End of the Semester Farewell

I just wanted to post how much I have enjoyed this class this semester. I have learned so many new and useful things. I've shared them with my colleagues, used them in my personal life, and utilized them to enhance my assignments in my other graduate classes. I want to thank the professor for creating a cool and innovative class that is extremely relevant and interesting. I went into this class thinking we'd be learning about Microsoft Office, message boards, and a typical graphics program. I also want to thank my peers who have struggled through the ups and downs of technology to learn some new things. Congratulations to all for making it to the end of the semester. I hope you all have a happy holiday season! Enjoy the break! You deserve it.

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Podcasting Part 2

My podcast was about the water cycle which is an important Standard of Learning in the third grade. We spend a lot of time teaching about the water cycle. Through Google Docs you can access a water cycle unit I team taught in one of our third grade classrooms this year. The second lesson is actually the one I did for my formal observation this year, and despite an unexpected exploding glass bowl it went really well!

Audacity

I have used the program Audacity before to create podcasts. But I haven't recorded a lecture or a lesson. I have mostly used it to record audiobooks for my listening library. It's nice to be able to transform the books in my classroom library to an audio version for the listening center. I then create a list of comprehension questions to test their listening skills.

For this project, I wrote up a small lesson on the water cycle. It covers Virgina Standard of Learning (SOL) 3.9. I added the sound effect of water dripping at the end.

I like Audacity because you can go back and cut out small sections if you make a mistake or other noises unexpectedly interfere with your recording. (like your dog barking in the middle of it!)

As a teacher, you could use Audacity for lectures like this, to assist students who were absent and missed instruction, to create audiobooks, and to record student reading. Listen to my podcast below. My script is also linked as a Word Document.


The Water Cycle Listen Now

Intel Ranking Tool

The Intel ranking tool was as easy to set-up as a teacher as it was to use as a student. I decided to make my ranking project about the accomplishments of Benjamin Franklin. We have been studying Famous Americans and it related directly to my state's Standards of Learning.

I originally made the mistake of entering my information in the first available spot instead of in the Visual Ranking Tool. I reentered my information in the Visual Ranking Tool section and set up my student teams and my question. If you would like to rank Ben's Best Stuff , feel free to take part in my mock survey. Be sure to click on the Visual Ranking Tool (second one down) and not the first one that I haven't figured out how to remove yet.

This tool would be a good way to do surveys in the computer lab or during individual morning computer work. It would probably work best with the upper elementary and secondary grades. Although primary students may be able to complete simple rankings as well. Ranking reasons for a character's acctions in a book

Ben's Best Stuff

Teacher login: iharned
Username: Team 1
Password: one

Jing Video

At first, I was stumped about what to do my Jing video on. But I scrolled down through the list of assignments for the class to remind me of some of the applications and programs we've put into practice so far. I decided to show a quick example of how to play around and change a picture using Photoshop Express.

I had some early problems including mistakenly pressing the red X at the end of the video capture which cancelled it without saving. (Unfortunately I made this mistake more than once. ) I also had some changes I wanted to make and I had to redo it a few times. Once I had a successful .swf video,

I had to download an Adobe Flash update. I still couldn't find a program on my computer that would play the file, including VLC player which I love.
So I searched on the Internet to find a program that would convert the .swf file to an .avi file which would be more compatible.I found the program Moyea which converted my Jing video with the weird .swf format to a user friendly .avi. Moyea was pretty easy and free. It did play the video and "recapture" it.

I thought the Jing video program would be great for Technology Resource Teachers that we have here in Virginia. It would also be great for anyone who was providing a training or staff development. Teachers of older students could use this to show students how to access and use programs, how and where to save files, and numrous other possibilites. It could also be used to provide information to parents about how to access the school website or use classroom recommended sites or programs. Jing is so easy and so useful. I believe it will be a normal part of my computing from now on. At least until another cool program takes it to the next level. Hope you all enjoyed it as much as I did.

Feel free to check out my little PhotoShop Express example below.

Jing Picture

This post will probably reflect my sentiments in past entries. I had not heard of Jing prior to this assignment. But I was curious after reading Dr. Pierce's rave review of it. So after I downloaded and watched the "How To Capture" stuff tutorial, I jumped right in.

