BP12_2010023_OneMinuteMessage#2

My Web 2.0 tool of choice for this week is the Mendeley Desktop, located at Mendeley.com. I have found that my middle school students are sadly lacking in organizational skills. This tool not only helps them organize their material until needed, but also teaches them strategies of organization which can be applied to other areas. I've chosen to use the first Web 2.0 tool I reviewed (GoAnimate.com) to create this entry. Enjoy.


GoAnimate.com: Students' first research paper by spinster2


Like it? Create your own at GoAnimate.com. It's free and fun!

BP11_2010023_Comments for Russ's blog

My comments on Russ's post can be seen here:

http://russellmgaspard.blogspot.com/2010/02/bp82010022oneminutemessage1.html?showComment=1266638899099_AIe9_BGxEIG4DGy-xiWlJ1kW7kY48arfn6C3kehN41zYWVHXAZxhpVGZ6j_W10CmId0FeF4SaB66QQXroC0FtTfTvEEFn_pBK0XbZ5e4EODpdkNYOomBKmycOK7AytuC_xrSq1606Ty4g-ZbvZ_Tee9R4FMtHVlVsqDNrXYDrqcLvic8KDaH2B7ZqRxasJQ3q5maQeI9iMpj6kVEmfkd77WN_La_O1hAWSbqmoFlMXRYUoT4LAijaJI#c388984221095143585

BP10_2010023_Comments to JHarvey blog

Follow this link for my comments on John's blog:

http://jhspiritofmedia.blogspot.com/2010/02/bp9web20t3-youtego.html

BP9_2010023_Web2.0_T3Mendeley

I've decided to go in a somewhat different direction this week as I continue to research Web 2.0 tools. My past research has centered around tools for my students to use in the classroom. I decided to look this week at tools I can use as a student. In this pursuit I've discovered Mendeley.com. This site is a true 2.0 tool for serious students involved in research. Mendeley is a free tool for organizing your research materials. It works across all major platforms, and includes an importer button for your tool bar. Mendeley allows you to import your research materials in a number of ways. The importer can save abstracts, keywords, and citations from a number of sites including Ebsco. In addition, you can drag and drop your PDFs into the Mendeley desktop. The program then extracts the document details, including keywords and references. Your resources are now available to you from any computer by simply logging on to Mendeley.


Your research materials can then be organized into collections. This enables you to work on multiple research projects at one time, or to organize your files by sub-topics for your primary project. Articles can be filtered by publication, author or keywords.

I currently teach middle school students an introductory course on writing a research paper in collaboration with the social studies teacher. At this age, the emphasis is on process and the number of sources required is quite limited, however the statistics view in Mendeley can definitely benefit students as they are learning to review the available literature. Viewing the number of times the various articles have been accessed can assist the students in selecting articles to review. The simple organizational tools will help the students develop their own organizational hierarchy, thereby improving the flow of their writing.

The final, and to my mind, most exciting attribute of Mendeley is the ability to share collections. For my purposes, I can invite my critical friends to review the materials I am considering and make recommendations. The broader implication is the ability for colleagues to collaborate even if they are not in close proximity. Through shared collections, the amount of material reviewed can grow exponentially. Within my class, there are usually several students working on the same topic. The ability to share collections should improve the depth and understanding the students derive from their research. Each student will still be responsible for interpreting the data and creating their own paper.

BP8_2010022_OneMinuteMessage#1

My favorite Web 2.0 tool to date:

PB7_2010022_Link to my comment on John's blog

www.kerpoof.com

To see my comments on John's blog:


http://jhspiritofmedia.blogspot.com/2010/02/bp32010021web20tools.html

BP6_2010022_Link to comments on Dana's blog

My comments on Dana's post:




http://dkohlsgradblog.blogspot.com/2010/02/bp42010021web20tools.html#comments

BP5_2010022_Web2.0 T2 Quizlet.com

As I have continued my research into Web 2.0 tools, I've started mining the information in the various blogs I am following.  In doing so, I have stumbled across an interesting little program I can utilize in my music classes, but that would also be appropriate for absolutely any subject that has a set vocabulary that needs to be mastered -- in other words any subject!

