10 Do's and Don'ts when using Powerpoint

1. Hold up your end with compelling material.
In a way, PowerPoint's ease of use may be its own worst enemy. However simple and engaging it can be to build eye catching slides and graphics, bear in mind that PowerPoint isn't autonomous. The audience has come to hear you, not merely to stare at images tossed onto a screen. Build a strong PowerPoint program, but make sure that your spoken remarks are no less compelling. "PowerPoint doesn't give presentations — PowerPoint makes slides," says Matt Thornhill, president of Audience First, a Midlothian, Va., business that offers presentation training. "Remember that you are creating slides to support a spoken presentation."

2. Keep it simple.
We've all likely seen PowerPoint and other presentations where the speaker seemed ready to propose to the program. After all, it was clear that he fell in love with every wrinkle, special effect and other bit of gadgetry available. But the most effective PowerPoint presentations are simple — charts that are easy to understand, and graphics that reflect what the speaker is saying. Some authorities suggest no more than five words per line and no more than five lines per individual slide. "Don't gum up the works with too many words and graphics," Kerr says. "Do you really need to have everything up on the screen?"

3. Minimize numbers in slides.
PowerPoint's lure is the capacity to convey ideas and support a speaker's remarks in a concise manner. That's hard to do through a haze of numbers and statistics. For the most part, most effective PowerPoint displays don't overwhelm viewers with too many figures and numbers. Instead, leave those for a later, more thorough digestion in handouts distributed at presentation's end. If you want to emphasize a statistic in PowerPoint, consider using a graphic or image to convey the point. "For instance, when I once was talking about the prevalence of Alzheimer's patients, I used a photograph of an old woman rather than just throwing up a number on the screen," Kerr says.

4. Don't parrot PowerPoint.
One of the most prevalent and damaging habits of PowerPoint users is to simply read the visual presentation to the audience. Not only is that redundant — short of using the clicker, why are you even there? — but it makes even the most visually appealing presentation boring to the bone. PowerPoint works best with spoken remarks that augment and discuss, rather than mimic, what's on the screen. "Even with PowerPoint, you've got to make eye contact with your audience," says Roberta Prescott of The Prescott Group, a Connecticut-based communications consulting firm. "Those people didn't come to see the back of your head."

5. Time your remarks.
Another potential land mine is a speaker's comments that coincide precisely with the appearance of a fresh PowerPoint slide. That merely splits your audience's attention. A well-orchestrated PowerPoint program brings up a new slide, gives the audience a chance to read and digest it, then follows up with remarks that broaden and amplify what's on the screen. "It's an issue of timing," Kerr says. "Never talk on top of your slides."

6. Give it a rest.
Again, PowerPoint is most effective as a visual accompaniment to the spoken word. Experienced PowerPoint users aren't bashful about letting the screen go blank on occasion. Not only can that give your audience a visual break, it's also effective to focus attention on more verbally-focused give and take, such as a group discussion or question and answer session.

7. Use vibrant colors.
A striking contrast between words, graphics and the background can be very effective in conveying both a message and emotion.

8. Import other images and graphics.
Don't limit your presentation to what PowerPoint offers. Use outside images and graphics for variety and visual appeal, including video. "I often have one or two very short video clips in my presentations," says New York technology consultant Ramon Ray. "It helps with humor, conveys a message and loosens up the crowd."

9. Distribute handouts at the end — not during the presentation.
Some people may disagree with me here. But no speaker wants to be chatting to a crowd that's busy reading a summation of her remarks. Unless it is imperative that people follow a handout while you're presenting, wait until you're done to distribute them.

10. Edit ruthlessly before presenting.
Never lose the perspective of the audience. Once you're finished drafting your PowerPoint slides, assume you're just one of the folks listening to your remarks as you review them. If something is unappealing, distracting or confusing, edit ruthlessly. Chances are good your overall presentation will be the better for it.

From the website:
http://www.microsoft.com/smallbusiness/resources/technology/business_software/presenting_with_powerpoint_10_dos_and_donts.mspx

Lessons Using Digital Imagery in a Grade 3 Classroom

Language

Digital Imagery Story/Journal- In our classroom, the students are taught the elements of story writing and are required to write their own stories. With digital cameras the students can create their own pictures to accompany their stories. They can use real life objects/situations, or even plastercine creations.

Picture Walks-We often do a picture walk through a book before we read it as a class to predict what the story could be about. With digital imagery students could create their own picture stories (without words). They could make them into slide shows and have other students take a picture walk to predict the events of the story.

Visualization-This is another technique we do in the classroom to help students with comprehension. I will read the class a story, but cover up all the pictures including the book's cover. Students then are asked to draw a part of the story that they 'visualized'. Digital cameras would be a terrific way to motivate students to be creative and take pictures that express what they are visualizing at certain points in the story.

Sequencing-Students can create a series of pictures that show the events of a story in the correct order. This reinforces the idea of beginning, middle, end (as we say in grade 3).

Student Diaries-At the beginning of the year each student can have their picture taken and complete a diary entry of their introduction, feelings, friends, expectations, etc. of grade 3. As the year passes new pictures could be added with new entries. Students can take pictures of classroom events, trips, tasks they are working on, etc. At the end of the year each student would have a complete picture log and diary of their time in grade 3, showing their changes and growth. This could also be done as a whole class diary.

Antonyms/Homonyms-Students can create dual pictures that help show opposites (antonyms) such as taking an image of something big vs. something small. The could also take pictures of objects that are homonyms, such as taking a picture of a pair of shoes and a pear.

Parts of Speech-Pictures can be taken that depict the parts of speech studied in grade 3, for example a picture of children skipping would match with verbs.

Cursive Writing-Cursive writing is new for students in grade three. Pictures could be matched with the cursive letters of the alphabet to help students identify the letters.

Writing Prompts-I use pictures in my classroom as story prompts, but I use a preset folder of published teacher material. Using my own picture ideas, or even having the students take turns taking a picture to be used as a prompt for others would allow them to have more ownership of the task, and I would have more control when I want to 'prompt' a certain story idea.

Sentences-Reinforce the concept of a sentence. Sentences are still difficult for some grade 3's. They have trouble identifying one idea as one sentence. With digital imagery the teacher could take a variety of photos and have each student write one sentence that tells about the picture.

Poetry-Pictures be taken that accompany a familiar poem, or students can write their own poems and add pictures to express the topic or mood.

Book Covers/Posters-Students could create their own cover for a favourite book or a poster advertising a favourite book. This would allow other students an opportunity to be introduced to a wider variety of books and help them find material they may be interested in reading.

Building Vocabulary-Add pictures to words that are unfamiliar to help the students with meanings. These pictures and words can be displayed in the room while the class is exploring that specific topic.

Show and Tell-expand the idea of show and tell so that students do not have to simply bring an object to the classroom. With digital cameras students could take a picture of an event they attended, or took part in (perhaps a karate tournament) and bring the images in to share with the class. They can also take pictures of things that they would not otherwise be able to bring to school (eg. their dog, new swing set, or even their grandma).

“All About Me”-At the beginning of the year our classroom topic is “getting to know each other”. With digital imagery, students could have a picture of themselves in the centre of a graphic organizer surrounded by information (about themselves) that they would like to share. (The informational text could also include pictures of their favourite things, favourite hobbies, sports, family, etc.).

Following Directions/Reading for Understanding-Students can be given a list of written directions that they are to follow in order to collect pictures of detailed objects within the school. The directions must be followed in order and are specific. After the task, the class can examine the pictures along with the information the students were given to see if they were successful at understanding the instructions and following directions.

Pen Pal Connections- Our class have pen pals at another school in Hamilton. Digital imagery allows the students to see their pen pals and have a better understanding of who they are writing to. It brings them closer together and puts a face to the name, making it more exciting for grade 3 students.


Math

Geometry:

Shapes-In grade 3, students explore 2D shapes and 3D shapes. They are required to know the physical attributes of a variety of shapes. To enhance learning and help students with the understanding that these shapes are all around us, students could be encouraged to take pictures of 2D and 3D shapes they find around the school. Different groups could look for specific shapes, such as cylinders, and then each group could share their collection of pictures with the class and discuss why these objects are cylinders. Or, each student may be sent to collect one object for each shape. Then they could refer back to their pictures to reinforce all the shapes, or the classroom could have a 'wall of shapes' on display. Students would be really motivated to gather as many photos of shapes as possible so they could show theirs on the 'wall' (real ownership).

Angles-Grade 3's study right, acute, and obtuse angles. Another search could be made to find angles around the classroom and categorize each angle into 'right, acute, obtuse, or other'. The whole collection of photos taken by the class could be displayed on a bulletin board under their correct headings.

