Here is a link to my First Class webpage so we can check out the wikis!
FIRSTCLASS WEBPAGE
Friday, July 23, 2010
Thursday, July 22, 2010
Day 4 Reflections
Day 4: Well, it's not even lunch time yet, and I'm pretty close to finishing my final project! I just have to put on the "finishing touches." I was able to create 4 wiki pages, one for each of my classes. Students in each class, in groups of 2-3 (they will sign up on the wiki!), are responsible for posting the vocabulary for each unit of study, in addition to other resources (videos, audio pronunciations of difficult-to-pronounce terms, links, images, etc.). I created a sample page on each class wiki to show students what I expect from them. I set up student accounts so that all students will have a user name and password to enter their class wiki, and I also set up links to each of the wikis from my FirstClass website. I am excited to implement the wikis this fall (but not so excited that I want summer vacation to end yet!).
I also read the article "Let's Talk 2.0" from Educational Leadership, and was reminded why it's really important for teachers to take classes like Tech Camp. In the article, the authors state:
"Outside school, many students are accomplished authors, filmmakers, animators, and recording artists. They are concerned with the quality of their work and the meaning it conveys. They spend hours tinkering with their media text or artifact in response to peer feedback obtained online. In short, many young people's online literacy practices engage them in exactly the kind of learning that educators value, in terms of quality of work, narrative power, character development, logic, and concept development. Literacy 2.0 is grounded in achieving authentic purposes and completing meaningful tasks. Unfortunately, it doesn't mesh well with such practices as book reports, comprehension questions, leveled reading tasks, and weekly spelling tests that students are asked to do in school."
Many of our students have amazing skills and talents that we might never know of if we don't allow them to use their creativity, often through technology, in class and on projects. A student who loves music and can play the electric guitar might be more successful conveying their knowledge through creation of a song instead of a pencil and paper multiple choice test. I'm glad I created the wikis for my classes because it might engage some students who otherwise might be totally uninterested in learning vocabulary to help them understand the content. Instead of just copying definitions onto lined paper, or even making flash cards on index cards, students now can type into a wiki that they share with their classmates. They can add their own "flair" by linking to videos, audio, etc., and when they go to study, they can view videos, pictures, and links instead of reading off of a piece of paper. Hopefully, this will lead to increased student engagement. I also look forward to incorporating more of the Web 2.0 tools we learned about this week into my teaching this coming school year.
I also read the article "Let's Talk 2.0" from Educational Leadership, and was reminded why it's really important for teachers to take classes like Tech Camp. In the article, the authors state:
"Outside school, many students are accomplished authors, filmmakers, animators, and recording artists. They are concerned with the quality of their work and the meaning it conveys. They spend hours tinkering with their media text or artifact in response to peer feedback obtained online. In short, many young people's online literacy practices engage them in exactly the kind of learning that educators value, in terms of quality of work, narrative power, character development, logic, and concept development. Literacy 2.0 is grounded in achieving authentic purposes and completing meaningful tasks. Unfortunately, it doesn't mesh well with such practices as book reports, comprehension questions, leveled reading tasks, and weekly spelling tests that students are asked to do in school."
Many of our students have amazing skills and talents that we might never know of if we don't allow them to use their creativity, often through technology, in class and on projects. A student who loves music and can play the electric guitar might be more successful conveying their knowledge through creation of a song instead of a pencil and paper multiple choice test. I'm glad I created the wikis for my classes because it might engage some students who otherwise might be totally uninterested in learning vocabulary to help them understand the content. Instead of just copying definitions onto lined paper, or even making flash cards on index cards, students now can type into a wiki that they share with their classmates. They can add their own "flair" by linking to videos, audio, etc., and when they go to study, they can view videos, pictures, and links instead of reading off of a piece of paper. Hopefully, this will lead to increased student engagement. I also look forward to incorporating more of the Web 2.0 tools we learned about this week into my teaching this coming school year.
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
Lunch Time...
Lunch time!Bengal tiger ©Tom Brakefield/CORBIS, from WGBH Teacher's Domain "Animal Mouths"
Day 3 Reflections
Day 3: This morning I finally decided on an idea for my final project! I have started creating a wiki page for one of my classes to post the vocabulary for each unit throughout the year. Students will sign up for a topic, and then in their groups (no more than 3 students per topic) they will be responsible for posting the vocabulary for that unit on the class wiki. This way, there is a resource for students to use if they lose a handout, or to use at the end of the year to help study for the final exam. I am excited about this project because it is something I actually plan on using in my classes this coming school year! The only thing is that I have four classes, so I will have to make a separate (but identical) wiki for each class, because 100 students posting vocab on only one wiki would be too much. So now I have to figure out how to make additional wikis and how to make them all identical (at least to start). Lots of tweaking to do...
