Are mashups more than "high-tech tinker toys"?

Mashups are one of the greatest products of Web 2.0. Mash what, you may say? This "techy" term may be unfamiliar to the lay user. According to Business Week (2005) mashups are "home spun combinations of mainstream services." Creators of mashups take any two or more web applications and combine them together in a new way. Min Liu et. al (2008) state that "mashups acknowledge the role of the user by providing ways for data to be combined, repurposed, reorganized, and in some cases added or deleted." Mashups are designed by mixing together any number of things, and are often created by everyday Internet users. This bottom-up approach to creating new applications is what makes mashups unique. However, this led the writers of Business Week to question if many mashups are simply "high-tech tinker toys" for Internet users?

[Tinker Toys]. Retrieved July 29, 2009 from http://www.informaworld.com/smpp/content~db=all?content=10.1080/07380560802368090

Is this the case? While I personally have little interest in viewing the Google map of the stars mashup or want to check out where the latest crime was in Chicago, there are several mashups that may enhance both my personal and professional life as a teacher. Min Liu et. al. (2008) acknowledge that because mashups are so new, little research has been conducted on how to use mashups in an educational setting. I would have to concur with their assertion as my own search of professional journals for research conducted on mashups yielded few results. However, I was able to discover a few mashups that I think will be particularly useful in the classroom.

1. Voicethread: Voicethread is a mashup that helps users to create interactive albums. Users can download photos, drawings, video, etc. and then comment on them in a number of ways. Other people are also able to comment on your uploads, thereby, creating a collaborative community of users.

2. Map Skip: This is a mashup that is used in conjunction with Google maps. Users can mark points on maps and then add stories, images, and audio to points they have marked.

3. Ficly: This mashup allows users to collaborate when writing by using images as a starting point for their writing. Teachers and students can also offer comments on each other's work.

Min Liu et. al. (2008) extol the virtues of mashups by stating that "mashups offer new, alternative and hybridized ways of viewing and manipulating internally or externally created content". They also remark that mashups allow students to be actively engaged in the learning process and are freely available to anyone who wants to use them. Mashups offer students an opportunity to learn in a real world context and thus, this encourages higher level thinking skills.

However, Brian Lamb (2007) offers some points for consideration when using mashups for academic purposes. He contends that before mashups can be used for legitimate academic purposes, three things must occur. First, the user must have access to open and discoverable resources. As the Internet continues to expand, I would argue that this is already attainable. Second, users must have access to open and transparent licensing. In other words, you need to be able to legally use the resources that you find. This is a grey area yet with Canada's copyright laws regarding Internet resources still in limbo. Third, users must be able to produce material that is open and remixable. This means that whatever users create using mashups needs to be able to be made into forms that are easily accessible for viewers. I would argue that this is becoming less and less of a concern as many mashup sites offer free downloads to anyone who wishes to use their site, making the content on them available to anyone with a computer.

A Mashup Case Study: Digital Storytelling

While it would be impossible to examine every type of mashup available, I did want to look carefully at Voicethread, a mashup purposed toward digital storytelling. According to Daniel Meadows, educator, photographer and storyteller, digital stories are "short, personal, multi-media tales told from the heart." He goes on to describe digital stories as "multimedia sonnets for the people" in which "photographers discover the talkies, and the stories told, assemble in the ether as pieces of a jigsaw puzzle, a gaggle of invisible histories which, when viewed together, tell the bigger story of our time, the story that defines who we are". Well, with that kind of picturesque description, who wouldn't want to give digital storytelling a try?

[Microphone]. Retrieved July 29, 2009 from http://www.mediabistro.com/baynewser/radio/

Having never used Voicethread before, I decided to sign up for yet another user name and password. I watched a quick tutorial on how to use Voicethread and decided to try uploading some pictures of my own. I was pleased to see that Voicethread can take pictures you have already uploaded to other sites such as Flickr and Facebook and transfer them over to Voicethread. I decided to load my Facebook pictures. In a matter of seconds, I had all of my Facebook albums at my disposal. I chose to upload a few pictures of my trip to Hawaii. Okay, the pictures were in, now, how to comment? After dragging out my microphone, I need to figure out where the comment button was. I quickly discovered in in the bottom middle of the picture. I recorded myself commenting on each of the pictures I uploaded and I was good to go. Step three was deciding how to share my new creation. One of the options was to embed the code for your voicethread in your blog, so I decided, why not? You will see my handiwork posted on my previous blog. Please, feel free to add to my conversation by commenting on my pictures. A word of caution, in my zeal to create voicethreads, I soon discovered that you are only allowed three free voicethreads before you have to start paying a monthly fee. So use your free ones wisely!

Why use Voicethread in the classroom?

Bill Ferriter (2007) describes some of the benefits to using Voicethread in the classroom. Ferriter contends that Voicethread allows teachers to seamlessly integrate technology into the classroom. This type of technology fits perfectly with many of the components of the Balanced Literacy plan being implemented in many divisions. Also, he states that there are minimal computer skills required to use Voicethread. Therefore, there is no technology barrier for students to overcome before they can effectively use the tool. Ferriter (2008) goes on to contend that Voicethread allows all students the opportunity to participate in the activity regardless of their popularity or shyness. Multiple conversations can occur simultaneously whereas in the classroom, only one stream of conversation happens at once.

Ideas for using Voicethread in the classroom

The ways in which Voicethread can be used in the classroom are endless. Here are some of my favorite ideas.

-Mark Warner, a teacher who regularly uses Voicethread, used this application to teach his primary students empathy skills. Warner had his students listen to a film, containing no speech, without viewing it. He had them note the music that was being played and the sound effects heard. Following this activity, the students brainstormed what they thought was happening in the film. Warner uploaded various pictures from the film to Voicethread and then had the students comment and give life to the characters.

-Voicethread is great for having students develop higher level thinking skills and for having them talk about their thinking. Wesley Fryer (2008) had his daughter reflect on her thinking after reading the book Charlotte's Web. He believed that this created a more meaningful experience for her than filling out worksheets did.

-Voicethread4education offers many ideas on how to use this tool in the classroom. Some ideas include having students collect comments from students and staff on a certain topic, having students collaborate on ways to live using the 100 mile diet, and using Voicethread to create class holiday greetings.

Tips

The Teachers Teaching Teachers "Revisiting Voicethread" webcast offers several tips for teachers beginning to use Voicethread.

1. Start small. You may want to begin by having students simply leave comments on other's voicethreads rather than trying to create their own.

2. Have students begin by using a script until they are well versed enough to have freer conversations.

3. Emphasize to students that they are carrying on a conversation with others and to use that "voice" when creating their voicethread.

So, are mashups more than "high-tech tinker toys"? I would have to say yes and no (It's a cop out I know!). Some mashups are nothing more than a novelty that can be used for fun. There are others, however, such as Voicethread, that have great educational potential. At the end of the day, your view of mashups will depend upon the purpose that you are using it for. As an educator, I can see great potential in using some of these applications to enhance my teaching and to enable students to actively engage with the material in a real world context that may otherwise not be possible.

Giving a "voice" to my still pics!

I just finished creating several voicethreads from pictures of my trip to Kauai last winter. This is an amazing tool! Check it out.


I also made an Animoto movies of my trip to France. What a fun tool.