Since I am a snowboard enthusiast and a teacher (let's face it- we all love snow days!), I decided to take an image from www.burton.com I chose a picture from the homepage of a snowboarder. I added the caption " Let it Snow. Let it Snow. Let it Snow". It's just a fun image that reflects my wishful thinking.

Using this program was easy and effortless. The little sun on the border of the screen is out of the way and yet instantly accessible. This would also be easy for students to use to capture images, and of course it will be a great tool for any teacher to add to their PowerPoints, websites, and Interactive whiteboard lessons.

Now I must find a video to capture and post.

Intel Ranking Tool

I was in Group 3 for the team ranking project about the causes of the Civil War. Our ranking was close to Group 4 and Group 6, both of which had a strong positive correlation of 0.70. Group 6 had slavery at the third position while we left it as number one. Group 4 had economic differences as their fourth position, while ours was at the second spot.

I had never used this tool before. While it was interesting to use as a student, I can see how it would be beneficial as a teacher tool. I could survey my class or ask them to rank content items and defend their reasoning. This does allow for higher level thinking skills and for some interesting group work! Now I guess that's my next assignment, so I better start thinking of ideas!

Rubistar

I found the Rubistar website very easy to use. I liked that there were pre-made categories and descriptions of student performance. It was also helpful to be able to search through the rubrics already created by others. As someone who used to be a poor test taker, I like the fact that rubrics show exactly what the instructor is expecting. The rules are clearly defined, and if reviewed carefully there are no surprises when it comes time for grades. As a teacher, I also like the way that rubrics give students a roadmap of what they're going to do and how they need to perform to succeed. The rubric I created is on reading skills at the elementary level which I focus on a lot with my students.

Windows Movie Maker

I have used Windows Movie Maker before to compile images from Rugby games and things, but my experience with it is limited. I didn't know I could import a PowerPoint presentation and turn it into a video like this. I liked the credits feature at the end. This may the new way that I put together slideshows of vacations or events. Here is another example of something useful that I will indeed use!

Jeopardy

I actually have made a few Jeopardy games in the past for review lessons for teaching. I am including two Jeopardy PowerPoints I've made this year for my 3rd graders to review continents and government. I volunteered to build the PowerPoint for my team. I used a template that I found a few years earlier that uses a PowerPoint template complete with a picture of Alex Trebec! I added them to the ftp site because of problems accessing the action buttons on google documents. You can check them out here (Jeopardy government and Jeopardy continents) , and if you want to use this template for your own review game visit this page.

Photostory

We have Photostory on our computers at school. I was surprised to learn I could download it for free and use it on my home computer. At the end of the last school year, I was in charge of a grade level week-long camp that created Photostories on different places. I had no experience with it before that time. It's easy to use, and the older students I was working with then really got into it and created some wonderful videos.

I chose to do my Photostory here on Hawaii. In the spring we study Hawaii, and I have a lesson that deals with making tikis. The Photostory provides the atmosphere for the lesson. It has Hawaiin music and pictures of places and things related to Hawaii. Photostory is pretty easy to use. It requires little prep. time or explanation. I will use it for various projects throughout the year. I will also use it to create personal Photostories. It's so great to have technology that uses your pictures and music to create somethign that can be enjoyed for years to come.

TPACK

• What are the major themes or ideas in your content discipline?
  As an elementary special education teacher, I focus on language arts and math content. I also assist my students with social studies and science work within their regular classrooms. My themes and content change slightly from year to year as the grade level of my caseload changes.

• Does your content discipline rely on specific processes for developing the key themes or ideas?
  Students at the elementary level are building skills throughout the year and across all grade levels. Students must have an ability to decode unknown words, to use context clues, and to read with expression in order to read fluently. Their ability to read fluently and comprehend also impacts all other subject areas. Students who struggle in reading may also find social studies or science difficult because of the amount of higher level vocabulary and more complex content in non-fiction texts. Students also must have a basic mastery of addition and subtraction facts and general number sense in order to progress in mathematics.

