Thing 13: Reflections

1. Well, at first I admit to feeling a little overwhelmed with the prospect of iPads in the library. I had never used an iPad before this and was a bit nervous. After this class, I realize that its not so bad. I made it out to be more difficult than it is in reality. The lessons will be the same, but enhancing the learning with the tools that an iPad offers. It's not about creating a lesson for the technology, but about how technology can enhance and enliven the lesson to make it more meaningful for students.

2. I am finding that I really like the sharing capabilities of Google Docs. I have used it a lot since learning about the tools. It is very helpful when getting information from the staff or student body. They can just add their information to one document instead of having multiple documents sent to me clogging up my mail box. I also liked Educreations. I think I will use this app with my students to make many different video products such as book trailers, biography reports, etc. I also want to explore opportunities with Skype. I would love to have author talks via Skype for my students.

3. My biggest "aha" moment was really a change in my perceptions about how to implement iPads into the library. Another "aha" was the multitude of apps available for use with iPads. Many of these apps can enhance existing lessons that I use for the library. Can't wait to get started!

Thing 10: Copyright, Fair Use, and Creative Commons

Part 1 (1-2 paragraphs)

1. Discuss 2-3 things you learned about copyright, fair use, and creative commons. 
2. How will understanding these things help you when you are designing activities for your students to complete using the iPads?

Part 2 (2-3 paragraphs)

1. After watching the video from Common Sense Educators, what stuck out in your mind about how the teacher introduced copyright and fair use to her students?  
2. Why do you think the lesson had such an impact on her students? 
3. The teacher in the video reinforced critical thinking skills throughout this lesson by having the students support their answers and evaluations with evidence.  How does this strategy enhance the instruction taking place?
4. How could you implement a similar lesson with your students?  Think about who you would need to help you complete this lesson (campus Library Information Specialist, content specialists, etc.) and include this information in your response. 

Part 1:

1. I learned that Public Domain can be used without permission, but credit should be given to the source. I liked that the 4 questions for Fair Use were laid out so plainly and comprehensively. 

• Does it have a nonprofit educational purpose?
• What kind of material do you want to use?
• Are you using only a small portion?
• Will your use deprive the author from making money?

I already knew the percentage of music that we are allowed to use, but the other types of media were new to me. 

• motion media- 10% or up to 3 minutes
• text- 10% or up to 1,000 words
• music- 10% or no more than 30 seconds

I did not realize that posting a project on a website that contains copyrighted material is not covered under the fair use umbrella.
I also learned that using Creative Commons allows contributors to copyright their work for free and still allow others to use their work with limitations.
2. I will definitely use the Cyberbee website with my students. It may seem a bit simplistic for 5th and 6th graders, but I like the straightforwardness of the information. Copyright and Fair Use can be complicated to understand, even for adults. I like the resources that were given to us in this lesson. It gives us more tools to use in talking about this important issue with students in a way that they can relate to in their media enhanced world.

Part 2:
1. I really love Common Sense Media. The teacher in the video had the students role playing as lawyers to examine 2 videos as to their use of fair use. Students had to write notes about what they notice in the video, find evidence to support their findings, and discuss it as a group. She emphasized them using copyright vocabulary and finding evidence.
2. This lesson impacted students because she used examples of a fake "movie trailer" and a mash up. These are things that are familiar to our students. It really places this idea of copyright and fair use into their media enhanced reality. It gave them concrete relevant examples to evaluate as fair use or not.
3. One skill students need to master is supporting their findings (answers). By having the students support their beliefs or answers, students are engaged in the activity by proving that they are correct. While they are proving themselves, if they have made an erroneous guess, they can rethink their answers and change their minds based on proof. This is such a valuable lesson for students. It shows them how to truly prove their answers and solidifying their learning.
4. After talking about copyright and fair use, I would have the 4 questions out for students to review,  the amount of material allowed by fair use, and some relevant examples for students to review and prove whether they meet fair use or not. We can also discuss how to make non fair use videos compliant under the fair use umbrella. In completing this lesson, I would ask the Tech Specialist for help in finding examples of videos to show the students.

Thing 12: Evaluating iPad Lessons

I reviewed Jennifer Ozturk and Lea Ann Coffey's iPad lessons.

Thing 11: Planning and Designing Your iPad Lesson

For my lesson, I chose a topic from the 6th grade Social Studies curriculum.

Universal Generalization:

A society's beliefs and traditions affects its way of life.

Unit Understanding:

The influence of South and East Asia's ancient religions on its cultures is evident throughout the region.

