BP17_2009103_Web 2.0 Tool - Medis Asset- Podcasting

BP16_2009103_Web 2.0 Tool - Blog

Blog, blog, blog…

My next web 2.0 tool of choice is the blog. Blogs can be different things to different people. But for my kindergarten class, and me I found a terrific blog site: 2,4,6,8, Meet me at the Garden Gate… (http://2468meetmeatthegardengate.blogspot.com/). The kindergarten teacher at this site uses her blog posts to show her students, parents and other teachers the wonderful things that are happening in Mrs. McMahon’s classroom. The educational benefits of sharing on line is win-win-win.

Students can feel a sense of pride in their work. They can use language skills to retell their family stories about their day. They can show their family who their friends are and describe special projects.

Parents can have a frame of reference to see what is happening in the classroom, learn about upcoming events, and practice skills their child needs extra help with. One of the biggest frustrations parents have is not feeling connected to their child’s educational experience. If a parent asks their kindergartener, “What did you do today at school?” more times than not, the answer is “nothing!” If a learner has a concrete picture to spark their memory, that child will be able to tell lots of stories about their day.

A big complaint from educators is a feeling of isolation in their school. Although there are many adults in a school, the time a teacher actually interacts with these adults can be very sparse. Between planning, teaching, meetings, and grading work, time to share ideas is hard to find. Due to funding cuts, teachers at my school do not even receive a duty-free lunch. By posting classroom content to a blog and reflecting on special events, teachers can connect to an online community. Due to blog comments, teachers can connect and share. By signing up to receive other educators’ blog posts, teachers can learn new ideas to use in their classroom.

I have signed up to receive Mrs. McMahon’s blog posts and look forward to joining the 21^st century sharing via the web.

References

Mcmahon, J. (2009, September 26). Our Friends Across the Country. Message posted to 2,4,6,8, Meet me at the Garden Gate…: http://2468meetmeatthegardengate.blogspot.com/

BP15_2009103_Blog Response to Jolyn

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 14, 2009

BP_8_2009103_Reflective_Media_Asset_StoryBird

References

jw51387. October 14, 2009. Storybird - The Jungle World. Retrieved October 14, 2009 from Storybird site: http://storybird.com/books/the-jungle-world/

Chris09. October 14, 2009. Storybird - Adventure Pigs. Retrieved October 14, 2009 from Storybird site: http://storybird.com/books/adventure-pigs/

BP14_2009103_Web 2.0 Tool - Podcasts

Podcasts are a fun, quick, and innovative way to share your world. In the classroom, podcasts can be shared amongst peers, parents, or around the world on the web. Creekside Elementary, right here in my hometown, tells all about their 21st century school through the use of podcasts. Yeah! I may have found a new dream school for my 21st century son!

What first drew me to this site was the kindergarten teacher, Kathy Shields, and her students that had volumes to share. The site motto is: Small Voices – Where being small is a big deal! Listen to your Kids! The site posts many episodes of fascinating podcasts from the school. What I, as a viewer, like most about podcasts is that you can be like a fly on the wall and get a glimpse of what is going on in the classroom. What I like about podcasts, as a teacher, is that the children are interacting in their education. They are not merely digesting content; they are creating the content.

I plan to join PodOmatic (https://www.podomatic.com/user/register) to receive a free podcast page, audience statistics, an online community, and video and photo sharing. This will allow my class to get started with documenting our journey for the students’ parents to view.

Podcasts, as web 2.o tool, will allow my students to participate in 21st century learning. I look forward to the collaboration, engagement, and posting to the web. I will show my students the Small Voices site to begin our discussion and podcasting journey.

Isn’t learning grand?

References

Small Voices. (2008, March 7). [Episode 30: Girl Power]. Podcast posted to http://kinderteacher.podomatic.com/

BP13_2009103_Web 2.0 Tool - Digital Storytelling

Digital storytelling is a wonderful way to embed technology, creativity, and student participation into lesson plans. Vanessa (2008) states, “Digital storytelling incorporates a variety of multimedia such as audio narration, music, video, and still images to tell a story.” Students can collaborate to decide on the content of their story, set up the roles for the group, sequence the steps needed to complete the project, and go to work! Kindergarten children are creative because most have not developed a fear of failing. Once taught proper handling of digital cameras and video cameras, children would love the chance to be the directors of their own story.

I have not tried this out in my classroom yet, but I plan to start with a discussion of items that would make a great movie. We could brainstorm together on chart paper so that learners could later use the list as a reference to choose their theme. We could start with ideas such as: shapes around us, friend addition/subtraction, and the ABC’s of Woodward Mill Elementary School. I’m sure the students would have many more ideas to add to our list.

I would send a small group of students with a teacher to find the location that suites their story. I would let them make the decisions and just follow behind to assist as necessary as they film their story.

