Rita’s Blogfolio

Before entering this class, I had never really understood blogging. Even though I was familiar with Kathy Cassidy’s Classroom Blog, the entire concept was still a blur. There are many things throughout the course of this class that I have come to know and love. Never before have I heard about free blog programs, Google Reader, blip.tv, SlideShare, and everything else that I have commented upon gradually through my blogs. And never before have I thought that I would be a computer freak!

I really do enjoy blogging and reading other people’s blogs as well. But I’ve realized that blogging does take a lot of time and work. I really only post blogs that interest me and I only read blogs that seem interesting to me. My favourite piece that I have blogged about would have to be ‘8 Irresistible Principles of Fun’ which was a reply to Vicki Davis’ post. I wanted to write about my feelings towards the slide show she presented and it was simply a subject that really encouraged me to write. Other favourites include ‘The Progression of Computers’ and ‘Wiki Fun’. Those blogs are also personal and almost promoting something that I love. Those are my favourite kind of blogs…where I can just brag or say what I want to say!

Perceptions about blogging have definitely changed. I don’t really know what the purpose of blogging is but I see it as a way to communicate. It definitely reminds me of a journal or diary that one hand writes except we don’t hand write, we type onto the computer. As computers and technology become more of a daily part of our lives, I think blogging in the classroom is very important. There are always journals being done in class, so why not switch from paper to computer? I would absolutely recommend blogging in classrooms. Of course it would be a process to teach how to blog but it would be such a great learning experience and fulfillment for the teacher, student, and reader. When I was responding to the blogs of students from Kathy Cassidy’s classroom, I enjoyed reading the children’s thoughts. I recognized then that blogs don’t just have to be text either. The students even used video, drawings, and pod casts. Blogging would be such a benefit to any classroom and plus, the students would really enjoy it.

As I said before, I post blogs that are of interest to me and read ones that interest me as well. For this class, I have read many great blogs from my fellow classmates and sometimes I wonder how they have such insightful thoughts! I also wonder where they find the topics they blog about. I have to dig and read and link to find a blog or topic that I like. I like to comment on other’s blogs because I usually agree or have something to say after I read their thoughts on the subject. I find myself reading blogs then commenting with a compliment or suggestion. My best comment was to someone in this class. I don’t remember the name but it was about adding media to our blog posts. It was my favourite comment because I felt like I was really helping her figure out how to add media. I also felt like I was comfortable enough to give instructions for something that I myself have only been doing for 6 weeks. I remember after that comment, I was smiling because I had just figured out to add media so telling someone else how to was a lot of fun!

Blogging has a different meaning to me after this class. I appreciate the social networking that it brings. I didn’t know that linking other people’s pages brings readers in. I also find it exhilarating when someone I don’t know comments on my blog or seeing on ClusterMaps who has visited. It’s a weird feeling to know that there are various people reading what I have to say. There’s so much that I have learned from this class and as I’ve stated in another post of mine, I know blogging will be a definite routine that will remain constant in my life.

To Alec and my ECMP classmates, I wish you well and thank you for all of your insightful words. Hopefully this wonderful thing called technology will reunite us again in the future!

As I am finalizing my blogfolio and getting ready to wind up this class, I am really starting to appreciate the resource that I have created for myself. To be honest, not a lot of people would go back to things they have done in classes, like this blog for example. But for me, I think this will be a lifetime ritual and routine. I am proud of what I have done and on this blogfolio of mine and I have everything I need. My resume, tons of resources, lesson plans, unit plans, and just a place to write my thoughts.

I never thought how valuable this blogfolio could be and now that I know that I’ll probably be referring to it on a daily basis, I’m trying to add all the important things that I think I need. Throughout this class, I have become a member of so many websites that I have to keep a personal list of user names and passwords for each one. This blog by far will be something I know I will keep for a long time. In the words of Martha Stewart: “It’s a good thing!”

I had so much fun making this short video. I had a difficult time thinking about what to do, so I created a video inspired by the Body Break commercials I see on TV once in a while. I videotaped on my digital camera so the audio is not too great because I also added music. I chose to use my own video instead of ones I could find on the internet because I wanted to experience uploading, importing, and editing my own videos. I felt like I was on a cooking show because I was assembly a healthy breakfast! To create the video I used Windows Movie Maker and it worked extremely well. Who knew making a no budget, short video was so easy! I’m thinking about making many more because they are so much fun! This one does not particularly have to do with computers but the topic of a healthy lifestyle is a value I have as a teacher.
 

