Bethany's RSS
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
RSS in Education
This is my first experience using RSS feeds in education or in my personal life. Signing up for Google Reader was easy; but, I found the web tool harder to navigate than I expected. Out of all of the web tools that we have researched and used, I find this one to be the most challenging to use. With this particular web tool, I will need to investigate RSS feeds much further compared to previous web tools in order to feel comfortable introducing them to my students and fellow educators. After experimenting with RSS for a little bit, I was able to add a few subscriptions related to education and create a tag.One of the most intriguing aspects of RSS feeds is the possibility to use RSS search feeds for student research for projects and papers. Richardson (2010) explains that students can use RSS search feeds to do research 24/7, but the RSS feed does the work. I also am very interested in learning how to use RSS feeds to create a web page. Does anyone one have some examples of how they have used RSS feeds?References:Richardson, W. (2010). Blogs, wikis, podcasts, and other powerful Web tools for classrooms. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.
Posted by Bethany June at 5:08 PM
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4 comments:
Darlene Kellner said...
Unfortunately Bethany, I too am a novice to RSS feeds. So I don't have any examples of uses of RSS feeds with students. I believe this tool can help both students and teachers keep up to date on their areas of interest, with a lot less time invested on their part.
October 26, 2010 6:47 PM
Darlene Kellner said...
I tried to RSS feed to your blog, but it seems you make a completely new blog for each creation activity rather than a new post on the same blog. Is there any way you have found to get a feed from the person rather than the blog?
October 26, 2010 6:50 PM
gpattisoned614 said...
Bethany,I haven't had the opportunity to work with students and RSS feeds. I can see how they could be valuable for research, but filtering them for age appropriate material might be difficult. Also, trying to keep up with all the feeds can still be time consuming.
October 28, 2010 3:02 PM
Bethany June said...
Darlene,In Google Reader on the left hand side there is a section that says, "People you follow." This reminds me of twitter. I tried to search for you there, but there were zero results. There must be a way to get a feed from a person if they share things, but at this time I do not know how to proceed with that.Bethany
Saturday, November 20, 2010
Wiki
Thursday, October 21, 2010
Wiki
This is the first wiki that I have created. In the past, I have always heard good things about wikis from other educators, but had always remained skeptical myself. As a librarian, I have always worried about the quality of the content of Wikipedia especially when it can be edited and accessed by anyone. I agree with Richardson’s (2010) findings, “The early consensus among educators seems to be to tell students to use Wikipedia as a starting point for their work, but not as a sole resource” (Richardson, 2010, p, 60). At this point, I am comfortable with my students using Wikipedia to brainstorming and for topic discovery.Although after reading more about wikis, I have started to consider some educational possibilities and also do not feel as strong as I did about not allowing students to use Wikipedia as a resource. I could see using a wiki as a sort of content blog, but with student editing power. Also for our classes, I could see using a wiki to compile information on different topics that are discussed. There seems to be many uses and possibilities when it comes to wikis.The wiki I just created was very easy to navigate and setup. Teachers could easily create a wiki for all students to interact with for their classroom or course. In the libraries where I work, I would prefer to use a wiki that has a login system. I also like the view history tabs on wikis so that you know who posted what. Before I can feel completely comfortable using a wiki in the library, I will need to read more about wikis and experience them for myself.References:Richardson, W. (2010). Blogs, wikis, podcasts, and other powerful Web tools for classrooms. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.
Posted by Bethany June at 6:33 PM
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2 comments:
gpattisoned614 said...
Bethany,I agree that one must feel comfortable with wikis before bringing them into the classroom. I currently do not use wikis in class. I am concerned that others can make inappropriate changes or post inaccurate information to a wiki page. I do like the idea of using a wiki within a log-in system. We have that ability in Moodle in my school district. Are any of your teachers using wikis in the classroom?
October 22, 2010 3:41 PM
Bethany June said...
Gayle,As far as I know, none of the teachers in my district are using wikis in their classrooms.
