Sunday, November 21, 2010

Le Grand Finale!

At the Rescue of the Fine Arts in Education!

Join me in a trip to show you how significant can be the integration and development of Fine Arts to motivate students to education, and use technology to display
Le Grand Finale. Did you know that Fine Arts could be support it by the Multiple Intelligence theory and Brain Research findings?
Please, help us to maintain the Fine Arts alive!

PE9_CAST UDL Book Builder... The End :(

A significant aspect of CAST DL Book Builder is the integration of brain research approach... this deserve a big wave!

While I was surfing into their site, I found valuable information that reactivate my prior knowledge about Multiple Intelligences, Learning Styles, and Brain Research approach. They are base on brain research approach focusing specifically on three principals of brain network (see chart).

Courtesy of teachersfirst.com

Recognition Networks

The "what" of learning

Strategic Networks

The "how" of learning

Affective Networks

The "why" of learning

How we gather facts and categorize what we see, hear, and read. Identifying letters, words, or an author's style are recognition tasks.

Planning and performing tasks. How we organize and express our ideas. Writing an essay or solving a math problem are strategic tasks.

How learners get engaged and stay motivated. How they are challenged, excited, or interested. These are affective dimensions.

Present information and content in different ways

Differentiate the ways that students can express what they know

Stimulate interest and motivation for learning

More ways to provide
Multiple Means of
Representation

More ways to provide
Multiple Means of
Action and Expression

More ways to provide
Multiple Means of
Engagement

PE8_CAST UDL Book Builder... continue!

At this time, we will see a final product model of Book Builder:

Courtesy of: http://teachersfirst.com/20/getsource.cfm?id=8060

When the book is done, the reader just have to click on each page arrow to pass the pages and have to choice of listen to the narrator or read it independently. During creation time of this book you can add your background music to the narration to make it more pleasurable to the listener.

Another advantages I found with this tool is that you can edit your book and modify it as you please. You can create a series of book! Also, glossary words are underlined, so when you click on the word it take the reader to another page with definition and picture you selected. I consider this tool very valuable because provide diverse stimulus for children to learn. It could be use as an assessment tool to evaluate student's acquired knowledge and their application. All at your finger click!

PE7_CAST UDL Book Builder

The Book Builder is a tool that promotes creativity and can be used in all teaching subject areas and for different levels of learning. In addition to writing, editing and choosing pictures for the creation of your book, you can also add audio clips, glossary and more. Books can be created online, download it, print it, and even share them with others through the public library.

The discovery of this tool has led me to expand my knowledge of how to offer students options to improve their learning skills in a more innovative and attractive ways. I consider it a great tool for Personalized Learning because I can create projects appropriate for the students needs and interest.

It's not that complicated to use, each facilitate the interest of educators to use. All you need to do is, select the type of book, grade level, audience, and subject area to be use. This help us as educator to focus in specific target areas need it for a group of students or individually.

Then, the action begin! You star choosing the setting, characters, etc. for your story... you can even hear the voice of each character you choose, amazing! Also, uploading your own pictures is possible.

Now, time to create your text. Pick your page layout for each page you will include on your book. In which one, you can add illustrations, audio, text, etc. Even a space for students response area.

Follow me for the next steps on my next blog!

Monday, November 15, 2010

PE6_Google Doc

Another area of interest I have learn about Google Doc is the creation of documents online, uploading media documents and getting organized. Google Doc provide for the creation of diverse folders where you can storage your documents by categories chosen.

For me is very practical to have everything in one place, saving time to access the variety of documents I'll be working on, such as: Full Sail, school, personal, and non-profit organization/ministry. What I love about it? All at my finger tip or mouse click! All documents in one place but in different archives. Great organizational tool for a multitask world we are living in, with so much technology integration taking place, today and for the future as Mr. Shirky exposed in his presentation.

This is one of the simplest tools I experienced, but powerful in usage. Imagine, you have the opportunity not only to share written documents but media resources too... is it that fantastic? Yes, because I can share videos, Power Point presentations, and more without the hurdle of sending e-mails that the recipient will not be able to open due on limited space.

Google Doc tool that provide diversity for a mobile office at the click of your mouse!

PE5_Google Doc

While I was expanding my knowledge about the usage of Google Doc I learned the significant use of spreadsheets creation. It was totally new for me! I found it easier to use here at Google Doc than the regular Excel program.

Wow! And how can be use online for each person to fill it out the form and be reflect it on the spreadsheet by embed the form on the site or blog (follow this link) this way will provide more privacy to each individual.

Now, I got to understand better how it work when we fill out an application and keeping track of it... was fascinating!

