Through the course of my Web 2.0 Tools graduate class, I explored many technologies with exciting potential for classroom integration. Wikis, blogs, RSS feeds, podcasting, photo sharing, social bookmarking… my head is spinning! All of these tools have amazing potential for reforming the classroom experience, but the one I will be focusing on right away is blogs.
My school district’s main initiative this year is Literacy Across the Curriculum, and I see blogs as the perfect technology tool to forward this goal. The integration possibilities for English and social studies are readily apparent, but I also see wonderful potential for math, science, and related arts teachers, as well. Blogs seem like the perfect way to get kids reading and writing across all areas of the curriculum, while also developing 21st Century skills.
Over the last few weeks I have managed to convince on English teacher and one social studies teacher to begin using blogs with their students. The English teacher has set up a class blog at 21Classes.com to use with her literature circles. Every book that students are reading has its own blog page where the teacher posts assignments. Each student reading that book logs onto their book’s blog page and answers the assignment in the form of a comment on the post. This allows all of the students reading the same book to discuss and debate the story elements with each other, even if they are not in class at the same time, or have never even met. The social studies teacher has started a central blog where she posts assignments and debate topics, and students respond and rebut each others' arguments in the form of comments.
Both teachers are very excited about their use of blogs so far, and I am hoping to “use” them as cheerleaders to get their colleagues excited about trying blogs, too. I have many integration ideas for other teachers, if I can only convince them to give it a try. I think blogs would be a great way to get AP calculus students to write about the math they are learning and enlist comments from people in the “real world” who use calculus everyday. Blogs would also be great for Bioethics students who are researching many of today’s hot-button issues (cloning, nuclear energy, genetic research), to track their research, reflect on their learning, and make connections with others who are studying the same topics.
The integration possibilities for blogging are practically endless. As a technology coach, I’ve officially adopted blogs as my tool-of-choice for this year, and will be working to get as many teachers and students on board as I possibly can!
Sunday, September 28, 2008
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Teaching in the 21st Century
As educators in these rapidly changing times, we have the extremely important and challenging task of preparing our students for a future that is difficult for us to even imagine. How do we prepare students for jobs that haven’t been thought of yet? How do we prepare students to use technologies that haven’t been invented, or to solve problems that haven’t yet been created? And of course, we must prepare ourselves first, since we were all taught in the traditional ways that we know are inadequate for today’s students.
This job is not for the faint of heart! Teaching in ways we weren’t taught ourselves, learning the latest technologies as they are emerging, preparing students for challenges we haven’t dreamed up yet… A daunting task, at best. But even for those among us who jump at the challenge, there is another obstacle to face – this groundbreaking work must be done within the confines of a system that is entrenched in the past. Everything about our schools, from the facilities themselves to the systems they operate under, needs to be rethought if we are to be successful in preparing our students for the 21st Century.
Schools and those associated with them have always maintained an internal focus. School boards, administrators, teachers, parents, and students focus on what goes on inside the four walls of the physical buildings. That focus has to shift outward, and our definition of “school” as a brick and mortar building needs to be reshaped, in order to meet the needs of our current and future students. Connecting, communicating, and collaborating with people around the world – and developing the skills needed to do these things effectively - needs to be the main goal in education today. Standardized tests that measure only the traditional skills of reading and math are no longer adequate predictors of student success in the global marketplace in which they will be living.
What we need is top-down change, beginning with the highest authorities. The mission and vision of our educational system need to be revised to encompass the 21st Century reality in which our students are immersed, rather than the 20th Century traditions in which our schools are entrenched. The pioneers among us will do their best to reform their classrooms and serve their students well within the confines of the current system, but true systemic change is needed to revolutionize the way we educate ourselves and our students and to bring about the reform needed to be competitive in the 21st Century.
This job is not for the faint of heart! Teaching in ways we weren’t taught ourselves, learning the latest technologies as they are emerging, preparing students for challenges we haven’t dreamed up yet… A daunting task, at best. But even for those among us who jump at the challenge, there is another obstacle to face – this groundbreaking work must be done within the confines of a system that is entrenched in the past. Everything about our schools, from the facilities themselves to the systems they operate under, needs to be rethought if we are to be successful in preparing our students for the 21st Century.
