Scenario

            As I start thinking about myself as an educator, I can pick out some strengths as well as some challenges for my future teaching.  Some strengths that I have are flexibility, organization, and patience.  I think these attributes will benefit me as a future teacher.  No two days in teaching is alike.  I will have to have a general outline for each day, but I will be prepared to change it.  Some lessons will go smooth, but others will take longer or shorter than originally planned.  I will have to be prepared for that.  All teachers must also be organized.  I believe that this is one of my best qualities.  Even during college I find that I am very organized.  As a teacher if your not organized that is just one more thing that you have to worry about.  Some students will be harder to deal with and help than others.  That is why I think my patience is a good attribute to have.  If I can have patience in my class my students will feel more at ease and want to learn. 

            Some challenges that I might struggle with in my future classroom is caring too much about my students and finding a balance between home and school.  Like many teachers, I love children and hate to see them suffer.  When I become a teacher I am going to have to find the “happy medium” between caring about a student’s academic welfare and intruding too much in their life.  I cannot single handedly make a child’s situation better for them.  I can only take the necessary steps get them in touch with a counselor or social worker.  There is so much to do as a teacher.  I spend hours preparing for my college classes, and can’t imagine how much time I will spend preparing as a real teacher.  I will have to figure our how to keep schoolwork at school and make time to spend with my family.    

            Every day technology changes.  What I am learning in technology class this semester might be obsolete when I actually start teaching.  I am going to have to continuously learn new and different tools every year if I want to integrate technology into my classroom.  When I come across a tool that I don’t know how to use, I’m not just going to pass it by.  I will find tutorials on the Internet to help me.  You can find tutorial on how to do almost anything these days.  If I can’t find a tutorial to use, I will ask someone else who might already be using the tool to help me. 

            I think technology can greatly impact student learning.  Every child learns in a different way.  Using technology can help me accommodate all types of learning styles.  For visual learners I could use Animoto videos and Wordles to help reinforce topics.  For auditory learners I could use VoiceThreads and podcasts more often.  Using text to voice technology could help me accommodate struggling readers.  I could even use Prezi to accommodate learners who need to see spatial relationships between topics.  Technology is so versatile.  It takes only a few minutes to tweak something so all learners can benefit from it. 

            I think all teachers need to have some confidence using technology in their classrooms.  We are living in a technological world, and our students need to be prepared to participate in that world.  To help promote technology in my school I would work with the principal to bring in professional development workshops on technology.  I could also be available to help teachers learn how to implement technology in their classrooms.  To help the faculty get ideas on how to integrate technology into the curriculum, I could set up a visit to another school that has successfully implemented it.  

            There are two projects that I did in technology class this semester that I definitely want to try in my own class someday.  Those two projects are Google Lit Trips and a VoiceThread.  Each of these projects teaches students more than just how to use technology.  Literature, geography, art, math, and science could all be addressed using these two tools.  The Google Lit Trip could definitely be beneficial in a classroom.  It allows students to learn and “visit” a place that they may never get to see.  This trip is especially interesting in Google Earth as opposed to Google Maps.          

           

           Now more than ever employers are demanding workers that take initiative, are technologically savvy, and know how to collaborate.  It is my job as a future teacher to educate students for that demand.  I believe integrating technology into my classroom can definitely help me meet this goal. 

My Wow Moment

             

             To be honest, at the start of the semester I didn’t really want to take this class.  I have never been very technologically savvy.  I was always the one asking other people how to do something, instead of me teach them.  I was actually a little nervous about taking this class, because I didn’t feel confident using technology.  Now, as I look back over the semester, I find that I have come a long way.  So with that being said, I guess my wow moment is actually becoming more comfortable using technology in my everyday life!  It has been more than a moment, but instead a progression of the entire semester.  I now know how to use tools that some of my friends have never even heard of! 

            Just the other day my boyfriend was complaining about finding time to meet with a group to work on a project.  I could actually sit down and show him how to use Google Docs to collaborate at home.  In another one of my classes my group needed to make a presentation to present some new information.  Instead of using a boring PowerPoint, I suggested we make a Prezi.  My group members had never seen Prezi before.  I was able to show them how!  When I was finished putting it together, they actually created an account and told me that they wanted to start using it themselves.      

Podcast Favorites

            Over the semester I listened to many podcasts from various people.  From all of these, my favorite was Tech Chick Tips.  In these podcasts two technologically savvy ladies discuss tools and tips for all educators.  I really liked listening to them because they were energetic and clearly passionate about what they were discussing.  They also always had show notes with hyperlinks right on the page where you listen to each podcast.  I really liked this feature because I could go to the tool they were talking about while they were talking about it.  On other podcast, the person might be talking about something that I didn’t understand because I couldn’t see it.  

            A few tools that I learned about from these ladies are Google Body Browser, Print, Cut, and Fold, and Google Art Project.  Google Body Browser is a free tool that allows you to look at different layers of the human body.  All you have to do is download the correct browser that supports it.  This would be great to use in a biology class for student to do virtual dissections.  Print, Cut, and Fold is another site that has downloadable PowerPoint templates that can printed, cut, and folded into many different things.  These templates include everything from mini-books and flip books to dioramas and pyramids.  Google Art Project is a tool kind of like Google Lit Trips.  You can take your class on a virtual tour of some of the biggest art museums in the world.  Students can see the artwork along with information about each one.  

Semester Favorites

            As I look back over the past semester I have several favorites.  The three projects/tools that I liked the most are Animoto, Prezi, and VoiceThread.  I think these three tools can be used in anyone’s classroom to help make learning fun and interesting. 

