Voki

Well, I found this assignment to be a bit more frustrating than I hoped it to be!! 

The reason was, Voki will not publish your avatar, unless you register as an educator, with a free trial, in which you have to give a cc#. Not happy with that. At all. 

Even though I registered prior to creating my educator acct, and I was still signed in, the avatar I created, was NOT saved!! The website also proved to be exceedingly SLOWWWW!

So, I had to re-create her/me!! Then, I needed to record my intro in 60 secs. Well, now I know why we were told to keep our intros to 85 words!! I came in at 90, after editing my copy, down to bare bones!!

Other than the above frustration, I love and have created many avatars before, from online, to Wii. I liked the personalization options, I just found Voki to be very user, unfriendly, in the end of the whole LONG process!

Will I use this in the future? Maybe? I have to check out some of the lesson plans posted, and see how will fit in with my future teaching endeavors.

The NETS-T this relates to is:
1. Facilitate and Inspire Student Learning and Creativity.

Link to Self Intro

How Millennial Are You?

What is a "Millennial" vs. What is NOT a "Millennial"? (or Who is Me vs. Who is My Mother!!!! (LOL!!!)-seriously!!!)
-Eager to explore a new device/ Scared of anything new, that they might not understand.
-Digs in and figures out how a device works, simply by using it!/ Fearful of all of the instructions in a manual; often does not learn basic functions, because to do so seems overwhelming!
-Takes chances! Uses GPS to navigate directions/ Plots out directions to a destination using a map book. Or, does not venture out of one own's comfort zone, because of paranoia, which tends to increase with one's age.


What is the Information-Age mindset?

The information-age mindset, differs significantly from the mindset of those who either grew up as members of the silent generation of our parents, or the post WWII baby-boomer generation, both of whom transitioned from the 20th Century/Industrial age. Today's student has grown up with a culture, that only knows what it is like to be instantly connected to others in the world, and have a constant source of digitally based information.

Ten Attributes Reflecting Values and Behaviors Making
up the Information-Age Mindset & am I, In or Out?

• (Related to broad observations of change)

1. Computers Aren't Technology Out
2. Internet Better Than TV In
3. Reality No Longer Real In
4. Doing Rather Than Knowing In (i.e. babies who can't even walk, being able to effectively use a digital device.)

• (How people do things) 

5. Nintendo over Logic In
6. Multitasking Way of Life In
7. Typing Rather Than Handwriting Out 

• (Subliminal needs conditioned by the cyber-age)

8. Staying Connected In
9. Zero Tolerance for Delays In
10. Consumer/Creator Blurring In (i.e. the public is the QC source now)



Link to: Millennial Quiz

My scores:

Relative to last 24 hrs

Typical Day

When I took the Millennial Quiz the first time, my score was lower, than what I thought typical, because I had not sent nor received any text messages on my cell phone. On a usual day, I send/receive between 1 & 5 texts. So, I have included stats for a typical day of texts, which reflects that practice.

I am what I call, a moderate user of technology. I don't have to be plugged in, constantly. But, I do like the convenience of being able to plug in, via my laptop or the my smartphone, that I have had for a year now.

I feel comfortable exploring a new device, without needing to consult the manual. I have gotten used to "immediate gratification"! I could not use "dial-up" anymore, yet I remember the days of, waiting to use my home phone, because the "party-line" (blast from the past-whoa!!!) was sharing the line!!!

I know some of my mindset is because I live in the D.C. area. I also am the mom of a 5th grader. So, I live a "multi-tasking" life, and I know that "cursive writing" is on its way out, in elementary curriculum's  My son began "keyboarding" in 4th grade, whereas I learned how to "type" in the 7th grade!

I also have taken two "distance-based" college classes, and am familiar with new practices in pedagogy. I have worked with rubrics, written reflective essays, and now.....I blog!! 

I like to think of myself, as I am in my lifestyle, enlightened and not afraid to take chances and learn new things!! I plan on extending these characteristics into my classroom.

Word Cloud

I had fun with Wordle! I am an artsy/visual type person, who has fun with fonts, colors, layout..... So it was fun to take both versions of the NETS-T and change them up & play with them!

