Video Review... It's a Podcast!

This was my first time making a podcast and I think that it turned out alright. I used Myna at Aviary to put it together. As a language teacher, I can see this becoming a very useful tool. I definitely need to spend some time experimenting with the all of the technical features, though.

This podcast is a review of Samara and Jon's EDCI 336 class video project. I think that they did a really great job on the assignment and I enjoyed their finished product.

ICT Review Assignment .egg on Aviary.

Blending Technology and Creative Writing

I just came across this new website while reading an article in The New York Times and thought that those with an English teachable might find it interesting. Figment is a website that was launched two days ago and it encourages young people to combine the use of technology with creative writing.

Adventures in Digital Editing

This is my first attempt at digital editing and I chose to experiment with Picnik and Splashup.

Original photo by HaPe_Gera 

Site - Picnik
Editing Options - adjustable threshold and duo tone

My first impression of Picnik was that it seemed very user friendly. There were a lot of editing options and it was nice to see what the options would look like before the changes were made, however, it was too bad that some of the most interesting options were not free. Overall, this site was very easy to use.


Site - Splashup
Editing Options - desaturated and colourized

Splashup looked like a more professional site, but I didn't find it very user-friendly. Although, if I actually knew what I was doing, I'm sure that I would have had a much different experience. I had a rough idea of what I wanted to do before I began and was able to do it without much difficulty. The major difficulties, however, started when I tried to save the edited image. I'm not sure what happened, but the site froze. This actually happened three times before I was able to successfully save the edited image.

Although I was impressed with the advanced editing options on Splashup, I found the numerous technical difficulties very frustrating. If I were working on a tight deadline, I would most likely use Picnik since it seems to have the same basic options. In any case, I will definitely work with both of these sites again.

On the Fence about Twitter

I've had a Twitter account for three days and I'm still on the fence. I've known about Twitter for a long time, but was never interested in signing up for an account. I just saw it as another status update like the one used on Facebook to offer such riveting insights like "Jen is loving tea and toast" or "Jason is tired and needs to sleep". I just wasn't sure that I wanted to be a part of that. However, after learning about how Twitter can be relevant in an educational setting, I think that I should at least give it a chance. I do want to engage with the technology and keep up with the kids, although I still haven't quite discovered how it might be used effectively in an FSL classroom. Ideas?

First Post!

I'll begin with a little about me. I'm relatively new to Victoria and I'm really enjoying it. I recently moved from Vancouver where I specialized in French and English at UBC. I chose the education program at UVic because I've always wanted to become a teacher. I have been fortunate to have had several very talented language teachers over the years who really inspired me to follow this career path. They always managed to make studying language interesting and exciting. That's what got me hooked. As a side note, this is my first time blogging and this blog project will be a great opportunity to document my journey from a student to a teacher.