Woohoo I made it! I'm trying to complete this last blog while watching Boston Med, so this might take a while! Where in the world did the summer go?
I LOVE the idea of tagging to organize important links that are specific to your individual needs! This is so helpful having them all in one spot ready to look at over and over again with ease and convenience. I currently have all the links that I refer to saved under my "favorites" section, but they are spread out on my desktop at home, my laptop at home and my school computer! There have been times when I do not have the link saved on my school computer when I have needed it quickly. This is a tool that I will definitely go back to over and over during my professional career!
It is definitely important to think through what type of tags need to be added for your links to be easily found by using the tags you create. The tags should be specific for what the link represents to make it easier on others during a search.
I had a positive experience while learning to use Delicious as a social bookmarking site. It was very easy to navigate and the tutorials provided were helpful. I found several new sites that I have not used before during this session that I think will be helpful for the upcoming school year. Some of the sites I linked were not particularly popular, but they all have to start out somewhere and as I researched the material on those sites, I found them to be very beneficial for my lessons. Navigating through links on Delicious also got my brain back into school-mode, so I feel a little more prepared already than last year!
As I learned about social bookmarking, I realized how helpful and convenient the process will be during lesson planning. I will definitely be using this knowledge in my classroom for not only myself, but for my students as well during research projects. As you have stated before, an issue that we will run in to will be whether or not students have a Yahoo account or not and then even if they do, will they be allowed access by the school's computer administrator.
I have posted the link below to my Delicious account. It is not highlighted, but I added it using the "insert link" button above, so I hope it works! I will type it here just in case it doesn't show: http://delicious.com/candiceparsons
Thanks for the plethora of web-based knowledge!
Peace out!
Thursday, July 29, 2010
Sunday, July 25, 2010
Thing 7
Google Docs! I absolutely love this new tool! I like the ability of collaboration without a million meetings trying to be arranged around everyone's schedule. I like the idea of students also being able to collaborate with one another. I think it would boost morale in the classroom as well as create a "team" atmosphere where all students feel vested in the work of their classmates. The last minute passing of the USB drives at the end of every class period in hopes that everyone gets their work saved without being tardy to the next class is also put at rest with the use of Google Docs. I like the fact that this tool allows students to save their documents and access them from any computer due to the fact that our computer labs get booked at times and they might not always be in the same lab or on the same computer during the life of the lesson.
Issues again as always is having enough computers to assign students work on a computer. They do not all have computers at home and choose not to use the public computers in the community, so this is sometimes an obstacle when planning assignments such as this. Another concern would be how much independent work is the student actually doing on his or her project, rather than letting others complete it for them. I know the idea is collaboration, but how far will they take that?
I think this might be useful while working on a 6 weeks project where the students can work at their own pace (within a 6 week period) on the 3 available computers I have in my classroom as they finish assignments early or as we have down time. Other students will still be able to comment or help out other students that have worked at different times. I think Google Doc could be used during cross curriculum projects between my science class and the technology class for example, since they all have access to computers during that particular class period. They might can use the 10 minute journal time at the beginning of technology to visit Google Docs for science class. I'm sure that teacher would love for me to take up some of her precious time! It's a thought anyway :o]
I'm thinking I could use Google Docs while writing a new parent/student letter for the beginning of the year or while getting ideas projects together for Community Science night each semester with the other grade level science teachers. This would be a great way to collaborate project lists between grade levels for CSN to see what projects are going on and to make sure none are duplicated. Material lists via emails are also something that could be handled more easily for CSN or labs by Google Docs.
Issues again as always is having enough computers to assign students work on a computer. They do not all have computers at home and choose not to use the public computers in the community, so this is sometimes an obstacle when planning assignments such as this. Another concern would be how much independent work is the student actually doing on his or her project, rather than letting others complete it for them. I know the idea is collaboration, but how far will they take that?
I think this might be useful while working on a 6 weeks project where the students can work at their own pace (within a 6 week period) on the 3 available computers I have in my classroom as they finish assignments early or as we have down time. Other students will still be able to comment or help out other students that have worked at different times. I think Google Doc could be used during cross curriculum projects between my science class and the technology class for example, since they all have access to computers during that particular class period. They might can use the 10 minute journal time at the beginning of technology to visit Google Docs for science class. I'm sure that teacher would love for me to take up some of her precious time! It's a thought anyway :o]
I'm thinking I could use Google Docs while writing a new parent/student letter for the beginning of the year or while getting ideas projects together for Community Science night each semester with the other grade level science teachers. This would be a great way to collaborate project lists between grade levels for CSN to see what projects are going on and to make sure none are duplicated. Material lists via emails are also something that could be handled more easily for CSN or labs by Google Docs.
