Scripture to Ponder

This is the day the Lord has made; Let us rejoice and be glad in it!

Psalms 118:24


Wednesday, December 15, 2010

EDLD 5366: Reflection

       In the midst of the stressful holidays, this course was the perfect one to take.  It was fun, motivating, and engaging throughout the entire five weeks.  The content was less intense and stressful than other courses. First, I created a birth announcement using the four principles of design.  I never considered myself a creative person, but was able to gain positive feedback from colleagues on their evaluation of my product.  Most of my learning came from the discussion board where we had to comment on others’ designs and see the different teaching tools.  I collected ideas and was able to apply my new knowledge in the evaluation of my colleagues’ products.  In the second week, I created a logo on an open source site called logomaker.com.  The most difficult part of that assignment was learning how to save and copy it to my wiki and blog.  I plan to experiment on other sites that were provided when I have time.  I always wanted to learn how to work with photos and graphics, and realized how much skill is involved in using such programs.  I watched videos on YouTube that took you through a transformation from start to finish on photo editing.  I think the course was well planned my new skills will give me a boost to branch out and try other products.  I did not care for my animation to be placed in my newsletter.  I created my newsletter for teachers on different applications that are provided in my district and included some technology tips.  The animation did not integrate easily into the newsletter.  I did go back and change the color scheme on my logo, so that it matched my color theme on the newsletter.  Overall the course was engaging and fun during the most hectic season of the year, Christmas!

Thursday, December 2, 2010

Animation: Week 3 EDLD 5366



Scratch Project


Learn more about this project     CLICK THE BEAR

We were able to choose a program to use for creating an animation  for our assignment in Week 3.  I used the program called Scratch. It was fairly easy, but took quite a bit of time for me to view the tutorials, and then play around on it. I can see where students can get carried away with the different options.  It is fun and addicting. To view my animation you have to CLICK THE BEAR!

Saturday, November 20, 2010

Principles of Design in Ancient Manuscripts

EDLD 5366 Digital Graphics

I was amazed at the intricate details that artists used many centuries ago.  I was drawn to cover of the Lindisfarne Gospels from the Middle Ages.  The cover design alone depicts the four principles of design. It has metal and jewels in a repetitive design contrasted on a bright burgundy background. The metal design forms a mirror image both vertical and horizontal. Within parts of the book, you can find decorative capitals that show the importance of certain portions of the text. Color contrast, as well as the use of different fonts is the most used principles of design in this book.  This book has images of cross-carpets that are copied today and show the use of contrast, repetition, alignment, and proximity in each one.

You can view the Lindisfarne Gospels from the British Library website.
Look at the bottom left, click menu and scroll until you find Lindisfarne Gospels.

Monday, November 1, 2010

School Law

Copyright Cops

Please enjoy this comical video that shares an important message to educators about ignoring copyright laws. Teachers have the responsibility to model proper and ethical use of materials. How can we expect students to if they see their teachers bend the rules?

Saturday, September 25, 2010

Multimedia Video Technology

The Multimedia Video Technology course for Lamar was a great experience for me. I collaborated in the past with co-workers on Skype and Google Docs, but never had to create anything. The experience from this assignment was valuable in many ways. Not only was it nice to rely on the experience of others in your group, but the finished product was better than I had ever dreamed. We used Google docs and relied on the chat window to post our ideas, plan and create our video. We had a wonderful director (Deann) for the project who kept us informed, on task, and up-to-date on the activities and deadlines. I will be able to take this experience and share it with others in my district. Thanks!

Thursday, September 16, 2010

Week 3: Group Collaboration

This week we met with our group members and decided on the best method for collaborating. We have four in our group: Deann Thompson, Debbie Anderson, Lacy Hobbs, and me. We named our group, DDLP and Deann created a wiki to keep track of our collaborations. http://groupddlp-5363.wikispaces.com/ At first we had been emailing back and forth. Deann and I communicated on Skype together for practice and was able to chat as well as connect and hear each other's voice. It kept disconnecting, but we were laughing through it all.  The next night all of us tried using the wiki, and discovered that it was not letting us type and edit at the same time. Once, Deann thought that we lost all of our work, so we quickly reverted to Google Docs. It was much easier working on the same page and having the chat box nearby. We spent 2 or more hours collaborating on our assignment for this week and was able to create our outline, script, and shot list. We all agreed to help in the different roles so that we can learn from each other. Lacy agreed to do most of the editing with our help. Our topic for the PSA is: Save a Life: Adopt a Pet.

