I am officially tapped in!

Well everyone, I finally went on Tapped In and took and online course. I expected it to be very boring and sterile, but it was very personable and informative. I took the Tapped In Tricks and Tips session and it really helped me get a handle on how to use the site. I am now able to look at other buildings and join other groups. The world is suddenly clearer. Also, I found it really neat how this site encompasses that "Global Community," my instructor was typing all the way in New South Wales, Australia at 6:00 am on a Monday. That just blows me away! Plus, the amount of resources for my career that are just sitting there waiting to be used, and people to help me to use them. Just incredible!!! I also really enjoyed how cautious they are with the particular groups that users can join. For example, any of the groups that work with real students are more protected.

I think this will be a great tool for my career. I can't wait to learn how to get my students on here and learn from people around the globe.

Jackie

Tech Task #9: The Review!!!

I have been asked to review a piece of software for my latest tech task. I chose SpongeBob Squarepants, TYPING: The SpongeBob Way. Now, when I think of SpongeBob ever, I get the chills, so when I think of him trying to teach me something, well you just don't want to know. This software was created by the Learning Company and is for ages 7 and up. Now I teach that age group and I know that they would not be able to use this software. The cons outweigh the pros 10 to 1 at least; here are a few.

Cons:
1. 2 parts of the 3 part of the software were not compatible with my MacBook
2 There was a lengthy, nonsense cartoon at the beginning of the game
3. The software often froze or kicked me off, having to sign in again
4. The games required a great deal of reading and listening to instruction (there were no written instructions that are at the level of a seven year old and this game does not cater to hearing impaired children)
5. The practice area was difficult for me to complete and challenged the typing that I was doing in high school
6. I found it odd that the tournament area housed the practice components and lessons and the practice area housed the more challenging components
7. The games were not self directed and used language that is not age appropriate for seven year olds (such as "congress")
8. The words and letters were small and difficult to read
9. The game focused on negative reinforcement by SpongeBob laughing at mistakes, even though the game includes stickers for positive reinforcement on lessons
10. The game uses language and abbreviations that only adults would understand. Such as at the end of the lesson when your score is calculated at "88% with a WPM of 22 and and AWPM of 17 meaning that your accuracy needs to be improved." (See, I didn't even get all of that!)

Pros
1. There are options
2. Kids like SpongeBob
3. There is a "Quit" button

Well I guess I lied, the score for this game was 10 to 3. Good for it. All in all I feel that this game is not appropriate for teaching young students to type. It does not allow them to master basic skills before moving on and moves on too quickly. The reading required and language used are not age appropriate. The game is not easy to maneuver through and does not give adequate instructions. When instructions are given they are too quick and difficult to understand. Students do not learn to spell or read with this program, they are just typing random letter combinations that do not make sense. Overall, SpongeBob is not educational and should not be used to promote educational tools.

I rate this game at a 1 out of 10. I give it a one for it's awesome ability to be turned off! Please, don't give it to your children.

Kudos Digital Internship!

I am sure some of you fine folks out there are already aware that I was part of the Digital Internship Project. This project allowed me to be mentored while integrating technology into my education internship, something that I truly recommend to any education student out there! Unfortunately, I just am not seeing that same enthusiasm with next years interns. I went to visit a group today and tell them of the wonderous adventures that technology could bring to them. They just didn't seem to interested. Listen up new teachers, technology, be it chalk or a smart board, is here to stay and you better know how to use it. It may just make the difference for one of your students or one of your classes someday. Technology is not the only way to go, but it is a big part of our society and we need to be able to teach it. To any of you out there that are attending the University of Regina's Education program and are going to go into intrenship think of these pros:

1. Free laptop for four months
2. Access to computer technology and mentors at the U of R beyond what regular interns would receive
3. A way to differentiate yourself from 300 others (The only interviews that I had were based on my use of technology with early childhood students)
4. Workshops and lots of them
5. Free food (This is not the most important, but interns are poor and a free meal here or there doesn't hurt!)

I really recommend that if you ever have an opportunity such as this to jump on it. I learned so much as an educator. I can do so many more interesting things with what I have learned than most teachers I know. Just do it!!!

Tech Task

I recently listened to a podcast about the benefits of podcasting within the classroom and it's different applications. The podcast, Podcasts for Educators, Schools, schools, schools, by Dave Jobbings, highlighted various different podcasts on his show. Two were of students creating there own, one group from Maine, USA, and the other from Scotland. Another of the podcasts was a story corner and the last was a music lesson. Jobbings' very short podcast compiled great examples of who can use podcasts and why to use them. They are also a great way for educators to keep up on the profession. A very multifaceted tool indeed!

My Hot Potato

I just made this awesome Hot Potato Quiz. Maybe you'll see it soon on my major project!

