Delicious Bookmarking

Delicious is a fantastic way to keep track of your bookmarks.  Want to learn how to get started?  Watch this...

Technology Standards in Education - The Big Picture

After going over the technology standards in our Ed Tech virtual class, I understand how important it is for us to take the initiative in giving our students access to technology and the skills to use it in all areas of their lives. Without technological knowledge and proficiency, our students will be left behind.  Their social lives, academic work and professional careers will require them to understand and use technology (even manufacturing requires a great deal of interaction with technology these days).  We need to make technological exploration and implementation part of their DNA (and teach them what is appropriate in different arenas) so that it is a spring board and not a road block.

In a high school social studies setting, I will have a great deal of opportunities to use, teach and learn about technology in my classroom...

• Teacher's Blog 
• Students check their assignments
• Students comment on a link or follow-up question to deepen in-class discussion
• Parents see what's going on in their kids' classroom
• Google Applications
• Students learn skills like word processing, spreadsheet, etc., to create a project
• Students learn how to collaborate online
• Students get practice with presentation skills
• Podcasts or Videos
• Students create presentations & see/hear other students' work
• Teacher Classroom Presentation
• Can incorporate music clips, video clips, art images, newspaper images, etc., all into a lesson or unit about a specific subject
• Internet Research
• Students explore more areas about a subject when working on a project

The list seems really endless.  However, with freedom given to high school students must come clear citizenship expectations/guidelines to make sure the exploration does not go awry.

A huge thank you goes out to Barry for helping us make the link from what we've done to how it applies.  Also, a big thank you for helping us understand how this helps our own marketability! 

Analyzing Student Data in a Spreadsheet

My experience creating my Google Spreadsheet was mostly positive, probably because I use Excel almost daily.  I had a couple of hiccups:  1. My computer wouldn't let me use the shortcut (ctrl+key) commands, because instead of going to the Google menu, it was going to the browser menu.  2. It took a few minutes for me to figure out how to get the labels on the graph axes, but the help file explained it.   Unlike when using Excel, Google Spreadsheet didn't make me want to heave my computer out the window...easier & more intuitive.

Getting the raw data into my new spreadsheet was easy...


Getting the calculations & graph to work took a little longer since I had the issues, but they were also very easy to work around....


The analyzed data indicates that most students did better the more tests they took, with the exceptions of Katherine's dramatic spikes & Walter & Queen's nearly level scores.  As an instructor, I would:  1. Think about whether I thought they knew the materials & were having trouble with test format or test anxiety.  2. Figure out more ways to assess all students' progress & understanding.  3. Give them extra help to manage the material and the assessment format(s).

My Favorite Web 2.0 Tools

My understanding of Web 2.0 is as a paradigm shift because using it...

• Moves us from a single person working on a single computer to a collaboration of people working on one system
• Allows us to shift from working one by one to all working simultaneously
• Bridges the distance between us through its connectivity

I chose to explore Delicious as my Personal Productivity tool and found it to be fantastic and extremely easy to use (and FREE).  Delicious revolutionizes the idea of a bookmark by...

• Allowing users to collect all bookmarks in one place
• Letting users tag bookmarks with as many words as wanted/needed (for easy recall later)
• Giving users the opportunity to keep some bookmarks private while sharing others with the public or with individuals
• Providing access to the largest group of bookmarks in the world

As for its use in teaching/learning, Delicious allows users to create huge groupings of resource materials in one area that is accessible from any computer, anywhere.  Teachers can facilitate their students by sharing their bookmarks with their students, while Delicious bubbles up additional bookmarks with related topics.  The convenience of a single location may be trumped by quick access to other sources.

I also chose to explore TokBox as my Screen Recorder tool and can see how useful it can be, especially for a large group.  (The more complex Video Meeting & Video Conference components are pay services, but the Video Chat service is free.)  While most video chatting services work with individuals, TokBox works by...

• Allowing up to 20 people to chat at one time
• Providing the opportunity to upload contacts from Yahoo, Facebook, emails, etc.)
• Working with Facebook & Twitter so that the user only has to issue one or two invitations
• Allowing users to search & share YouTube videos while chatting
• Enabling users to text chat (on the screen) at the same time as the video chatting

As for its use in teaching/learning, TokBox allows classes/meetings/projects to take place, even if all participants are in separate places (like a beach in Fiji).  It also allows a much larger group of people to interact at one time.  A teacher could chat with a student (or students could chat with each other) at any time to help with project, or a teacher could chat with a parent who cannot make it to meetings during school time.

The more we learn about these opportunities, the more potential I see for a classroom to be great on so many levels.

The Convenience of Google Reader

My group explored the convenience of Google Reader.  Together we explored its features (and then explored Google Document by simultaneously writing our summary of Reader). Basically, Reader allows you to keep track of a great deal of information in one convenient place, including:

• Blogs
• YouTube links
• RSS links
• Any website or group you join

In addition to wrangling different sites, Reader also has some clever features to make using it much better and more fun...

• One button to add a subscription (no going to the website to subscribe)
• Ways to categorize the links (i.e. create professional, personal, family, etc., groups)
• Whole post (not just a link to the site) is displayed without having to leave Reader 
• Recommends sites
• Can make notes about sites & star posts
• Can track trends of your subscriptions
• Can browse for subjects

Especially since starting school (while working too), my "spare" time is limited.  This will probably continue once I'm teaching.  While I only follow a few websites or blogs, Reader makes this much quicker, because I don't have to search all over the web (or look through those pesky bookmarks) to find the sites.  While I find it pretty easy to navigate (or at least can ask Google for help with the help button), I don't check it frequently.  However, when I do, I can get a little overwhelmed by all of the posts (even though I only have 7 subscriptions).

Secrets of Success - Radiolab

Secrets of Success - Radiolab

Some of you are probably sick of hearing me go on about the radio show Radiolab.  If so, please ignore me & check out this episode anyway.

For those of you who are unfamiliar with Radiolab, it's a public radio show produced through WNYC.  The concept is that "boundaries blur between science, philosophy, and human experience," and it usually takes a scientific approach to dealing with various subjects.  I always have more questions & a less-clear point of view at the end of each show. 

This linked episode is a relatively short (25 min.) but deep conversation with Malcolm Gladwell about ability & what makes people great.  It certainly has some good points and is entertaining too.   

I think it is important for us to look at the multitude of factors that make people successful, because that will enable us to help more students achieve that success.  Certainly, everyone cannot be great in everything, but there are usually a variety of things combining to lift people up.  It seems a little lazy to me that we often attribute genius over hard work to some success.

If you like this, then you should check out the Radiolab website (or their podcasts through iTunes).  They have all of their shows archived & up for download in a variety of ways. Here's the web address:

http://www.radiolab.org/