Reflection

The progression of this course has gotten me thinking more about how to incorporate technology into my classroom on a regular basis. Using technology in the classroom requires different types of teaching strategies. First, the management style you use will probably be different when using technology. Students react differently when technology is around, so the way I introduce and use technology needs to be different. Technologies can also incorporate different teaching strategies. Some technologies are more interactive than others, so I need to decide what teaching style I want to use and then find a technology that fits that style.

The most popular technology to use in the classroom is the Internet. Students now have greater access to research and educational games as well as inappropriate content. When I think about using the Internet in my classroom, I need to think about the possible negative outcomes as well as the benefits. The evaluation process also includes testing the links of websites being used to ensure they are active and appropriate. If a website has inappropriate or inaccurate information I need to consider carefully if I should use it for my lesson. Part of my responsibility as a teacher is to teach my students how to evaluate their use of technology, specifically the Internet. With so much available at their fingertips, they need to be able to be responsible about what they use the Internet for. Instilling values and morals is part of being an educator and will help my students develop into conscientious adults.

I believe I have met my personal goals for this course. I learned about new technologies as well as how to use them in my own classroom. The information shared by the instructor as well as by the other students proved to be incredibly helpful. The best resource we have is each other and I believe I took great advantage of the resources available in this class.

Currently, my goal is to continue finding ways to integrate technology into each unit of social studies and science that I teach. I have only picked these two subjects to start with because I know smaller goals are more realistic for me. As I plan through these units this year, I will be looking for ways to incorporate technology in various ways whether it be me using the technology as a teacher or using the technology with my students or teaching my students how to use a new technology. The more I can responsibly and effectively use technology in my classroom, the more likely my students are to become engaged in learning.

Online learning

I think I could use educational blogs in my classroom this year. I have done some research as to the benefits of using blogs in the classroom and want to see those benefits with my students.
Many times I have my students reflect on the books they read in class. I could use blogs as a way for them to reflect still, but then make each blog available for the others to see and comment on. Sometimes students don't know what book to read, so reading someone else's thoughts on that book might help make a decision. Since editing is not a major feature of blogs, I would not use it for editing, but rather as a medium for the students to get their own thoughts out as well as to read each other's thoughts. I would use a more laid back teaching approach with this online experience. The students do not need to be directed through the process, but rather guided along as they learn something new.
It would be difficult for me to use interactive discussions with experts. In order to attend my school, students need to speak English. In China, there are not many native English speakers. Doing an interactive discussion would be difficult because most English speaking "experts" that I know either already live in my city and we would, therefore, not need to do an online interactive discussion or the people I know live in the United States. Because of the 12-hour time difference, it is difficult to schedule a time to talk when my students are in school and someone in America is available.
I like the suggestions given in the companion paper. There were many ways to incorporate online learning in the classroom that I had not recently thought about. It's good to have a document like that in which lots of information is put together in a user friendly format.

Google Calendar

• Describe your experience as a user of the application. What functions did you like and what functions did you find frustrating? Why?

As I explored through Google Calendar I was pleased with the simplicity of the site. It was incredibly easy to add events to the calendar. There are many options for when events would be posted whether it be daily, weekly, monthly, yearly or even on certain days of the week. I created a calendar for the remainder of our online class and was pleased with how easy it was to create as well as share with other people. The people you share the calendar with can have different access to the calendar. The creator of the calendar can choose to allow others to view only, view and edit events or to view, edit events and share the calendar with others. I liked that it was easy to use and easy to create new events. There is also a task list that can be displayed on the side that is easy to use. For people who receive satisfaction from crossing things off their list, this task list is a nice feature. Multiple calendars can also be created by the user. Each calendar shows the events in different colors and you can choose which calendar events you want to show at any particular time. The church I attend has a Google Calendar and the events for this calendar are visible when I sign into my own Google Calendar. I liked this feature because I don't have to add in the church's events, but I can see them with the click of a button.

