Educational Tech Week five

This week we discussed visual literacy.  Visual literacy can be defined as the ability to recognize messages portrayed in visual media... in other words, what can you learn from an image, photograph, advertisement, or painting?

Visual literacy is something we all deal with on a daily basis.  More and more every day we are confronted with visual media in the form of billboards, magazines, television, movies, and of course extensively on the internet.

Many of our readings this week discussed the danger of having a "seeing is believing" attitude when it comes to visual images.  Manipulating images is nothing new, but in the digital age of photoshop one can not necessarily trust an image to be an accurate representation of the real thing.

My favorite historical instance of manipulated images are early UFO fakes using tricks of lighting, perspective and even double exposures to create the appearance of capturing a UFO on film.  Other instances of early photo manipulation is using multiple negatives to create one image, in effect blending them together.

Other instances of "seeing isn't believing" and hoaxes include things like the "spaghetti tree" hoax created by a British news service.  They claimed that spaghetti was grown on trees in Italy, running a staged picture of someone picking spaghetti from a tree!  This sounds absurd, but people bought it due to the convincing photo attached to the article (and the fact that spaghetti wasn't a common food at the time in Britian).

Using visual literacy cues, and being more visually literate, allows someone to pick up on potential fakes, or manipulated images.  Using this knowledge someone can learn more about the intent of the image and what the artist or author wanted to convey through the image.  Whether we know it or not, our exposure to so much visual media in today's world gives us at least a basic understanding of visual literacy.  Today's schools should try and add visual literacy into their curriculum more often to teach students how to critically evaluate visual images!

I personally plan on including a segment in my lessons which discusses modern day hoaxes which circulate through social media and e-mail.  Constantly I see photoshopped images, or forced perspective photos which come with fantastic claims... and people believe them because they believe what they see in the image must be true!  If more people understood the medium of digital manipulations and how easy they are to create, they would be more skeptical about what they come across on the internet!

This week's Technology explorations:

15 a: Prezi - http://prezi.com/

1.	Describe what you learned from exploring this resource.
	Prezi is a cloud based utility to create slide show presentations.  You can create, save, and present all from the online web 2.0 utility.  Prezi goes beyond the typical slide show presentation and creates a presentation based on a concept mapping.  As you zoom into the concept map new “slides” appear at deeper levels of detail.
2.	How could you use this resource in a school setting?  It does not matter if it is in your field or level, you need to understand how the resource might be used in educational settings.
	This would be a great utility to use to create interesting presentations following a concept map of a lesson, book, project or research.
3.	Would you recommend this resource to other educators? Like/Dislike; Ease of use, fee or not, and so forth.  Why or Why not?
	An interesting utility that creates well designed presentations… if you take the time to learn the software.  This is however a subscription service, at about 5.00 per month for the most basic services.  I personally do not like the format of this presentation, and do not like the subscription based service, so I don’t think I will be using it.  I would however recommend it to someone who enjoys concept mapping.

15 b: SpicyNodes - http://www.spicynodes.org/

1.	Describe what you learned from exploring this resource.
	Spicynodes is an interesting utility to create an interactive concept map (or mind map) to be utilized on a website.  Web based, spicy nodes gives the user a unique way to display their information by creating an interactive map of interconnecting ideas.  A mobile app created by spicy nodes combines the concept  map structure with Wikipedia to create a fluid way of browsing the information available on Wikipedia, with each branch of the map linking like articles together.
2.	How could you use this resource in a school setting?  It does not matter if it is in your field or level, you need to understand how the resource might be used in educational settings.
	This service can be used to create an interesting and unique interface for webpages or wikis, giving it a more “textile” and intuitive way of linking all the information together.  This utility can also be used by students to create study maps, or presentations.  Unfortunately the utility doesn’t work well with large amounts of text information and is best kept to short bits of information on each “node”.
3.	Would you recommend this resource to other educators? Like/Dislike; Ease of use, fee or not, and so forth.  Why or Why not?
	This is a subscription service, and I do not recommend it.  There are other mind-mapping utilities available for free.  If you wanted to include a mind-map style interface on your webpage there are innovative ways to code and arrange your links to create the same effect… this may not be as easy as using this service, but it is free.  Although spicynodes hints at use in the classroom there doesn’t seem to be a pricing guide for education use, or an explanation for student use (whether or not a teacher can create one account and allow all their students to access it or if there has to be an account for every student…)

