BP9_201004253_Web2.0Blog3Twitter

Twitter has the possibility to bridge the gap that exists between the teacher and the parent. This gap often becomes wider as students become more self reliant and as they move into muddle school. My personal use of twitter began in August of last year. As I began to read about Web 2.0 tools for educators, Twitter kept popping up. Social networking in the school setting seems to be the next step in technology and education. Twitter is a tool that if used correctly can be used academically for students and as a communication tool for parents. The are a few great things about Twitter. Twitter is a tool that many parents and students are already familiar with.The postings and activity can easily be moderated. Followers can be approved so that protects students privacy as well. Also it is free and can postings can be regulated and moderated by the teacher. With the advent of Smart phones parents and students don't have to have a computer to participate. There are specific ways in which I would use this. Of course I would post homework and classwork assignments so that parents are aware of what is expected of their child. Important reminders and announcements could be tweeted as well. I would also post a question for my students to answer by the end of the class week. Due to the limited typing available students would need to post a concise answer. This would definitely help their critical thinking skills as it would cause them to choose their words carefully.

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BP11_2010043_LinkToComment_JasonGillett

http://jasoncgillett.blogspot.com/2010/04/bp9201004253web20blog3dynamicperiodicta.html?showComment=1272249046672#c5490378792950871394

BP10_2010043_LinkToComment_LauraSawyer

http://teachingtransformed-lms.blogspot.com/2010/04/bp122010043oneminutemessage2classtoolsn.html?showComment=1272248385111_AIe9_BGcN3MDvZ7KCpOsXbdeF3Kgxb_v7y0dvWBQtfAlGhkTD1Szsa2WZvejIfX5bhd3JtC5YtFU4waT3Gx19VGSx3Pmqr4GdPk1YQ-TC94rsoLvBN-ONRCl56yFkPl6CX4K2_8IwgdEzjqws0SYplXv_D66sVv_scma0_pARZ-WoqIMSyB_ULZYSle8YXaluTFa414QZtOXiwZPQUHJohAprnPSiTcsVMOxACQ6YSIgq0locSIgQ05Bz2VxVumNZqrIKvQXjXBk#c5010909294728033291

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BP7_2010042_Link_to_blog_comment_JohnG

http://johnfgallagher.blogspot.com/2010/04/bp62010056week2web20reveiw.html?showComment=1271647506804_AIe9_BHdLmZMBi9_qGCBmImV7Lpf5EdWvclKMP6JFZDYZ01mZy0Qomt3oVCsmOO_18jDORtpt9AEeXpVBC4WdbePlIsJvMK7ywtA4-X4TIV8qkcD32qyKMqbrTk65YBPmxh5091S8RbT4Hd_aWTOIahuVN9zeubGtJGfBscrx6EoE4-_P4YOs-X5Tj_U3HmxRnGRxSQ2hr5n00S2YQXQlqHnCj8yvirfGCu4DLRxuPE_5JdzGdtDRGo#c4291385588629868876

BP6_2010042_Link_to_blog_comment_Maritza

http://maritzalayport.blogspot.com/2010/04/bp52010042web20tool.html?showComment=1271646777971_AIe9_BGmvWJ3qQqTpeNMLpIn1MIRyF9BliKK0jmbYrrQ-ioVGGrej7KuwnZTZEFZfGA8mPceIdInhA3rILsPkbAJ9-M5VnBUg2Nucj4IpDPV-_vxUsllCB4xUQt4poY1vP4CL01TXkIRJJU1Gf_-AQlVjIFKKFoHucfegnkxH5C2dWyIBZG6Pa84ouCvYpkN6C3xI0J5XCYxV4WkGgfod8UUajmUG6MJ15_DxR8eL0Jzwl8f1VCF61c#c4786951638448664458

BP5_2010042_Web2.0Tool2_Wordle

There are so many Web 2.0 tools out there. This time I decided to use Wordle. I first saw this on someone's AR Blog and wondered how did they do that? It reminds me of a word collage. It is very simple to use and doesn't require a signup or any fees to use. Teachers love free things.
The tool is very simple to use. Since the web address is short students should have no problem typing it in. Students should go to www.wordle.net. I would then have my student click on examples so that they can see what the possibilities are. My lesson has to objectives. First they are to select 15 terms related to our unit and create a wordle. Much thought should go into this because the second object is to present their wordle to the class or in their  assigned groups. They must be able to explain how each of the terms in the wordle are related to each other. This makes a great assessment tool!

BP2_2010011_EduUses4Blogs

                                                       image by Ursula Jones

Blogs have great potential for use in my classroom. I began my research into blogs by searching the internet to see examples of their current uses. I came across a slideshow on slideshare that gave some great ideas for blog uses in the classroom.

One such use is to post a non-supported fact to the blog and have students find and add the supporting information. I could use that but of course with a little modification for teaching history. Next semester my students will be studying World War II. I could post Axis Powers and Allied Powers as topics, and the students would then add the details to each post. I would expect them to post the name of those countries, their leaders, when they entered the war and any other relevant information. The more I explored, the more my brain worked to think of ways to use blogs.

The next idea allows the student to be creative yet still show a mastery of the vocabulary. Students could write a story that uses the vocabulary in context. Another topic that my students will be learning is about Westward Movement at the turn of the Century. The vocabulary of that section consists of words that describe the technologies that made life bearable and made settlement of the Great Plains easier. So ideally students would be writing a story about a family or maybe an individual that settled in the region during that time.

Writing seems a little less daunting for the students when it is done on the computer. "It really isn't work", I overheard one of my students say.

References

Dell, D. (n.d.). Educational uses of blogs and tags. Retrieved from

http://www.slideshare.net/sqoolmaster/educational-uses-of-blogs-and-tags-234136

BP4_2010011_RSS Feeds

I chose several RSS feeds for my iGoogle page. One is Edutopia- this is directly related to my research in that it is a site designed for educators to collaborate and share their uses of technology.

Another is Education Weekly Magazine- This site discusses issues and trends in Education.

Suite 101- Here is another place that discusses instructional strategies and teacher learning

Educational Technology- Site informs you about available classroom technology their uses as well as informative technology related articles

Free Technology for Teachers- This site gives technology integration ideas for teachers to use in the classroom.


above image taken by Ursula Jones

BP3_2010011_WEB 2.0Storybird

One of Web 2.0 tools that I think I would use in my class is Storybird. It is an online collaborative storytelling tool. The stories are based on artwork of your choosing.  You have the option of browsing through the actual images or selecting images according to a theme.

This tool does require a fast and easy signup. You must have an email address to sign up. It would be more advantageous for you to create the account and supply the login information to the students.  To begin you must first select a piece of artwork or choose a theme. I chose to browse through the artwork. To see more images you must hit the reload button. Once you see an image you would like to use select it and click start a Storybird.

From here you begin to enter you story text. Several of the artist’s images appear in the margins and you can drag any of those images onto your storyboard. After you enter the first line or page of the story you can choose to add the number of pages you would like. Afterwards they need to publish it remembering to include their name or names as the author.

As a classroom teacher this has many potential uses.  I would have students to choose 3 pieces of artwork related to whatever it is we are studying. They would be telling their story which must include  fact and fiction.  After they tell their story they can save them to share with the class. This gives students the opportunity to show what they know in a different way.

This seems like a tool that can be used at all grade levels.

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