Webinar reflection: EasyBib

      Webinars are basically seminars that are presented over the web. This webinars allow for numerous people all around the world to listen to one seminar without spending money on traveling and accommodations. Teachers from the east are able to share with teachers from the west and  vice versa. It also allows teachers and students alike to talk to professionals about their areas of specialty. Classroom 2.0 Live provides great opportunities to watch old and new webinars. 
     There are various topics that webinars cover; from how to use goole earth in the classrooms to the usage of different search engines. I participated in the google earth webinar (Thomas Petra)  while it streaming live and then watched an old webinar about easybib (Darshan Somashekar and Neal Taparia). Each of the presenters knew what they were experts in their respected fields and each were able to answer questions and fully describe what their topic was all about. Since most of us in the class attended the google earth webinar, I will not rehash what we should have all listened to. Instead I will talk about the second webinar I listened to: EasyBib.
     Easybib.com is a place I have used often. It was set up by Darshan Somashekar and Neal Taparia back when they were still in high school. Easybib allows students to create reference or bibliography pages for research papers or anything that needs to be cited. Teachers and students alike can use this site. Students are able to use it to help them make citations and teachers can use the same site to see if the citations are valid.
      There are various form of references that can be made using easybib. The most cited resources are websites, books, newspapers, and journals. The site also allows for the citations of music, photos, etc... The site is very convenient because it inserts the periods, commas, and any other punctuation that a citation needs. To cite a website, all a student or teacher needs to do is input the url. To site a book, insert the book title or ISBN code. If easybib does not have all the information on your search, you can manually input it into the specified fields.
     As students, the most tedious part of writing a paper is going back and citing all the resources that have been used. This site makes life a little more simple. Students and teachers should use this site to ensure that credit is given to the resources that were used. This website allows teachers and students alike to avoid plagiarism.

Here's a video further explaining other uses of  easybib:

Learn more about easybib :
1.   http://live.classroom20.com/1/category/easybib/1.html
Citation guide from easybib:
1.   http://content.easybib.com/students/citation-guide/

Blog Links

Here are the links to all of your blogs...

• Sandie: http://ed271-savilez.blogspot.com/ 
• Crystal: http://teachpetreso.blogspot.com/ 
• Maria: http://howardms.blogspot.com/ 
• Rudy: http://rdyngma.blogspot.com/ 
• Melissa: http://melsentiments.blogspot.com/?zx=1ceff10aede2dec2 
• Edwardson: http://techassessmenttwo.blogspot.com/ 
• Justin: http://justinnaputi.blogspot.com/ 
• Gertrude: http://gertrudebiliran.blogspot.com/2012/04/soundcloud.html 
• Carolyn: http://lyniany.blogspot.com/ 
• Churita: http://churitababy.blogspot.com/ 
• Carolyn: http://lyniany.blogspot.com/

 To clean up our blog, I'm going to delete the sharing posts that some of you did for this.

Hopefully you found that starting a blog is easy.  Think of ways you can use blogs in the future.  Remember, you can invite more authors if you want and restrict access if desired.

Cellphones in Education

         They are known for their disruptive ringing in the classroom. They are known as that small device for text messaging and surfing the internet. Basically, they are known as that main idea that pops up in a student’s mind. So, what exactly are they? “They” are cellphones. It’s a powerful tool that can be used for many purposes. Sure, cellphones may be a disruptive device in a classroom. However, I believe that if these tools are used properly, they can work wonders and be useful in the educational system. According to the webinar on cellphone devices, many educators are advocates for these tools. These teachers brought up useful purposes for cellphones in and out of their classroom.
          Within the classroom setting, one teacher found his cellphone useful in taking educational pictures. What this teacher had done was that he took a picture of a historical item outside the classroom using his cellphone camera. He was then able to incorporate the picture into his lesson plan.  I’m sure that this action made his lesson more interesting for the students, especially knowing how the students enjoy the presence of cellphone devices around them.
          Besides the previous teacher having his phone to be used in the classroom, another teacher allowed his students to use their devices as well. However, before they could use their cellphones, the teacher first sent out parent permission slips regarding the usage of cellphones in the classroom. Once he got that out of the way, the teacher allowed his students to use their cameras to take pictures of his notes on the board and had chances to send them to students who weren’t present during that class time. Just like these students, I have also been taking pictures of board notes from professors here at the University of Guam. I was also able to send them to classmates who weren’t able to get all the notes down. Until now, I would say that using the camera on my phone is still very useful in taking educational pictures, especially in the classrooms where teachers will write and erase like there’s no tomorrow.
          Other than having cellphones used among students and teachers solely, they can also be used as a good tool for parents and teachers to communicate with. For example, if there are newsletters or concerns from the school or teachers to be sent out, parents can receive them through text messages or online using their cellphones devices. This is an excellent way for the school to save the trees and money. On top of that, teachers can also communicate with the principal, staff, and other teachers as well.
          Overall, I believe that the usage of cellphone devices can serve as useful purposes in the educational system. Teachers can use them professionally among their students. Students can use them educationally, even to connect with other students. Also, teachers can use their cellphones to communicate with parents and the staff about educational concerns.
          Although I believe in the growth of technology, I am still concerned for the students and families who are in poverty. The usage of cellphone devices will be a struggle reaching out to this population because of that reason. Therefore, I would see cellphones as not being part of the top priority on my list. Cellphones in my opinion are a just a necessity and if education was able to survive without cellphones back in the days then we can still survive without them today.  

