Digital Imaging the Snow (trying it again!)

The other day I tried to send some pictures of the snow but there was a problem with Blogger. There was no toolbar up top to attach photos or change the font. So I am sending these kind of late. These are from December 3rd, which was Sunday. The second one is of our snow meter which hit 6 inches or 15 centimeters on Sunday. Today (December 5th) it has hit 12 inches which brings us to about 30 centimeters and the radar shows more snow in the forecast tonight. I save these pics from year to year so we can remember how much snow we had, our first snowfall, etc. The other is of Noah's first sleigh ride down our country road. Looks like it will be a white Christmas after all.

Anastasia Rioux

Digital Imaging Snow Accumulations

New Website

Over the last week or so, I have been working on my class website. It was once a highly detailed grade eight site with pdf files for every chapter of every text in science, geography and history. Now that I have taken on the role of special education teacher, I wiped all that information and made the site more geared towards that teaching role.

http://home.cogeco.ca/~arioux/

Anastasia Rioux

This is it !!!

This is it! The course has pretty much come to an end. I signed up for part two today with Lakehead University in Thunder Bay. I would have signed up for a part two at Brock but it was only available as a Fall/Winter course. Too bad! I am pretty excited about getting closer to gaining my two specialists. (special education and computers)

My boy officially started crawling last Thursday evening. Already, he's attempting the stairs.

Anastasia

When the pro's check your blog ...

“UM EXCUSE ME MADAME, I’LL NEED TO CHECK YOUR BLOG BEFORE I CAN REGISTER YOU FOR THIS UNIVERSITY COURSE.”

The assignment I most enjoyed for this course was definitely being given the opportunity to create and use a blog. If you can’t tell by the number of postings, I really went to town on this one! And I am thankful. If I weren’t forced to make the blog for this course, I never would have embraced the world of blogging.

That’s why an article in the winter edition of my Canadian Family magazine caught my attention. The article entitled “Blog, blog, blog” was written by Shelley Divnich Haggert. In the article she gives a two-sided debate on the topic.

It talks about how teenagers love feedback left on their site. The author quotes Warren Nightingale, of the Media Awareness Network. He talks about how teens love something even as simple as “cool post” or “I know how you feel”. I can attest to this because I also love receiving feedback on my blog.

This year, I introduced a student to the world of blogging and he’s successfully posting his daily journal/reflections to his very own blog. He’s submitted comments to my blog and I have posted comments on his. It’s great to see someone using this tool for all the right reasons.

The downside of blogging is kind of scary. The author quotes Anne Collier, the co-author of MySpace Unraveled: What It Is and How to Use It Safely. She says:

“Some university admissions departments, employers and even car insurance brokers are using web sites and blogs to screen applicants.”

Then I thought about it. Yes, blogs can be used against you. But it is just another reason why children and young adults need to understand that whatever they write, can be traced and used against them. All the more reason to abide by the rules of the classroom and the rules of cyberspace.

Anastasia Rioux

Digital Pictures

We were out this morning, (one month before Christmas exactly) in the balmy plus 12 weather taking the picture for our Christmas cards. I ended up adjusting it to make it a black and white picture. We also took some pictures of our Calgary Flames fan to send to friends and family around the province of Ontario. Thought I'd brighten my blog with this shot!!!

Anastasia

Powerpoint DONE !!!

I just submitted my final assignment -- the Powerpoint presentation. I added some bells and whistles. I know we were not supposed to use the standard templates for the presentation but I just didn't like any of the other ones offered. I did find one that was rather colourful at microsoft.com but it just didn't work for me. Guess I am a bit of a minimalist. And because I am going to be teaching special education, sometimes too much eye candy is a bad thing for these kids.

So thanks to Peter for his tips on how to save as a .pps document --- it's off and handed in. And now I wait!

Speaking of technology, a friend of mine just burned me all four seasons of Felicity on Divex and my DVD player happens to play Divex so I have been watching each episode --- and reliving my university years.

Anastasia

Chuggin' Along ...

This week, I completed the layout for my powerpoint and now I am going through it, to tighten it up and add the "bells and whistles". I used the microsoft.com website to obtain some animated figures for various slides. I also added in some audio for the title page but I seem to be having some problems with that aspect of the presentation. I will continue to work on this and read up on the problem. The music is a MIDI file and when I insert it, it asks if I want it to start up on its own or have the viewer use the audio button. I take the first option but it still gives me a volume controller and when you press it, it doesn't seem to work.

I am still wondering whether I need a new layout. I chose one straight from powerpoint's options and I kind of like it. So I am not sure if I should. The other ones I chose are quite flashy and I don't really like it all that much when it is too over the top.

Anastasia Rioux

Word Processing Skills Sheet

One fellow collegue of mine recently completed his computers specialist. During his final course, his assignment was to create a word processing skills sheet that would be used by a school. Students would have to move up the ladder each year and learn how to complete new functions with their keyboard or mouse. I have found something like this useful and it is amazing how some kids are already surpassing the expectations in this day in age.

Anastasia Rioux

Powerpoint Research

I have spent this week doing a little research based on the hyperlinks that some of my classmates have posted to webct.

Here are a few of the places I have visited:

http://www.teach-nology.com/subjects/langarts/

http://www.teachnet.com/lesson/misc/winnergame022500.html

http://www.ac.wwu.edu/~cii/powerpoint/presentation/sld006.htm

http://www.oswego.org/teaching/resources/resources-x.cfm?Type=P

http://www.brainybetty.com/educators1.htm (offers some advice and handy tips)

There are all kinds of websites dedicated to aiding powerpoint users along the way. I have learned a couple tips and tricks and plan to add them to my already created presentation.

Here's to bells and whistles.

Anastasia Rioux :)

Powerpoint presentation on Making a Great Powerpoint Presentation

I found a Powerpoint presentation that offers tips on how to make successful Powerpoint presentations. There are so many bells and whistles in the program but the general consensus is not to over do it. Keep slide information simple - hence the acronym KISS (keep it simple stupid!).

http://www.poncacity.k12.ok.us/training/courses/learner/PowerPoint%20Guidelines_files/frame.htm

Anastasia Rioux :)

Tips from Peter's blog on Powerpoint presentations

Hi everyone,

I have started to work on my Powerpoint presentation for assignment 5. I remembered that Peter had some suggested presentation tips posted on his blog.

We should all read them before attempting a slide presentation ... I particularly liked numbers 4 and 7.

Anastasia Rioux :)

Saturday, May 27, 2006
10 Powerpoint Tips

Ten Secrets For Using PowerPoint Effectively
By Dave Paradi, MBA, The PowerPoint Lifeguard

You can take many courses on how to use PowerPoint from a technical standpoint, but when it is used effectively, it can add tremendously to our presentations. Here are ten secrets based on years of experience in developing and using presentation slides that will help you move from being technically proficient to using PowerPoint effectively.

