Frey, T, Houlton, A, & Gruis, E. (2010, November). I can see me: webcams in the classroom. Learning and leading with technology, 38(3), Retrieved from http://www.iste.org/learn/publications/learning-and-leading/digital-edition-november.aspx
Summary
I'd like to start by saying, this article was really interesting. Incorporating webcams into the classroom started with a third grader named Sam, who was having trouble with his reading skills. Sam didn't enjoy reading at all or aloud to the rest of the class. His teacher had an idea of having him read in front of a webcam so he could see himself and correct his errors. It turned out to be a great idea and Sam, and now other students who are using the webcam as a tool, have greatly increased their reading skills. The webcam is also used for academic skills such as listening comprehension and spelling. Another advantage to using the webcam is that students can videotape themselves or audiotape themselves and then share their work and ideas online via social networking sites, DVDs, emails, or just loading it on to flash drives. Again it's just another tool to open up the doors to more opportunities.
Q#1- What's another way to use the webcam in the classroom?
The first thing I thought of after reading this article was using the webcam to practice giving speeches. So many students, actually people in general, fear public speaking. A great way to practice would be using the webcam. Although it is different because you are just staring at yourself and not a classroom of 30 people, it still allows you to work on skills like looking up and making eye contact and not moving around a lot. Students can record themselves and play it back to see what needs improvements and what they did well.
Q#2- How do you get webcams in the classroom?
Like everything they cost money but are fairly inexpensive. Also, a webcam for each computer would be unnecessary; I would imagine that 10 or so per classroom would be plentiful and like many activities that take place in the classroom the webcams can be set up as stations where kids take turns using them. Some sort of rotation could be put into place so everyone gets a turn. Just like using the computer to write word documents, students can use the webcams each week to better their reading skills.
Friday, November 5, 2010
Journal 7: My Personal Learning Network NETS-T V
My Personal Learning Network is in development so it is not terribly large yet. I am currently following six people on Twitter, some of which are individual people involved in the educational field and others that are educational organizations. On Delicious I have seven people in my network of the same variety as I mentioned with Twitter. The purpose of my PLN is to be in contact with other individuals who have the same common interest of education. By doing so, we can bounce ideas off one another and it is a very give-take type of relationship. An advantage is that it's not necessary to personally know these people, I can just follow them to see what new things they discovered or are incorporating into their classroom.
The people I am following on twitter are all educators themselves except for one (one is an education and technology organization). What they all have in common is the passion for teaching and the determination of incorporating more technology into the classroom. I chose to add these people as my followers because I liked that they were just regular teachers with a common cause. That is to say, I will one day be a teacher like themselves so what they say is very relevant to me. I chose to participate in a middle school topic discussion using twitter (#midleved), and it was very interesting. The chat went on all day long and it was simply anything involving middle school. People were tweeting about what they were doing in their classroom that day, what units they were working on, lesson plans they found useful--all kinds of stuff. It was basically just a period of complete resources. I liked it a lot. It was a very fast paced chat and tweets were continually popping up, however, no two were the same; everything everyone tweeted was unique and I liked that a lot.
From this assignment, I gathered that I like Delicious more than Twitter. I like the more slow pace of Delicious and that comments (tweets) are not constantly popping up making it hard to follow at times. The way I found people was by searching education and then adding technology to make it more narrow. I got a lot of results and ended up searching a few pages and adding people who I thought were interesting. I bookmarked the pages I did because they were all tools I could see myself using. I bookmarked a digital storytelling tool, tutorials on using google and using google in unique ways, an article on cyber safety and the prevention of cyber bullying, and the last was a website on integrating different technologies into the classroom.
Finally, I joined The Educator's PLN and I watched a video about using Google Calendar as a way to lesson plan. It was actually very useful and something I could definitely see myself using. The narrator of the video describes how it's so useful and beneficial to have lesson plans on GoogleDocs so you never loose track of anything, you can access it from any computer at anytime, and lastly because it keeps your desk a lot more neat! And I love organization!
The people I am following on twitter are all educators themselves except for one (one is an education and technology organization). What they all have in common is the passion for teaching and the determination of incorporating more technology into the classroom. I chose to add these people as my followers because I liked that they were just regular teachers with a common cause. That is to say, I will one day be a teacher like themselves so what they say is very relevant to me. I chose to participate in a middle school topic discussion using twitter (#midleved), and it was very interesting. The chat went on all day long and it was simply anything involving middle school. People were tweeting about what they were doing in their classroom that day, what units they were working on, lesson plans they found useful--all kinds of stuff. It was basically just a period of complete resources. I liked it a lot. It was a very fast paced chat and tweets were continually popping up, however, no two were the same; everything everyone tweeted was unique and I liked that a lot.
From this assignment, I gathered that I like Delicious more than Twitter. I like the more slow pace of Delicious and that comments (tweets) are not constantly popping up making it hard to follow at times. The way I found people was by searching education and then adding technology to make it more narrow. I got a lot of results and ended up searching a few pages and adding people who I thought were interesting. I bookmarked the pages I did because they were all tools I could see myself using. I bookmarked a digital storytelling tool, tutorials on using google and using google in unique ways, an article on cyber safety and the prevention of cyber bullying, and the last was a website on integrating different technologies into the classroom.