Wiki
This is the first wiki that I have created. In the past, I have always heard good things about wikis from other educators, but had always remained skeptical myself. As a librarian, I have always worried about the quality of the content of Wikipedia especially when it can be edited and accessed by anyone. I agree with Richardson’s (2010) findings, “The early consensus among educators seems to be to tell students to use Wikipedia as a starting point for their work, but not as a sole resource” (Richardson, 2010, p, 60). At this point, I am comfortable with my students using Wikipedia to brainstorming and for topic discovery.Although after reading more about wikis, I have started to consider some educational possibilities and also do not feel as strong as I did about not allowing students to use Wikipedia as a resource. I could see using a wiki as a sort of content blog, but with student editing power. Also for our classes, I could see using a wiki to compile information on different topics that are discussed. There seems to be many uses and possibilities when it comes to wikis.The wiki I just created was very easy to navigate and setup. Teachers could easily create a wiki for all students to interact with for their classroom or course. In the libraries where I work, I would prefer to use a wiki that has a login system. I also like the view history tabs on wikis so that you know who posted what. Before I can feel completely comfortable using a wiki in the library, I will need to read more about wikis and experience them for myself.References:Richardson, W. (2010). Blogs, wikis, podcasts, and other powerful Web tools for classrooms. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.
Posted by Bethany June at 6:33 PM
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2 comments:
gpattisoned614 said...
Bethany,I agree that one must feel comfortable with wikis before bringing them into the classroom. I currently do not use wikis in class. I am concerned that others can make inappropriate changes or post inaccurate information to a wiki page. I do like the idea of using a wiki within a log-in system. We have that ability in Moodle in my school district. Are any of your teachers using wikis in the classroom?
October 22, 2010 3:41 PM
Bethany June said...
Gayle,As far as I know, none of the teachers in my district are using wikis in their classrooms.
Social Bookmarking
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
Social Bookmarking
Social bookmarking is a great tool for not only educators but for everyone to share important web sites and information. Teachers can use social bookmarking to share bookmarks with other teachers, parents, and students. Teachers can even create social bookmarks on the specific subject or subjects they teach. Richardson (2010) explains, “Social bookmarking sites like Diigo.com and Delicious.com allow teachers and students to build subject-specific resource lists that they can easily share” (Richardson, 2010, p, 10).Also, many social bookmarking sites are free and easy to use. Access to these social bookmarking sites is constant and provides a place for educators and the public to store important information at a click of the mouse. Through other doctorate students and professors at Wilkes, I have acquired many bookmarks that I otherwise would not have known about. Social bookmarking may be an easy opportunity to get many educators, who do not normally maximize technology use in their personal or professional life, to turn onto using the new web technologies available today. References:Richardson, W. (2010). Blogs, wikis, podcasts, and other powerful web tools forclassrooms. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.
Posted by Bethany June at 10:44 AM
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4 comments:
gpattisoned614 said...
Bethany,This is the first time that I have had the opportunity to create a social bookmarking page. I can't wait to share this with my mathematics department. We always talk about sharing resources. This is a great way to do it. Have you shared your site with other teachers at your school?
October 12, 2010 3:43 PM
Darlene Kellner said...
Bethany,I have also found this doctoral program to be a wealth of information. I believe in today's society, that wealth of information can be overwhelming. Social bookmarking sites make it possible to organize the information so it is not so overwhelming and also easy to share. How do you plan on getting the educators who do not normally maximize technology use to utilize this tool?
October 14, 2010 8:51 PM
Bethany June said...
Gayle,Unfortunately, I have not shared my bookmarks with other teachers in my school district. I do think that social bookmarking has the potential to be a great resource for educators. Since many of the teachers in my school district still do not have access to technology, sharing something like social bookmarking is a challenge. To accommodate the lack of technology in my district, I will need to send both a mass email about social bookmarking as well as a paper memo to teacher mail boxes. Bethany
October 16, 2010 7:27 PM
Bethany June said...
