Technology of Choice: SlideShare

SlideShare: Present Yourself

Review by: Sandy Nichols, Lindsey Watson, and April Thom

Do you have a presentation that you want to share with students or other teachers? Do you need to make a presentation, and you don’t know where to start? SlideShare is the answer. SlideShare is a hosting service for presentations. Some have described SlideShare as the “youtube” for presentations. This application allows you to search for slideshows that have already been created. It also allows you to upload any presentations that you have already created. It is a quick way to share your slides with others publically. Slideshows can be uploaded and viewed publicly or privately. The file types that can be uploaded are presentations (PowerPoint, OpenOffice), documents, PDFs, videos, and webinars. People use SlideShare to share ideas and connect with others.

It is very easy for teachers to start using SlideShare; the following is a basic tutorial video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G9ShKOeMKb0. To begin, simply go to http://www.slideshare.net and search for a presentation related to your topic of interest. As shown below, when the subject “biology” is entered into the search bar, 180,000 PowerPoint results are available for download, editing, and use.

Teachers can also choose to upload their own presentations to share with other users. This can be done by selecting the “Upload” button to the left of the search bar. As shown in the picture below, when the “Upload” button is selected a pop-up appears allowing the user to upload a file from their computer.

Although it is possible for users to download and upload presentations without a SlideShare account, it is beneficial to create an account in order to follow other users accounts, to save favorite presentations for future use without down

loading them, to upgrade to a professional account that provides benefits such as detailed analytics on profile activity, and much more.

There are many ways that teachers can use SlideShare. The site is a great place to find supplemental material/presentations for lessons you are teaching. Teachers can search for a topic to see if they can find a presentation that is applicable to their lesson, and possibly avoid having to spend time making their own slideshow. The site is also a great way for teachers to work collaboratively, and share their ideas with each other. Slideshare makes information more engaging for students because of the visual effects. It is a great way for students to access presentations outside of the classroom if they need clarification on a lesson. The site is also a great way for students to work in groups, share ideas and conduct research on a specific topic. Students can improve their technology skills with SlideShare when they create and modify presentations of their own.

Although SlideShare is useful for all of these reasons, we found that its actual applicability in the classroom is limited. There are many other programs and applications with similar features that allow teacher collaboration and sharing of presentations, such as Google Drive and Blogger. Based on our research, SlideShare is an ideal place for educators to find ideas and preparatory informational material, but it is not the optimal place to find final presentation materials because slideshows should be customized to fit the audience.

Reading Reflection #6

#6

Students Help Their Teachers Learn Technology

            This article’s author, Kelsey Vroomunn, told a great story of her failure to teach tech integration and the ways that she overcame her failure. When Vroomunn realized she was not effectively able to instruct her fellow teachers on how to implement new tech tools into their classrooms, she looked for an alternative way to provide her peers with help. The solution became a student-led tech club, where students were trained to tutor teachers in tech tools, such as iMovie, Prezi and Glogster. The student tutors were even offered minimum wage for the hours they worked with the teachers. Students met once a month to receive direct training in selected tech programs, and then offered tutoring to teachers who shared common breaks. Students were also available to serve as tech aids when they had breaks in their schedule and teachers wanted extra hands on deck to implement a program in class.

            I thought that this idea of Vroomunn’s was brilliant! I loved the concept of involving the students in the teachers’ learning. It is a great development program for the students to be involved in, and an effective way for teachers to learn the new tech tools. I think this idea would definitely take time to bring administrators on board, but if it was possible I bet the program would be very successful. I think I would suggest a program similar to this if I think teachers are lacking effective tech instruction.

            This article effectively captures the ISTE NETS Student Standard 6. The student tech club provides a way for students to learn and use new technology systems, use applications effectively and productively, think on their feet to troubleshoot systems and continuously learn new knowledge in the tech world. I love the way that the club challenges students to stay up to date on their tech knowledge, and encourages them to instruct others in these programs. I think the club will instill strong life skills in these students that they will carry with them beyond school.

Vroomunn, K. (2013). Students Help Their Teachers Learn Technology. Learning and Leading with Technology, 40(7). 34-35. Retrieved from: http://www.learningandleading-digital.com/learning_leading/201305#pg36

Reading Reflection #5

What if Abraham Lincoln Had a Facebook Page?

            This article dives into some of the possibilities that today’s technology programs, specifically Facebook, can provide for teachers. The author, Brant Glover, illustrates a fun Facebook additive to a biography report, a great way to get students excited and engaged with a biographical history lesson. The article gives detailed examples of how Facebook can be used for students to create profile pages for the historical figure they are writing a report about. The article uses the example Abraham Lincoln, as a possible historical figure for this assignment. The students would be able to use Facebook to display Abe’s basic info, including his birthday, home town, and school’s attended. Other features on Facebook would allow students to “like” pages that Honest Abe might have been interested in, or post updates on certain events that Abe was involved with. Polls, pictures, videos and interactions with other Facebook profiles are all ways that students could use Facebook to build a complete Facebook profile for Abraham Lincoln.

            The article has great insight and examples for ways that the Facebook platform can be used in our classroom. Facebook is a great tool to bring students to life in subjects that students are often uninterested in. Facebook documents a life, and relationships with connections, and is a great digital storytelling source. I loved this idea, and would definitely integrate it into my curriculum in the future. I think it is a great way for students to be creative, use the platforms that they know and love, and create interactions between classmates.

            This article relates to the ISTE NETS standards for students 1 & 2. It correlates with the Creativity and Innovation Standard (1) because the Facebook project challenges students to use the information that they have learned about a historical figure. They create an original Facebook profile for the individual, and have to use their creativity to interact, post, and design it. The article correlates with Communication and Collaboration (2 a&b) because the project gives the students the opportunity to interact, collaborate and publish information digitally on the Facebook platform. The students communicate the information on the profile to their classmates, friends and families.

Glover, B (2013). What if Abraham Lincoln Had a Facebook Page? Learning and Leading with Technology, 40(8). 38-39. Retrieved from: http://www.learningandleading-digital.com/learningandleading/20130607#pg40.

Reading Reflection #4

Kindling a Passion for Literature

            This article explore the discovery that the author, Gigi Whiteside, made when introducing Kindle devices to her “non-readers”. Whiteside had doubts and oppositions to e-readers when they first came out, but eventually tried them out with her “non-reader” students. The Kindle devices have capabilities for text-to-speech, which allow students to listen to books as they read along. Whiteside quickly learned that they students loved these new devices, and instead of asking, “Do we have to read?” they were asking, “Do we get to read?”. The introduction of these devices has dramatically changed her students’ outlook on learning, school and reading. Whiteside explained that students who were always reluctant towards any lessons started to express excitement and engage in discussion over their books. The Kindle’s have changed Whiteside’s classroom, increased the students’ engagement, and even improved their scores on the standard assessments.

            I was shocked to read all of the great influences that the Kindle has on Whiteside’s students. It is so encouraging to hear about technology being used to promote learning, reading, and classroom engagement in students. I hope that other teachers can see the use in technology like this, and hopefully more classrooms will implement these programs. If we can use technology to promote this sort of development in our students, maybe we can influence the gap between “non-readers” and the rest of their classmates.

            This article has a strong correlation with the ISTE NETS standard 5b, exhibit a positive attitude toward using technology that supports collaboration, learning and productivity. These students expressed excitement towards using the Kindle’s to read their books, discuss their books, and think critically about the literature, which is a perfect example of this ISTE NETS standard.

Whiteside, G. (2012). Kindling a Passion for Literature. Learning and Leading with Technology, 39(7). 33-34. Retrieved from http://www.learningandleading-digital.com/learning_leading/201205#pg35.

Reading Reflection #3

 Principals for Web 2.0 Success

            Daniel Light wrote about the 10 ways to build vibrant learning communities with the Reading and Writing web in his article, “Principals for Web 2.0 Success”. Light explains how Intel funded studies conducted by the Center for Children & Technology to discover how to best help educators to integrate technology into their classrooms, while other investigations have looked into how social-networking and web 2.0 tools are supporting learning and teaching. Several discoveries were made in these studies, including ways that principals and tech leaders can help ensure a smoother and easier learning curve for educators and students. The article then highlights the top 10 ways in which principals can assist this technology learning curve in classrooms. Here are the tops ten tools that are highlighted in the article, Invest in a virtual learning environment, talk up web 2.0 ease of use, use web 2.0 tools for professional development, use social media to show support, share success stories, allow teachers to customize their tools, share productivity tools, continuously update tools, communicate openly, and lastly create defined virtual communities.

            Although this article was directed towards principals and other administrators, I found it to be very insightful. Although I may not be a principal anytime soon, I think it is always important to be mindful of strategies and methods to make our educational environments successful. Keeping teachers up to date, and current with technology is as big of a task, if not bigger, than keeping students up to date. We need to make sure that as educators, we are using tools correctly and efficiently. This article showed the importance of getting tech support from our superiors, as well as the importance of creating open communities for teachers to learn and collaborate about useful technology.
          The success of Web 2.0 correlates with the ISTE NETS standard 2 a&b. a) Interact, collaborate, and publish with peers, experts, or others employing a variety of digital environments
and media; & b) communicate information and ideas effectively to multiple audiences using a variety of media and formats. Web 2.0 tools encompass the collection of online media and formats that can be utilized by students, which is why it is so important that our teachers are able to use these tools effectively.

Light, D. (2012). Principals for Web 2.0 Success. Learning & Leading with Technology, 39(8). 18-19. Retrieved from http://www.learningandleading-digital.com/learning_leading/20120607#pg20

Reading Reflection 2 - Are Your Students Really Participating?

Are Your Students Really Participating?

            The article, “Are Your Students Really Participating?” addresses the issue of participation vs. engagement that technology in the classroom presents. Authors, McCarthy and Dooley, explain that the increasing presence of new tech tools in classrooms raise the question of whether or not they are being used efficiently. It is evident that technology captures the attention of our students, but that does not mean that the tools are helping the students to actively learn. It is up to teachers to determine if these tools are encouraging critical thinking, engagement and collaboration instead of making students passive consumers. McCarthy and Dooley highlighted five things that we, as teachers, should think about before implementing tech tools. I thought the criteria was very applicable, and a great foundation for evaluation. The five things are as follows: 1) Are there inequities that might exist with accessibility to the tool, 2) Does the tool encourage critical thinking and participation? 3) Does the tool give students a voice? Does it create an inclusive environment? 4) Can you inform and involve parents with the use of this tool? 5) Will the students be able to critically analyze the tool’s limitations?

            I found this article to be very helpful for me as an aspiring teacher. With the increasing growth of technology in classrooms, I want to be sure to be careful when I choose which tools I include in curriculum. It is so easy to see value in so many of the great, new, exciting digital tools out there for education, but I know that I will need to evaluate them all carefully. I want to be sure that I am using these tools smartly, so that the time that students are engaging with technology is as productive and wholesome as possible. Time in the classroom cannot use technology 100 percent of the time, so as teachers we need to be careful to choose tools that encourage participation and growth in our students.

McCarthy, M & Dooley, C. (2013). Are Your Students Really Participating? Learning & Leading with Technology, 40(7). 28-29. Retrieved from http://www.learningandleading-digital.com/learning_leading/201305

Reading Reflection 1 - Who Knew Writing Could be This Much Fun?

Who Knew Writing Could be This Much Fun?

           

In the article, “Who Knew Writing Could be This Much Fun?” the story of a young Iowa elementary school student’s experience using an online blog is told. The article explains the expectation that is put on elementary students to work on their writing skills. Unfortunately this task is met with a lack of enthusiasm and students find the tasks to be boring and dry. The article tells the story of how this young Iowa student, Meridan, discovers the world of blogs and uses one to work on her writing skills, express her creativity and interact with others.

            I really enjoyed reading this article because it helped me to see ways that new technologies, such as blogs, have had a positive impact on students. I am very familiar with web 2.0 technologies from the marketing and communication classes that I took in my undergrad education. However, as a future teacher, I lack strategies to integrate modern technology into my lesson plans. The article really helped me to see how positive this experience was for Meridan. It was great to see her take interest in the blogging world, join a group, ask for guidance, and even teach her mother at home how to blog. The possibilities of what blogging and other web 2.0 platforms can teach and encourage in students are endless. It is so positive to see excitement, engagement and dedication come out of students through these platforms. I really hope that I can create projects and assignments in my classroom that will create similar experiences for my students, and I will be sure to keep stories like this one in mind as examples.

Fingal, D. (2013). Who Knew Writing Could be This Much Fun? Learning & Leading with Technology, 40(8). 40-41. Retrieved from http://www.learningandleading-digital.com/learningandleading/20130607

7/10 Quick Write on Internet Research Methods

Internet Research Methods

In class we discussed the different methods that we might use to conduct research online. My go-to method is Google search. We discussed various ways to narrow down search results to fit your exact needs. By using Google's Advanced Search options, people can specify date ranges, authors, domains, key words, exact phrases and many other details of the info they wish to find. By using Google's advanced search, students can find what they are looking for much faster. Another great resource is Google Scholar Search, which searches web databases of scholarly sources for the information.  This is a great tool when looking for research material and educational suplements.

Once useful information is found , it is important to evaluate the quality and authenticity of the source. Here are some key attributes to evaluate the article/source:

• Author
• History
• Date of article
• Purpose of article
• Domain (.edu vs. .com)
• Writing/language/grammar quality
• Reviews on the source
• Web design, is it professional?
• References

Most Pressing Issue in Education Today

There are many issues facing the education system today. I believe one of the most pressing issues that we face is the inequality of classrooms. Inequalities in education happen for various reasons including family income, access to technology, cultural background, and outside resources. All things need to be considered when creating a classroom environment, and teachers must aim to create an environment that the students have an equal opportunity for success.