While I have an outlet for my own musings on technology, class, and the like, I thought it would be worthwhile to let you know my classmates are doing the same! Here are three of their blogs and why I think you should check them out.
Anders has a great blog, Tech Resources NYU, that I totally recommend if you need to lift your spirits. He has a great writing style, and his latest review of Blackboard had me chuckling in agreement. My favorite posts are his recipes - the baked quinoa with goat cheese sounds too awesome not to try.
Jessica, one of my group members, has been updating her blog with the goings on of Team Triple Threat, as well as her latest happenings. I like reading her blog because I know very little about what's current in the dance world and she always frames in within the context of what she's up to. Plus, I always appreciate transparency, and the fact that she was honest that this was her first blogging attempt is a brave move. Nice work, Jessica!
Rachel recently wrote a post about her end of the semester shopping list, which definitely made me laugh with how close to home it hit. Those sunglasses and power bars she mentioned are definitely a huge part of my early-December life!
Tuesday, December 4, 2012
Monday, December 3, 2012
Blackboard: Love/Hate
In my past several years in higher education, I have noticed one annoying facet of the academic-message board system.
Say it with me: boring design.
I know, I know. These are not the biggest concerns of the page. I appreciate that it allows me to have class conversations outside of class, believe me. I like that I can see how many replies have been posted to my initial thread, or that I can attach documents to a post. But there are definitely a few gripes I have as well.
After using Moodle in undergrad, and Blackboard here at NYU, I think my greatest critique is that the format (some of my tech-knowing friends say "interface," I believe) is not conducive to an academic conversation. It serves no better purpose than a reply all email, in which the body text you potentially respond to is not even present. Additionally, if a website like Blogger can autosave my posts (and autosave my reputation, if you have ever been driven to madness like me over a lost piece of brilliant eloquence) why can't Blackboard? If students are to be compelled to post on a Blackboard-style page, you should appeal to them in your design. Consider facebook, in which millions of people interact every day. Why not have a "news feed" for certain courses? With a little bit more investment of time and money, we could have a serious academic game changer my friends.
Anyone up for writing the code? ;)
Browser Comparison
Let's face it: we've come a long way from AOL 3.0, kids.
I remember when we first got internet access at our house. After installing the fax line, I would wait patiently through the dial-up stones to access my parents' account, as I wasn't permitted my own. It could take ages to load even the most basic geocities site.
Nowadays, we have plenty more options. Here are some of my feelings on browser options:
1. Safari. Even while this review points to a slower load time and the fact that Apple is not as interested in it, Safari is usually my browser of choice for its compact, clean design and the few instances of random lock-out I've had.
2. Firefox. According to this review, Firefox 13 is incredibly fast at loading pages, especially when attempting to load multiple tabs at once. As someone who needs many browsers open at once (in instances, say, of writing papers or comparing prices of an item I wish to purchase) this is definitely an ideal feature.
3. Internet Explorer. As a Mac user, this is not a browser of choice. It is also apparently behind on updates (according to PC Mag). I'll leave this to rest with my old ThinkPad, thanks.
4. Google Chrome. While I have not used it myself extensively, this review points to its ability to load sites which have been previously visited quickly and a lower CPU usage, meaning a browser needs less computer power to load a page.
What about you? What's your favorite browser and why?
I remember when we first got internet access at our house. After installing the fax line, I would wait patiently through the dial-up stones to access my parents' account, as I wasn't permitted my own. It could take ages to load even the most basic geocities site.
Nowadays, we have plenty more options. Here are some of my feelings on browser options:
1. Safari. Even while this review points to a slower load time and the fact that Apple is not as interested in it, Safari is usually my browser of choice for its compact, clean design and the few instances of random lock-out I've had.
2. Firefox. According to this review, Firefox 13 is incredibly fast at loading pages, especially when attempting to load multiple tabs at once. As someone who needs many browsers open at once (in instances, say, of writing papers or comparing prices of an item I wish to purchase) this is definitely an ideal feature.
3. Internet Explorer. As a Mac user, this is not a browser of choice. It is also apparently behind on updates (according to PC Mag). I'll leave this to rest with my old ThinkPad, thanks.
4. Google Chrome. While I have not used it myself extensively, this review points to its ability to load sites which have been previously visited quickly and a lower CPU usage, meaning a browser needs less computer power to load a page.
What about you? What's your favorite browser and why?
Soundscape: (Technology + Theatre) (in action)
As a theatre educator, the concrete assignment which we completed last week in class was quite useful. I have my bachelor's degree in theatre arts, and in my theatre tech course we reflected briefly on how to achieve effective sound design, whether for a specific setting or a more abstract scene.
I began thinking about how I myself would utilize this assignment. For example, it would be easy to mix several different nature sound effects to make two actors invest further in the reality of a scene. Say the students are playing a scene on the beach, I could mix wave sounds with seagulls and a fire crackling to create a bonfire on the beach. By taking sound files of birds chirping, children playing, swingsets squeaking, for example, a student may blend them into single .wav file to establish a playground setting for a scene they are producing.
Often music is an effective means of making abstract work more tangible in effect. For less realistic settings, distortion effects such as inversion, echo, and reversals, can help support the other-wordly qualities. The students would be asked to make strong directing decisions, as well as acting choices - for example, a character may hear or may not hear particular sound effects. Simply put, this assignment would be an easy tool to utilize for elementary students to increase the production value; for secondary students, it would be great to ask them to design music for their own scenes.
Sounds like I have a new unit on my hands!