Lines-We learn about parallel lines and perpendicular lines so perhaps one half of the class could search and photograph parallel lines while the others photograph perpendicular lines and then discuss as a class their findings.

Time-Time is a difficult concept for grade 3's, not only because it is a new one, but because the students of today are so exposed to digital clocks the analog clock is challenging for them. With digital imagery, students could work in groups and be assigned different times of the day. Each group would be responsible for showing, on an analog clock, where the clock hands would be. Then the group would have to show what people are usually doing at that particular time of the day. (e.g. A photo of the group eating breakfast may have a clock in the picture showing 8:00). These pictures could then be displayed in chronological order in a slide show. The class could also see that 8:00 am and 8:00 pm show as the same time on the clock although they are two separate times of the day. Many discussions can take place around what the students' pictures and slide show.

Measurement-A very visual concept. Students can use digital cameras to take pictures of items that measure 1mm, 1cm, 1dm, and 1m. The items could be photographed beside a ruler to mark the length.
Then the photos can be used to help reinforce the idea of conversion. How may paperclips would you need to measure 1dm if the picture shows one paperclip is 1cm long? The more visual aids the better when learning linear measurement.

Place Value-We use base ten blocks and popsicle sticks a lot in grade 3 to show place value. Understanding the ones, tens, hundreds, and thousands columns if a big focus. With digital cameras students could be given a number such as 452, and be asked to photograph this number in a variety of ways using base ten blocks. “How many different ways can you picture 452?” The teacher could also work backwards from this idea and give a series of pictures showing base ten blocks of various amounts. Students would then be asked to examine the pictures, tell the amounts, and explain how they figured out their answer by what the picture shows.

Fractions-The class could use digital cameras to find different fractions used in real life around the classroom. The clock at quarter after 2:00, the mark of 9/10 on a worksheet, the writing assignments that are ½ written and ½ picture, etc. They could also be asked to create their own fractions using objects in the room and take pictures of them. Perhaps they would photograph 10 dice, with 3/10 being blue (for an example). Students could have a lot of fun because they are not just working off work pages, but they are creating their own fractions, photographing them, and then they need to share them with the class and explain their reasoning.

Science

Collecting Data-Digital Imagery would be a great asset for collecting data in science. Our class grow plants. We write-up our observations as the plants grow over time. Having pictures of our plants' progress would be a real asset in recording data. Photographs of the stages of growth could accompany our written observations and add to our reports.
Another topic is structures. We explore stability. What makes a structure strong? With cameras the students could take pictures of stable structures in the environment and write about the attributes that make it a strong structure (base, materials, height, etc). We also build our own structures in the classroom, but they are often take up a lot of room, so we usually only make one each. With photographs the students could make different structures and preserve them with photgraphs.

Processes/Methods-Students could take pictures of each other completing the steps in a task to show what process was taken. Having a visual guide would help other students understand what was done, as well as, be a reminder for the students who participate in the process. For example, students could picture a student putting dirt into a container, another student could be pictured digging a small hole in the dirt, etc., etc., all the steps involved in planting. This series of pictures would make a great display to show the process the students went through to grow a plant.

Uses in real life-In the grade three study of life we explore uses for plants. Students could take a digital camera and take pictures of all the ways they can find that people use plants. Pictures could include a desk (wood), a coffee, foods, perfumes, creams, etc. All the ideas that are brainstormed in class could now have a visual connection put to them.

Comparing-With our magnets unit students can take pictures of magnetic objects and non-magnetic objects. The class could then discuss reasons what makes the items different, what qualities do magnetic items possess? This could also be done with structures where students compare stable structures to instable structures.

Social Studies

Comparing (continued)-With urban and rural communities the teacher can take pictures that show different aspects of both and have the students compare the similarities and differences. Students could even guess and explain which community the picture was taken in. With our pioneer studies, pictures taken on our field trip of objects that were used by the pioneers could be compared to objects we use today. Students could take a picture of a pen/pencil for comparison to a feather and ink. Another great display for the wall of 'Pioneer Life vs. Modern Day'.

Field Trip to Pioneer Village-In grade 3 we take a class trip every year to a pioneer village. What a great opportunity to take some great pictures. One boy and one girl from the class are dressed up as pioneer children to show the class what they would have worn in the days of the pioneers. Many great period items are on display and explained. With a digital camera all these images can be captured and follow up activities can be done back in the classroom. The students love this experience and to preserve it (as I do every year) with digital photographs is wonderful.


Healthy Living

Projects-Students study “good” and “bad” drugs in grade 3. Students could create fantastic projects using pictures of both “drugs that are helpful (aspirin, prescriptions)” and “drugs that are harmful (alcohol, cigarettes)”. They could present their projects to the class with the addition of photos.
They could also create projects that include pictures of how to stay healthy, such as exercising, healthy foods, sleep, etc.

Posters-Students could use a digital camera to take pictures of other students promoting Healthy Living, or perhaps Bullying another student. They could then use these photos for posters.


Visual Arts

Foreground/Background-In art, the students begin to recognize the horizon line. Examining real life pictures that the students have taken themselves would be a great way for the class to understand the visual concept of background and foreground. They could explore, through their pictures, how objects close up in the foreground are larger than the background, and that there is a horizon line that helps show the depth a picture.

Warm and Cool Colours-Using digital cameras, students can create collages of warm or cool coloured objects.

Elements of Design-In grade 3 students learn about lines, textures, designs, shapes, and colours—very visual concepts. When studying these elements it would be a real motivator if the students did not only create these elements in their work, but discovered how they are all around us in everyday life. They could take the cameras and focus on textures, lines, etc. that they can find in the environment.

Digital Imagery Lesson Ideas

Some lesson ideas from the website:
http://www.educationworld.com/a_tech/tech/tech148.shtml

1 Photograph students dressed up as what they want to be when they grow up and use the pictures to illustrate career reports.
2. Take lots of pictures while on a class field trip. Have students write a caption for each picture, post the photos and captions to a Web site to create a virtual field trip.
3. Photograph “a day in the life of your classroom" for parent Open House. Create a slide show to run as parents tour your classroom.
4. Store a photograph with each student's electronic portfolio.
5. Assign pairs of students to walk through the school to find such examples of geometric shapes as circles, triangles, parallel lines, obtuse angles, and so on. Label each photo and create a geometry book.
6. Photograph community landmarks and have students create a brochure about your community.
7. For younger students, take pictures of easily recognizable signs in your community and assemble the photos into an "I Can Read" book.
8. Use photographs to illustrate the process for complicated projects or for science experiments.
9. Write a class novel and illustrate it with live-action photos of your students.
10. Take pictures of class procedures and display them in the classroom as a reminder.
11. Create a seating chart with photographs for substitutes.
12. Take pictures of each child’s eyes, nose, feet, or mouth only. Have children try to match each student to his or her body part.
13. Make picture frames for a Mother’s Day or Father’s Day gift. Glue each photo into a decorated jar lid and glue a magnet to the back.
14. Document the growth of classroom plants or animals with daily or weekly photos.
15. Take photos of school staff performing their duties. Write a caption for each photo and create a Community Workers book.
16. Snap a black-and-white headshot of each student, size it to ¼ page, and place a box frame around it. Place a blank box the same size as the framed picture beside it. Have students draw ½-inch to 1-inch gridlines in pencil in both boxes and label the gridlines 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and so on in each direction. Then have students try to duplicate their pictures by drawing only what they see in each grid.
17. Take a photograph of each student at the beginning and end of the school year. Have students complete Venn diagrams of themselves, showing how they have -- and haven’t -- changed during the year.
18. Compile a set of file cards naming such abstract concepts or emotions as freedom, love, hate, honor, joy, sorrow, patriotism, responsibility, and respect. Have students select a card at random and take a photograph illustrating that concept.
19. Have each student choose a letter and find an object that begins with that letter. Take a picture of the child with the object and use the pictures to create a class alphabet chart.
20. Arrange students into groups and assign each group one of the five senses. Have each group photograph the appropriate sensory organ and then have them take pictures of objects that organ might best perceive. pictures to illustrate such science concepts as food chain, biodiversity, biome, and so on.
21. Have students go on a photographic scavenger hunt, taking pictures of the objects they find rather than retrieving the objects themselves.
22. Take pictures of plants or animals in your community and use them to create a field guide of local wildlife

Some ideas for Podcasting Lessons for grade 3s

(From my assignments #3)

Podcasting is a fantastic tool for any classroom and can be incorporated into all aspects of the curriculum. Since I am currently teaching grade three, I have decided to focus my lesson ideas on my class's age group and their abilities. It was important for me, when creating podcasting lessons, to challenge their abilities and 'keep the bar high'. Higher order thinking is a priority. Meeting the needs of ESL, enrichment, and remedial students must also be taken into consideration. Every lesson can be diluted or expanded to individual student's abilities.

