Finito

I don't feel like this is the end of this course on web 2.0 tools and features, but the beginning of my application of these tools to an actual classroom. I feel so much more comfortable using the tools that we explored, and I am so excited to implement some of them in my classroom. Wouldn't it be amazing (and supportive of the 21st century learning goals) if the district could dedicate some time to ALL teachers, and teach them about some of the practical applications of some of these tools--maybe use a district Wednesday or two? If you make something available for teachers, some will use it. If you make it EASY for teachers, many will use it. Anyway, this course had been beneficial to me--I look forward to the next one on the future after all of the tools we explored in this course become obsolete. :)

GoogleEarth Haiti

I was just playing around with Google Earth in my science class, and we found a huge spread that GE has put together on the Haiti Earthquake. You can tour everything from the fault and how it moves through Haiti, to social and geographic features, pictures of structures and parts of the city after the earthquake, etc. I love the fact that GE has these pre-made tours of relevant areas/events. This is a huge time-saver. I can't imagine putting something like together myself, it would take years. But thanks to GE, it's right at my fingertips.

Google Docs

After exploring Google Docs, I know understand that Google rules the universe. Holy COW! Basically,the foundation of our personal learning networks is completely Google-based, from the Wikis, to the Blogs, to features like Google earth and Docs. It's amazing the evolution of the Google corporation (I lived near their headquarters in Cali when they were just blowing up). They are a (good) monster! Have other search engines adapted this same business model and expanded themselves into so many aspects of the cyberworld? Yahoo? Ask? Just curious...

Web 2.0 Tools

I was blown away by exploring some of the Web 2.0 tools available that Val posted on the course Wiki. There are SO many tools to explore and use, it's mind-boggling. And for every aspect of your life! There are tools that help you organize you finances, organize your vacations, organize your life. There are tools that help you download music, store music, create music, and so on. Virtually every aspect of your life can be controlled, organized, modified or simplified by using the thousands of tools available online. I particularly liked the doodler site, Drawto.com, which allows people to draw and diagram the same image from different locations. Too cool!

Online Communication

This module was both frustrating and rewarding for me. I get frustrated with computers. When the computer or internet connection is slow, I feel completely helpless--computers are both our slaves and our masters, and I rather dislike being so reliant on a machine, but it is the way of the world. I was very frustrated using Teachertube. Every time I logged on, the site was too busy to respond, causing me to logon repeatedly. This is just a minor inconvenience, but what bothered me most was the fact that I posted a video, and then there was no message about it being posted, just a blank screen. I posted it four times with the same result. Finally, by scrolling through my account, there was a message saying that my video was up for review by the moderator. This would have been nice to see after I posted the video each of the four times. Oh, well, it's posted now...
On a different note, I LOVE Voicethread. What in an ingenious idea! I have big plans to use this program for science next year--it's so user friendly, I think it will lend itself nicely to 6th grade science classes.

Class Tools

I found this module to be one of the most overwhelming thus far, not because of the amount of work that went into the required writings, but because it blows your mind with the amount of tools out there at our fingertips that most people have no idea about! It would seriously take years to go in depth into the tools listed on that website alone, and I feel like by the time I have a chance to really explore many of these tools, they will be obsolete, and everyone will have moved on to the next new and amazing thing! It hurts my brain! And the options on Google docs are amazing as well. Google itself is so loaded with tools available to all, it is hard to wrap your brain around. I would love to see what percent of the Google-using population even has any idea of the vast capabilities of this website...I'm guessing that percent would be very small...

Google Earth

Wow! This is a great tool! I have used Google Earth as a visual in my science class all year, and I never really had the chance to explore all of its possibilities. The tour was so easy to put together, but I did have issues with getting my text to appear on the tour when viewed from the kmz. file I created. I noticed that other classmates had the same issue, as their text did not show either. The layers option on the most recent Chrome edition are amazing! I spent a long time looking through the National Geographic articles of interest that is one of the layers--what an amazing resource for science and social studies classes.

Photo Sharing

I am very familiar with a number of different programs for posting and editing photos (when you have all out-of-town family and a new baby, you become VERY familiar with photo sharing). I have a couple programs that I have purchased that are great photo editors, but I do have to say that Picnik is a wonderful free editing program. It actually does many of the same things that the software I have can do (just a bit more basic). What a great tool for anyone to use. I also wanted to comment about how cool I thought the Blog Response was for Mod. 6. I love the idea of telling a story about someone else's photos. A little opportunity for creativity is good for the soul. :)

Bookmarking

Such a simple idea,and yet SO useful! I find that, although this iknow class is a lot of work (especially with an extremely mobile 1 year old at home) it is worth every second you put into it. The exposure to various tools that you would otherwise have no idea about is so valuable. An example: The bookmarking features of Delicious and Diigo. These sites are both very different. I find that where Delicious is great for having bookmarkability between locations, Diigo is great for finding and sharing information and being able to highlight certain parts of a webpage and annotate it as well. The toolbar for Diigo is rather extensive, but it is really useful as it allows you to highlight, share, etc at the click of a button instead of having to go to a drop down menu. Great sites, great exposure to something new.

Thoughts on Blogging

After finishing the Blog Module,. I am reflecting on how I can integrate this into my classroom next year. I have all summer to plan on integrating various technologies into my classes to add rigor and to address 21st Century Learning standards, and I am struggling with how to do this with massive budget cuts and limited technology. I am thinking of this: I am going to have each of my students setup a blogging journal for math. Right now in the current math curriculum, the kids have "learning logs" where they write in their notebooks about certain prompted topics, etc. How boring is this? Wouldn't BLOGGING about their successes and struggles, main concepts, etc be SO much more powerful for reinforcing their learning then writing a dull note in their notebooks? Granted, we won;t always have access to a computer lab or laptop cart, but I am thinking that once a week, we will be able to use the computers and update the blogs then. And maybe I will incorporate blog responses somewhat like this iknow class. Throughout each chapter, the kids wail have to have 5-10 entries about a particular struggle they had, how they solves a particularly hard problem, or a different way of solving something a problem. So many options! I will have to seriously think about how to keep their blogs safe, secure, and probably for sixth graders, the security will have to be very tight. Val--if you read this, I may talk to you about some of the safeguards I will need to take, but I am SO exited to get this going next year!!!

21st Century Learners: The Teacher Edition (iknow Blog)

Math Current Events at Thompson SD and Turner Middle School

Mathematics is one of the few subjects left that has right and wrong answers and has a foundation set in stone based upon formulas, relationships and systems that have remained unchanged for years. Interesting, then, that the teaching of this topic is constantly evolving and finds itself the topic of so many heated conversations. We find ourselves teaching a new and improved mathematics, getting ready to implementing new standards, and completely re-vamping the way we grade this new curriculum. That's a whole lot of changed in a very short period of time. Not that change is a bad thing. The new updated grading system will be a true indicator of kids' actual mathematical abilities, and how well they know the standards being taught. The changes taking place are in response to the fact that a student can have an A in math, and yet be scoring unsatisfactory on their CSAPs, Acuity and other "indicative" tests.