Videography 101

This is a video about how to make a video! :)

Top Ten Blogging Tips

1. Do: Keep everything legible, using appropriate fonts and contrasting colors. 
2. Don't: Put too much on the page and avoid overcrowding. 
3. Do: Provide a place for students to download assignments they may have missed.
4. Don't: Share personal information on the blog (use it only for the class). 
5. Do: Limit the blog's availability so that only students, parents, and coworkers can access the information. 
6. Do: Keep the language and style professional and avoid silliness.
7. Do: Provide a way for students and parents to offer feedback. 
8. Don't: Share any student's work without his/her permission. 
9. Do: Keep an archive of past posts so that the information is not lost. 
10. Don't: Post anything of vital importance on the blog without either also sharing that information in class or remaining students to check the blog. 

2 minute Individual Video

Here is a link to a practice individual video I edited on youtube!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AvRzYK4V9PU&feature=youtu.be

Rules for a Webquest

1. Make sure that the websites that you use work and the students can find what they need to on the site. 
2. Don't jump around from topic to topic on your webquest make sure it all flows together. 
3. Make your webquest a little more exciting with videos or interactive things for the students to do. 
4. Don't make your webquest too long, too much stuff packed in to one webquest could make it boring and not a good learning experience. 
5. Make sure that students can find the answers to the questions that you ask them on the website. 
6. Don't have students read a bunch of text or do things that are too time consuming on one website. 
7. Do add pictures and boarders to your webquest worksheet to make it more fun and inviting for the students to do. 
8. Don't use videos or websites that are not age appropriate. Know where your students are developmentally! 
9. Make sure that if you have the students play a game on a website that it is a game that will actually teach them something.
10. Don't use a font or pictures on your webquest worksheet that will be unreadable or distracting.

Video Top 10 Do's and Don'ts

1. Lighting: You want to be able to see what you're filming. The lighting should not be too bright as well. 
2. Background Noise: make sure you're not in a place that is very noisy with talking, music,wind, traffic, and the like. 
3. Don't cut mid sentence or during important phrases or words. 
4. Add background music to make the film more inviting and fun. Use appropriately. 
5. Filming: Make sure the footage is not shaky. The footage needs to be usable for a professional clip. 
6. Add credits to the film. 
7. Transitions: adding transitions to the film will help with organization of the story and the overall flow. 
8. Add a picture when necessary.
9. Do cut out unnecessary material. Ex. Background noise, bloopers, unusable footage. 
10. Text: Make sure the text is legible and the font and colors are appropriate.

Inside the Earth Prezified!

Inside Planet Earth on Prezi

Rules of Prezi!

1. Don't : Make sure you don't make your frames too far apart as to cause motion sickness. You don't want to give your audience a headache!
2. Do: Use themes and colors that go well with your topic. Use colors that complement each other. 
3. Don't : Over crowd your Prezi board, too much in a small space can be overwhelming.
4. Do: Use the zoom tool to focus in on certain parts of your Prezi at certain times. 
5. Don't : Make things too small that they are unreadable to your audience.
6. Do: Use pictures and videos to make your Prezi more exciting! You can view a video right in your Prezi presentation!
7. Don't : Have too little information on your board. This would be boring and not engaging.
8. Do: Use Frames to group information that goes together. 
9. Don't : Be too wordy. Keep the text limited to key phrases and main ideas.
10. Do: Use the google search to easily insert relevant images.

Inside the Earth

Technology powerpoint

View more presentations from audelimar.

Powerpoint Do's and Dont's

1. Do: Make sure the colors work together and are easy to read and see.
2. Don't: Make the slides to cluttered with words. A good rule to remember is 6X6 have only 6 bullet points with only 6 words per bullet point.
3.  Do: Use appropraite transitions to make the powerpoint more exciting and engaging.
4. Don't: Over animate and have animations that distract from the learning.
5. Do: Use videos or links to things to add to the powerpoint that you can go to during the presentation.
6. Do: Keep it short and to the point! 
7.  Do: Include questions in the presentation to keep students enagaged.
8. Do: Use different kinds of font, bold things that are important, and make sure it matches the theme.
9. Do: Use charts and diagrams in the presentation to help explain processes.
10. Don't: Use material that isn't appropriate for the level the students are at.

School Technology Report

School Technology Survey

1.      School name: Uintah Elementary School

2.      Name of Principal: Shanna Carl- Interim, Chelsea Malouf- coming later.

3.      Names of teachers talked with whose classrooms you visited and grade level: Mrs. Traughber, second grade and Mrs. Jennings, second grade.