Sunday, July 18, 2010
Thing 6 Continued
I forgot to answer one of the questions! I chose the video I did to attach to my blog, called "You want something. Go get it. Period", because I think it will be an awesome video to play on the first day of school as a great positive motivator in my classroom! I am so excited about it. I already have ideas of how to lead off of this short blip to motivate my students even further and to start us all off in a positive, feel-good direction. I hope that when students walk into my classroom, no matter who they are or where they come from, know that they should have a dream, but most importantly follow it. I want them to feel confident in my classroom and know that they are all capable and I think this video is a good kick-off for this next school year!
Thing 6
I listened mostly to science podcasts, such as those from ScienceFriday: "Horshoe Crab Season", "Ahoy Robosailor", "Seeing a Star in a New Light", just because that is my interest. I like the fact that the videos are topic-oriented and interesting for classroom use. These podcasts are definitely just motivational blips to peak the interest of your students for a few seconds. I definitely like the idea of using these as an introduction to most days (if I had the time)!
YouTube is definitely interesting and useful, but you must have a lot of time on your hands to be able to search out the videos that fit the needs of your classroom and most teachers do not have this extra time. Can I request an assistant?
I guess the advantage of embedding a video rather than just posting the link would be for the fact that the video will already be loaded and ready to go instead of having to click on the link and wait for it to load (or hope that it will load).
TeacherTube is geared directly for teacher's use in the classroom, whereas, YouTube is a world of both appopriate and inappropriate videos. TeacherTube is classroom-ready.
Students and teachers alike enjoy the idea of YouTube becuase any little "extra", such as a video from YouTube put into a lecture might peak and keep the interest of all.
Videosharing and podcasting has changed the way we communicate by allowing information to be shared by multiple learners in multiple places at the same time. It has allowed learning to go beyond the classroom to reach a wide variety of learners, which is so important in today's society.
Friday, July 9, 2010
Thing 5
Wikis are great for getting ideas going and brainstorming for many different type of events, creating word walls and debating to keep students interested and thinking on their toes. They can also be used to post student's research projects on.
Blogs and wikis are so different. Blogs seem to be more "manageable" and "controlled" by the teacher, whereas wikis are a free-for-all open to anyone changing information. I do not feel comfortable allowing my students to use Wikipedia for this reason. However, I do like the idea of it for lists, word walls, classroom agendas, etc. The information posted on that site could be altered by anyone and possibly incorrect. It is not a safe do like the idea of it for lists, word walls, classroom agendas, etc. It is more appropriate to use a blog when there is important information that you feel needs to remain in place and unchanged.
I found the Flatplanet wiki to be most interesting and fun to look through (what a surprise!) and loved the idea of creating groups to assigning each group a different topic to research and post for others to learn from. My least favorite was Westwood Schools wiki, mostly for the fact that it was boring and a bit overwhelming when trying to navigate through. Although, I did like her idea of creating a classroom calendar for all to see, especially for students that are absent and for parents to be more aware.
Monday, July 5, 2010
Thing 4-3!
Okay, so I finally figured out what I was doing wrong with this assignment, but was not able to copy and paste my original reflection! I will sum up breifly what I had reflected on in hopes that I will be able to pass this task!
Biggest obstacle was figuring out how to get the pictures and reflection on the same page! I had no trouble at all working Flickr and even sharing the pictures on my facebook page.
I think I will use this tool in the classroom mostly for jazzing up my PowerPoints to keep my students more interested during lecture :o) Not that my lectures are boring or anything!
It will also be useful for my students to use during their PowerPoint assignments.
On a personal note, I will probably use the photo frame option often when sharing pictures of my kids just for fun.
I did not know about the Creative Commons License prior to this assignment and that will be an important note to share with my students when we return. I have already noticed some students using these features on their facebook pages.
Okay, I'm calling it a day and keeping my fingers crossed that I pass this task that should have been so much easier than I made it! I am so frustrated with myself I could just spit!