16 a: Edmodo - http://www.edmodo.com/

1.	Describe what you learned from exploring this resource.
	Edmodo is a networking service that has the look and feel of a social network like facebook, but is specifically designed for education.  For the student, it allows for communication and networking with the teacher, other students and other staff of their district’s network.  For the teacher it allows the ability to post schedules, assignments, and stay connected with students.  Edmodo also has a mobile app for phones and tablets which allows even more versatile connectivity.
2.	How could you use this resource in a school setting?  It does not matter if it is in your field or level, you need to understand how the resource might be used in educational settings.
	This is a versatile resource which can be used in many ways.  Most notably to stay connected with students, but also to create online assignments, track student progress, network with other teachers and resources, among many other things.
3.	Would you recommend this resource to other educators? Like/Dislike; Ease of use, fee or not, and so forth.  Why or Why not?
	The service is free and used by many school systems.  I would definitely recommend using this service.  As more and more students are engaging with technology and social media edmoto is a great tool to tap into that culture.

16 b: math dictionary http://www.amathsdictionaryforkids.com/dictionary.html

1.	Describe what you learned from exploring this resource.  Be thorough in your response.
	This is an online dictionary of common math terms.  Each term is defined with a simple definition as well as an interactive example of how each term is used.   Not only does it include the terms and definitions, but also printable resources, charts and posters.  This site is geared towards younger children, but can be used as a teaching resource for any age group.
2.	How could you use this resource in a school setting?  It does not matter if it is in your field or level, you need to understand how the resource might be used in educational settings.
	This is a great way to offer students an interactive dictionary of math terms.  This can be used as a study tool by students, or as a way for teachers to show examples of how to use different concepts.
3.	Would you recommend this resource to other educators? Like/Dislike; Ease of use, fee or not, and so forth.  Why or Why not?
	It’s free, it’s fun, and it’s easy!  I definitely recommend this for use in any class that may use math!  Math and science classes will find this resource very helpful.

17 a: Glogster - http://www.glogster.com/

1.	Describe what you learned from exploring this resource.  Be thorough in your response.
	Glogster is an online tool for creating multi-media presentations.  With a “scrapbook” like appearance, each digital “poster” is a presentation created to incorporate text, links, images, videos and audio files to create unique presentations.  The tool has a library of presentations to use as examples, as well as pre-made templates to start your own presentation from.  A drag and drop format of editing allows quick and intuitive creativity.
2.	How could you use this resource in a school setting?  It does not matter if it is in your field or level, you need to understand how the resource might be used in educational settings.
	This resource can be used by teachers to create interactive digital posters for students, or for students to create their own presentations over lesson material or research.
3.	Would you recommend this resource to other educators? Like/Dislike; Ease of use, fee or not, and so forth.  Why or Why not?
	I personally do not like the appearance of these.  They are visually busy, and look like a poorly designed scrapbook!  I can see this being acceptable for younger age groups, elementary ages maybe, but for a high school project it isn’t professional looking enough for my tastes.  It is an interesting interface, and creative way to present however.  This is also a subscription based service with pricing based on number of teachers/students…  Unless this is going to be used several times a year by the teacher I do not recommend it.

17 b: Jing http://www.techsmith.com/jing/

1.	Describe what you learned from exploring this resource.  Be thorough in your response.
	Jing is a screen recorder, allowing the user to capture whatever is seen on the computer screen.  This program takes images or video and quickly saves and creates sharable content.  The program is downloaded onto the desktop.  Created videos can be uploaded directly to screencast.com and hosted from there. Unfortunately the program will only record 5 minutes of video at a time.
2.	How could you use this resource in a school setting?  It does not matter if it is in your field or level, you need to understand how the resource might be used in educational settings.
	This program can be used to create tutorial videos or take screen captures easily and quickly.  In education this can be used to show students how to perform a task on the computer, or to create tutorial instructions.
3.	Would you recommend this resource to other educators? Like/Dislike; Ease of use, fee or not, and so forth.  Why or Why not?
	I would not recommend this service, although it is free, it is very limited.  The tutorial videos did not explain the format in which images or videos are saved, and if I understood it correctly can only be uploaded to their hosting account at screencast.com.   Other products (like screencast-o-matic) allow much longer record times and different saving formats directly to the desktop, for the user to decide how to upload and share them (also allowing the user to edit them using video editing software).  This tool is simply too limited for me to recommend.

