So this particular blog post is not required from my professor.  This one is completely made up by me, and it is to showcase my podcast abilities.  I was asked to create a podcast and to send the link to the professor.  Any podcast-related reading would be reviewed in the blog post a little below, but for this one, I would like to just say my emotions for this task.  Creating a podcast may sound easy, simple like writing a blog; however, it can be difficult if a person doesn't know what to say.  I had absolutely no clue what to say for my podcast other than my basic information.  Listening to former students' podcasts was intimidating, because many were discussing in great detail about a life story or experience.  I decided to create mine on Inclusion Service Model and Collaboration- both of which I use daily for my job in my district.  This podcast did take work, not just technical work, but deciding what to say and how long to say everything.  It took me a couple of tries, but I eventually was able to make it!  So for its world showcase- my podcast!


 
Websites such as YouTube are being used more frequently in the educational system.  It allows students to not only listen but have visuals for a more intensive instruction.  My personal favorite website is BrainPop for students in a classroom setting, but I am not in a classroom setting currently, and so I love YouTube!  I use YouTube on my phone to either quickly download songs that my IPod Stereo refuses to play, or to show visuals to get students engaged in a song.  The YouTube video above is one of my more requested songs- The Bear Hunt.  In this video, there are captions telling the adult or watcher, what to do with their body throughout the song.  I have used this video to help adults understand what is being asked of them, as well as, putting my volume as high as possible on my cell to play this song when my stereo fails.  I hope you enjoy it!
 
I didn't mean to copy the professor's example when giving this assignment, but I really did not know that I used so many of these tools listed! Before I looked at the list, I made my own list of important tools that I use for learning- it ended up being a really long list.  In the end, I couldn't come up with 100, but I came up with 67 different tools I use or have used.  All 67, such as: Twitter, Kindle, Google Docs, etc. were listed, but there were many tools that I had never heard of.  For example, Ning, a community platform that is used in "Personal/Professional learning/productivity, in Education and/or in the Enterprise."  The bolded letters are used as a reference point for each of the tools listed, and each tool has one or more category checkmarked.  Overall I was not surprised by this list, but I did get to learn about new tools with very interesting names!  I was only shocked that there was a large amount of tools on the list that I had not heard of, but I will be looking into them further to help with my own educational journey.  I recommend everyone check out this website, because there might be tools listed a teacher or student did not even think to use. 

References:
Top 100 Tools for Learning 2012 –  the results of the 6th Annual Learning Tools Survey - as voted for by 582 learning professionals worldwide, and compiled by the Centre for Learning & Performance Technologies. (Released 1 October 2012)
http://c4lpt.co.uk/top100tools/
 
My first thought was, what is Web 2.0?  According to my professor, Web 2.0 is about how consumers can add/edit/participate with content that is given to other consumers.  Think Yelp or reviews on Amazon about a particular object.  That is what Web 2.o is all about, contributing to the content with our own knowledge and experiences.  This differs from Web 1.o, where the information would be solely from the creator/publisher/owner of the content that a person would be researching.  An example of this is Yelp and Starbucks.  In the past with Web 1.o, the only information would be given by the Starbucks company, but now with Web 2.o, a person can find out information (friendliness of staff, how clean it is, quick or slow service) from average customers like themselves.  This allows for a more informed public, and the ability for a person to find the best place to get their coffee.

This has applications within the education system as well.  There are reviews on teachers, classes, public schools, and more, written by reviewers such as: parents, students, staff, etc.  We live in the Wikipedia age, in which it is normal for people to contribute information instead of passively receiving content.  I find Web 2.o more useful to education, from a student perspective, because I am able to be more involved in learning the content.  As a student, I am able to discuss and learn from other students about a specific subject.  This allows for more in-depth discussions, research, and learning.

