My Journey into the Land of Twitter

To Tweet or Not to Tweet that is the Question
My Twitter adventure reminded me of the time my family went white water rafting and then jumped off a rock into freezing water. I’m scared of heights. We were sailing over the rapids with ease, suddenly we stopped and the guide announced that we were going to climb a rock and jump into the four degree water below landing in a two hundred foot deep pool in the river. What? Did I hear correctly? My five and eight year olds were all for this. How could this be? What was I going to do? Everyone else did it and I couldn’t be out done. I had to do it. I took the plunge. Will I do it again?
This was like my Twitter experience. I didn’t want to do it. I had to for my course. I looked at Twitter and read over everyone else’s Tweets with ease and then I had to take the plunge and Tweet something myself. I couldn’t be out done. I had to do it. I took the plunge. Will I do it again?

Reflections on the process of learning about the tool:
I had heard the buzz words “Twitter and Tweet” before and thought it was mainly something that the celebrities were doing along with their fans. Then I noticed that news casts and radio stations were joining the Twitter craze. It wasn’t something that I was interested in so I never bothered to look into it. Then in the first few days of taking my Web 2.0 course I was required to sign up for Twitter. This was the start of my climb up the rock. To my surprise signing up was fairly easy. I liked the Welcome to Twitter video under their help section http://help.twitter.com/portal as it gave me an idea of what Twitter was about and how to tweet. I also read parts of the help guide to give me more insight into making my Twitter experience more successful. I used these tips to help me to understand what others were saying in their Tweets.
Five Fast Twitter Tips
1. Use “d” to send a direct message to someone [d sarahlib great to see you on Twitter!]
2. Use the @ symbol to respond to another person in a tweet[@ellyssa how about Tuesday instead?]
3. Use the # symbol to address a group [#CIL2008 anyone going to dinner at 7?]
4. Create TinyURLs to save characters when sending Web addresses(tinyurl.com)
5. Grab the RSS feeds for your friends’ tweets & subscribe via your news reader
I couldn’t think of anyone to follow but was happy to know that we were given a list because I didn’t know anyone on Twitter. I added them along with a few others to my followers list. After signing up I would visit the site periodically and read the tweets. I really didn’t understand the fascination. I tweeted a couple of times but had no idea what to say. I felt like I needed to connect what was being said even though that is not the idea of Twitter. I wanted to sound intelligent and say something of substance. I avoided saying anything for those reasons. I really felt like I didn’t belong on Twitter and it wasn’t my kind of social network. I was still climbing the rock and hadn’t yet taken the plunge. I felt that I could get social networking both personally and professionally in other venues that I was enjoying more.
Then when it was time to follow the trailfire in my Web 2.0 course for Twitter I started to understand what I could get out of Twitter. My first thoughts were, “why didn’t we read some of these websites in the beginning of the course so that I would understand the benefits of Twitter?” I could now see the value in it for networking purposes and wished that I had known these things in the first place. I felt like I had wasted some of my time because of my lack of knowledge of Twitter’s worth. I enjoyed reading the trailfires and made many notes for future reference in using Twitter. Then I decided to take the plunge and jump right in. I added a few more tweets to my Twitter page. I started following a few more people. I read the tweets each day. I asked for help for smartboards and for blog writing because getting information quickly was one of the ways that I had learned that Twitter could be useful. And like when I jumped into the frigid river I didn’t feel the satisfaction that everyone seemed to feel.
I was actually disappointed in the lack of response. I felt like there should be some kind of interaction whenever someone tweets something. I thought about this and decided that this lack of interest could be due to a few factors including the way I tweeted or my choice of followers as none of them know me and some are businesses. I have since continued to Tweet but feel that I still do not know Twitter as well as I need to. I have to use it more to convince myself that it will be a Web 2.0 tool that I will continue to use.

Discussion of the tool in terms of my own personal learning:
When I started using Twitter I was unsure of what it could do for me personally as a learner. I feel that there is a lot more that I could get out of Twitter because at this point I am not getting very much out of it. I need to search out people that have similar interests to me and use my tweets to connect with these individuals and learn new links and knowledge from them as Joyce Valenza, (2009), has done. “I use Twitter to learn more about my particular intersection of interests and I seek out movers and shakers and writers and thinkers in the worlds of education, libraries, technology, edtech, journalism, and media.” This would help me in terms of my own personal learning in areas that interest me both in education and hobbies.
In terms of me being a parent, my children have not yet shown a desire to Twitter. They are probably too young. But by knowing what I do now about Twitter I would certainly encourage them and their friends to use Twitter as a means of learning and networking. I would also discuss the merits of using Twitter with their friends’ parents. The Twitter in Plain English video would help these parents to understand more why their children would want to use Twitter.I would also show them how their children could protect their tweets and only let certain people read their profiles. In the past many of these parents have discouraged the use of social networking sites for their young teenage and preteen children because of safety concerns and lack of understanding the purpose of microblogging.
Using Twitter as a social network could benefit me in a couple of ways. One my husband and I own a small company and many companies are starting to use microblogging to further their production. In one article, Jansen, Zhang, Sobel, and Chowdury (2009) states, “microblogging sites provide a platform to connect directly, again in near real time, with customers, which can build and enhance customer relationships.” My husband and I can start to use Twitter as a way to network with previous and potential customers. I can also use Twitter to network with others in terms of scrapbooking and photography.

