Connectivism

     Today I saw a video about "connectivism" and how it affects students. The video explained how students are constantly expanding their personal learning network, and many new ways to do so. It was primarily focused on the many new advances in technology that can help students. I agree with this; there are many new tools available, especially on the Internet. Students can use bookmarking sites to keep track of useful information, or even find links to the best professors and institutions in the world. In this day and age, there are almost infinite ways that students can get and use information.

Video Uploaded, Finally

     So, two days ago, Anthony and I finished the editing for our video, and I am putting it in this post. I think it turned out pretty well. We decided to make it about something that was funny to us, and hopefully it is funny to you all as well. It took us a while to figure out the specifics of some parts, but we were able to figure it out. Now, without further ado, I present The Red Ring of Death, a Mersman/Meyer original. Please note: no video game consoles were harmed in the making of this video.

Video Did Not Upload

     I would have posted a blog entry yesterday, but I never got a chance to do so. I had a draft all typed up, but was waiting for our video to upload to YouTube so that I could put it in my post. Unfortunately, I was lied to by the computer, and the video was not uploaded. I will upload the video to YouTube and to this blog as soon as I have a chance. Thank you for waiting patiently for the video and it should be up some time tomorrow.

     jmers593

Video For Class

     My friend Anthony and I are making a video for our class. We are trying to make a pretty funny skit, but I don't want to give away any details until it is finished. After we get all the kinks worked out, I will post the video to YouTube, and here on my blog. We recorded most of the video yesterday, but will be recording the final touch-up clips after school today. We hope that it will turn out how we want it too, and that people will think it is funny.

     jmers593

Symbaloo

     Two days ago, I watched a video that featured an online application called "Symbaloo". Symbaloo is an interactive website that allows you to store all of you favorite sites on a dashboard-esque page, called a webmix. The webmix is a wall of tiles that you can fill with your bookmarks. If a bookmark is not already available, you can create your own tile to put into your webmix.

     This is a picture of my Symbaloo webmix. You can see all of my bookmarks. I have arranged them into categories, such as: Entertainment, News, Blogs, etc. I have even created two of my own tiles to take me to the channels of two of my favorite YouTube vloggers(Located below the YouTube tile).

     Symbaloo is very helpful for organizing your bookmarks in an easy-to-use fashion. With Symbaloo, you can actually see what you are looking for, rather than searching aimlessly through a list of sites.

     jmers593

Social Media in Schools

     Today I saw a video about a principal at a middle school who sent an e-mail to the parents of students saying "There is absolutely, positively no reason for any middle school student to be a part of a social networking site". To me, there are two sides of this argument to look at -- the educational and the psychological.

     Social networks can have a very positive impact on education. Some networking sites have even been created by teachers for the purpose of teaching to their students. In this respect, I feel that any student should be able to become a part of such networking sites.

     However, I do not feel that middle students should be getting on Facebook or MySpace. People on these sites can often see the presence of bullying and abuse. If young children were to become the targets of these people, they could be hurt emotionally, and in some instances, physically. I would hate to see anyone become the target of bullies online or otherwise, and I just do not feel that these social networks, and many others, should not be open to younger children.

     jmers593

Busting More Than Myths

     Jamie Hyneman, from the Discovery Channel show Mythbusters is working with the U.S. Military to create a new type of armor. The armor in development will be used on vehicles in Iraq and Afghanistan. Hyneman is tasked with creating an ultra-lightweight armor that can still shield against the blast and shrapnel from IEDs (Improvised Explosive Devices). If you would like to read more, check out this link.

      http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-20053298-1.html?part=rss&tag=feed&subj=Crave

Who Are You Following?

     Today I reinvigorated my Twitter account. I am actually surprised that I remembered my username and password. I made an account a couple of years ago when Twitter on Xbox 360 came out and I was testing it for Microsoft.

     I think Twitter is an interesting concept; stay up-to-date on what your favorite celebrities or your friends are doing. Anyone can say what they are up to, or what is on their mind. I follow some of my favorite YouTube stars, @RayWJ and @SeaNanners. I am even following the one-and-only, Jesus Christ (@jesus).

     jmers593

ujam Video Tutorial

     This is my video tutorial on how to use ujam. This is my first time making a tutorial video. Constructive criticism is greatly appreciated. If you have any questions, feel free to ask them.

ujam Tutorial in Progress

     I will be making a video tutorial on how to use ujam, which is an application that I mentioned a couple of posts ago. To make this tutorial, I will be using Screencast-O-Matic.

