BP15_2009103_Reflective Media2

BP14_2009103_Blogcomment

This looks like a great alternative to twitter. I would agree with you Nick that my administration would never let us use twitter as a tool in the classroom. There are two many cons to the tool that do outweigh the pros. It does look like yammer has many of the same tools that twitter has only in a more safe way. I think that it could be a useful tool the only problem I see is the students being lack luster when checking the site. Nick I am also amazed on the beauty of your blogs. I guess that I did not know how amazing you could make a blog look. I have never actually read a blog or posted a blog before a couple of weeks ago.

BP13_2009103_LiveDrive

Livedrive is a web 2.0 tool to back up and store all of your files. This is an online storage site that can be unlimited. It has an automatic back up and they guarantee never to lose your files. It also sync’s your files so you can go back and forth from a PC to a Mac. You can also access the information from any computer as long as there is Internet. Another function is the ability to share with whom ever you want to share the files with. A teacher could use this tool in many ways. Working on files at home is the first idea that comes to mind. Another function that really would fit me as a teacher is the sync function. I move from a PC to a Mac quite often. The ability to not have to worry about if a file will open on different computers is priceless. The only problem I see with this tool is that you need to pay for the space and students are not going to want to do that. I also wonder if the school district would be willing to pay for the tool so that teachers could use it. I also wonder if I could share files with my students without them paying for the service.

BP12_2009103_Ginipic

Ginipic is a web 2.0 tool for image finding. You can search Google, yahoo, and flickr all at the same time. This tool is designed to save you time looking for images. It is also simple to use. You can preview all of the pictures with just one click and start using the image instantly. You can also view hundreds of pictures on a single page so no scrolling through pages and pages of pictures trying to find the image you want. Another feature is that you can tag your favorite pictures so that you can use them over and over again. I see this as a tool teachers can use to enhance their presentations with visual images. I also see this being a tool that will save teachers a lot of time with its ability to put many images in front of someone with simple and easy ways to use those images.

BP11_2009103_SlideServe

SlideServe is a PowerPoint sharing tool. Anyone is able to share PowerPoint’s with each other and view each other’s PowerPoint’s. Some of the features of this tool include the ability to create friend groups and share PowerPoint’s with specific people every time you upload a PowerPoint or every time one of your friends up loads one it goes to you. There are also search features that are a key part to finding specific PowerPoint’s. You can do a tag search or you can search for PowerPoint’s by specific categories. The education category has over 160 pages of PowerPoint’s on it right now. After doing a few searches I found multiple PowerPoint’s dealing with agriculture and environmental topics. The way that I would see myself using this tool is go recruit a few other agriculture instructors and create a group that we can all share the PowerPoint’s we have already made with each other.

BP10_2009102_Imovie Blog

BP9_2009102_Flickr Educational Resources

One lesson I researched was where a science teacher posted very interesting pictures and used flicker as a way for the students to see them and comment on them. After reading that lesson I thought that I could use this type of idea in my classroom. I teach a wildlife class and the ability to share pictures in many of my units would be a great activity. One of the units I teach is in forestry. I have already thought of having the students take a picture of all of the trees in their yard and then have the students identify each others trees. The class could have its own group and share with each other. I think that students could really get into this if all of the other students get to see the amazing pictures that they take. I also thought I could use this idea with many topics. I could have a competition with the best wildlife photo or landscape photo. We could also have a "tell me what this is section" where students can research and identify each others photos. The part of flickr that I am most excited about is that a student can take a picture at home or on their phone and put them right into flickr where all of the class can see it. There is great educational value when the students are using each other to solve problems and when they are challenging each other with new pictures and new problems.

