Kjones28’s Weblog

This blog started as a required class project and was a lot of fun.  As I moved on with my education, I neglected to even look at this blogsite.  Now that I have graduated (and have more time – lots in fact, since I don’t have a job), I am going to try to blog more often.  So, here goes.

TROPHY

The ageing, gray haired man

with the paunching belly smiled at

the young beautiful barbie on his arm

So Much Depends on

Economics

         For my digital project I elected to explain the use of the verbs lay and lie.  I intentionally decided to work alone so that I would be forced to work with the movie maker software.  I had been part of group movie maker projects before, but spent most of the time watching someone else actually arranged the material.  I felt I had a decent grasp on the process, much to my dismay this was not the case.

            I wanted to create a movie that I would potentially use in my classroom.  Thinking to start simple, I decided to create a grammar lesson.  The problem with this is most of the information becomes technical and it is really hard to supplement that with images that will stick out in the minds of the students, in other words it was hard not to be boring. 

            The movie maker software itself was another issue.  There is a big difference between watching someone else and doing it yourself.  I consider this process a great lesson in trial and error. Try something and if that doesn’t work figure out something else.  The first problem I had was converting the video from youtube into a format movie maker would import.  The first Zamzar request did not work, and it took three tries to get it right.  I googled movie maker tutorial and found a wonderful site that offered a video with instructions.  It is amazing what the right three little letters can do.

            I was especially apprehensive about using a voice over.  After working with audacity (which is great), I realized right at the end that movie maker has a microphone capacity built right in.  The biggest problem with the voice narration was getting the same volume level throughout.  After the fact, I realized that was what the graph in the program was for.  Arranging the information on the storyline was quite tedious, but I found myself so engrossed in the process that I lost track of the time.  I intentionally used as many different kinds of technologies as I could ( pictures, video, music, voice) in order to experiment with all the capabilities of movie maker, this was good and bad.  Good – because I had to figure out how to make all of them work, bad because I had to figure out how to make all of them all work. 

            While at times I was extremely frustrated, I am glad I forced myself to go it alone.  The only way you really get competent with technology is to jump right in and work it out.  I am not totally pleased with my finished project, but I learned so much about the process that it was well worth the anxiety.  I know it will get easier each time I use this technology.  I believe this is a format I would use often in the classroom.  I just need to keep using it so I won’t lose it.

I am very fortunate to have been directly involved with the Apple technology project that Mabry received.  My daughter’s fifth grade teacher, Cissy Kale and her teacher friend at Mabry wrote the initial grant proposal that Apple responded to.  She received an ibook laptop for every student in the class along with a large stash of digital video equipment.  I was able to see first hand the difference this made in the classroom.  It also made a difference in the school as a whole because once other teachers saw what Mrs. Kale’s students were doing they wanted to do it too.  What was most important in this scenario is that the teacher was highly skilled with top notch computer knowledge.  She was able to pass this along to the students and transfer her proficiency to them.  Sadly, I believe this is what is holding most schools back when it comes to computer projects.  The teachers do not have the knowledge and skills needed with technology.  Therefore, they are hesitant to venture into the arena, especially when they feel the students know more than they do (rightly so, because most students do). This is why English 3241 is so important.  Unfortunately, until more current teachers feel confident and secure with technology they will not embrace the possibilities.  This is changing but slowly.I believe the bigger message in this video is the importance of a personal connection between the students, principal and teachers, and the value of meaningful school work.    A principal who is on a first name basis with his students can be hard to find, especially in a school with a large student body like Mabry.  The video projects all involve team work which makes for important social connections for the students. This sense of community in the school environment works to everyone’s advantage.  It is easy to see the results when the students are actively engaged with a meaningful project.  While technology is great, not all schools will be able to provide what Mabry has.  This should not deter schools from impacting the students with meaningful projects.  There are other ways to foster the same sense of ownership and involvement in learning.  The big question is why aren’t more teachers doing this?  If we know it is better then why are we not seeing the changes that should be taking place?  In fact, with all the emphasis on testing schools see to be moving farther away from the school 2.0 model.  I do feel it is important to note that Mabry Middle School is located in a very affluent area where money and parental involvement is high.  For the most part, these students have advantages the average school does not.  That being stated, this does not mean the school 2.0 model could not be implemented at all schools, it just means that it will not be as easy.

You know you have been around a long time when something old becomes new again.

This made me smile.

This is an experiment to see if I can actually do what is instructed.  So, here goes. First, cool colors – red, blue, green - neat huh?  How about underline, yep, I can do that too. Strike through - high tech    Can I really embed a photo?  Look and see.

  I can not believe I actually did it!

Now for a video

I do not believe this will work, but those around me say it will. So, here goes.

This is my son’s band, Velvet Runway.  They play in downtown Athens a lot.

I can relate on a very person level to Will Richardson’s point in the first chapter of Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts, and Other Powerful Web Tools for Classrooms. I have often remarked to my coworkers that the changes in technology from my birth to now are as drastic as those my great grandmother went through in her life.  She was born with the only transportation being the four legged variety and lived to see the space shuttle launch.  There is a huge difference, though.  The changes in my lifetime are happening at warp speed.  If someone had told me in grammar school that in my lifetime the ability to see the person you were chatting with all the way across the globe in live time would come to pass, I would have refused to believe it.  It seemed totally science fiction.  Yet, here it is.  My biggest challenge has been to keep up.  Technology progresses faster than I can comprehend.  It seems the younger generations have no problem keeping up, and I just get farther and farther behind.  I watch as my children surf, text, chat, and connect with others and feel extremely left out of the loop.  I am very excited as I know this class will change that for me.

I agreed most fervently with the author that technology offers exciting new opportunities to involve students in the learning process.  I do not believe this is optional, I think it is imperative.  The real world demands it.  Education has to keep up and fully engage in the Read/Write Web.  It is extremely frustrating for veteran teachers to have to ask students how something is done on the computer or to “straighten” out the teacher’s computer problem.  However, that is not the student’s problem.  School systems need to insure teachers have access to technology instruction to better offer students the opportunities to utilize the Read/Write Web they not only need, but deserve.  The world is changing and we all need to keep up.

This is my first attempt at blogging.  For a 49 year old female,  just learning computer lingo and applications ,this is a big deal.  I am not really sure I would have ever explored the blogging world if not for this assignment.  Thank you, professor – I have learned something new today.