My daughter met me at the door with holding up her pointer finger saying look what I can do. Then she looked puzzled and realized it was wrong. Then my daughter put her thumb up and smiled as big as the sun.
That is life. Learning how to give the thumbs up is a skill that I don't remember learning but has been useful over the years. I love being a dad. I want to be better at it but I love spending time with my daughter and seeing her learn things. We ask each other questions. "Whats that", she says...and I reply, "what do you think it is?" I love watching her get excited about things. Yesterday we went to the Kalamazoo Air Zoo (that's an airplane museum for those not from the zoo). We were with my sister and her kids. As we walked in the doors there is a cool P-40 that is pink with teeth. My daughter sees it and starts yelling to her cousins "I told you it was here, I told you it was here!" Oh the joy of being two and a half.
I wonder if God feels this way when we understand the greatness of His creation. When we look at a sunset and marvel at the colors. If we are going to live life to the full (John 10:10) then there has to be part of us that loves to learn and enjoy the greatness of our God.
Friday, July 31, 2009
Sunday, July 26, 2009
Today's post
How many ways are there to get information into the students’ hands? I am not sure that is a question that can be answered. But as the use of technology in education grows so does the various ways to disseminate information. Students use technologies on a regular basses why not use the technology they are already using for the purpose of education. Podcasting is an example that comes to mind. Bio Med Central’s website discusses multiple forms of technology that can be used for educational purposes. They describe podcast as a combination of old and new technologies by sending video or audio presentation via the Internet. http://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S1067502706002131 It is the ability to self-broadcast that raises it above traditional methods of media like television and radio.
The use of podcasting in education can take on different forms. In his article on the use of podcast, “Strategies for Using Podcasting to Support Student learning” that appeared in the Journal of Hospitality, Leisure, Sport, & Tourism Education, http://www.heacademy.ac.uk/assets/hlst/documents/johlste/vol6no1/50155.pdf Crispin Dale shows how podcasting is already being used in various industries to educate. He accentuates the use of the podcast in education as an enhancement of in-class lectures. The flexibility of downloading to a portable device allows the student to access the information at any time. Teachers can create podcast to add information that does not fit into a lecture or as an interesting aside to a topic. Students then can engage the information on their own time.
For those of us who tend to zone-out the use of podcasting as a learning platform has great possibilities. I have been in so many situations where I suddenly realize that I have no idea what the speaker is talking about. With a podcast there is always the possibility of rewind. Beyond instant review is using it to replay the entire lecture multiple times allowing greater reflection by students. Kenneth Y T Lim comments on this in his article entitled “Now Hear This – Exploring Podcasting as a Tool in Geography Education.” http://homepage.mac.com/voyager/brisbane_kenlim.pdf There are many possible uses for podcasting, it is up to the individual to find ways to apply it to the classroom.
In a previous blog we have discussed the use of blogging to broaden the audience base for student writing. Students now might be motivated to put forth a greater effort knowing that there would be people other then their teachers reading the words they write. Podcasts offer a similar opportunity. Student produced podcast could reach many different listeners. This would in turn, force the students to consider the quality of their work and carefully think through their ideas. This concept is reiterated numerous times in the article “Podcasting Craze Comes to K-12 Schools: Educators discover value of Internet audio programs” by Rhea R. Borja http://lansinglearntech.pbworks.com/f/k-12+podcasting.pdf . The article also contains numerous links for podcast examples as well as links for more help with podcast. Borja quotes a seventh grade student, Alyssa M. Gilbertson discussing the creation of a podcast. “‘When you’re writing an essay,’ she said, ‘you don’t try your hardest because after you’re done, you throw it away or put it in a box.’ But with podcasts, she said, ‘now we try a lot harder because we want other people to know that we [can] do more. We want people to hear us.’” If podcast, blogs, or simply using a computer motivates a student to work harder on an assignment we all benefit.
If you are thinking about doing a podcast for your students the eHow website http://www.ehow.com/how_2029095_plan-podcast-class-lecture.html has some great tips to help you format what should or should not be in your work. I would also mention that some simple things like ambient background music can help cover up voice inconsistencies. Also you should speak at a quicker pace then you normally do. Often you will be thinking about what you are saying and your pace will suffer. Consciously force your tempo to be up beat and it will help your audience keep their attention on your message. Podcasting is fun for both the teacher and the student. It can help students work on multiple items such as writing, organization, fact-finding and summary, as well as public speaking. It accomplishes all his with the added benefit of the lure of current technology.
