RILS: iGoogle Communities | Educator Studio

RILS: iGoogle Communities | Educator Studio

RILS COMMENTS

Follow this link to view my comments on Amanda "Using Storybird to Teach Adjectives and Complete Simple Sentences:"

Follow this link to view my comments on Cynthias "Strip Designer"

RILS COMMENTS

Follow this link to view my comments on Amanda "Using Storybird to Teach Adjectives and Complete Simple Sentences:"

Follow this link to view my comments on Cynthias "Strip Designer"

ETC RILS Project

Relevant and Innovative Learning Scenario

IRVING PERALTA

Brief Overview: Communication is the key to having a successful program.  Being able to sync with your team is crucial when it comes to planning events or ideas.  My RILS focuses on that notion of communication and building an online community group.  The Web 2.0 tools that I will be using will help my group of leaders to communicate, plan, and share as one.

Target Audience- A groups of about 20 leaders from my local place of worship.

Materials– Computer, Internet access, smart phone, iPad (optional), and an email account.

Objectives– At the end of this scenario the learner will be able to:

·      create an iGoogle account to be able to coordinate events on Google calendar

·      manage and organize multiple key websites and email accounts

·      design a blog for feedback on ideas and make comments to other learners blogs.

Procedure–

·      Log on the Internet and type in the address bar the following http://www.google.com/ig

·      Create an iGoogle account by going through here:

Don't have a personalized Google homepage? Get started.

·      Provide the necessary information to set up your profile. 

·      Provide a name and password.  Make sure to choose a strong enough password and write it down for future reference.

·      Click on the MORE button at the top and select calendar. 

·      Accept the request to view the calendar I created.

·      Visit http://www.google.com/blogger

·      Set up an account

·      Create and add information to your profile

·      Post first blog titled: “I’m on the web!”

1.    Emergent Technology

·      iGoogle is a Web 2.0 tool design for collaboration and easy access to a multitasking individual. 

·      Google Calendar allows you to create and share events, meetings, and edit them online.

·      Blogger is a tool design to share your thoughts with the world and allow them to post comments back.

2.   Social Participation/Social Learning– My team will be interacting online and face-to-face.  We will have a set meeting where we will discuss the upcoming event of our ministry.   Then we will upload the events on our public calendar.  The team will monitor any changes and/or edits to events.  They will also post a blog and comment on others once an event has past.  The blog will address feedback and personal experience with the event.

Making Connections– The scenario must offer opportunities for the learner to connect on different levels. Include the three types of connections below in your plan.  How are the connections being made and how will they help deep learning take place. How will your learner connect with:

·      Most of my team has worked with email and calendars from outlook express.  They will take that knowledge and now mix it with the idea of sharing their information with everyone else. 

·      What is relevant is that they can use this tools for their own personal assistance.  They can use it with their coworkers or classmates. 

·      The team will connect with the local community and feel part of the experience. 

Create/Produce – The team product will be an online iGoogle account with knowledge of creating and editing events on a calendar and designing a blog that will be used to create a community by posting and commenting on the web.

Assessment –I will know that the objective has been met when my team is able to create an iGoogle account, set up their calendar and manage events, edit them and respond to the change that was made.  Also when the learner is posting and commenting on other blogs about our events and so creating a sense of a community.

Reflection – The reflection for the RILS must have two parts.

·      The learner will create an event using Google Calendar and share it to the team.

·      The learner will accept an invitation to a meeting.

·      The learner will post a blog and comment on someone else’s blog too. 

PE2_iMovie

Ken Burns are my friend.  Like the easy steps for creating a still image and/or editing a specific frame.  I tell you, my eyes have been open to a new way of video editing and to a faster way to create short tease videos and photo slide shows.

Beat Markers are my favorite part of iMovie.  I've spent hours trying to pin point a marker with a picture or video to create a cool looking slideshow.  Now it's just with a few clicks here and there.

The blue/green screen feature is also something that I've spend so many hours trying to perfect.  With iMovie just choose the effect and done.

Here's my certificate of Completion.  Very proud of myself for achieving such a goal!

PE3_iMovie

This is my iMovie project.  One of the cool features about iMovie is the ability to create movie type trailers to promote events or short film ideas.  With other software like Adobe Premier or Final Cut, the process was long and it required a lot knowledge of the program.  I had to watch many tutorials and ask a lot of questions.

With iMovie, this trailer took me about 5-10 minutes from beginning to end.  I literally just clicked here and there and the movie was finished.  It doesn't require a lot of training or software knowledge to create this great looking video.  From the neat transitions and amazing titles, I used this trailer to promote our next series class.

Simple, easy to work with, and very cool looking.  iMovie is my new most favorite tool.

PE5_Blogger

At the beginning I thought that Blogger was going to be a complicated tool.  I honestly thought that the whole purpose of Blogger was to have a static conversation with one or maybe two individuals.  I did not know that it was going to be this amazing!

