Videos to Assist in Instruction

Watching the tutorial on Viddler got me thinking about different ways in which webcams can be used in the classroom. Also, I just started using my own webcam and in realizing how easy it is to use, I've come to the conclusion that it can and should be used in a lot of different ways, especially with teaching in the future.

One idea I had was that I could use Viddler to help students analyse videos or compare and contrast them with the written word, since I am going into English teaching. This way, students can have assignments to watch videos and they will have the opportunity to make comments and annotate as was mentioned in the tutorial. This will make it easier to communicate what point in the film the student is referring to instead of simply trying to describe it and getting confused. It also will cut down on time spent describing and taking notes on where something occurs in a film, which can be time consuming and really annoying.

I also was thinking about using Voicethreads in a similar way to the way that we receive instruction for this class, but in reverse. This was inspired by the devotionals that we give. I have always been a firm believer that when we have to teach something, we learn it better, but there is not always enough time in class for students to teach the class certain ideas or theories and so it would be a great way to help students learn to have then prepare a lesson plan and record it on voicethreads and then let the rest of the students learn from it and comment on it for homework. This way, the students learn and teach eachother and they have more opportunities to become experts on subjects because they are responsible for teaching them.

Also, sometimes it is difficult to describe how to do something in written word and so for some assignments, while I plan to explain them in class, I can also post the assignment along with a video of myself demonstrating how to do the assignment correctly so that students can refer back to it as they go about doing the assignment on their own.

There are many ways in which webcams and various video programs can be useful. I feel as though a whole new world has been opened up to me. :)

Google Reader

Here is my screen shot. I hope it's big enough. If not, I can email you one.

The social networks I chose to join were Facebook and Twitter. I chose Facebook because I already know how to use it and I like it and I chose Twitter because it's probably the most widely used besides Facebook. I'm still trying to get the hang of it though.

For my resources that I subscribed to, I chose The Edublogger because I read some of posts and found them very interesting. I also added a blog that I searched for and found about Secondary Education that I thought would be interesting and useful. I added the blog for this class so that I could easily access it in yet another way. I added two of the best English blogs that I could find because I found some of the posts to be interesting and useful as well.

Blogging as an Educational Tool

Using the blog for this class with all of the assignments and information on it has been a really easy way for me to understand what I need to do for this class. Learning how to tag posts opened my eyes as well. I think that this is a great resource for teaching and I'm excited to use it in the future in my own classrooms. Blogs are great because they leave room for comments and open communication between the teacher and student as well as the rest of the class that is quick and reliable.

Tagging is effective because it allows some easy navigation of the site that students can understand and that allows the person creating the blog to post as often as they want because it won't become too crowded if you always have the option of narrowing down what you are looking at.

Some ideas I have about using blogs in the future include posting assignments on them so that students can always go online and ask questions via blog comments that I can answer and then have available for all of the students to see so that it is like asking a question in class except that students will remember it better because it is in writing on my blog right next to the assignment. This will help clarify assignments and make it so that students don't flounder at home so much while they are trying to do new assignments, especially ones that are more difficult or detailed.

Another idea I have is that I can use blogs for announcements in class and tag them as "announcements" so that students can always see what is new in class in case they missed class that day or just need a reference to look at. It is always hard for students who are sick and miss a day or two when new announcements have been made or assignments have been explained and so this would provide a place where students can go and see what happened in class and see if any due dates have been moved or assignments have been changed.

I think a blog would be great place to post course policies as well so that students and parents a like can go online and see what the policies are at any time in case they lose a syllabus or something that was on paper.

I think involving parents in class blogs is a great idea as well. Allowing them access to see what their children are studying and what the assignments they are doing entail would help parents with children that struggle to know what needs to be done and help them more effectively.

I think blogging is a great resource and I think I will use if extensively in my future classrooms.

Welcome to My Blog :)

I added some gadgets on the side:
1) one of my favorite scriptures because good scriptures always put me in a good mood, so hopefully they will do the same for you :)
2) a picture I took while I was running Stewart Falls one night. I love this picture because it reminds me of the great run I had but also because I think Stewart Falls is beautiful and the mountains here in Utah have a way of making me extremely happy so why not put a little bit of that happiness on my blog?
3) a box for links that I like and want to share with others. I will add links to useful educational websites etc. as the semester continues hopefully but for right now, I just added one of my favorite SNL skits called "Immigrant Tale." Something else you might like to know about me, I love to laugh and SNL is great at making me. :)
4) My Blog List where I will eventually put all my group members blogs
5) a link to my profile so you can learn even MORE about me. Woohoo!