Look out! There's stormy waters ahead!

[Stormy Sea]. Retrieved July 26, 2009 from http://www.guildford.gov.uk/NR/rdonlyres/86664FD3-E231-4082-B9AB-911AC042D118/0/shipCopy.jpg

After viewing the Wikis in Plain English Video, I decided to try creating a wiki of my very own. This journey at the helm of the ship was not smooth sailing. There were certainly stormy waters as I sought to complete my voyage.

Dilemma #1: What to create a wiki on? I am not a self proclaimed "expert" on any subject, but I really wanted to take the helm of the ship and try creating a wiki. So, after much consideration, I decided to create a wiki for my Grade 2 social studies class. Our curriculum focuses on community and, in particular, our class, neighbourhood and city. So, why not create a wiki about a Grade 2 class' perspective of Swift Current?

Dilemma #2: Which site to create a wiki on? After having reviewed several wikis in my previous post and reading the recommendations of my classmates, I decided to try PBWorks. I was able to have a basic account for free, so I figured, why not?

Dilemma #3: How to write a wiki? I have never written a wiki before. This wiki is also unique in that I want the students to contribute to the majority of the site's material so I did not want to add a lot of content myself. As a result, what you see is a bare bones framework of where I want the students to begin rather than a completed wiki. As we complete each unit, I want the students to build on the site's content.

Dilemma #4: I really wanted to add a picture of the school to the wiki. Getting a picture, no problem. Adding a picture? Well, that took several attempts. I was expecting a picture button on the top toolbar like you would see in Microsoft Word. However, no such luck. After much searching, I found an image upload button in the right hand tool bar. Problem solved!

Dilemma #5: Some of my links didn't want to save. I tried to create an our school link to my wiki's main page and for some reason that particular link would not save. I tried it four times, each time with a different title. Each time I hit the save button, just as I did with my other links but, alas, it would not save. This was some of the roughest waters that I ventured through on my voyage. Unfortunately, I still haven't figured out why that particular link would not save.

So, my journey was not without it perils. However, on the whole I did find that is was quite easy to create a simple page. I certainly did not create a sophisticated wiki, rather just a framework for a page that is yet to come. Could my Grade 2 students post to the wiki? I believe that they will be able to type in their information. I will likely need to create the links for them and help them add pictures as needed. Luckily, we have a e-learning teacher for our school whose job is to help teachers use electronic resources in their classroom. I will be enlisting her help as I begin the creation of the wiki with the students. All in all, it was a positive experience that I look forward to building on as the school year progresses. If you would like to see my wiki framework here is the link to the site.

A community is like a ship: Everyone ought to be prepared to take the helm--Henrik Ibsen

Geoff Hunt. (painter). Retrieved July 23, 2009 from http://seawayblog.blogspot.com/2008/03/tall-ships-art.html

Each of us belongs to a community. Whether it be our neighbourhood, academic community, church, or online community, we all have a desire to belong and contribute to the communities that we are in. Wikis build upon that innate desire in each of us, as they create online communities using a bottom-up approach to knowledge acquisition. In this community, each user becomes an expert in their field with other members of the community validating or changing the information as they see fit. Members take turns at the "helm" both as creator of new information or as editor of that information.

What is a wiki?

Quite simply, wikis are "collaborative websites where anybody can edit and publish" (Konieczy, 2007). Wikis are designed with the online community in mind. The power of a wiki is in its ability to coordinate a particular group's information, as explained in Wikis in Plain English.
Commoncraft. (Producer). (2007). Wikis in plain English. Retrieved July 23, 2009 from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-dnL00TdmLY&feature=related

So, its just as simple as edit, save, and link?? Well, almost. Bergin (2002), extols the virtues of having a wiki for each of his courses and says "It gives me a way to communicate easily and asynchronously with [students] on course topics. They also use it to communicate with me and each other. I also use it to quickly dispel misconceptions and correct errors I might make in class." Bruns and Humphrey (2005) note that "the wiki form is one that encourages and enables learning in ways that many other Web-based tools fail to do."

Why use wikis rather than other more traditional forms of teaching?

In order to justify using a new Web 2.0 application in my classroom, I must see a benefit to using it over the methods that I currently employ. As Benson et. al. (2002) state, there is a difference between using technology to supplement traditional methods and using it "to create opportunities for new methods that may not be possible without them." Wikis do have the ability to create new opportunities for students in classrooms. Some benefits to using wikis in classrooms are:

1. Wikis are easier to use than traditional web pages. Wikis do not require you to download special software to use them. They can do virtually anything a traditional web page can and require the user to only have basic computer skills.

2. Students can receive feedback from a world-wide audience. It would be impossible to afford your students this opportunity without having them post information on a wiki.

3. Students are actively engaged in learning. While this can occur in traditional classroom environments, using wikis provides students with a new way to actively engage in an ongoing project. In theory, the editing of a wiki is never done. As students learn new information, they can add to their wiki as needed.

4. Wikis are great for cooperative learning activities. Groups of students can work together on projects both as contributors and editors. Using wikis may encourage continuous work on a project rather than a last minute rush job as teachers and peers can see the progress as it unfolds.

5. Wikis are great for distance learners. Distance learning is one of the latest trends in education. By using wikis, teachers can assign students partner work, even if the two students live hundreds of miles apart. Also, students can share their work easily with peers who are not sitting in the same classroom as them.

6. Forte and Bruckman's (2006) recent study discovered that students appreciate having an audience that can comment on their work. They also discovered that when students are publishing for an audience, the quality of their writing increases.

7. Wikis provide students with a non-threatening, open forum to discuss issues. Students can easily debate with one another and receive opinions from others not in their class.

8. More heads are better than one. The greatest strength of wikis is their ability to draw on the knowledge and experiences of the collective group. Each person who reads/edits the wiki can add their bit of knowledge that others in the group may not have known as they take the "helm of the ship."

How can I use wikis in my classroom?

The possibilities for using wikis in your classroom are truly endless. Many universities have created school-wide wikis, such as the one created at the University of Calgary for its students. Konieczny (2007) provides many ideas for teacher's use in his article. Some ides that resonated with me include creating websites, posting an updated course syllabus, group authoring of an article, tracking a group project on a per-contributor basis, peer reviewing, having discussion boards, organizing virtual group study rooms, using wikis for data collection,and creating collaborative lecture notes.

To add to this list, writingwiki.org offered some further suggests including setting up class debates, sharing resources with each other, and writing a wikibook. I love the idea of having the class all contribute to the creation of a class story. Even in early elementary classes, students would be able to engage in this shared writing activity. For a more extensive list of ideas, check out the Teachers First website. It provides users with a search of ideas based upon the subject and grade level you are teaching.

Where do I go to create a wiki?

One of the first questions I wondered was, where do I do to create these "wikis"? I did a search for some free, education-related sites where teachers could create their own wikis. Most of these simply require you to create a user name and password and then you can begin creating and editing. Pictures, links, and videos can be added, just be aware of copyright implications and be sure to reference everything you use. Here are some of the sites I found:

1. WikiEducator: This site offers teachers the opportunity to host free wiki sites. What I appreciated about this site, is that it provided new users the opportunity to receive skills training with facilitator support to get you started.

