Weekend 3 Day 2

I think the idea behind the webquest was a good idea. It got us to visit and make us aware of the different websites. Since my computer didn't want to cooperate I am not enjoying the webquest right now. Overall I liked the class, it really broaden my knowledge of technology. I do have a question, not so much with this class but with Illinois School System. Everyone agrees that with today's students integrating technology into the curriculum enhances learning. When/how can schools be made to update their curriculum so it is mandated that schools use and keep up to date with new technology.

Weekend 3 Day 1

It was fun to learn how to create a Podcast. I learned that Laurie liked to be very creative with sounds. I can see where Podcasts would be a very useful tool. Our Superintendent has acutally used Podcast on our school's website. Last year we had a string of snow days. He used a Podcast to update the community on the school schedule.

Last Sunday

I also really enjoyed watching everyone's mulimedia presentations in class. And thank you Karen for showing me the website incompetech.com! I found this website to have a lot of great music that is free to download. I also found the webquest to be helpful. I liked being able to look at these professional websites a little more closely.

Weekend 3, Day 2

The Webquest, combined with the scavenger hunt activities and the sites you gave us to check out in our groups really opened my eyes to how many useful things are out there for administrators Illinois has done a nice job of making these things readily available to administrators. It made me want to search a bit more for resources available to Iowa leaders, as well. I'm sure there are equivalents on the web. I'll look into it....

Thanks for pointing out the podcasts, Dr. Closen. I will definitely be downloading these and putting them on my ipod to listen to. I like to have something to listen to during my mornings. These will definitely fit the bill.

Weekend 3, Day 1

Today I discovered that I absolutely detest the sound of my own voice on recordings.... Jamie, on the other hand, could have a possible future in marketing!

Creating the podcast was an experience that I won't soon forget. It was completely trial-and-error as Jamie and I recorded using software we were both unfamiliar with. We got through it, though, and it was a reminder of the way our students struggle with things we ask them to do for the first time. Certainly it was not a "polished" product... If we had had more time, I'd want to change some things. Definitely a useful tool, however. I could see using this tool in my classes, assigning a podcast to my students in conjunction with their research projects. As an administrator, you might even use this with staff cohorts as they work in Professional Learning teams. It was fun to watch everyone go through the process, and I think we learned from each other as we shared our joys and frustrations!

Last Post

Another class comes to an end. I really enjoyed the class because of all the technology we learned about. I'm excited to use some of the things we learned about in class in my own classroom. I have already set up a wiki for a higher functioning student in my class that thrives on the computer. He was bored in my class because he already knew the material. Having the internet made this type of differentiated instruction much easier for me and my student.

I would love to have the students bring cell phones in and be able to use them on that poll everywhere website. Unfortunately not all of my students have cell phones. I could bring them to the lab in order to do it. We'll see. Thanks for such a great class everyone.

Jon S.

Last Day

I enjoyed everyone multimedia presentations. I also agree with Jamie I thought the cooliris was very neat! I am planning on sharing some of the information/websites to the rest of staff since I a sure they can find some very useful information as I did. At first I have to admit I was not looking forward to the class especially after I realized everything that I had to do. It has been a very useful and fun experience. I also think that the size of the class made it even more enjoyable. When our classes get large the direct interactions and attention from the professor is not as great. We also don't seem to mesh as well as a group b/c of the size. Sometimes a smaller class leads to greater learning especially from each other. I had a great time with everyone and I feel that we all contributed to making the class work. I learned a great deal and am ready to start using it.

Great weekend

I thought looking at the different websites was very useful. As we all well know we do not have the time to just look around on the internet so I found this time very useful. I agree with Laura, frustration has stopped me from using technology as well as time. My attitude is changing and I really enjoyed doing my wiki. I am going to add to it and tell my students about it. I was also impressed how easy moviemaker is. I had never done one before but would entertain the idea of making more. I would need to play around with it and see what other things I could get it to do but enjoyed using it. I am ready to start using technology more hopefully my students respond to it.

