Final Reflection

This was my first ever online course and I found it to be the best course I have ever taken. The material was relavent and informative. My first reaction was fear of not being able to complete the required activity because I felt it would be over my head. I soon learned that with Lori's directions and help from others I was able to be successful without to many issues. This class has been great learning experience and helped to boost my confidence in the classroom and at home when it comes to using online tools. I no longer feel afraid to try new technology. I have gained a new understanding of how useful the internet and it's tools can be as a teaching and learning tool.

I love the use of blogging and communicating this way. Not only did it give me the opportunity to practice using my blog but also to stay connected with others. I was able to gain insight from the the other participants that I may not have otherwise had. I especially liked the idea of online courses as it allows you to do the course at your own speed and still not feel left out or that you are missing something. I really look forward to more online courses. I would definitly take another one although I'm afraid I don't have any ideas what to do it on. I will leave that up to you.

This format is a huge success as far as I can see. Lori has done a great job of making the course suitable for even the most challenged of us. This class has given a new confidence and desire to continue learning about new technology.

A Time for Reflection 3

Everything I know about new technology trends in education I learned in FALL 07 - Issues, Trends, and Tools in Education and Technology in a Web 2.0 World. Basically I had heard the terms blog and wiki but that was the extent of my knowledge. I found this course to be a great way to learn new technology. I could work at my own pace and didn't feel any pressure to keep up with the class. The directions were wonderfully easy and clear. Great Job! I enjoyed reading the post and learning from others in the class. There is a lot of information in this class that I am already using and will continue to use. I feel good about the knowledge that will help me stay current with the student. I feel confident I will be able to help students use the information I have gained from this class.



There is nothing I could think of that I would change about the course. I have gained a great deal of confidence in my abilities and knowledge of resources the internet has to offer.

I look forward to taking another class that will expand on my new found confidence. I am ready to take on the web! Thanks Lori!

School 2.0

I believe that in the next generation schools will have to face the changes that are inevitable. There is no doubt that technology will allow us to change our approach to education. I believe the question is how do we make ourselves relevant. The students today are exposed to much more online communication and electronic communication than we have ever expericenced. We have to be able to bring the learning to the students as apposed to bringing students to the learning. We are seeing that change in our schools today with the access they have to computers.
I think that School 2.0 is a great vision, however with budget crisis and limited resources I don't know how practical it is to assume that every school district could afford to renovate their buidings to accomadate the vision. The School 2.0 idea is the first step toward taking learning out of the current school setting and into a wider community. The idea that I love is that of engaging students in learning instead of teaching students. Change doesn't come easy but if you want students to be knowledgeable, capable and responsible learners than you have to empower them to do so. That is what School 2.0 is about.

I am not sure what I would change because it is difficult to know what something will look like when you see it on paper. There is so much involved in the map and to be honest it is difficult to look at on the internet.

Dr. Zhao

I am not sure where to begin. One minute I am nodding my head and thinking this sounds great and then I think how will we ever get from here to there? My reaction to these podcasts took on many changes from cheers to fears. I see a future where collaboration and communication are encouraged. Critical thinking allows our students learning beyond books and lectures. Students are connected to the world outside of the classroom and allows for learning that could not of otherwise happened. The use of technology helps students to seek information on their own and creates excitement for learning. They will learn lifelong skills, confidence in their ability to find answers on their own. They will not only be lifelong learners but lifelong communicators.
So along with that come the fears of the unknown. How do we meet state standards and what about all those exams they are required to pass. How do we control content and outside contacts? How do the teachers and other adults become comfortable with the new technology that students seem so comfortable with? Do we lose communacation skills on a personal level with all this new technology? So these were just a few of the questions that kept me wondering what will this new school look like because I am sure we will see some form of it in the future if not already.

Collaborative Project

In my attempt to be creative and come up with an idea I could use in the Math classes I push into I came across "The Math Trail" project, http://www.nationalmathtrail.org/ . Here is an example of taking math out of the classroom and into the community. This is done by teaching students to work together as a team and connecting that activity with students across the country. The message is that math is everywhere. The students create problems based on math they discover in their neighborhoods, communities and region. The problems are classified by topics and grade level. The team has to indicate the Standard to which their problem correlates. Technology such as photographs, videos, power points, illustrations etc. are used to enhance the submission. I loved this project because it makes math relavent and answers that age old question, "When will I ever use this in my life?".