Then, I had fun with my political views...although I would be careful not to reveal them in a school setting, since I intend to teach Social Science, I decided to do at least one half of the proverbial aisle and do a Democratic Wordle! I really like how this program highlights the words in such a creative style!

So, how have technology standards evolved? They have certainly become more inviting and creative. 

Today's standards appear to be focused more on sharing current media and technologies with students, colleagues and the community, as a whole. The whole learning experience available in the public school setting now incorporates digital age technology opportunities, which did not exist when the standards were first established.

The standards written in 2000, were written in a language that remind me of how I worded my lesson plan objectives, way back in the '80's!! (Yup, I'm old!!) They were seemed to use a more formal language style, that does not reflect on the creativity modern technology has provided us with.

The styles of learning and the way standards are now written, invites both the teacher, the student and the school community to participate in the movement towards digital age learning. 

Since my son's principal took the reins of his school 3 or 4 years ago, so much has evolved! He had us moving in a new direction! We went from hard-copies of the school newsletter, to digital format. 

The school website was completely re-vamped, with digital photo albums, etc. We now can "connect" to the site with an app on our smartphones! We also receive "Connect-Ed" calls, enabling us to communicate information more effectively regarding closings, and the like (and we no-longer have to tune into WTOP or Topper Shutt!! LOL!!).

Below are the two versions of the NETS-T standards, for reference.


NETS-T 2000 Word Cloud 

NETS-T 2008 Word Cloud   


The standard this activity represented was:
5. Engage in Professional Growth and Leadership.

CarpeDiem

The first thing I would like to say is:
I love my smartphone!! I get (and got) a whole lot of "hoo-haa" from my husband during Thanksgiving break & to our friends about smartphones! 

Yet, while my husband tried to use an antiquated mobile nav device (yup, even upgrading his nav in his 2004 Prius would cost an arm and a leg in software upgrades), I was able to use my SP as a nav device, and I didn't have to worry about software upgrades, etc.! I found us movies to go to, too, w/ my Fandango app!

I was able to do schoolwork in the car and our hotel, by using my SP as a hotspot, and have added anti-virus & firewalls to both my netbook and SP, so I don't have to worry about logging onto unsecured wifi networks! I have instant access to Blackboard, to Google+, Docs, Blogger, etc., to Quick Office, banking apps, and all kinds of ways of staying connected, when I want to! Gotta love it!!

I have been able to troubleshoot issues w/ my aging parents, in another state, simply by using my smartphone! So yeah, I love technology, new software, the mobility of devices, apps....you name it! 

I kept hearing the same stuff...."we were fine before we had all of this technology...". Ok, do I like that our youth is communicating by texting, while they are standing right next to one another, or the guy who apparently stood next to my husband and was texting & peeing at the same time (sorry, TMI-trying to make a point, here!!) NO! But, my reasoning is: if you don't have it, you don't know what you are missing; and once you do have it (technology), you will never want to be without it again!! "Try it, you'll like it!"

Question? What did people think about the telephone and telegraph a 100 years ago? Times are a changin', and except for a small part of it, (like being able to follow a General's paper trail!!! LOL!!) technology is here to stay, and it is coming on strong in all of our schools, that have the bucks to support it!

LCPS now have electronic whiteboards, such as the Smartboard, or Promethean Board in every classroom! It only the 2nd year for this step-up in technology of learning! I see kids with Kindles & Nooks too. But hardly any smartphones/tablets/mobile devices are being used in the mainstream classroom, for K-12 learning, that is.

So, St. Mary's or Carpe Diem? I hate rote learning. Therefore, I am not a proponent of Carpe Diem methods, of having a kid sit in front of a computer or educator, for hours on end, simply to be "fed" information! I love interactive, hands on, thought-provoking, and problem-solving learning, which I feel the St.Mary's program is using! 

My 5th grader son is not a "self-starter". He wants someone  else to do it for him! That is one of the reasons we have him engaging in a 21st Century program called, Odyssey of the Mind. It engages the K-12 child in problem-solving skills, independent learning processes, and out of the box thinking, in which the parents are not allowed to help!! Yeah!