1. Use the Outline View first

The most important part of any presentation is the content, not the graphical appeal. That is why you should develop your presentation with the content first, before deciding on the look (colours, graphics, etc.) The best way to do this is to use the Outline view. This view is accessed by clicking on the View menu and selecting the Outline command or by clicking on the Outline tool button at the bottom left of the screen (the one with all the lines). This view only shows the text of each slide. You use the Tab key to move to a lower level within a slide or the Shift-Tab key to move to a higher level in the slide. By using the Outline View first, you ensure that the content of your presentation is solid before you concern yourself with the visual elements.

2. Use Contrasting Colours
If you want your audience to be able to see what you have on the slide, there needs to be a lot of contrast between the text colour and the background colour. I suggest a dark background with light text – I usually use a medium to dark blue background and white or yellow letters. Some prefer a light background and dark letters, which will also work well - which you choose will depend on personal preference. Don’t think that just because the text looks fine on your computer screen that it will look fine when projected. Most projectors make colours duller than they appear on a screen, and you should check how your colours look when projected to make sure there is still enough contrast.

3. Use a big enough font
When deciding what font size to use in your presentation, make sure it is big enough so that the audience can read it. I usually find that any font size less than 24 point is too small to be reasonably read in most presentation situations. I would prefer to see most text at a 28 or 32 point size, with titles being 36 to 44 point size. The only reason I would use a font less than 24 point is when adding explanatory text to a graph or diagram, where you could use a 20 point font size. If you are given a small screen in a big room, your font will look smaller because the image will not be as big as it should be. In this case, see if you can get a larger screen, use a wall instead of a screen to project on, move the chairs closer to the screen or remove the last few rows of chairs.

4. Stop the moving text
When text comes on the screen, we want the audience to read the text, then focus back on the presenter to hear the message. If the text moves onto the screen in any way – such as flying in, spiral or zooming – it makes it harder for the audience members to read since they have to wait until the text has stopped before they can read it. This makes the presenter wait longer between each point and makes the audience members focus more on the movement than on what is being said. I suggest the use of the "Appear" effect, which just makes the text appear and is the easiest for the audience to read.

5. Turn the pointer off
During a presentation, it is very annoying to have the pointer (the little arrow) come on the screen while the presenter is speaking. It causes movement on the screen and draws the audience attention from the presenter to the screen. The pointer comes on when the mouse is moved during the presentation. To prevent this from happening, after the Slide Show view has started, press the Ctrl-L key combination. This prevents mouse movement from showing the pointer. If you need to bring the pointer on screen after this, press the Ctrl-A key combination. If the pointer does appear during your presentation, resist the urge to press the Escape key – if you do, it will stop the presentation and drop you back into the program. Press the A key or Ctrl-L to make the pointer disappear.

6. Use the PowerPoint Viewer to Present
There is a free program (downloaded from the Microsoft web site) called the PowerPoint viewer which can be a great tool for presenters. It was developed so that if someone did not have the PowerPoint program, they would still be able to view and print the slides in your presentation. It is much smaller than the full program because it does not have the ability to edit the slides, only view or print. The small size of the program is important because it is less prone to crashing than is the full program. The viewer also contains a feature that is absent in the full program – the use of list files. You can set up a list of presentation files that you want run one after the other, and the viewer will automatically load the next file in the list without you having to do anything. This can be very valuable when you have multiple presenters each with their own file, or when the presentation is made up of a number of segments.

7. Have Slides at the End of Your Presentation
The last slide you speak to should not be the last slide in your presentation file. You should have three identical copies of your last speaking slide so that if you accidentally advance one too many times at the end of your presentation, your audience never knows because you don’t drop into the program, the slide looks like it has not changed. After these slides, you should include some slides that answer questions that you expect to be asked. These slides will be useful during Q&A sessions after the presentation. The final slide should be a blank slide so that if you go through all the other slides, you have a final backup from dropping into the program.

8. Be able to Jump to Any Slide
PowerPoint has a feature that allows you to be able to move quickly and seamlessly to any slide in your presentation. To do so, you need to know the slide numbers. The easiest way to print a list of the slide numbers and associated slide titles is to go to the Outline View and collapse the details for each slide (there is a button on the left side of the screen in this view that will do this). Then print the view. To jump to any slide, just enter the slide number on the keyboard and press the Enter key. This will move you directly to that slide. This technique is very useful for moving to a prepared Q&A slide or for skipping parts of your presentation if time becomes an issue.

9. Blank the screen
Sometimes we want the image on the screen to disappear so that the audience is focused solely on the presenter. There are two ways to do this. The first is if you want to blank the screen with a black image, similar to shutting the projector off (we used to do this all the time with overhead projectors by just shutting the projector off). Just press the B key on the keyboard and the image is replaced with a black image. Press the B key again and the image is restored. If you want to use a white image instead of a black image, press the W key each time.

10. Draw on the screen during a presentation
Sometimes it can be valuable to be able to draw on the screen during your presentation to illustrate a particular point or item. This can be done in the following way. Press the Ctrl-P key combination to display a pen on the screen. Then, using the left mouse button, draw on the slide as you wish. To erase what you have drawn, press the E key. To hide pen, press the A key or the Ctrl-L key combination.

When you employ these secrets to use PowerPoint effectively, you will greatly enhance your audience’s understanding of your message and help to make your presentation the best it can be

Sweet Digital Imaging Link

I have finished my paper on digital imaging but the day after I submitted it, this hyperlink appeared on the webct. http://extend.unb.ca/thelink/ideas/ideas_dc.shtml

It is a nicely catagorized list of all the ways students can use the digital cameras for class. And it is split up by division. I have already passed it onto my principal because we now have four digital cameras for the students to use at our school.

Anastasia Rioux

Websites I have visited for my report on digital imaging ...

I have now virtually completed my digital imaging report. I had to finish it early as I am leaving for a week long visit to Sudbury this weekend and won't be around the day it is officially due. I will be able to check webct but won't be able to work on the paper itself. Here are some of the sites I have been visiting along the way.

Digital Picture Help Site

http://www.adobe.com/education/digkids/tips/index.html

Lori Miller’s comments
http://www.educationworld.com/a_tech/tech/tech147.shtml

Know Your Community Activity
http://pegasus.cc.ucf.edu/~ucfcasio/combroch.htm

Linda Star’s Education World Article
http://www.educationworld.com/a_tech/tech/tech148.shtml

Arts and Craft Ideas
http://www.wacona.com/digicam/digicam.html

Anastasia Rioux

Free Enabling Software Site

Today, I discovered a site that offers links to free "enabling software" otherwise known as assistive technology. I thought the click and type program was a neat concept. Here is the link, if you would like to check it out for yourself.

http://e-bility.com/links/software.php

Anastasia Rioux

Scavenger Hunts with Digital Cameras

I came across an article about using a digital camera to conduct scavenger hunts. The article was developed by Alan Landon, Redwood High School in Visalia, California.

