First Entry!

First Entry!

Sunday, December 18, 2011

Reflecting

Throughout the past several weeks I have been expanding my technology know-how. It has been a great experience. I have learned more about blogs, the ins of Wiki's, what RSS stands for and does, podcasting, and moving this technology into the classoom. As educators we need to be more open to technology in our classrooms, these students are the future, and they have a wealth of knowledge that we need to let them share.

As a professional teacher, I plan to embrace technology (the good and the bad). I like to learn new things and I grew up as a digital native, maybe not as much as today's students are, but I did have to insert those large floppy disks to play or type in a program for the sake of playing a computer game. I love the fact the students have information in seconds, not days or weeks. I will be sure to teach them both ways of researching (old and new), I still love the feel of a book in my hand.

The biggest thing that I walk away with is the interesting side of podcasting. That was the one thing that I knew the littlest about. While I couldn't get mine to work, trying to get it to upload following the recording session was great. Students can really take learning anywhere with them. I thought to myself, 'This would be great for those students that are on vacations with parents during the school year." So many of them travel with laptops, each day I could post the lesson for the day. The student would have access and still be current with his/her classmates learning. The possibilities are endless!

My teaching philosophy has pretty much always been student-centered, so moving over to learner-centered is not that big of a jump. I learn something new from students everyday and I think that is wonderful. Research has proven time and time again that students learn best from each other, and I agree with that. I don't ever see myself stopping the learning process. I love each and every new gadget that comes out, it is hard not to run out and grab it. I am always checking out new websites and programs, that is how progress moves forward.

My goals for the next two years is to allow students to set-up a blog, a Wiki, and record their own podcasts, while in the elementary setting. If I was in the high school setting, this would not be a goal as they should already be doing it. It is different in the elementary setting, there is a lot to worry about when putting students on the web and parents need to be educated along the way. I can't wait for the day when Kindergarten students come to school having their own website, that will be great! Students will not only have their own computers, but tablets and cell phones. I look forward to working towards this goal, it will be an adventurous journey.;

Wednesday, November 23, 2011

Partnership for 21st Century Skills

I checked out the website http://www.p21.org ( Partnership for 21st Century Skills and found a very friendly/colorful site. It is user friendly and chock-full of great information. The site is a partnership for teaching skills to children that are very needed. There is a holistic view of 21st Century teaching and learning.

P21 demands innovation while fusing the 3R's and 4C's (critical thinking & problem solving, communication, collaboration, and creativity & innovation). As educators we need to be on the forefront of technology and finding the best ways to integrate old teaching with new ways.

P21 advocate for local, state, and federal funding. This is great, as many partnerships are not as willing to push for funds from as many governments at the same time. That is a lot of lobbying.

On the website I was not happy to see my state not listed as one with their initiatives. New York State is on the forefront of Common Core and implementing new technological ways of teaching. Besides that I was pretty open to the thoughts and views. Everything needs to be encompassed is we are going to be successful.

Sunday, November 20, 2011

Making my way to the Wiki

Well, this weeks assignment was to create a Wiki amoungst our grade level group. I must say a huge thank you to Trevor Henderson. Our Wiki looks amazing and I would have never been able to figure out the things that he did in creating it. For our assignment I was to input a little bio segment about me and then evaluate 3 websites that I had prevoiously chosen. Well, I knew what I wanted to say about me and I had the three website. What I didn't have was the faintest idea on how to input this information into the Wiki. Sure the Wiki site said it was easy and there were even guidelines to follow, but who wants to do it the easy way? Not me, of course!

After several failed attempts and not the faintest clue of how I did it, my information was posted. A few times it just appeared when I thought that I had deleted it, phew! However, I will say that I still have no clue how Trevor and the others were able to add those wonderful clip art images, it was all I could do to get the text there and to stay. Oh, and let's not forget getting the link to stay and be on the right page. While it was nerve wrecking at times, it was a great assignment. I am looking forward to reading everyones evaluations.

Check out our Wiki at http://walden-k4-technologyrace.wikispaces.com

Thursday, November 10, 2011

Blogs and the Classroom

While researching and reading for this class, the question was posed about having a blog for my students and is that a good idea? While I like the fact that I get to play around in Blog land, I am not too sure about it for my students. My students range in grades K-6 and are under the age of 13. When a student is under the age of 13, the rules get pretty scary and a lot of parental permission is involved. If I had a high school class over the age of 13 I would not even bat an eyelash.

If I was going to set up a blog for my students, it would be more parent based. Many of my parents now have access to the internet and this would be a great way of keeping them informed of what was happening within the classroom. The content would be more focused on curriculum and how the students were doing as a whole. It would also give parents a heads up of future assessments, school activities, conferences, and include tips for getting parents more involved with their students (both in and out of school). I like to have parental involvement as much as possible.

Blogging is a great tool and one that more teachers should use. Who knows, maybe by the end of the eight weeks I'll have a parent based blog established.

Sunday, November 6, 2011

A week into blogging...

Well, the first week is over in the land blogging for the Walden course. I must say that I am really impressed with how easy it is to set up a blog, react to other's posts, and then add more to your own blog. I am really looking forward to when others from outside the course add comments to our posts. The whole experience has been a good one so far. I am learning a lot about technology, the stuff that I never thought I wanted to know. Boy, was I wrong!

Wednesday, November 2, 2011

Figuring things out

As I read more and more, I find that I know less and less when it comes to blogs. The biggest factor is trying to add the RSS feed to my blog. Heck, I don't even know what RSS means yet! It definitely is a learning curve and one that I am excited to figure out. I know that I am not alone in my journey and look foward to reading everyone's helpful tips and comments.

Sunday, October 30, 2011

First Entry!

Hi Everyone and Welcome! I have ventured out into the land of Blogs and I have to say, I am a little nervous. Usually I keep many thoughts to myself as I am weary of how other's may perceive them. So this is really a new crusade for me. Please respond as much as you would like. I think this is going to be an interesting feature.

Shelby