I have included an example of the Odyssey of the Mind, long-term task, my son will be working on, as an example of how technology is advancing its way into learning. While he will not be using a mobile-device, in this task, he will be learning about the mechanics, importance, presence, etc. of technology in our world and its use in pedagogy. 

I am confident, the use of mobile technologies will become a way of life in schools, K-12. The cost factor, is what is keeping many away! My husband's biggest complaint is the $30 we have to pay for my mobile data plan! We already have an Internet connection through our cable company, but that does not cover our use of mobile devises, and by itself, is as expensive as hell!

I am hoping my 75 yo mom will finally move into the 21st Century, & purchase a computer this year! 

The cloud technology is moving us away from independent learning, (ie. non-sharing experiences) and towards being able to effectively use programs, such as Google, and work collaboratively on projects while in our classrooms!

The NETS-T standards related to this assignment are in fact, all of the standards:
1. Facilitate Student Learning and Creativity.
2. Design and Develop Digital Age Learning Experiences and Assessments.
3.Model Digital Age Work and Learning.
4. Promote and Model Digital Citizenship and Responsibility.
5. Engage in Professional Growth and Leadership.

Excel 1.3

For for this assignment, I utilized the same data population as was used in Excel 1.2, taken from the NCES website. The criterion was the same, Grade 4, Reading w/ Accommodations, 2011. However, the analysis was done in the form of a t-Test, using data samples to determine if reading score differences were gender dependent.

I performed the t-Test and found that, although significant differences existed when comparing male and female scores, influences from independent variables should be considered in outcomes. 

Finding the 1 tail P Value measurement greater than .05; resulted in my conclusion that  4th grade reading scores were not influenced by gender differences and I therefore, accepted the null hypothesis. The t-Test statistical analysis may be viewed in the chart below.

If I used this statistical analysis in my future Social Science classroom, a possible research topic might include, comparing early presidential elections, when women were denied the right to vote, to the modern election process of including the female vote; thus examining what influences might be directly dependent on the participation of females in election outcomes.

The NETS-T standard related to this activity is:
2. Design and Develop Digital Age Learning Experiences and Assessments.

Excel 1.2

I have been using Excel for around 15 years or so. It is probably my favorite MS program, because it is so "orderly" and versatile. It is "the" tool for spreadsheets! I once used MS Access, and did not find it as user friendly!

However, I used my SS for database purposes, and although I used the SUM function, I have never been well versed in other functions, such as the one we used for this activity, statistical. So, this was a huge learning curve for me, pardon the pun.....

The first obstacle was figuring out if I could add-on the data analysis tool pack, using Windows 7 Starter, to find my descriptive statistics. I couldn't! I still may decide to buy W7! I thus, did my statistical analysis the manual way, and I hope it is accurate! I tested, and re-tested, so I think most is accurate!

I went through the steps on the NCES website, for the data analysis, then downloaded it to Excel on my netbook, and worked manually to get the descriptive stats in place, and saved all of my stats, including the scatter chart, on one worksheet. I found Excel to be very helpful in annotating my chart, w/o having to use my little buddy Jing! Although, I love Jing! 

The only issue I had, is when I uploaded my final document to G-docs, it kinda messed it up, dividing it into three different sheets, and my scatter chart is not formatted to what was in my original document. So, I am going use Jing to capture the chart and embed it in my blog.

I included male/female in this first activity, because it represents part of the whole of the stats, even though I will be isolating the m/f stats for Excel 2.

In a nutshell what I found was, Virginia ranks quite high in comparison to the other states! We rank 84%. There are only 7 states above us, and 44 states below us! Mass. ranks highest, and Washington, D.C. ranks last! (Sorry, D.C.) 

The NETS-T standard learned in the activity is :
5. Engage in Professional Growth and Leadership.

State Comparisons, 4th Grade, Reading w/ Accommodations

Rubistar

I was subbing for a 5th grade teacher last week, and happened upon a rubric she had, for her class, on writing. My son is in 5th grade, in a different school, and he has had some issues with Language Arts, specifically, with writing skills.

I saw this as a wonderful opportunity to re-create her rubric and apply it towards helping my son with his creative writing. While it is not the most intricate of rubrics, since it is for 5th grade levels, it suits my purpose for both this class, as well as a real-life requirement that I can apply in a practical manor!

