PowerPoint and Dropbox

Summary

Part One

This week, I was required to do something I have done a million times before and yet I can also say that this week I have tried and learned about more things than I have in previous weeks. I remember when, just a few years ago, being able to create a PowerPoint made you the cool kid in class. But, with the rate of technology, presenting a PowerPoint in class is likely to make you the boring, unimaginative one. I have to admit though, I find well done PowerPoints to be an efficient and effective educational tool along with other presentation mediums and I use them all the time. I have not yet felt prepared to move on from this technological tool. In defense, I do always try to use new designs that will catch my students’ attention and serve as visual tools to help them remember the most essential content. This week, the assignment was to create a PowerPoint. I took this opportunity to explore features of PowerPoint that I have never used before or have not fully experimented with.

Part Two

Whenever I take my PowerPoints to school, I email them to myself and put them on my flash drive because I can’t bring my laptop (which I use to create my PowerPoints). This is not always an easy and safe procedure. There have been occasions when I have not had access to my email account or when the file didn’t save or send properly. Dropbox, a cloud application, may just solve all of my problems. Dropbox can be downloaded to your computer and is available online by registering. By dragging and dropping a file into a Dropbox folder within My Computer. By doing so, the file magically appears within a personal Dropbox account folder online. The file can then be shared with others, no emailing required!

What I Did

I created a PowerPoint that is drastically different from any other I have made. I recently learned that when movement is involved in educational presentations, students are better able to remember content, and therefore, I added animations to my PowerPoint. I also included sound effects that will hopefully bring life to the lesson. I limited my use of informational text as much as possible (which is not my strong suit, clearly), I synthesized shapes and background styles to create slides with unique backgrounds, and I added a video. My PowerPoint corresponds to standard 5.6 and 5.7 of the Virginia Standards of Learning as it is a review of the seafloor with connections to erosion and weathering; it will hopefully keep any fifth grader’s attention and interest.

            I made my PowerPoint available for viewing by putting it in Dropbox and copying and pasting the link proved within my blog.

What I Learned

            This time I’m going to have to turn this section into a list. Get ready, it’s long…   

PowerPoint Related

·         How to animate text

·         In a given order

·         one or more sections of text at a time

·         How to add sound effects

·         How to change the color of a background style

·         How to use shapes in different ways

·         How to set a photo within a shape

·         How to change the width and height of beveling effects

Dropbox Related

·         Dropbox is simple to use

·         Dropbox can be used for personal purposes or to share files

·         The size of the file doesn’t matter

·         Files can be drag and dropped, they do not need to be uploaded.

How I Would Use It

            Both teachers and students can use PowerPoint to present information. I like to use PowerPoint to include written directions in lessons that can be easily referenced throughout a lesson, to have easy access to videos for lessons, and supply information in a visual format (as opposed to an unaccompanied lecture) for students with a visual learning style. Asking students to create PowerPoints, allows them to choose information to present that they think is most important and interesting through while tapping into their creativity through design.

Standards Reflection

            As PowerPoint is a digital tool that incites creative and critical thought in its user, in order to present relevant information to reach individuals with multimodal learning styles, I believe that the use of PowerPoint in the classroom meets all of ISTE-NETS-T’s standards and the majority of their components.

            When teachers use Dropbox to share files, they are collaborating to communicate ideas in a way that promotes efficiency in the workplace and therefore, they meet standard three of the ISTE-NETS-T’s standards.

Map:Google Earth

Summary

Good. Better. Best. The staff at Google never stops to rest when it comes to their applications. Google Earth 6.2 is the most rich and versatile Google mapping tool yet. What’s better, your personal Google Map can be imported into Google Earth. Google Earth can be downloaded to your desktop and used to view geological features, buildings in 3-D, panoramic photos and more. These images are brought to you using both hi-resolution and low-resolution imagery. Much of what is seen is displayed from satellites; these images may appear pixilated and are not hi-resolution images. However, Google’s panoramic images and users self-submitted photos were most likely taken with hi-definition cameras, they images appear less distorted. These images are seen by operating the application similarly to Google Maps. Users are able to zoom in and out and scroll across the terrain using a mouse. However, in Google Earth, users are also able to “travel” using the ground level view as opposed to a bird’s eye view. In addition, millions of pictures can be viewed by clicking on the Polaroid icons. Hours could be spent exploring your neighborhood, a region you’ve always wanted to travel to, the depths of the ocean, and the wonders of the world (both natural and man-made) that you’ve only every read about or seen on television.

