Thing 8

I was really nervous about this one. I really didn't think I could do it, but it really wasn't hard. The most difficult part was knowing what to say. I kept messing it up so I had to restart over and over until I ended up with something that worked for me. I wanted my screencast to be something that I could really use, so I made it about saving to Norway. My 3rd graders struggle with getting to Norway at the beginning of the year. I love the idea of having kids make screencasts to share with other kids. That's great because I usually have so many students that need help doing something on the computer and I have to train a few experts to help me out. I know they would love making screencasts like these and because it is so easy to do, I can see them really getting the hang of this quickly. I chose to work with screencast-o-matic because I didn't need to download anything to my computer to work with it. It really was just point and shoot. Nice!

Thing 7

My Dell would not run the video on Fair Use, so I gave up on that computer and switched to my own home computer. If the tech guys are reading this blog, I'll be sending a geek request to do something about my Dell. And so, video resources. The sites were full of good videos and the online video world has really come a long way because I didn't have any trouble with buffering. I really wanted to find some videos to support my curriculum so I looked for some on space and on the rainforest. We cover space early in the year, and rainforests come up later in the spring semester. Both videos were really great and the quality is so much better than what I've previously used on United Streaming on the library resources page. Last year I had several students with dyslexia and attention problems. Videos like these would be great resources because they are interesting, the cover topics that we are learning in class, and they are multisensory. We create a foldable of the relationship between ourselves and the world at the very beginning of the year. Videos give me another resource for information instead of using just books with kids reading independently or in small groups. I found myself asking questions during the video, much like you would during reading. This could be a springboard to deeper learning where kids are reading and writing about topics that are most interesting for them.
I'm still a little fuzzy on the whole fair rights thing. I know my librarian will be up to date on this so I'll be visiting with her before school starts to clarify my misunderstandings.

Thing 6

ITouch is so cool! I wish I had one. I just got a Nano, so I don't think I'll be upgrading for a while. My daughter has an Itouch so I got to play with hers for this activity. I downloaded a few apps. She already had lots on her Ipod. I added Geopedia, Fact of the Day, Did You Know?, and KuGon to her apps. These were all free. I really wanted some other apps, but they had a cost attached, so I stuck to the free apps. I was really impressed with all of them.
How to use them in the library...hmm?
1. Using the book reader feature students could download books into their ipods, then meet in the library to read, discuss, and share their thoughts about the books and authors. It is eco-friendly, in that no paper is used, and you don't have to worry about losing the book (unless you lose your ipod).
2. The graphing calculator feature could be used by students in middle and high school to help with algebra and other higher level math courses. Graphing calculators are really expensive. Students use them in those classes on a regular basis. This would be essential for kids in those classes.
3. The apps for keeping track of assignments would be really useful to keep students on track. When something is due soon, your ipod will show the project/assignment, so work can be turned in on time, eliminating the possibility of forgetting it or turning it in late.
4. Let's say you start your day with Fact of the Day, and that leads to burning questions that students want to learn about. They can use their ipods to get online for more research or head to the library to use the resources there to find their answers.
5. Using the Did You Know? app students can share their thoughts about the information displayed each day, building communication and a sharing of opinions.
6. Using ActivBoards you can text in answers to questions through the use of apps.

There are lots of uses for the Itouch. I am so excited about having them in our library. Think of the active participation we could have. Of course, there are also apps for popcorn and milk, so when kids get hungry there's a snack built in, and it's the kind that won't make a mess or ruin the carpet. Ha! Ha! :)

Thing 5

My Dell and I are not on speaking terms tonight.  So, I'm working on a Mac.  That has me frustrated, but in spite of that, I finally got on the band wagon and joined Facebook.  People have been after me to join for a while.  Last year I signed my husband up and I played around on his profile, but for this activity, I decided it was time I joined in too.  Setting it up and using it is really easy, but it is the group discussions that I think will be really valuable.  The chatting with friends and keeping up with what's going on with everyone is fun and exciting, but I can also stay current with the newest trends in education.  All summer I keep hearing about the RTI model and that our school is not a pilot school so we won't get info on it till next year.  However, when I joined the International Reading Assoc.  group, that was the first posting on the discussion board. Cool!  