Saturday, July 25, 2009
RSS Feed Educators
RSS feeds, who knew? Ok a lot of people knew. This is one of those things I should have understood. Here I am in the fourth month of a technology and media degree and I had never invested the time to understand the usefulness of the RSS. Wow!
Well for the four of you that are left out there that use the internet on a regular basis and do not understand RSS feeds here is an explanation. RSS, according to Michael Stephens’ article “RSS” in the July/August 2005 addition of Library Technology Reports, is a term that represents a family of applications that have been refered to as: really simple syndication, rich site summary, and real-time simple syndication. http://bit.ly/10HBaD . The authors go on to explain that the RSS code takes form multiple websites any updates and deposits it neatly onto one simple page. The user then has a consolidated list of websites that they can to peruse easily and quickly.
RSS feeds can be used as a form of communication as well. Richard Procter wrote in an article for Technology, Pedagogy & Education http://bit.ly/11nNa6 that there are ways to use the feeds in collaborating research projects. Creating a database of information that is being built by multiple researchers can cause confusion. RSS feeds can be set up to allow both researchers and users of that research to know when changes to the projects websites have been made.
Teachers are constantly trying to connect real world information with what they are teaching. Historically teachers might discuss what was on the news or in a periodical to connect what they are teaching to what is happening outside of school. The RSS feed is a natural continuation of that activity. In her article, “RSS: The Next Killer App for Education” http://technologysource.org/article/269/ Mary Harrsch points out that a teacher can have an RSS feed to websites that relate to her field. As new items come up the teacher is immediately aware and can bring the to their class.
The volume of content that the Internet contains is overwhelming. To be able to find information that is valuable in the least amount of time is the goal of any user. RSS feed speed up that search. The wesite The Media Drop contains a list of newspapers that have RSS feeds. http://technologysource.org/article/269/ The compilers of this site have done a great amount of work that makes a users life easier. I think that there are opportunities for growth with such websites. Learning communities all over the world are building these kinds of sites the are useful for streamlining research. Refining the Internet through Web 2.0 technology and philosophy can empower the educational community in ways that are not completely clear but are obviously full of potential.
Friday, July 17, 2009
Applying Social Networking to Bookmarks
Bookmarking is a tool I cannot imagine living without. The amount of information on the web is so large and growing so quickly that returning to some sites becomes difficult and time consuming if we do not keep track of past navigations. Bookmarking has saved me time and time again when it comes to my classroom lesson plans as well as my own general interest surfing.
Starting some real research in a grad program has caused me to renew a practice I started a couple years ago but had forgotten about, that is online bookmarking. I was introduced to the practice when I first started using iGoogle as a home page. I love the freedom Google gave through their Web 2.0 products such as Google docs and calendar. But I have to say the research of this blog has changed expanded my uses to include social bookmarking. In an article on Pandia Search Engine News (http://www.pandia.com/sew/327-social-bookmarking.html) the author critiques numerous social bookmarking sites including the iGoogle version. I have to agree with the author after having been exposed to other online tools the Google version pales in comparison.
Being able to store websites in an online bookmarking format created freedom for my work to become more mobile. I could access those sites from school, home or at a local wi-fi café. But the social parts expand the power of my work to include the combined efforts of my colleagues. Tony Hammond, Timo Hannay, Ben Lund, and Joanna Scott in an article called Social Bookmarking Tools (I) http://dlib.org/dlib/april05/hammond/04hammond.html discuss the value of the social bookmarking over traditional search engines. Since these social bookmarking tools allow you to link your URL lists to those of like-minded people the tool then becomes a better search engine. The authors point out it is an issue of “global space” vs. “local/my space”. You get to narrow your search based on peer parameters. This can save time and produce a better result.
