This has been a whirlwind of a month! I have learned so much in such a short time! I am actually happy that school is right around the corner, so I can begin using some of these things. It's the only way I won't forget them! I really wish this class had been during the school year so that I could have immediately implemented things that I learned.
Hands down, the most useful skill I have learned is creating and managing a blog. I will keep this blog up and continue to learn how to improve it. I love knowing how to embed things- it makes me feel like the techie teacher that I strive to be! The other programs, apps, websites, ect. that will be beneficial to me as a teacher are Skitch, Tellegami, Soundcloud, Youtube, Animoto, Screencast-o-matic, and the use of QR codes.
I will be able to use them for my teacher web, communicating with parents and students, and for activities with the kids as well. The students will also benefit from the use Biblionasium and ToonDoo. Those are websites I know they will use and enjoy during the year.
I struggled the most with creating infographics and the use of social media. I, personally, am just not that into social media and any use on my part is forced. As a teacher I feel it is better suited to those teaching middle schoolers and high schoolers. I struggled with the infographics because I felt like I had to find content to match the infographic rather than the infographic being a tool I could use with any content. I am sure that is due to my novice ability, and I will continue to try to learn more about them.
I appreciate all I have learned in this class and I look forward to implementing it in my classroom and other course work at Sam Houston.
Tuesday, July 29, 2014
Instagram and Vine
I don't use Instagram (or any social media) much, but I know that kids do. My 4th graders talked about Instagram all of the time. On the last day of school, I let the kids take pictures with me on their phones on the condition that they would not post them anywhere. Of course, the next day a parent told me I was all over Instagram and that the kids were posting sweet things about me. I really didn't care because it was just the kids and I smiling, but that is kids for you! Putting pictures of their teacher on Instagram when I asked them not to! :)
I could possibly see using Instagram in the classroom, but I would not use Vine (not with the kids anyways). It isn't protected enough and I will be with the little guys next year. I would be a nervous wreck using it. I could see using it in this way that I did on here. Getting snippets of videos and embedding them on a classroom blog for the kids and parents to see.
One of the blogs I read had the idea of the kids creating an alphabet book by taking pictures of words around them. I like that idea. We do a lot of alphabet books in the beginning of the year and this would be a fun way for them to make their own.
These are the sad three little pictures that are on my instagram account. I added text the Chase one using Pic O Gram (ipad app). It was very easy. That is definitely something 1st graders would be able to do.
Here is a brief clip (don't worry that you're seeing the brief version, the extended is more of the same:) ) of the delightful "Dinosaur and the Boy" play that my 5 year old created.
I could possibly see using Instagram in the classroom, but I would not use Vine (not with the kids anyways). It isn't protected enough and I will be with the little guys next year. I would be a nervous wreck using it. I could see using it in this way that I did on here. Getting snippets of videos and embedding them on a classroom blog for the kids and parents to see.
One of the blogs I read had the idea of the kids creating an alphabet book by taking pictures of words around them. I like that idea. We do a lot of alphabet books in the beginning of the year and this would be a fun way for them to make their own.
These are the sad three little pictures that are on my instagram account. I added text the Chase one using Pic O Gram (ipad app). It was very easy. That is definitely something 1st graders would be able to do.
Here is a brief clip (don't worry that you're seeing the brief version, the extended is more of the same:) ) of the delightful "Dinosaur and the Boy" play that my 5 year old created.
Mining PEW
Zickuhr, K., Rainie, L., & Purcell, K. (2013, June 25). Younger Americans' Library Habits and Expectations. Pew Internet Libraries RSS. Retrieved July 29, 2014, from http://libraries.pewinternet.org/2013/06/25/younger-americans-library-services/
Younger Americans Library Habits and Expectations
My initial impression would be that libraries would most likely be used by parents of young children. This is when I really began using our public library. Although, I know this to not be the case, from having done other research within the PEW internet project. The teen group is a prominent user of public libraries, and not in the old fashioned sense of just browsing and checking out books. They are users of library resources that I think many older adults (30+) do not even know about.
