QR Codes

Hello everyone,
Today I wanted to share with you a little activity I put together involving QR codes and art. What I had planned was to have students pick an influential artist throughout history, research their life, their successes, their style, and so on. Once the students have completed their research, they will be able to record themselves speak as if they were the artist. This video will then be uploaded to YouTube or another media site that plays videos. By creating a QR code that takes users to the video, students will automatically have access to the lives of artists throughout history! This QR code can be pasted to a portrait of the artist, and will play a life like video, as if the picture came to life! It may seem a little confusing, trying to explain it in text but below you can see how easy it would be in a classroom.

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Overall, I thought that QR codes are really simple to use, because of how popular they are. Everywhere we go we can see the codes on bags, merchandise, even price tags on items in stores. I've used them in the past, and have had a really great experience using them, so I am all for using these QR codes. There are countless websites that can generate QR codes for videos, audio, text, picture, and list goes on and on. Also, because the online generators are so easy to use and do all the work, teachers, parents, and even students could use them to complete projects, make assignments more engaging, and even connect with others. 

Wordle

Here’s another sample of one of my web 2.0 tech tools that I used in my education course. Wordles are a really cool resource for all kinds of teachers no matter the subject. Personally, I used it for a writing lesson, where students can choose a season of the year they really enjoy. Once they have chosen a season, they will then brainstorm and create a list of all the possible words that signify or resemble anything about the season. With this completed list, students can then create a short story using the main words that appear on the wordle. This can be a short story, a favorite memory, or whatever they would like to write about.

Similar to my previous post, this tech tool was really simple to use. All that is needed is a list of words, a few sentences, or even a paragraph of writing to get you started. Once you have added the writing or words, users can change colors and customize the appearance of the wordle which can be really fun. I know that any student would find this to be a really fun activity. Moreover, I have personally seen Wordles used in the past with great success. So, next time you’re planning a writing assignment or want something fun and easy to do, make a Wordle! This is my wordle I made on my favorite season of the year, fall. Try it out!

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Blabberize

For this tech sample, I created a blabberize video that could be taught at the 5^th grade level. Specifically, the blabber was on the food chain, which is such an important topic in school. Of course, this topic is typically taught across a number of grade levels as well.

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This blabber was created with the help of my sister, her friend, and my brother, but could certainly be done with a single person speaking. I asked for their help in order to make the video a bit more interesting and would certainly get students involved in a classroom. Overall, I thought the blabber went great and was very user friendly. The set up was easy to follow, instructions were clear, and anyone can basically make one! From what I read on the blabberize website, they have added a “new scene” feature which I found to be particularly useful. With this new feature, people are now able to add frames and make their video the way they’d like it. Thinking in terms of education, I think this would be an excellent resource to use in the classroom. Blabbers get students engaged, they get the material to the students, and they are just plain fun. I have included my sample I created in this post, click on it and check it out! If you have a blabber of your own, I would love to see it! 

Hey everyone,

This week I followed the #alg1chat that took place this weekend, and I have to say I learned a lot about some great tools teachers can use involving math. This week’s topic was the use of games in the classroom to motivate learning and was overall really good. There were many people throughout the U.S. asking questions, giving answers and opinions, and collaborating on what role games play in the class. Being a math major, I was particularly attracted to this chat, and I was really glad to learn about some great resources. One of the resources that I liked in particular was tweeted by David Wees (http://davidwees.com/content/teaching-probability - @davidwees), and was actually his personal education website.

What I really liked about his resource was that it was geared towards the material I was looking for and actually gave me some great ideas. Specifically, his tweet was to give a suggestion for a probability game that would get students engaged and motivated them to learn about probability. Throughout the chat, people asked whether others agreed or disagreed with the use of games to introduce a topic, and for the most part people felt that games helped their students a lot. I personally would agree that games do in fact get students involved and excited to learn (for the most part).

So, to sum up my experience with Twitter and PLN’s, I think they are a wonderful tool that all educators should consider and incorporate into their teachings. I have to say, I have learned about more tools and resources this semester than any other in school so far. By using twitter these past few weeks, I have gained useful knowledge that I know I will be able to use in the near future and will make me a more effective teacher. Attached below is my initial post on #alg1chat. Also, my twitter handle is @cardonajairo93 in case you cant make it out in the screen shot. I hope to see you all on this chat on Sundays 8-9 Eastern Time.

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Web Identity Search

Hey everyone,

I just wanted to share my experience in using the internet to look for people whether we know them or not. Today we did a mini scavenger hunt looking for people that we did not know, but nonetheless found out who they are, where they live, occupations, relatives, ages, and the list goes on and on. This activity really did open my eyes as to what we put on the internet. Many people think that the information they put on the web simply vanishes or is “private,” but with the right know how and perseverance, people can ultimately find everything.Some of the websites we used that were great for this kind of research were, Spokeo, Pipl, PeekYou, and InstantCheckmate among many others. For my partner and me, we were assigned to research an individual which we had no previous knowledge of, but at the end of the day, we knew so much about them! It was shocking to be able to find that much information within less than an hour. We found out where she lived, her education and jobs, birthday, age, family members, even her address and phone number. As we researched the individuals, I started thinking about what I had posted in my past that others could possibly see. Thankfully I don’t go around posting anything I’ll regret or that is inappropriate, but either way we tend to get a little paranoid about what people can see on the web.