I liked Rubistar, and found it very helpful, but I seemed to have issues with formatting. I wanted everything left-justified and numbered 4-1, with each item on its own line, e.g.
4 - The student has.....
3 - The student has.....
I was not able to do that with Rubistar, nor was I able to fix it, once I downloaded it to an Excel SS.

While I will be linking to all of my examples, I re-created my rubric in Excel, with the formatting I preferred to use.

Nonetheless, I found Rubistar to be a helpful tool that I shall probably use in the future when creating rubrics for a higher grade level. Thus, NETS-T standards this activity relates to are:
2. Design and Develop Digital Age Learning Experiences and Assessments.
5. Engage in Professional Growth and Leadership.
Rubistar Rubric: 5th Grade Writing Rubric
Excel Format 5th Grade Writing Rubric
I had an issue uploading the Excel upload of my Rubistar to GDocs, but will attempt to link to it, although I linked to my own Excel rubric above. Rubistar Excel format

Google Forms

Well, I continue to be amazed by what Google Docs can do and what I am learning to make my life easier! I heard a commercial today, about cloud computing and someone said they got rid of MS Office, since they rely on GD alone!! 

As I am planning to be a Social Studies teacher, I set up a quiz I might give to middle-school students. I designed my quiz on Google Form, followed the directions on setting up a formula using Excel, given on YouTube. Although, I have used Excel often, I was never very good at using formulas. This gives me a practical reason to learn how to use them!

The NETS-T standards used by this activity are:

2. Design and Develop Digital Age Learning Experiences and Assessments & 
5.Engage in Professional Growth and Leadership.

Links:

Summary of Responses
Self-Grading Spreadsheet
Self-Grading Form

Google Sites

I had quite a bit of difficulty with Google's website builder. There was a huge learning curve for me in learning how to navigate the pages to get them the way I wanted them, before I could even begin to add content!!

But, I persevered and now I have the first website I have put together from almost, scratch! All I can say is, I am glad this assignment is behind me, and I am glad I have all of my work from this class, organized in one site that I can honestly, "call my own!!!!"

I created my Home Page, and linked the intro to my Blog in this area, since both are "intros" of sorts.

My Resume/CV is included with an Introduction to personal and professional information about myself.

Activities, contain all of my activities and docs to date, completed for this class.

Photo Gallery, has most of the interesting and historical graphics used in my docs, for display.

My site includes a Sitemap for easy navigation to my website. All of the pages are included for easy navigation on the Sidebar of my Home Page.

I included one additional site addition, for laughs (I hope). It is my countdown to the "end of the world" post! 

I intend to include all new content from this class, and keep updating and adding to my website, using it as a professional tool in my job search, and educational (college) progress and path to professionalism.

The NETS-T Standards covered by this activity include:
1. Design and Develop Digital Age Learning Activities and Assessments.
5. Engage in Professional Growth and Leadership.

Link to "Marci's Ed Tech Experiences" website

Google Forms

Since I am a substitute teacher, I am not really in the position to design a test, for my students. However, I have been curious as to my neighbor's opinions of recent development in the town of Purcellville, so I sent my survey, via email, to friends and neighbors in the Western Loudoun area.

I sent it out to only a few neighbors, and then upon reading the instructions for the assignment more closely, I realized I needed to employ the use of all of the types of questions, not just one. So, I revised my survey, and emailed it out to a larger group of recipients, so I would have a broader response. 

What I found out was very interesting! I have never formulated any type of survey before, although I have taken a bunch! So, it was informative not only to design my survey, and see the responses, but to see what the various questions & resulting answers looked like, in summary form! It is also nice to be able to assign a theme to the survey.

I can see many future uses for such a tool, both in and outside of the classroom! This is a wonderful tool for polling parents, members of an organization, etc. Available from Google (so cool!) and easily distributed through email, and easily collated into a spreadsheet and the resulting numbers, simply by changing the view of the ss!

I shared my survey, by making it "public", and sending it out through Google +, including the link in my post.