It suggests students get into groups of three or four and each group gets a list of items to find on campus. For biology, it could be a list of plants, trees or animals. For art, it could be shapes, colours, textures or patterns.

Or in primary classes, the students could look for red things, or something yellow, or basic shapes, textures or patterns.

http://pegasus.cc.ucf.edu/~ucfcasio/scaven.htm

Documenting Snow Accumulation with a Digital Camera

One of the suggestions made in numerous articles about digital cameras is to use them to document growth, the growth cycle, and even the growth of our students from the beginning of the year to the end of the year.

It got me thinking about how I do that at home every winter. We document precipitation because we live in the snowbelt. (like Marianne in Huntsville!) This morning I went out and snapped a picture of the accumulation for November 4th, 2006. We are expecting another 15 centimeters by noon.

(The picture to the left was taken February 21st, 2006, after a snow storm. The picture to the left was taken December 16th of last year.)

Anastasia

Digital Cameras for Writing Prompts

I visited one particular site this morning that offered many ways to use the digi cam in the classroom for writing prompts. The site was called "Using a Digital Camera in the Classroom" with references from Frances Dendy and Faustina Peacock. Here is the hyperlink for the site:
http://www.geocities.com/Athens/olympus/7123/camera.html

I have cut and pasted some of the info that I found useful in the article below:

• use a photo as a prompt for narrative or descriptive writing
• school newspaper
• class newspaper or newsletter
• graphics for written reports and presentations
• write letters to penpals and others (such as reading buddies in another grade), inserting photos
• send photos via e-mail to electronic pen pals
• e-mail class updates to parents, with attached photos
• write a class novel with live-action photos as illustrations
• class books
• sequencing books [using a digital camera is especially useful to sequences which cannot be brought to school for students to experience]
• All About Us [take photos of students and let them write about themselves - this is especially good for Kindergarten!]
• take photos on field trips, to aid in writing about them later
• publicize a class play or project

Anastasia Rioux

Gender Research Part Three

The article "Why girls need to switch onto computing" by Hilary Wilce on January 12, 2006 offers some interesting ideas that another countries is attempting to draw women to computing careers.

Some British schools have after school clubs to get girls interested in IT. The managing director at T-Mobile says jobs are growing in the industry and only 20 percent of the workforce is female. He says the image is that geeky, long-haired boys play war games -- that is what IT is all about.

Other companies like British Airways, IBM, Ford and Cisco are trying to get girls interested in computing. Schools, companies are donating time and advice along with software for Computer Clubs for girls. Otherwise known as CC4G.

A pilot started in southeast England in 2002. It was for girls aged 9 to 13. Girls were using Photoshop, MS Powerpoint, MX Excel and gaining confidence when using computers.
So far 1,054 schools are registered, and some of them have 80 to 90 girls signed up to their clubs. The clubs are free.

Here are ideas as to what they are learning:

Celebrity projects: where girls run an interview, and advertise and promote a rock concert
Sound projects: mixing, create a sound script for a drama, and compose jingles
Fashion projects: plan and promote a fashion show, catologue fashion
Dance projects: create dance moves, and plan and create disco lighting
Sports projects: promote sports teams, plan a school sports event
Design projects: design a new bedroom, etc.

http://education.independent.co.uk/schools/article337935.ece

Gender Research Part Two

Here is my summation of an article entitled "Go for IT, conference tells grade-nine girls". This article was written by Patricia Pickett for IT World Canada in February 2005.

The article introduces readers to Lasha Dekker. Dekker got her IT job by chance. She is the VP developer and platform evangelist at Microsoft Canada. She spoke at the Explore IT conference. She noted that 20 percent of grads from college or university computer science programs are women. She says many women feel that the IT route is geeky and not very social.

http://www.itworldcanada.com/Pages/Docbase/ViewArticle.aspx?ID=idgml-e40631b2-274b-45d5-8254-cf2348b75056&News=Daily%20ITwire

Digital Cameras -- There is so much to do with one!!!

I visited the site that Peter suggested as a starting point. There were TONS of ideas. I am a big fan of the digital camera. I keep mine at school all the time and use the pictures for all sorts of things. Here are some of the best ideas from this particular site. (http://www.wacona.com/digicam/digicam.html)

1. I like this idea because they used to do this in Northern Lights magazine for kids when I was younger and I had so much fun guessing what each picture was about.

“Give students a portion of a digital picture and have them guess what the picture is of.”

2. A whole new meaning to the scavenger hunt. Give students a list of items they need to find and then they need to take pictures of each item as proof.

3. More obviously, take pictures of events, field trips including sporting events. I always send the pictures to the local newspaper by email. Our paper is pretty small and they usually print anything and everything.

4. Have students take pictures of their community and then create tourist brochures. These brochures can be left with the Chamber or another community organization when completed.

5. For kindergarten, have each child use a letter and then have them snap pictures of things they find at school that start with that particular letter.

6. In science, take pictures to document growth or change. (plants, butterflies)

7. Have the students make trading cards of themselves The front could have their picture, and the back side could contain information like hobbies, birthday, etc. These would make great gifts for parents too!

8. Use the digital camera to make crafts such as: locker magnets, thank you notes, use with pen pal letters, name tags etc. One teacher I know used digital picture shots and then changed background colours to make Andy Warhol representations.

9. Use the pictures for the classroom website.

Gender Research Part One

I did some research tonight on gender and technology. I visited one site position paper. Here are some of the interesting tidbits I discovered:

In 1986, women were 29% of the employed science and technology labour force in Canada.

Chipman and Thomas find that “interests,” which emerge early, are a strong predictor of scientific and technological careers, and that men and women who become scientists are very similar in their interests and vocational values. It appears that either such interests are differentially distributed between the sexes, or some other factors intervene to deter women from such careers.

Attempts have been made to clarify such findings; for example, some studies suggest that boys “call out” more, and teachers respond more to them (Sadker); or that it is particular children, especially those boys who present a discipline difficulty, who get the most attention.

Other researchers have identified a boy-centred “computer culture” growing up in schools or within classrooms. Carmichael, Burnett, Higginson, Moore, and Pollard (1985), who observed computer use in 18 Ontario elementary school classrooms over two years, report some particularly disturbing findings. End-of year tests of computer knowledge showed boys at the junior and intermediate levels had higher average scores than girls. Classroom interactions at the Grade 7 site that produced the largest differences were examined in detail. The researchers reported that girls found the “challenge” assignments the teacher created uninteresting and sometimes missed their computer time because they were worried about completing their other school work. But a greater problem was the behaviour of the boys. “When it comes to computers, they are sharks,” said one girl (p. 83). Aggressive strategies, such as starting to print when it was a girl’s turn to use the keyboard, or telling the teacher if a girl’s disk was left around the classroom, so that it would be locked away for several days as punishment, were reported. There was no sharing of knowledge or materials between the sexes.