18: You Tube for Education - http://www.youtube.com/education?b=400  and SchoolTube http://www.schooltube.com  and TeacherTube http://www.teachertube.com

1.	Describe what you learned from exploring this resource.  Be thorough in your response.
	All three of these resources are similar in that they are video hosting web sites.  They allow users to upload video content to be viewed, shared, and streamed digitally over the internet.    Teachertube goes one step further and gives users the ability to host documents and photos as well.
2.	How could you use this resource in a school setting?  It does not matter if it is in your field or level, you need to understand how the resource might be used in educational settings.
	These resources can be used by teachers to find instructional content provided by other educators, TED talks, etc to use in classroom lessons.  Or by students to upload their own video assignments or presentations.
3.	Would you recommend this resource to other educators? Like/Dislike; Ease of use, fee or not, and so forth.  Why or Why not?
	These resources are all free.  I would recommend them for all educators, whether you use them as a resource for instructional materials or as sites to host your own (or your student’s) videos.  Schooltube and teachertube are great as well because they are geared specifically towards education and are not as public as youtube.  Youtube is often blocked in school system networks as well, so these other websites give teachers another video hosting webpage to use.

EDOL533-01 Lesson 4, Power Points and beyond...

This week we discussed heavily the use of power point presentations in the classroom.  Power point is something that I am intimately familiar with; having used power point to create my own presentations and, of course, listened to many lectures from power points over the years.  Ever since I was in middle school I have been using power point presentations.  I started out using it as a tool to present family vacation photos, then created slide shows for church youth group trips, and then finally to create presentations for classes in high school and MANY a presentation in college.

The main thing to remember with power point is that it should not be the focus of the presentation!  The only exception of course is that if it is a slideshow of pictures that stand by themselves!  If you are presenting a class project or a lesson plan, however, the power point part of the presentation should only supplement your presentation.  Your presentation should be able to stand alone without the slide show if necessary!  And the absolute WORST thing a presenter can do?

DO NOT READ FROM THE SLIDES!  Use note cards if you must, but never, EVER, turn your back to the crowd or read directly from the power point slides!

Also, as a helpful hint, try to minimize your use of text on the power point presentation!

For example, I had to create a slide show which discusses my experience with an internship program called GeoCorps.  I will be presenting this presentation in person at a Geological Society of America field camp at Mammoth Cave next month.  My presentation is 36 slides long, but only 3 of them have text!

For your viewing pleasure please watch my presentation below:

1. What was the presentation about and to whom did you present it?

My presentation was about my experience in the Geocorps internship program at Fossil Butte National Monument.  As a preliminary I presented this to my piers and parents, but the finalized version will be presented in person at the Mammoth Cave Field Camp to fellow Educators.

2. Of which item in your presentation are you the most proud?

I am most proud of the incorporation of video segments from video podcasts which I created while working at Fossil Butte National Monument.

3. What might you do differently if you could create the presentation again?

Several people have critiqued the begining of my presentation... I need to have a better "attention grabber."  Instead of jumping right into the history of the GSA's geocorps program I should have started off with a "Sales pitch" of sorts to get people interested in the program and willing to listen to the facts, instead of spitting out facts immediately.  

Parts of the rest of the presentation I tend to ramble too much about certain things, so I will also practice the presentation to try and shorten it where I can or at least stick to the important parts!

4. How did your audience respond to the presentation?

My audience responded well to the presentation.  Most found it interesting, only critiques were on the opening of the presentation being a little too "boring" and critiques regarding the use of the screen-o-matic capture program causing the video box of myself being too small to really appreciate my delivery of the material (for example I held up a poster, and due to the small size of the inset box you couldn't see it!).


