We've reached the end, my friends!

It's amazing how fast a semester can fly by! It's hard to believe that this class is over. 

At the beginning of this semester, I wasn't sure how much I would learn from this class. I consider myself to be pretty tech-saavy, so I figured I'd just be getting a review of the basics in EDM 349. I was so wrong! Even though it was only a one credit class, I learned so much about technology and how to use it to transform classroom instruction. I now know about fair use, iBooks, flipped classrooms, iMovie, and so much more that I knew nothing about back in September. Speaking of iMovie, here's the PSA my group put together:

This movie was really easy to make, and I would love to have my future students do something similar to this! 

EDM showed me a lot of technology tools I would use in my future classroom. However, I think the most important thing I learned in this class was that I should be using technology to transform learning. Don't just use technology because you can, use it in a way that's innovative and meaningful for students. 

I hope you all took as much away from this experience as I did! Good luck on finals, everyone! :) 

Pinterest: For Your Interests

In case you haven't noticed (how could you not!?), Pinterest is the newest website taking over the Internet world. Just in case you don't know what it is, Pinterest is a website where you can post about your interests. Each post you make is called a 'pin'. You make 'boards', which are the categories that you post your pins in. For example, the boards that I tend to post in a lot are my Home Design, Teacher Tips, and Wedding boards. You follow other people who pin things that interest you, and their pins come up on your dashboard/home page. So if someone that I was following pinned a picture of a wedding dress I really liked, I would 'repin' it onto my Wedding board. It sounds a little confusing, but the more you use it, the more easy it is to navigate the site. If you haven't yet, I would recommend giving it a try! 

Image found here - this website has a Pinterest 101 tutorial, if you're curious!

I mentioned the fact that I have a board for Teacher Tips. I get a lot of really nice ideas when searching through the 'education' tag, and I post my findings on my Teacher Tips board. I think that Pinterest is a great resource for teachers. I've gotten ideas for lessons on Pinterest and put my own spin on them. One thing I'm unsure of is how fair use would play into this. It's hard to tell what the source for some of the images are, because so many people are reposting them. Sometimes, the poster isn't the owner of the content. So when I write a lesson and get my ideas from Pinterest, I'm unsure how to go about giving credit for those ideas. I'll have to look into that so I can be sure I'm not infringing upon fair use. 

How many of you use Pinterest? Leave your url and I'll check it out! Here's mine.

Blogs - the forgotten topic

I realized that after blogging for an entire semester, I never covered how I feel about using blogs in the classroom! Let's change that now.

I think that blogs can be an incredibly useful tool for the classroom - and there are so many possibilities. Blogs could be used to have the class communicate - think about the shy kids you don't hear in class. Blogging could give those students an opportunity to share their opinions and get their voices heard. This class discussion online could also serve as a form of assessment - what did the students get out of your lesson? By reading their responses, you can tell who grasped what and who may need some more help. Blogs could also get the students interacting with each other. Class communication is so important, and blogs could certainly help facilitate that.

I wanted to see how real classes were using blogs, so I did some googling. Here are a few examples I really liked.

Ms. Cassidy's Classroom Blog - link below

Ms. Cassidy's Classroom Blog - This teacher shares what the class is up to - including guest speakers, projects, and more. This could be a great way to keep parents involved. Each student also has their own blog, which are listed on the side.

Youth Voices - link below

Youth Voices - This blog is a place for students and teachers to discuss topics across several categories via podcasts, videos, and blogs. It's a nice way for students and teachers to learn from each other.

There's obviously a lot more blogs out there to see and learn from! Here's where I got these from. Go out into the digital world and explore! You may be inspired by what you find. I feel that blogs are an amazing way to transform learning. There's so much you can do with them and they're extremely motivating for students. It gives them a real audience - they'll feel like real writers, knowing their writing will possibly be read by people all over the world. I will definitely be incorporating blogs into my classroom in the future.

Are there any educational blogs you love? Share them with me in the comments.

iMovie - A "reel" fun time

Happy Friday, fellow bloggers! With the semester coming to a close, I wanted to talk about a tool that I just started using this semester - iMovie. Up until now, I had absolutely no experience with iMovie. My first encounter with it was in EDR 321, a reading assessment course. A partner and I had to make a trailer dealing with reading/literacy. Check out the final result here!

iMovie in use - found here

It looks complex, but iMovie really isn't as difficult as it seems. The program has several templates available. All you have to do is plug in your own clips and add whatever effects you want. The trailers are shorter, but you can make longer movies if you choose. Also, if you're having trouble, Apple has support available. You can make your own videos that are very polished for whatever your desired purpose is - educational, family videos, etc. 

