Blogs

Sunday, October 11, 2009

BP8_2009102_Response to Nick's Blog

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 10, 2009

BP6_20091010_Web_2.0_Tools_popscreen.com

How many times have you found a riveting video on youtube.com and want to share it with your class or fellow teachers? What would you normaly do to share this new knowledge? If you are like me, you probably copy the url, create a new email message, send an email to yourself or your peers and if you can remember, bookmark the video for future use. Inevitably, after you send the email with the link, it gets lost for ever in your sent mail. Teachers come back and ask you if you can resend the video from months ago or even worse, you loose track of it and end up trying to research for the same video and never find it again. Today I found a tool that helps elevate some of the stress associated with bookmarking videos you find on the web.

Popscreen.com is s a way to bookmark your favorite videos found on my popular video sites including all of these sources. Currently, popscreen is in private beta which means you must be invited to join the site. So without having the ability to test out all of its features, the following is what the site claims can be done.

As a user, the huge advantage of popscreen is the ability to bookmark your favorite shows or webcast from many sites into one online location. After you have booked marked your videos, they are then all attached to your account and stored into one location. This removes the problem of having to go back and search for that great video you watched a couple of months ago. Popscreen also has a feature to allow you to share videos amongst colleagues and friends effortlessly. They also provide a feature that allows you to forward an email you receive from a colleague referencing a video and they will attach it to your account.

You may be asking yourself, self how can I use this in my classroom? Again, if you are anything like me, I utilize some of the great videos that are found on youtube daily. My biggest problem is that I always forget to save the url or bookmark the url for future use. This service would definitely help someone like me manage all of the rich media that is available for free online.

For all the positives that popscreen.com offers, the only negative I can see at this moment is that it is in private beta.

Ashley said...

Hi Nick!
I like this idea of having all my videos in one place. I have the problem of bookmarking a video on my home computer and then having to transfer it to my school computer in which I also forget where I have saved it on my home computer in the first place, so I eventually have to search for it again on my school computer. I’m more of a mess than you are. This would be a great help to me if I had more organization.

I agree that the only negative is the private beta. I went ahead and put in my email address and was sent an invitation to join Popscreen. I’ll let you know how it works out. Thanks for the info!

BP7_2009102_Web 2.0 Listhings

I have always been a sticky note person. I like making lists of what I need to get done for the day or writing random thoughts as they pop into my head. The problem with this is that all my information is scattered everywhere on sticky notes. I especially don’t like those last minute important bits of information given to me by phone in which I am scrambling around trying to find a pen and paper. This usually happens when I need a confirmation number or phone number. I always have a pen and paper handy when I don’t need them. Regardless of the matter, I still have sticky notes all over my desk. I read the about section on Listhings.com and was pleased to see that it’s a Green Site.

I can’t imagine how much paper I waste through actual sticky notes. I have only used Listhings for two days and have already crammed each page with virtual sticky notes. I have so many things to remember in one day, that it’s hard to keep track without some sort of written documentation.

Using Listhings is very simple. It is just like having your own bulletin board on your computer screen where you can stick the notes. After signing in with email address and password to listhings.com, you can begin adding virtual sticky notes with the “add” button on the right. Different pages can be created as well by clicking the plus symbol on the top left. Currently, I am using Listhings for my own personal benefit of keeping order and not wasting paper. I have two tabs each representing a different day. The tabs can be used for many things other than days. I would like to create one just for phone numbers.

I also use sticky notes once every two weeks with my art student critiques. Each student takes a stack of sticky notes and writes a positive note about others’ artwork, then sticks it on or around the artwork. They really like this form of critiquing. However, I do realize that they are using quite a bit of paper and some kids really want to keep their notes. By the end of the critique, half the notes are on the floor and stepped on.

As students must walk around the room to each art piece, through using Listhings they can walk to each students’ computer and post to the virtual bulletin board so it will still be almost the same. However, the process will include less mess, and students can keep their positive comments for as longs as they wish. I really want to try this improved method of critiquing and see how it works.

Images from www.listhings.com

BP6_2009102_Web 2.0 Google

I have just recently become more familiarized with Google through last month’s EDE Full Sail course and this month’s ETC course. Google is a highly used search engine as Levy (2002) states, “Not only does Google dramatically speed the process of finding things in the vast storehouse of the Web, but its power encourages people to make searches they previously wouldn't have bothered with.” Google is also one giant Web 2.0 tool, and it was a my fingertips all this time. Google contains so many Web 2.0 tools, it can be the most beneficial portal to web-based instruction in education today. This is also one site that is not blocked at my campus. With all the features Google has to offer, I have barely even begun to scratch the surface of the capabilities Google can create for teaching.

The best part about Google is that it contains your own personal learning environment as well as shared and public online environments. With Google, the educational benefits are almost endless. English teachers are able to view students’ papers through Google docs, correcting and adding comments when necessary. If students are assigned a group essay, the teacher may be the main collaborator sending invites to the Google doc so that he or she can view who is contributing to the work. Anyone can use Google Earth as History teachers can explore historical imagery with audio tours, Geography teachers can map out any place with satellite imagery and terrain, and Science teachers can view the ocean floor and collect data from marine experts.

I use Google Earth for personal everyday knowledge of how to get to places or to see how many miles I’ve accurately run on the canal banks. I recently started using it to map out cross country routes for my athletes. I am constantly amazed with Google Earth.