In reality this makes sense if you think about it. This generation has been raised in a technological age. They know about resources that older adults may not know about. They have also been raised in an age where they were taught to question. So it shouldn't be surprising that they would use librarians and a wide range of resources to help them find their answers.
I am an avid reader, and until my grad school course work, I did not use the library for anything except checking out children's books. I have now become well versed in the San Antonio Public Library's online system and I use the library more than ever. Without my course work though, I would not know any of this existed. I have even discovered the wonderful world of checking out e-books!
This article states that young Americans don't view libraries as a crucial part of their lives or communities, but they are using them. And as you can see from the image above, they are using libraries in a variety of ways.
51 pages towards the Mining PEW
Younger Americans Library Habits and Expectations
My initial impression would be that libraries would most likely be used by parents of young children. This is when I really began using our public library. Although, I know this to not be the case, from having done other research within the PEW internet project. The teen group is a prominent user of public libraries, and not in the old fashioned sense of just browsing and checking out books. They are users of library resources that I think many older adults (30+) do not even know about.
In reality this makes sense if you think about it. This generation has been raised in a technological age. They know about resources that older adults may not know about. They have also been raised in an age where they were taught to question. So it shouldn't be surprising that they would use librarians and a wide range of resources to help them find their answers.
I am an avid reader, and until my grad school course work, I did not use the library for anything except checking out children's books. I have now become well versed in the San Antonio Public Library's online system and I use the library more than ever. Without my course work though, I would not know any of this existed. I have even discovered the wonderful world of checking out e-books!
This article states that young Americans don't view libraries as a crucial part of their lives or communities, but they are using them. And as you can see from the image above, they are using libraries in a variety of ways.
51 pages towards the Mining PEW
Monday, July 28, 2014
Mining PEW
Rainie, L. (2014, April 9). Millennials and Libraries. Pew Research Centers Internet American Life Project RSS. Retrieved July 28, 2014, from http://www.pewinternet.org/2014/04/09/millennials-and-libraries/
Millennials and Libraries
This was the most interesting presentation I have viewed so far. It looks into the habits and uses of teens involving technology, reading, researching and library use. The conclusions drawn from the research were:
.PNG)
The only thing I found bothersome about this article was #3 "Teens reading efforts match/ exceed adult levels." This bothered me because the slide with the data which supports that students read more, shows that this is heavily due to reading for work or school. I don't think you can come to the conclusion that they are more avid readers when they are reading because they must for school work. The teens do exceed adults though in research for interest.
In general, I cannot image being a "technology native." It's such an awesome benefit to this age group, but it is the responsibility of teachers, parents, librarians, and other adults involved in their lives to teach them how to balance and harness this new power.
I created an infographic to go along with this mining PEW. For the last project, I used Easel.ly because it was fairly open ended- but maybe to open ended for me. For this one, I used Infogr.am. I thought this website lent itself well the the PEWs because of the easy use of graphs and data organization (since that is the basic heart of the Internet PEW). I liked working with Infogr.am better, but I still don't feel entirely comfortable. Infographics are something that I will continue to have to play with in the future.
Millennials and Libraries
This was the most interesting presentation I have viewed so far. It looks into the habits and uses of teens involving technology, reading, researching and library use. The conclusions drawn from the research were:
The only thing I found bothersome about this article was #3 "Teens reading efforts match/ exceed adult levels." This bothered me because the slide with the data which supports that students read more, shows that this is heavily due to reading for work or school. I don't think you can come to the conclusion that they are more avid readers when they are reading because they must for school work. The teens do exceed adults though in research for interest.In general, I cannot image being a "technology native." It's such an awesome benefit to this age group, but it is the responsibility of teachers, parents, librarians, and other adults involved in their lives to teach them how to balance and harness this new power.