Peer Comment on Web 2.0 typing

I think that typing is a skill that students need to learn and master. I think it is a skill that should be easy for students with the amount of time they spend on the computer but many of my students do not have that skill. Some of my students can text faster than they can type. I think you bring up some great questions about how are you going to know if it is that student typing or not. I think with an online class it is hard to know that any of the work that is completed is a product from that student. There is a trust factor involved with an online class and if the student does not actually do the typing part of the class then the rest of the class is going to be difficult for them and take more time than it should. That is why you are teaching that part of the class. It is not a bad idea that all online classes do a typing session. Those students who can already type would fly through the assignment and those students who are not great at typing would greatly benefit with some practice before the class actually begins.

Web 2.0 Notely.net

Notely.net is a web 2.0 tool designed for students to help organize their schooling and busy lives. There is a schedule, calendar, note-taking, and homework planning tools. It is an alternative to the traditional planner that some students do not get excited about using. I think that some students would be more willing to use this tool and the technology that they are already using instead of the traditional method. The schedule application can be used not only for your school schedule but also for any appointments a student would have during the day. The calendar application is easy to use and easy to read. The not-taking feature looks like it would be easy to organize and interpret. I think that some of my students would really like and utilize this tool because of it’s ability to be accessed from any computer and any cell phone that has internet. I do not think that this is something that I would require students to use but more as something to introduce students to as a time management skill.

Web 2.0 Gliider

Gliider is another 2.0 tool that I can see myself using in the classroom when I talk about finance and planning. This web 2.0 tool is used to help plan and organize a trip. The site has the ability to save important events and places that you would want to see when you are going traveling. I would have students use this tool to actually plan a trip. I would make sure that when they are saving their information that they make sure they are saving the cost of the places they are trying to visit. I would then have the students make a timeline and a budget for their trip. The goals of this project would be to have students learn how to research a specific place, time management with the timeline, and creating and planning a budget. These are all skills that students can use not only when they are planning a trip but when they are planning their monthly budget.

Web 2.0 Storybirds

Storybirds is a web 2.0 tool that is used to make short visual stories that you can share with anyone. This tool is used to make a short story with visuals almost like a simple story book. I would use this in the classroom for a student to show the information that they have learned in a different way. Having a student make a story is great way to develop critical thinking and creative thinking. Storybird also has some great features dealing with the ability to share your stories. Other people then have the ability to give you feed back so that you can improve your storybird. I can see myself using this web 2.0 tool in the classroom by having a student describe the process of cellular division in story form. The student needs to understand the topic well enough so that they can assign characters to the different cell parts and create a story demonstrating their knowledge. Students would then be able to share the story with each other and comment and reflect on each others project. The site is also adding a printing function where a student has the ability to display his or her project after it is complete. The website produces a high quality project that looks professionally done.

Social Bookmarking and Education

There are many educational uses for social bookmarking. Some big advantages to social bookmarking in general is the ability to get to your bookmarks anywhere in the world as long as there is internet and the ability to share your websites easily with specific people or the masses (Thompson, 2008). These are huge advantages to eduction especially teachers because they are able to go to any computer in the world and have access to information that they use on a daily basis (Hastings, 2009).

There are three major ways that social bookmarking can benefit education. The first one is to improve teacher to teacher communication. Teachers are able to share bookmarks and information with each other without having to copy and paste many different websites to each other. Teachers can also view newly added sites at anytime. You do not even have to know the person you are sharing bookmarks with and you do not need to share any personal information with them.

The second major way that social bookmarking benefits education is the ability for teachers to share with students. This can be especially beneficial if you want the students to do research from specific websites. Students do not have to waste precious time looking for valid websites. Once a teacher has found the websites that they want the students to pull information from they can tag them and students have access to the information that you want them to have anywhere there is internet.

The last major way that social bookmarking benefits education is the ability for students to share information with other students. Students can use information that their classmates have found for their own use. Students have a ability to work together on a project from their own home (Buffington 2008).

Social bookmarking can increase the speed and amount of information that teachers and students can use that really benefits the educational system.

