Week
Five
**AUP’s
& Visual Literacy**
Let
me start off by stating that this course has been amazing thus far! I have
learned something new each week and I LOVE it! I couldn’t agree more with the
professor when she stated that just because we know how to manipulate social
media, text, and search the internet; it doesn’t mean we know everything about
technology! I will be the first to admit that technology is such a huge
concept, that I don’t know if I will ever truly understand it in its entirety
but I am sure going to try. Probably to no avail considering that some part of
technology practically changes daily!
This
week we discussed Acceptable Use Policies and how they affect our schools! I
will be completely honest and state that I knew we had an AUP, and I had even
signed the statement agreeing to comply with the policy at the beginning of the
year, however, before this class, I didn’t actually read it thoroughly. I know,
shame on me! I am glad that I read it though, as there are some specific
requirements for creating WebPages, wikis and other classroom technologies that
I wouldn’t have known about had I not read through it closely! I believe it is
vital for schools to have a thorough AUP in place to ensure that all laws,
rules, and regulations are followed because technology can definitely be
misused by students and staff alike if not monitored closely!
As
for visual literacy, let’s just say that is another topic I was only vaguely
familiar with! I knew what visual literacy meant but I didn’t really understand
it! The websites and resources that were provided were phenomenal examples of
how visual literacy is beneficial in the classroom. I really like the video by
Martin Scorsese as he provided thoughtful explanations on how students can
benefit from visual literacy. I look
forward to using visual literacy in my classroom more now that I have a better
understanding of it! Especially considering that right now I am working with
kindergarten students in RTI! I think they would really benefit from using
pictures and videos to understand words and letters!
**Prezi
& Spicynodes**
What I’ve learned:
Prezi
I
have heard of Prezi before, but I have not actually used it! From the feedback
of others, it appears to be a very useful resource! Prezi is basically a
virtual whiteboard that enables you to give presentations with a visual! Prezi
offers three different account types; free basic account, Enjoy account, and
Pro account.
The
website offers great templates, and instructions for creating your own Prezi
presentation. You can easily import your PowerPoints, share your Prezi’s with
others and collaborate online. You also
have the option to explore and view Prezi’s created by others!
Prezi’s can be used in the world of business, education, conferencing,
or for mere pleasure. You can upload and access Prezi from virtually anywhere
with internet access!
Spicynodes
Spicynodes is a visual way to help visitors explore and understand your
website! It is kind of like a concept map only virtual that links to different
parts of your website and explains what your website contains! Spicynodes
allows you to break down large, rich data from your website to allow for easy
viewing from your visitors.
I
really like how the website is established around the theme of food. It is neat
how they made everything work cohesively! Spicynodes can be used for education,
business, cities and towns, media and bloggers, mind mapping, social media and
much more!
There are three different node accounts; individual, organization, and
enterprise. You can choose the account that best suits your needs. The website
also offers templates and support to those who need it!
How the resource can be utilized in the classroom:
Prezi
Prezi can be utilized in an educational setting; in fact it was
partially created for such! Many educators and students utilize Prezi for
school related presentations daily! In fact, when I was completing my undergrad
degree is when I was first exposed to Prezi; when my fellow peers would give
presentations through Prezi.
In
the classroom, I would like to incorporate the use of Prezi along with
PowerPoints, as Prezi is geared specifically towards giving presentations. I
think it would be idea to have the students collaborate on one Prezi through
the virtual whiteboard setup and create one presentation and present it! This
could show the students how to collaborate and utilize the product to gain its
full benefit!
Spicynodes
As I
mentioned above, Spicynodes can be utilized in a classroom setting. In fact the
website gives examples on how to use it in the classroom. Spicynodes uses
concept maps that can appeal to nonlinear thinking. This will allow the
students to think deeper and outside of the box! It allows students to take
ownership for their work while allowing easy management for educators.
