Multimedia and Presentation Tools

As easy as jumping on fish…

Ever play the level in Super Mario Brothers two where you have to jump on the fish to get to the other side of the waterfall? Every time I played that level, I switched over to the Princess Peach character. There’s a very simple reason: she can float in the air for a few seconds at a time. This is an invaluable skill if, like me, you never quite mastered the timing for jumping on the heads of slippery, leaping fish.
Using multimedia and presentation tools on the internet is like jumping on fish. Once you pick the right tool, producing the product is easier, as if it has a will of its own.

Multimedia and presentation options on the internet offer a whole new venue for creating dynamic and exciting presentations for authentic purposes. Here, Multimedia and presentation tools are defined as tools that allow teachers and students to create projects that integrate writing, research and content information with pictures, video and audio. Just like traditional classroom projects, these tools help students to show their acquired knowledge by choosing a medium and selecting visual or audio elements to enhance their presentations. Unlike traditional classroom projects, these tools offer new options, such as uploading a student’s own pictures, videos and audio recordings, as well as saving them to sites that can host the item in perpetuity, allowing interested parties to view and comment on the products. Ever have students throw their projects in the recycling on their way out of the class, stating that they have no room to store it at home? Now, projects can be stored online. Ever have a student complain that he or she was doing all the work because the project was at someone else’s home? Now all parties can have access from anywhere. No room to store 30 projects in a classroom? Leave them on the internet. Students complaining that no one looks at the projects anyway, or parents wondering what their children are doing? Upload finished items to a blog, Facebook, wiki, etc. You can even Tweet about it! Best of all, there’s no more, “the dog ate my homework excuse” as the project is online. Even if the dog eats the computer, the project can be retrieved elsewhere.

There’s more than one way to skin a fish…

There are a number of tools out there for teachers interested in creating projects in the web 2.0 world. In my opinion, the best course of action is to try out some of the tools. Once you and your students are familiar with what’s out there, ideas for their use will come to mind. Here’s a quick overview:

Comics

Students love to read comics. The few that I’ve introduced to my classroom are never on the shelf! During library time, students vie for the Asterix comics, a series that even my husband was excited to hear was still around. Studies have identified comics as a great choice in reading instructional materials. Three reasons seem to stand out; increased student motivation to read due to high interest in comics, accessible reading levels and availability (Lin, 2005). Student interest in comics doesn’t stop with reading. In my subjective experience, students love to create comics (there are weeks when I can barely stop some of the boys in my class) and are always eager to share what they’ve created. Many teachers are capitalizing on this by introducing comics as an option for demonstrating learning.
There are many sites that students can create comics on.
Comic Creator
Comic Creator, hosted by Read Write Think, lets students create simple comics. You can visit Comic Creator at http://www.readwritethink.org/files/resources/interactives/comic/ Students start by giving their comics a name and choosing between one and six panels for their comic. Then, using preset characters, settings, props and dialogue balloons, students can begin to create. There is also a caption box under each frame. The one downfall is that the comics can not be saved. The only thing students can do is print the comic.

Make Beliefs Comix

Another option is Make Beliefs Comix, which can be found at http://www.makebeliefscomix.com/Comix/ . This site offers a few different functions, such as the ability to delete mistakes and change a character’s facial expression. The biggest difference, however, is that the comic can be saved by sending them as an email or by exporting them to Facebook. This has immediate applications for the classroom, as it enables students to create comics which can then be emailed to the teacher for assessment.

Pictures, Video and Audio
There are a number of sites on the internet that allow for pictures, audio clips and videos to be put together in a creative way that can demonstrate learning in any of the core subject areas.

Slideshare
Slideshare (http://www.slideshare.net/) is a site that allows users to upload slideshows, documents and videos and share them with others. This ramps the old Power Point presentation up a notch by giving it a world wide audience. To use Slideshare, first I signed up for an account with a user name and password. Pretty simple and quick. Then I created a slide show using Power Point on my computer, which was the part that took the most time. Once the show was created, I uploaded it to my Slideshare account, and was presented with a variety of options, as indicated in the following screen capture.



When I was finished, I was able to embed my presentation on my blog. I could also have sent it somewhere else, like to Facebook. My choice would depend on my target audience.

Voice Thread
Voice Thread is another site that allows users to create slide shows, however, these show can be created directly on the Voice Thread site. There are many educational voice threads. Clicking browse brought up a page with a number of videos. One video, named Math Strategies, showed how students think through an addition equation while another video talked of the aftermath of Chernobyl. Obviously, many people are using Voice Thread for educational purposes.
To create a voice thread, you need to sign up for an account, then log into the new account. Once that’s done, click on the create tab at the top of the screen. Start by adding in content, as specified below:



Next,


Finally,


Vuvox
Vuvox is a site that allows users to create moving displays or collages of pictures and videos. Once I was signed up (again, with an email and password), I could select create under collage. I was then able to upload pictures from my computer and put them on my Vuvox site to choose from while creating my collage. I was also able to select pictures from Flickr once I gave Vuvox permission to access my Flickr account as well as pictures provided by Vuvox for everyone to use. Once I had a store of pictures to choose from, I was able to drag and drop the ones I wanted onto the canvas. Once each picture was on the canvas, I was able to click on the image to access a set of editing tools, which gave me the ability to change the picture by flipping, resizing or cutting out shapes. I was also able to add text and could have added audio, if I wanted to. Once my Vuvox collage was completed, I clicked on publish and was asked if I wanted my project to be saved as public or private. Choosing private only allows the collage to be saved as a draft, so I chose public, which gave me the added bonus of knowing that I was contributing to a collection of work available for all. The work was saved under my collages. To get the embed link, I clicked on my collages, then I copied the code and embedded the collage onto my blog. I could also have sent it to other sites, such as Facebook.