Schools and those associated with them have always maintained an internal focus. School boards, administrators, teachers, parents, and students focus on what goes on inside the four walls of the physical buildings. That focus has to shift outward, and our definition of “school” as a brick and mortar building needs to be reshaped, in order to meet the needs of our current and future students. Connecting, communicating, and collaborating with people around the world – and developing the skills needed to do these things effectively - needs to be the main goal in education today. Standardized tests that measure only the traditional skills of reading and math are no longer adequate predictors of student success in the global marketplace in which they will be living.
What we need is top-down change, beginning with the highest authorities. The mission and vision of our educational system need to be revised to encompass the 21st Century reality in which our students are immersed, rather than the 20th Century traditions in which our schools are entrenched. The pioneers among us will do their best to reform their classrooms and serve their students well within the confines of the current system, but true systemic change is needed to revolutionize the way we educate ourselves and our students and to bring about the reform needed to be competitive in the 21st Century.
Monday, September 22, 2008
Podcasting
Ok, I give up! I like to think of myself as being pretty tech savvy, but this one has me beat. I am not exactly a digital native - I was born just a few years too early for that - but I am familiar and comfortable enough with these tools to be able to figure most new things out just by "playing around" with them for a while, and transferring my knowledge of other technologies to the new ones I am learning. This process has served me well in the past, but not this time.
Create a podcast? Got it! Turn it into an Mp3? Sure! Teach kids the process? Absolutely! Post it on my wiki? No problem! But getting the darn thing into my blog? Not a chance! I'm sure I'm only missing some small little step, but after several frustrating failed attempts, I officially declare myself out-teched. Therefore, no podcast on this blog entry, or any other for the time being. If you'd like to check out the Intro to Moodle podcast I created for my teachers, you'll just have to view/hear it on my wiki. :(
As for podcasting in the classroom, this is one activity that my teachers really ran with last year. Almost any traditional report, presentation, or activity can easily be *tweaked* to take on the form of a podcast instead. I have science teachers who have turned the traditional lab report into an enhanced podcast instead. Students capture their experiment on film, then add background music and record a voice over narration about what is happening during the experiment, as well as their hypothesis and conclusion.
One of my math teachers took the process a bit further. She created an entirely new project called "Adopt an Anchor." Teams of students were each assigned one high school math Assessment Anchor (the concepts which PA uses to create our standardized tests). The students had to explore the math concept in their anchor, and then create a podcast to teach it to their peers. The podcast included an explanation of the Anchor, a sample problem, and step-by-step directions for solving it. Each of her students received a copy of all of the podcasts, which should be a valuable resource for them as they progress through their high school math classes.
These projects address many of the NETS for Students, including Creativity and Innovation, Communication and Collaboration, and Technology Operations and Concepts.
Create a podcast? Got it! Turn it into an Mp3? Sure! Teach kids the process? Absolutely! Post it on my wiki? No problem! But getting the darn thing into my blog? Not a chance! I'm sure I'm only missing some small little step, but after several frustrating failed attempts, I officially declare myself out-teched. Therefore, no podcast on this blog entry, or any other for the time being. If you'd like to check out the Intro to Moodle podcast I created for my teachers, you'll just have to view/hear it on my wiki. :(
As for podcasting in the classroom, this is one activity that my teachers really ran with last year. Almost any traditional report, presentation, or activity can easily be *tweaked* to take on the form of a podcast instead. I have science teachers who have turned the traditional lab report into an enhanced podcast instead. Students capture their experiment on film, then add background music and record a voice over narration about what is happening during the experiment, as well as their hypothesis and conclusion.
One of my math teachers took the process a bit further. She created an entirely new project called "Adopt an Anchor." Teams of students were each assigned one high school math Assessment Anchor (the concepts which PA uses to create our standardized tests). The students had to explore the math concept in their anchor, and then create a podcast to teach it to their peers. The podcast included an explanation of the Anchor, a sample problem, and step-by-step directions for solving it. Each of her students received a copy of all of the podcasts, which should be a valuable resource for them as they progress through their high school math classes.
