My plan of attack for next school year is to introduce my students to some of these wonderful sites. I know it will take me some time to get used to using these but I feel that it is time that I get "unscared" of technology and use more of it with my students. I will admit that these programs surprised me with their ease of use. I need to show my students how simple technology can be just as this class has shown me.
I will also use this not only for my students but for myself as well. Not everything always has to be school related. I want to make visiting these sites a regular task just as checking my e-mail is. I want to explore the things of interest to me and be able to use it for myself as well.
I would also like to share what I have learned with my staff. I feel that my staff would really enjoy the things I have learned. Some have already taken the class and I know they are implementing these things into their classroom. It is nice to be able to communicate with each other and use similar programs so the students are familiar with them through the grades. For instance if I use slideshare with them, when they get into fifth grade the fifth grade teacher could use it with them as well and possibly expand the lessons. Google docs could also be used for example and they could use it in years to come to type research reports and such. It is all a learning experience and I want to teach the students these things while they are young so they are able to use them throughout their learning careers.
There are still many more things that I would love to learn about web 2.0 and teaching in the twenty first century. There is so much out there that I have yet to discover and this class has helped me on my way to discovering those things. I plan on taking the next "things" class with more of my staff as a way of learning and staying connected. I thank you for showing us all of these neat things that will truly enhance the way I teach this coming year!
Sunday, July 25, 2010
Thing 10 Reflection
After using google docs again I really like the "forms" option. I created my survey for summertime fun. It is nice to know what teachers are busy doing during the summer. I really thought it was easy to create and I liked how it was clear where to type everything. I would definately use this in my classroom. I would have students create a survey for and then graph their results for math class. It would be a cross curricular activity. I would also use this to create short quizes or study guides that we could complete together as a class. The students love to pair up on teams and use things like this for a study review session. Overall a great program that I plan to use in my classroom this coming year.
Saturday, July 24, 2010
Thing 9
I really enjoyed working with slideshare. Just like everything else I have discovered in this class, this was my first time using this site. I really think that this could be wonderful in the classroom. Face it, sometimes we don't always have the time to create our own slideshows. To be able to use ones that others have created is awesome! Sharing ideas especailly with other teachers is an excellent way to collaborate with one another. I think that the students would also love to visit this site. It is easy to access and there is something for just about anything they can think of. It would be a nice aid for them when doing a research project. I would have the students find one they like and make one similar to it or about the same subject.I would have them comment on some of the things they liked, didn't like and what they learned from the presentation. This will also give them the idea of how a presentation like this should be set up and what should be included by seeing some good examples. I would defintely use this in my classroom. The only thing to be careful of, is to of course view the material before you show it in class!
Thursday, July 22, 2010
Thing 8
After using Google Docs and watching the vidoes about google docs I gained some more understanding of the program and how I could use this in my classroom. I really like how it can be accessed by everyone and that anyone can use it. This way students could always access what I have created. I also like that I can view when students used this. It would be great for typing reports. Also the Google Doc that I created was for absent work so that the students could access the work they missed from at home instead of having to drive into school to see what they missed. This would create less stress for them and for me as well.
I also really like how you can share what you have created with other staff members. It would be a great place to create templates for lesson plans. This way everyone regardless of what grade they teach can go by the same template. The only possible problem I see with using this program is people editing what you have done if you foget to change those options or again students without a computer may not be able to access it.
I also really like how you can share what you have created with other staff members. It would be a great place to create templates for lesson plans. This way everyone regardless of what grade they teach can go by the same template. The only possible problem I see with using this program is people editing what you have done if you foget to change those options or again students without a computer may not be able to access it.
Thing 7
After reading the following articles about bookmarking and creating a delicious account, I sit here and think wow! All this time there HAS been such an easy way to keep track of all your favorite things and keep them oraganized. This makes everything so much easier. I'm all about organization so I feel that I will end up loving delicious once I start to use it more. It is a great way to keep all of my favorite websites for school together. I'm always searching and finding great ones but I always seem to write down just a few. With this bookmarking site I can keep all the great ones I come across. It is easy which I love and something that I plan to use this year for class. I think that it is also great that it is social so that I and other teachers can share the things that we have found. This opens up the door for more collaboration between staff which I also feel is important to building a strong school. Great Tool!