TEKS:

(2)  History. The student understands the influences of individuals and groups from various cultures to on various historical and contemporary societies. The student is expected to:

(A)  identify and describe the influence of individual or group achievements on various historical or contemporary societies such as the classical Greeks on government and the American Revolution on the French Revolution; and

(B)  evaluate the social, political, economic, and cultural contributions of individuals and groups from various societies, past and present.

(18)  Culture. The student understands the relationship that exists between the arts and the societies in which they are produced. The student is expected to:

(B)  relate ways in which contemporary expressions of culture have been influenced by the past;

(C)  describe ways in which contemporary issues influence creative expressions;

(19)  Culture. The student understands the relationships among religion, philosophy, and culture. The student is expected to:

(A)  explain the relationship among religious ideas, philosophical ideas, and cultures; and (WG 17A

Key Vocabulary/Terms:

Confucianism

Buddhism

Taoism

Cultural Traits

Lesson Objective:

What influence has religion had on culture and life in South and East Asia?

Materials:

Library Books on Culture and Religions of South and East Asia

iPads

World Book

NetTrekker

Google Custom Search (set up by the librarian or teacher)

Copyright free images

History Alive! materials

Google Docs

Lesson:

Students will research the different key terms and people of the unit. Students will gather information needed to answer the lesson objective question.

Students will create a brochure of the different religions/religious leaders and explain their impact on the culture of South and East Asia. Students will include images of each of the leaders using copyright free images. Students will also site their sources.

This lesson product can be used in place of the character collage suggested in the curriculum guide.

Rubric:

Making A Brochure : South and East Asian Religion/Culture Brochure
Teacher Name: Geneva Browning
Student Name:     ________________________________________
CATEGORY	4	3	2	1
Content - Accuracy	All facts in the brochure are accurate.	99-90% of the facts in the brochure are accurate.	89-80% of the facts in the brochure are accurate.	Fewer than 80% of the facts in the brochure are accurate.
Attractiveness & Organization	The brochure has exceptionally attractive formatting and well-organized information.	The brochure has attractive formatting and well-organized information.	The brochure has well-organized information.	The brochure\'s formatting and organization of material are confusing to the reader.
Knowledge Gained	All students in the group can accurately answer all questions related to facts in the brochure and to technical processes used to create the brochure.	All students in the group can accurately answer most questions related to facts in the brochure and to technical processes used to create the brochure.	Most students in the group can accurately answer most questions related to facts in the brochure and to technical processes used to create the brochure.	Several students in the group appear to have little knowledge about the facts or technical processes used in the brochure.
Graphics/Pictures	Graphics go well with the text and there is a good mix of text and graphics.	Graphics go well with the text, but there are so many that they distract from the text.	Graphics go well with the text, but there are too few and the brochure seems \"text-heavy\".	Graphics do not go with the accompanying text or appear to be randomly chosen.
Sources	Careful and accurate records are kept to document the source of 95-100% of the facts and graphics in the brochure.	Careful and accurate records are kept to document the source of 94-85% of the facts and graphics in the brochure.	Careful and accurate records are kept to document the source of 84-75% of the facts and graphics in the brochure.	Sources are not documented accurately or are not kept on many facts and graphics.
Writing - Vocabulary	The authors correctly use several new words and define words unfamiliar to the reader.	The authors correctly use a few new words and define words unfamiliar to the reader.	The authors try to use some new vocabulary, but may use 1-2 words incorrectly.	The authors do not incorporate new vocabulary.
Writing - Mechanics	Capitalization and punctuation are correct throughout the brochure.	Capitalization and punctuation are correct throughout the brochure after feedback from an adult.	There are 1-2 capitalization and/or punctuation errors in the brochure even after feedback from an adult.	There are several capitalization or punctuation errors in the brochure even after feedback from an adult.
Date Created: May 25, 2014 08:57 pm (CDT)

Thing 9: Collaboration

There are many ways to utilize Skype and Padlet in the classroom/library. 

Here are some ways to use Skype in the classroom/library: 

• meet and talk with authors or illustrators
• meet with other classrooms- in the district, country, or world
• have virtual field trips
• meet with parents for a virtual conference

Here are some ways to use Padlet in the classroom/library:

• book suggestions
• professional development ideas
• book reviews
• questions about the lesson

I think that using these tools in the classroom/library will increase student learning and engagement. Some students may not like asking questions aloud during a lesson, can ask their question using Padlet. They get their question answered without the possible embarrassment of asking aloud. This tool gives students a voice that they may not feel that they have at school. Skype gives students and teachers the chance to meet author, illustrators, and people from all over the world. Many of our students do not have the opportunity to visit places outside of their neighborhoods. By using Skype, we can open the world up for our students.