Everybody knows computers have come a long, long, long way from when they were first made. I thought I would give a picture show of the computers I have had in my household over the course of my life.

The first…

Moving on to this…

And then this…

Then this..

And hopefully this summer, this…

Not only are computers progressing in their physical features, but enormously in what they can do as well.

I have made up my mind that I will be getting a Mac this summer. Right now I have a Dell, which uses Windows Vista. I really want to get any kind of Mac laptop because I have used them before and it would be good to start using the computer so I will be familiar with it when I start to teach. I find Mac’s somewhat confusing but it’s just because I am so used to Windows. I have only had my laptop now for 2 years and somehow the screen is cracked and looks like it is bleeding black ink. It is definitely time for something new!

When finding and taking these pictures of the computers I have been exposed to over my lifetime, I found it fun and funny. Some are not even that old and are already becoming obsolete. With any other form of technology like cameras, television, camcorders, VCRs, and phones, I could also easily capture the progression on those tools as well. I wonder what the world will come up with next?!

I have been reading some of the Classroom Teacher Blogs given to us during the beginning of this class and ran into an uplifting blog posted by Vicki Davis the ‘Cool Cat Teacher’. I find a lot of her blogs to be motivational because she offers many fun positive resources to view. The video is a reminder to how important it is to be happy while we can get caught up in many things that make us forget how wonderful life really is. I chose to post the video because I know that everyone could use a few words of advice on having fun at this point in the semester. Even if you don’t follow all Eight Irresistible Principles of Fun, do at least one. Start by slowly adding the principles to our lives to better enjoy it. I already know what principle I want to start with: #5 Stop taking it all so damn seriously. Some points regarding #5 in the video include “In this moment, is it a life or death decision?, In 10 years, will you remember what you’re fretting about, In 100 years, will anyone care?, So lighten up, this too will pass.” All the words I needed to hear right now!

The Eight Irresistible Principles of Fun:

1. Get Focused: Stop Hiding Who You Really Are

2. Get Focused: Start Being Intensely Selfish

3. Be Creative: Stop Following the Rules

4. Be Creative: Start Scaring Yourself

5. Use Your Wisdom: Stop Taking It All So Damn Seriously

6. Use Your Wisdom: Start Getting Rid of the Crap

7. Take Action: Stop Being Busy

8. Take Action: Start Something

Those are the principles, watch the video to see the points behind each principle. Are you having fun?

Our ECMP class on Monday was a very interesting yet disturbing experience that I was able to witness. We talked a lot about Media Literacy, Digital Citizenship and Media Awareness. What struck me most were the various situations that Alec brought up about the ‘dark’ side of the Internet. This class was a whole new form of media awareness for myself. A few of the examples such as Kill Toby, Star Wars Kid, and rotten.com were already familiar to me but the list only started there. Alec opened a door that I failed to never believe is so extreme. I cannot even believe that there are pro-death websites that actually encourage people to kill themselves and it is heartbreaking to know that people do end their lives because of Internet based messages.

We all know that technology and the Internet has become so progressive and is probably the most genius invention in history, but it literally scares me to think that there is such negative consequences and attributes to the use of technology as well. When a phenomenon like technology has the ability to make people kill each other, that is big business. Of course each case is different but what I am trying to say is the bad side of technology is that it’s another way for our species to fight one another no matter where in the world you are. At the end of each port, it is humans manipulating and sending out messages, playing with other people’s minds and it can eventually turn into death situations in the worst of situations.

I get frusturated when I think of the loads of negative and bad messages, pictures, videos, writings, and so on that we can access through technology. I feel as if I can go on and on about the topic of the dark side and I cannot feel satisfied knowing that a lot of people post this non-sense for the thrill of it. Even more so, there are companies that use technology to advertise and sell and it sickens me to think of how the world consumes us all. Just looking at the list of Media Literacy Resources that Alec posted regarding ‘issues and sites from the dark side of the internet’ is extremely overwhelming. My question is why?  A cry for help asking why were these sites created? I may be very judgemental but it is just SICK!

Moving on from the rant, blogging about the issue of the dark side of the internet in general, Alec also provided resources for Media Representation where I found the link to the 10 Most Racist Ads. So when I watched the videos, the same thing happened to me as when I thought of all the dark stuff that is out there too. I got frustrated. Why do people create these commercials? Do they not know what is right or wrong? Of course there may be some culture clash but in the end racism is racism. What is funny to me is that these commercials are probably banned from our Canadian television and in some countries they do air; even if they don’t the internet provides access to them anyways.

