Guiding Principles Revisited

From my earlier post on my guiding principles for technology use, I realized how broad I left them and I don't think I want to change that. After this course I realize how many uses technology has in the classroom, or even how many uses one webtool has. For example, while exploring GoogleEarth, I went back and looked at blogs about it and realized how many uses you can get out of one single webtool. In my principles I stated that I would constantly look for new ways to use "old" technology and I think my new findings with GoogleEarth was an example of that. My peers also introduced me to sites I now can't wait to use in class like Glogster and Prezi.

The one principle I thought about changing was on knowledge, that I would do my best to fully understand the technology before using it in the classroom. Now I see that it's pretty hard to understand everything there is to know about certain websites or tools online. Even now I probably don't know all of what my new class wiki page can do, but I'm still going to use it in class. I think I will keep it the same, but add that I will never stop trying to learn more about the technology I use. Apps and websites update all the time and if I'm going to be using them to their fullest potential inside the classroom, then I too need to stay up to date with the changing technology.

Therefore this was my one and only change to my guiding principles and I have included them below. My goal will be that that my teaching will always reflect these principles. I sincerely believe I will be making more of an effort to incorporate the meaningful use of technology in my classroom and I am excited to do so. I think this class has changed my teaching by helping me think about all the tools I use in the class and whether or not I'm using them in the most powerful way possible. I have also reexamined how I want my students to see technology in the classroom. I don't ever want them to think they are just using a computer to fill their 20 minute "center time." I want the students too to realize the breadth of technology and the uses they will have for it in the class and in their lifetime.

My guiding principles for using technology:

1. Creativity: I will be creative and I will not be afraid to explore new uses for technology to inspire my students to do the same. I will constantly look for new ways to use "old" technology through peers, workshops, trainings, classes, and the Internet.

2. Safety: I will teach safe practices for using technology for educational or personal use.

3. Knowledge: I will do my best to fully understand the technology before using it in the classroom so my students can truly benefit from its use. I will also do my best to stay up to date with changing technology so that I am always using it to its fullest potential. I will also not be ashamed of having to make mistakes or having to learn from my students and accept their help when it comes to technology in the classroom.

4. Use: When I use technology in the classroom, I will use it to benefit the students and expand their learning. I will not simply use it because its there.

Final Project: New class Wiki Page

For my final project, I chose to create a class wiki page for science and social studies activities. Our district alternates teaching those subjects weekly so I wanted to create something that the kids could use on their off week. I have up a front page and four weeks worth of work so far. I haven't decided whether I should keep going now, or wait and see how it goes the first couple weeks. I'm a little nervous about the time frame- have I given enough time for students to complete assignments or am I expecting too much? I guess I'll find out! I think I would like to bring up the wiki page on the smartboard every Monday at first and review the assignments together, possibly even modeling how to complete them. Eventually I would love to include more of the programs we used on here like Glogster and Prezi, but again, I don't want to put too much into a week at first. The second week I did use Google Earth, but didn't do all the cool things I know you can do with Google Earth. I didn't want to overwhelm the kids in their second week using too much technology too fast into the year. My other concern is that in the past, we have gotten very frustrated with the speed at which our 4th graders type. When we've had them type up their writing papers it takes a ridiculously long time, so I am a little nervous about them typing up their comments. I want this to be practical for use in the classroom for small periods at a time, like before school, at recess, or during our small group/center time which is twenty minutes per group.

The nice thing about the wiki is how easy it is to change and edit. I was surprised at how easy it was to make one and once I got the hang of it, how easy it was to even add a page or two. So even if after the first week I realize I need to make dramatic changes, it won't be too hard to do. I do really like how easy it is because it means I'll stay up with this activity. If it was too cumbersome, I know I would have dropped it after a few weeks. I'm very glad I did this and am excited at everything I could add to it. I just can't wait to see it in action and figure out where I can take it. Any comments and suggestions appreciated!

Loving Prezi

After seeing other teacher's Prezi's I got very excited about this tool and couldn't wait to use it. I can see it being such a great tool in the classroom, yet once again, I feel like I've only begun to tap into it's full potential. I created a really basic presentation that probably took me ten times longer than it should have, but oh well! There are still things that I'm figuring out and making mistakes with, but overall it's a very easy system to use. I did it as an introduction to a unit that we do on the Earth, moon and sun system. One of the things I like is that it could be a huge presentation that you could keep coming back to, like a never-ending anchor chart of sorts. For example in this one, I would gladly come back to it and add on the phases of the moon since we spend a couple weeks on it. Another nice aspect is that since it's online, your students could go home and review the presentations, show their parents, or use it to help with homework.

I would be interested to see what students could come up with when they use this tool to create and present projects. I think it's just as user-friendly as Glogster, but maybe not as fun for students who want to create a nice background or play with the graphics of it all.