            Animoto is a way that you can make a video very quickly and easily.  All you have to do is create an account on Animoto.com, upload your photos, choose your music, and Animoto does the rest!  It is free to make a 30 second video.  However, if you want to make a longer one you can sign up for an educators account for a minimal fee.  In the classroom, a teacher could use Animoto to introduce a topic or end a topic.  She could also have her students make an Animoto to show what they have learned.  

 

            My second favorite tool was Prezi.  This tool could replace boring slideshows in our classrooms!  To get started go to prezi.com and create a free account.  From there they give you a blank canvas.  All you have to do is click anywhere to start adding text.  This is probably my favorite part.  You really don’t have to plan your presentation before you start to make it.  It is easy to add audio, video, and photos.  When you are finished create the path that you want your Prezi to move in.  This tool is great for someone that is non-linear.  They can just get their ideas on the page, and choose the order to present them at the end.  Teachers could use this tool to present information in a fun and interesting way to their students. 

            The final tool that I really enjoyed was VoiceThread.  All you have to do is go to voicethread.com, create and account, add photos, and record a comment to go with each photo.  Even though I really liked VoiceThread there were a few things that I wish they could change.  Once you start you can’t really redo a comment unless you want to completely start over.  This encourages extensive planning before recording.  I think every classroom in every state could use this tool to captures the words of someone influential in their community.  

Challenge-Based Learning Reflection

             Challenged-Based Learning is a relatively new term to me, and really to education.  In careers today, employers are asking more and more of their employees.  They expect them to be creative, be technologically savvy, and take the initiative.  Employers want their employees to figure out a problem on their own.  To meet this ever-increasing demand for creative and self-driven citizens, schools are changing the way they educate children.  As future teachers, one of the ways we need to be preparing our students is by using Challenged-Based Learning. 

            Challenged-Based Learning (CBL) is when teachers present a challenge and ask their students to come up with a solution.  Teachers may give kids a broad topic or situation but let them do the rest.  The students do their own research, choose how they will present their information, and cooperatively work together to reach their goal.  CBL encourages leadership, initiative, creativity, and stepping outside of your comfort zone.  In CBL, the teacher’s responsibility is to facilitate.  She is there to provide students with resources and encouragement, but that is all.   

            Recently my technology teacher presented our class with a CBL project.  Our teacher said that we could choose any topic that we wanted.  Our challenge was that we had to present our information in a Prezi presentation.  As a group, we had to choose our topic, find information, find pictures and/or video, and figure out how to use Prezi.  Figuring out how to use Prezi was the biggest challenge.  Our teacher gave us hints on where to find tutorials and instructions, but she would not answer specific questions. 

            I think CBL projects can encourage creativity and put the power of learning back in student’s hands.  It not only forces students to really learn the material, but also prepares them for their future careers.  Everyone has to learn to cooperate affectively.            

Podcast Reflection #12: Classroom Dos and Don'ts

            For my final podcast reflection I choose to listen to Tony Vincent’s Learning in Hand.  I listened to podcast #20: Classroom Dos and Don’ts.  This podcast talked about all of the dos and don’ts when it comes to using iPods in the classroom.  There were many that Tony mentioned, but I am just going to highlight a few of the ones that I found extra important. 

            The first Do that Tony mentioned is to sync iPods to one computer.  Teachers should add everything that they want to sync to their iPods to one computer.  If you start syncing iPods to more than one computer you will start to get messages that request you to delete all material form the iPod.  Also when it comes to syncing the iPods, Tony says to make a playlist on the syncing computer.  This way you only sync the apps, audio, and video that you want to transfer to the iPods.  Tony says that it is also a good idea to delete information on the syncing computer that you aren’t currently using.  Teachers can drag and drop that information into another folder on their computer until they need it again.  This way iPods will not get bogged down with unneeded information. 

Another great tip is to name all iPods.  Teachers can engrave a number on the back, use a sticky label, or used color-coded cases so students can recognize their iPod easily.  Tony says that classrooms should purchase a charger cart, case, or tray to charge and store iPods when not in use.  This is of course if you have the money.  If not, purchase power USB hubs, and some other container to lockup iPods so they do not get stolen.  

Three final tips that Toney suggests for using iPods in the classroom are: have procedures for handing out and picking up iPods; purchase inexpensive ear buds for each student; have consequences for misuse of iPods.  Teachers should come up with procedures that everyone is aware of so the class does not waste valuable learning time passing out or picking up iPods.  Teachers should also have consequences that are posted for misuse.  Tony suggests creating an iPod contract that is sent home with students at the beginning of the year.  This contract would be read and signed by parents and the child.

            Finally, Tony mentioned some Don’ts for using iPods in the classroom.  He said not to give students the iTunes account password.  If they have the password, they can download apps that may not be appropriate for school.  Then when the iPods are synced that app could be spread to all of the iPods.  A small problem could turn into a very big problem in no time at all.  Tony also said that teachers should not feel like they need to sync their iPods everyday.  IPods should only be synced when new information needs to be put on them.  This could be weekly or even monthly.  Tony warned to not just use free apps.  You tend to get what you pay for.  Although some free apps are very good, teachers can download really good apps for fewer than five dollars.  An app that is downloaded once can be synced to all iPods for free!  Finally, Tony reminded teachers to keep up with their professional development.  There is always something new to learn in the world of technology.    

           

                                                           

Podcast Reflection #11: Barbara Brueggemann, Head of school at the George Washington University Online High School

           This week I listened to podcast #150: Barbara Brueggemann, Head of school at the GWU Online High School on the Ed Tech Talk website.  This was a very interesting podcast because it was about something I have not heard very much about: an all online school.  Barbara has been an educator all her life.  She started in post-secondary education, then moved so secondary education to make a difference in the formative years of students.  Now she has started the experimental, fully online George Washington University Online High School. 