My desired purpose in the future would be classroom oriented. How cool would it be if your students could make videos like this? They would be so motivated and proud of their final projects. Students could make movies on book reports, science experiments, etc. I could send videos to parents to keep them involved. I could also use iMovie to make videos for the flipped classroom, which is a topic I discussed in a previous post. The possibilities are endless with iMovie.

I'm glad I got more hands-on experience with iMovie this semester, because I definitely want to use it in my future classroom. I'll be using it more in the coming weeks as my group and I make our PSA for this class. What is your group doing for the PSA project? Feel free to comment and share your ideas. 

Be smart about Smart Boards!

Happy Friday, fellow bloggers! I wanted to make a post about a topic that was discussed pretty early on in my technology course - interactive whiteboards. There are different kinds, but Smart Boards are probably the most popular/common. If you're unfamiliar with this topic, let me share what interactive whiteboards are.

Here is an image of a Smart Board in use - found here

This is what an interactive whiteboard looks like. It looks like an LCD projector, but you can write on the board with the pens (seen at the bottom of the board in the picture), touch the board, and do many other things on it. That's where the 'interactive' part of 'interactive whiteboard' comes from. Here's an example of a Kindergarten teacher using her Smart Board for morning meeting, to give you an example. There are several Smart Board tutorials online, if you're interested. 

What I want to talk about is some ways I might use an interactive whiteboard in my classroom, as well as what I like and dislike about them. I really like the idea of using it for morning meeting, like the video I linked you to above. I've also seen interactive whiteboards used to display books/ebooks. The Smart Board software has several interactive games across the content areas. Interactive whiteboards can be an extremely helpful tool in the classroom. There's increased motivation - students want to have the chance to come up and use the board. Also, when used correctly, lessons can be enriched through this tool. This is where I think the interactive whiteboard runs into some problems. Some teachers use them just because they're available, and the students aren't getting anything meaningful out of it. It's important to think carefully about having a real purpose for the interactive whiteboard. Another downfall is that only one person at a time can use the whiteboard. Other students may not pay attention if they're not the ones using the whiteboard. If you're going to use an interactive whiteboard, have something that the other students can do at their desk while someone is doing it on the whiteboard. For example, if someone is practicing writing a word on the board, have the rest of the class doing the same thing at their desk on paper. It's important to keep all students engaged - the interactive whiteboard alone may not be enough.

Overall, I really do like interactive whiteboards. I think that they're a nice tool to enrich content. My suggestion is the same as any other technology tool - use carefully! Don't just use it because you can. What are your thoughts on interactive whiteboards? How have you used them in your field placements/classrooms? Leave a comment and share your experiences with me.

Nook? Book? Let's take a look!

My last post talked a lot about the features of eBooks and eReaders. This week, I want to dive into the real meat - what's better, books or Nooks? When I say 'better', I mean in terms of education. What will allow students to comprehend the text better? Which will motivate them more? The questions go on and on. So - what's better?

A Nook or a book? (source)

Well, in reality, there isn't a ton of research about this topic (boy, that was anti-climactic). The eReaders and such are still fairly new technology. As Dr. Schugar told my class today, the study he did with his wife and colleague found that for college students, there was not much difference between students that read on eReaders and those that read traditional text. Definitely check out the article here. Here is an excerpt from that article, discussing the results of their study:

"Overall, whether reading from a text or an eReader, students recalled the same number of idea units from the text, regardless of what mode of reading they used. Likewise, on all but the first Quick Write, there were no discernable differences in the complexity of student responses. On the whole, students’ responses were fairly low-leveled, and few students were able to provide responses that looked at the material beyond what was explicitly and implicitly stated in the text" (Schugar, J. T., Schugar, H., & Penny, C., 2011, P 183).

So, the idea here is that it's really not much different whether you're reading on an eReader or in an actual book. I would say that what makes a difference isn't the device you're reading on - it's whether you're reading for meaning or not. I feel that personally, as long as I'm reading with a focus, I don't get less out of an eBook than I do out of print. As long as the students are reading meaningful, quality texts and comprehending them, I think either works. There are pros and cons to each, of course.