Diigo vs. Del.icio.us

I first started my research on these two by downloading and using the Del.icio.us toolbar before going into Diigo. I thought of how useful Del.icio.us would be because I have my home laptop, my husband's laptop which I sometimes work on and then my school computer, not to mention the school computers in the lab. Needless to say, my work is never confined to one computer, so I could definitely see the use in accessing your bookmarks from anywhere. Then I went to Diigo though and realized how much better, in my opinion, this site was. It seems there are a lot more tools to use on Diigo, especially for a classroom where students could access it. Being able to highlight, take snapshots of a page, make comments with sticky notes seem much more useful for research projects or helping students to access only what you really want them to. So many times you may find a page or a site that has info you want to show your students, but only some of it is relevant. With fourth graders, you really have to focus them in on what's important, plus I don't want them wasting time trying to find what I want to direct their attention to. I also like how my team could all access and add bookmarks (which I guess would be the same with Diigo or Del.icio.us). Just a simpler way of sharing links and ideas rather than emailing links all the time!

Week 5 Reflection: Wikis and Blogs

I now see I completely misunderstood the uses of blogs and wikis before this course. Or maybe just didn't see their full potential. I'm positive that even now, I still don't, but I'm really starting to appreciate them. Using the blogs and wiki in this present course has already given me an idea of how useful they can be, but I also see all the uses it could have in my present classroom. We are required by our district to have a classroom website, but many of us dread using it and lag behind on updating it. Now though, I would love to see how I can turn my classroom website into a place where students can blog and share ideas. I am confused though about the program our district uses and whether or not students would be able to log in and post. I don't think so, but I'll have to contact our IT to see.

One thing I love about the blogs and wikis I browsed through are the links that are able to be shared that may not have been otherwise. I love that students could be sharing these ideas and assisting their peers by gathering and interpreting information found online. It's great for group projects too, which was brought up in one of the articles. Rather than having to get groups together in class or at school, groups can do their part on their own time by adding their info to their blog or wiki.

My one concern with using classroom blogs and wikis is how much student access my kids would really have. I work in an inner city school where most students don't have a computer or internet access at home. I worry that requiring them to blog or access assignments would be unfair since some may not have the necessary tools at home. We do have a few computers in the class, but I can see it being time consuming having 20 to 25 kids rotate on to access the blogs. I may just have to draw out deadlines to allow ample time, but of course you still want the material to be relevant by the time everyone has finished accessing it. Any ideas on how this problem could be solved?

Week 4 Reflection Generating an Argument, Online Data

The article from The Science Teacher, "Generating an Argument" stated that it was meant for the high school classroom, but could be adapted for 6th graders all the way to college. Well, don't we need to teach students to draw conclusions and make reasonable decisions before 6th grade? We teach the scientific method in early elementary school and discuss making observations and collecting data. In our district, the science fair is held for third grade and up. As a fourth grade teacher, I immediately thought of how I could adapt it to help my "scientific thinkers" form their own arguments based on data. There may need to be more scaffolding available for younger students, but I definitely think they need to be getting used to collecting and analyzing data, and most of all, making decisions based on that data.

I also like this model for younger students because the project would be based on the idea that there is not only one right answer. So often students are told they are right or wrong and then told why. The real world though is not so black and white and our scientific problems are not easily solved with a "right" answer. In our standardized test prep (blah!) we always tell the students to justify their answer, hoping that the more time spent thinking about a question and how and why it should be answered a certain way, the more likely they will be to answer the question correctly. However, on a multiple choice question, they are going to have a right or a wrong answer. But in the Generating an Argument model, students will always be right if they justify (or at least almost always). Their answer will be judged not by their choice, but on their reasoning and use of the data.

Looking over different data sources online, I realized I had no idea such sites were not only plentiful, but in some cases, so user friendly. I found an incredibly user-friendly site for weather and water data on estuaries throughout the country. I chose a data set on the Chesapeake Bay, which our students study in both science and social studies because of its historical and ecological impact on the area. I can see how making the data more real to the students and making it more relative to their life could make them more motivated to care about the project.

Google Earth- Love it!

Not that this was my first time using Google Earth, but a great reminder that I LOVE it! The laptop I'm using now didn't have it downloaded, so when I went to the site I found all these other links I didn't know of yet. Google SketchUp allows you to sketch any 3-model of your choice, whether it's a building, a monument, your classroom, or a skate park. It reminded me of when I was in 4th grade (and I still believe they do this) we had to create a 3-d model of a mission in California (as it originally was). Another model we had to make was of a goldmining tool that could actually be used to mine gold. Not that I would have traded those hands-on experiences for the world, but creating it on Google SketchUp might allow these same kinds of designs to a greater degree. Here in Virginia there is, of course, an abundance of historical sites and monuments that could be recreated. Even if you don't have the time or want your kids to make the 3-d models, there is a collection of Sketch-up's on Google 3-d Warehouse. So rather than spending time creating, you can search through and show students examples of architecture you are discussing in class. I also like the idea of the students creating a 3-d model of their town, but I don't where I could use this in our curriculum. Cool idea though!

I also found this blog on how students can track the Tour de France cyclists. You can see their exact location in real time as well as their cadence, power, speed, and heart rate. Having just completed a unit on speed, velocity and acceleration in the World of Motion course, I thought this was an awesome real-world example you could get students excited about.