Google Reader and igoogle are the first tools I share with others when I'm discussing some of the topics/tools covered in the current grad class I'm taking. I explain that these tools are the way to stay connected with so many topics in the area of education or any other area of interest. I explain how RSS Feeds are the great tool that give us the capability to follow blogs and wikis on any given topic. All the blogs and wikis of interest are pushed into our Google Reader, along with our gmail account, which can all be accessed from igoogle, which also has a great search engine.
Wikis are a tool I find beneficial for class purposes. I think it's great for everyone to have input on a given topic. I know that wikis are not a reliable source for research on the web and it is frustrating when searching for something and several wikis pop up. I'm happy that we as educators have made our student population aware of the use of wikis.
Blogs are great tools for many reasons. It is beneficial and therapeutic to share your knowledgeable point of view on a topic. It is beneficial to others to reads, view, and comment on your point of view. I feel blogs can be a disservice when they are for ranting and raving on a hot topic that people don't know enough about to comment on.
Del.ici.ous is one of the best tools I had the pleasure of exploring. It is great to have all your favorites at your fingertips as well as the appropriately tagged favorites of others. The one down fall is, I couldn't install the toolbar on my school computer, but I can still navigate my way to my del.ici.ous.
Google apps are a great way to work collaboratively on a written project or presentation. I know other polling sites like Survey Monkey have many of the same perks, but I think the fact that google has set the apps up to be at your fingertips from your igoogle account is a great plus.
Google Earth has great capabilities in general, but still limited capabilities at my school as well as many others. It's sad that all students can't access every part of this informational tool.
Twitter is amazing. The number of tweets coming into my account daily is phenomenal. I love knowing what's happening, everywhere. This is the tool that gives me this capability.
All the collaborative whiteboard tools are easy to navigate and share. They are by far the easiest tool to use to collaborate with others who are not in the same room with you. They are great for brainstorming topics out of the classroom and in.
Elluminate is a great tool, but is best used with microphone capability, which everyone doesn't always have. I have done a few web workshops using Elluminate and was happy with the results.
All in all, I've enjoyed learning about all the tools we've been introduced to. Knowledge is power and this case is no different. Staying in the dark and lacking awareness and use of these great web 2.0 tools would only hurt my students progress and my own in the end.
Saturday, May 15, 2010
I bought a new Blackberry on Sunday. I had a Blackberry before and I gave it up because I didn't feel that I utilized all the cool apps and gadgets that came with the Blackberry. Recently, I had been missing my Blackberry. As soon as I left the store I downloaded the Twitter app to my phone. My little red alert light is blinking nonstop. Someone always has something to say. Ryan Seacrest is telling me what is happening on Idol. The Ranting Teacher is trying to sound optimistic about his/her day. I'm learning how the Badgers are performing in their latest competition. People magazine is telling me the latest celebrity gossip. The Mayo Clinic is telling me how to tell if I've had a stroke. Travel Wisconsin is telling me what's happening around the state this weekend. Education.com is informing me of new happenings in the world of education. Obviously, the amount of information tweeted to a person depends on the number of people they follow. I think the greatest aspect of Twitter is when a person I follow suggests some other people to check out on Twitter. A person could truly find the information for anything they need on any given topic. It's a great tool. Personally, I don't have any friends who are on Twitter, for me it is a professional tool and a way for me to keep up on current events of all sorts.
Friday, May 7, 2010
Del.ici.ous description and reflection
There are several websites that my classmates found valuable that I want to save to my own list. I added several throughout the last few weeks that were mentioned in the wiki activities and blog posts. I think the beauty of the delicious bookmarks are that I don't have to add them to my own list, I can search the lists of others using simple tags.
My own list of tags has grown rather large, surprisingly large. I was happy to see that my tag cloud showed similarities to the tags of others. I tried to keep my tags simple and descriptive. I didn't try to vary them a great deal, but obviously would depending on the subject matter I was interested in saving. I used the same tags to save to our class network list, and I think the web2.0 descriptor tag is a useful one for others who are researching effective tools to use with students. If I were to teach tagging to students ( I think delicious bookmarks are a worthwhile tool to implement in schools, but can't at my current school)I would teach simplicity. I think using a variety of synonyms has downfalls, keeping it simple, common language is to the benefit of everyone.