Animoto
Animoto is another site that allows users to create slide shows, but with pizzazz. The slide show will play like a video! To use Animoto I needed, again, to sign up with an email address and password. Once the account was created, I was able to create presentations. First, I clicked on create video, then was asked to select a video style, which is the background that the video will play on, as well as the way the video will unfold. When I chose the video style, I was able to choose between paying for a yearly subscription, paying for a one-time use or using it for free. As this is my first time using Animoto, I opted for free usage. The one drawback to the free usage is that my video was then limited to 30 seconds in length. After choosing the video style, my next job was to upload pictures to the site. Like Vuvox, I could pull pictures from my computer or from Flickr, once I gave Animoto permission to access my account. Animoto also has a store of videos and pictures anyone can use. One great thing about Animoto is the lay out of the pictures after loading them and the easy editing tools it lets you access. Animoto lays the pictures out in an array, like this:



This makes it easy to reorder the pictures, add text, add in new images, etc. After I was satisfied with the image selection, I was able to add in music. Animoto has a store of music users can access, which made it easy to find a selection. I also could have uploaded my own music. Finally, I was allowed to preview the settings on my video and give it a title. When Animoto was finished creating the video, I received an email about the video. I was also able to get the embed code and place it on my blog, or I could have sent it to Facebook, Twitter, Youtube or a friend using email. Videos are stored on the user’s account, so I can go back and remix a video anytime I want.

Jing
Jing, which can be found at http://www.techsmith.com/jing/ capitalizes on the phrase, “a picture is worth a thousand words” by creating this application that allows users to capture screens images. It has great potential to create ‘how to’ clips or videos for all things on the internet. The site advertises that you can use Jing to, “take a picture or make a short video of what you see on your computer monitor and share it instantly via web, email, IM, Twitter or your blog” (TechSmith Corporation, 2010).
Jing is different than the other multimedia and presentation sites commented on in this post. It is a program that you download right to your computer. As such, it requires a time commitment. I spent at least 20 minutes trying to download it onto my work computer, only to find out that it was blocked, which would mean a call into the tech services department. Later that night, I spent about an hour downloading Jing and other updates onto my personal computer at home. Once it was done, it was worth it. Jing places an icon, which looks like half of the sun, on the top of my computer. To use Jing, all I had to do was navigate to a page that I wanted to capture, move my cursor over the sun icon and click on the capture icon when it dropped down. Next, I could drag a box around the page or the part of the page I wanted to capture and sort of take its picture. Jing then gave me the option to add items, like text or arrows, in order to more thoroughly explain what to do with this page. Once the image has been captured and commented on, it can be sent to a few different places. Screencast.com is a site that works with Jing. Links sent to Screencast are saved for the user, which in turn allows the user to decide what to do with them. I was able to access the embed code from Screencast and place a captured page on my blog. Jing also lets you save the image to your computer. I saved my nutrition comic, for example, as an image to my documents. I could then open up the comic from my documents and use the editing features to do such things as color in the comic.
I have used Jing a couple of times throughout this post. Scroll through and take a look at the screen captures and the items I’ve added to aid in explanations. The really cool thing about Jing is, in time, nearly half of what I’ve written here will be obsolete, as I will be able to graphically show what I’m right now asking readers to imagine.

Fish for Me?

As a personal learner, I have to admit that I like playing around with new things and having that concrete experience much more than I like reading about them. Cell phones, board games, models – I always try to use them first and read instructions later, if I’m lost. I have realized that I am creating my own learning when I do this. Learning to use these multimedia and presentation tools was fun because it satisfied the same principles.
Frequently, over the course of the last two week, I found myself showing a tool to one of my children or my husband. Sharing the comic sites with my son was fun. He loves to draw and is currently taking a cartooning class, so it was right up his alley. Soon, he was begging me to show him an animation site, too. As an interesting benefit, my eleven year old son ended up showing me Pivot, a program that allows users to use stick figures to create stop motion videos. Essentially, it works like a flipbook. A series of pictures are created and captured then replayed to create the video. Watching my son, I realized the complex thought processes at work with a program like this. First, there’s the scripting. Next, character selection and creation, followed by character placement, which has to be fairly precise to avoid the problem of characters disappearing and reappearing. All of this, my son did in his head! Maybe I’m just in awe because he’s mine, but I think this type of work has great applications for having students think logically through a number of steps, from the beginning to the end of a sequence. Could there be some overlap into the Language Arts curriculum here?
The sharing feature of each of the tools was probably the best part of this week’s exploration. I found myself thinking about who I could reach with these tools. My neighbor’s daughter is about to have a baby, and I thought, why not create a baby shower invitation with Animoto and email it to the shower guests? My sons had a Halloween party last Saturday. Creating a collage of the photos and mixing in spooky music on Vuvox would make a great keepsake, one that I could post onto Facebook or email to all the parents. And I bet that an eye catching slide show of last year’s camp, created through Slideshare and presented at the next parent information night, would do wonders to boost membership in the local Cubs program.

