1. One of my favorite tools is the Wiki. I would love to have a question or problem posted monthly on my Wiki that is up for discussion. I would offer extra-credit for multiple posts that were well thought out and relevant to the topic or problem. I want to see my students share their ideas with me and with each other, even across classes. I would also like to see my students use Digital Storytelling or I-Movie to present a project or activity. I really want to see how creative my students can be and how well they can plan out a project and put it in a digital format and then share it with others through TeacherTube or School Tube.
2. I have changed my mind about some of the "tools" that are out there. There can be a place for some of these even in a math class. And I know my students already know how to use many of these it is just up to me to find a appropriate and meaningful use for them in my classroom. Many of these tools will enhance their learning and possibly make my class more fun and more like a class of the future!
3. I was not too surprised about any of these tools as I knew of many of these or have heard of them. There is so much out there but so much I have not explored so that was fun to get to do that. Now I feel like I might be a little closer to what my students already know how to do!
My first Wordle
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
Tool #11
1.The three things that I would stress or teach to my students would be to 1) make sure what you are using from the internet is authentic and document it if it is not yours; 2) show my students how to research for ideas or topics using deep web resources and other sources such as book and not just things from the internet and then 3) how to not just use the first source you find but to search many sites or sources and know how to validate them.
2. I would probably like to approach teaching "digital citizenship" through a group presentation in my house in the upper school. Perhaps using Screencast or even making a video presented by the teachers in our grade level to make sure we are all in agreement about what is expected as they research in all of our classes. This way they would know what to expect from all of their teachers. I would also model and discuss the 3 things I mentioned earlier and show them a step-by-step process for researching as reinforcement. Authentication and validation cannot be emphasized enough in today's classroom.
2. I would probably like to approach teaching "digital citizenship" through a group presentation in my house in the upper school. Perhaps using Screencast or even making a video presented by the teachers in our grade level to make sure we are all in agreement about what is expected as they research in all of our classes. This way they would know what to expect from all of their teachers. I would also model and discuss the 3 things I mentioned earlier and show them a step-by-step process for researching as reinforcement. Authentication and validation cannot be emphasized enough in today's classroom.
Tool #10
I have an I-Phone so I have actually "played" with many apps on it. I love the Soduku app as it is great for students to use for developing their analytical thinking skills. I like the idea of the puzzle app of Free Fling. Puzzles are actually very good for exercising the brain and honing your problem solving skills. If I had I-Touches in my classroom, I would be sure to have a few of these free apps on them to allow the kids to play or use the apps esp. since they would be approved by me. We know they are going to want to play on them so why not have games we approve of that may actually benefit them.
The Soduku app. was fun and I always find it challenging and using a touch screen is great instead of erasing everytime you need to change an entry. There are so many more that are free, like Tic Tac Toe and I play that quite a bit with my kids. I also play Words with Friends that is a Scrabble-like game that can be played with another person who also has the app on his I-phone or I-touch. I am sure that there are even more that allow our students to play them but help increase their analytical skills.
The Soduku app. was fun and I always find it challenging and using a touch screen is great instead of erasing everytime you need to change an entry. There are so many more that are free, like Tic Tac Toe and I play that quite a bit with my kids. I also play Words with Friends that is a Scrabble-like game that can be played with another person who also has the app on his I-phone or I-touch. I am sure that there are even more that allow our students to play them but help increase their analytical skills.
Tool #9
1. I love the idea of using shots of several screens to make a video, through Screencast. It would be a great way to teach a lesson or most lessons without having to repeat myself so many times and this would also be available on my bog for any student who may have been absent or may need to see the lesson again. This would be a great re-teach tool!
2. Skype is a very cool way to communicate with people. I could see my students in my class using Skype to talk to students in another class. Perhaps to go over a topic/concept. Of course, Skype would be great for me and my students so that when I am away from them we can communicate. I would not want to be able to do this all the time as I do want to have some down time from school but it might be a great tool. I would love for my students to each have Skype accounts so that they can talk to each other and help each other with homework or studying for a test. This would really help in peer tutoring. I think this would be difficult for a lot of my students because many of them do not have computers or computers with a camera and microphone, but it would be very cool!!!
I would also love to use Skype to talk with other students across the state, nation, or world possibly when we know another class is on the same topic. Can you imagine the possibilities and the teaching moments out there??
2. Skype is a very cool way to communicate with people. I could see my students in my class using Skype to talk to students in another class. Perhaps to go over a topic/concept. Of course, Skype would be great for me and my students so that when I am away from them we can communicate. I would not want to be able to do this all the time as I do want to have some down time from school but it might be a great tool. I would love for my students to each have Skype accounts so that they can talk to each other and help each other with homework or studying for a test. This would really help in peer tutoring. I think this would be difficult for a lot of my students because many of them do not have computers or computers with a camera and microphone, but it would be very cool!!!
