A Reply to David....

David,

I agree with you. Apple provides high value in what you pay for. Simple case in point, when I was connecting my Mac to a home network, it was very easy. The Mac found the network within seconds. As for my friend’s PC, it required much more leg work (identify the network etc.).

On a different topic, for Assignment #5 I was very tempted to use MS Power Point or even Google Documents free online software to hand in this project. The reason that I did not use this online software was due to my slow internet connection (uploading audio/video would be a horrendous task), as well I was unsure if these online versions would let me export a final project to hand in. Something I will definitely experiment with in the future. Just curious if anyone else was also contemplating this idea, or will experiment with these online programs in the future.

Google Earth Extended

Google Earth is very impressive. They have actually extended this program to be even more detailed. Google Street allows you explore places at a real street view. The street view allows users to rotate 360 degrees and zoom in on real digital pictures of certain locations in the States. I'm sure this will eventually extend to many different locations across the world.

Take a look for yourself, it's really cool.....yet scary that they can do this.

http://books.google.com/help/maps/streetview/

A Reply to Christine....

Hi Christine,

From my experience with the Hamilton Boards (Catholic and Public) they have been using PCs. However Apple integration into schools have been growing over the past decade, so I'm sure that eventually more schools may choose to "switch sides" soon enough.

Basically Macs have many user friendly programs for: presentations, video editing, audio editing, photo editing/display, conferencing, web creating, and DVD creation.

A Reply to David....

David,

Very insightful view of PP vs. Keynote. I firmly believe that Keynote, and just Apple as a company, is far more user-friendly, innovative and dynamic than Power Point (MS), however Apple’s problem lies in its overall price. More people have PCs than Macs, because they are cheaper. I promise you, in a couple years the debate won’t just be between PP (MS) vs. Keynote (Apple). Google will have it’s whole suite to content with (give it a couple more years to really develop).

As to why inserting a chart launches Excel……like you mentioned it’s all about the marketing ploy. They want to establish how “easy” their suite performs in terms of integration of one program into another. Their defense is, why should we create chart features in Power Point, when we have built an entire program to handle charts etc. Apple also does this tactic in their programs.

A Reply to Keethai...

Keethai,

That's a great find. I wish there were slightly more options for your font, as it sort of gets lost with the background. I'll def. save this in my favourites folder. Thanks for the link.

A Reply to Mark....

I'm glad you also found the link useful Mark. It sounds like you already do a lot of creative technology aspect projects for your students. I would have loved to have that available to me back when I was in school. It never ceases to amaze me how quickly the curriculum has evolved over the years. I could just imagine what it will be like when these current students enter the work force.

A Reply to Shane

Hi Shane,

Sorry to hear about your problems with sound. I know it has to be frustrating. The best way to get rid of that “scratchy” background noise with your sound clips is to use the software that came with your microphone/web cam to record the sound clips, and then insert this sound clip into your Power Point Presentation. I'm sure the audio quality would greatly improve. To play this presentation on another computer, you would have to include the linked sound files as well as your power point file, and possibly relink the sound files onto the new computer. You are absolutely correct; power point has to get a better audio recorder.

Free eBook Libraries

The link below provides a collection of free eBook libraries that are available to the general public today. There’s a lot to filter through, but there are some interesting ones.

Here’s the link:
http://drscavanaugh.org/ebooks/libraries/ebook_libraries.htm

e-Book Defined

What is an ebook?

An ebook is a book published in electronic form, similar to a Word document, which can be delivered to any computer that is connected to the internet from anywhere in the world.

Epublishing is the way of the FUTURE. Stephen King brought epublishing to the attention of the world by publishing his novel, Riding the Bullet, exclusively in ebook form. In the first 24 hours of availability, 400,000 copies were downloaded - more than any other book in any format!

With Ebooks ...
- you can return easily to previously viewed pages.
- you get instant access to content.
- you can search for words or phrases and get access to the pages instantly.
- the environment is protected because no trees are destroyed.

An eBook ...
~ can be a 400-page novel, complete with illustrations or photographs.
~ could also be a training manual.
~ can be a 10-page specialized report that focuses on solving a specific problem.
~ can be short stories

More Power Point Presentation Tips

Text:
· Limit the number of bulleted items per page. There should be fewer than 6 bullets per page.
· Don't try to put too much text on a slide. Each slide should have less than 10 lines of text.

Charts:
· Make sure that you include enough labels so that people will know what the chart refers
to.
· Often a simple bar chart is much easier to read than a 3D chart. Many times it is difficult
to compare the size of the bars in 3D charts.

Templates:
· Consider how much information you will be displaying on each page when picking a
template. If you plan on presenting a lot of material per page, use a simple template.

Animation:
· Limit the amount of animation that you use.
· Don't have animation on most of your pages.
· If you animate your titles, have the rest of the slide appear after the title is displayed. If
you don't, your audience won't know what the data refers to.

Colors:
· Overhead projectors have low contrast. Make sure you use high contrast colors or the
colors will blend together on the overhead. For example, don't use white and light blue
bars in a chart.

Final Checklist (or things to check when you think you are done).
· Does each slide have a title?
· Does all the information fit on the slide? Maybe you can move the text or graphic up, or
perhaps you can widen the text boxes. If it is text, you might want to highlight the text
and pick a smaller font. Make sure the text isn't too small though.
· Did you spell check the final copy? Spelling mistakes are embarrassing!
· Are any of the graphics overlapping text?
· Are the chart sufficiently labeled? Are the X and Y axes labeled?

Another Finished Example of Digital Photography

Found another example of a completed digital photography activity that a teacher has done and posted on the web. She created a book of opposites in which her pre-kindergarten students acted out. The students took digital pictures of one another illustrating the opposites, and then the teacher attached each photo to a book. A caption for each opposite was then added. It looks very good, and definitely something I will use in the future.