This morning we also used Skype to have a conversation with Karen from San Francisco! It was a great way to have a chat -- more fun than the phone because you can see the person, and it's free! My brother is leaving for a big trip to Tunis, then Sweden, then Indonesia in a few weeks, so this would be a great way to communicate with him -- much more personal than email, and cheaper than buying an international cell phone. The only trouble is that I don't have a camera on my computer at home (I have a 3 year old PC) like these fancy new Mac's do, so I will have to look into that. I love the idea, though, and hope I can make it work! It would be a great way to keep in touch with my bro.
This morning we also used Skype to have a conversation with Karen from San Francisco! It was a great way to have a chat -- more fun than the phone because you can see the person, and it's free! My brother is leaving for a big trip to Tunis, then Sweden, then Indonesia in a few weeks, so this would be a great way to communicate with him -- much more personal than email, and cheaper than buying an international cell phone. The only trouble is that I don't have a camera on my computer at home (I have a 3 year old PC) like these fancy new Mac's do, so I will have to look into that. I love the idea, though, and hope I can make it work! It would be a great way to keep in touch with my bro.
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
Day 2 Reflections
Day 2: Today we worked with podcasts. We also learned how to embed a podcast on a website. I created an audio file in GarageBand welcoming parents and students to my science class website. Then, I embedded that audio file into my website. It actually sounds pretty cool, and I'm excited to have added it to my website! It adds a little something extra. Also, I think students will get a kick out of it when they hear my voice (accompanied by some music) on the webpage. I am excited to hear student feedback in the fall. What a great application for a web 2.0 tool! Later today, I hope to learn more about digital pictures and how to make movies and slideshows. Many of my students already know how to do this, so I'll be glad when I can provide them with more support while they're working on these types of projects.
In addition to creating a podcast, I also enjoyed the article "What Has Podcasting Done for You?: Great Things Often Begin in Small Ways" by Jim Moulton. In the article, the author discusses an example of how podcasts were used in a school to increase student engagement. Instead of having the principal read the "Words of Wisdom" at the end of the daily morning announcements, a different student each day recorded a podcast to be played at the end of the announcements. I think this is a great idea. It gets students involved in the announcements, and helps them "buy in" because they are responsible for the content. They can hear themselves and their peers, and will be more likely to listen to the "Words of Wisdom" than if the principal reads them day after day. I would love to implement something like this in my school.
In addition to creating a podcast, I also enjoyed the article "What Has Podcasting Done for You?: Great Things Often Begin in Small Ways" by Jim Moulton. In the article, the author discusses an example of how podcasts were used in a school to increase student engagement. Instead of having the principal read the "Words of Wisdom" at the end of the daily morning announcements, a different student each day recorded a podcast to be played at the end of the announcements. I think this is a great idea. It gets students involved in the announcements, and helps them "buy in" because they are responsible for the content. They can hear themselves and their peers, and will be more likely to listen to the "Words of Wisdom" than if the principal reads them day after day. I would love to implement something like this in my school.
Monday, July 19, 2010
Day 1 Reflections
Day 1: So far, I've learned about a handful of tools that will be useful to me and my science classes. The social bookmarking tool is great because I can access my bookmarks from any computer, not just the one they're saved on, so if I find a great website at school, I can then easily access it from my home computer too! I also like the idea of using a Wordle to introduce a topic, or have students create Wordles as a way to review important vocabulary at the end of a unit. Wikis also seem like they can be effective tools for a number of different uses. For example, I might use a wiki in my class to keep a student-maintained list of vocabulary terms and definitions for each unit we study. This will be especially useful to students who tend to lose notes and handouts easily; with the vocab. listed on a wiki, they will have access to the vocab. on any computer, even if they lose their hard copy. I can also see using a wiki to allow students to collaborate on projects from home: when students are assigned various tasks to complete a project, they can share with their group which parts they have completed, which parts need revising, etc. An additional way I might incorporate a wiki into my classroom is for the current event assignment. In my class, students have a monthly current event assignment where they must find a science-related article, summarize it, and reflect on it. With a wiki, students can share their current events on the wiki, and comment on each of the topics, as students are often interested in a variety of topics that their classmates have chosen for their reports. Blogs are another great tool I can incorporate into my classroom. This is my first blog! One way I might utilize a blog in my classroom would be the following: I could choose an article related to the topic we're learning about in class at that time, and ask students to comment on it, connect it to what we're learning, or relate it to their own lives. This could be done in place of or in addition to the monthly current event assignment, depending on how much is going on in the class at that time. Now I just wish I had computers in my classroom so students could work on these assignments during class in addition to at home! More about tools and how I can use them in my classes to come...
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