Podcast Reflection #6: Digiteens, 2009 K-12 Online Conference

Digiteens: Digital citizenship from digital teenagers

Digiteen Project: A Flat Classroom(tm) Project:
www.flatclassroomproject.org

Vicki Davis-coolcat teacher blog
-students from the digiteen project - they research current trends like
-digital citizenship
-safety
-security
addictive behaviors
-cyber bullying

-talking about viral behaviors
Projects they create to speak out in the area of their interest:
http://digiteen.wikispaces.com

http://digiteen2008.wikispaces.com

http://digiteen.ning.com

-Digital Citizenship-

First video was about: Dangerously Connected "DWT"
Driving while Texting...
-dramatic music, has vivid images,
-effective student project

I would say this video is effective because it presented a valid concern - and students could help non contribute to the problem by not driving while texting...

I think this is a great way to get students involved in technology - perhaps

2nd example - Digital Safety and Security  video
-myspace and fb - posting inappropriate photos, some teens don't realize it
-kids lying about their age, don't know that they have a private profile
-activist video about students need to be taught awareness and internet safety by students
-pictures can be used the wrong way

Digiteen Island
-open sim
www.reactiongrid.com


What is digital literacy - 6th grade students
-ability to communicate using technology - and being able to distinguish between real and fake websites
-can get the wrong information if you don't know a website is fake
-they thought it was cool to work with students from other countries

Stealing Pictures:
-copying and stealing pictures
-watching what you put on tech
Identity Stolen
-because they were shopping online
-because of young kids shopping and unsafe sites

Best way to teach online working
-learned how to collaborate with people on the internet
-fun to be able to teach to your classmates new information you've learned
Should schools have access to the internet or not
-we should because it teaches them digital courtesy and safety
-if they don't know the dangers of using it, than they are more likely to get in situations where they can't get out
-students won't be able to learn how to do productive projects using the internet, if they're not given the opportunity (such as wikispaces)
-through working with students in other countries - it broadens communications skills and opens up to seeing other cultures

Dangers of not learning about digital citizenship
-don't learn safe practices about using the internet
-don't learn NOT to post personal info/or bad information


This video was directed by Westwood Schools in Camela, Georgia
www.westwoodschools.org



Overall it was about letting students make wikis and videos about internet safety and digital citizenship and using it effectively, I think it's a great idea to teach students how to use the internet effectively and safely.

Here is another article/website about digiteens...
http://k12onlineconference.org/?p=431

Twitter in my Classroom

I have recently began using Twitter for my educational technology class... I can't say it's my favorite resource, but it is definitely interesting. I am finding loads! and I mean LOADS! of educators to follow. I have found some great ones in my content area.

Check out my Twitter, and see who i'm following under my "educators" list.... here: My Twitter

I feel like there are several ways I will be able to use Twitter as a resource. Just through listening to a podcast for class today- mentioned in the previous post - the podcast was done by Tony Vincent  - Learning in Hand, and he mentioned how you can hashtag tweets such as tweeting "I found a great resource called blah blah blah" #edapp. By putting the #edapp after my tweet I will be saving my tweet in archives that are keep about educational applications that I can/could put on a handheld device such as an ipod/ipodtouch/ipad/or iphone.

Also, I am now following several educators who provide great resources. To be honest though, it's a bit overwhelming so i'm taking it slow.  Go out there and get a twitter though, I assure you you'll never be bored! :)

Oh and please follow me!

Podcast Reflection #5: Tony Vincent, Learning in Hand Episode #22, Apps for Education

So, here goes another Podcast reflection. This one is on a podcast called "Learning in Hand" done by Tony Vincent, and is about Apps for Education. Tony has graciously provided us with a video of himself to accompany the podcast as well it looks like.  Here is the video itself:

Educational Apps from Tony Vincent on Vimeo.


 Here is a link to the transcription of the video. Learning in Hand Podcast #22: Educational Apps.   You will have to scroll down the page a bit to get to this, but it's fairly easy to find.

Fun facts:
Apple has sold over 100 millon of their handhelds - this includes - ipods, ipod touches, iphones, ipads,
and these products make up the iOS. (aka the iphone operating system)
That month (june 2010) 5 billion apps have been downloaded - roughly 50 per handheld device.

-He gives ways to search for educational apps such as looking for apps that go with mind-mapping- just type in mind maps and see what they have. Make sure to check out the review before purchasing the app.
There are also great lists compiled of educational apps.
Tony has been kind enough to bookmark a list of Lists of educational apps using Delicious, a way to save your bookmarks so that they're accessible on any computer. Here is a link to Tony's Delicious 
Here are a few sites that also list apps - I've taken the following portion directly from Tony's transcription of his podcast...

• "There's iear.org where you can click a Grade Level or choose a subject underLockers. Some of the reviews have videos and all reviews are by educators.
• The Recess Duty blog has a list of the 99 iPod touch apps used by a middle school teacher during the 2009-2010 school year.
• Macworld has an extensive App Guide with various categories, including Education Genres.
• There's a great 24-page document by Eric Sailers on Scribd.com full of apps for iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch with a focus on Special Education. The list is arrnaged by category.
• Kindergarten Teachers at St. Mary's Episcopal School in Tennessee have a website for their Poddy Training project. They list a few of their favorite apps and their blog has some useful videos and advice."