Here’s the link:

http://www.education-world.com/a_curr/teacher_feature/teacher_feature006.shtml

Good Old Power Point

I've had trouble with exporting my Assignment 6 as a stand alone player. It was a very annoying process, since my older version was installed quite a while ago on my computer and I no longer had the Application CD. In order to complete the export, the program required the CD.

This whole process just makes me apprechiate Google (and now MS) making their software programs purely as an online format. This would eliminate the above problem I had encountered, and ensure that the intended viewer would be able to view, hear, and watch all the embedded file formats.

Of course, these online applications can produce their own unique problems.

David Reply 3.....

David,

I also heard that information about the health records. And I agree, if security can be a non issue, then this can be a very effective tool.

Looks like MS started to react a lot faster than I though. Today they announced that they are releasing the entire MS Office Package in an online format for free (it's a beta test, but still works). It works on the same principal as the Google Software, where users documents are saved on MS's database.

Interesting......to say the least.

Another Reply to David....

Actually David, Google has been laying the seeds for their own operating system/computer for a few years now. They want to create Google Computers where by each user would have a monitor, keyboard, and mouse. The tower/hard drive as well as all of your Google Programs would exist on the internet (and on their servers across the US). Sounds scary now, but in due time it’ll prove its reliability and benefits. They already have test markets for this stuff in the States. To say Microsoft is concerned, is an understatement.

Google Presentations

It was just a matter of time before Google stepped into the Presentation software realm. Google created a documents and software program a few years ago, that allowed people to collaborate on a single document in real time, over the Internet. They have recently extended this program to include side show presentations. The program is called Google Docs. It’s a powerful free tool that can be used on an individual/collaborative basis.

Below is a You Tube video that shows how easy it is to create a project. As you will see, the software is very user friendly.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F_vsNV3po2k

Side Note: “WYSIWYG” means What You See Is What You Get. They make reference to this in the video.

If you are interested in experimenting in this software then you can obtain your free download from:

https://www.google.com/accounts/ServiceLogin?service=writely&passive=true&continue=http%3A%2F%2Fdocs.google.com%2F&followup=http%3A%2F%2Fdocs.google.com%2F&ltmpl=homepage&nui=1&rm=false

I don’t know why the link is so long, but it works. This page will provide you with some more detailed information on how Google Docs work.

A Reply to Patricia

I'm glad you liked the article Patricia. I find PowerPoint can be convoluted at times, when it does not need to be. Apple’s products always seem to be more user friendly which often times produces greater results.

If you are going to install the Keynote software, make sure you have a MAC computer, as it’s only an Apple product. The program itself can export a type file that can work on PCs.

Keynote can be found on Apple’s iLife software packages, as was mentioned on our discussion board.

Came across this article on Al Gore’s documentary, and why he chose to use Key Note. It’s an interesting read. It’s revealed in the article that Gore was able to tailor his presentation to suit different audiences. I don’t know too much about the program, but to be able to do this is quite remarkable. The article states: “He decided he wanted to talk for 40 seconds instead of five, he had that control. He could go forward or return to a previous point if he wanted to. Had we gone away from Keynote, we would never have had the versatility that we were able to have.”

Here’s the link:
http://www.apple.com/hotnews/articles/2006/05/inconvenienttruth/
(there’s also a link to the trailer for the movie on that page).

Also, if any of you are planning to use to integrate some of the technology applications we have learned via this course, though a Mac based platform, then you might be interested in registering for Apple Canada’s “School Night at the Apple Retail Store” program. It basically lets your class come into their store, and exhibit their apple induced technology in the classroom presentations. The added incentive is that you will receive a one year one to one training sessions at the Apple Store.

Tips for Student Presentations

1. Know Your TopicStudents usually want to charge right in and start using the presentation software immediately. Do the research first and know your material. Think through what you will present before beginning the project on the

computer. Creating the slide show is the easy part. The best

classroom presentations are created by people who are

comfortable with what they are going to talk about.

2. Use Key Phrases About Your TopicGood presenters use key phrases and include only the most important information. Your topic may be vast, but choose only the top three or four points and make them several times throughout the presentation in the classroom.

3. Avoid Using Too Much Text on the SlideOne of the biggest mistakes students make in classroom presentations, is in writing their whole speech on the slides. The slide show is meant to accompany your oral presentation. Write in the form of jot notes, called bullet points, on slides. Use simple language and limit the number of bullets to three or four per slide. The surrounding space will make it easier to read.

4. Limit the Number of SlidesToo many slides in a presentation will cause you to be rushing to get through them, and your audience might end up paying more attention to the changing slide than to what you are saying. On average, one slide per minute is about right in a classroom presentation.

5. Layout of Your Slide is ImportantMake your slides easy to follow. Put the title at the top where your audience expects to find it. Phrases should read left to right and top to bottom. Keep important information near the top of the slide. Often the bottom portions of slides cannot be seen from the back rows because heads are in the way.

6. Avoid Fancy FontsChoose a font that is simple and easy to read such as Arial, Times New Roman or Verdana. You may have a really cool font on your computer, but save it for other uses. Don't use more than two different fonts – one for headings and another for content. Keep all fonts large enough (at least 18 pt and preferably 24 pt) so that people at the back of the room will be able to read them easily.

7. Use Contrasting Colors For Text and Background
Dark text on a light background is best. This combination offers the most visibility. Sometimes though, you may want a dark background for effect, to dazzle the crowd. In that case, be sure to make text a light color for easy reading in a classroom presentation.
Text is often difficult to read on patterned or textured backgrounds.
Keep your color scheme consistent throughout your classroom presentation.

8. Try a Slide Design Template to Keep the Look ConsistentWhen you use a design template, choose one that will not detract from your classroom presentation. Test it ahead of time to make sure that the text will be readable and the graphics won’t get lost in the background.

