OK, so I have had some ideas brewing in my head, and they are all coming out at once.
I decided to update our school's library website because it was crazy ugly, and not very useful. The problem was that we use Destiny for our main page. If you are familiar with Destiny, you will know that the site only allows you to barely edit the home page. You can write html into the introductory paragraph of the home page, and it will be displayed, but everytime I tried something even remotely interesting, Destiny would tell me that it could not display the page.
However, I solved the problem.
Before we go any further I'll show you what the site looked like before and what it looks like now.
Here is a link to our Elementary school library website. This is similar to what our site looked like before:
http://library.asd.edu.qa/common/welcome.jsp?site=100
Here is a link to the updated MS/HS Library page.
http://library.asd.edu.qa/common/welcome.jsp?site=101
To do this I created a frame and told the frame to display a different page. So, in other words, instead of trying to make the page on our Destiny homepage, I just told our Destiny home page to display a website with a different URL inside a window. I just adjusted the window to the proper size, so that it displays just as if it was part of the original Destiny page.
Here is the basic HTML code that you can throw in your own Destiny Home page introductory text:
OK, I just realized that if you post html code in the body of a blogger post it interprets the code and runs it. I will have to figure out how to show you the code without it interpreting the code.
All you would have to do is adjust the height and width to your liking and you are set to go.
I created my new site using iWeb, and published the site on the local school servers, so if you are in America, and the page loads a tad slowly, you know why.
Let me know what you think.
This was my way of getting around the extreme limitations of the Destiny Home Page.
Saturday, October 24, 2009
screencasting
Just a short post so I can share these two tools:
www.screentoaster.com
www.screencast-o-matic.com
They are both great sites which have the ability to capture video of your computer screen and record your voice through a built in microphone at the same time. I have begun doing screencasts of how to use the various library resources and tools. Both of the websites then allow you to host your video there, as well as host it on youtube, or download the video, so it can be added to a podcast or shared locally.
I have one posted on my youtube channel already. Just visit www.youtube.com/manlylibrarian and check it out.
These are great tools.
www.screentoaster.com
www.screencast-o-matic.com
They are both great sites which have the ability to capture video of your computer screen and record your voice through a built in microphone at the same time. I have begun doing screencasts of how to use the various library resources and tools. Both of the websites then allow you to host your video there, as well as host it on youtube, or download the video, so it can be added to a podcast or shared locally.
I have one posted on my youtube channel already. Just visit www.youtube.com/manlylibrarian and check it out.
These are great tools.
Youtube Channel
A class I am taking is making me consider all of the various technologies that I could possibly be using for the library. I have been a big user of podcasts over the last few years, but I have stumbled across some limitations. The greatest limitation is that many people don't know how to use podcasts. I have created online lessons, I have sent out sheets, I have given small lessons, and I have even done full presentations, but many people still refuse to allow it into their classrooms. It is seen as something new (even though it is pretty old at this point) and additional to their workload. This is why i have been experimenting with Youtube. I created a channel (www.youtube.com/manlylibrarian) and have been posting booktalks there in addition to posting them through my podcast, which I do through our school's blackboard account. Even though I host it on Blackboard, it is public and if you search for Doha in the iTunes store, you will find my podcast. The response I have recieved from the youtube channel has been overwhelmingly positive. I have recieved many more views, and it is easier to share the videos with students and parents.
As of right now, I am wondering what the benefit of even keeping the podcast when the Youtube Channel seems so much easier for the teachers, students, and parents. I would just have to create one last podcast telling my loyal subscribers to visit the youtube channel. Should I do this, or should I just keep posting the videos in both places?
As of right now, I am wondering what the benefit of even keeping the podcast when the Youtube Channel seems so much easier for the teachers, students, and parents. I would just have to create one last podcast telling my loyal subscribers to visit the youtube channel. Should I do this, or should I just keep posting the videos in both places?
Lack of competition a good thing?
It's been a while since I have posted to the blog, and I had not noticed that when blogger stopped working over here for a day or so, it copied a post 4 times. so, ignore the last three posts.
Anyway, I was working on some thoughts for my educational tech class, and my brain happened across this idea which I posted in a discussion board there.
One of the most valuable features of the internet is the fact that new technologies can be implemented and spread so rapidly. Also, it is set up in such a way that a small company can become huge if they develop the proper tool at the right time. However, this quickness in change and development is one of the greatest weaknesses in the design--you always have to learn something new and abandon your old tools to stay up to date. Now that there are a few larger comanies such as Google, we see certain tools being adopted more universally. Not just because the tech is stable, but because since they are already huge, you can be somewhat certain that people from other companies and schools are using the same tech. We can teach Google Docs and other Google apps because it is actually being used in the real world. But as more and more people adopt these tools, the more difficult it will be for new tech and new tools to become popular. It's not just one or two people that have to change or adopt a new technology, it is the whole world at this point. Think of the evolution of social network websites. The first popular one was Friendster. It was usd mostly by college and high school kids. Then people moved to Myspace. The same kind of people used Myspace that used friendster, but it was easier to use and had many more features. But then came Facebook, and there is now almost universal adoption of this technology/website. Each social network improved on the last, but there was not a huge adoption of the tech until Facebook came. Now, can you imagine how hard it would be for a new social network to become as popular. I can't think of a new social network replacing Facebook. Facebook will just have to change and adapt over time. It's become its own upgradeable platform. The only thing I see overthrowing it would be a new kind of technology that replaces social networks entirely.
