Week 5: Creating Material

MICROSOFT PHOTO STORY


In class this week we learned a lot of new things that could be applied in daily life as well as transitioning it into the classroom. The professor first introduced us to Microsoft Photo Story 3 for Windows XP--Where you can easily put music and text and even create your own a birthday or wedding albums. This can be used in the class because if we go on a fieldtrip or have photos from a concert they can be posted on there for everyone to see at thier leisure.


D-FILM MOVIE MAKER http://www.dfilm.com/live/moviemaker.html


The professor then moved on to introduce us to the D-Film Movie Maker 2 now known as D-volver where you can create you very own, exciting digital films. However the characters suupplied can be a little inapppropriate to bring in the classroom, he still recommened this program but only for adults.
The program was very simple to use and the instructions where the following: select background, (next) sceen, (next) characters (next) type in text and select music (16 types of music to choose from) and then finally, send the finished film to your email.
D-flim movie makeker is great for the following 5 reasons there is context, there is dialogue and text, music, backgroud, sceens, which are all great for children however, again as mentioned above for this particular website the content and characters are not appropriate for primary schools because we do not want to re-inforce sterotypes, and in particular the sterotypes of women.


Here is my film check it out:


It about two cowboys in the desert    <object type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowScriptAccess="never" allowNetworking="internal" height="285" width="381" align="middle"




BUILD YOU WILD SELF  http://www.buildyourwildself.com/


I really enjoyed being introduced to this website because it is centered around imagination. You can select youself or build a character. You can select they type of body, hair, mouth you/they have. You can also select different backgrounds, make up a name and a story about the character. .It is so great because a teacher can use this in order to get the students to create fairytale characters and use thier imagination.
Once completed children can send them to each other via email. The teacher can use this in English to write about a character and bring thier character to life. The children can print them out and create their storybook. This can also be utilized for health and human relations and to demonstate a good body image for the children.
Within this website the teacher can be as explicit or implicit as they wish. For example you can specific about the characters, the characters are different but the background is the same.


Here is my wild self:

ZIMMERTWINS http://www.zimmertwins.com/


With this website students can watch a previously created movie or make a movie from scratch. They can be creative by setting up scenarios.  They determine what happens next and can choose the music and the characters. The website is very easy to use and students can learn to re-tell their story. When you create the movie however, do not forget click speech bubbles to type words in.
I think this website ideally suites children and can be a creative way to address classroom issues like bullying because students can come up with scenarios to act against the issue and then share with the class.


This is what my video looked like:

THE MINI-MIZER http://www.reasonablyclever.com/


With this website students can create a maple leave world with lego. It can be used in English or Technology class to create a class story about anything and any subject. It was very straightforward to use and as the teacher you must be clear with your instructions to make sure they do not veer off to any other websites. The instructions are as follows: go to the website and click classic kid-sake mini-mizer and create your mini-mizer, choose the theme and build up the character with a background, what it wears, etc...


Here is my mini-mizer:

SKETCH SWAP http://www.sketchswap.com/ 


This program is similar to Microsoft paint where you can draw a picture using your mouse. Students can be very creative and this program can be used in Art, English or Technology class.It gives students a chance to be creative and then swap thier pictures with someone else. You simply just draw your picture and then press the swap button at the bottom right of the screen. I really enjoyed this website and I think my students would as well, however, the professor mentioned that this can be on the dangerous side because the teachers can't control what pictures are swapped. An incriminating picture could come back to the students and as the teacher you may not want to take that risk.


This is my picture:

This is the picture that was swapped with mine:

MICROSOFT WORD/ZIPTALES http://www.ziptales.com/ 


Microsoft Word: Practice listening skills by dictating a paragraph and students have to type the paragraph with the screen off to utilize their listening skills and strengthen their typing skills as well. Get the students to turn on their screens and then go through the paragraph again to make sure the spelling and punctuation was correct! Students should also highlight their mistakes and try and correct what they did wrong.
This is effective because the English language is a difficult language and many words sound the same but are spelled differently and through listening and typing these distinctions can be more easily made. This activity can also be extended by using ZIPTALES where students can read over 100 books online. Once they have read the book, students can participate by doing activities and tests! 
The school must have a subscription but it is great because students can change and write their own stories. The teacher can give them a time limit  to write and then they have to rotate around with each other and the next student continues the story that was written from their classmate. This activity can capture the interests of the students that are reluctant readers. Students will start to increase their vocabulary because they will have to research what kind of words they want to use. This program uses the how and why's to help improve students reading and interpretation skills.