4.      Ask the teachers/principal their perspective on current and future use of technology in the classroom: Mrs. Jennings said that she thinks that it is really beneficial. She says that it helps her students think in different ways and shows them what kinds of things are out in the real world.

5.      Does the school have its own website? If so who maintains the site what is the URL? Yes, the technology committee which is made up of teachers and the librarian of the school maintains the website. The URL is http://uintah.slc.k12.ut.us/

6.      Do teachers at the school have class blogs? If so who has access to them? Mrs. Jennings said that she had a class Facebook page that her students can look at. Teachers also have UEN pages and older students are encouraged to make one as well. The 5^th and 6^th grade teachers have blogs for their students to look at, which serve as a good communication tool for the students and teachers.

7.      Is there a school technology supervisor? Name? There is the committee that I mentioned above, a professional that works in the downstairs computer lab, and also a district tech. Mrs. Jennings is one of the teachers on the technology committee.

8.      Do all the classrooms have computers in them? Explain what you find: Yes, all classrooms had computers in them, however some only had one or two. Mrs. Jennings was lucky for a lower grade level teacher and had six. In older classrooms, like 5^th and 6^th grade, there is a computer for every two students and those computers are at their desks.

9.      Is there a computer lab/s? If so how is it used and by whom? Yes, there is one downstairs used by all students in the school during their once a week lab time. There is also one in the library upstairs that all students use as well.

10.  What kinds of computers are in the school – PC’s, Laptops, Mac’s etc.? Overhead projection equipment etc.: They have PC’s that are in every classroom and in the lab and the library. They have overhead projection equipment in every classroom, lab, and library as well. Also every room had a Smart Board.

11.  What software programs are regularly used by teachers? Teachers use the Smart Board program, YouTube, and Skype. Mrs. Jennings was going to connect with another teacher who is going to Costa Rica to teach and have her class Skype with the class over in Costa Rica.

12.  Can/do teachers use the Internet in their instruction?  Detail findings. Yes, to show videos and use other software.

13.  How does a teacher get further training to use technology? The technology committee at the school does classes called professional development. Also the lab professional helps teachers. Teachers can also go through the district to get more training.

14.  See if you can get a sense of the % of students who might have a computer in their home: At that school about 95% of students have computers in their homes, however not all of those students may have access to those computers. Mrs. Jennings said that she suggests to students who don’t have computers to go to a library or they can use the few computers that are in the classroom before or after school.

15.  Did you observe students using computer-based technology? If so detail what you observed: Yes, just passing by in the hall. Some students were in the lab and they all seemed to be doing different things on the computers. Some were doing a word-based program and others had some program that dealt with blocks. All the students were wearing headphones, probably so they wouldn’t disturb the student working next to them.

16.  Other: Mrs. Jennings said that she tries to go paperless with everything that she does. She got an email from every one of her students and she emails them things that they are supposed to do or some even email her with questions about their homework. She got her Masters with teaching with technology and she said it is something that she really believes in.

Laurenjean's and Audrey's Tips for Inspiration!

Here are some tips for Inspiration when you go to make your own web!

1. Make sure that the font is easily readable and can be seen from a distance.
2. Maintain a good balance between amount of text used and pictures- don't write TOO much or use TOO many pictures.
3. Ensure that the colors work well together and that they don't contrast.
4. Make sure that the arrows are easy to follow and that the graphic isn't too convoluted.
5. Use appropriate pictures, meaning that they fit well with the content. They are meant to clarify!
6. Have pictures labeled, so that they're easy to identify and don't require further explanation on your part.
7. Be consistent- be sure to use only one (maybe two...) types of  font and don't use too many colors. Keep it simple!
8. Arrange the content so that it's the most effective. If you have a lot of information, try sorting the content into a web or a tree!
9. Keep your audience in mind when creating a diagram. If you're teaching to Kindergartners, make sure that it's especially easy to follow and isn't too complicated.
10. Be creative and have fun! The more time you put into it the better it will look. And don't forget to write your name...

Inspiration Web on the Plant Cycle

Something Fun!

I love Ferris Wheels! I hope to ride a bunch all over the world! :)

A Question for You

Do you think that technology is the best for teaching children in the classroom? Is there a point where there is too much technology being used? Would technology be too distracting to the learning environment?