9. Use Animations and Transitions Sparingly in Classroom PresentationsLet's face it. Students love to apply animations and transitions every place they can. This will certainly be entertaining, but rarely will the audience be paying attention to the message of the presentation.

Apply animations to graphics to make a point, not to entertain. Using preset animation schemes will apply action to titles and bullet points, keeping the slide show consistent and interesting. Remember, the slide show is a visual aid and not the objective of the classroom presentation.

NOTES....on PowerPoint Presentations

Presentations for Instruction

Use PowerPoint presentations to enhance the effectiveness of classroom instruction in many ways in every subject area.

· Main points can be emphasized and the presentation itself can be enhanced by
using graphics, animation, or sound.
· Add flair to presentations with slide and bullet transitions and animated effects.
· Presentations can be used to make lessons more organized and flexible.
· Text on a PowerPoint presentation is much easier for students to read than trying to
read notes that are written on an overhead projector or chalkboard.
· Student interest can be stimulated through the use of graphics and cartoons.
· Variety is the key to keeping the attention of students.
· Many tools are available for use with PowerPoint, so experiment to see what works
best for you and your students.


Creative Presentation Ideas
· Flash Cards - Create Flashcard presentations for individual and group
reinforcement. You can create a template and choose whether you or your students
will insert the words or phrases. Topics may include: reinforcing math concepts;
practicing parts of speech; practicing spelling; reinforcing story problems; and
reinforcing numbers, letters, or colors.
· Field Trip Slide Shows - Develop field trip slide shows to review and apply
knowledge learned on a field trip. Students can work together to make a slide show
that presents what they saw, as well as what they learned.
· Autobiographical Stories - Students can create short autobiographical stories about
themselves. Scanned photos can be inserted for interest. Once the slides are
complete, you can put them together in a presentation to show an audience, such as
an open house or parent night.
· Interactive Book Reports - Have students create a PowerPoint presentation about
books they read.
· Music Class Recitals - For music teachers, PowerPoint is a useful tool for creating
slide shows of student recitals. During a recital, take pictures of the students while
they are performing and record a small portion of their music. On slides, include
both each student's picture and music.
· Group Slide Shows - Give your students a topic (such as zoo animals) and tell them
to choose parts of the topic to focus on (such as specific zoo animals). Have
students research their assigned portions of the topic and develop slides to serve
as a part of a group presentation about the topic.
· Poetry Readings - Students can create slides exhibiting their personal poetry along
with a voice recording.
· Science Presentations - Use PowerPoint to teach processes and how things work.
Teachers or students can add additional items to a diagram to illustrate how a
process grows and changes. Science principles work well using this format.
· Student Portfolios - PowerPoint can be used to create portfolios of student work.
· Class Yearbook-Type Presentations - Collect photos; information about special
events; examples of class and student projects, etc. throughout the year and create
a year-in-review presentation.

Useful Sites

Here’s a site that gives you tutorials on powerpoint and explains why it is useful in the classroom:

http://www.actden.com/pp/index.htm

http://www.internet4classrooms.com/on-line_powerpoint.htm
(provides PowerPoint slide shows available for download)

A Reply to Christine....

Christine,

As I was reading your article, all I could think about was how important it is for every student to learn the basic skills of Drama. Drama teaches students confidence, eye contact, how to engage your audience, how to use the inflection of your voice (pauses, pitch, tone), body language (which can be very important even in a job interview), how to use props (if necessary) to accentuate a point, how to work individually as well in groups etc. It’s a shame that not enough time gets devoted to this important subject area.

Without getting too in depth about the topic, many political figures gain success due to their presentation/drama skills. Look at Jesse Ventura, Arnold Schwarzenegger and so many others. Weather they can back up their political promises, is a another issue……for another discussion board :)

Reply to David

David,

I totally agree with your view of Power Point presentations not allowing the presenter/instructor to adapt on the fly to the audience. This is the reason, why I am an advocate of Smart Boards. During my math lesson for Grade 8 students, I taught about Sequencing and Patterning. I used a Smart Board which basically acted like a Power Point Presentation, in which all my slides were neatly organized in sequence. During the presentation, a couple students did not understand the central concepts. I needed to think on my feet and address the problem a new way. Luckily with the Smart Board technology, you can quickly and easily create a blank new page and everything becomes freeform in terms of drawing a shape, writing text etc. After I approached the problem a new way and the students understood the material, I could quickly jump back to the exact spot in my presentation that we were previously at. If for some reason, students needed to once again see the information that we “just made up on the fly”, we could quickly switch to that slide.

I’m very impress with this site you posted. The big problem with implementing this is the cost. With the smart board, although it costs a lot of money, schools would only need to purchase 1 per class (in most ideal situations), whereas Classroom Presenter would require 1 per student.

MacroMedia/Adobe Flash

SIDE NOTE:

Yes, I still refer to it as MacroMedia's Flash. It's funny, how Adobe and MacroMedia used to be these huge rivals, and now they are the same company (Adobe bought MacroMedia).

One of the most powerful and widely used presentation software programs on the Internet for the last few years is Adobe’s (MacroMedia’s) Flash. Although it’s been deemed for professional use, it can be used in presentations to the general public. In university, I created/viewed many presentations with this software. It does require some a little programming (that really isn’t too complicated, if you don’t want it to be), and can be time consuming. However it allows you to incorporate text, pictures, audio, movies, and animation in a very creative manner.

Utilizing Digital Photography in the Classroom

It is a proven fact that students learn best when they're actively engaged. It is this reason why many teachers are now using digital imagery in their classrooms. One of the newest forms of digital imagery being implemented in schools is digital photography. In short, digital photography “involves taking pictures/video with a digital camera and storing/printing them on digital devices such as a computer or a printer.” (Wikipedia, 2008) Digital photography actively engages and enhances students’ learning experience because it is hands on and something students can do themselves. It offers a fun way to tackle difficult subjects, and taps into different learning styles. The following essay will outline ways digital photography can be implemented across the curriculum for every grade.

