Final Thoughts

   It is hard to believe the semester is over!  What a great experience this course has been!  I have learned about so many great tools that I hopefully will be able to incorporate into my classroom next year.  I created a screencast using Jing (another first for me!) that talks about everything I have learned in this course and hope to use in my classroom.  You can check it out here. Thank you for following me throughout my semester and please share any of your final thoughts with me!

Technology and the 6 C's of Motivation

   For my Web of Wonders Project, I chose to create a Prezi that describes how technology can be incorporated into the 6 C's of Motivation.  The 6 C's are: choice, challenge, control, collaboration, constructing meaning and consequences.  Research has shown that when these are present in a lesson, students are motivated and more engaged in what they are learning.  Technology is a motivator too and it can be used along with the 6 C's to further motivate and engage students. 

   I chose to create my project in Prezi because I think it is a unique way to present a topic.  Prezi is a like a slideshow where you zoom in on each "slide."  You can create the pathway that the presentation takes from slide to slide.  It brings slideshows up a level so they are more engaging.  Check out the screenshot of my prezi below and look at the full presentation by going to this link.

My Website!

     Another requirement for this course was to develop our own personal website.  I chose to use Weebly and found that it is so easy use!  I could add the pages that wanted as well as images, text and videos without any trouble.  I have different pages for my philosophy on technology, course assignments, professional organizations, my favorite technology tools and educational links.  Please take a look at my site, let me know what you think and try it for yourself!

Digital Storytelling

   Digital storytelling is becoming a common trend in classrooms now as a way integrate reading and writing with technology.  With digital stories, students are more engaged in the process of reading and writing because they can use a wide range of technological resources to make their story come to life.  I have seen firsthand at my school the power of digital stories and how they have transformed learning in a classroom.  The school had a display in the lobby to showcase the various digital stories of the students as well as highlighting them on the school's website.  I enjoyed reading Helen Barrett's presentation on Digital Storytelling to see how the process works.  I liked how she clearly demonstrates the connection between theory and practical application of it in the classroom.  Digital stories seem to be a great way to get students excited about reading and writing.  And there are so many tools that can be used to create them!

Check out Helen Barrett's presentation here.

Khan Academy & The Flipped Classroom

    The concept of a "flipped classroom" is a new, innovative idea where students view the lectures at home and then complete the homework assignments in class the next day.  Khan says that flipped classrooms get rid of the "one size fits all lecture from the classroom," but I think he underestimates the power of many teachers.  There are many teachers who do not use just lecture and chalk-and-talk methods in the classroom anymore.  As teachers, we need to differentiate the lessons to meet the needs of students so lectures do not just work.  Then he says that classrooms right now have students learn "with their fingers on their lips and not interacting with each other."  I do not agree with that statement at all.  I know at my school that there are very few classrooms where the students are silent and not interacting with their peers.  The other thing I feel Khan is assuming is that students will be motivated to watch the lectures.  I know that for many of my students, they would not watch the lectures.  Most of my students do not have access to computers at their home so I do not know if a flipped classroom can be done in some areas where technology is not accessible for everyone.  I feel as though Khan's flipped classroom can work in an ideal classroom where students are motivated to learn, willing to learn on their own and can do so with little help from the teacher.  While I appreciate and enjoy using technology to supplement my lessons, I do not think it should take the place of a teacher's role in the classroom.

Check out the video below and share your thoughts!

Digital Footprints: Google Search Stories

   Today was my first experience using Google Search Stories to search for my "digital footprints."  It is amazing how quick you can create a 40 second video using this tool!  All I had to do was type in up to seven search queries and it will create the video.  The hardest part for me was finding me in the search results.  So many unrelated things came up when I searched my name so I needed to be more specific.  You can also pick where Google searches for you so for example, I did a "blog search" instead of a web search to find the link for this blog.  Once you have the search queries, you can choose the music to go along with the video.  Then you can preview it and then it uploads to YouTube in minutes!  It was very easy to use and may be useful for short projects in the classroom.  Check out mine here and let me know what you think!

Live Binders

  
       Today I explored the site Live Binders for the first time.  The first binder I looked at was for the math Common Core Standards for middle school.  You can check it out here.  I thought it was very well done and had a lot of resources for the Common Core.  It looked like the teacher had taken a great deal of time to put it together.  The other binder I looked at is Online Math Games.  The binder was nicely organized by topic so you can search the topic and then find a game that goes along with it.  I think Live Binders may be helpful, but to be honest, I am not sure I will make much use of it myself.  I will probably look at binders created by other people, but most likely I will not put one together myself.  I prefer keeping my resources by folder on my flashdrive and keeping binders on a bookshelf in my classroom.

