Media Presentation - Blogger

The following is a presentation featuring Blogger. Within Blogger I used other web 2.0 tools like Yodio and PicasoWeb from Google. This presentation was done through Screenr. I love the idea of Screener but didn't like the fact that I needed to make a twitter account. I had been against having a twitter account, and now I have one. 

Enjoy : )

Technologically Literate

In our virtual class (through Skype) we learned that it's a law for students to be technologically literate (at least in Oregon). It's a part of the nine standards to getting an Oregon Diploma.

Standard #6: Use technology to learn, live and work.
So what does that mean? Here are the standards: 

Creativity and Innovation
Communication and Collaboration
Research and Information Fluency
Critical Thinking, Prob. Solving and Decision Making
Digital Citizenship
Technology Operations and Concepts

In less complicated words being technological literate is to be able to understand and evaluate technology, not just how to use it. To not only know that a program exists, but know how to use it to your benefit and the benefit of your community. 

The International Technology Education Association (ITEA) proposes this definition: "Technological literacy is far more than the ability to use technological tools. Technologically literate citizens employ systems-oriented thinking as they interact with the technological world, cognizant of how such interaction affects individuals, our society, and the environment. Technological literacy is the ability to use, manage, assess, and understand technology. It involves knowledge, abilities, and the application of both knowledge and abilities to real-world situations. Citizens of all ages benefit from technological literacy, whether it is obtained through formal or informal educational environments."

When teaching a language technology can be a teacher's best friend. There's a lot of visual and listening tools. There are dictionaries, vocabulary enhancers, translation programs and pen-pal programs. Language books and novels in the target language are more accessible online. Learning about different countries is easier through the click of a button. To some other subjects incorporating technology might be difficult but definitely not for language teachers.

The following is the presentation that our professor used as we met online:

Analyzing Student Data in a Spreadsheet

We had the assignment to take the below average students from the second-half of tests and make a spreadsheet and a chart out of the information. We were also asked to analyze and look at any trends developing. I have had experience with spreadsheets before, excel to be exact, but it had been a while. It proved that I needed practice because it took me longer than what it should have. 

After taking a look at the chart it seems to me that the below average students are improving; it might be at a slower pace than the others but they are moving up. There's one student that stands out. And if it weren't for the chart I probably wouldn't have noticed it. Katherine had a huge improvement in test seven but then plunged in test eight. I would have a talk with this student and figure out why the big plunge. 

My Favorite Web2.0 Tools

What are Web 2.0 Tools?

Wikipedia's definition: 

The term Web 2.0 is commonly associated with web applications that facilitate interactive information sharing, interoperability, user-centered design, and collaboration on the World Wide Web.

My definition:

Web 2.0 is the term used for all of the great sites and tools provided online to connect with people, share information and find resources. Sites that help organize your thoughts and aid in your productivity. The best part is that most of them are free!

Here are a couple of tools that I like:


Dropbox

It's part of the world of cloud computing. It's an application that you download to your computer that serves as a folder or in this case a box where you can store documents, projects and photos in your computer, but have the ability to access it from any other computer using the web. 

Example: I love it because my printer isn't compatible with my laptop, which is where I do most of my work. So I'll put the project or document in my Dropbox and then go to my home computer and print it from there without having to use a USB port.

Also, you can share your documents with other people. This would be great when doing a group project or if you want someone else to proof-read or edit something for you. As a teacher maybe you make a file with handouts or resources for your students, that way they can access them whenever they want.

Tokbox

If you're familiar with Skype than you'll know what this is about. Like Skype it's video-chatting and also text-chatting. You can do a group chat by inviting different people into the call. What's different and convenient about Tokbox is that you can access contacts from other sites like Facebook or your e-mail account. Also, it's not a program that you have to download and if a person doesn't answer you can leave a video message with I think it's really nice. Plus, you can do regular text-chatting in one place with people from different places. For example: I can chat with a contact from Facebook and a contact from my Gmail simultaneously in just one place versus switching from one place to another. 

As a teacher this would be good for video conferences regarding homework, projects, etc. You could create office hours for your students to reach you out of school.

Google Presentations

     Google Presentations, for those Microsoft Office users, is like Power Point. You can make a presentation using slides containing your information mixed with visuals (drawings, pictures, tables and videos). This is a great tool when doing group projects. The group can assign each person to work on a slide and once all slides are done one person can take on the final edit. It's easy to use and it's a great timesaver and everyone can access the presentation anywhere. 

      Our presentation came together in a manner of 10-15 minutes. We each did a slide, mine was the cover/title page. I also did the final editing of the project.