Final Reflection

Taking a look back this semester, it has been quite a challenge.  Professional learning and technology innovation proved to be more challenging than I was expecting. 

This semester started with the professional learning current reality and GAPSS review.  I’ve never done a GAPSS review before so this is a real challenge.  From interviewing the school principal, we discovered our school doesn’t have a professional learning plan.  The principal explained that because our school is so high achieving professional development was not a huge needed.  Slightly disheartened from this realization, my partner and I set out to do the GAPSS review.  The GAPSS review really opens your eyes to see what is going on in your school.  Many of the sections on the GAPSS review we were emergent and an operational.  However, as a teacher, I was disappointed that evaluating the impact of professional learning and long-term in-depth professional learning when I need and addressed in my school.  Many sections of the GAPSS use research results; however those sections seem to be the ones most not addressed by my school.

I teach at a very large school where we have 150 plus teachers on our staff.  Getting busy teachers to fill out surveys is never easy.  I love that technology and what technology can do for us however the needs assessment survey would have had more results had it been on paper.  We received 44 responses from the online survey.  Some of things I found interesting were teachers really want to learn about podcasting and moving making.  Many teachers are already using a few web 2.0 tools some that are already being used are the Voki and Quia.  I really enjoyed both of those tools as well.  All teachers may not be using too many web two boil tools now they’re ready to learn.  The question “what Web 2.0 tools do you want to learn?” and so the highest responses.  Examples of what they would like to learn are Prezi, PodBean, Glogster, Quia, SchoolTUbe, and Edmodo.  From our survey we also got to find out how teachers felt about professional development.  Most teachers felt there wasn’t enough professional development in technology and the like there to be more. 

After reviewing the results from the then needs assessment assignment, my partner and I took a look at what teachers want to learn most.  From there we developed the first two professional development classes.  We focused on a Web 2.0 tool that allowed teachers to review material and assess standards. Quia.com is a fantastic site that teachers can quickly easily use.  During these session, I really felt like I was making a different at the way teaches looked at technology. Teachers openly asked questions and wanted more information on how to go farther. I was encouraged to see several teachers really figuring out a way to implement Quia in the classroom. Shortly after the first session another teacher can to see me for additional help. Her PLC purchased a site license and was ready to get started with their first test. I found it very rewarding knowing that I helped them get set up and going, because in the long run this program can make lives much easier for teachers.

Over all this class has helped me understand the importance of regular ongoing professional development.  

Move that School Bus... with Biodiesel?!?! YES WE DID!!!

This pictures is from the moment the school bus started. I will update more soon!

Produce that FUEL!!

It was a nail biter for me today. CRCT started and so did the Move that School Bus project. Wasn’t sure in Mr. Ham was going to make it to assign the students with the project, but just in the nick of time he did. He was great! He really did get the kids all fired up and excited. I spent the rest of the day discussing the project with my students.

My students seemed most shocked when I told them I was no longer their teacher. I was a student just like them. I explained that I have never really made biodiesel either and that we were going to learn together. I explained that I would be a facilitator to guide them but that I couldn’t tell them if they were right or wrong.  I believe that this will be an amazing adventure that we will take!

Let’s Move that School BUS!!

Biggest Take Away from Multimedia and Web Design

Walking in to the new semester, I thought I knew it all! Ha! I was wrong. I have always maintained a teacher website but it was created in a WYSIWYG. Using the WYSIWYG there were times when I would get extremely frustrated because I couldn’t get things to look the way I wanted. Now that I have a better understanding of html code, I am able to fix things to get them to look the way I want. Not that I am a control freak of anything :)Knowing the basics, has helped me to fix things like color, font, and size. Using html code as also helped me to keep the same style and look of new pages I create. I used to cut and paste templates, but discovered that information didn’t always maintain the look I wanted. Using the html code made every page the same!  I could never start from scratch and write a website, however using a WYSIWYG and html code I believe next year I will have a new website that will be amazing!

Biomes Webquest

For my latest project, I worked with a seventh grade class to complete a biomes webquest. I was great to work with seventh graders again.  Biomes  Webquest was an interactive project for students to complete. Part of the site guides students through the process of building their own website, the rest houses all the student pages.  Please check it out… I would love to know what other educators think about the question.

