Monday, December 28, 2009

Thing 20-Subscribing to Podcasts

So many informational and interesting podcasts and vodcasts. Podcasting is almost the same as navigating the Internet in that you need to prioritize what and where you want to dedicate your time and exposure. I like how iTunes helps manage your podcasts and will stop subscriptions if you don't listen to podcasts after a certain period of time.

I found many student created podcasts in the Education Podcast Network (EPN). I listened to various selections from 1st graders presenting their original written works to middle school students describing their educational history to a high school monthly broadcast on school topics and news. In Podcast Alley (PA) I found selections on Canadian Bears and Astronomy. Both websites had very interesting podcast selections and offered different kinds of listening and viewing experiences. EPN offered many podcasts which were developed by students and teachers while PA seemed to have more seasoned producers. This may not be totally true, but this is my impression based on my experiences today.

After my introduction to podcasts in Thing 19, I felt that I had a framework for narrowing down my search for podcasts to view/listen to, but after spending time in EPN, PA, and iTunes Podcasts I feel a Little overwhelmed with all my subscriptions. I guess over time I will add more podcasts to listen to and unsubscribe to others.

Several podcasts that I subscribed to via my new iTunes account include Teach42-Education and Technology by Steve Dembo, National Public Radio's Science Friday, and Public Broadcasting Station's Share the Earth for K-12 and the Education Podcast by John Merrow. Now I will need to obtain an iPod so I can keep up with all my enriching audio podcasts. I am sure I will have to add others podcasts that looked interesting from the last Thing session. I also realized that I need to get a better computer to process all these new capabilities. I need to increase my efficiency to better manage my time. Have a great day, Gregory Jacoby

Saturday, December 26, 2009

Thing 19-Podcasts

Podcasting has been an area that I have been eagerly awaiting to add to my skill set. I am not sure why it has taken this class to get me to learn and enter the world of Podcasts, but it has. I am excited about the posibilities of making use of Podcasts to assist with my professional development and personal enrichment.

I enjoyed both the Uncle Seth and Ask a Ninja videos and there creativity (especially the regular feeding of apple pies to whales). I can't ignore all the Commoncraft videos that have been very instructional and enlightening in the clear presentation of new concepts for my learning over the course of this class.

I had some difficulty downloading and utilizing Quick Time and Adobe Flash Player. I was ultimately able to listen to both RESA Great Educational Podcasts but not able to view. One of the interesting interesting sites I browsed through was at Lower Merion School district (www.lmds.org/staff/techmentor/podcast). I found an interesting podcast on Three Suggestions for use of technology in the classroom. It explained how to access/evaluate how to better integrate technology into the your teaching, the curriculum and classroom.

The second podcast that was interesting was a discussion regarding the new administrations Race to the Top initiative. I found it at the Learning Matters Web site (learningmattters.tv/blog/podcasts/race-to-the-top). There always seems to be an interesting dynamic between politicians and education and the resulting programs that are devised to enhance and improve education.

I look forward to the next "Thing" and more podcasting. Gregory Jacoby

Wednesday, December 23, 2009

Thing 18-Slideshare

More fun stuff....... Here is a presentation I found to be not only beautiful but meditative on Slideshare titled National Geographic by Gyula Dio:



I really enjoy reading National Geographic regularly and the photography is exceptional in every issue. I believe that I have seen this photographer's name in issues that I have read. I find National Geographic pictures to be great for engaging students to expressively communicate utilizing pictures for descriptions. Pictures can also be used for prompts for written expression activities.

Here is one regarding Music Therapy with Autism Spectrum Disorders by Mimi Sinclair:



I chose this presentation because it allowed me to review some of the literature and research regarding success with utilizing music with ASD students. This presentation reminded me of the standard PowerPoint presentations that I have created in the past and been exposed to when I returned to school for my Masters degree and when I was working in the business world.

I don't have much current experience with PowerPoint presentations in my current capacity as a speech pathologist in schools. I could potentially have students use PowerPoint as a language activity. Using Slideshare in the classroom would be a way for reinforcing a given subject or providing students with models regarding options available for creative presentations.

