Multimedia Publishing

The media has become a significant part of todays society. Teens especially have become so familiar with the technology around them. Because technology is the norm to many students, technology has become a great resource to use in the classroom. In the article “Podcasting, Screencasting, and Live Streaming” the author talks about different media teachers can incorporate in their classrooms.

The first he talked about was Podcasts. There are various podcasts that can be used in the classroom. He says there are nearly 1,000 different educational related shows. Podcasts are great for low budget schools who cannot afford radio. The author tells us that podcasts can be used in a World Language, Social Studies,  and even in a Music class. On the Scholastic website I found 9 great podcasts that I could use in the future with my students. The one that stood out the most for me was ESL Teacher Talk. As future bilingual elementary teacher, I know that I will have many ESL students. This podcast gives great advice to ESL teachers and has recourses for ESL students to use.

Another great media that is discussed in “Podcasting, Screencasting, and Live Streaming” is video publishing. One of the most known video publishing websites is Youtube.com. As a future elementary teacher, I think it is important to add visual aids in the classroom in order to engage the students. Finding videos on Youtube that are fun and relate to the lecture is something that I would like to do in my classroom. I can use songs, poems, or silly scientists on Youtube to make my lesson more engaging.

Finally, “Podcasting, Screencasting, And Live Streaming” talked about live streaming. One of the biggest live streaming websites is Skype.com. Skype is a free app that lets you video call anywhere in the world. I think using a live streaming app such as Skype in my classroom would be good to talk to influential people that relate to what we are doing in the classroom. For example in a video that we watched earlier this term in class should an elementary classroom skyping with the inventor of MindCraft. The inventor talked with the students and the students were able to ask questions. Live streaming is a great free way to talk to people around the world that will help in the classroom.

Staples eReader

1. Staples eReader  is a website where students read for understanding while being timed. The students are given a passage to read. They are timed and have 3 questions to answer at the end.
2. This website can help students become comprehensive readers because they have to answer questions.
3. Students need to know how to read.
4. Students can compare their reading speed to the national average. In addition, students are able to improve reading for understanding.
5. For elementary students, the reading might be too hard, or the questions might be too difficult.
6. I think this website would be good for 4th grade-6th grade.

Fodey

1. Fodey is a website where students can create newspaper articles.
2. Students can use this in a classroom where there are many sections to learn. Students can be divided into groups,  and each get assigned a section. The students can summarize the section then present it to the class or do a gallery walk.
3. Students should be somewhat familiar with a newspaper article.
4. This website is really self explanatory and very user friendly.
5. For elementary students, they might not know how to work this website with out help.
6. I think this website would be good in a 3rd-5th grade classroom.

Fakebook

1. Fakebook is a website where students can make profiles and share content with each other.
2. This website could be helpful in an English class while learning about Shakespeare. The students can make profiles of each character so they can learn more about each character therefore having a better understanding while reading.
3. Before using the site, students should be a little familiar with Facebook.
4. This website is great because most students in middle school and high school are very familiar with Facebook so they are able to relate technology with learning.
5. A down side to this website would be that not everyone knows how Facebook works, so they might have a harder time managing the site.
6. I think this would be a good website for middle school students and high school students.

Engaging Students

Mr. Pane engages his students in his lesson in many ways. First, he asks questions that his students respond to out loud. Mr. Pane also related the topic to something that the students were familiar with. He used quotes from spiderman to enphasize his claim in the lecture. Also, the students discussed for a couple of minutes which gave them the opportunity to listen to each others different opinions. Mr. Pane also engaged his students by having them create their own super hero citizens and by making their own comics with pictures of them and of the character they created. Finally, Mr. Pane assembled a gallery walk for the students to see each others comics and see the different conflicts that happen on the internet.

The superheroes resolved dilemmas such as cyberbullying and scams on the internet.

In my classroom, I might use gallery walks so that the students can share their work and see different perspectives whether it be art or a research project. I believe that gallery walks help students see that there are many ways that the assignment can be interpreted and everyone has different opinions.

Copyright 101

Copyright is a law that protects an author of its own work, whether it be a book, article, or video.

When looking for content to share in a classroom, there is  a four part test that a teacher should look out for. The first one is make sure materials are being used non-commercially in a non profit educational institution. The second thing teachers should look out for is the nature of the work being copied. Thirdly, teachers should look for how much of the material they are using. Finally, teachers should see the effect of their use on the market.

It is important for teachers to know the differences between different types of media and their copyright laws. Each material has a different law to follow. For example, for printed material, educators can only make one copy per student. For video tapes, teachers must be able to relate it to the class content.

Digital Natives & Digital Immigrants

In recent discussion of digital natives and digital immigrants, a controversial issue has been whether digital natives actually know how to tell if a website is credible or not. On the one hand, some argue that digital natives are born into technology, so they know how to tell if a website is credible or if it is not. From this perspective, teens are seen as “technologically savvy” and people assume they know everything there is to technology because they grew up using it. On the other hand, others argue that teens do not know everything and that they need to be taught how do distinguish the valid websites from those that are not. According to this view, students still need to be taught how to use technology the correct way. In sum then, the issue is whether or not teens know how to distinguish credible websites or not.

My own view is that although todays teenagers still need to be taught how to choose credible websites and how to ignore the bad ones. Though I concede that teens are very familiar with technology, I still maintain that they need to be informed on how to differentiate credible websites from non credible websites. For example “Are Todays Youth Digital Natives?”  talks about how many teens don’t think that Wikipedia is a credible source because they have been told that it is not credible but they think Google is. Although some might object that teaching students of today about technology is a waste of time because many times the students know more about it that teachers, I would reply that teenagers can still learn even more of technology from teachers. This issue is important because many people think that teaching students about the internet or technology is not important because they are technologically savvy, when in reality there is a lot of material technologically speaking that teenagers of today don’t know.

Standards for Teachers

http://www.iste.org/standards/ISTE-standards/standards-for-teachers

Introductory Concepts

In recent discussion of technology in the classrooms, a controversial issue has been whether or not teachers should incorporate technology in their classrooms. On the one hand, some argue that technology helps students connect with other students and experts around the world.From this perspective, students have the ability to connect with people they never thought they could. On the other hand, however, others argue that paper and pencil is sufficient in a classroom. According to this view, paper is the most accessible tool for students and teachers can even use their paper work for exit slips. In sum then, the issue is whether technology should be used in classrooms or not.

My own view is that students can benefit from using technology in the classroom. Though I concede that technology can become a distraction if it is used inappropriately, I maintain that students can learn a lot from using technology in the classroom. For example, students can Skype an expert on a specific topic that is being taught in class. Although some might object that time differences would interfere, I would reply that for the students, we can find someone in our time zone who is willing to Skype. The issue is important to me because as a future teacher, there will be even more types of technology and if it can benefit my students, I would want to use it in my classroom.