Internet Safety…Beyond the Computer…

After tooling around online looking for sites to keep kids safe online… well I felt like society has beat that topic to death. Most people understand the basic need to stay safe online… What I think both parents and teacher are struggling is with is how to keep students safe with all the new “smart” technologies they carry around in their pockets. 

I myself encourage my students to bring their cell phone to class. Risky … I know… but there are so my many amazing things we can do with them in the classroom. But after reading “Color…Why?” I am going to have to rethink a few things. Parents and Teachers need to read Color…Why? to understand that the smart technology are capable of.  The post explains a new app that sends pictures to people that are within 150ft of the phone! 

Other great sites on smart phone safety:

http://www.ikidapps.com/2010/11/kid-safe-browsers-for-ipad-and-iphone.html

http://pediatrics.about.com/od/safety/a/109_intrnt_sfty.htm

Montessori vs. Technology: Have my values changed?

I hold the Montessori philosophy and values very close to my heart. I boast that I went to Montessori for most of my early schooling. I have always said that if I ever have children they too would attend a Montessori school. (If possible the Montessori I attended!) The life lessons I learn there are still with me today. At Montessori, I had teachers that carried about my personal growth as well as my academic growth. I could write for days about many of my fond memories from my days there. Memories like finding the largest tree in the county and how many students it took to go around it.

Many of the recommendations Montessori gave my parents when I was little are still in place at their home.  They still compost everything.  I always say we were organic before organic was cool.  Growing up we didn’t watch tv, or play video games, in fact we didn’t get a gaming unit until Christmas 2010! My brother and I played outside until Mr. G would blow the horn to send all the neighborhood kids home. We hardly ever drank sodas or kool-aid, it was always milk or water.  Mom or Dad always cooked dinner and we would sit as a family. Yes, Montessori had a huge impact on who I am today.

But, how did Montessori school help me become the teacher I am today? I always say I get my love of project learning from Montessori. I pride myself on having my students solve real problems, while learning required content information. However, after finding a blog entitled “Montessori in the Real World,” it sent my brain spinning. The article from the blog “The Effects of Technology on Child Development” made me wonder… Do I still hold my Montessori values as close as I once did? Or have I gotten caught up in the world of technology we live in today? Currently I am working towards a master degree in instructional technology.

Am I contradicting my own values? I embrace technology in the classroom. Always trying to find new ways to use technology in the classroom, now my students take their test on the computer, create online posters, build web pages… you name it…I will try it in my class. Am I taking way some of the concrete learning my students need to be doing? I use many of these web 2.0 tools to make my life easier… for example… students take test on the computer so that I can read their answers and not have to lug papers home. I had to giggle when I read “schools throughout the country are removing cursive writing from the curriculum.” Only because I can remember how trying it was for me when I was learning it… in fact to this day I dislike writing things out, if I can type it I will! But what if handwriting skills were still in the curriculum…would I be able to read more students writing by the time they get to me in 8^th grade?

I require most students use the computer at home nightly for homework. Am I adding to the obesity issue in our country? Am I making it too easy for them to just sit in front of the computer for hours on end?

Over all, I want technology to be used when it is necessary. I agree there does become an overload. Technology has changed the way humans interact with each other. Five years ago, I wouldn’t have dreamed of texting from the dinner table… now I do it all the time! (and its usually to a student about a homework question!) Am I allowing myself to get too caught up in the technology era? Am I forgetting how to interact with humans? The biggest question is… AM I MODELING THESE BEHAVIORS FOR MY STUDENTS?  

How do I use technology in the classroom and model my Montessori values for my students?  I don’t know that I have the answer yet, but there has to be a way for me to do both.

SlideShare - Thing 21

Wow! SlideShare could solve the problem with students not having PowerPoint at home. Not to mention MAC users always seem to have difficulty viewing what I post on my teacher website. I feel this instant need to up load every PowerPoint I have made for my students. Moving forward I will use SlideShare in order to make sure all students can have access easier for all students.

