I truly feel like I've had a rebirth of sorts, and am ready for my life as a 21st Century Teacher! Before taking this course, I always wanted to experiment with more technology, but fear kept me from actually taking the plunge to try it. After seeing the video about the 21st Century Learner, I realized that the traditional way of teaching is just not going to reach the students of today. I no longer fear technology, in fact, I feel like I've jumped in with both feet and am not planning on turning back. I feel like my knowledge has grown leaps and bounds in just a few short weeks. This knowledge makes me excited for the year to come and all of the wonderful "tools" I have now acquired in my toolbox.
There are so many new tools that I'd like to incorporate into my classroom and to share with my colleagues. The first of which is a class wiki. I am very fortunate to have a wonderful Technology Specialist who is willing to collaborate with me on ways to make responding to literature on a wiki happen. I'd also like to begin utilizing screencasting as a means of showing students how to perform certain tasks on the computer and web. Part of the reason that I have been fearful of trying new things in technology is because the minute a new concept is introduced to fifth graders, half of their hands are up before you've finished saying the last word. I run around like a chicken with my head cut off trying to help students for the entire period. With screencasting, if students are having difficulty remembering what I did when I presented it, or if a student is absent, all they have to do is go to the screencast and it'll go over the directions again. Furthermore, I'm planning to continue collaborating with my Library Media Specialist and I hope to incorporate tools like Delicious and EasyBib into our Japan and Africa Units.
There is so much more that I'd like to incorporate into my curriculum and I plan to continue practicing and learning. I plan to do this by continuing to seek out and try the other Web 2.0 tools that we didn't get to. I now know that there is nothing to fear and that if I just take some time to "play" with the tool, I'll be able to pick it up in no time. I am also currently reading Web 2.0: New Tools, New Schools, written by Gwen Solomon and Lynne Schrum.
The Big Take Away for me is that a 21st Century Learner needs a 21st Century Teacher. I am no longer afraid. With this new knowledge, brings new opportunities for collaboration with colleagues as well. With greater collaboration, comes greater learning for the students.
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Monday, July 26, 2010
Thing 22: Edit a Wiki
Wow! I never thought I'd have so much fun creating a wiki. Before this summer, I had only briefly heard about a Wiki from our technology guru. I had no idea what it was and the name alone intimidated me. I no longer feel this way. I am much more comfortable with this Web 2.0 tool and have no doubt about trying it out with my students in this upcoming year. I created the beginnings of a class wiki. I added pages for each of the subjects and some links to start. Take a look...
Room 118's Wikispace
The only thing that I am still trying to work out is how I'm going to set the wiki up for student responses to their reading. I'll take any suggestions!
From my experiences with both wikis and blogs, I think that the major differences are that blogs are like an online journal. They are written by one person who shares their thoughts and opinions on a consistent basis. A blog also allows for comments to the author, and the author can respond as well through their blog. Some blogs have specific topics. For example, some people blog their weightloss journeys. Others blog their pregnancies. You can find a blog for just about anything! Wiki's on the other hand, are sites where there is more than one author. Anyone(depending upon your settings) can edit, update, etc.
On a wiki, there are many contributors, thus many opinions, thoughts, comments, and/or resources shared. If you want to have a back and forth discussion with one person, then the blog is what you want to use. The reason why I say this is because if you are having a discussion on a wiki, your comment will go to the whole group and not necessarily to a specific person.
Room 118's Wikispace
The only thing that I am still trying to work out is how I'm going to set the wiki up for student responses to their reading. I'll take any suggestions!
From my experiences with both wikis and blogs, I think that the major differences are that blogs are like an online journal. They are written by one person who shares their thoughts and opinions on a consistent basis. A blog also allows for comments to the author, and the author can respond as well through their blog. Some blogs have specific topics. For example, some people blog their weightloss journeys. Others blog their pregnancies. You can find a blog for just about anything! Wiki's on the other hand, are sites where there is more than one author. Anyone(depending upon your settings) can edit, update, etc.
On a wiki, there are many contributors, thus many opinions, thoughts, comments, and/or resources shared. If you want to have a back and forth discussion with one person, then the blog is what you want to use. The reason why I say this is because if you are having a discussion on a wiki, your comment will go to the whole group and not necessarily to a specific person.
Saturday, July 24, 2010
Thing 21: Wikis
It was great seeing all of the different uses for Wikis. This is a tool that I was very curious and motivated to find out more about. Fortunately, I was given the experience of creating an account and becoming a member of a Wiki through some coursework that I am currently completing.
