Edu. Glogster is the Bomb

One tool I used during Capstone II is Edu.Glogster. Edu.Glogster is an online poster creator that students have been using to upload their Middle School Portfolio and their Internet Marketing “notebook.” Students are able to create videos or upload YouTube videos, add text, add images, or add links. The purpose of Edu.Glogster is not only to create online posters, but to also allow students to collaborate with each other. Students are able to look at each other’s glogs and make suggestions or comments. The free version of Edu.Glogster does not allow you to attach student work to the glog; however, the premium version does. I did not know this at first so I had already told my students we were going to create portfolios and when I realized they could not add attachments I had to go to plan B which was upload all of the projects to my website. Uploading all of their projects on my website took some time and then I had to explain to them how to read the URL so they were able to link their project to their glog. To do this, they added a picture that related to their attachment and then linked my website address specifically with their projects to their glog. This took some time; however, the students were quick to figure out the process and the portfolios looked great.

The teacher may upload an entire class roster to Edu.Glogster or simply add student. The free version allows you to have different classes and up to fifty students to your account. I have a couple of different accounts each using a different email account. I also have free premium coupons that I would seriously like to give away. They expire April 24, 2011 so let me know if you are interested.

Blooms taxonomy can be at various levels; however, I use it mostly at level 5 as students are building a structure or pattern from varied elements.  In addition, they are putting parts together to form a whole, while emphasizing the creation of a new meaning.

The way Edu.Glogster allowed me to attach prior knowledge to a new situation is previously we created portfolios using PowerPoint. Students use PowerPoint constantly and I wanted a way that would allow them to collaborate with each other online so Edu.Glogster was an easy way to do this.  Another way I was able to attach prior knowledge is students use to create three ring binders. With Edu.Glogster, they are able to attach their project in one long document and I do not have the issue of “I forgot a binder.” Students have much more fun and it allows them to create an e-portfolio which will be a much needed tool once they enter college.

A couple of student samples may be found using this link: http://sa7jbpy.edu.glogster.com/portfolio/glog-flow 

Collaborating and Communicating

Collaborating and communicating with fellow colleagues and others across the globe are happening at an amazing rate. Email, Skype, Ning, Wiki spaces, and Edu.Glogster and other Web 2.0 resources are just a few means of collaborating and communicating with others. We have had email and Skype for some time now. In fact, we have had all of these resources for some time now; however, now teachers are realizing the importance and benefit of sharing their resources with others.

McAnear indicated the following in her article entitled Communication and Collaboratin 2.0:  “Students must be able to develop and create digital media, use it to communicate, and understand its effect on themselves and society.” Are you training your students to create digital media? Until next time.

Works Cited

McAnear, Anita. "Communication and Collaboration 2.0." Learning & Leading with Technology. International Society for Technology in Education, Aug. 2008. Web. 19 Mar. 2011. <http://www.pbs.org/moodle/mod/resource/view.php?id=81949>.  

Museum Box Just Another Resource To Train our Students

Museum Box allows students to learn new information and share it with their peers and teacher in a unique and creative way. Sri Kusumawati Md Daud, Fauzan Mustaffa, Hanafizan Hussain and Md Najib Osman in their article, Creative Technology as Open Ended Learning Tool: A Case Study of Design School in Malaysia, concluded that students need a wide variety of technology training and open ended assessments to allow students to think on their own and determine the best way to display their findings. Employers need students who can figure out the problem and solve it. A list of six technology standards which students should know nationally by eighth grade to enhance employable skills and raise Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Literacy in the United States are listed below (Kay and Honey, 2005):

• Communicate Effectively: Students must have a range of skills to express themselves not only through paper and pencil, but also audio, video, animation, design software as well as a host of new environments (e-mail, Web sites, message boards, blogs, streaming media, etc.).

• Analyze and Interpret Data: Students must have the ability to crunch, compare, and choose among the glut of data now available Web-based and other electronic formats.

• Understand Computational Modeling: Students must posses an understanding of the power, limitations, and underlying assumptions of various data representation systems, such as computational models and simulations, which are increasingly driving a wide-range of disciplines.

• Manage and Prioritize Tasks: Students must be able to mange the multi-tasking, selection, and prioritizing across technology applications that allow them to move fluidly among teams, assignments and communities of practice.

• Engage in Problem Solving: Students must have an understanding of how to apply what they know and can do to new situations.

• Ensure Security and Safety: Students must know and use strategies to acknowledge, identify, and negotiate 21^st century risks.

By using Museum Box, a student will be able to give a presentation about a given topic, analyze and interpret data and display it in one of the many boxes. In addition, they will need to map out their boxes and prioritize which information needs to be shared. Engage in problems solving and maybe even embed their paper on internet safety strategies. In closing, while Museum Box takes a little to set up for your school, the time spent is well worth your while.

How are you measuring up in your classroom with the above mentioned standards?

Work Cited

"Critical Issue: Using Technology to Improve Student Achievement." Web. 20 Feb. 2011. <http://www.ncrel.org/sdrs/areas/issues/methods/technlgy/te800.htm>.

Internet Safety

Capstone II continues to be challenging. This week we are asked to blog about our schools efforts to teach Internet safety. Recently my eighth grade class developed a PowerPoint for the FBLA competition that was sent to headquarters in hopes of winning the PowerPoint competition and this year’s topic was Internet safety. The students were given several websites to study and were also given a video to embed into their PowerPoint. The class was divided into four groups and each group worked hard to prepare their best presentation. The students then shared their presentation with the class. This activity worked so well, I am going to continue using it each semester. We also discuss digital ethics in our Internet Multimedia Class and Internet Marketing Class. In addition, we discuss internet etiquette in each class sharing how it is important to give credit where credit is due. 

Furthermore, our principal hired a police officer to come to our high school to talk about Internet safety and sexting. Additionally, each year, our parents are invited to an Internet safety seminar conducted by our school. Finally, our guidance department just sent home a PowerPoint sharing the importance of Internet safety which also had tools parents could use to keep their students safe.

The readings in Capstone II are endless. One website that I enjoyed this week was Netsmartz. The website was created by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. The website has information for educators, parents, teens and tweens. Take a few minutes and take a look.