What GEN 2243 Has Taught Me

     Sadly, GEN 2243 is coming to an end this coming Wednesday. I can honestly say I have learned so much throughout the semester in this class in particular. I have not only become more acquainted with tools such as Prezi but also developed a PLN and tips on making my PLN grow. I now know how important social media is in my future career as an educator. I have to be extremely mindful of what I put on social media and always use social media to my advantage.

     My favorite part about GEN 2243 was definitely the Google Hangout sessions. I really loved being able to hear from a variety of professionals from companies such as Microsoft. These sessions taught me so much and allowed me to ask questions personally which I really appreciated. Also, being able to create my own website that I can take with me into my future is helpful in so many ways. Throughout my college career I can add content to my website and use it as a portfolio for future jobs. What I appreciated most about this class was that it allowed me to take what I learned and created and continue to use it in my future. Overall, I definitely recommend that others take GEN 2243 in order to expand their digital portfolio.

The Time For Change As Educators

     Yesterday's GEN 2243 class was very fun and exciting for many reasons. Class started off with a Google Hangout session with Robyn Hrivnatz. Robyn works at Microsoft's US Education Division as a curriculum developer for teachers. Before that, she herself worked as a teacher. She made the switch from teacher to Microsoft educator so that she could make a change in the educational community. Robyn believes that social media is crucial and that employees can benefit from the live responsive nature that it allows. Three reasons why Robyn loves social media as a Microsoft employee is because it allows for personal learning, understanding your audience, and understanding the competition. She believes that there is a balance between being yourself and being professional online. Some social media tools Robyn personally recommends are Skype, Google Hangouts, OneNote, and LinkedIn.

     After the talk with Robyn, my class and I were put to the MakeyMakey challenge. MakeyMakey involves turning specific everyday objects, such as a banana, and using it as a computer control device. These crafted devices can be used as a virtual piano or as a controller to play virtual games such as Mario Brothers or Frogger. Although understanding where all the wires belonged was hard at first, the final product was truly remarkable and worth the time. It is perfect for teachers who want to explain circuits to their students in a unique way.

     Chapter 9 of The Connected Educator, focuses on what the future holds in terms of the web and teachers. The web has proven to be not only a great curriculum resource but also a great learning resource. By becoming a learner first and educator second, teachers will serve their students in a better way. Teachers can do this by understanding the four core components of learning 2.0. The first component, knowledge, which involves building classrooms with collective intelligence. Pedagogy, the second component, challenges teachers to focus specifically on the students passions, creativity, and innovation. The third component, connections, involves teaching showing students how to create personal learning networks to increase knowledge. Capacity, the fourth component, encourages us to remain open minded to each other to learn something we may not have known before. All of this will require a change in teaching and learning for educators. This book overall challenges teachers to make a change in the classrooms that will be powerful and life changing.

Tremendous Tools Incorporated With Social Media

     Last Wednesday in GEN 2243, my class and I learned about tools to integrate with social media platforms. One tool that stood out to me was IFTTT (If This Then That). IFTTT gives users control of the apps and products they love using "recipes". For example, I created a recipe that will send me a SMS whenever I am mentioned on Twitter. Another tool that I recommend is Paper.li. Paper.li is similar to an online newspaper that allows you collect and share content depending on your interests. With this tool, I created "The Education Daily", which focuses on Education based content. Definitely check it out!

     Chapter 4 of Untangling the Web focuses on social networking tools as a whole. Social media has become an extremely valuable tool that students will continue to rely on in their futures. Also, using social media is an important part of providing the best education to students today. Although face to face interaction is beneficial, interacting virtually also enhances their ability to collaborate. One social tool recommended in UTW is TodaysMeet. TodaysMeet allows a teacher to create a private back channel that can be used as a collaborative means for discussing and documenting classroom interactions. Skype in the classroom is also a wonderful tool to use in the classroom. It allows teachers to find other experts/ educators who want to share information and vice versa. Edmodo, which is one of the first social networks designed exclusively for schools, incorporates the concept of learning management systems and social interactions. One last social media tool that many of us know of is Twitter. Twitter is amazing in the classroom because of its quick ability to share small bits of information and share that information with others.

     Many of us may not have the time to create our own recipes. However, using the "35 Super Useful IFTTT Recipes You Might Not Know" article, there are a list of 35 recipes that are already pre-made for your convenience. If you are tagged in a photo on Facebook and want that image immediately sent to your Dropbox, there is a recipe to do that. There are also pre-made recipes for weather. For example, there is a recipe that sends you a text whenever the weather changes to a certain condition. There are also recipes created just for fun. There is even a recipe that emails you when a new title is added to Netflix. One personal recipe that I love involves tracking the days when I go to the gym. This IFTTT recipe simply involves sending a text to IFTTT and a row is added to a spreadsheet.