I did not bundle tags together. If I had more bookmarks saved, as I save more, this will be a feature I will use. It will help to stay more organized in the use of my bookmarks. It will be great to bundle the tags of common topics together.
Of course, in creating my bookmarks, the class tags were used most often. In addition, I tagged google and google earth activities the most. I did find lots of useful information relating to google applications in my research for google earth.
I did not add any annotations at this time. As I become more savvy with delicious and add more bookmarks, i will use annotations to make searching for my necessary bookmarks easier for me. The greatest benefit of using this tool is the ability to access favorite bookmarks from any location for a long time! It will be to my advantage to take the time now to be descriptive to minimize my search time in the future.
In order to use del.ici.ous to connect with other interested in the same topic you simply have to type a search term in the box. Scroll over the results and the results display the person who tagged the bookmark. You can follow other tags of this person as well. I searched for google tags and found Eric and A.Delgado, among other who share similar tags.
Adding others of similar interests to your network is a two way street. My bookmarks will benefit them and vice verse. We will enjoy or copacetic relationship and learn from the tools we each find. Del.ici.ous bookmarks would be great to use for a collaborative project. A network of users researching a common topic would be able to better collaborate to create a finished project more efficiently. It would save time in doubling the research as well. In this case, tag bundles would help to keep all network members organized.
There are several examples of exemplary web 2.0 tools that will help convince my administrator to allow great resources like these in our school. they are:
Google Earth Across the Curriculum (to help demonstrate the wide variety of activities/subjects google earth can enrich)
Websites and Web2.0 Applications (to show the options and have the ability to demonstrate which tools would be useful for what)
Cyberbullying Research Center (to show that awareness and wise use on teaching with the tools is better that avoidance)
Tweet Ideas (to show the possible uses for collaboration and team building involving a web 2.0 tool)
The best and easiest way to show the value is to ask them to use them as I have. Using and practicing is the only way to learn the importance and usefulness of a new tool.
My own list of tags has grown rather large, surprisingly large. I was happy to see that my tag cloud showed similarities to the tags of others. I tried to keep my tags simple and descriptive. I didn't try to vary them a great deal, but obviously would depending on the subject matter I was interested in saving. I used the same tags to save to our class network list, and I think the web2.0 descriptor tag is a useful one for others who are researching effective tools to use with students. If I were to teach tagging to students ( I think delicious bookmarks are a worthwhile tool to implement in schools, but can't at my current school)I would teach simplicity. I think using a variety of synonyms has downfalls, keeping it simple, common language is to the benefit of everyone.
I did not bundle tags together. If I had more bookmarks saved, as I save more, this will be a feature I will use. It will help to stay more organized in the use of my bookmarks. It will be great to bundle the tags of common topics together.
Of course, in creating my bookmarks, the class tags were used most often. In addition, I tagged google and google earth activities the most. I did find lots of useful information relating to google applications in my research for google earth.
I did not add any annotations at this time. As I become more savvy with delicious and add more bookmarks, i will use annotations to make searching for my necessary bookmarks easier for me. The greatest benefit of using this tool is the ability to access favorite bookmarks from any location for a long time! It will be to my advantage to take the time now to be descriptive to minimize my search time in the future.
In order to use del.ici.ous to connect with other interested in the same topic you simply have to type a search term in the box. Scroll over the results and the results display the person who tagged the bookmark. You can follow other tags of this person as well. I searched for google tags and found Eric and A.Delgado, among other who share similar tags.
Adding others of similar interests to your network is a two way street. My bookmarks will benefit them and vice verse. We will enjoy or copacetic relationship and learn from the tools we each find. Del.ici.ous bookmarks would be great to use for a collaborative project. A network of users researching a common topic would be able to better collaborate to create a finished project more efficiently. It would save time in doubling the research as well. In this case, tag bundles would help to keep all network members organized.
There are several examples of exemplary web 2.0 tools that will help convince my administrator to allow great resources like these in our school. they are:
Google Earth Across the Curriculum (to help demonstrate the wide variety of activities/subjects google earth can enrich)
Websites and Web2.0 Applications (to show the options and have the ability to demonstrate which tools would be useful for what)
Cyberbullying Research Center (to show that awareness and wise use on teaching with the tools is better that avoidance)
Tweet Ideas (to show the possible uses for collaboration and team building involving a web 2.0 tool)
The best and easiest way to show the value is to ask them to use them as I have. Using and practicing is the only way to learn the importance and usefulness of a new tool.