I would also love to use Skype to talk with other students across the state, nation, or world possibly when we know another class is on the same topic. Can you imagine the possibilities and the teaching moments out there??
Tool #8
The first video is "Mathmaticious" and is a great video that a student made, I am guessing, for a project. It is a bit rough but very good, and not only shows the student spent alot of time on the video, but that he had a great knowledge of computers. We do a few projects a year in Geometry, and I would show this video from Teacher Tube to offer this as an idea for presenting a project. Students love making videos/movies and posting them for others to share. This also allows students to be creative.
The second video is just a really well done video from SchoolTube and I thought it was a good example of how videos can be made and done well. It would serve as another example how videos can be made and again this would be great for project presentations or even to demonstrate how to teach a topic. And now that I am a member of SchoolTube we can share our videos with each other and those outside of our school. This could also be used for collaboration and constructive critiquing.
Finding these videos has been fun and a great way to show my students the possibilities that the internet allows.
The second video is just a really well done video from SchoolTube and I thought it was a good example of how videos can be made and done well. It would serve as another example how videos can be made and again this would be great for project presentations or even to demonstrate how to teach a topic. And now that I am a member of SchoolTube we can share our videos with each other and those outside of our school. This could also be used for collaboration and constructive critiquing.
Finding these videos has been fun and a great way to show my students the possibilities that the internet allows.
Tool #7
This was so fun making an I-movie! I did a movie using the pictures from my cousin's 40th birthday party. It was fairly easy accept adding the music. I found that to be a little difficult. But eventually was able to find some music I liked from Soundzaboom. I just hope I am now able to load the movie. I have heard that was a problem.
I think I-Movie and Digital Storybook are really great ways for our students to present their ideas through projects. I do several projects a year in my Geometry class and I would love for my students to have the option of presenting their projects using these mediums. I could also see using these mediums to demonstrate activities going on in my class in a fun and attractive way.
I think I-Movie and Digital Storybook are really great ways for our students to present their ideas through projects. I do several projects a year in my Geometry class and I would love for my students to have the option of presenting their projects using these mediums. I could also see using these mediums to demonstrate activities going on in my class in a fun and attractive way.
Monday, August 2, 2010
Tool #6
Wikis.....
I love Wikis. I set up one this last year with encouragement from a colleague. I created it for my Geometry students as a place for us to discuss topics and solutions to problems. It is a great place for students and colleagues to discuss things in an open forum and have access to it wherever you go. The only thing I find difficult is to find the time to go and read the posts and find a way to use the posts for some of kind credit (extra, etc.). I just need to find a way to put my Wiki into practice more and find its purpose in my classroom so that it is meaningful.This is a great way for my students to collaborate with their classmates from their class and in my other classes.
I have also used Wikis for discussion in a cohort I am in. It works well and is easy to do. They can be very useful and I love how you can read others thoughts and also post your comments. These are already being used in our district and I can see their continual use.
I love Wikis. I set up one this last year with encouragement from a colleague. I created it for my Geometry students as a place for us to discuss topics and solutions to problems. It is a great place for students and colleagues to discuss things in an open forum and have access to it wherever you go. The only thing I find difficult is to find the time to go and read the posts and find a way to use the posts for some of kind credit (extra, etc.). I just need to find a way to put my Wiki into practice more and find its purpose in my classroom so that it is meaningful.This is a great way for my students to collaborate with their classmates from their class and in my other classes.
I have also used Wikis for discussion in a cohort I am in. It works well and is easy to do. They can be very useful and I love how you can read others thoughts and also post your comments. These are already being used in our district and I can see their continual use.
Tool #5
I really liked setting up a social bookmarking list. I used Diigo. It is really convenient and pretty easy to do. I found the following two links that were super interesting to me.
http://diigo.com/0c3v8
http://diigo.com/0c3v6
One is about brain breaks and one is about the social media competencies that teachers need to be familiar with. I actually searched for these under the community tab to see what the top articles/sites were. I would tag these as brain breaks and social media, respectively.
This will be great for my colleagues and I to share sites, articles, etc. that we like and it is all saved in one place accessible from any computer. I also included on my Diigo several sites that I use often;
http://diigo.com/0c3vf (Holt online textbook site) and http://diigo.com/0c3vh (purple math, a tutoring site).
I still need some practice setting this up correctly and using it correctly but this is a really cool deal, social bookmarking!!
