Reflections

This is the end of the road for this particular learning experience, but this technological journey continues for me. I have learned so much during these two weeks. I'm looking forward to some reflection and processing time. The possibilities are truly limitless. I will continue looking over the abundant resources and continue creating personal resources for the upcoming year.

My Favorites
1. Photo Story: I got so much enjoyment at seeing the pictures I selected "come alive" that I know the students will feel the same way. Photo Story could be used to visually introduce new concepts and build background knowledge. It could also be a great culminating project for students to display new knowledge.
2. Video Resources: Great for building background knowledge, building depth of content,and can be a part of resource/learning centers. I enjoyed learning about the search engines for videos. It will give us so many options.
3. Google Docs: I think this will be a powerful way for students to collaborate with each other. It will also help teachers as they plan and work together. Our email system will be happy not to have so many rough drafts sent from person-to-person!

I think the biggest surprise was how this journey consumed me! Once I began the process, I was constantly thinking about other applications of the programs or how I should change a particular project to make it better. Now I need to keep up the momentum and continue with the learning process. I'm just at the beginning...a long, adventurous road ahead!

Tool #11

There are so many great resources available to help us teachers plan and teach this very important concept effectively. I enjoyed reading the resource The Nine Elements of Digital Citizenship. Actually, it was quite eye-opening. This was one of my favorite quotes: "Learners must be taught how to learn in a digital society." We can't simply teach students how to read, write, and problem solve...we must be able to do this within the context of the digital society in which we and our students now live. Not preparing our students for this will definitely impede their futures.

Three Areas of Importance:

1. Digital Etiquette: Students need to know appropriate standards and conduct in order to be well-rounded digital citizens. For example, how do students appropriately comment on blogs? share a varied opinion? support a differing point of view? critique the work of others in a constructive way?
2. Digital Literacy: Students need to not only know how to mechanically use a piece of technology, but also how to use it in an effective way that enhances their learning. As students conduct research on-line, they will need to be able to distinguish between credible and dubious resources. Then they will need to be able to use and apply those resources in unique learning experiences.
3. Digital Safety: We all have seen reports on the news and in the newspaper emphasizing how important this one is. Students need to be able to protect their identity, become participants of age-appropriate and subject-appropriate websites, and know what to do if they are approached in an inappropriate way.

Teachers can help students learn and understand how to become a digital citizen in many ways. First of all, by simply being a good model---as teachers use technology in the classroom, they can demonstrate the appropriate use of it. Also, video resources can help students understand these concepts. It was great to see so many BrainPop resources listed. One other thought...role-playing situations can also be an effective way to help students understand the importance of becoming a well-rounded digital citizen.

Tool #10

I saw many apps from NASA that would enhance our 3rd and 5th grade curriculum...videos and images of the planets, the sun, and the moon. Students would also be able track the International Space Station! What a way to make the concept of "space" more real! Since third grade studies the planets and actually visits NASA, these apps could either be used before the trip to build background knowledge or after the trip to explore the concepts much more in depth. The phases of the moon is a concept that is taught in 5th grade. The use of the apps would definitely make this learning more hands-on and real.

Many apps that I explored could be used to "liven up" practice situations in the classroom. Students in several of the You Tube videos were using iTouches to enhance spelling practice, the recall of math facts, and the recall of the state capitals. All of these concepts were being reinforced through interactive games. Students in the videos were totally engrossed in their activities. Also, they were able to explain how using the iTouches not only helped them learn, but the iTouches also made learning fun!

The highlighted links will take you to the review of the apps so that you can evaluate them.

Tool #9

HAPPY 4th of JULY!



I read an additional weblink about Jing called Jing Transforms a 7th Grade Classroom by Shauna Hedgepeth. The teacher, Shauna, relayed how difficult it had been to get her students to practice math problems. Jing changed all that. Students began begging to be recorded working math problems in all situations: at school, at home, with friends, etc. She mentioned that students used Jing at home, recorded themselves working, then would email her their actual process. Not only were students excited to do work at school, but they were also excited to do homework at home...how wonderful is that! We all know that the best way to learn something is to teach it. Jing helps to make this possible for our students.

Some additional classroom thoughts: teachers could use Jing to show students how to work through a process or learning activity in a learning work station. As the students rotated to the station, they could just click on the link to see how to complete the task. That would help eliminate many interruptions as the teacher worked in small groups.

Skype truly has the capability to bring the world into the classroom. I enjoyed looking through the resource 50 Ways to use Skype in the Classroom. I will need more time to continue exploring this. Skype is yet another great way to enhance classroom collaboration. The possibility of having real authors read their books to classrooms is so powerful. The authors could also talk about the need to revise and edit their work and actually illustrate these processes. Hopefully, that would help to illustrate how important those processes are!

The aspect of teacher professional development is also intriguing. Many, many applications!

Tool #8

This was really fun. I enjoyed exploring all the different videos at Blinkx. I decided to focus on finding videos that went along with the second grade science unit: Flying Creatures. I chose the first video, How to Make a Pinecone Feeder, to be used as a resource at a learning center. The video could be uploaded by the students. Then they could follow the steps on the video to make bird houses. Since it is on video, the students could simply replay any part that they were confused with or needed more help with. This would save the classroom teacher from needing to repeat directions to students multiple times. The students could then use the bird feeders to attract birds to a designated area. The class could then observe the birds and become bird watchers! They could also record the numbers and types of birds feeding at the feeder, observations about the birds' behaviors, etc.





