Thing 23

I am so excited about all of the great things that I have learned! I can't wait to begin trying out these things with my students! I love wikis and podcasts and I am sure my students will as well.

Thing 22

I have mixed emotions when it comes to online PD.  In theory I think that it is great.  It allows for teachers to earn the necessary PD on their time.  I feel like there are many more options available for you to chose from rather than waiting for a conference or something to be offered within the classroom.

However, as a teacher I feel like I wear many different hats.  I am an advisor, coach, teacher, and mentor.  Aside from my busy work life, I do also have other things going on in my personal life.  It is often hard for me to stay dedicated to online PD because I am grading papers, coaching, and trying to earn a Master's degree.  At this point in my life, it is not very applicable for me.

I do think that I will utilize it more when I am finished with all of the things that I am involved in.  When I am married and have children, this will be a great alternative for me.  I do like learning things on my own and online PD allows me to do this.  I also think that it will be important for me to stay abreast on new technology that can be implemented into the classroom after I have been teaching for a while.  Learning about Web 2.0 has already given me many ideas so I think that I will take advantage of this idea at a later date.

Thing 21

The first video is from YouTube. I absolutely love this video! I think that it speaks volumes to students and members of this generation. I am such a fan of motivational quotes, videos, pictures...anything really. I think that bringing in outside elements into your classroom is really helpful in teaching other important things such as citizenship, values, and morals.

The next two videos are from TeacherTube, which I didn't even know existed. Bullying is something that I am very passionate about. I liked the third video because I thought that every student could identify with some part of the song. The other video I liked because it is full of motivational and inspirational quotes that students can enjoy.

I couldn't download a video from Vixy, Zamzar, or KeepVid. I do not have a computer at home that is functioning right now so I was using the computer at the school in which I work. We are prevented from downloading any software onto the computers.

I love using videos within the classroom to aid in teaching content. I think that they are very easy to use and don't require a lot of technical knowledge or time. However, at the school in which I teach YouTube is blocked. Students cannot access it, only teachers can. So, I guess that it is good that we can override the content filter but students do not have direct access. In a way I enjoy this because I know which materials students can use. YouTube does have some videos that are not school appropriate and I am sure that students would find them if they had full access to the site. I use online videos mostly for supplemental material. I find videos that further discuss themes within novels or provide some background information about the time or setting of a story. Students usually like to watch video clips. Actually, I just used one last week to show an example of a Greek creation myth. I also like using them because I feel like it breaks up the content a bit and often leads to further class discussions. I will continue to use this technology within my teaching.

Thing 20

I know that my students would enjoy podcasts because I really enjoyed making one! I think anything that goes beyond the traditional teaching methods students typically enjoy. Getting students interested in material is half of the battle. I think that by using different medias students tend to be more engaged in the material.

I think that students would really enjoy making podcasts and listening to other student's podcasts. I think that they would be amazed how easy they are to make. I could not believe how easy that was and I know how important student's phones are. While we read To Kill a Mockingbird, I have students perform interviews for various characters within the novel. It would be great to post those interviews on a class wiki using podcasting. Students really get into assignments when they know that their peers will be listening to them. I also do daily journals within my classroom. Students could listen to the word of the day or journal to work on different grammatical aspects and vocabulary.

I have actually never looked into podcasts, so I am not familiar with many of them. Personally I enjoy the discovery channel so I like their podcasts. I find many of their topics interesting and enjoy listening to various facts...I almost taught science if you can't tell. For my professional life, I have found a podcast that tests your English ability called Level English. These aspects challenge my knowledge and provide some insightful ideas.

Thing 19

I listened to two different podcasts. The first was a podcast from the Discovery Channel and was called "Elephants Show Cooperation on Test". I personally enjoy the Discovery Channel so this podcast caught my eye. This short podcast was also accompanied by a video segment. Move over chimpanzees, elephants could possibly be the worlds most cognitively advanced animals. They scored off the charts on an IQ test and figured out two short cuts that researchers didn't even think of.

