Podcast Reflection #12: Tags are Ways to See Things (Kevin Honeycutt on Tag Teams and Art Snacks)

This podcast caught my attention because we've been talking about tags a lot in my DED class at Kansas State University, especially with out Delicious sites. Using tags prevents information from getting lost in the virtual world. A tag is one word that you could use to describe the info, but you can have several tags for everything. If you have an educational website, you could use "teachers", "education", "edu", "teaching", "learning", etc. Anything that could help you find a resource later is helpful. The general "rule" about tags is that you should try to have at least five tags on everything because some people use different tags for the same thing or might make something plural while another leaves it singular. You need to find a balance between overstructuring tagging with strict rules and not having enough. Honeycutt used the phrase, "When you put things in the ocean, they get lost" just like information would without tagging in the virtual world. On the internet, people are overwhelmed with all the information that is available so easily and quickly. This is only going to increase, though, with time which is why we must implement tagging now rather than later.

Art Snacks is website that Kevin Honeycutt talks about in this podcast. On this website, you are able to build a creative learning community where students can access 10 minute art lessons that teach other lessons at the same time. There are 135 curriculum aligned 10 minute art lessons all on this one website! This website is also a learning network where teachers and kids work in the same place. Some teachers use it as art curriculum because there isn't an art teacher while others use it to "teach" the class, so they (the teacher) has the freedom to walk around the classroom and mentor the class in ways you normally wouldn't be able to. Honeycutt's dream is to have thousands of videos created by anyone and everyone about anything and everything. They try to keep this website as safe for kids as possible. If someone says something inappropriate, they are first warned. If it happens again, that person is then banned from the website completely. You have to register to use this website strictly because it helps to prevent scammers from getting on (which has worked so far). Also, this website has kids becoming mentors to one another. People go out of their way to be nice to each other because they have had mentors and role models. Another thing he mentioned is that there are currently about 3300 members, and he does NOT want a million users. At that point he would break it up into another website because it would lose it's "community" feel. I thought this was awesome. It just goes to show how important being a part of a community it is and makes me like the website that much more! When you go to the website, the creators and members "greet" you at the door just as an educator would to his/her students in their own classroom. To the creators, you are not a member, you're an artist. They aren't videos; they are are lessons. It isn't just a picture; it's artwork. You can also get in touch with Kevin Honeycutt at his e-mail kessdack.gmail.com or his website.

Podcast Reflection #11: Building Your Capacity

I watched the podcast "Building Your Capacity" by the Tech Chick Tips. Here they talk about 5 different websites for teachers to build the capacity to become an even better teacher. I actually went to these and really liked all of them.

The first website is "21 Foundation" which is all about 21st century learners with 21st century learning. It is to raise awareness and realize the importance of implementing learning to nurture the 21st century citizens. Within the website, there are several categories such as "Nurturing Creativity". Whatever topic you choose, you will then be given multiple websites to help you incorporate the topic in your classroom. Some, if not all, even have video clips for you to watch. It's really a great website for anyone that is interested in the 21st century learning.

The next is a website called, "60 Symbols", created by the University of Nottingham, which has a TON of symbols, all with which have something to do with physics and/or astronomy. Whichever symbol you decide to click on, it brings up a definition of what the symbol is for and a YouTube video that goes along with it. There are multiple pages of symbols to choose from on this website and it also talks about the scientists that put this masterpiece together. The one downfall, in my opinion, is that it is more for younger students, but it could probably be used for most science lessons/classes.

The third website is "TES Connect" or a teacher social networking site. TES stands for "Times Educational Supplement". You have to register to become a part of the community, but it is a great place to find numerous resources for your classroom, all in one place and easily. This website is used by thousands of schools and has over 700,000 registered users!!! Here, you have a place to share ideas, thoughts, and views to other people from all over. You can network with other teachers and even look for jobs! TES Connect has many classroom resources and advice as well as classroom materials. I believe that all teachers should be aware of this amazing resource.

Teacher LED is the next resource the Tech Chick Tips talked about. In other words, this is an interactive whiteboard resource for teachers. It's actually somewhat like the TES Connect website. You can download different resources depending on what you need at the time to open it up. It has different topics under the different subjects that you can choose from. It also has some games for students to play, and each option has a description with it that explains how to use the tool.

Finally, the fifth website these ladies discussed was "Online College" where you can find different resources to build your capacity. The thing they talked most about is the blog posts. They found a whole list of posts about being a new teacher: different tips, strategies, using technology, classroom management, working with students, etc. This website wishes to get as many teachers possible invested in blogging that they can by building a personal learning network. It can also inspire students. There is a blog post called "50 Famously Successful People that Failed at First". "20 Great Talks on the Future of Education" and "50 Inspiring Films to Share with your Students" are also interesting blog posts.

Overall, these are all great resources for anyone, especially teachers and future educators like myself. I think everyone needs to check out these websites and use them whenever possible!

Podcast Reflection #10: Celebrate Kansas Voices

This was an interview that Kevin Honeycutt had last year with my DED technology teacher, Cyndi Danner-Kuhn, at Kansas State University. This "event" started about 4 years ago now in Oklahoma and we are just beginning in Kansas. Last year they held a couple of workshops to introduce this to teachers to spread the word and teach them how to create their own projects in and/or out of the classroom. They have trained over 500 teachers to help tell the story of Kansas History with our own voices. You can use any kind of story that you feel is historical whether it is personal/within the family, about your town, something you remember growing up, something that happened such as September 11, etc. The options are endless and up to your creativity. The workshop costs $250 to attend which covers the cost to have the trainers come up or you could pay an additional fee which would then allow you to receive all the additional resources such as the cameras you would use to record an interview, etc. You can go to the Celebrate Kansas Voices website to sign up and learn anything and everything about the project. This project can be done in any classroom for any grade level and any subject. There are no boundaries. Please spread the word of this project. I am in the middle of mine right now, and it is so interesting. I'm finding out more than I could have dreamed I would!

Podcast Reflection #9: Salman Khan: Let’s use video to reinvent education.

This podcast was amazing and extremely motivating to me as a future educator. He started out by giving a tutorial and explained that he started doing this for his cousins that were struggling with math and it grew from there. Teachers are even using it in their classrooms and Khan has been making changes to what the teachers say would be beneficial. Now, teachers can easily monitor each and every student's progress in math. They can even see what videos each student watches, how long they watch the videos, what problems they miss, and so much more! I feel this is the best thing that could happen in a classroom, especially if you have a large diverse classroom. Everyone learns in a different way and at a different place and this accommodates for this need without stressing out the teacher and the students. Overall, this is better for everyone. Because it is online, it is also accessible to most students outside of the classroom if they need even more help or want extra practice. There is no wrong doing in using the website that is even FREE!!! This website allows students to move at the own pace. When they are ready to move on they can, without "hurrying" other students in the class or falling behind! This was an awesome idea and I can't wait to use it in my future classroom