Tool # 11- Reflection

1. All of the 11 tools have been very eye opening to me and I can envision using most of them in my classroom, and for my personal use as well. One of my favorites was PhotoStory because it was so easy and fun to use. I think this will carry over with the students very well and I plan to use this tool in my classroom this year. I think PhotoStory would be ideal for a group or class project on a certain subject, for example, the life cycle of a butterfly, which we will study this year. I also like all of time savers, like Delicious, which will really help in the classroom.
2. I have really transformed the way that I think learning will take place in the classroom. With all of this technology at our fingertips, how can learning cease to take place? Knowing that all these technology tools are available, fun, and user friendly makes me really excited for this school year! I look forward to using all that I have learned through the 11 tools training to really accelerate learning and student achievement in my classroom.
3. Going through all the 11 tools has showed me just how important (and easy!) collaborating with other teachers and students is. Collaboration is key! I think this is a huge goal in education today, and sharing information via technology is a win-win situation for everyone. I was so surprised how fun it was to learn how to use all these new technology tools! I was nervous at first, not having heard about many of the tools, that it would be hard and not enjoyable to learn. Now that I have learned how to use the tools, I have so much more confidence that I will be able to use them to benefit my students in the classroom this year.

Tool # 11- Digital Citizenship

I think it is very important that all students know about digital citizenship, and the appropriate behavior expected in technology use. I would teach my students about digital citizenship by first exploring with them what it means to be a digital citizen. I would most likely use photo story to illustrate what a digital citizen looks like and what their responsibilities are.

1. What it means to be a Digital Citizen- I think it is important that students know what it means to be a citizen in general, and then apply what it means in the world of technology. There are certain manners and behaviors that are expected of us in the digital world, and many are important in keeping us safe in this digital era. Once students learn what it means to be a digital citizen, they can dive in and make the most of their experience with all the technology out there!

2. Personal Safety- students need to understand that the cyber community shares similar characteristics of their own community at home. It is important to know who to trust and feel secure in sharing information with.

3. Cyber Bullying- if students are being bullied while using technology or the Internet, it is very important that they let their teacher or another trusting adult know, so that it can be monitored. Students need to keep their personal safety a top priority in this digital world so that they can make the best out of their experience.

Tool # 10

Wow!! Who knew there were so many apps out there!? I was very impressed to see the availability and variety of all the different applications available for educational use. I was able to look several different applications, and found some really fun ones that would be appropriate for the classroom. I played with Fling for a while, which is a puzzle application that I think would be great during workstations. I also thought that KenKenLite looked was cool because it requires students to use different math concepts to solve puzzles. I think that the kids would think this is really cool!

I think the iTouches that we are going to receive are going to be very useful in the classroom. I think that using the apps on the iTouch during workstations will keep the students busy and entertained. I also think that all the apps offered could serve as a great re-teaching tool or enrichment activity for students who are having trouble grasping a certain concept. The sky is the limit!

Tool # 9

I think that screencase and Jing would be great ways for students to share information, like many of the other programs we have discovered within the 11 tools. Both of these tools would be a great way to view other people's blogs and get needed information, or even assignment links for the students, through Jing. I think this would be a great time saver in the classroom. Screencase is a great way of promoting communication and collaboration among students. I think it would also be beneficial to use when presenting a series of steps or a process to the students. It would really help with organization and time!

Skype is a great way to connect with other people all around the world! I actually did it with my sister last summer when she was in Europe. I think it would be an awesome opportunity for students to be able to connect with other students around the world, and would be a great tool to use when learning about different countries and cultures. Not to mention, I think that the students would think that it is really cool!!

Tool # 8

http://www.hulu.com/watch/14818/national-geographic-environment-tsunamis-101?c=Web#x-4,vclip,1,0

http://www.hulu.com/watch/97883/national-geographic-animals-killer-whales-vs-gray-whales#s-p8-sr-i0

I chose to use the website www.hulu.com to look for interesting videos that would be useful in the classroom. I have used Hulu in my classroom before, but did not discover the "green" channel until this assignment. The Green channel has a variety of videos on many different science topics, including National Geographic videos. I was able to go through some of them, and chose to hotlink 2 that I thought would be appropriate for my grade level. The first video in about tsunamis and the second video is about killer whales vs. gray whales. They are short and concise and would be a great addition to a lesson or unit on a particular science topic.

Tool # 7- Photo Story Video

Making this video using Photo Story was so easy and really fun! This would be a great tool to use in the classroom. I am already thinking of ways that I can use it this school year. Photo Story would be a great way for my students to independently create their own photo stories and I think it would be ideal for group or class projects. I love how you can use both voice over, text, and music to help illustrate your story. I chose to do my photo story about my dogs. Hope you enjoy!

