For my final post, I chose to create a VoiceThread to share my thoughts about this "Teaching with Technology" course. Although it was really stressful, I think that I learned a lot throughout this short semester. Since I had never used VoiceThread before, I decided to give it a try. I was a little confused at first but I think it would be awesome for more people to add to it. Please do if you have a chance! By completing this course, I think I am more dedicated and excited to use technology in the classroom. I don't think many people realize how important it is and I will do my best to become aware of the technology that will best suit my students!
Thank you for reading and listening to my blog!
Wednesday, June 20, 2012
Web of Wonders
As my final project, I chose to create a Prezi. I had never tried Prezi which is why I chose to use it. I'm still not sold on it. I think the layout of the presentation is really important when using Prezi. Sometimes they seem to jump all over the place without any reason. The layout I chose zooms in and does not make the viewer as dizzy. I chose to dive further and further into each topic as the Prezi zoomed in. It is simple and does not overwhelm the viewer and the tree can symbolize the growth of technology in education. See my Prezi below!
The topics covered in my Prezi are PicLits, Wordle, Voki, and GoAnimate. PicLits was new to me. I enjoyed learning how to use it and I think that students would enjoy using it as well. Wordle, Voki, and GoAnimate have already been discussed in my blog. All of these great Web 2.0 tools are free, however many uses of GoAnimate require a membership. Please view my Prezi above to learn more about them!
The topics covered in my Prezi are PicLits, Wordle, Voki, and GoAnimate. PicLits was new to me. I enjoyed learning how to use it and I think that students would enjoy using it as well. Wordle, Voki, and GoAnimate have already been discussed in my blog. All of these great Web 2.0 tools are free, however many uses of GoAnimate require a membership. Please view my Prezi above to learn more about them!
My Website!
My website contains a brief description of myself and the purpose of the site. It also includes my philosophy of teaching with technology, a link to this blog, professional organizations that I do or have belonged to, different assignments that I have completed this semester, and a variety of Web 2.0 tools that I enjoy. Most of the information on the website is also discussed in this blog. As someone who had never had a blog or a website before, I think that they both came out pretty well. The photo above is a screenshot of my home page that I took using Awesome Screenshot!
I hope that you enjoy my website and have enjoyed reading these posts! If you have time, check out Pia's Teaching with Technology Website or Sarah's Website ED5700 or Jackie's So this is where we are headed.
Thursday, June 14, 2012
Personal Learning Networks
Personal learning networks can be a great tool for any professional. After listening to a voicethread of professions discussing their own personal learning networks, I've learned how beneficial they can be. By having a personal learning network (PLN), professionals can collaborate with others in their field. In addition to discussing ideas with others at your school, you can now discuss with people in other schools, other states, and even other countries! The phrase, "two minds are better than one" is really true in this case. There are other teachers all over the world. By talking to them, you can share ideas, problems, successes, and learn from each other. Of these professionals, Twitter seemed to be the most popular choice of a tool to communicate with many other people. I do not currently have a Twitter account, but I look forward to trying this in the future!
Digital Literacy and Citizenship
With technology being so frequently used in our classrooms, it is necessary that students understand how to use the internet safely and to be good digital citizens. Most schools, including those that I work at, make students and staff sign Acceptable Use Policies that state the rules and boundaries of school internet use. They typically do not include anything about how or why the internet should be used or explanations of their restrictions. A more beneficial way to create a safe internet environment in our schools is to have a digital citizenship curriculum and to teach those within the school about internet safety. Google provides a free series of lessons with handouts for both teachers and students. Through the Google and iKeepSafe program here, we can hold Professional Development workshops for teachers who can then teach students about internet safety, detecting lies, playing and staying safe, how to be a good digital citizen, stealing, respecting privacy, and what websites are good to use. Parents should also be made aware of this information. These are skills that they will have for life. To evaluate a website, there are important things to look for. The website should have an author posted somewhere on the site. It should also be current, accurate, and free of biased information. It is also important for the topic to be described fully to show that the author knows about what they are writing. All of this is described in the Google iKeepSafe program. Common Sense Media also provides a great program broken down by age groups. There are several units which address safety, security, digital life, privacy and digital footprints, connected culture, respecting creative work, searching, and research and evaluation. Each topic has an overview as well as lessons to go with it. These are wonderful, FREE, resources that schools do not take advantage of often enough!