Based on what I viewed on Slideshare, what can be created and embedded into PowerPoint has come a long way from 10-20 years ago. When I worked with PowerPoint I was usually placing printed content into a given standard template. Another area that I will have to expand my adventurous-self to discover. Gregory Jacoby

Monday, December 21, 2009

Thing 17-Knowtes, Trailfire, and Remember the Milk

Very interesting Web 2.0 tools to sample and browse in "Thing 17". This lesson has further proven that I need to definitely be more adventurous with Internet use. But I guess this message has been reinforced with each step along my journey in this course.

I spent some time in the following sites:

Knowtes was my first stop. Although I do not teach a specific class subject, I can see some applications of this web site to support both language development and even articulatory drills with my speech-language students. Incorporating spelling and vocabulary lists on Knowtes would give students support to practice and prepare for their weekly spelling tests and improve vocabulary knowledge which would enhance comprehension of the various texts being read. I like the flexibility of being able to invite others to join into a "Deck". This site may have limitations in that students may not remain motivated after the initial exposure to the site. The other problem may be having access to computer to utilize the decks.

My second exploration was of Trailfire. I found several "trails" that were very informative in exploring many facets of a given subject/topic. One example was when I was searching for information about learning disabilities. Several of the trails included web sites dealing with basic textbook definitions, learning disability support organizations, medline, and intervention web sites that could be utilized by parents, kids and teens, and treatment professionals. I found this web site to be helpful in seeing what web searches others have come up with so that I can be more productive (i.e., not having to recreate the wheel). The trails also have the nice feature of allowing me the ability to email the originator to collaborate or comment which supports the interactive nature of Web 2.0.

The final site I browsed was that of Remember the Milk. This site could offer the potential to help me meet my deadlines especially in terms of the various reports, medicaid billing, and IEP due dates, meetings, etc. I often have to manage information at multiple buildings and have calendars at each building of items that need to be completed. Having the ability to place and prioritize information and get reminders via my email would be helpful. Some of my information applies to other colleagues, so I could share my organized list with others. Also rather than waiting for a calendar on a monthly basis, all my information could be loaded in at one time so that I wouldn't have to worry about it after my initial input of important dates or re-occurring reports that are due.

I look forward to trying to incorporate some of these Web application tools at work to see how I might better streamline and become more efficient in my administrative duties as a speech therapist. It seems that in this day and age, we are being asked to provide more written documentation than ever. The more I can be efficient with some of these tasks, the more I will have time to spend with my students providing direct therapy. That would make me happy. Have a great day, Gregory Jacoby

Saturday, December 19, 2009

Thing 16-Google Docs

What an amazing Web 2.0 feature Google Docs is. I had no idea that such an application existed on the Internet. Over the years I have worked on documents and spreadsheets, and then emailed them to people back and forth updating version after version. Another wonderful learning experience today.

I can envision how this might make collaboration an even more powerful tool in my schools. Use of Google Docs would definitely allow all students to have the opportunity to all be involved in classroom projects. What a way to revolutionize the process of creating groups to create/share papers, reports, and presentations. I remember my days in the classroom as a young student and even in college and how this would definitely make shared projects easier to complete.

As for having access both at school and home for my students that may be problematic. There has been some developments at least at one of my schools over the last couple of months. I have noticed installations of wireless boxes in the classrooms. They are not functional at this time, but who knows....... Both my schools have some computers available, but access is limited to both to the number of students that can use them and how many times per week they are able to either use the 1-2 in each classroom and/or use the computer lab.

As for home use, I do know that some of my students have access to computers and Internet at home. It would be difficult for all to be able to use computers at home at the present time in Detroit. In order for our students and staff to truly be in a 21st century classroom and be able to incorporate Google Docs we will need to make access and computers more available both at school and home. There may be some policies and procedures that would need to be established for student email accounts.