Podcasting in Language (and integrating into other areas)

Reading texts- (of course reading is the first use that comes into mind.) Podcasting is an excellent way to get students excited and motivated about reading different materials. With podcasting, students can read different texts over the course of the year and it can be dated and kept to show progression with fluency and decoding skills. It is important, however to remember that this should not just be used as a recording to show any progression, but rather, it should drive instruction. The difficulties that individual students are having would
be identified through assessing the reading and then teaching strategies would be used to address the difficulties. It would be a type of “running record” that the teacher would analyze to guide reading lessons. This also allows parents to become more aware of how their child is progressing and the difficulties he/she is having. Therefore parents can focus on these particular strategies at home to improve their child's reading.

Personal Journals/Diary- Students could podcast their personal journals on a weekly basis, telling about 'what they did on the weekend', 'writing about their families', 'their favourite activity/hobbies', 'best friend', etc. At the end of the year they would have a collection of journal entries that are about themselves at this particular point in their lives. They could do a reflection at the end of the year about their year overall.

Story Telling- Storytelling, another obvious, but a great use for podcasting. Students can create their own stories for others to listen to, creating an awareness of audience. By creating audio stories students would be able to add tone and voice (things that are difficult for them to do at times when writing). Discussions could be generated by the class after listening to the story (this is a great opportunity for higher order thinking questions). The elements (problem, solution, characters, setting, plot) could be discussed to help reinforce the purpose of them in stories. Pictures could be added to their stories to enhance them through programs such as kidpix. All students would be able to podcast a story at some level. Remedial students may be given some of the story elements to work with beforehand to guide them in their task and may just do an audio without any pictures. The stories could be dated and filed for assessment purposes, and also so that parents (and child) would have a wonderful collection of stories at the end of the year.

Character analyses-In grade three we do a lot of character analyses where the student must present proof from the story to 'back up' their description of a character. Individual students could be assigned a particular character from a common story and do a character analyses on that character. Again remedial and ESL students could work with more obvious characters and their characteristics, or perhaps they would only need to discuss one aspect of the character or give one (easier) example. (Lots of opportunity for differentiating with podcasting).

Summarizing/Retells-Summarizing is another big focus in grade three. Students must do this orally on our DRA testing at the primary level and, in the junior grades, they must write a summary. (Podcasting would be a great tool for junior teachers with students who are allowed a scribe for DRA testing). The concept is that students are oral before they can write, so podcasting summaries is an excellent way to have students collect their thoughts and verbalize their recount of a story that they have read (perhaps with digital storytelling) or that has been read to them. Discussions can take place when listening to their summary (as a teacher/student conference or a whole class) where the focus in ensuring they have covered the Beginning, Middle, and End (as we say in primary).

Interviews- This has endless possibilities and can be integrated. Students can do interviews to help develop their questioning skills. They can interview each other, as themselves, or be creative and interview another student as a character from a story where they are role playing. This could be done in social studies where one student interviews another where they are role playing as pioneers, a Native American, or perhaps a farmer (since we study urban and rural communities too), Students can be very creative with this one and teachers could incorporate it into a variety of subjects.

Reading Responses-Reading Responses are great when higher order questioning is used. We do responses all the time to stories we have read in class. Students are asked to make predictions, inferences, respond to: “why did the author...?”, “What do you think happened after the story ended?”, “Change the ending”, “Tell me a time when you felt/experienced...” etc., etc., etc., (so many possibilities). We do a lot of discussions on the carpet about our responses, but at times some individual students hear another response and “go with that answer”. Podcasting is great for individual students who are sometimes too shy to speak up or just “latch-on” to another student's response. Podcasting allows for independent responses in a comfortable, less intimidating forum.

Spelling Bees-Classroom spelling bees can be recorded for fun to reinforce spelling and vocabulary.

Book Reports-Can be done similar to summarizing, but critiquing the book as well as telling about it. It would be fantastic to have a collection of book reports that the class could listen to to expand student's awareness of different books and help students choose books of interest. Students could listen to this library independently when having difficulty finding a “good book”.

Poetry-Students could create poems of their own working from a template/model that has been discussed in regards to the characteristics of a poem. For remedial students they could work with a repetitive poem and fill in the missing word at the end of each line or students could work with a partner or group. I should move on to some other subject areas where podcasting can be used effectively, but keep in mind that these lesson ideas can all be crossed into each other. They all include language.

Newscasts-After a class trip, or perhaps a school event, the class can create newscasts telling all the details or give an editorial.

Podcasting in Math

Describing and Explaining critical problem solving- Podcasting would be a great tool to use in math especially at the grade three level. This is the year that the students write the EQAO test. The EQAO test requires students to describe and explain basically every answer that is not multiple choice. Students have a very tough time doing this. When practicing examples of this I do try to have each student take a turn at orally explaining or describing how they solved the problem, but with twenty students it is difficult. Podcasting would allow each individual to express their answers orally, listen to what they have explained, edit it, and then write out their answers.

Counting Backwards and Forwards-In grade three students also must demonstrate the ability to count backwards and forwards by 2's, 5's, 10's, 100's. This year I sat with each child and had them do this for me one at a time. With podcasting students could do this on their own all at once and I listen to them without taking time away from instruction.

Riddles- When exploring 3-D shapes we often play the “riddle game” where students come up with clues about a shape (I have 12 edges, 8 vertices, and 6 faces—What am I?) and the other students try to guess. Creating riddles as podcasts would be great fun for the students. Those finished work early could make up riddles on their own and the class could listen to them after.

Podcasting in Social Studies

Debates- Students can work with a partner to record debates that can be discussed as a whole class afterwards. Podcasting the debate would allow for stopping on key points without interrupting the flow of the students debating. In grade three we debate which is better, living in a rural community or an urban community.

Timelines- Work with a partner, students can be assigned a specific time in history to discuss. Each pair can record their 'time', beginning with the earliest and working up to the latest. The class would have small exerts of what was taking place in the past and it would be in chronological order. The whole class could listen to it together and share their information.

Interviews-Students could have a lot of fun doing this in language too with story characters and such. In grade three we study pioneers. Students could interview a pioneer questioning them on their lives and the hardships they have encountered.

Podcasting in Science

Processes/Collecting Data-Podcasting could be used to list the steps required to complete an experiment with magnets or plants for example. They could record their “prediction” (as we say in grade 3), tell the steps involved and finish with their conclusion. This is an excellent way to keep track of their observations too. Fantastic for remedial students who have difficulty with writing, but love the hands-on activities. Being able to save their observations and return to them over time is great for experiments with plant growing. I think students would be more likely to listen to their findings over and over again for study purposes rather than read their notes. Processes and findings could be shared and compared as a class.

Podcasting in Drama

Plays/Reader's Theatre-Students can create dialogue for mini skits and practice the elements of voice and tone. They can rehearse the dialogue before performing the play. This can also be done solely through podcasting as a reader's theatre where they receive the script and add expression and tone. Enrichment students may want to add music for mood or pictures to theirs. Groups can take turns enjoying all the podcasts.

Podcasting in Music

Creating Songs/Raps-This can be done in groups. The younger students seem to really enjoy the rap songs and they seems to be easier to create once they are given the beat. Students can either create songs of their own or change the words to familiar songs.

Exploring Beat and Rhythm-In grade three beat and rhythm are explored. With podcasting students can use instruments or body parts to create various beats (and add a rhythm, perhaps for enrichment students). They can then play their creations for an audience.

Podcasting in Health

Commercials-In health they can podcast their own commercials for healthy living. Topics may include healthy food choices, staying active, brushing teeth, or anti-smoking., Again, students could add sound affects, music, or pictures to their commercial.

Some Classroom uses for Digital Imagery

Photo journal of field trips
Class newsletters
Documenting projects
Journal entries
Bulletin Boards
Student created books
PowerPoint Presentations
Photos of vocabulary items
Classroom activities
Picture alphabet
Pen Pal journals
Art Projects
About the Author
Student and Staff Directories
Art
History Reports
Writing Prompts
Students of the Week
Open House events
Poster Designs
Locker magnets
Magnetic buttons
Photo editing Showing Change
Photo Seating Charts
Photo Biographies
Autobiographies
Nature Guides
Scavenger Hunts
Personal name tags
Community Postcards
Stickers
Web Pages
Image Maps
Photo essays
Trading Cards
Storyboards Photo
Fundraiser's
Poetry portfolios
Photo perspective
Nature Changes
Slideshows Scrapbooking
Virtual Tours
Family Units
Greeting Cards

Advantages and Disadvantages of Digital Imagery

Advantages:

Speed of getting images-Digital images are instantly available for output to print or video tape, or save as an image file.
Uses of the image-Images can be actually inserted into numerous computer applications like printable documents or presentations
Ease of duplication-Just copy a computer file or print as often as you like
Cost savings -- no film/no developing The images are stored in computer memory or other digital storage.
Pictures are printed directly from a computer to a printer.
Control over images & quality software -Software allows images to be changed, cropped, compressed, etc.

