Going Digi"tale"

As I read through my classmates blogs and search throughout the infinite web I believe I am finally narrowing down my search for ideas on digital stories to create with my class. As I have mentioned in my previous postings, I teach second grade. At first I thought it might be difficult for second graders to make a digital story. After seeing examples that my fellow bloggers have posted or ones I have found online, I see that it is not impossible, and that actually it is very achievable!

I have two strong inclinations for my project. One would be to create a digital story using the science topics we will cover when we come back from spring break. These include the life cycles of plants and animals and their interdependence. They could create so many awesome digital stories with these topics! I would ask them to show the process of the cycle with illustrations or pictures and to narrate what happens on each stage of the cycle as it appears in the video. For the interdependence topic they could create a web that shows how animals and plants are dependent to each other and describe each object as they add it to the web. This video would be a great example to show my students to give them an idea of what I want for the life cycles of animals:

I also am a fan of telling a good narrative story.  In my class I have some great illustrators this year as well as some really creative writers. I think if I make them join forces they can create something spectacular together. I found this video that some second graders made based on the story “Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs,” one of my favorites, which demonstrates what second graders can do.

I have done many creative writing assignments with my students but I feel that with digital stories they can bring their stories to life. This might even encourage my shyest writers to get creative! For their first project I would tell them which resource to use. I would probably use Power Point and Slideshare to begin with. We have not done any digital stories and I feel it would run smoother if I tell everyone to use the same resources at first so they can get familiar with the process.

Once they are done with their digital stories I would add them to my class website which I have already created and has been running since the beginning of the year. Parents as well as students access it from school and home, so I know it will be easy for them to access their videos that way. 

Digital Storytelling

Here is a simple video I created about digital storytelling using Power Point and Slideshare:

Digital storytelling

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Eye C U!

What would it be like for teachers if administrators or parents could watch them in their classrooms anytime they wanted to? As I read in the “Software Corner” section of chapter 4 in our textbook, it mentioned the use of webcams in the classroom. There are great ways to use webcams in the classroom. We can use them to talk to other classrooms around the world…like a modern version of pen pals. I have attended Real Time Sessions for online classes where the teacher teaches a lesson to her online students synchronously. This is a great way to meet your teacher who otherwise would just be a picture on her website. Here is a video for tips when teaching lessons via webcams:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vTGFe9Shu6M

We can also use webcams to visit other parts in the world like museums, zoos, aquariums, and even watch the Iditarod as it happens! In other words we can go on field trips around the world without even leaving the classroom!

However, webcams in the classroom to observe teachers 24/7 feels somewhat like an invasion of our privacy. Don’t get me wrong, I have nothing to hide, and I welcome visitors in my classroom anytime. In fact there are some days when I feel like I should have a revolving door from all the visitors I receive! I do get nervous when administrators walk in my room. When I am teaching my kids I feel very confident and sure of myself, but when an administrator walks in to do an informal evaluation, I get nervous and I can feel that I change my way of teaching because they are watching me. If we had a webcam in our classrooms recording everything we do, it would feel a little too “big brother” to me. I’d feel like I’m on a reality show and I would have to perform all the time. What if I have a bad hair day, it’s bad enough that my students have to see me, now the whole world can see me…yikes! All kidding aside…I think using security cameras in the hallways in middle schools and high schools would not be a bad idea to promote safety, but I can see how a camera inside the classroom could make most teachers uncomfortable. What if a parent doesn’t agree with your style of teaching or he doesn’t like the way you taught a lesson one day? Would the principal be getting calls from parents complaining about her teachers all the time? Some parents that do not work might make watching their kids in the classroom their new hobby. This could possibly create a contrived environment not only for teachers, but for students as well. Students who know that their parents are watching may not act naturally or feel free to express themselves. Many children act differently when their parents are present. This could have the same effect on teachers.