PE4_Google Doc

One of the things that I have learn about Google Doc is to upload documents that are important or I need access to it. For example, all the articles related with my literature review. This allowed me to have access at all times to the literature I collected with out the hurdle of trying to fit then on a cd, or any other storage tool. Also, give me the option of sharing them with my team or others I want it too. Once I learned the process of uploading documents from desktop, storage tools, and/or documents having access is piece of cake! The usage of Google Doc is unlimited due to the versatility of resources that can be add it at the finger tip. One of the characteristic I enjoy is the aspect of privacy or sharing documents with others. You can make it public or keep it only to yourself. I believe is more effective than other virtual program in used at schools that most of the time others have problems to access your lesson plans and other documents to share with your colleagues, administration or just to have access from home. It has been an excellent and useful tool to be use in different settings.

Sunday, November 7, 2010

PE3_iMovie

iMovie to add diverse music in different parts of the project or even adding more pictures or clips. Using video clip sound, then adding the appropriate music for background, editing slide length. I had projects already made that I edited base on acquired knowledge to improve quality... but the process has not finish yet! More and more to learn!

PE2_iMovie

Adding text on a slide with transitions what a great impact. Most times I use text only on transitions but now is shows on the slide or the video clip by dragging it to the slide selected, it seem basic but I could not do it before, now is fantastic to know and use. Also, recording on the project already made, narrating while looking at pictures or clips in place, today was a adventurous journey using iMovie in different ways.

PE1_iMovie

Something new in iMovie! Combining video clips with pictures... finally I made it happen. I usually only used pictures to create videos, but now I learn how to edit the video clip sound background and incorporate music to it in the middle of the presentation. Go for it to improve my iMovie skills!

BP8_iMovie Commercial

Big Universe Learning iMovie Commercial (click here to see it!)

The Web 2.0 tool for a world of creative education! Big Universe will assist educators to engage and motivate students in reading, writing and much more!

BP7_Follow This Link!

Please follow my link to Lauren's blog:

bravo bucket

A place to collect and share ideas worth... collecting and sharing. (brought to you by Lauren Schneck)

About Me

BP6_Follow This Comment!

Follow this link to my comment on Les blog "Les Li'l Brown House".

Les's Lil Brown School House

About Me

BP5_Big Universe Web 2.0 Tool

This Web 2.0 tool is great to motivate and have students engage in reading, writing and sharing their writing products/books with other around the world. Is it that fantastic?
Big Universe can be use by educators, professors, students and other professionals in education or creative world. The tool provide a huge diversity of templates, pictures, and more to choose illustrations for the book to be create it. Also, provide a tool box with all necessary items need it to make the writing process fun, excellent to modify pictures, backgrounds, landscapes, text edit, and all you want to the click of your mouse.

That's not all! Big Universe have an extensive virtual library for everyone to use: educators, students, and families. The virtual library provide books for different categories, such as: fiction, non-fiction, by subject areas, grade reading levels, language, with quizzes and much more! Throughout the bookshelf social interaction occur where each individual create and post their books or projects for other around the world to see. This give the authors the opportunity to let other know about their work. In addition to that, Big Universe can be use, not only for writing books, but also, to prepare books reports, book responses, creative writing, differentiated instruction,... just unlimited usage, let your mind fly to the world of creativity!

"Personally I used Photo Peach for digital presentations, and narratives using pictures and text, but Big Universe Learning resources are more diverse and give you many options to choose from." -Sirenaika Tirado

Monday, November 1, 2010

BP2_iGoogleScreenShots

Invitation to connect on LinkedIn

I'd like to add you to my professional network on LinkedIn.

- Sirenaika

Sirenaika Tirado
TEACHER at LANCASTER ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
Orlando, Florida Area

Confirm that you know Sirenaika

Saturday, October 30, 2010

BP4_Web 2.0 Tools

Hello Everyone !

Wow, it was a challenge to choose one of these fabulous web 2.0 available, its so much versatility that decision was difficult, but good to have knowledge of each of them. Well, I finally choose Photo Peach, a web 2.0 tool that facilitate the creation of a slide presentation with photo and music, it is a time saving tool.

It really simplify the process of creation and editing; important characteristic to be consider, specially for busy educator this days. Also, you can add captions, edit transitions, add music and a quiz. For the literature review, I can look for some visuals and add quizzes or maybe include the survey related the topic with a slide presentation to introduce the topic. Now, thinking about Personalize Learning will be easy to managed for students and or teachers in portfolio's creation, Science or Social Studies projects, etc. It is a good tool to be use, to present their creative photo evidence of a work, or a story base on their inspiration, adding their personal touch for a well done work.

Tuesday, October 26, 2010

Please take a look to this links to watch the video: D' Happy Hour1

http://www.viddler.com/explore/Sirenaika/videos/6/