Week 1 & Tech Explorations 1-3

Week 1 & Tech Explorations 1-3

 

1.  What did you learn this week that you will use immediately in your classroom/student training?  I love Mr. Langhorst's idea of having a student ran blog.  I think that starting this right away would be extremely beneficial to the students.  Starting a blog that summarizes the material covered in class will only enhance their test scores, they will improve on their knowledge of technology and their computer skills.  In addition to just being fun they can also incorporate their creative side by adding videos, pictures, and graphics to the blog.

2.  What steps will you take to implement this in your classroom?  Since I am an aide and not a certified teacher I would have to get permission from the principle before I went ahead with the student ran blogs.  However, after getting permission I would have a different student updating and creating blog entries each week.  I would also send out the URL to the parents so that they could see how much their child was learning.  Otherwise, I would do most of the things stated in question one as far as what my vision would be for the blog.

3.  What challenge(s) will you face when using this in your classroom?  My biggest challenge would be that it might end up having to be an in class assignment instead of some of it being homework.  Sadly, a lot of the students that I would with at the middle school do not have the extra income to have a personal computer, ipad, or even Internet service available to them.  Some of them also do not have transportation to a library because of their parents or care takers working and they are unable to take them.

4.  What will you do to overcome that challenge?  We have a top notch after school program that is absolutely free.  This program offers so many activities and resources for the students.  In addition to tutoring they have complete access to the library and computers at the school.  Furthermore, there is a bus that transports them back home once the program is over.

Tech Exploration # 1

Wiki - http://pbworks.com/education

1.	Describe what you learned from exploring this resource.  Be thorough in your response.
	Wikis is a completely new concept to me other than hearing of wikipedia, however, the above link provided me many more examples of how businesses utilize them as well as how they are used in the classroom.  In order to learn more about wikis I opened a free account with PBWorks which enabled me to access their educator community.  From here I clicked on several links to sites to see how educators and administrators were using wikis in their classrooms.  I learned that a wiki is a simple online database that allows people to add, modify, or delete content in a collaborative environment.
2.	How could you use this resource in a school setting?  It does not matter if it is in your field or level, you need to understand how the resource might be used in educational settings.
	Since I currently work as an aide in special education I am familiar with many of their learning disabilities.  The main disability that I have seen over this past year is not knowing how to express their thoughts and ideas effectively on paper.  I think implementing a wiki in which the students could edit each other's work would be very effective in allowing them a creative and fun way to learn these skills.  In my experience students with learning and behavior disabilities tend to have a lower self esteem and I think becoming more skilled at writing would in turn make them feel better about themselves.
3.	Would you recommend this resource to other educators? Like/Dislike; Ease of use, fee or not, and so forth.  Why or Why not?
	I would recommend this site to other educators, however, I feel that it would have to be tweaked some depending on the students level of understanding of technology such as blogs and wikis.  The website was easy enough to navigate and had a lot of very useful information for educators.  There is a free account that you can open and get more information from other educator's and see how they are using wikis in their classrooms.

Tech Exploration # 2

 E-Books – www.tumblebooks.com

1.	Describe what you learned from exploring this resource.  Be thorough in your response.
	I absolutely love the website, www.tumblebooks.com.  This is a website that my school uses on a regular basis.  My children, who are in elementary school, can't get enough of it.  The wonderful thing about this site is that it applies to students of all ages and reading levels.  They have fun animated talking picture books as well as ebooks, graphic novels, and educational videos.  This website offers endless possibilities for students who are just learning to read all the way up to proficient readers.  Another asset is the language option of Spanish and French which is another learning tool that could be used to emphasize the concepts and test their knowledge.
2.	How could you use this resource in a school setting?  It does not matter if it is in your field or level, you need to understand how the resource might be used in educational settings.
	This site is especially helpful in the special education department because of being able to choose the level of reading material and the way you can read it.  Our Reading Intervention teachers used them quite often in their classroom.  Ones with more of a reading disability were able to have the book read to them which helped them to see as well as hear the word.  I was pleasantly surprised at how much growth the students had from day one to the last day of school.
3.	Would you recommend this resource to other educators? Like/Dislike; Ease of use, fee or not, and so forth.  Why or Why not?
	I definitely recommend this site to other educators.  Reading is something that if you struggle in it affects so many other aspects of your learning.  Therefore, it is vital that reading take precedence.  This site is easy to use and does have some free ebooks.  You can also go through a public library site like, Gwinnett County Library to find free ebooks and even our local library has ebooks that we use all of the time.

Tech Exploration # 3

Pod Casts

The Education Pod Cast Network – www.epnweb.org

Mr. Langhorst’s Classroom Website – www.liberty.k12.mo.us/~elanghorst/

1.	Describe what you learned from exploring this resource.  Be thorough in your response.
	I was unable to open up the www.epnweb.org.  I tried on my computer as well as on my iphone with an error occurring.  However, I did do a google search and found out that it is a site for teachers that brings a wide range of educational podcasts to one place. Mr. Langhorst's Classroom website   www.liberty.k12.mo.us/~elanghorst/ is education at its finest.  I was excited to see how thorough his website was with information for the students as well as for the parents.  The site clearly listed what they were doing in the current week along with studycasts to help the students with preparing for an upcoming test.  There was even a link for the parents to be able to access their child's grades online.  He has links to a blog that he keeps up to date documenting his ideas, news items, pictures and his thoughts on using technology in the middle school classroom.  He also has a student ran blog that tells of the daily activities and such that goes on in the classroom.  This website is amazing and one that as teachers and soon to be teachers we should all strive to implement something similar as well.
2.	How could you use this resource in a school setting?  It does not matter if it is in your field or level, you need to understand how the resource might be used in educational settings.
	I love that there is one site, www.epnweb.org, that I can go to to get 21st century information for teachers that I can incorporate into my classroom.  With this site available to teachers, it cuts out having to do multiple searches online to get information.  I know I plan to share this site with other teachers. I think in special education students that are auditory learners would benefit greatly from podcasts.  That way they could go back to the recording and process the information in order to learn it more effectively.  They could also use it in a group setting when doing a writing assignment.  They could write it, record it, and then share with another student to find out whats lacking in the paper.  Mr. Langhorst's site has my wheels turning and I hope to use some of his ideas at our school.
3.	Would you recommend this resource to other educators? Like/Dislike; Ease of use, fee or not, and so forth.  Why or Why not?
	I believe that I would recommend the Educational Podcast Network site just based on the google search I did, however, I would have to wait to give it my full recommendation until I am able to fully access the site.  Mr. Langhorst's site is a great tool for other educators to reference to get ideas on what might be beneficial for their classroom.  I think even though it is geared more towards middle and high school students that with some modifying it could definitely be used for students in elementary school as well.  I know as a parent I love to know what is going on in my children's classroom.  This site is extremely easy to navigate and I recommend educators explore it as well.