ILP #2 Design - Prezi

I chose Prezi as my ILP due to its popularity with students today. I've already seen teachers beginning to use it in their own presentations to classes. While I have collaborated on Prezis, I'd never made one on my own and wanted to get a feel for it, as I imagine it will continue to become more popular.

The interface was easy to understand, but the tools used to move things around weren't my favorite. Everything snapped to grid which made it hard to customize my presentation the way I wanted to. Additionally the limited frame shapes also felt a bit stifling. The interface provided easy-to-understand instructions when problems arose. That said, I would need to spend more time with the program before I made it my primary presentation method. 

I made my presentation as if I were giving a presentation to college-aged students learning about WWII, as an introduction to the topic of female espionage.

http://prezi.com/8l75hjn5g_44/?utm_campaign=share&utm_medium=copy 

Blog #10

In the future, I think I would use data collection tools to gauge how familiar students are with a subject before I begin. I once heard a history professor say that they spend most of their general ed courses reteaching what students learn in high school, because the students don't usually fully comprehend the progression of results of certain events in history. Because of this, they try not to expect their students to know very much, but then this means they potentially waste time on subject matter that students might already know. So, for example, I could ask them to write a brief in-class writing assignment on the year they think is most important to the class curriculum, in which they explain why that year had the most impact on the subject matter.

When looking at class blogs, I was drawn to the creative designing assignments we had. I was really impressed with what other students came up with, and what they saw as important in their webdesign projects. I also enjoyed going through the interactive PowerPoint presentations and seeing the ways they incorporated different PowerPoint functions.

In the future I would like to learn more about e-research methods. I know many archives put up electronic versions of their materials online and I think I would like to be part of that process. Additionally, I'd like to see if there are any resources like blogspot or Diigo specifically for researchers, so that others in the field may keep up with the progress of their research. I think this would be encouraging as a fellow researcher, and could potentially be useful in a classroom where we learn about researching methodologies.

Blog post 9

In a regular classroom, teachers give lessons and lecture, and then assign homework for students to do at home, where they can apply the things they learned. The flipped classroom refers to the teaching model in which the students have learned the lesson before they come to class, and they then do all of the activities in class. This ensures that students have the help they need when they are attempting to apply the knowledge, because the teacher is right there to better explain or help with understanding concepts. The Khan academy offers videos categorized both by subject and grade, covering k-12 and everything from basic fractions to WWI. 

"Open" refers to resources available to both teachers and students to reuse, revise, remix, and redistribute. These resources are open in that to copyright keep people from using them to educate themselves and those around them. While the podcast focuses on teachers' ability to find these sources and use them in class, it is important to know that those contributing the resources also benefit. This system allows for free revising from peers, and also allows them to expand their understanding of their own topics, as teachers might use them in new and interesting ways that the creator might not have thought of. 

I've been using PowerPoint from a fairly young age, I used to do them for fun just because I was excited to get to use the computer, so while I had fun with the assignment, I'm not sure I learned anything completely new. With the other PowerPoint project I learned how to do nonlinear navigation which was new to me, but this one felt more basic to me. 

Blog #8

I really liked the idea of the glasses that tracked where you look. I think it would be especially beneficial to teachers deciding how to design a classroom. By putting the glasses on students, they could see what distracts students, where their eyes are drawn to, etc. Additionally a teacher could wear the glasses themselves and better understand which students they pay more attention to versus which students actually need more attention.

Bloom's Taxonomy addresses the different levels of learning that can be utilized, starting with lower level learning (knowledge, facts, etc) to creating and developing new ideas. For example, for a history project presentation using PowerPoint, a student could create a timeline to accomplish the first step, remember. The timeline would give simple facts to be learned and memorized, like "the Declaration of Independence was signed on the fourth of July, 1776" (it actually was approved by congress on this date and was probably signed on August 2nd, but for the purposes of this I'll use the commonly believed misconception). The next step, understanding, would give more explanation as to how and why these events happened. This would show that they, for example, understand that taxation without representation acted as large motivator for the continental congress to call for independence from the crown. Applying their knowledge via PowerPoint, they could show a list of sources they used for their presentations. To accomplish the steps of analyzing and evaluating, students could critique each other's presentations, asking questions and commenting on elements that weren't clear. And for create, they could use PowerPoint's design features to make a new constitution, complete with amendments they think should be added.