With my parents being older and not as experienced with technology as most of the newer generations, this type of research would certainly make them hesitant to put anything on the internet. I know this is not just with my parents but I've noticed that older generations feel this way. People are scared to even use Google to look something up, because someone might “hack” or “steal” their identity. On the other hand, the newer generations are most likely more aware of what they are putting up and that others can see their information.

With this being said, if I were a parent or in the near future an educator, I think this topic is one that should be shared with everyone, especially since internet users are younger and younger nowadays. Having the knowledge that people may have access to your information whether it’s an employer, teacher, or even your parents, will certainly make people think twice about what they share on the internet. It is important to know this and be aware of the risks we take while we share information on the computer. So think twice before posting things on the internet, and be knowledgeable of what you put out there.

Stages of Technology Integration

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When talking about technology and education, we have to take into consideration the five stages of technology integration. Currently I think professionally, I would be in stage 5 just because I am confident with what I know and the technology I use. But I could very well be at the adaptation stage if I was learning about a new program, app, or piece of technology. I think we are constantly changing our minds, getting ideas, and adapting in general, therefore we vary from one stage to another stage from time to time.

While first learning about ways of integrating technology into the classroom, I think I found it to be very easy in switching from stage two to stage three. I really got into and was motivated in learning about the different pieces of technology that could be used in a classroom, and as a result I was more and more interested in the teaching styles that involve technology. On the other hand, what I found was somewhat difficult were the decisions one must make in order to teach effectively while using technology, and not over using certain technology.

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I think I would agree that most individuals go through each of the stages at one point or another (varying in how much time and effort they put into that particular stage). As mentioned in class, I can see how people would switch back and forth between a few of the stages, depending on what they are doing with the class and how comfortable they are with technology they’re using. Overall I personally think we can’t say that we are on a specific stage, because we are constantly learning, incorporating technology into our work, and even completely disregarding technology in the classroom. Personally, I think that stages 3, 4 and 5 are not necessarily in order. I would think that teachers begin to get comfortable with technology, which results in them having high confidence in what they know and from there they move onto the recognizing where certain types of technology are more effective and engaging. Stage four to me seems like it is out of place, because I would probably get really comfortable with a certain form of technology then put it to use appropriately before buying everything possible.

Because technology is such a focus in society today, I think most teachers would be in either stage two or three. Either they’re just getting into using technology and are getting accustomed to it, or they actually have some experience with the technology available. Thinking back I think most of the teachers I have observed and helped in the past would be in the adaptation stage, where they use the basic word documents and are getting comfortable with the technology they have. On the other hand, I have had teachers in the past that would be completely against the use of technology in the classroom. For them, it would be books and nothing else. However, times are changing and with these changes come the revisions of standards and laws that may involve the use of technology even more.

September 16 Reflective Post

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Hi again,

Today I read an article that was presented in class on some significant research which involved the use of technology in the classroom. This specific research was designed to show how much of a class uses technology while doing work in class, whether it is reading on a tablet, looking up information on their phones, or using the student’s laptops in general. Also, the numbers that resulted from this research were compared to other schools, both coming from high income students and low income students.

First off, as I read the research and statistics from the article, I was really shocked by how much of the class uses technology such as laptops, tablets, and even phones in class. For example,” Mobile technology has become central to the learning process, with 73% of AP and NWP teachers saying that they and/or their students use their cell phones in the classroom or to complete assignments.” The numbers that were presented in this article were quite astonishing. Thinking back, smart phones didn't really exist when I was in school, but I know that they would not have been allowed in my classes. In fact, my younger sister goes to the same school as I did and I know for a fact that the students are not allowed to use their phones, tablets, and laptops in class.  Although many of the schools are incorporating tech in the classroom, there is also a problem with not all students having access to these wonderful resources. “Teachers of low income students, however, are much less likely than teachers of the highest income students to use tablet computers (37% v. 56%) or e-readers (41% v. 55%) in their classrooms and assignments.” This fact certainly brings up a crucial point when it comes to education. How are those who do not have access to the different types of technology keep up with those who do have the resources?

If it were up to me, I would be completely for the use of any technology in the classroom which could make learning more effective. I know students learn in different ways, and using technology may be their preferred method of learning. I think it’s important for teachers to understand this and accept the use of technology in their classrooms. Including such technology would really open up doors for both students and educators. Apps, programs, simulators, articles, and so many effective tools would be at the hands of everyone!

With all this talk on technology in the classroom one can’t help but think about the problems that would come up, for example research reliability. Although unreliable research can be avoided by using dependable and trustworthy sources, we should always be aware of what exactly we’re reading and where the information is coming from. This can be related to using technology in the classroom, because many times students are using the internet and other sources for school use. These sources may or may not be reliable, which means either students should know how to look for reliable research, or the educators provide dependable research sources beforehand.
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