I created an infographic to go along with this mining PEW. For the last project, I used Easel.ly because it was fairly open ended- but maybe to open ended for me. For this one, I used Infogr.am. I thought this website lent itself well the the PEWs because of the easy use of graphs and data organization (since that is the basic heart of the Internet PEW). I liked working with Infogr.am better, but I still don't feel entirely comfortable. Infographics are something that I will continue to have to play with in the future.
Screencasts
I love the world of screencasts. Out of all that I have learned, I could see myself getting the most use out of this. Teaching 1st grade, many of the parents are still new to the whole world of school, and being able to post tutorials is a great resource. I found these two programs to basically be identical. I had problems loading both (I had to use a different computer for each), but once I got through my loading problems, they were both very easy to use, save and post. I find the look of Screenr to be more appealing once it's embedded. I like the circle that follows the mouse in Screencast-o-matic.
Screencast-o-matic: Student tutorial on Tumblebooks
Screenr: Parent information on student account in Biblionasium
I general, I would probably continue to use Screencast-o-matic. I downloaded the application for it to my computer, so it's just a click away! I have also used it before, so I am more comfortable with it (but only slightly, since the 2 are so similar!) It is also so cheap, I would probably download the Pro version once the school year starts.
I went ahead and downloaded Jing as well. It was a bit different from the other 2. It allows you to quickly share screen images or videos, but as far as I can tell, you just get a link, not a code to embed. Jing is always on and has an icon that stays on the top right corner of your screen so you can record at a moment's notice. My icon would not show up though, unless I had the internet screen maximized though. I did not like that. Even after using Jing, Screencast-o-matic is still my preferred tool.
Amanda's Jing Screencast
Screencast-o-matic: Student tutorial on Tumblebooks
Screenr: Parent information on student account in Biblionasium
I general, I would probably continue to use Screencast-o-matic. I downloaded the application for it to my computer, so it's just a click away! I have also used it before, so I am more comfortable with it (but only slightly, since the 2 are so similar!) It is also so cheap, I would probably download the Pro version once the school year starts.
I went ahead and downloaded Jing as well. It was a bit different from the other 2. It allows you to quickly share screen images or videos, but as far as I can tell, you just get a link, not a code to embed. Jing is always on and has an icon that stays on the top right corner of your screen so you can record at a moment's notice. My icon would not show up though, unless I had the internet screen maximized though. I did not like that. Even after using Jing, Screencast-o-matic is still my preferred tool.
Amanda's Jing Screencast
Saturday, July 26, 2014
Mining PEW
Zickuhr, K. (2013, November 4). Reading, writing, and research in the digital age. Pew Research Centers Internet American Life Project RSS. Retrieved July 26, 2014, from http://www.pewinternet.org/2013/11/04/reading-writing-and-research-in-the-digital-age/
Reading, Writing and Research in the Digital Age
"The internet makes doing research easier- easier to do well and easier to do poorly."
I thought this was a very striking quote from the presentation. It brings up the point that even though information may be more accessible, students still need instruction in properly finding and accessing information.
As far as changes go with reading in the digital age, I was pleased to see that while in many situations such as travel and in bed, people prefer an e-book, but 81% of people still prefer print when reading to a child. I feel the same way. My children have e-books on the ipads, but those are for during the day. At night before bed, we read print books. It even worries me that they don't see me reading because I read on my ipad. They can't tell the difference between me playing a game, emailing or reading.
28 pages (slides) towards the Mining PEW
Reading, Writing and Research in the Digital Age
"The internet makes doing research easier- easier to do well and easier to do poorly."
I thought this was a very striking quote from the presentation. It brings up the point that even though information may be more accessible, students still need instruction in properly finding and accessing information.
As far as changes go with reading in the digital age, I was pleased to see that while in many situations such as travel and in bed, people prefer an e-book, but 81% of people still prefer print when reading to a child. I feel the same way. My children have e-books on the ipads, but those are for during the day. At night before bed, we read print books. It even worries me that they don't see me reading because I read on my ipad. They can't tell the difference between me playing a game, emailing or reading.