How is the “smarter search” accomplished? through the use of tags! Just like in other Web 2.0 tools there is the ability to self-label online entities. These tags create the opportunity to search and are part of what Andreas Hotho, Robert Jaschke, Christoph Schmitz, and Gerd Stumme in their article BibSonomy: A Social Bookmark and Publication Sharing System (http://bit.ly/IhRc4 ) call folksonomy. Folksonomy is well described in this New York Times article from 2005, http://www.nytimes.com/2005/12/11/magazine/11ideas1-21.html . The power of multiple people to compile a list of sources that have a common theme is changing the way research is done. It is a powerful way to both disseminate information as well as glean needed information.
Micro Blogging?
Phenomenon is defined by Webster’s online dictionary (www.m-w.com) as a rare or significant fact or event. I would say that is exactly what the usage of twitter has become. In an article in Engineering & technology (http://kn.theiet.org/magazine/issues/0906/twitter-0906.cfm ) from the April 2009 Kris Sangani writes that the user base for Twitter has increased 900% in the last year. According to the article, “It began in March 2006 as a research and development project inside San Francisco podcasting company Odeo….” Sangani hypothesizes that the current success was aided by the numerous high profile personalities that are using the service including the President.
So, why should the educational community twitter? In the article Home Alone! Still Collaborating by Mary Ann Bell and Tricia Kuon, the authors point out that it is almost impossible to not somehow collaborate with someone professionally. (this appeared in the Mar/Apr ‘09 issue of Knowledge Quest a publication of the American Librarians Association. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=38813483&site=ehost-live ) Their work with twitter started experimentally, like most users “playing” around and seeing who was using it and why. One of their first experiences was at a conference where a flowing dialog took place discussing the conference, individual speakers as well as social plans. Using an electronic medium to discuss in real-time issues being presented. The second thing they noticed was that it helped them in their writing. Being forced to write a micro blog causes one to be concise with language. The writers found many useful ways for students to use twitter for collaboration. Following like-minded people can expand what you know and how you think about topics.
In a study done at Stanford Jonathan List and Brent Bryant (http://www.ncsu.edu/meridian/winter2009/List/index.htm ) purposely investigated the use of social networking tools. The study the included tools twitter, Ning, and Moodle. Students in the study were required to follow all other students in their group and their instructor. The study found that students used twitter for peer tutoring and found that it helped them with both quality of work and clarity of instructions. They used Twitter for communication with instructors to clarify assignments and to inquire about future assignments. The project concluded that the use of twitter was only effective when combined with other tools; it was a great initiator of many positive interactions. So can it be useful in a more traditional classroom?
There is an interesting video on YouTube showing the use of twitter in a University of Texas history class. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6WPVWDkF7U8 ) The professor uses it as a stimulus for classroom discussion. Could this work in a high school setting? Perhaps, but there are always concerns about school policies concerning use of mobile technology. After watching this video and reflecting on comments from my last blog I am wondering how long this will be effective? The novelty effect is something to be considered. There may be only a short window where use of this kind of technology will be effective in the classroom.
Friday, July 10, 2009
Blogging for Education
Blogging is one of the modern versions of the town square. Perhaps Luther would not have used a door to post his ninety-five theses that ignited The Reformation had he been able to blog. With the world embracing blogs it only stands to reason that educators would find ways to use them in class. Stephen Downs in his article Educational Blogging that appeared in the jounal Massachusetts Computer Using Educators http://www.masscue.org/publications/archive/educational_blogging.pdf made a great point when he said, “Blogs are, in their purest form, the core of what has come to be called personal publish¬ing.” In that statement there are numerous concepts that support using blogs for the classroom.
How often is do we hear, “when are we going to use this?” Here is a writing outlet used by millions everyday and is very related to other forms of Web 2.0 technology. Adrian Bruce, on his critically acclaimed educational website www.adrianbruce.com supports this motivational idea by saying that students are more likely to enjoy writing on the computer verses traditional paper and pencil assignments. He goes on to talk about how blogging really expands the students’ horizons. Instead of simply writing something that a teacher will read and will eventually be tossed, students are now writing for a worldwide audience. He implies that this greater audience is a motivating factor causing students to write at a higher level.
