Basic Internet Trouble Shooting

Classroom teachers with an understanding of technology are often called upon by students and fellow teachers to solve basic problems with internet connections.

There are two main possibilities that can cause difficulties with internet connections: 

1. There is a problem with the website or the host server.
2. There is a problem somewhere between your computer and the host server.

Internet Connection Problems

• Lock up - your web browser is locked up and other programs are still working: quit and restart browser application.  If the problem occurs only on a specific site, avoid the site or use a different browser.
• Net Connection - the browser is fine, but none of your usual websites can be located.   The Internet connection may be down.  Try to restart the connection or reboot the computer and try again.
• Reload images - you can access web sites but graphics don't show up.  Reload the page.  If the problem persists, the server is probably overloaded or the graphics have been moved and are no longer accessible.

Site Connection Errors

desi-zone.com

• Local or domain server is down 
• Firewalls - school district firewalls often prohibit access to many websites; teachers may sometimes be granted temporary access to websites with their district passwords
• URL syntax errors - each dot, punctuation mark and letter in a URL must be correct or the site will not load.
• URL errors occur in suffixes that follow the domain designator 
• Server traffic - a graphic intensive site may not be designed for high user traffic.  It may fail to load or may run very slowly
• Bad or dead links - a site may have been removed from the Internet

Features on the Site Will Not Work

wyden.senate.gov

• Plug in required - a special program may need to be downloaded and installed; pop-up boxes may need to be allowed
• Compatibility errors - Some sites will only function properly with a particular web browser; The Learning Institute which is used by the Little Rock School District to monitor student achievement on standardized tests, create Academic Improvement Plans and to develop practice questions in preparation for AACTAP testing can only be viewed properly when accessed through Internet Explorer.  Materials can only be printed if pop-up blockers are turned off. 

Learning Institute. (n.d.). [website]. Retrieved from http://www.tlionline.net/
MediaCollege.com. (n.d.). [website]. Retrieved from                                   
       http://www.mediacollege.com/internet/troubleshooter/connect-to-website.html

Roblyer, M. D. & Doering, A. H.(2010).  Integrating Educational Technology into Teaching.  Boston,  MA:  Pearson Education, Inc. 
Stewart, B. (2000). Living Internet. Retrieved from   

       http://www.livinginternet.com/tabout.htm

Interactive Story Books for Young Readers

Read Me a Story

Hypermedia has brought interactive technology to storybooks for readers of all ages.  Although interactive books can be purchased through sites such as http://www.alleducationalsoftware.com/ many sources are available free to parents and teachers.  These selections are available for use at home or school.
http://www.storyplace.org/storyplace.asp  will take you to the Charlotte Mecklenberg Library in North Carolina maintains Story Place The Children's Digital Library In Charlotte, North Carolina.  Here one can find tabs taking a reader to interactive stories for preschoolers or early elementary students.  Children who love Clifford will enjoy going to http://teacher.scholastic.com/clifford1/  where they can listen to a story and complete the pages by filling in correct vocabulary words.  Young readers may enjoy http://pbskids.org/lions/stories/ where stories may be read aloud by adults or acted out by puppets.  http://www.bbc.co.uk/cbeebies/stories/ also offers interactive stories for preschoolers and early readers.  The sites for younger readers have a very useful feature.  As the text is read aloud, individual words or phrases are highlighted.  This allows the young reader to focus on the text.  A reader can go back and have the text reread to him or her for additional practice.
Older students and proficient readers will enjoy http://grimmfairytales.com/en/main where they can read a number of Grimm's fairy tales.  This site often requires independent reading ability, but has a variety of humorous interactive illustrations to accompany the text.
Let Me Choose

Interactive storybook sites help support the constructivist model of education.  Within each site a reader is often given a choice of topics and reading selections within each topic.  On some sites the reader can choose to listen to the text read aloud or read the text independently. The reader controls the pace of the text. The reader also has control over the illustrations.  On the site presenting the Grimm's fairy tales one can animate the illustrations repeatedly or choose to skip the text altogether and simply enjoy the illustrations.  Some sites also offer a number of tabs that take the reader to games, thus giving the student further control over   the learning.

Practice Makes Better

Young readers need lots of practice.  They need to hear stories read to them and need to read lots and lots of books.  Many busy parents do not have time to spend reading to their children or taking them to the library.  Interactive storybook sites make access to literature possible for these parents.  The interactive features may motivate reluctant readers to practice necessary skills.  In the classroom teachers can assign sites by student reading ability thus providing for individualization. Storybook websites can be used to provide intervention for English Language Learners and reinforce word to sound connections in early readers. Many of these websites also provide connections to literature selections and genres from a variety of cultures. 

