Reflection - LU EDLD5366 Digital Graphics and Animation

The course began with a lesson in basic design principles. While these were familiar to me and normally incorporated into the lessons I teach to my Journalism students, they were a good reminder and provided good concrete examples I could use with my students.  According to Yearwood (2009), “Repetition means using the same element or attribute in more than one place in the design.” Alignment is defined as, “the attribute of arranging every element in a design to conform to some kind of horizontal and vertical visual relationship with other elements in the design.” Looking over the examples provided of repetition and alignment provided useful tools to share with my students as they develop the school yearbook and need to create multiple layouts incorporating alignment and repetition to ensure consistency throughout the yearbook.

We designed a personal logo. This was an interesting challenge as there are so many different elements in my teaching career: an English as a Second Language department chair, a technology teacher, a music teacher, and a language arts teacher. Using the concepts of repetition and contrast I designed my personal logo as three rivers running between the letters of my name in various shades of blue and converging in the distance as my professional responsibilities do.  One of the most interesting parts of the assignment was gathering input from friends, family members and acquaintances to see what words emerged to describe me. The activity came from the LeaLea blog that was one of the assigned readings. While understanding the nature of graphic design, I had not previously considered the personal aspect that should be incorporated into a logo to make it meaningful.

The third week had us move into animation, a skill I had never attempted before. It was surprisingly easy to create an animation using Stykz. This skill will be useful to incorporate as I move into teaching webmastering in the next semester. My students will enjoy learning to use the basic animation tools and will likely go far beyond the sample I created for my project. Our readings on Bloom’s Digital Taxonomy gave a new outlook to the traditional taxonomy view and a framework for allowing us to more readily determine cognitive levels for the projects we use with students.

The newsletter assignment was a simple assignment for me as I have been producing newsletters for various organizations for a number of years.  Creating a digital newsletter using the design principles from the first week’s assignment allowed me to more readily produce a finished product for a local non-profit organization.

Each of the assignments in this course expanded on my previous knowledge and offered pieces that I can readily incorporate in my personal work as well as in the classes with my students. The discussion board and conversations helped me see things from other perspectives and expand my personal thinking. Because I learn best by using technology, the assignments worked well with my personal learning style and illustrated the importance of using the same type of approaches with my students, allowing them time to experiment with technologies and assignments to learn what works best for them. I would like to do further investigation into digital animation as I believe this will capture not only my own interest, but also that of my students. Animation offers possibilities for many subject areas and does not need to be complicated to illustrate key learning points.

Yearwood, J., (2009). Basic Design Principles. Retrieved from https://lamar.epiclms.net/Learn/Player.aspx?enrollmentid=1578712

Alcantra, L. (2005-2010).  The Art of Self-Branding Part One. Weblog post retrieved  from http://www.lealea.net/blog/comments/the-art-of-self-branding-part-one

Churches, A.  (2008). Bloom’s Taxonomy Blooms Digitally. From Tech & Learning.  Retrieved  from http://www.techlearning.com/article/8670

LU-Animation

My course assignment this week was to create a simple animation. This was something I had never tried before. It was not difficult to do, but it was fun. I used a program I had not seen before called Stykz. Hopefully my short animation will appear correctly below.

EDLD 5366 The Lisbon Bible

One of my graduate assignments was to review some ancient manuscripts and analyze them for the principles of graphic design. One of the first things I noticed about the Lisbon Bible is the use of repitition. The book is beautifully designed. The calligraphy is fantastic. The cover is repeated gold stars and a circular pattern. The interior pages have a variety of floral patterns around the text, but while the patterns themselves are different, their placement, general style, and borders are repetitive. Alignment is also important in this text as the columns are consistent in length and width throughout the pages. In most cases the top and bottom borders match and the width of the floral border around the text is the same. Contrast is achieved by use of different colors in the borders and border text on many of the pages. Proximity is achieved because each passage flows to the next with no effort. The larger colored text areas are centered within the text to allow the reader to examine them and move smoothly back to the text. The artist for this bible used the gold borders to constrain the text areas and give emphasis and importance to the text included inside. The use of the floral borders also seemed to indicate the importance of the text to the author.