Hughes, Brackenridge, Bibby, and Greenhough (1989) found that girl pairs did worse at operating a computer-controlled robot than did boy pairs or mixed pairs. In subsequent individual testing, girls who had first been in a mixed pair did significantly better than girls who had first worked with another girl. Other projects, for example, one in which children write notes for themselves and to one another via a communal computer data base, have successfully involved both girls and boys (Scardamalia et al., 1992).

Individual school boards in Ontario have set up innovative programs, including girls-only math classes, women speakers visiting schools, and career conferences.

http://www.csse.ca/CJE/Articles/FullText/CJE18-3/CJE18-3-06Acker.pdf

What will the kids born now be like with technology at school-age?

Have you watched or read the news lately. This week, all the talk is surrounding the latest toys for the holiday season. The headline from cbc.ca is "High-tech toys for tots dominate holiday season" today. The mini-compiter in a smart pen was rated the top toy by the Canadian Toy Testing Council Thursday. According to the article: "The device allows users to draw a calculator and press the handwritten buttons to complete a math calculation, or draw a set of piano keys and play and record a song."

Also unveiled, tons of smart dolls that need to have their teeth brushed and there is also a smart pony that is lifelike and responds to voice and touch.

And to get kids more active, there is a mat that encourages children to get up and exercise. They need to hop and jump on a floor mat.

Of course, these toys will mean tons of battery purchases for parents. But they also introduce children to the wonderful world of technology that much sooner. So the question is, what will kids born now be like with technology at the school-age? It is a frightful and yet fascinating question.

Anastasia

Talking E-Book Creation

Tonight, I spent about an hour and a half creating my very first talking e-book. It's called "The Adventures of Muskoka the Family Cat". I based the story on one of my cats because I already had tons of pictures to use that were saved on my hard drive, and it doesn't infringe on any copyrights. It's totally my own story. I wish I could share it on my blog but I don't see an "add attachment" option here. Maybe I can post it to my website in the coming days or even to webct so you can all have a laugh!!!

The audio sucks when you record straight from Powerpoint. But it was a fun first attempt.

Anastasia Rioux

Useful Webquest Link

Every year at this time, I attend the Faith Meets Pedagogy conference in Toronto. It's a conference for Catholic school teachers. Some of the content is faith related, while other content is geared to virtually anybody in the teaching world. This year, I was not able to attend as I am on maternity leave. One of my fellow teachers did attend this year. He wrote to me yesterday, all gung ho with a URL that he wanted the teachers to check out on rich performance tasks. This was a total buzz word from teacher's college. It basically means tasks that have authentic purposes and are useful in the grand scheme of things.

I check it out and discovered it was a series of webquests catagorized by grade level and subject. I started checking out the grade eight webquests because that is the grade I will be teaching in the new year. I found some pretty neat problems and tasks for the students to discover.

I created a webquest in teacher's college at Nipissing. They were fun to create and also fun to watch the students chip away at. I cannot wait to try this link with my grade eights in the new year.

Check it out ... http://www.ldcsb.on.ca/schools/cfe/RPT/

Anastasia Rioux

The Wishbook, Computer and a budget

Every year, before Christmas - I have the students file through the Wishbook for ideas for themselves and their families. Although, they can make wishes -- they have to also stick to a budget. Normally we look at the Wishbook, calculate prices using sales tax, etc. They must come in under budget.

But this week, I have been doing some online shopping through Sears and Amazon.ca So then I thought, why not use the school laptops or a computer lab to complete the same assignment.

It's just another way to integrate math and computers along with some added holiday buzz.

Anastasia Rioux

Digital Storytelling Paper

I have been visiting a couple more sites in order to wrap-up my paper on digital storytelling. The paper is coming along and I have been able to blend some of my own practical ideas with existing ideas from people who have posted articles on the Internet. Here are some of the sites I have visited this week:

For rubric ideas
http://www.umass.edu/wmwp/DigitalStorytelling/What%20is%20Digital%20Storytelling.htm

J.D. Lasica’s ideas for digital storytelling applications in the classroom
http://www.techsoup.org/learningcenter/techplan/page5897.cfm

For comments on the importance of the pre-production phase
http://www.sfgate.com/technology/specials/1997/dstorytelling.shtml

Management for Digital Storytelling Article from Mechelle M. De Craene
http://terry-freedman.org.uk/artman/publish/printer_804.php

Ideas from other blogs and webct entries

I spent some time yesterday just viewing other people's webct responses under the assignment 3 heading. I was primarily interested in the stuff on digital storytelling because that is what my paper is about. I found it interesting that we all visited the same sites however there were a couple that I had not visited including one on managing your classroom when doing digital storytelling, and another site offered some great rubrics for evaluating the student work after it is complete.

Tonight, I took some time to go through everyone's blog entries. It was actually really enlightening to see what other people in the course are talking about with their blogs. One idea I got was to use digital storytelling in a reading buddy format. This idea came from Steven. This way an older student pairs up with a younger one to create a story together (perhaps assigning different roles to each reader). This would be a great way to get older kids working with young ones because sometimes the older kids can't be motivated to do this.

I also learned about the Tumble Book hyperlink at the Brampton Public Library courtesy of Mary Ann. I want to get my students to create e-books this year. I even just ordered a microphone off of Tiger Direct today so I can get started on this. If any of you are interested in making e-books or talking books with your students, check out this awesome pdf manual for making these books with the Powerpoint program. I learned so many tricks with Powerpoint that I never knew before!

http://www.ace-centre.org.uk/download/Powerpoint%20V3.pdf


Anastasia Rioux

Nathan's Blog

Hey there,

I have some great news! This year, I am blessed to have an autistic student in my classroom. This boy is amazing. He is as smart as a whip and each day he journals about something that has happened in his life on that particular day.

Well last week I had this bright idea. I thought about setting him up with his own personal blog so that he could journal his thoughts online and have it all archived. I went into school last Thursday to show him how a blog worked, and we set one up through http://blogger.com. The Aide who works with him said that she would try to get him to visit the site at least once a week to write something, in the event that he prefers the paper and pen method to journalling.

Today, I checked out his blog on a whim that he may have written something and sure enough there are two entries. Please feel free to check out his site at: http://nathandurocher.blogspot.com/

I think it will be a great way for me as his teacher (when I return in the new year) to keep tabs on what is new on his life and respond to him on a daily basis, especially if I am not able to meet with him personally for whatever reason. His parents have also been given the link so that they can check his blog space daily and see what he is up to during the day.

Anastasia Rioux

Digital Storytelling Classroom Management

Yesterday I spent about two hours just going through some of the links everyone had suggested for digital storytelling. A lot of the links were repeats but some of them were for sites I never visited. One particular site, (I can't remember who suggested it) had several hyperlinks within it. I sifted through them to find a great article about the classroom management aspect of digital storytelling. It is one thing to say you are going to tackle such a huge project, and it is another thing to manage it successfully so that everyone is doing something --- not just the brains of each group. I thought I'd post the link below for everyone else to check out.