These projects address many of the NETS for Students, including Creativity and Innovation, Communication and Collaboration, and Technology Operations and Concepts.
Sunday, September 21, 2008
Using Flickr in the classroom
Here we go again! As with so many of the Web 2.0 tools I’ve been studying for my course, I was already familiar with photo sharing for personal use, but had never thought to integrate it into my classroom. I have an account with Snapfish, which I use to share photos with my family and friends, and to order prints and other products (books, calendars, etc). This site is really more appropriate for personal use, so I created an account on Flickr to explore photo sharing as a classroom tool.
The first thing that struck me about Flickr was the ability to search by copyright-type. This is a fabulous resource for any educator or student who needs that perfect photo for a project, but is concerned about copyright infringement (as we all should be). And the wealth of images is amazing – my search of the Creative Commons group for pictures with the tag “Teacher” resulted in over 3,000 pictures! No slim pickings here! The page on the Creative Commons group site has definitions of the various types of C.C. licenses, making this a valuable starting point for a class discussion about Copyright and Fair Use. Clicking through some photostreams and reading the member profiles may also help students to connect with the idea of online images belonging to individuals, and therefore reinforce the idea of proper use and citations.
I chose two Creative Commons photos as examples of Flickr activities that I will be suggesting to my teachers next week. This first one represents an idea I will suggest to our creative writing teacher. Students can search Flickr for an intriguing photo – or the teacher could collect specific photos ahead of time for the students to choose from – and then use it as a writing prompt for a fictional story. The teacher could post the photo on her webpage, blog, or wiki (or even just show it on her projector), along with prompt questions to get the students started. For example:
What is happening in this picture? Why is your character(s) here? Where were they before? What are they doing here? What are they feeling?
The second picture is for a math teacher, though it would also be appropriate for an art or history teacher. I’m not well versed in higher-level math, but arches can be used in an exploration of radius, and various other functions, and this picture is perfect for that:
Both of these activities address not only the curricular
subjects of writing and math, but also the 21st century skill of visual literacy, and the following NETS*S: Creativity and Innovation, Communication and Collaboration, and Digital Citizenship.
Photo credits:
Boats in Swan River: http://www.flickr.com/photos/24548102@N00/2870774788/in/photostream/
flickr photo-boats and rainbow
Arches: http://www.flickr.com/photos/alykat/5545146/
flickr photo-arches
The first thing that struck me about Flickr was the ability to search by copyright-type. This is a fabulous resource for any educator or student who needs that perfect photo for a project, but is concerned about copyright infringement (as we all should be). And the wealth of images is amazing – my search of the Creative Commons group for pictures with the tag “Teacher” resulted in over 3,000 pictures! No slim pickings here! The page on the Creative Commons group site has definitions of the various types of C.C. licenses, making this a valuable starting point for a class discussion about Copyright and Fair Use. Clicking through some photostreams and reading the member profiles may also help students to connect with the idea of online images belonging to individuals, and therefore reinforce the idea of proper use and citations.
I chose two Creative Commons photos as examples of Flickr activities that I will be suggesting to my teachers next week. This first one represents an idea I will suggest to our creative writing teacher. Students can search Flickr for an intriguing photo – or the teacher could collect specific photos ahead of time for the students to choose from – and then use it as a writing prompt for a fictional story. The teacher could post the photo on her webpage, blog, or wiki (or even just show it on her projector), along with prompt questions to get the students started. For example:
What is happening in this picture? Why is your character(s) here? Where were they before? What are they doing here? What are they feeling?
The second picture is for a math teacher, though it would also be appropriate for an art or history teacher. I’m not well versed in higher-level math, but arches can be used in an exploration of radius, and various other functions, and this picture is perfect for that:
Both of these activities address not only the curricular
subjects of writing and math, but also the 21st century skill of visual literacy, and the following NETS*S: Creativity and Innovation, Communication and Collaboration, and Digital Citizenship.Photo credits:
Boats in Swan River: http://www.flickr.com/photos/24548102@N00/2870774788/in/photostream/
flickr photo-boats and rainbow
Arches: http://www.flickr.com/photos/alykat/5545146/
flickr photo-arches
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Social Bookmarking in the classroom
I have spent the past few days exploring the land of social bookmarking. I'm not a total rookie in this field, but new enough that I still have plenty to learn. As with most of the other tools in this course, I grasped the basics, but my use of the tool was barely scratching the surface of its capabilities.