The application is Quizlet.com.  I found this application through one of the music education blogs I am currently following.  J. Pisano's blog Animusic.com/education has listed a number of interesting technologies for music educators, however most of them are items I already employ in my classroom.  The real interest I have for Quizlet.com is that it is applicable to any subject, not just music.  Every area of learning has a specialized vocabulary that must be mastered to move beyond the fundamental stage.  Quizlet.com offers a simple yet entertaining way to accomplish this mastery.  Most of us who received our education prior to the digital revolution probably remember using flash cards to master vocabulary and basic mathematics facts.  I certainly remember learning my multiplication tables through flash cards.  As many teachers have discovered, many parents today are not able or willing to invest the time to assist their children in the mastery of fundamental facts.  Parents frequently respond, "That's your job" when asked to assist their children in acquiring basic skills, and yet the sheer volume of information young children must master makes daily drill practice during class time impractical.  Enter Quizlet.com.  Teachers are able to set up various games and drills to begin with familiarization of basic terms and continue through to mastery.  Many subjects and sets have already been saved, such as the music theory example pictured above.  Creating new entries and adding them to the aggregate knowledge base is both quick and easy.  Once the information set has been loaded, but students can be assigned the vocabulary unit for homework.  Frequently, students finish classwork ahead of the other students.  When this occurs, the students could then go on the classroom computers to work with the terminology for the current subject matter.  The unwillingness or inability of a parent to interact with the child in learning the vocabulary would no longer be an issue.

Lesson plan using Flickr

As I was researching possible uses for Flickr in an educational setting, I came across an interesting lesson plan for Middle School students.  The original plan, from PerdueUniversity, called for using Flickr as an asset for a lesson in vocabulary.  The basic idea is to locate pictures in Flickr that represent the vocabulary being studied.  These are uploaded into your Flickr account.  A worksheet is created using the same pictures, with a blank space for the word, and another for the student's definition.  The suggestion was made to include a word bank on the worksheet.

To implement the lesson, the worksheet is distributed, and a slide show of the Flickr images is played.  As each slide is shown, the display is paused, allowing the students to study the picture and write down the vocabulary word that corresponds to the picture.  The student then provides his own definition of the word.  The same procedure is followed for each additional word in the lesson.  At the conclusion of the lesson, the students are divided into small groups.  They then discuss the words they assigned to each picture.  As a group,  they self-evaluate the responses.  The final activity would be the entire class reviewing the results of the vocabulary lesson.

While I like the basic idea of this lesson, I would much prefer a lesson based on descriptive writing.  An image could be displayed on the whiteboard or with an overhead projector.  Initially the group would discuss the picture, establishing the subject matter and/or setting.  The students would then be challenged to develop a word bank of adjectives or descriptive phrases either for the entire photo or of some element of the photo.  Then, using the word bank of descriptive elements they have collected, the students could either be required to write a descriptive paragraph about the photo, or write a short story based on the photograph.  The final paragraph or story can then be shared with the class.  As a group, suggestions can be made to assist the writer in developing an engaging descriptive vocabulary.

BP3_2010021_Web2.0 T1 GoAnimate.com

As I began my research into Web 2.0 tools, I decided to focus on new areas that I hadn't experienced yet.  There were two programs that intrigued me.  One was Storybird.com and the other was GoAnimate.com.  I was looking for tools that could be used in the various curriculum areas I teach.  My primary subject is music, however I also am involved in resource and in that capacity work in upper elementary reading and mathematics.  My target audience ranges from Pre-K students through 8th grade.  For this reason, I decided to concentrate on GoAnimate.  While Storybird is visually stunning and I will definitely explore it with an eye to working with my younger students, GoAnimate can be geared to a wider demographic.

GoAnimate.com: First day of school by SB Jones

Like it? Create your own at GoAnimate.com. It's free and fun!

I selected the topic of a new student coming in to a school.  There have been quite a few new students added in to our school over the last month, and we have another who will begin this Monday.

This is always a very stressful time for the new student. The current students are very welcoming here, however many of them have been friends for years.  The new student may sometimes feel excluded.  This little video is intended to encourage a new student to look at their  individual interests and strengths.  They will find themselves surrounded by other students with similar interests, making it much easier to establish new friendships.  I have some definite tweaking to do on this particular animation, but I feel confident I will be able to create some helpful classroom videos on a wide variety of subjects.  Also, with the ability to set the duration of the scenes, larger amounts of text can be included to encourage reading fluency.  I am also planning a math based animation to encourage mastery of the multiplication tables by my 3rd grade students.

BP4_2010021_RSS Feeds

As I continue my research into blogs and Web 2.0 technologies, I've discovered several sites I believe will be very helpful.  The first of these is Little School House Blog.  This site gathers articles from multiple sources dedicated to No Child Left Behind, and Race to the Top.  Teaching in Georgia, I appreciate being able to read the latest articles discussing educational issues that pertain to my state.