Part of digital literacy is digital citizenship. There are nine elements of digital citizenship. They are 1. digital access, 2. digital commerce, 3. digital communication, 4. digital literacy, 5. digital etiquette, 6. digital law, 7. digital rights and responsibilities, 8. digital health and wellness, and 9. digital security. You can learn more about them here. Copyright laws are a big topic that we often ignore. Some guidelines to follow when taking things include that things that are creative and tangible are automatically copyrighted where as facts, published work, and things that are significantly altered are usually fair to use. Although there are more possibilities for educational use, there are still limits on how much and the frequency of information allowed to be taken by teachers. Multimedia copies are typically allowed but limited. In some cases, school districts may be liable for the copyright infringements made by their staff! Remember, the internet is NOT public domain. The best way to avoid problems is to ask permission to use something.
As for our students, there are many websites for children to learn about digital citizenship. Some of these include BrainPOP, Webonauts Internet Academy, OnGuard Online Games, AT&T Internet Safety Land, and others. By using interactive websites and playing games, students will be engaged and retain more of what they learn. These are great resources that many people don't know enough about!
Part of digital literacy is digital citizenship. There are nine elements of digital citizenship. They are 1. digital access, 2. digital commerce, 3. digital communication, 4. digital literacy, 5. digital etiquette, 6. digital law, 7. digital rights and responsibilities, 8. digital health and wellness, and 9. digital security. You can learn more about them here. Copyright laws are a big topic that we often ignore. Some guidelines to follow when taking things include that things that are creative and tangible are automatically copyrighted where as facts, published work, and things that are significantly altered are usually fair to use. Although there are more possibilities for educational use, there are still limits on how much and the frequency of information allowed to be taken by teachers. Multimedia copies are typically allowed but limited. In some cases, school districts may be liable for the copyright infringements made by their staff! Remember, the internet is NOT public domain. The best way to avoid problems is to ask permission to use something.
Wednesday, June 13, 2012
Search Stories Digital Footprints
Today, with the assistance of a classmate, I was able to compile a "search story" about myself. To do so, you simply go to the creator and enter up to seven search terms. There are options to do general web searches, image searches, maps, blogs, etc. I chose to use my name, schools I attended, and topics from my current course. Once all of the searches are complete, you can choose from a selection of music and publish the video to YouTube! It is all very simple!
I think that this site is great for teachers and students. It would be a great way to introduce students to a new topic. With a quick glimpse of the search results, students would get a brief idea of what's to come. It would also be fun for students to use as part of a bigger project. It is also nice for students to search things that are important to them. Search stories about their interests would be a nice way to begin the year and to get to know the students. My only complaint would be that it gives such a quick glimpse of each search. It would be nice to have the option of showing a little more of the searches of your choice.
See my search story.
Digital footprints are the traces that we leave online. Every time I enter something about myself onto the internet, I leave a digital footprint. When that term is entered into the search, my footprints can be found!
If you have time, check out Sarah's Blog about Digital Footprints!
I think that this site is great for teachers and students. It would be a great way to introduce students to a new topic. With a quick glimpse of the search results, students would get a brief idea of what's to come. It would also be fun for students to use as part of a bigger project. It is also nice for students to search things that are important to them. Search stories about their interests would be a nice way to begin the year and to get to know the students. My only complaint would be that it gives such a quick glimpse of each search. It would be nice to have the option of showing a little more of the searches of your choice.
See my search story.
