Blog Progress

I was finally able to create a blog with my students through gaggle. I am the author and the students go in and type their responses and post their names at the end. Although it is not what I hoped for, my students are having a fantastic time using the blog. For many, this is their first time actually using a computer for an activity such as this. I highly recommend using a blog with students in the upper grades.

Also, my class has adopted a WEBKINZ as our class pet. It is fantastic!!!!! I highly recommend that idea to any grade level.

Blog Problems

I decided last night to create a blog for my classroom. After creating a beautiful blog, I was told today that I cannot use it at my school. The administration does not like the idea of students having access to e-mail accounts. So, does anyone have any suggestions for how I could use the blog without my students having to have e-mail to make comments. I think it would be okay if they didn't have to have e-mail. Anyway, Just wondering?

Where do I go from here?

As I stated in previous blogs, I hope to implement many of the new technologies in my classroom. Each technology introduced can be integrated into all aspects of the classroom.

I will definitely use a Blog in my classroom this year. I hope to create a blog that both my parents and students will be able to use. I would like to have a blog where I could update my parents about things that are occurring in the classroom. Parents might also want to use the blog to contact me if they are having difficulty understanding a topic/subject. I would like my students to possibly blog about books they are reading and maybe even to post their writing. I guess I am now wondering if I would need to create two separate blogs in order to carry this out.

The technology I am most excited to use is digital text and video. As I made my e-book I constantly thought about what a great motivator it would be for writing. My 4th graders get very bogged down in the formula writing that we are told to use in the 4th grade. Creating an E-book would allow my students to work on writing, reading, speaking, and technology skills. I hope to partner with a 1st grade teacher that my students could create books for. I also hope to use E-Books to create a digital yearbook for my classroom. Students could easily take pictures of important class events and incorporate them into a digital text/movie.

Moreover, I am also excited about using the gaggle e-mail site. Over the past few years I have been told that my students cannot have e-mail addresses. After viewing gaggle and its features, I do believe that my principal/central office will allow my students to have e-mail. The ability of the teacher to have access to all mail sent and received will be wonderful.
Finally, I had a lot of fun using Yak Pak, Skype, and Gabcast in our class. Although it was fun, I do not foresee using this technology as much in my own classroom. Much explanation would need to be given before implementing any of these technologies. If I have time I may use Skype as a way to conference with students about books.

In conclusion, I have gained a lot of knowledge from this class. I came into this class thinking that I was pretty competent with computers and technology. I left knowing a ton more than I started with. Super Class!

Movie Maker

Bonnie and I created a movie about my dog Rusty's trip to the vet. Bonnie will use the movie to show her Kindergartners the steps a dog must go through on a vet visit. I will show the movie to my 4th graders to prove to them that you can take ordinary events and create a movie from them. I can definitely see using this type of technology in my classroom. I feel that my students are old enough that they could actually make movies on their own. It would be fun to allow older students to create movie books for younger students. The biggest problem would be obtaining all of the resources you would need in order to complete the project: video cameras, software, cables, etc.
Creating the movie was a great experience.

PowerPoint Books

PowerPoint created books are absolutely amazing! I had so much fun using my own pictures in order to create a story. I actually decided to use pictures of my dog to create my book. I did this because I wanted my students to see that we can take an everyday activity and create a story out of it. Now that I know how to create an E-Book, I will definitely use them with my students. I would love the opportunity to allow my students to make their own E-Books. This would be great for improving writing, reading, and technology skills. This is definitely one technology that I will use in the future.
One day later I am now adding to this post again because their is a down-side when creating e-books. Due to the fact I used all "good quality" photographs for my book, it made my file so big that it is difficult to upload and download. Thanks to Dave's help I now realize that I must change the resolution of my photos before completing this kind of activity. This would also be very important to remember when doing this type of activity with kids.

WebQuests

I have used several WebQuests in my classroom over the past few years. My students have always loved the process of going through each step and coming to a solution or final product. Although I've used many, I have never actually created one myself. I found the process of creating the WebQuest to be fairly easy. The most difficult part is coming up with "Good" websites to use for the activity. I am excited that I now know how to create a WebQuest. I actually never realized that you could make one through PowerPoint. I will definitely use webquests as a teaching tool this year. I would like to create several about North Carolina. Students could easily explore NC's three regions, history, and historical places through webquests. One could also use webquests to explore science topics such as electricity, food/nutrition, and rocks/minerals. WebQuests will be a wonderful asset to my 4th grade classroom.