A Fish in the Hand…

No doubt, there are tools for almost anything that was currently done on paper. The question is, why bother? Traditional projects, done with paper and writing implements, glue and scissors, time and imagination, have proved effective over the years, while multimedia and presentation tools are relatively new domains, untested and ripe with potential accessibility and liability pitfalls. So, why bother? Justifying multimedia and presentation tools in the classroom is a justification of new teaching in changing times and the struggle to keep the classroom a dynamic place that benefits all learners.
Differentiation has become the new buzz word in education. Many districts, mine included, are working towards creating differentiation in the classroom in an effort to stave off the numbers of children who become disillusioned with school due to lack of authentic, interesting experiences it contains. Differentiation is defined as
acknowledging that kids learn in different ways, and responding by doing something about that through curriculum and instruction… differentiation is not an instructional strategy nor is it a teaching model. It is in fact a way of thinking, an approach to teaching and learning that advocates beginning where students are and designing experiences that will better help them achieve.
(Koechlin &Zwaan, 2008)

Four different ways differentiation can be achieved are through varying the content of lessons, the process students go through in order to understand the information contained in the lessons, the product that students are able to complete in order to demonstrate understanding and the environment in which learning takes place (Koechlin &Zwaan, 2008). Multimedia and presentation tools play a big role in creating these differentiations. Want to spark an inquiry unit on various sources of light? Try showing a slide show with many light sources highlighted. Thinking of assigning posters as the final project in your weather unit, but dreading how 3 or 4 students will inevitable fall behind because of manual dexterity issues (ie, they just can’t color or write that fast)? How about using Glogster? Better yet, why not give the students the option to choose the final product? In Focus on Inquiry, a document released by Alberta Learning outlining the best way to teach research skills to students, offering a variety of product forms as a method of creating an authentic, differentiated program is advised. The following chart, adapted from Focus on Learning, shows some product form ideas, broken down into four categories that correspond with four of Gardner’s Multiple Intelligences. Included are some of the multimedia and presentation tools that could be used with to create the product.
Oral Visual
Original product Multimedia or presentation tool that could be used to complete or improve it. Original product Multimedia or presentation tool that could be used to complete or improve it.
Debate Two or more students could make a recording of their ideas, add slides and upload it to Slideshare. Cartoons Use Make Beliefs Comix or another comic site to create the comic and email it or add it to Facebook in order to get feedback.
Song Record a song and create a 30 second Animoto video to go with it. Collage Create an online collage using Vuvox.
Written Kinesthetic
Original product Multimedia or presentation tool that could be used to complete or improve it Original product Multimedia or presentation tool that could be used to complete or improve it
Book review Use Animoto to create a book trailer (The Walking Paper, 2009) and embed it on student blogs with the rest of the written review .
Collection Document the collection and use Vuvox to create a collage. Post the collage to a blog or Facebook, asking for suggestions of what’s missing or could be added.
Pamphlet or brochure Create a non-linear pamphlet or brochure using Prezi, adding in pictures, video and information. Experiment Document an experiment with Power Point, linking together the images and audio explanations into a lab book. (Verrati, 2005).Then, use Slideshare to post the lab book to a blog.

As a classroom teacher, I feel the need to keep up with technology. If for no other reason, keeping abreast of newer ways of delivering content and allowing students to create products keeps me revisiting my program and keeps me from relaxing into a rut. However, I am becoming aware of the reality that the teacher-librarian needs to be the tech and media expert in his or her school. Learning multimedia and presentation tools now gives me a head start for when I (hopefully) jump into the role.
In the meantime, I’ve busily created a sampling of projects using the various tools to accompany my teaching this year. Please scroll through the three previous posts to see this sampling.

Plenty of Fish in the Sea

Is it ever possible to be an expert in Web 2.0? Doubtful. New technology is developing at an astronomical rate and the creations made by people using this technology are multiplying exponentially. Perhaps it is only possible to keep a list of the next few tools to explore. With that in mind, I have a few:

• Prezi is a site that allows students to create presentations by placing text, pictures and videos on to a virtual, endless presentation board. Once the items are on the board, users can set up a chronology for the items and create a ‘poster that plays like a video.’ This has great applications for the classroom as an alternative to posters. You can visit Prezi by typing in the URL Prezi.com. I have worked with Prezi in the past, so I have not included as much detail about it in this blog. I do, however, feel that Prexi deserves mention, as it is free to use and can be used for longer pieces of work that require more text.
• Toondo (available at http://www.toondoo.com/). This looks like a site where students can create their own cartoons.

• Xtranormal (available at http://www.pcworld.com/article/203787/create_your_own_movies_with_xtranormal.html). This is a site that allows create your own movies.

• Openzine (available at http://www.openzine.com/aspx/). This site allows students to create their own magazines. This site has some mature pictures on it’s sign in page, so it may not be appropriate for elementary students.

• Bitstrips (available at http://www.bitstripsforschools.com/). Bitstrips is another comic creation site. Looks promising, but offers only a 30 day free trial, after which a fee applies.


References
Alberta Learning. (2004 ). Focus on Literacy. Retrieved from: http://eric.ed.gov/PDFS/ED491498.pdf.

Lin, C. (2005). literacy instruction through communicative and visual arts. Teacher Librarian, 32(5), 25-27. Retrieved November 2, 2010, from ProQuest Education Journals. (Document ID: 891822761).

Koechlin, C., & Zwaan, S.. (2008). everyone wins: differentiation in the school library. Teacher Librarian, 35(5), 8-13. Retrieved November 2, 2010, from ProQuest Education Journals. (Document ID: 1502965201).

TechSmith Corporation. (2010). Jing. Retreived from: http://www.techsmith.com/jing/.

The Walking Paper. (2009). Internet tricks and tips, booktrailers trailers via animoto. Retrieved from: http://www.walkingpaper.org/640.

