Reflection

I have really enjoyed this course.  Although I was not always able to complete my assignments on time, I feel that I was still able to learn a lot from this course.  I LOVED the fact that I was able to work at my own pace, and when I had extra time.  Meeting other educators at the face to face sessions was great, too.  I was able to meet and interact with teachers that were from different grade levels, buildings, and content areas.  Thank you Cindy for offering this opportunity to learn more about technology to use in the classroom.  I can't wait to use more of the tools that I have learned about with my students.

Web 2.0 Tool Exploration

I loved getting to explore the vast amount of tools that were available.  I spent time looking through SlideShare, Scratch, MindMeister, and SumoPaint.

I spent quite a while exploring MindMeister.  I feel that this tool could be used to help develop presentations and lessons.  This tool allows you to quickly organize ideas into a concept map.  I have used Inspiration and Kidspiration in the past with my students when organizing projects and writing pieces.  MindMeister is an online version of this tool that can be accessed away from school.  I would use this tool as a way to help keep ideas organized, but not with my class.  I will continue to use the programs provided through the school for my students.

Skype in the Classroom

I personally love using Skype. I use it to keep in contact with a friend that has moved to South Korea to be a native English teacher.  I love that I am able to use Skype to call, text, or video chat with my friend who is so far away.  I plan to use Skype in the classroom to allow my students to talk to students from other schools, and other countries.  My friend that moved to South Korea is currently teaching English in an elementary school, and we plan connect our classes through Skype and through pen pal letters.  I am really excited to let my class learn about another culture in a meaningful way.

My Skype username is tabathaclark87. 

Facebook and Twitter

I have a Facebook account; however, it is something that I am very careful about using.  I have spent a great deal of time looking through the pictures, and information, that is on my profile.  I know that as an educator, it is very important to be aware of what is available for others to see.  As far as a public page for a library or a school event, if used carefully, could be very beneficial.  Today's society is based around social networking to an extreme degree.  In order to keep up with parents, and community members, a Facebook page could be a quick way to provide information.  Although I do not plan to have a public page, I think that they could be beneficial if use appropriately.

Twitter is a something that I am still unsure about.  I can see the benefits of being able to reach a large audience in a short time; however, with that comes a lot of safety concerns.  I know that you can create safety and privacy precautions; but for me, I do not know that I feel comfortable using a Twitter account at the elementary level.  I think Twitter in education should be reserved for higher grades, or solely for interaction between faculty and staff.  I did learn quite a lot from the articles that I read, but I am still undecided as to whether I would ever use Twitter in an educational setting or not.

Shelfari, Big Huge Labs, Jing...

I found the tools that I explored very interesting.   I think that using Shelfari would be a quick way to keep up with the ever increasing amount of books that are available for professional development.  I loved that you could see what others were reading, or have read already.

Big Huge Labs was a fun site to explore.  I though this website would be great when planning class celebrations, or when shopping for gifts for family members.  I like the idea of being able to create puzzles with custom designs.  I think this could be helpful in many content, and non-content areas.

Jing is a tool that I could see being using by me as a teacher, and also by students.  Since it is a program that has to be downloaded, it would have to be done at school in small groups; however, I think this tool could be used in student presentations.  Students could work in small groups, or with the teacher to select information or videos to be included in a presentation, or project.  I would not use this tool with my entire class.  This would be a tool that would be reserved for extension or enrichment activities with my higher reading groups.

Picasaweb, Animoto, and Photo Peach

All of these tools were fun to explore. I could see myself using them in my classroom in many ways. Picasaweb would be a great tool to use when adding to my classroom website. Animoto was pretty simple to figure out. I created a video to share with the parents of my students. It is the pictures from our first attempt at Reader's Theater this school year. Photo Peach would be a great tool to use to help students get to know each other better. It could be used at the beginning of the year to test how well students know the names of their classmates.

*Picture Compliance: I have my parents sign a picture compliance form at open house before I use any photos of students in presentations. The compliance form states that pictures or videos may be used in presentations, or on the class website. Parents have the opportunity to have their student not be a part of the pictures that are taken.

Photo Quiz

Welcome to 509 on PhotoPeach



*Pictured students have parent consent on file.