Cell Phones in the Classroom

While exploring other blogs, I came across Mary's blog post about using cell phones in the classroom. I found this as an intriguing post because in my experiences, cell phones have always been the largest nuisance in the classroom. After reading Mary's post, I do agree with her. It seems quite obvious to use the students' interests in order to teach. Since cell phones are such a large part of the students' lives, it would be very motivating to use the phones in the classroom. I do understand the many disadvantages that cell phones can have within the classroom, but I think that if controlled properly, it could be very advantageous to the class. I think that the usage of cell phones in the classroom could be controlled during class activities, where grades are not a large concern. I could also see using cell phones as being largely advantageous in a Deaf Education classroom because it would help students with their communication, writing, and social skills. I've been in many deaf education classrooms and the students are often seen texting on their phones. Many times it is because cell phone usage is often incompatible with their hearing devices.

Mary provided a great website with pros and cons of the usage of cell phones in the classroom.
Teaching Today
Here are some other websites that I have found comparing the pros and cons of using cell phones in the classroom.
Fair Cell Phone Use in Schools
Cell Phone Use in Schools



Photo Attribution
Original Image: Cell Phone Cameras
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By: compujeramey

Released under an Attribution 2.0 Generic license:
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Second Life

After seeing Jenn's post on Second Life, I became very interested in what it was about. I ended up visiting the website and looking around a bit. I, too, am a large fan of the Sims game series. I have yet to explore it some more, but I am very intrigued by what it has to offer. I am planning on joining the world of Second Life and exploring the advantages and disadvantages to it as well. From Jenn's blog post, I think that it has great potential for those who are learning about budgeting and business. I too find that it would be hard to convince the parents of students that this site would be beneficial, let alone the school that I would be working at. I am looking forward to further explore this site and see what it is about!

Ending CEP 416

Now that this class has come to a close, I am looking back to the beginning, and I find that I was not as competent in technological knowledge as I thought I was. I have learned so many different kinds of technologies and different resources that are useful in my future classroom.

One technology that I think that is very useful in the classroom, but wasn't included within this curriculum is the use of Skype or iVisit. In my previous classes I have utilized these resources and was able to communicate with people in other states and countries! I think that this technology is really key to connect people and to learn about other cultures.

The technology that I found the most interesting was Jing. I thought this was the the most interesting technology that we used. The only thing that I found with Jing is the challenge to integrate it into the classroom. The only way that I can imagine it being advantageous is to teach technology use and different resources.

The technology that I found the most useful was GoogleDocs. I think that this application is the one application that is most likely to carry over into my future teachings. I think that it was an amazing resource for collaboration and for the accessibility between computers. I can definitely see myself utilizing this in my classroom!

Photo Attribution
Original Image: Our Computers
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By: aranarth

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PBWorks

In creating my wiki, I had the option to use Wikispaces or PBworks. I have had much experience using Wikispaces, so I decided to try PBworks. I was happy to be able to compare the two wiki-creators. I find that Wikispaces is easier to use and easier to navigate than PBworks. I think for those who are new to creating wikis, Wikispaces would be the best of the two options. I like the toolbars offered and the easy access of the navigation bar.

While using PBworks, I did enjoy the pre-determined templates. I had fun exploring the different templates within the site. I also really like the calender that can be added into the wiki. I think that in my future career as a teacher, I would rather use PBworks, due to the different features that it offers. It seems very classroom-oriented, while Wikispaces seems more general.

Click here to access my wiki!

Photo Attribution
Original Image: PBworks
http://www.flickr.com/photos/vandema3/4760997280/sizes/m/
By: vandema3

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Web 2.0 Ways to Tell a Story

While completing my Digital Storytelling assignment, I explored several different applications. Among these were Xtranormal, Pixton, and Slideroll.

Of all of these, I found that Xtranormal was the coolest! It was really cool to explore the different options offered between different scenes, actors, voices, sound effects, and camera angles. I felt that I had a lot of room to be very creative! Plus, it was really cool to see my videos that I had created. It was fairly easy to navigate and to understand. The only problem that I ran into was sharing the video on my blog or any other website. It seems as if I needed to pay to "Publish" the video.