            This high school, like many others, is for 9-12 graders.  It currently has 16 9^th and 10^th graders enrolled.  They wanted to start out small to get all of the kinks worked out.  This online high school has all of the good things from a traditional high school, but without the time and size conflicts.  Barbara discussed the Journey Symposium, one of the high school’s unique classes.  Every year students enroll in one seminar type class that helps prepare them for college.  In 9^th grade, students focus on the exploration of self.  They answer questions like: what am I good at? What do I want to do? How will I reach my goals?  Then in 10^th grade they focus on self and team.  Students learn through service.  In 11^th grade, student focus on stewardship.  They begin looking at their future and college.  Finally in 12^th grade, students focus on legacy.  They work with George Washington University professors on a project, and decide what they will leave behind when they are gone. 

            The class structure in this all-online high school includes some self-pace and some synchronized classes. There is a lot of interaction between peers and teachers using skype, e-mail, conference calling, and elluninate.  In this high school, Barbara said that students can’t disappear in class.  Teachers can monitor their work and see how much time they spend on assignments.    

            I believe this school is on the cutting edge of what we will see in the future.  With kids of this generation obsessed with digital networking and learning, I think we will start to see more hybrid and all online classes develop.  I think we need more research, however, to know how to teach kids effectively online.  We also, like Barbara said in this podcast, have to be deliberate about engaging kids. 

Podcast Reflection #10: The ELL Bill of Rights- An Interview with Ruslana Westerlund

            For this week’s podcast reflection I choose to check out Wesley Fryer’s website and podcasts, Moving at the Speed of Creativity.  To find the list of his podcast on his website click on the iTunes icon under Stay Updates on the right side of his homepage.  The podcast that I listened to was number 364: The ELL Bill of Rights- An Interview with Ruslana Westerlund.  I choose to listen to this podcast because my concentration is ESL.  I am interested in helping students that come to the United States learn English to be successful. 

            Ruslana Westerlund is an immigrant from Ukraine.  She has experiences ESL classrooms and has worked with ESL students.  In the podcast before Wesley Fryer interviewed Ruslana, he read a poem that she wrote about how ELL students fell as they enter a new American school.    This poem was very powerful to me.  It really made me think about how an ELL student feels.  It is hard enough being a new student, but being a new student that does not speak the language that other students do would be even harder.  

            In Wesley’s interview with Ruslana, he asked her about her business.  She said that the ELL Bill of Rights T-shirts and website were an outlet for her passion of helping ELL students.  She said that communities need a visual to help them be more aware of what English learners and their parents go through.  Ruslana said that she created the ELL Bill of Rights to inform ELL teachers, students, and parents of their rights.  They need to be aware that there is not equality of treatment by just providing the same facilities, textbooks, teachers, and curriculum as other students because students that do not understand English are denied a meaningful education. 

            Ruslana went on to say that one of biggest misconceptions about ELL students is that if they are fluent in conversational English they should be fluent in academic English.  This is simply not true.  It takes a deeper understanding of English and different vocabulary to succeed in different disciplines.  Fluency with conversational English does not equate to fluency in academic English.  Ruslana’s goal is to help all teachers in all disciplines to become language teachers.   

            I really admire what Ruslana is doing.  I think, especially in this day in age, it is so important to learn how to teacher ESL students.  There are more and more immigrants coming to the United States and they are our future.  We have to be there to support and help them succeed. 

Comics in my Classroom

            These days there is a push for teachers to get away from the traditional lecture style teaching that has been so popular in the past.  We need to find new and more innovative ways to reach our students.  Making a fun and colorful comic to present new information could be just one way to do this. 

            I created a comic on ToonDoo to introduce some simple parts of speech: nouns and verbs.  On ToonDoo you can choose your background, characters, props, and speaking bubbles.  You can also choose the layout that you want your comic to be in.  Teachers could use a comic at the beginning of a unit to capture and focus students’ attention on what they will be learning.  It would be a nice change from the original lecture presentation.  Teachers could also use comic strips as assessment tools.  They could have their students make a comic strip to demonstrate what they learned in a particular lesson.  Student would enjoy the change and be motivated to use their creativity.    

Podcast Reflection #9 Salman Khan: Let’s use video to reinvent education.

In this podcast reflection I watched a video of Salman Khan talking about the website he started, Khan Academy.  Salman said that he started creating math videos and posting them on YouTube to help his cousins in another city.  These videos were meant to tutor his cousins, but still allow them to learn at their own pace.  After he started posting these math videos he started getting positive feedback from all kinds of people.  More people than just his cousins were using Salman’s math videos to learn math. 

Because of all the good feedback Salman decided to quite his job and start a non-profit organization called Khan Academy.  He has since created 2200 videos from very basic math to advanced calculus, physics, and finance.  All of these videos are posted on his website so kids can learn at their own pace.  Salman’s goal for Khan Academy is to have it used in schools to help kids get a firm grasp of concepts.  He wants teachers to remove the one-size-fits-all lectures and let kids learn at their own pace.  Salman says one of the reasons that good students all of the sudden start failing higher-level math classes is because they have “Swiss Cheese” type holes in their basic understanding of concepts.  He claims that Khan Academy will help to fill those holes from the start.                

Salman has taken his 2200 videos to the next level.  He has written exercises that generate as many questions as the students need until they get that particular concept.  When the students get 10 in a row then the exercises move on to more difficult concepts.  The students can use Salman’s videos to learn the concepts before they practice them. 

