Digital Storytelling

This week in class I have learnt about digital storytelling. This is where you can create your own videos using your own pictures. You can use programs like photo story or animoto. I made a video on animoto about people in my life that I couldn't live without. You can pick the background you want, the music to go with your video, fonts, colors, etc. It is a really neat tool that could be easily used in the classroom. Even students at young ages could do it! It's easy and fun to do. I think it could be a great way to learn a little something about your students. They could be used in the first week of school to get to know one another. They can put pictures from their summer vacation, their favorite activities to do, etc. This is a great tool to use so that students can get to know you and you can get to know your students. 

Below I have shared the link to my video I have made using animoto.
The People I Love

This week we also had a presenter come to class. John Finch came and talked to my class about Literacy with ICT (LwICT). LwICT is not a curriculum, rather, it is a continuum that teachers use to assess their students on how they are developing their literacy across all curricular areas with the support of ICT. The two big ideas are cognitive and affective domains. I thought this was an interesting presentation and I'm glad Mr. Finch was able to come.

Making My Own Website

So this week in class we have talked about making our own websites. At first I was like oh great... get to try this out again. In high school my class was required to create a website in our keyboarding class. It lasted about 2 days before the teacher gave up on us and we decided to skip this project. No one understood how to add/attach things to their websites. It was frustrating and I was glad when the teacher told us we no longer had complete the assignment.

Now that this is my second attempt at creating my own website I do not feel as frustrated. The site I am using to make my website is called Weebly. I am finding it is very user friendly. I am creating a website with my future classroom and students in mind. I have learnt how to embed a calendar into my website which would be very useful for students and parents because they will be able to see what events are coming up and any other important dates. I have also embedded a video to my home page as a welcoming. I have now realized that creating websites are not as hard as I thought it was going to be. I find they are time consuming, but once it is finished I think it will be rewarding. I will have a site that parents and students can go to at anytime to contact me and find any important material they may need for class.

I think class websites are beneficial. At first I wasn't to sure about the idea, but now that I am creating one I really like the idea. Parents and students have a way to communicate with me at any time or any day. They can see any important dates or events coming up on a class calendar I can embed to the site. I can post assignments or class readings right to the site. I like the idea of handing out hard copies still, but if anyone loses their homework or class material it will always be available online. There will be no more excuses of "the dog ate my homework!" I think this will also help parents stay involved with their child's education because they will always know when something is due, when the next test is, etc. Parents like knowing what is happening at school and I think this could be a great way to keep parents informed.

So even though I was leery at first about creating my own website and using it the classroom I have completely changed my mind and love the idea. I will use a class website in my future class with my students. It takes time to make a website, but there are many positives to having one.

Embedding Videos

I have learned a lot of neat things this week that I am excited to share with everyone! The ones that really caught my interest was ePortfolios, embedding videos, and Google docs.

I have never considered making an ePortifolio until before now. I have heard about them, but never paid much attention to them. After I had a class on ePortfolios I think they are an amazing idea! I like the idea of having my portfolio online because this is much more convenient for everyone involved. I don't have to carry around a binder with all my materials and my employers can take a look at my ePorfolio at any time that is convenient with them. I think once I have started making one it will be easier to add and delete things in it. It is also a great way to be creative and make it unique to you. I'm excited to start my ePortfolio!

I have always seen websites that have a video clip right on their website, but I never knew how they did this. Well now I do! Once you found the video you would like on YouTube press share, then press embed. Copy the HTML that comes up and copy it to your page. To prove I could actually do this I have embedded a video! This is my very first time doing it, so if I can do it anyone can do it. I learned about Kid Snippet videos in class and I thought they were hilarious! I have shared one that I really like.



Another thing we have learnt in class this week was about Google docs. I already know and use Google Drive, but there is always so much more to learn about a program. I like that you can share documents and everyone can edit them at once. I think this could be a useful tool in the classroom because students can do projects together and they can all be in their own home. It is hard to get everyone together at one time and this is a perfect way so that everyone can contribute to the project, but at their own time. I also love how it saves automatically!! No more worrying about if I have saved it or not! I also like how it is accessible on every computer without having to e-mail to yourself or carry a USB stick around. I can definitely see myself using this in my future classroom with my students.

First Blog!!

This is my first time blogging and I'm very excited to try this out! At first I wasn't sure if I liked the idea of having my own blog, but as I thought about it some more I realized it was something that I wanted to try out.

When I learnt I was going to be in an ICT course I was nervous to begin with. I like to think that I know how to do the basics on a computer, but I know there is a lot I don't know.  I didn't want to be that one person in class who had no idea how to make a website, never blogged before, or have never heard of any of the websites. After the first class I soon realized I wasn't the only one who doesn't know about these things. Now after having a few classes I'm excited to come to class because I know I will learn things that could benefit me and my future students in the classroom. 

I think using technology in classrooms can be beneficial, but can also come with negatives. I think the internet is very useful in classrooms, but teachers and students need to know how to use it properly. Students need to know how to use this resource properly and effectively. This is something I am looking forward to learning in my ICT course. I want to know how teachers can teach their students how to use the internet effectively and properly. We need to be able to trust our students, but we also need to teach them proper skills. I think students need to be aware that using the internet is a privilege, not a right! I also think using smart phones in the class is now acceptable, but again, students need to use them effectively in the classroom. 

A neat activity we used the first week of the ICT course was when we used wordle. This is a creative way to make "word clouds". You can change fonts, sizes, colors, and much more with this website. I thought this was a great idea to get our ideas out and play around with the words we thought of. This is something I can see myself using again because I liked how everyone could be creative in their own way. 

I'm excited to learn about the different sources that I can use in my future classroom and even in my personal life. I hope to learn how I can use technology effectively in the classroom. I think this course will really improve my knowledge about technology.