Book Club Recommends

Final Thoughts

Honestly this class has been very beneficial. I am not just saying that to get a good grade, I really mean it. It has been a long time since I have taken a class where the majority of information could be used for my future endeavors. I had no clue the resources we covered in class existed eight weeks ago, let alone what to do with them. My mind is overloaded with ideas on how I can use some of these digital tools in the future. Even though I found some of the projects a little overwhelming, I feel the end results were worth the time. I can definitely see myself incorporating the digital storyboard and infogram into future lessons. To my classmates thank you for sharing your ideas and thoughts. All of you are a very creative and talented bunch. Thanks. Stacia Wagers

Lewis and Clark Infogram

http://www.glogster.com/staciawagers/lewis-and-clark-by-stacia-wagers/g-6l7tahgue01k8ih6lfg4qa0

A Knight's Quest

Thoughts on Citations

Last semester I completed a term paper on plagiarism, copyright, and fair use. Many of my journal resources  claimed that teachers don't know the variations of these three laws. One of the articles I came across discussed how teachers neglect to cite resources on PowerPoint presentations mainly because MLA and APA have no standard for citing sources on this type of presentation. As educators we have to practice what we preach. I believe we have to prepare our students to be responsible digital citizens. We need to teach students to give credit were credit is do and cite your sources.
Here are some of the helpful resources I came across during my research. I also posted my paper on my blog.

U.S. Copyright Office (2012, June). U.S. Copyright Office. Retrieved August 12, 2012, from http://www.copyright.gov/fls/fl102.html

United States Patent and Trademark Office (2006, August 21). What is Intellectual Property.United States Patent and Trademark Office. Retrieved August 12, 2012, from http://http://www.uspto.gov/web/offices/ac/ahrpa/opa/museum/1intell.htm

Huffman, S. (2010). The Missing Link: The lack of citations and copyright notices in multimedia presentations. TechTrends, 54(3), 38-44.

Veltsos, J. R., & Veltsos, C. (2010). Teaching Responsibly with Technology-Mediated Communication. Business Communication Quarterly:Focus on Teaching, 463. doi:10.1177/1080569910385397

Zmuda, A., & Harada, V. (2008). Looking to the Future: Providing Resources to Support 21st century learning. In Librarians as learning specialist:meeting the learning imperative for the 21st century. (1st ed.). (p. 107). West Port, CT/USA: Libraries Unlimited.

Digital Storytelling Process

The first thing I love about this project is the deadlines. It is helpful for a procrastinator (aka a busy mom) to have concrete deadlines for this process. Second thing I am really excited to create something I've never tried before. I have been discussing my project plans with my coworkers. I work with some really creative people so it has been fun sharing story ideas. I have also contemplated what this process would be like for an elementary class. How would I make it work? A digital storytelling project pulls all the writing elements together. Brainstorming ideas, creating an organizer, drafting, then producing final product. If a teacher made this a group or pair project I can really see the potential for great teaching opportunities, especially for reluctant writers. You are using the writing process without realizing it because it is so much fun to produce. I am sure students being able to share the final product would be very rewarding. Plus it is an opportunity for students to build their own digital portfolio. The only trouble teaching the digital process is having the time and resources available to students to work on this project.

Week 4 Experience using Technology

The sad thing about my two years teaching experience was the complete lack of technology resources available. I have learned more about using technology in the classroom over the last three years taking my course requirements for Library Media Specialist. Through those courses I have designed lessons that incorporate technology like blogs, wikis, and podcasts. I did a collaboration project for a class two years ago where the group incorporated all three into a research project. It is safe to say for three years I have been learning how to incorporate technology. One of my true passions for the past two years is finding ways to incorporate my company's Electronic Reader into schools.  I wrote a research proposal two years ago and have a local school preparing to conduct a study in the winter. The goal of the project is using Electronic Readers to help struggling students with reading comprehension goals. Also to use the tools of the E-Reader for guided reading projects. I am truly excited for this upcoming project.