BP9_20091108_Flickr

A lesson plan idea that I found using Flickr, came from Pamela AuCoin, a history teacher at Queens High School, in New York City. The information was retrieved from http://www.teachersnetwork.org/NTNY/nychelp/technology/flickr.htm.

Ms. AuCoin had her students use Flickr to search for soviet propaganda images. She created a class account where the students were able to upload their images to. Students were also allowed to work in pairs and performed group work for collaboration and participation. If images were not found on flickr , students were able to go to Google images or Yahoo images, then upload their images to their flickr class page. Students were then required to embed comments to their images on flickr in the description box and to share with the class.

I would use flickr in my class lesson to allow students to locate images that document an issue they care about. Once they have found an image it would be downloaded and printed in black and white. Students would then use color pencils to show contrast and emphasis and to color their image. I would have a class group page created to make it easier for students to go back and locate their images. The students would be expected to go back and post a description of the concern that the photo presented to the student or why they chose the image.

Using a whiteboard the images could be projected on the board for a class discussion and critique, also to see if the comments matched the image.

image retrieved on November 08, 2009 from

http://www.bing.com/images?FORM=Z9FD

BP8_20091108_Researching&Blogging Web 2.0 Sc

Sclipo helps you teach, learn, share and connect online with your students and fellow teachers. Create your own web academy and teach your subject or expertise. These features are free when you join the site. You can upgrade for a small fee and get paid for your courses and teaching events. With the courses you publish, this can be done online and face -2-face. As and educator this tool helps to lead webinars and meetings for 100 or more people. Create an online library in Sclipo to store your videos, audios, and images. If planning an educational training event or conference these events can also be streamed live.

Using this Web 2.0 tool allows you to connect with others in your field by creating a member profile. I can see all the wonderful possibilities of this tool especially the fact that it is free. I do plan on using the whiteboard with this tool and teaching with a webcam. These are skills that I have not tried and we are coming to that time in this hour and 21^st century learning. As an educator I believe it is my responsibility to try out this technology and its many uses and to provide feedback to its creators, if it has helped with my instruction or did not improve students abilities in learning.

This is similar to sitting in a classroom except you can teach and record your lesson for a future broadcast to your students. You could be absent and this file or video could be pulled to present to your students for instruction. That is why I believe this tool is of great interest to my learning environment.

Images retrieved on November 08, 2009 from

http://pdonaghy.edublogs.org/files/2009/08/sclipo1.jpg

http://www.bing.com/images?FORM=Z9FD

Bp7_20091108_Researching & Blogging Web2.0 FR

image retrieved on November 08, 2009 from http://www.bing.com/images?FORM=Z9FD

This Web 2.0 tool has many great features and was of interest to me because it was very easy to use and is similar to imovie and creating a podcast using garageband. For those individuals who do not have access to a mac book or apple computer, this is a helpful tool. There are four steps to getting started with this tool. You must download the free screencast recording software if you want to start creating them now. There is free hosting of your screencast, once you create an account and you can also publish it to the internet. If you want to embed it in a website or a blog, those are two more options. There is no limit to the number of screencast you can create or publish. This is an interesting tool that I know my students would find challenging and educational too.

BP5_20091108_Reflective Media Asset

BP4_20091107_Social Bookmarking

Social Bookmarking is a term used by digital natives to assist with the organization of information found on the web and an easier way to retrieve that information from one location. There are many sites that use this tool to store bookmarks in one location for the user. The most popular tool on the web is Delicious, the second bookmarking website and tool many people may find helpful is Diigo. Two tutorials I found useful on The Read Write Web in Education – an online site, were a video Social Bookmarking in Plain English , by the Common Craft and a slide presentation Social Bookmarking for Educators from jsterns. This tool is a benefit to learners and educators because it allows the individual to gather information from any website and to share it, store it, or tag information for friends or anyone who has access to that website to find some helpful references. Instead of saving all your sites in your favorites tab on your website, having a Delicious account allows you to manage hundreds of sites, turning chaos into order. Your bookmarks are for public viewing for peers or anyone to view. On Delicious you can share or locate new and relevant material you may spend many hours searching for on the web or using Google search. Many websites or Web 2.0 tools have been tagged with keywords to help make searching or browsing a site easier to find.

Retrieved on 11/08/2009,

http://readwriteweb.wikispaces.com/socialbookmarks

http://www.commoncraft.com/bookmarking-plain-english

http://www.slideshare.net/jstearns/social-bookmarking-for-educators?type=presentation

Image retrieved on 11/08/2009 from

http://edition.englishclub.com/esl-magazine/social-bookmarks/#

BP3_20091102_Researching&Blogging. Web 2.0 tools

A Web 2.0 tool that I found very interesting and one that would be very useful to my teaching/learning environment is Kerpoof. Kerpoof is a free online educational game site and its multimedia software is free for educators. There is a small cost if you want to become a member to access special features on this site. It was created in March 2007 and acquired by The Walt Disney Company in February 2009. With the integration of technology into the classroom this is definitely an excellent resource for my art classroom. At the click of a button, once students have entered the art studio on this site the opportunities are many. Each student can create a coloring book using the clip art images they can also doodle and create their own artwork or characters. Students can make a story, a card, or even make a movie with special effects and animation.

Kerpoof has two main sites connected to create one. They are Kerpoof Studio, for elementary and middle school students and Kerpoof Scholastic, which includes tutorials, tips and tricks. Many other resources I found to be useful on this site as an educator were The National Educational Technology Standards also several state educational standards. There are many lesson plan ideas shared on this site for different grade levels and subject areas. I enjoyed viewing the Movie Maker tutorial and then I created an animated movie with special effects. I also experimented with the Doodle Pad. This could be useful for the exceptional and lower level students I teach. I know that my students will also find this site to be fun and useful in developing their creative talents and abilities as I did.

http://www.kerpoof.com/teach

Kerpoof Image retrieved from

www.freetech4teachers.com/ 2008_01_23_archive.html

BP2_20091101_Google Reader RSS feeds

The five RSS feeds I decided would be useful to me in my profession are: BrainBashers, Design by Fire, English and Grammar Rules, How To Web, and You The Designer. I am a Visual Arts Teacher pursing my Masters in EMDT. You The Designer is a graphic design blog that will provide me with tutorials, inspiration, tips and creative resources.

How To Web is a blog that provides Tech Videos, Computer Center information, Gadget Search, and a News Feeds List. This site shares up and coming important news concerning technology. English and Grammar Rules is a powerful site that informs educators about English rules and this is important when communicating with adults or students verbally or in writing. Design By Fire is a blog about design, lifestyles, photography, and politics. This site would help me to stay informed about various designers and their lifestyles, photography/videotaping and how to use this to benefit my students. BrainBashers is an RSS of puzzles and brain teasers I could use in my learning environment as a lesson. It also includes riddles, games, and optical illusions. students would enjoy the challenge and so would I.