This week's tech task was to share our favorite idea from each of the three speakers in class on March 20th. As you can see, it is March 26th. I've been listening to the recording in bits and pieces, as I make supper, wash dishes, fold laundry, etc! That's the beauty of the flipped classroom- multitasking at its best!
Top Tip: Radio Programming- Heather Durnin
Heather was able to link her class with a free radio station called 105 The Hive. Her students produced shows featuring reader's theatre, speeches, and holiday programming. People from all over the world, including friends and relatives, were able to tune in. Radio is especially good for students whose oral expression is stronger than written expression.
I am not sure how to go about looking for free radio time/stations. A quick google search shows radio stations that you can listen to for free, but not produce for free. Anyone know of any?
Top Tip: Standing Stations- Royan Lee
Partly as a joke, Royan brought bar-height counters into his classroom to use as gathering places. To his surprise, students worked far more efficiently when they were standing as opposed to sitting.
I know that schools can order adjustable desks so that students can stand instead of sit. I believe that the more movement there is throughout the day, the better the students will learn. I am going to keep my eyes open on kijiji and at garage sales for furniture I can buy for my classroom!
Top Tip: Stalking in English- Clarence Fisher
Clarence chose three well-known educators and challenged his students to "stalk" them to try to find out as much as possible about these individuals (he asked permission beforehand). Students had two 90-minute periods to try to dig up as much information as possible. This exercise resulted in valuable observations about what kind of information responsible adults post online.
I am definitely going to try this if I have middle years or high school students. There can be a lot of anxiety around posting student information online. This activity shows students that it is possible to have a significant digital presence and still be safe.
Tuesday, 26 March 2013
Tuesday, 19 March 2013
Google Hangout
Murder mysteries... the Sahara desert... a plane crash in the Alps... what do they all have in common? Stories I'm reading by my friends at Major School! They are sharing their stories with me through google documents, and I'm using the chat and comment tools to give them feedback.
Recently I thought, "I'd like to learn how to use google hangout." And I thought "I'd like to share one of my stories with the students." Voila! An idea was born. We all got our google+ accounts up and running and scheduled a chat for this afternoon.
I read them one of my stories and gave them four questions:
-what did you like about the story?
-what would you change about the story?
-do you think I should make it longer, shorter, or was it just right?
-do you have any questions?
It was great to hear their feedback on my writing! I got some solid ideas for how to improve. Then I gave them some writing prompts and invited them to write another short story for next week.
I liked how the sharing and feedback was reciprocal. Hopefully, now that they have given me suggestions for improvement, they will apply the same principles to their own writing.
But I have some questions about google hangout...
If I want to start a hangout, do my google friends have to be online in order to accept the invitation? There were some students who I was friends with, but I couldn't figure out how to invite them to the chat. Any ideas what went wrong?
Thanks!
Photo credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/8796961@N08/775368469/">_StaR_DusT_</a> via <a href="http://compfight.com">Compfight</a> <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.0/">cc</a>
Recently I thought, "I'd like to learn how to use google hangout." And I thought "I'd like to share one of my stories with the students." Voila! An idea was born. We all got our google+ accounts up and running and scheduled a chat for this afternoon.
I read them one of my stories and gave them four questions:
-what did you like about the story?
-what would you change about the story?
-do you think I should make it longer, shorter, or was it just right?
-do you have any questions?
It was great to hear their feedback on my writing! I got some solid ideas for how to improve. Then I gave them some writing prompts and invited them to write another short story for next week.
I liked how the sharing and feedback was reciprocal. Hopefully, now that they have given me suggestions for improvement, they will apply the same principles to their own writing.
But I have some questions about google hangout...
If I want to start a hangout, do my google friends have to be online in order to accept the invitation? There were some students who I was friends with, but I couldn't figure out how to invite them to the chat. Any ideas what went wrong?
Thanks!
Photo credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/8796961@N08/775368469/">_StaR_DusT_</a> via <a href="http://compfight.com">Compfight</a> <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.0/">cc</a>
Thursday, 14 March 2013
Where's Shannon?
Can you find me?
Yep, that's me, fourth picture from the left. That's actually the only trace of *me* that shows on a google search. A day ago, I would have been happy. My goal was to have the digital footprint of a cloud. But after listening to George Couros' talk on digital identity, I'm not so sure.
