For the assignment this week I thought that I would explore around Prezi.com. I knew that it was a different way to make a presentation but had no clue how to use it. I wanted to see how easily I could use it in my math class.
First I had to sign up for an account. I signed up for the educators package which let me upgrade to the second step of the program. I then watched the tutorial video on the site and found out it is so easy to make. You just click on the screen and type in what you want. You can then click on the words and a zebra circle shows up to make your words bigger or smaller and also to turn them. I played around with it for a while and discovered how to group things together and to make the path of my presentation. I could not figure out how to make it auto play, but I did not think that was a big deal. The program even had some backgrounds to use so it is not all boring white. You can also add in pictures and videos. I had no idea that you could add in videos. One other thing I could not figure out was how to do a voice over. I figured if I really wanted to do that I could use the Jing program that we used last week.
There were a couple of problems that I had with it. First I tried to add in a video from youtube and it would not let me copy and paste the url into the box. So I had to type in the address myself. The other thing was I had some problems getting out of the presentation when I pressed play. After looking for a long time I found the exit button. Boy did I feel silly.
As I was trying to come up with a history lesson using the program I found myself thinking of my own class and how to use it. The program is so easy to use I think that my high school students could make one. In fact as I read about Prezi I saw that one mom had her kindergartener making a presentation to help with show-and-tell. I thought in my math class I usually have students make a pamphlet explaining some concepts. I thought this would be another great option to my original project. Who doesn't love to play on the computers. I also found a nice rubric making site to help me with the grading. It was called rubistar. It has many options to choose from, while you are still making your own rubric. What it does is gives you options of categories to grade that might apply to your project. If you choose one of their options then the descriptions for the grades automatically show up. You can also add in your own grading options but you have to type in the descriptions for the grades yourself. I think this is another cool site that I might use in my own classroom.
All in all I think that both of these web sites are great places for you to check out for your own classroom. If you would like to see I attached the Prezi presentation that I made to introduce you to it.
Thursday, February 24, 2011
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Teacher Tube
I found Jing very easy to use. It was easy to download and self explanitory. I just hooked up the mic and off I went. The web 2.0 tool that I chose to talk about was teacher tube. Here is my video on it.
Three other web 2.0 tools that looked cool are math tv. This is a site that is basically an online book. The cool part is all the videos that come with it. Without buying the book you have access to teachers explaining how to do different math problems. You can choose what teacher explains the problem and even some of them are in Spanish. Another one was prezi. It is a different way to make a slide presentation. It looks like the video we saw on facebook that we had to read words that were emphasized on a larger picture. One last web 2.0 tool that looked cool is Grockit Test Prep. This web site is a social network. This network is for studying. There are instructors online to help. You also have options to get tutoring, study in a group or study alone. There are quizzes that you can take and earn points. They advertise their SAT courses. This is not a free site. I signed up for 3 free days but if you want the full features you have to pay.
Three other web 2.0 tools that looked cool are math tv. This is a site that is basically an online book. The cool part is all the videos that come with it. Without buying the book you have access to teachers explaining how to do different math problems. You can choose what teacher explains the problem and even some of them are in Spanish. Another one was prezi. It is a different way to make a slide presentation. It looks like the video we saw on facebook that we had to read words that were emphasized on a larger picture. One last web 2.0 tool that looked cool is Grockit Test Prep. This web site is a social network. This network is for studying. There are instructors online to help. You also have options to get tutoring, study in a group or study alone. There are quizzes that you can take and earn points. They advertise their SAT courses. This is not a free site. I signed up for 3 free days but if you want the full features you have to pay.
Cloud Computing
I have heard this term on commercials and thrown around and really was not sure what it was. I watched several youtube videos and think I have an idea. We have now been used to uploading and making material on the internet. We now do not even have to save it to our computer. We trust that when we log back into the site our information will still be there. Where does it go? I really don't know but I think that it goes into this metaphorical cloud. That is what cloud computing is. All of the computers and SMART phones are now a network and our information is saved somewhere out there. The best explanation that I heard was that cloud computing does not include any hardware or software from our computer. It is like when we go to google docs. We do not have to download any program or have to access it from the same computer. Any computer has access to it and your document is always there. This means no more worrying if your computer dies and all your programs and saved information is gone. It will always be there.
Do I think that cloud computing is the same as web 2.0? I think that they intertwine but are not the same think. Web 2.0 refers to the interactivity. I can make something on the internet or post something and it can be changed by someone else or commented on. Cloud computing is referring to the network of information that is out there and accessible from any computer.
Here is a video I found that I thought was really good.
Do I think that cloud computing is the same as web 2.0? I think that they intertwine but are not the same think. Web 2.0 refers to the interactivity. I can make something on the internet or post something and it can be changed by someone else or commented on. Cloud computing is referring to the network of information that is out there and accessible from any computer.
Here is a video I found that I thought was really good.
Friday, February 11, 2011
Photo Story vs Animoto
First I would like to say that I really like Photo Story 3 much better than Animoto. I just like to make my video do what I want and look how I want. I did not feel that I had too many options on Animoto. I could not put any text over photos. I could not change how long a picture was up. The main thing that bothered me is I could not type very much in when I chose text and could not do voice overs. This is very important when you are trying to teach a math lesson. The one thing that I liked about this program was that I finished this assignment in about 30 minutes when the other one took about 4 or 5 hours. I think Animoto would be good if someone just wanted to upload pictures and have music put to it. The program did a good job of creating the whole video on their own. I really just like putting the details in myself.
