AHA Moments

These past eight weeks have gone by very quickly. I have been introduced to many new Web 2.0 tools that I was not familiar with in the past. My AHA moment was when I realized how using these technology tools can make your lessons so much more interactive and user friendly. I use all of the technological "gadgets" in my classroom such as document cameras, wireless keyboards, and interactive white boards but I had never incorporated Web 2.0 technologies because our district blocks so many of them. By doing some research for this class I have found many technologies out there that our district does not block and some others that are blocked that I am going to ask the district to unblock. I would like to play some more with sites such as Animoto and create some more podcasts using Jing. Even though my students are only in First Grade they are still capable of using many of these technologies that I had always considered to be for the older students. I will now use the computer lab for more than just pre-installed computer programs and actually let my students get on the Internet and use some of these cool tools....with appropriate supervision-of course!

Reflections from Google Week

This week I chose to use Google Dictionary for my kids to use to do a project. I chose this program because I work with First Graders and they are not familiar with many computer programs on the Internet. I am going to attempt to do my lesson with the kids in my class. I think that as long as I assign the partners and make sure that each group has a responsible student in it that they will be able to succeed in this project. By now the majority of my students are independent readers and will be able to read and comprehend the definitions. My students are familiar with looking up words in the glossary so I think they will be understand the concept that I am trying to teach. They key phrase that keeps recurring in our technology TEKS is "with appropriate supervision".

As I work through the assignments in this class I am finding more and more ways to integrate technology even with my First Graders. Hopefully I will be in a library soon and I will be working with different aged students so I am keeping my eyes wide open for activities to do with all grade levels. I work at a school that encourages technology use and they are pretty good about unblocking sites that I request. I use technology almost daily with my students but this class is exposing me to a lot of sites that I was not aware of that will be great for students of all ages.

Week 6 Reflections

This week as I created my podcast I was amazed at how easy it was. There are so many things I have already done with my students this year that would have been so much easier if they could have watched the process first before doing the actual lesson. Jing was SO easy to use. I really enjoyed watching the podcasts from the other class members also.

For my Journal Article Presentation I read an article on Wikis and how they can help build learning communities. There are so many uses for Wikis. I have seen the benefit of using them in this class.

As I read through the course notes and the descriptions on distance learners I realized that I was very lucky to have a supportive family. I am very self motivated and due to my work schedule I would not have gone back to college if I was not able to do it all online. With a husband and three busy kids, a full time job, and a part time job at my church I do not have time to sit through classes but by being able to do it online I can do a little at a time when I have the opportunity. Sometimes I do work during my conference period, sometimes late at night, sometimes at church. Have laptop....will travel.

With all of these tools available the possibilities are endless. If we use the technologies available we can create more active learners. As a teacher I can make my lessons more interactive. As a learner I can collaborate with my classmates to do group assignments. There are several things preventing teachers from using these tools. One of the main things is the school filters that block access to many Web 2.0 technologies. Another thing is lack of resources. I would love to have ipods in my classroom to help my low First Graders. I have seen wonderful resources using podcasts for young learners.

If I had a magic wand I would wave it at the school and get rid of all of the fears that my co-workers have about technology. It is amazing how some teachers are so set in there ways and are unwilling to try anything new. There is so much technology out there that makes teaching so much easier and creates active learners that if teachers would try it they would be really surprised with what can happen in their classrooms.

Week Five: Wonderful Wikis

I had fun this week with the creation of my wiki. I chose to do one for personal use but I can see many ways to use this for educational purposes. I set up a wiki to help coordinate a slumber party that all of the females in my family are having at the end of next month. We usually have 30-40 females in attendance that come from all over Texas so it was a great way to put the information out there and let the others fill in the blanks. I have already begun to implement it by inviting my sister and my mother to join the wiki and then I will continue to add the other family members as I collect e-mail addresses. I used wikispaces to do my wiki and it was very user friendly. I have used wetpaint in a previous class.

I can see many benefits to using wikis. I think it would be a great way to organize class parties and parent volunteers. My sister teaches Middle School and she would like to use a wiki to connect her classes with my first grade class on a project. The options are limitless. The main disadvantage of using wikis is the feeling of lack of control. There is also the fear of someone accidentally erasing what you have worked so hard to create.