Script Outline:

Save a Life: Adopt a Pet

I. Reasons to adopt a pet
      A. Companion
      B. Security
      C. Playmate
      D. Unconditional Love

II. Where to Adopt

III. Why Adopt
      A. New family member
      B. Health Benefits
      C. Save a life

Monday, September 6, 2010

Web Conference- Week 2

I joined the Web conference for Lamar's EDLD 5363 on September 6, 2010 at 6:00 pm. Somehow, I managed to get my camera working and loaded on the board. We had 30+ members and it was much better than Week 1.  Dr. Abernathy was able to check the questions and kept the conversation flowing and answered questions as they were posted. I was able to receive information about the Group work for Weeks 3-5.  The most important information was that we are to save ALL collaborations that we are involved in.  Suggestions were made to use Skype, wikis, blogs, or google docs. These are suggestions and anything Web 2.0 tools would be accepted. The only activity that was difficult to follow was that some were discussing Week 2 assignments and others were on the topic of Weeks 3-5.  That became confusing since many did not note which week they were discussing.

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons License
Toddlers & Computers by Peggy Hale is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported License.

Jaycut Podcast/Vodcast

You can hear my podcast at the following url: http://pnhale.podomatic.com/

I decided to add screenshots and music to my podcast above, creating a vodcast to share with teachers in my district.


Podcast Planning

For my Lamar 5363 course, we had to create a podcast about one of the open source video editors that we evaluated. I did mine on Jaycut. Here is my initial plan for my podcast:

Opening statement (with music): "It's a great day to learn something new!"
Episode 1: Today we will look at Jaycut, a free open source video editor.
Following are the different features I want to point out for visitors:
  1. Login (jaycut.com) Register
  2. Start Demo
  3. Create Video
  4. Go to Help/Support for Getting Started video, Library help, and Timeline help
  5. Most important function: Add Media, next to Help button
  6. Have video saved on computer and Browse for it
  7. Upload
  8. Next Episode-Timeline
  9. Thanks for watching!

Saturday, September 4, 2010

Masher Video: Twins Birth




Here's the link to watch on the site: Twins Birth

Editing Software Evaluations

The two open source video editing software applications I chose to evaluate were Masher and Jaycut. I went to my Social networking site called Delicious and did a search for video editing. I knew that I bookmarked several and decided on those two. I have not used either software applications before this course, but enjoyed working in them and creating several short videos that I shared on my blog and wiki. My experience with video editing is very limited and not until I received Camtasia for my office, did I create a tutorial to help teachers in my district learn how to use programs. I have also used the Flip camera software to edit a video I created in Bible class at church. After working with both Jaycut and Masher, I think that my experience with Audacity and Camtasia helped me work through some of the features readily. I don’t think that I would use either one at work, since we have purchase Camtasia, but I think that I’d use them at home for personal use. I thought Masher was limited, however I liked the finished product. It created such a crisp, clear video and I liked their visual effects that you could add such as confetti, or an old movie reel. I think that in my current position, sharing the various video editing software applications with teachers and students in our district would be beneficial. Now that most schools have felt strict budget cuts this year, open source software is a big plus! My two choices are simple enough for students to use. I would recommend Masher for even the primary grades to use in school.

Friday, September 3, 2010

Video Editing with Jaycut

EDLD 5363 - Week 2
This is an open source video editing software program that I was exploring for a Lamar course. I wanted to find a couple that would be easy to use for beginners. Many features on the software was recognizable like the different tracks. They had one for transitions, one for audio, and then one for images.  I wasted a lot of time learning how to use the program. It was fairly easy, but I wish it had an undo feature. I had to recreate it several times while learning how to add text, transitions, audio, and images. Everytime you closed out, you would lose your work and had to start over. You had to make sure to publish it, or you will do like I had to and recreate the entire video again. Learning new technology usually has its ups and downs like this, but it's in your mistakes that you learn the most.          My Jaycut videos
This will take you to two videos. The first one is called Granna's girls and is about my two granddaughters who were born two months apart. Many people thought they were twins, because we would dress them alike. The second video underneath is the remix or one I edited and made changes. I put a new song, changed out the pictures and text. This one is about all five of my grandchildren. I now will decide on a second open source editor to compare to Jaycut. I think that I would recommend this, since the video came out pretty clear and had the same look and feel as a YouTube video.