The second podcast that I listened to was Grammar Girl: How to Write Dialogue. This podcast gave example sentences of both good and sloppy sentences, explained how to write dialogue with the proper punctuation, and talked about parallel structure. I found both of these at podcast.com, which is a website that I like to use.

Since I am sure that most students have or use ITunes, assigning podcasts for supplemental material could work for my class.  I think that they are perfect for auditory learners!  However, I do have some issues with podcasts.  With the Grammar Girl podcast, there was no visual to aid with the podcast.  So, the instructor read examples of sentences which were hard to keep up with.  I know the material so I know that my students would struggle with something like this.  Perhaps if they listened independently, but without any type of visual accompaniment, listening to this type of podcast is too difficult. 

What I do like about podcasts is that I think they will keep students' attention.  They are straight forward and to the point.  They are not very long and use simplistic language.  I think that podcasts could easily be implemented into my teaching especially with Shakespeare.  I like students to listen to Old English in the proper form, rather than when they attempt to read it.  I think that it could bring many aspects of literature to life with author's comments, original text, and related topics.  Podcasts would be a great addition to a wiki or class blog to give students oral instructions on completing assignments.

Some of the issues that I think could occur are access issues.  Students can easily use technology as an excuse for not having their homework done.  Also, having students actually listen to the podcast rather than finding out from their peers what it said.  Students often cheat and with shorter audio clips, they could easily relate the information and it would spread like wildfire. 

Thing 18

I absolutely love Widgets! They are very user friendly and require no advanced knowledge of technology.

I think that there are many different ways in which widgets can be used within the classroom. On a class wiki, we could include countdowns to important dates like tests, projects, or field trips. I think that students would really like exploring with them and trying different widgets. I am beginning to think that the more technology that is used, the more engaged students may be. They are much more advanced when it comes to technology than I am, and I am really not much older than them.

I loved the Grammar Girl widget. I am always looking for ways to make learning grammar fun for students. I would bet that my students would rather interact with something like this rather than a boring worksheet.

Writing is another area in which students struggle. This widget for writing is awesome! It helps students by giving them prompts for new writing ideas. It provides them with a series of tools to make the writing process easier.

I could use a widget map in my classroom when teaching novels like Huck Finn. We could use an interactive map to track Huck and Jim's travels down the Mississippi River. I would like to find a widget that deals with short story elements. It seems that this is dry in the unit that I teach and would like new ideas on ways of teaching that content.

Thing 17

Blogs are much different than wikis.  To me, a blog is like a journal.  They typically convey the thoughts or opinions of the author.  Only the author has access to a blog and it doesn't invite much interaction from others.  A wiki, however, is a platform that many people can post on.  It allows for collaboration on ideas from many different people.  It is almost like writing in real time because they support topics for discussion with other people.  Plus, why have a blog when a wiki can support a blog.  A wiki seems to be about creation and discussion whereas a blog is about expressing your thoughts. 

I think that I would almost always prefer to use a wiki rather than a blog.  A wiki is a great tool to develop a classroom page.  Each student can contribute their own ideas to the topic and I think that they would be much more engaged adding things to a wiki than a blog.  Just as I did in my example, I would love to develop class wikis based on the novels that we read.  I could divide students into groups where they find different resources like videos, pictures, audio clips, websites, character descriptions, or related information to the time period and setting of the story.  Or I could set a number of posts students have to contribute that way they can decide for themselves what they are interested in.  Especially with my ninth grade students, getting them to be engaged in the literature we read is difficult.  Students are to wrapped up in their own world and times of today that they often miss out on the great aspects of the work. 

Some problems that I can envision with using a wiki is monitoring student postings.  I would be afraid that a student might post something and remove it before I get a chance to see it.  Even with strict rules, ninth graders think that they are so funny and like to be known as the class clown.  Also, I would worry that students would just try to copy off of one another with their posts.  They like to do the least amount of work as possible.  I wonder if students would have limited access to the wiki.  Not every student has a computer and library space is limited.  Honestly, once I go home being able to monitor the student's postings would be a difficult task for me.  It would be nice to create one that we could periodically use throughout the year, but I would have to think on what that would be.