With Google Earth 6.2, users are no longer confined to exploring the far reaches of planet Earth. It is now possible to travel around mars and throughout the solar system.
 

What I Did

            People who have access to my Google Map are able to rate it, comment, and open map with a KWL file in Google Earth. After taking a look at Google Developers page about KWL, I learned that the acronym stands for Keyhole Mark-Up Language which is a file format used for displaying geographical data (to pinpoint locations, overlay images, etc.). Using the KWL file option, while it sounds complicated, was one of the easiest tasks I’ve had to complete yet. With my Google Map open, I clicked “KWL” and…….well, that was it! Google Earth opened automatically and zoomed in to show my place marks. From there, I could use Google Earth as normal or click on the place marks to view my descriptions.

To se the Jing Screencast of my Google Earth map, click here.

  

How I Use It & What I’ve Learned

I have been using Google Earth for several years now and have even worked it into previous lessons. One of my favorite uses for Google is the ocean feature. I have used it in the past to explore the features of the seafloor with my students. Although, I have not used Google Earth since it was last updated (the 6.2 version). I was disappointed to find that the ocean feature, while it had been updated, was less user-friendly than it had been. In the previous version, it was simple to plunge into the ocean and scroll along the ocean floor. The updated version drags the user down to the bottom and has them creep along the bottom by double clicking to move forward. If there is a landform, the user will be walked into it and then moved around it. It is a very tedious process and the landforms are more difficult to define. Unfortunately, I will have to be careful if I choose to do my sea floor lesson again.

Earth Science is my passion, in looking through Google Earth lesson plans in Google for Educators, I found a lesson for a Geological scavenger hunt. It’s the first one on the list in this Google Lesson Plan Library.
 

Standards Reflection

            When teachers engage their students in the use of Google Earth in their classrooms, they are meeting ISTE-NETS-T’s Standard 2 and its components. A typical lesson can be brought to life using Google maps, an interactive tool that encourages students to explore and make discoveries by following their interests. Using the varied features Google Earth offers students can create land marks, videos, measurements, and more to share their knowledge, develop innovative products, and provide evidence of their learning for purposes of assessment.

Computer Tutorial: Jing Screencast

Summary

I've always wondered how tech savvy individuals create tutorials. How do they capture a video of their computer screen without using a digital camera? Both the image in my head of a man holding a recorder up to the screen and this question seem silly to me now that I have practiced using Jing's screencapture feature. Using Jing, I can not only capture still screenshots, I can also capture a video of anything I do on the computer (opening applications, typing, mouse movements, surfing the web). In addition, I can create a voiceover to my video by synchronously using a microphone. I now have the power to create videos at my finger tips, but no need to worry about having to sit through hours of my computer demonstrations; Jing reins in the crazy by limiting video capture to five minutes. Once a video has been created, it can be shared or saved just as with a Jing image....that's right, Jing my videos can be published online, accessed in Jing history, and saved to My Computer. So, as I improve my computer skills, I am able to create my very own tutorials to share with others because teaching and sharing knowledge is what I like to do best!

 

 

What I Did It

            To capture video, I return to the little sun at the top of my computer screen, the constant reminder that Jing is open and ready to serve my needs. I choose the first ray to capture, then I click and drag my mouse to select a viewing area, just as I would to take a Jing image. But this time, I choose the “capture video” option. Once I choose this option, I am given three seconds before Jing starts recording. A little bar appears allowing me to pause, finish, restart, or cancel the video. I must admit, the restart feature comes in handy. When I’m done, I choose to share my video as a screencast or save it (videos are saved as SWF files). Figuring out what you’re going to record is the hard part!