EDLD 5365 Course Reflection

This course was titled Multimedia and Video Technology. I went into this course comfortable with the content due to my Broadcast Journalism background. I anticipated creating a video with a storyboard and editing it. This proved to be the case with the course. I felt my expectations and the course outcomes aligned very well. The course also included a few pieces I had not anticipated such as file compression issues and attempting to collaborate on a video without ever being in the same location as my partners.
These outcomes are very relevant to what I do in my daily work. As the Desktop Publishing teacher, I deal with students using all forms of media. Learning about other editing software available and working with files in other formats will help me guide my students.
The only outcome I feel I did not achieve was not being able to get a few shots I would have liked to have for our PSA video. This was complicated by the collaboration factor as we all strived to complete our back to school organization and beginning of teaching classes while finding time to work together on our class projects. I think the collaboration proved invaluable however as our ideas came together as we worked and each of us was able to pick up some of the load for the others as we each experienced some obstacles in our time.
I learned that I have a good understanding of the technical aspects of video production, but still need to master more of the html coding for things such as posting a Creative Commons license on my work. I need to be able to trust my partners to provide solid work because they never let me down.

Web Conference 9-19

I participated in a web conference with my professor and classmates on Sunday, September 19th. We have had many instances where the video and audio portions are not working correctly. In this particular web conference, I could see several of the participants, but was not able to hear any discussion. It appeared that the entire group was experiencing the same problem, possibly due to some weather issues. The conference was conducted on the chat feature of the program. As in most of our web conferences we focused on answering questions the students had about their assignments. I was surprised at some of the questions. Dr. Abernathy continued to remind students of the time limit and they kept asking if it was ok to go over by a few seconds. While I understand it is the first time many have attempted a task like this, I have worked in radio and television, so I understood the time limit to be a firm limit. It was good to see people collaborating and helping each other out.

PSA on Cyberbullying

As part of my coursework for my graduate class, I participated with a group of fellow students to produce a one minute Public Service Announcement on Cyberbullying.
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Stand Up to Cyberbullying by Janet Armstrong, Priscilla Summers, Charlotte Spencer, Gail Dunn is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported License.
Our group began the creative process by each of us coming up with a topic and storyline idea. We discussed these through email and decided on cyberbullying. We each contributed a script idea and collaborated to use the best ideas of each. As I had the most experience with video, I prepared the initial shot list and my teammates completed the script. We discussed the availability of equipment and locations as we are spread over the state. We came up with an over all plan and assigned roles for each of us. We determined I should do the actual editing since I had some experience. The video was shot by one team member and the others contributed the voice overs and production documents. We decided on the web delivery format to be YouTube because it is a simple upload from iMovie. One member secured the copyright attribution for our video. We used no copyright material from other sources, so no attribution was necessary.
Our video could be improved by reshooting a few of the segments for clarity and having a more direct action statement. Overall, our team worked together and collaborated very well. Everyone was willing to do their part and tried very hard to make the video a success.

Video Editing with iMovie

This week I created a podcast on how to begin editing video using iMovie software.
Video Editing with iMovie

Creative Video Editing in iMovie by Gail Dunn is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported License.

While creating the podcast and sharing the link were easy tasks, waiting for the embed code to be created by the podcast host was a long process.

Video Editing Software

This week I looked at some video editing software. One of the programs, iMovie, I had used previously. The other program, Debug Mode's Wax, I had never seen before. I have found iMovie to be a fairly simple straightforward program that students tend to be able to operate with minimal confusion. Apple also offers an excellent video tutorial to explain the basic editing packages installed. There is a selection of themes with built in transitions and titles to make the overall package more professional in appearance. The other advantage to using an Apple software package on a Macbook or iMac computer is the compatibility of all the products. Aside from the standard royalty free music clips included in iMovie, a user can create their own soundtrack in GarageBand and import it directly to iMovie. Still photos can be added directly from iPhoto and the iTunes library is available as well (assuming all copyright laws are followed.) Overall, iMovie has enough bells and whistles to challenge an advanced student but is easy enough for a novice to produce a quality video clip.

The Wax software appeared to be a decent choice for a freeware product. It has a large number of effects which tend to fascinate students, but it is not as simple to operate as iMovie or Windows Movie Maker. One big advantage to the program is that it can function as a plug in to Adobe Premiere Elements which is the standard in many schools. It is not as graphic as the iMovie program. You do not see the segments as you roll over them with the mouse. The number of available effects is good and the variety of those effects is surprising in a free software. The user guide does a good job of explaining the program, but it takes a while to actually figure out how each of the elements work together.

Based on my previous experience with several video editing programs I feel this was an interesting learning experience, to see what is available for free use and be able to compare several of the programs side by side on the same video clips. Previously I have learned how to edit the video clips to make a movie and how to export those projects in .mov files for QuickTime and .MSWMM for Windows Movie Maker. I added exporting in .flv files through this course and learned new tricks to compress files. Through making the videos and podcasts this week I have learned that I should investigate a wider range of products in the future in order to accommodate multiple avenues of getting a project completed.

