Sunday, April 27, 2008

WEEK 9

The only area that had articles for my grade level was technology which was great since that is what my master's is on. I am hoping the other areas will get articles for my grade level, because this site appears to be pretty good. The article on The 10 Best Science Museums on the Web is going to be very useful, because I am forever trying to find science information for my students (next year we will finally have 2nd grade science books). The Exploratorium, its a fun site I could spend hours on it. I visited Ice Stories and watched a webcast from real scientist from the artic. I believe my students would get a total kick out of this live webcast. I also found the hands-on activities. The salt volcano lesson had steps that were easy to follow and comprehend. This museum has so much more from science activities, webcast to experiments. I then visited Ology museum. The live videos are child friendly and inviting. Before the video begans, the student is challenged to put the video in the correct order and then watch it. It also has an exciting vitual tour on the solar system and hands-on project on making a coral reef.

Saturday, April 26, 2008

WEEK 8

When a book? When the Net?

Wow!!! Good question! Book vs Net!
I know myself, I personally use the computer a lot for research mainly because I don't have to leave the house and its a lot faster than reading a really long text book. I agree with the article thou. When it comes to old history, you can't find much to write a paper on and honestly how do you know which site is a reliable site when you do find something on the web. For current news, Yes!, the web is the place to get it, because its fresh. There are people who are still trying to make money at publishing books and their view on the historic event. Yes!! We do have to wait for the author to write it, then publish it, and then go through production. Once in the book store, I myself wait til it goes on sale or the library get a copy. Researching with books is not to bad for me, because that's how I did my papers when I was in school. The Web wasn't around. Today's children need to be taught how to use book for research, for them its always the computer. Its there, easy to use and its fast. Students needs to realize that books offer so much more than what on the web. Even as teachers in this digital world reach to much for the web before turning to a book for help. We as teachers need to be reminded the books also offer so much more.

Using Technology to Enhance Literacy Instruction

My district really needs to step in this ditigal world that our students are growing up in. As teachers, we are getting some of the training, but we need so much more. As a Technology master learner, I feel it will be my job to help educate my fellow peers on Web 2.0, importance of safe surfing the web, how to use movie maker, how helpful are podcasts etc. My district does not understand the importance of more computers in the classroom. Yes!!! We have a lab, but when it come to lower grades its easier to put a couple on at a time. That way they get a more one on one understand on how to correctly use the programs, save and retrieve their own files. At the present time, in my 2nd grade class room I use my computers for reading fluency by putting my kids on Starfall during center time. I am also teaching them in the lab on how to create an invitation on Publisher to our grade level play. So in my 2nd grade class room, I use the computers for writing and reading fluency.

Saturday, April 12, 2008

Week 7 readings

Technology education is an important issue to today's children. As a teacher, it's our responsibility to prepare our children for the real world which is the digital world; especially in the subjects of math and science. Technology is now changing from year to year instead of generating to generation. As technology changes, teachers need to be aware of what is out there that could be useful in that classroom. Then teachers need to be retaught on how to correctly use technology to teach today's children. Teachers that are actively using technology in the classroom may not be teaching technology in the correct way that is effective to today's children. I feel that it may be my job as a student in educational technology to educate my fellow teaching peers how to correctly use technology in the classroom and to realize what is really out their that can help them in all subjects especially in math and science. As a teacher its really hard to keep up with it. If I was not in this technology class at ASU West, I would have never known what Web 2.0 was even about. To be honest with you, as a teacher it is hard to keep up with this digital world without the correct technology materials. Technology is becoming more and more so important, but my district has not realized this. We still have classrooms that only have one or two computers. We have one lab that we need to share with a over populated school. The Special Ed classrooms are the only rooms that have smart boards. The library has a smart board, but without the right training many teachers have no clue on how to use it and the advantages that it has to provide for teachers. The school has about five projectors that we have to share, but our school really needs to provide projectors in every classroom to help the ELL students process words and its meanings. With projectors in every room, teachers could pull up poems instead of taking the class to the library and "hoping" to find the right poem. There are so much a teacher can do with the proper eduction on computers and what's out their on the web to help them in the classroom. Everytime I get on and simply google Web 2.0, I am amazed at what I find that I can use in the classroom simply with the use of a projector. I am waiting for the day that paper and pencil will be not a usual working method, instead we will be asking students to pull out their laptops to take notes on Inspiration or Kidspiration. W

