I have always felt that I knew a lot about technology but I never realized how much I didn't know until I took this class. Now, I feel like I am way more technologically savvy than I have ever been! (I have been showing off the newly found ideas that I have been introduced to, to all of my friends.) I feel very lucky that I have been using technology since I was in middle school. Now that technology can be so useful and beneficial to what I'm going to be doing, I am even more grateful to being introduced to technology at a fairly young age.
Since I took this class I have learned about many new and fun ways to incorporate technology into the classroom. Best of all, they are all free ideas! I never knew that there were so many opportunities to use technology, and in such a beneficial way. I hope that my experience with technology and the resources that I can pull from will only grow as I continue on my journey to be a teacher.
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Chapter 9 Response
This chapter discussed the importance of making sure our students know how to operate things when it comes to the read/write web. The book said, "If we fail to graduate students who are not able to create, sustain, and participate in these networks, in safe, ethical, and effective ways, we've done them a disservice". I could not agree with that statement more. I believe it is our responsibility, as educators, to prepare our students for the real-world. The real-world is becoming more and more dependent on technology and the internet and we truly would be doing our students a huge disservice if we didn't prepare them for that.
I love that when our students complete work that it doesn't just have to be finished. The idea that they can display their work for people all over the world to see is not only fascinating but exciting. I like the idea that learning can be a conversation and not just a lecture, and it can be collaborative instead of independent. Ultimatly, I think our students are going to benefit from all of these ideas and advancements in our society, and to me, that is exciting!
I love that when our students complete work that it doesn't just have to be finished. The idea that they can display their work for people all over the world to see is not only fascinating but exciting. I like the idea that learning can be a conversation and not just a lecture, and it can be collaborative instead of independent. Ultimatly, I think our students are going to benefit from all of these ideas and advancements in our society, and to me, that is exciting!
Saturday, May 23, 2009
Chapter 8 Response
Before reading the chapter and creating our own podcasts in class, I barely knew what a podcast was. I had a general idea but I didn't know exactly what they were and that they were becoming so popular. I was very excited to read about the free podcasts that you can subscribe to through ITunes. After doing as the author suggested and looking through some of the top podcasts in Education, I found some that I think could be very beneficial to a teacher in the classroom. What I love even more is that I can subscribe to these podcasts and they will just automatically come to my account, almost like the RSS feed. It makes things a lot easier and we all know that teachers have A LOT on their plate, so anything that can help make the load lighter, is a really good thing!
Friday, May 22, 2009
Chapter 6 Response
I was really surprised at the idea of using Twitter in the classroom! I always just thought of it as a social networking website, and nothing more, but the author gives several suggestions as to how Twitter can be used in schools. My favorite is how a teacher used twitter as a journaling place for his students during a field trip. I like the idea that students who were unable to go could get live updates on how the trip was going. The only problem with this is that you would have to have a phone or computer for each student and that doesn't seem like it would be very likely to work, especially in elementary school. If you could provide phones for groups of students then that might work, but that would require a lot of trust in your students, as well, to only do what you are expecting them to.
The author convinced me, as I read, to set up an account with a social bookmarking site; Delicious.com. I went through and tried the things that he suggested to try and I found the website very helpful! I think it is great to be able to bookmark websites that you might find useful later on in your teaching career, and be able to access them from anywhere. I like that you aren't limited to the sites saved on just one particular computer. I recommend that everyone do this!
The author convinced me, as I read, to set up an account with a social bookmarking site; Delicious.com. I went through and tried the things that he suggested to try and I found the website very helpful! I think it is great to be able to bookmark websites that you might find useful later on in your teaching career, and be able to access them from anywhere. I like that you aren't limited to the sites saved on just one particular computer. I recommend that everyone do this!