Wednesday, November 14, 2012
The Snowy Day.
Our group has narrowed down the topics for our final presentation, and the winner is... The Snowy Day, by Ezra Jack Keats!
Here's a list of reasons why I am so excited about this project:
1. It's a personal favorite book of mine. Something about the beautiful illustrations makes me want to curl up with a cup of hot cocoa!
2. It is one of the few books from the 1960's that represented a minority through its characters. While I don't remember actively recognizing it as a child, I think as a teacher it is important to find works in which many children can find representations of themselves.
3. To elementary aged kid, reading a book that won The Cadecott Medal was like reading a selection which won the Nobel Peace Prize or the Pulitzer. You felt smart and in the know when you read them, and the teachers thought you had good taste. Most importantly: they were good books.
4. I think that snow represents a magical, twilight-time in childhood. For those of us in climates where snow was a big deal, we slept with our spoons under our pillows or our pajamas inside out to induce a snow day. A Snowy Day captures that magic and makes it tangible for adults who may have lost a piece of that wide-eyed innocence along the way.
Here is what to expect from our project: three lesson plans which instruct educators on how to teach the book. Each lesson will focus on one discipline: dance, music, and theatre. Our websites will also include resources to facilitate the teaching.
Sounds like a perfect use of technology in the classroom to me!
-- Christina
Here's a list of reasons why I am so excited about this project:
1. It's a personal favorite book of mine. Something about the beautiful illustrations makes me want to curl up with a cup of hot cocoa!
2. It is one of the few books from the 1960's that represented a minority through its characters. While I don't remember actively recognizing it as a child, I think as a teacher it is important to find works in which many children can find representations of themselves.
3. To elementary aged kid, reading a book that won The Cadecott Medal was like reading a selection which won the Nobel Peace Prize or the Pulitzer. You felt smart and in the know when you read them, and the teachers thought you had good taste. Most importantly: they were good books.
4. I think that snow represents a magical, twilight-time in childhood. For those of us in climates where snow was a big deal, we slept with our spoons under our pillows or our pajamas inside out to induce a snow day. A Snowy Day captures that magic and makes it tangible for adults who may have lost a piece of that wide-eyed innocence along the way.
Here is what to expect from our project: three lesson plans which instruct educators on how to teach the book. Each lesson will focus on one discipline: dance, music, and theatre. Our websites will also include resources to facilitate the teaching.
Sounds like a perfect use of technology in the classroom to me!
-- Christina
Wednesday, October 24, 2012
Team Triple Threat Debates.
Here's a little secret about theatre artists: we love working with people from other disciplines, because it is really an opportunity to work on one facet of what we do at a time. In addition to remaining an art in its own right as acting, theatre also combines music: through the obvious form of singing, if it is a musical production, or sound design, as in other dramas. It also includes dance in some way; even in straight plays, there is an element of choreography in the blocking, or the way the actors move about stage. So when I have the chance to return to a practitioner of one of these elements, it's really a chance for me to enjoy focusing in one an aspect of theatre I may have been neglecting previously.
One subject I hope to pay particular attention to is creating community. A friend of mine who does incredible applied theatre work in many settings, including urban prisons, once commented that without a shared experience there can be no communal learning. I really value that notion and think that the process of creating community standards and culture go a long way towards deepening the work that is done in the classroom.
Okay, now I'm just rambling... I should have a functioning countdown lock when I get on my arts-education soapbox. An idea for the website? Hmm....
Tuesday, October 16, 2012
"O brave new world, That has such people in't."
Hello, and welcome to my new blog for Technology Resources in the Classroom!
For our first post, I thought I might tell you a little bit about our first group meeting in our small groups for class. I really enjoyed meeting my two partners, and most importantly, choosing our team name. Choosing a team name is not as straightforward as it may seem: it has to project the right image! It has to have the same air of confidence as say, Team Awesome, but not be overly confident, like Team Optimus Prime. It should also say something about the team's constituents!
Which is why I'd like to introduce to you: Team Triple Threat.
I might be stating the obvious, given the title of this post, but I am an Educational Theatre major. (The title is from The Tempest, if you missed that, which is totally understandable.) My other group members are Dance Ed and Music Ed majors. In order to successfully convey our spectrum of talents, and equally intimidate the other groups (just kidding!) we chose the name Triple Threat. It also highlites one of the major benefits to having a group comprised of different represented majors: we can pull from each other's strengths, and hopefully find a ground of common interest to engage with for our final project.
Sound good? That's probably because it is. Team Triple Threat is Coming To You: Fall Finals, 2012.
Christina
For our first post, I thought I might tell you a little bit about our first group meeting in our small groups for class. I really enjoyed meeting my two partners, and most importantly, choosing our team name. Choosing a team name is not as straightforward as it may seem: it has to project the right image! It has to have the same air of confidence as say, Team Awesome, but not be overly confident, like Team Optimus Prime. It should also say something about the team's constituents!
Which is why I'd like to introduce to you: Team Triple Threat.
I might be stating the obvious, given the title of this post, but I am an Educational Theatre major. (The title is from The Tempest, if you missed that, which is totally understandable.) My other group members are Dance Ed and Music Ed majors. In order to successfully convey our spectrum of talents, and equally intimidate the other groups (just kidding!) we chose the name Triple Threat. It also highlites one of the major benefits to having a group comprised of different represented majors: we can pull from each other's strengths, and hopefully find a ground of common interest to engage with for our final project.
Sound good? That's probably because it is. Team Triple Threat is Coming To You: Fall Finals, 2012.
Christina
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