Wordle Versus Tagxedo

   In yesterday's class, we were working in our groups to discuss the different vocabulary and topics we had talked about.  Then we needed to put the words into Tagxedo and create a word cloud.  Tagxedo was new experience for each of us and we expected it to be much like using Wordle.  The main difference was that you choose the shape you want the word cloud to be be and when you scroll over each word, the word pops out to stand out.  We had some difficulty putting the words and it seemed confusing although it may be easier the second time around.  I would prefer Wordle because I know how to use it and it is much more straightforward in my opinion, but if I have more time, Tagxedo would be good to use as well.  Our word cloud that we created in Tagxedo is here.  Let me know what you think!

Digital Literacy Means More Responsibilities

   When we think about the web and other technology, we often then think about all of the amazing tools and capabilities they have that have changed over lives for the better.  But we often forget that with it comes greater risks, especially for our students.  As a middle school teacher, I often hear my students discussing a conversation they had while texting or what was said on Facebook.  I have seen fights and other incidents brought about by things that were said online or through texts.  They do not realize the power their words have when they are put into writing.  Technology has brought up issues of cyberbullying now that carries over into our schools.  As teachers, we now have to teach our students how to navigate this crazy world of technology and be responsible when they are using it.  We need to help them so they do not end up talking to people they do not know or exploring things on the web that are inappropriate for them.  Digital literacy can transform the way we do things, especially in our schools, but we need to teach responsibility so that it does not end up having negative effects on our students.

Check out this video about Digital Literacy.

PLN's: Personal and Professional Learning Networks

    One of the greatest things I found when I began teaching is the willingness of so many other teachers to help you.  The interesting thing about the PLN is that it provides teachers the opportunities to share resources and ideas with other teachers.  This is such a powerful tool for teachers!  It stimulates creativity and fosters communication among teachers so that we can learn from each other.  There are many ways for teachers to get connected and become a part of PLN's.  And now with all of the technology resources available, it is even easier! Check out this slide to see how other educators feel about PLN's and how they use them in their classrooms.

Do Schools Kill Creativity?

    Ken Robinson says that schools are preventing kids from sharing their creative side.  To a certain extent, I agree with him.  Schools place different values on the subject areas and we constantly see the arts on the chopping blocks for school budgets.  The arts provide many opportunities for kids to be creative in music, drama and art and schools are taking those opportunities away.  Kids need those opportunities to explore and think beyond what they know.  However, I think the main reason that the other subject areas like history, science, math and language classes do not always pose the opportunities for creativity is because of the new requirements put in place through standardized tests.  Teachers are expected to get through a lot of material in a short amount of time and in many cases, that does not always leave a lot of room to for creativity with projects, using technology, etc.  This is not an excuse.  Teachers could incorporate some creativity into their classroom, but sometimes, it gets pushed aside by all of the other rules teachers now face.  So is it the schools killing creativity or is it the standardized tests from the government?

Check out Ken Robinson's video here.

Gradebook: Using Engrade

    Today, I learned how to use a software program called Engrade to be used as an electronic gradebook.  It was easy to input the student rosters into the program as well as the assignments.  I really liked how it gave the class average for each assignment at the bottom of the gradebook.  However, I did not like that even though I identified the assignments as homework, a quiz or an in class assignment, it does not show up as so in the gradebook.  I could not find where the information actually showed up in the gradebook.  It would be helpful for not only for me, but also for the students and parents if that information is displayed.  That would be one thing I would change about the program.  I think teachers would like this gradebook overall because it is easy to put the assignments and grades into the computer.  You can do so within minutes and copy the assignment to other classes.  I think students and parents would like this gradebook since it has all of the grades spelled out in front of them.  Parents may also find it helpful because it also says if the students are missing any assignments.
    I think it would be helpful if a school is going to require an electronic gradebook, using Engrade for example, that they provide training so teachers know how to use it.  My school uses SchoolTools and requires that we keep our gradebook on there so parents who have signed up for it can view their child's grades for each class.   When the program was first being introduced, the district provided training so we would know how to use it.  Since I have grown accustomed to using SchoolTools, I am biased and would prefer to use it over Engrade.  Here is a screenshot of my gradebook from Engrade:

   

Group Project #3: Constructivism using GoAnimate

   This week we explored the ideas behind the Constructivist Theory and created a video using GoAnimate.  First, the main ideas Constructivism is focused on is students discovering what they are learning by exploring the concepts and working together.  The main ideas can be summed up in the five E's: Engagement, Exploration, Explanation, Elaboration and Evaluation.  Allowing students to be active learners is the central belief of Constructivism and a lesson plan that includes the five E's allows students to be actively participating in their learning.