Thing 8: Research and Inquiry

For this post, I am supposed to choose 1 research tool to discuss. I like two of the tools so much, that I am going to talk about both of them.

First, I would like to talk about the search engine NetTrekker, which is a paid subscription. I love NetTrekker and have used it for years. It is a search engine that uses websites that have been reviewed by educators and students. Teachers can save their custom search list for students to use. NetTrekker has many tools for students and teachers to utilize. These tools include specific resources for 21st Century Skills, ELL (English Language Learners), references, timeline feature, image search, and famous person search. Students can also use the Read Aloud and Dictionary features, which are fantastic features for struggling students.

Users can choose one of 3 levels for content level searching: elementary, middle, and high school levels. They can also refine their searches using the following search parameters: multimedia, learning aids, readability levels, language, and featured content. Users can also sort their search results by using the following parameters: a-z, z-a, readability level, rating, and student or teacher recommendations.

I really like using NetTrekker for its many tools and features. I constantly make lists and share them with my teachers to use during the year focusing on their current curriculum.

Secondly, I would like to talk about Google Custom Search. This is a feature of Google Docs. Teachers can make a "hot list" of websites for students to use during research projects. Unlike a normal "hot list", which is a long list of websites for students to choose from, the list is hidden. Students open the link and see a pseudo Google search screen. This search screen only searches the websites that are in the "hot list" the teacher created. Students type in their topic and Google searches through all of the websites in the list and produces a list of websites that meet their search term. Here is a Google Custom Search that I created on the American Industrial Revolution https://www.google.com/cse/publicurl?cx=009556751981641859010:4amgdsdlzk0

Thing 7: GarageBand

In a 2-3 paragraph post for "Thing 7", discuss the following:

1. Which features of GarageBand will be most useful in your instructional setting?  Explain why.
2. How can podcasting help enhance student learning in your class(es)? 
3. Where would you host the podcasts your students create?  How will your students have access to these recordings?

Some features of GarageBand that can be useful for my instructional setting are the audio and music recording abilities, virtual instruments, midi editing, and loops. These features will be useful with the activities that I intend to complete with my students.

Students will be able to create podcasts for the following lesson ideas:

• students can create a playlist or soundtrack for a novel or a chapter of a novel.
• to create a musical piece that  captures the mood of a boo chapter or a work of art.
• book trailers or book talks.
• "how to" audio manuals for how to search the library catalog, how to find a book using the Dewey Decimal System, etc.
• talking history journals-immigrant stories, pilgrim stories, pioneer stories, Native American stories, etc.

Ways to host the podcasts are using a class blog, website, edmodo, Google Drive, and/or the cloud.

Thing 6: Screencasting with Educreations

As a librarian, I like to reinforce concepts and curriculum in the library through various activities. One area that I like to support is literary elements aka figurative language. I found the following video on Educreations about literary elements. I would use this video as a refresher for  these elements in literature before completing an activity with the students.

I picked this lesson because students often confuse the literary elements and this video gives the definition with several examples and visuals for each one. Students are more likely to remember something they have learned if there is a picture related to the information. I would use the video as whole group instruction and break up into small groups for the activity. The activity is a matching game. Students have the term, definition, and example of different pieces of paper-terms on yellow paper, definitions on blue paper, and examples on green paper. Students work as a group to match each term to its definition and example. I've done the activity before without the video. Now I will add the video to the lesson.

I created an Educreations of pictures I took in Ash Hollow, Nebraska and the surrounding areas. These pictures still show the wagon wheel tracks from the pioneer days. It is a living piece of history and was really exciting to see.

When I was creating this Educreation video, the toughest part was finding a topic to use. That would be the hardest part in beginning to use the program. Once you have decided on the topic, creating the screencast is very simple. I think students would have an easy time in utilizing the program to create screencasts.

Thing 5: Digital Storytelling Using iMovie

I would like to use digital storytelling to help support social studies.
The learning objective- Why people settle in new places or immigrate to new places

• Students can work in pairs or groups to interview each other as people traveling to the New World- what are the reasons for their journey? How do you think your life will improve in the New World?
• Students can work in pairs or groups to interview each other as people moving west in the Westward Movement. What are your reasons for moving west? What trail will you follow? How far will you go? What will you bring with you? Students can even talk about the hardships along the trail. They can also play a role of a Donner party survivor.
• Students can work in pairs or groups to interview each other as immigrants traveling to the US. Many students have immigrated here and can put personal reflections to their stories.