I already have a social bookmarking account, through a site called Diigo. This is actually my second experience with social bookmarking. I began with del.icio.us, on the recommendation of my fellow technology coaches through the Classrooms For the Future program. I thought it was a great way to share resources, especially since we are spread out across the state and rarely have the opportunity to get together. Somewhere along the line, the tide shifted and many of my colleagues switched to Diigo. In the interest of maintaining my network of peers, I switched too. The functionality of the sites is essentially the same, and they make it extremely easy to switch by allowing you to import your bookmarks and tags from any other bookmarking site. Diigo, del.icio.us, it’s all the same to me.
Although I was already bookmarking and tagging my own resources, I had not yet really delved into the social aspect of social bookmarking. For this course, I spent some time playing around on Diigo, clicking through tags and other users, and even adding friends. Through this process, I stumbled upon a number of excellent and relevant resources, which I immediately added to my own collection and tagged in ways best suited for my needs. I now have a much more developed network on the site, and a deeper understanding of the “social” in social bookmarking.
For classroom integration, I will recommend that my teachers have all of their students set up social bookmarking accounts. There is not a single high school student in the country (world?) who couldn’t benefit from this tool. I see particular effectiveness in the case of cross-disciplinary projects and long-term projects. Our 12th graders, for example, will spend the entire year working on their Senior Projects. By using del.icio.us to track the resources they find, they will have ready access to these sources from any computer. Tags will help them easily retrieve information they save early on but don’t need until later in the year, and also allow them to tag sites they find that are relevant for their friends/peers. I can’t wait to share this with my teachers!
I already have a social bookmarking account, through a site called Diigo. This is actually my second experience with social bookmarking. I began with del.icio.us, on the recommendation of my fellow technology coaches through the Classrooms For the Future program. I thought it was a great way to share resources, especially since we are spread out across the state and rarely have the opportunity to get together. Somewhere along the line, the tide shifted and many of my colleagues switched to Diigo. In the interest of maintaining my network of peers, I switched too. The functionality of the sites is essentially the same, and they make it extremely easy to switch by allowing you to import your bookmarks and tags from any other bookmarking site. Diigo, del.icio.us, it’s all the same to me.
Although I was already bookmarking and tagging my own resources, I had not yet really delved into the social aspect of social bookmarking. For this course, I spent some time playing around on Diigo, clicking through tags and other users, and even adding friends. Through this process, I stumbled upon a number of excellent and relevant resources, which I immediately added to my own collection and tagged in ways best suited for my needs. I now have a much more developed network on the site, and a deeper understanding of the “social” in social bookmarking.
For classroom integration, I will recommend that my teachers have all of their students set up social bookmarking accounts. There is not a single high school student in the country (world?) who couldn’t benefit from this tool. I see particular effectiveness in the case of cross-disciplinary projects and long-term projects. Our 12th graders, for example, will spend the entire year working on their Senior Projects. By using del.icio.us to track the resources they find, they will have ready access to these sources from any computer. Tags will help them easily retrieve information they save early on but don’t need until later in the year, and also allow them to tag sites they find that are relevant for their friends/peers. I can’t wait to share this with my teachers!
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
RSS feeds and readers
I’ve spent the past few days beefing up my knowledge of RSS feeds and feed readers, as part of my Web 2.0 Tools course. As with most of the other tools we’ve explored so far, I had a basic working knowledge of RSS, but neither a deep understanding nor an idea of how to integrate it into the classroom.