The next site I'm rather excited about is Synthesizing Education.  This is a very active site with articles covering a wide range of subjects.  So far I've read articles on standardized testing and on teaching students how to think.  The blog categories listed include accountability, assessment, critical thinking skills, technologies and many more.

The next three rss feeds I am following are all specific to music education.  The first of these is Music Teachers Helper.  This site consists of tips for music teachers.  Posts are organized in the a wide variety of categories.  Some of these deal with finances and studio management, while others focus on technology and performance.  The first posts I've read have dealt with music theory and history.  There are currently 20 posts on composing and arranging, which will be my next personal reading assignment.

Debbie Cavalier has an interesting blog on Music, Education, and Technology.  The first post I read at this site referenced the January 17th episode of the hit TV show "24."  Two cartoon music videos created by Debbie and Friends were playing in the opening scene as Kiefer Sutherland and his "granddaughter" were watching TV.  The post continued to expound on the licensing opportunities for original music offerings.

The final blog I will mention today is MusTech.  This site features posts covering general education, music advocacy, music education and music technology.  A project of Dr. Joseph Pisano, this site includes a list of music educators to follow on Twitter.

I have organized my rss feeds into 3 folders.  One contains the various education blogs to which I subscribe, the second has the links to my FSO contacts, and the third contains my fiber arts blogs.  This has helped me better utilize my time and stay on track.

Clip art image courtesy of:  http://free-clipart.net/

BP2_2010021_EduUses4Blogs

I have long been a subscriber to a variety of blogs devoted to fiber arts and music, but had never particularly considered searching out blogs related specifically to my teaching.  This was partly due to the limits my school system had placed on Internet access, but to a greater extent reflected my traditional schooling.  

The first thing I noticed when I began my research was the wide variety of content areas being written about with regards to blogging in education.  I expected to find articles about blogging as a way to increase writing skills, but was surprised at the number of sites and articles featuring blogging for science and math classes.  Sawmiller (2010) has written about the application of a classroom blog as an integrated technology for the science classroom.  While previously the Internet may have been used primarily for research, the addition of a student blog has opened up several interesting opportunities.  One such opportunity was the development of an online portfolio showcasing the student's work.  Additionally, students who typically refrain from participating in class discussions have been able to publish their thoughts and have their results immediately available for student review.

Luehmann and MacBride (2009) found blogs to provide a method for students to express themselves and for teachers to support student-centered instruction.  Blogging was also found to allow the students to engage in authentic scientific inquiries.  Perhaps the most interesting point given in favor of classroom blogs was that blogs extend the conversation beyond the classroom. This extension of time the students spent discussing and reflecting upon the material can only increase the amount of understanding experienced by the students.

In an article written  to explore the use of blogs in support of literacy programs, Zawilinski (2009) addressed the importance of framing your questions and setting your guidelines to achieve maximum interest and involvement from your students while working collaboratively to develop higher order thinking skills.  Zawilinski again stressed the advantage of continuing an in school activity with an out of school tool to deepen and expand the level of involvement with the content material.

These examples have caused me to pause and think about the possible benefits of a class blog in my subject, music.  While the primary focus of my class has always been performance, the basic study of theory, notation, history and genre are necessary for the proper interpretation of a given piece.  Guided prompts in a blog could also encourage the students to relate the music to a broader spectrum of experience.  Parallels could be drawn to the worlds of art and literature through the historical timeframe of the piece being studied. 

The biggest challenge for me isn't so much a matter of ideas and structures as it is receiving permission to engage in a classroom blog.  I intend to continue my research by looking more closely at edublogs.org.  I then hope to prepare a request for the superintendent of schools to be allowed a pilot program in one class.  Meanwhile, I will invite more of my colleagues to follow my blog as I continue through my EMDT program. 

References:

Luehmann, A. & MacBride, R. (2009). Classroom blogging in the service of student-centered    pedagogy: Two high school teachers' use of blogs. THEN: Technology, Humanities, Education &  Narrative, (6), 5-36. Retrieved from Education Research Complete database February 5, 2010

Sawmiller, A. (2010). Classroom blogging: What is the role in science learning?  The Clearing House, 83: 44-48. doi: 10.1080/00098650903505456

Zawilinski, L. (2009). Hot blogging: A framework for blogging to promote higher order thinking. Reading Teacher, 62(8), 650-661. Retrieved from Education Research Complete database February 5, 2010.

BP1_2010021_iGoogleScreenShots

I am starting February by creating a "personal learning environment."

My "What's Going On" page:

My Full Sail Online page:

my Action Research/Challenge Based Learning page:

and finally my Emergent Technologies in a Collaborative Culture page.