How to Apply for Graduate School!

Some find it difficult to navigate their way through the application process for the School of Graduate Studies at Utah State University. This post is to help those wanting to apply find what is needed quick and easy.

Once you have completed your application, or if you have previously applied to the School of Graduate Studies, please take a few minutes to take this survey.

Related Links:

The School of Graduate Studies

SGS Application Information

Picasa es su casa!

It's been quite a while since I used Picasa for my picture uploading and editing. When I bought my first MacBook in 2006 Picasa was my favorite app and it kept my pics in great organizational shape. But later on I bought a Nikon D90 and started a photography business so I grew out of Picasa and learned more about Photoshop. My editing needs changed, but that does not diminish the fun that can be had with Picasa.
Below you can see that I did a few things with some photos that I had already edited in Photoshop, Picasa can be great tool when it comes to getting your photos ready to post on blogs or Facebook. Photos will upload and look completely different than your Photoshopped photos simply because they will be compressed, smooshed and viewed in multiple browsers and computer types. So, in steps Picasa to get your photos ready for the web in a simple way. But make sure your Photoshopped images are separate - those you want to stay the same for your clients who want to print those photos, because that's a tricky thing as well - when you edit in Picasa the original image is changed, so copy and rename the few you will place on the web and then edit with Picasa.
Ok, after that long-winded explanation, let me tell you what I did.
Brightening and sharpening a photo:

The top photo came right from photoshop and the bottom is my Picasa edited version. I copied and pasted my original to another folder and renamed it. I then hopped into Picasa and bumped up the shadows to my own personal taste. I also warmed the photo up a bit color temperature slider. Once that was done I placed the sharpen filter on the photo and brought that up to about 50%. Once the photos was to my liking I saved it. You can see that the photo on the bottom is sharper and a little warmer - the blog loves it!
Next let's talk about black and white:

I usually give my clients their photos in color and black and white, but in this case let's pretend I don't. Once again I copied and pasted my original in a folder and renamed it for editing. In Picasa I found the Filtered B&W filter. I then brought the shadows down and added a vignette to taste. I'm not a huge vignette fan, but if it's subtle enough it can grow on me. As long as the black and white has enough, but not too much, contrast I'm lovin' it!

Now comes my favorite part of Picasa, collages! I have to say that the reason I downloaded Picasa all those years ago was the collage features! It's fun to see all of your images in a fun groupy! Ok, the best advise I have for collages is to play around and let your personality shine through! I like them simple, but you may like a ton of photos all piled on top of each other - that's good, you do you!

To create this collage I clicked the 'Create Photo Collage' link, this opens a new window within Picasa that you can use to create your collage. Choose the 'Picture Pile' option and your photos will look like this:

You can then select images by clicking on them and removing them with the button above your photos. Once you select the photos you are keeping on your collage you can rotate and move them to your specifications. I chose to put mine in a row like this:

Once you have your collage the way you like it you can hit the 'Create College' button on the bottom left hand side of your Picasa screen. Picasa automatically saves your collage and you are ready to post or edit it.

To add words to the bottom you will need to double click on your collage in the Picasa folder view and add text. The text box will open when you click on the icon that has an 'ABC' in front of a mountain. Type in your text, edit the font and size the way you want it and voila!

As we saw in one of the tutorials for this assignment you can use this as a header for your blog or print it out and frame it, hang it on your wall and admire it! 

Picasa has so many fun features - the best way to get to know it is to upload your photos and get going!

Have fun!

Erin

Podcasts and Education

            The use of podcasts in education is relatively new, but can be effective when use of those podcasts help students prepare for lectures or lessons. Popova, Kirschner and Joiner state that podcasts listened to by students before lectures can help the learning process. 'Student-generated podcasts have a special place in research; as they engage students in their learning, promote deep learning and reflection' (Popova et al., 2013). These researchers also believe that a podcast can aid the students by helping produce prior knowledge to be used during class time. When students come in to class with that prior knowledge learned when listening to the podcast they will be more prepared to delve into the subject.

