Tool 11 Digital Citizenship

In fourth grade we do try and complete several major research projects. We are very fortunate to have a super librarian that has helped us instruct the students on appropriate search engines for them to conduct their research. As a teacher, I have found that it is very helpful to talk out and model the research process. How did we acquire the information?? How do we know whether or not it is accreditable information or site??What did we do to locate occur information?? By showing the process and that it is important to make sure you are researching the truth, students hopefully will begin to cat ch on to the actual process. After reading about Digital Citizenship, I also was thinking that at the beginning of a research project, involve the parents in the process. Maybe have a digital citizenship parent information night, which would include discussing carrying the appropriate process over to home access of the computer. Students also need to understand that the internet is a large, powerful device that can unintentionally or accidentally missused. Therefore I also find it very important to discuss safety and ediquette as well as literacy issues. I agree that we all have to work together on this issue. Technology isn't stopping or slowing down, so we need to work together and better equip or students earlier than later by modeling , discussing, and covering digital citizenship in all school and home areas.

Tool 11 Reflections :)

1. What are your favorite tools you now have in your personal technology toolbox?
My favorite tool was using the Image Generators and Mashups. I had so much fun generating my Trading Card and Wanted Poster. I also enjoyed the Digital Storytelling. It was fun to take some of my own photos and incorporate them into a photo story that I could post on my blog for others to view. Finding motivational videos to share with my class and post on my blog was also one of my favorite tools.

Briefly describe a particular activity that you will plan for your students using at least one of these new tools.
I definately plan on spending some time at the beginning of the year to teach my students how to use the photo story. I want them to feel very comfortable using this tool, so that they can create their personal narratives and essays digitally. I know that they will extremely enjoy using this tool on the new netbooks for the classroom and it allows them another way to publish their work. :) I also would like to incorporate a class blog and have my students a part of the building and creating of the blog. They can post and share individual work and be in the decision making process of choosing work to post on the blog.
2. How have you transfomed your thinking about the learning that will take place in your classroom?
I realize the importance of implementing more technology into my classroom. It motivates the students and creates a more exciting learning environment. I am no longer afraid of trying new things using the netbooks, i-touches, active boards, and computer labs. I realize how easy it really is to use and plus these programs and sites are free. The future is now and to better reach our children, we have to become more computer friendly. It takes learning to a whole different level and definately a more enthusiastic, creative thinking kind of level.
3. Were there any unexpected outcomes from this program that surprised you?
It suprised me that I actually had a good time completing most of these tools. This task was not overwhelming and with the detailed directions, I had an easy time completing the assignment. It was enjoyable for me to spend my quiet mornings drinking my coffee and completing a couple of the tools at a time. Now I am ready to show my students all that I learned this summer !!!! :)

Tool 10 I-touch experiences

I was fortunate enough to begin implementing the use of itouches into my classroom last year. My fourth graders had a blast researching various research topics on the i-touch. They were able to partner up and research Texas Cities for their group presentations on different cities. They also were able to use different diagraphs and diagrams on the i-touch to take notes and compare the cities. This made researching and notetaking more fun. The i-touches were also great for my beginner english language learners. They were able to use them for word recognition practice and the identification of common english words and vocabulary. There are vocabulary and alphabet games located for free on the i-touch which makes a very handy station for my ELL's. There are many different free sites available on the i-touches for all students to use either in partners or as a fun station. Brain Pop is a great site and it is fun for the students to watch on an individual i-touch. Just another fun way for them to learn the information. :) There are also plenty of math sites on the i-touch. Fun ways to practice the math facts. Many of my students were already comfortable using the i-touches and they had a blast teaching others who may not have had i-touch experiences. I have found that I-touches are an easy and fun way to incorporate learning and technology into the classroom.

