Week 7 Blog: Got Apps?

Got Apps?

Want to make your life a little easier?  Need a quick easy way to get stuff done? Apps are the way to go!  This tuesday during class, Professor Calderwood, went over countless applications that could not only benefit us, but can make learning more fun.

Lets start with the coolest one in my opinion. Daqri 4D. So this app you can only use on an iPad, but it's well worth it.  It pretty much takes a snapshot of a sheet of paper with an image on it, and makes that image come to life.  It is a 4D virtual depiction.  You can view this from all different angles to get the full effect! You can use all different types of images too.  There is also 4D Hearts, 4D Studio, and Anatomy 4D which are all made by Daqri.  You just download the sheets and print them out.  This is a good learning tool for children that do not understand certain animals or things yet.

So another app that is very similar to the previous one is called the Colar Mix App.  This one is the same general concept; however, this gives the user a chance to print out an image and actually color it in yourself.  Then it brings your picture to life for you.  The image will actually move too.  For instance, you use a bird, it will actually start walking and such.  Pretty nifty if I do say so myself. 

The next one is called Nearpod.  This is a fun way for teachers to get their students involved in lessons.

Another effective learning app is Quizlet.  The good thing about Quizlet is that you can access it on a laptop too.  This is a good studying tool to use.  I personally have used it countless times to prepare for tests.  It is mostly effective for me because the flash cards read out loud and they play on their own.  This is perfect to just listen to your information or you can even play games with the material you are studying. 

The last app that I really liked was called Educreations.  This is a good app to do demonstrations on or to explain things on.  Such as math problems or just a step by step example. Educreations is an easy fun program that could really benefit its users.

"What does opportunity look like, unless you take it."

On a final note, I would like to discuss our interaction with a man who has impeccable experience in not only his area of expertise but has wise words for students pursuing a career.  Jaime Casap has been working at Google for 8 years as a Google Global Edu Evangelist.  He is from Hell's Kitchen, New York; which makes me appreciate his hard work even more.  He never had anything handed to him; he went out and fought for everything he has.  Casap grew up in a single mother home, just like myself and the one thing that kept him on a steady uphill path was education.  It is very inspiring seeing someone climb to the top of their profession just by dedication and of course building connections.  Casap states that Google is up to doing about 1 million chromebooks a month! What a remarkable accomplishment for a company.  He also discusses that Google focuses more so on their users than anything.  They do not worry about the competition against Apple, Microsoft, and many others.  They worry about will be the next best thing for their costumers. Furthermore, Casap gave our class beneficial advice for moving up in the world.  It's all about your connections.  Thank you again Jaime Casap for taking time out of your crazy schedule to talk with my class.  We all appreciated your presence. 

Week 6 Blog: Action !

andddd... Action! 

So, I'm sure all of us have experienced the dreadful death by Powerpoint.  Slide after slide... nothing but words after words... so boring that you're falling asleep.  Admit it, we've all been there.  Now, wouldn't it be nice to have a presentation that does not make you doze off?  Oh, and maybe something a little cooler than same old Powerpoint.  Time to show you how to make your presentations come to life. 

This week in class we learned various programs that can help make our presentations more interesting.  The very first program is Haiku Deck. The focal point of this presentation software are the backgrounds of each slide.  This gives the presenter more of a chance to explain their topic instead of overloading with words on the slide.  This gives them guidelines, and good images for the audience. Another beneficial factor is that the presentations saved can sync directly to your iCloud. 

The second presentation maker we learned about is called Prezi. This one is pretty unique because all of the information is on one screen but each "slide" transitions by zooming in on one section of the page at a time.  This one is probably my favorite because of all the different information you can put on it with using the transitions.  Lastly, I love that you can play music throughout your presentation as well.  

Next up, is Powtoon!  This is a great way to make an animated presentation!  For maybe something a little informal or for a younger crowd.  Definitely a good tool to use!  Our next presentation software is slideshare.  This is perfect if you create a presentation on google slides.  You can upload, share, and discover new videos on this site.  Very beneficial if you are interested in other users slides!  

Furthermore, we have Emaze.  This is a great new way to bring your presentation to life.  This video shows you the perks of using Emaze!

As for this weeks reading, we read chapter three in Untangling the Web.  The three programs that were touched on that were not previously discussed are Slideshare, Poll Everywhere, and VoiceThread.  First, SlideShare is more of a social site where you can upload and share presentation.  This program is geared toward educators.  One of the perks of SlideShare is that you can even share word docs and pdfs.  Also, it integrates with other social networks such a LinkedIn and Facebook.  The presentations that are uploaded on can be viewed, liked, and commented on. It can also link up with Big Huge Labs and KidBlog. 

The second program that was discussed in this reading was called Poll Everywhere.  This is pretty neat because it's an easy way to make a poll and even easier to answer!  The responses immediately show up on the screen.  People can respond through texts, web-devices, private links, and even tweets! 

The third and final program is called VoiceThread.  This is basically a media based, which keeps the discussions focused.  This is a great way to communicate, collaborate, and connect.  VoiceThread has integration with other website, analytics, accessibility, and you can create your own custom page. 