REFLECTION


When I first started blogging, only a month ago, I had no idea where to start. But through the professor's guidance and my persistence this became quite easy and fun to do. Now that the blogging has come to a close and our practicum fastly approaching I am excited to start to use what I have learned in this class. I am excited to show my students what can be done using a computer. To show them that we can be creative in all sorts of ways, including on the computer. This course has  taught me many things and I am excited to use them all. Thank you so much!!!

Week 4: Dust Echoes + M & M Candy Chart

Dust Echoes

http://www.abc.net.au/dustechoes/

The professor introduced us to Dust Echoes which is a website that has beautiful animations of videos done with flash player--- he said that it looks like they probably spent 1000's of hours editing and making the videos what they are.

This program could be important in teaching cultural diversity and the differences between people, places and things in our society. He showed us a video at the beginning of the class called SPEAR which was about envy, law, punishment and reconciliation, factors that can all be used to introduce a community, civics or citizenship block.That was just one video of 12 all of which have different themes. The website explains 12 Aboriginal Stories that are the following:

 These videos can be a pre-cursor or the center for almost any subject and or any block. I'll definitely be using these wonderful videos in my classes.

It is helpful also because all these episodes come with a study guide that can be downloaded at http://www.abc.net.au/dustechoes/dustEchoesFlash.htm. Within this study guide there are explinations and supplementary material, such as, worksheets to explain all videos and to help tie themes together. These videos can also be utilized in comparison to different aborignial groups i.e. Australia, Canada, U.S.A, etc...

The professor then told us to choose a video out of the 12 and  create a diagram using INSPIRATION 8.0, which we used previously in class. He wanted us to become familiar with these programs so we can use them with our students. So like a student, I chose the Brolga Song out of the 12 Aboriginal Stories, which is a video about relationships and the connections with the natural world. 

This video was very beautiful, it was about a boy who was alone but wasn't because he had the natural land with him, where his fathers were. I really enjoyed this story and once I completed the video I noticed that underneath there were a couple of supplementary options to choose from. The first was to 'take a quiz' where students can test thier knowledge about what they saw and the general theme of the video. Second to chose 'match it up' where they can make and watch thier own one minute video.Here is what I made.

The professor also mentioned that once you students completed their diagram using Inspiration 8.0 the teacher could extend the lesson further by getting the students to create their own character and make up story based the theme they want to portray, such as, anger, war, relationships, etc..The students will continue to feel like their opinions are valued and will be engaged.

M & M Candy Color Chart

At the end of the class the Professor introduced us to Microsoft Excel. He wanted to show us how to make charts for our students. So he gave us a handful of M&M's and we had to use Excel to graph the number of M&M's for each color. This lesson can be used at beginner level, by just using the counter chart he handed out to us and also on the computer for more advanced levels. It can be used for literacy and math lessons and here is the chart I made.

Here is the link to the M&M's website http://www.m-ms.com/us/ where you can find fun games and other interesting activities for math or literacy lessons.

I love their commercials, so for fun here is a link to one on youtube! As they say there is an M&M in everyone...see which one you are...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9DV6LuiL7X8&feature=PlayList&p=208FAF56EECA621C&index=0&playnext=1 

Until next time!!!

WEEK 3- Design Belief and Making Quizzes and Activities

Design Brief

This week we learned about how to make a design brief. The facets we studied were as follows, investigation and design, where we brainstorm concepts. Production where we actually created the concepts we thought might work. Finally, analysis and evaluation where we wrote down our observations about what happened and conclude which model was the best and most efficient way to make a frog jump.

We had to work in pairs and four materials, a cardboard strip, tape, little paper frog and a rubber band to work with. It took some time but we came up with the following ideas that are listed below:

INVESTIGATE/DESIGN

1) The rubber was released from folded cardboard to try and make it jump.