A Los Altos school is actually using this free program in their math classes.  The students come into class, watch the videos, and then do exercises.  Every student can work at his/her own pace.  The teacher can look at a dashboard to monitor progress.  Each row on the dashboard is a student and each column is a concept.  Green means the student has mastered the concept, blue means they are getting it but need more practice, and red mean they are stuck.  With this teachers can go right to the students that are stuck.  But before the teacher intervenes she can look at all of the data that Khan Academy has collected on the student to try and pinpoint the problem.  This way the interaction between the student and teacher can be as positive as possible.    

I think this is a wonderful tool.  It could really transform math education.  My favorite part about this tool is students can work at their own pace!  They don’t have to be embarrassed by having the entire class go ahead of them just because they don’t understand something.  I also like all of the information that Kahn Academy generates about each student.  Teachers can really monitor what the students are actually doing.      

Podcast, Website & Blog Mid-term Critiques

Part 1: Podcast

            Hayley Hunsberger created the first podcast that I listened to.  She is a senior at K-State majoring in Family and Consumer Sciences.  In her podcast she talked about how exercise increases learning.  She defined exercise as any physical or mental exertion to increase skill or strength.  Hayley also mentioned how being physically fit increases problem solving skills by 10%.  She mentioned a school that sends students that struggle with math and reading to PE before those subjects.  This particular school also has balls and stationary bikes in their classrooms for students to use.  According to Hayley and the research that she did, fitness based exercise, like strength and flexibility, makes our brains more ready to learn.  It has a direct correlation with academic test scores.  Those who are deemed fit score twice as well on academic tests as those who are deemed unfit.

            All of this information makes sense to me, just from my own experience.   If I sit at my desk and do homework for several hours without taking a break I start to make mistakes.  I always feel like I can get more done after I take a walk or exercise.  I think more schools should have exercise balls in their classrooms for students to use.  The students could even sit on these balls instead of hard chairs.  I think this would definitely increase productivity and motivate kids! 

                Natalie Archuleta created the second podcast that I listened to.  In her podcast she discussed three ESL websites that can be very helpful for teachers of all levels.  This podcast was especially helpful for me because my concentration is ESL.  The first website that she talked about was Dave’s ESL Café.  On this websites there are pages for teachers, students, and everyone!  On the teacher page there is everything from icebreakers and games to a place for teachers to post their résumé and teacher forums.  The second website that Natalie talked about is called ESL Party Land.   This website claims it is a fun place to learn English as a second language.  There are separate pages for students to learn English, and for teachers to teach English.  On the teacher page there are links to lesson plans on a variety of topics including teaching conversation, teaching with the Internet, and teaching grammar.  The final website that Natalie mentioned is called ESLAmerica.US. On this website anything that students do has sound.  They can complete activities under all kinds of topics including conversation, life skills, vocabulary, and reading.  Students can click on a topic that will take them to a page with many more resources on it.  

Part 2: Website & Blog

            After listening to Hayley and Natalie’s original podcast, I browsed around their websites and blogs.  Both of their websites were attractive and inviting.  The colors that they chose were neutral but invited viewers to explore the sites further.  Both websites were easy to navigate with a navigation bar on the left side of the home page.  Their other pages were clearly marked with appropriate names for what was on the page.  Hayley and Natalie had a list of links on the right side of their homepages that were appropriate and easy to read.  They both also had pictures that helped me get to know them a little bit.  They also included their DED 318 projects on a separate page in a logical order.  Natalie had a separate page for each of her Block A classes while Hayley had one page for all of her Block 1 classes.  Personally, I prefer the one page for all of the classes, but it is a personal preference. 

                Next I looked at the girls’ blogs.  I love Hayley’s blog background! It is purple paisley and almost reminds me of Vera Bradley patterns.  I also like that her blog entries show up on a plain white box.  This makes them easy to read.  The only thing that I would change about Hayley’s blog is the font that she chose.  It is all caps, and a little bit hard to read.  I also liked Natalie’s blog background.  It is a purple-checkered print.  Natalie’s blog entries also show up in a framed light pink box that makes them easy to read.  Her writing is black and easy to read.  The only thing that I would change about Natalie’s blog is the navigation bar.  The writing on it is not on top of a separate, solid box.  It is kind of hard to read. 

            After looking at these girls’ websites and blogs, I found that I have much of the same features on mine.  I am glad that I decided to use iWeb to create my website, however.  I am able to move everything around however I want, and not have to stick to a specific format.  After seeing the more neutral colors in Natalie and Hayley’s website, I might tweak the colors on my website.  It could feel too bright to a new viewer.  But I also have to remember that I am going to be an Elementary teacher and want a website that is fun and inviting.     

Kan-ed Reflection

            Kan-ed is a program that was created by the Kansas Legislature to help bring technology to schools around the state.  It is a free service to educators that provide them resources that will help them in their classrooms.  This site gives educators access to normally free resources and resources that they would normally have to pay for.  This site does not only provide resources for teacher, however.  It also includes resources for students. 

            There are several tabs on the Kan-ed website: Homepage, Portal Designer, Test Builder, School Administration, Teacher Tools, and Backpack.  The homepage provides teachers and students with necessary resources for classroom success.  The Portal Designer allows teachers to change the layout of the websites, as it is convenient for them.  As a pre-service teacher, however, I cannot change the layout because there are many other students using this site.  Under the Test Builder tab service teachers can build tests for their students.  These can be practice state assessment tests, or regular chapter tests.  Under this tab, teachers can also upload tests that they have already made and choose tests from the test bank.  The School Administration tab is for Principals and Administrators.  Administrators can require teachers to administer state assessment practice tests a certain number of times before test week.  If they choose to do this, the Administrators can check this tab to see if their teachers are administering these tests.  In the Teacher Tools tab, teachers can tend their gradebook and class information.  Finally, under the Backpack tab students can upload their work and work on it anywhere they have Internet access.  Whether they are at home, the library, or out of the state, students don’t have to worry about putting their work on a flash drive.  They can just logon to Kan-ed and work on their assignments!  Even though this site has many tabs that are very useful, the best tab is the Homepage tab.  That is what I am going to discuss in more detail.

