Same Blog, New Use...

Since I earned my MA in Educational Technology this past May, this blog will no longer focus on my cousework. Instead, I will now attempt to use it to reflect on the ever-changing landscape of this field that I have decided to immerse myself into. Based on just a few PD sessions and days' worth of twittering and reading RSS feeds, it is clear that there will always be something new on the horizon...

Mr. Gallo's Sample Podcast

This is a sample podcast that I created for use with my mini-course on podcasting.

Digital Storytelling

On the topic of digital Storytelling, here is the first one that I ever created. It was done for Dr. Shamburg's Authoring Tools class:

Digital Stories

I really enjoy creating digital stories.  Here is one about the elements of plot.  I'm looking forward to letting my students try this project out...  (Details of the assignment can be found at http://ralphgallo.tripod.com/id1.html)

Webquest

Well, assignment #2 (webquest) is finally done... Cindy Hogan-Dabydeen and I created one that dealt with Christopher Columbus. It relates to Social Studies and Language Arts, as there are components of historical research and persuasive writing involved. I am very pleased with the finished product. You can check it out here:
http://questgarden.com/68/93/9/080728162253/

Wikipedia

In thinking about wikis, this funny clip from one of my favorite shows, "The Office", came to mind...

Wikis in Education

The main topic of this week's lesson was wikis. Before I started taking ed tech classes, I was strongly against the use of wikis in the classroom. However, after doing some research and actually using them, it became apparent that they could be valuable tools for students. In my opinion, as long as students understand that wikis should be used to lead them in the correct direction when doing research (as opposed to being their primary source), it is acceptable to use them. This should be common sense. It goes back to the traditional aspects of research in school. It has never been appropriate for students to use any type of encyclopedia as their main resource. When I was growing up, I recall that I was only allowed to use them to get an idea of the general background of a topic. Any true research that would be used in a paper, project, or other assignment had to come from an actual book or scholarly journal article. The same should apply if we view wikis such as wikipedia as encyclopedias (with the added task of re-checking content for accuracy). It is apparent that these types of websites are here to stay, so it makes sense to embrace the technology.