I really liked Photo Story 3. It took me a lot longer to finish this video than the one in Animoto. I really liked all the details that I could put into this video. I especially liked that I could talk over my slides and keep them up as long as I thought it needed. This was especially helpful when I need to leave time for the student to read the slide or work out a problem. The only problem I had with this program was I had to come up with the background to type over when Animoto had ones to choose from. I really think that this is minor when it comes to all the other things that I like.
I think this program would be fun to put videos together of my family but I can also see how I could use it to teach a lesson at school. I used it to teach a pre-calculus lesson. I wanted to try it with an upper level math class lesson to see if it was applicable even with harder concepts. If I had the time this would be great to put into my school website for students that are absent or did not quite catch the lesson of the day. This would also work great for students in ISS. They could log on and hear my voice teaching the lesson. The only problem is it took so long to make this. I know I would not be able to do this for all of my lessons, but wouldn't that be cool.
I have embedded my Photo Story video for your enjoyment.
I really liked Photo Story 3. It took me a lot longer to finish this video than the one in Animoto. I really liked all the details that I could put into this video. I especially liked that I could talk over my slides and keep them up as long as I thought it needed. This was especially helpful when I need to leave time for the student to read the slide or work out a problem. The only problem I had with this program was I had to come up with the background to type over when Animoto had ones to choose from. I really think that this is minor when it comes to all the other things that I like.
I think this program would be fun to put videos together of my family but I can also see how I could use it to teach a lesson at school. I used it to teach a pre-calculus lesson. I wanted to try it with an upper level math class lesson to see if it was applicable even with harder concepts. If I had the time this would be great to put into my school website for students that are absent or did not quite catch the lesson of the day. This would also work great for students in ISS. They could log on and hear my voice teaching the lesson. The only problem is it took so long to make this. I know I would not be able to do this for all of my lessons, but wouldn't that be cool.
I have embedded my Photo Story video for your enjoyment.
Friday, February 4, 2011
Pi day podcast
Here is the podcast I made. It is about how I like to celebrate pi day, if anyone is interested.
The music used in this podcast came from audionautix.com.
The music used in this podcast came from audionautix.com.
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
My thoughts on copyright
I believe we are all teachers here and have been through the copyright professional developments. If you are anything like me you found it boring and stop paying attention after the first minute or two. I knew it was the wrong thing to do but there is so much to it. I also saw the fair use table in the copy room and never read it. I guess I am lucky that no one has ever checked on me.
Here is my understanding of copyright. There is a copyright on anything that is an original work, creative to a minimal degree and in a fixed or tangible form of expression. The copyright gives you the right to say how it is used. You can say how it is reproduced, distributed, make derivative works, public performance(tv and radio), and publicly display. If someone else decides to use your work they must have permission or pay royalties. The copyright lasts the life of the creator plus 7years.
There is no need to apply for a copyright anymore. As of 1978 any work created assumes these rights as soon as they reach tangible form. Before that year someone had to apply for a copyright. Also even if something does not say it is copyrighted you can assume that it is.
There is a difference between copyright, a patent and a trademark. They all do pretty much the same but apply to different things. A copyright applies to an original work of art or literature. A patent applies to something that is discovered or invented. A trademark is for words or a design that represents a company or product.
People are allowed to use these works of art if they follow the fair use policy. According to 10 Big Myths About Copyright, a copyright allows for commentary,parody, news reporting, research and education. Most teachers understand that if they just use a little portion of something then it is ok. There are 4 standards, according to Fair Use and Copyrights for Teachers, for determination of the fair use exemption. These are
1. Purpose of use: You can use small parts for specific educational use, especially if the copies are made spontaneously and used temporarily.
2. Nature of the work: Copying of paragraphs is ok but chapters are questionable.
3. Proportion/extent of the material used: Duplicating excerpts or segments that do not reflect the "essence" of the work.
4. The effect on marketability: It cannot create a reduction in sales.
I am not sure how I would approach this with students. The only thing that I found good for teaching was a video that I saw in my intro class last semester. It is a youtube video that explains copyright and fair use using small excerpts from Disney cartoons. The person explained they used Disney cartoons because that company has been known to sue for copyright quite often.
Here is my understanding of copyright. There is a copyright on anything that is an original work, creative to a minimal degree and in a fixed or tangible form of expression. The copyright gives you the right to say how it is used. You can say how it is reproduced, distributed, make derivative works, public performance(tv and radio), and publicly display. If someone else decides to use your work they must have permission or pay royalties. The copyright lasts the life of the creator plus 7years.
There is no need to apply for a copyright anymore. As of 1978 any work created assumes these rights as soon as they reach tangible form. Before that year someone had to apply for a copyright. Also even if something does not say it is copyrighted you can assume that it is.
There is a difference between copyright, a patent and a trademark. They all do pretty much the same but apply to different things. A copyright applies to an original work of art or literature. A patent applies to something that is discovered or invented. A trademark is for words or a design that represents a company or product.
People are allowed to use these works of art if they follow the fair use policy. According to 10 Big Myths About Copyright, a copyright allows for commentary,parody, news reporting, research and education. Most teachers understand that if they just use a little portion of something then it is ok. There are 4 standards, according to Fair Use and Copyrights for Teachers, for determination of the fair use exemption. These are
1. Purpose of use: You can use small parts for specific educational use, especially if the copies are made spontaneously and used temporarily.
2. Nature of the work: Copying of paragraphs is ok but chapters are questionable.
3. Proportion/extent of the material used: Duplicating excerpts or segments that do not reflect the "essence" of the work.
4. The effect on marketability: It cannot create a reduction in sales.
I am not sure how I would approach this with students. The only thing that I found good for teaching was a video that I saw in my intro class last semester. It is a youtube video that explains copyright and fair use using small excerpts from Disney cartoons. The person explained they used Disney cartoons because that company has been known to sue for copyright quite often.
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