When I registered for the ITEC 7430 Internet for the Classroom I really didn't know what to expect from this class. So far, our previous courses have delved into the research and pedagogical aspects of technology in education. It was really exciting to take a course where we got a chance to experiment and discover some new resources that we could use in our classrooms. These tools and apps came from a wide area of technology such as, internet safety, podcasting, visual tools, social networking, virtual environments, productivity tools and wikis. Each week I was able to choose two to three resources that I was interested in and discover what made it so unique. Also, getting the chance to explore with these resources and create an artifact was really the best for me.
I know while working in my cooperative planning groups, I always noticed that my teachers never really understood how our technology resources can impact their classrooms because they never get a chance to just experiment and discover. It always seems so many of these tools are just given to them without the proper time for them to be able to discover the ins and outs. Having that time, during this class, made all the difference for me. There were so many tools that I used immediately in my classroom! Some of the tools that I have started using regularly are: Google Tour Builder, Quizizz, Zeal, Gliffy, and Padlet. By far my favorites were Jing, Screen-O-Matic, and Podcasting. During several of my collaborative planning sessions I taught my teachers how to use Jing in their classrooms to share math techniques with their parents. It was so great to hear my teachers talk about how easy it was to share their math strategies with their parents and receive such positive feedback. Sharing this tool was an added bonus because it goes right along with my Capstone project. I decided to use Jing to share resources, with my teachers, because it would be easier and quicker than writing up directions for them to follow. I tried to make sure that I chose a wide variety of tools to explore, but there were still some tools that I still struggled with or just found difficult to use. One of those tools is still Google Docs and Netvibes. I see how productive Google Docs can be, but for some reason it just doesn’t come as naturally as I would like for it too. I always second guess myself and I have to use my notes to make sure that my documents have saved correctly or end up in the correct place. It’s also confusing too because I have two google accounts, one personal and one related to work. Regardless I know that I will keep trying to use this tool and so many others to see how they can make an impact in my classroom. Keeping students safe on the internet is more than just blocking websites or limiting student’s amount of time on the internet. Teachers and parents have to play a major role in the internet safety education of our students. We must be diligent and make sure that our students understand that the internet is a wonderful resource that can be abused. Three websites that I located to help reinforce student safety on the internet are: Education World, Edutopia, and Edublogs. The authors offered a variety of strategies to teach students about internet safety. The first strategy required getting parents involved. Parents and teachers understand that the internet is an amazing tool, but we must stress to our students the dangers of inappropriate use at school and at home.
We have to encourage our parents to open those lines of communication daily. Talk with your child about only communicating with friends that they know. Also, stress that they can always come and talk about any experiences or questions that come up while they is online. Next, start by setting limitations while your child is online. For example, set a cut off time for being on the internet and even join in while your child is online playing games. The next strategy provided a large variety of teaching resources to help educators and parents learn how to talk with their children about using the internet safely and how to deal with strangers in real life and online. The Edutopia authors used some common tools such as BrainPop, Jr. videos, writing activities, and even games for students to play. Introducing our students to the topic of strangers online and in real life helps them understand that all strangers will not be big, mean, or scary. It’s easy to understand what you should do if you encounter a real-life stranger, but an online stranger is different. Online strangers are brought into our homes and we have to give our students the tools to know how to deal with them. The third strategy encourages our schools and parents to set clear internet guidelines with your children’s input. This strategy encourages teachers and parents to include students in this process when creating these guidelines. This will help students take ownership of their behavior and remind them of the importance and need for internet safety. This week we only had to choose one tool to investigate from chapter 10. From this chapter I decided to explore Netvibes. Just imagine if you could pull up one tool that housed everything that you used throughout the day. Netvibes can be described as that resource that pulls in all of your newsfeeds, blogs, social networks, podcasts, games, videos, and any other information that you check regularly from your smart phone all in one location. When I first looked at this tool, I must admit that I was overwhelmed by everything. For me it was too cluttered and just too much on a page for me to be able to truly enjoy it, but I could definitely see how it could be used in our classrooms. Teachers could use Netvibes to create WebQuests for student exploration or they could use it to house all of their favorite internet sites organized by concepts, and even use it share information with their fellow teachers. Also, teachers could create tasks for our independent or self-directed learners to complete. For example, having your students watch videos or lectures before coming to class, so your class time could be used for strictly application. The future of Web 2.0 technology has only just begun. I believe that it is transforming each day for us and our students. In my opinion technology is changing how available it is for all of our students. About ten years ago it was rare to see classrooms equipped with laptop carts, document cameras, and smartboards. Many reasons that this happened is because of the cost for these resources. In the beginning your more affluent schools had the newest or most technology available while your poorer schools just had to make do. Now technology is readily available everywhere. Schools are getting away from purchasing the most expensive software because most of these resources can now be found for free or at an inexpensive price. Take for example Mangahigh, for years this great resource was free for our students to use and support their learning now you have to pay for this resource. One of the areas that I believe that our schools are going to struggle with is learning how to use technology to foster learning. Many of our classrooms use technology for games, review, test prep, and word processing. We have to take these tools beyond to application, collaboration, and product creation. Another area that will challenge our schools is making sure that our teachers are prepared to use technology to its full extent. Many of our teachers are exposed to a wide range of resources and tools, but we are not giving them the time to successfully understand how these resources can impact their classrooms. I also have to wonder how technology is going to impact the social skills and face to face interactions of our students. So many of our students and even some adults hide behind their computer screens and they lack the ability to interact with others. The future of web 2.0 technology is going to continue to transform our schools for the best. I believe that these technology resources are going to help with meeting the needs of all of our students and encourage collaboration and application in our classrooms.
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Here is my video using Windows Movie Maker that I created. |
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November 2016
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