Thing 14

http://bookleads.wikispaces.com/

This wiki is designed to promote reading.  Too often, I find that students are not excited about reading.  This wiki is aimed for slightly younger students, but is age appropriate enough to use with my ninth graders.  I believe this wiki is designed for students grade 6-8.

But, what I do love about this wiki is that it has various links for students.  Students can connect to young author's blogs, book blogs, author's websites, podcasts, and an e-book portal.  The e-book portal allows students to access free books online.  I love that podcasts are offered because some students need to hear literature read aloud.  I especially love that you can connect to the author's blogs and websites.  Students often wonder why the author would write a certain thing or develop a character a certain way.  This allows them to learn more about their motivation for writing and could answer some of the pending questions that they may have.

http://cooltoolsforschools.wikispaces.com/

I also really enjoyed this wiki.  It is designed to assit teachers in using web 2.0 features within their classrooms.  I think that many teachers would use more technologies if they knew they existed and how user friendly they actually are.  Like many teachers I often think that I just don't have enough time.  Some of these tools can actually cut time from assignments.  I think this could be used as an instructional tool to educate myself and my students on different features.  I also think that students would be very engaged in using or developing a wiki.  It gives them a sense of ownership over their work which can be shared with others.

If for anything else, a wiki can be used for professional development opportunities.  Being able to collaborate with teachers from all over can really impact on our effectivness in the classroom. 

Thing 13

http://www.dumpr.net/photo/5dcbd73e1bba0631/

I must say that I did have a lot of fun playing around with the different features of the photo editing website.  I have heard of photoshop before, but don't have much experience with it.  If I had this much fun, then I know that students would have fun using this software as well. 

I am really not sure how I would incorporate this type of software into my lesson plans.  One thing that is hard to navigate around is the limited availability of technology.  It seems that there is often a battle for library time where the majority of the school's computers are. 

I do have my students create their own monster when we begin reading The Odyssey.  This would be a fun way to have students create their monster without having them draw one.  I think that my students would really enjoy trying the various elements of the website. 

I do wonder about copyright issues.  I went to a countywide inservice about copyright laws and it sometimes has me worried about what is ok to use and what is not.  I suppose if students are bringing in their own photographs to edit, then it wouldn't be an issue.  I am looking forward to trying this within my class!



Dumpr - Photo Fun

Thing 12

I have heard of photo sharing websites, but have never thought to become involved with them.  I am probably the only person in the world without a Facebook.  I just don't like the idea of my private information displayed on the Internet.  However, my initial impression of Flickr has changed my mind.  This website is so user friendly.  Even without a tutorial, a person could easily navigate the website.  Once I began posting photos, I couldn't stop.  I had fun selecting which photos to share and looking at other photos submitted by my classmates.

Flickr could be used within my classroom.  Because our curriculum is novel based, I think Flickr could provide me with some valuable resources for character identification, setting, and related historical events.  I am a visual learner as many of my students are.  I think we as people are fascinated with the way things look and having an image of something helps to better understand it. 

My hesitation with using Flickr in the classroom is monitoring student activity.  Although we have a feature in the library which allows us to see what students are doing, the COW does not have this option.  I often use the COW so that students don't have to leave the classroom.  I also wonder how many students use the website for personal use?  Those that do may be more concerned with their personal photos rather than my lesson. 

Before reading The Odyssey, I have students create a PowerPoint presentation of their life journey.  Students enjoy using real photographs to share with myself and their peers the story of their lives.  This website will help with time on task.  Often students finish early because they do not have photos at school; instead, they are saved at home.  If students uploaded photos to Flickr prior to constructing the presentation, they could easily insert photos from Flickr while creating their presentation.