Tuesday, March 27, 2012

Twitter

1. What did you learn from using Twitter? Think about the content that you gained from those you followed as well as what you learned about Twitter itself.

I think there is a wealth of knowledge available on Twitter. There are amazing professionals constantly posting articles, links, and resources for you to use. I just think about how many different things I have been able to add to my classroom content or instruction over the course of the past 3 weeks. Not only am I benefiting from this, but more importantly, so are my students.

2. Who was the most interesting person or persons that you followed? Why? Be specific and provide examples.

Up until a few hours ago, I would have said someone different. But after reading through his Free Technology for Teachers, I will have to say my favorite is Richard Byrne. I have been sitting here for the past couple hours just reading some of his different posts and tweets. He has some many meaningful and powerful ideas on ways to integrate technology into the classroom. Some examples would be Google Sightseeing, Virtual Tour of Ellis Island, and audio tours of the famous landmarks. All these are things we are currently learning about in school!

3. Do you think you’ll continue to use Twitter personally, professionally and/or both after this assignment is complete? Why or why not?

I will definitely continue to check my account after this class is done. I may not post very often, but will definitely continue following others, learning and gaining new information. There is just too much information/resources out there to not continue to use it.

Richard Byrne’s Blog

I found several different resources that I think would be useful in my classroom. We are just now learning about the solar system in science. The kids are excited to learn and are truly amazed at how big everything is. These links had a couple of video/visuals that would better ideal for showing in this unit we are doing. It would give the students a better understanding of how small earth is in comparison to everything else!
I would love to create a blog like this. I think not only would my students love it, but also their parents. I think it is just another way to get students excited about learning and about technology. I would be curious to see how long this would take to set up and how much time he puts into it each day/week to maintain it.

Sunday, March 18, 2012

Western States Tour



I think Animoto is a great tool! I plan on using this with my students in number of different ways. Students will create a video for one of the states in the west region. Animoto is very user-friendly, making this something the students can pick up quickly. Also, I would like to use this to help create book recommendations or book trailers. I think the students will love using this and will motivate them to read more.

Sunday, March 4, 2012

Multimedia and Education article information for "Article Review"


If we were REALLY serious about education technology
by Dr. Scott McLeod

This article talked about ten ways we can better use technology in our schools.  It included a lot of generalizations about technology. One example is how educators often make light of the fact they know very little about technology.  The article’s focus was on changing the mindset of educators and their views of technology.
One key learning I will take away from this article is how important it is to teach students both the positives of using technology, as well as the dangers. Teachers should be giving the students the knowledge of what is available to them and show them how to use it.  We also need to inform them of the possible dangers of using technology and how to avoid them. Sometimes students may not think long-term about some of the consequences.   
I agree with almost everything the author said. I do not think every school is like this, but I am guessing most have at least one staff member who this article relates to.  I thought he brought up a good point as to how we marginalize technology by treating it as its own class, instead of incorporating it into everything we do.