Podcast Reflection #6: Classroom iPod Touches and iPads: Do's and Don'ts

 It is always difficult to know what is right and wrong when beginning something new. For example, I would have no clue what to do with a whole set of new iPads in my classroom; what do I do with them? How do I sync them? What should I not let the students do? Luckily, the podcast Classroom iPod Touches & iPads Dos and Don’ts, goes through a whole list of items to help teachers manage these devices.

            We will start off with some of the “Dos” that Tony Vincent recommends. First off, Vincent recommends creating a usage contract. By doing this, the teacher sets limits for the students and requires that they follow the rules. In addition, this contract makes the parents follow these rules so that everyone uses these resources in the best possible way. Next, Vincent says that naming iPods or iPads is important so that students (and teachers) can keep track of their device, but more importantly that they can save work and have specific applications to help them with their schoolwork. One of the pieces of advice Vincent gives is to consistently clean and maintain each device. If there are playlists or folders that are not being used, then there is no need for them and they take up space. It also helps the students stay organized with their devices.

            To counteract the “Dos”, Vincent also gives some “Don’ts” for these devices. The first is that the teacher should not give the students the password to the iTunes. This way, the students cannot download things that they should not or things that are not necessary for the device. Second, don’t use liquid cleaners of the iPods or iPads. With students, it is natural for fingerprints to accumulate on the screen, but it is better for the devices to use clothes or other cleaners so that the items last longer. Finally, Vincent says that we (teachers) should not stop learning about all of the new things that are developing in iPods and iPads. If we do, then we might miss some cool, useful, and important updates for each of these tools.  

Podcast Reflection #5: Making New Connections with VoiceThread

            Educating students is becoming much more of a student driven profession, where students help make their own learning. This can be done through reports, slideshows, or videos. This podcast, Making New Connections with VoiceThread, introduces a new resource that I have not heard of before; VoiceThread.

According to the podcast, VoiceThread is a new system that allows people to post media artifacts for anybody to access. These artifacts range from photos, videos, or even documents. What the system does is it allows users to go in and make Flash-animations with the documents that students can look at as an alternative means of learning. On top of this, though, the creator has the ability to go in and create a commentary by using the microphone in the computer, webcam, or even type it in with words for the students to read while watching the animation.

This application is so versatile and appropriate for all ages that one of the teachers in the podcast discusses a project she coordinated between many schools and grades. She had second graders in one school create pictures and post them onto VoiceThread. Then, ninth grade English students in a whole different state wrote a story based on the picture and uploaded them with the picture. The final step was fifth and sixth grade music students created songs based on the picture and the writing that was completed. What I gain from this is that VoiceThread is much more than a resource; it is a place for students to work together to accomplish something and get real world experience.

Podcast Reflection #4: Skype in the Classroom

In the past few years, the ways that humans communicate have changed; we can find millions of people on Facebook, give instant updates from Twitter, and talk face to face with anybody in the world through the video-chat system Skype (and it’s free!). This podcast, Skype in the Classroom, through edtechtalk, detailed new ways that teachers are utilizing Skype in their classroom.

            The inspiration for this podcast came from the Skype educators website where they are currently testing a system for teachers to connect and interact with each other and with resources on the web. Teachers have the ability to add other teachers as contacts so that there can be constant and easy communication and exchanging of ideas. This new version of Skype also has a feature that allows educators to add their favorite resources to a database that is organized into different categories, such as arts, culture, and language. On top of that, there is a tab for guest speakers where teachers can go and recommend one or look for one on a specific topic. Like Delicious, Skype also has a feature where you can save some of your favorite things that you discover. That way, you won’t have to forget them or save the links in some other account.

            The speakers say that using Skype has been very unique, fun, and enlightening in their classrooms. One teacher says that he used Skype in order to help his students better understand certain concepts while using real world examples; he asked many different experts to record a short discussion about certain topics so that his students could learn exactly what was going on in the real world and why these things are important. I imagine using Skype as a way to connect with students in other countries, almost like a pen-pal relationship. We could share what we are working on in class with them, they could do the same, and it would be all about exchanging ideas while also experiencing a new culture.  

Podcast Reflection #3: Learning in Hand-Educational Apps

        The amount of stuff that Apple comes out with every single day is truly staggering. In this podcast, Tony Vincent, an expert on using handheld devices such as the iPad, iPhone, and iPod Touch in the classroom and podcaster of Learning in Hand, says that the Apple “App” store grows by about 700 new apps EACH DAY! Luckily, Tony gave some good tips on which apps are particularly useful in the classroom. While there is no set way of finding good apps, I never knew that a person could simply type in a keyword into iTunes and it would pull up a list of findings that might match what you are looking for.

       On his “Delicious” page, Tony has bookmarked over 30 apps that educators may find useful. “IEAR” is a site that allows teachers to look up resources by grade level OR by subject. Plus, each app is reviewed by actual educators who know what other teachers want. How useful! “AppGuide” sounds useful because it separates thousands of apps into individual categories as well. “IDevBooks” allows students to create their own math problems on an iPod and then it goes on to show you how it is solved and why it is solved that way. This resource sounds like it would be very effective because today’s students have grown up with these hand held devices and know how to work them and read them properly. It is truly hard not to spend hours surfing the web looking through these websites and apps because once you find one page you find interesting, there is a link to something else even more interesting!

       The amount of apps is honestly very intimidating. This podcast was very helpful because it gave great resources that broke down the ways to obtain useful education apps so that I don’t have to go out and browse hundreds of thousands of apps. I appreciate Tony Vincent for realizing the power of Apple and giving useful hints and tips to make it much more manageable.

Animoto in my Classroom

While "Powerpoint" presentations may still be the norm in many classrooms and businesses around the world, "Animoto" is definitely the thing that is shaking up "Powerpoint-like" programs. Animoto is a service that turns pictures and text into an entertaining slideshow. I enjoy that their are various levels of Animoto, from extra-pay features all the way down to free 30 second slideshows. I mean, it is so easy for students to go right into the free program and create a short informational video for any subject and share it with their peers. What's even better, in my opinion, is that Animoto does the creation of the video all for you! It times images with music and transitions and can even include text to make it more informational. I think that this service would be successful in the classroom because it is entertaining for the kids and they can truly make it how they want. The extended features would be useful to buy in the future just so that the slideshows can be longer and be used in a way that really teaches a lot of information rather than just 30 seconds. Here is a preview of an Animoto I made about my summers working as a Daycamp Counselor with First Graders!

Create your own video slideshow at animoto.com.

Fun with Text

www.tagxedo.com

www.wordle.net

I have never even heard of a “wordle”. I mean, is that even a real word? Turns out it can actually be a really useful tool in the classroom, along with it’s mate, “tagxedo”. What makes these tools so cool is that you can add as many words as you want to this form and these programs take those words and make cool shapes and patterns out of them. On top of that, if a word is inserted more than once in the document then it will be larger in the image that is created. Therefore, these tools are useful when examining main ideas, phrases, people, or words of a subject. In fact, a student can insert a passage from a textbook or book and the programs remove common words so that all that is left are the important ones, and extra important words will be bigger than others so students can recognize that those words or phrases have some significance. After the image has been created, students then have the opportunity to personalize it with colors and different arrangements so they really feel like they can make it their own and be able to work with it and understand it.