Overload

I feel like I'm on information overload. It literally took me about three hours after class to completely connect with my family. My mind was going a million miles an hour.
I thoroughly enjoyed the multimedia presentations. What a team the nine of us would make! I am impressed with the different approaches that were taken to the same assignment. Also, it was interesting to look at the 18 websites we were given in small groups. I can't believe how many uses for the internet there are. At first, I was intimidated by number of sites to see, but in the end, I am intrigued and want to learn more. I need to keep exploring in order to try to catch up. The frustration I feel when working with technology has kept me from expanding my knowledge. The truth is...everyone gets frustrated. It's how you deal with your frustration that matters. I do enjoy a challenge and so I must look at technology as a challenge, not an impossibility.
Can you tell I like to reflect? Have a good week, everyone!

Checking Out Sites

I really enjoyed checking out all the different sites available to assist us in our professions and as future administrators. There's so much out there that I was unaware of! I also enjoyed watching everyone's multi-media presentations. It's great to see all the creative ways to present information to the board, administration, and organizations. I was able to get a lot of ideas from people on how to create an appealing presentation.

Garage Band

Creating our podcast using Garage Band was quite the experience! Creating the script was the easiest part by all means..navigating our way through Garage Band was a different story. There are a lot of cool features available on Garage Band that are not on Audacity. There were moments where we wanted to pull our hair out (and even broke down to call Apple) but it was worth the frustration. Through collaboration and keeping one another on track we were able to complete the project. I learned how to create a podcast- something I was totally unfamiliar with. Next time I utilize Garage Band (or Audacity) I will make sure the sound is correctly set so certain tones do not fade or blurt out! Overall, project was great fun!

Cool ways to surf the net

I think the coolest thing we looked at today was the cooliris and spacetime web surfing downloads. As they were being presented, I downloaded both of them and have been playing around with them. I use a lot of google images for school work (in languages, since we think about words in terms of images, I use a lot of images to have students connect the new words to them). Having a tool that will go through the pictures quick is very useful. I was also impressed by going over the state websites (even though the webquest seemed endless). I know all of these sites have useful info for an Illinois administrator, and as I am working through my internship, even though I am in Iowa, they provide useful, powerful information on all of the nuts and bolts that need to be considered if one is working as an administrator.

Sunday's Class

I really enjoyed watching everyone's multimedia projects. I thought it was fascinating that everyone applied different elements of what we have learned throughout the course, onto their multi media projects. I can say that I am coming out of this class with some fresh ideas. There are many projects involving technology that I would like to try in my classroom. I am excited at all the possiblities!

Websites Galore

I was really impressed with all of the websites that we looked at yesterday. I was really intrigued with the homemade Elmos and smartboards. I have all of the technology already in my classroom, it could be pretty easy to set it up. One of the things that I really like about this class is that I have opportunities to check out websites and learn about technology that I normally do not have time to check out on my own. I am becoming more and more intrigued and finding myself making more time to "play" around looking at different websites.

I really enjoyed making the podcasts yesterday. I have always heard about podcasts, but never knew exactly what to do. Yesterday was a great opportunity to play around with Audacity and learn how to make podcasts. I really see some opportunities, both as a teacher and an administrator, to use podcasts in the future.

One thing we just don't have in schools--TIME!

I have been struck over all the classes at the number of videos, websites, possibilities and ideas available for using technology. So many of the videos and websites we covered at the end of class yesterday would be useful organizational and practical tools for class. The reality is, though, that it is rare that I have the time to actually explore them, especially at school. Our professional development, for example, wants us to be innovative and find new things we can do with technology for formative assessment and differentiated instruction. Unfortunately, the PD time we have is 85-90% filled with lecture and other "stuff" that when we do finally have time in departments or individually to explore it is about 15-20 minutes and we are so overwhelmed with all of the lecture that we are nearly catatonic. Moreover, just trying to prep for 5 different subject classes and all life's other issues keeps me from investigating what might be a great tool for class. I guess, perhaps, I need to prioritize investigating technology and its possibilities a bit higher. One thing I have found that works, is tapping into ideas the students themselves come up with, since they are so adept at using technology and playing with it. I have a few students that have been essential in developing games and activities with new technology, and most of time they work beautifully. I know many of my colleagues are afraid to do this, but I have found more and more as I have been teaching digital natives that there is so much more out there they use with ease and I stumble through...