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
Thing 4
After reading the articles I really liked how the teachers used each others blogs to connect lessons, plan and share curriculum and blog social events happening. I believe someone else in this class mentioned using it for that purpose and I feel that is a great idea. Also I like that students are able to see each others work which creates conversation between them and gets ideas rolling. This creates real world learning. I thought that creating study guides on student wiki pages was an excellent idea. I'm constantly telling my students that they need to start learning how to use the resources they have to study. A study guide isn't always going to be handed to them. Creating their own study guide would help them learn how to use those resources and better prepare themselves for tests.
On the opposing side there were some negative things I felt. I think that receiving assignments in blog format would not be a great idea. There is always someone who the assignment would not be accessible to them. I also feel that having "wiki teams" would not work because one person would end up doing the majority of the work. I'm sure you could monitor in some way who was doing what but from experience there is always going to be that one person who will not contribute. This goes back to "thing 3" where I think today's students are lacking work ethic and teamwork.
The article is showing how beneficial using a blog can be and showing that our kids are ready to use this technology. It is up us to show them how it can be done!
On the opposing side there were some negative things I felt. I think that receiving assignments in blog format would not be a great idea. There is always someone who the assignment would not be accessible to them. I also feel that having "wiki teams" would not work because one person would end up doing the majority of the work. I'm sure you could monitor in some way who was doing what but from experience there is always going to be that one person who will not contribute. This goes back to "thing 3" where I think today's students are lacking work ethic and teamwork.
The article is showing how beneficial using a blog can be and showing that our kids are ready to use this technology. It is up us to show them how it can be done!
Thing 3
It is amazing to think about how things in school have changed in such a short time. Growing up going to a catholic school I feel I learned simple but yet the best lessons in life. We were a small class and those where the same 23 people I knew for eight years. I feel that the curriculum was great and we were pushed harder then than today's students. This is why I feel that I have such high expectations for my students. I guess sometimes to high if that is possible? Our work ethic was a lot higher than todays students. According to the slideshows it shows this is a problem today. It is one of the things that makes me the most frustrated when I'm teaching my class today. We knew how to work together better and understood the concept of teamwork. I do however have to say that something different was that technology was really non exsistant it seemed. We had computers once a week and we played typing games. E-mail and blogging and all of the other applications students use today where not even mentioned. In fact I can remember one computer class assignment was to write a letter to Congress and we used the computer to get the address to send the letter we wrote on paper. Today that seems so silly. I'm sure that students would just e-mail them. I feel that it is great that there are technology standards set today but I don't always feel that the students are learning everything they could.
The articles and slideshows were filled with great information. It is so true that th web is a mass of communication and a way for everyone to share their ideas. Everyone wants to share. I can't tell you how many stories my students want to share with me everyday! Its all about information and communication. I feel we are getting there in the classroom. For instance each person on our staff has a class wiki page. Although it was a challenge for me to learn how to use it I want to be able to use and have it be part of my classroom. That is something that we certainly didn't have growing up! I like the change and it really does come to show you that "shift happens."
The articles and slideshows were filled with great information. It is so true that th web is a mass of communication and a way for everyone to share their ideas. Everyone wants to share. I can't tell you how many stories my students want to share with me everyday! Its all about information and communication. I feel we are getting there in the classroom. For instance each person on our staff has a class wiki page. Although it was a challenge for me to learn how to use it I want to be able to use and have it be part of my classroom. That is something that we certainly didn't have growing up! I like the change and it really does come to show you that "shift happens."
Thing 2
I agree that blogging is a "straightforward and interesting way for students to generate, share and keep up with the timely and topical class information." This sentence really struck me as I was reading through. Some other important points that I would like to add are that I feel that a blog is easy to create and to expalin to younger students. I feel this is something that they could log on and not have a problem with. It would be a way to foster two way communication in the classroom and also be a way to provide students with feedback.
I also wanted to point out that I feel that parents may be opposed to letting students have a blog even if it was just for classroom use. Even though this is the current trend and where technology in the classroom is moving to I still feel that parents of younger students such as my 4th graders would not like the idea. I do however think that if we can at least introduce the word and concepts about blogging that maybe more people would be more accepting.
Blogs could possibly do more than any textbook could do if we try it in our classrooms. It could create a lot of discussion in the students and therefore help students to make further connections.
I also wanted to point out that I feel that parents may be opposed to letting students have a blog even if it was just for classroom use. Even though this is the current trend and where technology in the classroom is moving to I still feel that parents of younger students such as my 4th graders would not like the idea. I do however think that if we can at least introduce the word and concepts about blogging that maybe more people would be more accepting.
Blogs could possibly do more than any textbook could do if we try it in our classrooms. It could create a lot of discussion in the students and therefore help students to make further connections.
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