            The Homepage provides teachers and students with a seemingly unlimited amount of resources for their classroom.  There are so many resources on this page that I am going to only discuss some of my favorites.  The first excellent resource is called Kansas Education Resource Center or KERC.  On the KERC website you can look at building report cards.  This is a feature that I will definitely use as I’m looking for a job.  I can search for the school that I applied to, and review all of their statistics.  I can look at ethnicity, test scores, male/female ratio, and much more.  As you go into an interview you need to know as much about that school as you can.  The building report card will definitely help me do that. 

            The main part of the KERC website is lesson plans.  You can click on one of five content areas, then click on the grade level and see all of the resources that are available for that age group.  For examples, say I need an idea for 6^th grade math.  I would first click on math, 6^th grade, then choose from four standard titles: number and computation, algebra, geometry, and data.  Clicking on geometry brings up an entire list of lesson plans and resources that correspond with specific standards. I can see this being an excellent site as I go through my teaching classes and into my professional career.  There is no need for teachers to start from scratch when there are so many ideas already out there. 

            netTrekker is another resource on the Kan-ed desktop that is very useful. This site works much like KERC.  First you can choose a topic from one of twelve different content areas.  Lets use my same example of math.  I first go to the math content area box and click on geometry.  From there I can narrow my search to, say, basic geometric terms.  Then I can choose another more specific topic like area.  This brings up all kinds of resources and sites that have math, geometry, basic geometric terms, and area in common.  Under each site is a description of what you will find there so you do waste time searching.  You can even use the right side bar to narrow your search by reading level, multimedia, language, ect.  The makers of this site definitely created with teachers in mind.  The information is organized and easy to use.  You can find what you are looking for fairly quickly.

            The final resource, although there are many others, that I want to show you is called Thinkfinity.  On this site you can find education news, informational blogs, interactive tools for kids, lesson plans, webinars, and more!  Under the lesson plans tab you can find interactive activities, media, museum artifacts, professional development, and links.  The cool thing about Thinkfinity lesson plan searches is you can use the “Refine Your Search” bar on the right side of the screen to really narrow your search. For examples I can click audio, visuals, interactives, and worksheets.  Then I can search by a specific grade level and subject.  When the search results come up you can read each description and decide if you want to go to the site or not.  The best thing about Thinkfinity lesson plans is you can click on the yellow star to see what Kansas state standard goes with the lesson.  This could be a definite time saver for new teachers.

            I have only scratched the surface of all of the resources on the Kan-ed desktop.  After digging around the resources I have discovered that they are not just sites with meaningless games and information, they are resources that have been proven to help teachers.  They can definitely be used to facilitate student success.                

Classroom 2.0 Reflection

            Classroom 2.0 is an award winning social networking site for educators that are interested in Web 2.0.  This networking site is free to join, but because of spammers your membership does have to be approved before you can participate in the community.  This site is full of resources, photos, videos, and collaboration opportunities with other educators from around the world.  Just on the homepage you can few the forums, search videos and photos, find groups that interest you, and sort information on the site by tools, subject, and area. There are so many parts to this website that there is no way I could talk about everything.  I will mention a few of my favorite areas that I think would be most helpful. 

            The first tab across the top of this website is called Forums.  To me this is the “meat” of the website.  This is where any member can post a comment or question and then have others reply to it.  There are 762 pages worth of discussions that are going on right now.  With the sheer volume of topics, you are sure to find something that is helpful.  However, this number could be very intimidating.  How could a teacher ever find enough time to look through every one of these 762 discussions?  Well they don’t have to.  There are several options on this site to sort discussions and find what you are looking for.  First you can use the search box on the forums page.  If you are looking for discussions that have to do with language for example, type in language.  This might bring your pages down to 161 instead of 762.  You can also use the drop down menus on the forums page to sort by latest activity, newest discussion, or most popular. 

While these few sorting features can narrow your search some, you can use other ways to narrow it even more.  If you go back to the home page, scroll half way down, and look on the left side, you will see that you can also choose topics under Tools, Subjects, or Areas.  For examples, my emphasis is ES L.  So I might want to find a discussion about that.  All I have to do is look under By Subject then English as a Second Language.  This search brings up a much more manageable, two pages of discussions.  These discussion forums would be a great resource for new teachers.  All teachers remember their first year and are very willing to pass on advice and resources if you ask. 

Another great feature to this website is the Groups tab.  On this page members can choose from 658 different groups that better fit their interest.  You can meet other educators from around the world that have the same interests as you.  For example there are 19 groups that have to do with ESL that I could look at joining.  As with the discussion forum, you can use the search box at the top of the Groups page to narrow your search of groups.

The final area of this website that I think would be helpful is the Shows and Recordings tabs.  Under these tabs you can find information for different educational webcasts and audio recordings.  Some of the shows like Classroom 2.0 Live are live shows that allow viewers to participate in the show itself.  Other shows include: Future of Education, EdTechTalk, LearnCentral.tv, and Edublogs Live Events.  On the shows page you can find a date and time schedule as well as a description of the show’s content.  It even provides a time zone converter so you don’t miss your show!  Under the recordings tab it lists all of the recordings that Classroom 2.0 has access to.  This page includes the shownotes to all recordings, which includes the links that were talked about in the recording.  These shows and recordings are a wonderful resource to find professional development opportunities.     

