drumroll please............
And here is my one minute message!
Monday, January 18, 2010
BP8_201018_Discovering Web 2.0 Tools
I found an incredibly useful web tool called Jamendo. Jamendo is a web 2.0 application that allows users to download music from their site at no cost. There is no limit on the amount of downloads nor any legal issues with using their artists’ music. This is possible through Creative Commons, which grants licenses so that musicians can give away their music at no cost, but still have their rights protected. The only stipulation is that the user properly attributes the music they use in their blog, or website, etc. to the artist that composed the music. Jamendo also offers an upgraded version called Jamendo Pro. This version is available for a fee and is for those wanting to use their music for commercial purposes.
Jamendo is a great tool to use for students to use for media projects. There thousands of artists to select from and over twenty thousand albums to sift through. Students should have no problem finding something that is well suited for their project. In addition, Jamendo offers music from all over the world, a great way to expose students to music from other cultures.
In order to use Jamendo, you must have an account. Some of the music content may not be appropriate for students, so the teacher should probably preview the music and/or choose music for students to use. The teacher can also create a playlist of Jamendo music selections and save them on student computers. This will allow students to use the music freely, without having to ask the teacher for permission each time they want to create. It will also ensure that students are not viewing or listening to inappropriate content.
I will definitely use Jamendo with my students, assuming we can access the site from school. If not, I will have to explain to the powers that be how advantageous it is to have access to Jamendo.
In order to use Jamendo, you must have an account. Some of the music content may not be appropriate for students, so the teacher should probably preview the music and/or choose music for students to use. The teacher can also create a playlist of Jamendo music selections and save them on student computers. This will allow students to use the music freely, without having to ask the teacher for permission each time they want to create. It will also ensure that students are not viewing or listening to inappropriate content.
I will definitely use Jamendo with my students, assuming we can access the site from school. If not, I will have to explain to the powers that be how advantageous it is to have access to Jamendo.
check it out @ http://www.jamendo.com/en/
Sunday, January 17, 2010
BP6_201012_Link to comment on Regina's Blog
Here is my link to my comment on Regina's blog.
BP5_201012_FlickrLessonPlan
The lesson I found for using Flickr in the classroom is targeted at teaching language to English Language Learners. This would be useful for teachers who teach ESL classes and for foreign language courses as well. I think the best thing about this lesson is that it is appropriate for many different age groups. You could use it to teach sight words to Kindergarteners that are learning how to read or high- school students who need to learn advanced content vocabulary.
Students that are in ESL classes or newcomers to the country would especially benefit from this lesson because of the ability to add text to the photo. It is very important for students who are learning a language to be provided with text so that they begin making visual connections with what they read and write. It is suggested that the photographs be accompanied with guiding questions such as "Can you describe what is happening in this photo? or, “How do you think these people are feeling?” or simply list vocabulary words with each photo. It is also suggested that this lesson be used to help students study for quizzes and exams. They also suggest teaching comparing/contrasting with Flickr, which I thought is a great way for students to practice their oral and written language use of comparison/contrasting vocabulary.
As I said earlier, this lesson can be useful to foreign language teachers as well. Flickr is available in many languages so there shouldn’t be any problem with using it in a foreign language class. Students can also create their own photostreams to demonstrate language acquisition understanding.
Monday, January 11, 2010
BP4_201011_GoogleReaderRssFeeds
RSS Feeds
The first RSS feed I added is NPR topics: Media, because I listen to NPR at least twice a day and find it very informative and educational. It keeps me up to date on a variety of topics around the world. This feed is specific to media topics. The next feed is How Stuff Works. I frequently use this website when teaching science lessons and encourage students to utilize it for searching for information.
The third feed is Science@NASA. Again, this is a great resource for science instruction and information that I can relay to my students or let them use for research.
image retrieved from feed://www.nasa.gov/rss/science_at_nasa.rss
The fourth feed is the Teacher Tube. This feed is great if you need to quickly find videos that are school friendly.
image retrieved from http://www.teachertube.comThe final feed is the Technology Review. This feed provides up to the minute information on technology news from around the world.
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