Using RSS feeds

This week for class we searched for and added RSS feeds to follow. RSS, or Really Simple Syndication, is basically a simple way to get instant news in one source, such as your personal Google or Yahoo homepage. Really, the only hard part of this is trying to find the RSS button to click on whatever website you want to follow. For example, I wanted updates from National Geographic, but it took me a good fifteen minutes to actually locate the RSS link. Sometimes the link can be colored or shaped differently, so look closely- I was missing the RSS feed for National Geographic because they were colored gray, and I was looking for an orange button. I've never used RSS in the past, however, I like how the feeds I like to follow are in one place and can see myself using it in the future. The links offered are what I expected and are basically news articles for whatever I was interested in- animals, international affairs, education, etc. For example, in the feed I'm following from Discovery Animals, the article "Why Are Penguins Losing Their Feathers?" which was posted earlier today, is listed first and informed me on the issue, which I had not heard about before seeing the article. I hope to use RSS feeds more to help me keep track of news in all the things I am interested in.
With my RSS feeds, I am now following:
CNN Technology News
EducationNews
National Geograhic Adventure
Discovery Animal News
BBC News

Social Bookmarking and Delicious

Hi everyone! This week our class explored Social Bookmarking. Social bookmarking is useful because it records your bookmarks just like in a web browser, but it adds the ability to share these bookmarks with others. This makes it easier to share information with others. This could be used in the classroom to create an easily-accessible group of resources for students. The social bookmarking website we used was Delicious. Here's a link to my delicious account with some of the resources I found and bookmarked:

http://www.delicious.com/gwynblog

Hope you enjoy it!

Assistive Technology

For the last part of Module 3 we explored Assistive Technology. The most common form of assisitve technology is translation services. We were asked to take a look at a few different translation pages. My favorite has always been Google Translate. It's been helpful in the past to look up a work for a homework assignment (Foreign language students, Google Translate will not do your homework for you! I've seen too many students do this and I warn you now, Google Translate is a computer and translates directly what you type, which will often come out grammatically incorrect in another language.) or to translate a web page I wanted to explore that was in a language I did not understand. Google Translate is a great free internet resource to use. I even have a Google Translate widget on my blog. I tried out the paralink website as well, which was nice as it translated the language lists with whatever language you were using (If I was translating from French to English, I would select "Anglais," the french word for English). I could see this being particularly useful for people who do not speak English. Babel fish is very similar to Google Translate, except it is run by Yahoo. World Lingo is nice as you can translate a document, however, it does cost money. All in all, these websites can make the WorldWide Web more worldwide.

Next I explored Microsoft's website to learn about the accessibility tools that Windows 7 has to offer. For those hard of hearing, it is possible to use text and images in the place of sound, via the ease of access center. I was particularly interested in this setting because my Grandmother is hard of hearing, and I would like to be able to share things on my computer with her. I was able to turn on visuals and captions very easily, something I had no idea even existed already on my computer without any installation or purchasing software.Text can be read out load for those who have trouble seeing with a program called Narrator, or it can be made larger and thus easier to read with a program called Magnifier. Another option that interested me was an option to make it "easier to focus on tasks." It explained how to select this option on your computer so it would do several things at once to make it easier to work, such as turning off background images, making notifications quicker, magnifying the text, and more. I could see this being especially useful in the classroom when working with a student who may have trouble concentrating on the task at hand.

 I spent time looking at "Supporting Diverse Learners" to familiarize myself with more assisitve technology that I could use in the future in my classroom. One thing here that stood out to me was "Digital Text." Digital text is " text stored as strings of characters." It reminded me of the Leap Frog reading pads they have out for children to help them learn to read. I've been using these educational toys with my younger cousins for years. Using them in the classroom is a wonderful idea. Children love to be read to, and it helps them learn to read for themselves. This tool allows them to be read to and read along, to select words or phrases one by one to be heard, or to guide the reader as they go along. I'm happy to see technology used at home be used at school as well.

The last topic we were asked to look at was photosensitive epilepsy, and how it can effect children using computers. The Epilepsy Foundation has a page set up to explain this condition. They define it photosensitive epilepsy as "exposure to flashing lights at certain intensities or to certain visual patterns [that] can trigger seizures." They also note that condition is actually more common in children, so teachers should know some background information on it. For use with computer moniters they advise to:

• "Use a flicker-free monitor (LCD display or flat screen). 
• Use a monitor glare guard.
• Wear non-glare glasses to reduce glare from the screen.
• Take frequent breaks from tasks involving the computer."

