Okay, so it didn’t take me long to write another post, but these two websites are too good not to be shared. I was reading Clarence Fisher’s recent post about using Wordle in his class. I was intrigued by this idea, and after seeing Wordle creations on other teacher’s blogs, I decided to create one myself! Check out my del.icio.us Wordle!
Then I continued reading my google reader and discovered another blog with an equally fabulous post. On An (aspiring) Educator’s Blog, there was a post about Moodstream. It is basically a site that creates a slideshow of images and music to reflect your mood. It is fantastic to listen to and watch! I am glad this (aspiring) Educator shared it!
As my ECMP class draws to a close, I’ve been asked to reflect on my blogging from the last six weeks. I like to think that I have come a long way in this past month and a half. I look back at my first apprehensive posts and my most current posts that seems to exude my voice and opinion, and of course, I see growth.
In every portfolio that contains writing, as an author you are bound to have a few favourites. In case you began reading my blog later in the process, feel free to browse my favourites. One of my first posts was the Walk for Darfur post, which was a huge part of my life at the beginning of May. I felt this was a great post for information and a way to spill my passion on the subject. The ‘Real’ity of Social Networking came next, it held my first taste of other educators commenting on my writing and answering my questions. My other favourites include My Frustration, which brought educators from afar to comment and help me with my educational struggles. I thank Alec for helping me connect with this community! My recent Adventures of Chair and my posts on Bill C-61 both are interesting to me and I hope others. I have enjoyed researching and learning about all the subject matter presented on my blog. I hope to continue this in the future.
When I began this class, I had an altered perception of blogging. Coming from other education classes that integrated little technology, I felt that this world of blogging was elaborate and overbearing. I soon discovered it was much more than an online diary. After beginning to read other educators blogs, I discovered that these were beneficial tools for student learning and professional development. What I love about blogging is the community that comes with it. Instantly, you become connected to a community that can help you, support you and teach you. If anything, the blogging/online community is worthwhile professional development for any teacher. I plan to continue blogging and learning from other blogging educators before my internship. I think it would be great to have students blog in my classroom. I believe that it is worthwhile for students to have a voice and most of all redesign the traditional beliefs of a classroom. So, I have been converted to the technological world, education 2.0 here I come!
To all my readers, I hope you have enjoyed my work so far! I plan to continue blogging when I can and have enjoyed this experience! To my classmates, great work on your blogfolios and thank you for sharing your ideas and insights! Have a wonderful summer to you all!
I have ventured into the world of film making with my first short film. For our ECMP class we were asked to create a short film and then edit it using either an online editing program or iMovie. As I had limited experience with Macs, I decided to use iMovie to create my film. I found the iMovie on the MacBook Pro to be easy to navigate and use. I appreciated the auto-save feature as well!
A little history on the film. A friend of mine is a film major at the u of r. He moved back home for the summer but happened to leave his very comfortable computer chair in Regina. While it sat collecting dust in another friend’s garage, we came up with the idea to film the beloved chair at landmarks in Regina and around the University. I hope you enjoy our tour of Regina in the Adventures of Chair!
Many thanks to Jordan and Chris for their help with filming and supplying the video camera. Also, for their help with moving the chair to many locations! Thank you!
After I finished my last update, I came across two interviews on CBC radio’s As It Happens program. The program was on Thursday, June 12th when a reading of Bill C-61 was read in the house of commons. This is the bill that deems it illegal to download and copy music, etc. The interviews are with Industry Minister Jim Prentice, the minister in charge of this bill, and the Liberal Party Industry Critic Scott Brison. It is an interesting glimpse to see what the Industry minister had to say on this issue. Check it out below. To find the full episode, follow the As It Happens link above.
I was reading in my news feed today and stumbled upon an article that outlines the new bill C-61 that imposes laws and fees on downloading and copyrights. The fascinating part of this article is that there is a huge public opposition, including large corporations such as Roger’s Communication Inc., Yahoo and Google. Along with corporations is the outcry from the citizens, including musicians and artists in the industry being affected. It makes me wonder where this law has come from? Why is the government persistent on barring a society that has clearly moved beyond their control in this area. We are looking at fines that range from $500 per song downloaded and up to $20,000 for this media uploaded the YouTube.
As I have been creating my Arts Education Resource Wiki, I have been browsing numerous websites to find the best and most comprehensive sites for arts education teachers. As a result, I have been having a lot of fun on some of the websites. The one that I am enjoying thoroughly is a Jackson Pollock website. The entire webpage is a blank sheet that allows you to paint it like Jackson Pollock would. Wherever you drag your mouse the paint follows and if you click, the colour of paint will change. It is an example of digital art. What I love is that regardless of how many colours you use or where you put the paint, it always looks good!
(Note: This is my first time using jing! I am just getting used to it, so hopefully my video shows the process of this website!)
Also, websites like this are great for use on a SMARTboard because instead of painting with a mouse, you begin “painting” with your fingers. It can be a lot of fun and an interactive way to learn about the artistic process of Jackson Pollock.