2) Fold it into a zigzag shape and tie frog down with the rubber band and then press down to bounce up and down.

3) Folded cardboard in half, tape down to the edge of the table. Rap the rubber around the bottom and then launch the frog from the top of the folded cardboard.

PURPOSE

1) It only jumped once.

2) The cardboard was too heavy and the model just fell so there was no real jumping involved.

3) It leaped the farthest.

ANALYSE / EVALUATE

1) This didn’t work because it took too long to release the rubber band by hand and it didn’t leap very far.

2) It didn’t work because the folds were too tight so the push and jump idea didn’t work very well. The weight created a problem for the force of jumping.

3) This is the model that worked for us because it was steady by the tape and when released it leaped very far.

The professor then went through all our ideas and I thought this was very effective because students should always be encouraged to share and learn from their peers and their teachers. There needs to be a sense of communicative learning where all students feel safe sharing and learning and if the teacher notices that the activity is widely popular then why not extend it further. Foe example, how far you can get kids to think about jumping frogs--maybe interrelate this idea with other subjects, such as science, for example students can increase the size of frog to see if that changes the distance traveled. It is so important to create and catch students’ interest because that is how they learn. 

After going through all our ideas, the professor explained that there were actually 8 different ways to make the frog jump effectively and he outlined a couple in the class. The first method was to use sticky tape and put it on the inside of folded cardboard; place elastic around the fold and release and he said it should jump pretty far based on the dynamic of the model. The second example he gave us was to put a hole in cardboard and twist the elastic inside the hole and release it, allowing frog to jump far.

Through the dynamics of this activity it is clear that participation, teamwork and a sense of community must be established and present at all times in the classroom.

 

QUIA: Games and quizzes

In this part of the workshop the professor introduced us to an interesting database where teachers and students can create educational activities on the web. You can play, create and administer various activities for various topics something that is so crucial in a classroom because the teacher must always try and stay current with their material and this QUIA helps do just that.

We started off by creating a quiz about something that we love and I am crazy about soccer, or should I say football. It is hard getting the terms right because to me it will always be soccer but maybe that is because I am from Canada. Anyway, I created my quiz about soccer and the process in order to do this was very straightforward.

There were about 8 steps to the entire process to make this kind of quiz and they were:

1) Select the amount of questions you want

2) Choose the amount of answers you want i.e. A, B, C, D

3) Format of the quiz i.e. multiple choice, fill in the blanks, etc..

4) Create questions and answers

5) Select the right answer in the column next to the answers

6) Look over the questions and answers to make sure they are correct

7) Press create quiz at the bottom of the screen

8) Write down the URL of your quiz for future reference

After this process is completed the quiz was ready and in my opinion, the best part of the workshop began. All of us walked around the class to each computer and tried each other’s quizzes. This definitely broke the ice and created the energy and the community within the class that we needed. Every one felt at ease and open to try and share and it was a pleasure to see. I can really see myself using this activity for an icebreaker for block or the block itself. 

IF YOU WANT TO TRY MY QUIZ, ClICK THE FOLLOWING LINK:www.quia.com/quiz/2538621.html

The final part of the workshop was extending this process, like the professor said previously if it’s captivating then extend it further. So instead of creating another quiz using the same database we created an activity based on the material we used previously and I did a soccer jumble. Creating this activity was as easy as it was to create the quiz and the steps, mentioned above are almost the same and the activities can be applicable for all subject areas, such as math, english, geography, reading, and the list goes on….

IF YOU WANT TO TRY MY SOCCER JUMBLE, CLICK THE FOLLOWING LINK:

www.quia.com/jw/388947

I really enjoyed this week’s workshop and I know that I will be using these items again in my classroom. I can't wait to create our safe classroom community where students are free to be excited, enthusiastic and happy to participate in an activity like this. Thanks for the introduction to this program Greg!
 

Until Next Week :)

Also, if you are intrigued by any of this feel free to get a 30 day free-trail and to test all your friends. Just go to www.quia.com/web  and you will get all the information you need there in becoming a member whether it’s for 30 or more!! Enjoy!

