Blind Access Journal
“This blog and podcast is all about the blind and our quest for the greatest possible access to all the information available in the world around us. Karen and I chronicle our experiences dealing with a variety of issues as a blind couple, show how we have dealt with various blindness situations and seek comments on ways to constructively address the concrete concerns of accessibility and transportation we face on a daily basis.”
This Blog belongs to Darrell Shandrow, from Tucson. I encourage you to check out his Blog and Podcast at http://blog.blindaccessjournal.com/
I talked with Darrell via Skype on 9/19 and 9/21. We talked about ADA and accessibility in the cyber world. I ‘watched’ his Podcast on how to set up a Blog. If you are an auditory learner, and need more information go to Darrell’s Blog and follow the link to his Podcasts.
Wednesday, October 3, 2007
Sunday, September 30, 2007
Teacher Tube
1. The goal of Teacher Tube is to provide an online community for sharing instructional videos. We seek to fill a need for a more educationally focused, safe venue for teachers, schools, and home learners. It is a site to provide anytime, anywhere professional development with teachers teaching teachers. As well, it is a site where teachers can post videos designed for students to view in order to learn a concept or skill.
2. Teacher Tube community members can:
· Upload, tag and share videos worldwide. Upload Support Files to attach your video.
· Educational Activities, Assessments, Lesson Plans, Notes, and Other file formats to your
video.
· Browse hundreds of videos uploaded by community members.
· Find, join and create video groups to connect with people who have similar interests.
· Customize the experience by subscribing to member videos, saving favorites, and creating
playlists.
· Integrate TeacherTube videos on websites using video embeds or APIs.
· Make videos public or private - users can elect to broadcast their videos publicly or share
them privately with those they invite.
3. Teacher Tube is dependent upon the interactions of its members in order to support the goals/purpose? That is the members are teachers teaching teachers in a safe venue. It provides professional development. The best quality of the community in terms of interaction is the myriad of videos that are shared by its members. Also at any time the member can make constructive comments and use the rating system to show appreciation for videos of value to one as an educator or learner. Users also have the ability to preserve the integrity of the site by flagging inappropriate videos. Teacher Tube staff review flagged sites and will remove any inappropriate posts. With more collegial commentary and discussion through messaging and responses, the quality of this resource will only increase.
4. If you were a member, what changes would you like to see made in the community interactions to make it more suitable for you as a learner?
The videos are listed in categories which are nice, but there was not a special education video listed. If I were a member I would try to infuse the idea of inclusion and special education into the community. I would encourage teachers of special needs students to submit ideas, videos, lesson plans and activities to share with others.
2. Teacher Tube community members can:
· Upload, tag and share videos worldwide. Upload Support Files to attach your video.
· Educational Activities, Assessments, Lesson Plans, Notes, and Other file formats to your
video.
· Browse hundreds of videos uploaded by community members.
· Find, join and create video groups to connect with people who have similar interests.
· Customize the experience by subscribing to member videos, saving favorites, and creating
playlists.
· Integrate TeacherTube videos on websites using video embeds or APIs.
· Make videos public or private - users can elect to broadcast their videos publicly or share
them privately with those they invite.
3. Teacher Tube is dependent upon the interactions of its members in order to support the goals/purpose? That is the members are teachers teaching teachers in a safe venue. It provides professional development. The best quality of the community in terms of interaction is the myriad of videos that are shared by its members. Also at any time the member can make constructive comments and use the rating system to show appreciation for videos of value to one as an educator or learner. Users also have the ability to preserve the integrity of the site by flagging inappropriate videos. Teacher Tube staff review flagged sites and will remove any inappropriate posts. With more collegial commentary and discussion through messaging and responses, the quality of this resource will only increase.
4. If you were a member, what changes would you like to see made in the community interactions to make it more suitable for you as a learner?
The videos are listed in categories which are nice, but there was not a special education video listed. If I were a member I would try to infuse the idea of inclusion and special education into the community. I would encourage teachers of special needs students to submit ideas, videos, lesson plans and activities to share with others.
