Wednesday, November 30, 2016
Sample Infographic
Here is one example of how to use infographics and websites like PiktoChart to present information is visually appealing ways.
Online Book Communities
Online book communities are great ways to share with others what books like you like, would want to recommend to others, disliked or would want to read in the future.
There are several websites that can help sharing what they call "shelves" with other and even rate and include reviews.
Such websites are those like GoodReads, LibraryThing, BookLikes and Biblionasium.
GoodReads
The site is the most commonly used site from the four listed. It is also the one I liked the most using than the other. The site itself is very user-friendly and allows users to create different shelves and rate and write reviews for books.
LibraryThing
This site was my second favorite of the four to use. It's a bit plain and it took me a few tries until I figured how to add books but it was fairly easy to use. The site has little to no images and it's mainly just text. You can also rate, review and recommend books and there is a tab for local literary events happening in your area.
Biblionasium
This site was very neat and offered different types of accounts for different users such as educator, parent and student. This site is geared for more school children and teachers. It allows teachers to create shelves of books that they recommend the students read and the students from their accounts can write short reviews for them. Very user-friendly for both children and adults. It can also be linked with Follett Destiny.
GoodReads
The site is the most commonly used site from the four listed. It is also the one I liked the most using than the other. The site itself is very user-friendly and allows users to create different shelves and rate and write reviews for books.
LibraryThing
This site was my second favorite of the four to use. It's a bit plain and it took me a few tries until I figured how to add books but it was fairly easy to use. The site has little to no images and it's mainly just text. You can also rate, review and recommend books and there is a tab for local literary events happening in your area.
This was my least favorite of all sites to use. It took very long to load even after trying on different internet networks and different computers. It took me way too long to figure out how to put books on shelves and how to create shelves as well. The site itself looks very modern since you are able to choose different themes to create a desired look. The site is tailored to look more like a blog than anything else. Like the rest of the websites it allows you to rate and review books.
Biblionasium
This site was very neat and offered different types of accounts for different users such as educator, parent and student. This site is geared for more school children and teachers. It allows teachers to create shelves of books that they recommend the students read and the students from their accounts can write short reviews for them. Very user-friendly for both children and adults. It can also be linked with Follett Destiny.
Which ones have you used? How well did they work for you?
Comment below!
Sunday, November 20, 2016
Media (is) the message
There has been a long running debate between Richard Clark's and Robert Kozma's views on technology.
Richard Clark states that "media are mere vehicles that deliver instruction but do not influence student achievement any more than the truck that delivers our groceries causes changes in our nutrition".
Robert Kozma states that certain media "possess particular characteristics that make them both more and less suitable for the accomplishment of certain kinds of learning tasks".
Both have agreeable stances in some sense but taking into consideration the day and age the debate initiated to where we stand now I must side with Kozma.
Media, when used appropriately, can definitely enhance any lesson or skill that needs to be taught. It can also add various types of differentiation for students with different needs. Technology allows for an extension of what a student needs to learn or wants to explore on their own which is definite proof that technology CAN heavily influence learning. The keywords of course would be to teach children the basics and ethics of using media appropriately to ensure than learning is effectively taking place. Having an abundance of technology tools doesn't necessarily mean that effective teaching and learning is happening. It is up to educators to take advantage of these tools to try to reach every child's learning goals and to create independent learners and critical thinkers. There are so many more things that educators can create with technology than a paper handout could ever possibly do.
Reference:
The media debate. (2012, August 30). Retrieved November 19, 2016, from http://edutechwiki.unige.ch/en/The_media_debate
Sunday, November 13, 2016
Podcasts
Podcasts!
I am geeking out a bit over this topic but what can I say?! Podcasts are great for just about anyone. They're pretty much like talkshows about any topic you can think of. My brothers follow some on sports and politics and some friends follow others on gaming. Listeners can usually send comments to the podcasters and have them discuss those topic for their next podcast.
I really see this being used more for the upper grades (middle school and high school) but I did use it twice for the elementary level kiddos.
One instance was to record myself reading books. Students would then choose the audio file of the book they had chosen and they would follow along with their book as I (in the audio file) was reading the book.
Another instance was when I created accounts for the students who were struggling readers. I recorded them trying to read 3 books and sent those books home for them to read with parents. The parents were able to log on and listen and follow along to see which words their kids were struggling with. They would also listen to my voice to know what techniques I was telling the child to use and how to praise them so that they may do the same with their child.
As for podcast hosting sites are concerned they are tons to choose from but they are not all the same. The one I used for the above projects deleted them after a certain amount of time. Definitely a huge bummer since it took a lot of work and I most certainly learned my lesson about better researching the podcast host sites I use in the future.
Some very good options are soundcloud, podbean, podomatic.
SoundCloud
This site is mostly used for musical artists to upload their music and get heard. SoundCloud is fairly easy to use and even allows for graphics to be added as background images. It offers a free trial and after that would require a payment of $7-$15 a month depending on the plan you choose. A major plus for SoundCloud is that it has an app as well so it makes for listening and recording on any device an even easier task.