Finally, I joined The Educator's PLN and I watched a video about using Google Calendar as a way to lesson plan. It was actually very useful and something I could definitely see myself using. The narrator of the video describes how it's so useful and beneficial to have lesson plans on GoogleDocs so you never loose track of anything, you can access it from any computer at anytime, and lastly because it keeps your desk a lot more neat! And I love organization!
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
Monday, November 1, 2010
Crossword Puzzle: NETS-T I
This is a math crossword puzzle I created using Microsoft Excel. I manipulated many features excel has to offer that most probably don't know exist in order to create it. It's a very innovative way to create fun activities for students to learn.
Thursday, October 21, 2010
Journal #6 "Interview with Will Richardson" NETS-T III
Rebora, A. (2010, Ocotober 11). Change agent. Retrieved from http://www.edweek.org/tsb/articles/2010/10/12/01richardson.h04.html?cmp=clp-edweek&intc=bs&sms_ss=delicious&at_xt=4cb7dc75d0303b73,0
Summary
Will Richardson is a former teacher and now a technology expert. He seeks to find new ways to bring technology into the classroom and then use his knowledge to influence and help other teachers do the same. The interviewer asked many questions and I'll make point of the most important ones. Richardson credits teachers to not using technology very often/enough to the fact that it's a culture shift. People are very stuck in their ways of teaching and don't like change. He brought up a very good argument to those who say kids are born "tech savvy", explaining that kids have less of a fear of technology then adults but they know more of the social advances of technology and less about how to use technology to learn. Richardson also shows a little bit of concern when he talks about how technology implementation is really an uphill battle. With the budget being as bad as it is, teachers don't even get the basic utensils for a classroom, let alone computers.
Q#1- With public school systems being in such poor conditions, in terms of finances, how can I still manage to teach my students using the web?
Just because every student does not have a computer in front of them does not mean we cannot teach them or show them what is out there. People cannot use tools if they do not know they exist. A very simple example could be an instance where I have students working on a research project. In an effort to show them better ways to reasearch more narrowly or simply to have another outlet as a search engine I could introduce delicious.com. I could show the students how it works how to tag, bookmark, and share with others. What they chose to take from that is all individual but at least they know it's there and I am giving them access to an instrument they would otherwise not even know was available.
Q#2- How can I change the way of thinking and convert other teachers to using more technology?
I would do as Richardson suggested and make sure that I am constantly modeling the use of technology. Reminding the other faculty that the computer has so much value. I would also try to be an advocate of technology by maybe not only modeling the use of technology in the classroom but sharing it with others. Send others emails about new ways of using technology so they can implement it at their own pace and it doesn't feel too forced.
Summary
Will Richardson is a former teacher and now a technology expert. He seeks to find new ways to bring technology into the classroom and then use his knowledge to influence and help other teachers do the same. The interviewer asked many questions and I'll make point of the most important ones. Richardson credits teachers to not using technology very often/enough to the fact that it's a culture shift. People are very stuck in their ways of teaching and don't like change. He brought up a very good argument to those who say kids are born "tech savvy", explaining that kids have less of a fear of technology then adults but they know more of the social advances of technology and less about how to use technology to learn. Richardson also shows a little bit of concern when he talks about how technology implementation is really an uphill battle. With the budget being as bad as it is, teachers don't even get the basic utensils for a classroom, let alone computers.
Q#1- With public school systems being in such poor conditions, in terms of finances, how can I still manage to teach my students using the web?
Just because every student does not have a computer in front of them does not mean we cannot teach them or show them what is out there. People cannot use tools if they do not know they exist. A very simple example could be an instance where I have students working on a research project. In an effort to show them better ways to reasearch more narrowly or simply to have another outlet as a search engine I could introduce delicious.com. I could show the students how it works how to tag, bookmark, and share with others. What they chose to take from that is all individual but at least they know it's there and I am giving them access to an instrument they would otherwise not even know was available.
Q#2- How can I change the way of thinking and convert other teachers to using more technology?
I would do as Richardson suggested and make sure that I am constantly modeling the use of technology. Reminding the other faculty that the computer has so much value. I would also try to be an advocate of technology by maybe not only modeling the use of technology in the classroom but sharing it with others. Send others emails about new ways of using technology so they can implement it at their own pace and it doesn't feel too forced.
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
Classroom Newsletter: NETS-T III
Newsletter
This newsletter is a basic, one page summary used to inform students and their parents about what they can expect from my class. It's an easy way to introduce myself to them and also give parents and students the most efficient ways to communicate with me. I made it using Microsoft word and really utilized many of the features word has to offer.
This newsletter is a basic, one page summary used to inform students and their parents about what they can expect from my class. It's an easy way to introduce myself to them and also give parents and students the most efficient ways to communicate with me. I made it using Microsoft word and really utilized many of the features word has to offer.
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
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