As Charlotte Spencer pointed out in her blog on this same subject, many times we need to be able to convert our videos from one format to another.  Her discussion included some packages I had not used before. For my own file conversion I used Zamzar.

Video production will continue to play a role in education for years to come. As a teacher, I will need to improve my skills on the more technical components and make sure I am able to use the developing technologies with students to improve their critical thinking, attention to detail, and abilities to handle new and improved technologies as they come along.

Spencer, Charlotte. (2010, Sept 4) Evaluating Video Editing Software. [Web log comment] Retrieved from: http://charlottecspencer.blogspot.com/ Sept. 5, 2010

Lamar - Web Conference

One of the assignments in my graduate course this week was to participate in a web conference. This is a great idea for technology education leadership students as we need to have some experience in how these web conferences work. We have had these conferences in our previous courses as well, but this week was an example in what not to do. We use Adobe Acrobat Connect to access these web conferences and normally ask questions to clarify our assignments, and learn of any upcoming events that will affect our program of studies. This week was not a successful web conference because the software appeared to be overloaded. First the few people with video on froze and then the entire video portion was lost and we resorted to just a typed chat conference.
Normally I participate in these conferences using my Macbook computer. I can normally speak, but have yet to learn why my working internal camera can not be turned on for the web conference. In some conferences there has been a button for me to allow access and in others there has not, but it has yet to actually show a picture.
This week's conference was not very successful probably because there were too many people trying to get online at the same time to ask their questions. It appears that after about 20 people the system slows down to a crawl or freezes entirely. The one good aspect is the chat. In the Adobe program, there is a chat to accompany the video. The chat allows us to comment to the entire group or privately to any of the participants. During the conference this week my partner and I were able to chat privately about our collaboration on an assignment and identify two others we would like to invite to participate in our group for our upcoming project.
While we were making those arrangements we were also able to have our questions answered by the professor and follow the questions of other students.
As we participate in more and more web conferences, I feel that each of us is becoming more relaxed using the conferencing program. We have learned some basics such as keeping our mics turned off when not speaking, ensuring adequate lighting for our cameras, and how to follow both the video and chat portions of the conferences.
I am not quite sure how I will use this process as a teacher, but I certainly see how useful it is to know how these conferences work. As the business world moves more and more into online conferencing to save on costs, it will become imperative for our students to understand the process in order to compete in the job market.

Thing 11.5

Thanks for another great summer of discovering tools on the Internet. For my colleagues who are not in Spring Branch ISD, check it out when you have the time. The first course is Library2Play, and the current one I just finished is Library2Play2. Both as well as the newest version Library2Play 3 can be found on the Spring Branch ISD Library Resources web page.

As for my favorite (or most likely to use) aspects of this round, I would have to go with the simple vocabulary tools from Thing 2 such as Wordle, Wordsift, and Voki as one of my favorites. Each of these tools could really help my ESL students master a confusing language. I will also be using the Screencast-o-Matic screen capture video tool very early on in the coming year to establish a collection of how to video clips for my students as they try to master several new programs. The last of my favorites surprised me, but is Second Life. I knew Second Life was out there and basically what it was, but I had no idea of the corporate and educational aspects already in use. I was surprised to find universities, NASA, NOAA, ISTE and many other organizations with sites that could benefit students. While I expect it will be the last one I incorporate (due to my needing some learning curve time), I think in the long run it will be the one with the most impact on students. This is the one "thing" that should probably turn into its own course with guidance through all the steps of getting started and locating the resources that would be beneficial to individual teachers.

I will take away new resources and a reminder that every time I think I'm "advanced" in using technology and resources with my students, there is always a lot more out there to learn and explore. I like the Library2Play format in that I am able to work on each item in my own time frame and from my own home or wherever I happen to be. This is definitely an experience where you will get as much from it as you put into it.

As I am currently pursuing a Master's degree in Educational Technology Leadership, this program has provided me with abundant resources I need to be familiar with and be able to share with teachers on my campus. It will be included as one of the activities I use to address each of the ISTE Technology Facilitator Standards.

The unexpected take-aways from this experience are the exposure to some programs I had not encountered before, and a level of comfort that my experimentation with technology for my students is not as novel as I had believed and in fact needs to push much further.

Thanks for the interesting ride.