     Screencast-O-Matic is an easy-to-use application that records your computer screen. It shows you an area that will be captured on the screen, and you can re-size this area to fit all or part of your screen. All you have to do after that is hit "record". You can use an internal or external microphone to add a voice-over to your video as well. After recording your screencast, you can share it to Facebook, YouTube, or just save it to your computer.

     As I said before, I will be using this program to make my tutorial for ujam. After I finish my tutorial, I will post it here for you to view.

     jmers593

Social Networking

     Social Networking can be many things; from the internet sites we all know -- Facebook, MySpace -- to a simple, in-person meeting of a group of people. Whether you think you do or not, we all use Social Networking every day. Every time you get on YouTube or Facebook; every time you go to school, you are interacting with other individuals. This is Social Networking.
     I am involved with Social Networking in many ways. When I am at school, I talk to my friends and teachers. When I go home, I join a large "social network", the audience to a famous television show. When I play video games online, I interact with other people from around the world. Wherever I go, it is hard to avoid being in contact with Social Networking.
how it affects me
     Social Networking has had a pretty big effect on my life; some parts more that others. In-person conversations and interaction has definitely helped to improve my social skills. This is something you just do not get while you are typing "lol" and "omg" into the chat window. This is not to say that digital Social Networking has had no effect on me. Using online games and sites such as Facebook, I am able to keep in touch with distant friends and family members.
     Overall, I think Social Networking is a good thing to have, so long as people do let their Facebook account take over their top priority. One good thing to remember is that spending too much time on Social Networking sites can actually alienate you from your friends more so than they connect with with them. Always find ways to spend time with your friends or family away from the computer.


     jmers593

ujam

     Have you ever wanted to be a music artist or music producer? Well, these days it is easier than ever. One internet application that you can use to make music easily is call ujam.

     ujam allows you to record, upload, or remix music. There are options to modify the tempo, pitch, and instruments of the arrangement. You can modify the individual notes played in the "melody" section of the song, and choose preset background tracks. You can even edit the instruments in the background tracks.

     The site even allows you to save your works and come back to finish them later. If you think you've made a good track, ujam allows you to share your music via SoundCloud and Facebook. This allows you to send your songs to friends to get some feedback.

     Overall, ujam is a fun, intuitive site that is easy to use. I definitely recommend it to everybody.

     jmers593

Technology in Education

     In today's society, it is hard to avoid the impact that technology has had on our lives. This can especially be seen in the field of education. In recent years there have been great advances in technology that allow educators, as well as those being educated to more easily do their jobs.

     Teachers can show videos on televisions or projectors. There are even whiteboards that double as computers. The education process has also been greatly advanced by the internet. Teachers can search the web for ideas to use in classes, or even post assignments on a school web page.

     Technology has probably had an even greater impact on the life of a student. They can use the internet to do research for papers. Computers allow for the ability to store assignments and documents on school servers. This allows students to access data from any school computer.

     Whether technology is being used by teachers or students, education is made easier. With better computers and devices being created each year, the possibilities are endless.

If You Build It, They Will Come

     Last fall, a friend of mine introduced me to a game that they found. They told me that it was a game in which you had to build during the day, and fight off monsters at night. It sounded pretty cool so I decided to check it out. I played around a little and I instantly became a fan. The game was Minecraft.

     This little indie game was pretty simple -- the graphics were not amazing, there was no story line -- but most importantly, it was fun. The game allows you to harvest blocks of various resources and build various tools and structures from the resources. At night, dangerous monsters including giant spiders and zombies come out to attack you. You often find yourself hiding out in a makeshift mud hut to avoid being killed.

     Possibly the most amazing part of the game is the generated world. No two Minecraft worlds are the same. The game randomly generates plains, mountain ranges, deserts, and vast oceans. All of these places are fully explorable, and can be quite the site.

     When the game first started up, nobody could have guessed that it would become so popular. Spread primarily by word of mouth and on blogs and YouTube, Minecraft rapidly became viral. In December of this year, Minecraft sold its one millionth copy.

     If nothing else, Minecraft serves as a signal to independent game makers that there is always a chance that your small game could be the next big thing.

     jmers593

Glogster - Protest The Hero

     This is my first Glog. I chose to make it about my current favorite band, Protest The Hero. This was quite simple and took me about an hour to make.


     jmers593

It's All In The Game

     The other day, I read an interesting article in the Kansas City Star newspaper. The article was about whether kids who play video games were being hindered academically.

