Mobile Devices in the Classroom Interview

I conducted the interview with an educator name Chrissy Carfagno, who teaches Health Ed and Physical Fitness at CCA (Commonwealth Charter Academy); since Chrissy and I are close friends, I decided to call her to ask her questions about using mobile devices during her LiveLessons. During our conversations, Chrissy disclosed to me how she uses mobile device in our virtual setting, taking into account the difficulties it arises since she can’t technically see students using their devices; it’s all optional…for now she claims. Generally speaking, Chrissy claims she uses mobiles devices mainly to record videos of herself working out. Now, she does show physical fitness moves during her LiveLessons, and they are recorded, but our workspace is limited. We literally work in a cubicle. So, sometimes when she goes to the gym (she’s an avid gym goer), she likes to record herself doing a yoga pose or workout move involving the biceps, and share them with her students; even completing tutorials on full on workout routines. Chrissy also encourage her students to take videos of themselves working out to share during LiveLesson. She advise students, if they have smartphones, to use their StopWatch and/or Timer application when tracking their workout sessions, since they have to be documented for some assignments. Chrissy also recommends downloading Workout trackers (from Google Play Store for example) to keep track of progress, both educationally and personally, throughout the year; she shares a couple of free app ideas with her students. Lastly, Chrissy uses her mobile device to stay in contact with students. She, like most teachers at CCA, have a Google Voice number, and students call her or send her text messages when they need assistance. 

Chrissy is well aware of our school’s policy concerning the Protecting Children in the 21^st Century Act, and remains in compliance with this Acceptable Use Policy at all times. She also knows too that CCA relinquishes the duties of all web based monitoring, including the use of cellular devices, to the Caretakers and designated Learning Coaches as outlined in our school policy. When it comes to parental involvement, Chrissy says she hopes parents remain aware of the activities she encourages with the use of mobile devices, such as the tracking applications, because they too can encourage students to take Heath Ed and Physical Fitness seriously. Parents are also sent the same webmails students are, and on the classroom website, they have their own Parent Corner where they too can review her workout tutorials.  Her main challenge is coming up with new ideas to use with mobile devices, that could include all students, even those without access to a phone. “There are many students at CCA who, because of their beliefs or values, either don’t have smartphones or cell phones altogether,” she says. Chrissy claims, “luckily the policies in place at CCA gives teachers so much freedom to use and advocate for many tools/applications out there in the cyber world.” I agree! 

From this interview, I learned to be more open minded in terms of mobile devices in my learning environment. As a virtual teacher, it’s so easy to get comfortable with our laptops and use them for access to everything technological; that’s also because we know all the students too have the same laptops, all of them, with the same programs and hardware as all the educators. I’m now curious about the different and free educational applications students can access through a source like Google Play Store on their phones, to use for our course; I’m sure there are many tools, even games that can relate to the many topics and concepts explored in American Literature from the 14^th century to the 21^st century. Chrissy’s feedback was to listen to our students on their opinions and recommendations when it comes to using mobile devices in the learning environment. After all, cell phones are their life, and they know more about technological advancements and the latest tools/applications than we do! She herself through this experience has learned to be patience and have fun; introducing mobile devices into her educational setting as been a gradual process--as introducing anything in our unique environment. Chrissy also learned to explore beyond what "educational websites" recommend, and be open to other options and ideas in terms of using mobile devices creatively. 

Works Cited 
Kazmucha, A. (2015). Garmin vivofit 2 fitness tracker review [Digital Photo]. iMore. Retrieved from http://www.imore.com/garmin-vivofit-2-fitness-tracker-review 

Discovering Something New

Directory List:Kathy Schrock's Guide to Everything...