Some of the Wikis that stood out as I was exploring include...
NHS Pathfinders-It is great to see a place where students can find their teachers and click on links that'll help them more efficiently find resources for their specific area of research. What a timesaver! Where was this when I was in high school?
Arbor Heights Elementary School Wiki-This is a great way for keeping all parents informed of the in's and out's of the school. What's nice about it and different from a school website, is that others can add to it. For example, if the PTO is planning a movie night, they can add that announcement to the Wiki. If the leader of the Robotics Club has a change in meeting times, they can go on and edit the changes. With a website, only the creator can edit it.
6th Grade Remedial Work-This wiki stood out for me because it originates from a class for students learning the English language in Portugal. It was created by the teacher for students who were having difficulty in learning the English language. The teacher added remedial exercises that practiced and reinforced the lessons that they had in class. Additionally, as the students completed each of the exercises, the teacher was able to provide feedback.
How to Create and e-Portfolio-This wiki was beneficial to me because I have been wanting to do this with my class for several years now. I just didn't know how to get started. This site was able to provide some excellent pointers.
In the upcoming year, I'd like to create a wiki for responding to literature. In the past, students have been required to read each night and then to respond to the reading in their Reader's Response journals. I would love to be able to set up a wiki so that the students can respond on the wiki instead. I think that this would actually help foster a more interactive conversation between myself and the kids. I also think that it would help their writing, as they would see actual examples of how their peers write. Furthermore, the wiki will serve almost as a portfolio as it will include work all the way up until the end of the year. This would be a wonderful tool for me when completing report cards and holding conferences, as it an example of student work. One hurtle that I know that I will encounter is actually creating a wiki myself. I've edited on a wiki that has already been created by someone else, but have never actually created one myself. Additionally, I'm not quite sure how to set the wiki up for my purposes. As I mentioned before, the students would respond each night to their reading. In the first month of school, I have them work on just creating summaries, as many students do more of a retell, as opposed to a summary. Once they have mastered summaries, I give them a grid with about 24 different "prompts" that they can answer about their reading. I'm not quite sure how I would set this up (Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated). I plan to collaborate with our Technology Specialist to see if we can come up with a solution to these hurtles together. Another hurtle that I think I will encounter is students who are maybe not as appropriate as they should be. To overcome this hurtle, I plan to make it clear to the students from the beginning that there is a history on a wiki and that I can go back and find out exactly who was being inappropriate. If this doesn't make the kids think twice about publishing anything inappropriate, then the first time someone gets caught hopefully will teach them the lesson. This brings me to the next hurtle. All of this requires a lot of monitoring on my part, however, this just replaces reading the RR journals each week so I don't think that it'll require any more time than I already commit. A final hurtle that will need to be overcome is the fact that not all students have internet access from home or their parents don't allow them to go on the internet. Some options are that they can submit a handwritten entry in their RR journals, they can go to the public library, or stay after school.
Some of the Wikis that stood out as I was exploring include...
NHS Pathfinders-It is great to see a place where students can find their teachers and click on links that'll help them more efficiently find resources for their specific area of research. What a timesaver! Where was this when I was in high school?
Arbor Heights Elementary School Wiki-This is a great way for keeping all parents informed of the in's and out's of the school. What's nice about it and different from a school website, is that others can add to it. For example, if the PTO is planning a movie night, they can add that announcement to the Wiki. If the leader of the Robotics Club has a change in meeting times, they can go on and edit the changes. With a website, only the creator can edit it.
6th Grade Remedial Work-This wiki stood out for me because it originates from a class for students learning the English language in Portugal. It was created by the teacher for students who were having difficulty in learning the English language. The teacher added remedial exercises that practiced and reinforced the lessons that they had in class. Additionally, as the students completed each of the exercises, the teacher was able to provide feedback.
How to Create and e-Portfolio-This wiki was beneficial to me because I have been wanting to do this with my class for several years now. I just didn't know how to get started. This site was able to provide some excellent pointers.