Varrati, R. (2005, September). Multimedia Projects for Technology-Rich Classrooms. Media and Methods, 42(1), 6-7. Retrieved November 2, 2010, from ProQuest Education Journals. (Document ID: 933092141).

Voice Thread

The grade four science curriculum states that students need to identify sources of light. This short video is meant to get students thinking about light sources and how access to electric lighting has changed the way we live in modern-day Canada.

animoto

The Fine Arts curriculum, contained in the BC Ministry of Education IRPs, states that students must:

·          demonstrate an awareness of the ethical considerations involved in copying images

·          identify aspects of selected images that indicate the social, historical, or cultural context in which they were created

·          compare the distinctive styles of artists from various cultures and historical periods

·          demonstrate an awareness of the significance of images in a variety of social, historical, and cultural contexts

I decided to use Animoto to create a video of selected works of art that students could research and discuss. The first video contains just images, while the second gives some information about the painting or sculpture. The idea is that we would view the first, just to get an appreciation for the artwork. Then, the second video would give students some information. I have taken each image from a public domain site, which I would explain as a lead up to a discussion of the first learning outcome.

            After viewing, researching and discussing, students could create their own videos. Another Fine Arts outcome states that students need to “defend their preferences for selected works of art.” A short slide show with text explaining their views on the image could satisfy this learning objective.

Create your own video slideshow at animoto.com.

How to Carve a Pumpkin

Check out this SlideShare Presentation:

How to carve a pumpkin

View more presentations from koxley.

Since it was Halloween, my Slideshare presentation focused on the steps involved in carving a pumpkin. I thought it might be fun to create and share with students. However, the creation of slide show presentations connects to a variety of learning outcomes. In the English Language Arts curriculum, grade four students are expected to, “create meaningful visual representations that communicate personal response, information, and ideas relevant to (a) topic” (BC Ministry of Education, 2006). In addition, students are expected, in all their written and oral responses, to create, “an organization that is meaningful, logical, and effective” (BC Ministry of Education, 2006). Slide shows offer a unique opportunity for students to focus on creating organization within their presentations because of the linear nature of the medium.

Vuvox and Comics

On Thursday, October 28, my school watched a play called Zero Heroes, presented by Dreamrider Theatre. The play was aimed at getting students to produce less garbage by recycling, composting and not buying items that create unnecessary garbage through excess packaging. One of the scenes takes place in the dump and the actors put up a background picture full of garbage. Students call out to say what they see in the picture that didn't have to end up at the dump. As a follow up to the play, I'm planning to have my students go through the school and take pictures of garbage, then create collages, like the one above. Included in the collage will be text explaining what didn't need to be thrown away. While this project fits with the grade four science learning outcome of, “determine(ing) how personal choices and actions have environmental consequences,” (BC Ministry of Education, 2006) it also furthers our social responsibility goals of being globally responsible individuals.

In Health and Career Education, we are working on, “describe(ing) choices (students) can make for healthy eating, based on Canada’s Food Guide to Healthy Eating” BC Ministry of Education, 2006). After discussing each food group, I often assign a comic strip activity to assess learning.  The comic below is an example of what students might create, although I’ve made it fairly general. I would expect specific serving amounts and suggested meals.

Make Belief Comicx
http://www.makebeliefscomix.com/Comix/?comix_id=39865829C333572 

Rapidamente Mario! Wiki Kristie!

            “Honey, what are we doing Saturday at 3?” Hand cupped over the telephone, my husband looked expectantly at me.

            I searched quickly through my memory – what are we doing? Nothing and everything, as usual. Grocery shopping, laundry, fix the outside blinds. The car needs an oil change and one of our sons has a soccer game earlier in the day. But nothing, technically, scheduled for 3 pm. Feeling a bit put on the spot by the question, I went with the shoulder shrug answer and listened while my husband rang off.

         

So, what are we doing at 3…?

The Wii at three and wikis anytime

            When Nintendo came out with their Wii game, who knew that it would be so interactive? It wasn’t long after I picked up the game that my husband and his co-workers organized their first interactive Wii Mario Kart challenge. All players logged in at the same time and played a game against each other from the comfort of their own homes. Soon, my sons picked up the idea, and were playing games against people from around the world. Never again would there be one person left with no one to play against.

            Wikis offer the same collaborative effort. Never again does a teacher need to create curriculum resources or assignments in isolation. Never again does one person need to do all the work on a collaborative assignment because schedules don’t mesh. All you need to do is set up the Wiki and let the collaboration commence.

I know what a Wii is, but what’s a Wiki?

         

            A wiki is a website designed to enhance “knowledge management and group collaboration” (Malaga, 2010) by offering a platform that allows “anyone to add or change content, anytime” (Borja, 2006). Created by Ward Cunningham in 1995, wikis were intended to be an “easy authoring tool that might spur people to publish” (Richardson, 2010). Typically, a wiki is set up by single or small groups of users who create a site to host information on a topic. This includes a home page, related pages and links to related material, etc. What makes a wiki unique is that all people who are interested can log on and create or edit content. This way, “a very democratic process of knowledge creation” (Richardson, 2010) takes place, as contributors come to a consensus on what material to include or omit. Information on wikis may seem insecure, but functions such as the history button, which allows the creator to revert to a previously saved page, and user settings, which allow a wiki creator to decide who can and can’t add information, allow wikis to function with a safety net.

I thought wiki was just the short form of Wikipedia!

