Week 2 Reply to Melissa

Visit piZap for a good laugh!

As I was visiting different sites for useful podcasts for the classroom, I came across piZap (http://www.pizap.com/) from the TechTeacher Network. Pizap is a FREE online photo editor. You have the option of posting your creative picture to the actual piZap site or keeping it private. You may also download your pictures and upload them to Facebook, MySpace, or Blogger. If your child is stuck indoors on a rainy summer day, direct them to piZap and I guarantee they’ll get a good laugh. Also, take a look at TechTeacher Network’s Website for useful podcasts and web resources - http://thetechteacher.libsyn.com/ Enjoy!

Hey Melissa,
I love this tool! Thank you for sharing. My students will love it, as well as my grandchildren. My head is spinning with possibilities of how I can incorporate this application in my lessons! What a great way to bring creativity back to the classroom, your students are very fortunate to have you!
Thursday, July 16, 2009 - 01:05 PM

piZap.com free online photo editor

Week 2 Reading

Chapter 5
Inspiration to take action, to be a better person, teacher, friend, mother etc… comes from many sources. This year one thing that inspired me was a video that we watched through one of the classes in this program. The video was Ken Robinson says schools kill creativity; the subject had been on my mind for a long time, due to high stakes testing and ever increasing curriculum requirements, teachers have been under enormous pressure to produce students with at least proficient test scores. After seeing the video with Ken Robinson I was rejuvenated and inspired to seek more creative ways to facilitate the curriculum in my classroom. When our students go out into the work force they will be expected to be creative and innovative in order to be successful, not just great test takers.


Robinson, K. (2006, February). Ken Robinson says schools kill creativity.[vieo] retrieved July 6, 2009 from http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/ken_robinson_says_schools_kill_creativity.html

Week 2 Tutorial/ScreenFlow

I purchased ScreenFlow a while ago but I haven’t had time to go through the tutorial and explore the possibilities of the program. I tried this program out in my filming class, but I was under pressure to get an assignment done and did not have the time to do the tutorial. Well, now that I have done the tutorial, I can’t believe that I actually imported all of the raw film into iMovie and did the editing there when it would have been so much easier to do it in ScreenFlow! I love this program it is an excellent tool to develop tutorials.
MacItoshtipz.(2009).ScreenFlow tutorial 1: overview & basic features.Retrieved July 13, 2009, from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Owi5oPFkwVs

Week 2 New Media, Old Politics? Video from MIT World

Even though the video New Media, Old Politics? was primarily about politics, I found Garret LoPorto’s discussion regarding psychographics particularly interesting. The use of the internet to target specific cultural communities was something that I hadn’t really given any thought to before this video. When I am introduced to ideas such as this I feel like I have been living under a rock! LoPorto goes on to explain how the internet was and is used to reach and to organize like-minded people to create a constituency. This led me to another reason of why it is so important to teach our students through inquiry-based learning. They are bombarded daily with images and ideas through the internet and television that they need to be confident and to question what they see, hear, and read. Part of LoPorto’s discussion was centered on the need to find out the underlining belief system of a group of people so that it can be targeted. Once their belief system is discovered it can be used and manipulated to spread ideas, that benefit a certain group or political party. “If a person can identify with the idea it becomes a belief, and they pass it on because it will enhance their identity.” (LoPorto,2004)
I will be very interested to hear what your feelings are on this topic.
True Majority.(2007).The oreo cartoon. Retrieved July 13, 2009, from http://www.truemajorityaction.com/oreos/

here is a sample video from the website truemajorityaction.org that is mentioned in by Garrett LoPorto:

Week 1 reply to Todd Saperstein

Week 1: DIY and EDUPUNK
By tsaperstein

This is my first real post as far as this course is concerned. The first post of mine was from my NING site entitled “Getting to Know Todd Saperstein.” I used it as a place holder in order to complete my blog site and mail the link.

Under the “Expectations” section of our (4) Blog Entries plus Comments rubric, it states the blog entries can be open ended. Thank G_D for that, because my brain is a vast, open ended, thought safari. If you though Jurassic Park was scary, YOU AINT SEEN NOTHIN YET, so buckle up, please your head and hands inside the vehicle at all times, you are about to enter Todd’s brain. Oh, and watch out for the occasional pockets of hot air. It’s kind of like landing a airplane in Las Vegas, the upstream of hot air makes it quite bumpy.

So, DIY and EDUPUNK, LLLLOOOOVVVVEEE IT! Love it, love it , love it! I always tell my students “your passion will find you.” After reading the article about Jim Groom and EDUPUNK, I felt as if once again my passion had found me. Rebelling against the education system that is destroying our children’s potential is right up my alley. It’s funny how people look at rebellion as such a negative thing. There is good and bad to everything in life, good people and bad people, good cops and bad cops, good teachers and bad teachers, etc. last but not least, there are good rebellions and bad rebellions. If the cause is just then the rebellion is not only good, but necessary. Let’s not forget people, the United States of America was founded by a rebellion! Remember the whole Boston Tea Party thing and that Revolution. Did everyone watch fireworks on the Fourth of July…PRETTY COLORS! If you didn’t learn it in History class, you must have seen it on School House Rock. You know, SHOT HEARD ROUND THE WORLD. Anyway, I think we need to make things right again.

What are we afraid of anyway, if we allow these kids to actually reach their potential they might be smarter then us? I certainly hope, because we haven’t done that great a job in the last hundred years or so.