Online Tools  

1. Mindmaps
I chose Kathy Schrock's Guide to Everything directory. Kathy Schrock instructed my last course, EDIM 510, so I'm familiar with this directory, however, I never took the time to really explore everything. I'm actually impressed with how detailed and effective this directory is arranged; I can easily see how helpful this list could be for me both personally and educationally. The first tool I selected was the Mindmaps. Personally, whether I'm planning a trip, outlining steps for a task,or completing homework, I always map out a plan. Instead of using paper all of the time, I wanted to use other tools, other than Google Docs, to map out my work. For starters, once I went to the Mindmaps website, I was immediately prompted to start working; the tools were all available to use, and did not require registration or sign up. While exploring the tool, I decided to start a mindmap on an upcoming trip to New York. I was amazed with how easy it was to create my map. With my mindmap, I changed the color, font, and direction of thoughts. I was able to save my work and export it from the working page.

I did not have any challenges using this tools, but I would recommend adding text boxes to the mindmap. For example, when I created the Food pathway, I would have liked to add a text box near or under the word Food that would have allowed me to provide a small description before branching out onto another pathway. Also, I would have loved the option to create a picture or drawing as well. I'm a very visual person, so pictures or at least having the option of importing images into my maps, would have been nice. Nonetheless, from an educational standpoint, this tool absolutely has the potential to be viable for teachers and students. Both educators and children can benefit from the idea of using Mindmaps for brainstorming. Teachers brainstorm while lesson planning, and students brainstorm prior to formulating an outline for their papers. Mindmaps is very user friendly, so I think most people would enjoy the tool.

According to my personal list of the characteristics of an effective Web 2.0 tool, I look for:

1. Relevance to the concept/curriculum being taught
2. Appropriateness for 11^th grade students (16-17 years old)
3. Credibility (Copyright date, About Page, domain, etc.)
4. Ease of navigation and webpage layout (background and color, any pop-ups?)
5. Availability of ­­free accounts
6. ­­­­Opportunities available for students (can they create, collaborate, etc.)

Mindmaps is a universal tool that can apply to any topic for any organization. People can use Mindmaps at their business, school, or for personal use, therefore, I find it relevant to any concept/curriculum of any subject matter being taught. I teach 11th graders, and so I would highly recommend they use this tool to gather their thoughts while working on their Research Paper in Unit 7 during the spring semester every year; I would make a note of this on the Classroom Website and Message Board, while providing a hyperlink or shortlink; I truly believe students at the elementary, middle, and high school level could use Mindmaps. Looking at point three, though I believe the tool should be improved, I do find the tool credible. It appears the website has not been updated since 2011, and I could tell due to the limitations of the user. However, there was an About Page on the website and the domain ends in .org, which makes me feel a bit more comfortable using the tool and saving the material to my computer. Lastly, I find the website easy to navigate and I love the fact that it's free. Again, I wish the capabilities of the user was expanded so that could go beyond creating a map and actually collaborate with others, but I still find Mindmaps very useful.

2. ABCya! Paint

One of my close friends is a kindergarten teacher, and sometimes she gives me ideas on books to purchase or websites to visit because of my two little ones ages 7 and 2; she mentioned Abcya awhile ago, but I never got around to visiting the website. I explored Abcya!Paint and actually had some fun! At home, I would most definitely have use for this tool because of my two children. Both of them use the computer daily, and instead of watching Youtube videos all the time, I would love for them to take a break and do creative things using technology. So upon my exploration, I noticed Abcya  has so much to offer besides the paint tool. If one sign up for Abcya, they can explore over 200 lessons from grade 1 to high school, along with other activates for Pre-K and kindergarten; these lessons range in academic content. I decided to test the Abcya! Paint by making a picture of a sunny day. I used most of the tools available (pencil, pattern brush, spray paint, etc.) to create my image and enjoyed the experience honestly.

Often time, I grant my students presenter's rights in our virtual classroom, and there they have access to all the tools available; they can use their microphones to speak, upload items in the Share Pod (documents, photos, audio), and draw on the Whiteboard. The tools for the Whiteboard always made drawing so difficult, and thus students felt unmotivated to complete the assignment. I believe this website, though geared more towards a younger audience, has so much potential for educators and students. Educators can use this tool during instruction for illustration purposes, and students can use Abcya!Paint as an independent practice assignment or for homework. If I taught at the middle school level, I would have students use Abcya! Paint for homework or as a project, and then save the image to their computer once completed; students can send their PNG to me in a webmail. Overall, I find this tool very engaging.

