Internet Security

I am writing a paper about using Web 2.0 resources during the writing process. Things like google docs, webspiration, etherpad, docstoc, and scribd. I need to include a part about concerns like security issues. My assumption is that if teachers get a parental consent form for setting up accounts with anonymous/pseudonyms that it would be okay with the district. Is that true? Anyone that is teaching right now, do you know if that would take care of it? All of those applications have built-in security features but to be able to have students make accounts is another issue. I'd appreciate any additional info. on this.

On to another topic...as I wrap up this blog for CI 556, I have to say that even though it was a requirement, I did enjoy having to reflect on class each week. This was a metacognitive activity which is really important. Even using blogs as weekly journals for students would force them to think about what they're learning and how they're thinking about it. Hopefully, I will continue to blog under another name or at least, make sure I keep up on others' blogs for helpful information. I'm really going to try.

Check it out!

In another class (I'm always talking about another class on my blog for this class) :-) someone presented a brief introduction to Voice Thread. It's on our 556 wiki but I don't think we discussed it much in this class. I think it's something that you should all check out. You can post images, video, upload documents, pretty much whatever and record either your voice or textual comments about the image on the screen. That may not seem that cool in itself but you can also draw on the image or pause a video and circle or draw arrows to make what you want people to notice obvious. That, I think, is a very cool feature. It can be a synchronous discussion where several people are signed into the same discussion and would be great for online courses. I was thinking that it could possibly be used for teacher feedback on student papers. You could upload their documents onto voice thread and give feedback verbally, make visual notations with the drawing feature, etc. Students could go online and view their paper and hear comments. It'd be like using a podcast for comments like Dr. Schmidt suggested last night but also with the visual of your paper. I have yet another class where the professor gives audio feedback on our projects. He sends it through email. The only problem is that it's really hard to hear...probably a very fixable problem. I don't think he realized that until someone said something the other night. Anyway, check out VoiceThread. There are short videos that explain how to use it on their website, too.

Oops!

I just realized that I never posted a blog for the week before Thanksgiving break! I could've sworn I did. Anyway, I am also excited about the podcasting topic (as Beth stated) because I actually created my TPACK lesson about students making a podcast. They are so easy to make even if you don't have an iPod or GarageBand. In another class's text by Will Richardson (which is a great resource for teachers by the way), he talks about how all you need is a computer with speakers to record audio as an MP3, the internet, and the site Audacity.com. It's like garageband but FREE! It's kind of silly to think that kids would get excited about essentially making a radio show because radio is kind of outdated, but how many kids have actually made a radio show in school? It's creative, it's called a podcast (not radio), and they can be posted online for a wider audience. Some of the mobile learning discussed in the Van 'T Hooft article are really interesting too. All of these technologies that teachers probably don't even realize are out there could really motivate students and be very engaging. It's not just playing games because they are learning things (even if they don't realize it).