Tool # 9

By using "Jing" in my classroom, I can now show my students lessons instead of just talking about lessons. Example: I plan on trying to use "Jing" and actually show how to revise and edit a piece of writing. My students need so much "hands on" practice with this skill and by using "jing", maybe they could really interact and share with each other what revising and editing look like. This is another way to get the students involved and connect real world to the classroom. I did download "Jing" and already started playing with it,so that I can have a lesson ready to share at the beginning of the year. Exciting!! :)

I read about "Skype" and have already began thinking of ways to implement it into my classroom. How amazing to be able to connect with classrooms around the world!! With my English language learners, I could connect with students from their country and they could share things about their culture, language , ect.... Even connecting with other classrooms in our district or in our state, can create collobrating activities for my students. It is endless of the things we could learn and explore using this online tool. :) Another thing I like about both of these is that they are free!!!! A teachers dream!!!

Learn The 50 States

Learn The 50 States

Tool # 8

By using videos in the classroom gives the teachers another way to motivate and make learner more exciting. Videos make learning more fun and they seem to give students' brains an extra spark. Plus students in my classroom can use their netbooks to watch videos with partners, groups and whole class. It is also great to show videos on the active boards, engaging students even more with the lesson.

I had a great time exploring Teachertube. I found many fun videos to share with my class, but decided to post "Lets Learn the 50 States" and "Gotta Keep Reading". Both of these are great videos to motivate the students. Learning the 50 states is often a struggle for a lot of students. Now with the help from the video and catchy song found on Teacher Tube, students will more easily learn the names and locations of the 50 states. I thought this would be beneficial for both my fourth and fifth graders. The second video I found on Teacher Tube is a motivational song to keep students reading. The teachers that created the video took a popular song that students are familiar with and replaced the words of the song with their own. It also shows actual students singing, dancing and reading while the song is playing. This video doesn't really teach a strategy, but it definately will help motivate some of my reluctant readers. It also includes all of the different genres in the made-up song. I love it! :)

Gotta Keep Reading

Gotta Keep Reading

My thoughts on Tool 7 Digital Storytelling

Digital storytelling will be a fun way for students to express themselves. They now can take publishing a story to a whole new level. Using their own photos will be a great way for them to tell personal narratives and stories. Photostory will help the characters come alive!! How exciting!

My own experiences with photostory started off a little rocky, since I was having trouble recording music in the background. Once I figured that out, it became fun and much easier. I only created a short photo story, but now that I know what to do, I can only imagine the stories we can create in the classroom!!:) It also took some time and practice uploading and saving the video correctly to the blog. Practicing this during the summer will save me time during the school year. I look forward to incorporating this into my writing lessons and activities.

Tool 7 My Photo Story of The Muck Dogs

Tool # 6

I became really excited when I was viewing the samples of wikis. I even started my own classroom workspace using the free space given for teachers. How fun!!! I feel that my students will greatly benefit from creating their own work spaces by keeping student porfolios and posting their writing or work to share with other classmates. As a class we could even interact with students across the district or even across the country or world!! Parents could maintain constant interaction and involvement by viewing the workspace to see volunteer lists, home work and grade level newsletters.

After viewing a sample wiki created by a class of second graders, I came up with a couple ideas of how I could create and use a wiki in my classroom. Since I teach language arts with a focus on the steps of the writing process, I could allow my students to type their writing pieces on a work space and then during peer editing/revising, have students actually make those revisions on the work space to share with each other. This would also allow them to share with family at home or for parents that have limited access to computers, invite them to school for wiki share time. :) Also with any kind of group research or collaborated work, the students could share information using the student work space. Since our fourth and fifth graders are now using netbooks, using wikis will be so much easier in the classroom. I am excited about implementing this into my classroom this school year. Plus I just love saying the word, "wiki". :)

