Week 4- Free Choice

Well, much like Mr. Parson's post I had some difficulty deciding what to write about. Due to my conundrum, I decided to focus on two topics. One being Audible and the other being VocabGrabber's Visual Thesaurus.

First, Audible is a website where you can subscribe to a monthly program, or pay as you go, to download books directly to your ipod or mp3 player. I was instantly in love with this concept. At first it took a little bit of time to get used to hearing the book rather than reading it, but once you get used to it, it makes the mundane aspects of life enjoyable. Washing the dishes or vacuuming the carpet are no longer mindless tasks, but instead something to do while you listen to the book. Also, taking walks (which for me was boring unless I had someone to talk to) are fantastic because now I can go for miles and miles because there's something to occupy my mind. One of my current favorites is called The Help, it's the story of three women (two African-American maids and one southern white girl) who try to change the minds of the people of Jacksonville, MI during the Civil Rights Movement. One thing that makes the book so great is that each character's point of view is read by a different woman, who's voice is dead-on with what I pictured.

Not only is Audible great for chores, but it's also great for school. I've used some books that I've downloaded for a read aloud with the students. I've also downloaded some books that struggling readers would like to read, but the book is above their level. Using the download the students are now able to read along with the story. One example would be The Looking Glass Wars, this book is written at a level that is above many of my readers, but they are able to enjoy it with it on audio.

My next topic of conversation is VocabGrabber. This website allows you to type in a word or sentence and then search for words with similar meanings. However, unlike a Thesaurus, VocabGrabber provides you with a visual of the words and how closely they are alike, and to what words they are linked to. Here's an example of beautiful.

Another great feature of the program is that you can type in a sentence and then after you've clicked search, you can see individual webs for each word in the sentence. This program has great uses in the classroom. My students often have a difficult time understanding that some words are a bit of a stretch to relate them to the original word, this program provides a visual for them to see which words might not work. Another bonus is that it could be both used in the classroom as well as at home.

Week 4- Wikis

Well personally, I love wikis but only when they're user friendly. I've used one where it's like you have to write the html code...way too much work for me. Anyway, after exploring some websites I found a couple that I liked, and one that wasn't exactly for me. However, I'm going to assume that depending on what you're looking for, you could hate the ones I like and like the one I dislike.

First off, I searched only for Language Arts wikis. Mostly because that's all I teach and therefore a science wiki isn't going to help me much. This first wiki, wik-my-pedia, I really enjoyed because the navigation was quite simple, even though the author thinks it's chaotic. Anyway, I liked the ideas on her wiki. The homework was listed there on the home page for the students, easy to find, and navigating to their assignments was quite easy.

The next wiki, CSS 8th Grade English, I LOVED because I really liked the introduction to the wiki. It laid out the fact that although the wiki is fun and useful, EVERYTHING can be tracked... the best line, in my opinion, was "when in doubt, DON'T."

The third wiki I looked at, Mr. Drum's 5th Grade Wiki, I really wasn't too impressed with. However, once I looked at it outside of just the Language Arts aspect, I really enjoyed it. He seems, from the wiki, to be a pretty fun teacher with some good ideas on how to get kids involved.

Finally, this post Teaching English Language Arts, probably wasn't my favorite. I think it was a bit difficult to navigate, and actually a little boring. However, if you were looking for that material, then I'm sure it'd be quite helpful. I guess I'm a little more aesthetically inclined.

Week 4- Are we being outsourced?

I must say, after reading the World without Walls: Learning Well with Others article, I began to wonder "Are we being outsourced?" Is being a teacher going to become one of those jobs that becomes obsolete like telephone operators? One of the author's points was that he thinks that the most important teachers for his children are those that they search out themselves, not those that they have in the classroom. Now I know that this articles point was to say that we as educators need to change our way of thinking, that teaching isn't sticking with the "tried-and-true" lessons, but collaborating and creating. However, the more I learn and read the more I wonder, "Are teachers going to be a thing of the past? Will it all become learning online with an expert on the subject? And what do I need to become an expert on so that I can stay employed?"

Week 3- Media Sharing

Media Sharing... well I guess I never really thought of the idea of Facebook, Snapfish, and Flickr with the title of media sharing. However, that's exactly what it is (I kind of had a DUH! moment there). I've used these websites for quite a while and just kind of thought they were a good way to connect with friends. Much easier than attempting to print out a million pictures and deliver them, or getting those phone calls that drag on and on from friends, when all you really want to find out was what's new. I guess that makes me more of a digital native than I thought. Now, the term doesn't strictly apply to me, because we didn't get computers in our school till sixth grade, but I guess I've been using them for most of my life. Wow, I never really thought of it that way.