I love the part of the quote that is found on Wikipedia about the definition of Media Literacy: “…By transforming the process of media consumption into an active and critical process, people gain greater awareness of the potential for misrepresentation and manipulation (especially through commercials and public relations techniques), and understand the role of mass media and participatory media in constructing views of reality.” No matter what, no matter how much I personally hate ‘the dark side’ it will not change. As with everything else, there are always two sides. Technology and media does both positive and negative things. I will just have to weigh out the good and the bad equally.

Media awareness reminds me of a health unit I taught grade three’s on Resisting Media Stereotypes. I actually found a video from Sask Learning (now Ministry of Education) about Tobacco Awareness. It was a very useful resource because I was able to teach about media and technology through technology itself. The students absolutely loved deconstructing and analyzing media stereotypes from TV, Internet and so on. From deconstructing and analyzing, the students were able to become aware of the misrepresentations and false images that various forms of media portray. It was a great experience for myself and the students.

There is one thing that I have learned about the dark side of the internet: it is only growing and the only way to work around it is to be aware of it.

I chose to post a PowerPoint slideshow that my grade two class and I created together. It was out of my Penguins thematic unit that I taught the students in pre-internship and deals with the dangers that penguins face today. The show is called Penguins in Danger and I still cannot figure out how to embed the show right onto my blog because it used to be done with ‘code’ when writing but I’m still having difficulties. So you will just have to click the link on the title! I would love feedback on the design aspect. Even after Dean’s class, I found a lot of things that I would change in terms of design in many of the slide presentations that I have created. I’m excited to hear your critiques!! Don’t bite too hard though, my grade two’s were extra proud of their accomplishments!

After Dean’s class, I realize that certain design elements are lacking in our presentation. The first that caught my eye would be the bullets and overflow of information. We could simplify the info and use a few more slides to spread out the info as well. I think the colour contrast is good although Dean did mention not using templates. I also think that the real life pictures help in the presentation. The PowerPoint was used to give information so there was no rehearsed improv involved. It was just a way that we could make a slide show with the information we studied. Thanks for the comments and suggestions!

I have had the opportunity to create and be a member of a couple wikis this past semester. I absolutely love wikis! Both of the wikis that I am a part of come from Wetpaint, a free website that allows you to create a wiki.

My first wiki experience was for one of my education assessment classes. We were doing a presentation on authentic assessment using rubrics. Our group decided to create a wiki about rubrics so we can contribute anytime before our presentation (just a different style than the most commonly used PowerPoint). We would then present the class with our wiki, showing the progress of our research and then get the class to be actively involved in our presentation by giving them laptops to explore and comment on our wiki. Well, the presentation turned out great. Our wiki page is called Rubrics in Authentic Assessment and shows our entire presentation and information about rubrics that we researched. I think that it was such a great experience using the wiki. It was definitely a different medium that some of us were not used to. It allowed our group to contribute our work individually without having to work around our busy schedules at that time. I also appreciated that the wiki was a tool for editing as well. Editing was a major focus for our wiki because all of us had such different information that needed to be connected fluently. Even editing the design and look of our wiki was important. The class enjoyed our wiki as well because they were able to comment on pages.

The second wiki experience that I am a part of is a resource wiki that Section 40 of my program ECE created. Actually, one student created the entire wiki for our class and we are all members contributing our lessons, units, and other resources. I absolutely love this wiki that I am a part of. I encourage all to take a look! The wiki site is called Hey, Section 40! which is the official chant for our section created at OCRE! The wiki is such an excellent resource for us all because it is filled with lessons and units that we have all created. I always check for new updates on this wiki and I usually get direct emails about updates from Wetpaint as well. I really encourage you all to check out the wiki and even create one of your own!

I want to share a video that a classmate of mine created. Her name is Gillian Young and I believe she made this video for one of her ECMP classes as well. I have asked for her permission to share her video and I was able to retrieve it right from her blog. I think that her video titled Motherhood is so powerful in many ways. Her digital story shows her struggles and triumphs as a mother and the video will be able to be kept as a keepsake for many years. I love the fact that the story was created through technology making each aspect even more entertaining. Gillian quotes “I decided to do a wedding slideshow using Microsoft Photostory because it is so easy and it allows me to run the show on any computer that has Wibdows Media Player so I don’t have to worry about different years of Power Point causing the transitions and stuff to change!” I also like Photostory, it’s what I used for my MasterCard video as well.

I hope you enjoy the video as much as I have.

 
Motherhood from Gillian Smythe on Vimeo.