Disadvantages

Quality of image -Few inexpensive digital cameras produce slide quality photographs, but most do produce standard VGA resolution
You do your own processing work- You can’t just drop it off and pick it up an hour later.
Cost of camera Cost of consumer digital cameras ranges from $100 to $3000.

Consider the hidden cost of using film:
If you purchase a "good" regular 35mm film camera, it will usually cost less than a "good" digital camera. But if you consider the cost of film and developing the cost of the camera increases with every roll of film taken. The only comparable cost with digital is the cost of batteries, and you can now get very good rechargeables inexpensively

from the website: http://www.drscavanaugh.org/digitalcamera/advan.htm

Visual Learners

I had to add this great information about visual learners to my blog. It is vital information
that every teacher should take into consideration.

A Visual Learner Learns Best By:
*Taking notes and making lists to read later*Reading information to be learned*Learning from books, videotapes, filmstrips and printouts
*Seeing a demonstration

THE VISUAL LEARNER WILL NEED TO SEE ALL STUDY MATERIAL.
1.Practice visualizing (mental imagery) or picturing spelling words.
2.Write out everything for frequent and quick visual review.
3.Analyze words by tearing them apart and putting them back together (to-get-her- together).
4.Use color coding when learning new concepts (x and y axis different color when graphing).
5.Use enlarged paper for graphing, making it easier for the visual learner to plot lines.
6.Use outlines of reading assignments which cover key points and guide your reading.
7.Draw lines around the configuration of printed words and structural word elements.
8.Use charts, maps, timelines, and filmstrips when learning new material.
9.Use notes and flash cards for review of material, vocabulary, and terminology for a specific course.
10.Use a dictionary. All the visual cues are present: syllabication, definitions, configurations, affixes, etc.
11.Use graphic organizers and diagrams.
12.Use videos.
13.Utilize "mapping" techniques and draw pictures symbolizing information.
14.Highlight and underline key concepts.
15.Retype notes - use different fonts, bold print, and underline important concepts and facts.

VISUAL LEARNER STRATEGIESMATHEMATICS
*Use visual cues such as flash cards and concrete items.
*Use graph paper for organizing math problems.
*Color code math problems.
READING/LITERATURE
*When learning new vocabulary words, look up their meaning in the dictionary and write down their definition on flash cards.
*Sit close to the instructor for writing board demonstration, etc.
*Use sight words, flash cards - then close your eyes and visualize what you have seen.
*Use charts, graphs, and other visual cues.
WRITING/SPELLING
*Use visual study methods rather than recitation of words.
*Write each spelling word several times.
*Trace words with colored marking pens.
*Visualize words mentally and then reproduce them on paper.
SOCIAL SCIENCES
*Learn new material with visual stimulation (videos, computers, etc.).
*Use colored pens when taking notes - each color represents a degree of importance--blue notes are main themes, red notes are supporting details, green notes are specific details.

FACTS ABOUT THE VISUAL LEARNER Is A Natural At
*Dressing well, putting clothes together easily
*Remembering details and colors of what he/she sees
*Reading, spelling and proof reading
*Remembering faces of people he/she meets (forgets names); remembers names seen in print
*Quietly taking in surroundings
*Creating mental photos

Studying/Reading Characteristics
*Reads for pleasure and relaxation; reads rapidly
*Can spend long periods of time studying
*Requires quiet during study
*Learns to spell words in configurations rather than phonetically

Difficulties in School
*Having to take action before either seeing or reading about what needs to be done
*Working in an environment with noise or movement
*Turning out sounds (not very easy responsive to music)
*Listening to lectures without visual pictures or graphics to illustrate
*Working in classrooms with drab colors
*Working under fluorescent lights (makes it hard to concentrate)

Course Reflection-Week #5

I can't believe all the information that is being shared in this course. It's great! I have learned so much the last two weeks on podcasting and digital storytelling and have been introduced to so many new sights. I love how the class discussions expand too, for example I have been able to do some reflecting on 'listening skills' and how podcasting 'meets our curriculum expectations'. Lots of "food for thought". I have once again, not only progressed with my use of computers in the classroom, but I have also progressed with my own personal use of computers.

Steps for Creating Audio

I have to put this in my blog because this audio is all new for me and I don't want to forget the steps for my classroom.

Plug microphone in the mic outlet of the computer and you're ready to go.
Go to the Start menu . .
Go to Accessories . . .
Go to Entertainment . .
and select Sound Recorder...
Click on the circle to record and the square to stop
The saved file is a .wav file that Windows media player can read. This file can be duplicated and distributed.

Digital Storytelling

7 Elements of Digital Storytelling

1. Point (of view) In digital storytelling, we have combined the idea of point—the reason the story exists—with an emphasis that it come from a first-person perspective. These are personal stories and have some relevance for the storyteller, which is passed on to the audience.

2. Dramatic Question Digital stories are structured around a question, and the body of the story is the attempt of the storyteller to answer that question. The traditional arc of the digital story begins with the dramatic question, rises and falls around personal experience, and climaxes with a realization, which is often the result of critical reflection.

3. Emotional Content In the digital storytelling workshop, we often ask participants to tell powerful personal stories, and this emotional access to another’s experience is a major part of the story’s impact for an audience. The storytelling process allows the storyteller to make (new) meaning out of personal experience.

4. The Gift of Your Voice An important part of the experience of a digital story both for the storyteller and the audience is the voice of the storyteller. The sound of the storyteller’s voice adds a level of vulnerability and authenticity to the story.

5. The Power of the Soundtrack New media allows for easy access to musical recordings and ambient sounds to add layers of production to the story. The musical soundtrack is often called the manipulative part of the story, because music has such power to influence an audience’s emotional connection to a story.

6. Economy The normal digital story is 4-5 minutes long, and the written text is less than one double-spaced page of text. The typical story has approximately 30 visual images. This relatively small asset bank forces the storyteller to make critical choices about what and how to communicate layers of meaning in the story.

7. Pacing Successful stories make successful use of pace. The storyteller carefully considers how much to tell, show, or put in front of the audience at any given time, and also lets the story breathe, or pause, from time to time, especially at transitions.

The Basics of Adjusting Teaching Styles to Students' Learning Styles

The Basics of Adjusting Your Teaching Style to Students’ Learning Styles
http://www.teachersnetwork.org/ntol/howto/adjust/basics.htm
by Sharon Longert

Everyday we make instructional decisions before, during, and after we meet our students. These decisions lead us to tailor instruction to individuals or groups in our classrooms. Often the populations we work with have been labeled and our decisions are made in terms of these labels.
But within a label we will likely find academically diverse learners and this is why we need to move beyond the labels and make curriculum choices that complement our students’ interests, strengths and needs. Helping students to link what they are learning to daily living experiences keeps them engaged and motivated in the learning process. The effective teacher is constantly making decisions about how to present information to achieve this, as well as monitoring and adjusting presentations to accommodate individual differences and enhance the learning of all students.
When presenting content, effective teachers gain their students’ attention, interact positively with the students, review previously covered material, and provide an organization for the material, (e.g., graphic organizers, outlines, anticipation guides). Clear directions, adequate examples, and practice need to be provided in a relevant context for students. In addition, it is always important to keep in mind that some students learn facts more easily, while others are more adept at grasping concepts, some prefer concrete examples, others prefer abstract examples.

Now to some specific basics.

Listening-We take listening for granted, and like anything taken for granted, it’s important to occasionally revisit it for a fresh perspective. With that in mind, consider the following:
Listening is the cornerstone of learning.
Listening requires directing one’s attention to what is being said and then making sense of it.
Listening is a skill and requires practice.
Students spend over half of their time in school listening.

Most students can think at a much faster rate than people can speak, in order to gain and maintain students’ attention, they need to be listening first.
Some special needs students may need more time to process information while listening.
To ensure that all students are listening to the lesson, stop periodically and ask them to summarize in their own words; record any questions they have; respond or react to anything they have heard; or record, draw or write any other things that capture their thoughts. These form the basis for a Speak, Listen, Respond Log.

Activating Prior Knowledge-The prior knowledge a student brings to the lesson is key to linking to other learning. Effective teachers do not make assumptions about students’ prior knowledge, rather they plan for them.
Review- the content or skills from the previous lesson. This is the place for scaffolding information, as well as checking that skills from the previous lessons are accurately acquired. If the lessons haven’t been understood, now is the time to reteach them.
Provide- an anticipatory set to students at the start of the lesson to pique their interest and to help them connect to the content.
Reveal- the key components of the lesson to students so they can be motivated to respond and practice what they learn.