Thing 11

I have been encouraging good digital citizenship with my students for years and while many of them can tell me the "right" answers to online safety questions, most admit they do not necessarily follow them. If I have to pick 5 things to share with them I think they would be:

1. THINK - Just as you might say things online to make yourself sound better, so does the person you are chatting with. Use your head before responding to anyone online.

2. GUARD YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION - Try a Google search of your own name and see just how much information is out there for anyone to see about you. Never post your real name, address or phone number.

3. STAY SAFE - Never agree to meet someone you met online. If your friend tells you they are a good friend of that person, ask them if they have met in person or just online. Most of the people you meet online are looking for friends and conversation, but you do not want to be the person to find the dangerous people out there who follow chat rooms looking for victims.

4. CHECK THE SOURCE - So many teens believe that if something is on the Internet, it must be true. I have my students evaluate the Save the Rennets website and then discuss it in class. Many of them never look at the About Us tab. Look for the nonsense in what you read and see if you can support that information from any other source.

5. EXPLORE - Try to locate different sources for information. Use them to back up what you know or think you know, prove statements from various web sites true or false, find new information or a better way to say/show something. It is easy to get into a rut on the Internet and just look at the same old places. With so much to choose from, expand your horizons and see what is out there. Remeber to cite your sources when you do find information you can use.

Thing 10

I spent way more time on exploring Second Life than I really had, but I kept wanting to find more. I did not really interact with anyone while there, but I did jump around to several different islands. The first one I chose totally at random, decided I did not appreciate the language and moved on. I found the ISTE island and spent a while exploring that and then moved on to some of the museums just to see what it was like. After I explored and fumbled around a bit on my own, I viewed the SciLands Classroom and found it very helpful. Watching the video clip of all the educational sites already available got me to thinking of the possible uses for my students. I'm a little bit cautious due to the number of inappropriate sites available as well, but I think many of the sites listed in the SciLands video would be great motivators for the students. I saw a virtual Alamo, health sites, architecture sites, space sites, and many more. If a teacher has the time to locate specific worlds and can guide students through there, I think it could be a very powerful motivator to get students to have interaction with their course material in a manner they are familiar with and enjoy. Having students "build" a set for a book they are reading, or using the visualize math tools to create their word problems in the virtual world could really help improve comprehension. It could also be fun to use the projector on the teacher computer and let the class decide which of several preselected islands to visit, or where to go once you arrived. That would provide more control for the teacher. This "Thing" will definitely warrant more investigation.

Thing 9

I think Slideshare and the other sites listed for sharing PowerPoint presentations are excellent for students (as well as teachers.) I had stumbled onto Slideshare a couple of months ago when I desperately needed to post a PowerPoint slide show to my blog for a class I was taking. After repeated failures, I discovered Slideshare, uploaded my presentation and was ready to share within minutes. I think this is a valuable tool for students. As time is more and more occupied with responsibilities and activities, there is little time to sit at a computer and create a slide show and then plan to share it with a class. This technology allows us the freedom to work on a presentation/project when and where it is convenient and then upload it for sharing, whether that be for a grade if a student, for explanation and coaching by a teacher, or just for easy access if making a presentation. Not only would the creator get practice using newer generation computing without having to store everything on their personal computer or flash drive, they would also have the advantage of needing only an Internet connection to retrieve their information.

Thing 8

I've been looking for a good screencasting application. There are lots of things I would prefer my students be able to view at the computer and then immediately try. This is especially true for my Journalism/Desktop Publishing classes. By the time I walk them through a complicated program like PhotoShop Elements and they get to a computer to try it, they forget where to go. Using a screencast in short increments would allow them to have 2 open windows, view the instructions and immediately try them out. My sample screencast was made on Screen-O-Matic and I created a short video on how to open Photoshop and convert a photo from color to black and white.

Thing 7

I was glad to find so many sources for educational video clips listed as this is one of the projects I have set for myself this year, to identify good clips that relate directly to the curriculum. One of the clips I thought would particularly interest students was from PBS, Moment of Impact: Jungle. This would be a great introduction to ecosystems in the rain forest and the spectacular photography would keep students fascinated. I also liked Blinkx. The tags used on their videos made it fairly simple to locate different clips. I watched one I might use for my ESL students about Jamestown. It gives a simple explanation of the founding of the colony and also gives related clips such as Queen Elizabeth's visit to Jamestown on the 400th anniversary. I think these clips and others like them will be very useful for my ESL students who need some extra support to grasp the concepts and vocabulary as they attempt to learn content in a language they are not completely comfortable using.

