http://screencast.com/t/NDQ0OGVjMDA
http://screencast.com/t/NTBlMmQyM2
Monday, March 29, 2010
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Photo Sharing
I feel all images used in the classroom can be powerful, whether they are in video or photo form. I am new to photo sharing, so I will need to practice more and become confident before introducing it to my students. Then we can use photos of them receiving or using alternative health to inform others. Students do an end of the course presentation where they can incorporate video, photos, power point, or any image they choose to develop their point. I will encourage them to use their creative thinking skills along with critical thinking skills. Students learn more when photos are used because the brain remembers images so vividly. Color also enhanced that effect.
Students will also share photos to the class wiki along with the web address of the research articles they find to write the paper. These photos can be anything off the web which is allowed to be used on a wiki. Then when a person looks up an alternative health topic on our wiki they will see images to make an even greater impression.
Depending upon the student, these activities can be extremely helpful in learning and remembering content.
Students will also share photos to the class wiki along with the web address of the research articles they find to write the paper. These photos can be anything off the web which is allowed to be used on a wiki. Then when a person looks up an alternative health topic on our wiki they will see images to make an even greater impression.
Depending upon the student, these activities can be extremely helpful in learning and remembering content.
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
CouchSurfing
CouchSurfing http://www.couchsurfing.org is the largest international hospitality exchange network. It is used by 234 countries with over 1.6 million members. It started in 2003 by Casey Fenton from San Francisco. It almost crashed a few years ago when a computer problem erased much of the site, but members fought to keep the site open and it flourishes today.
Couchsurfing reminds me of a cross between hostelling (which I did from Maine to California) and a college exchange program. Here people go to the site and register for free. Then they fill in the information (place, age, gender, dates) that they are looking for and off they go. The more specific the information, the closer the match. There is no money exchanged and arrangements are made ahead of time. The traveler can provide food for the host in exchange for the accommodations if they want to.
There really are no other sites quite like this one. Hostelling uses a small fee to stay in a designated location. Other sites are more travel related and users provide feedback, information and photos of places they have traveled to.
I loved hostelling across the country. Now I am married and probably would not use couchsurfing. If I were a college student, I would certainly consider this. My other thought is, I remember it took me until age 30 to hostel alone because I am female. I think it is easier for men. I would like to believe that has changed, but there was one instance in 2009 when a female stayed with a male in another country and claimed he raped her. He denied it, but went to jail for ten years. Now the website suggests women stay with women if they have any safety concerns. Sadly, I agree.
Couchsurfing reminds me of a cross between hostelling (which I did from Maine to California) and a college exchange program. Here people go to the site and register for free. Then they fill in the information (place, age, gender, dates) that they are looking for and off they go. The more specific the information, the closer the match. There is no money exchanged and arrangements are made ahead of time. The traveler can provide food for the host in exchange for the accommodations if they want to.
There really are no other sites quite like this one. Hostelling uses a small fee to stay in a designated location. Other sites are more travel related and users provide feedback, information and photos of places they have traveled to.
I loved hostelling across the country. Now I am married and probably would not use couchsurfing. If I were a college student, I would certainly consider this. My other thought is, I remember it took me until age 30 to hostel alone because I am female. I think it is easier for men. I would like to believe that has changed, but there was one instance in 2009 when a female stayed with a male in another country and claimed he raped her. He denied it, but went to jail for ten years. Now the website suggests women stay with women if they have any safety concerns. Sadly, I agree.
Social Networking in Education
Content or Conversation? Steve Hargadon talks on his blog about two topics I would like to address. 1. Topic or Content is maybe not as important as the act of engagement. 2. Focus is important to having good conversations.
I believe, as a facilitator, my role is to assist students by inspiring and motivating them. To do this they need to feel a connection with me. They need to feel safe to answer a question and not expect to be belittled. They will not learn the content if they feel afraid. If I can engage them in conversation, they relax and will absorb the information which they need. I am concerned for students today who seem so isolated and only connect to people via technology. If I could transfer my philosophy of face to face teaching and apply it to social networking, it might make me feel better. If we can use social networking in the classroom so students become involved in conversation about important topics, then we have really created something special. Some students do not like to talk in class. Public speaking is still the number one fear. But they seem comfortable with the web, even when speaking to strangers. If that comfort level can translate from teacher to computer, then we have a winner. Engagement of students can be more beneficial than the topic.
That being said, you still need to have a topic to engage in good conversations. People get together because they have something in common, therefore, something to talk about. It is important that the topic is not too broad, otherwise you can have may side conversations. For example, I teach alternative health. That is a very huge topic. I narrow down each class and each page on the wiki to a particular subject for students to comprehend. Otherwise a topic can appear overwhelming. So, I do agree that focus is important to having good conversations.
I believe, as a facilitator, my role is to assist students by inspiring and motivating them. To do this they need to feel a connection with me. They need to feel safe to answer a question and not expect to be belittled. They will not learn the content if they feel afraid. If I can engage them in conversation, they relax and will absorb the information which they need. I am concerned for students today who seem so isolated and only connect to people via technology. If I could transfer my philosophy of face to face teaching and apply it to social networking, it might make me feel better. If we can use social networking in the classroom so students become involved in conversation about important topics, then we have really created something special. Some students do not like to talk in class. Public speaking is still the number one fear. But they seem comfortable with the web, even when speaking to strangers. If that comfort level can translate from teacher to computer, then we have a winner. Engagement of students can be more beneficial than the topic.
That being said, you still need to have a topic to engage in good conversations. People get together because they have something in common, therefore, something to talk about. It is important that the topic is not too broad, otherwise you can have may side conversations. For example, I teach alternative health. That is a very huge topic. I narrow down each class and each page on the wiki to a particular subject for students to comprehend. Otherwise a topic can appear overwhelming. So, I do agree that focus is important to having good conversations.
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