Session 12: Web 2.0 Reflection

Before this class, I had no idea what a Web 2.0 application was. Now, I am armed with so many of them that I can't imagine I will ever be able to use them all! The Web 2.0 presentations have profoundly expanded the possibilities in my (future) classroom - and I can't wait to put them to use.

For teachers, one of my favorite applications that I learned about is Engrade. Yes, this was the application that I researched and presented, but it is truly incredible. Engrade lets you do so much more than keep track of grades - you can administer quizzes and tests, keep seating charts, track attendance, and communicate with parents and students. It really is an amazing application.

For students, I am most excited to implement Voki! I think that students would have a great time using this - especially in the elementary grades. There seem to be a lot of possibilities for this application - my favorite being spell checking - and it would no doubt engage students in the material.

Using Web 2.0 applications in the classroom is definitely going to make teaching easier and more effective!

Session 11: Interactive Whiteboards

Things have really taken off since I was last in the classroom! I've heard a lot about interactive whiteboards, but have never used them - either as a teacher or as a student. All I can say is - WOW! I feel like I say that about everything we learn about in this class, but really, these are NEAT. There are so many ways to use these awesome tools. I think one of my favorite things about these is that students can take tests and quizzes using them - and you are saving tons of paper! Interactive whiteboards make test taking convenient - because the teacher doesn't have to print out a bunch of test papers - AND environmentally friendly. Also, I imagine grading is so much easier because it is done automatically - no red pens needed!

I also really like the way that you can use interactive whiteboards to present materials in an interesting and interactive way. I think students would much rather learn using one of these whiteboards than with a simple chalkboard - the materials presented can be both visual and auditory, as well as interactive. Also, the teacher doesn't have to turn his/her back to the students to write on the board, since the lesson is created ahead of time. Also, children (and adults, really) love touch screens, so I think that using one of these whiteboards in the classroom would be a great way to get students excited to participate. I hope that whatever school I work in has these in their classrooms!

Session 10: Digital Storytelling

This whole digital storytelling concept is new to me! I love how open-ended this tool can be - it literally can be used for anything. Both teachers and students can use this tool for teaching/learning - and it can be a creative outlet for both! Digital stories can be used by the teacher to help present material, or it can be assigned as a project to the students, and I really think that most elementary-aged children would LOVE to make and present these. When I was younger, I always loved projects that allowed me lots of freedom for creation and expression, and digital stories are exactly that.

For students, you could assign groups and have each come up with a digital story to present the material learned. You could dictate certain guidelines - ie: must include 5 relevant pictures, a relevant sound track, 10 points from the material learned, etc. Digital stories would be especially fun for students to use in presenting social studies material - they could literally tell the story of westward expansion, the civil war, etc., through a digital story. LOVE these!!!

Session 9: Lesson Plans, Web Quests, and Scavenger Hunts

This week's session was very helpful, and took me back to my childhood days where my friends and I would make scavenger hunts for one another during sleepovers! We would have loved for our teacher's to do something like this in the classroom with us - so these are definitely tools that I want to use in the future to engage students in learning. Web quests are especially neat because they not only help students learn about the material being taught, but also how to use the internet effectively for research.

I also like that there are a great amount of web quests and scavenger hunts already available on the internet. Teachers could sift through some of these to use as inspiration, or students could use them at home if they want to do more web quests during their free time. I have a feeling that many students would enjoy doing web quests and scavenger hunts, so might be interested in doing more outside of the classroom, so it is nice to have them so readily available.

Session 8: Online Educational Resource Applications

WOW! I had no idea what great tools were available on the internet for teachers. I mean, I knew there were a lot of applications available, but I didn't know what they were, how to find them, or how to evaluate their validity for classroom use. So, needless to say, this week's session was very informative. I am most excited to use the Puzzlemaker and Wordle applications. I have my undergraduate degree in English, and love to teach vocabulary, reading, and writing - so these applications are definitely going to come in handy for me!

Also, I read the Tech & Learning article about "Google a Day" - and am also excited to use this in the classroom. So many people have no idea how to use search engines effectively, so it is important to introduce effective online searching to students early in their education - preferably in elementary school. I could see students having a lot of fun searching the internet for answers to different questions related to what they are studying. As a teacher, I would show them some effective search methods, and then split them into teams to come up with answers to different content-related questions. Enjoyable and educational!

Session 7: Creating a Webpage

Though I already have a great deal of familiarity with Google pages after using it for work as an administrative coordinator a couple years ago, it was still great to refresh my memory of this easy-to-use and very effective tool. Also, since Google pages have changed a bit in the past couple of years, it was nice to update myself on some of the new features. I never thought of using this tool for a professional webpage, and am glad that I am now aware of this potential use. Also, I definitely plan to use the webpage I have created in my job search in the near future.

In my exploration of Google pages this week, I learned a valuable new lesson: how to take a screen shot for publishing. I can see this skill being very useful not only in creating webpages, but in creating materials for the classroom as well. Also, screen shots would be useful in communicating with parents of students. I am glad to have finally figured out how to do this!

Session 6: Evaluating a Website

This session covered some very important ground, and ground that I believe is often overlooked when one is surfing through the world wide web. I think people often forget to check the credibility of a website, and this week's session offered some easy tips to do just this. It is so common for people to believe whatever they read, and for teachers, it is especially important to avoid this pitfall. There are so many websites out there that claim to be educational - for parents, students, and teachers - and it is crucial that we know which we can trust and which we cannot.

Again, I am thankful for the websites provided in this week's activity, as many of them seem to be very credible and useful for academic purposes. Though I often hesitate to use online games and activities in the classroom, I know that this is something I must become more comfortable with - and having an arsenal of good websites will help me to do that. I am going to bookmark the websites I found most useful and interesting in hopes that I can integrate them into my future classroom.