 

For this assignment, I choose to create a video tutorial demonstrating how to embed a Youtube Video into PowerPoint. I published it to the web by creating a screencast which is available by typing in the URL or clicking here. Finally, I saved the video to My Computer and coverted it to an AVI file that would enable me to view the document on my computer. I then uploaded the file to be embedded into this post.

 

            I am a self taught PowerPoint user. While I believe that I know how to create some nice looking and interesting PowerPoints, I must admit that I am not aware of PowerPoint’s full potential. But, fter I got the basics down, I learned that videos and other things could be embedded into my slides. I had been including ugly URLs in my PowerPoints and watching others do the same thing up until this time. While embedding a video is a minor trick, I believe it demonstrates a more thorough knowledge of the technology available to me, in other words, it makes me look like I know what I’m doing.

 

 

How I Would Use It

There are many possibilities with Jing screencast. Jing’s website even shares how some educators have discovered ways to use Jing in their own classrooms. Once teacher uses Jing screencast to provide homework help for her students while another uses it to grade students’ papers. Overall, I like the idea of using Jing screencast to record how-to videos for math, science, and language arts on a SmartBoard. These types of videos can have multiple uses. For instance, a teacher can demonstrate a new mathematics skill using Jing on the SmartBoard and create a link or embed the video in her classroom’s website. Students can access the video when they need a refresher after school while working on homework, when they need help while working independently in the classroom, when they are working at centers, and when they have been absent. Using Jing for such a purpose can elevate some of the everyday problems teachers face.

 

Issue #1

Giving homework is a controversial issue these days. Many students do not have the support they need at home in order to learn effectively from their homework. One of my professors likes to say, “Practice doesn’t make perfect, practice makes permanent.” We are doing a disservice to our students when we have them go home with to practice a new skill with a twenty question worksheet and all they have done is practiced the skill incorrectly twenty times because they forgot the intricacies of the skill and didn’t have the help they needed. By providing how-to video’s to students, there is a better chance that students will be practicing skills correctly. This way, students are receiving the extra practice they need, although I do believe that grades for homework still should not be used in grade books.

Issue #2

Grading is a whole other issue. Teachers take a large amount of precious time in class to grading and correcting homework with students. I see three things wrong with this. Firstly, time could be better spent. Secondly, many students choose not to follow along. Finally, the pace may be too fast for some to follow and the chance that any student is internalizing why they got a problem wrong is slim to none. Instead, a teacher could fill out an answer key using the SmartBoard and Jing, and have students grade their own work at home. A strict honor policy would need to be in place and students would need to be required to make corrections obvious. Focus is then placed on mastery instead of collecting grades for the gradebook.

 

 

Issue #3

I’ve heard of a lot of creative ideas educators have come up with for keeping peace and quiet while working with a group of students at the guided reading table, this is one of them.

When students work independently, when the teacher is helping a small group or when working at centers, hands are constantly flying in the air or the teacher and her group is getting interrupted. If your classroom has iPads or a computer, one way to alleviate this issue is to record directions or examples using Jing. iPads and computers can be accessed by students independently and can often be passed around the room. Using Jing in this way could be both a time and energy saver and it requires students to become more independent.

 

 

What I Learned

            My logical mind tells me that there are many technologies I have yet to discover and learn how to use and that learning about them could lead to professional development. However, it wasn’t until now that I have discovered an application that I feel could greatly influence and improve my practice as an educator. Sure, there are websites I could use for research, lesson planning, and that I could introduce my students to but, (here comes the part that no higher-up wants to here) I already have a repertoire of digital resources and am comfortable using what I already know.

 

I have learned to use many technologies and how to incorporate them into my teaching in just a few years. But, since I haven’t had my own classroom yet, it is difficult to think about improving my practice and ditching old ideas for new ones! However, today it has truly been impressed upon me that there are still technologies worth finding because while I don’t want to be a teacher who shoves technology down her student’s throat, I want to be a teacher who can reinvent the classroom. After applications are made people discover how to use them in ways the inventor never even thought of. By synthesizing what I learn about new tools, perhaps I can discover a way to use them to transform the classroom in a way no one has thought of yet.