The NETS-T standards covered in this activity are:
2. Design and Develop Digital Age Learning Experiences and Assessments & 
5.Engage in Professional Growth and Leadership.

Link to Spreadsheet
Link to Survey Summary
Survey Form

Prezi

Well, I really enjoyed this activity! Once, I figured out how to locate my files, that is! I have been having major pc performance issues, and last weekend, finally bit the bullet, and "wiped" my laptop! I thought I had backed up everything, but apparently, I made "copies" of programs I had downloaded for this class, that......didn't open! I had my Google Drive, but it was not saved to my hard drive, like it was before!

Turns out, Jing...my little sunny buddy, saved the day!! I found the existing GD slide show I wanted to use to build my Prezi, and copied the slides, thus re-creating my Jing history. That is what, along with rebuilding my laptop, took so long in creating my Prezi. However, FUN!!! And CREATIVE!! I do not think I will ever create a regular ole PPT, again!!!

This is a program that is easy and fun to use, and will definitely grab student's interests! The NETS-T standards this activity covers are:
1. Facilitate and Inspire Student Learning and Creativity; and
2. Model Digital Age Work and Learning.

Here is the link to my Prezi:
Take Me Out to the Ballgame - A Short History of the World Series

Short Presentations

Yeah, I finally got this!! I had to figure out how to save my presentation from a .wp3 file to a .wpv file, that YouTube supports!! Lesson....do not attempt to solve issues at 2am!!

Anyway...to my process! I found this wonderful game a teacher I subbed for in 3rd grade, had on her desk, on teaching kids about technology! Well, what a great lesson!! Especially, since I am in a Ed Tech class, right?

I went to the Museum of Science/Engineering is Elementary page, noted on the teachers lesson, and found the game! I used Jing (my little friend!) to capture all of the pages I wanted included in my presentation, which I built on Google Presentation, since I do not have PPT.

After I got all of the slides where I wanted them (they added up to 19-which served my purpose exactly) with graphics formatting, etc. I saved the file in a .jpg format, and was able to load onto PhotoStory, add my voice-overs and appropriate background music-so cool!!! When I went back into my settings, I adjusted my resolution, timing etc. and came up with a wait for it......wp3 file!! I figured out what I needed to do, and saved into a movie format (i.e. .wpv) which was nice enough to upload to YouTube!!

I must remark, I found this activity to be quite the challenge, and it took me awhile to complete it. However, now that I am on the other side of it, it does not seem so daunting, and I look forward to creating more movies for both personal & educational uses!

The National Educational standards met by this presentation is included in the game, as a slide, but cover: Science, Physical, Life, Earth Science, History and Nature in Science, Social Perspectives of Science. Specifically, the NETS-T standards are:
4. Promote and Model Digital Citizenship and Responsibility.
5. Engage in Professional Growth and Leadership.

Here is the link to my YouTube video!
Short Presentation-Stepping Into Technology!

PPT

This is the most thorough slide show I have ever undertaken! Whew!! First, I must say that since I only have Office 7 Starter, I do not have PowerPoint!! After searching for applicable freeware slide programs, I tried SlideRocket. I found it very difficult to use, and exceedingly slow!

I next tried Google Presentation, and found it very user-friendly!! It has an especially nice "cross-hairs" feature for centering your text box/slide on the page! Although, in trying to make my slides creative, I used a lot of different layout techniques, and also a great deal of images from free to use/non-copyright sources. 

I found those images by using the Advanced Search setting on Google Images. It allows the user to narrow their search for images based upon usage rights.

In planning my slideshow presentation, I read the required reading selections for the activity and viewed the videos on John Cleese, (being a longtime (uh, older individual) Monte Python fan, I thought this was so interesting & cool!) I used a mind-mapping technique for brainstorming.

When I finally knew the direction I wanted to take my viewer, I began to put together my content. I chose baseball and the World Series, because I love MLB & it is that time of year, and I feel it is a natural selection for a teacher of Social Studies to present to their students.

The NETS-T standard my slide show presentation represents is:
1. Facilitate & Inspire Student Learning and Creativity.