Friday, April 30, 2010
Twitter Education
Twitter is a great place to find information about organizations that could become community partners for service learning projects. It's a great place to discover a need for service learning as well.
Twitter is a great communication tool to use with parents. A Twitter account can be activated to share daily information with parents about the events and homework of the day. I think this is a simple way to communicate with the folks who have access.
The article "Twenty-nine Interesting Ways to use Twitter in the Classroom" gave some astounding ideas. English/Written Language is a difficult subject to get students motivated about. I love the clever assessment idea involving 140 characters or less to write a Twitter story. The ideas for asking for location of other Twitterers to examine the Earth using Google Earth seems simple enough, if others Tweet back. I Tweeted about a field trip to Madison and asked for information to share about rocks and mineral with my class. I didn't receive a response. I was provoked to try, and I realize they could be limiting topics.
I think the idea of Twitter for educational use could be valuable with monitoring. It is a tool that could be easily abused. Students can text quickly, I'm sure Tweeting could be lightning fast!
Twitter is a great communication tool to use with parents. A Twitter account can be activated to share daily information with parents about the events and homework of the day. I think this is a simple way to communicate with the folks who have access.
The article "Twenty-nine Interesting Ways to use Twitter in the Classroom" gave some astounding ideas. English/Written Language is a difficult subject to get students motivated about. I love the clever assessment idea involving 140 characters or less to write a Twitter story. The ideas for asking for location of other Twitterers to examine the Earth using Google Earth seems simple enough, if others Tweet back. I Tweeted about a field trip to Madison and asked for information to share about rocks and mineral with my class. I didn't receive a response. I was provoked to try, and I realize they could be limiting topics.
I think the idea of Twitter for educational use could be valuable with monitoring. It is a tool that could be easily abused. Students can text quickly, I'm sure Tweeting could be lightning fast!
Twitter personally
Twitter has been an interesting tool to use this past week. I have found, much like the RSS Feeds and Google Reader, there is too much of a good thing. Too much information is over whelming. It is absolutely amazing what famous people from all back grounds and what companies and organizations, one can follow on Twitter. Personally, I find it enjoyable to hear from Bon Jovi and Kenny Chesney periodically. I like to know what is going on in their lives. I follow Weight Watchers and as member and an employee, I've benefited from the motivational and support topics that have been tweeted to me.
When distinguishing between Twitter and Facebook at this point, I personally enjoy Facebook more. I can get a lot of the same information it seems, and true personal friends are my friends on Facebook and not on Twitter. Twitter seems to be the rage, but not in my social circle, yet.
When distinguishing between Twitter and Facebook at this point, I personally enjoy Facebook more. I can get a lot of the same information it seems, and true personal friends are my friends on Facebook and not on Twitter. Twitter seems to be the rage, but not in my social circle, yet.
Thursday, April 29, 2010
Tools of the Trade
I had fun exploring some of the web 2.0 tools investigated by my classmates. Thanks classmates, for sharing. Your wiki posts were interesting and well researched.
I enjoyed learning more about social networking. I'm familiar with Facebook and am becoming more so with Twitter this week. Sarah shared information about The Daily Mile and Twiducate. As an educator, I appreciate that Sarah used The Daily Mile to motivate the athletes that she coaches. It reminds me of a curriculum meeting that I attended a few years back at a neighboring school. I remember sitting with a young P.E. teacher who could not understand what was meant by integrating curriculum. The example we were using involved integrating math concepts in gym class, by weighing and measuring, yourself and a distance. This guy did not get it. Sarah you have shared a great tool that I would love to share with him. I have found it motivating for myself as well. Twiducate is a great, school friendly tool to share class activities, etc. with families. I'm considering this tool for next year, rather than a class note.
Collaborative drawing tools are wonderful. I played with dabbleboard, Scriblink, and imaginationcubed. I feel Scriblink was the easiest to share and navigate. I liked the ease of use. The tools have great possibilities for differentiating instruction. The tools make it easy to share brainstorming sessions with those you are collaborating with, as a teacher or a student. Scriblink is a user friendly way to create a class mind map, much easier to use than Inspiration.
