What Does it All Mean?

I used Animoto for my final video!
I love Animoto-- so much fun for free!

Create your own video slideshow at animoto.com.

Memoir Prezi

My students are beginning the process of writing a memoir. This presentation will be a great introduction, but also a great way to break down each component as we start writing our own memoirs.

Here is my memoir prezi!
Shannon

Writing Process for Memoir on Prezi

Emerging Technology #4: Prezi

I decided to work with Prezi for my last emerging technology and it was awesome! I was impressed with how easy it was to manuver through the process! It only took me a few minutes to put together a water cycle presentation.

My fourth graders would love working with a program like this. It makes presentations that much more innovative. We can still use powerpoint and movie maker, but Prezi takes the presentations to a new level.

It is my goal to have my students use Prezi before the end of this school year in order to show their famous Hoosier presentations. Students are usually dragging by this point in the year and Prezi will allow them some motivation. If they can get some good research about their different famous Hoosiers, Prezi will help them to create professional looking presentations.

I was very impressed!
Shannon

http://prezi.com/izpmzbhgi97c/

Water Cycle on Prezi

Emerging Technology #3 Picnik Photo Editing

Picnik is a great site for editing any pictures. I was amazed with how easy it was to use. I have tried several different photo editing sites, but this one seems the easiest so far. It is a free program for the basic tools and those simple tools allow you to do a lot of different things to any picture. For a small monthly fee, there are many more tools available for you to use.
I took a simple picture from our trip to Yosemite and edited it to change the feeling. I had a picture that had been in color and somewhat blurry. Picnik allowed me to change the photo to black and white and enhance the contrast. I could have even cropped the photo or even zoomed in on certain areas. I love the way that the picture turned out in the end. I wanted to try to capture the history that goes along with the park and I think that the program Picnik helped me to portray this.
I would love to try this program with my students this year. We have done several digital imagery projects so far. This program would be easy for my students to use to enhance digital images for our next upcoming project. They could use the program to create a different time or mood for their picture.

Module 4-2 Digital Literacy

21st Century Skills have been around for a long time, but now there seems to be a focus on them. These are skills to better prepare students for the 21st century. As teachers, we need to be giving students the edge when it comes to technology. They need to see how what they are learning applies to the "real-world."

I read a blog on edutopia, http://www.edutopia.org/equitable-access-technology-berni-wall-edchat, that discussed equal technology use for all students. This is a touchy subject due to how funds are different depending on where you are. It also goes into how your school spends its funds for technology.

The blog made a good point about how technology will not ever be equal across the nation, but it should be within each individual school. All students should have the same opportunities when it comes to using technology. If teachers are following the NETS, then all students should have the same foundation. That gives us a basic point of reference. From there, dfferent schools have different technology devices and capabilities.

A comment made in the article discussed ways to make technology more equitable. One way that they suggested was to use more of the hand held devices that students come to us with; example: cell phones. Students know technology and use it daily, we just need to find a way to utilize their devices more. This would help students see how everything is connected and can be applied to real-world situations.

After looking through the videos, reading the blogs, and checking out the resources at the 21st century skills website, I was intrigued to figure out ways to get more connected with other teachers across the nation and around the world. Technology today makes it so easy to collaborate with just about anyone, in any field. The more I can help to connect my students with students from around the world, the more my students will be able to look at problems from different perspectives!

Edutopia Video

I have always been a person to accept new challenges and move forward with them, but I never realized how fast things were moving around me while I have been standing still! I pulled a great video from edutopia.com called "Welcome to the Digital Generation," and it really hit home. The movie clip basically discusses how children are bored with the traditional way of teaching in the classrooms. They have been using technology since early ages and are motivated when they use it to learn. It goes on to discuss how students want to be connected and using all of the different forms of technology that are available.
Kids today feel very comfortable using any form of technology. A parent in the video talked about how his son doesn't read the "How To Guide" anymore, his son just jumps in and tries it out. Some adults are a little more hesitant about just jumping in with new technology. They seem to be the only ones worried about breaking something.
I was definitely motivated after watching this video "Welcome to the Digital Generation!" I am excited about the things I do in my classroom with technology, but it motivates me to want to do more! I was especially motivated after watching the "Pay Attention" video. Kids of all ages are working with technology and learning at rapid rate. They are pulled in by anything that is digital. Even a simple camera captivates kids! I don't want to be stuck in the dark ages with technology. It is changing daily and by the time we learn it, there is already something else out there that is even better! As teachers, we have to be willing to try it all!

http://deimos3.apple.com/WebObjects/Core.woa/Feed/edutopia.org.1648591016.01648591018

"Delicious" url

Here is the link to my Delicious link:

delicious.com/shannonwalmoth/?page=1