Weekly Reflection

This week I created a Jing.  My son thought it was neat.  He stated he had heard that you could capture a screen but he had not seen it done before.  So today I taught him a new Web 2.0 tool that he didn't know.  It is usually the other way.  I can see the benefits of using a jing.  Teachers could use it to demonstrate various concepts that they are learning in class.  Teachers could use if for tutorial purposes via the internet.  Teachers could send information to parent about things that happening in the class or school. 

My Jing was how over Edmodo.  I like this site.  I have not use it much and this year I was not in the classroom.  My son has one teacher that uses it.  I like that it has weekly assignment posted and I can keep track of what he has due.  Students can communicate with each other and the teacher.  She doesn't post questions but using it more for information.

I think that creating the Jing is easy but sharing with other can be a little complicative.  I also thought do I sound like that so I had to record many times.  The times goes faster than you think when you only have so long to say what you have to say.  At first I thought I had to much time but I actually had to practice shorten what I wanted to say.

Week 5-Reflection

I find the MAPPing activity very interesting and eye opening.  I did not perform very well.  I did not know all the various search engines that are available for one to use.  My thoughts were google and yahoo.  What else could there be?  I was surprise by the long list of search engine available.  I had heard of dogpile and excite but they would not have easily come to my mind.  I would not have thought of 95% of those listed.

I did know why we use quotation marks in a search.  I knew the meaning of  URL but did not know the meaning of its acronym.   I heard of Boolean search terms but did not know what it was.  I was excited to know how to locate the owner of a website.  I did not know how to do this before.  I can really see the benefit of having this information when doing research and seeing basis in how information is given.

I knew a lot of the extension but not all of them. I also found it interesting to know that you can locate the history of a website.   Basically I thought that this was a good activity and quiz.  I will do this activity with my children at home to teach them the more about the Internet.  We use the Internet without really given thought into the information we are locating on the various sites.  I am guilty of just going to the first site and retrieving information not doing further research to see if it is a "good" site to get the needed information.

We must teach our students how to properly navigate the web.  If we do not they will believe that the information they are founding is true.  We must teach them how some site are simply someone's opinion and how to look up the owner of the sites they are using.  We must teach them that the first site on a search may not be the best to use for information and why.  We must teach them how to put words in the search engine to get the results they desire.  Below is a quick video on how to use search engine.  I did not know putting a minus sign in the search engine removed information.  It is interesting how to lower your search research.  What an interesting activity to show kids how to effectively use search engines.

This is my delicious account:  http://delicious.com/tammy70_07.  I once had an account but it was closed last year when they change the site.  I had many sites bookmarked.  I had networked with various teachers.  It is good to bookmark your sites and group them.  This helped when I was planning lesson and needed ideas over various concepts.  I had bookmarks of teacher sites.  I will once again develop this site and network with other educators.

Week 4--Reflections



The above view is a quick video using movie making over the benefits of portfolios.   One part of the video mentioned that learners need to reflect on their learning.  This point goes with the AFL that I relate to the most.  I believe that “AFL develops learners’ capacity for self-assessment so that they can become reflective and self-managing”.  I believe that students create more meaningful experience by reflecting on their learning.   Students should be able to say what they understand about various concepts and what they do not understand.  I believe that by creating a portfolio we not only tap into our students’ creativity we creative a learning environment that causes them to utilize their critical thinking skills.

I see portfolio beginning in the first grade.  I believe that students will begin to create e-portfolios that will travel with them each year.  This will not only benefit the student but the teachers.  It would allow students to begin to take responsibility for their learning by choosing pieces to include each year that will demonstrate their mastery of concepts.  It would allow teachers to see what misconceptions students have about their learning through the students reflecting on their learning process. 

I believe that a portfolio will allow teachers to better gauge what knowledge their students have coming to them each year.  It will allow students to develop more engaging lessons that will truly allow students to reach new highest each year.

Week 3---Wiki



The above you-tube video is a simple explanation of what a wiki is.  I created a wiki so that math educators  at my school could collaborate with each other.  This wiki would not only allow for collaboration amongst grade level but it would also allow for vertical collaboration among the teachers.  This would begin to allow teachers to use a common math "language" across the grade levels.  It would allow teachers to see how what they are teaching in the lowers grades "feed" into what students are to learn and understand in the upper grades. It would assist teachers in planning learning and generating ideas.

One of the biggest advantage of utilizing a wiki is that teachers do not have to be in the same room to share ideas or plans.  They can be in the comfort of their home or at a workshop or in their classroom.  With editing privileges teachers can share in creating lesson plans and project in order to lighten a teachers workload.  I believe that a wiki could be use to unleashed even more creativity from teacher.  I believe this because they can take the ideas that are written on the wiki and add ideas and suggestion thereby creating an even greater project or lessons.  I have not begin to use this wiki but I plan to get it started at my school.

A disadvantage of using a wiki is if the information is not arranged in a manner that would allow it to be user friendly.  If the information is not arranged so that related information is located together and easier found user will soon tire of the wiki.  This would require extra work on the part of the person in charge of the wiki unless teachers rotate this responsibility.

Today's digital learner would benefit from the use of a class wiki.  It would help them keep up with assignments.  It would be a great place for them to share ideas of things they would like to do in class.  Students would benefit because they could collaborate with each other and the teacher. 

The web 2.0 tool that I would like to use in the classroom one day is the museum box.  This is the website: http://museumbox.e2bn.org/index.php.    Museum box allows the creator to put a number of items into a box that describes an event, person, or period in time by placing information in a virtual box.  Students could debate a topic or use the museum box as a description box.  It can be used in any class but mostly I see the benefits of using this tool in history and english.