Tool # 5

After searching the various websites first using the tag....books, I found Jacket Flap which is a website that list many different children's literature. It catagorized the literature by most recent, by author, and by title. It gave me an insight to new children's literature and also the age range recommended for each book. I also joined this site, which will allow me constant updating of new books and recommended readers for different grade levels. This could be benificial in my classroom, allowing me an opportunity to choose different read alouds for both my fifth graders and my fourth graders based upon level and interest. I also discovered a fun site, "I write Like" which gives a writer a chance to paste a piece of their writing onto this page and it then will compare their writing to that of a famous author. This might be a fun thing for a student to explore further. I as a teacher will need to do some investigating with this sight before showing my students. I located this site using the tag...writer. The last site I discovered and found very interesting was the Kidlit .com blog. I found this site using the tag..... children's writers. I plan on possibly following this blog, just to receive the interesting news from writers and teachers about various genres of children's literature.

When using both Delicious and Diigo, I found delicious a little easier and more comfortable for me to use. I plan on using it quite often in the classroom this year, to locate, bookmark and tag important activities, games, information, and responses from other educators.


www.jacketflap.com
www.iwl.com
www.kidlit.com

Tool #4

By using google docs, I can easily share our fourth grade newsletter and station contracts with teammates. It will now be so much easier to adjust and edit newsletters, and many other activities we create for the classroom. Also since this school year I will be teaching both fourth and fifth grade Language Arts (split), I can now share across grade levels station contracts and other activities.

With google reader, I now am able to subscribe to different blogs that I follow with much easier access. I can see that using google reader would be beneficial in the classroom, so that I can remain consistent with team member's blogs, informational blogs and other helpful sights that I follow regularly.

Check out my Blog List to see the 5 blogs I am currently following. :)

Tool # 3

Tool # 3 has been my favorite part so far. :) I created a trading card using a picture of my son. In the classroom, these could be used to describe Texas Heroes, Government officials, and other Famous Texans. Using these cards will give the students an opportunity to take information they have researched and turn it into a fun project.
I also created a wanted poster. This is another fun project for the students to use. I also had fun making the "wordle" using all the words I could think of that describe the writing process. This could be a brainstroming technique or tool the students could use during any written reflection activities. These many activities using photos and fun text could be modeled on the active board and then providing time for students to complete projects independently using the netbooks, i-touches or computers in classroom. I am excited to implement these and more into my classroom.

Jack Visiting Papa's Farm

My creation
Originally uploaded by jenny613

Tool #2

I have found that reading other teacher's viewpoint on educational topics helps me understand myself more as a teacher. It helps me really see my true teaching style and opinions on various topics. Having a learning network and a chance to colloborate allows me to expand my horizons and to also share my ideas with others.

Time is my only concern when it comes to sharing thoughts and comments across the blogs. I need the time to really delve into important material and the time to respond and reflect. During my quiet summer mornings, I can drink my coffee and take time to read other teacher's blogs and comments. I only have this much free time during the summer vacation, and I am afraid that during the school year, I may not have enough of that peaceful time to really reflect on someone's blog.

Sharing and communicating is important for educators. Finding time is possible and I am sure that once I am more comfortable with the process it will feel like second nature. The level of importance will out weigh the time issue. :) I will continue to read, read, read!!!! :)

5 Blogs:
1.The Fishbowl
2.Always Learning
3. 2cents worth
4.Weblogg-ed
5.Teach paperless

Tool #1

I will admit that at first I was hesitant to begin this project, but after beginning the process of the 11 tools, I have a whole new attitude. Not only am I having fun doing this, I am also realizing the unlimited possibilities blogs can open for teachers and students in the classroom. By completing this during the summer, I am able to spend time brainstorming new ideas and exciting ways to incorporate these tools into my classroom.

After creating my Avatar, my mind began to race with ideas of all the different ways my students can incorporate this with their writing. They will be able to create Avatars to potray the main characters of their stories and personal narratives. They could also create an Avatar to describe themselves as authors or even the imaginary characters they read about. My own children were begging me to help them create their own Avatars this summer. :)

I look forward to finishing the 11 tools and learning how to use them in my classroom.