Web 2.0 applications are a constant source of wealth for educators, and are something that I use consistently throughout my teaching. When reflecting back on Web 2.0 applications from throughout this course, I reflected on Google Drive and Blogs.
Google Suite is probably one of my favorite resources to use in education. I not only rely on it for my personal documents and documents related to my lessons, but I incorporate it into my students work-pieces. Google Forms allows for a quick access to student thinking, such as exit tickets, while Google Drive allows for a broader range of student thinking. I constantly use Drive for my students writing pieces along with presentations that they create. The major benefit of Google Suite is that it promotes socialization. Students are able to share their writing directly with myself, their parents, or other students. This "increases the enjoyment and motivation for many kinds of work" (pg. 302), which helps students to feel positive about their work pieces. It's always fun to watch the students reflect directly on someone else's work, all while seeing the suggestions and reflections others are placing on their own pieces.
Blogging is another of my favorite Web 2.0 applications. I currently use blogging in 2 ways, one that is used as a classroom communication tool between parents and myself (showing what we've been working on, what's coming in the future, etc.). The other way I currently use blogging is through student blogs. This allows the students to reflect on a discussion lead that I created, but also to reflect on each others thinking. We also open up the blog to other classrooms in our building, which allows "expanded privacy beyond just the classrooms comments." (pg. 303). In a similar lite, I also use LiveBinder for student portfolios, which allows for public access to work for comments and such beyond our classroom walls. It takes time to get them set-up for student use, but the portfolio's that come out of it are always worth the time!
Tuesday, December 2, 2014
Thursday, November 20, 2014
Week 12 Reflection and Review
Chapter 29 Reflection:
One of the key points that stood out to me from Chapter 29 was the comment that "e-learning environments are delightfully saturated with opportunities for informal or incidental learning outcomes." Anytime I have ever taken an online course there have been learning outcomes that were never the goal of the course. While I haven't taken many online courses, the few that I have taken have always led to further discoveries and discussion that was the original outlined plan for the course. One of the best examples of this I can give is the course of 21 Things for The 21st Century Educator. The course held specific learning objectives, however the knowledge and wealth of ideas we walked away with surpassed the course goals.
The second key point that stood out was "E-Learning can be synchronous or asynchronous." I think one of the most beneficial components to online learning is the capability to work on your own time frame. We are all graduate students, which means most of us work a full-time job, and have families at home to take care of too. Setting up a class time to be at every night isn't always possible. The flexibility to "attend class" when you have time is fantastic! During the 21 for Things course, the instruction was webcast, which allowed us to not only access it whenever you were able to, but always enabled us to access it when we needed to review materials. Items still had a due date, which enforces responsibility, but their was flexibility in when you completed the tasks. I think in today's society, this is a key component to education.
Online Application Reviews:
I cannot get enough of Google documents! I use it not only for my storage, but my students use it constantly! We have even dove headfirst into Google Classroom which is tied directly into the students Google Documents drive. Google makes a great storage place for everything! The suite hosts its own version of Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, etc. So while it might seem pointless to use such a suite when you have Microsoft on your computer, Google documents have amazing features that out-reach Microsoft. From the capability of automatically saving, to eliminating the need for a flash-drive to transport files to work, my Google drive is my lifeline!
Sumo Paint is a image editing software program that I explored in the past, and again for this reflection. The program has some great features, however it can be a pain in the butt too! I have used it in the past when editing images in combination with Wordle. It seems rather misleading, in that it tells you its completely online but the wants you to download their program. Plus, inorder to get their key features, you have to pay a monthly fee. And if there is anything educators look for, it's free resources! Once I got past the complexity of getting started (and whether or not I would need to download the program or not), the rest was decently easy to use. The best advice I can give is if you understand other photo editing software, you should be fine to use Sumo Paint. However I do wish it was slightly less complicated to figure out.
One of the key points that stood out to me from Chapter 29 was the comment that "e-learning environments are delightfully saturated with opportunities for informal or incidental learning outcomes." Anytime I have ever taken an online course there have been learning outcomes that were never the goal of the course. While I haven't taken many online courses, the few that I have taken have always led to further discoveries and discussion that was the original outlined plan for the course. One of the best examples of this I can give is the course of 21 Things for The 21st Century Educator. The course held specific learning objectives, however the knowledge and wealth of ideas we walked away with surpassed the course goals.