I also thought this break down of social networking was interesting. On first look, I was surprised that the highest use wasn't the 12- 17 age group, but then I considered that 18- 29 age group was the first teen group exposed to social media and they are carrying it into their 20's and into their jobs. In another 10 years, the number for the 30's will probably be higher as this group gets older.
28 pages (slides) towards the Mining PEW
Cartoons and Comics
I always find the task of making things like this fairly daunting. I feel pressure to be clever and witty at the spur of the moment... which I am not. But, I know the true intention of this project is to learn the programs, not to stress over the content of my comics.
ToonDoo
I liked ToonDoo a lot. I felt like it was easy to use, had a lot of character, background and accessory options, and was easy to save, share, and embed. This is one I would feel comfortable using at the elementary level. I think students would be able to navigate it fairly easily. ToonDoo was by far may favorite.
Amanda's Tellagami
Final Thoughts
Being a 1st grade teacher, and not a particularly tech savy one at that, I prefered ToonDoo and Tellagami. They were both user friendly and had good final products. I felt that 1st graders could easily work with them both .
We had many of these apps (and of course all websites) available to us last year, but no one ever promoted them or told us about them. Had I known more, I would have used them. It's important for those that know, to spread the information to others. I think there was an assumption that we could play around with apps on our own, but with no direction and little time, that wasn't easy.
Something else that I do like about all of these websites and apps we have encountered through this summer session, is that everything can be emailed. With the limited projects I did do with my class last year, I would have the kids email me their final projects. After I looked at them, I would forward them on their parents. Both the kids and the parents really liked that, and now I am feeling like I have more tools at my finger tips (which I WILL share with others!)
ToonDoo
I liked ToonDoo a lot. I felt like it was easy to use, had a lot of character, background and accessory options, and was easy to save, share, and embed. This is one I would feel comfortable using at the elementary level. I think students would be able to navigate it fairly easily. ToonDoo was by far may favorite.
I could have used a tutorial from Pixton. Either it was very limited or wasn't user friendly. Either way, it wasn't as easy to navigate as ToonDoo. Pixton did allow much more detailed manipulation of the character and speech bubbles. I also noticed that it saide "beginner" on the corner of my screen, so there must be varying levels to work with. I think this program would probably be best for middle and high school students. They would probably be able to do much more with this than I was able to.
I also could not embed this comic. I tried multiple times to enter the code and I never saw any evidence through my draft or preview that it was there (maybe it will be there when I publish). I was easily able to save it as a PNG and insert it into the blog.
I could not save or embed this comic. Again, the fault could be mine, but if it is, it wasn't easy for me to figure out. This website was in between the other two for me in it's likableness. I felt like it was easier to use than Pixton, but didn't have as much selection as ToonDoo. I did like all of the resources that accompanied this site though. I think it is a great tool for teachers and is a great starting place for someone that hasn't used websites like this before. I appreciated and watched the tutorial at the beginning. It made me feel more comfortable with the process.
Amanda's MakeBeliefsComix- this is a link to my comic
Tellagami
Tellagami was a fun and easy app to use. It would be a great final project that even the littlest guys could use. It reminds me a lot of a podcast, but with a picture and "storyteller". I would actually have liked to have had an account with them, so that I could have messed around with it a little more.
Final Thoughts
Being a 1st grade teacher, and not a particularly tech savy one at that, I prefered ToonDoo and Tellagami. They were both user friendly and had good final products. I felt that 1st graders could easily work with them both .
We had many of these apps (and of course all websites) available to us last year, but no one ever promoted them or told us about them. Had I known more, I would have used them. It's important for those that know, to spread the information to others. I think there was an assumption that we could play around with apps on our own, but with no direction and little time, that wasn't easy.
Something else that I do like about all of these websites and apps we have encountered through this summer session, is that everything can be emailed. With the limited projects I did do with my class last year, I would have the kids email me their final projects. After I looked at them, I would forward them on their parents. Both the kids and the parents really liked that, and now I am feeling like I have more tools at my finger tips (which I WILL share with others!)
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