During the ITLS Foundations course taught at Utah State University, Dr. Brian Belland puts vodcasts (video podcasts) to good use, asking his students to watch one each week before the class meets. Belland ensured that the material being learned through course readings and lectures were summed up in these vodcasts giving the students a chance to brush up on the lesson before it was taught. Students were able to get a preview of what would be discussed in class, this encouraged the students to come to class better prepared and ready to learn.

            Podcasts can be used in many ways in relation to enhancing education. The idea that a course lecture can be introduced before the planned course time offers an interesting way to introduce new material and give students a chance to contemplate their conclusions about readings and/or assignments. Podcasts can also be conversational. Some of the best I have heard offer many perspectives, which can enhance the learning experience.  For my podcast I decided to team up with a classmate and provide instruction on what we think is a fun topic. In any kind of education the topic should be interesting, if not it should be taught or talked about in a way that is engaging. Erin Buttars and I downloaded Audacity and each recorded our own podcast while including the other for a new perspective and good conversation.

            Audacity was easy to download, and hitting the record button was simple enough, but editing the podcast had its challenges. I wanted to add music to mine but could not initially figure out how to do that, so I found a tutorial on YouTube that assisted me with this feature. So, with music loaded and conversation recorded we needed to get those .wav files converted to .mp3, that took a more time, but eventually we figured it out.

            Overall I like the fact that podcasts can add to the learning experience and create a sense of community even though the speaker and listener are not in the same place. Questions can always be submitted and address in he next episode of the podcast. There are a few limitations to this technology such as the lack of face-to-face interaction; the editing, publishing and playing could be difficult for those who do not have the necessary experience, but that can be quickly remedied.

In agreement with Popova et al., podcasts can add something extra to the learning experience. Whether you add a podcast to your after-class activities or encourage your students to listen before coming to class, they will bring an instructors curriculum to a fun, new level.

Works Cited

Popova, Anguelina, Paul A. Kirschner, and Richard Joiner. "Effects of Primer Podcasts on Stimulating Learning from Lectures: How Do Students Engage?" British Journal of Educational Technology 45.2 (2014): 330-39. 27 Feb. 2013. Web. 24 May 2014.

It's Podcast Time!

Let's Compare

I want to talk about three different blogging platforms, Blogger, Wordpress and Wix. Obviously I chose Blogger, but we'll get to why I did that in a bit. Let's start with Wordpress. In my limited experience with Wordpress I have found it to be complicated and not necessarily user friendly. When I create a blog I would like to choose and theme and start blogging, which you can do with Wordpress, but then you have to figure out how to upload photos and add other elements - that's where the challenge comes. I may be a little impatient but I have started blogs a few times on Wordpress and always seem to get frustrated and abandon the project. I do know, however, that a Wordpress blog gives users more choices than other platforms. With everything there are limitations, but I would give Wordpress another try, when I have the time.

From the previews I've seen of the Wix platform it looks like it's set up more like a website than a blog, but you can always customize it how you would like. What I find awesome is the editing tools. You can find them easily along the left-hand side and see the changes before you save them. The color pallets are fun to change around - customization is one of the things I look for when creating a blog. Wix seems like a great solution for you if you would like to create a website and get your brand out there. If you decide to use it as a blog it will certainly look good, but may confuse some users.

I chose Blogger because it's the blogging platform I have the most experience with. There are definitely limitations, like customizing and even centering pictures - that can be downright frustrating. For simplicity when posting text Blogger is the way to go. This is not to say that is the most pleasing-to-the-eye platform, but it gets the job done. I like the added feature of 'Pages' in Blogger, now you can have your main page and add others, it's like having multiple blogs in one. Manipulating HTML in Blogger is pretty simple, you just have to change the editing view. So, if you're proficient in HTML you can change it up easily.

Erin

Blogging Best Practices

Blogs can be used to convey information, teach or share family fun but there are ways to keep your information safe. Best practices for blogging are many but here are a few that may help you on your blogging journey.

Get Safe Online

 - Be careful what information you disclose such as your address, school, place of work or birthday.