Now, as Google Apps and Google docs become more widely used, the more difficult it will be for a new competing website or tool to become popular. There is less and less competition, and in ways that is bad for technology and its advancement as a whole, but it is kind of good for schools that need stable tools that they can count on being used for more than 2 years.
What do you think? Is a lack of competition actually a good thing for schools? Is it good in the short term, but bad in the long term future?
Anyway, I was working on some thoughts for my educational tech class, and my brain happened across this idea which I posted in a discussion board there.
One of the most valuable features of the internet is the fact that new technologies can be implemented and spread so rapidly. Also, it is set up in such a way that a small company can become huge if they develop the proper tool at the right time. However, this quickness in change and development is one of the greatest weaknesses in the design--you always have to learn something new and abandon your old tools to stay up to date. Now that there are a few larger comanies such as Google, we see certain tools being adopted more universally. Not just because the tech is stable, but because since they are already huge, you can be somewhat certain that people from other companies and schools are using the same tech. We can teach Google Docs and other Google apps because it is actually being used in the real world. But as more and more people adopt these tools, the more difficult it will be for new tech and new tools to become popular. It's not just one or two people that have to change or adopt a new technology, it is the whole world at this point. Think of the evolution of social network websites. The first popular one was Friendster. It was usd mostly by college and high school kids. Then people moved to Myspace. The same kind of people used Myspace that used friendster, but it was easier to use and had many more features. But then came Facebook, and there is now almost universal adoption of this technology/website. Each social network improved on the last, but there was not a huge adoption of the tech until Facebook came. Now, can you imagine how hard it would be for a new social network to become as popular. I can't think of a new social network replacing Facebook. Facebook will just have to change and adapt over time. It's become its own upgradeable platform. The only thing I see overthrowing it would be a new kind of technology that replaces social networks entirely.
Now, as Google Apps and Google docs become more widely used, the more difficult it will be for a new competing website or tool to become popular. There is less and less competition, and in ways that is bad for technology and its advancement as a whole, but it is kind of good for schools that need stable tools that they can count on being used for more than 2 years.
What do you think? Is a lack of competition actually a good thing for schools? Is it good in the short term, but bad in the long term future?
Sunday, September 27, 2009
Swine Flu!
Here is a great opportunity:
All of the schools in Qatar, including The American School of Doha where I work, have been closed for a minimum of one week because of the swine flu. Other nations in the area such as Bahrain have closed all schools until November. There is no certainty when we will start up again.
So, this means our school has become a great experiment in integrating technology. We have our own Blackboard system. Teachers are required normally to always post homework and other such announcements on the site, and students are required to check it regularly. This is occuring when school is going on normally. The real reason for having the system is for this type of emergency. As we are in an area of the world prone to war and other such emergencies our school needs a backup so we can continue teaching while our students are at home. We are now officially a pre-k through 12th grade school that is entirely online until we are allowed to reopen our schools. Our teachers and faculty are the most professional educators I have known, so it will be interesting to see how well they work in an exclusively online environment. Many of us did not know that students were at home until this morning when we arrived for work, so there is a ton of work that is being done to set up full instruction through Blackboard. I am instructing many people on how to best use podcasts, some other teachers are teaching others about Google Docs and various teachers are offering instruction in whatever technology they happen to be proficient in. It's all incredibly inconvenient, but exciting at the same time. There will be a lot of fun experimentation this week.
What is my job now that the facility where I work is no longer available for students to use? Where should I be focusing my efforts?
Please comment below to help me answer this question.
I'm going to post regularly this week on this topic so that I have a place where my experiences and thoughts are recorded. This is not a common situation, so I sould take advantage of it.
-Jason
All of the schools in Qatar, including The American School of Doha where I work, have been closed for a minimum of one week because of the swine flu. Other nations in the area such as Bahrain have closed all schools until November. There is no certainty when we will start up again.
So, this means our school has become a great experiment in integrating technology. We have our own Blackboard system. Teachers are required normally to always post homework and other such announcements on the site, and students are required to check it regularly. This is occuring when school is going on normally. The real reason for having the system is for this type of emergency. As we are in an area of the world prone to war and other such emergencies our school needs a backup so we can continue teaching while our students are at home. We are now officially a pre-k through 12th grade school that is entirely online until we are allowed to reopen our schools. Our teachers and faculty are the most professional educators I have known, so it will be interesting to see how well they work in an exclusively online environment. Many of us did not know that students were at home until this morning when we arrived for work, so there is a ton of work that is being done to set up full instruction through Blackboard. I am instructing many people on how to best use podcasts, some other teachers are teaching others about Google Docs and various teachers are offering instruction in whatever technology they happen to be proficient in. It's all incredibly inconvenient, but exciting at the same time. There will be a lot of fun experimentation this week.