Starting as early as kindergarten, there are an abundance of educational lessons that could incorporate digital cameras. Students at this level could take part in many different types of digital picture hunts. For instance when the teacher is introducing the topic of shapes (mathematics), the digital picture hunt would involve students using a digital camera to capture images that containing a particular shape (triangles, squares, circles, octagons and so on). The same could be done for when the students learn about numbers, colours, and textures. Digital cameras could also be applied to the area of language, where students could take digital pictures of objects that begin with each letter of the alphabet, take pictures of their loved ones (learning/identifying important people in their life), and students could even create their own digital pictionary (a dictionary that defines terms using digital pictures instead of words).

In older grades, digital photography could be incorporated into the areas of history, drama, and language. For example, students would develop a short story about a historical, literary, or current political/social hero. Instead of presenting the information they acquired through the traditional means of an essay, test or public speaking, students could combine an oral presentation with digital technology (slideshow, video etc.). Through their researching, students could find costumes that their characters would have worn during their time period, take a digital picture to record this fact, then explain and display the image for their classmates. For local stories, historic sites and artifacts that are important to their story could be captured with the digital camera. Likewise, the students could reenact a pivotal moment in their character’s lives, and then capture it with digital images/video. The students would be responsible for using the digital camera to tell the story of their character as if they were actually that person. This results in the students having a deeper understanding and comprehension of the material that they are learning.

Another activity that is similar to the previous example integrates digital photography with geography, history and art. For this lesson, students grade four or above would be required to research and attend locations/events/celebrations, then use a digital camera to document their findings. Once they return to school, they would transfer their images to a computer, and use digital imagining/editing software (such as Photoshop Elements) to create a poster. The poster would include some of the digital photos as well as text that would describe the activities shown. The poster would then be placed on a bulletin board where other like posters would be displayed. The teacher could bring in travel brochures/flyers to use as an anticipatory set so students would be able to see a finished product before they start their own.

Yet another language arts lesson that can incorporate digital photography is poetry. The following example is intended for grade four however it can be altered to be appropriate for any grade. The teacher/students will gather a selection of poetry that is highly detailed in terms of imagery and symbolism. The students would be required to create a multimedia experience of these poems by vocally performing the emotional content and creating a montage of images and videos that go beyond the literal meaning. This results in the students illuminating a deeper personalized understanding of the meaning found or intended.

Digital photography can also effectively be utilized for special education and ESL students. For example, in a grade 4 language arts class, students would use a pumpkin to create a language experience story on how to make a jack-o-lantern. The teacher would first demonstrate carving the jack-o-lantern while the students would provide directions and vocabulary. Then, students would take digital photos for sequencing the process. The students could then use their digital photos to write a "how to" paragraph on how to make a jack-o-lantern. They could then read this story (which would be accompanied with their digital photos) as a group or individually. For the special education students, they could also retell the story individually or to a group of students by arranging the digital pictures in sequential order.

Some other methods of incorporating digital cameras into the curriculum can be found in the subject area of science. Digital cameras would greatly benefit students with their science fair projects/experiments which require step-by-step documentation. With a digital camera, students can quickly, accurately, and effectively capture every phase of the experiment. The use of digital photography in their science experiments adds visual depth and interest for the students.

Another method of incorporating digital photography with science would be using student captured digital images to create a student classification science book. The students would take pictures of objects that are classified as: being hot/cold, made by humans, natural objects, common plants/flowers, and even simple machines. The students could create their book using a variety of user-friendly software (MS Word, Power Point, iPhoto, Final Cut Express, etc), and then present this material to their class. This type of activity allows individual student learning, as well as student discovery that they have something worth sharing with others. The above activity can be modified to incorporate any grade level, with the classification of objects having greater depth in higher grades.

In senior grades, science students could use digital images to portray interdependence. In this activity, students would take pictures of different things in the environment that depend on other living or non-living elements to live. For example, honey depends on bees, which depends on flowers, which depends on soil, which depends on sun/water and so on. Students would be required to identify the dependence, record findings and discuss them with their class.

Digital photography is an excellent teaching method that presents students with unique, challenging and engaging learning activities. It allows students to discover their artistic talents and originality, while at the same time allows them to have a deeper understanding and comprehension of the material that they are learning. The activities can be incorporated across the curriculum for any grade.

More Notes on Visual Learners

Visual-spatial learners learn best by seeing and watching as he/she thinks primarily in pictures and relates well to the space surrounding them. While they are able to more easily see the big picture, small details may be missed. Visual-spatial learners read maps well, but struggle with oral directions - which explains why they have such a difficult time listening to speeches from a speaker. These learners do better when they can see a task being preformed rather than just listening to the directions on how to perform it. It is very helpful to show visual-spatial learners an example of the completed project or the desired outcome.

With regard to spelling, visual-spatial learners learn whole words easily and don’t respond as well to phonics-based strategies. They must visualize words to spell them instead of sounding them out. The visual-spatial learner usually writes messily and will prefer keyboarding. They have a tendency to develop their own methods of problem solving and dislike showing steps used to arrive at a solution as solutions are reached intuitively.

Visual-spatial students prefer giving illustrations of the information that they learn. Graphs, charts, handouts that offer stimulating pictures, colors, and visual props appeal to them. Visual stimulation is very important to visual learners. Because of their propensity toward disorganization, it comes as no surprise that visual learners may feel the need to create lists or organizers to keep them focused and on-track.

http://education.families.com/blog/characteristics-of-visual-learners

Finished Example of Digital Photography Lesson + ESL Students

I know that we have a lot of posts on this topic, but here is an actual finished exampled of using a digital camera for writing activity involving ESL students. The finished product looks very professional, and perfectly illustrates the benefits of using digital photography into the curriculum. I would definitely use this lesson in the future.


http://www.geocities.com/Athens/olympus/7123/jack.html

Notes on Visual Learners

Students today live in a multimedia world and appreciate variety in their learning environment. Some forms of literacy they can develop include textual, numerical, visual, audio and multimedia. Visual Literacy can be defined as the ability to understand and produce visual messages. Both teachers and students can benefit by developing their abilities to create, use and evaluate visual resources.