The students would learn by creating their movie, but also by watching the movies of their classmates. Children love to share and learn from one another. They would all feel empowered because the students that may not be able to write their thoughts on paper yet could still express their thoughts in words and actions. This would later give them the confidence to transfer their thoughts to letter sounds and later words.

References

Vanessa. (2008, March 29). Digital Storytelling. Message posted to Inside Pre-K: http://blogs.preknow.org/insideprek/2008/03/digital-storyte.html

Vimeo

http://vimeo.com/838368

BP12_2009103_Blog Response to Holly

BP#8_2009103_Web 2.0_2of3

This picture is taken from Kerpoof (www.kerpoof.com). This site is all about having fun, discovering new things and being creative. Here students are able to create artwork, animated movies, print a card, T-shirt, mug, tell a story and a make a drawing. This program is free for all schools and educational institutions but there are a few options that are available for a monthly charge. The shot above is showing the create a drawing page. Very kid friendly and easy to use. I like the bright colors.Kerpoof runs in your web browser. To get started and create a teacher account. Students are then able to login in under your account. Your whole classroom can be on at the same time. Teachers will find lesson plans and classroom ideas. Students will be able to save, edit, share and email theirwork. Another great tool in your teacher account at Kerpoof is that you the teacher are able to control what students can do here. I personal love this option. I could see locking some of the features so I am able to introduce students to it and/or show them how I would like it to be used. The more I am writing about this the more excited I am and hoping that my school would be able to use it. We do have a drawing program called Pixie. It is nice but we have had some issues with it. I love the options that you have in Kerpoof and would like my class to explore and try it out and see if it works. If anyone out there has used this I would love to hear what you think of it.

BP11_2009103_Blog Response to Aimee

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 14, 2009

BP10_2009103_Reflective Media Asset

BP9_2009103_Flickr Lesson Plan

Tolstova (2009) wrote a brilliant lesson plan for elementary students incorporating Flickr pictures and the use of verbs. The students look for pictures in Flickr showing action verbs. The teacher and students work on defining and labeling words. Then the students make and show their own slide shows. I think students will have a ball learning, showcasing, and sharing their vocabulary presentations.

References

Tolstova, E. We can do everything. Retrieved from Scribd Web site: http://www.scribd.com/doc/19387797/Lesson-Plan-With-Flickr

[Screenshot]. Retrieved October 13, 2009, from http://www.scribd.com/doc/19387797/Lesson-Plan-With-Flickr

iGoogle ETC Page

iGoogle AR/CBL Page

iGoogle What's Going On Page

BP8_2009102_Blog Response to Nick

Nick La Fountain said:

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 10, 2009
BP6_20091010_Web_2.0_Tools_popscreen.com

How many times have you found a riveting video on youtube.com and want to share it with your class or fellow teachers? What would you normaly do to share this new knowledge? If you are like me, you probably copy the url, create a new email message, send an email to yourself or your peers and if you can remember, bookmark the video for future use. Inevitably, after you send the email with the link, it gets lost for ever in your sent mail. Teachers come back and ask you if you can resend the video from months ago or even worse, you loose track of it and end up trying to research for the same video and never find it again. Today I found a tool that helps elevate some of the stress associated with bookmarking videos you find on the web.

Popscreen.com is s a way to bookmark your favorite videos found on my popular video sites including all of these sources. Currently, popscreen is in private beta which means you must be invited to join the site. So without having the ability to test out all of its features, the following is what the site claims can be done.

As a user, the huge advantage of popscreen is the ability to bookmark your favorite shows or webcast from many sites into one online location. After you have booked marked your videos, they are then all attached to your account and stored into one location. This removes the problem of having to go back and search for that great video you watched a couple of months ago. Popscreen also has a feature to allow you to share videos amongst colleagues and friends effortlessly. They also provide a feature that allows you to forward an email you receive from a colleague referencing a video and they will attach it to your account.

You may be asking yourself, self how can I use this in my classroom? Again, if you are anything like me, I utilize some of the great videos that are found on youtube daily. My biggest problem is that I always forget to save the url or bookmark the url for future use. This service would definitely help someone like me manage all of the rich media that is available for free online.

For all the positives that popscreen.com offers, the only negative I can see at this moment is that it is in private beta.

Image Provided by:
http://www.popscreen.com/
Posted by Nick La Fountain at 2:02 PM
Jill said...
I am always looking for ways to get more organized, and I think Popscreen sounds like a very useful tool to bookmark videos. I would use this for my classroom and also at home for my children and myself. Thanks for sharing this! Your write-up is easy to follow and offers good details.
October 11, 2009 8:25 PM

BP7_2009102_Web 2.0 tool_Raylit

Raylit (2009) is an educational site specifically designed for 3-7 year olds (http://www.raylit.com/). When you sign up, you list the child's name and specific age in half-year increments. When the program opens, cartoon characters say the child's name and welcomes them to the fun. As the child plays each game, their name is repeated many times. The daily show runs through language, math, reading rhymes with print tracking, coloring with soothing music playing in the background, science mini-lectures with music and photographs, and healthy tidbits.