     If you are a teacher, you should definitely consider using Pinterest in your classroom. Here are some reasons why. If you are unfamiliar with what Pinterest is, think of it as a bulletin board of pictures. Pinterest will allow you to find lesson plans and ideas for any subject. Also, if you are thinking of new ways to decorate and organize your classroom, Pinterest has pins for that too. If you are a student, Pinterest is also useful for you too. With Pinterest, you can find healthy lunch and snack recipes to eat at school. One powerful property of Pinterest is that it allows teachers to share ideas with each other. This is perfect for teachers who want to try something out of their comfort zone.

     If you are considering creating an About.Me page but aren't sure what should be included, here is a guide that you may want to look at. Your page should focus on who you are and what you want to do for your page visitors. Also, your photo is the first thing your visitors will see, so make sure it truly captures your personality and looks professional. You should also think about highlighting great posts, which allows for cross-promotion. This will lead more people to the posts you're proud of.  Lastly, create an indented list for your "About Me" page on Google. An indented listing is when a second page from your website is listed directly under your main website on Google. This will definitely increase traffic on your site.

The Significance of Online Reputations

     As many of us know, what we put on social media could affect us in many ways. I didn't realize how much this was true until I finished my social media etiquette project. After learning about Stacy Snyder, a college student and student teacher at the time, and her Myspace post, I realized how social media can turn your life upside down. Snyder was in school to get her teaching degree yet she put up a picture "promoting alcohol." Teachers are held to a higher standard and what Snyder did did not meet that standard. Due to the post, Snyder was denied her teaching degree. It is so important to be mindful of what you put on social media because it can reflect badly on you and have serious consequences.

Stacy Snyder's Myspace Post

     In Chapter 5 of The Connected Educator, we learn that there are many tools that support connected learning. These tools are for documenting and archiving learning, connecting and collaborating, and extending student learning. Social bookmarking, which is a useful and fun way to organize info while connecting with friends and colleagues, is one tool for documenting learning. Blogs, websites that are continually updated with journal-like entries or posts, is one tool for connecting and collaborating. A great tool for social networking is Ning. Ning allows anyone to create a specialized online social network for a few dollars a month. A tool for extending learning in the classroom is TeacherTube. TeacherTube is an online community for sharing educational videos made for teachers by teachers. These all come into play with managing your online reputation. Some tips for that include sharing your insights and tracking yourself.

All About Augmented Reality Apps

     This past week in GEN 2243, my class and I participated in our second App Smackdown. The app that I chose was Teacher Kit. Teacher Kit is great for teachers of all grade levels. It is the perfect app for organizing. It allows you to store grades, attendance, and behavior of each child in your class. I definitely recommend it for teachers all over!
   

     In class we also discussed apps that involve an augmented reality. The Space Needle app adds 3D items to a "target" and brings the target to life. ZooKazam puts animals on a target. This app makes it look like a life-size animal is actually in front of you. Here's a tip to keep in mind for these apps... Use a bigger target because the bigger the target, the bigger the animal/ item. Elements 4D allows you to see scientific elements in their raw form. Also, Google Cardboard is great when wanting to travel without actually traveling. Simply put the special cardboard binoculars on and you will be transported to the destination of your dreams!

     So, what is an augmented reality? According to Drew Minock, an augmented reality can be compared to the pictures that hang in the walls of Hogwarts. These pictures are alive and interactive. Another example is The Night at the Museum. During the day the exhibit is normal, but at night everything comes to life! An augmented reality brings education to life. Augmented reality is a game-changing tool and the future of educational technology.

     If you're wondering "How To Use Augmented Reality In Education", check out the following. Project Glass allows kids to do digital scavenger hunts, find classmates, or learn more about their environment using the AR glasses. MITAR Games involves simulations games that combine real world experiences with additional information supplied to them by handheld computers. One of these popular games is Environmental Detectives. Star Walk involves holding your phone up at the night sky and seeing more than 200,000 stars, constellations, and more. There are plenty of more ways besides these, to incorporate augmented reality in education.

     If you're considering incorporating ZooKazam into your classroom, consider the following amazing components of the app. Simply print out the targets, open the app, and an animal will magically appear. Children can take photos and videos of the animal, as well as add weather and lighting affects. There are over 40 animals, including dinosaurs, to choose from. This app is great when teaching about animals or simply to spark creative writing prompts.