I enjoyed checking out what others have posted. (I even found one on skydiving!) Great bank of slide showes. As a teacher, when I need ideas for the classroom on different topics, I plan to use SlideShare to get ideas. I found a great one on Waves, Sound, and Light. The only thing I was disappointed about was the lack of sound. I add sound to most of my PowerPoints to keep students on their toes…I haven’t come across any with sound. Has anyone else?

Below is the SlideShare presentation I created on Wiki for the Classroom. Wikis have changed the way I use technology in the classroom. Enjoy!

Wiki - Thing 21

View more presentations from missrioux

Let's Jing It!! - Thing 20

Jing has saved my life this last week. I am currently in the process of carrying out a wiki webquest with 7^th graders. I am currently teaching 8^th grade, so I only get to be with the 7^th graders during my planning time. Being able to capture what I am doing on screen and being able to narrate the videos are saving everyone time.

During 4^th period, my planning, I go and teach a 7^th grade life science class. Mrs. L watches what I do, then in turn teaches it to her later classes. The teacher that I am working with has never used some of these technologies before, these videos really help her when she teaches the lessons later in the day. The Jing videos I have made help both her and the students when I cannot be right there to answer questions.  (All the Jings I have created can be found on the Resource page on our webquest.) The Jing below explains how to add content to wiki pages.

Adding Content to a Wiki This is the link to my Jing video. I am struggling to upload and embed. The free version only allows the user to save as a Adobe Shockwave Player file. These types of files to my knowledge (and experience this week) will only play online when the computer has Shockwave. I plan to keep working on figuring it out, however it will have to be placed on the back burner for a few days. I want to find a way to use Jing without having to pay for the pro version. With all these new internet tools I have learned about this semester, I keep spending a little here and there is really starting to add up!

I hope to use Jing in the classroom in the future. I want to be able to give clear constant directions using technology to all my students. Through a day of teaching, sometimes I leave stuff out or completely forget something. Using Jing could really solve some those issues.  In the future I would like to see students to create their own Jing for their work. Having students share how they solve computer issues with their peer may make it easier for everyone to understand. My students teach me something new every day when it comes to technology.   

One of the struggles I am having with Jing is that I can’t play the videos back on my computer. When I upload them to the internet the videos play. I am currently only using the free version of Jing. I have seen that if I pay to “go pro” videos will save as MPEG-4, which I believe I could play back or even edit.

Google Docs - Thing 19

I have used google docs with my students. Mostly students just post what they have done at home so they can print it at school. I have started requiring students to type work they turn. No matter how many times I tell them how to format the documents most don’t do it correctly. I believe google docs might help right the problem. (or maybe I need to be a little less OCD!) Or students can turn papers and lab reports in this way. I hate having to lug around papers to grade; my lab top is so much easier!

As a grade level we are getting ready for our big field trip. I plan to use the google form to gather information from the students on my bus. I am thrilled that it will be going in to a spreadsheet. I love being able to sort and manipulate information.

Partner work is something I tend to avoid unless everything can be done in class. However, if students could build a presentation on google docs it might be possible.  All of my students have gmail accounts, so I think it would be very easy for them to collaborate in this manner. It will also help with “its on my partners flash drive and they aren’t here today” issues that tends to always be a problem with partner work on the computer.

Classroom Social Networking - Thing 18

Classroom 2.0 is so overwhelming.  There is so much information, its difficult know where to start. The first place I started was the live classroom. I was surprised to find the next topic was VoiceThread. I loved VoiceThread when we learned about it earlier in the semester.  I am excited to long in to the session to learn what other educator are doing with VoiceThread. I have signed up for a membership with classroom 2.0, I am excited to see and network with so many educators from around the globe.

I found NING to be interesting, however I don’t believe that I would be willing to pay for something like that when so many others are free, like a wiki. When my students and I created the PeriodicNetwork it was very much like a social network. I believe I could apply those same concepts to a more student profile based website.  I do believe that social network is something educators need to embrace, because today’s students are all about it. I know that when I need to get a message to my students, I email or text a few and they blast it on Facebook… works every time! These type sites allow everyone to stay connected.