Reviewing-Reviewing the previous lesson provides distributed practice (a little bit each time repeatedly), and over time the information becomes automatic and can be called up from memory with little effort. These reviews are brief, fast and engaging and serve as a launching pad for the new lesson. Students can become the “teacher” for this portion of the lesson. A brief pre-planning meeting with student reviewers will ensure that they understand the format, content and the time period for delivery of the review.

Monitoring-Monitoring involves making decisions about how to provide feedback and how to keep students actively engaged while delivering instruction. Feedback should be immediate, frequent and provide explicit information that supports correct responses and models for improving incorrect responses. One way to monitor students’ progress is by walking around the classroom while the students are responding in their Logs. This is the perfect opportunity to provide clarification or to have students work with a study buddy. (Adapted from Merrill Harmin’s Strategies to Inspire Active Learning, Christopher-Gordon Publishers, 1995).

Listening Skills

Communication scholars estimate that listening takes up more waking hours than any other communication activity. Yet the typical person receives very little explicit listening instruction. In addition, people tend to think of listening as a passive rather than active behavior and, as a result, fail to recognize the amount of effort and skill it takes to be a good listener. The following information is designed to introduce you to two basic types of listening ? attentive and critical ? and to provide you with a clear sense of the skills you need in order to successfully respond to communication situations that require listening.

Listening Defined: the physical reality of hearing what another person says AND a suspenseful waiting that reflects psychological involvement with that person.

1. Attentive Listening

When people listen attentively, their goal is to understand and remember what they are hearing. In addition, attentive listeners have relational goals like giving a positive impression, advancing the relationship, or demonstrating care. Communication scholars have identified three listening skill clusters and accompanying behaviors that are used by attentive listeners. As you read the information below try to determine which, if any, of these behaviors you already use in your listening interactions. Then determine which new ones you should incorporate into your communication skill repertoire. As with learning any new skill, acquiring new communication behaviors requires practice. Be sure to take advantage of the practice time you are given in class before trying these behaviors out in other situations.

A. Attending skills
1. A posture of involvement: inclining one’s body toward the speaker, facing the speaker squarely, maintaining an open body position, positioning yourself an appropriate distance from the speaker
2. Appropriate body motion (occasionally nodding your head, using facial expressions to reflect emotions back to the speaker, adjusting your body position in non-distracting ways, etc.)
3. Eye contact (sustained, direct, reflective)
4. Nondistractive environment: doing as much as it takes to eliminate distracting noises, movement, etc.

B Following Skills
1. Door openers: noncoercive invitations to talk that tend to take one of four forms: a. description of another person’s body language, e.g. "You’re beaming, what’s up?" b. an invitation to talk or continue talking, e.g. "Please go on" c. silence, giving another person time to decide whether to talk d. attending to demonstrate interest, e.g. performing the attending skills described in section A above
2. Minimal encouragers: brief indicators to the other person that you’re with them, e.g. "mmhmm," "Oh?" "I see," "Right," "I understand," "Really?" "Go on," "Sure," etc.
3. Infrequent questions: open ended, asked one at a time; beware of the key listening error of asking too many questions
4. Attentive silence: most listeners talk too much, learn the value of using nonverbal attentive listening behaviors with verbal silence

C. Reflecting Skills
1. Paraphrasing: re-stating what you believe to be the essence of a speaker’s comments, e.g. "So you’re suggesting that we change the proposal?"
2. Reflecting feelings, e.g. "It sounds like you are angry with your group members"
3. Reflecting meanings (tying feelings to content), e.g. "So you were angry with your group members for pushing the proposal topic through without your input?"
4. Summative reflection, e.g. "If I understand correctly, you want the proposal topic to be changed and you want some kind of guarantee that proposal topics must be passed by all group members, right?" Some of the attentive listening behaviors described above may seem far more suited to an interpersonal communication situation than to a classroom lecture situation. The behaviors listed under A (attending skills) are the ones you are most likely to use in lecture classes. However, as indicated by the section of this Webpage devoted to Asking Questions, the skills under cluster C are useful for helping you ask good questions of clarification in class. In addition, the skills under clusters B and C are useful for helping you have good one-on-one exchanges with your professors, T.A.s, and classmates outside of class, for example, during office hours, lab sections, and group meetings. One important thing to remember about listening behaviors, however: they should never take attention away from the speaker. Like anything else, listening behaviors can be overdone and that undermines their usefulness.

2. Critical Listening
When people listen critically, their goal, in addition to understanding and remembering, is to evaluate (assess, interpret) what they are hearing. Whereas attentive listening emphasizes nonverbal skills along with some verbal skills, critical listening emphasizes critical thinking skills. Like Attentive listening, Critical listening is related to Asking Questions. Listening attentively enables you to ask good questions of clarification; listening critically provides the basis for good probing questions. Listed below are four critical thinking skills and two critical listening skills. Remember that practice is the key to successfully incorporating these skills into your communication repertoire.

A. Critical Thinking Skills
1. Questioning and challenging (from a position of goodwill and mutual goals)
2. Recognizing differences (e.g. between facts and opinions)
3. Forming opinions and supporting claims (determining what you think and why)
4. Putting ideas into a broader context (avoiding tunnel vision and bias)

B. Critical Listening Skills
1. Review and Preview as you listen: this involves anticipating where the speaker is going next, how the argument will be developed and what issues have been and/or should be covered.
2. Mapping as you listen: determining the thesis or purpose, identifying the main points, assessing the adequacy of the main points APPLICATION:
How do I put all this information into action so that I can speak or write effectively in this situation?

Why Use Digital Storytelling as a Learning Tool?

Why use DIGITAL STORYTELLING as a learning tool?

This website, http://www.district87.org/technology/dv/whyfolder/why.htm explains some excellent reasons why Digital Storytelling is a fantastic Learning Tool. It is interesting how these cover so much of our curriculum expectations...

It is what kids need.

We live in a visual world. Like it or not, students get most of their information from visual media, not merely written or spoken means. Television and the Internet are this generation’s predominant modes of gathering information. Teaching students to evaluate, create, and present information in multimedia form better prepares them to be effective communicators.

Digital storytelling helps students communicate messages effectively, concisely, and with a specific purpose and audience in mind.
Digital storytelling requires students to plan, cooperate with a team, and solve problems while working through the production process.
Digital storytelling to view writing skills in the broader context of communication.
Digital storytelling challenges students to strengthen their messages with media to increase the impact on their audience.
Digital storytelling helps students develop multimedia literacy and technology skills.

It is what kids want.

Students are highly motivated to create multimedia projects. Anyone who has provided students with a well-planned multimedia task has witnessed students who, of their own accord, brainstorm, cooperate, research, write, edit, problem-solve, analyze, and synthesize information.
Digital storytelling encourages students to discover, develop, intensify, apply, and extend their creativity.
Digital storytelling gives students the opportunity to find and use a new and compelling voice.
Digital storytelling empowers students to create in a medium that is meaningful to them.

It is what teachers need.

If we want to reach the “Nintendo Generation” we need to create lessons that lure students to learning using modalities that are a part of their everyday experience. If a picture is worth a thousand words, then educators need to capitalize on the tools that will make their lessons rich with media. Teachers need to make an impact, and media helps them accomplish this goal.
Digital storytelling provides a visual context for learning new information.
Digital storytelling addresses the different learning styles associated with a diverse student population.
Digital storytelling capitalizes on students' natural attraction to multimedia.

It is what teachers want.

Teachers want evidence that supports the growth of students' knowledge and skills. Teachers have long recognized that assessment takes on many forms. Even if mandated, standardized testing relies almost exclusively on paper and pencil assessments, parents and teachers require a broader view of student abilities than is provided by written assessment. If we truly want to find out what students have learned then we need to avail ourselves to the variety of products students can create.

Digital storytelling provides an authentic way for students to show what they know or have learned.
Digital storytelling requires students to use higher-level thinking and problem solving skills not always captured by traditional assessments.
Digital storytelling lends itself to peer evaluation more so than traditional paper and pencil assessments.

Tips for Teachers on Digital Storytelling

1. Learn from what you watch.
Think of movies you adore, movies you could watch again and again. What makes them so effective? Is it the dialogue, the character development, the way shots are framed? Likewise, consider movies so bad they make you squirm. Just why are they so excruciating? Work with your students to dissect several well-known films; you'll soon find yourselves with several categories that fall under the rubric of storytelling techniques. You will be amazed at how much you already know.

