Thursday, November 8, 2012

Web 2.0 Document

Please Click Here and help us categorize the Web (2.0).

Thursday, October 4, 2012

Thursday, September 13, 2012

Thursday, September 6, 2012

Thursday, August 30, 2012

Tonight's Sound Check


This is the cool dance video! ENJOY!

Online File Types

Here is the document we worked on in class:

CLICK HERE


Thursday, August 23, 2012

Blog for Fall 2012

Click Here for the blog for Fall Semester, 2012

Thursday, April 12, 2012

Web 2.0 Evaluation Questions

Since we didn't have time to discuss this, here is the web 2.0 evaluation question sheet that we created in class back in March... before Easter... a long time ago.

Hope you find it helpful.

checklist

So, since many of you asked:

Here is the link to the portfolio checklist.

This is an old list, so our actual checklist for the final may vary... be ye warned.

See you next week!

Thursday, March 15, 2012

This is the Prezi that we went through in class.


So, what does that mean?

Here are a few questions to consider:

  • What is so new about online cultures? 
  • How do these types of communities change how our students interact not only with each other, but with content?
  • What potential problems do we (as teachers) have with attempting to expand our classroom into the students' worlds and communities?
  • Should we be putting our content into their arena, or should we attempt to bring them into ours?
Your job is not to answer any of those questions...
Instead, think about how we can reach our students and imbue them with these 21st century skills that are going to be so important for their futures?
Are you a 21st century teacher?

Thursday, March 1, 2012

Video Comparison Paper - Motivation

The assignment which you need to address over our long break is to view two movies which involve teachers and how they motivate their students. The standard two films we advise people to compare / contrast / pull examples from are Stand and Deliver and Lean on Me.

Both movies involve teachers who get their students to perform and get involved by some pretty extreme measures, but there is some good that we can glean from their ability to get students to achieve. What do you learn?

The job is to watch two films and discuss how the teacher motivated their students. Let me know if you have other films you wish to use!

Video Editing Day Two... Tools, etc.

Today, we will finish discussing video editing by having a thorough work day in which we edit our videos so that they are web-ready. The following topics might help you:

Q: What do I do if I have a video file but need an AVI file to edit in Magix?
A: Download the Pezera Suite and use the simple interface to convert any of the available formats into AVI files.

Q: What if I don't want to use Magix Movie Maker?
A: Well, you could use any of the programs I list below. Remember, the skill of editing video is more important than what program you use.

Video Editing:

  • YouTube Editing (online and free!)
  • iMovie (for Mac or iPad (I paid $5 for my iPad version.))
  • Avidemux (for you who enjoy open source software, and free!)
  • Windows MovieMaker Live (which has a good assortment of tools, and it's free!)
That will have to do for now, because many of the ones that I liked in the past are not being offered any longer online. Of course, you could pay for a professional tool (like Magix, Adobe Premier, or Adobe After Effects)

This is a good skill to develop, especially now that so much of our lives are spent watching videos of one sort or another. It is a good way to reach students where they are (see this video from Westerville South High School in Columbus, OH).



So, can you edit video?

Thursday, February 9, 2012

This is tonight's topic... a little recycled content.
Copyright & Creative Commons

This topic goes well with all the legal issues that we saw in our presentations. If you would like to see the other presentations, go to the blogs of your classmates. They all have (or should have) posted their presentations on their blogs...

Also, the site for searching Creative Commons is: http://search.creativecommons.org

Tuesday, February 7, 2012

Take that, educational policy-makers.

Follow up to previous post about President Obama declaring now the time for electronic devices to rule the classroom...

Who really benefits from putting high-tech gadgets in classrooms?

The article above from the LA times shows that I am not the only one who is questioning the necessity for ubiquitous computer and e-reader access in our classrooms.

Unfortunately, I have no time to further expand on this idea now, but perhaps soon...

Have a great day!

Wednesday, February 1, 2012

Obama Pushes for E-books

Photo by  Brad Flickinger, Creative Commons Licensed
According to the article linked at the bottom of this post, President Obama is not only pushing for digitization in the classroom, he is willing to put our money where his mouth is.

If this were to proceed, by 2017 schools would not only need to have digital texts in the hands of all students, schools would also be able to tap into the pool of funds that has traditionally been accessible only for paper text books.

What will a classroom look like in five years? Like the room at the left? What will happen to all those paper texts?

Last thought for the day: who stands to profit from this most recent policy push by the White House? Will the students benefit? Will the teachers benefit? Or will textbook companies benefit the most?


Obama wants schools to speed digital transition – USATODAY.com

Thursday, January 26, 2012

Class Documents and stuff for January 26th

Legal Case List for signups.

Legal Brief Requirements

Legal Presentation Requirements

Presentation Tools

Oh, and an article about incorporating technology into your classroom.

What a night!


Wednesday, January 25, 2012

This is a Wordle which takes the full text of President Obama's State of the Union Speech for 2012. The larger the word, the more often he used it. Click on the picture to see it on the Wordle site.

Wordle: State of the Union 2012

Thursday, January 19, 2012

Collaborative Documents

Click Here to get to our collaborative document

Thursday, January 12, 2012

Blogs for EDMS 350 & 550 Spring 2012 7:00 Thursdays.

Here, you should comment on this post and type your blog address into the comment area. Then, begin to add your classmates to your reader by subscribing to their blogs.

Tuesday, January 10, 2012

Tablet or Notebook?

Well, which will win? Will the notebook computer ever go away, or will it just lose some of its audience to the ubiquitous tablet?

This article on C|NET addresses that very question. It's a good look at how technology changes over time. Just imagine how this would not have even been a debatable possibility without wireless internet being so prevalent. I remember having to dial-up using the on board laptop modem in my Toshiba when I worked in the corporate world. That is all nearly unnecessary, now.

So really, it leaves me wondering: what will the next formative development be in near-future technology? If you know or have any ideas, please let me know!

Monday, January 9, 2012

Personal Learning Network At Work.

I am always talking to you all, my students, about applying the principles of our Tech and Topics class. Today, I demonstrate what I mean (if any of you are still following me).

This past weekend on The Tempered Radical Blog, I read a post about Walter Dean Myers, the author of a book I teach to freshmen occasionally, Fallen Angels. He is the new Ambassador for YA Lit. and is not pulling any punches when it comes to getting kids reading.

Read the original blog post here, as it is well worth a look at just how important it is to get kids reading, despite some of their fervent desires not to.

I am sharing this with you as part of the interactivity of the web... sharing what you learn with others.

Enjoy!