Digital footprints are the traces that we leave online. Every time I enter something about myself onto the internet, I leave a digital footprint. When that term is entered into the search, my footprints can be found!
If you have time, check out Sarah's Blog about Digital Footprints!
The Wonderful World of Assessment and Differentiating Instruction
Typically, when teachers and students think of assessment, they think, "ugh!" Teachers picture endless hours of grading. Students think of studying and days spent quietly taking a test. Fortunately, there are better ways to assess students! One way that is more beneficial to students is to use student self-assessment. Self-assessment is a form of authentic assessment. Authentic assessment is when students are performing real life tasks to show what they know. This prepares them for the real world much better than a traditional pencil and paper test. By using a self-evaluation, we can give students a more personal assessment which motivates them to do their best. A possible downfall is that some students may just give themselves the highest grade without analyzing their work. To avoid this, it is important to teach students how to perform a self-assessment. The Four Stage Model to involve students. The most important aspect is to give students a criteria for their assessment and to help them to use it.
To help teachers to create authentic assessments, there is an Authentic Assessment Toolbox! This guide provides tips to teachers who are trying to create an authentic assessment. It stresses that teachers must first select the standards that they wish to address. Then they should give students an authentic task to analyze and perform. The task is rated by a criteria and then scored on a rubric that follows the criteria. Authentic assessment is much more meaningful to everyone!
Another authentic assessment that teachers can use is electronic portfolios. Student online portfolios can contain student work and teacher observations. It can be especially effective to allow students to help select the work that will go into their portfolio. They can also be shared with parents so that parents always have access to some of their child's work. With ePortfolios, schools won't need to dedicate as much space to storing student documents! Dr. Helen Barrett provides a lot of information on her website, although it is a little hard to find things on it. Some of the programs that she discusses are very expensive. Personally, I would rather just keep all of my work on my flash drive.
An important way to use assessment results is to differentiate instruction. This means that the teachers must alter their teaching based on the needs of each particular class. To determine appropriate instruction, it can be helpful to give a preassessment. The preassessment can be used to find out how students learn, their strengths and weaknesses, anything that they already know, and what they are interested in. By understanding more about our students, we can then differentiate our teaching to benefit them the most. In today's schools, this may also mean selecting appropriate technology for each particular class. The more we know about our kids, the more we will be able to teach them!
Sarah discusses Digital Storytelling in her blog post. Check it out!
Pia talks about differentiated instruction in her blog! Read it for more info!
To help teachers to create authentic assessments, there is an Authentic Assessment Toolbox! This guide provides tips to teachers who are trying to create an authentic assessment. It stresses that teachers must first select the standards that they wish to address. Then they should give students an authentic task to analyze and perform. The task is rated by a criteria and then scored on a rubric that follows the criteria. Authentic assessment is much more meaningful to everyone!
Another authentic assessment that teachers can use is electronic portfolios. Student online portfolios can contain student work and teacher observations. It can be especially effective to allow students to help select the work that will go into their portfolio. They can also be shared with parents so that parents always have access to some of their child's work. With ePortfolios, schools won't need to dedicate as much space to storing student documents! Dr. Helen Barrett provides a lot of information on her website, although it is a little hard to find things on it. Some of the programs that she discusses are very expensive. Personally, I would rather just keep all of my work on my flash drive.
An important way to use assessment results is to differentiate instruction. This means that the teachers must alter their teaching based on the needs of each particular class. To determine appropriate instruction, it can be helpful to give a preassessment. The preassessment can be used to find out how students learn, their strengths and weaknesses, anything that they already know, and what they are interested in. By understanding more about our students, we can then differentiate our teaching to benefit them the most. In today's schools, this may also mean selecting appropriate technology for each particular class. The more we know about our kids, the more we will be able to teach them!
Sarah discusses Digital Storytelling in her blog post. Check it out!
Pia talks about differentiated instruction in her blog! Read it for more info!
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