Another great week of presentations. We have learned so much through the presenters Mike has brought in as well as my fellow classmate's presentations. On Monday of this week we had a great presentation on video games in the classroom, very well could have been the best presentation of all time. I could go on for pages about this presentation but because I was one of the presenters I won't ;).
Another presentation we had on Monday was for Skype/Elluminate by Nathan, Mark & Jay. I did not know a whole lot about Skype and I wish I would have had this presentation the first year I moved to University. What a great way to keep in touch with people and avoid the phone bill. My Wife could have used this our first semester of University when she was homesick for about 2 months. She easily could have had some face to face interaction with her family back home. Now that I'm student teaching back home I don't see much use for it in keeping in touch with people back home but will use it to keep in touch with friends from school, like good ol' Beaver Bear.
In terms of education these programs are awesome in terms of being able to have a presenter skype/elluminate into your classroom if you are not familiar with a subject being taught. If you know of a friend who is passionate about a subject that you are not, he/she can easily be brought into your classroom through this technology. Skype/Elluminate are definitely programs I will keep in mind when thinking about guest speakers.
What a great presentation we had on Wednesday. These guys had so much information to share and I know Mike didn't want us saying I wish the presenters had more time, but, man do I wish these presenters had more time. They had so much to share I don't know where to start. That Wolfram Alpha, what a program. I think this is a program I would definitely try keep a secret from my students. I think if students know about this program they will take advantage of this every opportunity they get. This program can be useful to teachers, creating tests through this program will be a breeze. What a great research tool too, side by side comparisons of countries are awesome. Its fun just to do a few searches and see what comes up.
This blog is getting a bit intense so I'm going to end on the video they showed when class ended. Sixth Sense Technology, YIKES!!! For those who read this post and did not stay for the video, you need to look at it. That technology is intense. Calling people from your hand, taking pictures by making a box with your thumbs and index fingers, standing next to a wall and being able to organize photos, looking at items in a grocery store and seeing if they match your criteria, seeing Amazon ratings for books in book stores or getting information on a person standing in front of you. This technology is amazing and the price to manufacture it is so inexpensive. This is definitely the path cell phones and PDA's are heading.
Wow that was a lot longer than I expected, till next time.
Lava Man
Thursday, February 25, 2010
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
Filtering
Filtering is such an important issue in school computer labs today. It is impossible to block every dangerous/inappropriate/useless site out there. Students are always going to try find a way around filters. Because of this potential problem it is important that we stay on top of it, by constantly keeping an eye on what sites students are visiting we set ourselves up to best to monitor student's computer activity. Schools should have programs that monitor what sites all the computers in the school visit.
It is so important to keep on top of blocking sites. If students find away to by-pass filters and make their way onto social networking sites the door to cyber bullying opens right up. It is important to not only rely on a filter but also inform the students. Students need to be informed about the dangers and penalties of visiting inappropriate websites. By setting strict penalties and following through with them we show them the seriousness of the situation. Students need to see that if they break the rules there will be consequences.
By setting strong filters and following through with penalties for visiting inappropriate sites we will be able to better control the sites being visited in our schools
Lava Man
It is so important to keep on top of blocking sites. If students find away to by-pass filters and make their way onto social networking sites the door to cyber bullying opens right up. It is important to not only rely on a filter but also inform the students. Students need to be informed about the dangers and penalties of visiting inappropriate websites. By setting strict penalties and following through with them we show them the seriousness of the situation. Students need to see that if they break the rules there will be consequences.
By setting strong filters and following through with penalties for visiting inappropriate sites we will be able to better control the sites being visited in our schools
Lava Man
Technology in Phys. Ed. Class
Although most people might think technology doesn't have much of a place in Phys. Ed. class I feel technology can have huge benefit for Phys. Ed. students. There are so many ways to use technology in Phys. Ed. class whether it be in a classroom or the gym.
The most obvious uses for technology in a Phys. Ed. class is the ol' TV & DVD for videos, internet for research and word processing software for writing papers. There are many other uses for technology. One way to incorporate technology into the gym that will definitely the students attention is the Wii. There are so many games for the Wii that can get the blood flowing and get the students working up a sweat. Although a Wii is only a 4 person max system it is easy to create a circuit where the Wii is one of the stations. Another alternative is if any students have a Wii they can bring it in which would allow for more students to participate.
Nowadays the internet isn't just for research, there are so many sites out there that can be used to benefit students in a Phys. Ed. class. One site I had a chance to play around with is Fit Day. This site allows users to input what they ate during the day and any physical activity they have done. This site will keep a log of the information that is submitted by the user, the food that is input will be converted to calories and stored on the site. This site is a great resource that is free, all the user needs to do is sign up.