One thing we talked about in class today is that while eReaders are highly motivating - they can also be very distracting. On an iPad, for example, one might get sidetracked by playing around with the many features instead of reading. Also, it's more common for people to be executing during-reading strategies - such as highlighting and note-taking - with traditional texts. Personally, I have a Kindle, and I highlight from time to time. However, I mostly read for leisure on my Kindle. I read texts for academic purposes with traditional text, and I highlight and write notes often. Perhaps if I read more informational texts on my Kindle, I would take notes and highlight more. I'd be interested to try it and see if if makes a difference in my own life.

So, will I use eReaders in my class? Definitely. Will I use them all the time? No. As I touched on in my last post, I want to use those devices where it's appropriate. I want to use them to supplement learning, not as a big flashy show - ooh look at me, I have an iPad! Those devices are great and all, but they should be used in a meaningful way, not just because they're available. As we discussed in class today, I want to use technology to transform my learning, not just because I can.

What are your thoughts on the Nook vs. Book debate? Have any articles you'd recommend? Feel free to comment! 

iLike iBooks

This week's class discussion was on content creation and interactive eBooks/iBooks. We opened up by going through some of the features of these tools, which I'm somewhat familiar with because I own a Kindle. For example, Dr. Schugar demonstrated the ability to highlight text, make notes, define words, and even make your own note cards to study from, which I thought was pretty incredible. Here's an example of the notecard feature, pulled from Gizmodo.

Notecard feature makes studying a breeze

After the talk about features came a deeper discussion: will these eBooks be beneficial to us (and our students) in our future classrooms? I know I've heard people voice concerns about how meaningful resources like this are. I think in the end you just have to be careful which eBooks you select. It's the same for regular books - as long as you pay attention to the quality of the book in question, I wholeheartedly believe eBooks would be extremely meaningful to use in the classroom. The technology aspect really appeals to students in this day and age. However, I also believe that there's a limit to how much I would use these tools. I would use it to enhance a lesson here and there, but at the end of the day I think students should be reading good old fashioned books. Technology is great, but it could never replace books, at least not in my world.

We also talked about content creation for a few minutes. Dr. Schugar showed us iBooks Author. This app is free on the App Store and, in short, it allows you to create and publish your own books. There are templates to select from, options to completely customize the book and make it your own (you pick the font, format, etc), and even the ability to add widgets. Check out this article on iBooks Author over on Mashable. I think this is a really amazing idea. It would be such a nice tool for the classroom - not only could you make books, but your students could use it as well! I would love to let students play around with this app and let them experience what it's like to be an "author". 

Overall, I really enjoyed this class discussion because it brought a lot of great resources to my attention. I sound like an Apple spokesperson - but I assure you that these opinions are my own! I'd love to hear your opinions! Feel free to comment, fellow bloggers.

Flipping Out!

Last week in class, we discussed a topic that I'd never learned about before - flipped classrooms. It's a term that I'd heard thrown around but never took the time to research or understand.

So what is a flipped classroom? The instruction that is usually done at school is done at home and vice versa. The traditional classroom model is just flipped around - hence the term flipped classroom. You may be asking yourself - how does this work? Flipped classrooms incorporate technology. At home, the students prepare for the following day's class by watching the lecture at home. One method is to have the teacher record the lecture/lesson and then link the students to it. This way, the student gets all the background info they need at home. Then in class the next day, the students can spend their time reinforcing the learning and and applying it to activities in class.

I haven't decided if I like flipped classrooms or not. There are certainly many pros to this method, but there are also cons that have me on the fence. First, let me go into what I do like about this idea. For one, it's extremely student centered, which I love. I know how rough it can be to sit through nothing but lecture. This method allows the lecture to happen at home so the students can be the center of attention during class time. This method also makes it easy to differentiate. You could create different videos for different levels. That way all of the students could get the necessary information on an appropriate level. The technology aspect of this method could also motivate students. Instead of going home and reading, they could watch a fun video and get the same information. However, there are some major issues I have with this method. Number one, it assumes that all students could access these lectures from home. Some families may not have internet access, which could be a major disadvantage. As a reading minor, I don't like how this method de-emphasizes reading. I think our students should be reading text, not relying so much on computers and other forms of technology. Also, what happens if the student is watching the video at home and they have a question? One solution would be to make a discussion board the class can post their questions on, but that would mean the teacher has to constantly check the board. I think it could hurt students to not get a chance to ask questions in real time.