Overall, I think the Classroom 2.0 website is an excellent place to meet other educators around the world.  It gives you the opportunity to learn in a safe, and comfortable environment.  This site would especially be good for new teachers.   

EduTecher Reflection

            EduTecher is a free website that was created by Adam Bellow to share educational resources for teachers to use in their classrooms.  One of the really great things about this site is there are no adds!  Your students can even explore the links and resources without an obscene, and inappropriate adds popping up in front of their face.  On the homepage of Edutecher they have a section called “Recently Added Links”.  Here you can find links that are new to their resources without having to search the site.  Also on the homepage you can go strait to exploring the available webtools, share resources with your colleagues and friends, or contribute to the wide variety of tools yourself.  There is a place toward the bottom of the homepage where you can subscribe to their newsletter, and always stay informed.  At the top of the homepage there are several important tabs that I want to talk about in more detail: links, eduTecherTV, conferences, and blog.

            The first tab is called Links.  On the left side of this page there is a large list of topics that you can search by.  Some include: art, ESL, foreign language, music, professional development, software, teacher tools, and technology.  You can also search the normal subject areas like: math, language arts, and science.  To narrow your search even further you can search by grade level.  Once you choose the criteria in which you want to search, all of the links that match your criteria appear on the right.  To go to the resource you can click on either the picture (logo) or title.  Each resource also comes with a description that you can read before you actually go to the site.  This is a definite time saver.  This site has many, many links that have to do with all kinds of topics.  There are resources for teachers and educational help for students. 

            The next tab is called eduTecherTV.  On this page you can find short tutorial videos (webisodes) for all kinds of other sites and resources on the web.  Some videos show you how to do something, while others give you an overview of what is on a site.  This is a wonderful feature for teachers who are just learning to use technology in their classrooms.     

            The third tab that I want to talk about is the conferences tab.  This is just a simple page that shows a running slideshow of EdTech conferences that have already past and ones to come.  One this slideshow, you can click on links to short video summaries of the conferences.

            Under the blog tab you can read about all kinds of eduTecher news.  This includes eduTecher in the media, new educational apps that you can download, and much much more.  There is pretty much everything that you would expect to find in a website blog. 

            After digging into the eduTecher website I have found that it is a useful tool for all educators.  The way I see it, they have gathered a seemingly unlimited variety of links in one website.  This site eliminates the frustration of searching all kinds of separate websites to find one specific resource.   

Podcast Reflection #8: Educational Apps

            Today I decided to listen to one of Tony Vincent’s Learning in Hand podcasts.  I listened to Episode #22: Education Apps.  This link will take you to the page with the podcast on it.  You can also find the show notes there which includes the links to everything he talked about.  In his podcast he talked about all of the different education apps out there for iPhone, iPod, and iPad.  I currently do not own an iPhone or iPad, but I have realized the benefits these devices can have in a classroom. 

            Tony mentioned that the apps for these devices are growing rapidly. He said as many as 700 apps are added daily!  Because of this, it can seem daunting to find apps that will fit your classroom and students.  In his podcast, Tony mentioned several websites that include lists of available applications for educators.  On most of these pages there are also reviews of how the app worked.  One of these websites is IEAR.org.  Here you can click on the grade level or subject that you are looking for an app for.  Most of these apps also have review to go with them.  Another one of these websites is the Recess Duty blog.  This websites contains 99 apps for iPod touch that are used by a middle school teacher.  Macworld has a large App Guide that includes reviews of educational apps.  Another website that Tony mentioned is Scribd.com.  This particular website consists of a 24-page document, made by Eric Sailers, of apps for iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch that have to do with Special Education.  

            In his podcast Tony talked about how he finds many educational apps by looking at tweets on Twitter.  Educators tweet about apps that they have found, or are even using in their classrooms.  Here are some of my favorites that Tony talked about:

            The first one that I really liked is called Long Division 1.4 for iPhone.  This app allows kids to solve long division, long multiplication, column subtraction, and fraction math problems.  This would be a fun way to allow students to practice their math skills.  A second apps that I thought was cool is called StoryKit.  Here students can add text, upload drawings or images, and record themselves reading the story!  This could be used as a culminating project to end a Fairy Tale reading unit.  A third really interesting and useful app is iCell.  With this app students can take a 3D tour of an animal, plant, or bacteria cell.  They can rotate the cell, and tap on it to learn the name and read more about it.  This would be excellent for 6^th grade students when they are learning the parts of the cell.  Learning the parts form an app would definitely be more memorable than learning it from their textbook.   The final app that I thought was really good is called Read Me Stories.  This app could be used with very young kids who don’t know how to read or are just learning to read.  This is a talking picture book.  Teachers can get 7 books during their free trial, but after that they are only 10 cents per book. 

            I really enjoyed learning more about these educational apps.  I had no idea that there were do many for teachers and students.  I can definitely see how this could enhance the learning experience for many children!

Podcast Reflection #7: Seeds to Success Using Skype

 This week I listened to a Classroom 2.0 podcast.  To find this podcast first go to the Classroom 2.0 website, then click on the Achieves and Resources tab at the top of the page.  The podcast that I listened to is a ways down on that page called Seeds for Success Using Skype. 

As the name suggests the podcast was about how two teachers Jan Wells and Paula Naugle use Skype in their classroom.  They had some wonderful ideas that are not just fun for the students, but also fit into the curriculum and meet some standards. Using Skype in the classroom gives students a break from the traditional academic work, while still learning essential skills for the real world.  Jan and Paula talked about so many things, but I am only going to mention a few.