Today most students have ipods and teachers should take advantage of it. Encourage students to search for podcasts that relate to information being learned in classrooms and show them in class. There are so many podcasts out that that can relate school subjects and having the students search for them gives us, educators, more time for more fun activities like marking!!!
These are just a couple of examples of using technology in a Phys. Ed. class. With a little bit of researh I know we can find other valuable resources and tools. Technology is a great tool for all classes and I hope I put some new ideas into your head about technology in a Phys. Ed. classroom.
Lava Man
The most obvious uses for technology in a Phys. Ed. class is the ol' TV & DVD for videos, internet for research and word processing software for writing papers. There are many other uses for technology. One way to incorporate technology into the gym that will definitely the students attention is the Wii. There are so many games for the Wii that can get the blood flowing and get the students working up a sweat. Although a Wii is only a 4 person max system it is easy to create a circuit where the Wii is one of the stations. Another alternative is if any students have a Wii they can bring it in which would allow for more students to participate.
Nowadays the internet isn't just for research, there are so many sites out there that can be used to benefit students in a Phys. Ed. class. One site I had a chance to play around with is Fit Day. This site allows users to input what they ate during the day and any physical activity they have done. This site will keep a log of the information that is submitted by the user, the food that is input will be converted to calories and stored on the site. This site is a great resource that is free, all the user needs to do is sign up.
Today most students have ipods and teachers should take advantage of it. Encourage students to search for podcasts that relate to information being learned in classrooms and show them in class. There are so many podcasts out that that can relate school subjects and having the students search for them gives us, educators, more time for more fun activities like marking!!!
These are just a couple of examples of using technology in a Phys. Ed. class. With a little bit of researh I know we can find other valuable resources and tools. Technology is a great tool for all classes and I hope I put some new ideas into your head about technology in a Phys. Ed. classroom.
Lava Man
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
Manitoba Education & Google Apps.
This week in our Internet for Educators class we had 2 great presentations. On Monday we had a presentation from Manitoba Education representatives Howard Griffith and Donald Girouard on distance education. On Wednesday we had a presentation on Google Apps by Shawn Kleebaum. Each presentation provided us with a lot of information.
Our first presentation on distance education was interesting. I hope to take advantage of their resources. The one thing that stuck out the most for me was their photography class. I enjoy photography and would like to take advantage of this and teach it, maybe as an after school extra credit course, to students who are interested. Through teaching this course I'd also gain some knowledge in photography.
Our second presentation on Google apps was packed with ideas. Google is really so much more than just a search engine and something we, as teachers, need to utilize if we want to infuse technology into the classroom. An idea Shawn shared with us that I'll definitely take advantage of is the E-Pals. This is a great way for students to learn from other students in different parts of the world. I have actually worked with Google Picasa in the past and enjoy it. There are many uses for this program in the school, this program alone could be used to create a year book. At the school I hope to work at there is no regular year book and this free program can arrange photos for you and create splash pages, with the help of a few students this program could create a relatively inexpensive year book. With all the apps shared with us there is so many ways to use the internet in our classrooms.
The things Shawn shared with us that I am definitely going do in my classroom is the use of the internet for the submission of assignments and the use of the calendar planning for the class. I feel allowing the students to see upcoming assignments and exciting events.
Thats all for now,
Lava Man
e-pal
Our first presentation on distance education was interesting. I hope to take advantage of their resources. The one thing that stuck out the most for me was their photography class. I enjoy photography and would like to take advantage of this and teach it, maybe as an after school extra credit course, to students who are interested. Through teaching this course I'd also gain some knowledge in photography.
Our second presentation on Google apps was packed with ideas. Google is really so much more than just a search engine and something we, as teachers, need to utilize if we want to infuse technology into the classroom. An idea Shawn shared with us that I'll definitely take advantage of is the E-Pals. This is a great way for students to learn from other students in different parts of the world. I have actually worked with Google Picasa in the past and enjoy it. There are many uses for this program in the school, this program alone could be used to create a year book. At the school I hope to work at there is no regular year book and this free program can arrange photos for you and create splash pages, with the help of a few students this program could create a relatively inexpensive year book. With all the apps shared with us there is so many ways to use the internet in our classrooms.
The things Shawn shared with us that I am definitely going do in my classroom is the use of the internet for the submission of assignments and the use of the calendar planning for the class. I feel allowing the students to see upcoming assignments and exciting events.
Thats all for now,
Lava Man
e-pal
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Dr. Gatin and Multi User Virtual Environments
On January 27th our Internet for Educators class was visited by Dr. Gatin. He gave us a great presentation on Multi User Virtual Environments. The main part of his presentation was on Second Life. Second Live is a multi user virtual environment that is built by the users.
