Brittany3eryn’s Weblog

The last presentation I looked at for the K12 Online Conference was the presentation by Mark Wagner of California. He created a presentation under the Basic/Advance section in 2006 callled Wiki While You Work. He did a video presentation which he shot over numerous days all around his environment. His choice of creating an online presentation that was energetic and fun really captured me into what he was saying. He started off with the basics of wikis and explained the that they are peer edited spaces that are always changing. His example was of wikipedia. He explained why wikipedia worked so well and how they caught people who were tampering with the system. It helped illustrate how much control there is on a wiki and that it is a safe place for students and teachers to work on. He then explained how wikis are updated and had help from his wife to explain how the wiki works in her classroom and how much it has benefited her students. He then went into an explanation of how to set up a wiki and how to use it in your classroom. I really liked his set by set process and the way he started out so basically and gradually built. I also really liked the video he had, it gave me comfort seeing a face there and if I missed something I liked having the ability to rewind or pause. Overall it was a really good presentation, because before this I had no idea what a wiki really was or why a wiki would be beneficial to my classroom.

Last night I listened to Robert Karulas’s 2006 presentation about publishing your podcast with Taking It Global.  This was a short presentation with a lot of really important information.  This presentation was a perfect little step by step program about how to create and publish your class’s podcast online.  He went a little into the uses of podcasting and problems you may run across.  His presentation was quick but easy to follow and it felt very personal.  It seemed as though if you had a problem with it you could email or blog to him about your problem and he would be very happy to answer it for you.  It seemed he had a real love for podcasting and was very encouraging to anyone interested in using it.  His was not at all intimidating and was very basic.  All around a great presentation that would be useful to anyone who was interested in learning how to create there own podcast.

About two weeks ago we had three guest speakers come and talk to our class about how they use technology in the classroom and issues they have faced. First we heard from Darren Kuropatwa, a calculus teacher who uses technology to help his students teach themselves and others. I really liked that he allowed his students to share so much of their knowledge to help each other out. Not everybody can see one example and do the rest of the questions without discussion. I know in my calculus class, it really would have helped me if I would visually been able to see more questions be done and talk to other students so we could learn together. I was really inspired at all the ways he uses technology in his classroom, his students are getting a fuller educational experience because he is exposing them to new theories on learning and teaching. Our second guest speaker was Kathy Cassidy from Moose Jaw. She teaches grade one and has every student in her classroom using a blog. What I took away from her presentation was that in order to gain the cooperation you need from parents you need to explain why your doing the blog and how you will protect their children. I was really happy she talked about how she keeps her students safe on the internet because if you don’t have a plan to tell parents, I don’t think the cooperation levels would be as high as she has in her room. Our final speaker was Clarence Fisher from Manitoba. He teaches middle years and had a very unique idea about how education best works in his classroom. He has a very comfortable room that all his students would love to come to. My favorite part about his talk was that he allows the education that his students learn every year to build upon itself so that students are not starting from scratch and they can learn more and dig deeper every year. I really liked this new take on education because most times as students we are expected each year to start fresh and learn from ourselves, but imagine how much more we could learn if we were building upon previous information. I was really struck by his teaching philosophy and I think it would be something I would like to try when or if I am ever in a middle or high school classroom.

For ECMP 355 we have classrooms across the world in which we blog with. One of the classes that I blog with are Mrs. Knee’s KinderKids in New Hampshire. I am having so much fun blogging with the class. I am able to ask the students questions, see what they are learning about, and see all there special projects that they are doing. Today we got to talk together on Skype. The KinderKids had a webcam and toured me around there classroom and many of the students made some beautiful things to show me. One of the KinderKids, told me a story about lepracons and how the lepracons came to his house yesterday and made a mess of a bed he had just made. Ryan and some of the other students had to set out lepracon traps so the lepracons would not cause them anymore trouble. The students also had a list of questions to ask me, like my favorite thing to do, my favorite animal, my age, and my favorite food. We learned that one of the KinderKids and I have the same favorite foods, cheese pizza and ice cream. The KinderKids also toured me around their classroom so I could see where they go to school. It was such a fun experience and I was blown away that I could have such a strong connection with a group of students who are so far away. I think today was the day that I really understood just how powerful technology can be in the classroom and how important a social network really is. Talking through Skype with the KinderKids was an awesome experience that I hope I can one day infuse in my classroom.