Jan and Paula are from two different states, but met on Skype.  They decided it would fun to bring their classrooms together through Skype. One of their first mini projects used the poem “Them Midnight Ride of Paul Revere”.  During a Skype call Paula’s class read one verse, then Jan’s class read the next verse, and so on.  To further their project, students created original artwork to go along with the poem, then made a voice thread to explain it.  

Another project they did was called OREO (Our Really Exciting On-line Project).  Both classes got on Skype and watched each other stack Oreo cookies as high as they could until they fell over.  The students collected the data of how many Oreos each student could stack, posted it on Google Docs for everyone to see, and found mean, mode, and other statistic related information.  This actually was put into their schools curriculum to meet certain math standards.  

Another great thing that Jan did was to bring in a reading tutor via Skype.  She said that the tutor was fun and lively.  It really helped her students become motivated to read.  Staying on the reading topic, Jan also found a 1st grade teacher in another state for her 3rd grade class to be reading buddies with.  The 1st graders read originally created books to Jan’s third graders, and the 3rd graders read picture books to the 1st graders.  

            Paula had some other great ideas including finding another teacher from somewhere around the world teach a lesson to your class via Skype.  If they were more of an expert on the topic than you, why wouldn’t you give your students that opportunity?  Skype could also be used to conduct parent teacher conferences with parents who are not able to attend the regularly scheduled meetings.  This would be a great way to still talk to parents at their convenience.

            I think these ladies had wonderful ideas that are very practical to use in an elementary class.  However when using technology like this you should always have a backup plan in case something happens. 

Podcast reflection #6: Web 2.0 Tools Amplify Elementary Students’ Creativity and Initiative

            This week I listened to K12 Online Conference.  On the 2008 conference schedule I listened to Web 2.0 Tools to Amplify Elementary Students’ Creativity and Initiative.  This was a presentation by Jackie Gerstein.  Jackie is an elementary teacher that teaches gifted students.  Her podcast presentation described projects for upper elementary students to use technology to collaborate, create, network, and think.  These projects are rooted in social constructivism which means students create their own understanding through collaboration with other students and teachers. 

            In her podcast Jackie showed short clips of many tools that her students are using, and projects that they are working on in their classroom.  I am only going to discuss some of my favorites.  Scratch is the first resource that I found interesting.  On Scratch 9 to 16 year old kids can design and create their own computer games and then share them with other kids!  This encourages creativity, collaboration, problem solving, and reasoning.  Because this tool is geared toward 9 to 16 year olds, it is safe and non-violent for kids.  And, as far as I know, it is free! 

            Another really cool resource that Jackie briefly talked about was called ThinkQuest.  She didn’t go into too much detail in her podcast, so I decided to go to the website to find out more for myself.  I took the online tour of the website.  The more I looked, the more I liked it.  ThinkQuest has been created so students and entire classrooms can collaborate and share their ideas with other students and classrooms around the world. 

In this page, students can create their own personal pages about anything they want.  They can choose if they want just their school to be able to see it, or the entire world.  The best thing about this site is teachers can monitor what students are putting on their pages.  It is like having students websites inside a school website.  Classes can also start collaborative projects on ThinkQuest.  They can choose who can participate in the project and who can see the project.  For example, a 1^st grade class could start a project called “Our Community” and ask 1st graders from Asia and Australia to participate with them.  In doing this students could learn from other students instead of from a textbook. 

Jackie also talked about her class uses Skype to collaborate with other classrooms around the world.  I also think Skype could be used to bring experts into your classroom.  Another website that Jackie talked about is called Kids Click.  This website allows kids to search by categories to find information on all kinds of topics.  This site was created by librarians and generates “kid friendly” results.

 I really enjoyed listening to all of the resources that Jackie had.  Her main goal is to promote social constructivism, which is something that I really believe in.  I think kids learn best when they are working with their hands and with other students just like them. 

Reflection: Animoto in my Classroom

            When I was a senior in high school I remember putting together my senior slide show.  I wish I would have known about Animoto!  Animoto is so easy to use.  All you have to do is choose a background, upload photos, and pick your music.  Animoto does the rest.  It puts in appropriate transitions and even changes the picture to the tempo of the music!  The end result is a very professional looking video.  To make a 30 second video it is free.  For longer videos, however, there is a small monthly fee.  Animoto has several different backgrounds.  Anything from water and earth to fire and color squares.  Also if you don’t have any music of your own to put in, Animoto has many selections from all different genres that can be used . 

            I think I could definitely use Animoto in my future classroom.  It would be a good way to introduce a new topic.  For examples in my curriculum based Animoto that I make I introduced a science topic: solids, liquids, and gases.  I used the Animoto “add text” feature to put the headings: solids, liquids, and gases with written examples of each.  Then I uploaded pictures of each process.  Using this video to introduce a new topic will create a “need to know” for students and get them excited about learning the new information. 

            Animoto could also be used as a culminating experience for students.  I could have each of my students make their own Animoto video showing what they learned from a unit.  I could also have my students make their own video at the beginning of the year.  By my students making these “All About Me” videos I can get to know them better. 

Create your own video slideshow at animoto.com.

Podcast Reflection #5: Tech Chicks Tips- TCEA 2011

            For my fifth podcast reflection I listened to Tech Chicks Tips.  On their website I listened to podcast 81: TCEA 2011 toward the top of the page.  In the podcast Helen and Anna talked about their time at the Texas Computer Educators Association conference.  This podcast was packed full of online resources (free and with a fee).  There is no way that I can talk about everything that Helen and Anna mentioned.  So if you are interested just go check it out! 

            One of the websites that they talked about was Google Art Project.  This takes advantage of Google street view, which takes pictures as you walk down the street.  Google Art Project allows anyone to take virtual tours through museums around the world. When you navigate to the site you can choose which museum you want to go to.  Then you can either walk through the museum or choose individual pieces of art to look at up close.  The individual pieces have such wonderful resolution that you can practically touch the paint.  In the classroom teachers could take their students on virtual tours of any museum, and it would not cost them a thing. 