The
website offers some example lesson plans from various grade levels and
subjects. The lesson plans have incorporated Spicynodes into them to allow for
enhance learning from the students!
One
in particular that I enjoyed was the lesson plans designed for English and
Poetry! They were designed to engage students, ages middle school through
adult, to write poetry utilizing nodes. The lesson plans were broken down into
different categories such as pre-writing, composing the poems, editing,
discussions and publishing. It provides for a very interesting spin on
technology and I think it would be interesting to see what the students created
on their own!
My recommendations:
Prezi
Prezi works closely with educators and students and provides great
upgrades and discounts to them! Prezi offers a FREE upgrade to the Enjoy
account to all students and educators. This account type allows you the choice
to choose who you share your presentations with, and also offers more space to
create and store Prezis. Educators and students also have the option to upgrade
to the Pro account for a discounted price of $60.00 per year. This is almost a
$100.00 discount!
I
will recommend this resource to other educators and students as it is a great
resource that allows you to utilize your creative nature and captivate
different audiences! In addition, the website is easy to navigate and organized
very efficiently!
Spicynodes
While Spicynodes is quite an interesting piece of technology, it is not
for me! I don’t think that I will ever incorporate Spicynodes into my
classroom. They are neat, and I wouldn’t mind using some of the pre-created
lesson plans, but I just didn’t find them that interesting and I was not
impressed with the resource.
**Edmodo
& A Math Dictionary**
What I’ve learned:
Edmodo
As
for Edmodo, I first learned about this resource when I went to a local
technology convention for STLP. The students from surrounding counties had
created technology projects and submitted them for judging. I was a judge and
when the students presented this resource, I knew I had to try it out!
Edmodo is a way for students and teachers to connect through the web and
collaborate with others while having access to multiple resources. Basically,
to me Edmodo is much like a class version of Facebook! I think the way it is
set up to relate to Facebook draws students’ interest and encourages them to
become engaged in the coursework!
There are many features available through Edmodo such as but not limited
to: engaging the students by providing them tools to bring the lessons to life,
connecting to resources, measuring student progress, and personalizing with
apps.
You
can utilize Edmodo at any level whether that is in the classroom, throughout
the school, or in the entire school district. You can sign up as an
administrator, teacher, parent or student. Signing up is very simple by
following short instructions to set up the account.
A
Maths Dictionary
A
Maths Dictionary is exactly what it says it is,
a virtual dictionary for children that defines
math terms and vocabulary! There are numerous math vocabulary terms that can be
viewed on the kid friendly website. You can view click on a letter of the
alphabet and a list of words starting with that letter will appear on the
screen. There are words for each letter of the alphabet available for viewing.
Once you find the desired word that you wish to view, simply click on the word
and then the definition for that word will appear on the screen.
What
is amazing about this website is the fact that it is interactive. Not only does
the vocabulary word appear, but there is also a well explained example of the
word, and some type of interactive feature. For example, if you click on the
term ascending numbers, it gives you a definition, an example of ascending order,
and an interactive quiz that allows you to check your answers immediately!
Furthermore, the
website allows you the ability to print any word, definition, and example at
any time. At the bottom of the page there is also a link to another page full
of over 250 math posters and charts that are also printable.
How the resource can be utilized in the classroom:
Edmodo
I
actually have an Edmodo account already partially established, however, I
haven’t actually had the opportunity to utilize it to its full potential
because I have not been placed into a full classroom as a teacher as of yet. I
do plan to alter, accommodate and enhance my Edmodo “page” as soon as I get my
first group of students.
As I
mentioned above Edmodo is sort of like Facebook, as you have pages and add
people by sending them a friend request. Although, instead of it being open to
the entire World Wide Web, it is more secluded and the teacher has the option
to choose who has access to and who can view the account and information on the
page.