Discussion of the tool in terms of teaching and learning:
“My Twitter network helps me grow as a professional and share as a mentor and teacher.” (Valenza, 2009). I too, could use Twitter as a tool to promote my professional learning. I would be able to network with other teachers and experts in areas of my professional interest such as early literacy, special education, smartboard and technology integration. Twitter could also be used for feedback from students and colleagues after class or a workshop. I would welcome feedback on workshops that I give on Kindergarten topics. This would help me to become a better presenter and would also help my audience to clarify any topic that needed to be clarified. This could also start a social networking group.
I would use Twitter in my classroom if I was teaching older children but since I am not at the moment I would show my colleagues the benefits of using Twitter in their classrooms. First I would show them the video Tweets for Education Pt1 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SkGj0YXPGok so that they get a good overview of what Twitter is and how they could use Twitter in the classroom. I would also show them the video on how one teacher used Twitter as an information gathering site and then posted an assignment for her students. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bV5j_OIKPp4 Other examples that I would share with my colleagues on using Twitter come from Bradley, (2009). These include:
-Information updating
-Trending information
-Searching for information
-Asking questions
-Self promotion
-Identifying experts in an area
Also other ways to use Twitter as social networking to send out information for libraries include:
-General information updates - opening/closing times
-Staff information
-New resources
-General information
-Countdowns for events taking place in the library
-Linking to images of/in/about the library
-Notify students/staff/users/clients about any and everything the library is doing.
-Share best practices with other libraries
There are many ways that Twitter and microblogging can be used to increase teachers’ and students’ social networking to enhance their learning and teaching potential. Twitter could also be used by teachers to, “support relationships among the people from the class and to further their learning. Teachers post tips of the day, questions, writing assignments, and other prompts to keep learning going.” (Galagan, 2009). I will promote Twitter as a web 2.0 tool to use for teachers and students as there is a benefit to both.
For all the benefits of using a social networking site like Twitter many school districts ban its use. This is one of the cons of using Twitter. Other disadvantages include: misuse by students who might tweet inappropriately for educational purposes and safety of students who open themselves up for public viewing and give out too much information. As with all Web 2.0 tools students need to be taught global citizenship and safety measures. On the plus side Twitter is free to use, user friendly, and can be accessed by several methods including home computers and cell phones. I took the plunge into learning about Twitter and decided that it should become part of any educator’s repertoire.

References:

Galagan, P. (March, 2009). Twitter As a Learning Tool. Really. T + D, 63(3), 28-29,31. Retrieved October 25, 2009, from ProQuest Education Journals.

http://help.twitter.com/forums/10711/entries

http://help.twitter.com/portal

http://philbradley.typepad.com/phil_bradleys_weblog/2009/01/using-twitter-in-libraries.html

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bV5j_OIKPp4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ddO9idmax0o

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SkGj0YXPGok

Jansen, B., Zhang,M., Sobel, K.,and Chowdury,A. (2009). Twitter power: Tweets as electronic word of mouth. Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology. vol:60 iss:11 pg:2169 retrieved Oct.13

Valenza, J. ( March, 2009). http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/blog/1340000334/post/1940041394.html

Sailing into Social Networking - Facebook and Ning

Sailboat
Originally uploaded by Wananga

Two months ago when I started this technology adventure it seemed like I was trying to hack my way out of the dense jungle of web 2.0 tools with obstacles at every turn. Now because of confidence and knowledge I find myself sailing along. The waters are still a bit rough now and then but researching and discovering social networking sites in Web 2.0 was a pleasant adventure. These included Facebook and Nings.

Reflections on the process of learning about the tool:

The process of learning about Facebook and Nings has gone on for awhile for me. I had heard of Facebook before but never visited the site. I knew people who were on it but never asked them about it. This summer my cousins kept ridiculing me for being the last one to join Facebook. They said I had to get with the program, that I was old and was basically out of the loop. It was just their way of trying to get me to network with them. Why was I so reluctant? I’m not sure. I had thought that everything you put on it was out there for the whole world to see and I didn’t want to do that. I didn’t want any students or parents to come across my profile. So I did not join Facebook.
Then I started this course and saw that one of my first assignments was to join a networking site like Facebook. I was stuck and felt very reluctant to sign up and use Facebook. I had no choice. I logged into the site and it was easy to sign up. The first thing I did was set the privacy settings so that only people I invited could see my profile. I felt a bit better about it. I first added family and got several excited but sarcastic responses about finally signing up. I also added a few close friends. I checked Facebook often, anticipating comments from others. I would post a comment or two of my own, still preferring to read everyone else’s and look at their pictures. I loved looking at the pictures. I spent hours going through them. Then I decided to add a few pictures of my own which was a big step for me. I was starting to let go of my preconceived notions of fear. The comments back to me were my incentive. As time went on I began to feel braver and added more friends and started embedding technology items from this course. First was my avatar, then my Animoto video and then finally my voicethread. I can’t say I check my Facebook account everyday. Not because I don’t want to but because I could lose myself in it and not get other things done. I probably would still be considered by some a passive networker, but that is how I am in real life. I am quieter and enjoy what goes on around me and put my two cents in when warranted. That is my comfort level with Facebook. When I have more free time I can easily see myself checking every day. I will add more pictures and comments. I never dreamed that I would sign up. More importantly that I would actually enjoy it!
I had never heard of a ning before. I found a video that explained the basics of a ning which helped me to understand more about them. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cJvC7IVIYzM

Just after this course started I was asked to join one. A family from our school had gone on a cross Canada tour for four months. The mom invited her children’s teachers to join as they would be missing school until the end of November. After joining the Ning I thought this would be a perfect opportunity to bond with my new student and work on my Web 2.0 course at the same time. Unfortunately I am not allowed to give the address out to anyone so I will not be able to link it in this blog post. It was easy to set up my profile and add my picture to the ning. The process was very similar to Facebook. I added some personal information to my profile page but not a whole lot because again this is for a student. I could follow their travels and the mom wrote comments from her son. I shared these and their photos with my class and we wrote comments back about what we were learning. I added classroom pictures but none of students. The end of November will bring this ning to a close. I enjoyed the experience.
During the first weeks of this course I also found watching Kolbert (2009), on this video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MUE8fSFr9h4

to be useful and as she calls it, I became a “lurker” on the Classroom 2.0 ning http://www.classroom20.com/

created by Steve Hargadon. I have benefited from the articles and comments. Like Facebook I lose myself in the site. I have gone from being unaware of social networking to being a pro social networking user.

Discussion of the tool in terms of my own personal learning:

In opening my mind to understanding and using social networking sites I have opened up several venues to increase my learning. I can become part of a social network of people with similar interests which include scrapbooking, reading, travel and photography. I could interact with people from around the world and broaden my horizons. I could learn new techniques, gain valuable information and follow links they have suggested. I could reciprocate with my own suggestions, links and ideas.
In terms of me as a parent I can help my children set up a ning for themselves and their friends to have a safe place to socialize on the web. We spend most of the summers away from home and this would help my children stay in touch with their friends by posting photos and comments. As a family we could set up a ning for when we go on holidays so that our extended family can keep in touch with us. I will also let me children go on Facebook now if they use the privacy setting for friends only. They will be able to post comments to family and friends. I would not have let them do that before learning about Facebook and the ability to chose who can view your profile. They would also have to make me one of their friends so that I could monitor their usage. I agree with Abram (2008) that, “they need to be aware of their personal identity information and the risks out there without scaring them but providing age and stage sensitive context for success in these emerging and important new electronic environments.” By teaching and allowing my children to use social networking at home and discussing safety with them they will become successful social networking users.
For me as part of a social group I can connect with educators with similar interests as part of a ning. I am not out of the loop with happenings within my extended family because I can connect with them on Facebook. As I have stated before I enjoy the photos and comments and look forward to seeing who has commented on my status. I can also connect with others in the applications section of Facebook and join groups of interest to me. A few weeks after I joined Facebook I connected with a couple of long time friends that I had lost touch with since moving. We have since talked on Facebook and personally contacted each other a few times to have more private conversations and to catch up on the last several years. I have missed them and reconnecting has brought me a sense of peace. Social networking will bring my family and friends closer to me and my family.


Discussion of the tool in terms of teaching and learning:

