Sunday, January 31, 2010
Monday, January 25, 2010
BP12_2010013_OneMinuteMessage - #2
Thursday, January 21, 2010
BP11_2010013_Link_to_Comment
BP10_2010013_Link_to_Comment
BP9_2010013_Web2.0Tool3_Audacity
Monday, January 18, 2010
BP8_2010012_OneMinuteMessage - #1
BP7_2010012_Link_to_Comment
Click here to view my comment on Pedro Azcona's blog. If you are not following his blog, make sure you do. He is great. Thanks!
BP6_2010012_Link_to_Comment
Click here to view my comment on Sarah Hodge's blog. If you are not following her blog, make sure you do. She is great. Thanks!
Friday, January 15, 2010
BP5_2010012_Web2.0Tool2_Shwup
Monday, January 11, 2010
BP4_2010011_RSS Feeds
Here are my RSS Feed Selections:
1,926 Dance History Lesson Plans reviewed by Teachers:
This RSS Feed has numerous lesson plans that I can use and adapt to my needs. Not only does it have dance history lessons, but also it has anatomy and creative movement lessons.
Arts – Dance – New York Times:
This RSS Feed will keep me up to date with what is going on in the world of dance.
Suite 101: Contemporary Dance Articles:
This RSS Feed will provide me with articles on contemporary dance. My students can use these articles when researching contemporary dance and I can use them to inform my students about recent news in contemporary dance world.
The Ballet Bag:
This RSS Feed is home to various ballet storylines, ballet pictures, and ballet history. I can use this during my ballet lessons.
Technology in the Arts:
This RSS Feed will keep me up to date with how the arts (music, dance, art, and drama) are using technology in the classroom.
I love Google Reader.
BP3_2010011_Web2.0Tool1_YouTube
These two pictures are Screen Shots I took of two YouTube Channels.
There is a very popular show that appeals to 2 to 8 graders called iCarly. In this show a teen creates her own shows that she posts to a YouTube Channel called iCarly. Kids are drawn to this show because iCarly has her own show, which she creates herself. Kids love to have something they can call their own. It makes them feel more involved in their learning and it makes them feel very accomplished.
Assignments?????
I would create a YouTube channel for my students to upload videos on. We would create these videos in the classroom. I could divide students into groups and have them focus on one topic in each unit. For example, in a modern dance history unit each group of students could create a video on a modern dance pioneer. I would be able to cover a lot more choreographers in a short amount of time. In a typical modern history unit a teacher can usually only cover up to 5 choreographers, but with this assignment I could cover up to 10 or even more. I would edit the videos and upload them to our YouTube channel. We could then watch these videos in class, the students can watch them at home if they have computer access, and they will get to show their parents what they have been learning. There are so many choreographers and different aspects of dance that we would never have to create a video twice. We would be creating a dance archive of videos. Other dance teachers could subscribe and use our channel as well.
This could be done in a math, science, reading, or social studies class. The possibilities are endless. YouTube is a very familiar site. I think a lot of people view YouTube as a site to view funny videos, but it is far more than that.
Friday, January 8, 2010
BP2_2010011_EduUses4Blogs
What is a blog? I think of a blog as an electric journal. Instead of using a diary to store your thoughts, you use the World Wide Web to store your thoughts. In fact, you are on one right now. “A blog is a simply a website that an owner or ‘blogger’ can update on a regular basis” (Davies & Merchant, 2009). Blogs are well known in the Web 2.0 world and can be used for various educational purposes. The following is a list of some of these purposes:
Peer Discussion
Movement Portfolios
Coursework
Peer Discussion
Through blogging students are able to not only connect with their classmates, but students from other schools as well. Students are able to voice their opinions or certain topics and receive feedback from other students, parents, and other teachers. The world is virtually at their fingertips as they are able to network with the world.
Movement Portfolios
I am a dance teacher. Movement portfolios are really important to me. I allow each student to create choreography, an audio, and a drawing of how they feel about dance at the beginning of the semester and at the end. I usually compile these on individual discs and give it to the students to take home. They receive feedback from only me on their work. I believe that if my students created their Movement Portfolios through a blog, they could receive more rich feedback from other dance teachers in the district as well as their dance peers.
Coursework
Blogs would be a great way to store my dance course requirement, dance assignments, and events. The students and parents could simply read the course requirement on my page and then respond as their signature. Dance assignments such as making timelines can be easily done through a blog also. I could write out instructions as well as give the students examples through pictures. Parents and students could also have a say in the theme of our dance showcases, costuming, and fundraisers through blogging.
Blogs have endless possibilities. Anything you can do in the classroom, you can do it through a blog. “The blogosphere can transform pedagogy by opening classroom learning to a wider, dispersed audience” (Davies & Merchant, 2009). However, with tools such as blogs some teachers are wary to allow students such freedom on the World Wide Web. “Such experiences with the broader blogosphere, will allow learners, under the guidance of teachers, to explore the internet in safe ways and learn to read and critically interact with the vast amount of text available online” (Davies & Merchant). In order for our students to receive a rich educational experience through blogs netiquette must be discussed previous to incorporating blogs into a curriculum. Our students deserve the chance to make their mark on the world. Since they are now able to make their mark on the world through blogs, who am I not to introduce them to this wonderful Web 2.0 tool.
Davies, J., Merchant, G. (2009). Web 2.0 for schools: learning and social participation. New York, New York: Peter Lang Publishing.
BP1_2010011_iGoogleScreenShots
I really love iGoogle. It is so convenient. Everything that I need is at my finger tips. I feel like I get a lot more work done because I don't have to go to each of my favorite sites individually. I can check my iGoogle homepage and not get distracted by other things on my favorite sites, such as the chatting and playing games.