Thursday, December 15, 2011
Tuesday, December 13, 2011
Thursday, December 8, 2011
Thursday, December 1, 2011
Tuesday, November 29, 2011
Social networking in the classroom
At first, I thought that the idea of social networking was just Facebook or Twitter but the article on how to use social networking for learning defines it as: "software that allows people to come together around an idea or topic of interest. A school could use blog software to bring together anyone who's writing about politics or computing or Greek literature" (Smith, 2007). Students are are increasingly more successful when they are allowed to utilize technology for learning.
I came across an interesting article that discusses how iPods and MP3 players are all becoming effective learning tools in schools nationwide. "early evidence is that kids are interacting with the language alot more and therefore are learning faster because it's fun" (Dessoff 2005). Here is the link:
http://www.thefreelibrary.com/iPods+OK+in+class
Initially, I was intrigued by all that was out there and was trying to figure out a way to fit my curriculum around using these social networks. I am going to have my students try their hands at a blog. I am going to get then set up using Kidblog.org. I was a bit leery because it states that it is for younger students but I liked the control I have over the postings and responses and feel it is the easiest way to get the students started. Here is the website: http://kidblog.org/home.php
I plan on posting a question or comment about what we are currently reading in class and I want the students to respond to it. I am going to give them guidelines to follow and will have a simple rubric from which they will be evaluated. I then plan to use the document camera once or twice a week to highlight some of the responses as well as to model how postings should look.
I feel that these exercises will reflect a few of the NETS for teachers by inspiring student learning and creativity as well as develop digital-age learning experiences by fostering an understanding about digital tools and resources.
I am also going to use Diigo (diigo.com)when I have my students completing their freshman research papers. The papers incorporate an English/Social Studies theme and using Diigo would help students post and create helpful bookmarks in which to share information about their topics.
In response to the second half of the question regarding a teacher's presence on-line, I feel it is our responsibilty to be almost paranoid about how we present ourselves on our profiles and/or our Twitter responses. I can understand the argument about it being our first ammendment rite to be able to say what we want without retribution but that argument is flawed. We are accountable for what we say because students look to us as role models and mentors. Unfortunately, that role comes with the job whether we like it or not so we should be cognizant of what we say about our employers, our students and their parents. In this day of the information age, I feel these "educators" were arrogant to think that they could write something derogatory about people, post it to their page and not think about the repercussions!! ("H.S.Teacher Loses Job",2010)("Facebook Costs Job",2010) The old adage about "never put it in writing" was obviously lost on them! My responses to both of the articles was shock and disbelief over the fact that two highly educated professionals were so laxed in their judgement. I do believe that the punishment for the Cohasset teacher was a bit too extreme. I do not believe that her comments, although insensitive, warranted her being fired. I believe she should have been put on probation, received a warning and maybe a few days of unpaid leave.I feel she deserved some sort of due process especially since she was a seasoned teacher and many said she had no idea what she was doing. On the other hand, I do feel the insipid superintendent of Windsor Locks should have been fired without pay. I realize that due to contractoral issues, he received his pay but I feel that the district should have cited inappropriate behavior as the reason why they would not pay him. He should have known better and is supposed to serve as a role model for his staff. Superintendents expect their staff to be professional yet he exhibited no professional conduct and was arrogant and flippant. The outcome of his actions just reinforces that the higher up the food chain, the more insulated one is.
References:
Dessoff, A (2005, December). iPods Ok in Class. retrieved from http://findgalegroup.com/gps/infomark.do?
Facebook Costs Job. (September 16, 2010).Retrived from
http://www.middletownpress.com/articles/2010/09/16/news/doc4c919100dd427985201086.txt
H.S. Teacher Loses Job Over Facebook Posting.(August 18, 2010). Retrieved from
http://www.thebostonchannel.com/news/24670937/detail.html
Smith, F (April 20, 2007). How to Use Social Networking for Learning. Retrieved from
http://www.edutopia.org/how-use-social-networking-technology
I came across an interesting article that discusses how iPods and MP3 players are all becoming effective learning tools in schools nationwide. "early evidence is that kids are interacting with the language alot more and therefore are learning faster because it's fun" (Dessoff 2005). Here is the link:
http://www.thefreelibrary.com/iPods+OK+in+class
Initially, I was intrigued by all that was out there and was trying to figure out a way to fit my curriculum around using these social networks. I am going to have my students try their hands at a blog. I am going to get then set up using Kidblog.org. I was a bit leery because it states that it is for younger students but I liked the control I have over the postings and responses and feel it is the easiest way to get the students started. Here is the website: http://kidblog.org/home.php
I plan on posting a question or comment about what we are currently reading in class and I want the students to respond to it. I am going to give them guidelines to follow and will have a simple rubric from which they will be evaluated. I then plan to use the document camera once or twice a week to highlight some of the responses as well as to model how postings should look.
I feel that these exercises will reflect a few of the NETS for teachers by inspiring student learning and creativity as well as develop digital-age learning experiences by fostering an understanding about digital tools and resources.
I am also going to use Diigo (diigo.com)when I have my students completing their freshman research papers. The papers incorporate an English/Social Studies theme and using Diigo would help students post and create helpful bookmarks in which to share information about their topics.