Pixton was really different from the rest of the presentation applications. I was able to explore the creation of my own comic book. It had many different options that was available, and even more if you were willing to upgrade. I did find that due to the copious amounts of options, it was very time-consuming and hard to navigate. I finished one frame in the time of two hours!

Lastly, I had settled with Slideroll to present my Digital Storytelling lab. I thought that this was a very cool way to create a presentation. The feature that I enjoyed most was the effects and transitions. Also being able to overlay the captions was a cool feature. I did find it hard to create a timeline with a picture order that I thought fit best.

Kidspiration

Kidspiration is a program that helps student organize their thoughts into a graphic organizer. It is easy to use and has images for those who beginning to read and audio that assists students to navigate their way. There is a very cool video that explains many of the cool features that are part of Kidspiration.

Kidspiration is a version of Inspiration that is designed for young students. I downloaded the 30-day free trial and had the opportunity to explore the features that Kidspiration offers. It has a "Picture Viewer," "Writing," and "Math View" options at the menu. Each of these avenues allows the student to create Kidspiration Documents that visually organize ideas. A really cool feature is that the user can go back and forth between the "Picture Viewer" and the written version of the the graph that they just made. It helps the students to connect the words with the image!

Other cool features is that in the Menu a list of activities is offered. They are organized by subject matter (science, social studies, writing & reading, math). Each subject matter has its own list of activities. These include pre-defined webs, ven diagrams, hierarchy charts, and other graphic organizers that use the "fill-in-the-bubble" method.

In every component of the program, an image toolbar is offered. Here the student can search for images. The student can also add bubbles, add arrows/connectors, change colors, create symbols, add notes, and access the word guide. The word guide gives a definition, list of synonyms, and an audio of the text.

Click here for a Jing screencast that explores Kidspiration!

Photo Attribution
Original Image: Kidspiration colors
http://www.flickr.com/photos/vandema3/4760258903/sizes/m/
By: vandema3

Released under an Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic license:
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My Portfolio

While starting my portfolio, I wasn't exactly sure what I should have put in it. I have found that it has become much like a home base for my exploration of the net pertaining to this class. I think that if I was to create a personal website for other classes and personal reasons, I would really find it handy. I thought that it would be a good idea to copy the labs that I had posted on Blogger and post them on my website as well. This way I would be able to have all of my tasks in one place. I added links under the "Commonly Used Link" that I have found very useful. As this class has progressed, I have been continually adding links!

Using Weebly was another resource that I was introduced to in this class. I really really liked this website due to its easy navigation and use. I found that the drag and drop methods of this website is very easy to use. On the other hand, I thought that the site was rather limited. I am not sure if it is an option to upgrade, but I think that it would be worth it to upgrade if you planned on regular use. In the future, I could imagine using Weebly as a class website creator rather than a wiki creator, such as PBworks; however, that would depend on what I planned on doing with it and whether or not I would have students access it. In fact, I think it would be advantageous to use both in the classroom so students could have experience with both applications.

Click here to visit my portfolio!

Jing!

Wow! This program was amazing! Although there were some disadvantages to this program, I found it such a cool experience and a useful tool for my future career as a teacher! I was reading Danielle's post on Jing, and I absolutely agree that it was rather intimidating at first, but was later proven wrong. I also did not like hearing my own voice when I actually went though my vlog. I really liked the idea of the sun too. It is reassuring that I have easy access to this program. Unlike Danielle, I did not get used to hearing my voice though! I think that it is a very interesting application and I can definitely see myself using this in the future - definitely in the classroom and possibly for my own personal uses!

Photo Attribution
Original Image: Review: Jing Pro video recording app
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ivanwalsh/4036224926/sizes/o/
By: Ivan Walsh

Released under an Attribution 2.0 Generic license:
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Lesson Plan

I struggled keeping my lesson plan short and to the point. I kept thinking about all of the cool things I could do with different parts of a lesson, but had a hard time getting them to fit together. I ended up creating a lesson plan teaching the process of creating a law. I tried to make it an interactive lesson and make it really personal to the students. My rationale for this was because I think that many times with government, students learn about it without realizing the impact the process has on their lives. Growing up, I never really understood the effects that the government had on my life. I knew that they ran the country and made laws and kept us safe, but I never really grasped the meaning of it. It really was something that we just learned about in school. So this became my inspiration for this interactive and personal lesson plan. By having the students use this process in their classroom for their own rules makes it more real in a way I think. All in all I found this assignment a challenge. Looking back, I see one major flaw within my lesson plan, and that is to not incorporate the judicial branch into the project! Uh-oh :(