            Just as I thought that the Wii was just another video game console, meant to help users pass time in solitude, so, too, did I think that Wikipedia was the only type of wiki. While wrong, Wikipedia does deserve special mention among wikis. Just like traditional encyclopedias, Wikipedia contains information on just about everything. Unlike encyclopedias, Wikipedia is created by average people posting on topics they know about, with others adding or correcting information over time. Very unlike encyclopedias, Wikipedia contains current information on a variety of events, sometimes within hours of them happening (Richardson, 2010). Some educators have difficulty accepting Wikipedia as a valid source of information; while they question Wikipedia’s “reliability, completeness, accuracy, and the intellectual rigor” (Head &Eisenberg, 2010) it is undoubtedly a preferred source of information by many.

Wikis for me

            I confess that the Wii has not become a large part of my life. I’ve never had the time to really commit to a game. Sure, Mario Kart was fun, and the invention of the steering wheel holder for the remote made it a little easier to play, but the Wii remains an untapped medium of entertainment at present. Sorry, Mario, but go ahead and toss a banana peel for me anyway.

            Wikis, on the other hand, are becoming a larger part of my life. For anything I need to know, there’s a wiki. If I have a question about something, there’s a wiki. If I have a burning desire to discuss something or contribute information, there’s a wiki. I love horror movies. Always have. I spent a good deal of my younger years watching horror movies late into the night with my friends at sleepovers. I don’t get to watch them much anymore, as my children still a little young and, frankly, my younger son will never share my passion for these movies, but I do make an effort to watch some in October.  Recently I found the site Horror Film Wiki (http://horror-movies.wikia.com/wiki/Horror_Film_Wiki), where I can read about the old school horror movies and vote on a fun ‘Who would win…” poll. I can search for content, log in and edit facts and suggest future content. Using the talk function, I could even discuss films, like the disastrous remake of the original Nightmare on

Elm Street

movie.

            Other wikis of note, at least for me, are Recipes-Wiki (http://www.recipeswiki.org/wiki/Main_Page), where I can find and add recipes. My favorite cookbook of all time was the one I bought from a school fundraiser. The school had students submit their favorite family recipes, which were all compiled into the cookbook. What I LOVE about the recipes is that each is a tried-and-true, tested recipe used by normal people, which means using ordinary ingredients I usually have on hand and success every time. Recipes-Wiki allows me to access such recipes on a large scale, as well as some more exotic or difficult recipes, if I’m feeling adventurous. Music wikis, like Metal Wiki, hosted by Wikia, provide information about new bands. Metal Wiki (http://metal.wikia.com/wiki/List_of_heavy_metal_bands) provides a list of heavy metal bands which can be used as a starting point when searching for new music. This may seem funny, but think about it. How did we learn about music being created and distributed in the past? We were confined to radio and television. These venues generally only played or promoted bands that were backed by major distributers and whose music conformed to a set of guidelines. A large amount of really great, edgy music never made it to a wider audience that might have been interested. Differences also occur geographically. One of my favorite bands is played frequently by a radio station out of Seattle, but never played here in B.C. Sites created by music fans for music fans offer a chance to promote and share great music. If you see a concert and the band is selling a CD, add their name to the Wiki.

            As for the creation of Wikis, I can only say, “Wiki, where were you last year?” The video Wikis in Plain English (Common Craft, 2008) demonstrates the power of the wiki to allow users to collaborate towards a common goal by giving the example of planning for a hike. One person sets up the wiki and starts a list of items already acquired and items that are needed. Everyone else logs on and amends the list by editing the page. Other pages are added as needed. No need to send an email. No need to get a sitter, meet at a coffee shop and discuss what needs to be done. No need to schedule two more face to face meetings because everyone involved has to go home and check what they have and what their spouses are willing to make before they commit to anything. Last year I was a Cub leader for my son’s Cub troop, and the year before I was just an active parent volunteer. By far, the most difficult task was getting everyone together to discuss the biyearly camping trips plus all the other outings and hikes we wanted to go on. Inevitably, someone wouldn’t be able to come to a meeting (keep in mind that everyone’s busy and everyone’s a volunteer) and emails were hard to keep track of. A wiki would have been the perfect solution.

          Learning to use wikis in the classroom

There are countless ideas on using the wiki in the classroom. Students can “collaborate on study guides, a manual, an encyclopedia or a glossary” (Imperatore, 2009). Wikis can be set up to showcase student’s research projects (Borja, 2006) and experts from around the world can be invited to comment on the projects (Brunsell &Horejsi, 2010). Information can be shared between parents, teachers and administrators by posting information on the wiki and making use of the editing and discussion features (Ullman, 2010).  Problems usually associated with collaboration are ameliorated by the fact that everyone can access the wiki from anywhere. For example, a biology student noted that when working on a traditional poster project, “only one person can take it home, but with the wiki we were able to work equally. Not one person was stuck doing all the work (Brunsell &Horejsi, 2010).

I decided to create wikis for my classroom to deliver part of the Space unit I’ll be teaching this term in Science. First, I had to choose a wiki platform and there are several options out there. Malaga, in an article on wikis used for group projects in an adult educational setting, looks at Schtuff.com, Jotspot.com and Wetpaint.com. Upon review, Schtuff.com same up as a photography site and Jotspot.com was not retrievable. I was not impressed with the initial look of Wetpaint.com. The front page of the site displays a list of popular T.V. shows and the top bar of links includes things like gossip. While this look may prove a positive with older students, it just didn’t look right for elementary school.

            Next, I turned to Wikispaces.com, and decided to use it to create a pathfinder on constellations. You can view this wiki by visiting it at http://divisionfourconstellations.wikispaces.com/.  Wikispaces is the first wiki I ever worked with, and I found it easy to use. Since I already have an account set up and a previous wiki created, I simply pulled up my old wiki, logged in and selected the ‘create a new wiki’ option. The rest was as easy as plugging information onto the different pages.