Anyway, back to media sharing, I think the idea of media sharing is great. The ability to catch up with people, share photos, and just peek in to see what's going on in their lives is great. It's not invasive and you don't have to get caught on the phone for an hour when you really just wanted to see how they're doing. However, like everything on the Internet, I think it's great with moderation. People who use web cams and document every iota of their lives open up some dangerous doors. For example, I'm listening to a book right now (I download as many books as I can on Audible and listen to them while I do things around the house or walk. It makes chores so much more enjoyable!) called Roadside Crosses. In the story, one of the recurring themes is that the killer is able to track down his victims and know their greatest fear from the information they post on the web. Although I recognize that this is a fictional book, it does have a point that we need to be careful what we post on the web. Actually an interesting side note with this book is that the killer is tracking people through a blog.

Although I really enjoy media sharing, it's something that isn't possible within our school. I would love to be able to use it, for example if I were to have students take pictures at home, upload them to snapfish and then have them use them in a project. However, sadly this is not a possibility; these media sharing sites have been blocked by our tech coordinator. Now, I understand why, but I wish we could find a way to use them, they would add so much and provide accessibility to our projects.

Week 3- RSS

I feel like I've been introduced into a whole new world! Being able to go to one place to find all of my information- AMAZING! I really wish you could hear how excited I am about this. Like I said in my post about social bookmarking I'm not much of a surfer, and I tend to forget about continuing to check the websites. However these RSS feeds make it incredibly easy to check in on many different websites.

Right now I'm using which allows me to do so much. There's ways to customize the backgrounds, choose which feeds you want to allow and which not, and there's ways to organze groups. I really like that all of my updates are right there for me. When I went to the Conference one of the big themes of a session was how much students want to be able to customize their work and space. Only then did it strike me about how true that is. Students want to be able to customize their desktops, lockers, and binders. When I started thinking about and how much it allows you to do, I realized how perfectly they played into that need of customization.

When I think about the applications for RSS feeds, I can't wait to get back to school. As I've said before, our school uses and within the program is an RSS reader. My plan for this year is to have the students follow eachother's blogs. This will allow them to become accustom with the program as well as enforce their reading, writing, and conversation skills. I really can't believe how different school is now compared to when I was in school...and it wasn't that long ago I was in school (comparatively).

Week 3- Social Bookmarking

I am in love with social bookmarking. Personally, I tend to find websites, write down the url, and then proceed to lose the paper. Also, what happens to those papers when your at someone else's computer? That's why I really enjoy these social bookmarking tools. I can be ANYWHERE and save the bookmark for me to come back to when I have time.

I was first introduced Delicious to while I was in another class, but I don't remember which one. I was enthralled by it. However, one of the downfalls was that I didn't bookmark too much. One of the main reasons was because I'm not much of a web surfer. I also would get frustrated by not finding the right sites I was looking for. That's why I really like (I feel like I'm a commercial for this site), I was able to sign up for groups where people had already found sites I could use.

My new goal for this school year is to find a bunch of sites that allow my students to practice and learn new skills. By having the sites in Diigo, I can find sites at home and then see if I can use them at school. Like I said before, our school is locked down as tight at Fort Knox.

**Note: I did try to create a picture link for Delicious, but I couldn't get the picture. Not sure why, but I do think the Diigo looks pretty cool.**

Week 2 #2

Well it seems as though I forgot to comment on how the class is going. I think it’s going along wonderfully. I think I was rather secluded in my thoughts of how technology is being integrated by being confined to my little room within my rather small school. Therefore being able to read these different articles and books has made me realize that there is more of a push than just the few people within my school. I’m taking two classes this summer, the other being Computers, Curriculum, and Change, and both of these classes are providing very interesting information.

I also feel that the blog is a great way to express our learning. I think for a while I was under a different impression of how a blog can be used in a classroom. However, to use it as a journal that documents students’ learning is great. For one reason it doesn’t provide too much information about them, but it also demonstrates where they started and where they’ve progressed to.

Finally, I feel the Skype call was a key element into making this class feel more cohesive rather than just me at my computer alone. I think a video call would be great for many online classes. I feel more a part of the group when I can put a picture with a name (I know I need to get a picture on my blog, rest assured I’m working on one that doesn’t make me look like an ogre!), and the video conferencing does just that, it provides a meeting that everyone can be a part of. So overall, I am really enjoying this class.