Management for Digital Storytelling Article from Mechelle M. De Craene
http://terry-freedman.org.uk/artman/publish/printer_804.php

What I really liked about this article is that she reiterates that the pre-production phase of this project is the cornerstone to the digital storytelling process. Students have to be organized in their thoughts, storyboarding, and their story itself. I also liked that she suggested giving each student their own role and perhaps assign the role based on the type of learner they happen to be such as a recorder, director, etc.

Anastasia Rioux

Finally a use for KidPix!

After reading an article on digital storytelling posted by a teacher named Flora Iacchia, I realized that one way to get young students interested in digital storytelling is by allowing them to use the program KidPix. This program would help them illustrate their stories.

In my grade four classroom, many students would ask to play on KidPix after their work was complete. They had so much fun fiddling around with this program, but I never utilized this program to its full potential. The article suggests using a Microsoft Paint Accessory tool which comes free with most Microsoft packages. I thought KidPix would be great because the students seem to generally love the program anyway.

They can come up with a story concept. Flora Iacchia suggests providing students with a theme such as a boy and a girl who appreciate and love nature. Then get them to do whatever they want with those boundaries.

The photo posted about is a slide from Flora Iacchia's digital story called "Be Good to Nature" which combines digital painting with storytelling.

Website consulted for writing this blog:

http://www.teachingk-8.com/archives/articles/digital_storytelling_by_flora_iacchia.html

Should the podcast replace paper and pen homework ???

I haven't been doing nearly as much research into podcasting because I have already made up my mind on doing my paper on digital storytelling. Tonight, I dedicated some time to reading about the podcast. I started with an Apple site that gave a basic outline on how the podcast could be used in education. http://www.apple.com/education/solutions/podcasting/

Then I came across this article: http://www.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/erm0561.pdf

It gives a scenario of a student using the podcast for educational purposes and then goes onto explain how it all can be done. What I found most interesting was when the author alluded to the idea that podcasts could change the face of homework. Instead of going home to do paper and pen equations for math, or grammar questions -- the student could simply relisten to the lecture of that day and go over the key concepts with the fast forward or rewind feature.

It also talks about the importance of the voice that offers understanding and how students can learn concepts when it is explained to them by their teacher over a podcast -- in otherwords, "theatre of the mind" does wonders.

So the question is --- if you and your students could use the iPod daily to communicate and reinforce key concepts --- would you still resort to the traditional style of homework too ???

What do you think ???

Anastasia Rioux

Podcasting Research Sites

This was a great site from Apple that just gave a basic outline on how podcasting could work in an educational setting:

http://www.apple.com/education/solutions/podcasting/

Another article I found interesting was http://www.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/erm0561.pdf

It shed some light on how the podcast could be used to change the face of homework. Instead of meaningless homework tasks, students could reinforce the days learning by listening back to a podcast of the lecture, and even fast forward and rewind to hear the key points over and over again. It also talks about the importance of the voice that offers understanding and how students can learn concepts when it is explained to them by their teacher over a podcast -- in otherwords, "theatre of the mind" does wonders.

Anastasia Rioux

The podcast word

I haven't been doing as much research on podcasting because I wanted to do my report on digital storytelling. I did however come across an article that was hyperlinked on the wikipedia site. It was about how the word podcasting was the 2005 word of the year according to New Oxford American Dictionary. In 2004, the word of the year was blog. I remember not really knowing much about podcasting and then watching Letterman one night where he was showing off his new video Ipod. He was explaining how it all works from a "baby boomer" point of view. It is interesting how in recent years, computer technology words have entered our lexicon and become such important words. Imagine those who have passed on not knowing about podcasts and blogs ... how did they get along without them?

Anastasia Rioux

Computers and Autism ?

We always argue at home as to whether the tv should be off or on while the baby is around. I believe firmly that the tv should be limited to one half hour a day --- the rest of the day it is OFF. My husband is an avid tv watcher. I can just imagine what goes on here when I am out running errands. The two of them watch snowboarding videos and stuff like that.

Anyways, I recently discovered a paper written by Michael Waldman at Cornell University. It's entitled "Does Television Cause Autism?" I was reading it for my own information and realized that the author also lumps computer viewing into his studies. He feels that computers can be used to view movies, DVDs and also to play games so it is like a television in so many ways.

The author feels that autism is on the rise in the United States due to many factors, and one of them is the number of cable tv subscribers in the country. If you are interested in reading this article, please visit:

http://www.johnson.cornell.edu/faculty/profiles/Waldman/AUTISM-WALDMAN-NICHOLSON-ADILOV.pdf

Anastasia Rioux

Read Please Program

Finally checked out readplease and that is awesome. Because we are a one-school board, we share tech services with the Simcoe-Muskoka school board. They load our laptops with programs like Kurzweil and a couple others that rarely seem to work when you try and open them. This would be so much easier because you know it is going to work and well -- it's free!!!

Anastasia Rioux

Digital Storytelling Paper

Hello all,

I have been actively working on my assignment on digital storytelling. I chose to tackle the digital storytelling issue for my paper because I think it is something that I would be more inclined to use in my classroom. It doesnt require an MP3 player or I-pod. Students can use whatever technologies they can get their hands on such as digital cameras, video cameras, computers with slide technology such as a Powerpoint program or Appleworks, and they can also scan, use Google images for pictures that support their work ... and so much more.

Here are some of the sites I have been visiting along the way this past week:

Place Project Idea

http://www.infotoday.com/mmschools/jan02/banaszewski.htm

Poetry Lesson Plan Idea http://www.adobe.com/education/digkids/storytelling/index.html

Comments from Daniel Meadows
http://www.coe.uh.edu/digital-storytelling/introduction.htm

Suggestions and Ideas
http://www.cmu.edu/teaching/howto/Digital_Storytelling/index.html

Suggestions on how to celebrate a child’s work
http://www.edutopia.org/magazine/ed1article.php?id=Art_1418&issue=dec_05

Jennifer New’s article
http://www.edutopia.org/community/spiralnotebook/?p=33

A Book Crossing at School ?

This would be a great idea to spur kids to read and post within a school system -- you could make your own book crossing:

A friend told me about this site. It's www.bookcrossing.com. Its a really neat book club.

A book crossing is when you leave a book, that you have read, in a public place like a coffee house for someone else to read. When they finish reading it they are then suppose to do the same.

Each book is regisitered on the website and given a tracking number so that you and anyone else who finds it can track its journey. You can even "hunt" for books in your area. The people that register them put the location in which they have left the book (and the site keeps track of how long ago).

Some cities have a book crossing site like a coffee shop or a bus station or something.

Anastasia Rioux

Messengers: How young is too young?