Prior to this course, I had an account with Google Reader, and a subscription to two blogs of personal interest to me (Parent Hacks and Get Rich Slowly). After reading the text and articles for this course I realized that I was merely skimming the surface of what RSS can do. I was using my reader as a repository for things I was already reading. I had never thought to use it to locate more resources and expand my literary horizons. As part of this unit of study, I did a Google search for the terms “technology education RSS,” which led me to several blogs of interest. I selected a few to subscribe to, and then headed back to Google Reader to see the result. While there, admiring my handiwork, I noticed the link labeled “Discover” and found lists of recommended feeds based on my existing subscriptions. How exciting!
Of course, this all falls into the category of RSS for personal use. I have not yet branched into the technology integration aspect of this particular tool, but I see a few paths opening in front of me. I have two ideas, in particular. We have a Bioethics class that does not use a textbook – the curriculum is based entirely around online resources. I envision having the students select a topic of interest to them (cloning, bias, etc) and then create RSS news feeds using keywords for that topic. They will be able to keep track of new information about their topic as it is published, and could serve as the “expert” for their class in that particular topic. This project will meet several of the NETS*S, including Research and Information Fluency and Technology Operations and Concepts, and could ideally address all of the NETS*S, depending on what the teacher requires the students to do with the information they receive through the feed.
The other recommendation I will make is to a US Government teacher. His students could set up news feeds on the topic of politics in general, or the presidential election in particular, from a variety of websites and then compare the information being published from the different sources. For example, how do the headlines from Fox News compare to the headlines on the same day from NPR (National Public Radio)? Or compare the headlines from CNN with those from the BBC or other foreign news agencies. This activity could take place daily or weekly throughout the semester, and would touch on almost all of the NETS*S.
I’m looking forward to getting started with RSS with my teachers, both for their personal and professional use, and also for their classrooms.
Prior to this course, I had an account with Google Reader, and a subscription to two blogs of personal interest to me (Parent Hacks and Get Rich Slowly). After reading the text and articles for this course I realized that I was merely skimming the surface of what RSS can do. I was using my reader as a repository for things I was already reading. I had never thought to use it to locate more resources and expand my literary horizons. As part of this unit of study, I did a Google search for the terms “technology education RSS,” which led me to several blogs of interest. I selected a few to subscribe to, and then headed back to Google Reader to see the result. While there, admiring my handiwork, I noticed the link labeled “Discover” and found lists of recommended feeds based on my existing subscriptions. How exciting!
Of course, this all falls into the category of RSS for personal use. I have not yet branched into the technology integration aspect of this particular tool, but I see a few paths opening in front of me. I have two ideas, in particular. We have a Bioethics class that does not use a textbook – the curriculum is based entirely around online resources. I envision having the students select a topic of interest to them (cloning, bias, etc) and then create RSS news feeds using keywords for that topic. They will be able to keep track of new information about their topic as it is published, and could serve as the “expert” for their class in that particular topic. This project will meet several of the NETS*S, including Research and Information Fluency and Technology Operations and Concepts, and could ideally address all of the NETS*S, depending on what the teacher requires the students to do with the information they receive through the feed.
The other recommendation I will make is to a US Government teacher. His students could set up news feeds on the topic of politics in general, or the presidential election in particular, from a variety of websites and then compare the information being published from the different sources. For example, how do the headlines from Fox News compare to the headlines on the same day from NPR (National Public Radio)? Or compare the headlines from CNN with those from the BBC or other foreign news agencies. This activity could take place daily or weekly throughout the semester, and would touch on almost all of the NETS*S.
I’m looking forward to getting started with RSS with my teachers, both for their personal and professional use, and also for their classrooms.
Monday, September 15, 2008
Wikis in the classroom
Wikis are a tool that I am minimally familiar with, having used them for collegial collaboration in a few different settings, but I hadn't yet wrapped my head around how to use them in the classroom. I thought the potential for collaboration was awesome, but had no clue where to start. The wikis unit of my Web 2.0 Tools course (through Fresno Pacific University) pointed me in the direction of several articles that helped me get a better grasp of how a wiki can be a useful classroom application. Through readings such as:
Wide Open Spaces: Wikis, Ready or Not
Wiki Ideas for the Classroom
Wiki in a K-12 Classroom
I now have of much better picture of how to use a wiki to enrich the classroom experience.