Thursday, March 20, 2008

week 6

COPY AND PASTE LITERACY?
In my opinion as an educator, I believe myspace is for communication between teens and adults, but at times it has been abused. I know from experiece at my school a couple of 7th graders were suspended for posting pictures with students flashing gang signs in the classroom (that were taken by a camera cell phone). Some of the students that were posted didn't even know that their picture were even on the web. Myspace should be modeled in a positive way, so with teachers using it in classrooms, it could be a daily way of journaling between the teacher and students or between student to student. The question is: Is myspace really literacy? With all the copying and pasting, what really is the individual's work or even his or her own words.
Myspace is a way teens and adults can freely express themselves, but need to be shown how in a positive way. Using myspace is a way to keep up with our digital world in a expressive way. It ould be educational and pure enjoyment. There are teens that use myspace as an attention getter which can turn sexual and then there are others that use the site to bulley their peers (which can lead to other serious situations).
Myspace is turning into a commericalized blogging site then a individual creative site that it was supposed to be. Literacy? How can it be a great literacy when most of the information on everyone's site is simply copy and paste or videos. Copying and pasting doesn't take much skill.

The Perils and Pitfalls of Wikipedia
Wikipedia? Good resouce site? As a 2nd grade teacher, I used this site for my students when we were researching about US symbols and I thought is was great. Until I came to one of the US symbols were were researching on Wikipedia and half the the information was typed over with information that wasn't even about our US symbol. That was the last time I used Wikipedia, mainly because heaven knowns what could be typed on this site. At the present time, teachers every where are determining whether using Wiipedia as a resource place is valid or not.

Sunday, March 9, 2008

Reading 5

As educators, we need to be aware of this new "participatory culture" that is experimenting with online sites (facebook, message board, blogger etc). They are young teens that want to be heard and thinks for only themselves or their age groups. This "participatory culture" can do one of two things create great podcasts that gets anyone thinking about an issue and go far in this high tech world; or just wants to cause trouble and uses sites to bash and/or bully others in their age group. This bullying on the web has become one the major uproars at school and on the news. We as teachers need to educate this teens and parents about the proper use of blogging and message board. With bullying on the web, schools are locking down more and more sites, teachers have little to none in the classroom. Honestly most of the problems are happening at home where teens have access to everything on the web with little or not parent supervision. According to this article Confronting the Challenges of Paricipatory Culture Media Education for the 21st Century: Educatiors must work together to ensure that every American young person has access to the skill and experiences needed to become full participants, can articulate their understanding of how media shapes perceptions, and has been socialized into the emerging ethical standards that should shape thier practices as media makers and paticipants in online communities. Educators need to shift this "participatory culture" from individual expression to community involvement. By teaching the new core social skills of using Web 2.0, teens can express themselves by what they can do for their neighborhood, school community and computer community in a positive nature. Teens are learning to develop bloggs and live action gaming sites that help with reading comprehension, writing and data processing skills which everyone will need to be successful in this high tech world. As a 2nd grade teacher, I could teach these skills by using a blogger site as a "look what I did in school this week". My students could post daily or weekly work to show their parents when they get home. It could be as simple as a couple of math problems that they finally accomplished or a story that they publish to read at the next Reading Expo (a Friday function at Copper King where students K-8th grade can read to an audience).