Online Video Sharing - Thing 17

I have always been in to creating video for others. I spent so much time in high school editing videos that now sit in a box to never be watched again. :(

YouTube changed that over night! I have always watched videos on YouTube, however I have never posted anything. Too afraid I couldn’t control who saw it or where it went.  I used this assignment to go and explore to find video I needed for my multimedia and emerging technology projects as well. As we learned from our reading you can learn everything from YouTube. So many how-to videos! For both my upcoming projects I am using Glogs from Glogster. I plan to introduce the task for student creation next week. I was going to make a great PowerPoint to show them how to use Glogster… now I don't have too… I found several on YouTube.

The newest video sharing site I am using is SchoolTube. This site allows you as the teacher to upload videos to share, but it also allows your students. As the teacher you have the final say on what is approved for the site. There are different channels one for the school as a whole and then teachers can have their own channel as well. It’s a great way to not take up space on your computer with all your student videos! Can’t wait to have a student video project to test out all these features!

Exploring Podcast - Thing 15

My kids make their own podcast already! I know nothing about Airsoft. (Except I am never playing it again! I have no desire to have those little things shot at me again!) However, my male students love the game. One of them enjoys the game so much he has developed his own podcast show on airsofting.  He was such a help while I was working through podcasting.

The first podcasts I started searching for were on skydiving. I know big surprise! I found a great one on skydiving girls. It turned out to be a video series. There are so few women in the sport, so it was fantastic to see other women in the sport together. I can’t wait to see what they post next and hope to someday meet some of them!

I also searched for ones on teaching science. I still consider myself a new teacher, I wanted to find a podcast would give me tips for the science classroom. The podcast I found, Science: New Teacher Survival Guide, is a fantastic resource for new science teacher. The episode I heard first was all about science inclusion classroom. I loved hearing all the strategies.  I really wish I had heard this podcast during my first year! (and I plan to share it with those at my school!)

Multimedia Project!

I am very excited about my multimedia project. When I saw we had to do a webquest, I knew I wanted to refresh the webquest I did with my seventh graders. Even though I am teaching physical science now, biology will always be my first love in science. While I am the high strung Yang, the teacher I get to work with is the Yin to my Yang. She is so calm and helps keep me balanced.  One of my greatest joys in my teaching career is teaching and planning with her!

I have developed the webquest with in her pbworks wiki (http://lloydch.pbworks.com) for all of her students. In previous years we have had the students do research and complete tasks in order to build a magazine, instead this year we are having them create websites for the biomes.  Getting all the sites named and linked has been tough. I still need to finish up my video, podcast, and some formatting. I am excited to be using so many new tools for the project.

The video has been fun to get ready. My students were such an amazing help. When I asked my students for help, they jumped at the chance! I had several offer to come in early and stay late on a FRIDAY! I am so lucky to have such sport from my students.   

The piece I am struggling most with is the podcast. I know how to do them. I find them easy to create. I just don't really know what to do with them! Any suggestions?

Social Bookmarking Thing 14

Delicious and social book marking… I am not so impressed. I found it very difficult to import the list I already had together on my computer. However, it was very easy to import into my google account. I like the idea of social book marking however, I don’t think Delicious is the tool I would use.  I found delicious difficult to navigate and difficult on the eyes. 

I have been working to organize my entire favorite collection. Being able to tag them would be a perfect way to search through at a later date.  As a teacher, I really struggle to keep all of my resource organized.  Things on line are ever changing and an online way to keep everything organized is ideal, I just need something easier to use.  I am personally struggling to share this resource with others because I don't find it easy to use.  When I have a little more time on my hands I plan to revisit the topic!

http://del.icio.us/treetopbaby

Baffling! Thing 12

Photo editing is a joy for me. I was fascinated by the pictures my female students had taped all over their notebooks. One day after school my girls stayed after school to give me a picnik lesson! We had a ball. I had not used it much since then. This “THING” really gave me the opportunity to play with it again. So much fun!! I was inspired today when we were sizing shirts for our upcoming field trip. Miss B and I had to take a picture of these Longhorns shirts!