In his talk, George Couros said that if we don't take charge of our digital identity, someone else will. In his case, somebody had posted a negative review about him on ratemyteacher.com. That was at the top of a google search about himself, until he created a more active presence online. Today, if you google his name, the top results are his twitter account, blog, and other things that he has control over.
So I realized that by generating positive material about yourself online, you can overcome things that other people put up (i.e., that awkward photo of yourself from grade seven).
That's one advantage of creating a digital identity, but it's a defensive play. An even greater advantage to building digital identity is being a role model to students of what is appropriate. As Couros mentioned, some youngsters post the wrong things for the wrong reasons. They need to see a positive example.
Finally, I've been learning, that connections and relationships really do happen online. I was skeptical of this at first. But as I've been reading my classmate's blogs, I've noticed that I keep commenting on certain ones. People are emerging as thinkers and practitioners who I want to be in touch with, and when I noticed that google reader is retiring on July 1, my first thought was, "how am I going to keep up with my teacher blogs?"
So what do I want to see when I google myself? Well, a flattering picture, for starters ;) All joking aside, I'd like my name to be connected with initiatives that I am proud of. I'm imagining pictures of a community garden, an EAL class, a humorous essay, etc. I'd love to hear from people I've never met and people I've always wanted to meet. And that's not going to happen as long as I'm a digital cloud.
Yep, that's me, fourth picture from the left. That's actually the only trace of *me* that shows on a google search. A day ago, I would have been happy. My goal was to have the digital footprint of a cloud. But after listening to George Couros' talk on digital identity, I'm not so sure.
In his talk, George Couros said that if we don't take charge of our digital identity, someone else will. In his case, somebody had posted a negative review about him on ratemyteacher.com. That was at the top of a google search about himself, until he created a more active presence online. Today, if you google his name, the top results are his twitter account, blog, and other things that he has control over.
So I realized that by generating positive material about yourself online, you can overcome things that other people put up (i.e., that awkward photo of yourself from grade seven).
That's one advantage of creating a digital identity, but it's a defensive play. An even greater advantage to building digital identity is being a role model to students of what is appropriate. As Couros mentioned, some youngsters post the wrong things for the wrong reasons. They need to see a positive example.
Finally, I've been learning, that connections and relationships really do happen online. I was skeptical of this at first. But as I've been reading my classmate's blogs, I've noticed that I keep commenting on certain ones. People are emerging as thinkers and practitioners who I want to be in touch with, and when I noticed that google reader is retiring on July 1, my first thought was, "how am I going to keep up with my teacher blogs?"
So what do I want to see when I google myself? Well, a flattering picture, for starters ;) All joking aside, I'd like my name to be connected with initiatives that I am proud of. I'm imagining pictures of a community garden, an EAL class, a humorous essay, etc. I'd love to hear from people I've never met and people I've always wanted to meet. And that's not going to happen as long as I'm a digital cloud.
Learning from Differences
I played a game recently that surprised me! The gist of the game was that when you saw a word, like "wedding," you had a minute to write down as many words that you thought of. Everybody had a partner, and the pair that had the most words in common won the round. My sister was my partner, so I thought that we would dominate the game. After all, we've known each other for 24 years!
The word was ice cream. This should be easy, I thought, writing down vanilla, chocolate, strawberry, neopolitan, mint chocolate chip, and cookie dough.
To my shock, we only had two words in commons! She put vanilla, strawberry, tiger-tiger, butterscotch, and cotton candy.
As we kept playing, I realized again that people really do think very differently from each other.
I am appreciating more and more that in ECMP355, we get to share our work with each other, and that each person has a different twist on the tech tasks. I've learned (maybe selfishly) to wait a couple of days to do my tech tasks so that I can get some idea of how other people are doing them. I wish that in school we would have had more opportunities to share our work with classmates. I've learned a lot from you, my fellow ECMP friends. Thank you!
The word was ice cream. This should be easy, I thought, writing down vanilla, chocolate, strawberry, neopolitan, mint chocolate chip, and cookie dough.
To my shock, we only had two words in commons! She put vanilla, strawberry, tiger-tiger, butterscotch, and cotton candy.