Thing 4
The task for Thing 4 has definitely been the most time consuming! It is fun to play with the pictures and create, but the trouble I am having is getting them posted on my blog with my reflection. I have saved each of the pictures...one found on Flickr of a Texas Horned Lizard and the other I created from a picture of my kids. However, I have no idea how to get them to appear with my comments! I am just kind of taking a shot in the dark here because I feel like I am going in circles getting this "thing" completed! I had no trouble at all getting the photo of my kids shared on my facebook page, but this blog is another story. I'm not sure that I would have the time to surf Flickr for classroom options. I have been working on this for 2 hours already and feel like I have not accomplished much. This task has been most beneficial to me for personal reasons, such as creating cool frames and such for pictures of my kids. I am going to try to attach the pictures a third time and hope they don't show up three times! Before I attached the pictures before blogging and mabye that is where I was going wrong.
I chose the pictures I did for this assignment because my students and I do a big research project with TPWD after the TAKS test assessing the Texas Horned Lizard population from year to year. I obviously chose the other picture because my children are my life! :O)
I did not know about the Creative Commons license prior to this assignment and feel that is very important to share with my students. I see them using this tool on their facebook pages already, so it will definitely be something to share with them when we return.
Flickr will also be a fun tool to use for PowerPoint assingments to add interesting images to. I will probably use pictures from Flickr in the classroom mostly for making my PowerPoints more exciting for my students to look at during lecture, since I use them often.
I chose the pictures I did for this assignment because my students and I do a big research project with TPWD after the TAKS test assessing the Texas Horned Lizard population from year to year. I obviously chose the other picture because my children are my life! :O)
I did not know about the Creative Commons license prior to this assignment and feel that is very important to share with my students. I see them using this tool on their facebook pages already, so it will definitely be something to share with them when we return.
Flickr will also be a fun tool to use for PowerPoint assingments to add interesting images to. I will probably use pictures from Flickr in the classroom mostly for making my PowerPoints more exciting for my students to look at during lecture, since I use them often.
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
Thing 3
I chose the Facebook option to complete Thing 3.
My experiences with social media can be described as skeptical! I was very timid to join Facebook or any other social media organization simply because of security issues. I am slowly getting my feet wet and do have a Facebook account. I do not "blog" on it much, but am able to add pictures here and there and catch up on the gossip for each day! It makes me a little nervous knowing that anyone could be reading what I write, so I cannot do it freely and have to be so cautious in doing so.
On a positive note, I like the fact that you are able to reach so many people so quickly! Wow! I also like that you are able to connect with people who you might not be able to otherwise because of lost contacts. Facebook is very "user-friendly" as far as adding pictures, websites, etc.
Social media is definitely changing the way most of us communicate today. Who really picks up the telephone anymore? Not counting our iPhone to text, email or take pictures :O) I would probably be surprised at the percentage of communication that is done in person or via a real telephone conversation! It scares me when I think of my own kids and what kind of face-face communication skills they will have. How will relationships differ? I'm not sure that it will be such a negative thing to them because it will be what is "normal" to them and what they grew up knowing. It is just sort of bitter-sweet knowing that the "good old days" are exactly that.
Students rely heavily on social networking sites to learn and communicate. Any information they need for school or life in general is at the tips of their fingers. It will take smaller school districts a while longer to catch up to this social networking/learning trend, but I believe it is coming. Students will be using phones and laptops to connect to networks right from their desks. For teachers, this means staying on top of the learning curve with technology to keep our students interested in what we have to teach them.
I do not see myself using Twitter or Facebook professionally, but I am very interested in setting up a blog site to keep students and parents informed of all assignments. After all, this would be just one more tool to encourage active learning and parent involvement with the goal being to decrease late or missing assignments.
My experiences with social media can be described as skeptical! I was very timid to join Facebook or any other social media organization simply because of security issues. I am slowly getting my feet wet and do have a Facebook account. I do not "blog" on it much, but am able to add pictures here and there and catch up on the gossip for each day! It makes me a little nervous knowing that anyone could be reading what I write, so I cannot do it freely and have to be so cautious in doing so.
On a positive note, I like the fact that you are able to reach so many people so quickly! Wow! I also like that you are able to connect with people who you might not be able to otherwise because of lost contacts. Facebook is very "user-friendly" as far as adding pictures, websites, etc.
Social media is definitely changing the way most of us communicate today. Who really picks up the telephone anymore? Not counting our iPhone to text, email or take pictures :O) I would probably be surprised at the percentage of communication that is done in person or via a real telephone conversation! It scares me when I think of my own kids and what kind of face-face communication skills they will have. How will relationships differ? I'm not sure that it will be such a negative thing to them because it will be what is "normal" to them and what they grew up knowing. It is just sort of bitter-sweet knowing that the "good old days" are exactly that.