Darlene,Social bookmarking is an example of a web technology that is convenient and easy to use. Once educators realize how easy and valuable this one web tool is they may be encouraged to try out other web tools. In my situation, I would verbally tell other educators in my district about social bookmarking, send informational emails out on the topic, send a paper memo out to all teachers, and give a presentation about social bookmarking on an in-service day if possible. I would also encourage head teachers in the four elementary buildings to discuss social bookmarking with the teachers at the school where they work. Bethany
Social Bookmarking
Social bookmarking is a great tool for not only educators but for everyone to share important web sites and information. Teachers can use social bookmarking to share bookmarks with other teachers, parents, and students. Teachers can even create social bookmarks on the specific subject or subjects they teach. Richardson (2010) explains, “Social bookmarking sites like Diigo.com and Delicious.com allow teachers and students to build subject-specific resource lists that they can easily share” (Richardson, 2010, p, 10).Also, many social bookmarking sites are free and easy to use. Access to these social bookmarking sites is constant and provides a place for educators and the public to store important information at a click of the mouse. Through other doctorate students and professors at Wilkes, I have acquired many bookmarks that I otherwise would not have known about. Social bookmarking may be an easy opportunity to get many educators, who do not normally maximize technology use in their personal or professional life, to turn onto using the new web technologies available today. References:Richardson, W. (2010). Blogs, wikis, podcasts, and other powerful web tools forclassrooms. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.
Posted by Bethany June at 10:44 AM
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4 comments:
gpattisoned614 said...
Bethany,This is the first time that I have had the opportunity to create a social bookmarking page. I can't wait to share this with my mathematics department. We always talk about sharing resources. This is a great way to do it. Have you shared your site with other teachers at your school?
October 12, 2010 3:43 PM
Darlene Kellner said...
Bethany,I have also found this doctoral program to be a wealth of information. I believe in today's society, that wealth of information can be overwhelming. Social bookmarking sites make it possible to organize the information so it is not so overwhelming and also easy to share. How do you plan on getting the educators who do not normally maximize technology use to utilize this tool?
October 14, 2010 8:51 PM
Bethany June said...
Gayle,Unfortunately, I have not shared my bookmarks with other teachers in my school district. I do think that social bookmarking has the potential to be a great resource for educators. Since many of the teachers in my school district still do not have access to technology, sharing something like social bookmarking is a challenge. To accommodate the lack of technology in my district, I will need to send both a mass email about social bookmarking as well as a paper memo to teacher mail boxes. Bethany
October 16, 2010 7:27 PM
Bethany June said...
Darlene,Social bookmarking is an example of a web technology that is convenient and easy to use. Once educators realize how easy and valuable this one web tool is they may be encouraged to try out other web tools. In my situation, I would verbally tell other educators in my district about social bookmarking, send informational emails out on the topic, send a paper memo out to all teachers, and give a presentation about social bookmarking on an in-service day if possible. I would also encourage head teachers in the four elementary buildings to discuss social bookmarking with the teachers at the school where they work. Bethany
Podcasts in Education
Podcasts in Education
Bethany's PodcastThis is the second podcast that I have created for a course. The first podcast I created was through a class I took at Bloomsburg University as part of the Master’s of Reading program. That particular podcast was created in class with specific guided directions and only took a few minutes. Unfortunately, I don’t remember the program that the instructor had us use. At first, I was unsure of how to proceed with creating this second podcast. I found Audacity easy enough to download and use to create a recording. I was then able to save the recording I made as an MP3 file. After that, I was unsure of where I could post the MP3 file to create a podcast; but, after looking at Gayle’s podcast blog post I decided to use the same web site (box.net) to share the file. Thank you Gayle! Podcasting does not seem to be a hard tool to use as long as the user has a place to share their podcast and a program such as Audacity to create it. Richardson (2010) states, “As long as you have a way to make the recording, and as long as your students have access to the Internet, you can make this work” (p. 115).Podcasting can be utilized and incorporated in various content units and activities by all educators from elementary to higher education. In the library, I could see using podcasts to create electronic book reviews or even record an entire read aloud for puppet shows. There are many different ways podcasts can be used to enhance student learning.Reference:Richardson, W. (2010). Blogs, wikis, podcasts, and other powerful Web tools for classrooms. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.