I really liked setting up a social bookmarking list. I used Diigo. It is really convenient and pretty easy to do. I found the following two links that were super interesting to me.
http://diigo.com/0c3v8
http://diigo.com/0c3v6
One is about brain breaks and one is about the social media competencies that teachers need to be familiar with. I actually searched for these under the community tab to see what the top articles/sites were. I would tag these as brain breaks and social media, respectively.
This will be great for my colleagues and I to share sites, articles, etc. that we like and it is all saved in one place accessible from any computer. I also included on my Diigo several sites that I use often;
http://diigo.com/0c3vf (Holt online textbook site) and http://diigo.com/0c3vh (purple math, a tutoring site).
I still need some practice setting this up correctly and using it correctly but this is a really cool deal, social bookmarking!!
Tool #4
1. I created a Google Doc for my teaching partner and I to use for planning. This will be great for us as we can change the calendars for each 6 weeks without having several documents out there but be able to correct and revise the Google Doc anytime we want.
2. I really like the Google Reader. I am going to follow, Beth Bray's Blog; Planet-Mongo's; Everyday Mathematics from Mr. C; Amy' House, and Dawson Daily. This will be a great way for all of us most esp. those in math to follow one another's discussions and progress. I also chose several news outlets for updates and a few math sites for current math info.
3. Google Docs is going to be great for my partner and I to create and revise documents without sending many different copies all over the place. This will help our planning time be more productive as we can revise documents from anywhere. The Google Reader is interesting for collaboration among my colleagues. I will be updated regularly on what is going on in their blogs and in their classrooms. Plus the Reader will update me on news stories! I really like it and can't wait to add more url's as I find ones I want to add.
1. I created a Google Doc for my teaching partner and I to use for planning. This will be great for us as we can change the calendars for each 6 weeks without having several documents out there but be able to correct and revise the Google Doc anytime we want.
2. I really like the Google Reader. I am going to follow, Beth Bray's Blog; Planet-Mongo's; Everyday Mathematics from Mr. C; Amy' House, and Dawson Daily. This will be a great way for all of us most esp. those in math to follow one another's discussions and progress. I also chose several news outlets for updates and a few math sites for current math info.
3. Google Docs is going to be great for my partner and I to create and revise documents without sending many different copies all over the place. This will help our planning time be more productive as we can revise documents from anywhere. The Google Reader is interesting for collaboration among my colleagues. I will be updated regularly on what is going on in their blogs and in their classrooms. Plus the Reader will update me on news stories! I really like it and can't wait to add more url's as I find ones I want to add.
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Tool # 3
1. Here is the Wordle I made....this is very cool and great for brainstorming!! (Look at the top of this blog to see this. Made at Wordle.
2. This is a text image I made at ImageChef. This is a pretty cool way to display anything-photos, messages, etc. Pretty cool!!!
2. This is a text image I made at ImageChef. This is a pretty cool way to display anything-photos, messages, etc. Pretty cool!!!
Sunday, July 18, 2010
Tool #2, part 2
1. In the artice "What is the changing role of the teacher..." I found it interesting that they commented on every type of mode of communication, like Twitter, etc. and that they also commented on how to help the teacher. They also addressed discipline issues in the classroom and that the teacher would be more of a facilitator and that instead of "assembly-line learning" learning would be more individualized. I find this interesting and wonder how it would work in my math class.
2. The blogs I choose to use are:
2. The blogs I choose to use are:
Tool #2-PLN's
1. I think that the idea or concept of PLNs is great. I already feel like my teaching partner and I already do this daily on our campus but to be able to expand it through blogging will have an even larger impact. We will be able to talk with other educators anywhere to get their thoughts and ideas. Collaboration has often been one of the best activities for me as a teacher. I have learned so much from other teachers and often get some of the best teaching practices from my colleagues and now I can gain this from teachers outside of my school, my town, and maybe outside of my country. This has lots of potential to be very powerful for us and for our students!
Saturday, July 17, 2010
Tool #1
O.k. so I was supposed to title my first blog, Tool #1 and I did not. So this is blog or post #2. This process has not been too bad but I had to go back alot to see how to do a few things. I would have liked to have a little more help but figured things out I guess. This should be learning process all the way for me but will be very useful in my class as I find ways to use it for my math classes.
Blogging
This is just the beginning of blogging. I would like to use a blog either weekly or monthly in my classes this year. I think this will be fun and challenging to keep this up and to keep the blogs fresh, fun, and interesting for my students. So we will see how this goes. I am still learning alot and have a lot of questions. For instance, I am not sure how to start a blog but I was able to post this so I guess this will be an ongoing learning experience for me.......
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