Website Creation

Well, I officially started my website.  I originally thought I would be creating my future classroom website, but after thinking about it realized that I wouldn't have my WOU directory forever (and even if I did, I probably wouldn't use it in my professional life).  Therefore, I made a last minute decision to just go ahead and create something visual for fun.

I tried to think of subjects that would fit well with the 5-link requirement.  I wanted to find an interesting subject that would have enough (but not too much) information.  A lot of my initial thoughts had too much that would have to get left out with only 5 links, and I didn't want to take on the responsibility of more than 5 if I found myself overwhelmed.  I finally settled on the seasons of the year.

I ran into a couple snags as I worked with Dreamweaver, but those were more my errors than anything.  Despite thinking I was saving everything in the correct category, I wasn't.  Dreamweaver itself turned out to be pretty "unscary".  And this is coming from the girl who was D-R-E-A-D-I-N-G this week's project.

I was happy to learn that I didn't actually have to do any real code-writing.  The program pretty much takes care of that for me.  I even found that there were some features I really liked, like the ability to drag the button next to the "link" box right to my desired destination, rather than writing it in.

At the very least, I think this opportunity has made the idea of website formation a lot less scary for me.  I definitely needed a push in this direction, and even if I don't ever use it, my confidence has grown.  On the flip side, I can certainly see myself creating a class website someday.  I really like the idea of not having someone else own my website and the information included.  If I ever do create a class website, I would want the rights to be my own, so that I know in the long run I am the one in control of all my work.

Dreamweaver

Well, this week we are starting our website project.  Dreamweaver is officially intimidating me. I'm definitely not a "codewriting" type of girl when it comes to the internet.  I remember dealing with code back when I had a MySpace page.  Even when it was handed to me I hated it.  I always wanted to change or tweak one little thing, and it would bug me forever if I couldn't figure out where to pull some of the info out.  I find myself preferring the canned website builders.  Too much technological freedom is not my forte.

I really like the site (JimDo) I was able to begin building on this week.  I was given enough freedom to personalize my elements, but also enough help in structure and formatting.  My goal is to create a classroom site, as I dream of having one as a future teacher.  The one I have coming along I'm actually quite happy with.  Although I don;t like the domain name I chose, and I'm bummed about that.

I'm hoping the code-writing begins to feel easier.  I don't know if I'll (ever) have access to Dreamweaver outside of this classroom, so I am a little worried about being able to utilize the information I am learning.  And I feel like if I don't use it regularly, I will quickly forget it.

Something that stuck me after class was also the fact that the website will be on the WOU server.  Does that mean I won't be able to access it after graduating?  Because that leads me to believe that the JimDo approach might be more handy for me in the long-run as well.

I guess we shall see.  Who knows, maybe this time next week I will be gushing about how much I love Dreamweaver!  Crazier thing have happened =)

IPads, IPods, and other 'I's

Working with the IPads and IPods for classroom use always leaves me feeling a bit mixed.  While I love all the ideas and great apps there are available for educating students, I have yet to be in an elementary school or classroom that actually has them for student use.  And given the way educational budgets seem to be continually (read: shrinking), it seems even less likely that I will encounter them.  At least in the near future.  And if they do come around in the far future, I'm sure technology will have changed so much that the information I have will be completely outdated.

That being said, I think they can be a fantastic way to not only bring technology to children's fingertips, but also some fabulous apps.   I know on my own IPad I am learning Spanish and doing other fun (sometimes educational) things.  And I'm weird about putting all kinds of apps on mine.  Others I know that got their IPad around the same time as me have a TON on stuff on there's.  Perhaps after returning from Argentina I'll be more likely to add stuff.  I'm trying to keep my memory clear for pictures, pictures, pictures!

Our group did a fun little lesson plan about the different types of clouds.  We utilized a finger painting app for the kiddos to draw and label clouds with.  The possibilities are endless with drawing apps.
I enjoyed the opportunity to play with the Smartboard.  I'd really, really like more time and expertise on that.  I know the school I'm currently working in has them.  I have yet to see my mentor teacher use hers, and wonder if it's for lack of knowledge.  How cool it would be if I could use it in my lessons!!!!

Podcasts

For some reason, I found working on the podcasts to be a little overwhelming.  I love the idea of podcasts themselves, and am really glad this class forced me to explore them.  Looking at the ones on Itunes was incredibly helpful, and I can definitely see myself utilizing them in various ways in the classroom.  I would like to become more familiar with them, and perhaps find a few that I really like and can subscribe to.

In terms of creating my own, the process ended up stressing me out a bit (and I don't really know why).  I immediately had an idea of the topic I wanted to explore, and set to work on creating my little podcast.  As is often the case with me, I am a royal under estimator of time.  I created a script to read from, because I HATE recording my voice, and without the words in front of me would have just flubbed each one.  After I finished my read through (with numerous errors).  I was at 4 minutes 30 seconds.  Way over the 2-3 minute mark.  And I had thought I had 1 minute 30 seconds tops.

The process of cutting out pieces was tough, as it always is once you've settled on a draft.  And I basically had to cut more than half mine out.  Then, I had to go back and cut out wording mistakes and pauses that went on for too long (anything I could do to cut my time).  Once that was all said and done, my pictures were all off.  Some didn't fit at all in the new script, and I needed to find others so that extensive periods of time would not be spent on just one or two within the podcast.  Grrrr.  I was incredibly aggravated at this point!

The part that actually went quite smoothly for me was inserting the soundtrack.  I had thought that might me a toughie, but I immediately found one I liked.  It was shorter than my podcast, but splicing an extra part onto the end went quite effortlessly, and I found that on my first run-through of the finished product that I didn't even hear the splice.

