Becoming a Technology-Literate Teacher

This snapshot of an Inspiration diagram has gone through several versions and multiple purposes. The current version (TLT 2013.isf) attempts to describe the knowledge, skills, and habits of a technology-literate teacher. I prepared the diagram with my pre-service teacher education students in mind.

The main idea (Technology-Literate Teacher) can be clicked to hear a spoken comment about PLNs and being a lifelong learner. The main idea also has a note that lists the components of the diagram.

The lead symbol in each section (Professional Development, Hardware, Software, Network, Social Media, and Technology Integration) provides a note with a summary of information about that topic.

At least one of the symbols in each section is linked to a website. Some of the websites include videos.

• PLN: http://www.teachingvillage.org/2012/01/03/what-is-a-pln-anyway/ 
• Mobile: http://www.educatorstechnology.com/2013/01/the-best-8-tablets-for-teachers.html
• Applications / Apps: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Application_software
• LAN: http://www.networking-basics.com/lans-and-wans
• Digital Citizenship: http://www.edutopia.org/blog/film-festival-digital-citizenship
• SAMR Model: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=us0w823KY0g
• Technology Integration Matrix: http://fcit.usf.edu/matrix/matrix.php
• Technology-Literate Teacher: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wHelzy1shAA

The Graphics Credit symbol provides the attribution for copyrighted graphics in the diagram that are not part of the Inspiration application.

What changes would you make?

Creating an Infographic

Although Infographics have currently become a popular option for visualizing data, their use can be traced back as far as the 1600s. Today we use infographics to llustrate (1) information, (2) data, and/or (3) knowledge and to help us recognize patterns and trends. Infographics include visual components (the graphics), content represented by the data, and knowledge that is learned.  [Wikipedia contributors. "Infographic." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. 15 Sep 2013.]

Line after line of text is not exciting reading for many. And then add lots of numbers (data) to that text and we lose even more readers. An infographic can help to make that information interesting. OK... I know what infographics are and why we use them. I have used infographics to learn and to teach, but I had not yet created one of my own. It was time!

I decided to use Infogr.am to make my first infographic. I created an account. The website does not include an online manual; however, for most actions a manual is not needed. It's not difficult to work through the process of creating an infographic. I had no problems until I tried to change the palette of colors available for my infographic. It looked simple. And actually it was. However it took several tries to change the text colors available rather than the background colors.

[Note: I have removed the actual infographic because this post continues to crash. I'm testing to determine if there was a glitch with the infographic. 11/2/2013]

It's easy to share the finished product on Twitter, Facebook, or Pinterest. You can also view it on the web. Plus you can copy the embed code. You must publish your product in order to obtain and use the embed code. I used the embed code to place my infographic on this blog.

Other than that one challenge with the colors, the interface is intuitive. You can create an infographic or a chart. For the free account, I actually like the appearance of the charts better. My product (above) includes one infographic, two charts, and one picture (the map). The U.S. Census Bureau provided the data that I used from the 2010 census.  [United States Census Bureau, 2013. 0. <http://www.census.gov/geo/reference/geoguide.html>.] Wikimedia Commons provided the picture of a map.  [http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Map_of_USA_showing_regions.png / CC BY-SA 3.0]

 

I found several videos on YouTube that explain how to use Infogr.am. I have listed two that you may find helpful.

• Video: Getting Started with Infogr.am  (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QsSUmk35AA0) 
• Video: How to Use Infogr.am  (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lIDD6vIQirw)

So, what data can you make more interesting for your students? And how can they use infographics to make their presentations more interesting?

CREDITS
Graphics created with Infogr.am by Jo Schiffbauer

Investigating a Source for Virtual Field Trips

What a delightful evening! I have been exploring virtual field trips at iTunesU and apps for virtual field trips at Apple’s App Store. I recommend that you investigate some of what is available from these two sources.

Go to Virtual Field Trips at iTunesU to begin your exploration. You can also do a search for virtual field trips at the iTunes Store.

The podcasts (audio and video) in iTunesU are free, of course. Some of the apps in the App Store are free; others are not. The most expensive app I saw was $5.99. The podcasts (audio and video) at iTunesU include the categories of museums, historic sites, national parks, libraries, and performing arts. The apps include the same categories except that I did not see any libraries apps. However, when I visited the App Store I did find libraries apps, including a virtual tour of the Library of Congress.

As I explored I watched a mummy being rewrapped, heard a ranger tell some funny stories about Theodore Roosevelt, saw interesting videos of the Everglades, had access to key documents of the Civil War, and watched a fascinating interview of Andre Previn. Whether you’re thinking about a virtual field trip or simply looking for interesting, authentic resources for your classes, I think it’s worth investigating virtual field trips at iTunesU. 

Photo: WorldIslandInfo.com / CC BY 2.0
Link: Virtual Field Trips at iTunesU - https://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewMultiRoom?cc=us&fcId=673318782&enlh=1.8321.832.83.8&mt=10&ls=1 

K12 Online Conference 2013 Keynotes

The K12 Online Conference is one of my favorite conferences. I am excited about this year's speakers that I already know through their blogs, Twitter, and outstanding work and sharing. And I look forward to learning from those I do not yet know. I will use this conference to help both my students and myself learn and grow into better teachers and learners. Mark your calendar. I invite you to join us!

Exploring Pinterest Boards

My first impression of blogs—many years ago—was that they were probably uninteresting journals of daily activities such as what I ate for lunch. Even though I was not interested in those blogs I was even less impressed with the unkind comments I saw on some blogs.