The only downside I saw to the calendar was that it was difficult to find where to change the calendar settings. When you set up a new calendar it automatically takes you through the steps of creating the specific settings. Once you create the calendar, however, it is harder to find where to change the settings. I'm sure once you get used to it, though, it becomes easier and more logical where things are placed. The only other feature that I think might be helpful to have is a way to communicate with the creator of the calendar. If parents have questions or concerns, they might want a way to contact the teacher directly from the calendar. This feature would be great to have as an option, as some teachers would not want another mode of communication to be available.

• Think about its application in the classroom
  • What knowledge or skills would students need to use the software?
  In order for students to use this software, they would need to know how to type and navigate through a calendar. When I was exploring the application I was not viewing it through the eyes of a student, but rather a teacher. I see this application being more useful as a communication tool between teachers, parents and administrators. The calendar can have important meetings, homework and tasks posted for parents to view. Administrators might also want to know what events are happening in a particular classroom or have events to add to the calendar. Teachers need to know the basics of navigating through an electronic calendar, but the majority of skills needed are basic as the site is user-friendly.
• • How can you share the products you create with this application
  When a calendar is created, you simply have to know the email address of the person you want to share it with. You can then send them an email notifying them you are sharing a calendar with them and they can view the calendar. If you choose, other people can have the authority to change and add events to your calendar, but the creator has to give permission for this to happen.
• • How could you see the application being used to teach a particular subject matter?
  I see this application being used less to teach subject matter and more for communication purposes. You could use Google Calendars to teach students about calendars, time management, etc., but the main purpose in my mind would be to communicate with others.
• • What are some things a teacher could do to help students collaborate using this application?
  A teacher could help students and parents work together using Google Calendars. The more information parents have about what is happening at school, the better they will be able to help their children succeed at school. If parents are informed, they are more likely to be involved.
• • What sort of organization or managerial considerations will a teacher have to take into account?
  A teacher would need to be very organized in lesson planning to use this application most effectively. He/she would also need to remember to update the calendar on a regular basis so parents could stay informed. This is a technology that I see myself wanting to use, but being leery of it because I don't know if I will have the time or energy to consistently use it. It has potential to be a great tool if it is used regularly by both teachers and parents.
  

Web 2.0 and Instuctional Strategies

Using blogs in the classroom is something I have used in college classrooms, but not yet in my elementary classroom. I can see the benefits of using blogs as students develop their writing skills as well as how blogs might increase their motivation to write.

I could see using idea-based instruction with blogs as a way for students to reflect on their learning. Since blogs are much like journals, student can reflect on the big ideas being presented and they can read each others' reflections to expand upon. Students need to have adequate typing skills to make using blogs in this way time efficient. I have been frustrated with typing assignments with my students because it takes some of them an incredibly long time to type their thoughts as opposed to writing them by hand.

Blogs can also be used to give direct instruction to students. Teachers can create a blog that students read and are able to comment on. Students can also be given authorship of the blog to add their own posts. Direct instruction can also be given to absent students in this way so they do not get behind on missed assignments. The only problem with this is students need to have a certain level of literacy to be able to read the instructions and information given on the blog.

It would be difficult to use Venn Diagrams with blogs because the graphics would be difficult to create. You could use comparing and contrasting in written form, but the visual of a Venn Diagram would be difficult.

Peer editing is possible to do with blogs, but doesn't seem like the best technology to use for editing. Blogs are great for sharing general thoughts for revision, but google docs or wikis would be a better choice for peer editing.

I could see myself using blogs in my classroom mainly with language arts. This past year I did pen pals with a classroom in Michigan. It was so much fun for my students to write and receive letters from around the world. With blogs, we could pair up students to write to each other in this way. For privacy sake, the blogs could be private - viewed only by the students writing to each other and the teachers.

The bonus question is very thought provoking for me. It is one that I have thought about before because I find myself wanting to use technologies more creatively, but not knowing how to do that. I would be interested in reading articles that discuss creative uses of web technologies.