2. See technology as a storytelling tool, not as a teaching goal.
Though students need some knowledge of how to use equipment, teaching about technology should never be the focus of the curriculum. Simple editing programs such as iMovie are intuitive and easy to learn. If you have a camera and a computer with FireWire, you're ready to go; your creative aspirations will drive your technology learning curve. Once you think of an element you want to include that requires more advanced software or gear, you'll be compelled to learn how to use it.

3. Allow your students to push you (and lead you).
Don't be intimidated if your students learn faster than you do. Many of them are accustomed to quickly absorbing technology. Use their aptitude to your advantage by letting students teach each other; you'll find that they show their strengths fairly quickly. Within a class, you'll have great writers, editors, camera operators, and technicians. They can improve their weaker points while using their strengths to help others (including you).

4. Learn by trial and error.
Accept the fact that you will spend a portion of your time scratching your head, wondering, "Why won't that work?" Seek out resources where you can post questions and get answers quickly. (Creative Cow is an excellent online destination; it has sections for virtually every kind of production and postproduction software and hardware.) Every glitch will build your technology savvy until you get to the point where you can anticipate the kinds of problems students will have. Take heart in remembering that most great filmmakers come from a creative background, not a technical one; they depend on others to make technology work on their behalf.

5. Give your students freedom, but hold them accountable.
Kids are not used to the kind of freedom they'll need to do great creative work. Some will thrive in that environment, others will require close supervision to make sure they complete their projects. One good way to do this is to have students pitch a oneparagraph description of their project and provide a production schedule. In essence, it's a work contract.

6. Consider yourself the executive producer.
Work with your students as a partner learning about technology and storytelling, but don't forget that you call the shots. You have to be the arbiter of good taste and the studio boss who decides whether an idea is production worthy. Serving in this role as a teacher is actually much easier than it is for a real-live executive producer, because students naturally look to you for leadership.

7. Don't forget to celebrate your students' work.
Whether you show completed projects to the class alone or to the entire school or even the whole community, present the stories your students tell. There's a good chance their work will be much more professional than you expect, and lightyears beyond what your community might anticipate. A great side benefit of public showings is that your students will take their work very seriously. The knowledge that others are going to see it (and you can't hide C-quality work on a big screen) has been the source of tremendous inspiration for filmmakers for a hundred years.

From the Website: www.edutopia.org/magazine/ed1article.php?id=Art_1418&issue=dec_05

Cyber Safety

11 TIPS TO KEEP KIDS SAFE WHILE THEY'RE SURFING THE INTERNET

1) Keep your computer area clear of clutter--Never eat or drink near your computer: a spill can cause a lot of damage to your mouse or keyboard. Also, you should never keep magnets or devices with magnets like unshielded speakers near your PC. They will mess up your monitor, diskettes, and maybe even your hard drive.
2) Have an adult nearby--Make sure that your parents, a teacher, or another trusted adult are close by so you can ask them questions or ask for help when you need it.
3) Use a nickname--NEVER tell your real name to anyone on the Internet. Make up a special cyberspace nickname: be creative!
4) Don't share personal information--Never share personal information without permission from a parent. Don't tell anyone your age, your address, your phone number or where you go to school. Your passwords for websites and email are also secret. Never tell your passwords to anyone, not even your best friend.
5) Don't send pictures--Don't send a digital picture of yourself to anyone on the Internet. Tell your parents or teacher if someone wants to send a picture to you.
6) Check before you download--Downloaded files or programs can sometimes contain viruses or other things than can harm your computer. Check with an adult before you download anything.
7) Always be politeDon't be cruel to your CyberFriends--Never use bad words or say mean things. Don't tell rumors or lies about other people. If someone sends you nasty messages, tell your parents or teachers. It's best to avoid chain letters and leave conversations when people are being rude.
8) Don't buy or accept gifts--Never buy a toy, a game, a book or anything else without your parent's approval. Don't enter a contest or join a club without permission. Never let anyone send you a free prize or gift.
9) Don't meet or call--If someone asks to meet you in person, say NO and tell your parents or teacher right away. The person you are chatting with may not be telling the truth; you could be talking to an adult who is pretending to be a kid.
10) Tell an adult right away--If you see anything on your computer - such as a message or a picture - that makes you feel bad or uncomfortable, tell your parent or teacher right away.
11) If you're not sure, ask!--You never know what you are going to run into on the Internet. If you are not sure how to deal with a certain situation, it's best to ask an adult.

Podcasting and its Classroom Benefits

I do not know a lot about podcasting, but have begun to investigate. The website,
http://www.wtvi.com/teks/05_06_articles/classroom-audio-podcasting.html
explains, "a podcast is a web feed of audio files (although increasingly people are applying the term to video and other media) that is placed on the Internet for anyone to download. It's usually possible to download the files directly from the website, just as one would normally do; however, special programs called podcatchers exist that let users subscribe to podcasts in order to automatically download and store the media files for later playback.” It also discusses some benefits:

1. Podcasting is cheap
2. Podcasting invites a global audience
3. Audio podcasting encourages no-frills communication
4. Podcasting is digital storytelling
5. Podcasting provides a window into the classroom
6. Podcasting involves few privacy concerns
7. Podcasting can educate about copyright
8. Podcasting can be interactive
9. Podcasting can be creative
10. Podcasting can be fun

I think we would all agree with Wesley A. Fryer's article from this website, that the "educational model of the past is insufficient for the needs of today’s learners and employers. Classroom podcasts can provide engaging opportunities for students to develop desirable skills as digital storytellers and cutting-edge communicators."

Course Reflection-Week 3

After only three weeks in this course I am amazed at how much I have already learned. There have been some challenges for me that others, who are more computer savvy, may not have encountered. I am finding that, not only am I learning so much information through the content of the course, but I am learning a lot about computer use in general. At times it has been frustrating and at times it has been extremely rewarding.
I must say, before I continue, that the people in this course are fantastic. I really feel that this is a group effort with everyone supporting each other in oder to succeed. It is wonderful to know that that support is there.
I began in week one not even knowing what a blog was, let alone how to create one. My blog was originally created and didn't contain the 'add new page element', so my investigating began. With the help of Candace and others I was determined to solve the mystery. My frustration grew, but after finally updating my system I solved the problem and was back to blogging. What a great feeling of accomplishment. A little glich, but it was "driving me crazy". One hurdle overcome, but another was to follow. This week I finished my assignment 2 early and knew that all I had to do was send it. I would hold off in case I decided to change it, or new information from the class discussions would effect what I sent. Then when I actually went to send it as an attachment, I could not get it to attach as office 2.2 (which I had created it in). I tried all sorts of avenues, but it wouldn't open correctly as an attachment. I did send it in as a html document, but was disappointed how it changed it. So now I have another challenge so that hopefully I can send my next assignment as I have created it.
In regards to the course content, I am finding it fascinating. The topic of internet safety has become a huge issue and people, regardless of their computer skills, are aware of it. However, through reading articles and through discussions I have learned so much and understand now how really dangerous the internet can be if one is not careful. This course has given me a chance to examine computer use through the eyes of my students. It is amazing how knowledgable they are on computer uses and abuses. It has forced me to think more in depth about their concerns, such as cyber-bullying. I love how everyone shares their opinions, knowledge, and websites, and there is opportunity for feedback and honest discussion.
For the last two weeks I have been exploring websites and software that I had not exposed myself to before. It is great. I am discovering some great finds that I will definitely use with my students. Before this course I had a standard "set" (for lack of a better word) of software that we used in the classroom. Now it has expanded ten fold thanks to everyone's input.
I am so glad that I have taken this course. I am finding it very rewarding. I may not be a computer 'wiz', but with a class and instructors this supportive, I think I may just make it through.

Statistics on Internet Safety Issues

I have to include this is my blog because I am the type of person who likes to see numbers and statistics. It adds clarity and puts things into a better perspective. Although this is an older study done in 2001 I find the percentages mentioned fascinating and frightening. The information comes from an article written by Dr. John Barnett who 'taught high school science for 20 years before completing his PhD at OISE. He is now an assistant professor at the University of Western Ontario'. The article is titled, Internet Safety in School: Some Thoughts for Science Teachers (June 2004)

"In 2001, the Government of Canada along with the Canadian non-profit group, Media Awareness Network, commissioned a comprehensive study of nine to seventeen year-old children.1 They found that the Internet was used by 99% of Canadian children, 79% at home. The study found that 56% of children use Internet-based chat rooms (with more than two thirds of that group using unmonitored chat rooms) and 41% used instant messaging. They found that more than 10% of children had disabled the Internet filters at school or at home. More disturbingly, they found that almost 20% of children had been e-mailed a message that bothered or frightened them and that such children more often told a friend than an adult about it. More than 10% of those who use instant messaging said that they had been threatened while using it. The study also found that more than 40% of their sample had been approached by someone asking for their personal information, with nearly half of that group giving away the information. Less than 10% told their parents about the encounter. As for risky behaviour, about 25% of children reported that someone they met on the Internet had asked to meet them face to face and more than 10% had actually met that person. Of that group, 12% said they had a bad experience. In seven percent of the cases, children said that the stranger initiated sexual contact and six percent said the stranger was violent. Ten percent said the stranger was not attractive or not the age or appearance they claimed to be."

