With the Cluster Digital Photography competition deadline approaching what are some websites that you can recommend to help your students to learn more about Digital Photography??
Listed below are a few that i have come across that I thought might be worth a look, I am really interested to find out if you have any you would recommend to add to these.
What techniques have you used in your school to get your students excited about the competition?
The first site is great, especially the page outlining '13 lessons to Teach your child about Digital Photography'
The HP website has a nice demonstration about Taking Better photos that uses examples of photos throughout to illustrate the techniques. They also have another page 'Digital Photography Tips and ideas' that offers tips about composition and lighting among others. It is a commercial website so pushes HP products, despite this, I believe the tips were well explained and set out
The National Geographic website has a fantastic selection of Tips and examples that grab you with the vast array of stunning images from around the world. I spent quite a while exploring here!!
Looking at life through a lens offers amazing ways to consider the world around is in new and interesting ways. Encourage the students to try taking photos from different angles (from down low, up high, bird's eye view etc.) What about photographing something in a different way, not just straight on with the subject in the middle of the frame? What about using the zoom feature to take close up pictures to really change how we think about something?
The main tips- HAVE FUN! BE CREATIVE and EXPERIMENT
Next week, I will give ideas for FREE online photo editing tools
For teachers wanting ideas for how to use Adobe software in their classes (specifically using photos) there is an interesting Teacher Resource collection available through the education part of Adobe's website
Until Next Time
K
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Monday, March 28, 2011
Week Nine Blog Round Up- What's wrong with Google telling me everything?
Any of us that have gone to the computer to 'ask google' knows that the way we look for and verify information has changed dramatically in the past 10 years.
This makes me wonder how disagreements like, "No way, Elizabeth Taylor's first film was when she was 9" were solved before the, "Well, I'll google it and THEN WE'LL FIND OUT WHO'S RIGHT!" closure to what could be an endless circle of inane arguing
But what about in the classroom?
During my weekly reading of a range of e-Learning blogs I cam across this great post from the Blogging about the Web 2.0 Connected Classroom blog that asks the the question I have used in the title of this post "What's wrong with Google telling me everything?"
The post talks about asking students to evaluate the information they are searching, to think critically and to 'Detect the crap'
The link to Howard Rheingold's Crap Detection post is great and identifies some excellent ideas and links to follow up
It is well worth a read and takes us that next step from how we can teach students to search effectively to how we can critically evaluate content in order to make sure we are accessing quality information.
What do you do in your classroom?
How good are you at evaluating the information you are searching or is this an area for improvement?
Until next time
K
This makes me wonder how disagreements like, "No way, Elizabeth Taylor's first film was when she was 9" were solved before the, "Well, I'll google it and THEN WE'LL FIND OUT WHO'S RIGHT!" closure to what could be an endless circle of inane arguing
But what about in the classroom?
During my weekly reading of a range of e-Learning blogs I cam across this great post from the Blogging about the Web 2.0 Connected Classroom blog that asks the the question I have used in the title of this post "What's wrong with Google telling me everything?"
The post talks about asking students to evaluate the information they are searching, to think critically and to 'Detect the crap'
The link to Howard Rheingold's Crap Detection post is great and identifies some excellent ideas and links to follow up
It is well worth a read and takes us that next step from how we can teach students to search effectively to how we can critically evaluate content in order to make sure we are accessing quality information.
What do you do in your classroom?
How good are you at evaluating the information you are searching or is this an area for improvement?
Until next time
K
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
Week Eight-WOW!!
Thank you to everyone who is following and reading the blog, and a special thanks to those of you commenting and posting- that is what makes a community successful and I encourage you to keep it up OR to give it a go!
Following on from the 'Lesser known Google Tools' Post on the Blog Round Up this week, I wanted to talk about a new feature that has been enabled in Google Docs
Last week, Google announced a new feature to the commenting capabilities on Google Docs.
Read more on this Blog post from TechCrunch
These are called 'Discussions' and they allow people collaborating on a document to have conversations in the margins of a document. You can reply directly to someone by including the @ symbol before a collaborator's name and you also have the option to be e-mailed when replies are made to your comments.