Not exactly sure how to use this great photo editor in class… I turned to ask my students! They had such great ideas! They were ready to diagram the parts of a wave right then and there. Picnik allows a photo editor the ability to change all parts of the pictures and add fun text and graphics. It could be a very time consuming activity…. If my students are anything like me they will just want to keep playing with all the different options.

html coding

I was very excited to learn about html coding. I maintain an active website and get frustrated when I cannot get it to look or act the way I want. I plan to start using some of the basic codes we learned to fix my test in quia. Quia is a web based testing program. I have at times wanted things bolded or italicized and did not know now to make that happen. Now I do!

As I played more with it, I realized you can search for just about any html code you need and just cut and paste it. I think that will make life much easier when coding. It also helps when trying to imbed items. It is nice to know how some of the internet works behind the scenes, but for now I will stick with a WYSIWYG for my website building needs.  

Pictures Slide Show... Thing 11

Let’s Pool it – Link: http://arcweb.archives.gov/arc/action/ExternalIdSearch?id=555504

Hess - Link: http://www.flickr.com/photos/rene-germany/2455154999  

Gas LOL OMG WTF - Link: http://www.flickr.com/photos/a_siegel/2356136293  

Gas truck - Link: http://www.flickr.com/photos/kdavidclark/4366962282

old gas pump red - Link: http://www.flickr.com/photos/brokersaunders/3513512869

old gas pump white - Link: http://www.flickr.com/photos/compujeramey/80011491

Pictures Can Inspire - Thing 10

As we enter February, I realize how much closer we are getting to April. In April I will be starting a land mark project with my students. I am really starting to feel the pressure and losing my drive. I took the recent Flikr assignments to help get the creative juices flowing again.

As I began in Flikr… I was not impressed. It didn’t seem user friendly or something that would really help me. The first hour worth of looking at pictures to find they were all copyrighted. Then once I was in The Commons, it seemed so limiting. Everything was from the library of congress, which is great if you are looking for something old. But maybe it was me….… I was looking for thinks that interest me… purple… skydiving… trees… I found things… just nothing l liked. It wasn’t until I started thinking about what I would use pictures from Flixr for that got me going.

The first picture I selected was “Pool it” by David Falconer with the US National Archives. This photograph will be one of many photos use to get students thinking. This sign was posted just outside of Vancouver, Washington as a reminder the gas shortage wasn’t over in 1974. As prices of gas today remain high, the question I pose to my students … “Have we changed much over the last 30 years?”

(I am not stating what the project is… because my students have started reading my blog. J) 

It’s mine and I am NOT sharing… or am I? Thing 9

The world of the internet has made it easier for everyone to share everything. If it is out there anyone can use it, right? Isn’t that what our students think?

I hate to admit that sometimes I ignore copyright laws to get done what I need to for my classroom. So I completely understand why it’s a struggle for our students. It is so much easier to copy and paste. In language arts classes we teach them how to cite work they use someone else’s work in papers, but what about other mediums? More and more teachers are having students create multimedia and online projects.

When do we teach students to use the internet correctly? Where is that GPS? In today’s classroom students need to know how to use internet content correctly. I believe that Creative Commons is exactly what this generation of students needs to help guide them.  Everyone always sees ©(the copyright symbol) and know that means “all rights reserved,” so we know not to use it, but what if we are creating it together? The Creative Commons licenses on sites, makes it easier to share, create, and build knowledge together.

I have never seen the Creative Commons logo on any sites yet, but I wasn’t looking either. I plan to add it to my teacher website just as soon as I have checked to make sure I am following all the copyright laws. J  CC is hopefully going to make a very positive mark on education!

Earlier this year I was looking in to getting a copyright. It was going to cost a good deal of money, but now I think a CC is a much better route. I wanted to share the content we were creating with other teachers but still wanted to get credit. This has been a great eye opening learning task.

So Many Possibilities with WIKIs! Thing 7

Wikis have changed the way I think about building knowledge, even more so after investigating Post-it Notes on Wikipedia. I have already starting using wikis in my class. When my students and I created the PeriodicNetwork, we worked together to build a site that others could gather information on the periodic table. The students did a fantastic job! After looking at other wikis, there are several things I could use to improve what we have done and use toward new wiki projects.