Some websites for teachers with younger students...

Some 'safe' websites for teachers and kids...

http://pbskids.org/lions/This site is based on the popular children's show Beween the Lions.
http://home.comcast.net/~ngiansante/index.htmlThis site provides a list of leveled books by grade
http://www.harcourtschool.com/menus/auto/18/50.htmlThis site is great for learning how to read, write, and spell
http://www.starfall.com/An excellent site for helping your child learn to read. Use the menu that appears directly in front of you on the first page to navigate, or the smaller menu at the right.
http://www.sundhagen.com/babbooks/adlib.cgiComplete the boxes as instructed to create your own silly story! In grade 3we learn about using interesting adjectives, so this should be a big hit
http://www.sandiegozoo.org/kids/recipes.htmlRecipes from the San Diego Zoo...great inspiration for writing! (Math:Blackline Masters for everything math!!)
http://lrt.ednet.ns.ca/PD/BLM/table_of_contents.htmA great tool for teachers or parents to reinforce math skills using Canadian tools.
http://www.funbrain.com/cashreg/Click on a level of difficulty and then on the Canadian flag to play this on-line money game! You may want to bring some money with you to helpfigure out the change, or you could use a calculator. Have fun!Other:
http://www.sciencenewsforkids.org/What a fantastic site! There are plenty of science articles in kid-friendly text and complete with pictures. This site is sure to feed those hungryminds - your child's and your own! http://www.nationalgeographic.com/ngkids/trythis/try1.htmlNobody ever said science was neat and tidy!! Only try this site out if youare in the mood for something slimy and goopy and blue....This mixture will be both a liquid and a solid and it is NOT to be eaten and NOT to be poured down your sink! Have fun getting gooey!
http://www.wackykids.org/welcome.htmThis site has fun ideas for making simple art projects with paper and it hasbook lists for kids interested in reading more about art!
http://www.scribbleskidsart.com/generic218.htmlHere is some great information about Pablo Picasso.
http://www.nga.gov/kids/kids.htmWow! This is a fantastic site! Take time to explore the site with your child.
http://www.enchantedlearning.com/artists/coloring/This site has links to art and artists around the world as well as art activities, and colouring pages to print out or 'paint' on line.
http://artsedge.kennedy-center.org/content/2223/2223_exploring_elements.pdfA one page chart outlining the elements of art and design.
http://www.asiaeducation.edu.au/myplace/gallery/gallery.htmThis is a site dedicated to the artworks of children throughout Asia.

Kids Search Engines

Kids Search Engines
By Danny Sullivan, Editor-In-Chief April 4, 2005
The services below are designed primarily to serve the needs of children, either in focus, or by filtering out sites that some parents and teachers might find inappropriate for kids. These usually include sites that deal with explicit sexual matters, porn sites, violence, hate speech, gambling and drug use.

Major Children's Guides & Directories
The kid-safe directories below use human beings to filter out sites that might be considered objectionable for viewing by children.

Ask Jeeves For Kids http://www.ajkids.com/
Ask Jeeves is a unique service where you enter a question, and Ask Jeeves tries to point you to the right web page that provides an answer. At Ask Jeeves For Kids, answers have been vetted for appropriateness. Also, if Ask Jeeves cannot answer a question, it pulls results from various search engines in its metacrawler mode. At Ask Jeeves For Kids, no site that is on the CyberPatrol block list is supposed to be listed.

KidsClick!http://www.kidsclick.org/
Backed by librarians, KidsClick lists about 5,000 web sites in various categories.

Looksmart's Kids Directoryhttp://search.netnanny.com/?pi=nnh3&ch=kids
The Kids Directory is a listing of over 20,000 kid friendly websites that were hand picked by employees of Looksmart subsidiary Net Nanny and vetted for quality. Looksmart also offers a safe search of the entire web, using Net Nanny software to filter Wisenut search results, as well as a free toolbar that uses the same service.

Yahooliganshttp://www.yahooligans.com/
Yahoo for kids, designed for ages 7 to 12. Sites are hand-picked to be appropriate for children. Also, unlike normal Yahoo, searches will not bring back matched found by crawling the web, if there is no match from within the Yahooligan listings. This prevents possibly objectionable sites from slipping onto the screen. Additionally, adult-oriented banner advertising will not appear within the service. Yahooligans is the oldest major directory for children, launched in March 1996.

Filtering Options
Most major search engines get their listings by crawling the web, rather than through human review and categorization, as with the sites listed above. This means its easy for possibly objectionable material to appear in search results.
As a solution, most major search engines offer some type of filtering ability. It's meant to keep out porn content and other material that most might not want children to encounter.
These filters are not perfect. Some material does get past them, and some safe material may get filtered out. To understand more about this, see the Harvard Criticizes Google's Adult Content Filter article that ran in our SearchDay newsletter in April 2003.

Below are tips on enabling porn filters for major search engines:

AllTheWeb: Use the Basic Settings page to enable the Offensive Content Filter option. The only works for searches in English.
AltaVista: Use the Family Filter Setup page.
AOL Search: Doesn't appear to offer a filter, but enabling Parental Controls might have an impact on web search matches.
Ask Jeeves: Use options for Content Filtering on the Your Settings page or try Ask Jeeves For Kids, listed above.
Google: See the SafeSearch help page for instructions on setting up filtering on a permanent or as-needed basis.
HotBot: Use the Block Offensive Content section of the Filter Preferences page. Note that you may need to set this again if you change from using the default "HotBot" search engine that's offered.
LookSmart: LookSmart has never accepted adult content for listing within its directory results. However, obscure queries might bring these up in the crawler-based results that are sometimes provided.
Lycos: Use the Adult Filter section of the Advanced Search Filters page.
MSN Search: Use the Safe Search Filter on the Settings page.
Teoma: Teoma doesn't appear to offer a filter.
Yahoo: Set the SafeSearch Filter option via the Search Preferences page.
Filtering and Blocking Software
Filtering software works across the entire web, not just for search results. Most filtering software provides a fair amount of control for parents to determine what it and is not allowable content. Cyber Patrol and Net Nanny are two of the most popular of these programs.
Cyber Patrolhttp://www.cyberpatrol.com/
Cyber Patrol relies on an extensive categorized list of web sites to allow parents to determine which sites are allowable or not. Content is sourced by a team of 40+ professional researchers, automated tools and customer submissions to gather the most widely accessed content on the Internet. These lists are updated frequently. Parents can also control whether individual web sites are allowed or not.
The program can filter web pages, newsgroups, chat rooms and other internet resources, and can be used to limit online time, create user logs and so on.
Net Nannyhttp://www.netnanny.com/
Looksmart acquired Net Nanny in April 2004 and added porn-free web search to the product shortly thereafter. The product provides a wide variety of parental controls, including blocking content based on content, URL, or ratings.
In addition to blocking web pages, the program allows selective blocking of access to chat, instant messaging, internet games and newsgroups. The program can also be configured to prevent illegal downloading of copyrighted or obscene material.
For more filtering software programs, see Yahoo's list of blocking and filtering software.
Other Children's Search Engines ALA Great Web Site for Kidshttp://www.ala.org/greatsites
An organized directory of sites selected by members of the American Library Association using rigorous evaluation guidelines to assure high quality content, authority and "strength of character."
Awesome Libraryhttp://www.awesomelibrary.org/
Over 14,000 sites have been classified into a directory, specifically organized for teachers, students and parents. Information can be found by browsing or searching.
Diddabdoohttp://www.dibdabdoo.com/
Billed as an ad free, non-commercial directory of web sites designed for child-safe searching.
Education Worldhttp://www.education-world.com/
Over 500,000 sites of interest to educators. Browsable or searchable, with the ability to narrow in by appropriate grade level. Launched in spring 1996.
Fact Monsterhttp://www.factmonster.com/
Reference provider Information Please produces this site which provides facts and information oriented around the needs of children.
Family Sourcehttp://www.family-source.com/
This focused crawler-based service has indexed nearly 1 million kid-friendly URLs.
FirstGov for Kidshttp://www.kids.gov/
From the U.S. Federal Citizen Information Center, this directory provides links to government-related kids' sites along with some of the best kids' sites from other organizations, grouped by subject.
Kids Search Toolshttp://www.rcls.org/ksearch.htm
Search a variety of kid-safe search engines from a single page.
SearchEdu.comhttp://www.searchedu.com/
Index of pages built by crawling education web sites.
Teach-nology.comhttp://www.teach-nology.com/
Directory of web sites for teachers and educators.
TekMom's Search Tools for Studentshttp://www.tekmom.com/search/
All-in-one search page for kid search sites and research resources.
ThinkQuest Libraryhttp://www.thinkquest.org/library/
A free educational resource featuring 5,500+ websites created by students around the world as part of a competition.