I'm still debating and weighing out the pros and cons of the flipped classroom. Maybe someday I'll give it a try. What do you think about this method? Got any arguments for/against it? Feel free to comment! I'll leave you with a graphic I found at knewton.com that explains the method, how it came to be, and some of its results. Click through to view the full version. Until next time!

Created by Knewton and Column Five Media

Digital Lit was a hit!

The Digital Literacy Conference was an event being held on my school's campus from 8-1 yesterday, the 13th. In addition to the keynote, each attendee signed up for two breakout sessions. I won't lie, when I found out I had to attend this conference for one of my classes, I wasn't totally thrilled. The thought of waking up early on a Saturday wasn't exactly a happy one. However, I'll admit it - I was wrong! This conference was an amazing opportunity and I had so much fun - the best kind of fun, where you learn something, too. 

First up after sign in was the keynote speaker - Dr. Lisa Zawilinski. Dr. Zawilinski is an assistant professor at the University of Hartford and part of the New Literacies Research Team from the University of Connecticut. If you're in EDM 349 and her name sounds familiar, it's probably because we read her article on HOT blogging for class (you DID read it, right?). Lisa spoke about New Literacy in the 21st century and the idea that we have more access to information than ever before. She shared some of the research that her team has done - which you can view on her website. Her speech was filled with personal experiences - some funny, some extremely touching. She showed us that using technology in a classroom can really make a difference. 

One of the breakout sessions I attended - Extending the Conversation: Using Edmodo to Encourage Participation and Critical Thinking - was also with Dr. Zawilinski. If you've never heard of Edmodo, I highly suggest you check it out. If you don't feel like making an account, let me show you some of the tools Edmodo has with my account. 

Screenshot of my home page on Edmodo - click to view larger!

This is what it looks like when I sign in. It sort of looks like Facebook. As a teacher, I have the option to post a note, an alert, an assignment, a quiz, or a poll. You create a group for your class, give them the class code, and voila! You have a way for everyone to connect. You can give polls to figure out the class's prior knowledge on a topic. You can post pictures, files, etc, for them to look at and talk about. At the end of a unit, you can post a quiz. It's a pretty nice tool for educators. 

One thing Dr. Zawilinski discussed in this session was that you can even use Edmodo in younger grades. Some people would argue that students should be proficient in typing, otherwise it will be laborious. However, she argued that no matter how slow the kids type, it didn't get in the way of them using this website. One girl brought up a really good point - we don't refuse to let kids write before they're well-versed in it - we give them crayons and markers and let them experiment and develop. Why refuse them a keyboard just because they're not fast at typing? Technology can be used at all ages to enhance what's being taught. 

If you went to the conference, how was your experience? If you didn't go, I highly suggest you take advantage next year! 

Fair Use - A Major PANE

The reason I'm keeping this blog is for EDM 349, also known as "Technology Tools to Transform Teaching and Learning". Basically, this class is the nitty-gritty on how future teachers can integrate technology into their classrooms. Last Monday, our class focused on the topic of fair use. If your first thought is "what's that?", don't worry, I know how you feel. Until now, I'd heard the term 'fair use' get thrown around from time to time, but never knew what it meant. And even after a class period covering its meaning, I'm still a little lost. Although I'm no expert, let me at least share what I know in case this topic has you feeling completely in the dark. 

According to the powerpoint we viewed in class that Dr. Stephen Marvin put together, fair use is "a legal principle that defines the limitations on exclusive rights of copyright holders". Basically, if you're going to use someone else's material, there's guidelines you can follow to be sure that your usage is fair. There are four factors to determine whether use is fair: purpose, amount, nature, and effect (otherwise known as PANE, the inspiration for my post title). Here are some general questions about each factor that can help you determine if your use is fair or not:

Purpose - Are you using the material for commercial uses, or nonprofit educational purposes?
Amount - Are you using a reasonable amount of the work as a whole?
Nature - Is the work fiction or non-fiction? 
Effect - What is the effect on the market? Does your use have an impact on the money the original work makes?

(For more information, I liked the way this site put PANE into perspective.)

For example, say I wanted to use the preamble of the Declaration of Independence in a Social Studies unit. 

Purpose - I would be using this work for nonprofit/educational purposes.
Amount - I would only be using a small portion of the document.
Nature - The work is non-fiction.
Effect - My use has no effect on the market.