I also explored the use of Immersive Environments in schools. I can appreciate the examples given for use in school. I can see the importance and validity in role playing scenarios with the older students involving history, economics, and citizenship. I feel that tools like Whyville and Dizzywood have to be closely monitored by an adult supervisor. They give the sense that video game playing is occurring during the school day. Again, I do see the value of these tools for select students involving real life topics and situations. I do agree that everyone learns differently and we usually learn more when we are enjoying ourselves.
I enjoyed learning more about social networking. I'm familiar with Facebook and am becoming more so with Twitter this week. Sarah shared information about The Daily Mile and Twiducate. As an educator, I appreciate that Sarah used The Daily Mile to motivate the athletes that she coaches. It reminds me of a curriculum meeting that I attended a few years back at a neighboring school. I remember sitting with a young P.E. teacher who could not understand what was meant by integrating curriculum. The example we were using involved integrating math concepts in gym class, by weighing and measuring, yourself and a distance. This guy did not get it. Sarah you have shared a great tool that I would love to share with him. I have found it motivating for myself as well. Twiducate is a great, school friendly tool to share class activities, etc. with families. I'm considering this tool for next year, rather than a class note.
Collaborative drawing tools are wonderful. I played with dabbleboard, Scriblink, and imaginationcubed. I feel Scriblink was the easiest to share and navigate. I liked the ease of use. The tools have great possibilities for differentiating instruction. The tools make it easy to share brainstorming sessions with those you are collaborating with, as a teacher or a student. Scriblink is a user friendly way to create a class mind map, much easier to use than Inspiration.
I also explored the use of Immersive Environments in schools. I can appreciate the examples given for use in school. I can see the importance and validity in role playing scenarios with the older students involving history, economics, and citizenship. I feel that tools like Whyville and Dizzywood have to be closely monitored by an adult supervisor. They give the sense that video game playing is occurring during the school day. Again, I do see the value of these tools for select students involving real life topics and situations. I do agree that everyone learns differently and we usually learn more when we are enjoying ourselves.
Saturday, April 24, 2010
Four things every student should learn....
I believe Alan November has a good start here. The four things he has named have significant validity in today's society, but in my opinion they are not the only important skills/awareness we should instill in our students.
Global empathy as Mr. November said is important for future employment. An understanding of differences and other cultures will take students far. They definitely can not learn all languages in the world, but a few would help also.
Social and ethical responsibility on the web is very important if we wish for our young people to grow up to be well adjusted adults. I agree schools are taking the easy way out by blocking websites, most homes have Internet access and the students are aware.
The permanence of what is posted online is eye opening. It is difficult for the school to compete with home in this respect. I know of parents who post stunts that their kids are doing to you tube. I don't see the sense in it, but how can we beat that?
Critical thinking is a must. Students at my school are being introduced to relevant sites on the web. they know wiki can be changed by others, so don't go there.
In addition to these four things, I think students need to know the art of collaboration. Civic literacy is also important. Everyone can have their own opinion on which of the 21st Century Skills should be focused on the most, but everyone has their own perceptions.
Global empathy as Mr. November said is important for future employment. An understanding of differences and other cultures will take students far. They definitely can not learn all languages in the world, but a few would help also.
Social and ethical responsibility on the web is very important if we wish for our young people to grow up to be well adjusted adults. I agree schools are taking the easy way out by blocking websites, most homes have Internet access and the students are aware.
The permanence of what is posted online is eye opening. It is difficult for the school to compete with home in this respect. I know of parents who post stunts that their kids are doing to you tube. I don't see the sense in it, but how can we beat that?
Critical thinking is a must. Students at my school are being introduced to relevant sites on the web. they know wiki can be changed by others, so don't go there.
In addition to these four things, I think students need to know the art of collaboration. Civic literacy is also important. Everyone can have their own opinion on which of the 21st Century Skills should be focused on the most, but everyone has their own perceptions.