Overall, anything is better than going slide to slide with more information than your audience's brains can handle.  These are just some different tools to use next time you have to make that big presentation.  Stand out a little and make it intriguing for your spectators. 

Week 5 Blog: Chatterbox

Talk the Talk

None of us would be able to learn as much if we did not do that one thing that is so important; communicate! Learning from each other is the best way to learn.  But as crazy as it may seem, we all need some sort of communication to acquire knowledge and grow as a person.  Of course communication is a little give and take; not just take. 

The means of communication have expanded dramatically in the last decade or so.  We once depended on house phones and would answer any single call that came in!  Now, we have caller ID, text messages, email, Skype, Google Hangouts, Google Helpouts, and more.  These different styles to talk have helped keep in touch with family and friends.  It has also helped meet new people and establish an online community.

Next, skype is a good tool to use to video chat with people all over the world, or even beneficial for a learning environment. Now, for Google Hangouts.. This I find more appeasing mainly because you can archive the videos right away, and you would be able to the refer back and gather information.  This is also an effective technique to use in order to collaborate ideas based on a specific subject. You can setup your Google Hangouts to directly sync to your youtube account.  Lastly, Google Helpouts is a very efficient way to learn from experts.  They have all different types of professionals that can give you face to face time in order to learn.  This is definitely an excellent learning tool.

This week in class we had the pleasure of using Google Hangouts twice.  Our first video conversation was with Adam Taylor, a high school science teacher in Tennessee.  Mr. Taylor has created some of his own Twitter chats and had a lot of great advice to share about getting to know people that have the same interests.  His twitter chats have had as many as 1700 tweets involved.  He started with 5 scientists and is now at about 50.  In order to get involved online, you want to look up individuals that have the same professions or career goals.  The idea is to look up specific hashtags related to your field.  Also, check and see how recent their tweets are, if it is an active chat or not.  You also want to check profiles for lists and to find more people.  As Adam Taylor stated, "Twitter is the gateway drug into other social media sites."  This is what gets you started with your digital footprint. 

Our second Google Hangout was with Dr. Caleph Wilson, a scientist at the Abramson Family Research Institute and the Department of Microbiology of the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania.  He works with T cells, trying to transform them into fighting against cancer tumors and HIV.  Dr. Wilson had a lot of great advice for us that are trying to make not only a name for ourselves in our career, but to do the same online as well.  It is important to have connections on professional networks, such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and even just blogs.  This gives you an opportunity to write about your profession, and to get engaged with certain outreaches.  This gives you a way to get your name out there.  Dr. Wilson has experienced some opportunities through social networking.  He has been asked to write for certain organizations.  It was a pleasure talking with and learning from both Adam Taylor and Dr. Caleph Wilson.

Week 4 Blog: Step Outside the Box

Step Outside the Box

Being the first one to introduce yourself is not easy for anyone.  Unless of course, you're extremely outgoing.  I, myself on the other hand sometimes struggle with that first step.  "Hi, how are you?" Four words that so many people have a tough time getting out.  It's like you're not sure what's going to happen if you open up the door to the unknown.  Well, I guess it couldn't hurt to find out.

      Creating connections is a significant part of life.  Whether it is face-to-face or online, it is important to build relationships.  This week for class, we were asked to read chapter two in Connected Educator.  This chapter, "Developing a Connected Learning Model,"  is very useful for someone getting involved in networking.  This chapter is geared more towards teachers and educators but anyone can use these tips to help create a digital footprint. 

     

      So, for years, teachers have had a certain number of classes with a certain number of students.  Participating in connected learning communities give teachers an opportunity of having unlimited students. This gives educating a whole new meaning.  Also, with having an unlimited learning population, it can also give teachers a chance to collaborate ideas and help each other out.  There is 3 ways to approach these learning communities:

1. Local Community: this is face-to-face connections in a committed group, such as students in the same class.  (Professional Learning Community)

2. Global Network: this is when the individual chooses who they connect with and are not pressured into a group.  These are online connections with different people and resources from all over the world. (Personal Learning Networks)

3. Bounded Community: collective and often global groups of people that have similar interests and build connections deeper than just professions.  (Community of Practice or Inquiry)

      For the personal learning networks, it is crucial for the user to design it themselves.  You do not want it to just be school based.  It is almost as if you are expanding horizon, and this will help your growth on the network.  This is something you want to do in order to establish a professional learning community. 

Furthermore, with communicating in connected learning communities, some tools may be useful to stay on track with information and assignments.  This week in class, we learned about an app called Evernote. Want to know what you can use it for?  There is a copious amount of purposes for this program.  It is almost like having a 5 ring binder, planner, address book, all in one without the mess.  You can make notebooks, share photos, put contact information, and find resources on this handy app! 

Lastly, another interesting site that Professor Calderwood showed us this week, is the Internet in Real Time Penny Stocks.  You can actually see how many individuals are using what program in the world.

Click the animation to open the full version (via http://pennystocks.la/).