Seminar Draft

Introduction

Notes and note taking are used in education to help students remember the information presented to them. They can also be used to list procedural steps for them. Older students can copy their own notes, but even at a mature age, some teachers still provide their students with copies of their lecture notes. Just this past year, I recently had my 5th grade student’s copy notes that listed the expectations and criteria of an extensive project. One problem that I continually encountered during the time span of the project was that students would make excuses for their poor quality of work when they submitted it. The most used excuse was that they simply lost their notes and forgot what they needed to do.

Although a student may not loose their notes, they still may loose valuable information when their notes aren’t copied correctly or efficiently. For example, a student who writes slowly may not be able to finish copying the teacher’s notes before they get erased. A student’s speed may not be an issue in some cases: A student may just copy his or her notes in an incomprehensible way so when they return back to their notes for review, the student is unable to understand what they wrote.

In this seminar presentation, I would like to address how to use web 2.0 tools to ensure that students have the proper instructional notes at all times. One way to help students preserve notes is to post typed-up notes on the World Wide Web. But with today’s media based culture, this strategy may be too outdated. Instead, I would like to show you how to make a video that students can access on the web. You can record yourself giving instructions and information, or if an assigned project requires the use of computer technologies, you can make a video that demonstrates the procedural steps in a tutorial format. Having students access a video is superior to having students access typed-notes because with the video, you are stimulating students’ visual and auditory senses. As a result, a video will make the information you are presenting more appealing and attractive to students, and also more memorable.

Materials

Hardware: Freeware: Proprietary: Video-Host:
Computer CamStudio Screen-flow Blip.tv
Camera Taksi Camtasia studio Teachertube.com
Web-Cam Virtual Dub Jing Jumpcut.com
Video-Cam Wink SnagIt Vimeo.com

Procedure

Step 1:
Introduce the problem being address
Step 2:
Discuss how to solve the problem and with my solution is theoretically supported
Step3:
Discuss the hardware necessary to carryout this project
Step 4:
Discuss the software selected for my presentation and alternatives for people
Step 5:
Discuss the video-host sites out there and why I selected the site I am using for the presentation
Step 6:
Demonstrate how to use software and hardware to produce video content
Step 7:
Demonstrate how to upload to host site, blog and itunes
Step 8:
Questions and answers section: where you have the questions and I have the answers

This is my seminar topic idea!

Review of the book Blogs, Wikis, Podcast, and other Powerful Web tools for Classrooms

Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts, and Other Powerful Web Tools for Classrooms is about educators, like the author Will Richardson, who use Web 2.0 tools to creatively motivate their students. These tools include wikis, blogs, and podcasts. This book has three main objectives. It aims to challenge teachers to think of technology as an aid to education instead of a burden. This book teaches educators how to use these tools and apply them to their instruction. Lastly, it explains the basic components of each tool and how each functions.
In the case study in the first chapter, a classroom teacher writes a letter to her students’ parents. The content of the letter explains that her students will be participating in a web-based project that requires blogging. She explains what blogging is, the securities (since the students are minors who will posting their blog publicly), and the assessment of their project.
The teacher in the case study will give her students a series of weekly writing lessons. Her students will be required to type up a summary of their learning and submit it for review for their teacher. After reviewing students’ summaries, the teacher will give her students permission to post their blog entries publicly on the World Wide Web. Anyone surfing the web will be able to reply to her students’ blogs.
To secure the students’ identity, the following information will not be posted in their blog: their last names, personal information, and information pertaining to their school’s location. The teacher will allow her students to comment on their peers’ blogs. But her grading will be based on a rubric that sets criteria for each specific grade.
Based on this case study, I hold a very high opinion of blogging because of its superiority over tradition submission of classwork. Blogging does not require paper, which saves trees. For students who have learned how to type, it is faster then tradition pen and paper writing. It is also easier to edit and proofread work. Student work can be publicly displayed in such a way that allows others to comment on the content of their blog, enhancing learning through quick and easy communication. The idea of putting out their work for the public to see also draws out better quality of work from students, boosting student effort and achievement. Blogging can keep student work organized according to topic. Lastly, blogging can keep student work archived for future reference, in the same way a portfolio does.

What is Web 2.0

Maybe this is Web 2.0?