Students rely heavily on social networking sites to learn and communicate. Any information they need for school or life in general is at the tips of their fingers. It will take smaller school districts a while longer to catch up to this social networking/learning trend, but I believe it is coming. Students will be using phones and laptops to connect to networks right from their desks. For teachers, this means staying on top of the learning curve with technology to keep our students interested in what we have to teach them.
I do not see myself using Twitter or Facebook professionally, but I am very interested in setting up a blog site to keep students and parents informed of all assignments. After all, this would be just one more tool to encourage active learning and parent involvement with the goal being to decrease late or missing assignments.
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
Thing 2
WOW! That is my immediate reaction to reading about Web 2.0! My head is spinning and I feel even further out of touch than I did before I began this journey. I feel as if I have been cheating my students out of an education that meets their learning needs and abilities. How bored they must be in my classroom!
Reading up on these articles in Discovery Resources makes me anxious to learn more so that I can do more for my students and in my classroom to make it an exciting learning environment.
As I said before, simply creating a blog to post classroom assignments and discussions would be a good start to incorporating Web 2.0.
After reading the articles in "Thing 2", I have a new goal of getting a blog set up for classroom use for the 2010/2011 school year. I am excited, yet overwhelmed at the idea all at once.
A huge obstacle in the way of this idea is the availability of computer access on our campus. We do have 3 computers being set up in core classrooms over the summer, but it becomes difficult to even rotate throughout a class period with classes of at least 20 students in each period while trying to get all tasks accomplished. My hopes are to set up a 10 minute blogging block every Friday to reflect on the weeks instruction with the focus on figuring out how to have enough computer access for all students to accomplish this in a timely manner.
Another obstacle is finding the time to keep up with a blog in the classroom. As teachers, we struggle to keep our heads above water on a daily basis and one more task on the agenda is usually not voluntary! Blogging in particular is not something that you can put off or skip if you have students and parents following, it has to be done on a regular basis no matter how full your plate becomes. I believe this pressure might be a definite deterrent for some.
Reading up on these articles in Discovery Resources makes me anxious to learn more so that I can do more for my students and in my classroom to make it an exciting learning environment.
As I said before, simply creating a blog to post classroom assignments and discussions would be a good start to incorporating Web 2.0.
After reading the articles in "Thing 2", I have a new goal of getting a blog set up for classroom use for the 2010/2011 school year. I am excited, yet overwhelmed at the idea all at once.
A huge obstacle in the way of this idea is the availability of computer access on our campus. We do have 3 computers being set up in core classrooms over the summer, but it becomes difficult to even rotate throughout a class period with classes of at least 20 students in each period while trying to get all tasks accomplished. My hopes are to set up a 10 minute blogging block every Friday to reflect on the weeks instruction with the focus on figuring out how to have enough computer access for all students to accomplish this in a timely manner.
Another obstacle is finding the time to keep up with a blog in the classroom. As teachers, we struggle to keep our heads above water on a daily basis and one more task on the agenda is usually not voluntary! Blogging in particular is not something that you can put off or skip if you have students and parents following, it has to be done on a regular basis no matter how full your plate becomes. I believe this pressure might be a definite deterrent for some.
Sunday, June 6, 2010
Thing 1
I am participating in the 8 Things program to earn credit for a comp day with my district. I chose this program over any other because blogging is new to me and it can be done from home! I am excited to learn a new tool that will be beneficial to both myself and my students. I feel that I am constantly playing catch-up with technology and the knowledge my students have of it and this is a great opportunity.
During Thing 1, I realized that blogging provides many opportunities in education. It is a way to expose students to parts of the world that they might never have otherwise. It broadens knowledge and awareness of any topic of interest as well as gives students and teachers alike a chance to interact internationally. I also feel that it helps us all be more aware of the proper writing guidelines during this age of texting with an abbreviated language!
The blogs that were provided in Thing 1 were interesting and insightful! It was a great way to better understand the life of blogging and to get ideas of how to create my own. I liked the idea of creating a blog to inform students and parents of what's happening in the classroom and to provide an agenda of some sort for assignments.
Writing on the Internet definitely changes the ease of how I write, as far as being more cautious of typos and grammar etiquette. However, I do not feel limited in expression while writing on the Internet.
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