In the upcoming year, I'd like to create a wiki for responding to literature. In the past, students have been required to read each night and then to respond to the reading in their Reader's Response journals. I would love to be able to set up a wiki so that the students can respond on the wiki instead. I think that this would actually help foster a more interactive conversation between myself and the kids. I also think that it would help their writing, as they would see actual examples of how their peers write. Furthermore, the wiki will serve almost as a portfolio as it will include work all the way up until the end of the year. This would be a wonderful tool for me when completing report cards and holding conferences, as it an example of student work. One hurtle that I know that I will encounter is actually creating a wiki myself. I've edited on a wiki that has already been created by someone else, but have never actually created one myself. Additionally, I'm not quite sure how to set the wiki up for my purposes. As I mentioned before, the students would respond each night to their reading. In the first month of school, I have them work on just creating summaries, as many students do more of a retell, as opposed to a summary. Once they have mastered summaries, I give them a grid with about 24 different "prompts" that they can answer about their reading. I'm not quite sure how I would set this up (Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated). I plan to collaborate with our Technology Specialist to see if we can come up with a solution to these hurtles together. Another hurtle that I think I will encounter is students who are maybe not as appropriate as they should be. To overcome this hurtle, I plan to make it clear to the students from the beginning that there is a history on a wiki and that I can go back and find out exactly who was being inappropriate. If this doesn't make the kids think twice about publishing anything inappropriate, then the first time someone gets caught hopefully will teach them the lesson. This brings me to the next hurtle. All of this requires a lot of monitoring on my part, however, this just replaces reading the RR journals each week so I don't think that it'll require any more time than I already commit. A final hurtle that will need to be overcome is the fact that not all students have internet access from home or their parents don't allow them to go on the internet. Some options are that they can submit a handwritten entry in their RR journals, they can go to the public library, or stay after school.
Friday, July 23, 2010
Thing 20: ebooks
I had no idea that FREE books could be found and downloaded online! I know that many of my friends have purchased Kindle's and Ipads and that they were downloading books onto them, but they had to pay for each of their books, just as they would in a bookstore. For some reason, I hadn't realized that I could actually download books onto my computer. Through my navigating of the sites provided for Thing 20, I did find that most of the books that could be downloaded for free were the classics. I actually downloaded Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen to read on vacation this summer from the site Project Gutenberg. Another observation that I made was that, aside from the classics, many of the other free availabilities were novels whose titles and authors I hadn't ever heard of before.
Upon further navigation through different sites like the NHS ebooks, Salem Literature, and Marshall Cavendish, I found a wealth of resources/reference materials. I was especially impressed that the NHS ebooks linked up to the Gale Virtual Reference Library. I have used Gale for research projects and have always found what I needed. These are all excellent sources to be used by classroom teachers for things such as research projects.
The benefit of ebooks is that the references and/or novels are available to everyone at the same time, unlike in a library where you have to be put on a waiting list if someone has already taken the source out. On the other hand, and this is just my personal opinion, I would hate to see a library get rid of all of their "print" materials in favor of ebooks (as I heard of a school in Massachusetts doing). There's something about the feel and smell when you crack open a book that you're about to read or the sadness that you feel when you've finished a book where you've fallen in love with the characters and know you will miss them. I'd be very sad if my grandchildren never have this experience someday.
Because so much is being made "easier" or more easily accessed, I fear that we're going to become a society where people will no longer leave the house because they can basically do everything from paying their bills to taking college courses online. Mankind would lose their ability to have a face-to-face interaction. How sad! As it is, many experts are blaming the obesity epidemic on the fact that everything is being automized by computers, including power windows in cars. I think that there definitely needs to be a balance.
Upon further navigation through different sites like the NHS ebooks, Salem Literature, and Marshall Cavendish, I found a wealth of resources/reference materials. I was especially impressed that the NHS ebooks linked up to the Gale Virtual Reference Library. I have used Gale for research projects and have always found what I needed. These are all excellent sources to be used by classroom teachers for things such as research projects.
The benefit of ebooks is that the references and/or novels are available to everyone at the same time, unlike in a library where you have to be put on a waiting list if someone has already taken the source out. On the other hand, and this is just my personal opinion, I would hate to see a library get rid of all of their "print" materials in favor of ebooks (as I heard of a school in Massachusetts doing). There's something about the feel and smell when you crack open a book that you're about to read or the sadness that you feel when you've finished a book where you've fallen in love with the characters and know you will miss them. I'd be very sad if my grandchildren never have this experience someday.
Because so much is being made "easier" or more easily accessed, I fear that we're going to become a society where people will no longer leave the house because they can basically do everything from paying their bills to taking college courses online. Mankind would lose their ability to have a face-to-face interaction. How sad! As it is, many experts are blaming the obesity epidemic on the fact that everything is being automized by computers, including power windows in cars. I think that there definitely needs to be a balance.