I
plan to utilize mine as a form of communication and collaboration with the
parents, administrators, and students in my classroom. I would like to use it
to post updates about assignments, tests, grades, important events in the
school or classroom, and as a way to have documented communication between
myself, parents and students. In addition, this will also be a way for students
to collaborate on projects outside of class!
A
Maths Dictionary
A
Math Dictionary is only for the purpose of use in an educational setting or for
students and teachers to utilize for personal use! Therefore, it can most
definitely be utilized in classroom setting.
I
plan to utilize this resource in my classroom in the future and right away with
the kindergarten students I currently work with for RTI! What is amazing about
this website is that there are terms for all grade levels and ages that are
easy to locate by clicking on the letter that the word starts with and doing a
brief search!
What
I would like to do with the website, especially if I was in a 2-6th
grade classroom, is have the students access the website to research the
definitions for the week’s math vocabulary. (There will be new words with each
new unit) I would then like to have the students create a virtual Math term
journal by using their choice of resource from a predestinated list. For
example they can create PowerPoint slides and date them, create a book with
publisher or Microsoft Word, or create a wiki page or blog and date it! This
will allow them to incorporate other technology into the unit to enhance their
learning. They will be asked to copy the definition from the website ( and of
course site the source), give another definition in their own words, create
their own example, and add some extra enhancement for each word. Such as a
quiz, jingle, or picture! The idea is for the students to have a virtual copy
of the math terms from the year that they will be able to utilize in the
future.
My recommendations:
Edmodo
Considering that I already have an Edmodo account, you can say that I am
sold on the resource and didn’t need any further coaxing! I have already
recommended this resource to other educators and will continue to do so! The resource
is completely FREE of charge and available to any and all users! Like I
mentioned above, it is super easy to set up and provides step-by-step
instructions on how to complete the set-up process. Also there are websites
available out there on the famous World Wide Web that provides excellent
examples on how other educators are utilizing this resource in their classroom!
I
cannot wait until I get my first, “real” class of students for an entire school
year, so that I can further establish and enhance my Edmodo account and can
incorporate it into my classroom!
A
Maths Dictionary
I
LOVE the resource, A Maths Dictionary! It is fabulous and something that can be
utilized by both educators and students! The ease with which you can search,
and manipulate the website is great and can be utilized by kids of all ages!
I
will in fact not only be recommending this resource to other educators, but
also using it myself; effective immediately! What is great about it, is that it
is… you guessed it… FREE! I look forward to incorporating this resource into my
classroom and watching my students grow from it!
**Glogster
& Jing**
What I’ve learned:
Glogster
Glogster is a global education platform that can be utilized in the
classroom by students and educators as they create glogs which are online
multimedia posters. When creating a glog for a website or virtual poster, there
are many features available such as, adding graphics, text, and audio to the
glog or animations and links.
There are several key features that accompany this program including, an
embedded search engine, privacy control, an educational resource library and a
glog library. In addition you have the ability to manage student accounts,
message other individuals, and provide assignments and comments and much more!
You
can apply for a free basic account which allows you to receive and utilize the
most basic features of the program. You also have the option to purchase the
premium account which allows for upgraded features and optimal use.
On
the website, there are several lists provided that give you ideas on how to
share your glogs through different social media sites and other website as well
as ways to utilize Glogster in the classroom! Very neat website with oodles of
information!
Jing
Jing is a resource that allows you to
capture your computer screen and add visual elements to create images and or
videos to share with others. You can capture an image of what you see on your
computer and add text and other features to it, or you can capture a five
minute video of what you are doing on your computer screen to share with others.
The website offers free step-by-step tutorials and free support services!
The website provides
solutions for how the resource can be utilize in different settings including
an education setting. In addition, they offer pricing solutions for teachers,
parents, schools, and districts. The website also offers example videos of how
individuals utilize the resource!
