Resizing & Uploading Digital Photos

Using the Moba Photo software from the Softpedia website, I resized a number of photos.  Like any digital tools, you need to ensure you read the instructions or options available so that you don’t end up doing something untoward.  With this in mind it was very simple to resize the photos.  I used the option for resizing to upload online.  The storage space for the resized photos was as little as about 5% of the original photo storage space – amazing.  I can see this tool coming in very hand when I do my family tree, as I will be able to insert old pictures of family which are mostly scans from original paintings and photos.  Here is a family photo I resized which was scanned from an original which was 60 cms x 40 cms.  My grandmother's family portrait. 

This type of tool would be very useful in an online environment.  Students could insert visual images as well as graphic organisers to support and reinforce text within spaces.  Because of the substantial reduction in storage space size a large number of images could be used without hindering the speed of the uploading of the space or the navigation within the space.  Hence the English proverb, “a picture paints a thousand words”.

An important point to remember is with using digital photos on material on the internet is ensuring that you upload the images, as opposed to pasting the image in to a tool.  The other issue is to consider the who owns the photo, and do they want the whole world to see it as once it is uploaded on to the web it will be available to the general public.

Digital Videos

Earlier in ICTs I used the Productive Pedagogies Tool to relate learning to digital technology to learn how to tie your shoelaces.  This is my attempt here.   A great way to link the activity with digital technologies is to look at the video on TeacherTube . This video can be used over and over again to reinforce the learning for the student so that the knowledge can be firmly implanted in their brain.  It is a shame I didn’t stumble across this earlier as it would be a great demonstration to start the activity, and use as a resource for repeated viewing.

 I am not particularly engaged by the video process as I have no experience with videos, I certainly don’t want to be in them, and I think there are some things that are better off being done by someone with more expertise than me.  There is so much vision to choose from out there on the web that my time restrictions stopped me at this process.  Just as for images and podcasts, this is just one more very useful tool that can be used in linking students with their learning.

Websites - A Reflection

I have created my website using Weebly.

The ease of setting up a website through Weebly is encouragement to use this online tool.  Once again is has similar features to blogs and wikis.  The thing that separates a website is that the content and structure are established by the creator of the site and is not able to edited or contributed to by someone else.  You can ask for feedback by putting in a contact form or using Facebook and such tools.

In the classroom it would be a good way to communicate to students with resources and activities they could do outside of the classroom, dare I say for homework and assignments.  This is really using the website as a scaffold to resources and information and would allow a student to self-direct themselves to information they required from you as the teacher.  It would also be a way to assess where students are at with their learning, by allowing the freedom to create this space to demonstrate their knowledge.

Personnally, I could see myself using a website to direct family and friends to images, video, and documents of interest to us alone, and limiting access to the site by security such as passwords.  Up to this point I have not been very willing to publish this information online via Facebook etc as it is so difficult to keep the information secure.

Wikis - A Reflection

Wikis, as provided by Wikispaces, are another online space which allows you to write and reflect, but also allows for multiple people to be involved in the space.  This is one of the biggest drawbacks with wikis also.  Only one person can edit the space at one time.  Also the netiquette becomes more prevalent as you do have more than one person editing the space, so appropriate rules or guidelines would need to be established in the beginning as to what a student could edit or delete, and therefore not jeopardise the learning process or outcomes.

It was easy to create a wiki once you sign up.  The functionality is very similar to most Windows based software and applications.  This is what my wiki looks like now.

There are numerous applications for wikis and some are outlined in Smart Teaching blog.  There are also a number of shortcomings for wikis which are outlined by the students of eBusiness Technologies with ProfessorMike Jones at the University of Toronto at Mississauga.

Also see my comments on using a wiki to do a critical thinking activity with de Bono’s Thinking Hats on mobile phones in the classroom.

