Saturday, March 22, 2008
my_movie
Journal_6b:iMovie Software Review
Here is the movie I created in the class EDUC422B. Professor Heil showed us the basic feature from the iMovie software. He also made all of the resources available to us to edit. This is a fun project to play with. I can sit there and play with it for whole day without any complaining. This is a nice software to start to make a movie for a beginner. I can just drag whatever I wanted and put all of them together. It is straight forward. I love to make the movie through this tool. However, when I tried to edit my movie, I found some issues may or may not relate with this software. At first, I put transition time in between for every two sections. Then, I tried to add some music. It always gave me error. I tried many times in vain. Eventually, instructor Jeff helped me to remove all of the transition first, add the music, then add the transition at the end. This could be a problem for this software. But I am not quite sure. It was an observation from my experience during my work. I think this is a very useful tool for any educator with any subject matter. Students love to see a short movie to relate with the topic we want to address. I want to use this tool later more in my classroom when I teach students mathematics or Mandarin. I just love it very much.
Monday, March 10, 2008
journal_5
Journal #5
“Blggers Cafe” by Anne Davis
Learning & Leading with Technology, February 2008. pp17
In this article, Davis introduces the classroom blogging and effective processes to affect learning. First, we create a class blog. Next, students create their individual blogs. Third, students do peer review and comment on others’ blog. Fourth, blog helps students to reflect. Last, be creative on the class blog.
Among those points, the third one impresses me the most. I love the idea to encourage students to comment on classmates’ blog. This will make every student excited to know others’ view. It is good to know the feedback and ideas. Students can be inspired by the comments from their peer. This is a very good way to drive the students move to next levels.
In conclusion, classroom blogging and individual blogging can get students better understandings on their courses. Giving each other comments is an effective way to make the students grow. Blogging is a tool to build a community to learn more and deeper. We should use this tool as much as possible.
Questions…
1. How to choose the link for the class blog?
Teachers should pre-select the main links on the class blog. It should be very safe and clear. All of the material in the class blog should relate and focus on the students and their learning.
2. How to help student to create their own individual blog?
Students can follow a frame work from the teacher to set up the individual blog first. Once they can get into it, teacher should give them some room to develop by their own styles. They have the ownership for their blogs. As long as they follow the common rules which were set by the teacher from the beginning of the class, they can customize the blog with their own feathers. Encourage them to be creative. Let them enjoy the blogs and have fun with it.
“Blggers Cafe” by Anne Davis
Learning & Leading with Technology, February 2008. pp17
In this article, Davis introduces the classroom blogging and effective processes to affect learning. First, we create a class blog. Next, students create their individual blogs. Third, students do peer review and comment on others’ blog. Fourth, blog helps students to reflect. Last, be creative on the class blog.
Among those points, the third one impresses me the most. I love the idea to encourage students to comment on classmates’ blog. This will make every student excited to know others’ view. It is good to know the feedback and ideas. Students can be inspired by the comments from their peer. This is a very good way to drive the students move to next levels.
In conclusion, classroom blogging and individual blogging can get students better understandings on their courses. Giving each other comments is an effective way to make the students grow. Blogging is a tool to build a community to learn more and deeper. We should use this tool as much as possible.
Questions…
1. How to choose the link for the class blog?
Teachers should pre-select the main links on the class blog. It should be very safe and clear. All of the material in the class blog should relate and focus on the students and their learning.
2. How to help student to create their own individual blog?
Students can follow a frame work from the teacher to set up the individual blog first. Once they can get into it, teacher should give them some room to develop by their own styles. They have the ownership for their blogs. As long as they follow the common rules which were set by the teacher from the beginning of the class, they can customize the blog with their own feathers. Encourage them to be creative. Let them enjoy the blogs and have fun with it.
journal_4
Journal #4
“Five Don’ts of Classroom Blogging” by Julie Sturgeon
In this article, Sturgeon discussed the rules on the blogging. There are five don’ts: just dive in, confuse blogging with social networking, leap at the freebies, force a sequential style, and leave the blogging to the student. I like the first rule most. The teacher should have a couple of early sessions with students to talk about the proper conduct. For me, this is like we learn the transportation rules before we really drive out vehicle on the road. It takes us some time to learn and master it. However, it is not waste time. On the contrary, we will get benefit from it in the long run. We can not just drive the mobiles on high way without any rules in our mind. That is definitely the last thing we want to do in this world. "The important thing is not to just jump in and blog, but spend the time letting students see samples, understand guidelines, and anticipate blogging and what it can mean to their learning," Anne Davis says. "The time you spend will pay off for you double when you get down to it, because they want to blog well.