While I think for my students, Abcya! Paint is a bit immature for 11th graders, it still measures up nicely to the other characteristics that I find important in a Web 2.0 tool. Drawing/illustrations are relevant to multiple content areas across grade level, and I've found that students at all ages enjoy drawing; it's relaxing. Abcya! Paint appears to be very credible. The site was revised this year, it has an About Page and mission statement, and it has been featured in: The New York Times, USA Today, and Parents. This tool was free to use, and the ease of navigation was incredible. The fonts were in different sizes, the colors were vibrant, there were no pop-ups, and the website was not cluttered or too busy. Abcya! Paint is an inviting website. What I enjoy most of all about this tool is that it provides students with a platform to be creative  and showcase their potential.

Untangling the Web: Storyboard That
While I could not locate the Web 2.0 tool Storyboard That in Untangling the Web book, I was still determined to explore this tool because as an English teacher, I'm interested in anything related to telling a story. I'm glad I made that decision in the end. I had to make an account to use the website, but it was free. I watched the introduction tutorial video, and then started creating. Storyboard That blew me away. It takes digital storytelling to a whole new level. The user has so much control over the editing process. One could make a movie, comic bit, and of course a book. Storyboard That could be used for businesses or for personal ventures; there seems to be references to filmmakers using this tool displayed on their website. Since I do creative writing as a hobby, I would use Storyboard That just for entertainment purposes, but in the realm of education, the possibilities are extensive. I started my storyboard working on the setting, and from there I select my scene from a plethora of options, and then edit: the colors (of buildings); time of day; weather; degree of which the scene is angled. Almost everything can be edited! Awesome!

Picture 1

                                                                              Picture 2

After spending some time changing the scene around, I then moved on to the characters, and again, I was blown away with just how much control I had over my creation; the options seemed endless. The characters start off colorless, and the user can change just about everything about them for their story. There are even choices on what type of character one is looking for...a child, medieval warrior, or a ghost. The only challenge I faced was making a final decision due to the overwhelming selection.

                                                                             Picture 3
Storyboard That is most definitely a tool that could benefit the learning environment for both educators and students. For educators, they could use this tool to bring to life or recreate a poem or short story assigned in class. Students can do the same or create their own stories in groups or as a project. I would surmise that this tool would probably be best for middle and high school students due to the level of editing and detail that goes into creating a storyboard; I think elementary students would easily get overwhelmed and confused, thus requiring much assistance. Since the accounts are free, students could make one of their own, and once they were done with their work, they could download the images/presentation, embed their creation into a website, or export to PowerPoint or Google Slides.

I'm super excited about introducing this tool to my students. Storyboard That is completely relevant to a Language Arts curriculum, but I could also see Social Studies, Science, and even Math classes using this tool to create a story based on a particular topic; that could be a great challenge, having student create a comic bit based on a mathematical topic. Storyboard That appears very credible with their website revised this year, a well detailed About Page (Mission Statement, Background Info. on the company, etc.), and their accolades illustrated on their website for users to review. My account was free, gifting me two storyboards, and though I was overwhelmed with everything I could alter/edit, this tool  was easy to use. It looked engaging, the directions were clear, and the storyboard creative process was quite inviting.

The Mindmaps tool is the only website I would say is less desirable for educational purposes only because it's lack of updates. Mindmaps have a great concept, so I think with some additional features and options presented to the user, it could be better. At the bottom of the page, there is a feedback tab, and I clicked on it to offer my suggestions. I believe with the many tools similar to this one out there on the web, it's important to be competitive and have much to offer users. Setbacks aside, I find Mindmaps a great tool to use.

Works Cited
Abcya. (2017). Retrieved from http://www.abcya.com/abcya_paint.htm

Dembo, S., & Bellow, A. (2013). Untangling the Web: 20 tools to power up your teaching. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin, a SAGE Company.