Therefore, my use of the preamble would be considered fair. I should note that fair use and its factors aren't technically law, but guidelines you should consider carefully. When in doubt, ask permission. And always, always, always give credit where credit is due. Cite your sources, people! Better safe than sorry. Breaking copyright laws can be bad news. I'm sure you'd rather go through life without being sued (at least, that's how I feel. Somehow I doubt court is as exciting as they make it seem on TV).

Even after all this talk of PANE and fair use in class, I still have my fair share of questions. The guidelines that suggest using a "reasonable amount" of the work is fair. Does anyone else think this is super vague? What counts as a "reasonable amount"? As long as I cite my sources, is everything A-OK? What consequences are there if I slip up? What's a kid-friendly way to teach my students about fair use? 

Hopefully as I look more into these questions/as this class goes on, I'll gain some clarity and some answers to my questions. Do you have the answers? Or more questions? Feel free to comment!

Until next time!

A closer look at the mess

I have an 'about me' page, but I wanted to go into a little more depth and give you a better idea of who I am. As you've probably figured out, my name is Jessica Messner. If you haven't figured it out, ta-da, now you know. If you read my 'about me' page, you really only know a tidbit about who I am as a student. However, as I'm sure you all know, who we are as students and who were are as people are often very different. So here it is - Jessica Messner, the person. 

I'm 20 years old, and I share a birthday with Harry Potter. If you're as into the series as me, be jealous. If you're not into the series..why not!? While we're talking about Harry Potter, let me show you my tattoo:

Excuse the fact that it's freshly done. I got this tattoo in July 2011, and it's one of three tattoos I have. A lot of people don't understand it, so let me explain. In the Harry Potter books, these three stars are in the upper page corners. I've only ever had a handful of people recognize the stars on sight. 

This tattoo says a lot about me. Not just that I'm a HP nerd, but it also reminds me of my love of reading in general. I developed a love of reading at an early age, and it's continued to grow ever since. When people tell me they don't like to read, I really don't understand what they're saying. If any of you ever have any book suggestions, throw them my way! I'll try any book once. 

Let's talk about one of my other loves: ice hockey. Not playing it - I can barely even keep from tripping over my own feet, half the time - but watching...that I can do. And I often do it with a lot of yelling involved (sorry, 5th floor of U Hall!). My love of ice hockey also started young, thanks to my dad. I'm obsessed with one team in particular, the Philadelphia Flyers. I've been going to games since I was literally in the womb. I can't even begin to explain what the team means to me...those who are avid sports fans, you get it. I love the personality of the Flyers - Hartnell's goofiness, Rinaldo's goon-iness, and the amazing relationship they all have with each other. I love seeing a play come together, when you just know they're going to score and you can feel it in your bones. I love seeing them win, obviously. Unfortunately, the fate of the hockey season isn't looking so great right now. For those of you who have no idea what I'm talking about, google 'NHL lockout'. Fingers crossed that they'll work it out, because I don't know what I'll do without my team. Allow me to post one of my favorite pictures related to the Flyers:

Flyers head coach Peter Laviolette yelling at one of the Pittsburgh Penguins coaches - this picture still makes me laugh every time I see it. (Photo credit: found on the700level.com)

Another thing I've really gotten into over this past summer is feminism. Before you roll your eyes, hear me out: what's so wrong about feminism? A lot of people automatically think about "man-haters" or women that grow out their armpit hair. That's not what it's about. What it is about is equality between men and women - and that sounds good to me. If you do want to grow out your armpit hair, well, that's your choice. That's another thing that feminism is about - people should do whatever they want with their own bodies. Nothing to turn your nose up at, in my opinion. Feminism gets a bad reputation and it doesn't deserve it.

Lastly, I wouldn't be the person I am without my family and friends. I think that's a sentiment that most of you can relate to. Instead of writing a bunch of mushy stuff about them, I'll just post a few pictures.

Here's my mama bear. She's awesome, and she's my #1 fan. No one supports what I do and who I am quite like she does.

This is me and my suitemates - Bonnie, Christine, and Sara. These girls are my best friends.

This is my boyfriend, Nick. Once again, I'll save you the mushy stuff - but he's a huge part of my life and I love him very much.

So there you have it. There's a closer look at the mess! Hopefully you decide to stick around. In the coming weeks, I'll be posting a lot about technology and how it relates to education. Stay tuned.