And that's all I'm going to say about power points... I hope you took some time to watch mine, please leave me a comment and let me know what you thought!!


Here are this week's Technology Explorations:

TE #11: ComicLife : http://plasq.com/products/comiclife3/win 

1.	Describe what you learned from exploring this resource.  Be thorough in your response.
	Comic life is a desktop publishing program originally developed for MAC, but now also exists for PC and other operating systems.  Comic Life is a program specially designed to create graphic novel style writings using digital images.  Images can be pulled from digital cameras, the internet, clip art, among other sources.  ComicLife gives the user the ability to import digital images into a story-board comic style format and include speech bubbles and text.  This tool is designed to offer the user the ability to create their own comic book using digital imagery.
2.	How could you use this resource in a school setting?  It does not matter if it is in your field or level, you need to understand how the resource might be used in educational settings.
	In the classroom setting ComicLife can be used to give students another creative outlet for assignments.  Using ComicLife to create a graphic novel style piece of writing incorporates reading and writing skills as well as graphic design and desktop publishing skills.  This tool can get students who typically don’t like writing engaged and involved in the creative process.
3.	Would you recommend this resource to other educators? Like/Dislike; Ease of use, fee or not, and so forth.  Why or Why not?
	This is a unique and well produced tool.  It does cost, about $30.00 for personal use and $20 for a single license for education.  I would most likely not use this in science classrooms, but I see where it could be utilized in art or writing classes.

TE# 11 B: iSpeach http://www.ispeech.org

1.	Describe what you learned from exploring this resource.  Be thorough in your response.
	Ispeech is a company with a series of mobile and web apps focusing on text to speech or speech to text applications.  Notably are speak to text apps for the mobile phone, allowing the user to “safely text while driving,” Ispeech translator with 7 language translation capabilities, among other similar programs.  Among their web apps is “select and speak” a program which allows the user to select any text from a webpage and have the program read it aloud.
2.	How could you use this resource in a school setting?  It does not matter if it is in your field or level, you need to understand how the resource might be used in educational settings.
	The web app Select and Speak can be used in the classroom as an assistive tool for students who may have trouble reading or following text on webpages.  Mobile apps like “Ispeak dictation” can be used by students to take notes, or by students who have trouble writing to simple talk their thoughts down to paper.
3.	Would you recommend this resource to other educators? Like/Dislike; Ease of use, fee or not, and so forth.  Why or Why not?
	Ispeak’s mobile apps are designed for the blackberry mobile devices, and therefore have a limited audience.  Furthermore, most smartphones have utilities built in to achieve these same results.  The web application select and speak is free, and I would recommend this utility if there is a need for it in the classroom.

TE #12: Voicethread http://voicethread.com/

1.	Describe what you learned from exploring this resource.  Be thorough in your response.
	Voiethread is a cloud based utility which is accessed on any computer or device which supports flash.  The utility allows users to upload documents, images, video and sound clips to “project” slide shows and then allows other users to review the “project” and upload their own audio or video clips to comment or collaborate on the project.
2.	How could you use this resource in a school setting?  It does not matter if it is in your field or level, you need to understand how the resource might be used in educational settings.
	This utility could be used by teachers as a mean of giving a lesson digitally.  It can be used as a presentation tool by students.  It can also be used as a review or critique tool by other students or teachers on presentations made by other students.  This tool can also be used as a collaborative tool for several users to work together on the same project.
3.	Would you recommend this resource to other educators? Like/Dislike; Ease of use, fee or not, and so forth.  Why or Why not?
	An interesting tool primarily designed for online class formats, VoiceThread is a subscription based service with payments being discounted by the number of users a school system needs… Due to the cost and format of the payment plans I can only recommend this program for use by an entire school or school district.  Other, free services, like google Docs and google+ offer similar utilities to VoiceThread.  For a single teacher and classroom I would recommend these services over voicethread.

