EDUC 584 Reflection

As I said in my Voki, educators need to embrace technology, and incorporate it into the classroom.  This class has made the idea of that possible.  I learned a lot about techology, and I learned about practical ways to make it an effective part of my students' learning.  I went into this class thinking that I was pretty tech-savvy.  That all came crashing down within the first ten seconds of the class, but was slowly rebuilt thoughtout the past eight weeks.  I learned to blog and to wiki, as a professional development tool. I also learned how powerful they can be for my students.  I discovered Diigo, which is now a rival to my Pinterest page.  I also learned about great tools such as Animoto and Digital Storytelling.  I can easily see myself using these tools for years to come!  Overall, it has been a whirl-wind eight weeks, but eight of the most useful and eye-opening weeks of grad school. 

Digital Story

Here is my digital story!  I created my story using Storybird.

 My digital story has gone through many changes.  Originally, my students were going to create a story, in groups, based on our Writing for Many Purposes writing unit.  The stories were going to flow like The Jolly Postman.  The students would then illustrate their stories, and I would record the students telling them.

The blizzard, however, threw a wrench into those plans.  The time-table I had was not enough, so I had to go back to the drawing board.  That's when my new idea came to me.  Our next writing unit is persuasive writing.  I have begun planning, and collecting mentor texts.  After I read Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus, we were going to talk about the pigeon's reasons to get us to let him drive the bus.  Using Storybird, I created a story about a persuasive little girl named Imogene.  The students and I will discuss how persuasive Imogene is, and revise my story to make Imogene more persuasive.

Diigo v. Pinterest

Here is my Diigo library!  I am really excited, and proud, of it thus far.  I felt much the same way that most of you felt about Diigo, before and after.  Before, I thought that Diigo was a Pinterest rip-off.  I LOVE Pinterest, and I didn't think that there was any possible way for me to even like Diigo, nevermind continually use it.  However, as I explored the tool, I saw the value of it, and I even found Pinterest's flaws (!).  One of the most important places for me to access Pinterest is at school, and, unfortuantely, it is now blocked.  Even when it wasn't blocked, I couldn't access many of the pins because they were from blogs, which are blocked.  With Diigo, I always have access to my library and my bookmarks!  Another Pinterest flaw is that trying to find a pin may be difficult because your pins are piled onto a board.  With Diigo, while the library is a list of bookmarks, each bookmark has tagged keywords.  When I need something, I can search through the keywords.  In the end, I have come to love, and value Diigo just as much as Pinterest!  Happy Bookmarking!

My Valentine Bag!

Last week, I posted a picture of a cute penguin I was thinking of having the kids make for their Valentines.  I made the penguins on paper bags, rather than shoe boxes.  I also used red, pink, and white paper instead of black and white.  Here's my finished product!

 

Live Binder

The same teacher who recommended Mrs. Renz's blog also recommended Live Binder.  Live Binder is an online "3-ring binder."  Any resources you have can be "filed" into a binder that can then be shared.  My colleague had gotten so many great resources form here, and this was another site that I have been intending to check out.  It's pretty neat!  I would love to have digital copies of all my resources and "file" it away.  It would save so much paper, and the reosurces would be so easy to look for!

Here is an example of a Live Binder with free technology tools for teachers!

Mrs. Renz's Blog

At the beginning of the school year, I was talking to one of the 5th grade teachers at my school.  She told me about Mrs. Renz's blog.  Mrs. Renz is a 4th grade teacher, and she has many great ideas!  I can see why she came so highly recommended!

Digital Storytelling Resources

Tom Banaszewski created a website that describes how he structures the digital storytelling process for his students.  I found it very helpful because he tells you how to break it down so that students understand what to do, and what to accomplish.  Check it out!

Another helpful website was by edtechteacher.org.  The website includes a list and links to tools, examples, media resources, and ideas to integrate digital storytelling into the classroom.