Mindmaps. (2011). Retrieved from http://drichard.org/mindmaps/# 

Schrocks, K. (2017). Online tools. Kathy Schlock's Guide to Everything.  Retrieved from http://www.schrockguide.net/

StoryboardThat. (2017). Retrieved from http://www.storyboardthat.com/ 

Fill Up Your Toolbox

URL Shortening 
URL Shortening is a great technique. Oftentimes I'm faced with that daunting task of having to copy and paste a long link and/or share that link with another person via email/text message. I really like the idea of links having their own shortcuts while still taking user to the original site. I decided to use Bit.ly to create a shortlink for my EDIM 514 blog, and my classroom website. I must say, signing up for the account and creating these shortlinks were very easy. I never used a tool such as Bit.ly before, so I was very please with the website being so user friendly; here are the shortlinks I created:
http://bit.ly/2nO5i5G (Blog) and http://bit.ly/2ng3PT9 (Classroom Website). The fact that Bit.ly provides a bookmarklet feature, that makes it easier to shorten a url with a single click, is quite rewarding. I could see using Bit.ly in the future when it comes to sharing shortlinks with my students, parents, and colleagues. There were many times when I had to send these long links to my students through webmails, and during the copying and pasting transfer (pasting the link into the search bar on their part), the results were missed due to parts of the url being lost. Hopefully, I'll get use to this tool fairly quickly.

QR Codes
I will confess as being one of those individuals who would see these images all around downtown Philadelphia, on books, in advertisements, etc. and have no idea how to interpret them beyond the squared image;  I later learned that you needed an QR code app to read these images, and I never took the initiative to download this app and decipher these QR codes. I've watched someone use their mobile device to read one of these QR codes, and I saw firsthand that it can lead to more than just a website--it appeared to expose some hidden message. Using the Delivr.com tool was simply and fun; I couldn't believe how easy it was to create these QR code images. I created my QR code for the website Purdue.Owl. As an English 11 teacher, my students are assigned so many papers to write throughout the year that requires MLA formatting. Every time I go over the directions for the paper, I mention using Purdue.Owl as a reference for help with in-text citations and the Works Cited page; I know most of the time, students either forget how to access the link, or type the url/copy and paste the url in the search engine incorrectly. I would hope the QR code would easier for students to access and recognize on our classroom website or message board; that would be a great idea. For me QR codes are innovative and different; I enjoyed creating one for this assignment.

Bookmarklets
This week's assignment was the first time I ever heard of bookmarklets. I was the individual who would either have 17 tabs open for months so I did not lose my place, or bookmark hundreds of them to review later. I reviewed some of the sites available to venture through for this assignment, and I really enjoyed Quietube the most. Now, I don't stream videos in my virtual classroom because the students will only get picture with no sound, therefore, I download the video using either Keepvid or Savefrom.net prior to class. Nonetheless, I can see the advantage of using Quietube to stream Youtube videos when trying to avoid commercials, advertisements, and comments on the page that could be inappropriate. Because I enjoyed the tool so much, I did add Quietube to my bookmark toolbar to use for personal use. Even if I might not use this tool for educational purposes, I can encourage my students to use it to view content found on Youtube or other sites, so that they could enjoy the videos without distractions.

Dig Deeper Into the Mainstays

Social

Edmodo is a web-based platform that allow educators the ability to connect and collaborate with students, parents, and other educators; the website is safe and easy to use for educational purpose. It was founded in 2008 by Nic Borg, Jeff O’Hara, and Crystal Hutter, and currently has over 77,000,000 members. Educators and students use Edmodo to: collaborate with each other; share content; access and post homework and grades; retrieve and post school news. Beneficial aspects of Edmodo includes unlimited storage and the use of a digital classroom. The fact that Google Apps and Microsoft OneNote and Office are interconnected to Edmodo, makes the transferring and accessing of information very simple. Edmodo offers a free account for any member. Members have access to multiple systems through Edmodo depending on their profession or intentions such as Edmodo Blog, Community (build networks with others), Edmodo for Teachers, Organizations, and Administrators.