I came across an article in Today's Parent about Messaging. The article entitled "Mini Messengers" by Randi Chapnik Myers debates how young is too young for kids to become instant-messengers. In the article, there are some startling statistics that show just how soon kids are getting onto computers these days.

Here are two that fascinated me:

-In 2000, only six percent of children aged two to five years were online. By 2002, that figure soared to a whopping 35 percent and continues to rise.

Imagine that ... in only two years - the statistic jumped 29 percent and that last figure came from 2002 so imagine how high it would be now.

-In a study of six to 19 year olds, even after training, the younger kids had a lower level of Internet safety knowledge than the older kids.

Thankfully, there is some hope out there for parents of these kids. The article goes onto to talk about safeguarding younger kids from the hazards of Messenger services. They say there are tips to make MSN messenger safer for students too. One way, is to block dirty words. There are other suggestions for teachers or parents at the following website:

Visit da.co.la.ca.us/pok
This particular site also has information on blogs and kids too.

Anastasia Rioux

Digital Storytelling as Art

I have been reading up on digital storytelling over the last week just to familiarize myself with the term and the idea around it. Being a storyteller myself, I really like the idea because it creates a more interactive writing experience for kids who need to be turned onto writing. An article I discovered by Peggy Benton, entitled "The Power of Digital Storytelling in the Classroom" compares storytelling to art. She says there is a sequence to unfolding a story. When we look at digital storytelling, there is the added sequence of not just unfolding the words but also the pictures that go along with it all to create a package. She says: "the process includes planning, writing, editing, illustrating and producing the components so that we communicate the heartfelt essence, not just the events." This is what would hopefully make writing so inspiring to non-writers or special needs students -- the added challenge of incorporating pictures. As many of us are already aware, sometimes when you throw something new and creative at your students that involves working a different aspect of their brain, you learn that it isn't always the regular smarty pants kids that know the answers or do a great job. I can see many special needs students creating wonderful works of art/literature when able to meld words and pictures together on the big screen.

Website consulted for writing this blog:
http://www.edutopia.org/community/spiralnotebook/?p=33

Anastasia Rioux

Gizmotrainers

Holy Smokes - now this is cool. While we are on the topic of podcasting nowadays, you need to check out gizmotrainer.com. I saw this on the news today.

It's like having your personal trainer with you everyday when you workout. You pay 19 bucks for a workout and choose a beginner, intermediate or advanced version. The trainer explains an exercise, then demonstrates it for you. You can fast forward or rewind the moves until you get them right and it is all on your little ipod.

So it got me thinking ... how can we apply this to our classroom? If we could give each student an ipod, they can create their own workout tape and then you could play each tape for the students to try. There's like a trillion gym lessons right there. The kids would absolutely love seeing themselves and creating the workout too.

Anastasia Rioux

After reading Trevor's post about computer hardware, it got me thinking ... why don't we teach our kids the hardware components to computers? It seems like a logical step for the high school setting. In the elementary panel, students learn to surf software, and the Internet. Then in high school, move onto the nitty gritty.

Normally in high school, we give students a sense of how to do a little bit of everything. So this should indeed become a component. With more and more products going high tech, we do need more computerized individuals in the world.

Sure, I love the computer but I haven't the faintest idea on how to program one. Good point Trevor. Who should we take this up with?

Anastasia Rioux

Tech Makes Cheating Easier Too

I was reading this month's issue of Reader's Digest and came across a rather interesting article about the downside of technology in the classroom. More and more students are using technology to cheat. It talks about some of the past cheating scandals such as the 44 business and economics students at Simon Fraser in B.C. who all handed in papers that got them suspended. Also, that case from Carleton University, where the students cheated on an essay about professional ethics.

It goes onto say that portable digital devices like the MP3 player and the Internet are making cheating that much easier for students. In the article, one nineteen year old student of Toronto talks about how he cheated his way through high school using his cell phone to store information.

"It would be hard to understate technology's role in the current wave of academic dishonesty. Students flock to online term-paper mills that sell reports on virtually any topic."

What I liked was that teachers appear to be fighting back. They are using sites like Turnitin.com to check student work for plagiarism. The site uses a huge database of books and journals and previously submitted papers by students.

The article states that the site searches "50, 000 to 60, 000 students papers a day, 30 percent of which contain a significant amount (more than 25 percent) of unoriginal material."

The other smart thing we can do is limit technology during test taking times. I know this has been done at the Parry Sound High School. Although from what some students tell me, the policy isn't as stringent as the teachers may say it is there.

Anastasia Rioux

Foxman, Stuart. But Everybody Cheats! Reader's Digest. Montreal, Quebec. October 2006.

411 on the Computer

Yesterday was a dark and dismal day. I returned from a Pampered Chef party to discover the Internet was down on my home system. So without being able to cybersurf, I resorted to reading. I was reading my Macleans mag from last week and found a timely article. It the article, “Searching for Help”, the author reveals a new type of search engine. With Google being the superpower of search engines, other companies are coming up with innovative new ways for computer users to search. One that looks pretty neat is ChaCha.com. It will be up and running in January sometime. The article says: “human searchers provide real-time, one-on-one help – for free.”

The founder of ChaCha helped create digital voice mail when he was 26 years old. And a music software called Gracenote. He says ChaCha will be the web version of 411 on the telephone.

He says a user can say something like this: “where can I stay in Vancouver, B.C., with my dog, for under $200 per night?” And you will be connected to a real live guide.

The article goes onto say that Google has its own version at ask.com and Yahoo! Answers is another popular site.

Apparently ChaCha went live on Labour day for experimentation but the site crashed so they have some work to do before the new year.

What is the world coming to eh? 411 on the computer! Too bad it wasn't around sooner because we could use it and say "make me a rubric with 5-7 criteria, that would evaluate educational software - and make sure it is original!!!"

Anastasia Rioux

A Frustrating Fur Trade Odyssey

I just thought I'd check out another OSAPAC piece of software as it pertains to grade 7 and 8 history. It's called A Fur Trade Odyssey. I found it to be a piece of junk! Really! It was hard to navigate, and not very entertaining at all. I swear I am one of those people who should have been diagnosed with ADHD as a child because I have such a short attention span. This was such a snooze.

I then did a little Internet search on the software and I read this:
"Northwest to the Pacific: A Fur Trade Odyssey" is one of the most exciting historical CD-ROMs ever produced.

"Congratulations...this is an exceptional way to teach our future generations about the fur trade and the importance of the canoe to our Canadian Heritage."

Can't believe it. Now some of you may like this program and this is entirely my own personal opinion. Let me know if you have a differing view. I just read this and thought - well, I guess someone has to sell this stuff and do whatever they can to do that.

Anastasia Rioux

21st Century Classroom Networking

After doing a bit of research on community web-based portals for schools, I realized that there is already a Canadian system out there that has been developed in Markham and it is available at some schools in Ontario.

