Reflection

I have enjoyed learning about the 11 tools. Some of my favorite tools are the image generators/mashups, digital stories, video resources, skype , itouch apps, and of course blogging. I plan to use the image generators/mashups to review vocabulary of new concepts. I am looking forward to having a blog for my class this year for communicting with parents and remind students of things that we are learning and getting the students involved in the blogging.

I realize there are many ways to use technology in the classroom and I now have the tools to use them. As a teacher, I can bring the real world into the classroom with the technology that I have learned to use this summer. The 11 tools has introduce me to new ways to share documents and to communicate with others. In today's word technology is a MUST, not an option.

The biggest surprise was how easy these tools are to use. I found that the 11 tools were very friendly to use.

Tool #11

Three things that I want to make sure my students understand about being a good digital citizen are safety, etiquette/responsibility, also about communications/cyberbullying. I would use the brainpop videos to help teach the students about digital citizenship. I would also demonstrate how to use authority when searching for information and how to verify the sources. The students would create a presentation to share with the class. The students could use digital storytelling, image generators, or mashups for their projects.

Digital citizenship is something that I plan to teach at the beginning of the year and revisit frequently throughout the year.

Tool #10

After reviewing several itouch apps I found several that I would use with my students. Pop Math Lite would be good for math fact review. Google Earth is a good way for the students to practice using their map skills. Mad Libs would be a fun way for the students to practice their grammar skills. And my favorite is sudoku, which would help with the math skills and reasoning skills.

My experience using the itouch was wow! It is amazing how you have so much technology in the palm of your hand.

My students can use the itouches for review math skills. I also see my students using it for research and while editting their writing. I can see using the itouches for many things in the classroom.

Tool #9 Sharing Information Through Jing & Skype

Screencast is a good tool to use when showing the kids how to log in to some of the programs that we use in the classroom such as AR, First in Math, or even how to find different sites to use for assignments. I can also see using screencast to show the students how to solve different types of word problems. I captured a picture of the USA that could be used in Social Studies for map skills and learning the different states required for each grade level. I found easy to use.

http://screencast.com/t/NTRlOTQxO

I can see using skype to connect with other classrooms around the world to do some collaborative learning. It would also be a good tool to use to communicate with parents who cannot make it to a conference or with a student that may have questions about their homework after school. It would also be a good tool to use for read alouds from people in the community or to learn about different people in the community. Skype opens up alot of possibilities for learning.

P.S. If anyone wants to attempt to use skype let me know because I have set up an account.

Tool #8 Video Resources

Area and Perimeter Rap




Scientific Method Rap

Videos are a good resource for teaching. It is a good way to grab the students attention or to review a concept that they have recently learned.

Both of my videos are from teachertube.com. Teachertube has great resources for all subject areas. I plan to explore teachertube some this summer and all year to find videos that will aid my students in their learning.

The area and perimeter rap will help reinforce the difference between area and perimeter, which my students tend to get these mixed up. The scientific rap will be a good way to introduce the scientific method to my students and will help them remember the step when doing science experiments.

Tool 7: Digital Storytelling

Creating the digital story using photostory provided to be an easy task. I had fun creating the story adding the text, voice, and music to it was also very easy.

I plan to use this with my students to create stories of things we learn in class, field trips, or projects that the students do in class. It would also be good to upload the videos to the class blog for parents and other to see the students work. I can also see the students creating a digital story to wrap up a newly learned concept.

FYI

A website that I got from a friend's blog is http://www.thecutestblogontheblock.com to find different backgrounds for your blog. It is easy to find a background and it even tells you haw to save it to your blog. Thanks Kim K. for the information.