Creating my first ebook

Having read the ebooks on weread.org, I was tempted to create one of my own. So I did. I made an ebook using a poem I had taught a previous class some time ago. It is called "Someday," by John Ciardi. For a first-timer, I was rather proud of myself. I haven’t gotten any feedback on it as yet, but I discovered that it was not difficult. It took a lot of time, however, because I was unused to the process. I had to search quite a lot for appropriate pictures and I did the voice-over several times before I was satisfied. However, I was pleased with the final product.

I have a class of very poor readers. This ebook will allow them to hear the entire poem, read along where they can, and see the visual so that comprehension is facilitated. Their interest will be high because of the lovely, colourful pictures, the sounds and the fact that the poem is short. I can use this ebook to teach a poetry lesson and I know my students will love it. However, I have to wait until school reopens to try it. So I may not be able to blog about their reactions for the purposes of this blog.

Security of Cloud Computing

How secure is your information when you use cloud computing, you ask? Well, today July 26th 2010 Google launched “Apps for Government” with servers on US soil. It is actually a new version of Google’s suite of cloud-based enterprise applications that have been hardened to meet the government’s more stringent security restrictions. It is expected to store sensitive government information. Google’s Matthew Glotzbach says this encompasses 80-90% of all government information.

So if you are concerned about how secure your info is when you use cloud computing programs, you may want to rethink your concerns as it seems to be the way of the future, even for the US government. 

You can read more here:
http://techcrunch.com/2010/07/26/google-launches-apps-for-government

weread.org

On the myelearning site there’s a link to weread.org. Even though it’s a kids’ site, I decided to have a look. I did not leave it until I had read all of the books there; it was so very interesting. The stories were short yet wonderfully narrated and the pictures were colourful, cartoonish and highly interesting even for this adult. This site is excellent for students; for encouraging listening and skills such as intonation and enunciation. It motivates one to read, to interact with the material, to identify with the content and generally feel good when using the site.

Stories are one of the most effective ways of teaching human values and thus ebooks can be used to get messages across to students even if they cannot read on their own. Ebooks allow for oral comprehension as well as picture reading. It can be one of the solutions for problem readers in the lower levels.

Blogs

The first form of cloud computing that I learnt was blogs. I must say that it was not too complicated to get going. I am still learning how to customize my site, but that is an ongoing thing. The process of blogging itself is an enjoyable one. It is a fabulous way for students to do their journaling. They can also do essay writing and have their peers comment on it, as well as have the teacher make constructive comments. Blogs also allow students to edit after the comments have been made. It is an excellent way to practice writing skills, allows for collaboration and speedy feedback.


Although blogs are in the cloud, only those who are allowed to can view it, thus allowing privacy. This means that pupils can do their personal journaling without fear that that their confidential info will become public. I stress personal journaling in my class. I was able to discover two suicidal children in two different classes by first encouraging students to write journals for me regularly, and secondly guaranteeing that no one but myself would read the journals. Sometimes, students get fed-up of writing journals in exercise books on a daily basis. They may also have spelling problems and this could lead to frustration. The introduction of blogs with spell-check, colored lettering and other choices, could go some way towards eliminating this boredom and frustration and could, on the contrary, encourage them to write longer and more regular journals/blogs. This could lead to the teacher gaining a better understanding of some of the students’ challenges whilst students become better writers.

There are so many possibilities for using blogs in my class that I think my Web 2.0 paper will focus on it.

Cloud Computing

The first time I heard the term, “cloud computing” I thought it was a game, one of the many video games that I do not have any interest in. However, I was soon to learn that it is a way of creating documents, spreadsheets, presentations and surveys without actually having the software on my computer. It allows one to access and edit these documents from a variety of computers without the use of a flash drive. It can also be sent to others without attaching it to an email. It further allows for online photo editing and collaborating with others using wikis and Google Docs. This is because all these processes are done “in the clouds,” which contains free online productivity tools.


This has far reaching implications for everyone who uses a computer, but what interests me is what this can do for schools. It allows students or MOE authorities to purchase inexpensive netbooks for use in schools. Since all the files and programs are stored in the clouds, there is no need for a large hard drive, thus small netbooks can be bought, at a lower cost. Cloud computing allows students to easily collaborate with each other and their teachers as well. Collaboration is an essential competency in education and cloud computing makes it so very enjoyable. I have been experimenting with it recently and it is not at all difficult. I am learning more every day. Since my students are better at manipulating technology than I am, cloud computing will be a breeze for them.

Following is a short article from the India Times, indicating Google's plans for the expansion and future of cloud computing. It's worth a read.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/biz/india-business/Indian-centres-to-lead-in-cloud-computing-Google/articleshow/6165383.cms

Word Processor

I have been using Microsoft Word since I bought my first computer over a decade ago. I assumed I knew all there was to know about writing and editing a document. After all, I use Word almost every day. So imagine my surprise when, in class a couple of weeks ago I wrote a few lines and then clicked on “track changes” under the “review” tab. I started making a few changes and was amazed at what I saw on the screen. There was everything I had changed highlighted in red and bubbles to the side explaining what I had done. There was even a section to make comments on why I had made the changes and what should have been done. I immediately began to visualise how easy it would be if I could mark students work like this and not have to handle snotty, dirty “dog-earred” books. Just think how much paper and ink would be saved. I can almost hear the trees breathing a collective sigh of relief. Wow. I wonder what else there is to Microsoft Word that I don’t know. 


The moral of this blog is, “There is always something more to learn.” Be open to learning and be willing to try new things. You just might be amazed at the possibilities and your life could get a whole lot easier! Your students will love you for it, too.