Photo Attribution
Original Image: Capitol Building
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By: spakattacks

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Beyond Bullet Points

In the article "Beyond Bullet Points" by Cliff Atkinson it talks about an effective method to designing PowerPoint presentations. While reading this article, it was mainly a refresher for me in terms of content. I recognized much of the content information such as the sensory, working, and long-term memory from my psychology class that I took in high school. I am also aware of the "pipleline" method of communicating and the "noise" that affects the communication process. I was also aware of the philosophy of Richard Mayer, since he was idolized by a previous teacher of mine. Even knowing all of this information, I was unable to connect it all and look at it from the perspective that was presented in this article. I was really intrigued by the representation of the communication process via the "eye of the needle." I thought it was a great visual representation of the communication process and the level of retaining information.

Photo Attribution
Original Image: Communication
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By: DailyPic

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Google Docs Usage

As a student I can say that USB memory sticks are a popular thing, but with GoogleDocs, they are a thing of the past! GoogleDocs has become a worthy application! I have always struggled with compatability between computers. On many occasions I have forgotten my USB memory stick or have lost it once or twice and felt as if everything was falling apart because I could not access a paper or a presentation. Now with GoogleDocs, I am able to create a paper or a presentation or a spreadsheet on the internet, save it, and access it later from a different computer via the internet. It's a wonderful feeling to be able to do this!!!
Just recently, I had the opportunity to put GoogleDocs to use outside CEP 416. I was working in a group project for my ENG 210 course and we needed to create a lesson plan, presentation, and worksheets for an actual lesson in ENG 210. There was two other students in my group and all three of us had a busy week in front of us. After a few suggestions from myself, we ended up collaborating all three (lesson plan, presentation, and worksheets) from GoogleDocs! They both had a Google account for e-mail purposes, but neither of them were familiar with GoogleDocs. So I was able to direct them to the page and they explored the application and we began collaborating! When it came time to execute our lesson plan, I logged into my Google account on the classroom's computer and pulled up our presentation! The other members in my group were fascinated with the collaborative-enabling features and the easy accessibility. They have told me that they are going to keep this application in mind for future use. :)

Here's the first slide to our presentation:

Photo Attribution
Original Image: Class Presentation: Calcutta
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By: vandema3

Released under an Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic license:
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Delicious

Delicious.com has become an important tool within my toolbelt. I have really enjoyed exploring, learning, and adapting to this application. I have wasted too many hours and too much space on bookmarks toolbar to bookmark everything on my browser. I would have to delete web pages that I only used "every so often" in order to make room for the web pages that I used temporarily but were imperative for me to keep for classes and research. When creating my account, I downloaded the Delicious toolbar so it was very easy to integrate into my daily activities. It has become very easy to bookmark a website that I really find interesting or useful for my future career as a teacher. It has become even easier to be able to access the bookmarks as well. The one feature of Delicious that I like the most is when tagging the website, it offers "recommended" and "popular" tags for the website that is currently displayed.



Photo Attribution
Original Image: Logo on Delicious
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by: topgold

Released under an Attribution 2.0 Generic License
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Digital Storytelling

Create a Free Slideshow

In the Digital Storytelling lab, I chose to do a lesson for lower elementary students. I really chose to do this level of education because I wanted to test a little bit of each level; however, I am almost certain that if I had a choice, I would choose upper elementary. On the other hand, in this economy, I want to be prepared for any opportunity that is presented to me.

I would incorporate this lesson as a post assessment to a discussion about occupations or possibly a Career Day. We would talk about the different occupations and then the students would write four sentences of what they want to be when they grow up and reasons to support their decision. It would require the students to be able to ask questions about the career and maybe do some research about their choice. Once completed, and their final drafts of their sentences written, I would have the students work on their presentations to pair photos with their sentences in a slideshow.