“One of the main educational uses of social networking is seen to lie in their support for interaction between learners.” (Selwyn, 2009) There are many implications for using social networking for teaching and learning. I could set up a ning for my Kindergarten class instead of a wiki. This would help to aid communication with my parents. I could start a Kindergarten ning for my school division and let it grow from there. We could see how many people would join and collaborate and have discussions on topics of interest. By following and joining other educational nings I would have endless opportunities to learn what other educators are doing. I can become an active member by asking questions and posting my own ideas. I can become involved in educational discussions. I can collaborate with fellow thinkers. I can follow article, blog or video links that interest me that other teachers have found. I would use all these reasons to convince other members of my staff to join a ning of their own interest. When I first started this course no one at school had heard of a ning before. I will be opening up a whole new world of networking for them. I will also show them how to make groups in Facebook that would allow them to network with students using a tool that many students are already familiar with. Some ideas for using social networking sites to share with my fellow teachers as taken from NCTE (2008) include:
• Set up discussion forums based on literature circles, peer writing groups, different class periods, and so forth.
• Create groups based on student interests—book clubs, favorite genres, other content areas.
• Upload alternative book reports created as podcasts, videos, or photos.
• Ask students to write their reading logs or journals online.
• Post information for students and their families in a shared space.
Another way that Facebook could be used is to have students design profile home pages for historical figures. They would have to research and understand what was significant about each person to be creative in their designs and information.
There are pros and cons for using social networking sites. Many of these sites are blocked by schools and students do not have access to them until they go home. If a teacher is using social networking sites for homework or as a requirement for a course all students must have access. Some educators do not understand the value of teaching social networking to their students and therefore do not allow students to go on these sites. Students have to be taught the expectations of how to use public sites so that they use them in an educationally appropriate manner for school assignments. Also in terms of public social game sites ,“children learn valuable Internet social skills, as well as literacy, problem solving, and finance management,” (Bauman & Tatum, 2009). Some social networking sites that children use like Webkinz and Club Penguin have features that only members can obtain. Children can also be lured by the advertising. Students have to be taught what kinds of information to give out and how to secure themselves when using social networking. They also have to be taught not to go meet their networking friends in real life. I agree with Maloney in Selwyn’s (2009) article that “the conversational, collaborative and communal qualities of social networking services are felt to “mirror much of what we know to be good models of learning, in that they are collaborative and encourage active participatory role for users.” Social networking sites do have a place in educating our students. It is another beneficial web 2.0 tool.

References:

Abram, S. (Mar./Apr. 2008). Scaffolding the new Social Literacies. Multimedia and Internet @Schools. Retrieved November 7, 2009 from http://trailfire.com/joannedegroot/marks/219187

Bauman, S., & Tatum, T. (2009). Web Sites for Young Children: Gateway to Online Social Networking? Professional School Counseling, 13(1), 1-10. Retrieved November 8, 2009, from ProQuest Education Journals.

http://ncteinbox.blogspot.com/2008/09/social-networking-ning-thing.html

http://www.classroom20.com/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cJvC7IVIYzM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MUE8fSFr9h4

Selwyn, N. (2009). Faceworking: exploring students' education-related use of Facebook. Learning, Media and Technology, 34(2), 157. Retrieved November 8, 2009, from ProQuest Education Journals.

Using Multimedia – A Journey Well Worth the Undertaking

Cruise Ship lines All-inclusive cruise
Originally uploaded by Fliker_2000

My latest venture took me into the land of multimedia sharing sites which included Animoto and Voicethread. My technological travels have taken me across the internet and this week I’ve landed in web 2.0 tools that I really enjoyed and can see myself using in my Kindergarten classroom. It felt like a cruise on a sparkling yacht. There was music, voices, and showy presentations. Everywhere you looked something caught your eye.

Reflections on the process of learning about the tool:

It started out like many Web 2.0 tasks, excitement to be learning a new tool. Surprisingly, I had used Animoto once earlier this year, so I was thrilled about having some knowledge about the task. I was eager to be learning about these two tools as they both involve photos and I enjoy working with pictures. On the other hand I had never heard of Voicethread and wasn’t sure where to start. I missed having something to read in our texts and get my mind in the right direction. Usually after reading the text book I have a better understanding of what the tool can do. So to start things off I tried to follow the trailfire. I was very frustrated on not being able to view it because the sites kept coming up blocked. I tried and tried and would get more distressed as time passed. I tried on various computers and also tried to view the sites in creative ways to no avail. It didn’t help matters any to be the only one in the class with this problem. I kept thinking, “Why me? What am I doing wrong? I didn’t have any problems with the trailfires before this.” I felt discouraged and pressured as I had a strict plan on how I was going to get everything done this week and not being able to do the trailfire wreaked havoc with it. I felt like I had enough background knowledge that I could make an Animoto video anyway. I couldn’t remember very much about the site but I recalled it wasn’t difficult. I used this video from Youtube to familiarize myself with Animoto again.
The first thing I noticed when I went to the site was that it had changed. It was very well laid out and easy to follow using the step by step directions. It took a long time for my computer to download the twelve images that I was allowed but it did work. I put my video together with ease. After taking my time in selecting music from their limited collection I posted my video to Facebook which was just a click of a button. Posting to my blog was a different story. I couldn’t get it to fit and tried many times until I just manually changed the object size in the copied link. I felt pretty smart that I thought of that and was able to get it to work!
I still didn’t understand what Voicethread was until I went to a friend’s house and used their computer to follow the trailfire and view samples of Voicethreads. I also found the Digitally Speaking Wiki a useful resource in understanding what Voicethread could do. http://digitallyspeaking.pbworks.com/Voicethread#TeachingStudentstoCreateandModerateThreads. I was then able to sign up and follow the directions easily. Voicethread.com has many videos on how to do each step. I had to watch a help video on adding another speaker and was able to add my children’s comments to my Voicethread right after. The hardest part for me in making the Voicethread was to sound natural. It was easy to embed into my blog. The entire process did not take very long and I enjoyed it. I added it to Facebook as well. I feel very comfortable using both these tools and will do so in the future.