The learning objective: Understanding world cultures

• Students can work in pairs or groups to present a cultural study of a country they are currently studying.
• Students can create a digital travel log (itinerary) of places to see in a country they are studying.
• Students can create a digital story about their own culture to share with the class- they can use photos and video of things they do at home that are culturally specific to them.
• Students that have devices can record the stories of their grandparents journey to the US or about their childhoods as a "living history" of their families. How many students today understand the hardships and struggles of the older generations of their families? It would be an interesting project to pursue.

Thing 4: Photo Editing

I took a picture of a pinata that I purchased for my upcoming book fair. I took the picture using my iPad. When taking a photo with an iPad, you can press the side volume up button to take the picture instead of touching the screen to take the picture. This is very helpful with younger children so they can keep both hands on the iPad at all times.

After taking the photo, I opened the photo app and created a screenshot of my photo. I did this by pressing the "Home" button and the "Power" button at the same time. You will hear a camera shutter sound and the screen will go white for a moment. If you look in your photo app, you will see the original photo as well as your screenshot.

I used iPhoto to edit my original picture. I changed the coloring effects and added an ink effect border to the photo. See the edited photo (top photo) and screenshot (bottom photo) below.

You can definitely see the color difference between the edited photo and the screenshot.I uploaded my photos to Google Docs and placed them into my blog.

I had to look up how to take a screenshot of a photo on my iPad. I figured out how to upload my pictures into my Google Docs, but I did have trouble figuring out how to get my pictures from my Google Docs to my blog. I found this part of the task confusing. I really didn't figure out how to do it, so I downloaded my pictures from Google Docs to my computer and then uploaded them into Blogger. If I figure this part out, I will update my post. 

One thing to keep in mind when planning to use technology, is the users technology savvy. How can you instruct all students with various levels of 21st Century Skills at the same time on the same project? Will you have an instruction sheet, video instructions, model instruction, etc? 

I would use iPhoto with a collaborative art project with the art teacher. We could explore the use of shadow, light, darkness, color variations, focus, and blurring to teacher different art concepts and visual literacy. We can even connect it to mood and tone of a reading passage or literary work. Students could take a photo and edit it to match the mood of a book they are reading. 

Thing 3: Productivity- The iWork Suite

Students need to identify the different reading genres and the characteristics of each genre as part of their reading curriculum. I would like to use the productivity tool Pages in iWork to have students create a brochure to help themselves and others study the different genres and their characteristics. While creating the brochure, students will test their own knowledge of the topic as well as utilizing the iPad.

Using Pages will enhance my instruction by allowing students to access their prior knowledge of genres with the plethora of book examples in the library. Many students do not remember the different characteristics of certain genres, by doing this lesson students will reinforce their knowledge, expand their book selection, and allow them to access a publishing application that they can save in multiple formats.

Students will use the Pages tool, which is similar to Microsoft Publisher. Students will type information, add examples, and images for each genre. Students will use the iPads in the library to complete this project. A major benefit to using Pages is the ability of saving each file into different formats. By doing this, students can access their files from different sources (iPad, computer, tablet, GoogleDocs, etc.).  Brochures can also be printed and used in the library to help students identify if a book meets the genre characteristics. This will help students complete their 40 book challenge, which is a book challenge for students and teachers to read 40 books of different genres.

Thing 2: How to get student work off of an iPad

As iPads were created for personal use, how do we utilize them in the library with multiple users? Well, we have many options. Through my district, students have a Google account, which allows them to use Google Docs to save and share work. This is a wonderful to use for students and teachers. As they work, the documents are saved in their accounts and not on the iPad. Any work left on an iPad, is subject to being deleted by other students or updates. Using Google Docs, is a good way around that problem.

Another way to get workflow from an iPad to a "safer" location is to utilize blogs. I will probably use KidBlog as it allows for teachers to create blogs with their students. I really love the ability to check and approve comments and posts before they are published. Using a blog will also allow for students to enter in their work/assignments without the risk of being deleted from the device. I am looking forward to utilizing both Google Docs and Kidblog with my students in the library.

Thing 1: A New Beginning

I have created this blog for a class that I am taking to incorporate iPads into my library. As I grow in my confidence and experience with iPads, I plan to add to this blog. It is a new beginning for me and my library and I am excited to get started.