Thursday, May 21, 2009
Chapter 4 Response
I REALLY like the idea of using a class wiki. Obviously, I think that whether or not your students will actually be able to contribute to the site, will depend on the grade that you are teaching, but if your students are old enough I think it is a great way for students to collaborate with each other. I also like the idea of having a class wiki, even if your students are too young to be able to handle the responsibility of editing. Being able to have a place where you can update the things that are going on in your classroom is great for parents, grandparents, etc. Although this seems more like just a website, I think that you could still have students editing the page with you. With the permission of their teacher, you could ask an older grade to collaborate with your class on a class wiki. This way the older students are involved in editing on an individual basis and the younger class can maybe edit the page as a group, with the teacher helping. It could be a collaborative effort amongst both classes, and both are still getting that sense of responsibility when it comes to their class wiki.
I am still unsure about whether or not I feel that Wikipedia is a reliable source. The author makes many good points as to why we should be able to use it, and trust it as a good source of information but I have a hard time forgetting that people can edit the information any way they want to. It seems like there are many pros to wikipedia, which even just one pro is more than I thought there was before I read the chapter!
I am still unsure about whether or not I feel that Wikipedia is a reliable source. The author makes many good points as to why we should be able to use it, and trust it as a good source of information but I have a hard time forgetting that people can edit the information any way they want to. It seems like there are many pros to wikipedia, which even just one pro is more than I thought there was before I read the chapter!
Choose Your Tool- Jing
To Whom it May Concern,
There is a GREAT tool that I think every school should be taking advantage of; it's called Jing. Jing is free and can be used as a very effective teaching tool. Jing uses a tablet computer or smartboard for students to write or draw on and records their voice, as well. After you finish recording everything, you can then play back the video, which will show whatever was drawn on the tablet or smartboard and plays the voices along with the video.
There are many ways that you can use this tool in the classroom. You can use Jing to assess what the students know through collaborative learning projects. Students could show what they have learned by creating a lesson to explain the concept being learned. Even better, you could have groups of students do the teaching by assigning each group different areas of any given topic and let them be the teachers. They could create a plan to teach what concept they have been assigned, record the lesson, and then play it for the rest of the class. It is a great way for them to self-assess as they explain their thinking and what they have learned. The more work that the students do, the better! That is, if it is productive and they are gaining something from the experience, of course.
The teacher could also use Jing to simply record parts of lessons that the teacher was wanting to show to the class, visually, and then play that for the students. This could also be done if you knew, in advance, that you would be absent from school. By recording parts of a lesson and having the substitute simply play the lesson for the class, would make the substitutes job a lot easier and more importantly, you know that your students would be getting the exact information that you want them to. Also, if you were to incorporate Jing into your lessons, it would be a great way to address both the visual and auditory learners.
Lastly, Jing would be a great way to possibly communicate with other classes across the country, or even the world. Anything that you have recorded could then be put up on the internet and you could, potentially, receive comments from other people. I believe this is a wonderful way to introduce students to knew ways of doing things, through technology. It would be disappointing if we did not take advantage of free, educational tools, such as Jing.
Thanks,
Susan Bale
There is a GREAT tool that I think every school should be taking advantage of; it's called Jing. Jing is free and can be used as a very effective teaching tool. Jing uses a tablet computer or smartboard for students to write or draw on and records their voice, as well. After you finish recording everything, you can then play back the video, which will show whatever was drawn on the tablet or smartboard and plays the voices along with the video.
There are many ways that you can use this tool in the classroom. You can use Jing to assess what the students know through collaborative learning projects. Students could show what they have learned by creating a lesson to explain the concept being learned. Even better, you could have groups of students do the teaching by assigning each group different areas of any given topic and let them be the teachers. They could create a plan to teach what concept they have been assigned, record the lesson, and then play it for the rest of the class. It is a great way for them to self-assess as they explain their thinking and what they have learned. The more work that the students do, the better! That is, if it is productive and they are gaining something from the experience, of course.
The teacher could also use Jing to simply record parts of lessons that the teacher was wanting to show to the class, visually, and then play that for the students. This could also be done if you knew, in advance, that you would be absent from school. By recording parts of a lesson and having the substitute simply play the lesson for the class, would make the substitutes job a lot easier and more importantly, you know that your students would be getting the exact information that you want them to. Also, if you were to incorporate Jing into your lessons, it would be a great way to address both the visual and auditory learners.