Also, check out this slideshow on Slideshare about Digital Storytelling Across the Elementary Curriculum.  It was a great way to think about other ways that digital storytelling can be incorporated into the classroom.

Beginning Digital Storytelling...

So, I've been thinking a lot about how to approach my digital story.  Lynne Zalesak, a teacher in Houston, TX, created a YouTube video about how she uses digital storytelling in her classroom, and how the project came-to-be.  She has really eased some of my fears and anxiety.

Animoto: Writing for Many Purposes

This week, I began my new writing unit!  I introduced the unit by discussing what Writing for Many Purposes is with the students.  We then talked about why, and what, people write.  We brainstormed a list of the kinds of things that people write.  As the students thought of things, I looked up the pictures.  The students chose the picture that they thought best showed the kind of writing that they brainstormed.  The students were very engaged in the making of the video, and they could hardly contain their excitement!  They were personally invested in the Animoto, and therefore, they were encouraged to put "their all" into the making of the video.  I feel that my students have a clear understanding of what kinds of things they will be writing because of their personal investment in the intro of the unit.  I'm hoping to make a Voicethread, or maybe a Digital Storybook (a la The Jolly Postman) as the final project for the unit.  (Students will write one of each type of writing, that will revolve around a story that a group of students come up with.) 

Valentine Bags!

Since Valentine's Day is fast approaching, I want to have students begin to make their Valentine bags.  I found this cute idea for a penguin Valentine box from mommyapolis.com.  I think that my students will make this on paper bags instead! 



mommyapolis.com

I also need to begin thinking about Valentine's Day routines.  My room is always in chaos while Valentines are being passed out!  I need help from younger-grade teachers!!!  What do you do to control the chaos?!

Major Project

Since I have learned about what a wonderful tool Diigo can be, I have begun to go through my Pinterest pins, and bookmark the pages on Diigo.  I haven't gotten very far (haha!), but I think that this process may (may?!) take awhile.  It will probably turn into a vacation project (yeah, right!), most likely a summer project (who am I kidding?), definitely an on-going project...

Writing for Many Purposes

Speaking of Writer's Workshop, and Writing for Many Purposes, does anybody have any suggestions for mentor texts?  My colleagues are using:

amazon.com

amazon.com

amazon.com



I've tried looking online (through regular searches and, my newest search, blogs!), but there's not a  list of mentor texts for this unit...

Lettercize!

Anna shared this with me on Thursday night, and I thought it was cute for students to learn their letters!  Students watch/listen to the alphabet, but there are "intermissions" during which students exercize.   It's a great way for students to let out the "ants in their pants," especially after a long period of time! I might even have students form the letters with their bodies as an added way to learn their letters, and move around.

Animoto Project Ideas

So, I've been thinking about how to use Animoto in my classroom.  I LOVE how Anna had her Kindergarten students make a class Animoto to define adding.  That gave me the idea to have my students create an Animoto about the purposes for writing, since our new writing unit (Writing for Many Purposes!) will begin sometime this week.  I think this will be a great way for students to think about, and connect with, the unit.  In this way, they are thouroughly introduced to the topic, and are more invested in their learning!  I think that this will also be a great way to collaborate, since students will be making the video as a class.  Maybe groups of students can be responsible for different types of writing???  What do you think?

Richardson, Chapters 3 and 4

In Chapters 3 and 4, Richardson discussed blogs and wikis.  He described what they are, their potential uses, and how to create, set up, and maintain both.  As I am learning more about blogs and wikis, I am warming up to them more.  I think that it's really cool how students can connect what their learning in the classroom, with that they're doing outside of the classroom walls.  The "connected-ness" is cool.  And yet, I find it a bit scary.  I suppose that the same philosophy rings true for social media, and, for my intents and purposes, I'll talk about Facebook, which is my social media of choice.  I like how I can keep up with how/what my friends and family are up to, especially if they are far away.  Sometimes, though, the idea that they are doing the same thing to me freaks me out a bit!  I love how Richardson recognizes that people (teachers) may have those reservations and fears, and he does well will easing them.  I definitely think that this type of technology (blogs and wikis) can, and will, take place in my classroom!  Reading Richardson, and seeing great examples (such as Portland, Oregon's Meriwether Lewis Elementary's blog), has inspired me to learn more, and think about ways that I can incorporate them into my classroom!