Wikis allow for a very collaborative and constructivist approach to learning.  It is visual tool, which lends itself to group work  There are two great examples of wiki use in the classroom in the course materials, which I have linked to in my wikispace.

Blogging - A Reflection

Blogging seems like such a great way to write and reflect.  It is easy to set up a blog, which is an online space that you can share, or not, and allows for feedback to be made by viewers by commenting on your writings, known as posts.  The posts are listed chronologically and you can link to other images, websites, wikis, etc.  One thing you can't do with a blog is add audio files, however you can always to a link to a wikispace or website which has the audio files embedded there.

I used Blogger to set up my blog.  However, there are several other blog sites which offer free and chargeable sites to create your own blog.  As with most technology today, the more time you have to explore and play then the more features and information you can utilise to create your blog. 

Being an online space, blogging allows for flexibility of access, but also brings the need for being safe when using it, by not divulging inappropriate or personal information.  It also raises the issue of netiquette, that is, using appropriate etiquette when online.  For example, the writer needs to ensure that they use the right tone in their writings.  In a classroom environment there are various policies and procedures set down by schools and education authorities which details what is acceptable use of online spaces.  There are also the copyright implications of imbedding other people’s information in to your blog.  The Smartcopying website is a place where you can get guidance as a teacher as to what information you can put in to a blog, or wiki, freely and when you should seek permission to use information such as images, videos, etc.

Blogs could be used in a classroom to do journal writing, book reviews, presentations for topics, group brainstorming, and fellow student being able to comment or critique posts.  Blogs seem to be a great way to scaffold the learning with technology so that students can develop higher order thinking, and create, analyse, and reflect. 

Being able to use blogging in a classroom would obviously be dependent on whether there were sufficient resources to be able to provide the hardware (computer, ipad, etc) and the internet access.  Whilst it is certainly a lot more prevalent today, not all classrooms or students have access to this technology.

Mobile Phone Wiki Reflection

The wiki activity was a constructivism approach to learning about mobile phones in the classrooms.  Peoples personal experiences and perceptions would influence their input in the activity.  Each hat allowed you to build on your thinking and learning, and add to the knowledge as you put each hat on.  The blue hat (process) and the green hat (creativity) also had elements of the connectivism approach to learning as the opportunity to acquire further information was open.

I love de Bono’s Six Thinking Hats.

This graphic organiser is a great way to take an objective and balanced look at an issue.  I have used this method, or something similar at least, in the past within my employment in business.  It allows you, and sometimes forces you, to consider a lot of different things which you may not have thought of, or been influenced by predetermined factors, opinions or judgements.  As was evidenced in my group, sometimes people’s preconceived opinions and beliefs can get in the way of the discussion.  It can be difficult to think with just one hat on at one time.  By putting on one hat at the time you are able to focus your thoughts on each step of the process so that the knowledge can build up to a useful outcome.

I did find it difficult to use the technology because I have no previous knowledge with Wikis and twice I lost all the information so had to cancel and start again.  I also had difficulty with my internet connection, again.  These technical difficulties are something that should improve over time and would not have been an issue if I wasn’t conducting the whole activity online.  Doing the activity online also meant that only one person at a time could contribute.  Others had already made points I would have made, and I think is restricts the subsequent discussion, and knowledge building, that would occur in a face to face session.  As there were not guidelines as to how the wiki was to be developed, it meant that I followed the pack, so to speak, on the way it was conducted.  I suppose this freedom therefore doesn’t put any constraints on the thinking.

I think that mobile phones could have a useful role in the teaching of content to a learner, in the right set of circumstances.  However, the mobile phone is not a technology that I would consider first to deliver a lesson to students in the classroom.  This opinion is based on my knowledge up to this point, and there were no persuasive arguments with the activity to change my opinion at this point.  There is just so much available technology out there these days, it is all a bit overwhelming where to start sometimes.

Wiki - Mobile Phones - Should they be used in the classroom?

Group 3 Mobile Phones Wiki