This product, FirstClass, was developed by a company called SoftArc. It claims to create a “secure, networked environment with applications such as e-mail, instant messaging, calendars, contact management, workgroup collaboration, document sharing, file storage, web publishing, blogging, podcasting, and unified voice and fax messaging.”

It appears to be a flexible system for schools because it is set-up on the school’s existing web server. Right away, the school can have a website and messaging, among many other services. It can also run on Windows, OS or UNIX systems which makes it even more appealing to several school boards.

In one article about the product, a professor at Georgian College in Barrie is quoted. Kathryn Cook says: “One trend in academic literature is that computer conferencing is an educational technology that really works. That’s because there’s interaction in the form of a written dialogue.”

This is so true. That’s the reason I have a problem with a number of the CD Rom programs offered by OSAPAC. There is no interactivity. The user inputs the disc in their computer, and works with the system with not a lot of real feedback or discussion. The FirstClass system appears to be very interactive. Teachers and students can instant message or conference with each other in a secure environment. Students have access to Internet research, and e-mail too.

There are several schools already using this technology in the United States. The Toronto District School board also uses the FirstClass system.

Websites used to research this blog entry:

http://www.softarc.com/FC83/

http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0EIN/is_1999_March_9/ai_54051323

Talking E-Books

There's all kinds of great educational software out there but there are also tons of useful tools right on the Internet. I have been doing a bit of research on talking e-books. If you want to get an idea about these books, check out this website:

http://www.starfall.com

This is great for primary grades. There are all kinds of phonics books available. Some are letter and sound themed and others are occasion themed. I really like this idea because anyone who has had to price out a set of guided reading books, or a set of phonics books knows how expensive these books are for the school. These talking e-books are completely accessible online and no password is required. There must be about 100 different books available for students to access. I know you can actually create talking e-books using Powerpoint and I have downloaded a document that explains how. I hope to talk more about this in a future blog entry.

Anastasia Rioux

Podcasting in Education: The Benefits for Special Needs Students and Parents

Podcasting in Education

I have been doing some research on podcasting in education. One website states that in the class it is useful for: “providing supplemental explanations and expanded examples to course content”. Podcasting benefits special needs, and it also fosters more open communication between parents and the school.

I can see that this technology would be great for special needs students in so many ways. Students who have decoding issues and find it difficult to copy down notes, could use the podcast and listen to a specific lecture multiple times. This technology would also supplement regular class notes that students take in class. It would be useful for auditory and visual learners, as well as those students who have vision impairments. These podcasts could act as a reinforcement rather than traditional homework.

Parents would be able to view these podcasts too to discover what their child has missed, if they have been absent. Parents can also see first-hand what their child is learning in the classroom.

Websites used in preparing this blog entry:

http://www.softease.com/podcasting/index.htm

The 21st Century Teacher

The 21^st Century Teacher:

What a night to start reflecting on the hip 21^st century teacher. I just finished watching the United Flight 93 movie. In it, you see so much technology at work: the air traffic control radar that tracks planes, the pilot who has hundreds of little computer type gadgets and levers in front of him and beside him, the reporters reporting on CNN have their own technology to bring pictures to viewers, the cockpit recorders, the air phones, the cell phones and the list goes on. As teachers, (especially those teachers who aren’t fond of technology) we must remember what kind of a world we are living in today. Everything is computerized.

My husband does Information Technology at a hospital. It amazes me how many different areas of the hospital that his department is responsible for on a daily basis. Equipment in the laboratory is high-tech, as is the equipment that is used to perform different types of surgery on patients! A surgeon now must know anatomy, as well as computer technology to keep the operating room running smoothly. The telephone systems are computerized in most office buildings now. Security systems are highly computerized too.

If our job is to prepare students for the real world, then we must prepare them to use the computer efficiently too. There are all kinds of programs out there for teachers to use. Just look at the list on the OSAPAC website. It is unbelievable! I teach in a one school board so perhaps that is why I am not privy to OSAPAC and its availabilities.

Each school program is developed with a purpose. Each one is valuable in some way but which ones are truly important? I think first and foremost, programs like All the Right Type are essential. We need to start by teaching our students to use a keyboard efficiently. Once they have grasped typing skills, they are then able to move onto many other areas of technology.

My husband does I.T. work on the side for my school board. I asked him what one piece of software he would like to see developed for educators. He feels a community based web portal for all students in Ontario would be a great idea for a software developer who wants to make a good buck. It would be a portal that would have dictionaries, calculators, and encyclopedias so students wouldn't have to search Google anymore. It would also contain blogs for all-Ontario students, and so much more. It would all be right there at their fingertips.
Many teachers worry that too much technology could rule out the role of a teacher. A good web based portal could lead to every student requiring a laptop. Some schools are moving in this direction. My old high school in Sudbury (Marymount Academy) has started a laptop program this year in which every student gets their own laptop for school and home use. It will be interesting to see how successful this pilot project will be in the future.

When I think of our ever expanding curriculum, I realize why there are so many pieces of software out there. I cannot think of any one real piece of software that stands out so far above the rest because we almost need to expose our students to all of them so that they are well-rounded and can adapt well to any system or program. I think the more we expose our students to technology, the better off they will be when they leave our hands and get out into the real world.

Anastasia Rioux

The Educational Blog Log: The Good and the Ugly

THE EDUCATIONAL BLOG LOG: The Good and the Ugly

The blog has been around for years and it’s great to see that many techno-savvy teachers are getting on board with the idea. Personally, I never thought of using a blog in education before this course started! There are so many benefits to utilizing this technology in the classroom. In this blog entry, I will outline the many benefits but I will also provide you with some cautionary notes.

THE GOOD:

After reading the e-article posted on the McGraw Hill website glencoe.com, I started to see the many benefits to blogging in the classroom. The article, written by a teacher of more than twenty years, talks about blogging being “highly motivating to students”. She also says they provide “excellent opportunities for students to read and write”. These two comments are clearly selling factors to any teacher.

Blogging is also creating a two-way street in the web world. No longer are students using the web to gather and read information. They can now publish their own information on it too. In an article entitled: “The Benefits and Concerns of the Read/Write Web in Education: Blogs, Wikis, RSS, and Social Networks, including MySpace.com” this concept is referred to as the “read/write web” or “Web 2.0”.

As a teacher who has a specialty in the English language, I find it hard sometimes to instill my passion for language in my students. They seem to struggle so much when it comes to writing and reading. One suggestion I came up with a couple years ago, was to have them MSN and e-mail each other. We started simple and then moved onto doing spelling dictations, and writing subtasks over e-mail. The kids loved it and it got them really motivated. They began e-mailing me, their parents, and even the principal fielded a class set of e-mails about what the students liked best about our school.

