior knowledge. Then, the teacher can begin to type their responses or ideas into the format provided, customize it to your liking and shazam! You've got your own word cloud! 

Another way this could be used in the classroom is to have students create a cloud about themselves-it could be a word cloud that describes them, what they like to do, what their favorite color is, favorite movies, etc. This could be a great way for the teacher to get to know her students!

_____________________________________________________

A few week ago I came across a petition from a student in Ann Arbor, MI asking Motion Picture Association of America to give the film Bully a PG-13 rating instead of an R rating. 

MPAA: Don't Let the Bullies Win!

Bully Trailer

This really struck me because like many of us, I have been bullied in school-elementary and middle school years. I could only think back and wish that those students who bullied me and to those who bully others could be exposed to this kind of film. I signed this petition because I hope that students who are bullying and who watch this film will realize that their words and actions really do hurt others, to open their eyes to see the pain and discomfort they cause others. To those being bullied, that they will see hope and to never give up and never change who they are. 

This is a huge topic being discussed within the education community. Bullying has now spiraled into cyber-bullying where students are bullied via the internet. 

Cyber-bullying: Cyberbullying is the use of technology to harass, threaten, embarrass, or target another person. This is something that is happening within our environment-the schools. I feel that it is important to step in when we see any kind of bullying occurring in the schools because it could save the life of a student. I hear many sad stories about students committing suicide because they are being taunted and bullied at school. This shouldn't be. 

How can we as educators take action to step in when we see a student being bullied?  

Empowering Students with Technology

 The Danger of Ignorance.
     After reading about Zack's story in Empowering Students with Technology by Alan November, I was both surprised and not surprised. My first reaction was, "how on earth can a student think that death camps were medical clinics?". But then I remember back when I was in high school, there were foolish things I would have in papers or PowerPoint presentations because I received my information through unreliable sources-just as Zack did. I remember the school librarians always guiding us through our research and helping us to choose databases to drive our research.

Mapping the Internet.

• Meta-web information: Understanding and knowing the structure of the Internet. The Internet has a massive amount of reliable and unreliable information. It is important to know how to navigate through it because there is so much information out there. Knowing which search engines to use, which links to click on, etc. 

• Author: On my blog, I can post just about any nonsense I would like to. ANYONE can post ANYTHING they choose to. Our students need to know this because even though they will come across unreliable websites, at least when they do come across those sites-they will know what and WHO to look out for as far as what information is on the site. Simply because the author is a Dr. or Professor at a college, does not mean the information is correct or accurate. It could simply be ones opinion.      

• Purpose: There is a purpose behind every website. Having a keen eye and be aware of what that purpose might entail whether they be selling products, youtubing, social networking, etc. 

     Skype in the classroom is an awesome tool to incorporate and use with the students. I can only imagine of all the various ways Skype can be used in the classroom. Alan November mentions several ways Skype could be used as a teaching tool: 

• Collaborating with other students from another state and even country! Students can work on a classroom project together and tune into Skype about what they are working on. 

• After-school help: Letting students know about virtual after school hours in case they are having difficulty with a homework assignment. 

Students were reading a book whose main character was a truck driver and students were able to Skype with the teacher's father who is also a truck driver. Students were able to ask many questions they had. 

Students in a middle school Spanish classroom are Skyping with students in Venezuela. The students were given the opportunity to practice their Spanish by having a conversation with students in Venezuela.

Photo story 3 Journey

Photo Story 3

I decided that for my Digital Story project I would use Photo Story. As I was researching and reading about it online, I saw how simple and easy it was to use. I'd like to use this specific post to discuss my experience with Photo Story 3. 

My Diigo

My Diigo 

Feel free to visit my Diigo page! Over the past few weeks that I've been researching various ways to put together digital stories, wiki's, etc, I've made sure to bookmark them. To be honest, it can get quite addicting bookmarking when you have this feature installed. The Diigolet is conveniently located at the top of my tool bar therefore, I have no problem clicking it as many times as I want when I come across something interesting! 