This site offers over 750 educational games and videos. There are analytical games and puzzles, music, rhymes and stories, phonics, reading and writing, math, science and knowledge videos and good habits. This program is sweet and comfortable to work in. Kids will be excited to come back and move through the next day's show.

Educators and parents can track their child's progress and fine-tune the programming offered. At the site's Parent Center, learner's profiles and progress can be viewed. Instructors can customize, track, interact and manage each child's program. There is also a quote of the day, such as, "If evolution really works, how come mothers only have two hands?" (Milton Berle) and a parenting tip, such as, "Encourage your children to invite friends home?"

I would use this site for each child in my class. I like that it is developmentally geared to recognize the difference between a 5 year-old versus a 5 and a half-year-old. I would let each child cycle through this program several times during the week so they could be exposed to the entire series over the course of their kindergarten year. This program's cartoon characters will make the learner feel connected each time they call out the child's name. The music is so soothing; the children will feel relaxed as they are exposed to sweet and kind lessons. I predict the children will talk about the lessons on the playground; the format and videos have a way of remaining with the learner.

I encourage you to visit: http://www.raylit.com/

References

[Child on a computer]. Retrieved October 11, 2009, from: Stock.xchng: http://www.sxc.hu/

BP6_2009102_Web 2.0 Tool_eLearning4Kids

eLearning4Kids can be found at http://www.go2web20.net/app/?a=eLearning4Kids

e-Learning 4Kids offers a site for parents, educators and children to find learning games for children from 5-12. The site has free courses for children globally. The educational games can be played in five languages. The subjects offered are Math, Science, Language Arts, Health & Life Skills, English language, and Computer Skills. Teachers can individualize instruction for each child in the classroom, focusing on the skills they need to work on for mastery.

The games are colorful, with animated characters that learners will find interesting. The characters speak clearly and at a rate the students can hear and understand. Each subject is broken down into specific skills, so a tailored program can be selected for individual learners.
I would use this program in my classroom for students to rotate through at center time. I have students that can read, so they could work on programs such as Pronouns, Similar & Opposite Words, and Finishing a Story. For my learners with no prior school experience, they could work programs such as Learning Letters and About Printed Books. There is truly something for all learners at this site.

Because no software is needed, I could also suggest this site to parents for their children to work on at home or at the library. Because of the age range of the games, parents could also find useful games for siblings as well.

Each year I have learners that come through my doors that do not speak English. Usually they feel scared and isolated while they learn English and are able to speak to other learners. They would find it a comfort to be able to work on games in their first language or practice the English Language games to help accelerate their learning.

The motto of e-Learning for kids is Opening Doors to Education Worldwide. If you would like to learn more or view a YouTube video from CNBC please visit this site.

References

[Children on computers]. Retrieved October 11, 2009, from: Stock.xchng: http://www.sxc.hu/

BP5_2009102_Web 2.0 Tool_Yahoo! Answers

Web 2.0 - So many choices...

The first Web 2.0 tool I found that interested me was Yahoo! Answers: http://answers.yahoo.com/. This web 2.0 tool reminded me of Ask Jeeves which was a search engine for asking questions. Ask Jeeves ran from 1996-2006. Yahoo! Answers is a collaborative site where you can ask questions, answer questions and discover best answers. The concept is simple. I like that you can also search or ask by categories. There is a section entitled Education & Reference that is also broken down into subcategories. Students can ask for help with their homework, teachers can ask for advice; it is a place to share information around a specific topic.

To get set up, you simply sign in using your Yahoo email and password. You answer a few quick profile questions and have the option to create an avatar, import a picture, or use a yahoo placeholder. In your profile area you can select if you want your answers to be sent directly to your email so you know when your question has been answered. You can also choose whether your information will be displayed or held private.

I would use Yahoo! Answers as a reference tool to update my materials or technology tools as I am preparing lessons, to ask others' advice concerning parent or discipline issues, and for sharing ideas that worked well in my classroom. As a fairly new teacher, one of my mentors stressed to me the importance of helping new teachers find their way in the profession. Yahoo! Answers would be a wonderful tool for reaching out and easily assisting other teachers in need.

Yahoo! Answers could also be used with my students. This would be a fun tool to use on the projector to answer student questions. The print rich media would be a new way to embed concepts of print as students receive answers to their question of the day. Students could circle sight words, count punctuation and practice word sweeps. Kindergarteners would love to see the concrete word answers to their abstract question.

