Assignment 2 - Reflection

So much technology so little time. Wow, there are so many tools out there to use. Currently, I am putting together a wiki for a science projecty that two of our 7th grade science teachers are doing. My goal is to have the requirements of the assignment and links for the students to use on the wiki. Then the students can add their thoughts and any useful information that they have found to the wiki. http://sciencemisconceptions.pbwiki.com/

A blog was created by me for the Young Adult Literature staff development that I facilitate at Merton Williams. The blog was used so participants could share their thoughts and ideas about what they have read. This also helped participants when they were unable to come to a class because of meetings, etc. I am currently considering creating a course for the summer which would allow partipants to keep on reading and discussing books over the summer.

It would be interesting to develop a way to use a wiki or a blog to make the library a more integral part in the students career at Merton Williams. I am thinking a book review wiki or blog to give students a voice about what they have read.

Lesson 6 - Wikis

Wikis offer a great vehicle for collaboration amongst a group of students. What a great opportunity it is for students to share their work, self edit and learn from one another. The thought of students wanting to go back to add and edit their work without us telling them to is fantastic.

The links Lori provided gave me a better grasp of how a wiki can be used in the classroom. While some clearly showed the collaborative nature of a wiki, I felt a few just looked like a website with links.

Currently, I am contemplating creating a wiki in conjuction with two science teachers based on science misconceptions. The students are going to look at a misconception they have, research it to determine the truth about the topic. I'm thinking a wiki would provide a great tool for students to share their ideas to help them clarify their thinking about the topic they are researching. It would also provide the students an opportunity to share their thoughts with students outside their teams that are studying the same thing. Wouldn't that help create a sense of school community?

Lesson 5 - Free videos

After exploring the sites I have been pondering what could be done with the free videos that are available. To be honest, my first reaction to U Tube was "Oh, My!" this is coming from a person that considers herself as pretty liberal when it comes to the content of the books that are in the Middle School library. Then I realized maybe I am looking in the wrong place (what does that say about me :) After globally looking at the sites, I found that there were some videos that would be worth showing to students, especially newsclips of things that are happening now. The nature of the content of the commercial sites, along with the reliability of the videos (because they are put up live immediately by anyone) would make me hesitate having students searching them to find info independently, especially the little guys. That being said, it might be fun to watch a homemade video on a subect and compare it to a reliable source to see the difference.

I like the idea of Next Vista being educational, free and vetted. While the quality of some of the videos were not the best I suppose they could come in handy if a student misses a lesson and one is found that would teach the info in a way that would work for you and the student. Or why not just tape your lesson and add it on for everyone's use?

While the sites were easy to navigate, sometimes it took a long time to download the video (I was using Roadrunner) and the quality wasn't always the best for sound and clarity.

I am interested to find out how others would or have used them in their instruction - or if they would even bother to use them.

It really is a digital world

Take a look at the Pay Attention, which really hits home how technologically evolved our students really are.

Let me know what you think.

Reflection - Lesson 4-1

Wow, I had no idea what the capability of a blog was, let alone how widely used they are. The possibilities of what can be done with a blog are endless, both educationally and personally.

Since students are embracing blogs outside of school setting, why not use it in the classroom? There are many potential benefits, students writing and communicating with one another in a non-threatening environment, the potential for instant feedback from teachers and reaching students in a way that if familiar to them.

There are many avid readers at Merton Williams, I would like to create a blog that will celebrate reading and give those students a voice about what they read, their opionions and recommendations.

Class blog

This blog was created for class.