Here is the link to my Slideshow. Enjoy!
"Take Me Out to the Ballgame"

Google Earth

Wow!!  I am totally entranced with all of the graphics I am learning, and will be able to use with my students!! In fact, tomorrow I have a sub assignment teaching a tech class at a local middle school!! FUN!!

So, here is Haunted Savannah from outer space.......

I was able to convert my Google Map of Haunted Savannah, to a Google Earth file, by simply finding my saved file on GM and clicking on the KLM link, creating a KLM file, a file format used in Geographical applications, such as Google Maps and Earth, to display data. The file format is based on XLM standards.

There are many reasons an educator might want to convert an image from GM to GE. First, it is an easy, fun intro to students learning both Geography and graphics applications, and how the two can come together to make perhaps a "boring" subject, appealing to the student.

I will re-visit this a little later today (yes, it is now "today") and see what the teacher's lesson plan has for me, and if I can incorporate one of the suggestions for educators, listed in GE. I will link to my lesson then.

I discovered Google Earth has a marvelous resource available; you may search for applicable lesson plans and also, submit your own! The lessons also contain the NETS*S standards (student standards). They are 1b, 2d, 3b, 4a. The NETS-T standard contained in my lesson is: 

2. Design and Develop Digital Age Learning Experiences and Assessments.

Here is the link to the NETS*S:

Student Tech Standards Link

Lesson Plan 'Presidential Homes'

Google Maps

Welcome to Historical Haunted Savannah, Georgia!! One of the Most Haunted Places in America!!! Enter......if you dare!!

Today, I designed a Google Map of historical, haunted, Savannah, Georgia; based upon her storied folklore. I originally became familiar with Savannah, when reading the book, Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, by John Berendt.

My husband and I visited Savannah in the Summer of 2009, and went on our first Ghost Tour, and learned about the history and folklore of this remarkable city. 

I thought how a field trip to Savannah might interest students as a field trip venue. My class would be at least secondary students, due to the sensitive nature of the places we would be visiting.

An activity tying in with the field trip, would have my class designing their own Google Map, of a place they visited with their family. As I will be teaching Social Sciences, this would be a fun, and exciting activity to learn about historical places in our country.
I had visited Savannah in 2009, so I remembered most of the places I had been to, on the Ghost Tour. I simply looked them up by name, and saved them to my map. For the places I could not recall, I researched websites on Savannah, and did a search for them on my map, to include them on my tour. I also used Jing capture tool and screencast to snip and imbed my artifacts.

The ISTE NETS-T standard related to this activity would be:
#3. Model Digital Age Work and Learning.

Link to Google Map of Historical Haunted Savannah, GA

Batchgeo Part 1 & 2

This was a fun & easy activity!! I have played around a little with Google Maps, but have not experienced Batchgeo until now! All of the students in the class imputed their own data into the spreadsheet separately, however, the data was collected and populated in real-time as we each entered it. I was impressed that this took place in a very cooperative manner!

The first step was to copy & paste the Excel spreadsheet below (aka, your location data), into the Batchgeo field for creating maps. The map in part 2 was created, showing the locations on the map of the EDU 585 class. 

Batchgeo Part 1

Batchgeo Part 2

This would be a terrific mapping activity for kids to take part in! They would be experiencing new technology programs, Excel and Batchgeo, geography, cooperation and being able to create, and share a web-based map, including learning how to embed documents and creating hyper-links.

The tech standards represented by this activity are:

1. Facilitate and Inspire Student Learning and Creativity.

2. Design and Develop Digital Age Learning Experiences and Assessments.

Jing Screencast

Creating a visually exciting presentation for use in the classroom, to "flip" it and thereby engage my students in the learning experience, can now be achieved by using a program call Jing! Jing affords teachers the ability to offer their students activities presented in a 21st Century learning environment.

Visual learning allows teachers to "reach out" to their students, outside of the traditional classroom environment, by providing increased teacher-student interactions, which enable guided practice opportunities, during homework time, or when students may need extra tutoring.

The ISTE/NETS-T technology standards this activity relates to is: #2. Design and Develop Digital Age Learning Experiences and Assessments; #3. Model Digital Age Work and Learning.

Opening the link provided below, entitled Jing Screencast, will guide you through the steps in creating your own visual presentations, without use of an external recording instrument.