Monday, August 30, 2010

Digital Storytelling Reflections:

Digital Storytelling is a great tool to use in any class. I enjoyed learning how to create a personal digital story. I had several ideas to use as my topic and ended up using the topic that was suggested by my daughter and a close friend. I think the process is a form of therapy and helped me get my thoughts and feeling on paper as well as in a story. The process made me realize that there's a story in everything you do. I think I will use this new skill to help me capture some memories of my father. It's been three years since he passed away, and I think it will help me in my grieving process. One suggestion I would give to someone tackling this would be to familiarize yourself with the software before creating the story. I used Photostory 3 and became frustrated when I typed all me script that I wanted to say in the available boxes. I did not realize that you lose it all if you do not record the narration before closing. I think using Photostory is simple, but it took me some time to learn the software. I wanted to add music, but I felt it took away from the voice narration. I hope to do many more stories, and to share this with teachers in my district.

Web Conference EDLD 5363 (Week 1)

I entered the EDLD 5363 Web Conference on August 26, 2009.  When I arrived, the conference had begun or I thought it had. I could see that many members were already in and there were about 4 participants successful with their cameras. It did not take me long to realize that the sound was not working and the chat room was all a buzz.  Dr. Abernathy tried her best to adjust her equipment and ask the members to be patient. I participated in several web conferences before, but do not consider myself an expert by no means. Once I was able to get my camera to work, but that was with the help of a friend on the board stepping me through it, telling me what to click.  This particular event, was frustrating because Dr. Abernathy could not get everyone's attentions to start the conversation. The members were asking each other questions and trying to set up their group work. Members were asking Dr. Abernathy a zillion questions at once. I confess that I did not stay on very long, especially after Dr. Abernathy regretted allowing so many to join at once.

I do know that when working with technology, it is apparent that there will be times when equipment will not work. The chat room was another way that they could participate. I think though, we assume that the proper conference etiquette is known by all. Maybe we should be assigned an article to read about this before this happens again.

Like I stated above, I have been involved in web conference with other courses, and they were very helpful and informative. In fact, this is why I participated on this assignment.

Life's Journey...Expect bumps along the way


I created this personal digital story for my assignment in EDLD 5363. This was my first one to create and I was able to gain a deeper understanding of what producers go through to create movies. I hope you enjoy it.

Sunday, August 15, 2010

We Interrupt 5301 Research

Brooklynn Grace & Braden Jeffery Hale

We arrived at 10:01 and 10:03 on Friday, August 13th
We made our Granna travel to Austin 'real' fast so she could make our arrival on Friday, even though she had her last assignment due by midnight. Brooklyn weighed 5lbs. 7oz. and Braden weighed 5lbs 13 1/2oz.

Saturday, August 7, 2010

Education Technology: Making Grades and Upgrades: Posting a Data Table in Blogger

Posting a Data Table in Blogger: by Matthew Kitchens: "Since I published my Action Research Plan in a table last week, I've received several emails from colleagues and classmates who wish to know..."

Thursday, August 5, 2010

21st Century Concepts

I have listed seven 21st Century skills that educators should be integrating:
  1. Creativity & Innovation
  2. Communication & Collaboration
  3. Research & Information Fluency
  4. Critical Thinking & Problem Solving
  5. Digital Citizenship
  6. Technology Literacy
  7. Growth & Leadership

Site Mentor Meeting

This is our 4th week in the Research course. I have started back to work and we have been busy! So much change is going to happen this year and we are getting positive support. It is exciting. I was able to meet with my site mentor and discuss the action plan. She had questions that I was able to answer easily. First one being who was going to partcipate. I really think she thought I was going to do the entire district! I could never tackle that magnitude on my first action project. Not even an entire campus. She was relieved when I told her that I would select the teachers and students from our technology committee. She shared a survey and self-assessment that we could use for the first task. After we got that cleared up we were in agreement with the entire plan and she spoke about the importance of this type of data. I am now excited and will soon be able to launch it! Of course, I am still open to any ideas and will make any changes if needed.