Wikis

Before this assignment, I had never thought I would edit a wikipedia page. It's amazing how easy it is to change the content of a page that so many people take to be true. I agree even more now with all the teachers who constantly tell their students wikipedia is not a credible source. It's just too easy to change the information posted without any need for it to be true.
For my school's wikipedia site, I added some countries to the list of our students' nationalities. There were a few that I know of missing, so I added that information. You can see a screen shot of the wiki page here. I'm not sure why it is pixelated, but you can click on the link above to get to the wikipedia site itself.


The wiki I created is https://cep811-wiki.wikispaces.com and was my first attempt at creating a wiki. I was unsure of the wiki at first as I have attempted to use them in prior classes and did not enjoy the experience. I think I did not have as much information as to how they work and the benefits they provide when I tried to use them before. Also, the professors who used them may not have known how to best organize the course's content with a wiki, further adding to my confusion and frustration with wikis. As I experiment with wikis and become more comfortable with them, I may even begin to see how I could use them in my classroom. I'm not exactly sure how I would do this yet, but using them myself is the first step to figuring it all out.

Computer-based Instructional Objects

In looking at this week's reflection, I was able to view a variety of WebQuests put together by teachers from around the United States. Many of them were out of date, referencing programs that no longer exist and had multiple links that led to sites that also do not exist.

As far as working within a classroom, I prefer WebQuests because they have a greater ability to be interactive. Many of the examples had students working in groups, researching things online and presenting information as a group. StAIR projects are helpful in teaching and reinforcing new content, but can be done individually, even without a teacher present. Both seem useful in the appropriate context.

As I searched through some example WebQuests, I found many interesting social studies topics that relate to my curriculum. I particularly liked this example because it asked the students to make a choice to travel west on the Oregon Trail or to stay put. They had to take into consideration different points of view and make a persuasive argument as to why they chose what they did. I also liked this WebQuest because it involves different learning styles. The students need to put on their creative hats as they learn about the Aztecs, specifically Aztec legend, "The Two Mountains." The simplicity of this WebQuest made me consider using it with my own students. If all the links were active, I probably would use it. We cover life cycles at the beginning of the year, which makes the simple design of this WebQuest ideal in timing.

It was important to me, as I looked through all the different examples I found, to click through the WebQuests' links. In the process, I found that many were empty links or went to websites that had more advertisements than information. When considering WebQuests, looking at the links is a vital part of the process. Not only were there many dead links, but I came across one that seemed to be perfect for my students until I looked through the links. The websites they referenced were way above a third grade reading level, which I would not have known had I not done a thorough search.

While WebQuests are valuable tools for learning, and I am amazed at the vast amount available, it is important to make sure all the websites linked to are active and appropriate for your students. Also, when websites are out of date, students do not have current information to reference. I like the way many WebQuests are set up, but thorough research needs to be done of existing sites before they should be used in the classroom.

Hi Meredith!

Hi Meredith,

I love your background- It's wonderful! I'm still working to gain comfort/ and figure out how to post on our Bloggs... Yours looks great!

Traditional web vs. Blogs

Hello all!

This first assignment asks us to compare traditional web pages and blogs. My first thought when comparing the two is the general purpose of each. In general, web pages are used to inform users about a company, product, event, etc. These websites do not usually have the personal narrative writing that blogs do. Traditional web pages are not updated frequently, but rather only when the readers would need to know something new that is happening.

On the other hand, blogs are typically designed for users to write down their thoughts and ideas. Blogs are run through a third party, unless the user pays for a web domain. Typically, blogs are updated on a regular (or not so regular) basis for readers to enjoy. The writing of blogs is subjective, often being focused on the writers feelings or thoughts of the moment. While many blogs are written for personal use, there are other blogs that are written to give readers information. Bloggers can also control who is able to access the content of their site, while traditional web pages are often open to anyone connected to the internet.