2. Wikijunior: This site's goal is to publish non-fiction books for young children. You have the opportunity, or your class has the opportunity, to produce and edit books on more than a dozen topics. There are currently hundreds of modules available on the books that have already been published.

3. Curriki: This wiki is designed for teachers rather than students. Here members can contribute, edit, and rate lesson plans on any subject or grade level.

4. Wet Paint's Wikis in Education: This site offers teachers ad-free wiki hosting services.

Taking the Wiki Plunge

I wanted to see first hand what it was like to become a "member" of a wiki community. I decided to sign up for Wikibooks primarily because I was interested in their Wikijunior section. In a minute I had my user name and password. As I began to surf around the site, I quickly began to feel a part of something bigger than myself. This truly was a community at work. Members could vote for deletion/undeletion of content, nominate books that they want to see featured and vote on policy. In the "reading room" you can ask questions about content, technical information or get help with just about anything.

I went to the Wikijunior section and browsed around several pages. I noted that at the top of each page their were several tabs. One of particular interest was the history tab. By clicking on this, you can see the dates of previous edits, what editing was done, and by whom. You can choose to delete those edits if you feel it is necessary. I noted with interest at the top of each page their is advice for editors regarding formatting and the target audience, in this case children.

I honestly did not truly fathom the magnitude of work that has went on by mostly volunteers to create a wiki of this size. They were asking for people to help with everything from providing expertise on disputed articles to helping create pages that would link to others that were already made. If nothing else, this little journey into the inside of Wikibooks made me appreciate the hours of time others have given to make my life better.

The Pitfalls of Wikis

Here she goes again with the pitfalls.....I know, but it is important to understand both sides to any issue before you begin actively using it your classroom. Just like with the other Web 2.0 applications I have studied, I have noticed some pitfalls associated with using wikis.

1. Anyone can edit your wiki.

Q: How many wiki users does it take to change a light bulb?
A: One, but anyone can change it back.--langreiter.com

And thus lies one of the strengths, yet pitfalls of wikis. A malicious user can go in and destroy your content. Is this a huge deal? No, as you can easily reverse their edit. It is important that teachers teach students how to revert their work back to a previous form if needed.

2. Students may be reluctant to edit each others' work. Some students may view critiquing their peers' writing as impolite or, in return, may not appreciate having their own work edited by someone else.

3. Students will likely be writing in a public forum. This can create anxiety for young writers who are still honing their craft. Teachers can create wikis that only can be viewed by certain group members. This, however, comes at the cost of losing outsiders' contributions to the students' work.

4. Using wikis does require some technological skills that some students will have to learn. These skills are quite basic in nature (Remember: Its as easy as edit, save, link)

[Man changing bulb]. Retrieved July 23, 2009 from http://pro.corbis.com/Enlargement/Enlargement.aspx?id=CB040077&ext=1

The Mother of all Wikis: Wikipedia

No examination of wikis would be complete without a brief discussion of Wikipedia, or as I like to call it, the mother of all wikis. Wikipedia has revolutionized the way we, as lay people, conduct research in our everyday lives. No longer do we have volumes of encyclopedias lining our shelves, but rather we seek Wikipedia, our online, user created, encyclopedia's advice. Parry (2008) recognizes this paradigm shift by stating that "encyclopedias are no longer static collections of facts and figures; they are living entities, and the new software changes the rules of expertise." With Wikipedia, we all can be experts in something.

Judy Green. (photographer). (2008). Wikipedia Photo. Retrieved July 23, 2009 from http://www.smh.com.au/technology/technology-news/hsc-students-to-get-wikipedia-course-20090618-clb5.html

This empowerment of the common man now turned expert has raised concerns as to Wikipedia's validity as a source. Some school's such as the one Librarian Linda O'Connor works for, have embarked on anti-Wikipedia campaigns. Linda has went as far as posting "Just Say No to Wikipedia" posters in her library. Comedian Stephen Colbert has coined the term "wikability" meaning that anything can become truth if enough people agree. Recently, a 22 year old Dublin student put Wikipedia to the test when he posted a fake quote that he attributed to recently deceased composer Maurice Jarre. Even though Wikipedia removed the quote within 24 hours of posting, many journalists from around the world began quoting it in newspapers and television reports. While the hoax was intended to discredit both the media and Wikipedia, it does show two things. First, don't believe everything you read. Whether it be on Wikipedia or any other site, use your critical literacy skills. Second, Wikipedia is fantastic at self-correcting itself. I was quite impressed that Wikipedia had the quote corrected so quickly. The student stated that the first time he posted to quote, it was removed within minutes. After a few more tries, it eventually stayed posted for the 24 hour period.

Some researchers have looked extensively at Wikipedia's reliability. Giles (2005) argues in his article posted in Nature that Wikipedia is almost as reliable as Encyclopedia Britannica. Rosenzweig (2006) claims Wikipedia is as comprehensive as Microsoft's Encarta. Further Parry (2008) views banning Wikipedia in schools as irresponsible.

So how do teachers negotiate this discrepancy in beliefs? Baduke (2008) offers some suggestions for teachers. First, teach students the difference between academic sources and non-academic sources. While Wikipedia is great for finding out basic information, it is no substitute for academic sources. The following clip offers students some advice on when to use Wikipedia as a source and when to look elsewhere.
Vibiana Bowman. (Writer). (2008). Wikipedia tutorial: A guide for students. Retrieved July 23, 2008 from http://www.youtube.com/watch?gl=GB&hl=en-GB&v=XPC-bNX9O_E&feature=related

Second, teachers need to teach students skills in how to critically analyze articles they read on Wikipedia. Take sample articles and critique them as a class to allow students practice on how to become critical consumers of the information they read. Finally, have students become creators and editors of Wikipedia articles themselves just as Dr. Pratt of the University of East Anglia did. This gives them a first-hand look at the process used in creating Wikipedia articles and, perhaps, a better sense as to its validity as academic research vs. good general information.

As you now begin to take the helm of your own wiki ship, I leave you with this wiki prayer:

Please, grant me the serenity to accept the pages I cannot edit,
The courage to edit the pages I can,
And the wisdom to know the difference.

Bon Voyage!

Out With the Old and In With the New?

Libraries. The place that every student in high school loved to hate. I distinctly remember the musty smell of old, unused books permeating the library's air and the stern faces of the two old teacher librarians who forbade us from even whispering. The library was a place where you were made to feel unwelcome because it was as if every teenager was out to steal one of the librarian's precious books.

[Old Librarian]. Retrieved July 21, 2009 from http://www.bookgasm.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/04/librarian.jpg

Now, enter the library 2.0 style. Michael Habib defines library 2.0 as "a subset of library services designed to meet user needs caused by the direct and peripheral effects of Web 2.0." What does this look like? Students may be working collectively in groups, perhaps around one of the many computers located in the library. Yes, students are now allowed to talk. Teacher librarians may be offering students support in how to use one of many Web 2.0 applications. Library computers may contain links to social bookmarking sites such as Delicious. Librarians such as tech savvy Stephanie Rosalia now do far more than shelve books. Rather they are facilitators that are experts in many forms of research including using Web 2.0 virtual libraries.

Why virtual libraries?