If you find yourself looking for something fun to do, give it a try! You won’t be disappointed.
After our ECMP 355 class last week on Media Literacy, I began pondering about what to write about in my blog. Alec gave us the opportunity to browse and view websites that offer positive and negative media. I scanned the list of possibilities, including cyberbullying, media representation and even the “dark side” of the internet. There were a few that caught my eye but I couldn’t pin down why they did.
Today I had a realization. I was bothered by some websites that had been outlined, ones that promoted hatred, racism and even suicide. I had looked at them with sadness knowing that someone had created them. Then I viewed websites that promote positive things and I realized that all these ideas have always been present in our society. I realized that the internet just makes it possible for a large audience to openly view them. You might say, before the realities of our social networks, these “dark sides” were hiding somewhere else. I have found that the internet has made them more apparent and open. I don’t think we will ever get away from that “dark side” because it has always been there and always will be. I can’t explain why but it has and will be.
The question comes down to communication. The internet is all about communication, making our voices and our thoughts heard; so how do we communicate with the next generation on these issues? How do we create positive learning experiences with the internet without the “dark side” taking over? I know, it sounds a bit clique, but I think it’s a valid question.
I believe we can bridge this gap with the communication aspect itself. As we did in our class, we can’t be afraid to talk about these parts of the internet. If we want to create awareness then we must do it in a genuine way. From all the resources, I found that this was my main question, of how to create genuine awareness.
On a different note, I was fascinated by the SMS Sexuality advice for students in the U.K. I have done a lot of volunteer work in the area of youth health and sexual health education and I found this was an incredible way to keep privacy for youth. At the same time, it offered advice that was the truth. I was impressed by the idea and it’s implementation into youth culture.
All my research in this area has been very educational and I am becoming more aware of the resources and the “darkness” that surrounds technology.
After my ECMP 355 class last night, I started my journey home and was happily listening to CBC radio. I was enjoying the program As It Happens as my ears perked up to a new internet controversy. This section of the program was discussing the introduction of new legislation in Canada to stop illegal downloads of music.
The interesting thing is that this legislation would not be strictly for just downloading music. As quoted on the CBC As It Happens site, they said,
Do you ever download songs from the Internet using peer-to-peer software like BitTorrent or Limewire? Do you copy your own CDs onto your computer, and then onto your iPod? Have you “unlocked” your cell phone, so you can use it in Europe or Asia without having to incur roaming charges?
It means that this legislation could cause any citizen to appear as a criminal for making copies of their own CDs. This seems to not make any sense to me. But this is what is to appear soon as a legislation for the federal government. It is also said that you could be fined up to $500 per song. This is all based on the U.S. Digital Millennium Copyright Act. We could be seeing a similar law in place in Canada.
Check out the podcast for the program. It is in the third section. It is worth the time to take a listen.
I happened to be browsing my google reader yesterday and stumbled upon a new term: Edupunk. The term has been coined to represent a teaching ideology that favours the do-it-yourself method, especially when it comes to technology. My interest in this ideology is that I found a few feeds from varying perspectives.
I was reading the teacher perspective on David Warlick’s blog 2¢ Worth.
He wrote two posts about the term. The first one on his discovery of the term and the second on his attempts to entering the term on wikipedia. His outlined the basic message of the ideology of Edupunk.
This term became more interesting when I stumbled upon the Students 2.0 post on Edupunk. The author of this post argued that the term should not be labled upon students and teachers because if this was a DIY movement, then the students should decide the term. I found this interesting, as did many other educators who posted their comments in response to the article. Check it out, as Edupunk might be the new wave of tech education.
In our ECMP class on Wednesday, May 28th we had a “substitute teacher”. Dean Shareski works in the Prairie South School Division and discussed the importance of design in powerpoint presentations in our classrooms. During our class, we viewed videos and powerpoints that taught about how to create effective and engaging presentations. Our tech task was to find a presentation that incorporates some effective principles of design.
I ventured to SlideShare to find an array of presentations. After viewing a few that didn’t quite fit my criteria. I found a presentation called Education 2.0. Education 2.0 was about how educators can and should integrate technology into their classrooms. I was excited to find this presentation because it happens to be a common subject in our class.
The presentation was very simple. The text was large, easy to read, as it was white on a black/gray background. The majority of the slideshow was white or light gray writing on black. The presenter integrated visuals that complimented the ideas being presented. The visuals were pictures that engaged the viewer, they were not clip art. At the end of the presentation to make the points very clear, the slides were fixed with a white background and black writing. I found this very effective as the viewer can understand the importance of their message. I thought the simplicity of this show was easy to follow and if I were a viewer, I would easily engage with the presenter. I would have liked to hear the accompanying audio in order to emphasize certain points. The only suggestions I might find for this slideshow is to integrate more colour into the text. Colour can be very stimulating for the viewer. I would also limit the use of bullets. This occurred a couple times and while it was subtle, I might try to avoid that. Other than those suggestions, I thought it was a great example of effective design in a powerpoint.
This is what the site looks like! Check it out!