  

 During my Diigo journey, I did notice that my links were too much for me to keep track of, so I have created folders and categories based on what I am researching. Above, on the left hand side you will see a column labeled "My Lists". These are the lists I have created to organize my links into separate categories. As soon as I bookmark something I like, it prompts me with an option if I would like to place it in one of my  lists. 

     In the classroom, this would be an excellent tool to use if students were working on a research project. Students will be able to save articles, images, interesting facts they found by bookmarking them! They can use the list feature to organize all the information they collect. Another awesome feature is that Diigo allows the user to highlight! This would be great to use if a student wanted to highlight one detail or fact from a particular page. That way, when students go back into their accounts to look for that webpage, it will take them directly to it and directly to the phrase or sentence that was highlighted. 

   It would be important to guide them first to see what kinds of different things they could do with Diigo. For example, I didn't find out about the "Lists" option until I was overwhelmed with how many links I bookmarked! 

     Not only did I download the Diigolet on my laptop and PC but also on my iPad! This is where I mostly use the highlighting feature because a lot of my reading is done one my iPad. It is so simple to highlight and create a sticky note! 

    I have enjoyed using Diigo personally and I think it would benefit students in the classroom who are working on research projects. What are other ways Diigo could be used in the classroom? 

Glogster

First glogster I put together!
 
        The 21st Century Classroom: New Digital Age
Since it was my first time using it, I thought I'd do something related to something that has made an impact on me since the start of this course. The astonishment of the direction that education in the classrooms is taking has blown me away. I have begun to immerse my self in as many tools as I can. 

• I'm very big on "Going Green", so what a great way to be able to use tools such as Diigo to save articles, resources, worksheets and keep them filed online.
• A great way to have students collaborate and share ideas-through Wiki's and Digital Storytelling projects
• Making global connections to other classrooms around the world through the use of Skype!
• No longer spending additional money on chalk, chalkboard erasers, dry erase markers and dry erasers or overhead projectors and the markers that are usedd for those. Now,  teachers can use and are using SMART Boards! Not as messy, fun activites to engage students in lessons and great way to incorporate taking care of classroom property.
• Blogs are a great way to allow students to share their thoughts, opinoins based on a specific topic or theme. They are also great when you have quiet students in your classroom. It is possible that they may have a lot to say but could be very quiet and shy in the classroom. Blogging or responding to forums could give them the opportunity to share their thoughts and give them a voice.
• Finally, the iPad has become a tool in the classroom. Many of the applications are learning games that range from reading to science. There are apps that help with phonological awareness, sight words, comprehension, etc. There are apps that allow students to add, subtract, multiply, divide in fun ways! There are social skills and communication apps for students with special needs.

The new digital age is a new age I grew up in; however, I only knew so much. Now is when I'm beginning to catch up on things I've missed in previous years. This is the digital age I want to implement in my classroom! There are so many benefits to this kind of learning and what a great way to teach students to become good citizens-not just digital citizens, but good, kind citizens outside of the digital world.

Digital Storytelling

What another great way to have students collaborate with each other and work as a team to create a digital story!



Students are able to let their imaginations run by being given the opportunity to create their own short story. They can use various means of technology to create their story. This would be a great project for students to work on together-encouraging and pushing collaboration. An awesome way to teach children how to work together but at the same time, a great way of incorporating technology.



Little Bird Tales

Creating digital stories can be easy and fun! This website lets you either upload pictures or draw them on a template the website provides (Art Pad)! As you add your images, you hit the record button to tell the story! Finally, you're able to watch your digital story and share it for others to see.

A digital story can be anything students want to put together to tell a story. Whether it is of themselves, a field trip, vacation, or an adventure-this is a great tool children can use to work with together and brainstorm creative ideas and then put it together to share with others.

First Animoto!