Overall, I don't know if the creation of podcasts is in my future, but the utilization of existing ones definitely is.  They would be a nice thing to utilize at learning stations as well as introducing and completing lessons.  And as a visual person, I'm hoping I might find one or two reoccurring ones that inspire me to continue in the passion and energy I have in my approach to teaching.

Fake Websites

Okay, so I know fake websites are out there.  We've all seen them.  I use Snopes on a regular basis to yell at various email contacts (sadly, usually family members) who forward me trash disguised as religious, political, or otherwise shocking news. 

I'm a parent, too.  I know there's a lot of scary stuff out there that is attempting to make its way into my children's lives.  Nevermind the commercial crap. 

The website that really freaked me out today was the MLK one. 

WWW.martinlutherking.org

It sounds SO legitimate!  It's a .org, for crying out loud!  It contains a poignant picture of his, and is set up to look very informative and factual.  A great place to send kiddos for research, right?

WRONG!

The stuff is pure crap.  And I'm scared that I could have easily fallen for it.

I definitely learned a lot here.  As a future teacher, I will only be allowing my students to explore websites I have THOROUGHLY checked out.  And for myself, I really need to up my own filters.  I probably would have seen the url address, and been pretty comfortable with the .org.  And because the initial look of the homepage is not obviously horrific (no big words talking about MLK in a derogatory way), I might have okayed this site. 

Big wake up for me!  This stuff is really scary, and as a future teacher I need to be prepared, informed, and ready to guide.

Using Google Earth

This was an informative assignment for me.  I have used Google earth before, of course.  Haven't we all, searching for our houses and looking at our neighbors backyards (oops, maybe that's just me).  Anyway, it's always been a pretty fun process for me, very visual.  Although I do get a twinge of motion sickness when flying around.  I guess I'm not much of a world traveler ;P

Anyway, the hardest part for me with this assignment was dealing with the web code.  Web code FREAKS ME THE HECK OUT!  It's so precise and detailed.  And I have big fingers.  I constantly type one little mistake (okay, lots of little mistakes).  Spell checker is my lifeline.  I don't have that with web code.  If I type one little error, my link, embedded image, or color just isn't going to work (and people are probably going to be able to see my messed up code).

Because I finished up my Imovie in class the day we learned about this assignment, I ended up working on the Google Earth project on my own in the lab yesterday (Monday).  Without the guiding help of our instructor, I was incredibly terrified.  I inched through the instructions, piece by piece, sure I was going to get to the end and realize I had made a fatal error that I had no idea how to fix.

When I got to the end (after hours and hours, jk), it was time to save it.  TERROR #2.  I'm not comfortable with saving on these Apple computers, nevermind the shared computers which will erase everything on the desktop when you log off.  I did end up getting it saved properly (I think).  The lesson of this assignment was??????  Jessie, stop being such a fraidy-cat, get out there and explore!

In terms for integrating this into my future classroom, I can certainly see myself creating a tour for my students.  I think it would be fun to create ones of both Oregon and the world around them.  With today's shrinking budgets, our field trips have been drastically cut.  Kids aren't getting out and exploring the world as a general part of their schooling.  It's all in-class stuff.  Google earth would be a fun way to bring a little bit of the field trip to them (this kills my sense of adventure and hands-on exploration, but it's better than nothing).

And of course, how many of our students are actually going to get to explore the world?  Creating a tour of Egypt, Africa, or the oceans of the world is not only a great way to bring those concepts to them visually, but also to help them establish a sense of geographical navigation.  As a visual person myself, I can't tell you how many geography items I learned and could recite back verbatim on a test, yet would be hard pressed to actually point them out to you on a globe.  It also helps students to make connections.  Understanding the names of what countries were allies and enemies in a world war is one thing,  Looking at their size and physical relationships to one another is another. 

Working with Imovie

Alright, if I though I was hesitant with Photoshop, then I was absolutely terrified of using Imovie. I have a history of trying out different slideshow and movie-making softwares. My experience is this: purchase or start using a new software spend hours upon hours fumbling through its features start a project spend at least 1 hour trying to get each individual component to work get frustrated and start crying end up with a few minutes of usable yet highly dysfunctional footage after 60+ hours of work

You get my drift. My history has been one wrought with pain, suffereing, and feelings of inadequacy. therefore, you can understand my fear of Imovie. I tend to be a perfectionist, so the idea of creating something with a specific time constraint, blended shots, and a soundtrack sounded like weeks of work.

 As our group began filming, I felt excited at our vision. Then I felt dismay at the idea that we'd probably never get a project out like the one in my head. I have to say, working with Imovie was MUCH less stress than I had anticipated. We didn't have the opportunity to use it directly after instruction, so we did find ourselves struggling to remember specific features a bit. But overall, the 30 second clip came together quite smoothly. I was even impressed how fun it was to drag little clips up into the project, and then play them together. It looked pretty darn good before we even did anything with it!

Overall, I think we came out with a pretty nice end product. There are little tweaks I might have made if given the time, but I think it looks pretty cool. I have a much better appreciation for all the little things that go into putting a movie together. For instance, when showing it to my family, I just want to keep stopping it to say "look at this blending" or "do you see how well the music fits in right there?"

Although I don't think I will be using a whole lot of Imovie with my elementary students, I am definitely encouraged to make some of my own movies for use in the class. I like how easy it is to create a polished looking clip, and think this would be a nice, visual way to get students interested in upcoming content.