In days past, literacy was one's ability to read and write. In our technological age, the definition of literacy has expanded to include other literacies such as informational literacy. Informational literacy is defined as "a transformational process in which the learner needs to find, understand, evaluate, and use information in various forms to create for personal, social or global purposes." This involves learners engaging in higher level thinking processes as they weed through the jungle of the web.

To quote Steve Jobs, "The fact is that people don’t read anymore." Yes, we do read, but perhaps not in the traditional sense. Fewer and fewer people go to public libraries and take out armfuls of books. Rather, you are likely to see people spending their evenings surfing the net for information important and relevant to their lives. So, how can libraries teach informational literacy and change to accommodate less traditional readers? Enter, the virtual library.

Virtual libraries can take many forms. They can contain databases of journals that the "patrons" of the library can search for articles. They can contain online copies of books. Some virtual libraries have links to relevant websites organized according to category. Other virtual libraries offer online searches of public libraries in certain cities. Most of the virtual libraries I surveyed appeared to be various combinations of the above.

Some advantages to using virtual libraries include:

1. Virtual libraries allow readers to develop informational literacy skills as they are easily able to evaluate a number of resources on a single topic with the click of a mouse.

2. Virtual libraries have many links presorted for users to be able compare and contrast with one another.

3. Virtual libraries are portable. This type of library offers less traditional readers the flexibility of being able read content online rather than having to pick up cumbersome books at the library. Readers can access the library from any computer.

4. The ask a librarian feature on several online databases allows you to access expert advice quickly and easily without having to leave your home.

5. You can access many different libraries online. Whereas, if you were to drive around town to various traditional libraries, it would be very time consuming.

6. The information found in virtual libraries is current. Virtual libraries are adding content and updating information daily. This would be impossible to do in a traditional library setting.

7. Virtual libraries offer children safe links that they can use for research purposes.

8. Your favorite book is never out. Any number of people can view the same online book at the same time.

Let's go for a "drive" to some virtual libraries!

As I began to explore virtual libraries, I quickly discovered that virtual libraries were as diverse at the people who use them. The definition of a virtual library appears to be very broad. Quickly realizing that there were too many libraries to investigate thoroughly, I decided to narrow my focus to virtual children's libraries.

[Book in car]. Retrieved July 21, 2009 from http://www.blastmedia.com/blogs/mediablast/2009/06/the_road_to_coverage.html

-Storyplace: This virtual children's library was created by the public library in Charlotte North Carolina as a supplement to their virtual public library. Story place contains games and activities for children as well as a link to the "bee hive", the library's catalog of children's books. While this library does not contain a large selection of online books like other virtual libraries, it does offer children the option to listen to an online story or participate in child "friendly" online activities.

-International Children's Digital Library: This library is truly amazing. It offers a wealth of books for children (or adults) to view online. There are many classic books included in their collection and books are offered in a number of languages. The library is really a digital version of a traditional library. You can become a member for free and "take out" books by storing them on your "bookself". This site offers users a wonderful multi-cultural experience as they read literature from around the world. It is a treasure for any elementary teacher.

-Andy Holt Virtual Library: This library is more bare bones in its design than the previous two libraries. However, it does contain several "collections" which are lists of websites that are related to a specific topic. I searched through several of the sites related to children's literature and found some links to wonderful children's books. A word of warning: There were several sites in this virtual library that led to dead links.

-Internet Public Library: The Kidspace at the Internet Public Library offers users a variety of information on topics such as math, science, art, and music. Much of the information is in the form of links to kid-friendly sites. There are a few children's books available to view online either in text only or illustrated form.

After exploring virtual libraries, I do see some disadvantages to using them.

1. In order for virtual libraries to be effective they must be updated regularly. When using the libraries, I did become frustrated when I would click on a link and it would lead to a dead site.

2. At this point there is still a limited number of books available for viewing online from virtual libraries and the books that are posted are generally older books. This is largely due to copyright issues associated with posting books on the internet. Project Gutenberg is a project that generally takes books where the copyright has expired and posts them online for readers. There were many older treasures to be found from Project Gutenberg.

3. I can't curl up with an online book on the couch. At least not comfortably. Call me old fashioned but there is just something about being able to curl up with the book on a cold Canadian night that is lost when using online books. That just my opinion, you can decide for yourself.

Using Virtual Libraries in the Classroom

I must admit that I did become quite excited when I began to think about how I could use virtual libraries in my school. Here are some of my ideas:

-For older students, there is expert advice available to students day or night as they can "ask a librarian" for advice from home as they conduct their research.

-My read alouds and shared reads are going to be revolutionized as I will be able to project the online books onto a screen so students can easily follow along as we read. I plan on sharing the virtual children's library sites with my staff in September as I believe that they will really get excited about using these sites for read alouds and shared reads.

-I can feel at ease knowing that the links from the virtual children's libraries are safe for even my youngest students.

-English as an Additional Language can view books in their native language and in English allowing them to gain greater clarity from a story.

-Take home reading bags could eventually be a thing of the past. Teachers could rather assign students books available from virtual libraries. I know that this idea won't be immediately practical, but as more books are added online, why not?

Just as our teaching must evolve as technology changes, so must the libraries that we use. Does this mean that it is out with the old and in with the new? Partially. The role of the library and librarian will need to evolve as the users of the facility do. Librarians will become facilitators as students research. However, there will always be a need, at least for people like me, to have a good book to curl up with in front of the fire.

"Can We Do It?"--Bob the Builder

When entering the world of podcasting, I felt a little bit like Lofty, a member of Bob the Builder's construction team. Each episode, as the team heads off to fix a problem, Bob shouts, “Can we do it?” With the exception of Lofty, the team always enthusiastically replies “Yes we can!” Lofty, the apprehensive member of the group follows with “Uh, yeah, I think so?” As I began my journey into podcasting, this is how I felt. Can I do it? Yeah, I think so?

[Apprehensive face]. Retrieved July 18, 2009 from http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/oEqrU5O0LbINBKrsv1PpUg

Why Podcast?

As I began to think about podcasting and whether or not I would be able to "sell" the idea of podcasting to my staff, I began to question: How is podcasting better or different than traditional methods of delivery? Also, would students embrace podcasts? Many higher learning institutions are creating podcasts of their lectures. In response to the question: Would you use podcasts? This is what students said.

So, what are some advantages to podcasting. Podcasting 101 and George Cole offered some ideas. I have included their suggestions with my own. Here is my list.

1. Podcasts allow students access to a vast audience. When students create podcasts, they are able to reach outside of their school walls to the world. This allows them to receive feedback from viewers rather than engaging in simply one-way communication.

2. Podcasting is not a one-off assignment. Rather, it allows students to build and grow as they are able to create a series of episodes.

3. Podcasting can be a great communication tool for schools. How much paper is expended on sending home notes and newsletters? Why not try a weekly podcast hosted on the school website that could be used to disseminate this information?

4. Podcasting is inexpensive. Creating a recording can be done with minimal equipment. All you need is a computer, some free software like Audacity, and a microphone. There are also several free sites that will host your podcast. I used Kiqlo.

5. It is relatively simple to create a basic podcast. I had never created a podcast before, and, to my surprise, it was not all that difficult to create and upload a basic podcast. More expertise would be needed to create more professional sounding casts.

6. Podcasts are portable. I believe this a huge advantage to using podcasts over traditional teaching methods. Students can easily upload a podcast and take it with them wherever they go.