Thing 6

I absolutely love my iPod Touch. We received a cart of the devices over the past year as part of the Power2Learn grant from the school district. I kept begging to get my hands on them, but they were confiscated by the math and science classes. This year, I have a few of my own to use with my students who were begging to use them all last year. I have downloaded a number of apps on the ones I will use in my classroom. The list of my favorites may seem a bit odd as I teach several very different subjects. I have Flashcards Deluxe, Adobe Photoshop CS4 Learn by Video, Key Whiz, American Dreams - Speeches and Documents in American History, the Kindle and Kobo readers, the Hubble app, the Louvre, Vocabulistic, a news reader (Newsie), and some games that I feel my students would enjoy and might actually stimulate their brains.
One thing I will be doing this year is adding video clips from National Geographic, History Channel, and Discovery Channel for my ESL students to get background information for their Social Studies and Science classes. The plan is to switch these short video clips out each week as the curriculum changes focus topics. This could easily be done in a library to give students some back up for their studies just by accessing the 6 or 9 week plans for the subject areas. I would love to see our libraries and teachers using these devices to support the curriculum and not just for games or one time uses in the classroom. Our students are very fluent with these devices and we need to lead them into the educational aspects available.

LU Action Research Plan

I have developed an action research plan designed to help improve science TAKS scores at my school. The plan is shown below. I would welcome your comments or suggestions.

Goals and objectives – The goal is to improve ESL student performance to 80% mastery in science as measured by the 8^th grade state TAKS Science test. The specific objectives are: to provide video clips for each unit of study to be viewed by the ESL students in each 8^th grade science class; to develop scientific vocabulary in the school population; to improve comprehension by activating prior knowledge; to incorporate student technology applications with student learning; to provide targeted intervention for struggling students.

Activities – Review areas of weakness as discovered by analysis of the previous two TAKS Science tests. Conference with the department chair and 8^th grade science teachers. Determine video delivery methods to be used by teachers. Locate appropriate video clips to introduce each unit of study. Load videos onto selected devices for student use. Preview videos with science teachers. Test first topic with science class and get student feedback. Modify formatting as necessary to maintain student interest. Provide classroom posters with scientific vocabulary targeted in videos and identified by teachers. Review ESL student performance on district benchmarks. Create a video library of classroom science lab experiments.

Resources and Research Tools needed – TAKS Science test copies with answer keys and objectives for each question from 2009 and 2010. Northbrook Middle School science scores for 2009 and 2010 with sub-population breakouts. Seventh grade science benchmark data from 2010. School database of ESL students and their English proficiency levels for previous two years. Literature on using video to improve subject mastery. Computers and iTouch devices with syncing computer to load video clips. Flash drives for students to check out videos to use at home and inclusion of the videos on the school science department web page. Copy of the 8^th grade science curriculum for 2010-2011.

Timeline

August 2010, review curriculum, identify clips needed, meet with 8^th grade science teachers and assistant principal in charge, analyze data from previous years, pilot one video and survey students and teachers for reactions and input.

September 2010, continue to provide videos for units to science teachers to be used with students using necessary modifications based on test run, develop scientific vocabulary posters for each unit, meet with science teachers and assistant principal to reflect on initial feedback.

October 2010, continue to provide videos for units, incorporate video library of science labs for students who need additional time for comprehension or were absent during labs, review student and ESL student performance on district benchmark test

November 2010, continue providing videos for each topic introduced in class, add vocabulary posters to science classrooms, meet with teachers and assistant principal for feedback and reflection.

December 2010, continue providing videos and meeting with teachers for reflection and modification

January 2011, review second district benchmarks to look for patterns of improvement or areas of need, create a weekly after school science tutorial opportunity for students still struggling, review previous clips and posters for accuracy and effectiveness, create a vocabulary “hit list” of test specific target terms and create or locate short videos for each term

February 2011, create and share a review video for student use incorporating student science learning to that point in the curriculum, create and share a video for other major science topics not yet covered in class, continue to meet with teachers and assistant principal to share successes and concerns.

March 2011, review results of final district science benchmark to locate areas of weakness, invite struggling students to video science tutorials, continue to provide topical videos for classes, continue to provide vocabulary posters for classrooms

April 2011, TAKS Science test, meet with teachers to evaluate their opinions and suggestions for the project, final survey for students and involved teachers regarding effectiveness of video clips and interventions on science learning

May 2011, TAKS Science test results arrive, evaluate school results and targeted ESL population results, meet with teachers, assistant principal and principal to make revisions and find specific areas to target in future years, share results with school faculty, provide samples to district technology specialists and science school improvement specialists for their evaluation and use in other campuses if successful.