Edmodo can be used to create a virtual classroom for students. Students can access certain resources digitally, review lessons posted by teachers, submit assignments (quizzes, polls, etc.), and retrieve homework assignments. Edmodo enhances the learning experience by transforming the perspective on education from the more traditional routine. This website can help shape students into successful 21^st century learners. Students are forced to use technology to expand their role in education by actively taking control over their learning environment through communicating, sharing, and collaborating; Edmodo for students’ mimics the idea and format behind Facebook. Those who use Edmodo for their course stay engaged due to the community created through the site; students also have tools such as the Backpack Items which allows them to add links and files to access anywhere, and a Planner to keep track of due dates and other academic information. 

Before I could explored the website, I had to create an account; I created the account via Google. It was very easy. I remember the process asked me to "tell more about myself," and I answered questions about why I joined, I entered in my school, and I was asked to connect with other friends
 (I like this includes colleagues or others educators I know). After that process, I chose to "invite my students later" in order to take some time to explore the website. I clicked around the first page and on the icons at the top. They include: Home; Progress (monitor students); Library; Spotlight (Edmodo Spotlight provides resources for educators); Notifications. Something I did find cool about the Library is the option to upload material from Google Drive and OneNote. Every year, I save all my material to Google Drive, so it'll be so easy to simply retrieve the document from this platform, rather than going through my personal drive etc. I would love to also use the Edmodo Planner available also, where teachers can add tasks and events to the calendar for everyone to see. Moreover, my favorite aspect about this website is how it mimics the format of Facebook. I find it very inviting because it looks so familiar, so hopefully it'll motivate students to respond and interact with each other about their education.

Educators love Edmodo because they have a lot of control over the learning environment. Mona Bradwell, an educator at Kensington High School, used Edmodo for educational purposes only. She loves Edmodo because it's easier to communicate with her students and send them material if their absent from school. I spoke with other educators and then reported having the same experience; a communication platform outside of the physical walls of a school has build a strong rapport among educators and students. There was only on teacher who used Edmodo for personal use, a biology teacher name Michelle Riech at my school CCA. She claims to use the Planner tool in Edmodo for personal use since she uses the website so often during the day. 

Creative

WeVideo is an online video creation program/website for video editing. The company started in 2007 with the mission to provide “an online creative toolbox for children…both in school and at home.” WeVideo started in Europe with education, but in the recent years focused on “video creation and expanding the technology to the U.S and global markets.” By the end of 2013, over 5,000 schools in the USA alone were using WeVideo; their users were totaling over 2 million globally. The beauty of WeVideo is the ease of creating and editing videos; everything is auto-saved. WeVideo offers a free account option, and it can be used for: personal, business, or educational purposes; WeVideo also has a Blog. Another benefit of WeVideo is the task of collaboration—one could collaborate with others to create a video. The tools available within the website, from theme selection to editing mode, are all excellent features on the website. 

WeVideo encourages students to be creative by constructing different projects, collaborate by building and editing videos together, and overall critical thinkers. One of the most exciting editing modes in WeVideo is the Storyboard board; this mode takes storytelling to an entire new level. WeVideo enhances students learning too by providing the opportunity for group work. Project Based Learning is a probability through small group work. These types of projects will help students become more equipped in the professional world due to the type of skills utilized to create and edit; also practicing effective collaboration is needed in the professional world as well. Another way WeVideo enhances learning is by being readily accessible from mobile devices. Students can work on their videos using their smartphones, tablets, and Chromebooks. 

WeVideo also took minimal effort to create an account. I created an account using Google, and looked through the website; I did not create a video. I was sent to my Dashboard, where I clicked back and forth between that, the Media, and the Video icons at the top; I was trying to figure out which one to click on if I wanted to create a video. Naturally, I clicked on Video, and ended up accidentally creating a folder. I soon realized through the Dashboard, if you clicked on Create New, the video timeline popped up. I immediately noticed some icons at the top: Media, Graphics, Transitions, Audio, and Text. The tracks at the bottom of the screen reminded me of the software I used when I use to create videos in my Digital Storytelling course. WeVideo does not look intimidating, which is nice, so I might consider using the tool later. I like for tools to be as simplistic as possible, while offering some cool features as well. When creating videos or podcasts in the past, either the tool I was using was too basic and it's editing features needed much improvement, or they were too overwhelming because they tried to offer the user too many options; this was often an issue for tools when the format was not as polished as WeVideo. I find the navigational functions on this website nicely outlined.