I think that a great teacher should be a combination of OB1 from Start Wars, Robin Williams character in Good Will Hunting, Jack Black in School of Rock, and Wilson the volleyball from Castaway. I will let all of you absorb that for a while. I would love to hear what you think I mean by that last sentence. Then, will come back on Sunday and share my inspiration and meaning,

1. Deb Quinn Says: Your comment is awaiting moderation.
July 13, 2009 at 1:21 am | Reply

Hey Todd,
I totally get it! Rebel we must! I feel that now we have the tools and the research to support our “rebellion”. We as teachers need to continually reflect and fine tune our teaching to best meet our student’s needs and to stay on top of the latest technologies. As far as students knowing more than us, well you bet they do in many areas. Some of the best experiences that I have had over the past 9 months are the times that I have collaborated with my students and let them teach me something!
I can’t wait to read you explanation of Wilson. When I watched it, and thought about your post it made me think of my inner voice. Do you think that we listen to it enough? I really enjoyed your post, it made me stop and think :-)

Week 1 The Fourth Screen

It seems to me that the idea of the fourth screen has brought us full circle. Instead of being tied to our television and isolated we are able to be wireless and socially engaged with what we are viewing. I am a visual/auditory learner so I really get the idea of being wireless and social about what I view. I really get into some reality programming because I am a very social person and it always gives me a light topic to discuss with people. All I have to say is did you see American Idol or Survivor last night, and you will definitely get some sort of a reaction! I mean really, how much fun is it to immediately share a hysterical YouTube video that you have stumbled across! As a matter of fact here is one for you now:
Evian Babies US.(2007).Evian Babies US [video].Retrieved July 9, 2009 from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_PHnRIn74Ag

Week 1 Reading "Lovemarks"

Flickr Creative Commons
In Jenkins book Kevin Roberts, the CEO Worldwide of Saatchi & Saatchi, states that the future of consumer relations lies with “lovemarks”. What a clever term, it is the emotional connection that we, as consumers have to products. It is that memory that we have in our minds, good or bad related to a brand, it is the same connection that you have when you hear a song and it brings you back to a moment in time. I have a “lovemark” with Coca-Cola, silly I know but true, it is a childhood memory of visiting my aunt and uncle. They had a curved front 50’s style fridge in the basement always filled with Coco-Cola sodas, and it was a treat to pick out the one that you wanted. So when I am watching American Idol I am automatically drawn to all of the Coca-Cola themed references in the show; well, good for them for picking up on and using this “lovemarks” idea to promote their product. This brings me back to the black boxes mentioned in the introduction of Jenkins book, with the invention of the DVR box more and more people are skipping right over commercials all together. It was inevitable that we would be seeing more advertising embedded in the shows that we watch.

Jenkins,H.(2006).Convergence culture: Where old and new media collide.New York, New York University Press

Week 1 Show Me What You Know Project

I wouldn't know half of what I know about media presentation if it wasn't for Full Sail University! One of the most valuable things that I have learned is how valuable digital story telling is for students. My students have never written so fast and created a storyboard as fast as when we started to use digital story telling. I will post some of my students digital stories later when I have access to my classroom computer. So in the mean time I am posting my poetry in motion movie, not because it is a master piece but because I struggled so much with it. I struggled because I had to put my self "out there" and it made me feel vulnerable. Which turned out to be very rewarding in the end, and made me feel like a student again, being afraid to take risks. This experience made me a better teacher and brought me back to my students level and to encouraged them to take risks.

Week 1 Reply to RaShida

Snickering in class: Week 1 Wimba Session 1

Tuesday, July 7, 2009




I must say that I emphatically enjoy my classmates who participate in our Wimba sessions on a regular basis. I laugh a lot and yes, I do listen. The warm words and lauds from classmates to others is so endearing to great to see. If I hadn’t known the reason for my being here, with this group, at this time, in this program, exactly now in my life, now I know. I would have to say hands down that this is the best group this online campus has seen! You all do such a great job.


We never know what’s going on in the life of others, but I remember a speech my mom gave as Magna cum laude of her college class. She talked about smiling and how your smile could brighten someone else’s day. I believe so with laughter, for who can stay mad or sad long when such a weapon is unleashed. You are all helping someone with your words of encouragement! Great job, and thanks to Professor Bustillos for taking our worries and condensing them to let us know that you and the other professors are there to help us. I tip my hat off to all or the proper way for a lady would be to curtsy and properly thank you. And some of us, well we just burp really loud, that way you know you’re in good company! Good night!


1 Comment Manage Comments for this Entry
Deb Quinn
Hey RaShida
I couldn't agree with you more! I don't know what it was that brought all of us together, but what ever it was is truly a gift. The support and sharing by our classmates has been incredible and like nothing that I have experienced thus far in my career. So a GREAT BIG thank you to all of my classmates for consistently participating and sharing your ideas and expertise. It is the collaboration and collective enthusiasm that has brought us all this far. What an awesome journey it is! So keep smiling and maintain your humor as we work through our media projects and thesis in the coming months, and know that we are all here for each other!
Wednesday, July 8, 2009 - 08:22 AM

Week 1 Reading

Creative Commons
My favorite water cooler experience with a T.V. show was with Seinfeld. It made the workday after the show so much fun. I would bring in items from the show and put them on my friend’s desk, things like a Pez dispenser or Junior mints and we would laugh like crazy discussing the previous night’s episode! So, when Jenkins says, "Survivor spoiling is collective intelligence in practice" (Jenkins,2006)I know exactly what he means. What an exciting social experience, and to collaborate with people from around the world in different times zones well that is just an exhilarating thought, I wish I had been a part of the fun!
I agree that spoiling is like a game, because it is a competition to see who can obtain the latest clue first, wouldn’t we all want to be the “winner”.

Jenkins,H.(2006).Convergence culture: Where old and new media collide.New York, New York University Press