Tara Calishain (2004) talks about the Web 2.0 tool Google Alerts and using Google at any time and from any location. Calishain (2004) further explains that “Everything in Google is also accessible through a Palm PDA and Internet-Enabled cell phone.”

With full communication through Google, I can post and search whenever I want to, also communicating with my athletes and students. If I really get ahold of all the tools Google offers, I can have art students managing and collecting art data, visiting locations where famous artists and movements began, and linking videos and images to all art lessons. My cross country runners can collaborate and create running logs while searching new routes and mapping upcoming race courses. It could turn out to be an extremely valuable resource for everything.

It seems like Google is now running the world. At least that’s how I am beginning to feel.

References

Calishain, T. (2004). Google Everywhere. PC Magazine, 23(20), 86. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=14837716&site=ehost-live

Levy, S. (2002). THE WORLD ACCORDING TO GOOGLE. Newsweek, 140(25), 46. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=8637555&site=ehost-live

Images from http://www.google.com/

BP5_2009102_Web 2.0 Sketchfu

My art classes create a lot of artwork during the year. They also show me artwork that they create outside of class such as doodles. I see how they use doodles to communicate daily. I never completely thought of doodling as an art form until I saw the sardonic and comedic work of Don Hertzfeldt in the animated video, Billy’s Balloon.

What doodling does is create a simple art form to convey a message. Doodling can also be used as a sketch or idea for final drawings. At the young age of 12 and 13, my students are still developing their hand-eye coordination. Doodling is simple and does not require any art skills. I chose Sketchfu as a Web 2.0 tool because it is easy and fun to use. It shows students the process of drawing step by step along with adding color. When they publish the drawing, it plays out each step they did creating an animated doodle. To get ideas, there are several examples and students may click on “browse drawings” or the “best of sketchfu” to locate more examples. Students will also be able to see which friends are online and may share and send sketch animations to friends. There is a quick post option that allows users to post to Myspace, Facebook, Friendster, LiveJournal, Blogger, Xanga, Tagged, and TypePad.

I can better use this tool in my classroom by incorporating it with each assignment as a starting point or critique element used for communication through doodling. Students can send each other quick doodles commenting on each other’s art. It will be like sending notes in doodle form.

When students familiarize themselves a little more with Sketchfu, it can then be used as a starting point for animation and more complicated doodles. This is the main reason Sketchfu is a Web 2.0 tool of very high interest to me. I like seeing the student interest develop their drawing skills into more advanced criteria.

Images from http://sketchfu.com/ and www.youtube.com

BP4_2009102_Social Bookmarking

Social Bookmarking is used for a variety of things ranging from personal to educational purposes in which there is no set way to categorize your information. This makes the possibilities to search and share almost endless.

As stated by Amanda Etches-Johnson (2006), “there is no such thing as controlled vocabulary here, no hierarchical relationships, and certainly no faceted classification.” This quote was in reference to tags. Etches-Johnson (2006) went on to explain where social bookmarking is going in education, specifically for libraries that connect user-defined tags to existing subject headings.

Barbara Fiehn (2008) discussed social networking and using OPACS (Online Public Access Catalogs) in school libraries. Fiehn (2008) mentioned Amazon.com as the leader in using Web 2.0 tools and social bookmarking for some time now as it contains a variety of features providing reviews, ratings, and suggested lists.

Feihn (2008) found the following: The first school library automation system to integrate such features was released this past July by Follett Software Co. Destiny Library Manager v8.5 Destiny Quest provides an online searching interface designed to catch the attention of students used to using the internet. The standard search interface combines with social networking in a colorful graphical environment allowing students, teachers, and staff to give star or text ratings to books and submit text, audio, or video reviews. The school community can recommend books to each other, suggest items for purchase, and request additional copies. Destiny Quest also improves the ability to upload digital objects to MARC records. This upgrade also provides Destiny users with a free, 65-title ebook collection.

Feihn’s (2008) final thoughts on the matter after her discussions with library media specialists were “ I think these latest enhancement will be engaging for the students, and also for the teachers. I can see many applications for book reviews and recommendations, which would provide a way for teachers and students to communicate beyond the school setting and school term. I say, Bring it on!"

In addition to the uses of social bookmarking for library use in education, multiple applications in education can benefit from it. Laura Gordon-Murnane (2006) breaks down the process of using social bookmarking in which the learner, educator, or anyone else is able to: keep found sources through individual collections, share collaboration through folksonomy, discovery through serendipity, and portability through multiple web access at any time and place. Gornon-Murnane (2006) also lists the growing number of social bookmarking sites available including Delicious, Furl, Magnolia, Simpy and many others.

Through all of these, the possibilities for higher education are endless. Social bookmarking can really lend itself to the new generation of tagged library catalogs taken to a whole other level.

References

Etches-Johnson, A. (2006). The Brave New World of Social Bookmarking: Everything You Always Wanted to Know but Were Too Afraid to Ask. Feliciter, 52(2), 56-58. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=20673319&site=ehost-live

Fiehn, B. (2008). Social Networking and Your Library OPAC!. MultiMedia & Internet@Schools, 15(5), 27-29.http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=34689396&site=ehost-live

Gordon-Murnane, L. (2006). Social Bookmarking, Folksonomies, and Web 2.0 Tools. Searcher, 14(6), 26-38.http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=21269127&site=ehostlive