I spent much time attempting to copy/paste a spreadsheet from my computer to my Google Docs account. I tried the "Help" menu without any success. I was able to transfer the document, but then had to re-edit to its' original format. I was also able to then share the document with my supervisor which was wonderful. We have been emailing updated versions of this document back and forth for a couple of weeks. How great to now have one document that we can work on without having to email updated versions back and forth.

I can see huge potential for use of Google Docs both professionally and personally with documents, spreadsheets and presentations. I will need to see what I can do to become more versed and maybe find a course so I can facilitate greater expertise. Thanks for the enrichment. Gregory Jacoby

Thursday, December 17, 2009

Thing 15-Trip back to my lonely Bloglines RSS Account

It seems like I haven't had time to check my Bloglines account and keep current with all the wonderful feeds coming my way. I guess I will have to see about whether I can add my Bloglines account to my Bookmarking with Delicious. ............. I just went to Delicious and added a bookmark. Pretty wonderful, now all I have to do is make a habit of going to my Delicious account when at school and home. It will be interesting to see if I can access these bookmarks through my school computers. That will be the next step.

I spent some time trying to figure out how to manage all the posts within each feed on my Bloglines account, but could not find out how to delete a post. Each post has a "Keep New" box and "Clip/Blog This" spot, but I could not find anything for deleting a specific post in order to keep what I was interested in saving to read. I searched the help button, but to no avail. Any suggestions? Otherwise won't I accumulate tons of posts within each of my feeds.

I definitely had a much easier time of creating feeds to my account this time around. RSS will definitely keep me more current and allow for greater ease to narrow down my search for topical information. I won't have to recreate the process of finding useful sites and now I will also be able to connect Bloglines into by Delicious bookmark registry. So I should have no excuse for not making it a habit to look for new posts to my account.

Have a nice evening, Gregory Jacoby

Tuesday, December 15, 2009

Thing 14- Delicious with gregory_jacoby

Delicious is such a wonderful tool. I have often been overwhelmed with search engines such as Google, Bing, FireFox, etc. It is great to have the luxury to have access to sights that have been ranked as useful by other professionals that are utilizing the Web to enhance their teaching experiences.

Social Bookmarking can assist in streamlining my search process for the best practices that can be utilized in the school setting. This would be particularly useful in the area of effective and efficacious support services in providing speech therapy. Sometimes it seems like I am an island unto myself being the only speech therapist in my buildings at any given day. By having access to other's bookmarks, I would have a handy resource to help trouble shoot when I do not have a colleague to brainstorm with regarding a special case.

The other great benefit to a site such as Delicious is that I can access my list of resources from any computer. Due to the fact that I travel to multiple buildings and am having to carry therapy materials, tests, traveling office and laptop, etc in and out of buildings, Delicious would simplify my life. It would allow me to utilize computers that are available in my buildings rather than always having to bring in and set up my computer on a daily basis. Not only would I have access to digital therapy materials, teaching/therapy resources, but also administrative forms that most other teachers do not use through my bookmark library.

I can definitely see how Delicious could ultimately improve my productivity and allow me to spend more time with my students and less time trying to find, copy, and transport material from one building to another. Over time I can see how my personal resource list could really be helpful to myself and others that may need certain information/resources.

So come and see my bookmarks as I begin to navigate Delicious at gregory_jacoby. I will be peeking at your lists someday soon. Bye, Gregory Jacoby

Sunday, December 13, 2009

Thing 13-Tagging and Social Bookmarking

More expanding of my lexicon today.....

Some wonderful new words to add to my vocabulary--folksonomy, tag clouds, lemming, and camels. Very interesting.

Tagging and using a social bookmarking web site does have definite advantages. I presently use different computers whether at work, home, library, or at friends/families homes. It definitely would make my navigation for information in alternate locations much easier and efficient. I can see how useful tags are to find related information rather than having to "recreate the wheel" every time you are trying to locate information on a particular topic or interest. This is sort of like having an army of "like-minded" individuals seeking out information. I guess the key to tagging is to use some standard tags that individuals are using that you find out through lemming and then add some key tags that you feel are appropriate as well.