My Eportfolio

Well everyone, my electronic portfolio is almost complete, and might I say, it was not nearly as difficult as I thought it would be. I was worried that I would have to learn HTML all over again, and seeing as the last time I learned it, back in 2000, it didn't really make sense, I was a little worried this time. Thankfully, a means of creating a webpage visually as opposed to that "other" way, has made me capable of assembling my own online space that actually works and is esthetically pleasing. Plus Macromedia Dreamweave has that lovely split function that allows the creater to edit HTML and imagery at the same time, thus allowing me to learn code. This was a great experience. No doubt that I will continue with my own web spaces from here on it!

Enjoy the weather!

Did I hear that right?

Did you know that if you moved to Wascana View...

1. Your neighbours would respect you.
2. You would always get the first donut.
3. Your grass would always be green, and...
4. Your kids would start getting straight A's!

Um...

WOW...

Did you know that? No, I didn't either, but, the new Homes by Dundee radio commercials claim that this is so. I have also heard another commercial that is even more ridiculous than this one. Wait, could that be possible? YES!

Excuse my sarcasm here people but honestly, would moving into a new area of town really make your neighbours respect you? Or, would it make your grass green? OR, would it allow you to always get the first donut, implying that you would also become better than everyone at work as well? No, no and NO! Moving into a grotesquely huge and enormously expensive house would not make YOU any of these things because people create their own worth. You will only by respected for who you are and what you do, not what you live in or what you can buy.

Now my favourite part, if Wascana View can't make you a better person, why then will your kids start getting straight A's? Is this because the school they were at had such a different demographic that your kids were being ignored because of their lack of "need?" Or, was it because they chose to make friends with "lower educated" children that were not up to your standard? OR, and I could dance around this all day, but is it a race issue?

This commercial really hit home for me. It seemed to be aimed at, no, it was aimed at the upper middle class and the upper class, classes that I assume are not as racially diverse as that of the middle and lower classes. Hmmm. Which makes me wonder if living in this area has more to do with White Privelege than it does with anything else. Basically, your neighbours will most likely be white, your children will go to school with white children and everyone will be at the same demographic.
I actually taught at one of the newer schools in this area, and 6 out of 10 times, that is exactly what I saw.

And, lastly, no, your kids won't get straight A's because you moved them into the ritzy area of town, that depends on them and the quality of their teacher. If you would like to have your kids get straight A's help them with their homework, spend family time togeher, talk to their teacher, research a school. But please, don't listen to the radio and this horrible commercial!!!

Telecollaboration!

Yee Haw! Jump in that band wagon and get a movin'. Teachers around the world are working with other classrooms "telecollaboratively." Meaning that they are using technology to participate with other classrooms on projects. Think of Moose Jaw teacher Kathy Cassidy and her work with a classroon in New Zealand. Or maybe the compiling of theme web pages done by multiple classrooms in Alberta for Christ the Redeemer Schools. What they did was create a website that multiple classrooms could link to. From there they have added to their own pages, but all on the same topic, one for example being endangered animals. Thus, compiling a great deal of information and activities on one subject.The classrooms can view what the other students are doing in the other classrooms.

I would use this with any age group for any subject. Personally, I would take it a step further and maybe use video communication or blogging to make students feel and be more connected. Snail Mail or E-mail could also be used here to send things (ideas, materials, information, artifacts, etc.) back and forth. Foster that idea of a "Global Community" by putting real children into the project, not just there names and products.

Till next time...

I never thought....

Did anyone look closely at their ball point pen lately? Did you think think that maybe you would bypass "technology" to write your latest paper? Well, you have been fooled! Technology has found you EVERYWHERE!!! In our world everything involves some sort of innovative technology, including the good old ball point pen, and a simple piece of paper.

Let us brainstorm:
- Ball Point Pen
- Paper
- Utensils
- Shoe laces
- Etc.

Do you see where I am going with this... Just thought I would let you know. :P

Internet Bullying at its Worst

Remember the Star Wars Kid, a kid ruined by his peers via the internet. A kid that had to move into a mental treatment facility in order to complete his education without ridicule. A kid permenantly changed by internet bullying. Now, think of Britney Spears, a woman having a breakdown in the media spotlight. Thanks to new found technologies the internet bullying occuring to poor Ms. Spears makes the Star Wars Kid look like fluffly puppies. Britney has been attacked by all media sources in America, and her breakdown has most likely been featured on gossip sights around the world. One website in particular is Perez Hilton, the gossip gangster, who has been regularily posting horrible photoshoped imagery of the fallen starlet on his blog site.
Now, I am a fan of Britney, and of Perez, but I must point out the horrendous bullying going on by the world. Technology has allowed anyone with internet access to be apart of Britney's demise, to essentially push her a little further for a laugh. I understand Perez's position is to provide gossip for the public, this making him gross amounts of money of course, but I think it is sick that the world, including myself, feeds off of this gossip and demoting people's self-esteem. Some might say that Britney is a personality and knew what she was getting into when she became famous. I agree that there is a different line to cross when dealing with Hollywood personalities, but I think society has crossed this line in the case of Britney, I know we are all curious, but maybe it is time to let the poor woman get her life back and enjoy motherhood.
For educators with older students, make sure you point out what is and is not internet bullying, help them understand this fine line and make them critically think about what they are doing or participating in. If we want our students to contribute effectively to society then we are going to have to tell them the nitty gritty about the society that they live in.