Posted by Bethany June at 5:09 PM
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4 comments:
Darlene Kellner said...
Dear Bethany,I ran into difficulty in the exact same part of the process. I eventually decided that I would use my personal web space and would have to think carefully about what locations for hosting would be best for my students. Where do you think you would have your library students host their podcasts?
November 2, 2010 8:00 PM
gpattisoned614 said...
Bethany,When I created podcasts before, I used Apple's Garageband program. I have found that to be very user friendly. At school I have webspace on Moodle where I have been able to post completed podcasts for students. I was going to attempt this with my podcast for class, but I thought I would try one of the other programs available like box.net. I thought this was a good, free option and I think it worked well.
November 3, 2010 3:28 PM
Bethany June said...
Darlene,The new Destiny Quest system that my school purchased is an online database and website. One of the tools included in Destiny Quest is a form of podcasting to create book trailers, reviews, and suggestions. The podcasts connected to the library books can be hosted on the Destiny website. For other podcasts not involving library books, I would need to work with the technology staff at my school to determine if the teacher websites have enough room to host podcasting. I would also need to inquire about what programs could be used that would not be blocked by the school filters. Bethany
November 3, 2010 6:14 PM
Bethany June said...
Gayle,Thank you for your example of podcasting! Before looking at yours, I was unsure what to use. I found box.net relatively easy to use and free is always a plus.Thanks,Bethany
November 3, 2010 6:16 PM
Tuesday, November 9, 2010
This is my second Twitter account. About two years ago, I signed up for a Twitter account but got more into using facebook instead to communicate with my local friends as well as friends from high school and college. Twitter is very easy to sign up for. I was able to locate and follow Richardson, Darlene, and Gayle without difficulty.
Before this class, I had never thought of using Twitter as a possible educational web tool with my students or colleagues. Twitter seems to have a lot of potential for classroom use. Richardson (2010) states, “It’s the blend of the professional and the personal that makes Twitter such a cool tool on so many levels” (p, 86). I particularly like the idea discussed by Richardson (2010) about using Twitter as a way to get students to micro blog. Twitter could be used to introduce blogging. Using Twitter, to communicate with parents, is something schools could us as an additional way to announce cancelations, delays, early dismissals, or other emergencies. In the library, Twitter could be utilized to make short announcements about upcoming events and new books in the library.
I think the biggest challenge, with using Twitter in a school district, would be getting parents to try it. Many parents and other educators may have some preconceived notions about what Twitter is and what it should be used for.
References:
Richardson, W. (2010). Blogs, wikis, podcasts, and other powerful web tools for classrooms, 3rd. ed.. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.
Before this class, I had never thought of using Twitter as a possible educational web tool with my students or colleagues. Twitter seems to have a lot of potential for classroom use. Richardson (2010) states, “It’s the blend of the professional and the personal that makes Twitter such a cool tool on so many levels” (p, 86). I particularly like the idea discussed by Richardson (2010) about using Twitter as a way to get students to micro blog. Twitter could be used to introduce blogging. Using Twitter, to communicate with parents, is something schools could us as an additional way to announce cancelations, delays, early dismissals, or other emergencies. In the library, Twitter could be utilized to make short announcements about upcoming events and new books in the library.
I think the biggest challenge, with using Twitter in a school district, would be getting parents to try it. Many parents and other educators may have some preconceived notions about what Twitter is and what it should be used for.
References:
Richardson, W. (2010). Blogs, wikis, podcasts, and other powerful web tools for classrooms, 3rd. ed.. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.
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