Where's the Financing?

Perhaps this article, No More Chalk, written by Helen Gao, needs to be sent to the Ministry or the school boards. It is an interesting article that explains how research shows that with advanced technology in the classrooms students "do substantially better on standardized tests", and that technology "improves performance". As a grade three teacher, (approaching June), I am constantly hearing about increasing EQAO scores and test results. Perhaps the ministry should be assisting in this endeavour more by supplying money for classroom technology so that our students can rise to their fullest potentials. The article makes a valid point in saying, "With today's students born into a world saturatedwith cell phones, iPods and instant messaging, a growing chorus of technology experts say teachers must engage young people on their terms or risk boring them"--so provide us the resources to do this successfully.

Getting Internet Permission

In September the teachers with the Hamilton Wentworth District School Board send home a consent form that ensures parents are aware of their child's internet use at school. It clearly states the Guidelines for internet use and therefore helps parents to share in some of the responsibility for their child's internet use. Here is a sample of our form...

Acceptable Use Agreement for the Internet
CONSENT FORM
______________________________________________________________________________________________

The HamiltonWentworth District School Board has an Acceptable Use Agreement for the Internet that has been explained to your son/daughter. Please sign this form and return it to your son/daughter’s school.
The signatures of the students and parent/guardian (where the student has not reached the age of 18 years) are mandatory before access is granted for use of the Internet provided by The HamiltonWentworth District School Board
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

As a user of The HamiltonWentworth District School Board’s Internet facilities, I agree to comply with The HamiltonWentworth District School Board’s AcceptableUse Agreement for the Internet.


Student Signature:____________________________________Date:______________
Student Name (please print):______________________________________________
Student’s School:_________________________________________________________
Grade:__________ Date of Birth: Year__________Month_______Day____

As parent/legal guardian of the above student, I have read the reverse side of this form, and I grant permission for my son/daughter to use Internet services provided by The HamiltonWentworth District School Board.

Parent/Guardian Signature:________________________________ Date:____________
Parent/Guardian Name (please print):________________________________________

Street Address/Postal Code:_________________________________________________
Home Telephone:___________________Work Telephone:_________________________



THE REVERSE SIDE READS:

Guidelines for Internet Use:
-Use equipment for educational purposes only
-Keep passwords Confidential
-Show Respect for people and organizations
-Use only authorized software
-Be polite and well mannered when using E-mail
-Do not break copyright laws
-Do not accessorpost offensive material
-Do not harm or destry data of a person, computer, or network
-Respect other people’s time--keep messages brief
-Logoff as soon as you have completed your task

Failure to observe rules will result in loss of Internet privileges and/or other punishment consistent with the school code of behaviour.

Seven Core Skills when Instructing in Computers

'We need to start instructing students in the use of computers, zeroing in on seven core skills: defining, accessing, managing, integrating, evaluating, creating, and communicating information. The seven core skill areas can be broken down into simple tasks for elementary students, and built upon as the students progress in their knowledge of computer skills.'

From the link: http://resourcexpress.net/8/classroom.php?zt=Safety%20Classroom

Pros, but also Cons, of Blogs

After researching the use of blogs in the classroom I have become aware of the enormous benefits that blogging provides for our students. How it can enhance writing, reading, creativity, communication, technological awareness, etc. I have read many articles from experts who endorse blogging.
However I think that it is important to examine the cons to this technology as well. As a grade 3 teacher (who admittedly has not yet attempted blogging with my students), I do have some concerns. I only have one 50 minute period in the computer lab a week with my students and although setting up a blog takes only minutes, with a class of 20 young children I wonder how ’smoothly’ that would be. Then their typing abilities come into question. I know that quality beats out quantity, but I think a few could only manage a sentence or two after reaching their blog. I definitely think older students have the advantage here. (Although I guess if you start them young...). There are also concerns about content that would have to be closely monitored of course. Here are some safety tips I found:

Copyright Parry Aftab 2006, all rights reserved. For permission to duplicate, e-mail Parry@WiredSafety.org. Parry Aftab's Guide to Keeping Your Kids Safe Online MySpace, Facebook and Xanga, Oh! My! Keeping yourself and your kids safe on social networks

The quick tips for teens:
• Put everything behind password protected walls, where only friends can see
• Protect your password and make sure you really know who someone is before you allow them onto your friends list
• Blur or morph your photos a bit so they won't be abused by cyberbullies or predators
• Don't post anything your parents, principal or a predator couldn't see
• What you post online stays online - forever!!!! So thinkb4uClick!
• Don't so or say anything online you wouldn't say offline
• Protect your privacy and your friends' privacy too...get their okay before posting something about them or their pic online
• Check what your friends are posting/saying about you. Even if you are careful, they may not be and may be putting you at risk.
• That cute 14-year old boy may not be cute, may not be 14 and may not be a boy! You never know!
• And, unless you’re prepared to attach your MySpace to your college/job/internship/scholarship or sports team application…don’t post it publicly!

And for parents:
• Talk to your kids – ask questions (and then confirm to make sure they are telling you the truth!)
• Ask to see their profile page (for the first time)…tomorrow! (It gives them a chance to remove everything that isn’t appropriate or safe…and it becomes a way to teach them what not to post instead of being a gotcha moment! Think of it as the loud announcement before walking downstairs to a teen party you’re hosting.)
• Don't panic…there are ways of keeping your kids safe online. It’s easier than you think!
• Be involved and work with others in your community. (Think about joining WiredSafety.org and help create a local cyber-neighborhood watch program in your community.)
• Remember what you did that your parents would have killed you had they known, when you were fifteen.
• This too will pass! Most kids really do use social networks just to communicate with their friends. Take a breath, gather your thoughts and get help when you need it. (You can reach out to WiredSafety.org.)
• It’s not an invasion of their privacy if strangers can see it. There is a difference between reading their paper diary that is tucked away in their sock drawer…and reading their MySpace. One is between them and the paper it’s written on; the other between them and 700 million people online!
• Don’t believe everything you read online – especially if your teen posts it on her MySpace!
• And, finally….repeat after me – “I’m still the parent!” If they don’t listen or follow your rules, unplug the computer…the walk to the library will do them good. . For more information, visit WiredSafety.org.

I hope that I have not given the impression that I am 'against' classroom blogging, far from it, but I do think that we need to look at the cons as well as the pros before we take the responsiblity of using it with our students.

The Audience seems to be the Motivator

Wow, I must admit that I did not know anything about blogs before I began this course. I had never heard of a ’blog’. So, although this course has just begun, I have already learned something new! In the last couple of days I have been surfing to find out more information (starting with the basic concept of ‘What a blog is’) and I am amazed at how ‘in the dark’ I have been, (but it appears I am not entirely alone). In talking to several colleagues there are others who are unaware of this technology too.
In my attempt to expand my awareness of blogs and how I can utilize this technology in the classroom, I found one site that was both interesting and helpful. It was http://www.techlearning.com/db_area/archives/TL/2003/02/blogs.php. It contains an article written by Kristen Kennedy about Writing with Web Logs. In it she explains that “Web publication gives students a real audience to write to and, when optimized, a collaborative environment where they can give and receive feedback, mirroring the way professional writers use a workshop environment to hone their craft.’ She goes on to say that by doing this we ‘enhance writing and literacy skills while offering a uniquely stylized form of expression.’
My students have used computer programs to publish their writing before, but I think that the concept to creating a blog would generate more enthusiasm for students. As Kristen Kennedy says, this ‘uniquely stylized form of expression’ would be the motivation for witing for my students. There audience is usually limited to me, the teacher. I believe their excitement about having a wider audience would increase their writing efforts. At another interesting site, http://www.educause.edu/pub/er/erm04/erm0450.asp?bhcp=1, a fifth grader, Dominic Oullet-Tremblay, confirms this by saying, "The blogs give us a chance to communicate between us and motivate us to write more. When we publish on our blog, people from the entire world can respond by using the comments link.” This seems to be the concensus, not only from students, but also from educators (as pointed out by Jeremy from the article he found that stated, "Although blogging in schools is still in its infancy, anecdotal evidence suggests that students' interest in, and quantity of, writing increases when their work is published online and -- perhaps even more importantly -- when it is subject to reader comments.”