Supporting research:
The Visual Literacy White Paperhttp://www.adobe.co.uk/education/pdf/adobe_visual_literacy_paper.pdf

"Visual literacy includes such areas as facial expressions, body language, drawing, painting, sculpture, hand signs, street signs, international symbols, layout of the pictures and words in a textbook, the clarity of type fonts, computer images, student produced still pictures, sequences, movies or video, user friendly equipment design, critical analysis of television advertisements and many, many other things" http://www.ivla.org/org_what_vis_lit.htm#definition

"Young people learn more than half of what they know from visual information, but few schools have an explicit curriculum to show students how to think critically about visual data" Mary Alice White, researcher, Columbia Teacher's College

"The majority of information absorbed by human beings is collected with our sense of vision. It seems logical the we emphasize the development of visual skills as a way of preparing for successful and satisfying lives" page 4, A Guide for International Visual Literacy Association Board Members and Officers

Some Implications:(1) visual skills can be learned(2) visual skills are not usually isolated from other sensory skills(3) teachers can provide appropriate learning environments and materials(4) teachers can allow students to create their own visual messages(5) digital literacies (e.g. computer, visual, audio, print reading, information, multi-media) each require different skills(6) competency in one literacy does not necessarily transfer to another(7) visual arts can affect student emotions and aid understanding(8) students need to learn how to recognize and respond to visual and print messages of humor, irony and metaphor(9) students require guidance to distinguish between factual and fictional visual representations.

Some elements that may contribute to the 'look and feel' of visual resources include:- colour, proportion, form, shape, texture, emotion, feelings, typography, design and composition. For example - text that includes these elements can be made more visual (see below) - skilled use of typography is just one way to enhance communication.

How Technology Is Changing The Way We See Our World

More and more teachers are using digital imagery in the classroom to enhance the learning experience and there is little doubt that many students are strong visual learners. How is this technology changing the way we see our world, communicate within it, and share experiences? Are Smartboards part of that future?


I believe more teachers have to use digital imagery in the classroom because it’s one of the most important ways to retain students’ attention in school. Students today are brought up on television and movies. After experiencing television's fast-paced visual environments, using a remote control to change channels, and playing video games, a teacher faces a difficult time in keeping their student’s attention. Within five minutes of sitting in a traditional classroom, their attention span has been lost.

Many students daydream and look out the window until they get into trouble for doing so. As we all know, students pay attention and learn more when they are actively involved. This is where new technology forms such as the Smartboards, digital cameras/video recorders, podcasting etc, come into play. They all involve the student so they are constantly thinking and using all their senses.

These types of new technology involve a multisensory engagement from the students. It allows students to use their own curiosity to learn and develop their own personal understanding of the world. Through the World Wide Web, students learn about the ability to link ideas, access information, and interconnectedness. Students can choose to express their own ideas with words, music, pictures, and video to anyone in the world in real time.

However, there are some drawbacks that can be associated with this new technology. For example, if podcasts/digital videos are the new form for class presentations, do we run the risk of raising a generation that lacks in core public speaking skills? Also students’ grammar/spelling come into question with their constant use of slang in their e-mails/instant messaging (eg. Okay becomes OK which becomes K which becomes some Smiley Face Emoticon giving you the thumbs up!).

Technology has changed so much, and the availability of technology both in homes and schools will continue to evolve. The important thing to remember is it is about how technology is used and presented in order to reinforce the core skills. The other side of the coin is that education might become too fast paced with this new technology, which results in students lacking concentration and focus. Back when our parents were young, students were strictly forced to pay attention. I think this had more to do with learning the material than it did with paying

Visual Learners......NOTES

Facts on Visual Learners:

Visual-spatial learners are individuals who think in pictures rather than in words. They have a different brain organization than auditory-sequential learners. They learn better visually than auditorally. They learn all-at-once, and when the light bulb goes on, the learning is permanent. They do not learn from repetition and drill. They are whole-part learners who need to see the big picture first before they learn the details. They are non-sequential, which means that they do not learn in the step-by-step manner in which most teachers teach. They arrive at correct solutions without taking steps, so “show your work” may be impossible for them. They may have difficulty with easy tasks, but show amazing ability with difficult, complex tasks. They are systems thinkers who can orchestrate large amounts of information from different domains, but they often miss the details. They tend to be organizationally impaired and unconscious about time. They are often gifted creatively, technologically, mathematically or emotionally.You can tell you have one of these children by the endless amount of time they spend doing advanced puzzles, constructing with Legos, etc., completing mazes, counting everything, playing Tetris on the computer, playing chess, building with any materials at hand, designing scientific experiments, programming your computer, or taking everything in the house apart to see how it operates. They also are very creative, dramatic, artistic and musical.Here are the basic distinctions between the visual-spatial and auditory-sequential learner:


AUDITORY-SEQUENTIAL
VISUAL-SPATIAL
Thinks primarily in words
Thinks primarily in pictures
Has auditory strengths
Has visual strengths
Relates well to time
Relates well to space
Is a step-by-step learner
Is a whole-part learner
Learns by trial and error
Learns concepts all at once
Progresses sequentially from easy to difficult material
Learns complex concepts easily; struggles with easy skills
Is an analytical thinker
Is a good synthesizer
Attends well to details
Sees the big picture; may miss details
Follows oral directions well
Reads maps well
Does well at arithmetic
Is better at math reasoning than computation
Learns phonics easily
Learns whole words easily
Can sound out spelling words
Must visualize words to spell them
Can write quickly and neatly
Prefers keyboarding to writing
Is well-organized
Creates unique methods of organization
Can show steps of work easily
Arrives at correct solutions intuitively
Excels at rote memorization
Learns best by seeing relationships
Has good auditory short-term memory
Has good long-term visual memory
May need some repetition to reinforce learning
Learns concepts permanently; is turned off by drill and repetition
Learns well from instruction
Develops own methods of problem solving
Learns in spite of emotional reactions
Is very sensitive to teachers’ attitudes
Is comfortable with one right answer
Generates unusual solutions to problems
Develops fairly evenly
Develops quite asynchronously
Usually maintains high grades
May have very uneven grades
Enjoys algebra and chemistry
Enjoys geometry and physics
Learns languages in class
Masters other languages through immersion
Is academically talented
Is creatively, mechanically, emotionally, or technologically gifted
Is an early bloomer
Is a late bloomer

Digital Photography/Camera + Special Needs Student

During my last student teaching block, I was introduced to a special needs student (not in my class) who turned out to be a visual learner. It was determined by her home room teacher, EA and family members that it was very important for this student to learn central locations (house, school, church, hospital etc.) in the event of her being lost. After a number of different teaching approaches were made, the EA came up with an idea to incorporate photography. She took pictures of the above locations and then pasted them onto some Bristle Board. She then cut out the names of the locations and applied Velcro on the other end. She basically created this interactive game for the student, and it worked quite successfully.

I thought this was a fantastic idea, and it was the first thing that popped into my mind when reading about this week’s topic. For me what was really surprising was the fact that the EA did not have a digital camera and had to wait a number of days to get her film developed. If she had access to a digital camera, it would have saved her time and money.

Also, as some of the earlier posts in this discussion implied earlier, if this student was also allowed to use the digital camera to take her own pictures of these locations we might have seen a stronger comprehension level acquired for her.

Different Types of Podcasts

Came across this during my research.....

There are three kinds of podcasts. Audio podcasts are usually an MP3 file and are the most common types of podcasts. Enhanced podcasts can have images to go along with the audio. They can also have chapter markers, making it easier to skip to different portions of an episode. Enhanced podcasts are an AAC file and are not supported by all devices. Video podcasts are movies, complete with sound. Video podcasts can be in a variety of formats, but MPEG-4 is the most popular.

Class Notes

I meant to post this before, but I forgot. Here are some notes I took while reading the course material and viewing some web pages.

Class Notes

Didn’t realize how popular pod casts are
Didn’t know what a true pod cast was
Doesn’t surprise me that Apple is the company that’s basically the leader of pod casts
Great that this technology makes kids more interested in school work
Podcasts vs. Essays, kids try more in podcasts
Hearing the classmate read it aloud with emphasis, feeling and comprehension makes a huge difference
She is already musing about how to combine the sound effects with the readings and commentary so that her classmates will be especially inspired to engage with the presentation that day. The informal, good-natured posdcasting competition in this class means that Jenny reads the assignments more carefully than usual, hoping to find something that will make her group’s podcast especially memorable – and enjoyable.
With digital gaurnetted to get exact same recording as the orginal
In some respects, podcasting is not even new: both streaming and downloadable audio are as old as the World Wide Web, and the RSS specification that enables podcasting has been around for several years. What’s new about posdcasting is the eas of publication, ease of subscription, and ease of use across multiple environments, typically over computer speakers, over a car stero and over headphones – all while the listener is walking or exercising or driving or traveling or otherwise moving about. (2nd article)
Can’t we leave the multimedia authoriing to the audio/video gurus at our institutions? The short answer is “yes”. Perhaps few of us will have the time, energy, or motivation to add an entirely new skill set to our working lieves. Most of us, however, can and should learn the potential uses and value of the rich media authoring – in this case, the podcast.
Longer answers: Yet even such digitally fluent students need to learn to manipulate their multimedia languages well, with conceptual and critical acumen, and we in higher education, do them a disservice if we exclude their crative digital tools from their education.


Story Telling

- Hannah Arendt captured the purpose of storytelling when she wrote: "Storytelling reveals

meaning without commtting the error of defining it."
- Storytelling played a strong role in traditional societies. Folk stories were repeated generation

after generation by gifted amateurs or professional storytellers. Stories might be used to

introduce children to correct behavior in an entertaining way. In some cultures, storytelling

for the young was considered more important than for adults.

What is storytelling?

- The National Council of Teachers of English defines storytelling as "relating a tale to one or

more listeners through voice and gestures."
- Most storytellers say it is an interactive process involving the teller who shares the tale and

members of the audience who listen and let their imaginations take over.
- "When I think of the definition of storytelling, I think of it as an event," said Shirley Raines.

"There's the story, the listener and the teller. And the teller is the person who makes it an

event but only if the listener is very engaged."

How do stories help children understand themselves and relate to others?

- When children listen to stories, they often identify with the characters' experiences and

feelings. This helps them understand their own fears, emotions, and feelings.

- Some stories introduce ethics and values and expand children's understanding of the world.

- Many times stories let children appreciate their own cultures and those of others.

What do children learn when they create their own stories?When children become storytellers they grow in many ways:

· They learn to put events in a sequence that makes sense.
· They build problem solving skills by planning how to tell the story in an engaging way.
· Their self-confidence grows as they take an active role in creating a story.
· They build strong vocabularies, learn to express their ideas clearly, and develop public

speaking skills.
· They feel important, because they have a story to tell.

Anthropologists, psychologists, and historians believe that storytelling has been with us since the beginning of our existence - in fact, they argue that storytelling is that which defines our humanity. For thousands of years, as people struggled to survive, they passed through stories what wisdom and knowledge they accumulated. In early times, storytelling was used to explain significant and often confusing events such as storms, tidal waves, lightening, and fire.