Buffington, Melanie. (2008) Creating and Consuming Web 2.0 in Art Education. Computers in the Schools. Vol.25 Issue 3/4, p303-313. Retrieved October 10, 2009 from http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/pdf?vid=18&hid=103&sid=1d8d2d40-cc8a-4f28-901d-db683f607649%40sessionmgr112

Hastings, Robin. (2009) Collaboration Tools, 2.0 Style. Library Technology Reports. Vol.45 Issue 4, p19-27. Retrieved October 10, 2009 from http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail?vid=9&hid=111&sid=1d8d2d40-cc8a-4f28-901d-db683f607649%40sessionmgr112&bdata=JmxvZ2lucGFnZT1Mb2dpbi5hc3Amc2l0ZT1laG9zdC1saXZl#db=tfh&AN=43280596

Thompson, John. (2008) Don't Be Afraid to Explore Web 2.0. Phi Delta Kappan. Vol. 89 Issue 10, p711-778. Retrieved October 10,2009 from http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/pdf?vid=21&hid=3&sid=1d8d2d40-cc8a-4f28-901d-db683f607649%40sessionmgr112

Anti-Teaching

I really like the idea of anti-teaching. The word anti is a negative word. I like the idea of a teacher as a facilitator rather than an anti-teacher. People have access to information at the tip of their fingers at any time anywhere. Why should a teacher have teach and recite information to students and have the students recite the information back when that information is in the palm of their hand literally all of the time.

Teachers need to teach students how to ask the right questions. Students and teachers have access to any and all information but how to find and determine how to solve a problem is what teachers should be teaching. What questions should students be asking and how they compile information to answer the question is the new wave teaching. Critical thinking with an abundant information is the answer to the anti-teaching idea.

Potentially teachers should now take the label facilitators. A great teacher in the future is not going to be a teacher that can give an amazing lecture and relay massive amounts of information to students. A great great teacher of the future is going to be able to lead a student to an answer of a critical question. A teacher that is able to lead twenty students to an answer of a difficult problem is going to be a great teacher.

Educational Uses of Blogs

The first main use of blogging for educational purposes is to use it as a student journal for reflecting and observations. This is something that teachers have made their students do for many years. The ability for a student to actually go home and reflect on a subject after processing it for a while and thinking about the topic I feel is great. People can reflect better allowing them to have some think time. Another advantage to blogging is that people can read their previous posts easily because they are dated and easier to go through than a traditional journal.

The second main educational use of blogging is that now a reflection or observation becomes a two way communication model. A blog has the ability for student student, student teacher, and teacher teacher interaction. Students and teachers have the ability to comment on reflections and observations. The original blogger then has the ability to reflect and repost on the topic. Many students and teachers then have the ability to read the blog at the same time and post comments which is virtually impossible with a traditional journal.

The other important communication method that blogging offers for educational purposes is the ability of a teacher to communicate many ideas to an entire class and the students are able to read them at their leisure and many times. Students can see the blog any time they go onto the internet. The blog can be set up so that the first window that pops up when they go onto the internet shows the teachers blog.

Educational Uses of Blogs

The first main use of blogging for educational purposes is to use it as a student journal for reflecting and observations. This is something that teachers have made their students do for many years. The ability for a student to actually go home and reflect on a subject after processing it for a while and thinking about the topic I feel is great. People can reflect better allowing them to have some think time. Another advantage to blogging is that people can read their previous posts easily because they are dated and easier to go through than a traditional journal.

The second main educational use of blogging is that now a reflection or observation becomes a two way communication model. A blog has the ability for student student, student teacher, and teacher teacher interaction. Students and teachers have the ability to comment on reflections and observations. The original blogger then has the ability to reflect and repost on the topic. Many students and teachers then have the ability to read the blog at the same time and post comments which is virtually impossible with a traditional journal.

The other important communication method that blogging offers for educational purposes is the ability of a teacher to communicate many ideas to an entire class and the students are able to read them at their leisure and many times. Students can see the blog any time they go onto the internet. The blog can be set up so that the first window that pops up when they go onto the internet shows the teachers blog.