As a teacher, you could also post a comprehension question before class, read a story, and have the students answer the question themselves. They would feel a sense of pride and ownership to have their answer posted on a web site.

References

[computer]. Retrieved October 11, 2009, from: Stock.xchng: http://www.sxc.hu/

BP4_2009102_Social Bookmarking

Now that educators often use the web daily to find information required for their classes, bookmarking useful sites must be organized or all of the bookmarked sites will become overwhelming to find or simply not be used again. Social bookmarking was designed for users to tag and share useful web sites. "Social bookmarking creates a true web of resources and connections, one that is not limited to individuals and their folders but represents the interests and judgments of a community of users." (Lomas, 2005)

Instructors can also incorporate collaboration using social bookmarking. As a class or a group of students performs research on the web, these sites can easily be shared with the rest of class or group. This sharing multiplies the findings that can assist the students learn about the topic of study. "... a group can establish a unique tag and tag all group-related links with it." (Hedreen, 2005)

Just as students can collaborate, so can educators. Smart teachers share resources with their peers. Finding a new tool that assists teaching is helpful, but sharing that resource so another educator can improve their instruction makes the find twice as nice. "Say you want to share your bookmarked sites on Edgar Allen Poe with other teachers?" " The answer to that question is to consider using social bookmarking." (Jackson, 2009)

Although I am brand new to social bookmarking, I am excited to try this web 2.0 tool for myself.

References

[computer]. Retrieved October 11, 2009, from: Stock.xchng: http://www.sxc.hu/

Hedreen, R. (2005, February 3). Social Bookmarking in Education. Message posted to Frequently Answered Question: http://frequanq.blogspot.com/2005/02/social-bookmarking-in-education.html

Jackson, L. (2009, June 5). Sites to See: Social Bookmarking. Retrieved from: http://www.education-world.com/a_tech/sites/sites080.shtml

Lomas, C. (2005, May). 7 things you should know about? Social Bookmarking.
Retrieved from http://net.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/ELI7001.pdf

BP3_2009101_Anti-Teaching

The key components for 21st century schools and "learning beyond the test" can be summed up by Wesch, "All learning begins with a good question." As researchers looked for ways to improve student engagement, teachers were taught to begin with a good, strong essential question. Teachers were encouraged to use project-based learning. Now, educators must expand that group beyond the physical group to incorporate outside sources. Just as for this class we set up RSS feeds to learn new information and blog posts to reflect and share, so must our younger students be given the chance to ask, search, reflect, and share. "For then they will use personal learning environments to shift away from consuming info to students drawing connections from resources?" (Educause, 2009).

One of my favorite quotes from my superintendent, Alvin Wilbanks, is "Technology will not replace the teacher, but teachers that use technology will replace teachers that do not." Teachers need to let go of the control of providing information and teach students how to search and question and share information. I believe technology is a wonderful tool and a teacher is a wonderful reflection board and a course director. Good education requires a marriage between students, technology, information, and teachers. The 21st century is here - and I like it!

References

[Children on computers]. Retrieved October 11, 2009, from: Stock.xchng: http://www.sxc.hu/

BP2_2009101_Educational RSS Feeds

http://k6educators.about.com/
I choose About.com Elementary Education because as soon as I looked at the posts, I wanted to read each section. Every title was relevant to my classroom and I. It will benefit me by keeping me up to date with trends and findings and also allowing me to share within an elementary teacher community.

http://www.ed.gov/index.jhtml
The U.S. Department of Education was chosen so that I will be aware of legislation and topics a concerned and current educator needs to know. It will benefit me by adding current knowledge straight from the source of our government leaders.

http://people.uis.edu/rschr1/et/blogger.html
I subscribed to Educational Technology because I like their mission: News, Techniques and Theories of Effective use of technology in Education. This will benefit me by helping me find new ways to incorporate technology into my classroom.

http://www.freetech4teachers.com/
Free Technology For Teachers is a place to learn about free technology resources and also how to use them. This will benefit me by providing ideas for technology integration in my classroom.

http://www.bam.gov/teachers/index.htm
BAM! Body and Mind is a resource to help incorporate health, safety, and science topics into my classroom. It will benefit my students and I because there is a section for students and teachers.

References

[Child on a computer]. Retrieved October 11, 2009, from: Stock.xchng: http://www.sxc.hu/

BP1_2009101_Educational Uses for Blogs

Wow! A whole new world has just opened up for me tonight. I used blogsearch.google.com and technorati.com to research educational uses for blogs. I signed up to receive several posts that interested me with regards to the changing times in education due to technology. I am so thankful that I found Full Sail University. Not only am I obtaining my master's degree, but more importantly, I am joining the 21st century of teaching. Goodbye 20th century teaching - you served me well, but I must be moving on.

References

[Child on a computer]. Retrieved October 11, 2009, from: Stock.xchng: http://www.sxc.hu/