Persons responsible – Gail Dunn, action researcher, Science Department Chair, 8^th grade Science teachers, Assistant Principal – Science, ESL Department chair

Process for monitoring achievement of goals and objectives – Students will be surveyed after first video clip presentation for feedback and understanding. Specific performance of ESL students will be monitored by science teachers on each of three district benchmark tests, scientific vocabulary improvement will be documented by classroom writing, overall student achievement and success. Incorporation of technology will be monitored by lesson plans incorporating the videos and vocabulary strategies. Intervention will be monitored by the sign in sheets from tutorials sessions. Production and availability of the video clips will be monitored by accessing the target videos on the school web page. Final performance on the TAKS test will be monitored by accessing the scores of the ESL 8^th grade students and charting their performance on the science test.

Assessment instruments for evaluating effectiveness of the action research study – The Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills 8^th grade Science test, district benchmark tests, copies of scientific writing samples submitted for the TELPAS testing in March, pre and post student surveys of their learning, pre and post surveys of 8^th grade science teachers on effectiveness of the study.

Thing 5

OK, I admit it. I'm a Facebook junkie. I use it to keep in touch with my kids, family members, fellow teachers, etc. as well as play some games and use some of the groups for my graduate course. When the school district unblocked Facebook and MySpace, I thought they were nuts. Since I have started using some of the Facebook features to help me with my graduate class I can certainly see more educational benefits to it. The biggest benefit would be the group page. A teacher could create a group page for their class and post helpful hints and resources for assignments, answer questions, let the STUDENTS answer questions, and keep track of what the students are saying and where they are struggling.
I have not been a Twitter user to this point. I have resisted because I really did not see the point of people just making random comments about their own life. I do like the idea of back-channeling however. Students would be more comfortable using their phones to send questions rather than shout out in class. Of course, that opens a whole different set of problems as far as classroom management goes. I will probably go ahead and try a Twitter account and see how I like it this year as I have multiple other technology opportunities set up for my students. I would like to follow David Warwick and Vicki Davis, both of whose blogs I've been reading for a while now.

Thing 4

You Tube and Teacher Tube are both sites I was familiar with. I frequently use You Tube or Teacher Tube video clips to introduce a subject to my classes. They prefer watching the videos to hearing me talk and I do not need to reinvent the wheel to get some basic concepts across to them. I created a short video on how to use the Flip Video camera for a professional development course I was creating online. I posted it on Teacher Tube.

I would love to be uploading student videos and intend to do that this year. I have been cautious because of the privacy issues and parental permissions needed. I expect to see my Journalism students using video as a regular part of their class this year.
The part of this "Thing" I was most excited about was finding Zamzar. I frequently need to convert various file types and this service looks like it will make my life much simpler.

Thing 3

I have been signed up on Skype for over a year. I was first exposed to it when I was on a trip to Morocco. The people we stayed with used Skype regularly to call back to the States. I think it is a great tool that you need to use for a while before trying with a class of students. The features are good, but not as user-friendly as the features pages would have you believe. You also need to make sure your settings are correct to prevent hundreds of contact requests from inappropriate sites.
For a library or class, once you have learned the ins and outs of Skype, it would be fascinating for students to get to compare notes with other students about historical events that happened in their area, or even compare notes on books they are all reading. The possibilities are endless.

Thing 2

I created a Wordle from a listing of our 8th grade science curriculum topics. This should help our ESL students find and become familiar with the concepts and terms they will need to know to be successful in the class.
I also created the same list with WordSift. I love the fact that WordSift will allow you to see images and has a visual map for the word being searched. I did notice some issues however. The word reef brought up beautiful coral reef images, but unfortunately also brought up a model viewed from the back wearing a thong. Several of the other words brought up various bands, etc. I will need to investigate further to see if these images can be blocked prior to allowing students to use them. I also encountered a glitch. One of the words on my list was mass and no matter how many times I tried, it kept using mas instead of mass. If the bugs can be worked out, it could be a very useful tool for my ESL students, especially the links to web sites, images, and an idea map to help clarify the terms.
Next I tried Glogster and made a poster for my journalism class. Once I registered, this was an easy process that I'm sure the students would enjoy using. It could certainly replace making posters or PowerPoint presentations for students needing to show comprehension of class material.

Because I'm obsessive and have to see everything, I also went to VoiceThread. I can see lots of uses for this as a quick easy check of student thinking, especially for my Journalism students. I can post a picture and simply have them each leave a comment or suggestion for improvement. They could all benefit from hearing each other's comments. I will definitely try this one out this year.

