Assignment completed

Now that the 11 tools are done. I feel a great! I have to say that the 40 question assessment at the end, on Atomic, was a little tough. I felt some of the questions were not really in alignment to what I thought I was learning from the assignment, but it made me think. Happy to pass it. I am not sure what happens if you don't.

I decided to start a new gmail account and blog that I can use for the coming class this year. I would like to keep this "Why" as a professional blog, the other for parents and kids. It took some time, but I also wanted to be sure I remembered how to do everything I learned too. I had to look back on a few things, and I tried a few items that I didn't on the previous.

I hope that I can keep up with it all. With the new campus and all, I am starting to get a little anxious....of course I always do this time of year.

new blog is

mrsewheeler.blogspot.com

Tool 11 Reflections

1. What are your favorite tools you now have in your personal technology toolbox? Briefly describe a particular activity that you will plan for your students using at least one of these new tools.

I think the NEW tool would be the actual creating of a blog and using a wiki. For the most part the other stuff was already a tool, just not really sharpened. I will definately use a blog and a wiki in the classroom to keep kids and parent conversations open.


2. How have you transfomed your thinking about the learning that will take place in your classroom?

I don't think there was a real transformation. I was already on board with using technology in the classroom. I may just be better equiped.


3. Were there any unexpected outcomes from this program that surprised you?

After I got started, I was less frustrated, but I think that is expected. I enjoyed it more than I expected, but the amount of time spent was even more than I expected, and I thought it would take a long, long time.

I am happy that I was able to finish before school began. Now it is a matter of keeping up with it all.

Tool 11

Thing 1 to think about kids....technology is there as a resource. In school, we are here to learn, and share our thinking about what we learned. We usually have a question we need to answer when we go to the internet. It is a really fast way to answer questions, and that is what makes it great. All the information is out there free to everyone, but there is so much!!! So one of our responsibilities is to share what we learned, and discuss it. Not everything out there is reliable too. We must have debate as to the validity of information and identify what is the source. BIG time remember, if you use a site in your "work" you must give the site credit.

Thing 2 to think about kids....if you were going to do all your learning on a computer, you would stay at home and not need to be at school. More and more society is becoming intraverted and partners more with their phone/technology, than the people they would normally talk to casually every day. There is a time and a place for technology and we must still be social humans. Good communication skills are still needed, and we must use them in both settings. Maybe I will call it "Mobile Tech Manners". It is rude to go to your phone or itouch or computer while in mid conversation. Some times it is easier to just talk to someone, and there is nothing quite like picking up a book and reading on paper!

Thing 3 to think about kids....is that what ever you put "out there" in cyper space may be read by ANYONE. This is a double edged sword. Your ideas can be shared, you can meet extraordinary people, or keep in touch with far away friends and family. You also need to keep your thoughts clear and have respect for your words. You want your identity to true to yourself. Many discussions will need to be had about not bullying, being bullied, keeping it "real", keeping it clean, and safe guarding your privacy.

If we give kids the access to these devices, they must know all their qualities, good and bad. It is like a sharp knife for making dinner, but never telling them it can cut skin too.

Tool 10

This tool is a no brainer. Lucky for me, my grade level was a PTL grant recipient in 09-10. It was a difficult year learning so much in such a short period of time, while trying to run regular classroom business, but it was well worth it. Using the itouches in class along with the Macs, was such a great addition. I am glad that I had the EXPERIENCE of finding good ways to use them. I believe each teacher will need to explore the best way for their classroom. I used them whole group, one on one in small group, paired work, and small group. It is great motivation for the students. Guidelines must be clear and enforced early on. Kids are so tech savvy. They really know the ins and outs. My 11 year old is great at finding fun apps, but there are countless educational apps. I really liked downloading podcasts. It is really easy to create your own and sync them. The imovies we did in tool 7 will sync for easy sharing. I had a chance to play on the ipad this summer, it is just a big cool itouch. The screen is soooo nice though, it gets a little tough using the tiny screen of an itouch, but the portability is priceless!

Tool 9

I have used Skype to talk to my father in Vietnam. It is so good to see someone while you speak. The delay takes a little getting use to. A good headset is handy. I have it on my iphone and am pretty comfortable using it. I already have an account.