One of the other selling features is the fact that the blog becomes a digital portfolio. Portfolio is a word that is heavily used in the education system. Teachers are expected to keep tabs on writing, or art or math. The portfolio is meant to help students see progression in their work. The blog is a great alternative because it is already set-up as an archival system with the most recent work always appearing at the top of the page. As a teacher, it is easy for me to file through the postings and also show the postings to a parent on parent-teacher interview night. I can also easily pick a piece of work and look at it with the student for mentoring purposes. We can talk together about ways to improve the work and make it tighter or stronger.

During my research for this blog, I came across Will Richardson’s blog site. He wrote the book entitled: “Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts and Other Powerful Web Tools for Classrooms”. On his blog, he also highlights the benefits to using such technology. I liked the way he described his reasons for considering this a great publishing tool that will motivate kids to write. In his blog, (under: why weblog?) he says:

“About a year ago, I asked my first year composition students whether they did much reading and writing outside of class. Most of them said, “No.” But when I asked them if they wrote emails, used AOL IM, and surfed the Internet, they almost unanimously said, “Yes.” To them, the Internet and other forms of electronic discourse were not associated with their concept of “reading and writing” in the school sort of way. I imagine that this difference might be because one is “fun” and the other is “work.”

Isn’t that the truth? Even when I created my blog introduction, the question was asked “what is your favourite book?” It took me a second or two because lately, I haven’t read any great pieces of writing. Being a new mom, I have the attention span and energy for a magazine, e-mail or my weekly subscription to Macleans. Why did I not consider the fact that my reading included websites, e-bay’ing and online shopping sites?

To some, blogging might be considered a frivolous past time. But to students, it has the potential to become life-long learning. Many students who leave my class as a blogger, would likely continue to update their blog regularly. (I plan to do the same after this course wraps up, so doesn’t that tell you something?) It is life-long learning if it doesn’t end with the final term three report card. This is likely something they will do again in their lifetime.

THE BAD:

As you are aware from one of my last postings, there are also risks to consider. At my particular school, students sign a waiver early on in the year which ensures that the students use the internet for educational purposes only. If they are caught writing, or viewing information that counters the waiver agreement, it results in a suspension of internet use. Students who blog can get themselves in hot water even if they don’t intentionally mean to do it. In a blog profile, a student could post information such as their address, picture, school name, and the list goes on. This makes it much easier for criminals, or sexual predators to find their blogger. The article on glencoe.com suggests that teachers educate their students before blogging begins. Talk to them about privacy issues, defamation, libel and infringement.

The most grave concern, as noted in the edtechlife.com article, is dealing with cyberstalkers and predators. Students must be taught not to “post their names, addresses, phone numbers and personal information, or pictures, particularly sexually suggestive images.”

There are other security measures that will offer teachers some peace of mind in knowing their students are safe in the cyberworld. Companies such as ePALS schoolblog, (see link below) offer blogging systems that protected the students in a particular board, or classroom. Content such as personal information and pictures can be blocked.

THE END:

As stated by Mike Lawrence, the head of Computer Using Educators Inc., gone are the days of “you will remember it and you will regurgitate it”. Students who are in the field, creating their own blogs, podcasts, and websites are doing something useful and practical in today’s world. It is something they are bound to do again and again during their lifetime.

Now that I have taken on the role of teaching grade seven and eight students in the new year, I will gladly incorporate the blog into my teaching repertoire. We have two laptop carts with more than 100 laptops. What a great way to use the technology and make learning titillating!

Articles used for researching my blog entry:

http://www.glencoe.com/sec/teachingtoday/educationupclose.phtml/47
http://schoolblog.epals.com/safety
http://www.epalscorp.com/products/schoolblog/SDTribune.pdf
http://edtechlife.com/files/ReadWriteWeb1Page.pdf#search=%22%22education
%20blogs%22%20%2B%20%22benefits%22

The Blogging Police ?

Hello fellow educational bloggers:

All this chat about blogging had me thinking about a big news story that occurred just two weeks ago: the Montreal school shooting that killed one girl. The killer, Kimveer Gill also had his own blog set up through a website dedicated to goth culture (vampirefreaks.com).

First let me say that I believe blogging is a great way to get students motivated about school and language. Students can log on weekly and journal about specific topics or they can have "blog free days" where they have the option of writing whatever is on their mind.

There are certain policing issues with this format to teaching and learning. In his blog, Kimveer Gill, the Dawson College killer wrote: "Work sucks ... School sucks ... Life sucks ..." He made that entry just twenty-four hours before going to the school to begin his rampage. The day after that shooting, I was home watching CBC Newsworld. On the noon hour program, they interviewed the man who runs the vampirefreaks website. He talked about how there are security measures in place. Basically, when people harass other bloggers, their priviledges are cut off. But he didn't speak to what happens when people talk about the weapons they own, or the plans they are making to kill others. In fact, the reporter never put these questions to him - which infuriated me!

So the question is --- as a teacher, I have some control over what is written in a blog that I am marking. But who in the cyberworld is really doing this? If I wrote something racist, or controversial right now on this blog - would the blogger people for blogger.com warn me or anything? What happens if another blogger begins harassing my students about their blog? How would I intervene? There are so many questions in relation to the topic of blogging. I hope to uncover some answers over the coming days.

Anastasia Rioux

Here is a short Toronto Star article about Kimveer Gill and his blog.

http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&c=Article&a
mp;cid=1158228129617&call_pageid=1158242920736&col=1158242920757

Blog Happy

Hello again,

I just wanted to write again because I am so thrilled about having my own blog. I was fiddling around and noticed that I can add a picture attachment with my entries. I thought I would send a picture of my little baby boy named Noah. We took this picture last week, after putting him in his scrubs for the first time.

I don't want to get "blog happy" but I can feel it already starting!
I have enjoyed reading your introductions and can't wait to get to know each of you more over the course of the course.

Anastasia's Educational Blog

Hello,

This is my first blog entry. I have spent some time in the past reading other people's blogs. Mostly famous people like Rick Mercer, etc. But now I have my very own blog! It's rather exciting!

I guess I should start by introducing myself. My name is Anastasia Rioux. This is my third year teaching, however I am currently on maternity leave so I am home each and every day with my first baby, whose name is Noah.

Before teaching, I worked as a reporter/editor/newsreader for CBC Radio in Sudbury and Toronto. In 2003, my husband got a job in Parry Sound as a computer technologist and so we moved here. I didn't want to dabble in private radio, so I opted for teacher's college and I am glad I did! Teaching has been a much more rewarding career. Teachers often receive complaints and praise from parents. Reporters, well ... they usually only hear the negative!

I love computers so I thought it was due time that I work towards gaining my specialist in this area. I am somewhat of a techno junkie. I have my own digital camera, and a Palm Pilot. Our house has all kinds of techno gadgets. I even have my own classroom website for when I return to teaching in the new year. I am moving from grade four to grade eight. Here is the link, if you would like to check it out: http://home.cogeco.ca/~arioux/

That is my introduction. I am looking forward to a great course. The one I took over the summer was terrible but I won't go there!

Anastasia Rioux (riouxanastasia@gmail.com)