• How much of what you know is dependent of the way you learned your subject?
  It is related but not in the way you might think. I struggled academically in school. I did not have teachers who were engaging in their lessons or committed to the success of each child in the class. I was written off in many of the classes I entered long before I had gotten my first 9 weeks report card. There was no emphasis on differentiated instruction then. I felt like school wasn't a place where I could succeed. Luckily I met someone who believed in me and who taught me things I had missed along the way in school. I am now committed to doing the opposite of what the majority of my teachers did. I want all of my students to feel as if they can succeed at anything if they are willing to put in the hard work. I want all my students to feel like it's okay to ask a question, that school is an exciting and accepting place, and that everyone has their own strengths to build upon.
  

• Do you think in terms of your content by the chapters in a textbook or do you think in terms of your content as an integrated whole?
  I think of my content as an integrated whole. I want my students to see content through a real world lens. They should see how the content I'm teaching fits into their everyday lives and why it's important. I think students have a better grasp of information and it will remain with them longer, if it's not taught in isolation. Using a variety of examples in a variety of ways, can help students gain a true understanding of the skill/knowledge being taught.
  

• Does your knowledge of this discipline represent an integration of the concepts and processes that connect them?
  Yes, integration of concepts and processes is key. Learning how different things, different people, different skills, different subject matter is connected is how people solidify learning. The synapses created through those connections helps to store the information and gives it relevance.
  

Story Elements

This is my new PowerPoint. It took me awhile to find all of the pictures and to re-imagine how I think of PowerPoints. I actually like this style better than the ones I have been doing for years. it was hard to fill up over 40 slides. Maybe I picked a bad topic or I am still a novice at this particular genre of slideshows. But here is my revised attempt at the PowerPoint assignment. I hope you will enjoy.

Story Elements

View more presentations from ian h.

Voki

Hello all. As I was adding sites to my Delicious page, I found a site called Voki. It allows you to create your own talking avatar. You can create one of yourself, make a new character, or use a VIP like the one I created below. I warn you-it is fun and you may waste some time here. I think it's cool that you can get it to say whatever you want. You can personalize it for your class.

Desktop Graphic

Here's my long delayed desktop graphic. I used Paint to create my image. Like many other people have posted, Paint has been on every computer I think I've ever turned on. Although I never found it particularly useful. It is widely available, and it does allow you to do basic graphic stuff. I made my picture a web of Abraham Lincoln. We're studying biographies and presidents right now. (I think the white smudges were added because of my longing for snow and a big mountain..Come on winter!) I took the clipart of Abraham Lincoln from Discovery's clipart page and pasted onto paint. I filled in Abe's hat and his coat with the paint can feature on Paint. Anyway, I know it's not the greatest picture ever made. But it is mine, and it's really not so bad.

PowerPoint

PowerPoint is a commonly used teaching tool at all levels of education. I'm always surprised when teachers don't know how to create a simple PowerPoint. In this day and age knowing how to create a PowerPoint is an essential skill. It's a good way to organize information and to present it. I have created PowerPoints for Back to School Nights with parents, for college classes, and for use in my classroom. It's pretty easy to use and it helps familiarize students with technology they will likely encounter for years.

I created a PowerPoint on wombats because one of the grade levels I work with studies Australia. I tried to use kid friendly language and to add lots of pictures to convey what wombats really look like. I also added a video at the end to show how wombats dig holes very quickly. This presentation may help students understand what wombats are like since they are not native to this country and most students have probably never seen one. I uploaded my presentation to Google Docs to share it here. I look forward to seeing everyone else's presentations.

Cutest Pets...

If there's a cutest pets contest, I think you can see from the pictures above that my furry friends should definitely be finalists. :)

Jackson Pollack Art

When I clicked on the link in the activity list, I was a little surprised that there were no instructions. The site ( http://www.manetas.com/eo/pollock.swf ) immediately takes you to the application of creating a Jackson Pollack style painting online. There seemed to be no way to change colors or to stop the movement of the mouse from painting. Because the color of the "paint" was a bright orange, it led me to create a large round shape on the page which resembles a sun a little. Once I frantically moved my mouse around a bunch of times to create something I kind of liked, I had to remember how to do a screen capture. I went back on the activities list to look at the Image Capture instructions. I hit the print screen button and pasted it in Paint. Then I cropped out the toolbar from the top. The image I created is below. I named it Orange Chaos. Enjoy!

