Ten Ways to Use Web 2.0 to Change the World

For our last "official" class post I decided to wrap it up with ten great ways to use web 2.0 to change the world. This article is similar to the Web 2.0 article I blogged about last week. However, I found this one to be more specific on ways to integrate technology. I also used this website to give me more ideas on training colleagues in using the tools that are available. I included several of these ideas into my mashup paper as ideas to spread the wealth of technology around to other teachers, schools, states, etc.
I like how the article pointed out that "there are a lot of things that you can do to refine what you are already doing, using Web 2.0 tools to push you closer to achieving your mission.The list provides ten ways you can use Web 2.0 to further your goals. I think of it as a progression" (Webb, 2008.)
The article is basically a summary of all the tools we used in our class EDU 595. It puts out easy ways to obtain information from others who share the same interests as you do.

http://www.techsoup.org/learningcenter/webbuilding/page5669.cfm

Growing 21st Century Teachers for 21st Century Classrooms

This article talks about ways administrators effectively promote the knowledge and skills for 21st Century teaching and learning. One interesting thing they mentioned was very similar to our conversation on Monday night; how most teachers have very limited time to be going off of the standards to promote the Web 2.0 technology. One educational leader decided to "reorganize their schedule to create an extra planning period in every school day. And after some experimentation, the faculty agreed to use the collaborative time for grade-level and subject area planning tied to the district’s new curriculum maps. Technology integration is a planning priority, supported by the expertise of a district specialist and the middle school’s most 21st Century-minded teachers." I thought allowing that time for professional development to be implemented within the school day is a great way to promote 21st Century tools. The article ended with great ideas for high technology expectations but with a lot of support from their educational leaders and administrators.

http://www.abpc21.org/21stcenturyteachers.html

HMS News November 24th- The First Thanksgiving

I went on to Teacher Tube to get ideas for my video podcast. I find one video that motivated me to do a Thanksgiving script with my students. The video podcast was done by middle school students who reacted the 1st Thanksgiving. You can find the video at: http://www.teachertube.com/view_video.php?viewkey=2d24f3a861dc2b5727f2 . It had great video editing features that allowed students to be placed in different backgrounds. It really enhanced the video that was done by the students.

Video Podcast

Here are my students reciting the "ABC's of Thanksgiving" script. They had a great time participating and watching themselves live in a video broadcast. Seeing how easy this was to produce, we will even be able to enhance their weekly news audio podcasts to video podcasts. I was able to video them through imovie and transfer it to my podomatic account. It did take longer for it to be published with all of the video clips, and watching the video is a little choppy. However, I think students appreciated seeing themselves in action.

Here is the link to our video podcast: http://www.missluffy.podomatic.com/

Podcasting in the Elementary Classroom

This podcast blog shared the benefits of podcasting in the elementary classroom.  It explained how the real key to actually implementing technology into the classroom is to put it "into the hands of the students."  Being that my students do a weekly podcast of all the past and upcoming events in our classroom, I would have to agree.  My students love being part of hearing their voices played back through my website. Recapping the weekly concepts allows students to relate them to their everyday lives.  They seem to take ownership of curriculum.   It is a great opportunity for students to retell to others what they have learned in the classroom.  

To see more on podcasting in the Elementary Classroom click here.

My 4th Graders Podcast

http://www.missluffy.podomatic.com/

Click here to view and listen to my students' podcast.

Podcast

http://feeds.feedburner.com/HooverPodcast

A fourth grade podcast. For students, done by students.

I really enjoyed listening to this podcast this week.  It is very similar to what I have my own students do weekly.  This HooverPodcast is students teaching students via podcasting.  It is a great retelling tool for students to use.  The 4th grade students in this class actually taught concepts in each subject.  The majority of them were 7-10 minutes long.  I really like the idea of teaching more of the concepts.  Currently my students are recapping events and major ideas that we studied during the week.  I think the next time around  I will have them go into more details on each subject area.  The only problem we have on doing this is finding the time.  Right now 3-4 of my students conduct the podcast broadcast Friday mornings and it takes about 10-15 minutes.  However, now that each of them have experiences making a podcast I will be more comforatble on adding more details and expanding their newscast. 

Just a Thought

I recently read an elementary teacher's blog called "It's Not All Flowers and Sausages: Just a Thought". It is written by a public school teacher who loves her job but does need a way to vent about her frustrations. She decided blogging was a way to handle it. She talked about an incident on her day off when she went to an art store. At the store she came into conversation with another teacher on her day off. She asked her long she had been teaching and the blogger told her 8 years. The other teacher then asked her if she hated it yet? Seeing this being said by another teacher on her "day off" really got me questioning. It is amazing to see how many great teachers there are who really take pride in their profession and for the most part absolutely love to influence their students everyday. However, it is a shame to know that there are a handful of teaches who do "hate their job". In the end this negative attitude truly reflects on the students. I would hope whoever the teacher was does a great job of hiding her negativity.

http://itsnotallflowersandsausages.blogspot.com/2008/11/just-thought.html

Social Bookmarking

Here is the link to my bookmarks.

My top 5 bookmarks are my most visited sites.

Photo Sharing System

Here is the link to my photostream .

Technology and Youth: Wired Schools and Wired Lives

http://www.ncrel.org/sdrs/areas/issues/methods/technlgy/te800.htm#issue

This article emphasizes how much technology has increased in the lives of our students. "A recent survey conducted by the Pew Internet & American Life Project (Hitlin & Rainie, 2005) found that roughly 21 million youth between the ages of 12 through 17—approximately 87 percent of the entire age bracket—use the Internet." www.ncrel.org. The article also stated how 88% of students find that the Internet helps them do better in school. Using the Internet Students find useful ways to complete projects, study for test, and research. With these statistics it is hard to imagine students spending 6.5 hours in school without using technology. That is why it is extremely important for teachers to find ways to educate themselves on how to implement technology into the classroom.

RSS and Feeds

After tracking my blogs on my RSS I realized how convenient it is to use. I like being able to have interesting sites come to me rather than searching for it on my own. I am able to receive local weather, news, and new ideas in education daily. I also have sites about new music and news in entertainment. Being accessed to my RSS has saved me a lot of time. I find the RSS very useful and will continue to use it and track my blogs weekly. Here are some of the sites that I have been tracking:

elementary blog

Steelers

USA Today-Education

Education News

Aggregator

http://www.bloglines.com/myblogs

Contribution to Wikipedia- Autism

This week I heard about a new cause that may contribute to autism. After hearing and reading about this issue, I decided to contribute it the autism page on Wikipedia. In the news report they talked about how rain may be a factor. Children who live in an area with high precipitation seem to be diagnosed more with autsim. They say the rain keeps children indoors for a longer period of time. As as result, children are exposed to more television and cleaning products. They have found connections of autism to these two factors.

Do's and Don'ts for Successful Parent-Teacher Conferences

I found this link http://k6educators.about.com/od/classroomorganization/a/dosptconfs.htm under Beth's Elementary Education Blog. If was extremely useful for me becuase I do have Parent-Teacher conferences this upcoming Tuesday. This blog provided helpful do's and dont's for conferencing. I like how it suggested alwys starting and ending with something positive about their child. I also like the idea of having student work samples to share with the parent. Being organized and prepared will allow the meeting to run a lot smoother. It was nice to see other educators ideas on topics such as conferencing.

Beth's Elementary Education Blog: http://k6educators.about.com/b/2008/10/21/dos-and-donts-for-parent-teacher-conferences.htm#comments