To stay up to date with technology I would use http://www.techradar.com/, a site that prides itself with keeping regular people up to date with the newest technology and the best prices. While the site might look a little unprofessional, it offers valuable information on what new technology is available and trending. Additionally, by looking at its section on purchasing, teachers can stay up to date with how affordable new technologies are.

Blog #7

I really like the idea of text-to-speech and vise versa technology. I think it could be useful for multiple disabilities including blindness, Parkinson's, cerebral palsy, and even anxiety. A friend of mine actually uses this technology in coordination with their severe anxiety. After reading homework for a really long time or when they're feeling particularly anxious, their eyes will not focus any more on the words before them. With these technologies they are able to get their readings done on time with a clear understanding of what they read.

The website development helped me with spacing and how best to lay out materials in a manner that doesn't overwhelm the viewer. I wasn't a big fan of the website, it's templating method was very strict and there wasn't a lot of wiggle room. In the future I'd like to use some fancier techniques in terms of template and effects, but I have plenty of time to hone those skills.  http://haleyeme2040.weebly.com/

Working with Diigo pushed me to find key words quickly in an article, as well as helping me find ways to stay connected with other teachers and students. As a person planning on teaching college level students, I can definitely see myself using this tool as a way of encouraging students to comment on articles we read in class.

At first I went to the website of my old high school, but found no teacher websites. So instead I went to the one for Leon High. I looked at several websites of teachers, beginning with one from a Spanish teacher. The website was fun and eye catching, with the teacher introducing themselves in Spanish before continuing in Spanish. The sidebar had plenty of extra links to homework, extra credit assignments, announcements, and other things. The teacher fully embraced the requirements and the  time they spent shows.

Another teacher, however, was obviously not happy with the requirements. The only things on her website is the school calendar, which I saw featured on every teacher's website and seems to be updated by the school rather than the individual teachers, and her opening remarks from the beginning of the year. She opens with welcoming the students and parents, and then states that she wants to meet with all the parents in person, by appointment. She says things like "attached, you will find..." which makes me think she printed this and several other things out for students, and then didn't even edit her letter before posting it online. She says that she has been teaching for 26+ years, and seems to be from the generation of teachers that is uncomfortable with technology. 

I like the idea of using Diigo to actually have online conversations with students, I plan on teaching grad school, so using Diigo to have online discussions on important documents, that can then be expounded upon in class. 

I like the idea of using Occulus to go on "field trips" to museums with students. This would have to be a smaller class, and we would have to be viewing a very specific exhibit but I think there is a lot to be said for being able to see something in person, and Occulus would be a good tool to make it half-way. Especially if I teach at a University like FSU, I could make an appointment with the education technology people at my school and get my students to experience a museum in a way they might not be able to otherwise.

ILP "Participation" - Lynda.com Tutorial on Excel for Beginners

I'm actually very nervous about using Excel. The few times I have used it, I felt entirely lost and ended up accidentally deleting all of the data at least three times, and doing formulas manually which made the program feel useless. Because of this, I decided I wanted a bit of a head-start on the class, and took a Lynda.com tutorial. The tutorial was around an hour and a half long, and began with a basic discussion of what Excel is and why people use it. The first "chapter" described how to input data, how to use and create formulas, and over all how to access the functionality of the website. The second "chapter" discussed the different ways you can format the sheets in order to make them more neat and professional looking. The last "chapter," the shortest, talked about how to share the sheets, both by using the cloud and by emailing.

While some of the formatting tips were a bit obvious, I genuinely didn't know that Excel could do all of the things it can in terms of formulas, recommending charts, recognizing patterns, etc. As a history major I don't have many projects in which I enter data, but I could definitely see this being used by teachers to calculate grades.

Post #5

I think blogs and Diigo are good for classes because they allow for interaction directly between the creator and viewer. There is plenty of room for discussion, students can always go back for more updates, etc. I'm not a big fan of wikis for classes though. While its true also of blogs and Diigo that anyone can post things, at least with the first two their is some level of accountability for who says what. Wikipedia might be good for getting simple background knowledge on a topic, but might not be right for a classroom setting.

One Web 2.0 site that I'm interested in is Brightly, a website on reading strategies that can be helpful to both parents and teachers. Covering everything from the importance of story time to the best books for 9 and 10 year old children, it provides information in a fun manner that gets the reader excited about reading with children. It suggests books to tie in larger topics as well, which would be especially useful in cases where teachers have to decide between an in depth history lesson or an in depth language arts lesson. This way, the teacher could do both by incorporating a book with a historical theme.