Unfortunately, this is only available for NEW documents but it does offer great opportunities, especially for those of you collaborating across the region!!
Students could also utilise this feature when working together on a shared task- watch this space- I will give this a go with Dave and let you know what we think!
Have a quick look at the video below to find out more about Google Docs Discussions in a light hearted way!! No ideas now...
Until Next time
K
Following on from the 'Lesser known Google Tools' Post on the Blog Round Up this week, I wanted to talk about a new feature that has been enabled in Google Docs
Last week, Google announced a new feature to the commenting capabilities on Google Docs.
Read more on this Blog post from TechCrunch
These are called 'Discussions' and they allow people collaborating on a document to have conversations in the margins of a document. You can reply directly to someone by including the @ symbol before a collaborator's name and you also have the option to be e-mailed when replies are made to your comments.
Unfortunately, this is only available for NEW documents but it does offer great opportunities, especially for those of you collaborating across the region!!
Students could also utilise this feature when working together on a shared task- watch this space- I will give this a go with Dave and let you know what we think!
Have a quick look at the video below to find out more about Google Docs Discussions in a light hearted way!! No ideas now...
Until Next time
K
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Week Eight Blog Round Up
I hope you all had a FANTASTIC Otago Anniversary Weekend and are looking forward to a SHORT WEEK!
In my travels through the Land of Blog, I came across this great post about the lesser known Google Tools and thought it was worth sharing! I am interested to find out if anything leaps out at you and leads you to a little experimentation.
Are there any other tools that you think people should know about?
The other thing I wanted to draw your attention to on this fine (or not so fine here in Alexandra) Tuesday morning, is this great post about RSS feeds.
The post answers the question 'How do you keep up with all of this?' when talking about new ideas, thoughts, studies (basically 'THINGS') in the field of ICT and e-learning
Definitely worth a look
Until Next Time
K
In my travels through the Land of Blog, I came across this great post about the lesser known Google Tools and thought it was worth sharing! I am interested to find out if anything leaps out at you and leads you to a little experimentation.
Are there any other tools that you think people should know about?
The other thing I wanted to draw your attention to on this fine (or not so fine here in Alexandra) Tuesday morning, is this great post about RSS feeds.
The post answers the question 'How do you keep up with all of this?' when talking about new ideas, thoughts, studies (basically 'THINGS') in the field of ICT and e-learning
Definitely worth a look
Until Next Time
K
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
Week Seven-WOW-Skype!
Last week we talked about Youtube and how we can make it safer to view in schools, this week, I wanted to draw your attention to Skype and its possibilities.
Why couldn't we enable our students to take part in Real Life, Current affairs as this Secondary school in the States did during the Oil Spill
A US educator puts it like this 'It is NOT good enough to simply say ,
"My 2nd graders in anytown, USA Skyped a classroom in 4CornersOfTheGLobe." That's cliche, NOT innovative'
So then, if we want to be innovative in how we use Skype, what could that look like?
Well, it isn't an 'off the cuff', let's ring a classroom in Brazil moment, using Skype effectively and innovatively involves preparation and planning.
Practicing: speaking up, explaining your ideas or thoughts, editing material, checking if it makes sense and will make sense to the potential audience, background research on who you will be talking to and why, being prepared to ask and answer questions clearly and with enough detail to satisfy the question...The list could go on!
Resources: Do you have an external mic or are you expecting your students to crowd around a computer? Are you relying on your laptops webcam-how does this limit what can be seen of your students? Would an external webcam be better?
Then what? if that is it and there is no follow up, then you might as well have called McDonalds in Russia and asked them what their equivalent to a Kiwiburger is and left it at that!
How will you debrief after the call? How will you archive or store what you have learned? How will that inform what happens next OR COULD happen next?
To read more about other classrooms using Skype, Click on the links below:
Making Video Conferencing More than Just Cool
Skype for educators accounts which identifies experts willing to speak to classes from around the world
Using Skype to bring education to life-Sign Up Now!
50 Awesome ways to use Skype in the classroom
Skype can offer more than a chance to call your cousin in Australia for FREE!
