Week 14

 

You've Come A Long Way Baby

   When I started this class I was not at all excited to hear it was going to be a technology rich class.  Technology, you've got to be kidding!  I just learned copy and paste and that there is a way to look up a word when using a word doc.  Now you want me to learn google docs and collaborate with other people using this technology. Oh and you're going to use all these web 2.0 tools as well.
    Well I have come a long way, I still am sometimes frustrated by the technology but I keep working through the problems to find a solution or ask someone more tech savvy for advice.  I have realized that the tools available can be very beneficial to me as a teacher, especially google docs.  I am definitely pushing our school to look hard at this technology. 
    I  see that Social Studies can be enhanced through the use of web 2.0 tools and that these tools can differentiate learning for our students.  I also see the world shrinking as we reach out toward other cultures through the use of Skype and ePals.  With these tools we help our students to participate in a two-way exchange that requires building student's knowledge of their differences not merely tolerance of their differences.
    The hardest part about technology is that it is always changing, and just when I get used to one tool another one will be on the horizon that is a little bit better.  I realize that 21st century skills are a necessity to students and I need to be the one to encourage technology use in my classroom with all subjects.  Just today I found myself suggesting that we could Skype a student's uncle who works for NASA.  This is definitely something I would never have thought of five months ago, so thank you Malia for showing me the way.

 

Week 13

As many steps forward I take this semester with technology I always seem to take a few backwards.  I still am having trouble with the Sophia screencast.  I am not sure if I am doing something wrong or it is my computer.  I know that my school's librarian has been creating tutorials on Sophia and not having a lot of trouble.  So I again went with Jing as I did last week.  However I didn't remember how to work it so I had to go back and use the tutorials.  Three hours later, I have a finished product.  I do like how easy it is to use Jing once you get the hang of it and if you forget, the website has great tutorials to help you.  I was also able to try out Dipity, when it is working correctly it is a great tool to work with.  I did look at some other web 2.0 tools for timelines but I really like the ease of using this one.  I found it easy to upload your pictures you would need and simple enough to continue to insert new events.  I like that the timeline can be viewed in different formats such as flipbook and list.  I think this is a tool even my third grade could learn to master.
In reference to my third grade class, Glogster has been quite the challenge for them.  However they all look forward to working on their Glog and are usually asking if it is time for science.  Some students have enjoyed it so much they are working on a Glog at home.  I definitely can see that having students working regularly with technology will be beneficial.