I could see Google Glasses being incorporated, but more in the way of smart phones rather than something the school buys. I could definitely see students using glasses to help themselves stay on schedule and on task, as well as creating a way for students to take more efficient notes. While reading the article, I kept thinking about various teachers who would get angry about students having their hands raised in the middle of a lecture. They preferred for you to write it down and then ask it later. I could see something similar being done with the glasses, where the students could write out the question before their very eyes, and just have it ready to go once the teacher started taking questions.

Post #4

My early experiences have so far been pleasant. I followed a handful full of history twitters that, while maybe not useful for the class, are quite interesting. I've retweeted a few things from edutopia and I've been keeping up with events in the politics of education, something I was not particularly interested in, via the Department of Education. Especially in this sense, using my twitter for work could definitely help me stay up to date with my field.

The digital divide refers to the fact that not all students have the same accessibility to software as other students. In the case of application software, like presentation software, students may find themselves falling behind if they do not have these software available to them outside of class. Even if a teacher does not require or expect students to do so, students with plenty of access at home can spend more hours practicing what they learned in class, as compared to a student who has little to no access outside of the classroom. In an example for graphics software, take my little sister: growing up, she had plenty of access to computers both at home and at school. When she came home after school, she would open up the Paint program and make characters and scenes by using the basic tools. As time went on, she became more practiced and picked up on the more nuanced skills that one can use in Paint. She now wants to create video games. If she hadn't had early access in which she was able to hone in her abilities, she might not have as much potential as she currently does. A similar situation can apply to imaging software. A student who has helped their parents fix family photos via photoshop at home will potentially have a greater success in an assignment calling for the creation of a fake magazine. Even if the students can only work during class, one student may have years of experience where another student is starting the project with a blank slate. Reference software can also pose similar problems. When I was growing up, it was an internet game to go to a random location on google earth and try to find the nearest airport while on street view. Part of the fun was that, since google earth's street view had just been released, it was a bit difficult to navigate. Now, while finding the airport may still be difficult, I know the basics of using Google Earth. Others who did not have ready access to computers at home might not be able to say the same.

When evaluating websites, it is important to see if you can find the author(s)'s name(s), because this implies some level of accountability for what the site does, says, etc. Bias should be taken note of, because any bias changes how a person should use the website. Content, of course, is very important, because you're relying on the content to be correct and right. Design is important especially when discussing a topic in which images are heavy and/or necessary. Technical effects might not be the most important, but a poorly set-up website could imply that it might not be the most reliable source. Personally, when looking at a website, I like to see if it mentions the last date it was updated. New information is constantly coming forward and I need the most up to date for my research. I also check for affiliations. Something affiliated with a government department, for example, would probably be more credible than one affiliated with a news network, which can give bias.

Post #3

I feel pretty comfortable with most of the standards. My thesis deals with consuming media and analyzing the different ways a variety of forms of media presents one topic. I could, however, feel more comfortable with creating media, specifically those dealing more with quantitative data.

I want to teach at a college level so I would deal mostly with Web 2.0 and 3.0. I myself have worked on projects using Palantir, which integrates Web 3.0 by allowing users to make a visual map/web of concepts, images, ideas, etc. I used the software to help a Ph.D. student make a map of the Porajmos, the Roma-Sinti Holocaust during WWII. The work I did connected her research to other researches, to documents, to monuments dedicated to the Roma-Sinti, and so forth. It can now be used as an educational resource and I'd like to see more students spend time on it. Because I'd want them to be contributing to content that would educate others, I would need to emphasize the importance of using only credible sources, giving complete citations. and clear links to other related topics.

For the newsletter, I'm not used to working with two columns so it took some tinkering to make it look the way I wanted it to. I expected to be able to click over into the second column, instead of having to wait for it to carry over to the other side, which definitely influenced how I formatted things. I wasn't the biggest fan of this assignment, mostly because I couldn't really make it relevant to my preferred teaching grade (aka post-secondary). I made it for 10th but even then I had a hard time believing that a tenth grade class would actually have a newsletter. That said, I could definitely use it for some of the organizations I'm involved with on campus.

Blog #2

The biggest way I've used MS Word was writing papers. So many papers. I'm working on an Honor's Thesis right now so I use word for everything from notes to keeping track of books. I have a document that I use to help me figure out how to organize my paragraphs on the document for my actual thesis. I have a document for a timeline to help me keep things understandable on a larger level (the thesis is on WWII espionage).