WeVideo: Dashboard

                                                                     WeVideo: Track

Now I have heard of WeVideo a couple of years ago, but has never visited the website prior to this assignment. It appears rather obvious how one could use WeVideo both personally and educationally. I spoke to one teacher at my school, Jackey Taggart (11th grade English Teacher), who has used WeVideo a couple of times for both purposes. She claims to use WeVideo as a storyboard of memories using family photos, and then she shares her work with other relatives who live farther away. When it comes to her students, she uses this tool to teach and showcase Digital Storytelling; she assigns students the task of creating their own videos in her AP class. 

Curation 

Symbaloo is one of those Web 2.0 tools that I learned about this summer, briefly, during a Professional Development session, but never explored on my own later. Symbaloo is a fun free social bookmarking tool. It allows one to be organized by simply storing their digital resources in one location. Users can categorize their resources, share, and access them from any mobile device for their convenience. Symbaloo was founded by Tim Has in 2007, and quickly gained favor with educators everywhere. For educators, they can create and personalize lesson plans using Symbaloo as well; there is a Symbaloo specifically for educators.

Again, creating an account was simple with this tool too. I used my Google Account from work. I remembered after I created the account, I was confused about all the of different icons in front of me, and I did not know where to start; some icons were already on my screen like: Google; Amazon; Hotels.com; Facebook. All the websites listed seem to be those I visited in the past week. Pretty cool. Usually when I visit a website for the first time, I ignore their tips or how-to videos (like everyone else), but this time, I decided to take a minute to be apart of the Interactive Symbaloo Tour--they did promise it'll take just 1 minute. It asked me to type in a website, and I typed in a random one. I chose a picture for the site, and added it to a tile on the page. If you click on the plus sign at the top, you can add a webmix (a collage of different sites) or create your own; if I ever get free time, I would really like to create one for my job and for home purposes. Before I was going to exit the site, I accidentally clicked on and added an Online webmix, and then suddenly all these icons popped up; the Online tab was added at the top of the screen. I actually thought that was nice!

My initial screen on Symbaloo

Random website I chose:WhattoExpect

Online webmix

This tools enhances the learning experience for students by providing them with a space to readily access important resources in one space. Students can either use a Symbaloo already created by their teacher using a link, or they can create one for themselves based on websites needed for the course. They can place their Symbaloo as the background to their laptop, and most importantly, they can access the board from any mobile device. I know of a couple of teachers who use Symbaloo everyday--two of them are High School English teachers. One teacher, Jennifer Hiles who teach kindergarten, loves using her Symbaloo throughout the entire day. Jennifer updates her board everyday, and her students can view it whenever they want; she also has a personal Symbaloo that contains websites she regularly visits for bills, email accounts, and social media. Everyone I spoke to are strong advocates for Symbaloo because of it's simplicity and ease of use.  

Completing this assignment has been a great experience for me. Aside from visiting the websites, interviewing educators, and viewing tutorials, there is still much to learn about each tool. I learn best by actually using tools/applications, so my next step is setting up a free account with each tool and finding a way to utilize them for my students next year; I found a purpose for each Web 2.0 tool considering the grade and content I teach. I look forward to exploring more tools in this course. 