Technology Transformed Learning Environments
As I read David Warlick's "Technology Transformed Learning Environments" I took notice of the statement, "The achievement of one to one (computer to student) learning environments is now close to being a universal desire." I thoroughly agree with Mr. Warlick, but also wonder, who wouldn't want this to be a reality. It is extremely difficult to find a job/profession that doesn't require basic computer/technology awareness, yet there are many schools that don't have adequate technology available for their students. Something is wrong with that picture.
I've made many comments about the difficulty of breaking through the fire wall at my school, it is literally like me jumping through a wall of fire, especially this week. My school has a computer lab and several laptop labs and desktops in every classroom. Physical availability of a computer is not the problem. I couldn't access googleearth from school this week, I used to be able to, but now I (we) can't. Again, this class has brought some great tools to my awareness, however, I have no where to use them with my students.
My school does not have Smartboard Technology, we do have a tool called a mimio. Mimio allows any white board to become interactive. Lessons and discussions can be created and saved in the mimio notebook. Mimio use is very motivating for our students and I feel our school has done well in professional development planning for mimio and implementation of mimio use. We have had workshops available, on site training, and one teacher is being fully trained by mimio to be a trainer. As I think of Mr. Warlick's five suggestions of what a learning experience looks like involving mimio use, I think it is a step in the right direction.
Mimio lesson/websites that are interactive can be created/found based on interests and questions that students have. Mimio uses both a stylus to select items/write on the board and a notepad that can be passed around in class. The actions/additions given during discussion in a mimio lesson, provoke conversations. Mimio use is responsive to the learners actions. Lesson are created and followed through by selections made by students and can be created by students as well. If a mimio lesson were to compel a personal investment it would be a new skill taught. I often use mimio activities to introduce new concepts in math. Students are motivated to try on their own with mimio versus the whiteboard. Mimio lessons are correctable and are taught in a safe environment. It's OK to make mistakes and try something else.
Use mimio lessons to teach rather than lecture involves hands on learning which is important for all students. Students will generalize the activity and use what they have learned.
I've made many comments about the difficulty of breaking through the fire wall at my school, it is literally like me jumping through a wall of fire, especially this week. My school has a computer lab and several laptop labs and desktops in every classroom. Physical availability of a computer is not the problem. I couldn't access googleearth from school this week, I used to be able to, but now I (we) can't. Again, this class has brought some great tools to my awareness, however, I have no where to use them with my students.
My school does not have Smartboard Technology, we do have a tool called a mimio. Mimio allows any white board to become interactive. Lessons and discussions can be created and saved in the mimio notebook. Mimio use is very motivating for our students and I feel our school has done well in professional development planning for mimio and implementation of mimio use. We have had workshops available, on site training, and one teacher is being fully trained by mimio to be a trainer. As I think of Mr. Warlick's five suggestions of what a learning experience looks like involving mimio use, I think it is a step in the right direction.
Mimio lesson/websites that are interactive can be created/found based on interests and questions that students have. Mimio uses both a stylus to select items/write on the board and a notepad that can be passed around in class. The actions/additions given during discussion in a mimio lesson, provoke conversations. Mimio use is responsive to the learners actions. Lesson are created and followed through by selections made by students and can be created by students as well. If a mimio lesson were to compel a personal investment it would be a new skill taught. I often use mimio activities to introduce new concepts in math. Students are motivated to try on their own with mimio versus the whiteboard. Mimio lessons are correctable and are taught in a safe environment. It's OK to make mistakes and try something else.
Use mimio lessons to teach rather than lecture involves hands on learning which is important for all students. Students will generalize the activity and use what they have learned.
Thursday, April 15, 2010
del.icio.us ????
At this point I truly feel that del.icio.us bookmarks is a useful web 2.0 tool with endless personal and professional possibilities. I'm not able to completely reap the benefits in both aspects of my life, however, because I can't set the toolbar on my school computer. I have realized how to bookmark with the toolbar, and
I think it's great. I have share this great tool with my teaching team and one of them has signed up as well, that's progress.
I think it's great. I have share this great tool with my teaching team and one of them has signed up as well, that's progress.
Diigo vs. del.icio.us
I've come to discover that I need to make a few changes if I want to access the web 2.0 tools that we have been learning about in this class. I worked at school today through my son's track practice and baseball scrimmage and got very little done. I couldn't access blogspot through the school filter (one of many sites I have not been able to navigate this week). I'm wondering how we are supposed be innovative and motivate our students to learn about and be accomplished users of various technological tools when they are inaccessible, but I digress...