Thursday, July 22, 2010
Thing 19: Screencasting
I am so excited about learning how to do a screencast! There have often been times in my fifth grade class when I’ve demonstrated how to do something and as soon as the students are asked to do it on their own, everyone’s hands go up. In the past, I’ve tried to troubleshoot this by creating a step-by-step list. This wasn’t always the most effective method because some students still didn’t get it. Now that I know how to create a screencast, I plan to create a link to it and make it readily available so that the students can go back to it if needed. The first screencast I plan to create is a tutorial on how to create a Work Cited on EasyBib.
I have decided to create a screencast on using Wordle, a Web 2.0 tool that I think will be very useful in my classroom. Students can create Wordle’s to summarize a book that they have read, we can create Wordle’s as a way to review concepts taught in a certain unit, and much more. It is basically a word cloud that is created using any text that you provide. I have decided to brainstorm a list of words summarizing my experience with this wonderful professional development opportunity and create a screencast of that.
Probably the most difficulty I had with creating the screencast was keeping it under 5 minutes, which is the maximum amount of time I am given. I had to re-do my screencast several times so that it fit into the time constraint. I also just realized that for some reason, the microphone did not work while I was creating my screencast. I've checked all of my settings and re-recorded the screencast, but am still not getting any sound. I don't know why this is occurring.
I have decided to create a screencast on using Wordle, a Web 2.0 tool that I think will be very useful in my classroom. Students can create Wordle’s to summarize a book that they have read, we can create Wordle’s as a way to review concepts taught in a certain unit, and much more. It is basically a word cloud that is created using any text that you provide. I have decided to brainstorm a list of words summarizing my experience with this wonderful professional development opportunity and create a screencast of that.
Probably the most difficulty I had with creating the screencast was keeping it under 5 minutes, which is the maximum amount of time I am given. I had to re-do my screencast several times so that it fit into the time constraint. I also just realized that for some reason, the microphone did not work while I was creating my screencast. I've checked all of my settings and re-recorded the screencast, but am still not getting any sound. I don't know why this is occurring.
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
Thing 18: Podcasting
Podcasting is another Web 2.0 tool that I tried for the first time this summer. I wanted to get into shape and eventually run a 5K race. Because I'm a teacher and it's in my nature, I decided to do some research on the Internet before embarking on my training. What I found was a podcast that was created by a woman named Carly who had created a podcast consisting of nine weeks of training for a 5K. The first week begins slowly and each week progressively gets more challenging. She narrates the podcast, gives running tips, provides music, and lots of encouragement. I was able to download the podcast onto my Ipod and I use it when I go out running.
While exploring the different podcast sights, I found one on EPN that will help me brush up on my Spanish. It's been quite awhile since I have taught Spanish, and I don't get to practice it as often as I'd like. By subscribing to the Spanishpodcast, It'll allow me to refresh my memory. The following link is all about Spanish vocabulary.
I have participated in Professional Development opportunities on Smartboard technologies, but I know that there is so much more to learn. Therefore, Smartbook Notebook Math Tools is another podcast that might be beneficial. I liked how there were screenshots of the Smartboard so that I can visually see where certain tools are that I'll need to do the things that I'm learning.
Thing 17: Presentation Tools
You can find just about anything on Slideshare! Every single search term that I asked it to search gave me several options of presentations. Professionally, I found slideshows like "Japan in Pictures", "Geography of Japan", downloadable Math games, and the "Kenya Safari" presentation below.Kenya Safari
View more presentations from ticktock01.
I chose this slideshow from slideshare because it includes amazing pictures of an African Safari in Kenya. Some day I would love to go on Safari in Africa, but until then, I can look at this slideshow. I can also use this with my students when we are learning about Kenya.
One of my absolute favorite television shows is "The Biggest Loser". Imagine my surprise when I searched this term, several options came up including one that includes several "Biggest Loser" recipes that I can cook at home.
Slideshare would also be a wonderful tool for students to work together to create a "how to" slideshow presentation explaining how to do a certain math concept. Often times, when students are asked to do this, it helps them understand the concept better.
As for Zoho....wow! You weren't kidding when you said it had all the bells and whistles. I definitely need some time to explore this site and its features further. It almost reminds me of Google docs in a way. It was not at all what I was expecting.
Recently I learned about Prezi's for presentations as well. These are an excellent resource for teachers and students to present their work to a group.
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