Jing has a few different features and I could see there may be a few more educational uses. I could see kids using Skype to speak with kids that may be creating a similar project, particularly a community project. They could speed up the process of sharing ideas. I do imagine there would be the need for discussing appropriate behavior. Some would be very shy, silly, or "hog" the screen. A lot of modeling would be required, or teacher guided.

Tool 8

I use video ALL the time. Let's face it, kids learn through video. It is visual-audio and fun. I use united streaming videos a lot, as well as Brainpop. The fact you can pause and ask questions is really beneficially. I like to embed them in my flipcharts or down load SWF right into my flips so they open automatically. The effect really impresses the students.

A few videos I am sure will be used this year...for erosion...a tough topic for kids to identify.

http://www.hulu.com/watch/14817/national-geographic-environment-landslides-101#x-4,vclip,1,0

http://www.hulu.com/watch/14818/national-geographic-environment-tsunamis-101#x-4,vclip,1,0

Tool 7

This is a video for my personal use. It wasn't until I spent nearly 2 hours on it did I go back and read the part about not using personal music. This will take some time to work on with kids, but podcasting is a great tool for science. I can't imagine how hard this would have been for those who haven't had some previous experience. I am pleased with the end result though.

Tool 6

I can see the benefit of using a WIKI in the class room. I copied this off of PBWORKS. Why reinvent the wheel?

• Class Resources - Publish class notes, PowerPoint lectures, schedules and policies; show off examples of great student work.
• Group Projects - Build collaborative pages, start discussions and encourage comments.
• Parent Outreach - Keep parents involved. Post assignments, key dates and volunteer lists. All available at home, from work, or anywhere.
• Student Portfolios - Give students their own page to post content, upload homework, and share their work.
• Expand Horizons - Share and interact with other classrooms or groups, across town or around the world.
  

I tried to start one for the classroom, but they said my account was pending verification. Not sure why. So hopefully once I get one started, I can have a way to keep in touch with kids and parents better.

Tool 5

Bookmarking. This is a little less exciting. I guess it is a good idea and I can see how it is useful to organize bookmarks. I use bookmarks quite a lot already. I also am using the MAC more than my Dell because I am trying to become more familiar with the daily workings of the MAC. This will make it easier to reach those important bookmarks. I will probably bookmark the new grade book and attendance site since it will be new for me and I sometimes am not near my personal computer when I need the site. I will also add the standard ones I use a lot. I put a few ones on DELICIOUS that I already use and a few new ones.

http://www.sheppardsoftware.com/math.htm

http://www.brainpop.com

Tool 4

I already have been using the READER. Easy. This will be useful to keep in the know with my team, and whatever else I find. I have already used DOCS before, but I created a Math Survey for my students to use when we begin the year with multiplication facts. I thought this would be an easy first survey for them to try out with GOOGLE DOCS. I would also like to experiment with math word problems. Students could peer teach and compare different ways to solve a problem. This could be an assignment during Math Stations, a weekly assignment like with exemplars, or problem solvers. I could also see this used for cooperatively creating a science project. You could see which students were providing facts to the project. No slackers this way. It is just getting the kids ready and familiar with the use of these tools, and implementing guidelines for their use.

Tool 3

That was fun. I had been in Hugelab before, but only trading cards. There is so much to use. I used thought bubbles, movie poster, stamps, and the magazine cover. I could see having kids use this to show their personality. I love photography and need images/art in my life, so I know this will be useful for students. Creating is so important in learning. There are some very cool ways to add interest to reports, which I love assigning. Kids always exceed my expectations when they are allowed to stretch their boundaries. Wordle will be a great way to incorporate some extensions for kids that move a long a little faster than others. Vocabulary is huge in Science.

Tool 1 & 2

I have spent a good chunk of time reading Jenny's, Meridith's, Karyn's, Carole's, and Robye's blog posts this morning. Informative. Everyone is so positive and pleasant. They must have read that suggestion in the section where you are given tips for posts. I agree that I personally will have to be careful on the word choice of my comments, but I find it necessary to keep it "real". I am going to look for an "outside" blog to follow. I think it is important to follow what your fellow educators are thinking...but we usually do that in the hallway after school anyway.

First Post

I have been at this for 1 hour 22 minutes and have no idea if I have accomplished anything. Not cool.