3 Technologies

I was supposed to focus on one technology but in my exploration for that technology I stumbled across a few interesting ones that I’d like to share.

Primary Access

At first I got really excited about this site because it uses primary sources. Anyone can use the site, but perhaps there are more perks if you have an account. The sources available seemed very limited. They mostly have artifacts from the past 100 years. It seems to be geared towards teachers especially those of late elementary to middle school. Like I said, perhaps it is a totally different experience if you actually have an account. It seems to be able to produce pretty sweet projects if students are focusing on the eras and subjects the site highlights. For example, this is a video created by students: http://www.primaryaccess.org/show.php?id=1691. I also wish there was a navigation on the side so I could get back to the other site pages without having to click the back arrow on my browser. 

Penzu

It’s an online journal which looks quite similar to a real notebook and you can even insert images. If I used this in a classroom, I would incorporate it into their daily or weekly writing time. Students would have the choice of using Penzu or a real notebook but they would have to stick with that media for the whole year. Most of their entries would be private so that the teacher would not even see them. This works very well if the writing time is a free-write. I would have prompts each time but students are not required to stick to the prompt if they feel moved to write about something else such as if they are having a bad day or want to write about something exciting in their life. However, it would be required that they send a certain number of their entries to the teacher for credit, but they get to choose which ones to send. The site facilitates emailing an entry which makes it convenient. Also, they can choose entries to elaborate on for larger writing projects. This shows students that writing can be for themselves and that free writing can help generate ideas which can be used later and revised.

Pandora

Pandora is an online radio in which you create your own stations based on songs, artists, or genres that you like. For instance, two of my 17 stations include: Classic Rock and Alicia Keys. Pandora plays music similar to the styles you like. You communicate to it by giving a song a "thumbs up" or a "thumbs down." You can also skip over a song if you don't want to listen to it any longer. You have to create an account to use it but you don't have to pay unless you want the upgraded version. The downside of the free version is that you are limited to 40 hours a month and you still have periodic commercials. 

What does this have to do with education? Some teachers play music while students independently work. Some play the radio, but most put in CDs or hook up an ipod with set playlists to control what is being played. Pandora is another option. There is even a setting you can choose that ensures that no "adult content" will be played. Pandora could be used as an indirect way of teaching students about different music genres or important historical singers and groups. For example, you could play music by Astrud Gilberto and give a quick summary of his background in Brazil before they begin working or play a Billie Holiday station and say a few things about her importance to Black history. These would just be quick summaries before they begin working so it doesn't distract from their projects. 

That is another thing- it IS a legitimate argument that playing music during work time is a bad idea because some students find it distracting. This is something you could find out through taking formal or informal surveys of the class about what the conditions they need to work or study.

Google Docs

I have fallen in love with Google Docs! It’s partly the result of my loathing for group work. Google Docs has solved some of the issues such as:

-Cannot physically meet due to distance or scheduling issues. Also, my group knew we had to make a few minor changes to our project but didn’t want to set up a meeting just for 15 minutes of work.So, we used G Docs.

-can work on the project at the SAME TIME as well as communicate with others working on it.

However, everyone has to be on board. I was in a group in which one member, for whatever, reason, shot down my suggestions to use it every time. It was frustrating because I knew that Google Docs would solve our problem of only having one person being able to edit or project at a time. However, I recognize that each of us has our own preferences which need to be respected.

Resume
Recently, I have been using Google Docs to work on my resume and link it to my portfolio. It has been a rather surprisingly frustrating experience. At first I tried uploading my existing resume and linking to it in my portfolio. The resume looked great on Google Docs, but when I followed the link, the formatting had changed so that my neat columns of information were slanted across the page as seen below.