In response to the second half of the question regarding a teacher's presence on-line, I feel it is our responsibilty to be almost paranoid about how we present ourselves on our profiles and/or our Twitter responses. I can understand the argument about it being our first ammendment rite to be able to say what we want without retribution but that argument is flawed. We are accountable for what we say because students look to us as role models and mentors. Unfortunately, that role comes with the job whether we like it or not so we should be cognizant of what we say about our employers, our students and their parents. In this day of the information age, I feel these "educators" were arrogant to think that they could write something derogatory about people, post it to their page and not think about the repercussions!! ("H.S.Teacher Loses Job",2010)("Facebook Costs Job",2010) The old adage about "never put it in writing" was obviously lost on them! My responses to both of the articles was shock and disbelief over the fact that two highly educated professionals were so laxed in their judgement. I do believe that the punishment for the Cohasset teacher was a bit too extreme. I do not believe that her comments, although insensitive, warranted her being fired. I believe she should have been put on probation, received a warning and maybe a few days of unpaid leave.I feel she deserved some sort of due process especially since she was a seasoned teacher and many said she had no idea what she was doing. On the other hand, I do feel the insipid superintendent of Windsor Locks should have been fired without pay. I realize that due to contractoral issues, he received his pay but I feel that the district should have cited inappropriate behavior as the reason why they would not pay him. He should have known better and is supposed to serve as a role model for his staff. Superintendents expect their staff to be professional yet he exhibited no professional conduct and was arrogant and flippant. The outcome of his actions just reinforces that the higher up the food chain, the more insulated one is.
References:
Dessoff, A (2005, December). iPods Ok in Class. retrieved from http://findgalegroup.com/gps/infomark.do?
Facebook Costs Job. (September 16, 2010).Retrived from
http://www.middletownpress.com/articles/2010/09/16/news/doc4c919100dd427985201086.txt
H.S. Teacher Loses Job Over Facebook Posting.(August 18, 2010). Retrieved from
http://www.thebostonchannel.com/news/24670937/detail.html
Smith, F (April 20, 2007). How to Use Social Networking for Learning. Retrieved from
http://www.edutopia.org/how-use-social-networking-technology
Monday, November 14, 2011
Tools for teachers
Hello to all!
This week we were supposed to look at some web sites for teachers and I found this site that I would connect with the Poe site when reading The Tell-Tale Heart.
http://knowingpoe.thinkport.org/default_flash.asp
It asks the students to pay attention to the reading and the make predictions and then write an acrostic poem when they are done. The lesson states that its audience level is 6-8 grade but I would definitely use it with my lower ability 10th graders.
http://www.readwritethink.org/classroom-resources/lesson-plans/
I know that I am supposed to recat to someone's blog but I found this useful and thought others may as well!
Kate
This week we were supposed to look at some web sites for teachers and I found this site that I would connect with the Poe site when reading The Tell-Tale Heart.
http://knowingpoe.thinkport.org/default_flash.asp
It asks the students to pay attention to the reading and the make predictions and then write an acrostic poem when they are done. The lesson states that its audience level is 6-8 grade but I would definitely use it with my lower ability 10th graders.
http://www.readwritethink.org/classroom-resources/lesson-plans/
I know that I am supposed to recat to someone's blog but I found this useful and thought others may as well!
Kate
Thursday, November 10, 2011
Tuesday, November 1, 2011
New literacies
New literacies would be defined as "the next frontier" of all aspects of language for the present generation and generations to come. It encompasses reading and writing but through a whole new venue-technology and the information age. Literacy has traditionally been described as the ability to read for knowledge, write coherently and think critically about printed material.Literacy represents the lifelong, intellectual process of gaining meaning from print. Key to all literacy is reading development, which involves a progression of skills that begins with the ability to understand spoken words and decode written words, and culminates in the deep understanding of text. In order to be successful in the future, one will have to be able to apply these skills to all sorts of information one receives over the internet and on-line sources. The new definiton would have to includethe former as well as being able to differentiate bewteen valuable and invaluable sources, authentic and artificial sources as well as comprehension of nonlinear text. New literacies also include communication and how to frame communication and correspondence depending on the audience. (Leu et al., 2007)
The NETS for students and teachers reflect the same goals and indicators teachers have for themselves and their students within the conventional classroom. By applying these standards to technological lessons and applications, the transition from traditional classroom practices to technology -based lessons and units will be seemless. The expecations for the students and the teacher are understood and expected. As a techer, my lessons are guided by the major indicators outlined withing the NETS standards. Creativity, collaborative learning, responsibility, accountability critical thinking, problem-solving and decision making skills are all standards and concepts students must master in order to be productive members of a competetive society driven by technology.
As an educator, I have found that students differ when they are required to use technology to reserach a topic or complete a creative project. The one thing I have discovered, across the board, is the easy acceptance of facts as truth because the student found the information on the internet. They have a hard time deciphering authentic information from illegitimate information. They believe any source they encounter and have a tendency to just choose sources that appear in the top half of a google search rather than try to tweek their search and find more suitable sources and information. On the other hand, when students are required to use technology to create a creative project as a culminationg exercise, they seem to excel. I used technology with my lower-performing students in which they had to illustrate the imgery and motifs in Macbeth utilizing one of five on-line programs such as Blogster and Animoto. The students created amazing projects and demonstrated their understanding of the topic as well as important quotes within the play of Macbeth. They were much more successful and willing to participate because the assignment let them be creative, use technology to reinforce their understanding. The projects would have been much more limited if they were only allowed to use just pen and paper to illustrate their understanding.
Thursday, October 27, 2011
The genesis
Hi,
It's Kate and I am posting this as a start to our tech. class for the Fall of 2011. So far, I have learned more in the first hour of this class than I did in the whole eight weeks of the last class!! I am looking forward to applying these tech. lessons to my classes to create more interactive lessons and have my students be more vocal. Vocal about what they are learning...they have no problem being vocal about their personal lives!!
Till next time....
It's Kate and I am posting this as a start to our tech. class for the Fall of 2011. So far, I have learned more in the first hour of this class than I did in the whole eight weeks of the last class!! I am looking forward to applying these tech. lessons to my classes to create more interactive lessons and have my students be more vocal. Vocal about what they are learning...they have no problem being vocal about their personal lives!!
Till next time....
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)