The second video would introduce to students a different type of flying creature, the bat. Bats, being mammals, would then be contrasted with birds. The video discusses the characteristics of bats, where they live, what they eat, and how beneficial they are to our ecosystem. It also diffuses some common misconceptions about bats. Reading Stella Luna by Janell Cannon would also help contrast these two types of animals. This video is from Planet Bonehead entitled Bats: Misunderstood Mammals of Flight.

Tool #7

Photo Story was so fun and easy to use! I loved making the transitions, and adding the text. Creating the music was a surprise enjoyment...extremely user-friendly! It was so fun deciding on what type of mood I wanted the music to create. I used Flickr to locate the pictures. That was probably the most time consuming part...just because there were so many to choose from!

Students will love using Photo Story. One possible use would be in the bilingual classrooms as part of the research center for 3rd grade and up. Once students have completed researching a particular content area, they could work with their bilingual partner to "show what they know" using the Photo Story software. I experienced a feeling of excitement and ownership as I watched my video. The students will definitely feel the same way!

Tool #6

It was quite eye opening to navigate through all the Wiki sites. So many great resources to help us visualize the possibilities! The collaboration piece is so powerful. Students and teachers will be able to work together in authentic, interactive ways. Many times it is so difficult for students to revise and edit using pencil and paper. Now with the use of the Wikis (and the Google Docs from previous tool), students will have technology-rich experiences as they revise and work together on classroom assignments.

Just a few classroom applications: planning classroom projects, writing book reviews, discussing chapters in literature groups

Teacher applications: roadmapping, planning PTA Night agendas, book study discussions

Truly the applications are endless!

Tool #5

I used Diigo today to find a few more educational websites. The tags I used were: ESL Games and ESL Lesson Plans. I love the way that you can organize your websites using the tags...so easy! I also bookmarked an article on the effectiveness of the OWDL program. I practiced highlighting, commenting, and adding sticky notes to the article.

This leads to a great classroom application. Students may research a particular article on a current classroom unit of study. Then they can add their comments, etc. to the piece. By using Diigo, others will be able to add their insight and ideas to the article as well. Students will have the opportunity to gain a much deeper understanding of the content they are researching.

The sites I located today:
www.eslgamesworld.com
www.everythingesl.net

Tool #4

Google Docs is an amazing tool. No more email attachments! I love the idea of having one copy that is viewed and edited by those whom you choose. As a classroom application, this will make editing partners' papers in Writing Workshop much more interactive and authentic. I used Google Docs to make a day-by-day plan for my upcoming trip to Bavaria. I scheduled possible sites, concert events, and tourist attractions. I then notified my husband so he could review it and add his input.

Google Reader was very easy to use. What a great way to keep up with other people's blogs in our learning community! This will also help keep us up-to-date with the latest educational news and events. I had to add a sports blog...got to keep up with the latest Aggie news. We won two NCAA national titles in track and field, but this year's football team needs to be much better than the last!

Tool #3

Perseverance was the word of the day today. There were so many different programs to look through and experiment with...it was a bit overwhelming. I suggest making sure you have a big block of time to allow for exploration.

I really enjoyed working with Wordle and Bookr. Wordle is such a fun way to build vocabulary knowledge. Bookr was very easy to use and would be a wonderful learning center. For example, in the OWDL classrooms for 3rd grade and up, a Bilingual Resource Center is one of the necessary classroom components. Students could work in this center with their bilingual pair and create books based on current classroom concepts. What a fun way for students to share their knowledge!

Tool #2

I enjoyed learning about PLNs. What a great way to share ideas and resources! These will be wonderful for both teachers and students...so many applications in the classroom. One of the things that stood out to me was the part about making thoughtful comments. We often ask our students to critique other students' writing workshop pieces, book reviews, etc. Getting students to make thoughtful critiques is not easy. How wonderful it will be to help our students learn commenting etiquette through the use of blogs. Students will then have the opportunity to create thoughtful, worthwhile responses in a more meaningful technology-rich environment.

I also enjoyed reading and commenting on other teachers' blogs. The ones I commented on were:
1. MCW at SOE
2. Joy into Teaching
3. ShoppingTeacher
4. Speedlimit20
5. Hatty Chatty

Tool #1

Wow! This was a lot of fun. I seemed to have spent most of the time trying to decide on the Voki and the title for my blog. I went with the owl because of our school mascot. I chose "journeying" for two reasons: exploring all the tools will definitely be a journey for me! Also, I'm traveling with my husband this summer to his different work site locations. It's already been a very busy summer!

I thought this first Tools of Learning activity went rather smoothly. The only problem I ran into was activating the Voki account. The confirmation email from Voki was considered junk mail by our email system. Luckily, I remembered to check the AppRiver email message. The activation information for Voki was right there!

Students will definitely enjoy creating and designing their own blogs. Voki characters will also be fun for them to create. Blogs would be a great way for our students to share books that they have read and information that they have learned on various content subjects. I think, as teachers, once we get more comfortable with this process we will then see more ways to incorporate it into our classrooms.