If you would like help with a programme or technique on your computer, you can share your screen with someone who can help 'walk you through it'
You can have a conference call with up to 25 people
AND with the latest Skype download you can take part in Video Conference Calling (charges apply)
How do you use Skype that could be shared across the Cluster??
Until Next Time
K
Why couldn't we enable our students to take part in Real Life, Current affairs as this Secondary school in the States did during the Oil Spill
A US educator puts it like this 'It is NOT good enough to simply say ,
"My 2nd graders in anytown, USA Skyped a classroom in 4CornersOfTheGLobe." That's cliche, NOT innovative'
So then, if we want to be innovative in how we use Skype, what could that look like?
Well, it isn't an 'off the cuff', let's ring a classroom in Brazil moment, using Skype effectively and innovatively involves preparation and planning.
Practicing: speaking up, explaining your ideas or thoughts, editing material, checking if it makes sense and will make sense to the potential audience, background research on who you will be talking to and why, being prepared to ask and answer questions clearly and with enough detail to satisfy the question...The list could go on!
Resources: Do you have an external mic or are you expecting your students to crowd around a computer? Are you relying on your laptops webcam-how does this limit what can be seen of your students? Would an external webcam be better?
Then what? if that is it and there is no follow up, then you might as well have called McDonalds in Russia and asked them what their equivalent to a Kiwiburger is and left it at that!
How will you debrief after the call? How will you archive or store what you have learned? How will that inform what happens next OR COULD happen next?
To read more about other classrooms using Skype, Click on the links below:
Making Video Conferencing More than Just Cool
Skype for educators accounts which identifies experts willing to speak to classes from around the world
Using Skype to bring education to life-Sign Up Now!
50 Awesome ways to use Skype in the classroom
Skype can offer more than a chance to call your cousin in Australia for FREE!
If you would like help with a programme or technique on your computer, you can share your screen with someone who can help 'walk you through it'
You can have a conference call with up to 25 people
AND with the latest Skype download you can take part in Video Conference Calling (charges apply)
How do you use Skype that could be shared across the Cluster??
Until Next Time
K
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
Week 7-Blog Round Up
Considering using Social Media in your classroom?
Interested in developing Twitter within your school?
If so, then this Blog Post from the iLearn Technology Blog offers some great ideas for introducing Twitter using classroom accounts across a school and also shares resources that could be used for establishing guidelines for use.
After watching the video Jan showed at last week's Lead Teacher session, I was a little depressed, then I came across this great video shown at the TEDxNYED conference at the beginning of March. Morley is a musician who The innovative educator blog says "uses her craft as a tool to inspire change", the video below features students of our future who confidently declare "We will change everything!"
A question to consider, while you watch:
How can we give students time to change things by giving them time to discover, explore and grow their own passions?
Until Next Time
K
Interested in developing Twitter within your school?
If so, then this Blog Post from the iLearn Technology Blog offers some great ideas for introducing Twitter using classroom accounts across a school and also shares resources that could be used for establishing guidelines for use.
After watching the video Jan showed at last week's Lead Teacher session, I was a little depressed, then I came across this great video shown at the TEDxNYED conference at the beginning of March. Morley is a musician who The innovative educator blog says "uses her craft as a tool to inspire change", the video below features students of our future who confidently declare "We will change everything!"
A question to consider, while you watch:
How can we give students time to change things by giving them time to discover, explore and grow their own passions?
TEDxYouthday Theme Song from TEDxAmsterdam on Vimeo.
Until Next Time
K
Monday, March 14, 2011
How do I make a video like this???
Hi
Can anyone tell me how this wonderful teacher has made this video???
Can anyone tell me how this wonderful teacher has made this video???
The background looks like a tux paint, kidpix or paint picture - but how did they get dan the flying man cutout like that so you can see the background around him? and the kids in it and stuff.
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
Week 6-WOW Ode to YouTube
One piece of advice Dave gave me when he found out I was updating this blog weekly with a Website of the Week (WOW) was that sometimes it is important to reflect on tools we are already using but to consider delving deeper
In the spirit of doing this, for today's post, I wanted to consider YouTube.
YouTube offers us the world (if our filters allow it), to learn, to laugh to wonder and to think but what tools help us to use YouTube to meet a range of our needs??