 

Standards Reflection

            Teachers using Jing meet ISTE-NETS-T’s standard 2, sections “a, c, and d,” by adapting a learning experience through a digital resource that can be used by students with diverse learning styles (visual, auditory) and diverse working strategies (whole group, small group, independent work) or that could be used for assessment purposes. They also meet standard 3, section “a” for demonstrating technological fluency by communicating with students using a video media format. Additionally, teachers meet standard 5, section “d” for evolves and renews classroom management in such a way that makes class time more efficient, teaching more effective and contributes to the vitality of homework.

Image Grab:Jing

Summary

While I found Microsoft’s Snipping Tool to be an efficient tool for capturing an image, I was frustrated with it pen feature; luckily, Jing has a similar tool that offers two things the Snipping Tool does not. Like the Snipping Tool, Jing allows the user to capture a cropped portion of his or her active screen and alter the picture for emphasis. Unlike the Snipping Tool, Jing has text, frame, and arrow features. Many color options are available to adjust the way these features look on top of an image. Additionally, Jing has sharing capabilities. Using the ScreenCast option, the user publishes their image online and makes it accessible with a ScreenCast URL.

What I Did

            To use Jing, I downloaded it for free to my computer and went through a quick and easy set-up process. During the set-up process, I chose to have Jing start up with my computer. Now, when I turn on my computer, a small sun appears at the top of my screen. Clicking on the sun allows me to capture a new image and to view my history. An image is selected as with the Snipping Tool, by holding down and dragging the mouse to highlight the area of interest. The additional features are used in a similar way. Once I found an image I could use, I captured it, added frames, arrows, and text, the pressed the ScreenCast button as opposed to saving it directly on my computer. I had to wait a moment for the process to be completed. Afterwards, I decided to save the picture for extra measure so I right clicked on the image and choose, “save as picture as....” Jing creates all images as PNG files.

How I Would Use It

            I’m certain there are a million things that could be done with this tool. However, I think I would use it most to present labeled images to my future elementary students. For example, to teach the vocabulary associated with the features of coastal erosion for an oceanography unit, I can frame the features I want students to be familiar with, differentiate them by using a different color for each, and draw labels with vocabulary words using the text feature. To make sure no one gets confused, I can add arrows from the text boxes to the frames to make it clear.

I import Jing images just as I would any other image. After I have saved a Jing image and while I am creating a blog post, I click on the image of a Polaroid photo on my Blogger post tool bar which gives me the option to browse my files in My Computer. I find the image I want and select “Open,” then “Add Selected.” The image then appears within my post.

 

To access and capture free photographs I used Foter which provides hundreds of beautiful, quality photographs organized within searchable categories.

 Q&A

How/where do you save images on your computer?

Using Print Screen, the Snipping Tool, and Jing allows me to capture images to save to my computer. The Snipping Tool and Jing provide a saving option. Using this option, I usually choose to save my images to either “Pictures” or “My Documents” within My Computer. Otherwise, I simply save images by right clicking on the image using my mouse, and choosing “save picture as…”

How do you access you Jing history?

The little sun that appears when I have Jing open gives me three options when I scroll my mouse over it. Clicking on the center option will open up my Jing history. Here I can view, share, or delete any of the Jing images I have created.

How do you publish your artifact?

After creating my artifact, I can publish it by choosing the ScreenCast option. I can do this in at least two places. Just after selecting the image I am served the option to create the ScreenCast. Or, I can save the image and access my image in my Jing History where it once again gives me the option to create the ScreenCast.

What happens if you ScreenCast an item in your history?

The image I created opens up in a new window. Here I can copy the URL to the ScreenCast. This allows me to paste the ScreenCast in a location where it can be referenced by others.

How do you share your artifact with others?

To access my first image through ScreenCast, click here.        

To access my second image through Screen Cast, click here.

Standards Reflection

Using Jing to design new, digital resources that facilitate student learning applies to ISTE-NETS-T’s standard one part “a” and standard two, parts “a” and “c.” When a teacher is able to take a product and adapt it using digital tools, such as Jing, to create a new learning tool based upon their subject matter knowledge, they are not only meeting these standards but demonstrating their ability to think creatively, use tools innovatively, and invent new learning products. Such activity is bound to inspire young minds!