The first wiki that peeked my interest was CodeBlue. I worked with a similar project when student teaching. Students work in doctor teams to solve an ER case. It looked like the students were still building their site. They didn’t have any data or results posted yet, but I enjoyed the way the students explained who they were and what they were doing. I enjoyed seeing the teacher had taken steps to keep them safe online with fun doctor names.

DiRT is a Fantastic resource! I have to admit I loved clicking around on the site. (I should have set a timer!) What I enjoyed most was the explanation for each link. Sometimes you can have a list of links but not know if it is worth checking out or not. This wiki was extremely well organized and user friendly. Guide lines are clear and easy to follow.

Connecting students to outside the classroom to real people isn’t always easy, however Greetings from World does an amazing job! The stories on the wiki are fantastic! Students from around the world share their storied in many different languages using Glogs. Glogs are interactive online posters. I had to go look up Glogs… they are so cool and easy to use! I haven’t tried creating on yet but plan to soon! I’ll be sure to post one once I get it done!

Wikis have endless possibilities. I am even rethinking my blog project for the spring… a wiki might just serve our needs better. Wikis allow everyone to build together. The only thing I seem to dislike right now about wikis is they normally aren’t very eye appealing.

Let’s start building!

RSS – FYI Extreme!! Thing 5

While I scroll through my Google Reader, my head just spins! So much information, I am overwhelmed. I want to read it all but I just can’t. I star the ones I want to go back and take a closer look and clear the rest. I love Google Reader, because it brings everything to me in one place. It is a lot less clicking!

Today on my Google Reader I found… The Importance of Stretching. As I read the post, I had to laugh as I was reminded of the “cold tortilla” theory from my youth. The post talked about the importance of stretching before exercising. Kids need that warm up time before diving into the lesson at hand. Just like the teacher from the article, I like to get to school before everyone gets there so I can get everything set up just the way I like it. (Not that I am OCD or anything!) I am pretty sure there are many students that don’t even think about stretching before coming to school. But is it stretching or warming up?

Have you ever tried to roll a cold tortilla? It just breaks or rips…right? The same things happen to our mussels if you try and stretch them without warning them up! The Cold Tortilla Theory! The brain is a mussel, right? So, the same thing would happen to the brain, it can’t stretch if you don’t warm it up. Got to get the blood pumping! So I don’t disagree with what Patricia is saying in the post, just the title. I want my students to warm-up before class because I want to stretch their brains to new lengths they didn’t think possible.

**A special thanks to the Stretch Gang for ingrained the phrase “Life is a Journey; Not a Destination” and the “Cold Tortilla Theory” in me. **

To Grade a Blog Post? Or Not? Thing 4

Blogging can take many forms in an educational setting with students, but how do we “grade” them? I don’t have a complete answer yet.  At the start of this task I simple started by reading other blogs on grading blogs.  Integrating, Evaluating, and Managing Blogging in the Classroom was the very first blog I read on the topic, which lead me to Lessons from a First-Time Course Blogger.  I found that these blogs really got me thinking about how I was going to grade blogs when I start using them. (And if it were not for this assignment, I don’t know that I would have thought about it before assigning a blog project!! Oops!)

In a class, grades are just par for the course. There has to be a tool to measure what students are learning. A blog is a great way to see how students are comprehending content, but can be a struggle to assign a grade. In science, part of the scientific process is communication. I plan to use a blog in science as a way for students to communicate about labs and other activities. I will want to grade some tasks for content while other I will want them to form an opinion and back it up.  ‘How are you going to this?’ helped me understand a few of the ways a teacher could grade content of a post as well as comments. Most importantly the post helped me realize there is more than one right way to grade blogs, but having clear expectations from the beginning, as in any assignment, will make the blogging process easier for everyone.  

While I don’t know for sure how I am going to grade posts, comments, and other content of a student blog, there is one thing I can’t ignore… GUMS! (Grammar, Usage, Mechanics, and Spelling) I want my students to free write at the start of a blogging assignments, however they MUST look over it be for posting. Just like a student would do before turning something in a traditional classroom. I have always struggled with writing for fear of messing up and looking “stupid.” It takes more than just the Language Arts teachers to teach writing. I feel not expecting students to take GUMS into account before a post is doing them a disservice, there for I am adding it to the rubric.  (Even if I always get unacceptable!)