Twitter was easy to join, but I didn't get to do much with it because my Dell wouldn't let me go to the site or log in once I finally registered.  I used the Mac to see the site and I need to explore it more because I spent more time fighting with the other computer than working on the site.  I did get to see some of the recent posts from different discussion groups and we had some good laughs reading what others were talking about.  I have heard about classrooms of young children that have used Twitter to discuss different topics, talk about books, etc and I'd love to try that.  I set up a wiki last year with my class, but it didn't work for book talks. It was much better for writing than anything else.  

I would definitely use these sites as long as they can be private because my students are only 8 years old.  I know they understand these sites, but not all of my students are allowed to use the internet at home.  Many parents are wary of the internet because they don't want their children visible on the web.  I can see my class talking about what they read, send links to videos about topics we learn in class, etc.  As I sit here typing I can imagine all the possibilities and they are numerous.  I would just have to make sure they were protected first.  I think I would probably lean toward using Twitter with my class because it does not require the huge profile that Facebook does.  It's easier to set up than Facebook.  We start the year off with a study of the Earth, planets, landforms, maps, etc.  They could look for videos to share, websites, interesting facts, share books they have read about these topics, etc.  Think of the real world writing and real audience possibilities.

As far as back-channeling, I can absolutely see this happening in middle and high school.  My daughter would be so engaged in learning if she could use this type of technology.  I don't think this will work in a 3rd grade, however it would if someone was unable to be in class due to illness or some other circumstance.  Will that ever be possible?  Technologically, I know we have the capability, but realistically will teachers embrace this kind of learning so that all students are engaged? 

Thing 4

I was so excited to be working with You Tube for this activity. I watched the video on how to upload my own videos to the site, then I got to work. I really wanted to use one of the Animoto videos I made, but then I decided to use a piece of music my son wrote for his girlfriend. The problem was that I had no video to go with it. I told him I wanted to put pictures of him and his girlfriend over the music, but he refused. It's funny because he already has videos of himself on You Tube, so I didn't see why he would refuse to put still pictures of himself over the music he wrote. Anyway, I imported his song into Windows Movie Maker and after a bit of trial and error, was able to post a video on You Tube called A Song for Laura. The pictures have nothing to do with the music. My daughter took them on a summer vacation a few years ago. So, both of my children had input into the video I uploaded this evening, one wrote the music, and the other took the photos. It's not a great video, but uploading to You Tube is simple. I mean really simple, like even a child can do it. The real learning experience for me was Windows Movie Maker. I've used other movie programs before and none are as easy to use as this one. I didn't use my school computer for this project for multiple reasons that are too long to bore you with tonight. I hope I have this program on my computer so my kids can use it. I definitely need to teach them how to use a digital camera and how to import pictures and store them in their files on Norway.
The benefits I see from putting kids work on You Tube is that they get to see themselves online and their parents can see it as well. Family and friends can also see what kids upload to sites like this one. That is really reinforcing for kids and highly motivational. It would also be awesome to have some teaching videos for kids who don't understand certain concepts, like subtracting across 0 in math. My daughter used the videos from the online textbook at Spring Forest for her algebra homework on a daily basis. They were so helpful. I would love to see something like that for my students who don't feel confident about a topic or skill.

Thing 3

I began reading some of the articles about video calls and it looked really interesting. We actually have the technology for these kinds of calls now. Wow! I downloaded the software and went through it a bit. I know a few people on Skype and it would be great to talk to them over the internet. I don't have a web cam so I'll have to see about purchasing one so I can try this out.
On that note, I wonder if school will have all the equipment to make something like this a reality.
As far as using this in classrooms, I can see this having great potential in middle and high school. I read the manual from the high school in Lake Placid and it talks about potential problems with the connections, etc. That makes me nervous. 3rd graders aren't very patient when computer problems arise and they aren't good about trouble shooting yet. Way back when, we used to have a video conferencing program where you could take your class to the library and view a program and talk to the presenters. It didn't always work and the setup was often frustrating because we were at the mercy of the phone line and the connection. This feels like that, however I'm always willing to try new things and this just looks so cool. So, my husband is downloading Skype on his Mac because he does web casts for a living. He's excited to connect to his colleagues who are also on Skype to see how it all works. I'm planning to work with him, because his computer has a web cam built in and he has headphones that work for his computer, and see what the user potential can be. It looks great and it's easy to find contacts. Let's see where that takes us.