7. Podcasts could be used for differentiating instruction. Lessons could be recorded into podcasts for students. This could provide them with individualized instruction or allow for reteaching as many times as needed.

8. Having students create podcasts actively engages them in the learning process. In order for students to create a podcast on a given topic, they must first become an expert on the subject. This requires them to have a deep understanding of the curriculum content.

9. Podcasts are very accessible. Most podcasts are available via a RSS feed so you simply need to subscribe and whenever a new one is created, it will arrive at your virtual "door".

10. There are many ready-made podcasts available for teacher use. The Education Podcast Network is a site that hosts a variety of podcasts for K-12 students in all subject areas. Also, there are many educational podcasts available on Podcast Alley.

How do I use podcasting in my classroom?

Every student from Kindergarten to University can use podcasting in some way. There are many sites such as Guides and Tutorials.com that provide suggestions on how to use podcasts in the classroom. My top ideas include:

1. Using podcasts to create listening centers. Sites such as Just One More Book have created podcasts of children's stories. You can also easily create your own. This is what I have done. I created a listening center story using Melane Watt's book Chester. The focus of the podcast was to teach children about text features as they followed along in their books. You can listen to my podcast by clicking on the link in the right-hand column of the blog. Even preschoolers can use podcasts, my 4 year old son listens to many podcast stories on his mp3 player.

2. Students can receive news via podcasts. Nearly every major news organization posts daily podcasts of their major stories.

3. Teachers can create walking tours using podcasts. Teachers can take students to museums or on walking tours of their city. Podcasts can be pre-made to provide students with pertinent details as they go on their tour.

4. Podcasts can be used for professional development. Podcasts could be made for tutorials, book discussions or policy overviews and uploaded for teachers to use.

5. Podcasts could be used to support English as an Additional Language learners. There are many podcasts that have been created to help EAL students learn how to perform basic tasks in English. The English as a Second Language site provides many podcasts to get students started.

6. Podcasts can be created of teacher's lessons for students who are absent or need clarification. Many higher learning institutions are now offering podcasts of lectures to students. Some professors expressed concerns that student attendance and performance would drop if podcasts were offered to students. According to professors from Bryn Mawr College, student attendance may decline, but they have not seen a decrease in student performance.

7. Students can create their own podcasts. This provides students with another, creative way to display their curricular knowledge. Students can create podcasts of plays, interviews, book reviews, documentaries, etc. The possibilities are endless.

Challenges to Podcasting

As with everything, there are some considerations that need to be made before you begin podcasting.

-While creating a basic podcast is relatively simple, you will need substantially more technological skills if you want to create a more professional sounding podcast. You will need to acquire knowledge about things such as sampling rates, bit depths, compression formats, compression bitrates, etc. Poducate Me offers a very extensive, yet easy to follow guide through these more technical aspects of podcasting.

-If you want to create a podcast that you wish to have people subscribe to, you will need to create a marketing plan in order to get subscribers. Website magazine offers a few suggestions to get you started.

-As always, you need to be aware of copyright issues when podcasting. Use original material and don't include songs that have copyright.

-It may be difficult to assess student's podcasts for a mark. The Podcasting and Education website offers links to several rubrics that teachers have used to assess podcasts. This will give you a good starting point to build on.

-"Poor teaching + technology = expensive poor teaching"--Conor Bolton There is no substitute for a good teacher. Without proper planning and practice, podcasting will still result in a poor lesson and little student learning will occur.

Alright Tara. How do I create a podcast?

As I said before, I was very apprehensive about podcasting. Having zero experience with this technology, I was unsure as to whether or not I would have the skills to pull it off or not. Not having my technological security blanket, aka my husband, at home only compounded my fears. I began by watching the YouTube clip below. This helped explain podcasting in layman's terms and got my confidence up.

[Checklist]. Retrieved July 18, 2009 from http://www.15minwebsitemaker.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/checklist2.jpg



Commoncraft. (Producer). (2008, April 21). Podcasting in Plain English. Videocast retreived July 13, 2009 from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y-MSL42NV3c&feature=channel

As I previously stated, I decided to create a podcast of myself teaching a lesson on text features using Melane Watt's book Chester. I chose this idea for two reasons. First, my intention is to use podcasts to create listening centers of this type in my Grade 2 classroom this year and, second, this would be a relatively simple idea to try for my first podcast.

After scrounging around to find my microphone, I proceeded to download the software Audacity. This was the program that my friend, an E-Learning teacher, had recommended to me. I tried a couple of practice recordings and then realized that I was rerecording over top of my previous recordings and getting a mish-mash of sounds. I quickly discovered the wonderous "New" button and my problem was solved. I recorded my lesson easily and listened to see if the sound quality was good. One bit of advice, try to keep the same distance from the microphone at all times. I moved the mic a couple of times and you can hear this in my recording.

So, I recorded my podcast. Now what?? I had no idea. I sought some advice from Sue at Podomatic. See the sidebar for the complete videocast.

I now knew that I needed the program LAME in order to convert my Audacity file into an mp3. Without LAME, my podcast cannot be posted on the web as it needs to be in the mp3 format so that others can listen to it. After three tries, I had my audio file converted to an mp3 (it really isn't that difficult, I just had a moment of stupidity!).

My next challenge was to figure out how to post my podcast onto my Blog. According to Blogger's help files, I needed to first upload my podcast to a host site and then I could embed it into Blogger. I found a site called Kiqlo that would allow me to post my podcast for free. Kiqlo is primarily geared towards podcasters that want to sell their podcasts, but you don't have to do this in order post a podcast. Using Kiqlo was very simple. All you need to do is sign up (yes, another username and password!), give your podcast a name, and then upload.

Once I had my podcast on Kiqlo, I was able to add a java script/html code gadget to my blog. All I had to do was embed the code for my podcast by copying and pasting into blogger.

Here are a few podcasting tips for you as you begin:

-practice your podcast before you record. I did a few practice runs so I knew what I would say before I began recording.

-have a rough script of what you are going to do, but don't read from it word for word. The beauty of podcasting is that creators generally just let things flow as they broadcast.

-find a free hosting site, such as Kiqlo, for your podcast. There are many sites that want you to pay a fee for hosting your podcast, but this is unnecessary.

So, when all is said and done, when it comes to podcasting, "Can we do it?" I now have to say, "Yes, we can!"

So Simple Even My Mother In-Law Can Use It

[Eldery couple on computer]. Retrieved July 13, 2009 from http://zeebarf.com

I was staying overnight at my in-laws last night when the conversation turned to a discussion of my father in-law's love of bookmarking sites. My mother in-law expressed frustration at having to try to sort through the exceedingly long list of sites he has deemed one of his "favourites". I proceeded to extol to them the virtues of social bookmarking. In particular, we discussed using Delicious to help them navigate through the forest of favourites on their computer. In a matter of a couple of minutes, I had my mother in-law signed up and ready to begin tagging. If two senior citizens who only recently purchased their first computer can begin using social bookmarking sites, shouldn't our techno savvy students be able to give it a go?

My Sales Pitch

I personally began using Delicious just over a month ago. I can honestly say that out of all of the Web 2.0 tools that I have tried, this is the one that has revolutionized my Internet use. I have become more organized and can find sites more easily than ever before. What benefits have I seen in using social bookmarking over traditional bookmark lists in web browsers? While The Clever Sheep, aka blogger Rodd Lucier, and Education World provide a list of benefits to using social bookmarking sites, here are my top reasons to social bookmark.

