I have thoroughly enjoyed learning about all of the tools. The most useful thing I have learned from this process is how to create a blog. I plan on having an ongoing blog in my classroom every year from now on. Some of my favorite tools were PhotoStory, Animoto, GoogleDocs, Wordle, and Skype. I have already been using PhotoStory in the classroom with my students and will continue to use it in the future. I purchased a web cam and plan on using Skype. I will try it out at home first, then use it in the classroom. I would love for my students to use GoogleDocs for any research project they work on. I would like to use GoogleDocs with my teammates as well. I will use Wordle to capture the students' attention at the beginning of a reading lesson.
I feel that I have really transformed my thinking about technology in the classroom. In the past I thought some of these things would be too difficult to incorporate. Boy was I wrong! I am glad that I have had the opportunity to learn more about things that I had heard about, but was too afraid to try. Now that I feel more confident using these tools myself, it will be easier to implement in my classroom.
Honestly, when I first learned that I would have to create a blog and post my thoughts for everyone to read, I kind of freaked out. But, after the first couple of posts, I realized how much fun blogging is and how beneficial these tools will be for my students. I've really enjoyed reading every one's blogs, reading people's comments, and taking a big leap into the 21st Century. Now I can't believe I was even a bit hesitant in the first place. After all, we are all on this journey together!
Monday, June 21, 2010
Tool #11
What a exciting time it is in education with all of the technology we have at our fingertips. We are able to give so many new opportunities to our students. It is our job to teach the students the rules and responsiblities that go with this wonderful technology. We don't leave our students alone and let them figure it our for themselves!
Three things I would want to make sure my students understood about being good digital citizens are :1. information privacy, 2. cyberbullying, and 3. plagiarism.
I build such a strong relationship with the students in my class that I often feel that they are my own. I find myself worrying about their safety, and now with so much access to technology come new worries. It will be my number 1 priority to teach my students rules to maximize their learning experience and keep them safe.
I was so grateful that our wonderful librarian showed a video on BrainPOP to my students about digital citizenship. This was a great video giving basic rules about internet etiquette. Basically, the rules we have in our day to day lives are the same as the ones we have when using technology. I would use this again to introduce how to be a good digital citizen. Also, the creation of flipcharts stating the rules and with examples of good/bad choices would be a way to teach this. Lots of discussion about how to handle certain situations is key. I would also do lots of modeling beforehand as well as active monitoring while they use the technology to ensure that the students are being safe and responsible.
Three things I would want to make sure my students understood about being good digital citizens are :1. information privacy, 2. cyberbullying, and 3. plagiarism.
I build such a strong relationship with the students in my class that I often feel that they are my own. I find myself worrying about their safety, and now with so much access to technology come new worries. It will be my number 1 priority to teach my students rules to maximize their learning experience and keep them safe.
I was so grateful that our wonderful librarian showed a video on BrainPOP to my students about digital citizenship. This was a great video giving basic rules about internet etiquette. Basically, the rules we have in our day to day lives are the same as the ones we have when using technology. I would use this again to introduce how to be a good digital citizen. Also, the creation of flipcharts stating the rules and with examples of good/bad choices would be a way to teach this. Lots of discussion about how to handle certain situations is key. I would also do lots of modeling beforehand as well as active monitoring while they use the technology to ensure that the students are being safe and responsible.
Tool #10
I enjoyed learning about the iTouch. I think that they will be such a great addition to the classroom. When reviewing the apps, I noticed several that are free as well as several that the district has provided for us. There are a bunch of math apps, which will be great for reinforcing a TEK once it's been covered. I could easily see them being used in workstations. I noticed an app called ABC Tracing where train, truck and worm animations come to life for children to follow, while showing the proper way to write alphabet letters and numbers. This really spoke to the mother in me, as well as the Reading Recovery teacher in me! The district provides Google Earth, which I love. Another district provided app that looks useful is USA Factbook. Of course, there are plenty of games such as Hangman and Sudoku. What a great tool to use for classroom management. The students will really benefit from having iTouches in the classroom!
Friday, June 18, 2010
Tool #9
When I began working on Tool #9, I was pleasantly surprised to find that Jing and Skype were already downloaded onto my computer. Woo hoo! All I had to do was create an account and I was off and running.
Jing....what a cool program! It is very intuitive and simple to navigate. I played around with Jing using Google Earth. So, my creative juices are flowing...a cool project idea came to mind while I was doing experimenting with Jing. 2nd grade students learn about habitats during the 3rd nine week period. During that time, they choose a habitat, research it, and present it to the class as part of a research project. Jing would be a wonderful tool to use for this. The students could create a blog about the habitat, post daily as they learn more information, collaborate together and keep track of their research using Google docs, and use Jing to share visuals from the web directly on their blog. They can capture a picture of the habitat they are studying on Google Earth and post it to their blog. Wow!