Reflection 2: It's all about...del.icio.us!!

I am all about staying organized! Del.icio.us is the tool for me! I feel in my personal life and at school the tool I would be most likely to use is del.icio.us. I have already started organizing my site so they are easy to access. I have tags for this coursework, for work and my personal favorite puzzles. It is so easy to use. I love it!

I can't forget to mention, I feel strongly that the video sites such as Teachertube.com can be a useful tool in the Resource room. Our role is to reinforce and reteach material to students. I used a video on "Cramers Rule" with a students who was having a difficult time. The student loved it and I found it to be a huge success. I am sure I will find this to be a useful tool in the future.

Wikis in the Classroom

I was surprised how easy it was to create my own wiki (knightsnotes). I see this as a tool that would attract students and provide a forum for collaborative learning. It is so easy to use and edit that it could easily be used with younger students. I think I will go back at sometime in the future to explore more about wikis.

Online Video Resources /Review and Comments

I spent a great deal of time searching the four sites and the one that I favored was TeacherTube. I felt that this site provided a large amount of material and was easy to use. I especially like the use of tabs for popular videos, new videos, highly discussed and more. Keep it safe at the top is a self policing tool and provides easy access to report inappropriate material. If you have any doubts about the value of blogging there was one video, "Why Let our Students Blog"by Rachelboyd, that I felt did an excellent job of summarizing the benefits of blogging.
Blog to learn!

I felt Next Vista for Learning had potential but it seemed limited in content. I liked the clean uncluttered homepage and the ease of use. It was a bonus because there was no advertising and a non profit site.

YouTube offers the acceptablity that students would be attracted to. However I felt the it could be a dangerous place to send students. There are other sites that I would feel more comfortable using as a learning tool.

Clipblast again is an unfiltered site and may lead the students to inappropriate material. This site offers an internet search for videos from any website. You would never know what the student would get for material when searching. I would be overwelmed by the amount of websites that you would have to search.

I feel Online Video Resources would be a great tool for working with students in a Resource Room. For example in our Algebra II class we just learned about using "Cramers Rule". If I had a student in resource who was still confused about the steps I could send him to the video "Cramers Rule" by rebeeann, from Teachertube.
He would then have the oportunity to relearn the topic and replay it as often as needed. I could see this as a great reteaching tool. The other way I would use the video would be for the student that missed the day we did the lesson on "Cramers Rule". Often with their busy schedules it can be a couple of days until they can meet with the teacher. They could use the video to catch up on the lesson they missed in class. The more I learn about blogging and the more research I do I see all the benefits of blogging and the use of video sites as a learning tool. As the video I mention previosly says," Blogging extends the wall of the classroom," and video sites are a perfect example of this.

A Time for Reflection 1/ /Classroom Blogs

I believe classroom blogs can provide an excellent tool for communicating with students. I especially see blogging as a motivational tool for those students that otherwise might not be engaged in learning. I imagine students excited about reading other student blogs and writing their own. If students are excited about reading and writing they are excited about learning. I can also see classroom blogs as a communication tool where teachers and students can work together. They provide an audience for students so they can take pride in their work and are able to share their thoughts and opinions.
I think classroom blogs could be used in the classroom to help students develop more confidence in their writing skills.

Girls For A Change

While doing research on the many blogs out there I came across this site http://www.hercity.org/. This is a national organization that provides girls with professional role models, leadership training and problem solving capacity. They provide tools, resources and support for middle and high school girls of all backgrounds. Interesting...check it out! I am learning so much.

Looking for citizen bloggers

I read an article today in the Democrat and Chronicle about searching for local citizen bloggers in the Rochester area.

Welcome to my blog.

Hi! I created this blog as part of my new resolution to improve my technology skills. I also hope that this new knowledge will somehow help me relate to my children, grandchildren and students.