For the article:
http://larryferlazzo.edublogs.org/2012/07/10/the-best-web-2-0-applications-for-education-in-2012-%E2%80%94-so-far/

For the infographic:
http://edtechtimes.com/2012/11/22/how-the-internet-is-revolutionizing-education-infographic/
 
Technology is important to teaching in general, but I am a unique case with a very unique class.  I am currently an Adapted Physical Education Teacher, and I travel between 9 different schools with grades varying from Preschool to 8th grade.  This means that technology, though useful, can be a pain when transporting from school to school.  However, the technology I use the most is my IPod and IPod stereo "blast my tunes" as one adult put it.  Music is very dominant in all my classes, and I use music technology as much as possible.  I have music that range not only in gross motor skill levels, but subject integration (Math, History, etc) as well as it can incorporate different services (Occupational Therapy, Speech, Etc.) into my Adapted Physical Education class.

Technology will be useful in my future career, as an Adapted Physical Education Instructor for some Community College.  Just as I find podcasts useful to my own well-being as a student, I too will use them for my future classes.  Other technology that will be used are: Powerpoint Presentations, Online Discussion Forums, and the ability to blog about articles/research.  This current class has shown me how beneficial blogging and online discussions can be for students learning an unknown concept.
 
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Podcasts are slowly becoming more popular among educators, and podcasts perform a useful service to the students.  Podcasts can help students that are more auditory learners review content discussed in class; also, when taking notes, sometimes facts/statements can be written down wrong or misunderstood.  "For many people, listening may be more attractive and less tedious than reading (Cebeci 49)." With podcasts, a student has the ability to review what the educator has said with there being no doubt about the validity of the notes.  Though I am a primarily visual learner, I do like the idea of replaying different concepts that I am unsure of, and it allows me to study while: in the car, at the gym, or on break between classes.

Currently, I am experimenting with different podcasts to help me learn Spanish and to help me with my Kinesiology courses.  The Spanish podcasts allow me to concentrate on a section at a time, and make the material more manageable.  The Kinesiology podcasts are helpful, because they allow students to "stop and start the podcasts over again while they explored embedded hyperlinks (Vess 483)."  This I have done multiple times with my Kinesiology podcasts, especially when going over how to create a website and a portfolio.

References:
Cebeci, Z., & Tekdal, M. (2006). Using Podcasts as Audio Learning Objects. Interdisciplinary Journal of Knowledge & Learning Objects, 2, 49.

Vess, D. L. (2006). History to Go: Why iTeach with iPods. History Teacher, 39(4), 483-484.



 
      I just read this article, referenced below, that discussed social networking in undergraduate education.  I was intrigued, because technology has played a huge part in my education during my undergraduate education in 2004-2006.  I found that discussion boards, forums, and other technological ways of communication helped me understand the content more.  The chat boards allowed us to discuss with other students our thoughts, beliefs, and opinions surrounding a specific theme or event.  However, everything that I was introduced to and used,was completely centered around academic instruction- like the Moodle that I use now.  The article does provide support to my experiences by stating, "that students positively respond to the incorporation of new technologies into the teaching and learning process provided that the technology usage is well-conceived, purposeful, and properly integrated into the learning process (65)."  I have also seen a increase in the schools that I go to, for teachers to implement technology: computers, discussion boards, Ipad, learning software (I-Ready), Twitter, etc. into their classrooms.  This increase of technology in classroom is also referred to in the article, "responding to student usage, teachers and students are increasingly using social networks to supplement teaching and learning in traditional classroom environments, as they provide new opportunities for enriching existing curriculum...(67)"  There was a survey conducted, and it found that the majority of participants found technology enhanced: learning community, learning itself, and the class to make it more fun.
      However, the survey did introduce Facebook as a learning management system and compared it with Blackboard.  In the article, it was discovered that students seemed to view Facebook as not appropriate or better as a learning management system over Blackboard.  I can understand how Facebook would not be incredibly helpful within an educational setting, because it is so "personal" based as opposed to academic.  However, that was said the same about Twitter, and Twitter is finding its use inside a classroom.  I guess my view is generic, but holds true-it all depends on how you use technology and social networking sites.  It all boils down to, is this social networking site enhancing or creating thoughtful, relevant, content specific learning?  If not, then either the application of the site is not being used correctly, or it is ineffective in helping to engage students and stimulate learning.  Social networking can be useful, but it all depends upon: teacher/administrator, application, and class atmosphere regarding using it.



References:
Buzzetto-More, N. A. (2012). Social Networking in Undergraduate Education. Interdisciplinary Journal of Information, Knowledge, and Management, 7.
 
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      I was told by my professor to "create a page for some group/hobby/team/class you are part of."  This activity gave me a giant headache, because I kept thinking about all the different concepts/activities/etc. that I could do.  The overwhelming amount of choices that I had was very daunting, and I did find difficulty on what to pick.  In the end, I chose to create a page that would celebrate my personality of being silly.  With all the paperwork, projects, and overall preparation I must do with this Master's Program, it can be very nerve-racking.  Which, is why I love that my professor said I could be silly and create a Facebook Fan Page of whatever I wanted.  So I decided why not create a Facebook Fan Page of one of my favorite shows, Revenge.  Revenge is not just an ordinary show, no, it is a uniter of some professional service providers within my district.  It gives us something to talk to each other about after school that does not revolve around our students.  So with that in mind, I created a Revenge Facebook Fan Page, and I hope that it not only brings laughs, but also a good grade!


http://www.facebook.com/pages/Fans-of-Revenge/328066587302729


 
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        I just read a good article discussing about the generation that is "always on," when  means how people are constantly on technology such as: Facebook, Wikipedia, social media sites, etc.  It discussed the good and bad aspects of such a generation, and how it could affect the future.  Good outcomes of for this future generation were listed as: creative thinking, cooperative thinking, able to access a multitude of information, and more.  However, even though that is true, I do believe that the negatives are extremely strong in this case: losing ability for human connection, believing the first answer is correct, and having a major breakdown in human behavior should technology go away for a long period of time.
  
          I stress the negative, because I see it in myself, as well as, most of the children in the schools I go to.  The ability to talk with other human beings, and connect, has definitely appeared to be lost on some generations.  They have issues with discussion and problem solving in person, but have no problem communicating through technology where you do not have to actually socialize live.  For some people it is simply their personality, like me, but for others, it is now being trained and that can be scary.  I brought up the fact that even though technology can let us access a great amount of knowledge, people will tend to go with the first answer.  Many will not look at multiple sites to validate the answer, or be able to distinguish between valid sources and fake.  I believe THAT is what will affect education most in the future.  People unable to verify sources, and understand why the first answer in Google is not necessarily the correct answer.  I believe that training and teaching into understanding the negatives can help students effectively use the internet for the positive.  As stated previously, the internet can be used to help access a multitude of information, which is amazing and can lead to a more open way of thinking; however, it is up to the educational system to change and support this effort.

For article:
Generation Always-On - http://www.elon.edu/e-net/Note.aspx?id=958393

 
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Photo sharing does not have to be strictly concrete, with just uploading a picture, but that effects can be added.  Photo effects have the ability to enhance a picture's nature, or emphasize a point that the photographer wishes to get across.  The point of my picture was to showcase fun.  The original picture is of me at Great America having fun with my Chinese Zodiac Sign, The Tiger.  I am able to enhance my picture, through the use of the photo effect, which showcases a scene from the animated Disney movie, Tangled.  Photos are suppose to tell a story or concept, I believe my photo characterizes my personality and how I live my life.

I did have a lot of fun with Photo Box, and found many different effects that I could use.  Since it was fun, I thought why not post a few more? :) All the photos posted are altered by Photo Box.


Links:
http://en.funphotobox.com/

    Author

    My name is Kelley Kill.  I'm 26 years old, and living within the San Francisco Bay Area.  Happily working as an Adapted Physical Education Teacher, and gleefully attempting to get my Masters in Kinesiology from Fresno Pacific University.

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