Wordle - NuTech Thing #5

Wordle - NuTech: ""Thing # 5

Microblogging; what a concept. We have so many ways to communicate that it can be overstimulating but for education it is great. So-o-o-0 many ways to get students involved in the research process; communicating globally, locally and instantly is no longer a concept it is reality. It is possible to reach the masses as well as specific interest groups through a variety of venues; microblogging is the new and exciting communication system. Twittering, facebook, Blogs, and of course, the the old email is just a few of the modes of communication. Within each of these systems are specific stategies that students can utilize to explore, collect or send information to the appropriate person or destination. I have had a facebook account for a year and a half and though I see the advantages of this communication system for students; it is not my personal favorite. Though it is not my personal favorite the advantages outweigh my bias especially when it is related to reaching a specific audience regarding pertinent information. Students love it because they can communicate instantly with friends and get information out to such a large population whether it is a class reunion, fieldtrip, or what's happening in their lives at the moment much like TWITTER. The education value is unlimited; I can guide students to Gradzilla, College Planner, Skool Pool and a host of other resources that will help in collecting information regarding the colleges of their choice from students that are actually attending those colleges. Facebook can also provide informatikon regarding the organizations that your friends are member of provides the opportunity for you to donate or join. I sign up on the Twitter site and attempted to get info from other counselors regarding Postsecondary counseling and how to reach the masses. I will continue to search for answers, ideas, opinions and resources via twitter or blogging. Back channeling is a wonderful concept that I believe will help many students; to be able send electronic note to your teacher or a faciliator of a conference without feeling that all the attention is on you especially for those really smart shy students who are afraid to ask questions in front of the class or even those students that may not be able to attend class on a specific day, channeling is great. Back channeling would have been one of my most frequent choice of communication in high schoool and college.

Creating is possible? Thing # 4

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Thing #4

So I created a video, though primitive, a video nonetheless. My interest has been peaked and I am interested in refining the skill. It was not difficult, the process was new to me so it was a bit time consuming. Can I do better? I sure hope so. I believe students are far more advanced but for those who are not, this will be a great starting point. I was able to create a video based on images I saved from the Flickr sharing site. The theme was based on the many goals students formulate during high school. I watched "How to upload a Video", Teacher Tube, UTube and the Animoto site which is where I created the video. I am hoping that I will be able to use a variety of the skills that I am learning in the coming year.

The Jetsons Thing # 3

Thing #3

We have made tremendous stride in the last 2o years; fax machine, cell phone, email, texting, powerpoints, wordle, avatar, imaging etc. I can't seem to keep up with the inventions and applicatons but Skype is truly amazing very much like the Jetsons 30+ years ago. We can now talk to people and see them while we talk to them (skype). We can communicate with family and friends via skype several thousands of miles away. Skype is an welcomed class interrruption; students are able to chat with authors of the most recently read book, communicate with a class in China on a daily or weekly basis, refine foreign language skills via class participation with another class in another country, have guest speaker and virtual field trips. Skype's potential is amazing and I have experiencedit first hand. I have downloaded skype, created a name and have been able to communicate with friends on skype. I can see the advantages of skype even with this project, if one of my colleagues is on skype at the same time that I am working we can communicate while completing each thing.The research shows that there is Skype etiquette; sending a chat message intially rather than ring to speak so that the caller can prepare in advance, what a concept. The excitement is real and warranted but technology is moving faster than our educational system which causes a concern regarding the readiness of our student in the next 5 years.

Perceptions Thing #2

Thing #2

Visuals, Images, creations, identity; all about individualizing projects. Students have the opportunity to create video's, Avatars with a voice, comment on Voice Thread, generate Wordles and Word sift. All of these projects have a certain impact on the audience and the creator. I enjoyed Wordle because the combination of specific words have a great impact in how I proceed each day. So, if I can visual the words and the feeling I am motivated to move forward. Glogster is a movitating tool; students are able to view information in a variety of venues and the impact of the video has alot to do with the interest of the student. The fact that there are so many to chose from helps the student find information that will help them to create the perfect project. The teacher tube was a great site to observe inforamtion in a variety of ways; I personally enjoyed "Did You Know", I think that was the title but in any event the video shared amazing information about about different countries and how they continue to populate, educate etc compared to USA. I also enjoyed Voice Thread because you are able to look at an image, write your perceptions and listen to the perceptions of those in the image. It could be a great tool in psychology and in undertanding behaviors and misconceptions. Overall this was a great lesson in generating images and how the images can be utilize in learning situations. The image that I have uploaded is from Joshua Franer's collection of photos during his visit to Ethiopia; I chose to indicate what we may perceive and what is actually happening or not happening in this country.

Shed Thing #1

Thing #1 It's really good to get started; it seems like the most difficult part of any new project is the first step. Now that I am on my way to learning more things; "The Networked Student seems to be an appropriate topic. I will hopefully be networking as soon as I am able to absorb the information that I attempted to understand today. Can a librarian connect students in the manner that I observed on the video; absolutely. Empowering student and teachers will be a more freeing experience as well as more exciting. Shedding textbooks and worksheet while learning to gather information, assessing the info, reading and watching documentaries by the experts and documenting your options sounds like a step into the future. The teacher becomes a guide rather than a lecturer and the student becomes more engaged in the learning process.