Well, those blogs may not have interested me, but I certainly have found many that do. Educators do know how to use blogs to reflect, to curate, and to share. I follow many outstanding blogs and I encourage my teacher education students to do the same.

When I first noticed that Pinterest was becoming a popular social media site my reaction was pretty much the same. (You'd think I would learn!) Although I thought Pinterest would probably be an interesting site for pursuing hobbies and other interests, it did not occur to me that it would become a popular and very useful place for educators to curate content and to share ideas for teaching and learning.

• Edudemic can help you explore:
• Dozens of Ways Teachers Can Use Pinterest (http://www.edudemic.com/2012/11/ways-teachers-can-use-pinterest/),
• The 20 Best Pinterest Boards About Education Technology (http://www.edudemic.com/2012/10/pinterest-education-technology/), and
• their own Edudemic community on Pinterest (http://pinterest.com/edudemic/).
• Science educator Steve Spangler shares ideas for How Teachers and Educators Can Use Pinterest as a Resource In and Out of the Classroom (http://www.stevespangler.com/education-today/how-teachers-and-educators-can-use-pinterest-as-a-resource-in-and-out-of-the-classroom/).
•  Laura Devaney of eSchool News recommends pinners and boards worth noting in Five follow-worthy ed-tech Pinterest boards (http://www.eschoolnews.com/2013/08/20/five-follow-worthy-ed-tech-pinterest-boards/2/).
• Be sure to check out Teachers on Pinterest at (http://pinterest.com/teachers/).

Still curious about Pinterest, but don't know what to explore? Try some of these ideas. (Some are education-related, some not.)

• http://pinterest.com/all/diy_crafts/
• http://pinterest.com/all/food_drink/
• http://pinterest.com/all/home_decor/
• http://pinterest.com/search/pins/?q=sports
• http://pinterest.com/search/pins/?q=cars
• http://pinterest.com/search/pins/?q=recipes
• http://pinterest.com/search/pins/?q=teaching
• http://pinterest.com/search/pins/?q=cleveland%20browns
• http://pinterest.com/search/pins/?q=malone%20university
• http://pinterest.com/search/pins/?q=photography
• http://pinterest.com/search/pins/?q=jan%20karon
• http://pinterest.com/search/pins/?q=shakespeare

What was my biggest surprise on Pinterest this summer? It's a great place to find education bloggers! See for yourself: http://pinterest.com/search/pins/?q=education%20bloggers,


Photos used with permission of Jo Schiffbauer

Creating My Own Stock Photos and Cartoons

When I began illustrating blog posts and other writings I used clip art. It was usually easy to find good free clip art and to give attribution to its website.  I eventually began to illustrate my writings with photos. Creative Commons has been very helpful with finding good photos that I can legally use and for which I can provide appropriate attribution.

I have used photos in my teaching for many years. When I taught geometry I used photos taken by my husband of local architecture, construction, and other examples of mathematics in the world around us. When I discovered a home near us that was basically a geodesic dome, we introduced ourselves to the owners and asked if we could take photos of their house for my classroom. They were very gracious and allowed us to do so.

In the last couple years I have begun to create my own "stock photos." I usually have a camera with me--either a point-and-shoot camera or a smartphone camera.  A couple of times I have tried to participate in one of the challenges to shoot and post one photo each day for a year. I haven't made it through a whole year yet. But as I thought about those challenges recently, I decided that in addition to helping you become a better photographer they also help you to develop your own collection of photos to use. Shortly after I came to that conclusion I read the same idea in one of the blogs that I follow. I'm sorry that I don't remember the name of that blogger. I would give him/her credit for coming up with that same idea I did!

     

 











In addition to normal photos I have been experimenting this summer with two apps, Halftone and ToonCamera. One gives a comic strip appearance to photos and the other, a cartoon effect. And this past week I played with Tagxedo, a word cloud browser application that has some nice features.

I still use Creative Commons and the occasional clip art websites, but I do enjoy using my own photos when possible and needing to state only "used with permission of Jo Schiffbauer."  :) 

Credits:
Writing clip art: http://www.phillipmartin.com/
Construction photo: CompuJeramey / CC BY 2.0
Muck farm photo: Used with permission of Jo Schiffbauer /
CC BY-NC 3.0
Blue (cat) enjoying Springtime: Halftone photo used with permission of Jo Schiffbauer /
CC BY-NC 3.0
Shrimp photo: ToonCamera photo used with permission of Jo Schiffbauer /
CC BY-NC 3.0
Cat PLN photo: Tagxedo word cloud used with permission of Jo Schiffbauer /
CC BY-NC 3.0

Building Your Personal Learning Network (PLN)

One of the best features of teaching is that every school year has a FIRST DAY. A new beginning. It's always exciting to think about what I'm going to do differently this year to help my students learn how to teach others. Two years from now my students will be planning THEIR first days for their students!

I believe that one of the best changes since my first day in my own classroom is that teachers no longer go into their classrooms, close the doors, and teach on their own islands. Today we communicate with each other. We collaborate on what works, what doesn't, and how we can do it—whatever it is—differently... and better. And our students benefit from our communicating and collaborating with each other.

One of the topics that my students and I will explore this semester is our Personal Learning Networks (PLNs). I've been putting together some ideas about PLNs. What would you add to this diagram that I created using Inspiration?