On the other hand, there is one do in this article is: recognize what blogging can do for your students. Blog can help students stretch themselves from writing paragraphs to essays. In addition for the writing, students are very interested in working with image, video and music on the web blogging. Besides these benefits, blogging is more handy and efficient than our traditional writing. Students can explore, discover, and create more. They can simulate their plan and get the result right away.
In conclusion, I found there were many good ideas and suggestions included in this article. I am looking forward to apply these rules in my blog when I teach my students.
Questions…
1. How to set the detail rules on the blogging?
I think teacher should have good samples to demonstrate what teacher expects from the students. In the samples, they should include: the format, the way to put comments, and the text related content. If anyone abuses the blogging, he or she will lose the privilege to access the Blog for certain time.
2. How to use the Blog to help the students from writing paragraphs to essays?
Teacher should encourage students to write their on-line journal as much as they can. First, students only can write a couple of sentences. Teacher can read and give positive feedback, “Good job! Keep on going!” Students will write more next times. The peer can review it, “Hey, awesome ideas!” They will keep on writing more and more sentences, to paragraphs, and to essays. Just step by step with a lot of encouragement and comments.
“Five Don’ts of Classroom Blogging” by Julie Sturgeon
In this article, Sturgeon discussed the rules on the blogging. There are five don’ts: just dive in, confuse blogging with social networking, leap at the freebies, force a sequential style, and leave the blogging to the student. I like the first rule most. The teacher should have a couple of early sessions with students to talk about the proper conduct. For me, this is like we learn the transportation rules before we really drive out vehicle on the road. It takes us some time to learn and master it. However, it is not waste time. On the contrary, we will get benefit from it in the long run. We can not just drive the mobiles on high way without any rules in our mind. That is definitely the last thing we want to do in this world. "The important thing is not to just jump in and blog, but spend the time letting students see samples, understand guidelines, and anticipate blogging and what it can mean to their learning," Anne Davis says. "The time you spend will pay off for you double when you get down to it, because they want to blog well.
On the other hand, there is one do in this article is: recognize what blogging can do for your students. Blog can help students stretch themselves from writing paragraphs to essays. In addition for the writing, students are very interested in working with image, video and music on the web blogging. Besides these benefits, blogging is more handy and efficient than our traditional writing. Students can explore, discover, and create more. They can simulate their plan and get the result right away.
In conclusion, I found there were many good ideas and suggestions included in this article. I am looking forward to apply these rules in my blog when I teach my students.
Questions…
1. How to set the detail rules on the blogging?
I think teacher should have good samples to demonstrate what teacher expects from the students. In the samples, they should include: the format, the way to put comments, and the text related content. If anyone abuses the blogging, he or she will lose the privilege to access the Blog for certain time.
2. How to use the Blog to help the students from writing paragraphs to essays?
Teacher should encourage students to write their on-line journal as much as they can. First, students only can write a couple of sentences. Teacher can read and give positive feedback, “Good job! Keep on going!” Students will write more next times. The peer can review it, “Hey, awesome ideas!” They will keep on writing more and more sentences, to paragraphs, and to essays. Just step by step with a lot of encouragement and comments.
Journal_3
“Speaking Math: Using Chat in the Multicultural Math Classroom” by Janet Graham and Ted Hodgson
In this article, Graham and Hodgson discuss the online discussion on math vocabulary and concepts. They use Moodle as their course management system (CMS) to facilitate the online discussion, synchronous chat rooms and asynchronous discussion forums. Electronic communication allows non-native speakers time to plan out their answers or use others’ responses as grammatical templates for their own ideas. “Students use ‘smile’ to refer to a concave-up parabola” Graham and Hodgson explain, “and ‘frown’ to refer to one that is concave down.” Online communication gives more practice opportunities to the non-native speakers and others who have difficulties with the language of mathematics. The students using online discussion improve themselves to use more math vocabulary than the students in traditional classrooms.
In conclusion, online discussion on math vocabulary is a good tool to use to help non-native speaker to learn the math easier. This online tool can also be used on other subject matters: science, English, history, physics and others. Students get benefits from this electronic communication tool.
Questions…
1. How to choose the questions?
Teachers should select the main and important concepts and vocabulary to discuss. This will clarify the misunderstanding or miscommunication. Every student will have a chance to promote deeper understandings of their math concepts or vocabulary after the discussion.