See...here is MY habitat.
I've heard a lot about Skype and know several people who use it regularly. My aunt talks to my cousins (who live throughout the US) using Skype. My friend talks to her fiance (who is stationed in Iraq) using Skype. Another friend uses Skype for conference calls at work. So, Skype is all around me. Yet, somehow I have never had the chance to use it.
Several ideas come to mind for using Skype in the classroom.
Jing....what a cool program! It is very intuitive and simple to navigate. I played around with Jing using Google Earth. So, my creative juices are flowing...a cool project idea came to mind while I was doing experimenting with Jing. 2nd grade students learn about habitats during the 3rd nine week period. During that time, they choose a habitat, research it, and present it to the class as part of a research project. Jing would be a wonderful tool to use for this. The students could create a blog about the habitat, post daily as they learn more information, collaborate together and keep track of their research using Google docs, and use Jing to share visuals from the web directly on their blog. They can capture a picture of the habitat they are studying on Google Earth and post it to their blog. Wow!
See...here is MY habitat.
I've heard a lot about Skype and know several people who use it regularly. My aunt talks to my cousins (who live throughout the US) using Skype. My friend talks to her fiance (who is stationed in Iraq) using Skype. Another friend uses Skype for conference calls at work. So, Skype is all around me. Yet, somehow I have never had the chance to use it.
Several ideas come to mind for using Skype in the classroom.
- If you have a student who is injured/sick and can't return to school for some time, use Skype so he can join the classroom from home.
- My class had pen-pals in Kansas last year. It would have been great to talk to them using Skype in addition to writing letters.
- Can't afford a field trip? Use Skype to bring the field trip into the classroom.
- Use Skype to collaborate with other teachers in your district or around the world.
- Going to be away from your class for a while because of maternity leave, honeymoon, illness or travel? Stay connected with your substitute and students using Skype.
- Have guest lecturers, busy parents, or authors present to your class using Skype.
Personally, I would use Skype at home to talk to my many relatives who live throughout the US...from Hawaii to Michigan, from California to North Carolina, and some in between. That's it!!! I'm getting a webcam!!!
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Tool #8
I really like using videos as a resource in my classroom. Videos give students visual representation of the concepts being taught. As a result, they are able to understand the concepts better and retain the information.
I have used Streaming Video, YouTube, and Hulu consistently in my classroom. I was so excited to become more familiar with the other video resources.
I am including a YouTube video I used in my class this year when teaching camaflouge and mimicry. The students were amazed by this octopus!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ygh1-ul6E94
Blinkx is a wonderful resource! I definitely will utilize this website in the future. I love you can search videos on a particular topic and it brings them together under one site. I found this video using Blinkx. It is a clip from MSNBC that discusses the environmental effects of the oil spill on wildlife. This would be great to show during the 2nd grade units on habitats so students can better understand how habitats are threatened.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/37527985#37527985
Videos are a wonderful resource for the classroom. It gives students greater insight to the information being taught. But, as with any resource, videos should be previewed and planned ahead of time to ensure that the content is suitable for the students viewing.
I have used Streaming Video, YouTube, and Hulu consistently in my classroom. I was so excited to become more familiar with the other video resources.
I am including a YouTube video I used in my class this year when teaching camaflouge and mimicry. The students were amazed by this octopus!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ygh1-ul6E94
Blinkx is a wonderful resource! I definitely will utilize this website in the future. I love you can search videos on a particular topic and it brings them together under one site. I found this video using Blinkx. It is a clip from MSNBC that discusses the environmental effects of the oil spill on wildlife. This would be great to show during the 2nd grade units on habitats so students can better understand how habitats are threatened.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/37527985#37527985
Videos are a wonderful resource for the classroom. It gives students greater insight to the information being taught. But, as with any resource, videos should be previewed and planned ahead of time to ensure that the content is suitable for the students viewing.
Monday, June 14, 2010
Tool #7
I actually have a little experience with PhotoStory3. At the beginning of this school year, I used the program with my students to create a digital story about how we choose books at the library. The students helped sequence the pictures according to what they do when in the library. They also narrated the pictures. I really wanted to include it in this blog, but it is saved on my san drive and for some reason I'm not able to access it. I'm so bummed! I created this PhotoStory about our last days at RGE this school year.
I think that PhotoStory3 is a useful tool in the classroom. It can help students with sequencing. When narrating the story, the students have to decided what is most imporant about the photo and basically summarize it. This can help them make a good connection with reading comprehension. I wanted to use a PhotoStory with an autistic student in my class, but, unfortunately I wasn't able to get to it. He had a difficult time with sequencing. Making a PhotoStory of his daily schedule would have helped him with sequencing events as well as helping him with routine.