The most exciting integration idea I came across was in Will Richardson's book, Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts, and Other Powerful Web Tools for Classrooms, in which he describes a project where students used a wiki to create a choose-your-own-ending story about the Holocaust. The students wrote a section of their story on a wiki page, and ended it with a question and two answers to choose from. Each answer is a link to a new wiki page with the next section of the story (depending on the answer chosen), and another question and answer choices at the bottom. What an amazing use of wikis! This strikes me as a perfect example of seemless integration - the tool perfectly fits the needs of the assignment, and even enhances the product. I can't wait to suggest similar activities to my teachers.
I created a wiki last year to use as a communication vehicle and resource repository with the teachers I work with. In my first year as a technology coach I used to print, copy, and deliver paper newsletters to share important dates, upcoming events, and integration ideas and resources. Last year, I upgraded from a newsletter to a wiki. It's a better fit for so many reasons - all the info is in one place, rather than scattered across multiple editions of a newsletter; updates are ongoing and instantaneous, so the info is always current; we can incorporate graphics, charts, podcasts, widgets, and other useful resources; and everyone is a contributor, so there is potential for a much richer product than what I could produce on my own. My wiki is called APHS-CFF which stands for Classrooms For the Future, the Pennsylvania grant program that I work with. The teachers involved with the grant are registered members, and only they can edit the content, but the page is available for public viewing.
The integration activity that I will encourage my teachers to try is the choose-your-ending story that I described above. This activity incorporates intensive planning, in terms of both story and page-linking, is engaging to the potential audience, and can be adapted to any subject area. It addresses most of the NETS*S standards, including Creativity and Innovation, Communication and Collaboration, Digital Citizenship, and Technology Operations and Concepts.
Wide Open Spaces: Wikis, Ready or Not
Wiki Ideas for the Classroom
Wiki in a K-12 Classroom
I now have of much better picture of how to use a wiki to enrich the classroom experience.
The most exciting integration idea I came across was in Will Richardson's book, Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts, and Other Powerful Web Tools for Classrooms, in which he describes a project where students used a wiki to create a choose-your-own-ending story about the Holocaust. The students wrote a section of their story on a wiki page, and ended it with a question and two answers to choose from. Each answer is a link to a new wiki page with the next section of the story (depending on the answer chosen), and another question and answer choices at the bottom. What an amazing use of wikis! This strikes me as a perfect example of seemless integration - the tool perfectly fits the needs of the assignment, and even enhances the product. I can't wait to suggest similar activities to my teachers.
I created a wiki last year to use as a communication vehicle and resource repository with the teachers I work with. In my first year as a technology coach I used to print, copy, and deliver paper newsletters to share important dates, upcoming events, and integration ideas and resources. Last year, I upgraded from a newsletter to a wiki. It's a better fit for so many reasons - all the info is in one place, rather than scattered across multiple editions of a newsletter; updates are ongoing and instantaneous, so the info is always current; we can incorporate graphics, charts, podcasts, widgets, and other useful resources; and everyone is a contributor, so there is potential for a much richer product than what I could produce on my own. My wiki is called APHS-CFF which stands for Classrooms For the Future, the Pennsylvania grant program that I work with. The teachers involved with the grant are registered members, and only they can edit the content, but the page is available for public viewing.
The integration activity that I will encourage my teachers to try is the choose-your-ending story that I described above. This activity incorporates intensive planning, in terms of both story and page-linking, is engaging to the potential audience, and can be adapted to any subject area. It addresses most of the NETS*S standards, including Creativity and Innovation, Communication and Collaboration, Digital Citizenship, and Technology Operations and Concepts.
Sunday, September 14, 2008
Journey into the world of blogs - the first step
That title may be a bit misleading - I'm not sure this is actually my first step into the new frontier of blog-ville. I've been a reader and occasional commenter of blogs for about a year now. It began with one parenting blog , recommended by a friend, and from that one I stumbled upon the other, a personal finance blog. I subscribe to these two blogs via Google Reader, and also have new posts delivered directly to my email inbox. Reading these blogs often leads me to others, as I follow links and suggestions from the authors and comments. Therefore, this blog territory is not completely foreign to me. The title, however, addresses my first step into the world of blog authoring, where I am a total newbie. So please be gentle. And here goes...