This technology is great for student interaction. Its somewhat a safe place where students can socialize. The students can meet new people and interact from places all over the world. This kind of interaction could benefit someone who is researching someplace on the other side of the world. Students also have the option of joining classes, there are many places where students can go to learn new things.
As a future educator I think it would be important to do a lot of research on Second Life before sending our students out to try it. There is going to be many places for these students to explore and I would feel more comfortable if I could guide them to safer places. I know they are going to explore and most likely find places where they should not be but that's the danger of the internet.
I wish the presenter would have had more time for Second Life. The topics he covered in the beginning were things that were covered by past presenters and feel less time could have been spent there.
This technology is great for student interaction. Its somewhat a safe place where students can socialize. The students can meet new people and interact from places all over the world. This kind of interaction could benefit someone who is researching someplace on the other side of the world. Students also have the option of joining classes, there are many places where students can go to learn new things.
As a future educator I think it would be important to do a lot of research on Second Life before sending our students out to try it. There is going to be many places for these students to explore and I would feel more comfortable if I could guide them to safer places. I know they are going to explore and most likely find places where they should not be but that's the danger of the internet.
I wish the presenter would have had more time for Second Life. The topics he covered in the beginning were things that were covered by past presenters and feel less time could have been spent there.
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
A Visit From The Doctor
On January 20th our Internet for Educators was visited by Dr. Alec Couros via Elluminate Live!. The first thing I would like to comment on is method used for communication. Elluminate Live! is an amazing program. Being able to connect in this form would be a great resource in a classroom. I am a strong believer in guest speakers and with this technology a teacher has access to people all over the world. If you, as a teacher, are covering a topic and would love to have a guest speaker not available in your area this technology is definitely something you could look into. Another thing I found great about this technology was the ability of the speaker to share pics and videos with us. The videos he shared were awesome!!!
In terms of the information he shared with us, it was all great. With the past 2 presenters we've had we have more than enough information to start creating our PLN's, which, after seeing our last couple of presenters as well as listening to Mike, seem to be quite important/useful. The sites he shared will definitely come in handy in the future. This is another presentation I feel was too much in too little time, thankfully he shared a link to his slide show.
He shared a quote at the end of his presentation which I feel is super important, children today were raised so different from us. They are being raised in a time of technology and we need to keep up to date so we are aware of what kinds of technologies they are using and what they are using them for.
Till next time,
Lava Man
In terms of the information he shared with us, it was all great. With the past 2 presenters we've had we have more than enough information to start creating our PLN's, which, after seeing our last couple of presenters as well as listening to Mike, seem to be quite important/useful. The sites he shared will definitely come in handy in the future. This is another presentation I feel was too much in too little time, thankfully he shared a link to his slide show.
He shared a quote at the end of his presentation which I feel is super important, children today were raised so different from us. They are being raised in a time of technology and we need to keep up to date so we are aware of what kinds of technologies they are using and what they are using them for.
Till next time,
Lava Man
Sunday, January 17, 2010
John Evans PLN
This past week we were lucky to have a presentation by John Evans. John is a Professional Learning Consultant for Manitoba Education and promoter of technology in classrooms. He brought new ideas into the classroom and really opened my eyes wider to the resources available online. John not only promotes the internet as a great place to find resources, through his wiki site and twitter account he offers a ton of these great resources.
John's presentation was super informative, I feel the time we had was not enough to get the full grasp of what he was teaching us. Its too bad we only had one day with him, not that we're not learning a lot from Mike. Its awesome to learn from people like Mike and John who are so passionate about technology in classrooms, its people like these guys, who love technology, that really encourage me to use it.
John's main focus was on PLN's (Professional (Personal) Learning Network). A PLN is an awesome tool for any educator who wants to continue to learn new strategies and gain new ideas for using technology in classrooms. During this semester I will definitely be building my own PLN. The ideas and resources he shared with us, along with the ones we already learned from Mike, will be the start to a great PLN.
Lava Man
John's presentation was super informative, I feel the time we had was not enough to get the full grasp of what he was teaching us. Its too bad we only had one day with him, not that we're not learning a lot from Mike. Its awesome to learn from people like Mike and John who are so passionate about technology in classrooms, its people like these guys, who love technology, that really encourage me to use it.
John's main focus was on PLN's (Professional (Personal) Learning Network). A PLN is an awesome tool for any educator who wants to continue to learn new strategies and gain new ideas for using technology in classrooms. During this semester I will definitely be building my own PLN. The ideas and resources he shared with us, along with the ones we already learned from Mike, will be the start to a great PLN.
Lava Man
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