Lastly, Jing would be a great way to possibly communicate with other classes across the country, or even the world. Anything that you have recorded could then be put up on the internet and you could, potentially, receive comments from other people. I believe this is a wonderful way to introduce students to knew ways of doing things, through technology. It would be disappointing if we did not take advantage of free, educational tools, such as Jing.
Thanks,
Susan Bale
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Ch. 3, 5 & 7 Response
Chapter 3
If we expect our students to be able to do something, then I think we should at least have an idea of what we are expecting them to do. So, needless to say, I agree with the author when he says that if we want our students to be blogging then we need to have that experience, too. I think that goes with many other aspects of the classroom, as well. For example, the third grade classroom that I was student teaching in, had a couple of different literature circles during our literacy block. Each day, the group would read a chapter and then respond in their notebooks. I did not read the chapter in advance, or after the group was finished, I read the chapter WITH the students. If I was expecting the students to read the chapter then I felt that I needed to be reading it, too. The students would discuss the chapter, if they had time, but a great way to ensure that they discuss it and incorporate technology into the literature circles would be for each student to write their response to the chapter in a blog. This way the other students could comment and share their ideas.
Chapter 5
I had never heard of RSS until I was in this class but it sounds like it is a great tool to have as a teacher. I tried to set up an RSS feed reader but the author was right, it was a bit overwhelming. I've always felt that I know a decent amount about technology but after trying to do this, I was somewhat confused. However, if I can figure out how to set it up, the author makes many good points as to why it would be a good thing to use in the classroom. I think that blogs are a great tool for students to use and the RSS feed seems necessary if you are going to use blogs in your class. The idea of going through each blog individually seems very tedious and the RSS feed would be a great way to make that process go a lot smoother.
Chapter 7
I absoulely love the idea of using Flickr in the classroom, and I will use it when I have my own class. I think it is a great teaching tool for many reasons. I like the idea of using it to, what the author said as, "dissecting" the picture. Being able to use the notes to put more information on the picture is a great thing to have when you are learning about, almost anything! I also really like the idea of being able to search for pictures that may already be on Flickr and then being able to comment on those, in hopes to contact someone across the state, country or even the world. That would not only be exciting as a teacher but as a student, as well! It seems as though the ideas for using Flickr are endless!
If we expect our students to be able to do something, then I think we should at least have an idea of what we are expecting them to do. So, needless to say, I agree with the author when he says that if we want our students to be blogging then we need to have that experience, too. I think that goes with many other aspects of the classroom, as well. For example, the third grade classroom that I was student teaching in, had a couple of different literature circles during our literacy block. Each day, the group would read a chapter and then respond in their notebooks. I did not read the chapter in advance, or after the group was finished, I read the chapter WITH the students. If I was expecting the students to read the chapter then I felt that I needed to be reading it, too. The students would discuss the chapter, if they had time, but a great way to ensure that they discuss it and incorporate technology into the literature circles would be for each student to write their response to the chapter in a blog. This way the other students could comment and share their ideas.
Chapter 5
I had never heard of RSS until I was in this class but it sounds like it is a great tool to have as a teacher. I tried to set up an RSS feed reader but the author was right, it was a bit overwhelming. I've always felt that I know a decent amount about technology but after trying to do this, I was somewhat confused. However, if I can figure out how to set it up, the author makes many good points as to why it would be a good thing to use in the classroom. I think that blogs are a great tool for students to use and the RSS feed seems necessary if you are going to use blogs in your class. The idea of going through each blog individually seems very tedious and the RSS feed would be a great way to make that process go a lot smoother.
Chapter 7
I absoulely love the idea of using Flickr in the classroom, and I will use it when I have my own class. I think it is a great teaching tool for many reasons. I like the idea of using it to, what the author said as, "dissecting" the picture. Being able to use the notes to put more information on the picture is a great thing to have when you are learning about, almost anything! I also really like the idea of being able to search for pictures that may already be on Flickr and then being able to comment on those, in hopes to contact someone across the state, country or even the world. That would not only be exciting as a teacher but as a student, as well! It seems as though the ideas for using Flickr are endless!
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