In addition to the blogs I read daily in my personal life, I also check in with several edu-blogs on a fairly regular basis. The blog section of my Web 2.0 Tools course (Fresno Pacific University) led me to some good ones I was unfamiliar with. Here are just a few:
http://www.weblogg-ed.com
http://www.commoncraftshow.com
http://www.tipline.blogspot.com
http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/blog/1340000334.html
In my position as a high school technology integration coach, I'm always on the hunt for new ideas, techniques, strategies, tools, applications, and resources that I can bring back to my teachers to enrich their classrooms. I spent most of last year focusing on building comfort and familiarity with the basic technology. Now that the teachers have developed some basic tech integration techniques, my push for this year is student blogging. Our district is focusing on Literacy Across the Content Areas, and I see blogs as the perfect way to accomplish this goal. It is only the second week of school, and I have already helped one English teacher set up a class blog for her students to publish book reviews and discuss their literature circle books, and one history teacher set up a class portal where she will post debate topics and her students will use the comments section to develop their arguments and rebuttals. In the next few weeks I will be working with an AP Calculus teacher who wants her students to blog about their progress in class and the real world connections they make with their content. Once these teachers are comfortable with the process of blogging and see the benefits it has for their students, it is my hope that they will serve as cheerleaders and missionaries for their colleagues, and help bring many of them on board the blogging-train.
The blogging activities mentioned above - book reviews, literature circle discussions, debate platforms, and reflective math journals - address many of the NETS for Students. Specific NETS that these activities touch on include:
1.b.: create original works as a means of personal or group expression;
All of the Performance Indicators for standard 2, Communication and Collaboration;
All of the Performance Indicators for standard 5, Digital Citizenship;
And all of the Performance Indicators for standard 6, Technology Operations and Concepts.
I'll be tracking my progress with helping teachers implement student blogs here, in my own edublog. So feel free to follow along, and offer your best tips, hints, and strategies. All suggestions welcome!!
In addition to the blogs I read daily in my personal life, I also check in with several edu-blogs on a fairly regular basis. The blog section of my Web 2.0 Tools course (Fresno Pacific University) led me to some good ones I was unfamiliar with. Here are just a few:
http://www.weblogg-ed.com
http://www.commoncraftshow.com
http://www.tipline.blogspot.com
http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/blog/1340000334.html
In my position as a high school technology integration coach, I'm always on the hunt for new ideas, techniques, strategies, tools, applications, and resources that I can bring back to my teachers to enrich their classrooms. I spent most of last year focusing on building comfort and familiarity with the basic technology. Now that the teachers have developed some basic tech integration techniques, my push for this year is student blogging. Our district is focusing on Literacy Across the Content Areas, and I see blogs as the perfect way to accomplish this goal. It is only the second week of school, and I have already helped one English teacher set up a class blog for her students to publish book reviews and discuss their literature circle books, and one history teacher set up a class portal where she will post debate topics and her students will use the comments section to develop their arguments and rebuttals. In the next few weeks I will be working with an AP Calculus teacher who wants her students to blog about their progress in class and the real world connections they make with their content. Once these teachers are comfortable with the process of blogging and see the benefits it has for their students, it is my hope that they will serve as cheerleaders and missionaries for their colleagues, and help bring many of them on board the blogging-train.
The blogging activities mentioned above - book reviews, literature circle discussions, debate platforms, and reflective math journals - address many of the NETS for Students. Specific NETS that these activities touch on include:
1.b.: create original works as a means of personal or group expression;
All of the Performance Indicators for standard 2, Communication and Collaboration;
All of the Performance Indicators for standard 5, Digital Citizenship;
And all of the Performance Indicators for standard 6, Technology Operations and Concepts.
I'll be tracking my progress with helping teachers implement student blogs here, in my own edublog. So feel free to follow along, and offer your best tips, hints, and strategies. All suggestions welcome!!
Saturday, September 13, 2008
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