Professional Development

I have never had the opportunity to attend a PD session, but have heard many groan about them.  So I say make them fun and interactive! 

Learning about 2.0 tools has made me anxious to share, and I fear my friend and family have grown tired of me showing them my new toys.  I hope, with this week's assignment to be able to share professionally, or to take steps toward being able to do so.

I have never been comfortable speaking in front of an audience.  I think knowing your subject matter and involving particpants relieves that pressure.  Web 2.0 tools are engaging by nature.  Presenting them leads naturally to a hands-on training atmosphere.  Presenting any of these tools in a PD session would be..dare I say..fun!

Tools and Curriculum

THOUGHTS ON:

 go2web20....At first it was overwhelming.  It makes one realize the breadth of what is out there for 2.0 applications.  I found it nicely organized.  The tags definately helped to navigate, as a lot of the sites were not educational applications.

THOUGHTS ON:

E-readers.  I went to a book store and played around with them, but I just can't do it!  I love to hold a "real book" in my hand. 

I haven't worked in a school that uses E-readers yet.  I do, however have my reservations about having them available for all students.   I currently work at a school that has over 100 notebook laptops available for check-out.  Most days there are about 40 available for check-out.  Many are sent our for repairs, or just are not returned in the 24 hour time frame students are granted.  When they are damaged, it takes a lot of time to figure out who is paying..and the device is not available for students.  Although E-readers have value I think it is difficult to make them a main part of the school environment. 

THOUGHTS ON:

Tools and Curriculum.  It's a tough balance to determine when you are using a tool, because its technology (and fun!), or if it is truly adding value.  I believe it is a good idea to "mix it up" and add things to the textbook reading!  On a personal note, as I was preparing this weeks assignment, my husband said  "I wannna (sic) learn like that. "  Balance is the key

Social Networking and Games

The subject matter of this week brought a new set of challenges; responding as a parent vs. responding as an educator.  My first response as a parent was that to much time is “wasted”on-line.  

For example, My initial reaction to social networking is based on the challenges that Facebook has brought to our family life.  Constant reminders of the balance between social  networking and academics has become an issue in our house.   

It’s easy to be a Facebook “hater”.  There are some social aspects of Facebook that I still don’t understand.   Everyone has different uses for FB.  I don’t feel the need to record every little life moment  on Facebook; “Seth just ate 12 cheese sticks”,and on the other end of the spectrum I  am uncomfortable with FB postings about the death of a loved one. 

Stepping back and looking at these tools from a different perspective has changed my way of thinking  My teaching experience has given me the wonderful perspective of acknowledging the variety of  learning styles, and the importance of respecting differences within each child.   Of course now I must drag out my favorite quote from Benjamin Franklin:

“Hide not your talents, they for use they were made. What's a sun-dial in the shade? :

With this in mind, I was able to realize the value of different platforms of  that can be found in games.  Once  I  “stepped” into Second Life, and other gaming applications, I was lost!  As I struggled to find my way,  I wondered if this is how some students feel when they open a book,   or some other type of assignment.    There are so many educational components of these games it is a great opportunity for all learners to participate.

Online Media Blitz

Online media applications undoubtedly bring variety, value and fun to the classroom.

I used to think of Youtube as just a time waster, after witnessing kids watch video after video of people skateboarding into walls, dogs being adorable etc.  Further exploration shows that there is actually some valuable stuff out there!   I think Youtube use  needs to be monitored for younger grade levels, but I don’t believe it should be outright blocked in schools.   I had never used Vimeo, and it seems to offer a safer, less widespread, option.

By far, my favorite “tech toy” of the week is Animoto.  I have created several personal videos including the following: http://animoto.com/play/VhRIxHd3DPaXlDGfztx3Og.  I can envision students of all ages using Animoto for school projects.  Using digital photography and video and creating unique end products can boost self esteem, and keep students engaged.  Much more fun than a 10 page paper!

I wrestled my son’s I-pod touch away from him as I had never laid hands on one.  The educational uses for many of the apps are endless!  As I shrieked in delight, my son’s response was something to the effect of—it’s no big deal, you can do most of these things on a regular computer.  Why then, did he beg me for months for an Ipod touch? 

I found searching for podcasts difficult, and in my opinion, not entirely worth the effort for the return.  However, I can see the value of audio technology for mobility, and differentiated learning. 

All-in-all, another great week of stuffing more things in my technology toolbox!

Week 5 - Wow!

This week’s exploration can be summarized by blurry eyes and a head ready to explode!  With many of the photo applications (Flikr, Animoto, Dumpr), I found it difficult at first, to stay focused on educational applications.  I figured the best way to experiment was to use personal photos as I don’t have any classroom or student photos.  Also, the fact that I have an adorable one-month old grandniece gave me lots of material to play with.  I think my own daughter was a little jealous.  Having said that, reading Richards gives lots of great ideas and examples of how these applications could be used with images already existing on the web, and how I could offer instruction and examples to classroom teachers.  In addition to creating new, innovative and fun lessons for students, these tools offer so much opportunity for collaboration.  Whether it is sharing information with parents, showcasing assignments to the community, or working with other students virtually, these applications have so much to offer. 

Flikr seemed to me to be the starting point for any applications involving photos.  When it came time to start uploading my photos,  I think I bit off more than I could chew.  I decided to organize an entire Boy Scout Troop worth of photos and quickly reached my limit.  I plan to pare down the batch and continue to tag and annotate to realize the organization potential.  Lesson learned is that I probably shouldn’t have uploaded all 200 photos at once. 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/59729093@N04/

GOOGLEDOCS

Googledocs continues to amaze me.  Of all the applications, this one seems to me one that should definitely be part of a Professional Development curriculum.  Whether used for student projects or for  teacher sharing and tracking, it is something every educator should be taking advantage of.

FREE VS. FEE

Although many of the applications offer advanced features, there seems to be enough free features without subscribing.  Since some of the applications have overlapping features, there is a competitive market growing.  One example of this is in calendar applications. 

THE BIG PICTURE

One thing I struggled with is how all the applications fit together in the big picture.  What belongs to Google?  What belongs to Yahoo?  I believe I mistakenly opened two Flikr accounts one through Google and one through Yahoo.  I plan to make some kind of visual chart so I can get them all straight—and also a method of organizing all my passwords, screen names etc.  I use a somewhat consistent naming convention but there is still enough variance to make a central list important. 

All-in-all, lots of great information this week.  On a side note, I loved the Richardson book.  It is easy to understand, and provides lots of examples.  I  can see keeping it by my side quite a bit. 

Library Thing

After playing around with options, Library Thing was my favorite.  Of course then I struggled to think of what titles to add.   I will have to go back and "review my reviews" from other sources and combine them all to this new tool!

http://www.librarything.com/home/SusanA48

Social Organization-Part Deux

So the deadline for last week has come and gone and I just realized that I have to provide links to all the new tools I played with last week.  Some are still being worked on well beyond the due date but it's just one of those weeks where life got in the way of school!

Here's my delicious site:
http://www.delicious.com/bookmom4865