As we kept playing, I realized again that people really do think very differently from each other.
I am appreciating more and more that in ECMP355, we get to share our work with each other, and that each person has a different twist on the tech tasks. I've learned (maybe selfishly) to wait a couple of days to do my tech tasks so that I can get some idea of how other people are doing them. I wish that in school we would have had more opportunities to share our work with classmates. I've learned a lot from you, my fellow ECMP friends. Thank you!
Photo Credit: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/24894289@N08/3269779650/">kern.justin</a> via <a href="http://compfight.com">Compfight</a> <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.0/">cc</a>
Thursday, 7 March 2013
I don't have a cell phone
RU Serious?
Well, that's not exactly the truth. I borrow my mom's old phone for road trips. Last time I saw it, it was dead... with no minutes.... turned off... under the seat of my car.
What if you are in an emergency?
I agree that having a cell phone can be a big help in an emergency. When I moved to Regina four years ago, I wondered if I should get a phone to cope with life in the city. However, money was tight so I decided that if I was ever in an emergency, I would try to borrow someone else's phone. In four years, I've only needed to use someone's phone once for an emergency.
How do you keep in touch?
I check my email a lot, and have trained people not to text my land line.
WHY NOT?
When I walk down the street or through the halls at university, most people I see are looking at their cell phone. I feel like these people are missing out on the opportunity to experience the world that is around them. I know from past experiences that I could very easily use my phone to check out of my situation. It's a way of forcing me to engage with my surroundings, even if I'm feeling bored or awkward or lonely.
Will you get a phone in the future?
Yes. If I get a job that involves making a lot of contacts and meetings, I'll get a smart phone. Cell phones have tremendous potential for making life more efficient, and I'm not going to be stubborn about being cell-phone free. The days are coming (and some might argue are already here) when it won't be a viable option to not have a phone. But for the time being, being cell-phone free makes me feel like I'm on an extended holiday. It's not for everyone, but it works for me!
Here's an article by a self-proclaimed minimalist on the no-cell phone experience.
Well, that's not exactly the truth. I borrow my mom's old phone for road trips. Last time I saw it, it was dead... with no minutes.... turned off... under the seat of my car.
What if you are in an emergency?
I agree that having a cell phone can be a big help in an emergency. When I moved to Regina four years ago, I wondered if I should get a phone to cope with life in the city. However, money was tight so I decided that if I was ever in an emergency, I would try to borrow someone else's phone. In four years, I've only needed to use someone's phone once for an emergency.
How do you keep in touch?
I check my email a lot, and have trained people not to text my land line.
 |
| Recycled cell phone art from ecofriend.com |
WHY NOT?
When I walk down the street or through the halls at university, most people I see are looking at their cell phone. I feel like these people are missing out on the opportunity to experience the world that is around them. I know from past experiences that I could very easily use my phone to check out of my situation. It's a way of forcing me to engage with my surroundings, even if I'm feeling bored or awkward or lonely.
Will you get a phone in the future?
Yes. If I get a job that involves making a lot of contacts and meetings, I'll get a smart phone. Cell phones have tremendous potential for making life more efficient, and I'm not going to be stubborn about being cell-phone free. The days are coming (and some might argue are already here) when it won't be a viable option to not have a phone. But for the time being, being cell-phone free makes me feel like I'm on an extended holiday. It's not for everyone, but it works for me!
Here's an article by a self-proclaimed minimalist on the no-cell phone experience.
Tech Task #8: QR Codes
My imagination is going crazy with QR code ideas!
My first impulse was to tease my friends with it. Here's what that looks like:
The QR codes are links to a song and an online talk that I thought my friend would enjoy.
After sniffing around online, I found that some conventional uses for QR codes in the classroom are...
-promoting a blog or website
-doing a scavenger hunt
-scanning a qr code on a book to link to a website with trailers, extras, learning activities, etc
-including qr codes in newsletters for parents to scan
-providing a link to a google form or a trivia question
I have a few ideas of my own to add (I am probably not the first to think of them, but I came up with them myself):
Classroom Use:
-create a qr code and then replicate it using another medium (paint, pastel, found items, photo collage) for visual art
-use qr codes as a jumping-off point for a discussion about probablility. Explore if there is a limit to the number of qr codes that can be created. How does the number of characters in a qr code affect the way that it looks?
