In regards to Blogging...

I find that through blogging an individual is able to express themselves and voice their opinion. However, I do feel that blogging could be done in a manner that displays more feedback and encourages more discussion between bloggers. Even for our class I know that it wasn't as easy as I would have hoped that it was for me to avidly blog. I wasn't as engaged in the blogs of everyone in my class. I did not feel like I was an essential part of the blogging world. Maybe that is why many users like it though? Because it is not as intimidating when comments are somewhat private and not displayed along with the blog? I'm not quite sure what need to be or even could be done but it seems like this format could be revamped and create a community where students are actively involved in discussing what they are doing now, what they did before, and what they have left to do. I still believe that blogging could be very effective in a middle school classroom and am excited to incorporate it into a unit and see what/how they were able to do with it.

Virtual Worlds

When I think back to some of my first interactive computer programs I think of Instant messenger as being the first computer program that encouraged me to spend more than 1 hour at a time on the computer. Virtual Worlds creat an environment that keep people at their computers for hours on end! Although the virtual worlds that we are learning about are much more complex now it is very interesting for me to see that they were based on online chatting services. The site below mentioned MUSH wich is a very old program.Mush

Wiki Def.
href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wikki/Virtual_world">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virtual_world

An example of a virtual world:
http://secondlife.com/whatis/

Here's an interesting class project that uses virtual worlds:
http://moses.creighton.edu/vr/

Wikis

Wikis seemed to have a format that was a little less acccessible and I was a bit overwhelmed by how many options there actually were for wiki instalationSo again, I looked for advice online and the "Wiki Matrix" seemed to have most of my questions answered in this question and answer section...
http://www.wikimatrix.org/forum/viewtopic.php?id=394&action=new

In this site's discussion I really enjoyed the format of the class discussion and having all of the posts that were in regards to this issue and how the viewer can see a large amount of information and how it is connected to the original question.

http://www.brightlycoloredfood.com/2004/01/14/wiki-advice-wanted/

Other Sites that may help:
http://katrinahelp.info/wiki/index.php/Recovery_Relocation_Advice

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virtual_world

Podcasting

As I prepared to create my podcast I researched online to try and find advice on creating a podcast. However, what I found was many interesting sites that did not include advice on podcasts, but rather they were advice on specific topics. I thought that navigating through podcasts was a bit more difficult to find the specific material that I was researching. This made me question if avid Podcasters had considered making a navigation system through the process of podcasting and podcast "types" / categories. It seems as though podcasts are always connected to something. What if there was a directory for a specific type of podcast on a given subject?


One good piece of advice that I found from "Podcasting Advice from Spencer Critchley"was the below comment that I found useful...

Another skill podcasters can learn from radio is how to write for the ear rather than the eye, Critchley says. “There's a lot to unlearn about writing long, multi-clause, abstract sentences like we're taught in school,” he explains. “Instead, radio writers write short, active-voice sentences using concrete nouns, punchy verbs, and very few adjectives or adverbs.”


This is an interesting idea incorporating a lot of what we talked about in class...
http://www.blogarithms.com/?n=Main.AudioProcessing


Another tip that many sites had was to include video with your podcast. And this may be a very good idea for some types of podcasts...
http://videos.webpronews.com/2006/11/16/podcamp-podcasting-advice-with-chris-brogan/

Tech Frustrations

So, as I'm finishing my final projects for ENGL 579 I have come across a few frustrations...

1. I'm having a problem with passwords. I've been forewarned about changing my passwords in order to make sure my accounts are all secure and to avoid people trying to break any codes. Therefore, I use several different passwords for several different accounts and recently, with the virtual worlds page especially, I have encountered frustrations with my password not being accessed and frantically trying to attempt my others. This frustration was due to my account not working properly. The numerous passwords that I currently have just made things a little more complicated. Just wanted to note that consolidating my amount of passwords may be a good idea...

2. I am trying to scan photos for my iMovie and transfering them onto the Mac computers has been a very difficult task. As soon as I figure this out I will let everyone know... However, if anyone is skilled in scanning photos and transfering them onto programs such as iMovie please let me know.

On a side note I find it very interesting to use old photos from my grandparents that are not accessible on CD's. Today we are so familiar with digital photography and automatically putting photos onto a CD and having them computer accessible. I have never used a scanner before, I've never had to, and I'm curious to see what the prices and availability of scanners will be in years to come...

English and Technology

After listening to actual instructors speak about implementing the technology tools that we have become familiar with in their own classroom I find myself becoming very excited of the thought of being an educator that is skilled in the world of technology. Before taking English 1100 and English 5790 I was very stubborn about the use of technology and personally felt very discouraged to try to implement technology in a lower ed classroom.

Coming from a small, rural town, my middle school provided the bare minimum of technology and the one single brand new computer lab that was used by every single class within our school. Time was very limited and only the computer technician was familiar with what technology had to offer.

Now, I am inspired to not only implement, but to also make sure that technology is available for me to use. I am excited about teaching my students that the "mouse potato" world that they will have grown up in can make learning more entertaining. I am excited to show them that their interests, intellect, and hard work can be displayed and viewed with just the click of a button. Many young students are already more skilled in the world of technology as me. But through continued education and a lot of time spent with different programs I hope to become an educator of technology as well.