Discussion of the tool in terms of my own personal learning:

If anyone has been following my blog posts they might notice that I finally used pictures of my family in both multimedia tools this week. Up to this point I have been very hesitant to do so. And I certainly wouldn’t have done it two months ago. This has been a huge learning curve for me personally. I am letting go of the need for total privacy. This will impact me and my family in many ways. I will not be so reluctant to let my children use web tools and they will be allowed greater freedom in internet exploration while keeping safety in mind. I have shown my children how to use both tools and they can easily make multimedia projects to share with family, friends and for school assignments. As a family we can send little videos and picture clips with our voices to grandparents who live far away. This will draw our family closer together and allow our extended family to see the changes in the kids. I feel more comfortable in sharing photos, video, and my voice with family and friends. It can also be viewed by strangers which isn’t bothering me. I really enjoyed making the Animoto video and the Voicethread. I have added two Animoto videos and the Voicethread to my Facebook and love reading the comments. After posting the Animoto video and Voicethread on Facebook some of my friends have asked me to show them how to do both things. I will be showing them how and then they can also start using multimedia sharing sites. I also want to make a longer video for my parents’ anniversary next year. I am the family scrapbooker for special occasions and now I will become the family video maker instead. It’s much easier and can be shared with all family whether they make it to the event or not.

Discussion of the tool in terms of teaching and learning:

I will enjoy using both of these web 2.0 tools in my classroom and sharing them with other staff members and my Kindergarten teacher colleagues at the division level. I agree with Sprankle’s, (2009) comments about Voicethread being, “an incredibly easy tool to get up and running and a perfect tool to bring 21st century skills such as creativity, innovation, communication, and collaboration with a global audience into your classroom.” In my Kindergarten class I will be able to use Voicethread to share art work, writing, and projects that each child has done and they will be able to talk about them. I can get around the privacy act we have, by having the child hold the work up in front of them. Also I can not use each child’s picture but I can use a symbol for their image instead. I can easily share this tool with other Kindergarten teachers. I can convince them how easy it is to use and how much parents will enjoy seeing and hearing about their child’s work. Another idea for using Voicethread is that each child could make a picture and talk about their dad as a Father’s Day gift. I will be able to show other teachers in my school how older students can use Voicethread. They can comment and engage in global conversation on Voicethread about specific topics that would enhance their reflection and communication skills. I will use Richardson’s (2009), Youtube video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3oNwOkctpOs on Voicethread to help them understand how Voicethread works.

I like the video style of Animoto. I will be able to use it to produce my year end video for my Kindergarten graduation. It will seem very high tech and professional. Once I do this some of the other teachers in my school will want to do the same. After watching this video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MqlGGllwT0c, I was able to show teachers how to use Animoto for Education. Some have signed up already to get their students to make video projects. After I read Marcinek’s (2009), post on the Classroom 2.0 Ning I shared some other ideas for our students. These include making movie trailers on books, vocabulary ideas, social studies and history topics, math concepts and life skills how to videos. These videos can be used as teaching and reviewing tools. Students will be able to share these videos with others and this would promote communication and global citizenship. Some other ideas in using Animoto taken from Valenza (2008), include “any projects for which we'd formerly create a collage--the gathering of multiple pieces to create new context. A collage showcasing student work or art, gathering historical images and relevant music or soundtrack to introduce a time period, paintings and sound to introduce an artist or artistic movement. You could easily use it to promote school programs or activities.” I think the possibilities for using Animoto in education are endless.

Some issues I may have in using Voicethread and Animoto in my class is that I would need to upload the images or get another adult to do it. Uploading can be time consuming. I would also need microphones which we don not have even though they are inexpensive we have a tight budget. Another con is that I would have to be very careful not to have a child’s picture showing on the site. The positive support for using Animoto and Voicethread in schools is that they are both easy to use and can take very little time to make. They are also engaging for students as you have more than one medium. Having sound and pictures together will embrace more learning styles. They are both relatively inexpensive to use. The fast paced video style of Animoto is very appealing and looks professional when completed. The positives outweigh the negatives for both these web 2.0 tools.

References

http://digitallyspeaking.pbworks.com/Voicethread#TeachingStudentstoCreateandModerateThreads

http://www.classroom20.com/forum/topics/hello-animoto

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MqlGGllwT0c

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=txgAh4ETKHE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3oNwOkctpOs

Sprankle, B. (October, 2009). VoiceThread. School Talk, 15(1), 4-6. Retrieved October 25, 2009, from ProQuest Education Journals.