            Next I decided to explore PBWorks.com. To set up a wiki using PBWorks, you need to sign up by creating a url name and providing your own name and email address. PBWORKS sends a notification to your email with a link back to their site. Once there, you need to choose between free access or two other account options, one costing $99/year and the other $799/year. I’m sure there are many great option offered for the costs, including the ability to use the wiki for commercial purposes, but since I have neither $99 to $799 dollars to spend nor the intent to sell anything, I opted for the free wiki.

            Once my wiki was set up, I was directed to the front page. By clicking edit, I was able to add content as easily as creating a document on a word processing program. To create new pages, I just clicked on the ‘create page’ located to the upper right. I was also able to embed links to other pages by clicking on the page listed to the left. The page, written in blue, appeared on the current page. Once the content was saved, I could click on the links and visit the other pages. When editing a page, a tool bar similar to the one at the top of a word document appears at the top of the page. One very useful tool on the tool bar is the ‘insert’ tool. When you click on insert, a drop down box appears. Among other items, this box lets you insert a video. If the video is from YouTube, the insert function lets you imbed the video. Students can click the arrow on the video and watch right from the page. I know my students will be thrilled to create these kinds of links.

            I decide to use PBWorks to create a pathfinder for an inquiry project that would result in students creating Spaceology books. Having created an entire pathfinder for my students for the constellations project, I opted to have the students collaborate to create the Spaceology pathfinder themselves. To visit this project, go to http://divisionfour.pbworks.com/.

Professional Development Wiki-style

            When I first got our Wii Fit game, someone facetiously suggested that I bring it in and present it at a professional development day. While I admit that Wii Fit seminars are not in my future, Wiki applications for educational professional development are confined only by imagination. If seen as a way of recording and making public professional development efforts, I can’t actually think of any activity that couldn’t benefit from the inclusion of a wiki. For example:

Professional Development Activity	Wiki use
English Language Arts	Create a wiki that includes unit/lesson plans and enrichment activities for a variety of novels. Correspondence between experts or even the author could also be set up (Bowllan, 2008).
Math	Create a wiki that provides links to great math stories, worksheets, games, etc., as well as places to obtain resources.
Science and Social Studies	Use a wiki to create a virtual fieldtrip, a webquest/pathfinder, a repository of experiments or grade specific, content specific sites or texts and invite teachers world wide to use it or contribute their own ideas.
Delivery of mandatory 30 DPA (daily physical activity)	Create a resource of DPA activities that take 30 minutes or less, require little or no equipment and can be done in a variety of environments outside the gym.
Fine Arts	Upload (with permission) famous photos, examples of various artistic techniques, sheet music, drama ideas, dance steps, etc., to share with colleagues. Invite experts to contribute ideas.

These are just a few of the applications. As a teacher-librarian or contributor to my district professional development efforts, I could easily facilitate the start of such efforts. The beauty of a wiki lies not in what I could create alone, however, but in its collaborative nature. I had a discussion about wikis with a colleague recently. I was explaining to her my intention to create a pathfinder for a project on constellations using a wiki to house my links. We got talking about finding information suitable to students of specific ages on the internet. My colleague very quickly offered me access to her files containing sites that she’s used with her class in the past. She even told me how to access them using any computer in the district. This spirit of sharing and collaboration is what wikis are meant to serve. Imagine all such files stored on a wiki, sorted according to curriculum content, grade level, and reading ability.  Now imagine each teacher having access to this site so that they may use it with their students. How useful would that be? The really great thing about creating such a resource using a wiki is that it doesn’t have to be an epic responsibility placed on the shoulders of one individual. Once the wiki is set up, each teacher could add links with a few clicks of the mouse. Five minutes a day could create a dynamic, truly useful resource. The public nature of the wiki also means that we might reap the benefits of other educators contributing to the effort. Parents, too, could contribute or simply have access to what their students might learn, and more informed parents means improved communication and increased opportunities for students to pursue enrichment activities outside the classroom.

References

Borja, R.  (2006, April). Educators Experiment With Student-Written 'Wikis'. Education Week, 25(30), 10.  Retrieved October 23, 2010, from ProQuest Education Journals. (Document ID: 1017773191).

Bowllan, Amy.  (2008, September). A Wiki Gives a Worthy Book New Life. School Library Journal, 54(9), 20.  Retrieved from http://www.trailfire.com/joannedegroot/marks/236936

Brunsell, E., & Horejsi, M.. (2010). Wiki, Wiki! The Science Teacher, 77(4), 12.  Retrieved October 24, 2010, from ProQuest Education Journals. (Document ID: 2064628691).

Common Craft. (2007). Wikis in Plain English. Retrieved from http://www.trailfire.com/joannedegroot/marks/217495

Imperatore, C.. (2009, March). Wikis and Blogs: Your Keys to Student Collaboration & Engagement. Techniques, 84(3), 30-31.  Retrieved October 23, 2010, from ProQuest Education Journals. (Document ID: 1667558511).

Malaga, R.. (2010). Choosing A Wiki Platform For Student Projects - Lessons Learned. Contemporary Issues in Education Research, 3(2), 49-54.  Retrieved October 23, 2010, from ProQuest Education Journals. (Document ID: 1981675671).

Richardson, W. (2010). Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts, and Other Powerful Web Tools for Classrooms. Thousand Oaks, Ca: Corwin.

