This isn’t my typical educational technology related post. I mean, it kind of is, but it really isn’t. I believe that we all learn and grow from experiences that happen both inside and outside of the classroom, so in essence, this post is about education and technology, but it’s also about more than that. It’s about a new opportunity, a new way to look at the things around me, a new way to approach literacy and how people interact with text, media and each other via social media.
This past week, I had my own opportunity to learn outside the classroom. A few months back, it was my good fortune to merge paths in the Twittersphere with @JGuyMAC, Director of Communications for the Mid-American Conference. Back in February, I was a guest of The University of Akron’s Men’s Basketball program at a pretty big game against Ohio University. The Zips had asked me to serve as a Social Media Correspondent on Social Media Day at the arena.
As a social media correspondent, two Zips fans will cover both the men’s and women’s games as members of the media, including insider access to pre and post game activities, media seating during the game and more.
So you’re coming to DigiCamp for Teachers and you’re planning to bring your own Apple mobile device, but which apps should you load up prior to camp to make your time on the beautiful University of Akron campus productive? Look no further, I’m here to share with you all the apps that the Center for Literacy has loaded on their “loaner” iPads and iPod Touches. While we made ever effort to pick as many free apps as possible, sometimes it’s just worth paying to get a high-quality app.
Tonight I will be sharing some digital storytelling resources with one of Dr. Denise Stuart’s graduate classes here at The University of Akron. I’m primarily planning to do some live demos of a variety of web-based and iOS options, but here are a few examples of published work from a few of the resources I’ll show. The complete list of resources I’m sharing are available from this Google Doc.
A short piece that incorporates text and music to tell the story of a pumpkin’s lifecycle. The images used were created win Powerpoint and saved as .jpeg files. Those .jpegs were imported into Animoto for sequencing and audio integration. The finished story is available to view online or as an embedded video.
I’m creeping closer towards the completion of my doctoral coursework. This means that the beginning of my own educational research study and dissertation writing is not to far from my future. As a part of my coursework at the University of Akron, I’ve been participating in a Doctoral Student Research Forum that includes students from three research method classes (Data Collection Methods, Advanced Statistics and Advanced Qualitative Methods) and their respective College of Education faculty.
In a fairly progressive undertaking by UA College of Education faculty, Dr. Kristin Kosksy, Dr. Susan Kushner Benson, Dr. Xin Liang, Dr. Jennifer Milam and Dr. Sandra Spickard Prettyman, doctoral students from 5 different sections of those classes have been assigned to small discussion groups. From the course requirements we were provided, the purpose of the forum is to:
…provide College of Education doctoral students with an opportunity to work with other doctoral students and faculty in a collaborative and collegial manner while exploring and reflecting upon contemporary research topics.
