1. With unlimited potential to celebrate student work, what is the best way to manage this?
I think as time and resources expand, teachers will find ways to manage this task. I love how November references the ideas of students who are presenting information (book reports, etc) in class to have their parents skype in and participate or view the presentation. What an excellent idea - or even to have community professionals participate in relevent conversations.
2. How to create authentic work to give deeper meaning to complex issues?
When November writes about having foreign language classes participate in videoconferencing wth other classes from other countries it helps to break down the stereotypes and creates a new paradigm for the students to experience other cultures. Using technology in this way adds relevence and authenticity to a students work -- talk about a new type of penpal!
3. Most effective design for teachers to share best practices?
I find this a difficult question to answer because it seems like it is asking a very personal style type of question. Personally, I tend to read a lot of teacher blogs and that it is often how I get new ideas to use in my classroom. I like the idea of using blogs as a way of sharing information, because you can share with people you don't even know and learn from those you don't know. You a follow the blog or read it with an RSS reader, you can search it bookmark it and otherwise share it.
Saturday, November 26, 2011
Thursday, November 24, 2011
Happy Thanksgiving!
Hoping everyone is having a safe and fun Thanksgiving. Enjoy the week off! See you next Thursday.
Wednesday, November 16, 2011
Week 2 Reflections
What it means to be information literate?
According to November, being information literate does not mean understanding how to necessarily use the tools of technology, but rather how to operate in a technologically literate society -- understanding netiquette, using good judgement and becoming a global citizen on a medium that will cause your words to live on forever, literally.
How to thoughtfully evaluate online information resources?
November talks about explicitly teaching students to critically analyze information for validity and credibility using MAP. The M refers to Meta-web information -- meaning that students are taught how to view the information available in a url or using search engines to identify other sites that link to a specific page or site. A refers to Author -- by identifying who the author is and checking their credentials, it can either lend credibility or flag some concern about the information. P refers to Purpose -- looking at the broader scope of the web site and if they, for example selling products or make questionable endorsements can help readers consider if there is a hidden agenda or bias that is being presented.
According to November, being information literate does not mean understanding how to necessarily use the tools of technology, but rather how to operate in a technologically literate society -- understanding netiquette, using good judgement and becoming a global citizen on a medium that will cause your words to live on forever, literally.
How to thoughtfully evaluate online information resources?
November talks about explicitly teaching students to critically analyze information for validity and credibility using MAP. The M refers to Meta-web information -- meaning that students are taught how to view the information available in a url or using search engines to identify other sites that link to a specific page or site. A refers to Author -- by identifying who the author is and checking their credentials, it can either lend credibility or flag some concern about the information. P refers to Purpose -- looking at the broader scope of the web site and if they, for example selling products or make questionable endorsements can help readers consider if there is a hidden agenda or bias that is being presented.
Monday, November 14, 2011
Digital Story Reflection
Looking back at my Digital Story, I was a bit frustrated by my own technical difficulties. Initially, I took video recordings and still photos using my tablet, I really liked the footage that I got, but then I had a difficult time getting the video formats to convert to what I needed for movie maker. Because I couldn't use any of the original video, I had to retake all the video and although I wasn't quite as pleased, it worked okay.
Content-wise, with more time, I would have made it a little bit tighter. I did like the music selections and felt that they conveyed the feeling I was going for.
I have done some digital story (re)telling with my students, you can see our retelling of Mercy Watson to the Rescue here: http://voicethread.com/share/1746989/ Something like this is much more fun and engaging for the students than the type of digital story I presented at class.
Ultimately, I think it depends on the objectives and the audience. The beauty of the digital story is that it can fill many, many different roles.
Content-wise, with more time, I would have made it a little bit tighter. I did like the music selections and felt that they conveyed the feeling I was going for.
I have done some digital story (re)telling with my students, you can see our retelling of Mercy Watson to the Rescue here: http://voicethread.com/share/1746989/ Something like this is much more fun and engaging for the students than the type of digital story I presented at class.
Ultimately, I think it depends on the objectives and the audience. The beauty of the digital story is that it can fill many, many different roles.
Wednesday, November 9, 2011
Week 1 Reading Reflections
New literacies and why are they important in the K-12 classroom?
The new literacy skills involving technology are closely tied to 21st century skills. Being technologically literate means being able to navigate a wide range of programs and online software to effectively communicate. Long gone are the days when tech savvy meant knowing Word and Excel, even PowerPoint is growing older. Being able to adapt to new and changing technology is the one of the strengths of the new generations.
Along with being able to manage newer Web 2.0 tools, students need to be explicitly taught some basics. For example, how to be a responsible and safe internet citizen. While many schools use a 'walled garden' approach, I am concerned that if students are not taught what to do if they stumble upon an inappropriate site, they might not be aware of the dangers there are. Students also need to be taught how to protect themselves and their privacy online and the reasons that it is important to do so. (Richardson, 2010)
School/district policy about publishing to the web?
Because I teach in a preschool classroom that does not have access to a computer, school online policy is not an issue that I typically have the need to address. While I have done some online projects with my students (using VoiceThread) to publish completed works, I obtain the families consent prior to the project and it typically is not an issue, since the students are not using the internet and we don't use any identifying materials.
What is a weblog and how might it be used in teaching/learning?
Blogs can be used in any number of ways to share information easily with push-button publishing tools. Blogs can be used as an online portfolio, a class website, a book discussion, information chronically a long term project (for example, following the hatching of trout eggs and their growth and observations), there are many, many different ways that classrooms can utilize blogs to enhance learning.
Additionally, teachers can use blogs to share their own ideas, lessons and teaching strategies with other teachers across the country. When used this way, blogs become an endless resource book on teaching.
The new literacy skills involving technology are closely tied to 21st century skills. Being technologically literate means being able to navigate a wide range of programs and online software to effectively communicate. Long gone are the days when tech savvy meant knowing Word and Excel, even PowerPoint is growing older. Being able to adapt to new and changing technology is the one of the strengths of the new generations.
Along with being able to manage newer Web 2.0 tools, students need to be explicitly taught some basics. For example, how to be a responsible and safe internet citizen. While many schools use a 'walled garden' approach, I am concerned that if students are not taught what to do if they stumble upon an inappropriate site, they might not be aware of the dangers there are. Students also need to be taught how to protect themselves and their privacy online and the reasons that it is important to do so. (Richardson, 2010)
School/district policy about publishing to the web?
Because I teach in a preschool classroom that does not have access to a computer, school online policy is not an issue that I typically have the need to address. While I have done some online projects with my students (using VoiceThread) to publish completed works, I obtain the families consent prior to the project and it typically is not an issue, since the students are not using the internet and we don't use any identifying materials.
What is a weblog and how might it be used in teaching/learning?
Blogs can be used in any number of ways to share information easily with push-button publishing tools. Blogs can be used as an online portfolio, a class website, a book discussion, information chronically a long term project (for example, following the hatching of trout eggs and their growth and observations), there are many, many different ways that classrooms can utilize blogs to enhance learning.
Additionally, teachers can use blogs to share their own ideas, lessons and teaching strategies with other teachers across the country. When used this way, blogs become an endless resource book on teaching.
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