The second key point that stood out was "E-Learning can be synchronous or asynchronous." I think one of the most beneficial components to online learning is the capability to work on your own time frame. We are all graduate students, which means most of us work a full-time job, and have families at home to take care of too. Setting up a class time to be at every night isn't always possible. The flexibility to "attend class" when you have time is fantastic! During the 21 for Things course, the instruction was webcast, which allowed us to not only access it whenever you were able to, but always enabled us to access it when we needed to review materials. Items still had a due date, which enforces responsibility, but their was flexibility in when you completed the tasks. I think in today's society, this is a key component to education.
Online Application Reviews:
I cannot get enough of Google documents! I use it not only for my storage, but my students use it constantly! We have even dove headfirst into Google Classroom which is tied directly into the students Google Documents drive. Google makes a great storage place for everything! The suite hosts its own version of Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, etc. So while it might seem pointless to use such a suite when you have Microsoft on your computer, Google documents have amazing features that out-reach Microsoft. From the capability of automatically saving, to eliminating the need for a flash-drive to transport files to work, my Google drive is my lifeline!
Sumo Paint is a image editing software program that I explored in the past, and again for this reflection. The program has some great features, however it can be a pain in the butt too! I have used it in the past when editing images in combination with Wordle. It seems rather misleading, in that it tells you its completely online but the wants you to download their program. Plus, inorder to get their key features, you have to pay a monthly fee. And if there is anything educators look for, it's free resources! Once I got past the complexity of getting started (and whether or not I would need to download the program or not), the rest was decently easy to use. The best advice I can give is if you understand other photo editing software, you should be fine to use Sumo Paint. However I do wish it was slightly less complicated to figure out.
Thursday, November 13, 2014
Weekly Reflection
After reading the chapter, and looking at the Author's point of view on achieving a job in the IDT field, 3 lessons really stood out and captured my attention. The first being his lesson on developing a strong set of communication skills, followed by his lessons on developing an area of expertise and keeping up with the literature in your area of interest.
The lesson on developing a strong set of communication skills can really be applied to any job you currently have, or hope to get in the future. As a teacher, communication is the foundation of my life. I have to not only communicate with 39 students everyday, but I have to be able to actively communicate with the staff in my building and others that I provide training for. As a tech leader in my building, I'm constantly being relied upon to provide training and education to other staff members. Communication sets the foundation for understanding...poor communication = poor understanding.
The second lesson, developing an area of expertise, really made me think about how all teachers have a niche, or something they are strong in. My niche is technology, and the math/science/social studies content. Have an area of expertise helps to make you a team-player, and someone that can round out and balance a team or group. All types of business and professions require you to have team-player attributes, and having an area of expertise really helps to develop a strong team. In education technology, everyone has an area of expertise - mine being student technology such as Chromebooks, SMARTBoard, etc. My goal with earning my masters in educational technology is to help me break down the gaps and become stronger in areas that are unknown to me, or aren't as familiar.
The third lesson, keeping up with the literature in your area of interest, is essential to continual growth. If we fail to continue to learn about new technology, new teaching styles, new methods, then we fail to educate our children in the best methods possible. The minute I become that teacher, is the minute I retire!
The lesson on developing a strong set of communication skills can really be applied to any job you currently have, or hope to get in the future. As a teacher, communication is the foundation of my life. I have to not only communicate with 39 students everyday, but I have to be able to actively communicate with the staff in my building and others that I provide training for. As a tech leader in my building, I'm constantly being relied upon to provide training and education to other staff members. Communication sets the foundation for understanding...poor communication = poor understanding.
The second lesson, developing an area of expertise, really made me think about how all teachers have a niche, or something they are strong in. My niche is technology, and the math/science/social studies content. Have an area of expertise helps to make you a team-player, and someone that can round out and balance a team or group. All types of business and professions require you to have team-player attributes, and having an area of expertise really helps to develop a strong team. In education technology, everyone has an area of expertise - mine being student technology such as Chromebooks, SMARTBoard, etc. My goal with earning my masters in educational technology is to help me break down the gaps and become stronger in areas that are unknown to me, or aren't as familiar.
