Google reader comes out on top!

Okay, now that I've had some fun, it's time to put things into perspective.

It's been a couple of months since I started subscribing to google reader and twitter.  If I had to choose just one companion, I would choose google reader.  But, I don't.  I can have them both!

I've been exposed to a vast amount of information that I otherwise would not have been had it not been for google reader and twitter.  I am indebted to them both.  I guess I got a little more attached to google reader because the content was always so informative.  Twitter...well, twitter could get a little off track, even with only 140 characters!  And, I don't have a cell phone!  If I had a cell phone, I think twitter would have had the inside track.  I also think I would have tweeted more.

Now that I've gotten to know them both, I know that they'll be part of my personal learning network forever.  Well, forever is a long time!  But, you know what I mean.

I would really like to introduce these tools to my colleagues.  I might start with the teacher-librarians in my district.  If they're not subscribing, they should be! I'd be happy to introduce these tools to  my students too, but I don't think this is the right year.  I'm primarily teaching K-3 English language learners.  They're not quite ready for this yet!

Will Richardson's book, Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts & Other Powerful Web Tools for Classrooms has been a great resource, getting me hooked up with google reader and twitter.  If you're like me, interested but needing tips, I highly recommend his book!

Twitter in Diamante

Twitter

short, sweet

texting, tagging, tweeting

computer, mobile, teacher, student

surfing, finding, sending,

focused, fearless

Me 

Google Reader in Acrostic

Google Reader, you've been there for me
Oh, I thought you were going to be a pain
Overwhelmed was how I felt
Getting connected, though, was the right thing to do
Lots and lots of good has come from you
Excellent resources

Real time (almost) help
Easy navigation through unchartered waters
A place for connections I otherwise would not have 
Deserving you are
Earning my praise
Real friends we have become

Revisiting an old friend

I got acquainted with Animoto about a month ago, but I didn't have a great first impression.  I was trying to create a video slideshow for my husband's grandfather's 100th birthday party.  But, it's kind of hard to capture his life in 30 seconds! Then, I realized that there is more to Animoto than meets the eye: there's Animoto for Educators.  So, I took the pictures I scanned, and started again.  In a very short amount of time, I was able to produce the video embedded below.  

In the end, we didn't show this video at his party.  My husband had already created one using iMovie.  When I compare what I did to what my husband did, I can easily say that he invested a lot more time in his video.  However, iMovie was new to him.  Even so, Animoto is easier to use.  I think the perk with iMovie, though, is that you can customize your video in more ways than you can with Animoto.

If I were going to ask the students at Mission Hill Elementary School to create a video slideshow, I would definitely encourage them to use Animoto because there isn't a steep learning curve and the final product looks very polished!  I think students would be proud of their work.  In fact, I'm thinking of recommending Animoto to our principal who likes to create slideshows for assemblies.  For me, I would like to use Animoto to post on our school library's website.  I would love to take photos throughout the year of activities that take place in the library.  I just have to make sure that I'm allowed to post students' photos on our webpage first.  

Final thought: I'm keeping in touch with Animoto!

Gotta keep up!

To help me get started on my technology journey, I've been referring to and relying a lot on Will Richardson's book, Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts and Other Powerful Web Tools for Classrooms.  It's been a great resource, but I've been using the second edition (2009) instead of the third edition (2010).  That's probably why some of the links and recommendations haven't been working out for me (although most of them have!).  For example, in his book, he recommends using OurMedia.org to access free, unlimited bandwidth.  I needed a provider, like this, so that I could make my podcasts available on my blog.  But after uploading my podcasts and retrieving links for each one via email, I still couldn't get them up on my blog.  End result: I spent too much time trying to make it work!  So, I moved onto Box, recommended by Blogger, and had my podcasts uploaded in 20 minutes.  Yay!  I, too, recommend Box!

***One caveat: I couldn't upload the iMovie I made because I didn't have enough storage.  So, the free account doesn't give you unlimited bandwidth, but at least it worked!***

Feeling satisfied

I had fun with my podcasts  yesterday.  I subjected my grade ones and twos to all seven podcasts!  I was surprised and pleased that they all did well.  Now that they know what to expect with the podcasts, I could challenge them a bit more.  I have three takeaways from podcasting for my students:

1. I drove my first group of students a bit crazy because all seven podcasts had the same introduction: "This is Mrs. Wilson from Mission Hill Elementary..."  I was trying to follow the podcast rubric created by Purcell (2011).   For a podcast to be exemplary, Purcell (2011) states, "Introduction/Purpose: Tells the audience: who is speaking, what to expect in the podcast, where the speakers are located in the world, when the podcast is taking place (the date), and why have (the purpose of) the podcast" (p. 1). In hindsight, I should have done that for the first podcast in the series, not for the whole series.
2. As I was creating these podcasts, I was wondering what the difference was between speaking in person and creating these podcasts.  But, one thing I've been noticing is that when I plug in any type of media, students are quieter.  It's good for the chatterboxes: they're not as chatty!  On the flip side, it's not as interactive.
3. The seven podcasts I created are definitely more suited to my grade one English language learners; however, I think they all enjoyed it.  It was different!  And, I feel empowered.

Reference

Purcell, M. (2011). Podcast rubric. Library Media Connection, 29(5), 1. Retrieved from http://www.librarymediaconnection.com/  

Where do I start? Podcasts for English Language Learners

According to the prescribed learning outcomes mandated by the B.C. Ministry of Education, 40-60% of the language arts curriculum for grades 1-3 should be organized around speaking and listening (2006, p. 8).

As an English language teacher, I want to support English language learners by reinforcing some of the concepts introduced in class.  Specifically, I'm following the guidelines outlined in the ESL Policy and Guidelines drafted by the B.C. Ministry of Education:



Some concepts are simple, but learning them will help students follow instructions and navigate their way through their primary years.  For my first series of podcasts, I am going to focus on the reinforcement of some simple concepts we studied earlier in the school year.