Kymes Article

The article "Teaching On-line Comprehension Using Think-Alouds" was very eye opening. This article focuses on the fact that students do not always comprehend what they are reading on the internet. Our students have become very good at "scanning" to find information. I like the idea of teaching our students how to read internet information. I use think alouds all the time in my classroom for reading. I think I will try "Think-Alouds" using the web this coming fall. We need to teach our students to value "all" text!

Communication Tools

I had a lot of fun learning how to use Skype, Gabcast, and Yak Pak on Thursday. Overall, Skype was definitely my favorite. Skype was neat in the fact that you could talk to and view the other person. Skype was very user friendly and easy to operate. I could definitely see using Skype in the classroom. Skype could be used to communicate between 2 classes, to complete book club discussions using the conference call, and maybe even allowing an older student to read to a younger student.

The Yak Pack web tool was neat as well! However, I did not find it as easy to operate as Skype. There are too many things that have to be done exactly right in order for the Walkie Talkie Widget to work. I could definitely see using Yak Pack in my classroom in much the same way as Skype. However, much explanation would need to be given before its implementation.

I also really liked GabCast. The process of using the cell phone to make a message was amazing. Gabcast helped make my blog unique by playing my own message. I do not foresee using Gabcast in my class! However, it is a very neat piece of technology.

Overall, implementation of these communication tools would take a lot of planning. I myself would need to locate/purchase web cameras, speakers, and headphones for my students. Most importantly I would also need my principals permission before using any of these web-based tools.

What is technology?

Technology, to me, is newly created innovations that make our life easier. Yes, I do agree that the "pencil" is a piece of technology; however, the computer in today's society has begun to take the place of pencil and paper. Newer technology takes the place of old technology. Eventually I am sure that the computer will be replaced by something else. Technology is always changing and will continue to change.

What is literacy?

I think in class we have discovered that the word "Literacy" means many different things to many different people. In general, I feel that literacy is the ability to read and write in order to effectively communicate with people around you. The definition of literacy changes depending upon a person's age, life experience, and surrounding environment.

Social Bookmarking

Social Bookmarking is an organization system used to store important Internet sites for quick retrieval. I am thrilled with this piece of Internet technology! I have multiple "favorites" stored on my laptop computer. These "favorites" are in a disorganized mess. The use of social bookmarking allows me to store and organize sites in a way that I can quickly discover what each site is about and the reason I saved it.

I can definitely foresee using social bookmarking in my classroom. As the teacher, I could sort and find sites that relate to our classroom projects. Students could look at the social bookmark to locate important sites that they could use to complete their projects. I will definitely use "furl" in my classroom.

Blogs

The use of blogs as an educational tool is a fantastic idea. The ability to share information on specific topics so easily is great for both teachers and students. I would definitely like to implement the use of a blog in my own classroom. One way I thought about using the blog was as a tool for book sharing. My students love self-selected reading; however, they are always dissappointed when it is not their day to share. I think kids would love to post comments about the books that they are reading on a blog. This would encourage students to try books that their peers have read. This could also be done when reading a "whole-class" book. Students could have wonderful discussions about things occuring in the same book that the are reading. This would combine reading & writing (which as we all know is very relevant in the 4th grade). My only questions regarding using the blog is if I can access the websites at my school that will allow me to do this. Many of the sites have been blocked by our central office. I will definitely find out this information before school starts.

Threaded Discussions

I really enjoyed using threaded discussions in class yesterday. It reminded me a lot of instant messenger. I liked the idea that the person that you are replying to gets their message instantly. I could definitely see using threaded discussions in my classroom and with the other staff members at my school.

As I thought about how to use threaded discussions, I thought about an activity that I complete with my class every year. One of the things that I love to teach is the process of how a bill becomes a law. Students discuss ideas for laws that they feel should be made or should change. The students could easily debate and defend their thoughts and ideas using threaded discussions. These threaded discussions could carry over to a blog where we could vote on specific laws.

I also could see using threaded discussions among the faculty of a school. My principal constantly asks us to read articles and books related to education. What a great way for teachers to share their ideas about the information that they are reading. Instead of having to meet to discuss the text, we could carry on threaded discussions as we read. I will definitely share this idea with my principal.

Summer School Class using a Web log

This summer I took an on-line class that was completed through a blog. It was so much fun! It provided a great way to discuss the books that we were reading for the class. I felt that through the blog I was able to discuss my true feelings and reactions to the books. Many times I have great thoughts and ideas but do not feel comfortable expressing them verbally in the classroom setting. I think the blog provided an opportunity for those of us who are less "verbal" to share our own thoughts and ideas. I would definitely take an on-line class that involves blogging again!