My podcasts are not like fine wines!

My first attempt at podcasting:
http://sherryvalenti.edublogs.org/files/2008/04/jamestown.mp3

Could Captain John Smith ever imagined that we would be podcasting his trials and tribulations 400 years after he arrived in Jamestown? I taught a long unit on Colonization of North America in Social Studies, and Jamestown was one of my favorite lessons to teach. I found this podcast after reading a NEA magazine article about students creating their own podcasts about Jamestown. Another site I mentioned is the History Globe site, which has a great role playing game. Learning about Jamestown and early colonization is an interest of mine.

Looking back at my first attempt at podcasting, I want to cringe.  Unfortunately, like a fine wine, it didn't age well.  I can't stand my hearing my own voice, I paused too much and spoke too slowly.  I should have practiced it more so that it sounded more smooth. I did get better with more practice, as you can see in this example of another audio recording. 
http://voicethread.com/#u751648.b905449.i4819749

My first photostream

I have used Flickr more for taking photos than in putting my own photostream together.  I decided to put some photos I thought teachers could use, and I didn't put personal photos on for a reason. The main one is that no one I know uses Flickr, so why would I put personal photos there if no one I know can see them?

I haven't gone through and set copyrights yet, although I don't mind if anyone uses the photos. I hope they do!  I would like to know if any one does, just for curiosity's sake.   In the past, when I have used others' photos, I sent the person a message asking permission and stating a reason why I wanted to use the photo.  People have always given me permission, and this is why I think Flickr is a great online community. 

Photography is not my strong point, but I think this is a great site for those that have photography as their hobby to share their photos and get some recognition.


Here's the link to my Photostream: http://www.flickr.com/photos/sherryvalenti/

RSS and you

I really enjoyed reading your posts about RSS.  Everyone had a different twist on how they might use it in their classrooms or daily life.  I know my Google Reader account has made my life easier, even with the amount of unread items I might have!

Just to highlight and wrap-up what you've done, Chad had a great idea for creating a feed for his students on current events, which he will tie into a weekly assignment.  Robert mentioned using RSS feeds for a research project for his college students.  Megan, Audra, Audrey and Mary wrote that RSS will help them organize, save and remember useful sites, and Joel wrote that RSS feeds will help him sift through the information to see what's most important.   Kevin wrote that the RSS feed would help the teacher's blog be a hub for information and students could no longer use "I lost it" as an excuse!
Using search feeds is something TJ mentioned as a way for students to track updates and changes on particular topics.  Kristie wrote of telling parents to keep track of changes on wikis, which would also work for a class blog if you have one.  Marti wrote of information overload, and the textbook has some great tips for how to deal with that on page 86.  Richardson suggests reading on a daily basis, mine is more like a few times a week.  Whatever works for you.  Sometimes you just mark them all as read and move on if you're behind.  If it's really wonderful, it will come up again somewhere else!

To me, editing your feeds periodically is important.  I subscribed to many parenting tips and green living tips.  When I started feeling guilty about not following through on their ideas, I unsubscribed to those feeds.

I have found RSS so helpful in my daily life, and in my field of Instructional Technology, it has helped me stay current with what's happening out there.  I hope you will find it as invaluable as I have!

I love a good renovation story!

Through my much-loved, ever-helpful,  Google Reader account, I found a blog post about renovating blogs.  One point I liked is that the blogger explains her reasons for giving her blog a face-lift.  I mentioned this, as many of you did, I have tried blogs on various sites, and I see benefits and disadvantages on all.
Remember your blog is a work-in-progress, and you might change it, start a new one, and then go back to your old one! I still have the link to my blog from this class when I was a trainee if anyone wants to see it.

Speaking of Security

A few of you have mentioned concerns over security and online communication.  I found this story about iPad security leaks.  I have had issues in the past over leaked, secure information by a college I attended.  Is anything really secure?  I remember not too long ago, you would hear people being scammed by people going through their trash.  It seems that yes, the risk is higher now, but I think there has always been some risk with personal information going public.

To bring this to blogs and other Web 2.0 tools, what can we do to reassure parents (and ourselves) that students are safe online? 

Personalized Assessment

Personalized Assessment, a post by Dean Shareski, discusses an issue many of us have faced: How do we assess students as assignments become more personalized?  To bring this to Web 2.0 tools, how can we accurately track and assess students progress on a skill?
Of course, the focus nowadays is on standardized testing.  To me, this seems out of touch with the push for differentiated learning that I am experiencing in my county.  How can we change the way we assess students to fit more personalized, differentiated learning?

Realistically, creating differentiated assessments for all students would be extremely time-consuming and nearly impossible, especially in middle and high school.  Perhaps, though, there are ways to differentiate the assessment and allow more student input.  

What are some of your thoughts on personalized assessment?  Have you ever tried to do this?  What were the results?

Tech Pet Peeves

I came across this article from Real Simple, which discusses some tech etiquette.  I know I am guilty of a few of these "rules".  I find more and more, I am checking email and constantly trying to stay connected. I know it's rude, but I check in without thinking first.  It's automatic.
Something that drives me crazy as a teacher is texting during class.  I know students say they can pay attention and text at the same time, but I know they are not fully attending.  Automatic for students, too?
What are some of your tech pet peeves?

I posted a link to my blog on the Real Simple website.  Let's see if I have any traffic as a result!

Online learning and teaching

Having been a student and a teacher in online classes, I have learned that the biggest factor for success is communication.  Tone, clarity and timeliness are all essential for both parties in online classes. From my perspective as a student, nothing was more frustrating than "not getting" the content or the instructor's directions. Even more frustrating was the instructor "not getting" my frustrations or problems with the course.  Is communication even more important in online classes?  What are some pitfalls with online learning?

Facebook about face

It seems that just recently Facebook took off in popularity.  Everyone it seemed, was asking me, "Are you on Facebook?"  I never put much personal information on the site and I keep my profile pretty generic.  I am not terrible concerned about privacy settings, but I do find it annoying that I am asked to change my settings frequently.   Facebook is supposed to be entertaining and fun, not confusing.  I feel like they have us where they want us: we've been hooked in by finding long lost friends and the trade off is our personal information.  I found another post called "Farewell Facebook" that discussed this issue in more detail. 

Technology for Technology's Sake

As much as I love technology, I am concerned that people are using technology for technology's sake.  Although it can be a tool, I think some use it just as that.  For example, is a document camera just a glorified overhead projector?  I have seen it used this way often.  Also, I have seen teachers design lessons around a interactive whiteboard and the lesson just doesn't seem natural.  Integrating technology so that it enhances, not drives, the lesson is difficult. 
Click here for another blog that discusses this issue.

Google Apps: Friend or Foe?

Here is a link to another blog, the Fischbowl about pros and cons of using GoogleApps with students.

http://thefischbowl.blogspot.com/2010/02/google-apps-for-education-is-it-right.html