Thursday, February 14, 2008

Week 4 Reading Response

Reading Response 4
Web 2.0 is very deep. It’s taking me quite while to fully understand what I am reading and how it can help a 2nd grade teacher. I will continue my quest of web 2.0 by visiting each site and reading about it. The funny thing is that, I bet some of my students may be able to pick up some of this information faster than I can. Why? Today’s students have been raised in a technology world.
This PowerPoint talks about using Google Gadgets that simply puts your favorite site on your blog so your visitors can see what you are interested in. I really need to play with this Google Gadgets so I can have a better understanding of it. This PowerPoint also deals with participation application.
Participation Applications
What makes all of these internet- blogs, podcasting, social networking, videos, and photo sharing etc.-so exciting? What draws people to them? Our world is becoming a participation culture. All of these sites attract people to them by how they are set up and how easy it is to access them. The way sites and blogs are set up is amazing; a viewer starts on one site reading about information of bears and end up on another site that has videos of bears in the Alaska. Believe me, you can easily spend hours on the web and not even realize it. Every site and/or blogs seems to have links to other sites that gives more information on the subject. There are several parts in the networking world: the most popular ones (I believe!) to the students of today are the social software and the Gaming/Virtual worlds. The two I found useful for the classroom is social software and media sharing. These two can easily be use in a classroom for lessons and/or projects. With blogs, students can create a site that shows who they are and display what they have learned. These blogs would be a great way for parents to see what their child is actually learning in school and what really interests them. Teachers could use this as an interactive journal and respond to their writings. Blogging is the new way of socializing with people around the world and from state to state. Blogging would be a great way for students to communicate with a pen pal from another state or country. There would be more writing going on; it could be happening daily instead of waiting for snail mail and only writing every other week. As a teacher, you may have a student who hates to write, but for some reason typing on a computer sparks his or her interest and may start to write. Using blogs are great with children as long as you monitor the site they are on and don’t sign up for ones that you can’t lock people out. The best blogs are ones that has a system that only allows certain people on which as a teacher would list the individuals. The teacher should also have an administrator lock on it so that students can’t get to it.
Media creation and sharing is a great way to share photos and pod casts. Pod casts is the wave of the future, but so many teachers don’t know anything about it or have the equipment at their school to make one. Pod cast could motivate students to want to share their poems and stories. It’s a great tool to use to share students work to parents. What I like about pod casts is that students can experience Alaska through a pod cast or learn about ocean life through an experience biologist through their pod cast.
So, Participation Applications is a great tool for teachers to use in all subjects and strategies. It’s all about how you want to use it and how much you know about how to use it effectively for the classroom.

Sunday, February 3, 2008

class 3 reading response

Web 2.0
Web 2.0 is an amazing tool for classroom a teacher, that’s if you know what it is and how to use it. Most teachers, even on my campus, know just the basic know how of the web and basic use software that the school provides. The Pendergast District offers a class called Intel which teaches the basics of PowerPoint, excel, publisher, word and use of the internet. This class is offered after school and on the weekends so many of the teachers don’t take the class. The way most teachers learn is by playing on the computer on your own time and/or through their own students. I believe that since Web 2.0 is becoming such a huge network that most teachers don’t know about it to educate the students. I feel it needs to be a special area class that is ran by an educational technology teacher. That way students can get at least get basic knowledge of the proper usage of Web 2.0, knowledge of Web 2.0 and how they can use it for school.
When reading what is Web 2.0, I found much information that I didn’t know about like Google Ad sense that could be a good tool to use for upper grade students to teach about marketing, sales, and advertising. I also found that a lot of sites are trying to make them user friendly so more people will and can use them. Search engines are another thing to educated both students and teachers about. There are a lot more out there besides Google and a lot more that are kid friendly and safe. There are many types of blogging sites that can be used in education. For example MySpace is a pretty easy blogging space to set up and use. MySpace can be a great tool for pen pals, educational chats, debating and exchanging information for research. MySpace can also help in their professional career. A comedian put his act as a podcast on MySpace. He now has a show on HBO. It’s the new way for people to advertise their talents. Sites like this one could be a great new way of communicating to parents. Students can have their own site and write what is going on in class such as projects, homework and accomplishments that they have achieved. The teacher can post podcasts of times that their child shared a story or solved a math problem. Teachers can post school events that parents missed in Flickr with pictures or on a blogging site for a podcasts.
We as teachers need to know and understand what is out there in order to properly used in the classroom. The district also needs to provide more computers, projectors and smartboards, so we as educators can keep up with this new Web 2.0 world.