Tool #11 Reflections

Wow!!! I'm finally done? What a great experience!!!!!!!! I really enjoyed learning all the new things that are out there for us to use to enhance learning and in a way that is really engaging for the students. I see a lot of ways to keep the kids motivated and on task. I can really see kids spending every moment of their time in school learning in a way that is meaningful to them and the best part of it, they're going to WANT to learn. Kids being motivated, on task, and engaged? Is that possible? After everything I've learned I can definitely say yes!!!!

I can see myself using so many things. Of course, 1st thing to do is to teach them to be responsible digital citizens. I can really see myself using WIKIs and Wordle (before and after learning) I really like the SKYPE and the Itouch. These 2 would really be motivational for the kids. I can really see the applications for the Itouch being used in all areas of academics. For my own personal use, I really like the tagging and the way it's organized and I like the PLN. I don't have to spend hours on end looking for new and insightful ways to teach the kids new concepts.

The only unexpected outcome I had was how easy it was once I got to start exploring and really using it. I like exploring on the computer anyway and this was a bonus. I never realized how many new applications for technology there are out there for us to use.

Tool #11

I think before we teach our kids on how to use ANY of the applications we have learned, it is imperative that the kids learn how to be good digital citizens. I feel that before we can teach our student anything about technology, they need to learn how to be good digital citizens and that starts with us. We need to model this to students and even use videos as another resource for students. There are several things that kids need to know, especially in the upper grades where they are very "curious" to say the least and know a whole lot more than what we think they know.

1. Teach the kids about safety. Only go to websites that parents or teachers approve of because of the dangers that are occuring. Remind students to be very careful of the things they are publishing. Once it's published, there's no going back. Many times the kids think if they delete it or put it in the trashbin, it's gone forever. Surprise! It's not. Ask my brother, the police officer.

2. Always give credit where credit is due. Make sure you use the name or source of where you are getting your information, photo, picture, etc.

3. Make sure you get help when you don't know how to do something. Many of our kids (especially our mini adults--the 5th graders) are embarrassed to ask how to do things.

4. Remember, be kind. As with previous experience with our 5th graders, technology is to be used to enhance your education, so use it wisely and not for ill intent.

5. Make sure that you validate your sources. Not everything you see or read on the internet is true. Just like we teach our kids the difference between fiction and non-fiction books, we need to teach our kids about valid and reliable resources. (and what the words valid ad reliable mean)

Tool #10

In my family, my kids have all the neat stuff and I just "borrow" their stuff. Jasmin has the Itouch. I got to play around with the different applications it had to offer and I had the opportunity to download the KenKen strategies. After playing with it for a while, it gets addicting. I could really see it helping my kids with problem solving. This would be a great way to motivate the kids to stay on task in order to use the Itouch for a workstation. It's also a way to integrate Jing (one of the resources we studied from an earlier tool) with the Itouch. I could videotape how to play this game and then have the kids practice on their Itouch. Another application I saw that was great was the Math drills lite. This would be a great way for kids to practice their facts. What I liked about this one is that it tracks the kids progress for you so you can see the kids improvement. You could even set a reward system (kinda like AR) What a great motivation! Kids are so competative and there are so many incentives that could be set up in class or even school wide. There's a thought for the upper grades and helping them learn their facts.

Tool #9

I could really see myself using Skype to not only see my family (most of whom live in the Valley), but I could also see my younger brother who is currently stationed in Columbia. That in itself could be a lesson with the kids to view the country and see how different or similar people's lives are to our own. I would really love to use Skype with students from other countries especially when we are studying about natural resources so that students can see different biomes, animals, and how people really live. I think it would really open our kids eyes up to a whole new world that they can only read about or see on TV (usually it's non-fiction). We always talk about giving our kids experiences that they would normally not be able to experience on their own. How many kids do you know can say they've talked to kids in China or Africa or even Sweden? How excited would our kids be about learning then?

I can definitely see using this to talk to other teachers and I could really see using Jing when doing science experiments and having multiple steps involved in the process. Kids could really benefit from seeing it versus me just telling them how to do it and since I teach only science and math, I could really benefit from videotaping the lesson. Many times kids come up with questions or have insights that the second class may not even consider.

Tool #8

This tool was not hard for me. I use videos all the time in my class so that the kids can really see what I'm talking about. I have found new resources for videos rather than just using video streaming all the time (not that there's anything wrong with video streaming). I LOVE that I have a variety of resources to choose from. The links I chose below show a really cool video of the solar system and solids/liquids and it seems a little more real for the kids than videos I've shown in the past that are sometimes not updated or does not appear modern. I feel that if the kids can actually SEE what I'm talking about versus just reading about it or seeing drawings, it can really help to embed that information into their learning and help them to better understand what I'm talking about. I'm always looking for videos that uses the vocabulary they need to know, but that it is not so far above their understanding that they will tune it out or get more confused. Videos help the teacher enhance the learning. It's another resource that we can use to help our students really understand about the topic.




http://www.teachertube.com/members/viewVideo.php?video_id=17155&title=Solids_Liquids_and_Gases

Tool #7

Once I learned how to do it, it was really fun to do. The kids would have fun doing this to show what they've learned about a topic. They could do this as a home project or in a center. This would be a great way for them to stay on task and do this once they're finished with their daily work. Great workstation!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Tool #6

After seeing some of the WIKIs being used and how they are used, I can really see students using this collaboratively in order to plan a group project or to create drafts for research. Every one can add their ideas. No one is limited to doing it in the classroom. They can access it from home if they choose, but teachers still have control as to WHAT students are writing. Teachers still have full accountability of their students. Once again, another way for ALL students to be engaged in the learning.