I downloaded my resume from Google Docs as a PDF and uploaded it to my portfolio as a down-loadable file but even the PDF had strange little quirks. This time the changes were few and minor enough so that I could go to GD and change a few things to create the desired look in PDF form. I’m glad I could fix it but it’s still annoying that I had to do that. The reformatting seemed random as well. Sometimes it recognized my tabs and sometimes it would ignore the tabs and move my information left or right. I’m hoping that there is something in the settings that can be changed as an easy fix but so far I cannot figure it out. It is also frustrating that Google Docs is not divided into pages. So, when I viewed my resume in PDF form it ended up being 4 pages and had awkward breaks instead of the 2 pages that it was in Microsoft Word.


I figured out that using the URL at the top of my browser keeps the formatting correctly

but then future employers would be viewing my resume in GD which I'm not sure is desirable.

Before, I was using the URL given to me by GD when I clicked “share” and then “publish to web”

which makes a finished product look that I am going for, if only the formatting wasn't messed up.

I ended up just taking the embed code and modifying it so that it looks like this (my resume in my new portfolio)

Survey Form

I have also been playing around with GD’s survey form. I created a simple one just to see how it works and invited a few friends from my PLN to answer the questions. I made the first mistake of not filling it out myself to set the example. I also should have had a question asking for their name but I didn’t realize that it would present the responses in table form without any indication of who wrote it.

Under the tab titled “Form” you can click “Show summary of responses” and it shows the multiple choice answers in a pie graph which, I think, is pretty sweet.

You can also email the form or embed it:

I really like Gabrielle Gauthier’s idea of creating a Google Form for students’ parents to fill out at the beginning of the school year. So, I think I might do something similar in the future. In addition, mid-semester forms could be made to do a quick check-up on the parent-teacher-student relationships.

Growing Pains

I have been having a difficult time lately handling criticism and simply hearing very different opinions than my own as well as hearing my own opinions attacked. I usually consider myself as someone who welcomes opposing views as a way of growing, but sometimes, I’ll admit, there are growing pains, haha. It’s just so much easier to surround myself (both physically and digitally) by people who agree with me and are similar to me. In the end, I honestly DO like KNOWING other views, but I think the process of finding out about them can be difficult. 

One reason for this is that, quite often, those who have interesting views are those who believe very strongly in something. They* are so passionate that they can say things on waves of emotions in addition to their passion blinding themselves sometimes. Well, blinding is not a good word for it…. It’s more like- if you really believe you’re right about something ……. 

(which hopefully you DO think you’re right because if you think you are wrong then why would you think that? …..of course, I guess there’s always that middle ground where you believe one thing but you’re not quite sure so you’re still open and searching) 

…..anyway, if you really believe you’re right about something and you’ve already heard many of the main arguments against it, then you kind of start dismissing those arguments because you already know you disagree with them. The problem with this is 1) there might be more points that you HAVEN’T ever heard and, more importantly, 2) you shut down to those with opposing opinions. Shutting down to others is bad because, you can lose touch with the reasons WHY they still think differently than you. This is a first step in lack of understanding and lack of compassion and ends up in people just yelling at each other and hating each other as opposed to civilly discussing and compromising or at least admitting that there are legit reasons for believing differently. It also leads down the road of seeing people as the enemy and as “other” instead of as human because if you see them as so different from you that you can’t relate to them, then you don’t care about them even as fellow humans….  and that does not lead to good things.

So…. anyway… that’s my quick and confusing rant for today. I’m sure I’ll read it later and be like, “What?”

*I’m not using “they” to imply that this DOESN’T include me, because it definitely does.

“Causing arguments since 2008”

aMap, or argumentative Map, is a site in which users can create a debate with other users in the form of a web or map. You do not create an account; anyone can create a map, but for each time that you create a new map, you must provide a user name, city, postcode, and email address.