Websites and Gigs

I enjoyed looking at some of the websites that we all had to try out today. It is hard to believe that over the past years I had never come across them. I browse the internet very often and I read tech news every once in awhile and most of the tech websites today were completely new. Also, some of those sites allowed you to watch old episodes of various tv shows. Who needs cable or even a TV?

We talked shortly about how inexpensive memory for computers are anymore. Today my dad surprised me with 320 gigs of external memory. He said he got it for less than 90$. I can now hold 1,280,000 photos, over 5,920 hours of music and 480 hours of video. CRAZYNESS!

Garage Band

Today we made our podcast using Garage Band. I am really impressed with parts of the program. However, I was upset with how different imovie 08 and Garage Band are. You are dealing with editing video and audio yet the two programs are drastically different. I became familiar with imovie 08 for my multimedia presentation and I figured that Garage Band would be similar only audio.....well it isn't! No skills from either program transfer over. You have to start fresh with learning a new program.

Thanks for the two video/audio assignments....without them I would still have two programs on my computer that I have never used. The assignments got me playing around and I feel pretty confident in both programs now.

I also enjoyed the cheap version of a smart board today. I had heard of the idea but I never really understood how it worked. I also really liked google docs and the idea of polling my class and parents. Too bad our filter blocks it due to the fact that it is a personal storage network. Not sure why that is bad......... All in all it was a good day of class. I'm excited to see the multimedia projects tomorrow.

Jon S.

Podcast Craziness

Wow, did I learn quite a bit today when it came to creating a podcast! It was a bit fusterating at first; just trying to figure out how to record on Garage Band, figuring out if we're talking too loudly or too softly, then trying to figure how to put the music in. It was crazy at first, but after awhile it became easier, and even fun. I think this is something I would definitely use in the classroom. I recently read in an educational magazine that students were achieving better grades when they heard lectures on a podcast, compared to hearing the lecture in a lecture hall. Podcasts seem to be an important tool for education.

Last weekend I had the opportunity to attend the International Association of Chiefs of Police conference in Denver with my husband. Talk about cool technology! I couldn't believe the capabilities of some of the "toys" we saw. There were several companies pushing their version of e-tickets. Police can use a handheld device that scans the bar code of a driver's license, it can take a picture of the driver and it can run the license plate number all within 60 seconds. There was a little printer in the squad car that the officer can use to just print the ticket or warning to the driver and off they go. The information is stored on a server. This device can be used to check the officers' stop history. It can graph the types of stops each officer makes and whether the officer is stopping only certain races of people or only stopping in certain locations. I couldn't believe all the different data reporting capabilities this program had. And I was actually interested in seeing the pie charts and bar graphs. Dr. Closen, you'll turn me into a techno geek yet!
Another new thing being advertised heavily was the license plate recognition camera. A camera is mounted to the light bar on top of a squad or other place. The camera automatically recognizes a plate and runs it. The in-car computer lets the officer know if a plate comes back as a need to stop vehicle.
I won't even begin to explain the cool police features found on a blackberry/crackberry. Holy cow!
There were mobile command vehicles which contained every type of communication port imaginable. There were wires and outlets everywhere. We saw a new type of tazer gun. There were simulation stations throughout the exhibit hall too. It was a great opportunity that I can't give justice to just by blogging.
Last but not least, my highlight may have been meeting Erik Estrada. He had no technology to share whatsoever, but he was representing a college.
See all tomorrow.