Journal 10

Journal 10
Video Studio 11 Plus
By: J.V. Bolkan

Video Studio 11 Plus gives you all the tools you need to produce great-looking home or in class movies. By following an easy, step-by-step program, Video Studio 11 Plus lets you spend your time being creative rather than learning by technical editing.

Video Studio 11 Plus allows you to edit and authorize powerful features including full HD DVD authoring, Digital 5.1 surround sound, and a full set of easy corrective and creative filters. Video Studio 11 has hundreds of customizable effects, filters, transitions, creative video filters like bubbles.

Video Studio 11 Plus also has a number of automatic features such as correction for poor color or brightness, hand shake, and noise reduction.

1. How would Video Studio 11 Plus be beneficial in the classroom?

Video Studio 11 Plus would be great for a media class starting in middle school, going up to High School or College. With Video Studio Plus’ technology students could have the opportunity to make short films in High Definition, and have quality films for class assignments. It would also be beneficial for a technology class for students’ middle school to High School or College to experience Video Studio Plus to experience the quality that is in the technology.


2. What is the cost efficiency of Video Studio 11 Plus?

Video Studio Plus is less that $100 and is targeted at a consumer market. This would be a very good low cost piece of technology to bring into a classroom without going to far out of the school budget. One class fundraiser could easily raise enough money to purchase Video Studio 11 Plus for their classroom.

Journal 9

Journal 9
Sowing the Seeds for a More Creative Society
By: Mitchel Resnick

A PicoCricket is a tiny computer that can make things spin, light up, and play music. You can plug lights, motors, sensors, and other devices into a PicoCricket, then program them to react, interact, and communicate. For example, you can make a cat and program it to purr when someone pets it. Or you can make a birthday cake and program it to play a song when someone blows out the candles.

The Playful Invention Company (PICO) develops new technologies and activities that engage children in creative learning experiences, providing children with new opportunities to explore, experiment, and express themselves.

PicoCrickets expand the creative possibilities of your home computer. Because PicoCricket’s can be used in many different types of projects, PicoCrickets appeal to children of all interests, ages, and abilities. While one child might use a PicoCricket to build an interactive dream house, another might use it to create a new musical instrument.

1. What is an appropriate age for a PicoCricket?

PicoCricket activities are appropriate for students of all ages, from elementary school through college. PicoCrickets are designed especially for ages 9 and up, but with help from a parent, younger kids can enjoy Cricket activities too.

2. How could a PicoCricket be used in a classroom?

PicoCrickets can fit into many different classes, science, technology, art, computer science. As students work on PicoCricket projects, they improve their problem-solving abilities and gain a better understanding of the process of design and invention. At the same time, students can learn important concepts in mathematics such as variables and functions, in science resistance and circuits, and engineering programming and sensing.

Journal 8

Journal 8
Dynamic Visualizations
By: Margaret Niess

Microsoft Math is a mathematics tool teachers can use to guide students in developing spatial visualization skills as they investigate systems of three dimensional equations. Microsoft Math looks like a calculator with a scratchpad called a worksheet, and a graphing space. Teachers can use Microsoft Math as a tool for depicting visual images of many mathematical ideas, like linear relationships. By using Microsoft Math teachers can facilitate a class discussion using the Math technology as a demonstration tool to present visual graphs. Microsoft Math also provides many other capabilities in addition, to visualization and dynamic capabilities that can be used in a variety of ways. Students can check their own solutions to math problems whey they find solution to the equations given.

1. As students use Microsoft Math as an in class tool can their information be saved?
Yes, Microsoft Math provides additional saving benefits for students and teachers. As teachers and student work through the various lessons, the worksheet portion maintains a record of all input, output, and graphs created during class, all activities can be saved.

2. At what grade level is Microsoft Math appropriate for students?

Microsoft Math works for many grade levels, studying subjects from basic math to calculus.
Microsoft Math’s large collection of tools, tutorials, and instructions helps students learn mathematical concepts, while quickly solving math and science problems. Students see how to solve problems step by step.

Software Review Journal 7

Software Review
Kidspiration / iMovie
Journal 7

Kidspiration

I really enjoyed using Kidspiration. It was so much fun going through the different learning areas and being able to “listen while I learned”.

I really think my K-3 graders will really enjoy using this program. Not only will this be good for my English learners, but it will be excellent for my visual and auditory learners as far as keeping their attention as they learn their beginning computer skills. Kidspiration would be a great program to use for many class projects. I could have my class do a “Favorites Map” mapping out what their favorite fruits, colors, places, characters, shapes, vegetables, and treats as a “getting to know” project.