Ullman, E.. (2010, August). Working Wikis. Tech & Learning, 31(1), 18.  Retrieved October 24, 2010, from ProQuest Education Journals. (Document ID: 2112838461).

Golden Compass podcast

Podcasts

          I was instantly excited by the possibilities of using podcasts in my classroom, as well as for personal learning. From a consumption point of view, I would be able to find audio recorded by others, subscribe to it using my Google Reader RSS account and download it to my MP3 player. I can then listen to the podcasts during my morning run or in my car (if I ever finally get around to switching from CDs to an MP3 compatible stereo) or share them with my class. As for creating podcasts, I immediately knew my students would be excited to create their own podcasts on all manner of subjects.

          As an application to my personal life, podcasts open up a new realm of delivery of personally relevant information. The website http://www.runningpodcasts.org/ , for example, has podcasts that can help me with my running performance. I am currently stalled out in my running efforts. I can jog 5 km in about 32 minutes, but can’t seem to go on any longer. Podcasts with running tips or motivational messages would be a welcome source of help. My older son has recently attended Free the Children’s We Day 2010 at Roger’s Arena. The event is described by the organizers as:

          more than just one day of celebration and inspiration. It’s a one-of-a-kind event and part of an innovative year-long program created to celebrate the power of young people to create positive change in the world. The event kicks off a year-long program of action, called We Schools in Action. We Day is free of charge and open to any school that wants to be part of the experience. In exchange, each school group that attends is asked to make a commitment to follow the We Schools in Action program, which includes taking local and global action throughout the year.

Retrieved from http://weday.freethechildren.com/about/

Speakers at the event included Al Gore, Reverend Jesse L. Jackson Sr., Rick Hanson and the co-founders of Free the Children, Craig and Marc Kielburger. My son was so excited about the day that it was contagious! Searching with him for podcasts by some of the presenters or other speakers on similar subjects would be a great connection. Encouraging him to record a podcast as an eye witness would also be very powerful and authentic activity. Unfortunately, he is currently at Scout camp, so we won’t be able to do this until next week.

          I have always been an auditory learner. One of the most powerful ways for me to learn something is to listen. I discovered this in high school. One of my history teachers would lecture for most of the period and I loved listening to him. I found that I could remember most of what he said and would only occasionally have to look up a date or statistic from my notes. Podcasts, through their auditory nature, have the potential to deliver information that I can personally access, understand and remember. As a teacher who strives to deliver information in a variety of ways for a variety of learners, podcasts could be another tool, offering accessible lessons for auditory learners.

          One thing that I’m really excited about is the application of podcasts to the teaching of English Language Arts (ELA) skills. As part of the ELA curriculum, students are expected, “to understand and use information and communications technology for a variety of purposes.” Podcasts certainly fall within the use of communications technology. In addition, in 2006, the B.C. Ministry of Education changed the ELA curriculum to better represent listening and speaking skills. While previous documents focused heavily on reading and writing skills, the new curriculum states that listening and speaking skills need to be just as developed. Yet, teaching students how to be effective oral communicators has proven to be a challenge in my career, and teaching students how to be effective listeners is like trying to catch smoke. Assessing these skills has often come down to assigning debates and assessing how often a child appears clueless after instructions have been given. Apparently, I am not alone in this. Over the past couple of years, our school has invested time and money in providing professional development opportunities to develop the listening and speaking parts of our ELA curriculum. While the strategies provided during these professional development days have proved useful, podcasts are a natural extension. By recording various lessons or delivering content using podcasts, I am providing my students with opportunities to relisten to material and to reflect on listening skills. By allowing students to record themselves, I can listen to many students and have time to respond to their efforts, providing specific links to saved oral material. Students can also listen to themselves, thereby developing a critical ear for oral language. Currently, no teachers on staff are using podcasts to deliver content; neither are students being offered the opportunity to use podcasts as a product option. As a member of my staff or, eventually, as a teacher-librarian, I believe I can make a powerful contribution to continued professional development in the ELA listening and speaking categories by showing my staff how accessible podcasting is and starting a conversation around the possible uses for podcasting in the classroom.

Podcast Creation

          I created my first Podcast using Audioboo.fm, a site recommended by Joanne DeGroot. Audioboo is a site that enables people to record audio using portable devices, like an IPhone, and upload them to their computers, as well as social networking sites. Audioboo also allows users to create audio recordings right to the site. After signing up for an account, I needed to install a Java update to my computer, which took under five minutes. With Java updated, I then clicked on the green ‘recording’ button. I was given the option to record right to Audioboo or to download a file. I chose to record straight to Audioboo. Recording was as simple as speaking into the microphone attached to my computer. I did need to re-record once, however, as I did not initially speak close enough to the microphone and the first recording was too quiet to hear. After each recording, I was able to preview my podcast by hitting the preview button. Once satisfied, I was able to add a title and tags to my recording and save to the site. Unfortunately, saving to the site took many minutes. Once the saving was completed, it was stored under “my boos.” To attach the podcast to my blog, I went to ‘my boos’ and clicked on the heart icon next to the podcast I wanted. The podcast came up larger on another screen with an ‘embed’ icon next to it. I clicked on the ‘embed’ icon and got the html code, which I copied and pasted onto the ‘edit html’ space offered when adding a post to my blog. The process was similar to embedding a video.

          Overall, I think I will use Audioboo in my classroom. The process was simple and for the cost of a microphone, I can have my students creating podcasts immediately. The one downside is portability. I would love to be able to bring a portable device, like an IPod, on a fieldtrip and record real-time reactions to exhibits. As I currently do not have an IPod, IPhone or similar device, nor do I or the school have a budget for one, podcasting from the classroom will have to suffice for now. 

