Reflection 3

Oh my, I want to try everything I've learned in this course. I really want to start with a wiki, but of course, I'd like to include podcasts and vodcasts on it. I also want to get the students involved in blogging on particular books or academic topics. It may take some time to get connected with the right types of people, but I'm hoping it will be worth it. I've been really impressed with some of the projects that my online classmates have already done. It would be nice to stay connected somehow, perhaps with our existing blogs.

Lesson 11 - School 2.0

What struck me most about the School 2.0 map is how much of it already seems to exist in Hilton. I've worked in districts whose e-mail system doesn't even function consistently, so I have a deep appreciation for the level of technology programs here.
I had reservations about the virtual frog dissection and "IM"-ing something to the virtual whiteboard. I realize that some kids are squeamish about dissection, so I guess there would be a value in the ability to use these devices. It just seemed somehow that these particular students in the map were stepping away from reality. (Perhaps I just need some time to get used to these ideas.)
What would I change? I noticed that, although the administrators were obviously very supportive of the technology involved, I didn't see any of them actually putting the technology to use. It left me wondering whether these people were as widely connected as the students appear to be! If schools in some other countries really are ahead of us in the use of technology, shouldn't administrators be consulting with them?

Lesson 10 - Dr. Zhao

I was particularly struck by Dr. Zhao's comments about how much we and our legislature limit our students' freedom as they struggle to learn in our current educational structure; that we're still pushing conformity over creativity, and that we have a more communist educational structure vs. China's competitive educational system. In a country that attempts to be an ambassador of freedom throughout the world, this was a powerful viewpoint. I think the YouTube video at the end of Lesson 10 drove home the point even further. One of my professors in grad school used to say, "If they don't learn the way you teach, you need to teach the way they learn." Perhaps, in a nutshell, that's what Dr. Zhao is also saying. I appreciated his statement about teaching technology through content. This is exactly what I was taught about language learning: Give the students a meaningful project in which they have to USE the language to accomplish the task, and they'll remember the new vocabulary and concepts! There still remains this hurdle of fear on the part of some parents and teachers if kids are given too much freedom with the technology. I like to think that the more worthwhile projects they see from the students, the less fear they'll have.

Lesson 9 - 21st Century Skills

I appreciated Mr. Honeycutt's humble and honest assessment of the need for us to walk with students as they navigate through the digital world. I was impressed with his Model T project, but I found myself wishing that he had included a bit of video of the process. I'm not sure how I might implement such a separate-but-collaborative unit at school. One thought I did have was to perhaps choose a favorite story, have the Kdg. group create the illustrations in storyboard form, then have the 1st graders add the script and record narration. If they have enough confidence, maybe the Kdg. kids could insert the actual speaking parts of the characters. We could use MovieMaker or do a vodcasting project with this. I realize that it's a very simple idea, but it's a start, and it's something that the littlest ones could do in September while they're still learning their alphabet! I'm still brainstorming such interactive projects for my older students. . .

Lesson 8 Reflection

Gee, in the last few weeks I've learned how to do podcasts, vodcasts, wiki's, del.icio.us, and blogs. I plan to give each of them a try in the coming year, but I think I'll start with the wiki. I see it as an interactive digital bulletin board. I can already picture certain students bounding into the room with another idea to add to the class wiki. (I'm not counting on my students to do a lot from home.) It's another great way for the weaker students to collaborate with the stronger students and come up with something they can be proud of. I also like the fact that they can access their projects from any computer with an internet connection. I know I'll have to spend some time teaching my younger students how to navigate to that point. Denise has provided a fine exemplar for the rest of us. (Great job, Denise!) We can certainly use the wiki to show what we've learned about each theme unit we study. With a little help, we may be able to include podcasts and video projects on our wiki. How many weeks until September?

Lesson 6 - Reflection on Wikis

I'm excited about the idea of trying a wiki with my students. The cooperative nature of a wiki is a real asset to students who lack the confidence or ability to complete a project independently. I could easily picture my students doing a wiki project for several different theme units throughout the year. One of my favorite features of wikis is that they offer yet another way to preserve students' work! (I get easily discouraged when I hear that a parent discarded a project that had taken a student many weeks to complete.) With more options for saving student work in digital form, we could develop quite a display for Open House and parent conference time!

Lesson 5 - Online video sites

I spent a couple of hours exploring all four video sites. I enjoyed all of them, although I think we'd have to exercise some caution using You Tube or Clip Blast at school. (Even some of the thumbnails in the menu were inappropriate!) I was disappointed in the limited selection of videos in NextVista, but it's a great innovation with a lot of potential. I really like the policy that the videos must be safe, short, and factually accurate! It would be great to see teachers and/or students from Hilton contribute to the NextVista collection. The History Music Videos on TeacherTube demonstrated an impressive level of investment from the students. It was obvious that a lot of time went into the creation of some of these projects. I also saw some interesting Teacher Tube videos on Myanmar, Children's Art, and a couple of math concepts. Some of the clips were better than others. You Tube and Clip Blast both had some powerful videos in the categories of politics, history, travel, arts and culture. (Really, some of them had me nearly in tears!) Although there are some worthwhile videos on each of the four websites, teachers would need to spend a bit of time surfing within specific categories of films and making careful selections before sharing them in a class.

Lesson 4 - Reflection on Blogging

One of my first thoughts about classroom blogging was that my students could easily connect with students everywhere about the things we are learning. The kids could then see that we are not the only ones studying our assigned concepts. The ideas and reflections that other students share might broaden our students' perspectives on parts of our curriculum. One idea I would really like to try this semester is to blog with others about a novel that we are reading. It would be exciting to see numerous blog entries from young fans of certain authors.

Williamson Storyteller Podcasts

I recently attended a conference at Nazareth College. One of the breakout sessions featured Mary Jo TenEyck, the elementary school librarian in the Williamson CSD. She's a spectacular storyteller who has passed her talent along to the kids. Her webpage allows one to enjoy the students' podcasts of some of their favorite stories. (Don't wait too long to check out her website! She's retiring!) Perhaps this method of recording student work will be more universally applicable to other computers.

Still Learning

I am still learning. (Didn't Michelangelo say this?) I've tried a few new technology projects with my students this year, and we've had lots of fun sharing them with classmates. I'm a little disappointed that some of our projects are difficult for others to view. I've given my website address to colleagues in other districts, as well as to some local retired gurus. Some of their computers can't read my MovieMaker files. I plan to keep learning about other ways to create student work in the form of technology projects that others can hopefully enjoy.