Open Source Software Presentation

Here is the link to my knowmia video presentation about Open Source software.

http://www.knowmia.com/watch/lesson/13233

Lesson idea using Open Source Software:

The open source software I would like to use in my classroom is a Google Presentation on Google Apps. In groups I will have my students research on the iPads about all the planets. They will take notes in Google Drive and compile their information into one class Google Presentation. Then we will have all our planet information in one place. This activity could be modified for any grade level 3^rd grade and above, depending on the amount of research and the depth of information required for the final product.

Some of the benefits of this tool include that students can collaborate and easily compile their information. It’s really cool that students can compile a project as a whole class. A drawback is that students have access to all of their presentation, even the part that they are not assigned to (whether on purpose or accidently.)

To introduce this project in class I will model step by step what I want them to do. I will project my slide and create my project while the students are also creating theirs. I will create an example slide of what their final product should look like that they can reference while they work. I will be closely monitoring them working to make sure they are on their own slide.

Learning to use Google Apps gives the students experience working with technology. The Google Presentations also gives them choice and creativity in their slide.  

Bibliography

Fox, C. (2013, April 9). A guide to free and open source education. Retrieved April 17, 2013, from OpenSource.com website: http://opensource.com/education/13/4/guide-open-source-education

Metcalfe, R. (2004, February 1). Top tips for selecting open source software. Retrieved April 17, 2013, from OSS Watch website: http://www.oss-watch.ac.uk/resources/tips

Moodle (Ed.). (2013, March 9). About moodle. Retrieved April 17, 2013, from Moodle website: http://docs.moodle.org/24/en/About_Moodle

Open Source Initiative. (2012, September). History of the OSI. Retrieved April 17, 2013, from http://opensource.org/history

Sharma, A. (2008, December). Learn about open source software [Speech transcript]. Retrieved April 17, 2013, from The Open Source Initiative website: http://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/2814392/ asharma-osi-what-is-opensource-presentation.pdf

Vessels, T. (2007, December 24). Why should open source software be used in schools? Retrieved April 17, 2013, from http://edge-op.org/grouch/schools.html

Wallen, J. (2009, July 26). Why aren't schools adopting open source? Retrieved April 17, 2013, from Tech Republic website: http://www.techrepublic.com/blog/opensource/why-arent-schools-adopting-open-source/811

Time Line

Here is the link to a timeline I created about the history of education. 

The tool I used is called Time Toast. 

http://www.timetoast.com/timelines/the-history-of-education--9

Mind Maps

This is my mind map about mind maps. Sorry it's a little bit difficult to read.

I created it using Webspiration. 

Connective Writing

Connective writing, according to Richardson, is writing meant to be published and shared as a means of connecting people together. It is thought to create a bigger picture with writing to incorporate reading and critical thinking. Writing is not meant to be a singular entity.

         I believe that connective writing falls on the spectrum between 5 and 8. It begins at the lower end with simple connections and then becomes more complex as students begin to analyize and synthesize information.

         Blogs foster critical thinking skills and utilize higher levels of Bloom’s Taxonomy. It is very accessable for students to comment on each other’s work and ask deeper questions of eachother. This helps them engage in more meaningful discussion with a lower level of risk than in person discussions. It also allows for more time for students to think before responding. Teachers can foster this in their students with a gradual release model: I do, we do, you do.

         I definitely think that including multimedia pushes blogging up higher in the spectrum. It engages students more, and requires them to do further research on their own. I think it also encourages them to seek greater understand of material, even beyond what is expected. It creates a connection for students to grasp on to and makes assignments more meaningful.

Microblogging

Twitter Day 1

I have previously stayed away from Twitter. My thought process was that I have a Facebook, Tumblr, GoodReads, a personal Pinterest, and a teacher Pinterest. Why do I need another social networking account? I always thought I had to have witty things to say to have a Twitter. But I never envisioned Twitter as a means for professional development and idea sharing. From my initial experiences on the site, it seems to be a great way to connect to people I would otherwise not get to interact with, such as the US Secretary of Education.

My first frustration came almost instantly. I picked a random assortment of education technology specialists to follow from the start. One of these people completely dominated my feed, posting new tweets every couple of minutes. That completely turned me off to following him. Even if he had good insight, my initial reaction is to not dig through all the tweets to find it.

Twitter Day 2

Our school technology team has been tossing around the idea of what it would look like to go 1 to 1. This was an interesting article that was really pertinent to me that someone tweeted on my feed: http://www.edtechmagazine.com/k12/article/2013/03/what-other-schools-can-learn-carmel-catholics-one-one-experience

I teach in a brand new school and we have such cool technology resources available to us, but it has been such a struggle to get most of the teachers in our building to use the technology. This was a really helpful link I found on my Twitter feed: http://plpnetwork.com/2013/03/27/hesitant-teachers-technology/

A downside to this whole Twitter site is that I could easily sit for hours going through my newsfeed reading great article after great article and getting tons of awesome new ideas. This may not seem like a downside, but it could be very time consuming! And I’m only following 11 people. I cant even imagine what my feed would look like if I had hundreds of people I followed.

Twitter Day 3

I LOVE all the cool ideas I’m finding on Twitter about BYOD (bring your own device.) It is such an interesting idea that I hadn’t heard of until recently, and now I feel much more versed in what BYOD is all about. This video shows ways to use BYOD effectively. Because BYOD can be done horribly and hinder student progress. http://www.edtechmagazine.com/k12/video/cosn-2013-developing-tech-savvy-teachers

I really like the Twitter format. Often, the tweet links you to a longer article, but you get the gist of the article in the tweet. It’s almost like an abstract and I know what the article will about before I begin to read it. This makes perusing my feed and deciding what is applicable to me and what is not applicable to me fairly quick and easy.

A cool aspect of Twitter is that you can interact with people whom you would never get to interact with, but on the flip side, I also think it is cool that I can follow Adams 12, my school district. This brings up news of neat things happening at schools right in my own backyard. I got this off Adams 12’s Twitter page. http://www.broomfieldenterprise.com/broomfield-schools/ci_22849659/mountain-view-preschoolers-act-up-under-big-top