          It's always a good idea in this digital world to keep your information safe. In this situation, as an educator, you wan to be aware of your students' safety. Don't post the name of your school, where you are or any names of those at the school. As an educator with a blog it's important to remember that when you blog you are not only blogging about you but others and your have a responsibility to keep your students and their families safe. Just give a quick thought to how you would feel if someone were to blog about your child in their school environment. I know I would not want a teacher to mention my child's name or where their school is located. Use common sense on this one.

 - Be careful about the photos you post as they may reveal things about you that you would rather keep private. 

          Just in case you don't know, someone can pull a photo off of your blog and find out where and when it was taken. If taken with your phone you will want to change your location setting to 'off'.' So, we need to be aware of where the pictures are taken. Make sure the photos do not have the name of the school, street signs or any landmarks that would allow someone to find out where you are located. This, again, is for the safety of your students. Another thing to remember is to ask parents if they would feel comfortable with you posting photos of their children. 

Microsoft

- Keep blogs positive and don't use them for slander or to attack others.     

In this day of online bullying it's so important to not post anything that could be harmful to others. This is kind of a no-brainer. We should also remember that students will be reading your blog and you should be setting a good example by staying positive. Content on your blog should revolve around engaging your students in curriculum. Another thing to remember is that your class may not be the only audience you have, so always keep it light and happy.

I Look Both Ways

 - What’s on your shirt? The name of your school, sports team, or club? Your name?

          The lesson here is to be aware of your surroundings. There are times when I go to post something and realized that I caught a sign or license plate in the shot - that's where blurring in Photoshop comes in handy. Take a close look at what you are posting before it goes out into the world. You may also want someone else to take a look as well, sometimes a fresh set of eyes can see things that you missed.

Erin

Educational Blog Connections

Educational blogs give educators a chance to reach out to a broader audience and encourage that audience to find their way to the 'good' parts of blog-enhanced education. I chose three blogs to focus on and started with 'What Ed Said.'

I get a sense that the author of this blog is attempting to reach out to a few different types of learners. She covers subjects that would appeal to young learners, teachers and parents alike. In the sample of posts I read through she spanned multiple topics, starting with work-related policy and how parents feel about their student's involvement. She then blogged about her students connecting with other students in India which emphasized her previous post about creating an online community. I enjoyed her views and use of photos and video. She seems incredibly passionate about her work, especially her students.

I chose the 'Hunting English' blog mostly because of the color and design but then discovered that it's an awesome blog. Right off the bat the author is teaching and engaging without you even knowing it. 

I have a background in journalism and find that the idea of fast journalism is applied to blogs, actually the digital world in general. Most people are looking for a nice look and no fluff; that's one of the usable elements in this blog. The best part is that the general lesson of the blog can help any teacher find ideas to become a better educator. Not only did I find it aesthetically pleasing, but the use of photos and content help in the overall experience.

MathyCathy is so fun! As a student who still does not enjoy math, I found this blog entertaining.

Glancing through the content on this blog I noticed that Cathy uses drawings and other tools to help students learn how to use and enjoy math. She looks like the kind of teacher I would love to have. Another feature to her blog is her use of social media, she has Instagram photos documenting her time at conferences, on adventures or in class. It's so important to make learning worth-while and engaging and, from what I see, she is.

Referenced blogs:
What Ed Said
Hunting English
MathyCathy's Blog

After reviewing these blogs I noticed a new avenue for reaching students, teachers and parents. It's exciting to think that a teacher can extend their knowledge beyond the classroom help his/her students find the fun in their studies. After a student leaves a classroom they may not what to sit and read a blog on top of their homework, that's why it's so necessary to engage the student. A blog is a wonderful medium to help students see your love for the subject and learning. The best thing you can teach a student is to want to learn and the best way to do that is to lead by example. I would use a blog to show the students how I use the subject in my own life, and how they can take what they are learning and apply it to their own lives. Creating a community helps students find their way through this digital world, teaching them to learn from each other can build their knowledge base.

Erin