I can't believe I completed this class! I wouldn't have been able to do it without Jenna and Zella. Thank you Jenna for all of your help and encouragement! Going into this, I was at a baseline level with technology. I didn't really think about technology unless I had to, and then I always felt intimidated by it. I didn't know much about what tools were available to me, and I definitely didn't know how to use them! This class has been a huge challenge, but it's been very eye-opening for me. I'm feeling a bit less intimidated by technology now! I will still need a lot of practice to implement the things I've learned, but for me, it was just as important to learn about all the tools available. Knowing is half the battle, and I honestly had no clue what was out there before I started this class.
My favorite activities were the Tagxedo and Storybird. I think I liked them because they were so visual, and there was a creativity component to them. I would definitely use tagxedo and the other online study tools in my special education classroom (I used quizlet, but I think I would explore the other ones, too). My students need so much review and practice, that this would be another fun way for them to learn new information. I think I would use Storybird for social stories, or maybe for part of the poetry unit they do in 5th grade. I especially loved these tools, because they were very easy to use. I also liked the data gathering and google forms, and would use these if/when I need to gather information from parents or students. They were so user friendly, even for me. The biggest challenge for me was the screen casting activity. I can really see a lot of great uses for it, but I would have to get over the talking part. Unlike some people, I do not enjoy talking that much. I also found it challenging transferring the information from the websites onto my blog. That was confusing for me, and something I needed help with on every activity.
All of the activities were new to me, so each one probably took me twice as long as someone who new what they were doing. I really liked the interactive blog format. It was easy to use and efficient. It was also helpful to see other people's ideas, and the support and feedback from Jenna and my colleagues was great. I also loved the computer lab time each week. That was a life saver!
Friday, August 23, 2013
Activity # 10
For the last activity, I decided to check out Goodreads a bit more. I signed up to use it for personal use, but it has been a few months since I looked at my account. I kind of forgot what a great website it is! My favorite part is that you get recommendations for other books based on what you've read and liked. It's also fun to see what other people and reading, and how they rated the books they've read. I love learning about new books I may want to read!
In doing this assignment, I had to shift my thinking to how I would use this in my classroom. First of all, I learned you have to be 13 to have your own account, so my students wouldn't be able to use it as a reading log, etc., which I think would be a cool way to encourage independent reading. As my own kids get older, I will definitely encourage them to use this website. As a teacher, I could let parents know about the website, and maybe they could use it together with their kids. It's a great way to discover new books!
So for this assignment, I decided to set up a separate account as a teacher. To start, I just checked an interest youth and young adult books. I rated youth and young adult books books I've personally read, but then I also marked books I think my students may be able to read. I tried to focus on easy chapter books. I figured this would be a good way for parents to access which books we may be reading in class, (which I would mark as, "currently reading") and/or options of recommended books (which I would mark as, "want to read") for their kids to read at home. I'm thinking I could offer some kind of extra credit if the kids go on the website with their parents and read one of the "want to read" books on their own.
I decided to start with The Boxcar Children, (which I already rated since it is one of my favorites) but I marked it as "currently reading" on the website, because I would read this book together with my students in class. It's a good reading level for them and I think it would keep their interest! We could do the comments together as a class when we're done and add them to the webpage.
The Boxcar Children by Gertrude Chandler Warner
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
View all my reviews
In doing this assignment, I had to shift my thinking to how I would use this in my classroom. First of all, I learned you have to be 13 to have your own account, so my students wouldn't be able to use it as a reading log, etc., which I think would be a cool way to encourage independent reading. As my own kids get older, I will definitely encourage them to use this website. As a teacher, I could let parents know about the website, and maybe they could use it together with their kids. It's a great way to discover new books!
So for this assignment, I decided to set up a separate account as a teacher. To start, I just checked an interest youth and young adult books. I rated youth and young adult books books I've personally read, but then I also marked books I think my students may be able to read. I tried to focus on easy chapter books. I figured this would be a good way for parents to access which books we may be reading in class, (which I would mark as, "currently reading") and/or options of recommended books (which I would mark as, "want to read") for their kids to read at home. I'm thinking I could offer some kind of extra credit if the kids go on the website with their parents and read one of the "want to read" books on their own.
I decided to start with The Boxcar Children, (which I already rated since it is one of my favorites) but I marked it as "currently reading" on the website, because I would read this book together with my students in class. It's a good reading level for them and I think it would keep their interest! We could do the comments together as a class when we're done and add them to the webpage.
The Boxcar Children by Gertrude Chandler WarnerMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
View all my reviews
Wednesday, August 21, 2013
Activity #9
This was an interesting assignment and very eye opening for me. Since I don't use technology that much, I didn't really think about all the issues that go along with it.
Scenario #4: First of all, the teacher should have done more research on the tool. If she would have done this, she would have realized she needed a different plan for her 6th grade class because of the age restrictions. We've all been there, and I realize you can't always plan ahead, but I am learning that with technology, we need to go above and beyond to make sure we are being ethically responsible and that students are being safe. Obviously, age restrictions are put in place for a reason, and we need to follow them. In this case, I don't know if there would be any safely concerns (it doesn't seem like it), but the bottom line is that the age restriction limits who can use this tool. The teacher will have to come up with a different plan for the 6th graders. She could still do the posters, but in a different way. The students could still do research and find information/pictures, etc. for their country. They could then create a poster using that information but adding it to poster board/paper, etc. She could also modify the assignment, and have the students make a brochure, or a powerpoint, etc.. I've seen both of my kids do some pretty cool activities using technology, so I know there are many options for doing projects.