What is my job now that the facility where I work is no longer available for students to use? Where should I be focusing my efforts?
Please comment below to help me answer this question.
I'm going to post regularly this week on this topic so that I have a place where my experiences and thoughts are recorded. This is not a common situation, so I sould take advantage of it.
-Jason
Sunday, September 20, 2009
simply a label
Robeert Bain, in the 5th chapter of Meaningful Learning Using Technology discusses the problem with big professional development terms such as "deep understanding" and meaningful Learning." He says that "These ideas run the risk of becoming mere expressions that stand for much, but provide little substance for the practitioners who must figure out how to achieve such lofty goals. Ironically, schools might be adopting "meaningful understanding" and "deep understanding" without engaging in the substantive conversations and investigations that promote deep meaning and understanding about these ideas themselves."
I have sen this happen in multiple schools. But I don't think this concept ends just with ideas and catchy terms. Schools might say that their students participate in meaningful learning without all of the teachers having a shared understanding of what meaningful learning is. In the same way, schools almost all claim they are regularly incorporating technology in to the classroom. But what does this mean? In my first school where I taught it seriously meant using power points to teach the students. That is all the admin was looking for in the way of tech integration. But what does it mean in different schools and what does it mean to different teachers in a single school?
As my school seems to be moving in the direction of a one-to-one laptop situation I ask myself what does each teacher think about tech integration. Some see simple powerpoints as engaging projects while others see classes creating podcasts as something worthwhile. Should all work be done on a cloud computing service like Google docs? Should the school have a shared platform like Blackboard that all teachers use? Is Blackboard effective enough to do everything? The questions could go on forever, and schools have to ask themselves these kinds of questions every few months. If they fail to do this, they will be teaching their students using methods that are no longer applicable to the use of technology in the real world. Not only do they have to evaluate where they stand on what technology to use and how to use it, but they must be communicating this information to all teachers and observing that all teachers are following the current and best agreed-upon practices. Yikes.
It's easy for a school to throw a sticker on their curriculum that says "with integrated technology"
but it is hard to make sure that it is more than just a label which means nothing.
References:
Alexander, E., & Floden, R. (2006). Meaningful Learning Using Technology. New York: Teachers College Press.
I have sen this happen in multiple schools. But I don't think this concept ends just with ideas and catchy terms. Schools might say that their students participate in meaningful learning without all of the teachers having a shared understanding of what meaningful learning is. In the same way, schools almost all claim they are regularly incorporating technology in to the classroom. But what does this mean? In my first school where I taught it seriously meant using power points to teach the students. That is all the admin was looking for in the way of tech integration. But what does it mean in different schools and what does it mean to different teachers in a single school?
As my school seems to be moving in the direction of a one-to-one laptop situation I ask myself what does each teacher think about tech integration. Some see simple powerpoints as engaging projects while others see classes creating podcasts as something worthwhile. Should all work be done on a cloud computing service like Google docs? Should the school have a shared platform like Blackboard that all teachers use? Is Blackboard effective enough to do everything? The questions could go on forever, and schools have to ask themselves these kinds of questions every few months. If they fail to do this, they will be teaching their students using methods that are no longer applicable to the use of technology in the real world. Not only do they have to evaluate where they stand on what technology to use and how to use it, but they must be communicating this information to all teachers and observing that all teachers are following the current and best agreed-upon practices. Yikes.
It's easy for a school to throw a sticker on their curriculum that says "with integrated technology"
but it is hard to make sure that it is more than just a label which means nothing.
References:
Alexander, E., & Floden, R. (2006). Meaningful Learning Using Technology. New York: Teachers College Press.
Sunday, September 13, 2009
Why not Orkut?
A question for everybody out there. Is it strange that everybody is pushing for the use of Google apps such as Docs and Sites in the workplace and in school (Both where I work and go to school are asking me to use it) but to bind us socially online everybody chooses Facebook? If we are using all of these Google products wouldn't it make sense to use Orkut (Google's social networking site) which probably has better integration of these other Google apps? It feels like I am forced to live in two online neighborhoods.
Does anybody out there have exprience with Orkut? Is it badly designed, or was it just too late to the social networking party and lost early battles to Facebook? Will Orkut become the next big thing turning Facebook into the next Myspace or (gasp) Friendster?
I think I will experiment with Orkut and post my findings back here. Let me know any thoughts you have about Facebook vs. Orkut in the comments of this blog entry.
Does anybody out there have exprience with Orkut? Is it badly designed, or was it just too late to the social networking party and lost early battles to Facebook? Will Orkut become the next big thing turning Facebook into the next Myspace or (gasp) Friendster?
I think I will experiment with Orkut and post my findings back here. Let me know any thoughts you have about Facebook vs. Orkut in the comments of this blog entry.