I skipped Animoto because I've used it many times before and went to Voki. I had a little trouble getting the voice to actually speak, but I love the idea and may try to use it as an online coach for some online coursework I'm setting up for my students. I think they would have lots of fun playing with it.
I think Bookr has lots of possibilities. Some of the examples I saw were students using creative commons photos to make simple reading books. That would be fabulous for my ESL students. They could prove they understood, develop technology skills, and create something on their own reading level. Lots of great tools in this Thing!

Thing 1

In the video The Networked Student; The Movie the video gives a fairly accurate picture of a modern student. Today's students are wired, but many of our students need guidance in using the devices they are so familiar with in an educational setting. The student in the video uses all of the social tools such as Diigo and Delicious for bookmarking, RSS feeds, blogs, and MP3 players for podcasts. These are all common to many students in the tech savvy world in which they live. The teacher needs to be able to perform all the roles shown as a learning facilitator. Unfortunately, many teachers today are not current on these technologies and are not taking the time to learn them. The school librarian can fill that role as can any other teacher, but it will take effort on their part to learn what is available and how to guide the student to use his tools to further his education.

LU-Action Research Project

I discussed three possibilities for my action research project with my site supervisor and my principal. The three ideas we discussed were the incorporation of the T3 grant technology to get more technology in student hands, using video clips to improve comprehension for English Language Learners, and to work with the science teachers to incorporate introductory topic videos to help improve science comprehension and test scores. After meeting with my principal, we decided these three topics could be combined into one project. I will be looking into using video clips with the science teachers who received the T3 technology grant equipment in an effort to improve comprehension and vocabulary in science with resulting improvement on Science TAKS scores.

LU-Action Research

Action research is a process for identifying an issue that needs a solution at a particular school. An administrator or faculty member may wonder how to improve specific test scores, gain better consensus among faculty members, provide targeted staff development, or how to institute a change in a multitude of issues that may be faced. The process begins by wondering how to improve the situation. The next step would be to clarify exactly what the objective is to be for the project. Once the goals are clearly established, an action researcher would search through relevant literature for possible solutions. The key point is that in action research as opposed to traditional 3^rd party research is that the goal is to take the readings and develop a plan to improve the specific problem rather than just test one theory. As the action research continues the plan can and should be continually evaluated and revised to make any adjustments necessary to reach the final goal. Once the goal is reached, the researcher would share the results of the research project so others may benefit from the process as well. The entire process is much more reflective than a traditional research program.

Action research would be very beneficial to principals and other school administrators. It would allow them to target a specific problem within their school and look for solutions that would be most effective with their own student population. Another benefit would be the involvement of the other administrators and teachers. As groups take ownership of specific problems they are more likely to work hard to find the solutions. The process would result in better teaching practices as faculty members review research on what may be effective and become more reflective in their teaching by looking to see what individual practices work in their own classrooms. As projects come to a close with problems solved, those involved will share their process and results with their peers resulting in an overall improvement for the campus.

Action research could be beneficial to me as the ESL department chair. There are many students enrolled in the ESL program that are not making as much progress as they should. An action research project to help struggling students learn academic English faster could be of benefit for all of us. Successful results could also benefit other similar schools. An action research project could also be beneficial to find ways to improve the 8^th grade students’ science scores. The scores in that area on my campus have been low and need improvement. An action research project could help isolate the issues students are experiencing and guide the faculty members to finding ways to address those issues.

Blogs can be beneficial to principals as they embark on action research projects. By blogging, a principal can clarify their thoughts and reasons for a particular project. They can have a forum to discuss what is and is not working while the project is still underway. A blog also allows the principal an opportunity to reach a much larger audience that could include district staff, parents, students, and other principals as well as the faculty on their own campus. A blog would allow others to make constructive comments and offer suggestions for issues the principal faces. A blog can be a powerful tool to promote the school and its programs across the community. Blogs can help clarify, create a tangible record of progress on an issue and create a sense of empowerment and pride as projects are successfully concluded.

Using the Flip video camera

Attached is a short video created for an online professional development course I am creating. It runs through the basics for using a Flip video camera.

