Podcasts

I was truly intrigued during this lesson and had a ton of fun making podcasts with my group and my partner Rachael. It was really fun working with another novice. We were able to learn together instead of one of us taking over. There was a lot of laughter and a product was made (that was the amazing part ;0).

I still debating on a reason to use podcasts in my ASL classes. ASL is a visual language so digital video is a no brainer, but podcasts? Anyone have ideas? I would love to hear some.

Digital Video in ASL?!?

For 7 years now I have used video taping in all level levels of my ASL classes. In the recent years I've had to learn how to use digital video cameras. At first I was the producer and cameraman. I felt uneasy about giving my students a pricey tool. Even though students were not always excited about being in front of the camera there was always a never ending amount of students willing to man the camera. I should have realized then that this was the desire I needed to transfix on and encourage.

I've got the camera usage down to a science, but the editing side of the lesson still intimidates me. With some encouragement from my classmates and ideas to to to my sbts I'm planning on learning more about movie maker on my on and with help from my colleagues who have used this tool.

Level 3's end of the year project is to take a children's book, create a script and storyboard, and record their productions. For their final project I want to give each group the opportunity to use an editing tool to fully create something they can be proud of and for all of us to watch together. Wish me luck!

Video's

Being an American Sign Language teacher, using videos in the class is almost a necessity. I can't say that I know enough to teach a student how to create a video and edit it, but I like for the students to utilize videotaping.

During student presentations the video can be set up to help with grading purposed. Using a video camera allows me to grade as slow as I want to. It also helps me to more thoroughly look at each individual students signing abilities. That a positive.

I've also used digital video taping with my level 3 class as an assignment. I taught them the basics of how to use a video camera and how to do in camera editing. At the time the computer lab was not equipped with an editing software. The students seemed to enjoy the time they got to work together and they really enjoyed watching the finished product. One problem I encountered during the project was getting permission from the administration for students to be out of the classroom without being supervised. It worked out!

I hope to continue using digital video taping in the future and learn more about the editing software. I'm not too comfortable with the editing software yet!

The social web

I feel that FCPS is trying to attempt to bring teacher together by using blackboard as a connection for teachers to share their ideas, projects, information and more. But I don't feel like all teachers are taking advantage of that. I myself being one of them. I'm not sure if it's because I like to have face to face contact or sharing all of my work for everyone to use and see makes me uneasy. I think another reason is due to the fact that I wasn't comfortable using all the tools we were given. When I'm not comfortable with something I tend to ignore it. I sometimes have the 2 year old mentality. If I can't see it, it's not there.

During my reading of Chapter 6 in Will Richardson's book a quote caught my attention. This is found on page 88. "It's starting to feel like you need your own army to help you keep track of all the information you might need or want." With the many tools we have available to us today that are suppose to make things "easier" I feel like it is adding more work to my already heavily loaded schedule. Where is my army and why do I need to learn all these other things to further complicate my school life? As I continued reading I found that the more a tool is used the easier it will become because I will begin to be familiar with it. Something many people don't do is spend the time becoming familiar. As a person living in an instant gratification society I don't like waiting. This is something I am going to have to do if I want to use this technology in the classroom or my everyday life.

How to i find the time to set up all these great tools and become familiar with them when I am trying to complete my masters (keep up with all the work), teach, plan a wedding, and everything else life throws at me? Have you found it works for you and are comfortable? How much time does it really take?

Wiki's

One of the reasons our school doesn't want our students using Wiki's is the fact that anyone can edit the material at any time. It is funny to me at my school because at one moment they don't want students using wikipedia and then they are encouraging them to use them. After reading further into Will Richardson's book in chapter four wiki's I feel I have a better understanding about the use of wikipedia in the classroom. Many of my students start their research at wikipedia. I've learned that this is fine, as a starting point. The next step is to encourage students to further their research.

FCPS is going more towards adding much of their curriculum and shared information on blogs and wiki's, but I never felt comfortable with attempting. It was really interesting that high school curriculum in South Africa is posted on wiki.

I find it great that free site use ideas are given throughout the book. I just don't know if I am comfortable enough with using them. When will I be comfortable and how do I speed up a process just to try it? Which class would be best to try it with? These are just some of the questions running through my head. Has anyone attempted using wiki's other then wikipedia in their classrooms?

Apply and Safe?

Applying blogging as a classroom assignment or activity makes me feel very nervous right now. I feel that I don't have the knowledge to help my students achieve a productive and successful learning environment. Maybe as I continue to learn more about the tool and what type of roles it would take in a lesson or throughout a unit I might feel more open to implementing it. These are the times where I feel I am a digital immigrant. I should have the students teach me about blogging. Most of them are already on facebook or myspace and do this on a regular basis, but do they know they are blogging?

I've learned throughout my years of teaching (which is still limited) that students of any age at times seem to be oblivious to the fact that people other than their friends have opportunities to look at what they post on the Internet. I understand talking to students about safety on the computer does help and causes realization and understanding, but does the information get applied to their daily Internet activities? Stories I have heard about administration surfing facebook and myspace because someone is suspected of doing something inappropriate has become a normal thing and yet students still post pictures, stories, and video incriminating themselves. My mom teaches elementary school and she just recently shared a story about one of the 6th graders posting her full name on a web page she created along with where she went to school. She was discussing the web page with students in her class and then wanted to show it to her teacher. The teacher become instantly worried and had the young girl remove the information. As my mom continued the story she said something which worried me. The students parents had no idea their daughter had posted anything and the young girl didn't understand why the teacher wanted her to not post her name. This was even after the teacher gave detailed explanation.

How do I reach all of my students (which I know is only wishful thinking, I can't reach all of them)? When do I know? I know this is going to sound a bit closed minded, but how can I use this successfully for ASL?

Blogging?

This being my first time blogging I still feel confused about what blogging truly is about. Is blogging even the right term to use? Can I blog wrong? I look forward to discovering information and being able to better understand my students and my fiance when they discuss blogging. Wish me luck as I join a whole new world to me. I am not a digital native, but I'm not a digital immigrant either. I feel I am floating in a world between the two. How do you think I've done so far?