He also uses Twitter  to find apps,
-he found a cool long division one through
iDevBooks, which has Educational math apps.

Storykit- ability to make a story book on a handheld given words and graphics

Here is another quote directly from his transcription "You might notice that these Twitter posts, called tweets, contain #edapp. This is called a hastag. A hashtag begins with the number sign/pound symbol and then contains a keyword. Hastags make it easier to search and archive tweets. Educators are tagging their tweets that mention an education app with #edapp. This way, even people who aren't registered with Twitter, can go tosearch.twitter.com and search for #edapp. Twapper Keeper and Twubs are sites that keep archives of all #edapp Twitter posts and are full of great app suggestions."

So a hashtag that says- #edapp  - will be a way I can find educational apps in the archives that have been tweeted about, for instance if I go to  search.twitter.com - and search #edapp - I could find lot of resources

Twapper keepers and twubs keep archives of edapps - like he mentions above...

Other fun apps he mentions are:
FacesImake - you draw with stuff! - is a fun app
-Recess Duty - Tape Measure app
Numbl- number tiles game that allows you to jumble the numbers to add up to the correct sum.
Mental note
podcasting for education app-
Brainpop-featured movie app


Also had interesting information about ipad apps, but they seem over my head because I don't own one... So I will let you do the reading of his transcript to figure those out... or here is a guide to the ins and outs of an iPad

Tony mentions that he is on twitter and here is a link to follow him: Tony Vincent on Twitter

Sonic Pics - free app
ICut is offered for free
ICell- gives you a 3d look into an animal, plant or bacteria cell, tap a structure to see it's name and read about it
EnterState- a game where you have to try tapping all 50 states in under a minute - very challenging
Read Me stories- is an app that will read the child stories and you get a new book every day, or you can buy more for 10 cents a book if needed

Overall, Tony provides us with a GREAT deal of information, and a lot of info about educational apps to try, and I know I learned quite a bit while listening/watching to this podcast, I hope you can too!

Here again is the link to his website http://learninginhand.com/ - check it out if you want more information! :)

Animoto in My Classroom

Hey again everyone! I hope you're all enjoying this nicer weather (at least in my part of the country) I have another resource i'd like to share with you all and it's called Animoto! It is a really nifty website that allows you to sign up for a limited account and are then able to make pretty sweet videos. You are able to choose roughly 8 to 12 images and then pick a song that they have on their website or one you have in itunes and upload it and they will sync your images to the music. I think it's pretty cool! I made one about me:

Create your own video slideshow at animoto.com.

I also created one about my content area, which is ESL:


Create your own video slideshow at animoto.com.

Overall, I think it will be a great resource in the future. I will be able to use it to introduce myself to the class - like my about me video, or I can make videos relating to different content areas I am about to teach. The 30 second limit makes sure that it won't go over the limit of my students' attention spans and yet it can still be fun and creative.

I have enjoyed using this resource thus far, and am glad we have been introduced to it! Thanks Educational Technology! :)

Podcast Reflection #4: Inside Eracism by Vicki Davis: K12 2009 Online video, 12/18/09

This podcast was done in 2009 and has to do with the K12 online conference. Here is the link to the K12 webpage. The podcast was slightly interesting as it had to do with debating the topic of Racism and it's prevalence in our society.
The first part of it had Julie Lindsey talking about the project and here is the link to the description of the podcast I listened to  - Eracism -


Basically the project is about identifying a global issue and also how to deal with it. Eracism stands for erasing-racism - and the fact that we have the power to make a difference, and building information bases and understanding of other cultures. The students behind this project believe "You/We have the power to make a difference!"


I personally really like that students were the brainpower behind this!
-The students presented this at Qatar...


The project overview provided in the podcast pictures is:

Project Overview..

Phase 1-Voicethread Debate

-3 debates

Phase 2- virtual world debate

-1 final debate

-k12 online event

They were trying to figure out how can we debate, and make it feel synchronous? Simulated synchronous…

-in this you listen to the other debater

-respond in real time

-no re-record unless a technical malfunction

-teachers agree to protocols

Berna Jean - a lady that spoke during the podcast said that they needed 

-Objectives to create a rich debate and learning environment.

-Wanted to be able to debate across time differences

-they really worked hard to stick to the formal format of debating

Something I found interesting Diigo to have the kids collectively gather their research, and we just learned about this resource in class

Some basics about their form of debating is... 

-They researched debating protocols around the world…

-Each side has to respond 3 times, an affirmative and a negative, and this was repeated

 -Teachers and students are assigned to various debates and ability to view and debate on the voice-threads posted… 

 -There were judges that judged the voice-threads and who won the debate…

 -They have 3 judges for each debate, and work to include adults who have been debaters or who have been part of a debate.

 -After they declare the winner they are to give narrative comments back to students.

The overall topic of this debate is that differences make us stronger!

With my ESL background due to taking classes here at K-State I think this is a great subject to debate, and I concur that differences make us stronger! 

Also- the global collaboration of the teachers and the use of google docs is really really impressive! 

Overall, this podcast was very interesting. Here is another link that provides more information about this project Eracism Project