     The article went on to explain that children who play video games could actually develop necessary skills for school and every day life. A study found that playing video games, even violent ones, could help to strengthen problem solving skills, and increase persistence. These skills can transfer into the classroom.

     The study showed that children who regularly played video games were more likely to answer questions in class. Not only that, they would be more willing to keep answering until they got a right answer. This is similar to a video game in which you face a hard challenge; you may fail many times, but keep playing until you beat the level.

     However, video games are not always good. Both players and researchers can agree that too much gaming is bad for you. This has been shown to lead to poor reading/comprehension scores in school and on tests.

     There have been many students, including myself, who have been able to keep good grades and play video games. I feel that games do not hinder a person's ability to learn. So long as someone is not ruining their life by playing too many games, I feel that video games do no harm. Feel free to post your own opinion on this.

     jmers593

This Is Who We Are

     This week we learned about two sites, Wordle and Glogster. I find these to sites to be pretty interesting.


     Wordle is a website that allows you to generate pictures using words. You can take a speech, book, or other form of text, and paste it onto the website. A short while later, it generates a picture that is used as a summary for the text you entered. The more times a word is used in the text, the larger the word appears in your Wordle. This could be an interesting addition to a presentation you might be giving.


     Glogster is also quite unique. A "Glog" is a combination of "Graphic" and "Blog". This site allows you to create an online poster that can detail your mood, your favorite band, or even just you. The glog creation tool allows you to add graphics, sound clips, videos, etc. I think that this is a neat tool for creative and individualistic people.


     jmers593

Balance

     I finished my Prezi presentation (the previous post) about advanced search commands for Google. Diigo definitely helped in the process, keeping all of my resources in one place.

     We also watched a video today about technology and how it is being used in the modern world. The video basically asked the question, "Is all of the technology we have surrounded ourselves with a good thing or bad?". I feel that the answer to this question will vary from person to person, as well as from situation to situation.


     For instance, a student may require a laptop computer for a class that they are taking. Luckily, many computers are available in the modern world. This is a good use of technology. Where people usually get into trouble is when they surround themselves with so much technology that it interferes with their normal life. Students may be using their laptop, but also their phone, the television, Facebook, YouTube, etc. This distracts them from their schoolwork and becomes a bad use of technology.


     When used correctly, technology is definitely a very helpful, very necessary part of our everyday life.


     jmers593

My Prezi Presentation: How To Search Online

How To Search Online on Prezi

Part IV: Presentation

     This week, we have been learning to use Prezi. Prezi is an online tool that allows you to make powerpoint-esque presentations.


     Prezis are far different than the boring slide-after-slide presentations that we are all used to. You can change the orientation of snippets that slides, and create a path for your presentation to follow. When giving the presentation, the flow of the program along the path is very smooth. Instead of making individual slides, you add the bits of material to one workspace. You can even make the path go back and forth across the workspace to show off all of the parts of the presentation.


     Everyone in the class is making a presentation, and we are using Diigo to help us with research. My topic is 'How to Search Online', and I am covering advanced search commands that not everyone may know about. I will be posting it on this blog after I am finished.


     jmers593

Google SearchStories

     This is a Google SearchStory. I made this one myself. SearchStories are short videos that tell a story through seven Google Searches. They can be quite simple or very complex. I was able to make this one in about 20 minutes. If you would like to make one for yourself, you can go to the SearchStories Creator.

What I've Done

     Not too long ago, I began my foray into the world of Web 2.0 via my 21st Century Skills class. So far, I have learned about many things, including:

• iGoogle

     I have used iGoogle some in the past, but plan to continue using it and learning about all of the interesting features. So far, I have messed around with Google Reader, Google Alerts, and Gmail.

• Diigo

     I am very interested in learning about this site. This website allows you to bookmark various websites and sort them with tags, among other things. This is great for research, or even just keeping track of your favorite sites.

• Blogging

     At first, I was a bit reluctant to to the idea of blogging. To me, blogging always sounded boring, a waste of time. Now that I have seen all of the features that this website offers, my interest has been piqued.

     As I stated in my first post, I will be continuing to post on this subject as I learn new things.


    jmers593

First Post

This is my first post on my first blog. I will be periodically blogging about what I am learning and what I am interested in.