I read an article (see link below) about webcams in the classroom to observe teachers and students. My favorite quote said that the cameras should be "for supervision and not snoopervision," but I’m afraid some administrators would not only use them for security reasons, but they would also use them as an opportunity to “snoop” into their teachers’ classrooms and evaluate their performance on what they see at that moment. I felt the article was unbiased and let you see both sides of the story. Some teachers said they had no problem with the cameras and if you are not doing anything wrong you shouldn’t be afraid. They said it was a great way for parents to check up on their children and for sick students to hear the lessons from home. It all depends on how the teacher feels I guess…they only scary thought I we have no say on this matter. If your administrators decide to install webcams in your classroom all you can do is: Smile, because you will be on Candid Camera from now on!

http://www.usatoday.com/tech/webguide/2003-08-10-webcams-usat_x.htm

You have won a trip to the Bahamas!!!!!!!

You have won a trip to the Bahamas!!!!!!!!! Of course I am only kidding, but I am sure many of us have been victims of scams like these. If we believed everything we read we would have the recipe for Neiman Marcus's famous secret cookie recipe, we would have won airline tickets, we would be the winners of lottery tickets we never bought, we would own our own business and be making money "so fast" we wouldn't have time to spend it all! Of course almost all of these emails are so hard to believe that most of us don't fall for their scams. However, there are some that seem so real that some people do fall. It also depends on how desperate the person is to believe it. If they haven't had a job in a while, they have been looking left and right, and suddenly they get an email that says "Make Money Fast!!!!!!!" (beware of too many exclamation marks) then they might become victims. These people that organize these scams know that, and they are waiting for the right person to fall into their trap. Some people even forward these emails to friends thinking they are doing a good deed, but sometimes these emails have hidden viruses, trojan horses, or worms that are waiting to be sent to invade other computers. Here is a video with tips on how to avoid SPAM mail:

As they say with food, when in doubt...throw it out! Do not keep suspicious looking emails in your inbox, delete them as fast as you can! And never, ever forward a SPAM email to a friend, even if it says you will die if you don't send it to at least ten people. Trust me, I'd be dead at least 2,000 times by now!


Now repeat after me:

"Under no circumstances will I ever purchase anything offered to me as the result of an unsolicited email message. Nor will I forward chain letters, petitions, mass mailings, or virus warnings to large numbers of others. This is my contribution to the survival of the online community."

Roger Ebert, The Boulder Pledge

I AM NOT SCREAMING!!!! LOL!! :o)

I must say, I am really enjoying reading my textbook. Especially after waiting so long for it to finally arrive in the mail! One of the things I liked reading about was Netiquette. I am always worried about the things I write when I email people, when I write on my blog, when I text, when I post on Twitter or Facebook, etc. I reread everything before I hit that "send" button which sometimes cannot be undone. I remember once, a long time ago, I did not realize my phone had switched to ALL CAPS and I texted a friend and she said, "Why are you screaming?" That was the first time I learned that if you had ALL CAPS people thought you were screaming at them.

Mostly, I worry about emails I send to people at work or parents of my students. How can I be assertive, get my point across, yet still sound nice while I'm at it? Sometimes when I write something I am thinking of it in my head as I would say it verbally, but once I read it I think "Wow, this sounds mean!" So we have to be careful when we write something because people might interpret it in a different way. Especially if they read it in a different tone than you intended.

I have seen kids get into flame wars-exchanges of insulting messages-on Facebook and it is not pretty! Kids can be so offensive and mean to each other. This could even lead to cyber bullying. We have to be especially careful now that there are so many ways we could embarrass ourselves through all the available communication methods. We have to know that once we publish something it is out there for the whole word to see, including our bosses or future employers. Watch this cool video to see some pointers on social media etiquette:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dNnLMkg9R3c 

Another thing we have to be careful about is Spam, not the eating kind...although it is kind of gross! I am talking about unsolicited emails that are just as irritating as telemarketers calling you during dinner. Some of these emails can harm your computer by downloading viruses into them. Some are just annoying because they try to guilt you into sending them to other people that will also be annoyed by them. 

So, remember, like the video said...if you wouldn't say something to someone's face it is probably a better idea not to post it. :o) 

What a teacher wants...

From this:

To this: