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I was researching flipped classroom models and came across this awesome 'infographic' of a flipped classroom! What do you think?
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Wow! Is this ever awesome, a typeface designed specifically with Dyslexia in mind. It was created by the awesome Abelardo Gonzalez Jr. The letters are thicker at the bottom to improve legibility, brilliant! I have started using this FREE source in all of my handouts at school. Having been a Graphic Designer for many years as well as an avid Typography fan, this is just about the coolest thing since Edward Fella's, Letters on America! Check out this font, you can download it for FREE from this link: http://www.dafont.com/open-dyslexic.font and please, let me know what you think! This week we created a GHI Mash Up in class! Prior to that we were supposed to have a video conference with the Tyrell Museum which did not happen due to technical difficulties. It was a very good opportunity, a teachable moment, to point out the importance of being able to teach on your feet as well as the issues that can come up when using technology in the classroom.
For the Mash Up we used the Photo Booth program on our Mac to film our scenes. It was a great activity and our group really enjoyed making our portion of the Mash Up! I think that if the Tyrell video conference had worked, it would have been really educational. I will definitely integrate video conferencing into my classroom as it can enable us to connect with teachers and students from around the world. Data Analysis within the classroom is a great visual aid. When used in collaboration with students, it can provide an opportunity for both teachers and students to be engaged in learning and communication. Data Analysis is also a great platform to track student assessment throughout the year. Using a program such as Numbers or Excel provides teachers with the opportunity to increase organization and encourage ongoing assessment reflections. I find the use of Data Analysis a great asset, especially as an artist, any tool that can be used to increase my organization is of great value!
After class, I found this video on YouTube which introduces YouTube as an educational tool for teachers and brings up many of the concerns we discussed as a class. The following video shows just how sinister and destructive bullying can be when combined with social media. Amanda Todd committed suicide on the 10th of October, she posted this video one month prior. As a future educator, I feel that it is imperative to share the effects that cyber-bullying can have. As digital citizens, we need to recognize the impact we can have on others and strive for kindness and positivity over hatred and hurt.
Today we were introduced to online tools for generating concept maps. I have used concept maps before and found them quite useful as well as slightly frustrating! As a conceptual artist I have used concept maps to work through as many angles, ideas, words, mediums, methods etc. in order to consider what and how my art will convey the concept that I am after. The downside to concept maps are that they can lead a person too far away from where they started as well as squelch creativity in that they are so organized and analytically laid out, the use of creative thinking is at times pushed aside. There are definite bonuses and drawbacks to concept maps, knowing when and where to apply them is probably the best place to start. I found the concept map programs interesting, Inspiration and Bubble.Us, as they would probably be great if one were creating a diagram for a presentation, however, I personally prefer to create concept maps by hand as it allows me to maintain the creative, conceptual aspect throughout the analytic process of concept mapping. Do you have a similar or alternative point of view regarding Concept Maps? I would love to hear it! - Jen Marie Searching the internet is something I love to do in my spare time, if I can remember back to when I had spare time! Lately, my internet searches are school or work related. I had thought internet searching was something I had mastered, however, using the 'Advanced Search' option in Google was something I had never done! I had no idea that you could search for Creative Commons images. I often use an awesome website called Stock.XCHNG for royalty free images. If I were unable find an image there, then I usually either take my own or create one in Photoshop. Now, I can use Google's Advance Search! I have been using online File Management for quite a few years now. I have had too many technology mishaps to trust one location to hold my files. The use of online File Management is great for backing up, sharing files with others and working on projects together. I have used file sharing at both work and school. Dropbox is my favourite application, however, Google Drive is working into being a great asset as of late. One of the many reasons I ♥ Google, the Easter Eggs! Copy and paste the following line into the Google Search homepage and hit enter: do a barrel roll OK, now try this one: tilt If you have any more Google Easter Eggs, or other comments about this post, please send me a reply! Thanks for reading! - Jen Marie Today in class we were introduced to Interactive Whiteboards. This is a long way off from the chalk and dusty erasers from my day! I love the idea of using this tool to encourage student interaction with the content being studied. I am afraid that my design background might make some of my lessons a bit longer to construct, since I am quite selective about typeface, colours, images, backgrounds, size distribution, composition etc! However, I am looking forward to using this technology and finding out what the students and I can accomplish with it! Integrating art, design and music into the whiteboard activities will be a great opportunity to amalgamate them with the core subjects that are often taught using whiteboards. Thanks for reading! - Jen Marie If you have not had the chance to view it, please check out my video, What is Effective Technology Integration for 21st Century Learners? The following is my response to that assignment. First and foremost... if you happen to be creating a presentation on a Mac using Keynote, ensure that the conversion does not skew the text or erase anything that has an action attributed to it. That being said, I found that this assignment provided me with: 1. a new skill set, using myBrainshark which I am sure will be useful in the future, 2. a use and new found appreciation for my very old but sturdy PC laptop, 3. informed knowledge on the discussions surrounding 21st Century skills and learners, 4. an insight and intrigue for how to best integrate technology for 21st Century learners. I really did enjoy this assignment and learning about the issues within classrooms today. As usual, my research took me in a vast assortment of subtopics, in which I found this awesome video:
Thanks for reading! - Jen Marie Welcome! The following is my response to Blogging in Education. This topic got me thinking, and I hope it does the same for you so please feel free to share your comments. Since the very first post on the web in the early 90’s, blogging has come a long way. From environmental blogs to fashion blogs, there is something out there for almost everyone. Why wouldn’t educators use blogs as a tool for learning? As we continue to grow within our global community, we learn to fully utilize the tools we have access to. Blogs have now become a solid platform to communicate and collaborate, not only across the world but also right here in our classrooms. Blogging provides students and teachers with: built-in organization using archives and categories, increased efficiency in assessment, one location for all course documents, a blogroll to keep track of each blog, technical skills, paperless assignments... the benefits are numerous. But is it safe? Can blogging be another venue for bullying? If anyone can access blogs, then what about privacy and personal safety? As discussed in Student Blogging Guidelines by Kim Cofino, collaborative efforts are encouraged when creating outlines and addressing concerns for student blogging. A well-researched guideline should be implemented and easily accessible, providing a foundation for student blogging so that it can be used as a positive education tool. As a future art teacher, blogging would be a unique platform to hold critiques. Students could learn how to provide quality assessment for themselves and peers as well as experience the benefits blogs can offer in showcasing artwork. A great example of a collective art blog is the deviantART portfolio blog. Blogging is a tool I would definitely consider implementing in my future classes, so long as all concerns are addressed and proper guidelines are implemented and communicated. What are your thoughts on blogging in the classroom? Please comment and vote on the poll below! - Jen Marie |
AuthorJen Marie, Learner for Life Archives
July 2013
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