            Another tool that I really liked was Google Body Browser.  This tool is also free.  The only thing that you need is a web browser that supports WebGL.  If you go to the Google Body Browser site it gives you links to WebGL browsers.  In Body Browser you can look at different layers of the human body.  This includes muscles, organs, and even bones.  This tool could be used in a science lesson to help students visualize and learn the different parts of the body and where they are.      

            Print, Cut, and Fold was another site that the ladies talked about in their podcast.  On this site you can download PowerPoints that have templates on them.  These templates can be printed, cut, and folded into many different things.  They have templates for mini-books, flap books, pyramids, dioramas, and many others.  Before printing kids can add in clip art and text to tell their own story.  These templates can be used to review writing topics or topics in other subjects.  

            A final site that I liked was called Qtopia.  This site contains thousands of educational and motivational games for kids, and it’s free!  For example one game is a racing game.  Students answer math questions in order to play for a certain amount of time.  When that time is up they have to answer another question to continue.  This game asked routine questions, but also more challenging questions and shows the students how to work them.  These questions are not multiple choice, so the student has to come up with his/her own answer. 

            These are just some of the interesting resources and sights that Helen and Anna talked about.  There are so many good resources on their site under podcast 81 that I really encourage everyone to check out.                 

Podcast Reflection #4: Facebook Talk

             Unlike some students my age I am not an hourly Facebook user.  I do usually check it once a day, but sometimes not even that.  Since I have started my education classes, I have learned about setting a positive digital footprint.  I also am more aware of cyber bullying.  That is why I listened to Facebook Talk from Driving Questions in Education 2011 on Kevin Honeycutt’s website. 

            Him and some of his colleagues: Jaime Hendricks and Chris Loch talked about how we need to help kids understand the ramifications of their actions on social networking sites like Facebook.  They talked about how kids live I the now.  They live in their own world, and do not realize that what they are posting can be seen by everyone and found months or years later.  Kevin talked about how we can’t take these sites away from kids because they will find other ways to use them anyway, so we have to try to make them more aware of their actions. 

            Jaime pointed out we need to help kids understand that it isn’t ok to post when they are angry.  As teachers we need to teach kids how to confront each other in person to deal with their problems.  It is better to talk things out in person, than to “air dirty laundry” on the Internet.  She pointed out how important it is for parents to have these conversations at home even before their kids start using these sites. 

            It is easy to say that we need to help kids understand how to behave on social networking sites, but how do we really do this?  Jaime, Chris, and Kevin said schools need to put on more workshops and professional development seminars for not only teachers, but also students and parents.  These workshops also need to be done several times a year. 

            These workshops could definitely help educate teachers and parents, but sometimes kids need more than someone speaking at them.  They need information that is personal to them.  That is why the group talked about using personal stories to help teach kids.  As teachers we could use positive and negative stories about social networking to help students understand that social networking is a good thing when used properly.

             I agree with everything that this group talked about in this podcast.  I do think that these social networking sites are important to our future.  We can’t leave kids in the dark because then we are not really preparing them for their future.  We do, however, need to find ways to help educate them before they make a mistake that will follow them for the rest of their lives. 

Podcast Reflection #3: Interactive White Boards

            For my secondary education I attended South Gray High School.  We were fortunate to have quite a bit of technology in our classrooms.  First, we had the one-to-one laptop initiative.  Each student in our high school had a MacBook that they could use in class and also take home with them.  Another piece of technology that we had in our classrooms were SMARTboards.  Because of this I decided to listen to a podcast that discussed SMARTboards in the elementary classroom.  I listened to It’s Elementary #43: “Interactive White Boards” on EdTechTalk. 

            In this podcast Maria Knee and Alice Mercer discussed several different kinds of interactive white boards, the differences between them, how they are or can transform a classroom, and some concerns they have.  Because my teachers only use the SMARTboard brand of interactive white boards I did not know about any other types.  Maria and Alice talked about a Promethean white board.  Instead of being touch sensitive, this type of white board uses special pens to write on the boards.  Alice said that she really liked the Promethean because teachers or students can write on the board by hand, and the board will convert that writing into type.  Maria also talked about how she really enjoys having this type of board in her classroom because of the age group of students she works with.  Younger children have to be able to manipulate objects on the boards with one hand while having their other hand also on the board for balance.  Because the Promethean is not touch sensitive the child’s other hand does not confuse the board.  However, a SMARTboard is touch sensitive so the child’s other hand does confuse the board. 

            Maria and Alice also talked a lot about how classrooms need to become more student centered.  Many teachers are afraid of using technology in their classrooms.  But these interactive white boards are so easy to use that after some professional development training teachers can use them successfully in their classrooms.  If these boards are used successfully they can help move a classroom from teacher centered to student centered.  Once teachers get used to using them they can gradually let the students manipulate and learn on them.  One of the major things that Maria cautioned teachers is to not spend too much time on the boards themselves, but let the students spend time on them as well.  She said that students should be at the boards more than teachers. 

            Unfortunately, in my high school our teachers did not take full advantage of the SMARTboards.  They mainly used them to show movies or a PowerPoint.  Hopefully now that they have had these tools for several years they are letting the students manipulate them more.  I think that interactive white boards could definitely transform a classroom.  They enable elementary kids to get out of their seats and start discovering for themselves.  They not only help kids get comfortable with technology, but also get some kids excited about learning again.  I hope to learn how to use these interactive white boards to their potential incase I have one in my classroom someday.