The third lesson, keeping up with the literature in your area of interest, is essential to continual growth. If we fail to continue to learn about new technology, new teaching styles, new methods, then we fail to educate our children in the best methods possible. The minute I become that teacher, is the minute I retire!
Classroom Websites
This week we were required to create a website (https://sites.google.com/a/slcs.us/joslin/) using Google Sites. While this isn't my favorite website maker, it was something that I could easily picture using. Last summer I was preparing to teach a brand-new grade, and wanted something to help communicate better with the parents. I decided to go onto Google, since I'm known for loving all things Google, and began to create and design my own website for our classroom. I quickly got frustrated with it, and instead went to Weebly to create my classroom site (http://msjoslinsclass.weebly.com/). While I know that this assignment requried the use of Google, my preference is honestly Weebly.
Having a classroom website is something that parents really appreciate having. It allows me to post updates on classroom activities, homework requirements, etc. I also use it as a classroom blog, where the students are responsible for posting pictures to update parents on all the fun activities that we do! Having a classroom blog takes time for updates, but it is a great communication tool!
Having a classroom website is something that parents really appreciate having. It allows me to post updates on classroom activities, homework requirements, etc. I also use it as a classroom blog, where the students are responsible for posting pictures to update parents on all the fun activities that we do! Having a classroom blog takes time for updates, but it is a great communication tool!
Thursday, November 6, 2014
Concept Mapping
As part of our week #10 assignment, I created a concept map using bubbl.us (one of my favorite concept mapping websites!). I constantly use concept mapping with my students as electronic versions of graphic organizers. These seem to capture their attention so much more, and they love being able to color code their thinking.
This concept map is the basic outline for our persuasive writing. The students use this map as an outline guide, filling in their thinking, as a way to plan out their writing - such as a drafting sessions. We also use this concept map when working on our basic research unit. It helps to guide the students planning.
Week #10 Reflection
One of the major themes I noticed across the 3
chapters was the theme of technology based training and delivery, or the online
presence. Businesses use online training
seminars to reach across the real-time communication boundaries. Online access allows for easier communication
with other companies, along with educating workers in a quick, real-time, easy
access situation. P-12 Instructional
design requires 21st century access, along with teaching students to
use and include technology in everyday instructional design. University roles require a distance-education
department, such as our online classroom, to reach the needs of all
students. Online technology based
training and delivery is something that, regardless of your career, is becoming
an everyday common occurrence.
The second theme I noticed was the need for
constant updating of knowledge.
Educators, regardless of P-12 or University, are required to constantly
stay on top of technology. We are
required to be 21st century learners and leaders, which requires us
to consistently educate ourselves to the most recent technological advancements. Business leaders are held to the same
standard: either stay on top of technology and how you can use it, or find
yourself falling behind in the business world.
One of the concepts I would like to take away
from one of the other fields would be carving out time for research. As an elementary teacher, it’s hard to find
time for updating your educational technology fields (you find yourself doing
grad school classes at midnight on weekdays when you should be sleeping!). Finding a balance between everything is
something that we all need to master – especially if we want to stay on top of
instructional technology and how to use it in the classrooms.
Sunday, November 2, 2014
Screencasting
As part of our writing unit, our students create research reports on their state of choice. We're required to have them use online databases, and this is the first time students are exposed to such a resource. It also required them to cite their sources, something very complex to 3rd and 4th graders. Having a recording (sorry for the lack of microphone, it broke in the process this week) that could be posted to our classroom website would be a great resource to students. I can see it being a reminder to the students, along with a helpful aid to parents when working with their children at home.
(Screencast is giving me problems with embedded this video. It claims that I don't have an updated flash player, but mine is the most recent. So I'm going to leave the embedded code in hopes that it works for you, and will also leave the link just incase).
(http://www.screencast.com/t/hsa1E7aWX)
(Screencast is giving me problems with embedded this video. It claims that I don't have an updated flash player, but mine is the most recent. So I'm going to leave the embedded code in hopes that it works for you, and will also leave the link just incase).
(http://www.screencast.com/t/hsa1E7aWX)
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