TE #13: http://storybird.com/

1.	Describe what you learned from exploring this resource.  Be thorough in your response.
	Storybird is an online utility which gives users access to a library of images with which to create their own storybooks.  These self made e-books are then able to published to storybird or shared with others.  Users can gain critiques of their works and critique others or simply read the works stored in Storybird’s free library.
2.	How could you use this resource in a school setting?  It does not matter if it is in your field or level, you need to understand how the resource might be used in educational settings.
	Educators can use storybird as a tool to help students be more creative in their writing.  By adding the visual element of illustrations to their stories students have more creativity over their story.  The ability to share, critique, and evaluate their own and other student’s work offers an environment of creativity.  Educators can create a teacher account from which they can create student accounts for each classroom, issue assignments and even grade their students work all within the online utility.
3.	Would you recommend this resource to other educators? Like/Dislike; Ease of use, fee or not, and so forth.  Why or Why not?
	This web utility, much like ComicLife, is geared towards creative writing and encourages creativity as well as reading and writing skills.  I can see this being used heavily in a writing or English course and would recommend using it to give students a more creative aspect to their writing.  I’m not sure how it would be used in a high school science course like I will be teaching however…

TE #13 B:  http://www.scribblar.com

1.	Describe what you learned from exploring this resource.  Be thorough in your response.
	Scribbler is a web based collaboration utility.  Scribblar users create a “room” in which others (guests do not require an account) can log in and join the collaboration.  Scribblar is marketed as a tool to help tutor students online, or use as a collaborative tool for group projects.  Files can be uploaded to the room and worked on simultaneously, files supported include power point, word, and image files.
2.	How could you use this resource in a school setting?  It does not matter if it is in your field or level, you need to understand how the resource might be used in educational settings.
	This resource can be used as a collaborative tool between teachers to work on materials together from separate computers or locations.  It can also be used as a tutoring tool, to offer lessons or tutoring sessions online.  The utility can be seamlessly integrated into webpages or wikis so that teachers can include it right on their own web page, making it easy for students to find and log into.
3.	Would you recommend this resource to other educators? Like/Dislike; Ease of use, fee or not, and so forth.  Why or Why not?
	This utility does have a free service, however it only allows two users per room… this isn’t ideal if you are a teacher with many students.  You have to pay a subscription upgrade fee to allow more users into the rooms at one time.  Again, resources like google+ and googledocs which are free can be utilized in place of this service.  The ability to integrate the room into your own website is a neat aspect, being able to have the room right there on your own page wouldn’t require students to create their own accounts or log into another website.

TE #14: http://www.edu.buncee.com/

1.	Describe what you learned from exploring this resource.  Be thorough in your response.
	Buncee is an online presentation tool.  This utility is a web 2.0 and cloud based utility to design, create, and present “buncee” presentations.  Similar to powerpoint slide shows, buncees are slide based presentations which are interactive.  The user is able to put any type of multimedia into the buncee presentation to create a unique presentation.
2.	How could you use this resource in a school setting?  It does not matter if it is in your field or level, you need to understand how the resource might be used in educational settings.
	Teachers can use buncee to create digital lessons, or use it like a desktop publisher to create handouts and memos.  Students can create their own presentations as part of assignments or homework, or use it as a study tool.
3.	Would you recommend this resource to other educators? Like/Dislike; Ease of use, fee or not, and so forth.  Why or Why not?
	This is an interesting utility.  I like the ability to import media into the program and create interactive presentations, this is not something that you can easily do with power point.  The ability to grade, evaluate, and leave comments on student’s projects is a great addition as well.   I also like that the presentations are compatible with mobile devices!  The only downfall I see in this utility is that it is a subscription based service, 9.99 per month or 59.99 per year!  If you utilized it heavily in your lessons I could see the benefit, but for just one or two assignments I would not recommend it.

EDOL533-01 week three

Why are visual images important?

Visual images break up the monotony of text.  Visualizations are easier to remember, or relate to.  Visual images can be iconic, like that of a famous painting or the logo of a product brand.  Visual images call attention to themselves and the issues they are trying to convey.