    After discussing the five E's and Constructivism, we used GoAnimate to create a video that summarizes the beliefs of the theory.  GoAnimate was easy to use except that the video had to be under two minutes since we did not want to pay for it.  That limited the amount of information we could use in the video.  You can check out the video here.

Mind-Mapping Tools

        There are a variety of mind-mapping tools on the web that teachers can use in their classrooms.  The first one I explored was bubbl.us.  I chose this one because it was free, but I found that it was very easy to use.  Bubbl.us uses bubbles, like text boxes, to create a graphic organizer.  It was easy to type in the text, change the color and font size, connect the bubbles and put it together.  I think it would be particularly useful for connecting vocabulary in my math classroom.  I created one below for the different vocabulary words related to polynomials.

      The other mind-mapping tool I tried using was Glinkr.  It was similar to bubbl.us so I tried to create a similar graphic organizer.  However, I found this one to be much more difficult to use.  Creating the boxes was simple as well as writing in them, but it was much harder to connect the boxes and get the layout I wanted.  Based on these two experiences, I would definitely choose using bubbl.us in my classroom over Glinkr.  Try them out and let me know what you think!

Sugata Mitra's Experiment

In this video, Mitra shares how technology can be used to draw students in so if teachers use technology in the classroom, it will draw students in to learning.  If teachers can "hook" students and get them engaged using technology, then the students will learn more.  In one of Mitra's experiments, he placed a computer in the classroom and observed how students responded to it.  It was not surprising that he found that the students wanted to learn more because most children are curious individuals and want to learn as much as possible, but the fact that the students took the initiative and a more active role in their learning is surprising.  Mitra's experiments show that through technology, students not only learn the subject matter, but also problem-solving skills and independence.  These are real life skills that they will need for the rest of their lives.

Check out the video here and share your thoughts!

Voki: Meet my Avatar!

    I had never used Voki before and what a great experience!  On this website, you can create an avatar that looks like anything you want and can speak!  And it is free to use!  The directions are simple and easy to follow.  You can choose what you look like from your hair, eyes and facial features to clothing, jewelry and the background.  Then you can record a message using your cell phone for your avatar to say.  There is also an option to type your message, which can be helpful if your message does not sound clear.  It was a great experience creating my avatar.  You can check it out below.
    Voki can be used in my classroom if the students are creating a project and want to introduce it using an avatar.  I am sure they will enjoy creating an avatar that looks like them or whatever they want to have it be.  It would be great to see the students engaged in their learning by using the avatar as a part of their assignment.
    As a teacher, the avatar can be placed on the webpage to announce assignments or explain a topic to the students.  It would be helpful for the parents if they can hear what the teacher wants.  It can also be helpful for the students if they have a question or forget something the teacher said in class about an assignment.  Some students may need several reminders about completing assignments!  What a great tool to have in the classroom!

Technology Promotes Literacy

     It seems like more and more each day we are hearing about the importance of literacy and how many children are struggling with reading.  It can be frustrating for a child when they are having trouble reading, which is why the video below seems like a great way for children to get more comfortable reading.  In the video, the children are using Ipads and Ipod Touches to practice reading out loud.  They call it the "Three R's."  First, they reread a story to practice their fluency.  Then they record themselves reading the book as fluently as they can.  And lastly, they reflect on their reading by listening to the recording.  Then they rate themselves based on how fluently they think they read the story.
     This teacher seems to be teaching at a 4B level of Loti.  The students appear to be used to using the technology so it seems to be used frequently in the classroom.  In addition, the students are identifying and solving their problems in authentic ways using the technology.  Identifying their problem and deciding on a solution is having the students analyze and think critically about their reading and fluency.  The students appear to be very engaged because they are taking an active role in their learning by using the technology to be creative.