Is it Asynchronous or is it Synchronous
Synchronous vs. asynchronous communication tools seem to have their own place.
Asynchronous communication happens when it happens. People can communicate asynchronously without the hassle of a common time in their schedule to chat. E-mail is one example of asynchronous communication. In the past there were bulletin boards (how many of you remember those days?) that were also asynchronous communication. You can send a message to someone and they can read it anytime after it is sent and then send a response anytime you want. Synchronous communication differs in that for two people to communicate synchronously, they have to be in the same space at the same time. The two must sit at their respective computers ‘at the same time’ if they are to exchange communication. Synchronous can be fast or slow. An example of fast is video and voice and an example of slow is text (typing) chat.
What are the advantages of each type of communication in the teaching and learning realm? In synchronous communication where you can’t meet face-to-face, there may be a real need for this communication tool. This tool takes an existing teaching method such as lecture and makes it more available by removing location barriers. One might say that it makes education more widely spread and allows students from a variety of backgrounds to learn together.
Asynchronous communication is different and has its own character, advantages and disadvantages. It appeals to a different set of people for various reasons. It removes both the geographical barriers and time barriers. It makes communication just that much more accessible. It gives one time to think about the discussion they are part of a little more carefully. They have time to think about their contribution, do some research and even proofread. Taken away a specific time also seems to open the discussion to a larger number of participants. I must also mention that this tool allows the student to move at their own paced.
The lesson I took away from the various readings on synchronous and asynchronous have their strengths and their weakness. My point is that the communication can be either tool and that we as teachers need to think about the nature of student-teacher or student-student communication and how that fits into our teaching objectives.
Resources:
Ashley, J. (2003). Synchronous and asynchronous communication tools. Retrieved September 29, 2007 from http://www.asaecenter.org/PublicationsResources/articledetail.cf
Haefner, J. (2000_. Opinion: The Importance of Being Synchronous. Academic, Writing. http://wac.colostate.edu/aw/teaching/haefner2000.htm
Asynchronous communication happens when it happens. People can communicate asynchronously without the hassle of a common time in their schedule to chat. E-mail is one example of asynchronous communication. In the past there were bulletin boards (how many of you remember those days?) that were also asynchronous communication. You can send a message to someone and they can read it anytime after it is sent and then send a response anytime you want. Synchronous communication differs in that for two people to communicate synchronously, they have to be in the same space at the same time. The two must sit at their respective computers ‘at the same time’ if they are to exchange communication. Synchronous can be fast or slow. An example of fast is video and voice and an example of slow is text (typing) chat.
What are the advantages of each type of communication in the teaching and learning realm? In synchronous communication where you can’t meet face-to-face, there may be a real need for this communication tool. This tool takes an existing teaching method such as lecture and makes it more available by removing location barriers. One might say that it makes education more widely spread and allows students from a variety of backgrounds to learn together.
Asynchronous communication is different and has its own character, advantages and disadvantages. It appeals to a different set of people for various reasons. It removes both the geographical barriers and time barriers. It makes communication just that much more accessible. It gives one time to think about the discussion they are part of a little more carefully. They have time to think about their contribution, do some research and even proofread. Taken away a specific time also seems to open the discussion to a larger number of participants. I must also mention that this tool allows the student to move at their own paced.
The lesson I took away from the various readings on synchronous and asynchronous have their strengths and their weakness. My point is that the communication can be either tool and that we as teachers need to think about the nature of student-teacher or student-student communication and how that fits into our teaching objectives.
Resources:
Ashley, J. (2003). Synchronous and asynchronous communication tools. Retrieved September 29, 2007 from http://www.asaecenter.org/PublicationsResources/articledetail.cf
Haefner, J. (2000_. Opinion: The Importance of Being Synchronous. Academic, Writing. http://wac.colostate.edu/aw/teaching/haefner2000.htm
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