I could have my students make holiday decorations through Kidspiration for their families, or I could have my students study marine life, or farm animals, and have them make a map of the different types of animals that go along with each area of study.

iMovie

iMovie was so much fun! As I am just starting to learn the exciting tools through MAC I am having the greatest time creating projects I never thought I would be able to be apart of.

Our class took movie clips from sites on campus and created a movie adding music, rain, shooting stars, and earthquakes to produce a movie of our own. When I look back on our Saturday class as my classmates and I were editing our movie’s, a smile comes to my face as I think about how much fun we were having laughing, making faces with the MAC camera and experiencing new technology we have never experienced before :o)

iMovie would be such a great tool to use in my future classroom. I would love to take a video of my class throughout the entire year of different field trips, class parties, and class projects, and then put together an iMove at the end of our entire year together as a class. It would be amazing to see the growth of my students throughout the school year, and it would be a something they could take from “Miss Black’s” class to have for the rest of their lives….

Journal 6

Journal 6

Web 2.0 Tool

Google Earth

Google Earth combines the power of Google Search with satellite imagery, maps, and 3D buildings to put the world's geographic information at your fingertips. Fly to your house by just typing in your address, press search, and you’ll zoom right in. Cool huh :o)

You can search for schools, parks, restaurants, and hotels. Tilt and rotate the view to see 3D terrain and buildings, or look up to explore the sky. With Google Earth you have the opportunity to save and share your searches and favorites. You can even view driving directions and even fly along your route.

Google Earth is like your own personal globe that sits inside your PC, as you can point and zoom to anyplace on the planet that you want to explore as satellite images and local facts zoom into view. Google Earth combines satellite imagery, maps and the power of Google Search to put the world's geographic information at your fingertips.

Google Earth would be a great tool to use for intermediate grades 4th, 5th, & 6th.

Students can use Google Earth to research when doing a science project or studding geography. I think students could really benefit by having the opportunity to zoom into a place they have never visited to study.

With there being so many visual learners who like to see where they are studding they have the opportunity through Google Earth to view their area of study through the eyes of their computer as if they were there in person. Neat! :o)

Journals 1-5

Journal 2
Should Cell Phones Be Banned From Classrooms?

I really enjoyed reading this article as it gave two very different points of views from two educators. I found it quite interesting to read an opinion of cell phones not having a place in the classroom, because parents can find plenty of unnecessary ways to spoil their children, to a completely different perspective supporting the use of cell phones in the classroom from a technology standpoint.
This article supported many good reasons of why or why not students should be allowed to use their cell phones in the classroom.


Question 1:
Should Cell Phones Be Banned From Classrooms?

After reading this article, I understand both perspectives, but I definitely agree students should have the opportunity to use their cell phones as a use of technology in the classroom. As many students are out in the working world as they are going to school, or right after they graduate, I feel it is essential to teach students the benefits of how cell phones can be useful in a professional environment, for note taking, or retrieving specific data. Liz Kolb gave a great example in the article about a project where students can go on a class field trip, take pictures of what they see on their trip, and create a digital slideshow for a class project. This would be an excellent project.


Question 2:
How Can Cell Phone Use Be Controlled In The Classroom?

When you give High School students the “okay” to have their cell phones in the classroom, there has to be boundaries set for the respect of the teachers, as well as fellow students. A good topic to cover when setting up those boundaries would be Cell Phone etiquette. Not only for the classroom but in the world outside of school, teaching students about what is appropriate when using a cell phone would be a great tool. When a teacher begins class, he or she should take the first 3 minutes of every class to remind students “cell phones off” unless they are using them for an assignment.

Journal: 3
The ABC’s of Privacy Practices for Educators

Over the past year, there have been a number of reported cases of confidential information lost because of stolen laptops, lost USB flash drives, and misplaced PDA’s.
These trends have school districts concerned with issues violating private information. This article was a great article to read as it addressed essential practices school administrators and teachers should consider for preserving and protecting the information they handle daily.

Question 1:
What is a Privacy Policy?

A privacy policy is a written statement that articulates how an organization handles the personally identifiable and private information it gathers and uses. The policy should be developed based on answers to the information identification questions, and confidentiality requirements.

Question 2:
What specific pieces of information need to be protected & how will you protect them?

Examples of private information would be students’ health information, reduced lunch lists, as well as grades. To protect this information I will be sure to have all of my students confidential information filed under a disguised file in my computer. The file will not say “Confidential”, or “Private Information” as that would lead to a trespassers curiosity. Also, to go into my computer, I will have a username and password set so I will be the only one who has access to the personal information of my students.