Tool #6
I really like the idea of using a Wiki in the classroom. When teaching reading comprehension to students , having them link their background knowledge with new information is key. Wikis will help students build greater connections between new and old knowledge by allowing student-created structure for the information and ideas. Plus they can collaborate. In my mind, you can use Wikis as a kind of online literature circle or book study. When thinking of Bloom's, the students will use synthesis and evaluation constantly and consistently when they work on a Wiki.
As a part of the intervention team, Wikis can be used to organize literacy groups. Instead of emailing back and forth, we can use a Wiki to organize data, groups, and information about the students. I could be wrong, but Wikis sound similar to Google Docs. I think either one of these could be used to organize intervention groups.
As a part of the intervention team, Wikis can be used to organize literacy groups. Instead of emailing back and forth, we can use a Wiki to organize data, groups, and information about the students. I could be wrong, but Wikis sound similar to Google Docs. I think either one of these could be used to organize intervention groups.
Thursday, June 10, 2010
Tool #5
I joined both Delicious and Diigo. I believe they are going to be very useful tools. Numerous times I have found myself searching on my home computer late at night for websites to use with my students. In the past I've had to write down the web address or e-mail it to myself so that I can use the site with students the next day. This is tiresome and most of the time I forget. Now, I can keep track of the websites so easily! With Delicious and Diigo you can bookmark, tag and find the address from any computer, as well as share information with groups of people who have the same interest. In addition, this is another way to make collaborating with teachers easier. No more e-mailing links to all of your teammates!
A website I use often is http://www.readwritethink.org/. I found it on Diigo, bookmarked it, and found groups of people who use it as well. It is easy to access and easy to search for various lesson plans, students interactives, and printouts for the English/Language Arts teacher. One can search by subject or by grade level to best meet needs for students. Also, a teacher may utilize the professional development section for articles/ideas on different topics/subjects. This is where the highlighting tool will really come in handy!
Another website I discovered is http://www.readingrockets.org/. This website offers effective teaching strategies, activities, lessons, lesson plans, worksheets, exercises, skills, tests, assessments for reading comprehension, language arts, literacy, fluency, phonics and phonemic awareness for children, especially those with dyslexia and other reading difficulties. It is right up my alley!
A website I use often is http://www.readwritethink.org/. I found it on Diigo, bookmarked it, and found groups of people who use it as well. It is easy to access and easy to search for various lesson plans, students interactives, and printouts for the English/Language Arts teacher. One can search by subject or by grade level to best meet needs for students. Also, a teacher may utilize the professional development section for articles/ideas on different topics/subjects. This is where the highlighting tool will really come in handy!
Another website I discovered is http://www.readingrockets.org/. This website offers effective teaching strategies, activities, lessons, lesson plans, worksheets, exercises, skills, tests, assessments for reading comprehension, language arts, literacy, fluency, phonics and phonemic awareness for children, especially those with dyslexia and other reading difficulties. It is right up my alley!
Tool #4
My first reaction when learning about Google docs and Google reader is that I can't believe I've had access to such wonderful tools and didn't even know it.
Google docs is a great way to share information with team members. We can work in the same documents at the same time and avoid the problem of having to send then wait until someone updates the file in order to share it with other members. I love the fact that it is online, so the documents are accessable from anywhere. Google docs will make collaborating with other teachers so much easier. In the classroom, Google docs can be used by groups of students to create stories or poems. Since collaboration is the main attribute of the this tool, students can write as a team. Teachers can see who is doing the lion's share of the work as well as who is struggling and needs extra support.
Google reader is a great way to keep track of the blogs and sites you are following. It will notify you when a site is updated. How convenient! This will be particulary useful to students as they are using certain blogs or websites as part of research for writing or projects.
Google docs is a great way to share information with team members. We can work in the same documents at the same time and avoid the problem of having to send then wait until someone updates the file in order to share it with other members. I love the fact that it is online, so the documents are accessable from anywhere. Google docs will make collaborating with other teachers so much easier. In the classroom, Google docs can be used by groups of students to create stories or poems. Since collaboration is the main attribute of the this tool, students can write as a team. Teachers can see who is doing the lion's share of the work as well as who is struggling and needs extra support.
Google reader is a great way to keep track of the blogs and sites you are following. It will notify you when a site is updated. How convenient! This will be particulary useful to students as they are using certain blogs or websites as part of research for writing or projects.
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
Tool #3
My 18 month old son goes to "school" on Wednesdays. It gives me a chance to catch up on housework and have some time to myself. I had great plans for today: complete Tool #3, mop, do the dishes, organize my closet. Can you guess what I've done all morning...I'll give you a hint...my closet is still a wreck.