If I used this in a classroom, I would start with a quick lesson on how to fill out the aMap form:
- Your position (I think . . .) – what you think overall
- Propositions (Because . . .) – reasons that support your position
- Arguments (As . . .) – supporting arguments that back up each of your propositions
- Evidence (Supported by . . .) – supporting evidence to back up your arguments

It looks like this:









Their example is:
I THINK... "Man U are the best team in the Premiership” (State their position)
BECAUSE... "They’re the most successful on the pitch” (State their proposition/reason)
AS... "They win the most silverware and have the best players” (State supporting argument)
SUPPORTED BY...“In 2008 Man U won the Champions League and Ronaldo won best European Player of the year.” (State supporting evidence)



aMap even offers a powerpoint for teachers:
 
View more presentations from Delib

Students can also look over examples of already created aMaps.

I would require students to create a minimum of one map and to reply to a minimum of 3 of their classmates' maps. Students would choose their issue in class on a sign-up sheet to ensure that multiple people do not choose the same topic. They would also draft their map either in class or as a homework assignment because it is difficult to edit in the website.

Pros/Cons

+integrates technology into teaching students how to debate

+lays out a basic format for creating an argument

+their maps can be expanded upon for a formal paper later on

+can follow maps on twitter, facebook, and myspace

-no way to edit your aMap once you've officially shared it so students would have to create and edit their arguments on paper or in a Word document first

-its format is rigid and not very flexible- some arguments and points are more complicated than the 3 tiered argument they offer and others may be simpler.

-text for each box is limited by a set number of characters

This lesson fulfills the following GLCE's for 8th Grade Language Arts
W.PR.08.03 draft focused ideas experimenting with various ways of sequencing information including ordering arguments, or sequencing ideas chronologically by importance when writing compositions.
S.DS.08.01 engage in interactive, extended discourse to socially construct meaning in book clubs, literature circles, partnerships, or other conversation protocols.
S.DS.08.02 respond to multiple text types in order to explore problems and pose solutions supported with evidence, take a stand on an issue and support it, and identify personally with a universal theme.

METS
6-8.CI.3. illustrate a content-related concept using a model, simulation, or concept-mapping software
6-8.CC.1. use digital resources (e.g., discussion groups, blogs, podcasts, videoconferences, Moodle, Blackboard) to collaborate with peers, experts, and other audiences

I used 8th grade GLCE's, but I think this site could be used in any classroom from late elementary through even high school depending on how it's used and the need of the students.

I am still not confident with the form they use especially the "supporting argument: As....."  It's one of those situations in which I get it when I look at their examples but I am unsure what to put when creating my own.

My example:

Disapointed with Sliderocket

I played around with Sliderocket last week. I needed to teach a lesson to my college classmates and my TA wanted us to be creative and not just copy the format of previous groups who had taught. I couldn't really get around having some sort of digital text presentation but I wanted to avoid the overused powerpoint.

Sliderocket was fairly simple to learn how to use since it's quite similar to powerpoint. My favorite feature is the slide transition. I like the options available for transitioning between slides because it really separates itself from powerpoint by providing a modern visual such as the cuberotate and the swap.  You can also insert videos and links on the slides, but I didn't need to do either.

Another seemingly cool thing is that users can download their presentation. However, you have to pay for it. This was a huge disappointment because I knew the internet connection in the room I would be teaching in is not reliable. I needed something I could use without internet and I was not about to pay sliderocket anything.


Then, Sliderocket was saving my work and something went wrong, an "error" happened. One of my slides was lost and others lost quite a bit of information which I had recently added. I was already running late and had to spend another 30 minutes redoing the lost pieces. I ended up copying and pasting all of my information into a powerpoint because I was so frustrated and mad at sliderocket. This type of thing makes me nervous about working on anything that is saved only on the web. I feel like I have no control whether something gets deleted or not. On my computer, I can at least save it after big additions or revisions and I can even back it up to a flashdrive, but on the web, it could just disappear and I would never see all my hard work every again.

I wish I was as POOR as Teachers!

The purpose of this is not to prove that teachers make too much money or too little money. It’s to make people think and to put some perspective on things.