So, if you have a child in your classroom with photosensitive epilepsy, it can still be possible for them to use technology with the rest of the class, as long as their doctor allows it and you take certain precautions.

Assistive technology allows classrooms to be more accessible by all students, and for them to connect to other students around the world. It's important for teacher to know how to utilize this technology to help make this happen.

Communication: Gliffy

Today I'm exploring a communication tool for the third part of Module 3. I was a little nervous as I started googling different options, as many of them seemed to cost money, but I finally settled on Gliffy.com, an online software program to design visuals. Gliffy does cost money to use, however, they have a link on their homepage to try it free. This is where I explored from.
I decided to create a Venn Diagram. I remember creating and using these often in grade school to compare different things, so I figured this was a good place to start. To start I familiarized myself with the interface. The top menu contains tools such as text, mouse, shapes, and zoom. In the left selection bar you can add different components, such as extra circles for the diagram. The right column displays document and text properties. The interface reminded me of MS Paint and was fairly simple to use. I could see teachers easily implementing it when creating lessons, or possibly as a tool for older students when creating projects for class. For my example and to gain my basic knowledge of the program, I compared lions, tigers, and bears (oh my!). This is just simple information from reading books or lectures from N107, which I took last semester. Most of it you probably already know, but it provides a good example for comparison.

• I added 3 circles from the left in colors of my choice, positioned them using the mouse tool (located at the top) and enlarged them.
• I added text using the text tool ("A" at the top). As I was typing, I changed the look of the font with the text properties menu to the right.
• I added images using the "image search" option in the left menu. You search, then select an image you like and drag and drop it into place.
• Tip: You can re-size anything by using the mouse tool and clicking on it, then moving the squares around whatever it is you want to re-size. 

This was really simple and easy to do. To actually save the file you have to create a free 30-day trial, but I did take some screen shots while I worked so I could share the process with you if you were interested in using the program. I'll be posting them using the tool I shared with you last week, Photobucket, below. The images are playing in a slide show but if you click on them it will take you to my album, where you can get a closer look.

I hope you enjoyed my exploration of Gliffy! I had fun exploring this program and I hope that I might use it more extensivly one day if I work for a school who has bought the program.Good luck!

Photoshare witrh Photobucket

For the next part of Module 3 for my class, I explored Photobucket, a website designed to help people share their photos. In its most basic form, Photobucket can be used to upload an image to the web. In the past I have used Photobucket to simply upload a photo to post on a web page somewhere, such as an online forum. For this post, I explored the website and learned about the different services Photobucket has to offer its users. I was unfamiliar with these, but after clicking around the website and trying out some features for myself, I can share them with you. Let's start with the basics:

• First, create a free account. Everything I did costs no money at all! You can create one from the front page (linked above).
• Next is the basics. Try uploading a photo. After you create your account, the website you create your first album (where you store your photos, just like in real life) and then it will take you to the upload page. Click on the upload button, choose and image from your computer, and you're set! You can also upload photos in bulk. (The link for this feature is provided under the upload button.)
• You don't have to upload from your computer! To the left is a drop down menu that says "upload from" that will allow you to upload pictures from other websites, your phone, email, webcam, and more.
• You can create multiple albums to sort your images. As a future teacher, this would be great if you had to sort images for an assignment or unit you're covering in class.
• On your album page, to the right, you can link to your album using the links provided. You can also link the photos to socal networking, including blogger! Here's a link to the album I created for this blog post:

 Next comes the fun stuff! The images I chose to use are of Mammoth Cave, which is the longest known cave in the world. (Shout out to my fellow classmates- it's a great weekend trip! You can drive down and experience a natural wonder. I hope these images get you thinking about it.) As a disclaimer, I did not take these photos, they are web uploaded and belong to those who took them.

• A nice plus is that you can add themes to your albums. It's just a decorative feature, but it's pretty. :)
• You can add titles, descriptions, and tags to you pictures so others can search them. Just click on a photo in you album and type them in. Here's one I did.
• You can view your photos as a slide show right from your album. Here's mine.
• When viewing your photos, down at the bottom right is photo information. I can even give you the location of the photo in latitude and longitude, linked to Google maps!
• Click on the tab at the top that says "My Home." Then go to "tools." From here you can access all the different applications Photobucket, including iphone apps, stats on your photos and more. Let's try the "Image editor."
• Select the photo you want to edit from the list.
• Click on the tabs and explore what you can do! It's as good as any basic editing program, but you don't have to download a thing. :) I won't list everything you can do (as that would take forever) but I'll show you what I did to a photo I uplaoded.
• In effects I selected "Blur edges."
• In decorate I selected "Text." Using the panel to the right I made the text background transparent, and changed the font.
• The from retro I selected "Old Photo." And we're done! Here's the original. It looks just like an old post card now.