Class Tools: Welcome to LetterPOP

   For this week's assignment, I explored the class tool, LetterPOP.  Teachers can create collages or newsletters to send home to parents.  Students can create posters and collages for projects.  It is easy to sign up, choose a template and type your text.  However, when you add an image, it is important to do any resizing before you put it into LetterPOP.  You cannot adjust the size once you have uploaded the image.  I found this to be frustrating for the images I was trying to use.  Once all of the information is published, you can share it with friends or even the public.  However, I was unable to publish mine at first.  It kept saying I needed to upgrade my account. Then when I tried to go back and find my saved newsletter, it was not there!  I recreated the document twice before I contacted the customer support.   And I was told that I should not be having trouble and to double check my login information.  Although my login information was not the problem, when I signed in a day later, I was able to publish the newsletter.  I think the newsletter came out well and can be used effectively in the classroom, but is it worth the trouble?  There are other sites out there that create similar designs and I think it is worth looking into before using LetterPOP.

Check out my newsletter here: http://letterpop.com/newsletters/?id=209387-fe11da

Group Project #2 - Social Networking for Educators and Teachers

        For this week's topic, Social Networking for Educators and Teachers, we had to research different websites and resources and give a summary of what we thought.  Once again, we had trouble with WiZiQ due to a sound delay and loud echo so we used Skype and Google docs to communicate.  We created a PowerPoint that highlighted Delicious.com, Discovery Education, Edmodo, Edutopia, Ning and Teachers Love SMART Boards. 

          I researched Edutopia and the Teachers Love SMART Boards blog.  And I really enjoyed looking at the Teachers Love SMART Boards blog.  Not only did it have many posts related to teaching math, but it also had instructional videos for how to use some of the different tools on the SMART Board.  It also game templates to use in the classroom with the students.  I used two of the templates last week and my students loved it! 

         Our group did a great job collaborating.  We worked together to put the slides together, create screenshots of the sites, and create links for different videos.  Maybe next week we will have better luck using WiZiQ!

Teaching with Technology Philosophy - A Draft

    I want my students to learn math and other skills they will need to productive members of society.  I believe this will be best accomplished if I incorporate technology into what I am teaching.  Since technology has become such an essential part of the lives of my students and is important for college and the workforce, it is necessary that my students have the technological skills they will need for later on in their lives.

Web 2.0 into the Future

In Clay Shirky's, a professor at NYU, speech at a recent Web 2.0 conference, Shirky talks about a "cognitive heatsink." He is speaking about television where meaning and cognitive energy remained more internal to the person watching, but it still gave people a way to take a break from everything else in their lives.

Now, the media is shifting in the way it does things. The shifts are going to lead to more collaboration among people and shared ideas, which is where Web 2.0 will take us. Shirky says that there needs to be more "energy" used in terms of the amount of shared ideas and communication being exchanged. Web 2.0 is going to help increase the ways people can communicate and share ideas, which will be beneficial for us.

Digital Immigrants versus Digital Natives

        Prensky's article uses the term, "Digital Immigrants" to describe those people who grew up in a world with little technology and now live in a world where technology is commonplace.  Digital Natives are those that have only grown up with technology at their fingertips and they have never experienced a world without technology.  Prensky's article discusses what happens when the Digital Immigrants have to teach the Digital Natives and how the old ways of teaching will no longer be effect for the new ways these children think.
        
        In some ways, children's thinking patterns have changed in the sense that when children learn new things, they relate them to what they know which is now mostly technology related - cell phones, computers, the Internet, video games, etc. They may recall something they have seen on the Internet or television and use that as a perspective for the new things they are learning. The experiences that they have had with technology have shaped the way they think and learn new things.

       The way that children communicate is much different now. They speak and write the way they text, using abbreviations and as much shorthand as possible. The way they think is much more fast-paced because that is how they are when they are on Facebook, texting, playing video games. Children are more able to multi-task and focus on things that interest them, such as communicating with friends. They tend to not be as interested in doing work at school, where they are not connecting to someone or something. They want to learn through games and interaction because those are the kinds of experiences they are used.

So children's thinking patterns have changed as a result of the way they have learned things, through much different experiences than the generation before them. This means that for educators if we want to reach our students and have them learn, we must appeal to the experiences they are used to "hook" them and get them on board for learning. We have to change the way we are teaching, and that is a difficult task.