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Storybird
Today I am going to discuss my experience using a storytelling tool called Storybird. The tool was extremely easy to sign onto. The best thing about it is that it’s FREE! Once you sign in, the world of digital storytelling is right at your fingertips. The action tabs are clear at the top of the page. I found exactly where I needed to go to write the story. I went to the tab that said, “write”. It provided me with templates of art pages to make my story come to life. The theme I decided to use was a Thanksgiving theme because my story was called “My Family’s Thanksgiving Tradition”.
It took me a few minutes to realize that I had to drag the pictures that I wanted to use on to the page. I tried to find a tutorial but I couldn’t find one. I also wanted to change the font size but I couldn’t find that either only to change the font. It was a little confusing to use but I had to play around with it for a little bit.
Out of Eden Walk
This week I visited the National Geographic project called the Out of Eden Walk. A man by the name of Paul Salopek decided, in the year 2013, to embark on a journey following our ancestors’ steps out of Africa across the globe.
Salopek has been on this journey for almost 7 years and counting. He has been documenting every step of his journey on National Geographic. Although his entire expedition has been exceedingly enjoyable, I wanted to focus on a particular 3 stops.
The first stop that I wanted to highlight was from November 29, 2013. Salopek visited the Lost Village in Al Ula, Saudi Arabia. The villages’ walls were made out of mud. It was found that the village has not been habituated since the 1970s. The government bought out the village and moved all of its people to a nearby village. They plan to make the village a museum. Below is a video of Almutlaq, an archaeologist, giving Salopek a tour or the Lost Village.
The next stop on his journey that I would like to highlight is from December 5, 2016. This is from his 4th chapter called the Silk Road. The article was titled: A Cup of Ashes a Day Keeps the Doctor Away. When I saw that title, I definitely had to keep reading. Teshabaeva, a faith healer, learned her practices from her mother-in-law. She “heals” people by rubbing a glass of ashes over their bodies. Salopek was asked by his guide if he felt better after his treatment and although Salopek said he felt better, he said that he might’ve felt worse.
It is quite interesting to see how others around the world treat healing and medicine. Every country has their own superstitions and beliefs. In Kokand, Uzbekistan, using ashes to heal pain is their belief. Below there will be a video of Teshabaeva showcasing her healing talents.
The last date I wanted to highlight is from Salopek’s more recent travels. On September 11, 2019, Salopek was in India near Dhubri, Assam. In this article, he wrote about the brick laborers who bake about 250 billion bricks per year. Most of the workers are women. They start at a very young age usually to help their family pay off debt.
It is not a profession that anyone wants to be a part of. Most families do not have a choice. It is the only way they can pay off debt. This is extremely brutal work that they have to endure. Salopek provided us with a video that I will show down below.
It is humbling to be on this journey alongside of Salopek. Being able to virtually go on a trip around the world has been amazing. I loved seeing all of the raw footage from his journey. Salopek and National Geographic have provided so many ways for us to experience his journey. It shows me all of the ways that technology is advancing and the different ways that I can use technology in the classroom as well.
You can also follow Paul Salopek’s journey if you visit: https://www.nationalgeographic.org/projects/out-of-eden-walk/
Thank you for reading my blog!
The Norms of Global Online Collaboration
Today, we are going to talk about a few tips to make the process of global collaboration easier.
This first tip might sound simple but it could be forgotten if not prepared for. You want to make sure you have worked out the time zone differences. It would be very awkward if you got in front of your students to present a project, you call the other class and they don’t answer. You can’t figure out why but then you realize they are not even awake yet. Timing is key when working with others from around the world.
I found an article that provides really cool tools to help with time zones. http://blog.idonethis.com/tools-for-managing-time-zone-differences/
Not only would it be awkward if you mixed up the time zone with another classroom but it would also be awkward if you had a project planned and you didn’t know that they wouldn’t be in school that day because of a holiday or an event.
It is all about communicating with the other teachers and other classrooms. You all have to be on the same page. It’s a collaboration after all; you must work together on the big picture and with small details.
Another great tip is to figure out what each class’s purpose is going to be. Do you share an outcome? What is the shared outcome? What is it that you are trying to achieve?
As stated in the Global Educators book by Julie Lindsay, she says that without a common goal collaborating may be confusing and frustrating. It will be difficult to work together when both classes have different goals.
