Tool #11

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 would like to do more with Edmodo in my classroom.  I would LOVE to have students be able to work on and turn in assignments in this way.  It would be much more fun and engaging for the students and easier on me to keep track of who has turned in what.  This would be a huge help with ICU as well.

2. How have you transformed your thinking about the learning that will take place in your classroom? How has your vision for your classroom changed? Are you going to need to make any changes to your classroom to accommodate the 21st Century learner?

While all of these tools and what we have available to use in the classroom is great, until we have enough technology for each student to have in the classroom, I don't think we will be working at our potential.  Invariably, things happen and there will be glitches, but when this happens and you only have four computers for 30 students, it is almost easier to not use it.  I am hoping that with the new additions I will be able to better incorporate technology into my classroom.  

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

I did find some new sites that I did not know about, but the most unexpected and great outcome is the collaboration and guidance we received from Lori and each other at the training.  Some people excelled at different ideas and were able to help and guide others.  The fact that Lori has put so much time and energy into helping us is amazing and GREATLY appreciated!!

Tool #10

1. Discuss at least three things you would want to make sure your students understand about being good digital citizens. I want my students to learn that working on the Internet is not as safe as they believe. I want them to know that what they write is forever "out there", that anyone can see what they have written (job interviews, parents, etc.), and that websites are not always written by reliable sources.

2. Share at least one of the resources mentioned above or on the Ed Tech website that you plan to use instructionally. I have already signed up for and plan to look more deeply into iSafe to better help me and my students to be safe on the Internet.

3. Explain briefly how you would "teach" the idea of digital citizenship to your students. I will use the website that Alan November used to show the students that who we believe is writing the websites are not always the case, nor are they always safe. I would also show them how I can Google someone's name and how their Twitter account and everything shows up so that they know that whatever they put out on the Internet can be found and is documented forever.

4. Explain briefly how you plan to share the idea of digital citizenship with your parents. I will create a newsletter to inform them of the importance of safety on the Internet and that they need to also take an active part of ensuring that their children are being safe while online.

Tool #9

1. Why do you think it is important to tie the technology to the objective? Everything that we do in the classroom MUST be tied to an objective or we are not doing our job correctly.
2. Why should we hold students accountable for the stations/centers? We must show the students that what they are doing is valuable and that they will be held accountable so that they do their very best and will find value in what they are doing.
3. Visit 2 of the applicable links to interactive websites for your content/grade level. Which sites did you like. How could you use them as stations? How can you hold the students accountable for their time in these stations? Thinkfinity and Studyladder are sites that I can use for vocabulary and literacy development in my reading lab classes. I could add this to their three stations that I already use, to provide additional variety. I would have them do a print screen, print, or have me check them off once they have completed the assignment. I will need to play with which way would work best to check what they are doing, so as to not interrupt my time working with small groups.
4. List two to three apps you found for the iPod Touch/iPad that you can use in your classroom. What do you see that station looking like? How can you hold the students accountable for their time in these stations? I found a Scrabble app and Hangman app on the Ipad. This will be a reward for those students who finish their work early and would like to enrich or have extra credit. I will give some kind of reward or points for students who use these apps. The only way I can think of to hold the students accountable is that they will need to show myself or Mrs. Cain their work so that we can write down that they completed it.
5. What about other ways to use the iPod Touch/iPad? Share another way you can see your students using the device as a station. I can see using the Ipad as a station to complete our Word Work. The students will need to group words with the same word part to find the definition. They will then need to post a question using a more difficult word with the word part to present to the class.

Tool #8

I learned how to set up an Itunes account and how to sync my Ipad to my computer.

I plan to number each device and assign each student to a number.  The problem is going to be that I have fewer pieces of technology than students, so several will have the same number.  I will have to perhaps work with them in groups or have them sign out a specific device.  I will definitely ask other teachers who have had technology in their classrooms on what has worked well for them.

Tool #7

1. Post the following about the project:
1. Content objective
2. When you plan to implement
3. What tool(s) you plan to use
4. A brief description of the project (plan - two or three sentences)
5. If you need to find another classroom - We can begin networking with other classrooms right here

I will work with a teacher at another campus using Googledocs to share our thinking as we critique and compose persuasive text. This will be implemented during the nine weeks period that we teach persuasive text. Each student will be responsible for making two comments on persuasive writings and then they will need to post and receive feedback about their final persuasive project.

Tool #6

I can definitely see how Today's Meet will work in the classroom.  I believe that by having students answer questions that you have posted and allowing their friends to post as well, will create a huge desire for participation.  There will need to be ground rules and the posts must be monitored, but I do believe that the students will step up, do the right thing, and have fun while they are sharing what they have learned.

Today's Meet

http://todaysmeet.com/mrsr

Wallwisher

Tool #5

Wordle is a fun website, but I'm not sure how I would use it in my classroom.

Creating the comics, though, would be a great way for students to show their learning in a concise manner.  It takes great effort to create a whole story or lesson within just a few frames.  Each table could have a computer and need to create a comic to teach others what they have learned.

Creating a Comic

http://www.makebeliefscomix.com/Comix/

Wordle

Tool #4

I love the form tool.  It is so easy to create exams that can be easily shared with my team.  I also love using Googledocs.  This has been a useful tool when working with a teacher on another campus and also in college.

Tool #3

I was very surprised to find that there are so many sites available for us to use that are safe from copyright infringement.  This makes it so much easier for us and our students to add videos and pictures, without breaking copyright laws.  It would be a great idea to provide students with a page linking them to these sites to use.

As for the use of Dropbox, our campus uses Googledocs and I find that this works very well with our students as well.

http://cnn.com/video/data/2.0/video/world/2012/07/18/romo-mexico-denied-visa-tattoo.cnn.html

I would use this video for journaling purposes.  I would have the students discuss how decisions that they make now can affect them negatively for the rest of their lives.

http://cnn.com/video/data/2.0/video/us/2012/07/18/sotvo-hln-ma-scooter-escalator.cnn.html

I will use this for journaling with my students.  I want to help them become more empathetic with others and their problems.

Tool #2

It is very strange commenting on someone's blog.  I do not comment on Facebook where everyone can see because it makes me feel uncomfortable.  If I could ensure that just my immediate friends or team was reading my post, then I believe I would feel more comfortable.

Tool #1

I have only read blogs up to this point, have never created my own.  This experience was confusing to me and I am not sure that I would be able to do it on my own.