PodBean
This site was by far my favorite to use. I liked the interface which was user friendly and it also has an app as well. There are also options to get paid memberships that would grant more bandwidth, storage and podcast channels. I liked it so much that it was the one I used for my own podcast. I found it a lot better to use using my phone since I was able to record directly on it instead of having to use separate software to record and then upload.
Podomatic
This site is a great site if you are an avid Facebook user. Its interface is similar to the social media site and also has a section of trending topics and podcasts as well. Podomatic has an app as well but from what I was able to see it did not allow the feature of recording a podcast from the app. Not too sure if this is something that can't be done on iOS but can on Android.
Below is my podcast which is a read aloud of a short story from a storybook collection.
Happy podcasting!!!
One instance was to record myself reading books. Students would then choose the audio file of the book they had chosen and they would follow along with their book as I (in the audio file) was reading the book.
Another instance was when I created accounts for the students who were struggling readers. I recorded them trying to read 3 books and sent those books home for them to read with parents. The parents were able to log on and listen and follow along to see which words their kids were struggling with. They would also listen to my voice to know what techniques I was telling the child to use and how to praise them so that they may do the same with their child.
As for podcast hosting sites are concerned they are tons to choose from but they are not all the same. The one I used for the above projects deleted them after a certain amount of time. Definitely a huge bummer since it took a lot of work and I most certainly learned my lesson about better researching the podcast host sites I use in the future.
Some very good options are soundcloud, podbean, podomatic.
SoundCloud
This site is mostly used for musical artists to upload their music and get heard. SoundCloud is fairly easy to use and even allows for graphics to be added as background images. It offers a free trial and after that would require a payment of $7-$15 a month depending on the plan you choose. A major plus for SoundCloud is that it has an app as well so it makes for listening and recording on any device an even easier task.
PodBean
This site was by far my favorite to use. I liked the interface which was user friendly and it also has an app as well. There are also options to get paid memberships that would grant more bandwidth, storage and podcast channels. I liked it so much that it was the one I used for my own podcast. I found it a lot better to use using my phone since I was able to record directly on it instead of having to use separate software to record and then upload.
Podomatic
This site is a great site if you are an avid Facebook user. Its interface is similar to the social media site and also has a section of trending topics and podcasts as well. Podomatic has an app as well but from what I was able to see it did not allow the feature of recording a podcast from the app. Not too sure if this is something that can't be done on iOS but can on Android.
Below is my podcast which is a read aloud of a short story from a storybook collection.
Happy podcasting!!!
Sunday, November 6, 2016
Cartoons and Comics
Good evening!
Tonight's blog post is about using online cartoon and comic creators in the classroom.
There many sites such as ToonDoo, Pixton, and MakeBeliefsComix that students and educators can use to create lesson and projects that can not only be original but fun as well.
I tried creating a comic in each site. Some yielded better results than others when I created my own.
ToonDoo
The site itself gave me the hardest time with loading. After several attempts I was able to create a toon but editing never quite came out right when I tried resizing things. Of the three it was the site I had the most difficulty in using due to technical issues which is why I couldn't screenshot or embed but hopefully the link works. I will test it on a Windows computer to see if it works.
http://www.toondoo.com/View.toon?param=10589478
Otherwise it seemed okay
Paxton
The site was fairly easy to use. It does require registration and offers a limited day trial. It was fairly easy to use but the format seemed more fitting for older students and educators.
<iframe src="//www.pixton.com/schools/embed/yqljdw6w" frameborder="0" width="100%" height="384" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Make Beliefs Comix
This site was by far my favorite of the three. It required no registration which is great for students. No memorizing user logins. The comic can be saved onto the computer, emailed or printed. Some of the things that can be added to the comic are animated which makes it even funnier to look at.
Tonight's blog post is about using online cartoon and comic creators in the classroom.
There many sites such as ToonDoo, Pixton, and MakeBeliefsComix that students and educators can use to create lesson and projects that can not only be original but fun as well.
I tried creating a comic in each site. Some yielded better results than others when I created my own.
ToonDoo
The site itself gave me the hardest time with loading. After several attempts I was able to create a toon but editing never quite came out right when I tried resizing things. Of the three it was the site I had the most difficulty in using due to technical issues which is why I couldn't screenshot or embed but hopefully the link works. I will test it on a Windows computer to see if it works.
http://www.toondoo.com/View.toon?param=10589478
Otherwise it seemed okay
Paxton
The site was fairly easy to use. It does require registration and offers a limited day trial. It was fairly easy to use but the format seemed more fitting for older students and educators.
<iframe src="//www.pixton.com/schools/embed/yqljdw6w" frameborder="0" width="100%" height="384" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Make Beliefs Comix
This site was by far my favorite of the three. It required no registration which is great for students. No memorizing user logins. The comic can be saved onto the computer, emailed or printed. Some of the things that can be added to the comic are animated which makes it even funnier to look at.
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