I made it! I have now been exposed to many tools that were unknown to me last month. I will admit that there were a few times that I wondered if I would ever get to tool # 11. I think most of it was fear of the unknown. As I approached one tool at a time, I found each tool to be very manageble. I do think it is critical for educators to keep up with technology. Our students are growing up in a world full technology and we must bring it into the classrooms.
I feel that 11 Tools only scratched the surface of what I need to know about technology. I need to make a personal goal to continue to explore these tools, plus more on my own.
I really like Google Docs and hope to incorperate it into my staff development sessions next year. I also found PhotoStory, GoogleReader, and Skype user friendly and a great way to use technology even with younger students. Proabably the tool the will help me the most next year is the one about apps. Since everyone of my teachers will have 5 itouches in their classrooms, we will need to know alot about locating, doenloading and managing apps.
Monday, July 12, 2010
Thursday, July 8, 2010
Tool # 11
In today's fast changing world, it is crucial that technology be embedded into our daily instruction. Digital Citizenship is now the responsibility of all educators.
If I had to pick three things to focus on teaching students, the first would be safty- students need to be taught how to take precautions in order to protect themselves and their personal information. It is also important that they understand and apply appropriate standards of conduct and procedures for online communication. I have heard this referred to as "netiquette".
Finally I would want to ensure that students learn how to check sources they find online, as well as cite them appropriatly in order to avoid plagiarism.
Since I work with small children, the best way to begin teaching digital citizenship is through modeling. We need to model appropriate use of technology daily.
If I had to pick three things to focus on teaching students, the first would be safty- students need to be taught how to take precautions in order to protect themselves and their personal information. It is also important that they understand and apply appropriate standards of conduct and procedures for online communication. I have heard this referred to as "netiquette".
Finally I would want to ensure that students learn how to check sources they find online, as well as cite them appropriatly in order to avoid plagiarism.
Since I work with small children, the best way to begin teaching digital citizenship is through modeling. We need to model appropriate use of technology daily.
Tool # 10
This is the tool that I am most excited about using. Apps are everywhere, I have a few on my personal itouch, but I am not proficent at finding new ones and adding them to my library. Now that I have made the time to review some, I could spend all day exploring. I found several free apps that will be great to use with our students. I really like Shape Builder Lite, and Toddler ABC's Lite. I may even put these on my itouch for the little one in my life. I think the idea of providing a "lite" version is a great way to see if you want to purchase the full version.
In the spring, I took several itouches into one of our prek classrooms to use with the students. I was amazed at how comfortable the students were with technology. My wow moment was when they were finding ways to use them that I hadn't noticed when I was preping for the lesson!
I am excited about having these in the hands of our little ones next year. I think this is a very motivating way for students to independently practice and reinforce skills. I think we will all be learning together!
In the spring, I took several itouches into one of our prek classrooms to use with the students. I was amazed at how comfortable the students were with technology. My wow moment was when they were finding ways to use them that I hadn't noticed when I was preping for the lesson!
I am excited about having these in the hands of our little ones next year. I think this is a very motivating way for students to independently practice and reinforce skills. I think we will all be learning together!
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
Tool # 9
Skype is a term that I have become familiar with in the last year of so. I have several friends that use it to communicate with family and friends that live several states away. It is also used to communicate with their family while traveling for business. I think it is a great way to communicate because it provides the visual component that is not available with a phone call. After learning more about Skype in Tool 8, I can see the role it can play in the classroom.
Jing is something that was new to me. I really like the fact that it can help you show people what you are talking about, instead of trying to explain it in words. Screencast is one step beyond using print screen to place a screen shot into a document. As a SIS, it would be very helpful for me to use the Jing software when trying to communicate with teachers about technology.
Jing is something that was new to me. I really like the fact that it can help you show people what you are talking about, instead of trying to explain it in words. Screencast is one step beyond using print screen to place a screen shot into a document. As a SIS, it would be very helpful for me to use the Jing software when trying to communicate with teachers about technology.
Tool #8
Videos are a great way to add to a lesson or presentation. The great thing about streaming video is that you can use a small clip, or even part of a clip to enhance your lesson. Before Tool 8, I was familair with several resources, but now I have new resources to add to the list. However, I was not aware of the amount of material available for children. I came across many resourses to use in the primary classroom.
Thursday, July 1, 2010
Tool #7
PhotoStory was fun and user friendly. The problem came when trying to upload my finished product to my blog. I have tried many times, several hours and a variety of strategies to get it to post. I will continue to research and work on this problem, but in meantime I am going to move on to the next tool.
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