Here is a map of my shopping trip I will be taking the end of April with a couple of my sister’s.  Should be fun!

I was watching the news last night and they had a profile about a school in Calgary where all of its students are elite athletes and Olympic competitors of some kind. The school was set up in 1994 and has turned out many of Canada’s most successful athletes. The school relies heavily on technology since many of there students have off hours due to training and are in competitions throughout the world at numerous times of the year. Many of the classes are online and the teachers are always available to the students. The students at the National Sport School all do very well in there academics and there training alike and they say that the fact that they can access there classes all the time takes a lot of stress out of there academic lives.
This story greatly interested me because of the technological aspect but also because of the students that attend this school are so dedicated both to their sport and their academic success. I am also fascinated at the amount of time and effort the teachers put into making sure there students are successful. They do not only have to make sure that they are available to there students at all times, but they have to make sure they are on top of the technology so there students are getting the best online education they can, something we all know from this class is no easy task. I would really like to learn more about this school and the way that the students balance both such hectic athletic schedules and a high academic standing. I would also be interested to know how the teachers maintain a strong relationship with there students who are very often absent and unable to meet at the same time online. One last question is how did teachers and students work together when the school first opened in 1994 and technology was not as adaptable as it is today?

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I have just listened to a a few different podcasts. I think I have three favorites, the running room, runner’s world, and The Hour with George Stroumboulopoulos. I really liked listening to the hour because it is a really good political show that asks different questions then most political shows and gives many different types of people a voice. I also like it because The Hour comes on my TV at eleven at night, usually a time where I am in bed. I like that I can listen to it at any time and its a good talk show because I don’t feel you need a visual to understand what is going on. Another one I subscribed to was the Running Room’s podcast, I really liked to tips it had and it caught my eye because it is from a store that I trust that I feel is run by runners so they can understand and they have the same thought process as other runners. My only complaint about that one is that there is only one, I can’t seem to find any more by The Running Room, maybe they decided podcasting wasn’t for them, which I truly hope is not the case. The other one I subscribed to was Runner’s World. I listened to one about the Boston Marathon. I found it really interesting because I would one day like to run a marathon, and I always knew Boston was famous but I didn’t know why and this informed me as so why it is so important on the marathon circuit. They seem to have many more great ones, I want to listen to one about the New York City Marathon, but haven’t had a chance to yet. So overall for anyone who has a passion for running or needs motivation to get going I would subscribe to Runner’s World and if your interested in contemporary politics, The Hour is very enlightening. I think this may have become my new obsession, downloading different podcasts, just one question do you have to subscribe to it every episode or will they just automatically come onto your itunes as they are updated? Also I wanted to download another one Yoga Today which gives you a new yoga episode everyday but it seems there is a problem with it and it won’t download on my itunes any suggestions as to how to make this work?

If anyone watched the news today, or much less turned on the TV you would know today in the States is what is being referred to as Super Tuesday 2. I am a bit of a common events nerd and have been watching the primaries closely, especially the fight between Obama and Clinton. Officially as of right now Obama has won Vermont but looks like Clinton has won Ohio and Rhode Island. She needed to win two states to keep in the race for Democratic leadership. She was after Texas, and many thought the state was hers due to the large Hispanic vote which she had wrapped up. Texas is a little too close to call right now, as Obama has 51 and Clinton somewhere in the high 30’s or 40’s. It looks like the Democratic’s will have to fight out a little longer when Pennsylvanian goes to the polls next month. It is a tight race full of drama, but keeps me interested. Personally I am stumping for Obama, I appreciate his attitude and his honesty. While if Clinton won, I would not be disappointed to see a women with such a potentially powerful role.

On the Republican side, it is confirmed, John McCain has won and will now be running for president for the Republican’s. Another interesting political story, he is the comeback kid. He has been patient and tireless in his fight for the leadership. I guess the next few months will be filled with more political campaigning, it will be interesting to see who it is McCain will be running against, Clinton or Obama? Any thoughts?

Hey Guys,

I just finished up my mastercard commercial and I want to post it on my blog, but it says file is not secure.  Anyone else having this problem or does anyone know how to fix it?   Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Thanks