Google Maps
I love using Google maps to visit anywhere in the world. I want to travel. I have always wanted to travel. Using google maps, I found that I can get a preview of the places that I want to go to. Google maps places you right in the center of wherever you search. For example, if I search the Grand Canyon, I can be right in the center and it will be as if I am there in Arizona.
This is a great tool for the classroom! If I want to take my students to the jungle or rainforest, I can! If I want to take my students to the ocean, I can! If I want to take my students to the mountains, I can! The exploration is endless. We will be able to learn about wildlife and sealife. We will be able to learn about rocks and trees.
Google maps is a field trip at our fingertips. We can go anywhere at any time! No parent signatures needed! I will definitely be using this tool in my classroom!
What do you think? Will you use google maps in your classroom?
Pen Pals!
Pen pal seems like such an ancient term to me. I remember being 5 years old hearing my mom talk about how she had a pen pal when she was in school. I haven’t heard the term since then.
What is a pen pal? A pen pal is a person with whom one becomes friendly by exchanging letters, especially someone in a foreign country whom one has never met. Here is a short video explaining pen pals a little better.
I haven’t heard much about Pen Pals in the past few years but I definitely want to incorporate this in my classroom. It is a great way to connect your classroom to other classrooms around the world. My students will learn about other countries directly from students just like them! It will be a great experience for all of us.
Here is a website to help you find a pen pal. There are so many other websites other than this one where you can find a pen pal. I love this idea. It’s not only good for students but it is great for adults as well. We should be learning and expanding our global knowledge at all times.
Bride For Rent- Movie Review
Bride for rent is a Filipino movie. I have seen international movies before. I’ve watched African, Swedish, Spanish, and probably more; but I’ve never seen a Filipino movie. There were many differences but also many similarities to movies that I’ve seen before.
Here’s the plot of the movie: A young man hires a woman to become his bride in order to get his inheritance but as the ruse continues, feelings develop between them. I love me some romance movies! Love is so exciting! Also here is a link to the movie: https://www.netflix.com/watch/81010869?trackId=14277281&tctx=0%2C0%2C7acdd522-7f22-4411-abae-1a2785ade902-121644842%2C%2C
While watching this movie, I noticed some differences from American movies. The first difference was the area and landscape. The roads that they drove on were dirt roads. It seemed like the weather was always dreary. In one scene it was pouring rain and I didn’t see the sun too often in other scenes. 
The characters seemed very animated. They had a lot of energy and emotion that seemed to be exaggerated or over the top. So many times throughout the movie I had to turn the volume down because of the high pitch tone of voice. In Asian countries one of the main staple foods is rice. There was one part in the movie where the man prepared dinner for the woman because he wanted to impress her. In another part of the movie the woman talked a lot about making eggs with any variety of meat. I guess the main difference would be the language. In the movie, they spoke almost entirely in Filipino and a few words in English. I would not have been able to watch the movie without subtitles.
What I found similar in culture was love. I think it’s amazing how love is so universal. In the movie, the guy was a director and was filming a commercial about couples and love. He interviewed them and found out how long the couples had been together and what was their secret. They all said, “Have fun, keep things fresh, always go on dates, forgive each other, and a few other things.” The point is that love knows no color or no one culture. Everyone still has feelings no matter what country you are from.
I think the culture is overall more respectful than here in the United States. There was one part where the woman was asking for forgiveness from the grandmother and she got down on the floor, on her knees and was begging for forgiveness.
This movie showed two people who had horrible backgrounds, but they found their happy ever after!
Thanks for reading! Catch you next time!
My Twitter Experience
I’m going to be real. I had a very rocky start to the semester. Trying to catch up with all of my school work was tough, but I think one of the hardest assignments to catch up on was assignments using Twitter.
I have a few different social media accounts and they have always been pretty easy to navigate. This is my very first time EVER using Twitter! I was so confused when I first began. I had no idea what I was doing or how to navigate the app/website.
Now, I love using Twitter! I never knew I could use it to connect with so many professionals. I always thought social media was only for friends and memes. LOL. I get to connect and talk to professionals from the field that I want to work in. I get to chat with people from different backgrounds and hear about their classroom stories! I love it!
The most important thing I have learned from joining Twitter is “community”. The amount of support from teachers and aides that I don’t even know personally is amazing. Everyone is here to help and share ideas. It is truly a global learning community. No one bashes your ideas either, they always give positive feedback; always encouraging you to learn more and dig deeper.