Below is the rubric I have come up with for a general blog assignment in science asking students to formulate an opinion on a given topic from class.     

Blogging…How has it changed me?

Until fall 2010, I had never really looked at a blog… much less written a blog post.  Not really being a writer I didn’t think that blogging was for me. I guess I was WRONG!!! I really am getting into blogging. I found it helpful to have something to focus on as a starting point. Once I started writing reflections on my grad school experiences, I started to find that I wanted to write about stuff that was happening in the classroom… and now I just can’t stop.

It wasn’t until my latest assignment that I thought about how blogs have changed communication in the 21st century. I hate to admit, but I don’t follow the news or blogs regularly. I know it’s sad, but I have found myself engulfed in my own life too busy  to bother with the rest of the world. ( I promise I am not as selfish as that sounded!) However, since the start of grad school my view of the world around me has started to change.  I now have an RSS which allows me to pull what I want to keep up with. I have found having an RSS brings the news and updates that I care about right to my attention. I was shocked as I read some of the statistics from Sifry's Alerts (http://www.sifry.com/alerts/archives/000493.html) at first. It does make sense seeing as most people would turn to blogs and other websites that are updated by the people around the world instantly. (plus so many people are no longer using traditional television at home anymore!) Heck, I get most of my major news from Facebook, then I go look up what is really going on. 

Thinking about blogging and news I think about the generations of females in my life. What is news to me? What is news to my mom? What is news to my grandmother? We all have different news needs. For example, my grandmother wants to be able to keep up with mine and my brother’s lives from another state as well as her silver sneakers groups and the obituaries. My mother wants to keep up with the latest hiking activity with her tail dames group and anything to do with scouting. Me on the other hand, I want to keep up with friends and any new teaching trend out there! While we all have different “news” needs, most of that information can come from a blog! I had never really thought about people having individual news needs, but we all do and we don’t necessarily get our information from the five o’clock news.

Reading blogs is still reading. I have already admitted that I am not a writer… guess what?... I am not a reader either… but blogging is changing the way I read. I have found from reading blogs I can stay informed and entertained on a number of topics. Still being new to reading blogs, I am enjoying reading what other people are doing in the classroom and how they interpret different topics. 

I am excited to try out blogging with my students. Blogging is changing the way I am learning and I am hoping to change the way my students are learning with blogging.

Design and Development... is it going to Help?

After some crazy snow in Georgia, I am settling in to the new semester.  Two new classes, both with so many exciting topics! I have always been savvy with a computer, but admittedly have never understood what is under the “hood” or in the background of the internet. I manage a teacher website and get frustrated when I can’t get it to look the way I want it look! I am very excited to learn some html code!

Design and development of lesson is a huge part of what I work on to have a successful classroom environment, but have never thought much about it when it comes to my online material. I know that learning more about design and development for the web and multimedia project with defiantly affect me as a teacher. I am just not sure how yet! I am ready to build on what I know to reach a new level as a teacher.

Admittedly, I have a problem… I tend to go overboard.  Some may call it overachieving; I call it just doing my job to the best of my ability. Once I get an idea in my head, it’s really hard to let it go. That being said, I have two fears moving forward with design and development: time and knowledge, knowing once I get into it I won’t be able to back down.   Will I have enough time in my life to really explore, learn, and use new knowledge?  Once I dive in, will have learned what I need to accomplish what I want? Will I have the knowledge to share with others?

Only one way to find out…. Let’s get started!!!

From Information Regurgitation to Knowledge Building Beyond the Classroom

"Keeping up with the Joneses" comes to mind when I think about trying to keep up with technology. Personally, I try keep up with the latest and greatest because I fascinated by technology! There is so much out there, it seems impossible to keep up with it all! As a teacher, I have two options when it comes to technology ignore it or embrace it.

