BP8_2009102_Use of Blogger

One of the popular methods that I will use is blogger. The main purpose of blogger will be to deliver information or instructions for homework. Also, students will be able to find video, tutorials and special assignments in this blogger application. Here they can make interactions with other classmates, post some assignments and comment on other students projects. With an easy to use application were they can add media and personalize their own page at their own taste will create a comfortable setting with their own Personal Learning Environment.

BP7_2009102_Use of Viviti

Viviti is a website builder easy to use. This application can serve in the development of the website that can be used for the class. Students can have access to it from their home. This application allows to create an interactive environment with a professional look . This site can be set up for free, with some limited options. Viviti can serve as a delivery site were we can add blogs, music, videos and other type of materials.

BP6_2009102_Use of CamTweet

With the use of camtweet tool students can share video on twitter. One of the main uses of this tool in my future classroom is to deliver video lessons created at the end of the day with the material provided in class. They will benefit since this material can serve as a review for assignments or tests from topics discussed in class. Also, with Camtweet you can have access directly from the twitter account. Here, basically tweeter in conjunction with Justintv allows to broadcast live using any webcam or just share your video.

BP5_2009102_Media Asset

BP4_2009102_Social_Bookmarking

The 21^st century has being promised the development of new tools for education. In the past years, specifically around 15 years ago the vision of schools full of books were the order of those times. Most of the students needed to look into books for information to accomplish their homework’s or probably visit other friend’s house to review in other books to share words. While the network start raising more options for research and material are becoming available. Now we have the options with web tools for make research, archive our findings or even share with others.

A common technique to save our search is bookmark a website or source in our computer in folders or as individual in order to have them archived. Making this process let us review or find those websites from our computer but did not provide the benefit that if we are in other computer, for example using our schools computer we are not going to be able to access the links that we have in our personal computers. In other hand, a tool that we can use to access our archived materials from other places is social bookmarking.

In an article publish by Educause (2005), describe social bookmarking as “the practice of saving bookmarks to a public website and tagging them with keywords”. You can designate them as public or private for your benefit and security. Using this method, we can organize the information by topics, release dates or by categories of specific criteria’s. This can contribute in learning to teachers and students since can result in an accessible practice to search information. Is very important to use correctly this type of applications. For example, tagging correctly our bookmarks can assist others to find the information they are looking with a more accurate search. If the bookmark is not tagged properly the answers can finish with a poor view. Riddell (2006) described said that “tagging sites allow users to save their favorite links, content, and media to a centrally accessible site, similar to how you save bookmarks to your web browser”.

Other groups that can be beneficiated with social bookmarking are librarians. Like mentioned before social bookmarking can be accessed from anywhere allowing sharing our web findings. For librarians instead of archiving and storing dozens of files in a computer this tool helps them to organize more effective the material for categories. Harris (2009), said “bookmarks stored online are still a digitized version of the classic print index or directory” (p.14).

Some social bookmarking sites that can be used for students or instructors to start navigating and sharing information with peers are mentioned in the article Sites to see: Social bookmarking. Jackson (2009), mentioned some of the most popular sites for this type of sharing. An example is del.icio.us, considered by Jackson (2009) as “one of the largest social bookmarking sites”.

Since the time passes through, new tools will be develop to contribute for the benefit of education and other fields. The combination of methods used in the past with new deliverable systems is part of the 21^st century trends and its technology revolution.

References:

Educause: Learning initiative (2005). Seven things you should know about … Social

Bookmarking. Retrieved on October 10, 2009 from

http://net.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/ELI7001.pdf

Harris, C. (2009). What's next for social bookmarking?. School Library Journal,

Vol. 55 Issue 2, p14-14. Retrieved on October 10, 2009 from http://search.ebscohost.com

Jackson, L. (2009). Sites to see: Social bookmarking. Retrieved on October

11, 2009 from http://www.education-world.com/a_tech/sites/sites080.shtml

Riddell, R. (2006). Social bookmarking makes its mark in education. Retrieved

on October 10, 2009 from http://www.eschoolnews.com

iGoogle Screenshots

iGoogle FSO Page

ETC Page in iGoogle

iGoogle Home Page (WGO)

BP2_2009101_Anti-Teaching

The actual educational system that we have been living sometimes or probably most of the time is resisted to change. Technology is being in constant modification and transforming education and other fields in a distinctive experience. Unfortunately not all teachers are ready or maybe do not accept the challenge of learning new tools to maintain students attention and improve their knowledge. Students need to be more involved in their education using new tools in their learning environment such as discussion boards, blogs or other virtual spaces to present their questions and received vital information related to their subjects. Most of the students that are assisting today to school are not attracted to the idea of staying sated all day hearing one person talking about a specific topic, instead they can spent hours navigating through a network learning through games or other type of tools. Sometimes a game is not considered educational, but that student needs to learn specific instructions to accomplish the goal and win that game. Every action in our lives involves learning; the difference is how we deliver that information.

Probably creating a basic network where students can find the information in an interactive form such as media assets like audio, video games, simulations in conjunction with discussion boards, chats, post or comments can be more attractive for a student that can learn through an educational / social network at the same time because has the opportunity to interact with other peers.

Diversity is what we see every day in classrooms. Every student has his or her own style of learning. Being able to understand our learners and what is more effective for them as a group can help to impact with our delivery methods our group. We can combine problem solutions based on the Problem Based Instruction theory for example with tools that involved the used of media creation like video, sounds and music using delivery methods like web pages to involved students and at the same time impact our Multiple Intelligences students. With this, students are can brainstorm and research to create the assets and those that are more artistic can be part of this process collaborating in the editing process in their assignments. These virtual environments can be an option to wake that interest for learner in their education. Schools should have the option to a server where they can manage their courses in a safe setting for their students and where they can access this information. Also, having websites that are nexuses or parallel to this sites where they can connect to research information. In cases where are students under age is very important to maintain safe environments, but this sites like iGoogle, My Yahoo, My MSN or others can be used with parents supervision. This will help students to have their own spaced designed at their own taste and used for education. Technology is a new tool for education but the integration from teachers and parents in student’s education is very important since they are the main support for them.