Tuesday, August 3, 2010

My Action Plan

I tried posting my plan, two separate ways, but it took too long for it to download. I will provide a link to it on Google Docs after a brief explanation and steps to accomplish my Action Research project.
Goal: Discover how the integration of 21st century skills impact student achievement and how to motivate teachers to create this environment in their teaching and learning.
Sample Group: 8-10 teachers and students from our technology committee (various grade levels and content areas)
  • Survey/Self-assessment (on Atomic Learning) "What are 21st century skills? How confident are you with integrating them?"
  • Identify the 21st Century concepts and skills (that is another post)
  • Assess BOY Technology proficiencies for teachers and students
  • Best practices for professional development (face-to-face trainings, PLC's, video-conferencing)
  • Training workshops for Atomic Learning and Easy Tech
  • Ongoing technology support in classroom
  • Walkthroughs, interviews
  • Create class blogs to track progress of project
  • Digital pictures; video of each teacher modeling a 21st century technology lesson
  • TAKs scores, benchmark scores (compare last year to this year)
  • BOY and EOY Technology exams for students and teachers
My Action Plan on Google Docs

Saturday, July 31, 2010

Trying, Yet Exciting Times

Week 3 has seen some trying, yet exciting times in Research 5301 for my Lamar course. The trying time was narrowing down my topic and deciding on one. I had several that I wanted to do, but spent some Skype conversations with emails here and there with my site mentor, before deciding on this inquiry: "How does the integration of 21st century skills impact student achievement and how can we motivate teachers to create this environment in their teaching and learning? My exciting time was starting back to work and seeing our textbook "Examining What We Do to Improve Our Schools" by Sandra Harris, Stacey Edmonson, & Julie Combs on my director's desk! I had to do a double take and wondered how my book ended up there. My director shared that they all received a copy during their Administration Retreat and said that Sandra Harris spoke at the event. Who would have guessed that? I am happy that I will be able to collaborate with her on some of the points that were made in the text. I love the quotes that she shared on the page one. "We must exchange the philosophy of excuse for the philosophy of responsibility." by U.S. Congresswoman, Barbara Jordan. The other one is used by Lou Holtz, the NCAA Football and NFL head coach and can be applied to any activity. "We aren't where we want to be, we aren't where we ought to be, but thank goodness, we aren't where we used to be." This quote makes me think of my battle with non-Hodgkins lymphoma this past year. Like I said, it can relate to any place in your life. Until next time . . .

Monday, July 26, 2010

Nine Passions

During week two of Research 5301, we were asked to narrow down our topic(s) that we want to pursue for an action research. I had first thought about doing research on accountabitlity in technology use, but from my reading, discovered that it was not such a great idea. The book cautioned me not to focus my wondering on controlling or changing other people's practice. I need to realize the only person I can control is myself. I need to focus on my influence and commit to develop my own behavior rather than others. With that being said, I was able to connect with my site mentor through Skype. We collaborated back and forth about topics before deciding on these two possible topics: In what ways does the integration of 21st Century skills affect student success? What can we (technology) do to encourage the integration of 21st Century skills? Our text by Nancy Fichtman Dana titled, "Leading with Passion and Knowledge" has been an interesting book and I find it easy to read. This week I read Chapter 2 about the nine passions that drive the action research journey. They are as follows:

1. Staff development
2. Curriculum development
3. Individual teacher(s)
4. Individual student(s)
5. Community/culture building
6. Leadership skills
7. Management
8. School performance
9. Social justice

One statement that stuck with me this week was that the hardest part of action research is "GETTING STARTED"! I am feeling it at this point. We will see what changes Week 3 brings about.

Friday, July 16, 2010

Thanks


Thanks to everyone who takes time to comment on my Action Research post.

Action Research

Whether you are in a classroom leading students, or an administrator striving for school improvement and student learning, we are faced with many challenges and issues throughout the educational system. While taking Lamar’s online course, Research 5301, I was introduced to the process action research which is a powerful tool used for school reform and improvement. Our text states the word research carries negative baggage, since many people recall long hours in the library, endless bibliography cards, and lengthy papers when they think about research. Therefore, the term inquiry was used synonymously with action research. So what makes action research different? It is a continuous spiraling process where the intentions of research are to bring about some type of transformation. The leader goes through a process of wonderings or posing questions that spark the beginning of the inquiry process. Through reflections and research, new insights are gained; data is collected, and analyzed. The leader reads relevant literature and shares the discoveries with others. Based on the new findings, a plan is put into action to bring about a needed change for improvement. Throughout the process of action research, reflections are continued and more actions are incorporated according to needs and circumstances. This continuous cycle places the leader in charge of their own professional development and they become a lifelong learner in today’s society.
As our district’s instructional technology specialist, the action research process will be helpful in discovering new ideas and gain insights to difficult problems that exist in technology today. Our professional development plan is in the early developing stages. I plan to use this process to help with our goal of improving technology integration in our district, which will in turn, improve student learning and teacher proficiencies.