The oldest stories told are myths, legends, and folktales. Every culture has their own set of tales passing them on from generation to generation by word of mouth. The purpose of these stories were varied and complex, and included stories concerning the creation of the earth and the cosmos, the creation of humans, their trials and death, moral lessons, religion, and tales purely told for entertainment.

Today, when storytelling is mentioned, what people generally are referring to is the oral tradition.

Excellent Site on Podcasting + Education

I found an excellent site on podcasting for education. The site is designed for teachers who are not familiar with podcasting yet want to implement the technology in their classroom. The site takes care of the technical aspect of posting the show. In addition, it also provides background information on podcasting, examples of projects, connects classrooms across North America (more so US right now), contains a comprehensive lesson in podcasting for your students that includes scripts, and has many more details.If you get a chance, listen to the Outstanding Omaha podcast. The end result was very professional and impressive.

This site is definitely useful for our current assignment, and future use. I’m assuming there is a price tag associated with it if you want to be a part of their community.

Here is the link:
http://www.learninginhand.com/OurCity/resources.html

Initial Thoughts of Podcasts and Education

Before I truly understood how podcasts were utilized in schools, I was had an uneasy feeling about their integration. I was concerned that this new technology would substitute the fundamental skills of research, critical thinking, and effective communication. All of these mentioned skills can be applied to anything students will encounter in the future... whether it is podcasting next year or 3D Virtual Reality Simulators in 10 years. Whereas, if the learning focuses on implementing this new technology, what happens in 10 years when computers and multimedia programs are completely different? The students’ multimedia skills are then meaningless.

The primary focus, the very core fundamental skill should be completely transferable... research, critical thinking, and effective communication. They should be able to do this whatever media is being used to present the information (whether a speech, essay, Web site, drama skit, or podcast).

After reading the our posted article on podcasting, I was relieved to learn that the podcasting was something over and above the original assignment. In essence it was a tool to show off what the students had learned through traditional methods.

In most of the cases cited in that article, these things were done outside of class time either after school or at lunch. In this case, it's no different from a school newspaper or any other club. This is great! It gets kids involved in the school and applies the skills they learned in class.

There's no problem with using technology as a tool to teach the core fundamental skills, but in all cases the focus must be on those core fundamental skills.

SMART Boards

Hello everyone,

I understand that this isn’t the current topic of discussion, however it does deal with technology in the classroom, and I am curious as to your answers may be.

This week, I had to teach a math lesson using a SMART Board. For those that may not know, a SMART Board is basically an interactive white board. It has a touch-sensitive display that connects to your computer and digital projector to show your computer image. You can then control computer applications directly from the display, write notes in digital ink and save your work.

The amount of things you can achieve with this board is very impressive, and the students love it.

The principal of the school I was at, was telling me her school only has one of these boards. She’s heard of others having one per classroom.

I was wondering if any of you have used a Smart Board before, if you have one in your school, and how many are in your school.

Before this past week, I have never seen one in a school before.

Here are some links incase you want more info:

http://education.smarttech.com/ste/en-us/

http://images.google.ca/imgres?imgurl=http://www.ivci.com/images/2000i-rear-projection-smart-board.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.ivci.com/videoconferencing-rear-projection-smart-board-2000i.html&h=250&w=425&sz=45&hl=en&start=1&um=1&tbnid=0g9ybsqEoeXKAM:&tbnh=74&tbnw=126&prev=/images%3Fq%3DSMART%2BBoards%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DN

Digital vs. Analog Audio

Having some background in the digital field, I am familiar with the many differences that exist between digital and analog audio. For me, digital audio is most preferred because of its tremendous amount of benefits: convenience, portability, easier to navigate, more cost effective, practically unlimited "virtual" tracks, and being easier to edit. One important difference has to be the process of replication. For instance, every time you make a copy of analog material, you actual loose a degree of quality of that analogue source. In digital reproduction, you are guaranteed of an exact replication of the source.

There are those who do prefer Analogue audio because the sound quality of analogue is still unmatched (hence why vinyl enthusiasts prefer records than CDs). There is a significant loss of a natural, organic quality of sound when it is captured digitally. Truth be told, you need superior high-end stereo equipment to realize the difference.

Another important difference between the two mediums is the way the audio is recorded. According to record producer George Martin: "Ordinary [analog] recording stores the electrical impulses (which have been converted from the pure aural vibration by the microphone) on magnetic tape as magnetic variations in the coating. Digital recording, on the other hand, analyzes the frequencies constantly and stores the information as binary code on tape. If you can imagine `stop-framing' a slice of sound, analyzing it in terms of frequencies, converting the information into numbers to store on tape and doing that 50,000 times a second, that is what a digital recorder does. And on playback, a reverse process takes place." (source: http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0FXG/is_12_12/ai_63973540)

Digital Storytelling

Digital storytelling
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Digital Storytelling refers to using new digital tools to help ordinary people to tell their own real-life stories.
An emerging term
It is an emerging term, one that arises from a grassroots movement that uses new digital tools to help ordinary people to tell their own 'true stories' in a compelling and emotionally-engaging form. These stories usually takes the form of a relatively short story (less than 8 minutes) and can involve interactivity.
The term can also be a broader journalistic reference to the variety of emergent new forms of digital narratives (web-based stories, interactive stories, hypertexts, and narrative computer games).
As an emerging area of creative work, the definition of digital storytelling is still the subject of much debate.

Use by public broadcasters and education
This model has been integrated into public broadcasting by the BBC in the UK, beginning with the Capture Wales project, led by Daniel Meadows. The following year a similar project was launched by the BBC in England called Telling Lives. The executive producer of BBC Telling Lives has since set up his own digital storytelling training and consultancy called digistories.
The Center for Digital Storytelling model has also been adopted in education, especially in the US, where some practitioners use it as a method of building engagement and multimedia literacy. For example, the Bay Area Video Coalition [1] employs digital storytelling as a means of engaging and empowering at-risk youth.
Ball State University has a masters program in Digital Storytelling, as does the University of Oslo

Hello everyone! Sorry for my lack of posts this week. The Hamilton board has finally opened up its supply list, so it’s been an extremely heavy week for me.

