PE3_GarageBand

Now I have completed GarageBand training through Lynda.com. I learned a lot, but I feel that I could watch the tutorial over and over and still learn something new each time. I guess it's because there's so much you can do with GarageBand. Another way to engage myself in learning GarageBand is to practice, practice, practice. I am a person that learns by doing (The John Dewey Theory). I will gain expertise by creating several projects and making a few mistakes, like I did for this project...but it's OK, because I walked away with a little more knowledge.

After the tutorial, I was wondering how I could use this to create this for my class, so I decided to make a podcast. During this podcast I am reading Ten Apples Up On Top by Dr. Seuss. I even figured out how to add background music. Yayyy me!

Here is the link to my Podcast:

http://web.me.com/rr0004/Rosalynn_Locklear/Podcast/Entries/2011/3/11.html

PE2_GarageBand

Welcome to my GarageBand Exploration. The first thing I learned about GarageBand is that it has tutorials. There are lessons for Guitar and Piano. The coolest thing about this, is that you can actually plug in your guitar or keyboard into your mac, and GarageBand works with your instrument.

Here, you see an on screen instructor that's teaching basic chords for guitar playing. You are able to rewind and fast forward through the GarageBand tutorial if you see that you need more or less practice. You can also record your practice sessions. I do learn from my mistakes.

The above picture is an example of Magic GarageBand. These are music templates that are sorted by genre. You can use these templates and build upon them to make individual tracks, or just use this as background music for a podcast.

The above is a picture of the built in keyboard. This is a great tool for adding melody to a track. For example, I know how to play "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star". So, I could record myself playing that song, and create a parody that could be used to teach a concept in my Kindergarten class. Even better, I could let my students re-create the song.

It looks like GarageBand offers endless possibilities when it comes to creating, editing, and sharing music. I am going to work some more with this.

PE1_GarageBand

By: Rosalynn Locklear

Since I seem to be somewhat of an expert in iMovie, I chose to go out of my comfort zone and try Garageband. I do have a musical background, and I would learn how to incorporate this software into my CBR Project, and in my classroom for students to use for making podcast, or making songs to retell stories. I think they would enjoy this!

BP2_Ekoloko

By: Rosalynn Locklear

Ekoloko is a virtual world for kids. In Ekoloko students discover the world, both real and virtual, through fun games and quests. As they play in Ekoloko, students learn and build values, character qualities, knowledge and skills that help them become more responsible and involved individuals. Students learn to respect each other and the environment in the safe online community. While students are in Ekoloko, they are faced with dealing with other characters that are interested in exploring the resources of the world for their own personal space.

Once you visit Ekoloko, you will be required to create a username and password. After you choose and personalize your avatar, you will start by going through a tutorial. The tutorial teaches all of the basics for navigating through Ekoloko. It first starts by teaching you how to navigate, interact with other Ekoloko avatars, how to earn money, and where you can spend it. Challenges/quests are offered by other Ekolokos, in which you may either accept or decline.

How to integrate Ekoloko into the classroom: This safe virtual world is a great place for students to practice their netiquette in a controlled environment. In Ekoloko, character qualities are valued, leadership and responsiblity are encouraged. This is a great way for students to learn how to be good online (and offline) citizens. Along the way, students can also practice being good stewards of the environment. Ekoloko reminds me of and would be another great site to introduce to students in preparation for Earth Day. I really appreciate the character values encouraged by this site.

BP3_iGoogleScreenShots

Personal Learning Environments (PLE)'s can be very beneficial....especially now that I know how to set it up and use it. I was use to typing in keywords in my search history and then clicking on the first subject that came up. Now that I know how to use iGoogle, it saves me so much time.

BP1_Welcome to my blog

By: Rosalynn Locklear

If you take a look at my previous blog, you will notice that it was created about two years ago. That's when I visited Orlando, Florida for the FETC conference. My Principal invited me to go because she knew that I was enthused about technology. I learned a lot about technology and how to incorporate it into my classroom. Not only did I learn strategies to use, but I was introduced to a college named Full Sail University. They told me about their program (Educational Media Design and Technology), and I was immediately ready to enroll, however, I knew that I couldn't at the time.

That night, I remembered one of the speakers telling us about Blogger.com. So I went there, and started a blog. I kind of forgot about it after that. Now, I am enrolled in the EMDT program, and my assignment was to go to Blogger.com to create a blog.....I went there and guess what popped up? My blog from when I was introduced to this program? Coincidence? Maybe, maybe not. I am just glad that it all worked out.