Related Articles: 

Cellphone Technology a Serious Classroom Distraction, Says Professor

Cellphones in the Classroom: Learning Tools for the 21st Century

The Webinar based on cell phones allowed to be used in school for a particular educational purpose really caught my attention. While I was in middle school and high school, cell phones were definitely a big no-no. Once someone was caught using a cell phone in class, it would be taken away and the only way they would be able to retrieve it was if their parents came in and picked it up. Cell phones are definitely one’s personal technology because it differentiates from a computer lab filled with computers or a cart of netbooks. For this reason, many students have invested a great deal of time learning about the features of cell phones. They put a lot of time learning how to navigate as well as learning the limitations of a cell phone. Another reason to consider the use of cell phones is because learning, using a cell phone, can extend beyond the walls of the school or the limitations of a class period.

However, it is understandable that some people/schools would want to ban the use of cell phones, but I disagree. Personally, since being in college, cell phones really came in handy. From taking pictures of notes that I was unable to copy to recording lectures that really interested me. Because of my cell phone, I was able to have a copy of the notes I needed without rushing to write everything down and I was also able to listen to lecture’s all over again just to refresh my mind. 

On top of that, the advancement of technology is growing immensely. Things are constantly being invented to make life easier. With that said, cellphones were one of the many inventions that opened the doors up to a better and faster way of communication, as well as a fun and exciting way. Therefore, we can not go wrong with that. 

Moving on, because the Webinar proposed a positive outlook on the use of cellphones in the classrooms, I am sure many students, in the upper grade levels such as middle school and high school, would be more interested now in their subjects than ever before. They will no longer have to worry about instructors lecturing the whole time or being dull and boring. 

On the other hand, the Webinar pointed out that the teacher would be the only one allowed to use his/her cellphone. I see this as a great idea that way students do not get too carried away and lose focus on what the instructor is trying to teach. However, when students do need to use their cell phones for reasons such as the ones I mentioned earlier, then it definitely would not be a problem. Being able to utilize a phone in the classroom without worrying about facing any consequences is a great way to keep students engaged.

In spite of cell phones being a great tool for educational purposes, the Webinar did mention that “smart phones” were the best phones to have in order to be able to do a majority of what was mentioned. However, not everyone can afford a smart phone, but then again, it seems like everywhere I look, a majority of the student population do have smart phones. Nevertheless, the unlucky ones can always turn to their peers. 

Let's Flip the Classroom!

My children learn things on YouTube all the time, from learning to tie a neck tie to learning a song on the guitar. I am completely amazed at how fast and how much they can pick up on YouTube. So why not implement the same type of learning in a classroom. Actually, when I shared my last ED271 assignment on flipped classrooms with my oldest son, he was absolutely amazed and would love to see this kind of instruction implemented at his school. However, with a good thing always comes a bad. I mean to say, that it may not work for everyone.

I enjoyed listening to the webinar on Classroom 2.0 Live about Flipped Classrooms. The guest speakers were Aaron Sams and Jonathan Bergmann. Believe it or not, I watched a couple more YouTube videos on flipped classrooms to supplement the webinar. I feel that this type of instruction is very effective. The speakers on the webinar explained how to start a flipped classroom. You can't just start right away. You have to start off with just one lesson during a semester, and then expand. First with a lesson for a semester, then perhaps two more lessons, then try it out for a year, then you can totally flip your classroom. Not in that way exactly, but the teacher would have to do a test run. Perhaps it may not work. The webinar explained that for some subjects, flipped classrooms are the ideal way of instruction, like math and science. Personally, I feel that it can work for all subjects.