The University of Texas at Austin’s (UT) computer writing and research lab find this real life context writing to be a major factor in student motivation to produce quality writing and to find interest in each others work. Having a sense of an audience beyond just completing the paper, they department argues, helps students to see purpose in their writing. The assignment has a value that rests in traditional art of rhetoric. On their website http://www.cwrl.utexas.edu/node/233 , in an article entitled Steps Toward a Successful Classroom Blog by Jenny Edbauer a developer for their computer writing and research lab, one of the professors at UT points out the freedom of the blog format. Students can write about their interest and find communities to interact with to improve their writing.
In the Internet TESL Journal, an online journal for teacher of English as a second language http://iteslj.org/Techniques/Johnson-Blogs/ Andrew Johnson lays out a complete rationale for teachers to use blogs. He discusses that idea that most people do not use traditional pen and paper in their writing procedures anymore. The writer starts and finishes on a word processor. If we are to be teaching things for transfer and expecting our students to be applying what they are doing in the future it only stands to reason that we as teachers need to model what is presently being used in the marketplace. Blogs have the potential to be used in the total writing process. The are set up for natural feedback to the writer and both concepts and form can be critiqued, revised and improved. It is a nature setting for peer evaluation.
Now the question is weather the educational community is ready to embraced blogging and the rest of the Web 2.0 concepts. In an research article that appeared in Edutopia entitled Synching Up with the iKid, http://www.edutopia.org/ikid-digital-learner states that more then 27% of teachers feel they have little or no training as to the implementation of computers in the classroom. That is nearly a third of our teachers. Combine this fact with the limits of available technology in many schools in the educational community still have some work to do to fully implement these concepts in the lives of every student.
How often is do we hear, “when are we going to use this?” Here is a writing outlet used by millions everyday and is very related to other forms of Web 2.0 technology. Adrian Bruce, on his critically acclaimed educational website www.adrianbruce.com supports this motivational idea by saying that students are more likely to enjoy writing on the computer verses traditional paper and pencil assignments. He goes on to talk about how blogging really expands the students’ horizons. Instead of simply writing something that a teacher will read and will eventually be tossed, students are now writing for a worldwide audience. He implies that this greater audience is a motivating factor causing students to write at a higher level.
The University of Texas at Austin’s (UT) computer writing and research lab find this real life context writing to be a major factor in student motivation to produce quality writing and to find interest in each others work. Having a sense of an audience beyond just completing the paper, they department argues, helps students to see purpose in their writing. The assignment has a value that rests in traditional art of rhetoric. On their website http://www.cwrl.utexas.edu/node/233 , in an article entitled Steps Toward a Successful Classroom Blog by Jenny Edbauer a developer for their computer writing and research lab, one of the professors at UT points out the freedom of the blog format. Students can write about their interest and find communities to interact with to improve their writing.
In the Internet TESL Journal, an online journal for teacher of English as a second language http://iteslj.org/Techniques/Johnson-Blogs/ Andrew Johnson lays out a complete rationale for teachers to use blogs. He discusses that idea that most people do not use traditional pen and paper in their writing procedures anymore. The writer starts and finishes on a word processor. If we are to be teaching things for transfer and expecting our students to be applying what they are doing in the future it only stands to reason that we as teachers need to model what is presently being used in the marketplace. Blogs have the potential to be used in the total writing process. The are set up for natural feedback to the writer and both concepts and form can be critiqued, revised and improved. It is a nature setting for peer evaluation.
Now the question is weather the educational community is ready to embraced blogging and the rest of the Web 2.0 concepts. In an research article that appeared in Edutopia entitled Synching Up with the iKid, http://www.edutopia.org/ikid-digital-learner states that more then 27% of teachers feel they have little or no training as to the implementation of computers in the classroom. That is nearly a third of our teachers. Combine this fact with the limits of available technology in many schools in the educational community still have some work to do to fully implement these concepts in the lives of every student.
Monday, July 6, 2009
my first blog
Reflections on Web 2.0, education, theology, philosophy as well as life as a husband and father.
This site has been started as an assignment for Full Sail University's Educational Media Design and Technology master's program. At the end of the class for which it has been created, Immergent technology in a colaberative culture, I will assess my desire to continue to post.
Thank you for your interest,
Kevin J. Farmer
This site has been started as an assignment for Full Sail University's Educational Media Design and Technology master's program. At the end of the class for which it has been created, Immergent technology in a colaberative culture, I will assess my desire to continue to post.
Thank you for your interest,
Kevin J. Farmer
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