Journal 4
Digital Principals

Principals support technology integration by their students and their teachers, but they do not see themselves as strong users of technology. Many principals are familiar with word processors, email, or browsers, but when it comes to organization they rely on old methods which are out dated and time consuming. A good example would be a digital calendar. By shifting to technology tools, administrators can save valuable amounts of time. Online or offline, once a principal has made the transition to a digital calendar they can have their schedules on a variety of time saving features that can help them with tier daily tasks.

Question 1:
How can an administrator benefit by the use of technology with their fellow administrators?

Many new computers have built in microphones and cameras. If an administrator wanted to hold a video conference from their office in a face to face meeting with local, or state, peers to share resources, and strategies, they can cut down on travel time and expenses by using their computer as their way of communicating through video conference.

Question 2:
Why use digital tools?

There are many benefits to using digital tools in a school setting that is not only beneficial to administrators, but to teachers as well. Administrators can set up individual calendars for district vs. schools events, run multiple calendars for district meetings, days off, and Holiday celebrations. And by having a digital calendar, an administrator can send out his or her daily calendar, so teachers, and administrative assistants can know when the principal is on or off campus, or what their meeting schedule consists of incase they need to set up one on one time with the principal.

Journal 5
Get CNN Student News via Video Podcast

CNN Student News presents a powerful way for educators to help students learn about current events using a multimedia rich learning resource. Students are provided with a 10 minute commercial free newscast covering major new stories from the previous day in an engaging format that helps them understand current events. Broadcasts include the days top stories, special reports, and interactive elements like quizzes on current events and geography.

Question 1:
How would CNN Student News be beneficial to students?

Unfortunately with the everyday busy lives students have with school work, extra curricular activities, and social lives, many students loose touch of what is happening in their world outside of school. By bringing CNN Student News casts to students this will be an excellent way teachers can keep students in the “know” on what current events are taking place in the US and in the rest of the world.

Question 2
What types of ways can teachers use CNN in their classrooms & is CNN appropriate for Elementary School viewers?

Certain segments of CNN Student News can be viewed in Elementary Schools as long as they are previewed by a teacher. Watching the student news casts would be a good habit for Elementary School students, so they can understand the importance of growing up knowing what is happening in the world around them.
A good way teachers can incorporate Student News in their classrooms would be by beginning every day with a current event. Students can write in their journals after viewing a news cast, and after taking 10 minutes to write down their thoughts, students can have a 20 minute class discussion on what they wrote, or their thoughts on the current event.

Aloha My Friends :o)

It is so very nice to meet you all, and have the experience of working with you in our 422 class.

My name is Ashlee Black :o) I was born in San Jose California, and raised in Monterey California. All of my family, with the exception of my parents, live on the beautiful island of Maui.

I lived in Monterey my entire life until I left for College, in Phoenix Arizona.

Being an Island Girl, I only lasted 2 years in the desert. I was extremely unhappy living away from the beautiful ocean, palm trees and the Birds of Paradise I was use to seeing outside of my bedroom window, everyday growing up.

It was then I decided to make a change in my life, I knew Arizona was good for college, but it defiantly was not somewhere I could ever call “Home”.

Searching for Hawaii in California I discovered the beautiful city of San Diego :o)

I have been in San Diego for 5 years now, and have never been happier! I live in Carmel Valley with my Cavalier King Charles Spaniel “Pennelope”, who is the absolute light in my life :o)

As far as my experience on technology, I would call my self intermediate. Definitely above beginner, but certainly not advanced.

I am a PC person, and I am very good with everyday computer knowledge. I love to download my pictures to send to friends and family via E-mail, working in Word, surfing the Internet, and I love making my CD’s through I-Tunes, but I am not where I would like to be from a graphic arts perspective. Hopefully with time, and certainly with our class, I am looking forward to advancing my skills :o)

When I read the College of Education Mission Statement, I am drawn to “We are committed to diversity, educational equity, and social justice.”

When we finish our credential program we will have the privilege of following our mission statement by committing ourselves to the diversity of our students through their own diverse needs and learning abilities.

As teachers, we will hold high expectations for our students, build their learning esteem, and self esteem through educational equality and social justice. As a future teacher I will have the honor of modeling my moral, social, and personal behaviors as I will be committed to student centered education, diversity, and above all professionalism.

I have had the privilege of attending CSUSM in 2005 when I was finishing my degree through an independent study program through my University in Arizona, and had a wonderful experience.

I have never met so many professors who are willing to take the time needed to help each student, and support our education through their teachings. I have also been very impressed with the various departments in CSUSM. I have never felt like just another student, I have always received excellent service, with great direction and a smile.

Therefore, when the time came for me to move forward into another direction in my life, and I was called to Teach, of course CSUSM was my number one college of choice.
And here I am! :o)