I have had a blast with image generators and mashups! This is probably pretty obvious. The first thing I did was make a mosaic of pictures taken the last week of school with my students. The "old" RGE building is being demolished, so the last day of school we had a toast to the building and all the memories we shared in it.
I was already familiar with Animoto. I included a video I made right after my son was born. I was in the middle of maternity leave, and totally obsessed with him. Well, who am I kidding? The obsession continues, so I had to make a new video with recent photos.
I used Spell with Flickr to make my name....how fun! I also used wordle to create my favorite Bible verse.
I've basically spent all of my free time this morning, so please feel free to comment on all of my hard work. (ha, ha!) What fun and inspiring ways for children to present information to the class, make projects, or just have fun exploring technology...all while expressing themselves in different ways.
I have had a blast with image generators and mashups! This is probably pretty obvious. The first thing I did was make a mosaic of pictures taken the last week of school with my students. The "old" RGE building is being demolished, so the last day of school we had a toast to the building and all the memories we shared in it.
I was already familiar with Animoto. I included a video I made right after my son was born. I was in the middle of maternity leave, and totally obsessed with him. Well, who am I kidding? The obsession continues, so I had to make a new video with recent photos.
I used Spell with Flickr to make my name....how fun! I also used wordle to create my favorite Bible verse.
I've basically spent all of my free time this morning, so please feel free to comment on all of my hard work. (ha, ha!) What fun and inspiring ways for children to present information to the class, make projects, or just have fun exploring technology...all while expressing themselves in different ways.
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
Tool #2
1. What are your thoughts about building an online education community and participating in a PLN?
I have been teaching for 12 years. Some of my favorite moments as a teacher have come from collaboration with other teachers at my school. The conversations and relationships we build with each other is the basis for a successful classroom environment. Teachers should always think of themselves as a learner. I like the article that stated "educators are not competitors". We are all in this together for one common goal....the success of students!
It is exciting to think that my PLN can extend to other teachers beyond my own little world. It is also exciting to think that the students at my school can have their own PLN beyond our classroom doors. It really broadens our horizons as far as communication goes. I am excited also because I will be beginning online classes in a counseling masters program next month, which I imagine will be another PLN for me. Talk about being immersed in a new learning setting!
2. What point stood out to you from the commenting advice?
The point that stood out the most to me is "write a meaningful comment". Students will definitely need to be taught what a meaningful comment is. (This reminds me of a reading lesson I've done with students on making meaningful connections. Too many times, students want to make a text-to-self connection with a story and although it is a connection, the connection they make doesn't help with comprehension...but I digress...)
3. What five blogs did you select for your comments?
I have been teaching for 12 years. Some of my favorite moments as a teacher have come from collaboration with other teachers at my school. The conversations and relationships we build with each other is the basis for a successful classroom environment. Teachers should always think of themselves as a learner. I like the article that stated "educators are not competitors". We are all in this together for one common goal....the success of students!
It is exciting to think that my PLN can extend to other teachers beyond my own little world. It is also exciting to think that the students at my school can have their own PLN beyond our classroom doors. It really broadens our horizons as far as communication goes. I am excited also because I will be beginning online classes in a counseling masters program next month, which I imagine will be another PLN for me. Talk about being immersed in a new learning setting!
2. What point stood out to you from the commenting advice?
The point that stood out the most to me is "write a meaningful comment". Students will definitely need to be taught what a meaningful comment is. (This reminds me of a reading lesson I've done with students on making meaningful connections. Too many times, students want to make a text-to-self connection with a story and although it is a connection, the connection they make doesn't help with comprehension...but I digress...)
3. What five blogs did you select for your comments?
- Teaching and Technology-Eric Zulaica
- The Tech-Teacher Experiment-Kathryn Thomas
- Tomorrow and Beyond-Maria Mendez
- 11 Tools Training-Nancy Delgado
- Discovering Technology for Education-Guadalupe Menjivar
Monday, June 7, 2010
Tool #1
Well, here I am. Blogging.
I've always wanted to start a Blog, or at least figure out how they work. I can check this off my list now!
Creating my Blog was easy because the instructions are very clear. I had fun creating the Avatar, although the voice is a little strange. I know that this is something students will love to do. I can see this being a very beneficial tool in the classroom and I am looking forward to learning more.
I've always wanted to start a Blog, or at least figure out how they work. I can check this off my list now!
Creating my Blog was easy because the instructions are very clear. I had fun creating the Avatar, although the voice is a little strange. I know that this is something students will love to do. I can see this being a very beneficial tool in the classroom and I am looking forward to learning more.
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