The Technology Tidbits Blog in late February discussed ways to get the most out of YouTube
Check out the 'Top 10 YouTube Goodies' post and see if it could offer you something NEW or INTERESTING!
Covering the Top 5 ways to make YouTube Viewing Safer in schools?
And also, the Top 5 Ways to edit YouTube videos?
Worth a look!
Take a couple of minutes to check out the post and if you have any other ideas about delving deeper into YouTube, please let us know by commenting below
Until Next Time
K
In the spirit of doing this, for today's post, I wanted to consider YouTube.
YouTube offers us the world (if our filters allow it), to learn, to laugh to wonder and to think but what tools help us to use YouTube to meet a range of our needs??
The Technology Tidbits Blog in late February discussed ways to get the most out of YouTube
Check out the 'Top 10 YouTube Goodies' post and see if it could offer you something NEW or INTERESTING!
Covering the Top 5 ways to make YouTube Viewing Safer in schools?
And also, the Top 5 Ways to edit YouTube videos?
Worth a look!
Take a couple of minutes to check out the post and if you have any other ideas about delving deeper into YouTube, please let us know by commenting below
Until Next Time
K
Jan's Video - What students are thinking.
The Video from Jan Robertson's Session in Cromwell that you may like to use with staff.
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
Week Six-Blog Round Up-Student response to Sir Ken Robinson's RSA talk
After attending today's COPA leadership coaching session with Jan Robertson, I started thinking more about how students felt about education, and then as I was doing my weekly blog round up, I came across this post on Derek Wenmoth's Blog that showed this fabulous student made video in response to Sir Ken Robinson's' RSA talk 'Changing Education Paradigms' posted on this blog late last year.
The video was made by Grade 8 students from the Calgary Science School in response to Robinson's ideas, and as Derek puts it " It's worth a view, as it provides a refreshingly 'raw' interpretation of the issues, with some challenging comments"
Could any of the recommendations made in the video make a difference for students in your school?
Until Next Time
K
The video was made by Grade 8 students from the Calgary Science School in response to Robinson's ideas, and as Derek puts it " It's worth a view, as it provides a refreshingly 'raw' interpretation of the issues, with some challenging comments"
Could any of the recommendations made in the video make a difference for students in your school?
Why Education Needs to Change: A Student Perspective from Calgary Science School on Vimeo.
Until Next Time
K
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
Week Five-WOW-Diigo
You may have heard people talking about social bookmarking with sites like Delicious and been considering how you could use them either with your colleagues or with your class, with news that Yahoo are planning on shutting down Delicious, what else is available?
Last week at Ulearn, a teacher I met in one of the workshops recommended Diigo which offers Social Bookmarking as well as additional features through a toolbar installation such as highlighting, annotating and archiving.
Jose Picardo blogged about utilizing the annotation feature late in 2009 for asking students to comment on Web content set for homework.
Other applications across the cluster could be for HUB groups, Networks, sharing resources or ideas, discussing professional readings with colleagues or identifying key parts of information.
The Toolbar is not available on Safari (an alternative is available), but works with Firefox and Internet Explorer as well as on iPads and iPhones.
Another alternative is Evernote which is also cross platform.
Are there others that you are using?
Are you utilizing tools like these in interesting ways? We would love to hear from you!
Until Next time
K
Last week at Ulearn, a teacher I met in one of the workshops recommended Diigo which offers Social Bookmarking as well as additional features through a toolbar installation such as highlighting, annotating and archiving.
Jose Picardo blogged about utilizing the annotation feature late in 2009 for asking students to comment on Web content set for homework.
A Guide to Annotating using Diigo from José Picardo on Vimeo.
Other applications across the cluster could be for HUB groups, Networks, sharing resources or ideas, discussing professional readings with colleagues or identifying key parts of information.
The Toolbar is not available on Safari (an alternative is available), but works with Firefox and Internet Explorer as well as on iPads and iPhones.
Another alternative is Evernote which is also cross platform.
Are there others that you are using?
Are you utilizing tools like these in interesting ways? We would love to hear from you!
Until Next time
K
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