How the resource can be utilized in the classroom:
Glogster
I
will most definitely utilize the Glogster program in my classroom! In fact,
even though I am not currently “in a classroom”, I am working with Kindergarten
students doing RTI and I have already found some glogs that I want to show my
students! Yes, I found one with songs about vowels, and I was excited (a little
too excited), when I found some songs that I heard in my childhood! So of course,
I had to stop what I was doing, and go off on a virtual tangent and look up old
educational songs from my childhood. Alright, now back to Glogster!
In
the future, I plan to be working with older students at least grades 2-12. When
in an older classroom, I would like to have my students use Glogster to create
a glog for a book report assignment. I think if they could add images, text,
audio, and other virtual features, the idea of book reports would be appealing
and the students would really be engaged. This is certainly something that I
want to look into. I think it would be neat to read a book as a class, and then
have a book report already created with Glogster then present it to the class.
This way they could see first-hand what is expected of them!
Jing
As I
am currently not teaching (only doing RTI with Kindergarten), I do not see much
use for this product in my immediate future. But, and that is a big but, I WILL
definitely be utilizing this product in the distant/near future! As soon as I
get my first, “real” classroom!
I
can see many ways to utilize this resource in the classroom. One nice idea
would be to use the resource as a source of instructions! During centers or
when we are conducting research projects or something similar, were it is
difficult to be in more than one place at a time, but necessary! I could record
a video of how to access websites or resources step-by-step on my computer then
send it to the students to watch, or have it preloaded and ready for viewing!
I
will say that for secondary education, I watched an example of how to utilize
this resource in the classroom, and I LOVED it! Instead of the teacher,
teaching the lesson in class, and being interrupted consistently, she recorded
the lesson at home, or after school and posted it onto her website. She “flipped”
her teaching style and let the students do the homework in class as she would
be able to assist them because they were struggling at home by forgetting the
content and or not understanding some of the concepts! I thought this was a
brilliant idea and I would love to do something like this in my future classroom
My recommendations:
Glogster
Oh,
you bet I am going to recommend this website! I am beyond excited to start
using this with my K-kiddos! I also can’t wait to try out the book reports once
I begin teaching in the upper grade levels! I think it will be interesting to
see how creative they can be. I also feel that if they can do book reports in
this way they will be more excited to read!
The
account can be purchased for elementary and secondary levels, in addition to
school wide accounts and district accounts. For a single teacher and thirty students
the cost is $40.00 per year! If you plan on using this, it would definitely be
worth the purchase. If you don’t want to create your own blogs it would still
be worth it to view the glogs created by others in the Glogster library!
Jing
I
will in-fact recommend Jing to other educators and students alike! I think it
is great resource and is one that can be put to great use and reap many
benefits! I can’t wait to use this resource in my own classroom in the near
future!
One
of the great features about this product is that it is… you guessed it… FREE!
Better yet, they offer FREE SUPPORT for those who need assistance with the
resource! I encourage all educators to check this resource out and give it a
shot!
**YouTube
for Education, SchoolTube & TeacherTube**
What I’ve learned:
YouTube
for Education
I am
all too familiar with the original YouTube website as it is my go to website
for viewing video clips, songs, and movies! YouTube for Education is similar to
the original YouTube with the exception that the content available is focused
on education! It is a channel that you can add to your YouTube account to allow
for quick access to the content!
The
channel is divided into different categories to allow for quick searches and
viewing. Such categories include, featured videos, primary and secondary
education, university, lifelong learning, social studies and history, art,
math, language, science and more!
You
also have the ability to search the Education channel for specific content if
you are looking for something in particular.
SchoolTube
SchoolTube is
somewhat similar to YouTube however, it is a completely different website that
offers its own spin on things! SchoolTube is a k-12 video sharing platform
designed for educators and students. It
allows for the ability to share, and access videos that are educationally
appropriate and safe for k-12 users!
SchoolTube allows different schools and individuals post videos and or
view them! You can search for a specific or keyword topic in the search bar at
the top of the page and related videos will appear.