How have you used in the past, or are now using, visuals?  Personal or work examples:

I have personally used visuals in presentations for both school and work.  When I create a slide show presentation I try to limit the inclusion of text as much as possible, and rely heavily on images to convey the message I want to as I discuss the topic.  I have used images heavily in the posters I designed for use at Fossil Butte National Monument’s visitor center museum.  As a museum exhibit these posters needed to be able to grab people’s attention and visuals, images and graphs, do this nicely.  Graphically representing data is a great way to convey information visually, and is much more striking in comparison to a simple table of numbers!  While teaching I will incorporate visuals into posters, handouts, and slide show presentations. 

This week’s lessons:

This week we have discussed the use of visuals in the classroom.  Visual aids can greatly enhance the look of a presentation… but visuals can also distract from the point trying to be made.  Using visuals that are inappropriate or too flashy can distract from the professional appearance of the resource.   

This week we discussed how to create resources using word processing and desktop publishing programs.  Uses of these programs in the classroom range from having students write their papers and assignments using a word processor to make it easier to read and edit, to using desktop publishing programs to produce posters, brochures, and other projects.  Using these software programs to enhance the learning experience gives students the ability to be more creative, practice decision making, and practice using technology to create a unique product. 

The ability to use these products and other web based products offer opportunities for teachers to differentiate their lesson plans covering multiple levels of Bloom’s taxonomy.  Specific to the different levels of cognitive development in education, with the top levels being those requiring higher order objectives, many different resources can be used at every level to highlight these objectives.  The adjusted bloom’s technology pyramid outlined how different web resources can satisfy those needs.

A visual/handout I use… and how I can improve it:

I’m not yet teaching so I do not have any hand outs that I have created yet to use for this assignment.  However, I do have something I created a while back in hopes that it would help me land a job!  I created a business card using Microsoft power point.  Here is the first rendition of that business card (my number and address have been changed for this upload... I don't want that info just floating around the net!)

Here's the front:

 And here is the back:

What makes these items visually appealing?

These are simple, but the visuals tell a story that enhances the business cards... If you know what you are looking at!  The front of the card has my name and a little tag line simplifying my experience.  Behind that is an image of a trilobite, a type of iconic fossil that most people recognize.  The back of the card has my information, organized simply and concisely, with an image of a stratigraphic column to the left. A strat. column is used by geologists to map a vertical series of rock layers, which I thought was fitting for the back of my business card (me being a geologist and all).  

What distracts from the message I was trying to communicate?

I found out after handing these cards out to several people that no one (outside the few geologists I showed them to) knew what the strat. column was!  I found that people were distracted by that image, and didn't understand why it was there or what purpose it had.  Luckily, most people did recognize the trilobite fossil and this visual was a conversation starter!  I even had people that I contacted later refer to me as the "trilobite guy," in reference to the image on my card!  

I took the experience that I had with those who I handed out my card to and decided to re-create the card.  Here is my card as it looks now:

I used the same visual from the front, and re-formatted the text in a more attractive way around the image. 

I also re-created the front of the card to give me some variety.  

This alternate front features the skeleton of a fossil fish species from the Green River Formation of Wyoming, which was protected by Fossil Butte National Monument.

These visuals on my business card are great conversation starters when I hand them out.  They are both of fossils I find interesting, and most people recognize them as fossils.  When asked about them I explain that the trilobite is a species of trilobite found in Tennessee, and is one that I have in my personal fossil collection.  The fish fossil spurs conversation about my time spent as a park guide at Fossil Butte National Monument and expresses my job experience there.  

I think my business card is an excellent example of how visuals can enhance the presentation of printed materials that are often boring and uninteresting.  Used correctly, visuals can call attention to a document and help make it memorable!

The human reaction to technologies...

I came across this quote from Douglas Adams, author of hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy (among other books), and I thought it was worth mentioning in this blog:

“I've come up with a set of rules that describe our reactions to technologies:

1. Anything that is in the world when you’re born is normal and ordinary and is just a natural part of the way the world works.

2. Anything that's invented between when you’re fifteen and thirty-five is new and exciting and revolutionary and you can probably get a career in it.

3. Anything invented after you're thirty-five is against the natural order of things.”

― Douglas Adams, The Salmon of Doubt

I'm glad I'm still in that new and exciting phase! lol