1. My favourites list is portable. Social bookmarking sites bookmark your favourites to a website, not a web browser so your favourites are accessible anywhere. This is particularly helpful for people like myself who use more than one computer. Delicious is now even more portable as there is a version available for your cell phone. However, be aware that you can only view your bookmarks on the cell phone version, not tag new sites.

2. My bookmarks are organized. When you want to make a site one of your favourites, you create tags for the site. Delicious, or other social bookmarking sites, then organize your bookmarks according to the tags you created.

3. My bookmarks are searchable. I now can search my own bookmarks using the search feature for a particular bookmarking site.

4. I can share my bookmarks with family, friends, colleagues, or students. Anyone can see my bookmarks. This makes information easy to share with others.

5. I can assign multiple tags to a site. I like this feature because sometimes a site may be useful for more than one purpose. If this is the case, I can assign multiple tags to the site so I can find it easily later.

6. It's free! What can I say, I'm cheap.

7. I can easily perform searches of other's tags on Delicious. This feature has been invaluable. When I am researching a topic for a class assignment, I simply search for a particular tag. Delicious then shows me sites that others have tagged with that label and lists the number of people who have tagged the site. This greatly simplifies research when compared to the the millions of hits, most of them irrelevant, that you would get with Google searches. In fact, this method of research is so useful that some libraries are even posting Delicious searches on their computers.

Getting Started

As I said previously, the social bookmarking site that I decided to use was Delicious. I primarily chose this site because, having no previous experience with social bookmarking, I thought it would be most advantageous to use one that was suggested by Will Richardson in our course textbook. There are many other social bookmarking sites to choose from, each with their own benefits.

By filling out one easy form, you will have your Delicious account up and running. When you sign in, there is an option to import your existing bookmarks from your computer. This is a great way to get started. You should notice that at the top of your browser there are three new icons. One icon to tag, or label, a site, one to access your bookmarks (these will appear on the left-hand side of the screen), and one to take you to the Delicious website. Any time you come to a site of interest, hit the tag button and use some key words to label the site. You can also enter a short description of the site for reference later. If you are looking for sites on a certain topic, you can subscribe to a certain tag. Whenever, someone tags a site with the word you subscribed to, you will be notified. You can also create networks of people to subscribe to your bookmarks. This could be very useful if you wanted to share information with fellow teachers or your students. You may find this video clip useful as it explains in layman's terms how to set up your Delicious account.

Commoncraft. (Producer). (2007, August 7). Social Bookmarking in Plain English. Videocast retreived July 13, 2009 from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x661V7GOcNU&feature=channel

For all you bloggers out there--I found an interesting way to load a Delicious tag cloud to your blog site. The blog doctor offers step-by-step instructions on how to create a tag cloud like the one I have in the right-hand column of my blog. Neat, eh!

The Potential Pitfalls of Social Bookmarking

[Computer frustration]. Retrieved July 13, 2009 from http://simplecomputerinstructions.com/why_us.html

As with everything, social bookmarking may not be all roses. There are several issues that you need to be aware of as you begin using bookmarking sites.

1. Beware of spam. When subscribing to tags there is a risk that you will be directed to a ton of sites, too many to sort through. This can be overwhelming and quickly become an ineffective way to find new information. Will Richardson suggests and alternative to subscribing to tags. He suggests that rather than subscribing to tags, you may want to consider subscribing to blogs that you find of interest. This may be useful if you are interested in a particular topic (e.g. Web 2.0) and you can then find bloggers who blog frequently about this topic (e.g. Will Richardson and other Ed. Tech. bloggers). This may reduce the amount of information that crosses your path to a manageable amount.

2. Searching using social bookmarking sites may not be as comprehensive as using search engines. One researcher estimates that only 28% of American Internet users tag their web resources. Therefore, while using social bookmarking sites to search for tags is an efficient method for conducting research, you may be limiting the amount of sites you are exposed to by simply relying on this search method alone.

3. Ineffective tagging can lead to frustration! When tagging sites, the user needs to be very careful and specific. For example, when I was researching social bookmarking, I tagged 28 sites with the tag "social bookmarking" and one site with the tag "social bookmarking," When I tried to find the one site, it took me a long time to realize that I had inadvertently put a comma behind social bookmarking when tagging the site. Also, some words in the English language have multiple meanings and certain tags could end up collecting sites on more than one topic. Jason Falls offers some suggestion for how to effectively tag. This includes:
- Never use more than 2 or 3 tags per website
- Keep words generic
- Be consistent when using tags
- Review tags periodically, cull or consolidate as needed
- Don't bookmark everything

4. Social bookmarking sites are public. This may expose students to inappropriate material. The solution? There are a few sites that offer users privacy. For example, Scuttle is a social bookmarking site that is loaded onto a local server. A school could host the social bookmarking site so that kids wouldn't be exposed to things that they shouldn't see.

The Million Dollar Question: How Do I Use This In My Classroom?


Retrieved July 13, 2009 from http://4.bp.blogspot.com /_4ARm5mk8fws/Slv1gDGaGGI/AAAAAAAAACQ/gq46Abz5BrQ/s1600-h/ Questionmark.jpg

As a teacher, when introduced to a new application, my mind immediately begins to dream of the ways that I could use my new found knowledge to enhance my instruction. Sometimes this task is easier than others. When I began to think about the impact that social bookmarking could have on my school and classroom, some ideas came to mind.

1. Sites such as Delicious are very simple to use (Remember, my mother in-law can use it!). Even early elementary students, such as my Grade 2 students, would be able to access tagged sites. The simplicity of using tagged sites makes the Internet accessible to even our youngest students.

2. Using social networking sites saves time. Yes, you read correctly. I believe that by having a teacher pre-tag sites for students you can save time. I have often given my students long lists of web addresses to type in. Every time, hands go up as students claim that the site no longer works. Typically, the student has mistyped the address. Bookmarking sites eliminates this wasted time, leaving more precious time for curriculum delivery.

3. Social bookmarking may help reduce students' exposure to inappropriate sites. By providing students with a pre-tagged list of acceptable sites, the chance of them stumbling upon something inappropriate is nearly eliminated.

4. Social bookmarking may provide for more effective research. Giving students a starting point for research, i.e. a list of tagged sites, will give students a variety of approved sites to begin conducting their research from.

5. Social Bookmarking is a great way for students to organize their research. Teaching students skills in how to tag sites effectively will help them be able to organize their own research and will enable them to access a reference easily. Personally, it has revolutionized my own research as I am now able to tag sites that I come upon into categories. If I happen to stumble upon a site that may be useful in the future, I can tag it for a more detailed look at a future date.

6. The tired old "Jigsaw" can take on a whole new flavour. Mister E. suggests using social bookmarking sites to have students perform jigsaws in class. Students do web searches about a particular topic and then tag the relevant sites that they find using a set of preset tags. Once all the students have finished, the class will have a smattering of sites about different topics tagged for everyone to use in their class' social bookmarking site.

