Tool #3

 I really liked Big Huge Labs! I think it would be fun for students to be able to create their own images or posters. This site could be a great outlet for students to express themselves on their own blog pages!

I also really enjoyed Wordle! I think it would be very interesting to see what students could come up with to describe themselves.


I think the tools learned in lesson #3 could be used to extend lessons covered in class.Students could be asked to show their understanding of a vocabulary word by creating a motivational poster I as did above. Or students could demonstrate their understanding of a science lesson teaching about food webs by using Wordle to list animals that co-exist within a specific biome. The possibilities are endless!
Photo credit to J. Norman

Change isn't coming, it's been here... We need to catch up. Tool #2

After watching the statements made by Weblogg-ed about PLNs, my first reaction was just feeling as if my own frustrations have been confirmed. I think it is a constant in education today that, as educators, we constantly underestimate kids. Especially, when it comes to technology. One thing Richardson talks about is people thinking kids don't get the whole concept of a PLN or grasp a social network. Mark Zukerberg was 19 when he created Facebook, for crying out loud!! Almost all my students (ages 9-11) have a social networking account. Teachers have come to me ranting and raving, "Oh, there's no way a student could maintain a blog about what he/she is reading at home." and, "My students would be overwhelmed by the idea of submitting their homework online."
ETC.

This is ridiculous.

These statements come from the same teachers that call on their own children to program their cell phones. These kids have mastered (on their own) what we teachers...ahem... are taking a summer course to understand. It's laughable to think that THEY are the ones who can't handle it.

It's all about redirecting those energies for a use in their classroom learning and playing off their background knowledge (regarding the use of technology). We should be jumping out of our chairs to think we can excite and empower kids by allowing them to use their knowledge of computers (and the like) to learn in the classroom. And, also, at the thought that we teachers are catching up to them and building connections between each other to learn ourselves.

I am giving a standing ovation to teachers moving forward. We are traveling further out of the pencil and paper age, and digging into a larger community of educators/learners that is now readily available to us via technology. I'd love to see a school have their own PLN in place of, or to supplement, staff meetings, for example. Imagine a student creating a blog about what they are learning or reading about in class that parents could access or even a sister classroom could access. It's all very exciting to think of the lines of communication that open.
Stepping off soap box now.

I agree with and appreciate the ideas about commenting. This is something that I see daily while participating in my own social networking. It could be an online version of Bloom's questioning... what can I post to you to prompt a detailed, thoughtful response? Encouraging students to post comments that further their learning would be a very useful tool in the online classroom.

I chose to comment on the following blogs Fatigued Teacher, Teaching Miss Cheska, Kindertracs and Sherrill's Kindergarten Friends.

We've only just begun... Tool #1

Tool #1 was quite the challenge... until I read the assignment completely. What a crazy thought!

Setting up my profile and blog itself was a breeze. Blogger has made it very easy to start and customize your own blog/begin writing. You can look up any questions you may have through their help resources.

I really enjoyed creating my avatars using Yahoo and Voki. I could see students being very creative in making their own. I think The Tech-Teacher Experiment was on to something when she talked about using her blog as a classroom newsletter. That's a fabulous idea! I can see kids getting very excited about getting the chance to publish on the class newsletter for parents and friends to see. Excited to explore further tools!