The
videos are created by educators and students for educators and students. It is
simple to upload a video as well. All you have to do is create an account and
follow the simple step-by-step instructions!
TeacherTube
Oh
the one and only TeacherTube; a wonderful, resourceful website used by
educators (and students) across the world! TeacherTube is a website that allows
you to view media from different individuals in a variety of formats including,
videos, documents, blogs, audios, photos and much more!
The
website has numerous channels that you can add to your account, or search to
help make searching more beneficial. In addition they have a blog with featured
content and updated news! You can also subscribe to different channels or users
to stay up-to-date media.
You
can sign up quick and easy by simply creating an account. By creating an
account you can upload content, add favorite channels or users and save videos.
You do not have to have an account to view videos of others you can simply
visit the webpage search for the content you want and view it!
How the resource can be utilized in the classroom:
YouTube
for Education
YouTube for education can definitely
be utilized in a classroom setting! In fact I have utilized this resource
before and it has proved to be an effective one!
This
resource could be used for many things! I think the main thing it could be used
for is searching for videos about specific content to show to students. For
example, I could show some of my Kindergarten RTI students some alphabet videos,
as well as videos about vowels!
Once
the students can research on the internet and understand the rules of utilizing
the internet and YouTube specifically, I think it would be okay to allow the
students to search for videos to help them better understand some content or to
add in their own projects. However, I do think it would be best to monitor all
students’ access of YouTube as it is easy to get distracted on YouTube and inappropriate
content could be accessed!
SchoolTube
SchoolTube is
also a resource that CAN be utilized in a classroom setting. Actually all of
the videos are created by educators and or students specifically for the use of
other educators and or students!
For
my younger K-kiddos I would like to present them with some of the videos to
enhance my lessons and their learning. As for older students, I think it would
be neat to have them view some of the videos created by other students and then
create their own video as a product of a particular lesson or content being
taught!
Although, I simply listed a short few examples, there are many ways to
utilize this resource and it would be beneficial to just start viewing examples
already posted and using their ideas to branch out and come up with something
that fits your needs!
TeacherTube
This
resource can be utilized in a classroom setting as it was designed for teachers
and students! All media such as videos, pictures, and documents are actually
created by students and teachers!
I
would like to use this resource in my classroom by showing some of the media to
my students and enhancing my lesson and their learning. In addition, I think it
would be great encouragements to have the students create their own media for
project based assignments! This would certainly keep the students engaged and
provide for optimal learning experiences!
My recommendations:
YouTube
for Education
I have and will
continue to recommend this resource to other educators! I do like this resource
as I have utilized it in my own experiences in the classroom already! I love
that it is a FREE resource and can be utilized by many different age groups for
countless activities, projects, and content!
The only downfall to this is that you will
have to monitor the students closely as access to inappropriate content is easy
to gain. I would make sure that the students had permission from parents. Also,
where this is still through the YouTube website, some schools may not grant
permission to use this channel as they have blocked the entire website!
SchoolTube
While I had not utilized this program before today, I can say without a
doubt that I will continue to use this resource because I can guarantee that it
will enhance my lessons and encourage the students to become engaged! I look
forward to using this resource in my own classroom and recommend it to other
educators and students! This product is also completely FREE!
In
addition, I do not think this resource would be blocked on school servers
because it is education and student friendly! Furthermore, I don’t think it
would require as much monitoring as the traditional YouTube page!
TeacherTube
I
have used TeacherTube before when showing videos to students in the past. I
have not utilized their pictures, audios or documents for the purpose of
providing additional support for my student’s education yet, but it is
something I intend to do in the near future.
I
will recommend this resource to other educators as I feel that it will
certainly provide benefit to the students as well as keep them interested in
engaged by showing them real-life content and examples of the content being
taught!
What
is even better is that this resource is FREE! I encourage all educators and
students to explore this website, and be creative by adding their own media to
the website!
Resources I’ve Utilized:
Kimberly :)
