Monday, November 7, 2011

My Privacy, My Choice, My Life

My Privacy, My Choice, My Life is a website from the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada. It is extremely important to protect your privacy online, especially as technology rapidly evolves and continues to significantly impact our personal lives. On this website, students, parents and teachers can find out current privacy information, resources and tips. The homepage offers up two important questions…along with interesting answers:

How does technology affect my privacy?
Why should I care?

Ms. Tonhauser

Friday, October 28, 2011

RSS Feeds

What is RSS?
RSS (often called Really Simple Syndication) is a digital format for delivering regularly updated web content from blogs, news sites and other online information pages without the laborious task of visiting individual websites. Using RSS feeds benefits online users who want to subscribe to important or timely updates from favourite websites or to aggregate feeds from many sites into one place. RSS feeds can be read using software called a RSS reader, feed reader, or aggregator. Sometimes online users will see RSS enabled webpages that have an orange feed icon located directly on the page (XML and RSS icons are also used); sometimes the Internet browser has this icon on the toolbar.

Lee LeFever’s RSS in Plain English video provides a basic explanation of RSS feeds and how this benefits regular Internet information seekers.

Renovated Reading Through Aggregated Feeding
Subscribing to RSS feeds solves a problem for people who regularly use the Internet. Feed readers can display subscriptions from hundreds of different websites on a single page in the form of a short summary. Users then can scan through summaries quickly and decide whether they should open up the headline links to read complete articles or postings. There are plenty of choices to sign up for a free feed reader, here are a few examples:
Google Reader
NewsGator
Netvibes
Pageflakes

Expert Village has created a How to Use Google Reader 15 part video series, detailing how to change settings, find and organize content, searching and sharing tips, subscribing to feeds and bookmarks.
Ms. Tonhauser

Wednesday, May 25, 2011

2P Crunching, Munching Caterpillars

2P students have created a digital picture of a munching caterpillar after studying the picture book The Crunching Munching Caterpillar by Sheridan Cain.
Using Word 2007, students created the caterpillar picture by:
•Inserting, copying and pasting shapes
•Colouring and shading using drawing tools
•Using fill effects and shape styles

Ms. Tonhauser

Tuesday, May 10, 2011

Postcards from the Web, Part 3: Peru...Wish You Were Here

Grade three students have completed part three of their four part social studies series studying communities from India, Tunisia, Ukraine, and Peru. Enjoy this social studies journey to Peru!

To view a full screen version of this VoiceThread, please use the following link:
3HW Peru…Wish You Were Here


To view a full screen version of this VoiceThread, please use the following link:
3S Peru...Wish You Were Here

Ms. Tonhauser

Wednesday, April 13, 2011

Postcards from the Web, Part 2: Ukraine...Wish You Were Here

Grade three students have completed part two of their four part social studies series studying communities from India, Tunisia, Ukraine, and Peru. This VoiceThread postcard project allows students to demonstrate an appreciation in the differences among communities with technology infused learning.

To view a full screen version of this VoiceThread, please use the following link:
3S Ukraine...Wish You Were Here

To view a full screen version of this VoiceThread, please use the following link:
3HW Ukraine...Wish You Were Here

Ms. Tonhauser

Thursday, March 17, 2011

Qwiki: The Information Experience

Qwiki is a multimedia website that synchronizes information drawn from Wikipedia articles and other sources on the Internet. Text and images are summarized on the screen like a moving slideshow with a digital voice narrating the information. This website offers visitors free access, although you can sign up for an account to receive more information access.

Qwiki at TechCrunch Disrupt from Qwiki on Vimeo.


Ms. Tonhauser

Tuesday, February 15, 2011

Postcards from the Web, Part 1: India…Wish You Were Here

Grade three students have completed part one of a four part social studies series studying communities from India, Tunisia, Ukraine, and Peru. This VoiceThread postcard project allows students to demonstrate an appreciation in the differences among communities with technology infused learning.

“Social Studies provide opportunities for students to use the processes, tools and techniques of various forms of technology. The Alberta Social Studies program of studies includes selected outcomes from its Information and Communication Technology (ICT) program of studies.” The student resource, Many Voices, suggests incorporating technology as a vehicle for inquiring, communication, representing, decision making and problem solving. Technology can be used as a tool to:
• Gather and identify information
• Express and create
• Organize information

To view a full screen version of this VoiceThread, please use the following link:
3HW India…Wish You Were Here


To view a full screen version of this VoiceThread, please use the following link:
3S India…Wish You Were Here


All digital pictures used in this VoiceThread project are from Wikimedia Commons which houses public domain educational media files.

Ms. Tonhauser

Pearson Education Canada. (2005). Alberta Social Studies Many Voices. Toronto, ON: Pearson Canada.