I haven’t joined in too many Twitter chats, but I definitely want to join in more. The one that I did join was about how students hold their pen/pencil. We mainly focused on if pencil grip is important? Why or why not? It was a great discussion and I learned a lot more than I thought I knew. I even started holding my pen differently. I’m still not sure if I have an A+ pen grip but I’ve improved.
Overall, I would say my Twitter experience so far has been insightful. I am learning and connecting with so many people. If it weren’t for my class, I would have never downloaded Twitter or even thought of it as a tool for education.
Technology Issues In Education
Welcome back to my blog! As I was reading my global educator textbook, I came across a section that interested me. This section was about the issues and concerns with technology in the classroom. After researching it online, I found that there are 5 major issues:
- Change of pace and cost– Not all schools can keep up with the changes in technology. Technology changes at a very rapid state. It is always being upgraded to newer, faster versions. It can be costly for some schools. They might have to hire people who are more qualified to handle the technology that other teachers might not know how to use.
- Different social dynamics– If school is primarily online and can be done from home, students will not receive the social benefits of life. They also may not take learning seriously if they are not face-to-face with a teacher or in a classroom setting.
- Distraction– There are so many things other than learning that can be done on a technological device. The issue is that if a teacher is not watching closely to each student, they could easily start texting or surfing the internet. Teachers can block those features but not if the student owns the device.
- Lack of alignment– Since technology is so advanced, it can be used as a crutch for students. There are apps that can solve math problems and other quick easy answers. If students are aware of these things, they most likely aren’t learning.
- Lack of clarity– Research was shown from one school district that spent over $30 million on technology, that the students SAT scores were low. Some teachers fear that while technology is a good way to fuel creativity, it is hurting a child’s math and language skills.
It is important that we work together to come up with ideas to fix these issues. Technology IS crucial for learning in the classroom. We need to do whatever we can to fix these issues within our own classrooms and help others come up with ideas for their classrooms.
Educational Technology: VoiceThread
What is VoiceThread?
“It is a media player that has a highly interactive discussion space built within”- VoiceThread.com. Teachers and students can upload documents, presentations, pictures, and videos. The neat feature is that after they have uploaded their work they can record commentary about it. They can ask and answer questions or further explain a presentation.
VoiceThread falls under the category of collaboration and co-creation. It is definitely a great way to connect with other classrooms around your city and around the world. This education tool was made to create a collaborative learning space.
Here’s a YouTube video that shows how VoiceThread is used in an English class. They are using VoiceThread to explain their projects.
A teacher in an elementary school had his students use VoiceThread to talk and tell the class about themselves. The objective of the lesson was for the students to create a TreeMap, ComicLife document, and upload their product to VoiceThread so that others can learn about them. here is the link to view his lesson plan: https://www.commonsense.org/education/lesson-plans/all-about-me-20
Before researching different types of educational tools, I had never heard of VoiceThread. After researching this specific tool, I love it! When I start teaching, I will definitely be using this tool. I want to teach Pre-k or Kindergarten; this tool will help me grow closer to my students. We will be able to learn with each other and from each other. I especially love the “About Me” idea! I’m definitely going to use that one!
Thanks for visiting!
How NOT To Use Tech In The Classroom
Today, we are going to discuss how one can be fired for using technology in the WRONG way in the classroom/ workplace. The first way technology should NOT be used in the classroom is tweeting negative thoughts publically about your school and the children in it. I came across one article that downright disgusted me. The article spoke of one teacher who got fired because she tweeted Donald Trump about removing undocumented immigrants from her school. She had been investigated previously because of other racist comments that she had made.
As teachers, we can not discriminate. We are supposed to treat all of our children with respect and love. It should not matter their background or ethnicity. Regardless of her viewpoint, she should not have put her thoughts out in the public for all to see.
Another article I found involved two police officers that made an inappropriate post on their Snapchat and Twitter accounts. The first officer posted a pic on snap with a gun emoji pointed towards a black man running emoji. The second officer screenshot his Snapchat and posted it on his Twitter account. Both officers were suspended from their positions.
The last article I read was about two Subway workers who posted their genitalia in the bread and froze their pee in a water bottle. They called themselves “sandwich artists”. I believe people who use their social media like this should be banned, but that’s just me.
These are just three examples of how you can lose your job from using technology inappropriately. There are so many other ways. In any profession, you have to be aware of the guidelines of your job and also have a little common sense. Be careful who you follow, be careful what you post, and be careful who you talk to on social media and other technology.
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