I hope to teach middle school students how to enrich literature and writing with technology. I want to experiment with different learning styles. I want to use technology to enrich my English/Language Arts classrooms.

Digital Stories and Family History

If I can get this digital story program working so that I am able to access it enough I am very excited to use this system for my final project. I have always been excited about the thought of incorporating family history, photos, and stories in the classroom and making actual productions out of these stories. After speaking with a friend about how fortunate we are to still have four grandparents with us I have been thinking more and more about this type of lesson in my future classroom. Not only because I believe that young students need to become more aware of their family's history but also because that this type of assignment could help the younger generations respect their elders and hopefully invest more time into the history of things. So many young students are lost in a world that they have the slightest idea about its depth, its people, and where we are now. With war affecting more and more people in a very direct mannor I find family history and stories to be so very important. I hope that through digital story telling I can give my best effort in this attempt.

RSS Feeds and Blogging in the Classroom

When I think of RSS Feeds I think of it being a bit too advanced for an elementary level student. I don't believe that this is something that I would personally want to untilize in a lower level classroom. However, in middle school I believe that RSS feeds and blogging are the types of technology that would excite students. Especially when considering blogging, I think that this is the type of writing that will allow students to express themselves and share their voice with others. Much like daily journals and quickwrites blogging could be an up to date tool that students may find more appealing and in turn could lead to RSS feeds. I really enjoyed the examples of audio advertisements for books. I can see middle school students finding this type of project very interesting.

The Blog Blog

I find myself surprised when I think about the fact that Blogging is something that I enjoy. Although it could be considered a journal for some users I have found it very interesting to see how a class dynamic can grow through the use of blogs as a form of communication with the main topics being those discussed in class. Instead of giving face-to-face advice, feedback, criticism, and praise blogging can create a world that is much more comfortable to some students. By taking away the confrontational/intimidating factor that peer interaction may cause to some students blogging allows for such students, particularly introverts, to come alive through writing. After using blogs as communication in ENGL 1100 last semester I already have some experience realizing how articulate and intellectual my most quiet and reserved peers truly were. The thought of how blogging can be a tool to me as a teacher to reach out to students who may not display as much participation in classroom discussion, but eagerly share and grow with their peers on-line is very exciting to me. Also, blogging can be a place for students to grow as writers without the boundaries and criticisms that grammar may present. Through blogging students can write about how they feel and things that they've discovered without extra worries that they may have in an English class. This also is creating history. History is created mainly by written documents if you ask me and what a wonderful way for people, especially educators, to look back on today 20 years from now and see what a college English classroom was like. Maybe they'll be looking at this blog?

I Googled "blogging" and found Wikipedia's definition with history. It stated:

"A blog is a user-generated website where entries are made in journal style and displayed in a reverse chronological order. Blogs often provide commentary or news on a particular subject, such as food, politics, or local news; some function as more personal online diaries."

I found this to be accurate to my experience with blogs for the most part. Then when I read into the history I, at only 22 years old, felt like I was of the "old" generation. There werepeople that I referred to as "out of the loop" and "uncool" in high school and now high schoolers are probably doing the same to me. I've said it before and I'll say it again, technology changes everyday and unless you update your own knowledge daily it seems as though you'll become "old" when considering technology. The part of the history that really got to me was the date in 1999 where "blog" was first coined.

"The term "weblog" was coined by Jorn Barger on 17 December 1997. The short form, "blog," was coined by Peter Merholz, who jokingly broke the word weblog into the phrase we blog in the sidebar of his blog Peterme.com in April or May of 1999.[3][4][5] This was quickly adopted as both a noun and verb ("to blog," meaning "to edit one's weblog or to post to one's weblog")."

Almost a decade has gone bye since "blog" was first coined and I am just now experiencing it for the first time! I need to get with the program(s) and start updating myself in new technology. I want to keep up with my future students. In fact, I want to be one step ahead of them. I want to feel "young" when it comes to technology for a change. I need quite a bit of work yet, but I think that I'm on my way.

Being a "Techie"

Technology has always intimidated me. I've always been the last to sign up for any trend that includes technology. Email, Instant Messaging, on-line banking, Facebook, and web design I have put off learning as long as possible. However, after becoming acquainted with technology it has become a huge part of my lifestyle (although I still hate to admit it). By learning technology skills I have gained so much knowledge and now have a great deal of accessibility to any form of communication and/or information that I need. By the click of the mouse I can balance my check book, talk to a friend overseas, send photos to my grandmother, and much, much more! Although this is common sense to anyone who has grown up in my generation here, I still find these cell phone/iPod/computer/Internet devices (all in one) to be foreign. It blows my mind to see how fast technology has advanced. Just recently I was listening to my Pastor speak about how in the past SIX years technology has advanced three times as much as it had from the beginning of our earth to the year 2000!! That's crazy to think how fast computers and such are flying of the shelves to be replaced by a completely new model. I am curious to see what my students will have accessible to them in years to come. I also hope that through this class, and more confidence, as far as technology goes I will become much more educated about it and be able to utilize this in my classroom.