          An added bonus of Audioboo is that it functions like a social networking site. It allows users to find and follow other peoples recordings or ‘boos.’ I can use the search function to type in key words. Typing in constellations, for example, led me to Skyponderer and his podcast on constellations. Clicking on the RSS feed button allowed me to subscribe to his podcasts, which means that his new pod casts will be routed to my ‘favorites’ in Audioboo. There is also a function that allows users to search what was recorded by remote audio devices near one another, which would be handy when researching reactions to an event, like an Olympic event.

An Example of Podcasting my Classroom

          There are many who are passionate about podcasting in the classroom. Apple, creator of the iPod and iPhone, states that, “when students create a podcast for class, they not only learn the content in a creative way, they learn 21^st century communications skills at the same time” (Anonymous, 2008).  A related article poses the question, “What sorts of new ways of engaging as literate learners do new technologies offer with regard to connectivity… access to information, and diverse ways of understanding and participating in the world?” (Vasquez, 2010).  The challenge here is to stop thinking about ways to use technology to jazz up old assignments and to think about what is valid for learners in our new, connected world.

          In learning about podcasting, I was directed to two wonderful sites; the March 5, 2008 update to the website educating alice which contained podcasts of children reading from the book Good Masters! Sweet Ladies! by Laura Amy Schlitz and the site Just One More Book (http://www.justonemorebook.com/) which is a collection of book reviews and author interviews. In exploring the two sites, I was reminded of this year’s round of parent teacher interviews. Quite a few parents had made comments about wanting their children to write book reports. But what does the book report look like in the 21^st century? Below is the outline of a book report assignment. The podcast attached to the blog is an example of what the students might create. And yes, for those of you who guessed, the questions are a lead up to an activity in which we try to find the author or an expert on a particular subject and conduct an interview.

Book Report Assignment

Your assignment is to create a book review that can be added to the class website. Your assignment will be done in 4 parts.

Part 1

Choose a novel to review. You need to clear your choice with me or our teacher-librarian.

Once you have chosen your novel, copy the following into your Smart Reading duotang and fill it in before reading:

Goal:	Connections:
Predictions:	Questions:

Think carefully about your goal, as it will be your goal throughout the novel. Show your pre-reading work to me before you start to read.

Part 2

Read your novel in chunks. You have 2 weeks to finish the novel, with 1 hour chunks of time in class on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Flip through your novel and think about how you will break it up and how much time you will need at home to complete the assignment. Write out your plan and share it with me or with the teacher-librarian. As you read, you need to take notes. Copy the following onto a lined piece of paper and fill it in each time you read:

Evidence of meeting your reading goal:	Images/Important ideas/important passages (think about the author’s message):
Questions for the author or about the story or subject content:	Reflection on your reading or learning:

 

Bring your work to school daily and be prepared to show your progress!

Part 3:

When you have finished reading your novel, you need to prepare your report. It needs to include:

  a written statement about the novel that relates to your goal (for example, if your goal was to create images in your mind as your read, you would write about 3-5 powerful images, including as much sensory detail as possible)

  a written statement about the author’s message in the novel, including specific justification (There might be many messages. You just need to choose one.)

  a piece of original artwork with captions explaining the sensory details and emotion

  a podcast of you reading a passage from the text and an explanation of why you chose this passage

  a podcast or written statement outlining your top three questions for the author or for an expert on the content covered by the novel

You will have one additional week to complete part 3. You will be given our Language Arts blocks during this week to work on the assignment (this works out to be about 6 hours). Anything not finished in class will be assigned for homework. The Podcasts will be recorded at school during Language Arts or Library time.

Part 4:

With my help, be prepared to upload your book review onto the class website on _______________ (Due Date).

(See the page marked Marking for the marking rubric for this assignment.)

One final thought…

Will Richardson describes podcasting as the “creation and distribution of amateur radio, plain and simple,” (2010) and discusses the use of radio in schools. In searching for information and inspiration on podcasting, I came across the site World News for Children (http://www.bbc.co.uk/podcasts/series/wnc), which is a site full of news podcasts for children created by the BBC. I was excited about these podcasts, as it is difficult to find quality, accessible news for younger children. However, what is more exciting is using the site to inspire students to create radio newscasts for the school. Perhaps a good collaborative project for a classroom teacher and teacher-librarian...

 References

Anonymous, . Podcasting in the Classroom. (2008, March). Techniques,

83(3), 7-8.  Retrieved October 14, 2010, from ProQuest Education Journals. (Document ID: 1436580321).

BBC. World News for Children. Retrieved from

http://www.bbc.co.uk/podcasts/series/wnc

Edinger, M. In the Classroom: Kid Podcasts of Good Masters! Sweet

Ladies! (March, 2008). Retrieved from http://medinger.wordpress.com/2008/03/05/in-the-classroom-kid-podcasts-of-good-masters-sweet-ladies/

Free the Children. (2010). Retrieved from

http://weday.freethechildren.com/about/

Richardson, W. (2010). Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts, and Other

Powerful Web Tools for Classrooms. Thousand Oaks, Ca: Corwin.

Ross, A. & Blevis, M. Just One More Book. Retrieved from

http://www.justonemorebook.com/

Vasquez, V.. (2010, January). iPods, Puppy Dogs, and Podcasts: Imagining

Literacy Instruction for the 21st Century. School Talk, 15(2), 1-2.  Retrieved October 14, 2010, from ProQuest Education Journals. (Document ID: 1938474901).