Valenza, J. (April, 2008). Announcing Animoto for Education. School Library Journal. Retrieved October 30,2009. from http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/blog/1340000334/post/1560024356.html?q=animoto

California Here We Come

Halloween 2009

A Calm, Relaxing Journey? A Look at a Wiki

Easy sailing! That’s what I thought when I saw wikis as our topic. Out of the jungle chaos of the last few weeks, I emerged to see the bright blue sky and calm water’s edge. This week was like a relaxing float down the river.

Reflections on the process of learning about the tool:
Of all the Web 2.0 tools we have been exploring, I know the most about wikis. My first thoughts were, “Finally, something I don’t have to spend hours building background knowledge on before I begin the task.” I was beginning to feel like I was in over my head in taking this course. I started my wiki adventure by reading Web 2.0 for Schools (Davies & Merchant, 2009) and then realized that I wasn’t as informed as I thought I was. My vision of a wiki was limited to classroom wikis. I never equated Wikipedia to a wiki. I have rarely used Wikipedia and didn’t think much about how it came to be. I took it as an online encyclopedia and have used it a couple of times to Google technology terms. From my reading I soon discovered that it was much more than a stagnate online encyclopedia. Imagine even I could publish something on it! My entry could be read, expanded upon or edited by anyone else. That was certainly a surprise to me! Even my students could add something to this wiki. I found myself thinking about our previous group discussion when we talked about trusting sites, critical reading, objectivity and accuracy. What had I so blindly believed when I read Wikipedia? Was the information I read credible? Then as I read on in our text books, I felt I had nothing to dread. Watching a short video by Richardson also gave me more information about Wikipedia. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vx0LiFmB7IQ It seems to be a very well managed site. I looked into creating an account then decided not to; I couldn’t think of anything to publish. It is exciting to know that my students or I could publish on Wikipedia if we wanted to.
As I stated earlier I do have some experience with wikis. I attended a one day workshop on wetpaint.com at our division office in May. There I began preliminary steps in setting up a classroom wiki for my Kindergarten class. It was a very slow, step by step process and I didn’t get far. I was very excited about the prospect of the online communication it would give me with parents. Then our school division decided that it would no longer endorse wetpaint.com because of the advertising. They were afraid that students would see inappropriate material. I didn’t do anything else with my wiki after that. For this course assignment, I couldn’t decide how I would show my interaction with wikis. I added some comments on our division Kindergarten teacher wiki, but realized as a secured site I wouldn’t have any proof of my contributions. Then I started a wiki on pbworks.com but felt that it lacked appeal. So I went back to my original wiki and played there for awhile. Since I want to make this wiki useful and not just for the course I went back to pbworks. As I played around with adding content to my new wiki, I felt empowered. I knew what I was doing. There were a couple of things though, that I didn’t know how to do so I emailed our division technology coordinator and she sent me a training video she made. Watching it answered the questions I had on importing photos. After spending quite a bit of time on designing my wiki, I still feel like it’s a basic outline. It will take me more than a week to put it all together.

Discussion of the tool in terms of my own personal learning:
When I decided to build my own wiki, I searched out many Kindergarten wikis to get ideas. I actually added some information to a couple of them and bookmarked them to Delicious. I will be able to follow along and comment on these wikis. I can learn lots from these other Kindergarten teachers. While I was manipulating the tools with pbworks wiki, I felt like I was consolidating my learning from various projects both for this course and at school. Adding links and documents seemed to just come naturally. I knew what I was doing, so my own personal learning must be increasing.
My thirteen year old son is enjoying learning about what I am doing in this class. He looks forward to the end of the week so that I can share with him my new found technology knowledge. After explaining to him about wikis, he couldn’t believe that he could put something on Wikipedia and watch what happens to it. I feel like I am giving him a heads up in technology as he is not learning these things in school yet.
As for being a part of a social group, next summer my cousins and I, who live all over western Canada, are planning a family reunion. They all laughed at me because I was the last one to join Facebook and I am the oldest cousin. Well, I have a surprise for them! I am going to make a family reunion wiki. They will love it! It will help us to plan and be more organized for the event in Manitoba. We can add photos and comments afterwards. Having the preliminary planning all done and recorded on a wiki will enable us to be ahead of the game for the next reunion.