In ninth grade we had to do a research project and use three different types of media as sources - books, websites, newspapers, videos, journals, etc. The whole point was to softly figure out how to use MLA formatting. I've since had teachers use library scavenger hunts, fill in the blank worksheets, and games to teach us how to use different formats. They forgot to mention that these standards change, and that different fields require different formats. Until I got to college, I had no idea what Chicago or Turabian were, only that all of my history professors wanted me to use it, which was a problem since I only knew MLA. I basically had to teach myself this new method, and while it wasn't the hardest thing to do, I wish my teachers had taught me earlier on. If I ever worked in a secondary school setting I'd probably use the library scavenger hunts, where students have to find their own sources and then convert them into correctly formatted citation models. This was the most fun way for me, largely because I'm very competitive, even about the smallest things.

The biggest thing I've gotten out of PLN is I've been seeing a lot more articles than I usually do that could help me as both a student and an educator. Additionally I'm getting to see what my peers care about, which in turn could make it easier to work with them in the future. I'm excited to see how they benefit me in the future.

Twitter Handle

Haley_EME_2040

Blog Post #1

By 4pm today, I had read several articles for class, communicated with teachers, and researched for my thesis. All of this was done on a computer. It was a given that these things would be done with a computer, and I never considered another scenario in which I would complete these tasks. Technology is a given in many aspects of life today. Articles and assignments are posted online via class websites, I communicate with my teachers primarily through email, and I have near-endless sources with which to write papers. I'm lucky enough to be technologically literare, but it took learning. My teachers gave me projects to be completed with "online scavenger hunts." As a future professor, I know the importance of technology and how it can help or hinder students. Web 2.0 allows for greater and more accessible peer feedback, but it also opens the doors to less credible resources like Wikipedia. I would have liked more discussion on this in the chapter, but I assume that will be covered in later chapters.

I'm glad they specify critical thinking as a standard for students to learn, because finding can be difficult if you don't know how to think critically, but can be surprisingly easy if one has those skills. For example, while looking at a wikipedia page, it is important to recognize that the article itself isn't scholarly, but the sources at the bottom of the article may offer good bits of information for a person looking for credible sources. I feel a little uncomfortable with the teaching standards, specifically the idea of making one project that brings together multiple ways of learning. As the book said, people learn in a variety of ways, and having something for everyone seems complicated and difficult. 

I don't have a problem with the term "digital native," although I think it's important to note that I live a privileged life wherein technology has been available to me my entire life, and that is certainly not true of all members of my generation. The issue I have with this term comes more from how teachers interpret it. In the eyes of some teachers, my ability to use technology gets read as an assumed owner of technology. For example, one of my teachers (a digital immigrant) is requiring the purchase of ExamSoft, which will allow me to view my test and quiz scores immediately after finishing a test and make grading easier for my professor, who is teaching a 200 person class. The problem is, the program is to be used on laptops in class. I own a laptop, but it is old, crashes a lot, and doesn't connect to wifi reliably. So while she is trying to integrate technology to help all, my ability to take tests is actually being hindered. I hope that when I am in her position, I don't make similar mistakes of assuming technology is available to all of my students without first consulting. I imagine that the technology they use will cover much more of their life than current technology covers mine, so I will need to learn how it affects them, and also how accessible the new tools really are. 

First Post

This is my senior year of college so I'm fairly familiar with most forms of technology that we will talk about in class. I've made videos for public history classes, I've used excel sheets to organize data I've collected in archives, and I've written way too many papers. I received a small bit of money last fall to take a a research trip to Boston, where I looked through the archives of the Schlesinger library at Harvard, where I used a "hover camera" program to take pictures of different items from the collections, which were then immediately uploaded to my computer. It was a really cool experience and I got a lot of photos, mostly because there was some really interesting stuff in the collection of Katherine M. Keene, a woman who worked for the OSS during WWII.

I'm not too familiar with making podcasts and I could use a little more practice with excel, but I feel fairly comfortable with my knowledge so far. I want to be a professor some day so I'm hoping this class will help me build specific strategies to use in future classes. Additionally, I'd like to feel a bit more comfortable in the fields I'm weak in, in order to be a more effective instructor as well as student in the future.

I'm fairly balanced on most spectrum of learning styles, but according to the survey I'm definitely more verbal than visual. I found this surprising as I usually have a hard time taking in information when it's only spoken and have to ask for a repeat, but I definitely work better when I'm able to think allowed, ask questions, and verbally go through steps even when I'm by myself. For the most part my learning style seems to be situational, which I agree with.