Podcasts

This week in class, we experimented a little with podcasting. I had been looking forward to this lab for weeks because I did not know a single thing about podcasts and was eager to learn! Even though we were only briefly introduced to podcasts, I still feel that I could use them effectively in my classroom. Here is the podcast our class created!

Podcasting could be used in numerous ways to aid in lessons in the classroom. As we used it in class, podcasting could be used to record presentations done by members of the class and then played back for later use. As a teacher, you could record your lessons and have them played back for your students if you are to be absent. In a lower elementary classroom, you could use podcasting to help with oral language skills. For example, you could record yourself saying sentences and play it back for your students to both hear and repeat back to you. Finally, this tool would be great to use in a foreign language class. For example, you could record yourself saying sentences and then play it for your students for them to respond on tests. Podcasting would be an excellent tool to use in the classroom for any grade.

I am looking forward to learning more about podcasting and its effective uses in a k-12 classroom!

Images and Copyright Laws

Erickson Hall in the middle of a renovation!

This week in class, we learned about uploading images and also about the copyright issues regarding images that others upload onto the Internet. In being introduced to this idea, I now know how to claim rights to my own pictures that I upload and can choose an option that does not let anyone else take or share my images. This is a very useful tool and will be extremely helpful in making sure that my pictures are not being used elsewhere on the Internet.

In using Creative Commons, I, as well as my students, will be able to use images for class projects and other various activities without having to worry about running into copyright issues. This website is very useful and I look forward to learning more about using Creative Commons for my future classroom.

I foresee some challenges in teaching students about copyright laws dealing with images and videos on the Internet. Students may not realize that it is not appropriate to simply take images from Google Images and use them on their own classroom projects. Taking images from the Internet without knowing about specific copyright laws can be dangerous and is not encouraged in the Education community. Therefore, using websites like Creative Commons will prove to be very effective in the classroom. In searching on sites such as flickrCC, you are only searching among images that have copyright settings that allow you to utilize them for your own use.

I look forward to learning more about copyright laws and making sure that my classroom is using images and videos from the Internet properly.

Organizing the Internet

Recently in class, we did some exploring in organizing the Internet. First, we set up our own social bookmark accounts. I chose to use del.icio.us. This account allows me to bookmark websites that I find useful or interesting. What I like most about my bookmark account is that I can share my list of websites with fellow colleagues or students. This will provide my students with resources that will be useful to them.

Next, we took a look at Google calenders. I already had some prior experience in using Google calenders, as I have set up my own personal calenders in the past. What I love most about Google calenders is that you can set it up to where you receive reminders in your email when an event is coming up. This is extremely helpful when I have a major assignment due or an upcoming meeting.

These two tools that aid in organizing the Internet would be extremely helpful to me, my students, and their parents. In using my del.icio.us account, I can share my bookmarked websites as resources with my students and their parents. It not only helps me to stay organized and to pool together some of my favorite sites, but also allows me to keep my students and their parents informed and interested. The Google calender is also very helpful in keeping students and their parents on the same page as myself. Here, I can post reminders for upcoming events such as assignments, days off of school, and field trips. In sharing my calender with my students and their parents, they can stay informed by looking for upcoming events. Aside from sharing a public calender, I can also create my own personal calender. In creating a personal calender, I can choose not to share it with anyone and make it private.

I am very excited to learn more about organizing the Internet! I feel these tools will be very useful in my future classroom!