I made an Animoto!

I decided to make my first Animoto today!  I wanted to test it out, and make one all about me.  I almost didn't though.  I hate writing/making stuff about me.  It's so hard, and I never know what to say!  Once thought about what I wanted to say, and where I wanted the Animoto to go, the process became easier.  By "the process," I don't mean the physical making of the Animoto.  The website was so easy to use!  (Which I wasn't expecting, if truth be told.  I was having flahbacks to the last time I made a video with Windows when I was making my teaching portfolio.  Nightmare!)  By "the process," I mean chossing the photos and writing the text/captions to go along with the video.  It was actually kind-of fun to make!  I think it's superb, if I do say so myself...

Richardson, Chapters 1 & 2

Will Richardson's Bogs, Wikis, Podcasts, and Other Powerful Web Tools for Classrooms is a very interesting book.  I think that these bringing these new methods into the classroom will be exciting for teachers and students.  This is a challenging time in education.  So many changes have happened, and will happen, especially when it comes to the use of technology.  On page 8, Richardson wrote something that really surprised me, and stuck with me.  "William D. Winn, director of the Learning Center at the University of Washington, belives that years of computer use results in children who 'think differently from us.  They develop hypertext minds.  They leap around.  It's as though their cognitive structures were parallel, not sequential.'"  This stuck with me so much because while I value and see the power of technology in my students' futures, I think that everything technology is "fine and dandy."  I think that it has the ability to cause many problems.  I think that my students, and even my peers, are too connected.  I do not think that everybody has to be constantly connected to an electronic device.  I think that some time away is a good thing!

NETS

My mind is boggled when I think about the rate at which technology is changing.  I think of Apple, and its almost yearly upgrades of iPods, iPhones, and iPads.  I think back to the undergrad equivalent I took of this course.  At that point, we working creating PowerPoint presentations, and Word newsletters.  That was 2006.  By the time I began my field experiences in 2009, SMART boards were just popping up.  So much has changed in just the four years since then!  My generation has grown up for most of these chnages.  In 1997, the only computer I had seen was at my mother's desk at work.  In 1998, my dad bought our first computer.  By 2008, I was learning how to incorporate technology into my future classroom!  My generation has seen computers rise, the invention of social media, and sophisticated cell phones (leading to smart-phones).  My students' generation, though, was born right in the middle of this boom.  This is all this new generation knows.  They are more connected than we (my generation) are!  With this new digital age, comes a new way of life that is even more different than the way of life that I think my generation wasn't even braced for.  I'm glad that standards were made in order to reflect this change in the classroom for both teachers and students.  Both roles are constantly changing, epecially in the face of technology.  Students will need to learn how to use technology for the "power of good"; to prepare them for their futures, which will no doubt be ruled by technology.  Teachers will also need to be able to teach students how to use technology, while also teaching students the "bascis" that we do now.

Day 6

I woke up on Friday morning with thoughts of technology dancing through my head.  I was literally dizzy.  Where would I even begin?  I decided to begin with simply reading Richardson.  My dizziness was actually a symptom of the flu.  Of course.  As I was going through everything to do for the next week, I feel less anxious; more calm.  Ready to embrace technology!

Day 1

I wish that using technology was much less overwhelming.  I had an educational technology class in undergrad, and I can still clearly recall wanting to pull my hair out.  I almost had a mini-stroke when I was perusing the syllabus and assignments on Tuesday.  I am not feeling any better tonight.  I can't even begin to think about everything that will have to be done, and yet it's all that I can think about.  Oy vey!