Week 2- Greece Travel Brochure and E-Portfolio

MICROSOFT PUBLISHER

In this week’s lecture and workshop we learned how to use Microsoft Publisher and about E-Portfolios and I think both these will and can be useful both in the personal front and in the classroom front. In the workshop we were asked to create a brochure about somewhere you traveled in the world in the past using Microsoft Publisher. Automatically, Greece came to my mind. This country has stuck with me ever since I stepped foot on it in the Summer 2007. My friend Hilary and I

went there, along with Spain, Italy and England, BUT Greece and the Greek Islands http://www.lonelyplanet.com/greece/travel-tips-and-articles/1010 were hands down our favorite. The food, the people, the beaches, the heat, the culture, the history, I just became so enchanted with the whole country that I just can’t wait to go back.


In the workshop I wanted to show why Greece was so luring and I think I did so though my travel brochure. Here is a travel video on Greece that I used in my travels. Just in case you want see what it is all about yourself: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ECSuwq2fKgU.  

This was the first time I used Microsoft Publisher and I thought that once the instructions were properly explained, maneuvering through the database became quite straightforward. Now, I am sure I only got introduced to one section of the program but, regardless, the part I was using became easier and easier to navigate and play around with over the course of the workshop. I completed my brochure by being creative, cutting relevant pictures from different websites and using quotes from the lonely planet http://www.lonelyplanet.com/greece.

I found this activity to be very fascinating because everyone had a different idea, concept and design in mind. It was quite interesting to see who chose what country and why they were passionate about it. By enticing interest about something everyone is interested in, it will create an enthusiastic and exciting classroom environment. The program is straightforward and quite easy to navigate around so it can easily be used in a primary classroom as well.
I think it could be applied to a humanities lesson, using the same lesson structure as we did in our workshop. It can also be applied in an English or math lesson about a book or an advertisement for a store. The student will obviously get really excited and will want to speak about what they did so it also can be used for oral presentations. Overall, I thought it was a great program and I look forward to using it again.

P.S.: Just for fun here are some Trivia Questions...Let's see how knowledgeable you are in Greek History, Mythology, Geography or Culture?

http://www.funtrivia.com/quizzes/humanities/mythology__legends/greek_myth.html

Write your scores and what game you played in the comment box below...




E-PORTFOLIO

I thought the E-Portfolio to be a little more complex than Microsoft Publisher. I didn’t quite understand how to utilize it. It seemed much more intricate and complex to me. I need much more practice with the program because I know it can and will be beneficial to be personally and professionally. The E-Portfolio can be used in possible teaching job interviews. It is a reflection of who you are, why you want the job, your qualifications, what you have done, and whom you know. It is allowing you to reflect on who you are and what your purpose you have and want. It also illustrates to the interviewers that you are in touch with yourself and with the evolving technological times.

I think this program and document is fundamental for teachers, however, it can also be utilized in class. Students can make profiles of themselves, their work, their progression, assessment, and interests whereby the parents can see how they are developing and where they need improvement. It is clear, that both Microsoft Publisher and E-Portfolios are current and relatable to the teacher, the students and the community.

What do you think this image represents??? Write your comments below in the comment box?!










Until next week...

LIVE~LAUGH~LOVE

So through these images you can kind of tell what I am into and what I love to do in my life for fun. What I am passionate about. I try to be really active and as worldly as I know how to be.

I have been lucky enough to have travelled quite a bit in my life and I am so thankful for that. I have seen so many places and have learned so much during my experiences and my travels. I think becoming a teacher and sharing this knowledge with my students is going to be so exciting and so rewarding.

Surprisingly, this is my first blog--I always saw my friends getting involved in the blogging world to share their wonderful travels in detail with their friends and family and I always wished I had done that too. I wish I had done this for two reasons, one because you remember and can refer back to what you have done and two because you can communicate your thoughts and experiences with everyone connected to the internet. The reason why I did not start it was because I never knew how to do it, how to start it.

I am now thankful that I am in this class because it will finally teach me the things I have wanted to do for some while, something that I will be able to carry throughout my life in my travels and also carry it into my classroom. It will be so beneficial for my students to know and become familiar with this information. They can communicate with people next door or even 4000 km away. The possibilities are endless and I want to carry this philosophy in my classroom.

I look forward to learning more regarding this.

Until next time!!