Photoshop Express

I signed up for the free account with Photoshop Express. I took a picture of my cat, and I used the editing tools to make only the red stand out. I then added some red and green balloons around his head. I took a picture of me and my dog and made it black and white. Then I added a post it note border around it. The last one I edited was a picture of my girlfriend and me. I changed it to a red tint, cropped it, and added silly costume pieces (a bow tie and glasses). I had fun with this assignment. Again it was another instance where I've seen pictures with only one color popping out and wondered how they were created. Photoshop skills could be useful in the classroom as a teaching tool and as a useful skill for students in today's media-rich, communication-driven culture. You can check out my first attempts at "photoshopping" here.

Web Album

I went to Flickr and I uploaded some photos of my Jeep. It took me a bit to make sure I had the privacy settings and sharing options right. I've uploaded pictures to web albums before, and I like to be able to organize my photos and share them this way. If you want to see my web album of jeep pictures click here. This could be useful for saving pictures for a unit of study (on China or Africa for example). Photos don't have to be stuffed into dusty old photo albums on someone's closet shelf. They can be shared and enjoyed by friends and family across the world.

Image Capture

I had always wondered how people were able to get screenshots from their computers. Now I know how. I went to the Washington Post's homepage, ad I held down the shift button and the Print Screen button on the top right corner. Then I went opened Paint and pasted the screenshot taken. I resized it by clicking on the corner and moving diagonally with the two arrows showing. I saved the file as a .jpg image on my computer. Here is a picture of my image capture. I can se how this would be useful in sourcing or referencing information for a blog. If i am discussing my opinion on a specific event, video, news item, etc., it is helpful to have a link to or a screenshot of what I am referencing. Another cool thing to know how to do.

Delicious

I had never heard of social bookmarking sites like Delicious before this assignment. I have often had a long list of bookmarks saved on my web browser which is too long to navigate through easily and is unreachable through other computers. I started using portaportal for my links for students. I found it to be an easy way to keep your favorite sites organized in one place that is accessible from multiple locations. Delicious follows the same concept. Your sites are organized on a website not on a solitary browser. This allows you to access your sites that are marked with descriptive tags in an orderly way. It also allows people with similar interests or connections to keep track of each others' sites. This is a cool website, and I like adding the easy to use tagging button on my browser. I will keep adding sites as the semester progresses. I love it when I learn about things that I can actually use.

Crappy Graphs

Crappy Graphics has a memorable name and a useful feature. It was simple to use. I created my Venn Diagram pretty quickly, but I wanted to adjust the font size. If the program offered the ability to change text or graphic sizes, I didn't find it. I chose to create a simple Venn Diagram comparing facts about Washington and Lincoln. We teach a unit on famous Americans around President's Day. It can be used to teach social studies content, to assess reading comprehension, or to provide a model for students to create their own Venn Diagrams. You can see my initial "crappy graph" by clicking here or you can look at the embedded version below.

Resume Ian

A copy of my resume is here.

Picasso Portrait

As I scanned through the activity links, I stumbled upon the Picasso portrait maker. I jumped right in and started creating my Picassohead. (http://www.mrpicassohead.com/create.html) I picked a face and a nose, but as I tried on different noses and hair it became more difficult. Of course, Picassos are not meant to look like reality. They are skewed and messy. I had to just pick the one I liked the best and not necessarily the one that looked like me. I also found it difficult that there were no options for the body. I wanted to select shoulders and arms to anchor my floating head. So I used the abstract shapes to create a body like shape. Then I added some lines to fill the white space and some dark smudges to serve as corners to my frame. It's funny that I was compelled to make my portrait as traditional as possible and could not simply allow the free flowing more abstract style that Picasso created in his work.

Here is a link to my Picassohead, enjoy!
Ian's Picassohead

Introduction

Hello! My name is Ian. I graduated from Fairmont State in December of 2007 with a bachelors degree in elementary education. I finished my special education certification in the spring, and I hope to complete my masters degree at the end of this semester.

I moved from Fairmont to northern VA in the summer of 2008 with my girlfriend who teaches first grade. I live about 25 miles from Washington, D.C. I teach special education in an elementary school here. It's a GREAT place to live and work.

I love to race down big mountains on my snowboard, drive my big jeep slowly over bigger rocks, and hug the curves in the road in my new BMW. I am currently taking 9 grad. credit hours, teaching full time, and attempting to learn Spanish. I have a dog named Bear and a cat named Fritz.

I hope everyone has a great semester and a successful year in the classroom!