Some downfalls to flipped classrooms are the availability of the technology in the students' households. What if a student does not have the resources to watch the lesson via media. Well, the webinar included information about that as well. Not necessarily that the students didn't have the resources, but they just didn't want to watch the videos. The students preferred to read the books. Any way they want to learn the lesson, allow them to do so.

To me, the main focus point of flipped classroom, is more teacher student interaction. The teacher is not lecturing for the majority of the class time. They are assisting each student, at their own pace, on the lesson that they learned at home. This creates more time for learning, rather than plain instruction. Students are able to apply the lesson when they get to school.

I can't find a reason to not implement a flipped classroom for my class. It's something that I would definitely like to try. If it doesn't work, you can always go back to traditional classrooms.

Related articles

• Education Flipped
• Untangling notions of flipped classrooms

Take Out Your Phones and Let's Learn!

The webinar that i attended on SimpleK12 talked about incorporating cellphones into the classroom.  At first, I said "This will never work because students will be taking their phones out during class and texting one another and not paying attention to the teacher". Then the presenter talked about this idea where the teacher is the only one who will have a cellphone in the classroom.  With that cellphone the teacher can then show the class images from there phone, like charts and educational short films.  I thought this was a very cool idea because it eliminates the distraction of everyone having a cellphone in class.  With my iphone i am able to look on Youtube and find videos that show me how to solve math equations and find other information pertaining to school subjects, so i saw the benefit of having it in classrooms.  Also the pratical use of cellphones was brought up during the webinar.  With a cellphone you can send messages to students who have missed class and inform them of what work that have missed during class.  This helps students to not miss any assignments and not have the excuse of saying they didn't know they had that work, which is the statement that teachers hear all the time when dealing with absent students.  The one downfall that i see with incorporating cellphones into the classroom, is that smartphones are needed to do most of the things that the presenter brought up in the Webinar. Their are some students who cannot afford smartphones because their parents probably don't make enought.  All in all though i thought this webinar presentation brought up many valid points about allowing cellphones into the classroom environment because i personally benefit from having one.  I found this one website that has a wealth of information about cellphone use in different school districts so i hope it adds to your knowledge of cellphones in the classroom.  Teach Digital: Curriculum by Wes Fryer

Podcasting--to use or not to use?

The webinar I watched had to deal with podcasting--what is podcasting? and how can I use it to support my teaching?

Many of you may be wondering what exactly is a podcast? I learned that a podcast is defined as a multimedia digital file made available on the Internet for downloading to a portable media player, computer, etc. which is often subscribed to or streamed. What differentiates a podcast from a regular audio file is that is uses RSS--Real Simple Syndication, which basically describes how the podcast is saved and broadcasted. Podcasts can typically be found in blogs, Wikis, and iTunes. 

So it is not surprising that as technology continues to emerge in the classroom, that podcasting should not be used too. In fact, it can be a great tool for both students and teachers alike. At the very beginning of the webinar, they had a poll asking 2 questions: Have you ever created a podcast? and have you ever had your students create a podcast? It was quite amazing that a majority of the people in that webinar had. I, on the other hand, just simply sat quiet and wondered to myself what exactly it was and how does one use it. Call me naïve or what but I was completely lost. I mean, I’ve seen the podcast icon on my iTunes but I never bothered to check it out.

This webinar really opened my eyes to its uses and how it can be used in the classroom. As the presenter Kevin Honeycutt stated, writing is considered a social medium.  When a student is given an assignment to write a paper, it typically results in only one reader—the teacher. Sometimes, this may affect the student's motivation because they may feel like the teacher doesn't like them and assume they will in turn get a bad grade regardless of what they wrote. In comes podcasting, which enables the student to write a script, record it, and post it to the web allowing for a wide range of viewers who provide feedback. Other uses for podcasting in the classroom are class presentations, as a way to engage learners and encourage participation, self-assessment, as a way to help teach academic vocabulary, and lastly for professional development.

Overall, this webinar was very, very informative. Not only did it help me understand what podcasting is but also how to use it in the classroom. The webinar goes on a little further to address the process for podcasting. It opens vast opportunities both students and teachers alike. I feel this definitely is something worth investing time in and exploring as a future educator.

Related articles:

Podcasting: Tips for Teachers

Ideas for Podcasting in the Classroom