I hope you enjoyed everything I showed you on Photobucket. This is simply the tip of the iceberg- make an account and try it out yourself! Good luck!

Podcast Time!

For Module 3 of W200 we were asked to create a short podcast. I didn't realize what hard work this would be! The first step (and the easiest for me) was installing the program Audacity, and the LAME MP3 Encoder. After that came my first challenge- setting up my microphone. I've used headsets on the computer in the past, but I recently bought a new one. I spent half an hour trying to get the microphone to work before I realized it had a mute button attached to the headset- something I had never seen before. Sometimes it isn't a software problem, after all! Next I recorded. It felt a little funny at first, and I stumbled over words at some parts, but I got that hang of it after a while and I edited out my earlier attempts. Editing was another challenge. It took me some time to get used to the editing process in Audacity, but it became easier as I went. It reminded me of editing video in Windows Movie Maker. Here's a tutorial I used to learn the editing process.I used a free website called Yourlisten.com to upload my podcast to the web. After I uploaded my file, I copyed the embed code and entered it below while in the "Edit HTML" section of the posting page. (It's important to put it in on that section and not the "Compose" section or the code won't work correctly and come out as a jumble.) I hope you enjoy it!




My podcast was about basic Japanese phrases. Here's what I went over:

• Greeting: Good afternoon. koniichiwa. こにいちわ。
• Introduce yourself: This is the first time we have met. hajinimashite.　はじねまして。 I am _____. watashiwa_______desu. わたしは＿＿＿です。Please treat me kindly. douzoyuroshiku.　どうぞゆろしく。　
• How are you? ogenkidesuka?　おげんきですか？
• I'm good. genki desu. げにきです。
• I'm sorry/excuse me. sumimasen!　すみません。
• Thank you! arigato gozaimasu.　ありがと　ございます。
• Yes. Hai! はい！　No. iie. いいえ。
• I dont speak japanese. nihongo wa hanashimasen.　にほんご　は　はなしません。
• Good bye! sayonara.　さよなら。

Here's a webpage with some more phrases to try. Good Luck!

Thunderstorms

Here's the presentation I created for Module 2 of our class. I chose the topic thunderstorms. As I child this was something my friends and I were very interested in and enjoyed learning about. In fact, one of those friends is now in college to become a meteorologist. I hope you enjoy it!

Thunderstorms

View more presentations from gwynblog.

Introduction!

 Hi! You might be from my education class, or you may have stumbled upon this blog, but either way, I'm sure you're wondering who I am. My name is Gwyn.  I'm a freshman attending IUPUI, studying Elementary Education. This blog is the result of a technology class I'm taking to prepare me to use technology in the classroom. I think it's important to be up-to-date on technology from an education standpoint because it provides new and innovate ways for students to learn, not to mention it being very fun. Some things you might be interested in knowing about me personally are:
-I love reading, especially fantasy and mystery novels. One of the things I look forward to in my teaching career is sharing a love of books with my students.
- I have a cat named Merlin. He's in my user profile picture with me. He's very silly, and enjoys tuna, showing off, and cat naps.
-I love art! I enjoy art history, especially the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. I create ceramic and jewelry pieces. Throwing pottery is possibly my favorite way to create art.
-I enjoy learning about different cultures and languages. My passion is Japanese, which I'm in the process of learning. こにいちわ　みなさん！(That means Hello everyone!)


As I said above, this blog is a part of a class I'm taking. I had fun setting up the blog- I enjoy setting up layouts on websites. I've had some past experience on this as I've used www.freewebs.com to create websites for class projects while in high school. I love that technology gives unlimited ways to be creative and original. I hope that other students played around in the template designer tool- one tip I can offer is to change your background by selecting the background tab, rather than using a plain, ready-made template. You can pick from dozens of beautiful images, or upload one from your computer. I loved the image of the Arc de Triomphe (an amazing monument in Paris), so I chose it. I might change it again in the future- it's fun to mix up the look of the blog. I found the creation of this blog to be easy, thanks to the Google account link-up. A suggestion to other students would be to make a Google account specifically for your blog- this makes keeping track of the blog very easy and can keep other email addresses private. My last comment and tip to share is to not be afraid to explore the website. Blogger is very-user friendly, and has a lot of different ways to share and follow information. Some pages I would recommend reading are: The "Getting Started" articles,  Comment Inbox information, and Using The Blogger Reading List (so as a class we can keep track of each other's blogs easily). I can't wait to read everyone Else's posts! Happy blogging. :)