From what I can tell, Diigo and del.icio.us have many similarities. Both are social bookmarking tools. You can add tags to identify bookmarks with both tools. Both give the user the ability to build a Personal Learning Network and share bookmarks with others. Both toolbars, by the way, are also inaccessible from my school computer.
Diigo seems to have a few more bells and whistles than del.icio.us. The user can highlight and ads "sticky notes" to the bookmarked sites in Diigo. Diigo also appears to have capability beyond simply building a network. Diigo allows the user to create collaborative groups. The user can share specific bookmarks with users from their particular company, class, or team.
I can see the usefulness of both tools in the school setting. Teachers could easily share online resources with one another if they were in the same network on either Diigo or del.icio.us. Using Diigo, a teacher could set up capability for students to share resources for research projects, science fairs, presentations, etc. A teacher could bookmark sites used from year to year and not worry about which computer favorites they were saved to. The possibilities are immense.
From what I can tell, Diigo and del.icio.us have many similarities. Both are social bookmarking tools. You can add tags to identify bookmarks with both tools. Both give the user the ability to build a Personal Learning Network and share bookmarks with others. Both toolbars, by the way, are also inaccessible from my school computer.
Diigo seems to have a few more bells and whistles than del.icio.us. The user can highlight and ads "sticky notes" to the bookmarked sites in Diigo. Diigo also appears to have capability beyond simply building a network. Diigo allows the user to create collaborative groups. The user can share specific bookmarks with users from their particular company, class, or team.
I can see the usefulness of both tools in the school setting. Teachers could easily share online resources with one another if they were in the same network on either Diigo or del.icio.us. Using Diigo, a teacher could set up capability for students to share resources for research projects, science fairs, presentations, etc. A teacher could bookmark sites used from year to year and not worry about which computer favorites they were saved to. The possibilities are immense.
Thursday, April 8, 2010
GoogleDocs are cool!
I'm very impressed with GoogleDocs for a variety of reasons. The most important reasons that I love this new found technology is that it is simple to navigate, operate, and share. Very simple! I think the possibilities for usage of Google Docs from an educator's stand point are endless.
I look forward to returning to school next week to upload a document into GoogleDocs and share with my class. I briefly looked at the calendar feature. I'm impressed and I was able to access the feature from my phone as well. If it can be viewed through my school filter, I will be sold on it. As an educator, the forms function could be used as a preassessment for students when changing themes. I know there is capability in GoogleDocs to set up eportfolios for students. In addition the presentations functions could be used for professional development to share what was learned from a class or workshop. Our negotiations team often sends out surveys to the staff at my school. The spreadsheet function will easily culminate their results.
GoogleDocs for students are a valuable way for students to collaborate with those in their own school, or globally with students in another country. We have a pen pal project at my school between 7th grade students and students at an urban school in Japan. GoogleDocs would help create global knowledge and awareness for all students involved instantly rather than waiting several months for a reply letter.
GoogleDocs would be helpful for students learning about persuasive writing or those in debate club. Students could get mass feedback very easily about the topics they are trying to persuade others to change/agree with.
GoogleDocs are invaluable for schools. If I'm unable to access GoogleDocs from my school computer I will investigate further to find the rationale for not sharing this great technology that will lead our students in polishing and practicing their 21st Century Skills.
I look forward to returning to school next week to upload a document into GoogleDocs and share with my class. I briefly looked at the calendar feature. I'm impressed and I was able to access the feature from my phone as well. If it can be viewed through my school filter, I will be sold on it. As an educator, the forms function could be used as a preassessment for students when changing themes. I know there is capability in GoogleDocs to set up eportfolios for students. In addition the presentations functions could be used for professional development to share what was learned from a class or workshop. Our negotiations team often sends out surveys to the staff at my school. The spreadsheet function will easily culminate their results.
GoogleDocs for students are a valuable way for students to collaborate with those in their own school, or globally with students in another country. We have a pen pal project at my school between 7th grade students and students at an urban school in Japan. GoogleDocs would help create global knowledge and awareness for all students involved instantly rather than waiting several months for a reply letter.