Discussion of the tool in terms of teaching and learning:
I’m using the wiki that I created for this assignment, as a tool for increasing communication with parents in my class. At the moment I have included information that they would find useful. I will be able to link some podcasts for parents to listen to as well. As more parents start to use the wiki and learn to trust it, they will want me to add pictures of their children to it. I feel that right now my wiki is lacking visuals. My wiki can also be used as Hargadon (2009) suggested as a communication tool for parents who have children that are absent due to illness. They will be able to keep up with class happenings. Unfortunately my Kindergarten students are too young to collaborate on a wiki by themselves.
There is another teacher in my school who is creating a classroom wiki. He has been asking me questions all week. I have been able to help him, by giving him ideas on how to use his wiki as a collaboration tool with his grade three/four class. I agree with Lamb & Johnson (2009), that, “Wiki projects help young people shift from being consumers of the Internet to creators on the Web. Open-editing wiki tools engage students in exciting collaborative learning experiences that promote reading, writing, and high level thinking across content areas and grade levels.” In helping my colleagues use wikis for classroom collaboration, I am helping students become better thinkers and learners. As Dukic (2007) states, “learning is not only acquiring new knowledge but also developing students’ attitudes and skills that will keep them open to new learning experience beyond the boundaries of school and formal education.” Wikis will help students become more active 21st century learners.
I can be a valuable resource for the teachers in my school as the benefits of using wikis catch on. I belong to a division wide Kindergarten wiki. It has fallen by the wayside for most of us. I want to begin contributing to it on a regular basis now as I see the importance of it. I will try to convince others to do so as well. There are many other benefits to using a wiki in schools. These include: making meetings more efficient, collaboration on important documents and curriculum, enhancing professional development, and portals for lessons (Nielsen, 2009). Some drawbacks to using wikis include: policies that prohibit student pictures on the web, time to learn and update a wiki, others defacing a classroom wiki, and reluctance to learn new technology. For me, using wikis will enhance my teaching and my students’ learning.


References:

Davis, J., & Merchant, G. (2009). Web 2.0 for Schools Learning and Social Participation. New York: Peter Lang Publishing.
Dukic, D. (2007). Wikis in school libraries. International Association of School Librarianship. Selected Papers from the Annual Conference,1-9. Retrieved September 24, 2009, from ProQuest Education Journals.

Hargadon, S. (October, 2009). Web Site in a Rush. School Library Journal, 55(10), 16. Retrieved October 20, 2009, from ProQuest Education Journals.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vx0LiFmB7IQ

Lamb, A., & Johnson, L.. (April, 2009). Wikis and Collaborative Inquiry. School Library Media Activities Monthly, 25(8), 48-51. Retrieved October 19, 2009, from ProQuest Education Journals.

Nielsen, L. (August 2009). Eight ways to use: school wikis. Technology & Learning, 30, 1. p.32(2). Retrieved October 20, 2009, from Computer Database via Gale:http://find.galegroup.com.login.ezproxy.library.ualberta.ca/gtx/start.do?prodId=CDB

Podcasting – A Continuing Technological Quest

I stumbled into quicksand and barely made it out! That’s how I felt when I started my podcasting journey. I was confidently strolling along with a trailfire and text book as my guide. Suddenly it wasn’t enough. I felt alone. I became disoriented and panicked. I went deeper and deeper into abyss. As I staggered around I lost sense of coherence and into the quicksand I sank. The more I struggled, the deeper and deeper I went until I felt I would never get out!

Reflections on the process of learning about the tool:

My first experience with podcasting was when we had to listen to the initial podcast for this course. I actually didn’t know what podcasting was until I looked it up on wikipedia. I should have known this was going to be a nightmare for me. From my first encounter of trying to open the introductory podcast to embedding my own, on my blog, I struggled. This has been the most frustrating I have felt in this course and probably with technology in a long time. One of the things that bothered me was that I felt like I was just within reach of getting where I needed to be but was unable to grasp the connection. I could see the problem but didn’t know how to fix it. Just like being trapped in quicksand, the more you struggle the deeper you go; you can see the vine hanging that could save you, but it’s just beyond your fingertips.
I first followed the trailfire and enjoyed listening to the podcasts, especially the ones made by the students on the Educating Alice Blog. I was a little disappointed that the trailfire didn’t include steps on making your own podcast. Then I read Richardson’s (2009) book and it seemed very straight forward. Just download a couple of programs and then copy and paste into my blog. I decided that I would use Audacity because that was what Richardson suggested. I was hoping that I could get this done quickly so that I would have more time to do extra reading. That didn’t happen.
I downloaded the newest version of Audacity and then downloaded Lame. After buying a microphone I plugged it in and started to record my podcast. I could see it recording but could not hear it. Recording several trials and playing around with the microphone and speakers fixed that problem. I had the wrong microphone option selected. Then it was time to save it as an mp3 file. I didn’t have this option on my version of Audacity.

I could listen to it but I couldn’t export it. I read the Audacity tutorial many times. It all came back to having an mp3 file. I watched http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lrPGMjZORCM a tutorial on Audacity and two others. I followed these step by step. I also went through the Lame wiki tutorials, http://wiki.audacityteam.org/index.php?title=Lame_Installation again. One suggestion was that maybe Audacity couldn’t find the right connection to Lame. After hours of getting nowhere I decided to remove both programs from my computer and start again. This time I downloaded an older version of Audacity and low and behold it had a save as mp3 option. After making my podcast again, I saved it to itunes. My next problem was to store it on an internet server. I started with OurMedia.org but ran into problems there with it trying to find my itunes file. Then I remembered a suggested site by Annabelle, http://www.slideshare.net/Paty.Savage/how-to-embed-a-podcast-into-a-blogger , so I used it and tried archive.org. Again I ran into difficulty because when it browsed my itunes it would take all my podcasts not just the one. Feeling close to defeat, with my phone beside me ready to call my instructor, I decided to copy my mp3 file to my desktop. It would give archive only one choice to copy. It worked! Embedding my podcast into my blog was relatively easy compare to everything else. There was nothing as satisfying as reaching that vine and feeling myself come free of the quicksand.