Since wikis are so easy to use I can see a digital native being engaged with one. I think that digital natives are scared of the concept of "creating" a web page but if all they have to do is go in and add or edit the page it is not as scary.

While exploring the eLearning Tools wiki I uncovered several web2.0 technologies that I would like to explore. I was really interested in the Storytelling tools, Publishing tools, and Virtual Field Trips. Maybe over spring break I will get a chance to play with some of these other technologies from my house since so many of them are blocked by my school filter.

Reflections from Week 4

Along with all of the research I did on Assessment for Learning and e-portfolios this week I realized how important mobile technology has become. We were without power for almost 48 hours this week because of the snow. Luckily the roads were clear enough that I was able to take my laptop to McDonald's and get in a little bit of work.
I was really interested in all 10 of the principles of AFL but I chose to focus on AFL develops learners' capacity for self-assessment so that they can become reflective and self-managing because as a teacher of first graders I am not used to learners being self-managing.
I can see a lot of benefits of to using portfolio assessments. I have used portfolios in my classroom for years but by doing them electronically it makes them more permanent. I would love to see electronic student portfolios that could follow them through-out their school career. I can see my personal portfolio being useful when I graduate and get ready to begin applying for librarian positions. I think school administration would be interested in seeing the products that I am compiling in my e-portfolio. Creating this personal portfolio is making me really put some thought into the reasoning behind the products that I am producing for this class and will continue to make me put extra thought into my future assignments.

Reflections from Week 3

I found the MAPping activity to be very interesting. At school I normally use Google to search and at home I use Yahoo. I now know that I really need to pay attention to what comes up at hits. If I am looking for any type of research information I usually go through the EBSCO databases. I picked the California's Velcro Crop Shortage to do the MAPping activity with because the title sounded ridiculous to me. It made me wonder if there was a different type of Velcro out there than what you use to make stuff stick together. The activity showed that this was definitely a fake website. This activity made me realize that I need to look at the web addresses and decipher them when I search for a specific topic. I usually try to use web sites that I am familiar with when I am using the web, especially if it is a site I am using to show my students something. I think it is very important for students to learn how to decipher web addresses. Our filter at school blocks out a lot of sites that are inappropriate but in most cases the students are using the Internet at home unsupervised. They have no way of knowing if they are getting accurate information if they are not taught how to decide if it is a trustworthy site.

I really like using Delicious. I had used it before to help me keep up with my bookmarks between home and school but I never realized that you could network with other people and see their bookmarks. I can really see this as an advantage. I like the idea that someone else can find a really cool site and bookmark it and then it is there for everyone in the network to use.

Reflections from Week 2

This week was very educational for me. I learned to use Inspiration 9 software to create a digital concept map about Educational Technology. It was very easy to use and I was able to very easily insert pictures that I took with my own camera to help illustrate my points-and yes, I did have permission from the parents to use their childs photo.

I read many articles trying to decide which would be the best for a journal article presentation about educational technology and decided to use an article about e-reading. I wanted an e-reader for Christmas so I researched many different types before I chose the model that I ordered. I also bought my daughter one for Christmas-she is in sixth grade. I was not sure if her teachers would allow her to carry it around and read from it during free time but it has not been an issue. It was interesting to read research behind effectively using them in the classroom. Many schools now use laptops instead of textbooks for the older kids but I can see where an e-reading device instead of a textbook for things like literature would be a big advantage because you are able to highlight and add notes right on the page so it becomes more interactive than a textbook that you cannot mark on.

Through all of this research I was able to come up with my own definition of what Educational Technology is. I would define Educational Technology as the following: The effective integration of technology that enhances and teaching and learning by supporting but not replacing the teacher at all grade levels and in all subject areas. I use technology in my classroom each and every day but there are still some teachers that have not warmed up to the use of technology.

It was also interesting reading about Digital Natives and Digital Immigrants. My students are definitely Digital Natives. It is hard to find a child now that does not have a computer or some sort of gaming device in their house. I started thinking about my own house. We have a computer, a laptop, two cell phones, two e-readers, two nintendo ds's, a Flip camcorder, a wii, a v-smile, a v-touch gaming system, a leapster, and two digital cameras. I may be a Digital Immigrant but I think I have adapted fairly well!