Tagging would definitely help me in organizing my digital sites into areas that are not just related to speech-language pathology, but could be subcategorized into articulation, language, fluency, voice, dysphagia, aphasia, etc. These subcategories could be further tagged by specifics such as phonemes, language area, type of voice disorder, diet, executive function, etc. I can see how important it is to think about the most appropriate tags for labeling your digital item.

One potential problem with bookmarks might be that you can use too generalized of a tag and still have to sort out alot of web sites looking for the specific information that you thought a certain site would be useful. I think the positives outweigh the disadvantages with tags. Just need to be careful to appropriately tag so that you are using objective descriptors rather than subjective or inappropriate labels.

The potential of tagging is quite impressive. Having the ability to network with others to find "jewels" in the greater Internet world is exciting. The saying that "many hands make lite work" definitely applies to tagging and utilization of social networking. I look forward to getting started in the next Thing. Gregory Jacoby

Saturday, December 12, 2009

Thing 12-Adding Widgets

Very interesting afternoon of Widget mania.

I enjoyed navigating all the various widget possibilities out there in the Internet. Adding Widgets is sort of like having a RSS streaming to your personal blog rather than going to bloglines. Widgets give you smaller bits of "real-time" information. The only complication that I had was figuring out that widgets are added to your actual blog page rather than being added to an individual post. Once I got around that confusion, I had fun.

After today, embedding has become much easier. As with any new learning that occurs the key is to practice, practice, practice. I selected three widgets to try out various sites. I chose a clock from Miniclock to add some color and time management monitoring on my blog. I found the quote of the day and the special education tips at Widget Box. I assist with the morning announcements at one of my schools and I am always looking for applicable quotes to share with students and staff. The special education tips widget looked interesting in providing new ideas to use with some of my students or to share with staff when we are brainstorming. I might also find something to assist me in my speech therapy practices.

At present I am not in any other on-line communities. I have been alittle hesitant about going on Myspace, Facebook and other sites. I guess I feel that I would rather have face to face interactions with friends and colleagues rather than engaging with others via the Internet. In the past, using the Internet to communicate has lacked the emotions and visual cues (i.e., the suprasegmentals that accompany speech) which has resulted in my limited use of email as a form of regular communication with others. I know that the younger generations are very computer savvy and engage with all electronic media for entertainment and interactions with others.

My social interacts that have resulted from this course have definitely opened up my views and shown me that you can develop relations with other people that you have never met face to face. Blogging definitely does facilitate meeting others that have your same interests and helps find others that are willing to engage with you.

I look forward to using my new skills and contacts to enrich what I do in the future both with Web 2.0 and my practices in my schools. Have a nice day, Gregory Jacoby

Monday, December 7, 2009

Thing 11-Community Building/Outreach

Building Communities is one of the key features of the Internet that I have not utilized as a Web 2.0 user to date. I have been using the Internet to obtain pieces of information and communicate by email. The "Things" of this course that I have completed so far are broadening my horizens and utilizing commenting will help me share/grow in my practices. This can only improve my speech and language services in Detroit Public Schools.

At this point, leaving comments still feels somewhat ackward. I feel as though I am sending a message "out in a bottle". But as this section of the course indicated, rather than sending a message out to the whole world, I am sending it to someone who has a shared interest. So ultimately, I will be more likely get a response and possibly build a relationship which can lead to more enriched sharing. I do know that I have enjoyed recieving feedback and have appreciated individual's comments on my blogs. Feedback has always been a concern of mine, especially with taking a course on-line. In the past I would usually opt for taking a class in a lecture hall rather than sitting by myself in front of a computer screen. But I have expanded my perspecitives by taking this course and feel "connected" by blogging and having others comment. By commenting, we end up validating the efforts that individuals are trying to share via the Internet.

I can see that students would benefit from working on-line. Not only would they be able to use the computer and its many facets, but they would also be able to interact with others in an enriching environment. It also gives the added benefit of reinforcing written communication which is an area that has been getting harder and harder to address in education over the last few years. Gregory Jacoby