Blogger is a web 2.0 tool that allows you to build virtual communities by connecting with others from around the world.  It's a free tool that lets you post your ideas, thoughts, and just about anything.  You can share with your followers a daily post or however often you write your thoughts online.  You can also follow other's who share you own interests.

The set up is easy and it just takes a few minutes to get started.  Your profile adds uniqueness and motivates others to follow you.  You can be as specific as you want or keep it simple.  You can meet others and carry conversations about similar interests.

Posting on Blogger is as easy as writing an email.  The editing tools are just like Microsoft word so you can feel comfortable when creating a post.  Others can comment on your post but you in full control of what can be acceptable to be viewed by others.

Over all this is an amazing tool that will help you share your experiences, trips, interest, and much much more!

PE4_iGoogle Calendar

For my upcoming Relevant and Innovative Learning Scenario (RILS) project I will be using iGoogle Calendar.  This tool is amazing!  In my team, one of the biggest problems we have is the lack of communication.  Everyone has a different email domain and we can't share our ideas or upcoming events but just on paper which then gets lost and the ball gets dropped.  This web 2.0 tool helps you stay organized and in touch with coworkers, family, and friends.  This tool provides a way to keep everyone informed about upcoming events or meetings.  


It's FREE which is helpful already and easy to use.  You can send invitations, RSVPs, and reminders to all members.  You can color code events to keep them from getting mixed up and even print the specifics. 


There are short cuts you can use to be able to view different screens and work faster.  Events can be detailed or just given a title, time and date. The feature that your calendar can be shared is what makes this tool extraordinary.   


By sharing your calendar, people can see events, be invited to attend, and manage time more efficiently.  Once you've created an event on your calendar, you can invite guest, create google groups, send notification via email or SMS.  You can add an app that will allow you to view reminders on your desktop.  


On your calendar you can see holidays, the weather, and even sport events! 

BP 6 Link to David's Blog

Follow this link to my comments to David's Blog.  CLICK HERE

BP 5 Link to Faith

Follow this link to my comments on Faith's blog.  CLICK HERE

BP4 Puzzle-Maker

How many times have you found yourself looking around for a different way to give a test or a quick quiz to see if your students have mastered a specific concept?  How many times have you looked for alternative informal assessments or just a fun way to check as to who is grasping the objective?  Well, this is a simple and quick way to create vocabulary or spelling test.  Quick and simple is the concept.  Puzzle-maker.com gives you the tools necessary to make this happen.   

All you have to do is go into the website, choose whether you want to make a crossword puzzle or a word search and start your activity.  Enter the title of your quiz and a subtitle with specific instructions if you want. You will then enter the vocabulary word and definition into one dialogue box and when done press “I’m Done. Make My Puzzle” button at the bottom of the screen.  You can add a background image if you desire or just print it on plain white paper.  I personally like to add a picture, but with a purpose in mind.  For example, if there is a student who is interested in playing sports, then there will be an either small or large picture on the corner of the page or as a background just to bring about his interest.  I’ve found that kids respond better when the teacher makes the effort to highlight their interests.  Puzzle-maker.com is a tool that you can use to make quick and easy alternative assessments…not to mention, fun.

PE1_iMovie

WOW!  For a while now I've worked with Adobe Premier and Final Cut.  I've come to many problems and have had many situations where I couldn't figure out how to do this or that because of the complexity of the software...now that I've seen iMovie in action...I can honestly say...WHY HAVE I NOT USED THIS BEFORE!

Here I was working on a video montage of different shots from my classroom while looking at the training video from Lynda.com.  

iMovie is awesome!  The simplicity of this software enables me not to be overwhelmed with steps and directions.  This program truly takes the idea and runs with it.  I like using the templates and the easy transitions that can be added to your clips.  The capture mode is user friendly and the many formats makes it possible to view it through many venues.  I never learned how to export a project in HD while working with adobe, but now, it's just a click away.  Don't need to render and wait for the video to save every 5 minutes.  I don't know how many times I lost work because I forgot to save and the program quit in the middle of my project.  iMovie saves your project with every move you make.

BP3_Band Central

I have the privilege of working with a band on the weekends.  I sing and play guitar for a contemporary christian band.  One of the biggest problems that we have is communication.  We all have emails and facebook pages, but we haven't found a place where we can all sync our notes, ideas, and songs.  Our leader would text us the list of songs and the link to a youtube video with a new song idea.  Some people were not able to see the text because they changed their number or it's not part of their phone plan.  By the time practice came around, a few saw the list, another couple of people were able to watch the video and practice...frustrating.  The problem, communication.  This web 2.0 tool helps us ALL to stay in touch.  There is an area for uploading new songs with chords and lyrics.  There is a place for inputing our practice times and services.  When there is ever a change or an addition to the calendar or plan, an email is sent and a post on facebook and/or twitter too.  This tool will help all of us to stay in communication and be prepared for the next practice the next event.

BP2 iGoogle PLE

What an experience...to have everything on one screen has been the best idea ever!  I like being able to switch from screen to screen without having to open a new window or type the url address every time I have to visit the page.  I always forget the address anyways, but now...all I have to do is click once or twice.