Embracing technology in the classroom is really the only option that I see, but then again I am a part of the generation that grew up as the internet came to life. I was 4 in 1989 when Berners-Lee was developing the Internet. Never being forced to use the internet, it was a natural part of my youth. For example, in the sixth grade, my class was able to follow a group of bicyclist through the Mayan Ruins. As they moved from location to location they updated us with what they were doing and seeing. We were able to email them questions. An amazing experience as we studied the Mayan culture in social studies.  Change is hard, not everyone educating today's students want to change their teaching practices to include technology. However, if we as educators don't embrace technology, we are doing a disservice to our students. Technology is everywhere in the world our students are engaged in outside of the classroom. How as educators can we teach our students to become well rounded adults without teaching them to interact online? How can we teach them to be responsible online citizens if we don't understand the online community ourselves? 

The days of hand written letters are a thing of the past. (Sorry Grandma!) However, staying connected and maintain relationships has never been more important, it's just gone digital. Using Web 2.0 is one way we can connect to our students outside the 4 walls of the classroom. To effectively use the tools at our disposal, we must first understand what it is and how to use it. Not every tool out there is worth using, but understanding what is available is half the battle. You never know, one of the new web 2.0 tools might make a tried and true lesson easier to carry out? Just as electronic mail made staying connected easier (not to mention cheaper!) over traditional "snail" mail.  As teachers, we attempt to build engaging lesson in the classroom, but learning for today's student extends far beyond the classroom. We need to be the trailblazers, teaching our students how to navigate the new read/write web; teaching them to be responsible online citizen capable of positively adding to an ever growing internet. This year I have had the great experience of using the read/write web with students for the first time. As a class, we created a wiki for the periodic table of elements. Amazing!

I am a young teacher. In my few short years in the classroom, I have seen a shift in my own teaching from information regurgitation to knowledge building beyond the classroom. Thanks to web 2.0 for a shift in my teaching, has made better higher order thinkers of both my students and myself. How had that shift occurred?  For example, my fist year teaching I had each student create at baby book for an element of their choosing and now this year students created an interactive online profile of an element where they were responsible for becoming the expert in order to answer probing questions from others outside our classroom. My first year everything was contained within my classroom and now my students and I share it with the world. 

Taking advantage of the connective tissue of the read/write web has also enabled me move from "my" classroom to "our" class. I have naturally moved away from being the "sage on the stage" to co-learners with my students with endless possibilities from the new read/write web.

As the new semester final starts, I am looking forward to exploring deeper in to web 2.0 tools. I have dipped my toes in podcasts and wikis and now I am ready to try blogs, video casting, voice thread, and student social networking. So many new things to try and explore!

The journey continues!

What does Web 2.0 hold for the classroom?

Web 2.0 is a world of tools that can be used in classrooms everywhere, however at RTMS we are just starting to scratch the surface. At RTMS many teachers have a blog. Most teachers, that have a blog, use it to post assignments, worksheets, video, and other content need for class, but students add very little content to the blog. After reading “A Day in the Life of Web 2.0” I wish I taught in that school system! The world we are teaching in now has a need for constant communication between students, teacher, parents and administrators. I hope that teachers will embrace new tools to stream line communication.

As I started grad school, I considered myself computer savvy, however I did not realize how much was out there to use and try out in the classroom. As my academic year began in a new grade level with new standard I had not taught in a while, I struggled to get in the grove of the new year.  One of my first grad school classes touched on web 2.0 tools, it inspired me to dive in and try some stuff out. The first thing I tried was podcasting. It was great having students write scripts and record their voices. Second, we used a wiki to personify the elements of the periodic table. These two projects engaged learners in my classroom and created lasting knowledge of content and technology. 

While text messaging is not a “web 2.0” tool, it is one way these digital learners use to communicate. All of my students have my cell number and are welcome to text me at any time. I love that they can ask me questions when they are working on homework rather than an email that they have to wait on. If I could use Facebook to communicate with students safely… I would! All most all of my students have Facebook, it is a fantastic communication tool.  Students are dialed in to facebook just like so many adults, can’t we use it to communicate?

Today’s 21st century learners digitally connected all the time, but the really question is do they know how to use what they have in their hands? I want to find a way to use a wiki, a blog, and other web 2.0 tools in my classroom. I find that digital projects, activities, and interactions for my middle school students really help students stay engaged in the classroom, but also create lasting memories with my students.