Discussion of the tool in terms of my own personal learning:

In my September introduction, I called my initial post, “My Learning Curve Can Only Go Up.” This week’s investigation into podcasting was a straight uphill climb. But the view from the top was breathtaking. Not only have I discovered that my family and I can make podcasts but there are some very valuable podcasts out there that I can learn from. I will be subscribing to a couple different ones that I can listen to on a regular basis. I will be able to download them to my mp3 player and listen as I drive, clean my house or have a cup of tea. I am looking forward to listening to people talk about some of the things I enjoy, such as scrapbooking, photography and early literacy. There are so many to choose from but I have not decided on any from the ones I have listened to. The video podcasts will also be very beneficial to help me learn new things.
As soon as I got the microphone working and did a test podcast, I called my children to hear it. They both tried it. I think they were hooked instantly but I wouldn’t let them make any to broadcast because I was still trying to get my own to work. Now that I know how to do it I will be teaching them and they will have endless ideas on what to do. Next week is their uncle’s birthday. We are going to make a podcast for him so he can get our birthday wishes in Manitoba. I was thinking we would make regular family podcasts to link into Facebook. I haven’t had a chance to try that but I can’t see why it wouldn’t work. There is a link option. It would be like a Dudar Family What’s Going On for the Week Radio Program. Our families would love it. They all live far away and hearing our voices and updating them on our weekly happenings would bring us all closer together. If I can’t link it to Facebook then I would let them know how to listen to it on archive.org. Maybe I could convince some other family members to make podcasts too. I’m not sure exactly how Skype works but it will be something I will be looking at in the future. Hopefully I can use my podcasting skills to connect family members that way.
Most of the podcasters that I listened to also had blogs. If I like their podcast I am sure I will enjoy their blog. This would be another way to open up some social groups for me pertaining to some of my interests.

Discussion of the tool in terms of teaching and learning:

I will be using podcasting in my teaching. I work with Early Literacy students and we always do some reader’s theatre to share with other classes. We will now put them into a podcast that can be shared at any time with students and parents. The students can have other family and friends listen at any time too. This will also work with my music class. We could have a regular recording time once a month and parents would have something to look forward too. My Kindergarten class could talk about concepts they have learned. As Kerstetter (2009) states, “recording classroom activities is a way to share with parents and administrators the positive outcomes and hard work involved in every class. Showcasing a "student of the week" or "class of the week" can be one method of sharing with the school community some of the wonderful things that happen in your classroom every day.” I will also be able to integrate listening to podcasts into my classroom in various subjects. We could listen to music and science podcasts. One such video podcast is http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lhF7Has5LOw which I will be showing for my next grade two science unit. As a school leader, I have convinced the grade three teacher to have her class make a radio type podcast on global citizenship. They are also researching other podcasts to help them to understand issues in other countries. I had her listen to the video podcast on grade three science to show her what can be done. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=akyWTHjaiVc. Once I have a few podcasts completed I will share these with my colleagues at a staff meeting and show them how easy it is to do. Teachers of older students can make podcasts explaining concepts or missed lessons. I also belong to a Kindergarten Action Group that encompasses all of our division’s Kindergarten teachers. I will have them listen to the podcasts and help anyone who wants to try it. No trial and error for them! There are many benefits to using a Web 2.0 tool like podcasting in school. The recorded message can be listened to over and over by various groups, children are motivated to use technology, they are expanding their social networking, and for me personally the best reason to use podcasting is because I can! Podcasting is not covered in our privacy policy as long as I do not use video. One downfall to podcasting is that it will be more difficult to teach the younger students how to podcast. The second is time. I know I will have a difficult time being able to do all the projects that I want to do. Starting small will be the key. I am glad I survived the quicksand as podcasting is one of the tools that I will continue to use after this course is over.

References:

http://medinger.wordpress.com/2008/03/05/in-the-classroom-kid-podcasts-of-good-masters-sweet-ladies/

http://wiki.audacityteam.org/index.php?title=Lame_Installation

http://www.slideshare.net/Paty.Savage/how-to-embed-a-podcast-into-a-blogger

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=akyWTHjaiVc

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lhF7Has5LOw

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lrPGMjZORCM

Kerstetter, K. (2009). Educational Applications of Podcasting in the Music Classroom. Music Educators Journal, 95(4), 23-26. Retrieved October 17, 2009 from http://search.ebscohost.com.login.ezproxy.library.ualberta.ca

Richardson, W., (2009). Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts, and Other Powerful Web Tools for Classrooms. United States: Corwin.