   

Digital Storytelling and Presentation Tools in Action

     This past Wednesday, my class and I were lucky enough to have a Google Hangout session with Abigail Harrison, also known as Astronaut Abby. At the age of 18, Abby hopes to be the first astronaut to Mars. She has accomplished so much already such as writing for publications (NASA) and watching space shuttle launches. She has started a nonprofit called Mars Generation which aims to inspire students to be leaders. Some advice Abby has offered when using social media to develop a career includes minimization and keeping private pages private. She also strongly recommends to use the 24 hour rule which involves contacting a person you meet within 24 hours on social media and reaching out. Abigail's most beneficial social media tools are her website, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn.

     In class, we also discussed a variety of presentation tools other than ordinary PowerPoint. One tool that I personally found interesting is Office Mix which is a free add-in for PowerPoint. It allows you to screenshot and even input a video recording of you talking. Sway is also interesting because it allows users to easily build a story board by dragging information. Emaze allows users to create amazing 3D, walk through presentations unlike anything else. Some Digital Storytelling websites include Animoto, Pixton, and GoAnimate. My personal favorite is GoAnimate which has built in templates making presentations extremely easy to create.

     In "5 Reasons to Replace PowerPoint with Google Slides", 5 top reasons to make the switch to Google Slides are discussed. Reason one is that slides is built for collaboration. Slides allows users to easily share and simultaneously edit a presentation. Reason two is that Slides encourages simpler presentations which in turn creates cleaner presentations. The Google Slides app makes it possible for users to access Slides offline. You can even access these presentations from any device. The final selling point of Slides is that you can easily publish and share your slides on the web.

     In "Things I Like about Animoto for Education", likes and dislikes of Animoto are discussed from an educator perspective. Animato offers many free themes and styles to choose from. Animato makes it so easy to create detailed presentations within a short amount of time. It is cloud-based so students can work on their projects at home or in school. The best feature of Animoto is that it forces students be concise with their information and not fill the screen with words. Some problems include the lack of autosaving, how long it takes to preview your video, and there is no way to share video projects with different accounts.

     In "Xtranormal for Education", Scott Little goes in depth about Xtranormal and the components it contains. The tag line states "if you can type, you can make movies" and Little agrees with that. You start by choosing from actors and then either typing or recording what the characters are going to say. Users control gestures, backgrounds, and different angles. The cost is $10 a month for teachers and $.50 a month for students. Teachers then create assignments and control many aspects of the movies. Xtranormal allows students to demonstrate their knowledge in a more creative way.

Creativity in Schools and Presentations

     Previously in GEN 2243, my class and I had a Google Hangout session with Adam Taylor, who currently runs StiStuChat, a twitter chat between students and scientists. SciStuChat is beneficial for students because "Students can hear scientists in their own words and can see scientists as people,"as stated by Taylor. Scientists from over 150 countries have gotten involved thus far and the number is growing. One major chat was with a scientist from the U.S. Department of Energy. In order to expand our networks, Taylor recommends that we make lists and go through lists of people we follow. He also recommends that we connect using the same hashtag on Twitter. Believe it or not, Taylor even agrees that it's not about the followers, it's about the connections you make.

Adam Taylor

     Ken Robinson's uses humor and seriousness in his Ted Talk "Do Schools Kill Creativity?" to address an issue in today's education system. Creativity is very important in education, just as important as literature. Kids are not afraid to be wrong but that changes as they become adults. As we grow up, we become less creative. Robinson believes that the education system is based on academic ability not creativity, which is a huge issue. As of now, children go to school to become professors and not occupations such as dancers. He states that "intelligence is diverse, dynamic, and distinct." So, students should be able to express their intelligence in their own creative, unique ways. Robinson challenges us to rethink the principles of education and to allow creativity into the education system.

     Chapter 3 of Untangling the Web covers presentation tools other than PowerPoint. The book addresses a series of web tools that challenge the status quo and expand presentation genre. With these tools, visuals can now stand on their own with or without audio. They offer new ways to share information. Presenters first have to focus on what content they want to share and then focus on audience and delivery. Chapter 3 addresses four newer web tools. SlideShare is a social hub that allows you to upload and share your presentations with educators around the globe. Poll Everywhere is a simple response system that's intended to be used with mobile devices. VoiceThread allows users to share photos and videos and allows you to comment on them. Prezi uses different motions and layouts to make presentations way more intriguing than the typical PowerPoint.