I think this would be a great way for students to work together as a whole group project or in small groups. For example, the teacher and students could put a video together based on a field trip they went on, post it on their class blog and be able to show parents how exciting their field trip was. Or, I think it's a great way to demonstrate student work in a fun and creative way.
Students can have fun with this by choosing a topic related to the theme of a particular subject and the rest is up to their imaginations. This is a great way to bring out creativity among the students.
For teachers, it gives us an opportunity and opens a door to teach them how to use these tools  appropriately and still have fun with them.

Another great tool I was looking around in was Glogster. This is also another great way to bring out students creative ideas-digitally!

           Glogster
Glogster coming soon!

Diigo and Animoto!

Diigo

Wow, Diigo is great! This is an awesome way to organize information that you are researching. This is also a great tool to collaborate and send specific articles or information to someone. I love the highlighting and sticky note feature because it gives you the opportunity to let important information stand out to you. The sticky notes will serve as a reminder about specific information you want to remember.

Animoto

I signed up for Animoto and love how fun and easy it is to use! This is an easy and interactive way for students to work together on a specific project and put a presentation together. You can add pictures, music and text related to the topic or theme of your video. This beats having to use Windows Media to help you create a video. I think everyone should know about this.

The many ways to blog

After viewing some of the links in Blogs in Education, it's interesting to see how blogging and expressing yourself through the use of technology is happening more and more. Through The Diary Project, teenagers are able to choose from various topics that may be occurring in their day to day life. What a great way to express emotions, opinions and thoughts. This could be a way for a teacher to reach out to a student who is going through a difficult time in the home and possibly help out in anyway possible. However, the project alone, is an excellent way to give kids an outlet where they can share how they feel.
     This is a website I would encourage students to use. Not only do students have to be going through a difficult time in their personal lives, but there are links where students can share their opinions on a given topic, poetry. It is a website that will allow them to realize that there are many kids out there who may be struggling with the same problems and know that they're not alone.

On another end, Albert the Bear's Blog is a very cute and creative way to incorporate blogging in the classroom. Students are given the chance to take Albert the Bear home and share their experience by blogging.
This was a creative way to incorporate blogging in the classroom. This could be done with younger K-2. Students can take home the "class toy" or "class mascot", and have something to blog about the next day at school. If the student's cannot type yet, they can tell the teacher their experience and see it posted on the blog!

New Literacies

New Literacies Article
This article brought me back to my middle school days when media and computers was a whole different class-in fact it was a special. We learned how to use PowerPoint, Excel and most importantly Word. The teacher always reminded us to "Save" our work at least every 5 minutes. I am not sure if the middle school continues to have a separate time of the day dedicated to teaching students about computers and various presentation tools. I feel that it should be integrated into the classroom as much as possible-in fact, in each subject. This new and growing wave of technology is what the students of this generation and the next and the next will be breathing and eating. Why not use it, incorporate it and teach it with the same drive and dedication that math, reading, science and social studies is taught? Could it be that teachers are nervous to begin incorporating blogs, wikis and other developing technology into their classrooms? Learning about the new things out there like wiki's, blogs, Prezi, etc. can be overwhelming at first. Not going to lie. But in the end, I feel it can bring creativity out of each and every one of us if we begin to really immerse ourselves in it.
For example, I recently heard about Prezi and when I was told it was similar to PowerPoint in it being a presentation tool but BETTER, I had to check it out myself. Now, I am developing a presentation based on iPads in the classroom. Inspiration? My own iPad and a classmate who discussed it in last week's class!
I am very immersed in this program and cannot wait to show my final product. I am also having fun using it!
Teacher Standards
I am so glad there is a website with standards for technology. Students in teacher preparation programs should have this with them at all times. Lesson plans could be designed integrating reading, writing and all other subjects. Plus, you have these standards to work towards and develop objectives for what you want your students to be able to do at the end of the day.

Digital Literacy-Using Technology in the Classroom
^^ Please watch!