The steps are:
Bring up the screen you want to "capture", or record. Use the Jing program, Snagit for selection of the visual components of the lesson you which to present.

Note: if the program Jing is used, your video will generally be limited to a short, 5 minutes. Jing is available for download on the Internet.

Using the "sun" icon from Jing provides you with 3 "prongs", Capture, History and More, for specific selection. In the case of screen "captures", select the prong on the left, Capture.

Once an the area of the screen to be captured is selected, a panel of buttons are available, Capture Image, Capture Video, Redo Selection, Cancel. By selecting Capture Video, and selecting the area to be digitally recorded, guided tutorials can be created for sharing on another Jing program, Screencast. The file extension is .swf. Shockwave.

Last, there are different file sharing options available: Share URL, Embed Link, Embed on your page. Below, I selected the option Embed Link, which if clicked, will direct you to the specific screen capture on the Internet. Enjoy! 
Jing Screencast

Jing Graphic

Jing can be useful in business applications for enhancing 
visual communications and to provide visual aids for training purposes through file sharing of SWF and MPEG graphic formats. Jing also provides exciting educational uses, such as enabling collaboration of students sharing information through video formats, teachers providing their students feedback while grading papers, by using a recording feature to track each mouse click made on a page, for a short video of 5 minutes or less.


The VA. technology standard represented by the Jing Graphic presentation is:
Frederick Douglass was a famous abolitionist, 

B. Instructional personnel shall be able to apply knowledge of terms associated with educational computing and technology.

Social Studies Project on Frederick Douglass

who fought tirelessly to end slavery. His home is now part of the National Park Service Historical Society, and can be visited, in the Anacostia neighborhood, in Washington, D.C.

*Any/all images contained in this post are courtesy of the National Park Service, Frederick 

Douglass National Historic Site

Link to Frederick Douglass graphic

Diigo

Marci's Diigo

Yesterday and today, I explored the a new web 2.0 tool, Diigo. Diigo I include 'today', because I am still setting up my bookmarks w/in my Diigo. I have a year old Netbook, but with all of the add ons I have installed, my pc is quickly becoming overwhelmed, and I am still exploring how to add disk-space and increase the memory to my operating system. So,......my system is kinda crawling and I get warning messages from Google Chrome, my choice of browser. My shockwave plug-in kinda crashes too. My husband, who is quickly becoming less tech knowledgeable than me (!), feigns to not know how to solve my pc dilemmas, so it is a good thing I am taking this class!! LOL!!! UPDATE!! I figured out how to add more disk space today!! Hopefully, this will make my browsing more pleasurable and functional (and quicker!!!).

Back to the task at hand! I am finding, like all of the cool things I am learning about, Diigo is a pretty handy tool, whether using it professionally, in the classroom to share a project with my entire class, say on The History of Arlington Cemetery and the Custis and Lee families Arlington Cemetery Historical Link; or to share my love of baseball and the Washington Nationals, to my favorite authors! 
So what does Diigo offer users: 

Add Sticky Note

Marcia Portal about 10 hours  ago Private Highlight and annotate web pages, Add comments, Bookmark the page for easy retrieval at a later date. acquire, archive, tag & share resources on the Web. Marcia Portal about 10 hours  ago Private Diigo is a research tool and portal for community knowledge and sharing

As shown above, I have created a
"Sticky Note" which I attached to the Diigo assignment document. I have an easy reference tool that can be shared with others on the www! I do not have to "copy & paste", I can share info though use of my notes attached through Diigo to whatever document/article I want to share, and highlight important sections of online articles, linked on my blog. These capabilities totally change the process of social networking, or sharing common interests with others on the Web.

What are Add Ons:
Any support the browser contains for adding on new features. My favorite browser is Google Chrome. I have used IE and Firefox in the past, but usually come back to GC, as I prefer the features it provides. 

My add ons include:
ITunes, QuickTime, Windows Media Player, GoogleTalkActiveX, Oracle Plug In, McAfee Site Advisor, Symantec. Maybe that is why my performance is so slow?....

The ISTE NETS T standard Diigo relates to:
#2. Design and Develop Digital Age Learning Experiences and Assessments.