The following is a journal entry from 2005 by a high schooler. Pseudonyms are used for obvious reasons.

I ripped into Mr. S today. I didn’t mean to. He’s a nice teacher and I like him, but he was the last straw. He made a comment about how he doesn’t make any money as a teacher and I snapped. I gave him a five minute lecture on how bad it is for him to be complaining about how much money he makes when he could have students who are actually poor and how does that make them feel and on and on. I expect that kind of thing from the lazy coaching “teachers” but not from Mr. S; he seems quality. It’s like it’s a rule that if you’re a teacher you must meet a quota of number of times you complain about your salary. Mr. S is young. I wish he would challenge the norm and not just follow in the footsteps of others.


I’ve been listening to teachers complain about how much money they make (or DON’T make) for years and for some reason a lot in the past few weeks and I’m sick of it! I figure my parents must make a fraction of what teachers make since we can't afford their lives. So my dad gets paid less AND his job is way harder yet he doesn’t complain… okay, sometimes he does, given what’s natural for a human. I mean, he did CHOOSE his profession so I kinda don’t feel TOO bad… but so did teachers! They knew they were going into a field that doesn’t pay tons because they have also listened to their teachers who complained about it. So then why do they expect more? Are they the children of rich middle class couples, spoiled, have no clue about what a hard life really is, and expect the world to hand them a high standard of living?


Mrs. J lives in that new, big, brick home. I wish I lived in a house that nice. Maybe she just has a wealthy husband, but what about Mr. and Mrs. D? They’re both teachers and they just bought that one house. Plus they paid me a lot for babysitting one little girl. It was really nice in there. Nothing was broken, Nothing was hand-me-downs-and-down-and-down. It looked like they have everything they need and want. I mean, it’s not a mansion and they don’t have boats but not everyone can be THAT rich. I don’t feel bad for teachers. Looks like they’re livin it up to me. Then again, I'm not coming from parents who are doctors or lawyers or anything like that. Their lives probably seem like poverty compared to the childhood they are coming from, but it looks luxurious to me. But what about Mrs. M? Her house is small and she lives paycheck to paycheck… she also got pregnant when she was a teenager and her husband is working part time.... She's an exception. I just look at teachers’ clothes, cars, houses, cell phones, and think, “Wow, I wish I was as poor as you.” Mr. B has a motorcycle, a pool, a billiard table, a nice car and he doesn’t even do anything! I wonder how much teachers REALLY make….. Mom says $30,000 is a respectable starting wage. So, I guess, that means teachers make $20,000? $25,000?


Furthermore, it’s always (almost) said like this, “Good thing I’m not doing it for the money cause we get paid nothing.” This pisses me off cause if you truly weren’t doing it for the money then why bring it up and complain about it? Saying things like, “I work my butt off and get paid peanuts,” is insulting to someone who works or comes from parents who work longer and more laboriously and get paid less. I know teachers have degrees and most people who get paid less don’t, but, in reality, no one’s gonna care if you’re “qualified” or “certified.”All they’re gonna see is a bunch of people who work with kids, get summers off, and still think they’re living in poverty and their lives are awful. Pointing out that you have a degree almost makes it worse cause it’s like you’re saying, “Look at me! I’m better than you!” No wonder the poor hate the rich. My family’s not even that poor and teachers certainly aren’t rich either. It’s almost like teachers are the sophomores in society- taking pride in being better than those below them yet still lusting to be an upperclassman.


If teachers are poor, am I supposed to feel ashamed of my background? Of my life? I don’t feel ashamed. At least, I don’t think I do. But if teachers believe that their situation is soooo bad, then what does that say about mine? My family of SEVEN can survive just fine off of our income but apparently it’s not enough for teachers. I just think people don’t realize how good they have it which makes sense considering the sayings “You don’t realize what you have until it’s gone” or “It’s always greener on the other side.” I can think of plenty of other kids who are worse off than my family. I wonder how THEY feel.


