Screencast

Here's the link to a screencast I created for our Tosa Special Ed wiki.

I found the process of creating the screencast to be quite easy; however, I had difficulty with the format that Jing creates (.swf). I tried to upload to Google Video unsuccessfully. I also tried to convert the video using ZamZar and didn't have any luck. I ended up creating a screencast account, but the free account is only good for 60 days. I also had difficulty embedding it into my blog in a screen small enough to fit in the blog window. The process of creating the screencast was easy, but the sharing feature would need to be cleaned up for me to use this process on a regular basis. Did anyone find a way to convert the file to store to Google or another free site?

That's one big cherry!

That's one big cherry!
Originally uploaded by kmschaus

Here's a perspective picture that I took of my sister in the Twin Cities last fall. I like the composition of the photo - the colors, shadows, and perspective of the cherry sitting in her mouth.

CED 534, Week 2

My newly created teaching challenges by a group of fairly low functioning students has caused me to reanalyze many of my practices and is challenging me to find new ways to instruct. One way that I would like to eventually incorporate blogs is by using one as an organizational portal for myself. I often come across resources that I would like to make accessible to parents. A blog would be one feasible way to do so. (Here's the start of my classroom blog). Videos of class activities may be fun but I would have to make sure that I wasn't breaking any confidentiality laws by posting them on a blog. I know that they are permissible on our district website, but I don't know about privately hosted sites.
For our wiki assignment, I'm going to create a wiki for district special education teachers to share ideas and resources. Whether or not this idea will take off, I am unsure. We recently were granted district early release one day each week to discuss student learning and be provided with professional development. As a part of this, the district elementary resource teachers would like to be able to collaborate. A wiki would provide us with the opportunity to communicate on a more regular basis.

CED 534, Week 1

Using blogs, wikis, and podcasts in the special ed K,1,2 setting may prove to be a bit of a challenge this year! Facing a major shift in the population that I serve, I have a feeling that doing these types of activities will be extremely challenging, if not impossible for my students. It's that I'm being pessimistic; I'm looking at my current reality and the very basic skill set that I am targeting this year. If I can find a way to incorporate these tools, I would love to do it!
Some of the Web 2.0 tools that we investigated in class, such as www.lookybook.com, may be useful for my students. I've found that the visual stimulation provided by using a projector increases their engagement in tasks. While my students may not actively be engaging in contributing to Web 2.0 activities, I utilize them on a regular basis and am always looking for new tricks! Embedding videos into blogs would be a potential way for me to organize activities and allow for parents to access the videos at home for reinforcement as well.
As I get a better handle on the needs of my students, I'm sure I'll have additional ideas as to how these tools can be included. Only time will tell!