Video Conference

Last night I was able to attempt my first video conference with members of my graduate class. It was an interesting experience even though we were plagued with a number of technical issues. I was able to log on and gain access to the web site easily, and my microphone seemed to be working fine, but I was unable to get my video camera broadcasting correctly. I know it was working because I was able to get into iPhoto and see myself. Each time I clicked on the broadcast button however, it did not make it through to the others. Each of us had some technical glitches it seemed, but we were able to talk about our assignments with the professor and most of those who attended the session were able to ask questions about pending assignments. Other than the video issues experienced by three of us, there were also some audio issues. The audio dropped out several times and there were a few instances of severe feedback. That could possibly have been caused by people using the microphone on their computer without earphones to prevent the feedback. It will be interesting to try to attend the next session and see if we can work out the technical glitches. It was good to get to try a video conference for the first time in a no pressure session.

Northbrook Middle School STaR Chart

Check out this SlideShare Presentation: STaR Chart summary and trends for Northbrook Middle School in Houston, TX.

Northbrook Middle School STaR Chart

View more presentations from Northbrook Middle School.

Educator Development and the Texas Long Range Technology Plan

The Texas Long Range Plan for Technology, 2006-2020 describes four key areas targeted for growth across the state. One of these areas is Educator Preparation and Development. This is a critical area for growth across the state if Texas is to implement the significant shift in teaching and learning that experts agree is mandated by the digital age. This area has shown little growth in the last three years based on the state and local STaR Chart results, a tool used to track progress by teachers, campuses, and districts toward achieving the goals of the Texas Long Range Plan for Technology.
Educator Preparation and Development sets a goal of teachers having complete and easy access to technology for their students while using technology regularly in learner-centered projects. Administrators need to allocate at least 30% of their technology budget for professional development and ensure all educators meet State Board of Educator Certification standards to reach state goals.
A review of the STaR charts for my local campus and the state summary results shows little growth over the last three years. While the largest percentages of teachers and campuses are in the developing and advanced levels, there has been only a very slow movement upward in those numbers. The largest area of concern is the very low levels reported in the highest proficiency level (Target Tech), less than 1% state-wide and also the lowest reported on my own campus.
Nationally, there appears to be the same shortfall in teachers and districts who have reached a high level of preparation to integrate technology to meet learning objectives in classrooms. Teachers need professional development that allows them to experiment with equipment and share ideas, projects and concerns with their peers. A research report by Becker and Riel (2000) shows “teachers who regularly participate in professional interactions and activities beyond the classroom teach in different ways from those who have minimal contact with their peers.” A separate study by Ronnkvist et.al (2000) concludes that “Professional development support should be appropriate to the subject matter.” and also that “Professional development support needs to address appropriate hardware, software, and instructional strategies for guiding student use of technology.”
The need for professional development could easily be one of the major factors blocking measurable improvement in teacher use of technology in their curriculum. Professional development needs to be at a level the teacher is comfortable using and provide specific curricular uses in the classroom. Educators must be allowed to access technology at a level where they feel comfortable exploring and then moved forward skill levels strategically connecting each successive skill to a usable classroom curricular tie. Until a teacher is comfortable that technology can be purposeful and effective as well as reliable both technically and as a source for students, that teacher is not likely to develop into a Target Tech teacher and incorporate technology use seamlessly into the curriculum covered.

Becker, H.J., & Riel, M. M. (2000). Teacher professional engagement and constructive-compatible computer usage (Report no. 7). Irvine, CA: Teaching, Learning, and Computing. Retireved February 28, 2002 from http://www.crito.uci.edu/tlc/findings/report_7/. Accessed January 21, 2010 from http://caret.iste.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=studySummary&StudyID=433&words=Teacher%2Cprofessional%2Cengagement&from=searchStudiesKeyword

Ronnkvist, A. M., Dexter, S. L., & Anderson, R. E. (2000). Technology support: Its depth, breadth, and impact in America's schools. Teaching, learning and computing: 1998. A national survey, Report #5. Center for Research on Information Technology and Organizations. Irvine, CA: University of California, Irvine and University of Minnesota. Retrieved October 31, 2001, from http://www.-crito.uci.edu/tlc/html/findings.html. Accessed January 21, 2010 at http://caret.iste.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=studySummary&StudyID=330&words=Technology%2CSupport%3B%2CIts&from=searchStudiesKeyword

Second Semester

The first semester went well. My Journalism students have mastered their technology skills but are not quite where I want them in their writing abilities. This year I get to teach a class called Electronic Experiences which is a piano keyboarding class. It is a lot of fun. The students get to learn to play the piano, a little music theory, and they get to use our older eMac computers to go online and play music theory games.

I have begun a graduate program in technology and am looking forward to being able to apply all the things I learn there with my students. Several posts for that class will soon be making an appearance on this blog. I hope you find them interesting.