7. Students can easily share sites with other classrooms or other schools. Students can collaborate with other classes anywhere in the world and add information using tags. What a great way to learn about a school in a different country. Students in Canada could collect sites that exemplify Canadian culture and tag them, while students in another country could do the same. Voila, instant sharing!

8. Social bookmarking can help teachers stay organized. Teachers can simply create tags for each class. Students can then easily access their class' bookmarks.

9. Social bookmarking can be used for professional development purposes. As an administrator, I foresee myself using Delicious to create tags for sites relevant to our division's initiatives. For example, our division is amidst a literacy initiative. Sites could be found and tagged for guided reading, read alouds, shared reads, work work, etc. These sites can then be shared with my staff.

10. Students can use social bookmarking sites to search for certain topics. As mentioned previously, Delicious allows you to search for certain tags. Students can use this feature for research purposes. A benefit of searching this way is that beside each site, its popularity is listed. This might be a quick way for students to prioritize which sites they will read first.

Social bookmarking is an easy, effective way for students to search for, collect and organize information. With relatively little teacher prep, teachers can have students tagging in no time!

Simply a beefed up filmstrip?

All of us remember sitting in class watching a filmstrip as a monotone voice described a picture that was projected onto a screen at the front of the room. Embedded in our minds are the beeps that signaled it was time to roll the strip to a new frame. Are videosharing sites simply a more advanced version of the filmstrip we loved to hate as students? Or, are they much more?

Videosharing sites can provide students and teachers with many more interactive learning opportunities than tradition methods allow. Here are some of the advantages that I see in using videosharing sites:
1. Teachers have a wealth of information at their disposal on any topic. Many of these videos are extremely professional in their creation and are better done than I could create on my own. Why reinvent the wheel?

2. Sites such as TeacherTube and YouTube are a great resource for teachers that may not have access to certain teaching materials. In particular, as a former science teacher, I found many chemistry demonstrations that I used to show a particular type of reaction that I could not show using chemicals located in my school.

3. Videosharing sites have many great clips that could be used for professional development when speakers are unavailable, funds to go to conferences are limited, or teachers are teaching in remote locations. I have used these sites for my own professional growth. As a new elementary teacher, I am nervous about certain elements of our division's balanced literacy program. Using TeacherTube, I was able to view teachers teaching a guided reading lesson and was able to see how one teacher used a think aloud strategy in her classroom. This was a great, quick and easy way to familiarize myself with some key concepts without having to attend a conference or read lengthy books.

4. Students not only are consumers of videos but they can become contributors by creating and uploading their own videos based upon a curricular topic. Students can use videosharing websites as a means to display their new found knowledge of a topic. They could become "experts" in a field and using a videosharing site would be able to share their video with the world. Viewers of the video would be able to comment on the student's work. This would provide them with authentic feedback in a timely manner. Classrooms could create partnerships with other students in different schools and share information via video uploads. The possibilities are truly endless.

5. Students are able to receive daily, if not hourly updates on current "hot" topics by using videosharing sites. Michael Wesch states on his YouTube video An Introduction to the Anthropology of YouTube that 9000 hours of video are uploaded to Youtube everyday.
History teachers can provide students with up to date information on the world's events. In fact, politicians are now using sites such as YouTube as a way to campaign during election times.

There are, however, some considerations to consider when trying to use videosharing in your classroom.
1. Many school divisions have blocked videosharing sites from their school computers. While concerns about students viewing questionable content are legitimate, this is a bit like throwing the baby out with the bath water. If this is the case in your division, Joyce Valezna offers seven ways to get around your school's block of videosharing sites. Many of these are very simple to use. One site she suggested that I found helpful was to use Kick YouTube to easily convert your YouTube clips to a usable format. All you do to use this service load the address of your favorite YouTube clip and then place the work kick before youtube in the address. So simple!

2. It takes time to search and find meaningful video clips. Because there is so much information posted on videosharing sites, it can be difficult for time-pressed teachers to sort through the thousands of potential video clips available for a given topic. My advice...start small. Use videosharing sites to search for one topic at a time. Create a playlist of videos for each topic so you have several to choose from.

3. School can often be graveyards for old or obsolete computer hardware. Our school, for example, does not have what I would call "cutting edge" technology. In an attempt to save money, we purchase old refurbished equipment or receive free equipment from our province's crown corporations. Needless to say, there can be many frustrations experienced by both teachers and students alike as they try to edit and upload videos with computers that are 10 plus years old. As a result, many students have resorted to doing what work they can at school and then finishing projects using their home computers. There are many free video editing applications that students can download at home.

Videosharing is here to stay. In fact, its popularity will only grow. Students are now uploading clips of every aspect of their lives. As teachers, we need to embrace this technology, work with the limitations given to us, and see the full potential videosharing sites offer our students.

Copyright, copyright, everywhere copyright

Beware of the copyright police! These phantom creatures stalk the halls of every school. Teachers shudder at the sound of their name as they scramble to hide their illegally photocopied resources and dubbed videos. Copyright issues are cause for concern when using video clips from sites such as YouTube or TeacherTube. While I have shown many clips in the classroom, I have also embedded clips into online course content in Moodle. Am I infringing on copyright when I do so? Upon asking a couple of experts in my division, I received varying responses. Our e-learning teacher recommended linking to sites rather than embedding them in Moodle as this would not infringe on copyright. She also stated that showing the entire class a Youtube clip at one time may violate copyright and you may, rather, need to have students view the clip individually at their own computer (that’s convenient in a school with one computer lab!). Not wanting to accept her response, I asked our division’s library coordinator. He simply gave me my own copy of Copyright Matters, every library coordinator's bible, and told me to make my own judgments. According to Copyright Matters,

Most material available on the Internet is protected by copyright.
This includes text (e.g., postings to newsgroups, e-mail messages),
images, photographs, music, video clips, and computer software.
Under the Copyright Act, reproduction and unauthorized use
of a protected work are currently infringements. Therefore,
reproduction of any work or a substantial part of any work on the
Internet would infringe copyright unless you have the permission
of the owner (p. 16).

So, perhaps the e-learning teacher was correct. This creates huge implications for the classroom and makes it substantially more laborious to use videosharing sites in the classroom. Also, without being able to imbed files into online courses, one can never be sure if the link will be there tomorrow.

There is however, hope for change. The Council of Ministers of Education, Canada recently lobbied the government to make an exemption to the law for educational use. This would enable teachers to freely use Internet resources, including videosharing sites, without having to receive permission from the creator of the video. Until then, teachers will have to be creative with their use of videos from online sites in order to comply with Canadian Copyright Law. I guess I had better start pre-booking the computer lab now.

Me, illiterate?

Having spent much of the previous school year creating a course to help struggling students develop better literacy skills, I am beginning to wonder if, I, myself am not illiterate. Not in the traditional sense of the word, but in the newest incarnation of the term literacy. The new "literacy” is now expanded to include one’s ability to learn and interact with technology in a meaningful way. With the explosion of Web 2.0 applications, it is hard to imagine anyone being fully “literate” in how to use all of these resources given the daily updates and changes that are occurring. As teachers this creates new challenges for us as well in terms of helping our students become literate because as Coiro (2003) points out “electronic texts compound the challenges because they possess new characteristics that require different types of comprehension processes and a different set of instructional strategies” (p. 459). How can I effectively present the latest application to my students when I am barely literate myself?