2. How to do the time control?
If give a big chunk of time to the students to chat on-line, it is easy to lose focus and out of the task. Teacher should assign the students for 15-minute computer session each period. This will allow the students to focus on their task only. Get on the computer and participate the discussion as much as they could. Then the student’s turn is up. Move to next step.
In this article, Graham and Hodgson discuss the online discussion on math vocabulary and concepts. They use Moodle as their course management system (CMS) to facilitate the online discussion, synchronous chat rooms and asynchronous discussion forums. Electronic communication allows non-native speakers time to plan out their answers or use others’ responses as grammatical templates for their own ideas. “Students use ‘smile’ to refer to a concave-up parabola” Graham and Hodgson explain, “and ‘frown’ to refer to one that is concave down.” Online communication gives more practice opportunities to the non-native speakers and others who have difficulties with the language of mathematics. The students using online discussion improve themselves to use more math vocabulary than the students in traditional classrooms.
In conclusion, online discussion on math vocabulary is a good tool to use to help non-native speaker to learn the math easier. This online tool can also be used on other subject matters: science, English, history, physics and others. Students get benefits from this electronic communication tool.
Questions…
1. How to choose the questions?
Teachers should select the main and important concepts and vocabulary to discuss. This will clarify the misunderstanding or miscommunication. Every student will have a chance to promote deeper understandings of their math concepts or vocabulary after the discussion.
2. How to do the time control?
If give a big chunk of time to the students to chat on-line, it is easy to lose focus and out of the task. Teacher should assign the students for 15-minute computer session each period. This will allow the students to focus on their task only. Get on the computer and participate the discussion as much as they could. Then the student’s turn is up. Move to next step.
Journal_2
“The Future of Education: learning while mobile” by Mark Van’t Hooft (Learning and Leading Technology, March 2008, pp13-16)
In this article, Hooft discusses the concept of Learning While Mobile. Learning While Mobile concerns the constant mobility knowledge and technology and the learners. This learning is personalized, learner-centered, situated in the space and time, and life long. It also provides a bridge between the formal and informal learning, and a bridge between the schools and society. For example, “Frequency 1550” is a project to merge formal and informal learning. The students simulate that they are the pilgrims in 1550 in Amsterdam and try to find a special relic. The students need to do teamwork to explore the history of the city and develop their own stories.
In conclusion, Learning While Mobile is a way to connect the schools and the society. It puts more control in learner’s hands, and allows the students to explore, create, and access new knowledge through media.
Questions…
1. How to keep the students concentrate on their projects?
Teachers should select the specific topic to narrow down the related knowledge. Because it is very easy to be overwhelmed by the endless on-line information from links to links, students can spend a couple of hours without getting any progress. Teachers should help students to keep on working on their tasks, and let them concentrate on their projects. Teachers need supervise and check the status more frequently to put all of the students on the right directions.
2. Will this Learning While Mobile replace our traditional learning in a classroom?
Although this concept of Learning While Mobile is very valuable and practical to the students, it will not replace the traditional learning in a classroom. It is a good tool to explore more informal learning and connect with society. However, it does not teach the basic skills such as: reading, writing and math. We can only use this as a supplemental tool and can not replace our traditional learning in the classroom.
In this article, Hooft discusses the concept of Learning While Mobile. Learning While Mobile concerns the constant mobility knowledge and technology and the learners. This learning is personalized, learner-centered, situated in the space and time, and life long. It also provides a bridge between the formal and informal learning, and a bridge between the schools and society. For example, “Frequency 1550” is a project to merge formal and informal learning. The students simulate that they are the pilgrims in 1550 in Amsterdam and try to find a special relic. The students need to do teamwork to explore the history of the city and develop their own stories.
In conclusion, Learning While Mobile is a way to connect the schools and the society. It puts more control in learner’s hands, and allows the students to explore, create, and access new knowledge through media.
Questions…
1. How to keep the students concentrate on their projects?
Teachers should select the specific topic to narrow down the related knowledge. Because it is very easy to be overwhelmed by the endless on-line information from links to links, students can spend a couple of hours without getting any progress. Teachers should help students to keep on working on their tasks, and let them concentrate on their projects. Teachers need supervise and check the status more frequently to put all of the students on the right directions.
2. Will this Learning While Mobile replace our traditional learning in a classroom?
Although this concept of Learning While Mobile is very valuable and practical to the students, it will not replace the traditional learning in a classroom. It is a good tool to explore more informal learning and connect with society. However, it does not teach the basic skills such as: reading, writing and math. We can only use this as a supplemental tool and can not replace our traditional learning in the classroom.
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