Scenario #6: Since I don't know exactly how Moodle or Edmondo works, I'm wondering why Edmondo isn't supported by the tech. department? It sounds like this teacher was very prepared, did her research, notified parents, the principal, etc., so I don't see any safety or ethical issues. It's also great that this tool seems to be really motivating for her students. I do understand the parent's concern, even though I am not familiar with any of these systems. It would be helpful if the school gave parents information on the systems their children are using at school. I asked my daughter, Zella, if she's heard of any of them, and she's only heard of Moodle, and said she's used it once. Is there a way for the school to have a unified management system? I'm assuming teachers are using these systems because each of them offers something unique for each subject, but is it worth it? Or, is there a way for the student to use the same login and password for all of the systems if each department is using something different? I also know logins and passwords are a part of everyone's life now. Is this something we just have to get used to now?
Scenario #4: First of all, the teacher should have done more research on the tool. If she would have done this, she would have realized she needed a different plan for her 6th grade class because of the age restrictions. We've all been there, and I realize you can't always plan ahead, but I am learning that with technology, we need to go above and beyond to make sure we are being ethically responsible and that students are being safe. Obviously, age restrictions are put in place for a reason, and we need to follow them. In this case, I don't know if there would be any safely concerns (it doesn't seem like it), but the bottom line is that the age restriction limits who can use this tool. The teacher will have to come up with a different plan for the 6th graders. She could still do the posters, but in a different way. The students could still do research and find information/pictures, etc. for their country. They could then create a poster using that information but adding it to poster board/paper, etc. She could also modify the assignment, and have the students make a brochure, or a powerpoint, etc.. I've seen both of my kids do some pretty cool activities using technology, so I know there are many options for doing projects.
Scenario #6: Since I don't know exactly how Moodle or Edmondo works, I'm wondering why Edmondo isn't supported by the tech. department? It sounds like this teacher was very prepared, did her research, notified parents, the principal, etc., so I don't see any safety or ethical issues. It's also great that this tool seems to be really motivating for her students. I do understand the parent's concern, even though I am not familiar with any of these systems. It would be helpful if the school gave parents information on the systems their children are using at school. I asked my daughter, Zella, if she's heard of any of them, and she's only heard of Moodle, and said she's used it once. Is there a way for the school to have a unified management system? I'm assuming teachers are using these systems because each of them offers something unique for each subject, but is it worth it? Or, is there a way for the student to use the same login and password for all of the systems if each department is using something different? I also know logins and passwords are a part of everyone's life now. Is this something we just have to get used to now?
Activity#8
http://www.polleverywhere.com/multiple_choice_polls/hy230C19dspVDq3
Here's the link for my poll. I didn't know how to put it on my blog. I decided to do a poll about favorite type of chocolate, since everyone loves chocolate! The website was super easy to use and kind of fun.
Activity #8 (part 2) reflection
I was having trouble putting my comments with the form. It got all screwed up, and since I don't have Jenna next to me, I improvised!
This activity was way easier than I thought - very user friendly! I would totally use this! In looking at other people's blogs, I'm seeing many useful ways to use this with parents, colleagues, and students.
Here's the link for my poll. I didn't know how to put it on my blog. I decided to do a poll about favorite type of chocolate, since everyone loves chocolate! The website was super easy to use and kind of fun.
Activity #8 (part 2) reflection
I was having trouble putting my comments with the form. It got all screwed up, and since I don't have Jenna next to me, I improvised!
This activity was way easier than I thought - very user friendly! I would totally use this! In looking at other people's blogs, I'm seeing many useful ways to use this with parents, colleagues, and students.
Wednesday, August 7, 2013
Activity #7
https://docs.google.com/a/moundsviewschools.org/document/d/1KHbYsQZYH19J3pJ6og5kRDdO8S6WdnJfZ_yO6XTVawE/edit
This is the link to a social story I wrote about recess. Recess seems to be a time when kids have a lot of trouble, and this story could be shared and used with other students. We have used Google Drive with our special ed. team to keep track of caseloads, meetings, due process deadlines, schedules, etc. I haven't used it with my students. It would probably be a great way to share information/give feedback on assignments, etc. Maybe I will try it this year, since I will be working with the upper grades, and I think they use Google Drive with their students quite a bit.
This is the link to a social story I wrote about recess. Recess seems to be a time when kids have a lot of trouble, and this story could be shared and used with other students. We have used Google Drive with our special ed. team to keep track of caseloads, meetings, due process deadlines, schedules, etc. I haven't used it with my students. It would probably be a great way to share information/give feedback on assignments, etc. Maybe I will try it this year, since I will be working with the upper grades, and I think they use Google Drive with their students quite a bit.
Activity #6
I loved this activity! I think I would use both of these tools with my students. I used Tagxedo and Quizlet and they were both easy to use, which is saying a lot for me! I chose addition and subtraction vocabulary words, since my students have difficulty with word problems. I thought this would be a good way for them to get some more review with the terms, and hopefully it would help them with their problem solving skills. With the Tagxedo, it could be fun for the students highlight all of the addition words in one color, and the subtraction words in another color (or something like that). On Quizlet I loved all of the different activities for the students to do with the vocabulary words, so they wouldn't get bored.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)