Roblyer, M. D. and Doering, A. H. (2010).  Integrating Technology into Teaching. Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc.

Technology and the Art of Sound

Music and Sound Editing

Magnetic tape was used for recording and editing sound from the late 1940’s until the mid 1990’s.  Today most sound editing is done digitally using specialize software. Instead of doing all the work by ear, the computer user can acquire many free or low cost software applications to help the recording and editing process.

Editing is considered both a skill and an art.  Proper editing keeps a listener’s attention.  Extraneous sound tends to bore listeners.  Short audio pieces accentuated by music or sound effects can help keep a listener’s attention and help make your point.  Over time a proficient editor can acquire a sense for eliminating, adding or accentuating audio for projects.  

Editing can help you correct glitches, fix accidents and create smother intros to music files.  Knowing how to use today’s digital audio editing software can also provide you with a skill sought after by radio stations. 

MIDI Sequencing Applications

 

MIDI consists of small text commands to control the playing of synthesizers.  A MIDI sequencer allows you to record and manipulate many tracks of MIDI information and lets the computer play back long complicated pieces that might be unplayable by a single person.  One person can program an orchestra to play back their music.  In 1984 the SynthAxe guitar was developed in England. This guitar synthesizer is played via a fretboard touch system.  The neck acts as a MIDI controller allowing the guitarist to produce a full range of synthesized sounds. 

A Sample of Software Tools

Audacity

Audacity is a free, open source editor available for Windows, Mac OS and Linux/Unix systems.  It performs basic audio editing in a way that beginners should have no difficulty understanding.  Audacity can be used to record from a microphone, tape deck or turntable.  Mistakes and unwanted noises can be edited out. 

MIDI Maestro

MIDI Maestro is music software designed for use by amateur and professional music directors, conductors and musicians in live musical theaters or in worship bands, techno bands, karaoke and solo-guitar backup.

GarageBand

GarageBand is a digital audio work station and a music sequencer that allows you to play over 100 sampled musical instruments on your computer.  GarageBand allows the player to use a USB or MIDI keyboard or a on-screen keyboard to create the music.  Some of the virtual instruments include piano, various drum kits, guitar, bass guitar, and a wide variety of synthesizers.  GarageBand can download pre-recorded music lessons from GarageBand’s Lesson Store for guitar and piano.  The teacher presents the lesson with video and audio instruction along with musical notation.

Teaching and Learning

Students with an interest in music would benefit tremendously from software tools such as music editors, sequencers and MIDI tools.  These tools foster constructivist learning as students  explore sound and the creation of music. Garage Band offers lessons for those who wish to have some direct instruction, but others may just want to jam.   Young composers can have access to innumerable instruments within their computer.   Some young people take it further and have "bands" where two or three individuals use computers to create an entire ensemble of musical instruments.  A number of gathering places for young people such as Juanita's in Little Rock allow these "technobands" to play on their amateur nights.   MIDI Maestro is recommended for theater productions and might be useful in stagecraft instruction.
Audacity allows for editing  downloaded sounds and music. These can be added to podcasts, tutorials and other multimedia presentations.  About.com offers several tutorials on how to implement Audacity to create sound effects and to edit out extraneous noises.  Software such as this would be of benefit to students learning to develop a variety of  multimedia projects.

References:

Bertucci, B. (n.d.) Review of Audacity Audio EditorAudio Editor for the People. Retrieved from: http://podcasting.about.com/od/recordingequipment/fr/deepaud.htm

Deitz, C. (n.d.). What Is Audio Editing And Why Do It? About.com Guide Part 2 of a Free Online Course.  Retrieved from: http://radio.about.com/od/funradiothingstodo/a/bleditaudio2.htm

GarageBand Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GarageBand

Jackson, E.  (n.d.). And Beyond … Retrieved from:

http://www.netplaces.com/guitar/the-origin-of-the-guitar/and-beyond.htm

Kimball, A. (n.d.). Retrovirus Records. Retrieved from: http://www.retrovirusrecords.com/home.php

Schonbrun, M. (n.d.). Types of Music Software.  Retrieved from: http://www.netplaces.com/home-recording/computer-recording-tools/types-of-music-software.htm