GoogleDocs would be helpful for students learning about persuasive writing or those in debate club. Students could get mass feedback very easily about the topics they are trying to persuade others to change/agree with.
GoogleDocs are invaluable for schools. If I'm unable to access GoogleDocs from my school computer I will investigate further to find the rationale for not sharing this great technology that will lead our students in polishing and practicing their 21st Century Skills.
Wikis vs. RSS feeds and blogs
Wikis i.e. Wikispaces, are similar to RSS feeds in that lots of interesting information that people are willing to share can be received at one site. The RSS feeds and blogs can be received in google reader/igoogle in the same way. The wikis I have asked to join can all be viewed from my wikispaces account.
Wikis and blogs are different because blogs allow people to voice their opinion freely. Of course, followers can comment and share there opinion as well, in addition to likes, dislikes, etc. Wikis give other subscribers the right to change an individual opinion to possible group consensus, or change an opinion to the liking of the next subscriber.
I personally find blogs of more value. In my opinion, if someone is taking the time to comment on an article, activity, event, etc., then everyone has the right to view that blog post and comment on it. It seems unfair that someone with a differing opinion can change the thoughts of one for all to see in a wiki. I also dislike wikis for the simple reason that the "stolen key" makes a wiki somewhat difficult to work with. With limited time in every one's busy lives, wikis aren't always time friendly.
Wikis and blogs are different because blogs allow people to voice their opinion freely. Of course, followers can comment and share there opinion as well, in addition to likes, dislikes, etc. Wikis give other subscribers the right to change an individual opinion to possible group consensus, or change an opinion to the liking of the next subscriber.
I personally find blogs of more value. In my opinion, if someone is taking the time to comment on an article, activity, event, etc., then everyone has the right to view that blog post and comment on it. It seems unfair that someone with a differing opinion can change the thoughts of one for all to see in a wiki. I also dislike wikis for the simple reason that the "stolen key" makes a wiki somewhat difficult to work with. With limited time in every one's busy lives, wikis aren't always time friendly.
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
Wiki - what could I use one for?
This class has been a whirlwind of new knowledge for me. I truly am enjoying gaining a knowledge base of a few Web 2.0 tools.
I researched several wikis to find how other teachers are using wikis in their global classrooms. I've been trying to keep in mind that investigation and asking for permission to edit doesn't always mean a long term commitment. Wikispaces contains a fountain of information for educators and a variety of other professions.
I found a second grade class wiki. It is inspiring. All the students have links to a page about them with artwork and a narrative. The different subject areas have links and a list from a to z. Whenever the class accomplishes/learns something throughout the year, they add it by the letter under the subject. For example, under the writing link, p = persuasive writing. The wiki also contains tools that can be used with homework such as story mapping. This is a great example of how we as educators can build a familiarity with technology with students and parents. The link is: https://mrsibrahim.wikispaces.com/Thinking+Maps
Some other ideas I found for uses of wikis with young children are:
book reviews or commentary on a specific book
"encyclopedia" of a topic that can be added to each year (the example I saw involved state history)
a non-field trip (students add what they saw/learned on a "trip" to a specific place that is to be learned about)
field trip log/what did we learn
Where in the World is Wanda wiki. Wanda visit places in the world. Highlights and pictures of her trip are added by those she visits.
They all sound like worthwhile learning experiences.
I researched several wikis to find how other teachers are using wikis in their global classrooms. I've been trying to keep in mind that investigation and asking for permission to edit doesn't always mean a long term commitment. Wikispaces contains a fountain of information for educators and a variety of other professions.
I found a second grade class wiki. It is inspiring. All the students have links to a page about them with artwork and a narrative. The different subject areas have links and a list from a to z. Whenever the class accomplishes/learns something throughout the year, they add it by the letter under the subject. For example, under the writing link, p = persuasive writing. The wiki also contains tools that can be used with homework such as story mapping. This is a great example of how we as educators can build a familiarity with technology with students and parents. The link is: https://mrsibrahim.wikispaces.com/Thinking+Maps
Some other ideas I found for uses of wikis with young children are:
book reviews or commentary on a specific book
"encyclopedia" of a topic that can be added to each year (the example I saw involved state history)
a non-field trip (students add what they saw/learned on a "trip" to a specific place that is to be learned about)
field trip log/what did we learn
Where in the World is Wanda wiki. Wanda visit places in the world. Highlights and pictures of her trip are added by those she visits.