-create a qr code and then write one word in each black space to transform it into a poem
Other Random Ideas:
-paint a qr code on the back of a t-shirt. Wear the t-shirt to work or school and track how many times it was scanned throughout the day (www.trakqr.com)
-include a qr code on your business card with a link to your digital profile
-in a perfect world, all clothing companies would be linked with computer software so that customers could download their size and preferences in to an app, and then scan a clothes tag which would instatntly tell you whether the clothes would fit you! (read: no more fitting rooms!)
-revolutionize online dating: singles could create an online portfolio and tattoo the qr code to their forehead. People could unobtrusively scan the foreheads of people they see around town and then get information about them without having to actually start up a conversation. This last one is to see who's still reading :)
My first impulse was to tease my friends with it. Here's what that looks like:
The QR codes are links to a song and an online talk that I thought my friend would enjoy.
After sniffing around online, I found that some conventional uses for QR codes in the classroom are...
-promoting a blog or website
-doing a scavenger hunt
-scanning a qr code on a book to link to a website with trailers, extras, learning activities, etc
-including qr codes in newsletters for parents to scan
-providing a link to a google form or a trivia question
I have a few ideas of my own to add (I am probably not the first to think of them, but I came up with them myself):
Classroom Use:
-create a qr code and then replicate it using another medium (paint, pastel, found items, photo collage) for visual art
-use qr codes as a jumping-off point for a discussion about probablility. Explore if there is a limit to the number of qr codes that can be created. How does the number of characters in a qr code affect the way that it looks?
-create a qr code and then write one word in each black space to transform it into a poem
Other Random Ideas:
-paint a qr code on the back of a t-shirt. Wear the t-shirt to work or school and track how many times it was scanned throughout the day (www.trakqr.com)
-include a qr code on your business card with a link to your digital profile
-in a perfect world, all clothing companies would be linked with computer software so that customers could download their size and preferences in to an app, and then scan a clothes tag which would instatntly tell you whether the clothes would fit you! (read: no more fitting rooms!)
-revolutionize online dating: singles could create an online portfolio and tattoo the qr code to their forehead. People could unobtrusively scan the foreheads of people they see around town and then get information about them without having to actually start up a conversation. This last one is to see who's still reading :)
Monday, 18 February 2013
Major Fun
For my mentoring assignment I was matched up with 9 delightful students in grade 7 and 8, and their teacher Mavis Hoffman. Inspired by our class on using google docs, I offered to help them revise short stories, using this tool! We're meeting every Tuesday afternoon. Each student has a netbook, so they work on their stories or other assignments while I read the stories and discuss (using the comment or chat feature) them with the author. Some observations:
-These students are the bright spot in my week. They're goofy, imaginative, and fun!
-Did I mention imaginative? I was amazed by their story plots... lost in the Sahara... plane crash in the mountains... fighting in the trenches.... a serial killer in small-town Saskatchewan...
-I'm trying to help my students learn how to revise their work independantly. For example, instead of going ahead and correcting spelling errors, I'm working with them to find spell check tools, as well as strategies to find the errors themselves
-I'm thinking of putting one of my stories on a google doc and having them help me revise it
I think this is truly going to be a reciprocal learning experience. While I am more knowledgable and experienced in writing, they are more advanced in using technology. It would be awesome to be able to stop by their class some time this semester!
Check out what they're doing!
@majortweeters
majortweeters.weebly.com
-These students are the bright spot in my week. They're goofy, imaginative, and fun!
-Did I mention imaginative? I was amazed by their story plots... lost in the Sahara... plane crash in the mountains... fighting in the trenches.... a serial killer in small-town Saskatchewan...
-I'm trying to help my students learn how to revise their work independantly. For example, instead of going ahead and correcting spelling errors, I'm working with them to find spell check tools, as well as strategies to find the errors themselves
-I'm thinking of putting one of my stories on a google doc and having them help me revise it
I think this is truly going to be a reciprocal learning experience. While I am more knowledgable and experienced in writing, they are more advanced in using technology. It would be awesome to be able to stop by their class some time this semester!
Check out what they're doing!
@majortweeters
majortweeters.weebly.com
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