View Perez Hilton for more examples on internet bullying!

Blogged out!

I really enjoy blogging, I think it is a great way to share your voice with a greater community, I have even taught all of my grade two students how to blog, it is a fantastic invention. This being said, did everyone have to join the blog wagon at the same time. Out of the five classes that I am currently enrolled in this semester three of them are using technology to aid in reflection of course content and experiences. I am trying to read blogs, publish blogs, and moderate my own students blogs everyday and I am just feeling a little overwhelmed. There is currently too much of a good thing going on for me. This overwhelming blog experience has caused me to think about the effect of students though. If I, in university, am feeling overwhelmed keeping up with three blogs, think of how our younger students feel about being pressured to blog. They may sit down at a computer with literacy or comprehension issues, possibly not even being able to type fast enough to get their thoughts down on the page. What should our expectations be for students to make sure that they feel successful on their blog?

Library What?

A long long time ago, I can still remember,
When the smell of books would make me cry
And I said bye bye big library
Some day later I'll be braver and I'll go through your door,
but for now I'll have to say bye bye,
For now I'll have to say bye bye!

This rendition of American Pie, was created by myself in response to myself and my group during the research of a reading project. The first place that we looked for information for our project was on the internet, and this seems pretty normal for us. What was unusual is that the internet did not have the information that we needed. We were amazed, and astounded that we actually found the information in a book.

I was very surprised at how fast things have changed. It was only a few years ago that books and the dewy decimal system were a reality in my life and now I am not even sure what to do with information that I find in a book.

I am sure this is happening a lot with older students as well in elementary and secondary schools. Students, including myself, prefer the convenience of instant knowledge rather than dredging through a library to find their information. Not to mention that books and photocopies take up actual physical space, where as information found on a computer can be moved and stored easily.

Things to think about!

On the Map for the Wrong Reasons!

Our city has had its 15 minutes of fame during the month of January and what a roller coaster month it has been. Named as having "Canada's Worst Neighborhood" by Macleans Magazine, Regina has gone under the microscope by any Canadian who has read the article. The four page spread in the magazine stated that residents of Regina's North Central Neibourhood were living in conditions comparable to third world countries. It also argued what is and is not being done for the community.
Since the article was publish Mayor Pat Fiacco has show much resentment and backlash towards the magazine; I have heard rumors of him throwing copies into a wood chipper. But amidst the controversy things have actually been looking up for the inner city community. Two more articles have been published in Macleans since the original article, one stating Fiacco's feelings on the subject and the other stating the changes and public feelings within the neighbourhood.
I feel that having Regina flagged as a problem city for poverty has forced our municipal and provincial governments to really look closely at what is being done for this neighbourhood. Because of the article Regina will now have its first Urban Reserve with in the North Central Area. This is an exciting time for our city, I hope that Macleans continues to nag this city into improvement. I can't wait to see what type of positive things emerge from this odd publicity.

Mums the Word!

I read a recent article on a drastic safety measure taken by a Rhode Island school. The school decided on having a "silent lunch" after three students choked during the noon hour. Now, thinking back to my internship and being a lunchroom supervisor I can see the reasoning behind this and understand that it probably cut down on the schools choking problem. This being said, I do feel that the noon hour should provide students with unstructured social time, which is a much needed part of any students academic life and that having a "silent lunch" may not be the wisest strategy to dealing with the problem. My questions to the strategy were 1. how will this be enforced? and 2. how will this affect classroom management after the noon hour? The article said that the school did not expect total silence, just enough to be safe, and that they would issue lunch detentions as a consequence. Unfortunately, I have no answers to my questions, but rest assured I will put this safety strategy right up there with "remove the slide but let them tobbaggan towards the street" strategy.

Here is a link to the article

In Need of Creative Input!

As I have probably mentioned before I created a blog for my grade 2 students during internship. This blog was a great success; parents, fellow educators, and the students fell in love with the idea of being connected to the global community. During internship I would post photos for parents and discuss the happenings each day. I would also post art, movies, websites and other student work. The students would also take time during the week to add their own content on their own page.
Now, I am no longer in internship, I no longer take pictures of the students to post or no what they are doing day to day. I do post a picture for the Star of the Week every week but I feel that it lacks variety. I know the kids are learning about animals within the province and adding strategies. What could I be doing on the blog to engage students to use it for more than it is currently being used for?