They all sound like worthwhile learning experiences.
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
RSS Feeds
RSS feeds are new to me. I've never heard of them before this week. Now that I have a basic understanding of the convenience, I have shared the importance of this great tool with the fellow teachers on my team. At times, I find the amount of information entering my reader overwhelming. I do feel that I am doing the best I can as an educator with being informed about laws, technology, and the experiences of other teachers by following the blogs I've discovered. I found a great link to the "Top 50 Education Blogs." I've added a few to my reader. This week has definitely opened my eyes to the amount of technology other teachers are integrating daily in their classes. I need to catch up, in small comfortable steps.
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Uses of blogs in the future
I currently teach 3rd and 4th grade students. At that age they are truly learning the basics of the keyboard and computers. I don't foresee myself assigning a blog post as an assignment or a means of reflection for most students I work with. However, with the 3rd and 4th grade students who need enrichment, I think blogging could be beneficial. Blogging would be a wonderful tool to use as an extension or a reflection to establish understanding from a young student and prepare them for skills necessary for the 21st Century. It could benefit the student in a variety of ways. Blogging would help improve their technology skills. Free writing is a form of communication that involves creativity. The student would have to think critically about what they understand and the knowledge they gained from a particular activity.
My school is on the cusp of proposing a referendum in the next few years in some shape or form. Our 7th and 8th grade students have been active participants in the master planning of the school. They have worked with the architects to place a bike path through the township. Last fall the students hosted a bike safety fair to raise awareness both of the endeavor and the need for bike safety in the community. The fair followed a string of bike injuries and deaths three summers ago. I could see blogging as a tool for the 7th and 8th grade students to comment on the progress of future projects involving master planning for the school and community. If "rational" blogging was taught by the instructor, the student's words would be viewed as powerful. Blogging in this sense would be viewed as powerful because students are problem solving and applying knowledge they have gained through the years of implementing and hearing about the master planning process.
My school is on the cusp of proposing a referendum in the next few years in some shape or form. Our 7th and 8th grade students have been active participants in the master planning of the school. They have worked with the architects to place a bike path through the township. Last fall the students hosted a bike safety fair to raise awareness both of the endeavor and the need for bike safety in the community. The fair followed a string of bike injuries and deaths three summers ago. I could see blogging as a tool for the 7th and 8th grade students to comment on the progress of future projects involving master planning for the school and community. If "rational" blogging was taught by the instructor, the student's words would be viewed as powerful. Blogging in this sense would be viewed as powerful because students are problem solving and applying knowledge they have gained through the years of implementing and hearing about the master planning process.
Saturday, March 20, 2010
Introduction
Hi there! My name is Misty. I'm a UWW alum. I currently live near Palmyra with my husband Eric, son Sean, and a variety of pets including my second son, a puggle named Wally. I currently teach 3rd and 4th grade special ed. at Raymond School in western Racine county. I teach in a multi-age setting with a team of 4 other regular ed. teachers. I currently team teach with one other teacher and we share a homeroom of 33 students. It has been an awesome experience. My students benefit from the support of myself or one of the assistants that work in the building. They are included in the regular ed. setting, 100%.
Friday, March 19, 2010
Useful blogs
http://www.ed.gov
The above blog is useful to learn more about the changing laws and standards that develop daily.
http://www.rti4success.org
The above blog will be useful to stay knowledgeable and aware of tools and strategies that are deemed successful in the RtI initiative.
The above blog is useful to learn more about the changing laws and standards that develop daily.
http://www.rti4success.org
The above blog will be useful to stay knowledgeable and aware of tools and strategies that are deemed successful in the RtI initiative.
What value do you see in using a blog?
Networking and information finding is important in our changing society. It is important for me as an educator to immerse myself in information about changes and ideas surrounding technology in order to better serve my students and help them be successful members of society in the future. Blog posting is a great writing tool for students. Blogs allow students to have freedom of expression using a route that is engaging and motivating for them.
What do you want to get out of this course?
I hope to become more technologically savvy through the exploration of the Web 2.0 tools for this course. I'm impressed with the knowledge and ideas shared by all my classmates in regard to using some of the tools in the class room.
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