So with that laying heavily on my mind I decided to take my illiterate self into the world of videosharing, better known to my students as YouTube. I have previously surfed on YouTube for relevant clips related to my course content. In fact, I have found several clips that have enhanced the delivery of the curriculum. I have not, however, signed up for an account or uploaded a movie. Signing up was very easy, my google account worked quite nicely (hey, at least there is not another password to remember!). I decided to take a short clip of my family at a barbeque using my camera, since it is the only thing I have capable of taking video. Taking the video, not a problem. Uploading the video? We’ll see. After my second try at exporting the video from my camera, I succeeded. With some trepidation I logged onto my YouTube account. What do you know? There is a handy dandy little yellow icon in the top right hand corner for illiterate people like me. In less than a minute I was able to begin uploading my first video. Maybe I am becoming more literate than I think? My frustration level, however, soon begins to rise as I realize that my stellar internet speed is going to take one hour to upload a one minute video clip.
While I’m waiting, impatiently, I decide to check out some other features on YouTube. I sign up to automatically upload any movies I post to my Facebook account. Love that feature! This summer I have spent every free moment I have reading about guided reading, so I search for some interesting clips on that topic. One video in particular catches my eye so I decided to create a guided reading playlist and add the clip to that folder. I noticed that there is an e-mail feature, so I figure, why not e-mail the video to my admin partner?

After my little adventure into the world of videosharing, I discover that I am, perhaps, not as illiterate as I initially thought. Inexperienced? Yes. Willing to learn? Absolutely! This video illustrates the importance of having teachers teach students digital literacy skills as they navigate through the googilized world that we live in.

Peter Goodwin and Jo Parker’s blog discusses at length the importance of educating students about effective way to become literate in a digital world. While the primary focus of the blog in for librarians, I found many gems for the classrooms teacher as well.

An important aspect of the “new literacies” is having students become aware of the implications of their actions online. A quick YouTube search using my hometown’s name revealed some startling results. In a matter of minutes I found video clips of this year’s grad party posted, saw a former student try her first cigar, watched three students drive around town intoxicated, and watched two students’ production of a show they called Kal and Boomer. Do these students understand the implications of their actions? Probably not. One recent online news article estimates that there are nearly 3000 YouTube videos posted on how to cheat. Students posting these videos commented on how they did not see any harm in posting such videos, after all, there are worse things to view on YouTube. While this may be true, what are the long-term consequences of such actions? Would a future employer search for their name to see what their extracurricular activities have been? In today’s technological era employers are searching many popular online sites to screen potential employees. Recently, my husband changed jobs. While he was having lunch with his new employer, his boss mentioned that they had done their homework in terms of checking him out. They had searched YouTube for clips and had even went as far as looking at his Facebook account. An important part of becoming literate in the 21st century will involve becoming a discerning user of Web 2.0 applications such as YouTube.

So, while I still do not feel as if I am literate in the newest sense of the word, I do believe that as I learn and grow in how to use these web-based resources, I will be able to guide my students to become critical consumers of technology. They will probably always be more technologically savvy than I as they are natives to the internet and I am only an immigrant. However, I can offer them food for thought as they navigate through the tangled Web 2.0.

Photo-sharing in elementary schools???

As I mentioned in my first posting, I am changing jobs this fall. I am moving from teaching Grade 10-12 students to Grade 2. Traditionally, I have tried my hardest to use technology to enhance my delivery of the curriculum. However, as I begin the transition to my new school, I have quickly began to realize that the use of technology does not appear to be as prevalent in elementary education as it is in secondary schools (or, at least the one that I am going to). Also, given the limited abilities of early elementary students, the way you use technology is also limited. Does this mean that I believe it should not be used at all? Absolutely not! I do, however, believe that it may require more creativity on my part.

Take for example, photo-sharing. When I began to reflect upon how I would use sites such as Flickr in my classroom a few ideas surfaced. First, I thought about how I could use the set creating feature in Flickr to create albums of pictures of various locations from around the world. The pictures could then be used to compare and contrast characteristics of these locations to our local community. I began by uploading pictures from a recent trip that I took to Hawaii and used the description feature to write a simple sentence about Hawaii for each picture. The pictures included trees, crops, and landscapes. My students will then be able to use these pictures to compare Hawaii’s characteristics to that of our local community. If you do not have your own pictures of different locations, you could always use the favourites feature to gather different photos for the students to view. Older students would be able to search Flickr for their own pictures, but I believe that I will need to have the pictures pre-organized for my Grade 2 students. The map feature in Flickr may also be useful as teachers or students could upload pictures and then plot the location of where they were taken on the virtual map.

Elementary teachers are great collectors of student work. Throughout a school year they compile hundreds of papers that are stored in each student’s portfolio. These papers are then sent home at the end of the year for the parents to store (I just recently disposed of a small forest of paper brought home by my 7 year old daughter). Wouldn’t it be great to store an online portfolio on a photo-sharing website for each student? Rather than gathering endless amounts of paper, teachers can simply scan or photograph important student work in the student’s online portfolio. Another advantage to having portfolios done this way is that even young students can then go into the portfolio and add descriptions of their work or state why the particular item was included in their portfolio. What a great way to have students reflect upon their work. One elementary art teacher has used Flickr to display his students’ work virtually for both students and parents to view. To see his work click here.

Photo-sharing sites could also be used as a communication tool for the school as a whole. In my new role as vice-principal, I could see myself using Flickr to display pictures of whole school events for members of the school community to view. A great example of this is found here. One obstacle that would need to be overcome before a school photo-sharing site could be established would be for each parent to provide the school with written permission to display pictures of their student. Also, the site would have to be public as it would be extremely time consuming to subscribe all of the families in your school to the school's site.

A final application that I could foresee myself using photo-sharing websites for would be to share ideas with other teachers. A great example of this is found at this site. On this site Grade 2/3 teachers have displayed various ideas that they have used in their math classes for other teachers to view. What a great way to share ideas between teachers in your division when implementing a new curriculum. This would be extremely beneficial for teachers in small rural schools where they may be the only teacher of their grade for many miles. This would create an instantaneous, virtual support network for every teacher.

I noticed with interest that several school divisions have blocked photo-sharing sites due to the potentially inappropriate content that could be posted on them. Does the potential for students to view explicit content mean that the site should be banned altogether? I believe that blanket solutions to these types of potential problems may be overkill. Students need to be taught how to search for appropriate content. They may need to sign a school pledge for appropriate Internet use and consequences for not following such policies need to be clearly outlined. There is such a wealth of information that could be used to enhance student learning on photo sharing sites. It would be a shame for students to miss out on this opportunity. If you are interested in reading more about the pros and cons of photo-sharing check out this site.

Using the photo-sharing website was very simple. In a matter of minutes, I had my first pictures uploaded. I appreciated the step-by-step directions given to you as you signed up for your account. One item to watch out for—be sure to upload the pictures after you have browsed and selected them on your computer before you move away from the upload page. At first I did not do this and I wasted a considerable amount of time reloading and uploading the same pictures for a second time. One teacher oriented site that I found useful was found here. This site not only gives directions on how to use photo-sharing websites but also provides some ideas to get you started using photo sharing in your classroom. Before you know it, you will be well on your way to sharing your photos with the students, parents and teachers in your school community and the world.