Room 210

Mail Merge Murder!

It is getting down to crunch time for applying for teaching jobs so I thought I would get on the band wagon and get all of my application packages done early. Ahhh. After learning about mail merge in class a couple of my friends decided that they would use it for saving time on their coverletters. This successfully worked for them, so they sent me their data base, seeing as we are applying for the same jobs. Well, could I open the darn thing, no. So here is what I did:
1. Check to see why I couldn't open it. It was an mbd file and I don't have a program for that.
2. Tried to download Open Office. It was too complicated for my Mac.
3. Go to my mom's house because she had Open Office.
4. Realize that the database will never open and create a new one.
5. Finish typing in all of the fields and then realizing that the program doesn't actually work.
6. Copy and past my coverletter 8 times.
7. Erase all the field and type in the information, again.


Now, I know that this thing should have worked, but it seems like Murphy's Law occured when something so simple became so painstakingly difficult. Maybe I just didn't understand one simple thing that I was doing wrong, or maybe the program had a but, or maybe I just have bad luck. Either way, here are some questions for you.

How do we get our students to continue with technology when the easy things fail for them? Or, how do we convince our older colleagues to use technology when they could have rotten experiences such as this?

I would love to hear what you think!

What is World of Warcraft?

I don't know how many of you know this but on Tuesday night World of Warcraft released their expansion pack called the Burning Crusade. I went to the release party for this game and was, well, horrified. I myself do not play World of Warcraft but my husband and his friends are avid players. On this particular night he wanted company to get his expansion pack at midnight from the Cornwall center. I obliged and went with him to the line of many university aged men (some women) waiting impatiently for their copy of the game. I felt very out of place at this "convention" of "gamers." I'm sure they could all tell by the look on my face that I was a skeptic and did not believe in their gaming ways.

Now, for many of you World of Warcraft (WOW) might be a mystery, but I advise you to make yourselves aware of it as it will most likely affect you as a person or you as a teacher at some point in you life. WOW is a "massive multiple online role playing game" or "mmo rpg" or as I like to call it a "video game played online with lots of people." WOW allows for the creation of individualized characters that interact with each other and also for players to interact with other players. This type of social networking is not unlike MSN or Yahoo! Chat but to me it seems far more addictive.

The addictive part to WOW is that players make friendships within the game and can verbally talk to others anywhere in the world. Players can also become completely different from who they really are; you can go from a nobody to a very powerful somebody in a matter of days. WOW is a world of its own with multiple continents, cities, races. Players can develop strategies to improve their characters, prior to this week characters were allowed to achieve a level of 60 and now can achieve level 70. One of the scary features of WOW is that it has no end, a player must finish their quests or battles before signing off (this applies to all members who do not want to be blacklisted for lack of participation and teamwork). Also the world within the game is forever changing and being updated so that players never get bored.

Although I am biased against WOW there are pros to playing the game as well:

Pros of WOW:
Social networking and peer acceptance
Learn strategies
Teamwork
Entertaining
Always changing
Able to become someone different with super human abilities


Unfortunately where there are pros, there must be cons:
Cons of WOW:
Obliged to complete what is started (massive time commitment)
Expensive
Addictive because of social networking/entertainment and peer acceptance
One will not have time for friends or family not involved in WOW
Poor customer service
Often freezes or crashes

How does WOW involve me?

WOW is, as I have said, addictive and many people are involved with it. I feel that it is just a matter of time before this mmo trickles down into the hands of middle years and secondary students. My worry is that these students will get caught up in the perks of the game and forget about extra-curricular activities, friends, homework, and sleep. I have seen all of these things happen to multiple people who play this game at the university level including my husband.

My point to this article is that we as educators really need to do is teach our students to think critically about the pros and cons of the activities that they chose to participate in. World of Warcraft, for example, is entertaining and social but it does need to be the only thing that students participate in. The same goes for MSN, MySpace, and any other social spaces.

Here is a clip of the new expansion to WOW:

Blogs and such...

I created a blog for my students during internship with a blogmeister account. The students were so motivated to write on the site because they new that people from all around the world were looking at it. Because of privacy issues surrounding young children I did not include rss on the blog. I was worried about privacy and safety because I would not know who was subscribing to the blog. What do you think? Should I include rss?

ECMP 355

Since I began this class on Tuesday the entire world of technology has seemed to change. I am feeling a little overwhelmed. I have just bought my first cellular phone and now there is an iphone, I was going to subscribe to cable again but now there is appletv. I just can't seem to keep up! Hmmm, I guess I will wait a little while before buying a new apple computer.