Works Cited

Edmodo. (2017). Retrieved from https://www.edmodo.com/ 

SymbalooEDU. (2017). Retrieved from http://www.symbalooedu.com/ 

WeVideo. (2017). Retrieved from https://www.wevideo.com/

Photos

Byrne, R. (2015). 11 helpful hints for combining google drive with symbaloo. Free Technology for Teachers [Digital Photo]. Retrieved from http://www.freetech4teachers.com/2015/06/11-helpful-hints-for-combining-google.html#.WM9PtTvys2w

Millin, S. (2011). Edmodo. Sandy Millin [Digital Photo]. Retrieved from https://sandymillin.wordpress.com/2011/06/29/edmodo/

WeVideo Internet Editing Software. (2013). Videomaker [Digital Photo]. Retrieved from https://www.videomaker.com/article/c5/15873-wevideo-internet-editing-software

Using New Technologies

      I chose to interview one of the greatest educators I know, my mother Mona Bradwell. After 18 years of teaching, she has learned to adapt to the evolution of education in terms of relating to millennials, editing and revising curriculum to suit the needs of her students, and embracing the changes in the world of technology. Mrs. Bradwell teaches at Kensington High School in Philadelphia, PA, and due to the demographics surrounding the school's location, it became evident to my mother that the bulk of her students face many hardships that would follows them to school everyday.

      When asked about how she decided which tool to use with her students, she replied:" I look at their needs first." Mrs. Bradwell explained she has students who are with child, the only workers in the household, in foster homes, and many who can't speak English. Due to this, she uses the tool Voicethread so that her students can watch her presentations wherever , at anytime; they can move at their own pace. She also stated for ESL and ELL students, she writes out a transcript, use Google Translator to the translate the words, and then she records the presentation in Spanish. Mrs. Bradwell was clear that though her school has policies in place for online use, there are filters  on the school computers, and each website used must be on an approved list by the School District of Philadelphia. Overall, she claims not face any real obstacles. If she want to use a Web 2.0 tool, shes does not have to run the tool or application by the principal or Department Chair. Lastly, when asked about what she'd advise other educators, Mrs. Bradwell said she advise teachers who intend to use Voicethread to plan everything; "have a back-up plan for your presentation if an issue arrive--losing accessing to the internet for example, and to use a central website like Google Classrooms to to post the links to Voicethread presentations in order to make them readily accessible for all students."

Mrs. Bradwell had a lot to say in our interview and I respect that very much. Though parts of the interview covered the gist of what she was saying, I was amazed with her tenacity on the search of finding more and more tools to help her students. I learned about the benefits of perseverance during this interview.

Rationale for Creative Commons License

EDIM 514 by Bianca Maselko is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
Based on a work at http://biancabradwell.blogspot.com/.


Before deciding on which Creative Commons License I intend to use for my work on this blog, I read over the "Licensing Portal for Educators" (2010) several times, as well as Doug Johnson's (2009) "Creative Commons and Why It Should Be More Commonly Understood." I eventually settled on the Attribution Non-Commercial license after first reading all six of  the Creative Commons conditions and appreciating the Non-Commerical's description. I'm completely comfortable with educators, students, and just about anyone copying, distributing, displaying, and performing my work, however, I could not admit to being 100 percent comfortable with someone using my work and earning money as a result. My work would still serve the ultimate purpose, and that's to be useful and inspirational for other people; I hope my ideas and creations give educators and students a new profound perspective on a plethora of topics.

Making a contribution to the online educational world has been a goal of mine. Personally, I have learned so much as a teacher by reviewing other educators' work featured on many websites; I've used Prezi presentations, audio recordings found on Youtube, and Podcasts published by other educators, so I truly appreciate the idea of behind Creative Commons when it comes to sharing and innovation. Johnson said " teachers should assign a Creative Commons license to material that they are willing to share with other educators," and because I'm interested in sharing with other educators, I believe assigning a Creative Common license to certain material is wise and necessary in today's world. While, again, I'm fully supportive of others using my works for their own purpose, I think to earn money based on another person's idea or creation is to enter a whole new realm of intention.

Works Cited

Johnson, D. (2009). "Creative commons and why it should be more commonly understood." Doug Johnson. Retrieved from http://www.doug-johnson.com/dougwri/creativecommons.html

Licensing Portal for Educators. (2010). Creative Commons. Retrieved from https://wiki.creativecommons.org/wiki/Licensing_Portal_for_Educators