Just to add to some of the great sites that everyone has posted, I came across a great site that summarizes the Characteristics of Auditory Learners and Study Tips for Auditory Learners. Their points are short and to the point. The web site is:
http://www.trcc.commnet.edu/Ed_Resources/TASC/Training/Resources_Learning_Styles.htm

As I continue to research the characteristics of auditory learners, I can’t help but look back at my second teaching placement involving a Grade 1 class. We were getting ready for a religious celebration, where the Grade 1s were to perform a new song in front of their parents and friends. For about 2 weeks leading up to the celebration, I did everything I could think of to help them memorize the song. I played the song numerous times (so much so that it was instilled in my brain for several days afterwards), sang the song numerous times (with the music and by looking at the song words), added some dance moves to the words etc……but in the end all they remembered was the chorus. I just wished that they were able to remember more of the song. According to the research, in a class of 15, there surely had to be at least one auditor learner in there.

I wonder at what age a type of learner can be truly identified, and if a person’s learning style can change as they grow older. Do any of you know the answer to these questions?

Characteristics of Auditory Learners/Study Tips for Auditory Learners

http://www.trcc.commnet.edu/Ed_Resources/TASC/Training/Resources_Learning_Styles.htm

Great site for information on visual, auditory and tactile learners.

Characteristics of Auditory Learners

(hearing)30% of learners

Remember what they hear.

• Talk while they write.
• Need phonics.
• May be a sophisticated speaker.
• Remember names, but forgets faces.
• Eyes move down and to your right when they are listening to others.
• Remember by listening, especially music.
• Distracted by noise.
• Games and pictures are annoying and distracting.
• Write lightly and not always legibly
• Often, information written down will have little meaning until it has also been heard.
• May seem to be listening to something inside themselves, rather than to the person they are communicating with.

Study Tips for Auditory Learners

• Explain the material you are trying to learn to a study partner.
• Read explanations out loud. Be sure to go over all important facts out loud.
• Make up songs to go along with subject matter. The crazier the better.
• Record lectures and review these tapes while you drive.
• When learning new information, state the problem out loud. Reason through solutions out loud.
• Say words in syllables.
• Make up and repeat rhymes to remember facts, dates, names, etc.
• Find audio tapes that review the information you are trying to learn.
• Join or create a study group, or get a study partner.
• To learn a sequence of steps, write them out in sentence form, then read them out loud.
• Use mnemonics and word links.
• Use the MM Study Skills CD-ROM in the LRC to increase your study skills.

Podcasting Notes.....

Podcast
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

A podcast is a collection of digital media files which is distributed over the Internet, often using syndication feeds, for playback on portable media players and personal computers. The term, like "radio", can refer either to the content itself or to the method by which it is syndicated; the latter is also termed podcasting. The host or author of a podcast is often called a podcaster.
The term "podcast" is a portmanteau of the acronym "Pod" – standing for "Portable on Demand" – and "broadcast". The iPod name was coined with Pod, prefixed with the "i" commonly used by Apple for its products and services. The first podcasting scripts were developed for the iPod (see history of podcasting). These scripts allow podcasts to be automatically transferred to a mobile device after they are downloaded.[1]
Though podcasters' web sites may also offer direct download or streaming of their content, a podcast is distinguished from other digital media formats by its ability to be syndicated, subscribed to, and downloaded automatically when new content is added, using an aggregator or feed reader capable of reading feed formats such as RSS or Atom.



From: http://userwww.sfsu.edu/~nshelley/

Summary
Podcasting is a new method of communication allowing anyone to create audio files and post them to the Internet for others to download and listen to at any time. These audio files can be downloaded to a personal computer or handheld device such as an iPod.
Podcasting has rapidly become a new medium for both commercial and home-grown talk shows on multiple subjects. The relative ease of production and low costs associated with the making of a Podcast has opened this new medium to the masses.

The desired outcome is:
- Students learn the technical skills needed to record a high-quality podcast.
- Students brainstorm, and design the themes and content of their Podcast with teacher
guidance.
- Students complete pre-production, production, and post-production of their Podcast.
- Students ultimately learn project management skills, Podcasting technical skills, and actively
use the Podcast as a medium for positive student expression.

Time Allocation:
Podcasts usually take 3-4 weeks to produce, so teachers should aim to make
one Podcast a month to start. Once students are more familiar with the process, the number
of Podcasts produced can increase as desired. To make the most efficient use of time teachers
should follow the below process steps for creating the Podcast:

- Review computer skills and software needed for production process.
- Define the purpose of the Podcast.
- Organize students to participate.
- Brainstorm potential topics for the Podcast with students (Weekly classroom news broadcast,
document a field trip, share book reviews, etc.)
- Divide up topics to pairs of students for content/script production.
- Produce rough scripts with students.
- Practice recording the content a few times (like a dress rehearsal).
- Record the Podcast content
- Edit recording in Garageband or other audio program.
- Post content to Internet and RSS feed
- Advertise Podcast availability to peers.

Technology Use:
Teachers will need to posses intermediate computer skills and should familiarize themselves with the technical aspects of the production process before trying to teach the skills to students.

Teachers will be using the following computer hardware and software:
- Macintosh computer with built-in microphone or external handheld microphone with stand.
The computer must meet the system requirements of the software used to record the
Podcast.
- Apple Garageband software (part of the iLife software suite)
- An RSS feed software package such as Feeder ($29.95). This is to submit the web address of
your RSS feed to podcast directories, including iTunes, to tell the world about the podcast!
- Web space on an Internet server for hosting the audio files.
- Apple iTunes for subscribing to and downloading the Podcast.