Tool #6

Wikis would be great for both teachers and students. I think that using Wikis would really encourage student collaboration with one another, and would encourage them to explore new information. www.TeachersFirst.com has some great ideas for how to use Wikis in your classroom. One of the ideas that I came across when I was exploring different Wikis was the idea of doing an author study or book review through a Wiki. I think this would provide a great way for students to collaborate with one another and to continue to add more information to a certain subject or topic. This is only one of the great ideas I found for use with Wikis in your classroom, and I am thinking about using some of these ideas in my classroom this coming year. Teachers and students could also use Wikis for personal use as well, just like in the camping video illustration. I also think, that in terms of working with my team at school, Wikis would provide opportunities for collaboration and organization. As a team, we could come up with a plan for organizing an event, or even consider using a Wiki in aid of creating and updating our roadmaps for the year. This way, every team member would have a way to add to an idea. I think that collaboration is key in education, for both teachers and students, and I think that Wikis can help achieve this important component.

Tool #5

I used Delicious to search for websites, using different tags. I chose to look for websites that my students could easily access and play with. I found some really good sites, but have 2 favorite ones that I found through Delicious. It was easy and fun! I love that I could bookmark these sites and go back to them whenever I wanted.
www.magneticpoetry.com- this website is really cool! It is laid out as a fridge with magnetic words on one side that students can drag to the fridge to create sentences. I think that students would really like this site, and they would be able to use it independently.
www.kidblog.org - this is a blog website that is directed for primary-middle school aged students and their teachers. It is free and very user (and kid!) friendly.
I know that I will refer to my Delicious account and tags during the year. I love how easy it is to find cool sites, both for personal use and for the classroom. What a timesaver!

Tool #4

Google Docs- I chose to use google docs to post a document that contained substitute plans that my team could have access to. It would be a great way to share information without the hassle of emailing my whole team with the document attached. I could see how google docs would be very useful in collaborating and sharing ideas with other teachers, especially your team members. I think it would be very helpful with lesson planning and roadmapping also. Not to mention what a time saver it would be! I was already able to share the google docs document I created today with one of my teammates.

Google Reader- COOL!!! I think this would be very useful for teachers of all grades, and students in upper elementary grades. I am going to have to play around with the program, but I think it would be very useful both personally and professionally. It was very neat to be able to add five of my teammates on my google reader account so quickly. Now I am able to see all 5 posts at any time when I am on google reader.

I think that both these programs would benefit any teacher and any classroom. I specifically think that Google Docs would be more beneficial to teachers at the primary grade level, and would allow teachers to save time and improve in their collaboration with each other. And this, of course, would only result in better and more effective teaching!Google Reader is another awesome tool that google has to offer! It really helps manage and organize different sites that you frequently follow and want updates on. I love that we can follow our fellow coworkers blogs also. This is really cool, and not to mention fast and easy!

Tool #3- Part 2

I used animoto to create a video of my stay in France last summer with my husband. I LOVED this site! It was so easy to create a short video (for free!) using my own pictures and music. It was a lot of fun! This could definately be used in the classroom. I might even use it on the first day of school to introduce myself. I think students could learn to use it also.
My video!

France Summer 2009

Tool # 3

I used Wordle to create a list of words that reflects what occurs in an early childhood classroom. This website was really cool and easy to use! I think this could be very useful and versatile in the classroom. I think that students could use it to create a list or cluster of ideas, and I also think it would be a great teacher tool to use to introduce a topic.

My creation:

Wordle - School: "a href='http://www.wordle.net/show/wrdl/2186117/School'
title='Wordle: School'></a"

Tool #2

After reading about PLN's in this tool assignment, it got me thinking about how important networking with other teachers is, and not only through technology, although that is the society that we live in. I think one of the greatest parts of our profession is getting to share and receive ideas from other teachers who have found things beneficial in their own classrooms with their own students. I like the comment that Will Richardson made about students already having establised their own PLN's through social networking (my space, facebook, etc.) This is so true, and I had never thought about it before, how important it is for our students to be participant and involved in their own PLN's, just as we as teachers are. As teachers, I think it would be great to support students in creating and continuing with their own personal learning networks. Who knows, we could be reading their blogs someday!

I commented on the following blogs:
1. Sylvia's Blog
2. RGE Technology
3. Kinder Tech
4. Young World Tech
5. The Little Blogger That Could

Getting Started- Tool #1

Getting started on my own blog was fun and easy! I liked how I could customize my blog and make it my own. I have never written a blog before...we will see how it goes. I think students would really enjoy this and would be another great way to encorporate technology into the classroom. More to come!