I don’t want to be too harsh. I have many amazing teachers and many who DO work their butts off. I just wish they wouldn’t complain about their pay. And it sucks for the teachers who work hard that there are teachers like Mr L who really honestly don’t do much. I can just picture him in his Union “We are Professionals” T-shirt saying, “Wha wah wah, my job is sooo hard. I’m a lazy football coach who copies notes from the textbook, has my students grade their tests, and chastises students for daring to ask questions and actually learn something.”Once he starts doing as much work and is as amazing as Mrs. Q, then he can maybe start thinking about complaining.

This is just something to think about in regards to your own students. I'm sure most high quality teachers are aware of how much their words, actions, and attitudes affect students. Just remember that you don’t always know what’s going on in their lives and you can’t always ascertain their socioeconomic status. This is besides the fact that it is very unprofessional to be discussing salary in front of students anyway.

Digital Story Board Example using Prezi

an image from my digital storyboard example

Intro
I expanded on a lesson plan idea suggested in my post Explore Museums Around the World.... for FREE!!. Basically, I created my own personal example for students to look at while doing this digital storyboard assignment. I also made various drafts of my story outlines to show them how messy composing and revising can be (Beginning, Draft 1, Draft 2, Draft 3). This lesson could make a great art class project and it DOES greatly integrate history. Unfortunately, it is not supported by any particular GLCE that I know of, which means it would not realistically be used; most do not have enough time to teach even the basics let alone a project such as this. However, since it is already prepared, I could see it as a good enrichment project to be set aside for substitute days or days in which something unexpected happens and the teacher is for some reason standing there without a lesson plan or for unruly days such as just before a vacation (Thanksgiving, winter break, spring break, etc.). In any school I have been in there are always at least a couple of these afternoons that get thrown to the wind….. which is interesting considering my statement before about how no one seems to have time to teach even the basics, but that’s diverging from the topic. Another disadvantage is that there could be much confusion from students if there is a sub who doesn’t have answers for their questions. Another drawback for this being a “quick, informal, afternoon lesson” is that the whole thing took me 2 days of my Spring Break to finish. So, it would have to either be more of a long term project or be modified and have different expectations than the one I created. It also seems logical that a lesson on copyright would make sense as a prerequisite considering the amount of research and media which is involved.  

Positives for using digital storyboards

+It makes it fun especially if students are used to presenting project after project on poster boards and standing in front of the class saying “Blah, blah blah.”

+It allows for multimedia (videos, text, images) and is aesthetically pleasing

+This is something they can show their parents and keep for years.

+If done in groups, it allows for students to work on it separately as opposed to having to meet physically for any accomplishment.

+Digital Storyboards offer student choice and variety between projects if they are allowed to pick their own tool. There are many options. However, it might be easier to limit their options since the teacher will likely have to provide assistance in using the tools.  

Pros/Cons to Prezi 

+loved the “zebra” tool for selecting, changing the size of, and rotating an object.

+creates a very modern looking and creative presentation

+provides a tutorial

+was fairly easy to figure out without watching the tutorial (since I rarely have patience for them, although I admit that sometimes it might save time and frustration in the end)

-one of my youtube videos takes a while to load, but that might not be Prezi’s fault

-you can’t control how long the auto play stays at each stopping point

-cannot add voice to it, I even tried recording on my laptop and uploading the sound file but it doesn’t allow that

-it ONLY allows embedding youtube videos, trust me- I tried adding a video from google-docs

-doesn’t allow for links to other sites, which would be nice considering the previous point, however you can insert the URL for viewers to copy and paste

-some images were pixilated but it could have been due to the quality of the original image and thus not Prezi’s fault

-became frustrated with the pointer automatically selecting objects without me knowing about it… had to use the “undo” button many times

+has an “undo” button :D

UPDATE: After more research, it turns out that this idea IS indeed supported by the GLCE's and could be a legitimate lesson plan used in the classroom as seen here.