Tool #11 Reflections

1. What are your favorite tools you now have in your personal technology toolbox? Briefly describe a particular activity that you will plan for your students using at least one of these new tools.

Some of my favorite tools include Digital Storytelling.  I look forward to using this to share special times with my class.  I've always wanted to use this as a way to show the parents and the kids all that they have learned throughout the year.  I want the kids to create real life stories which will definitely tie in well with writer's workshop.  I am also going to enjoy using tool #3 the generators and mashups.  I love wordle, bookr, image chef, and Flickr.  The kids are going to enjoy exploring these.
2. How have you transformed your thinking about the learning that will take place in your classroom?
I can see how technology is a huge part of being a 21st century learner.  I have learned so much in writing this blog. I am glad for the experience even though it took me a while to get started.  I'm excited to get started with my class and show them the great technology we will be using in our classroom. 
3. Were there any unexpected outcomes from this program that surprised you?
I'm surprised that I'm almost finished with my 11 tools.  No, I'm surprised that the more tools I completed, the more I enjoyed what I had just learned.  I realize there will be some glitches along the way but I know they can be worked out with time.  I found so many cool ways to get creative with technology and I can actually use these to teach in all subjects.

Tool # 7 Photostory

Tool # 11 Practicing good digital citizenship

Discuss at least three things you would want to make sure your students understand about being good digital citizens. Explain briefly how you would "teach" the idea of digital citizenship to your
students.

1. Safety and Security- I think kids do need to know that passwords should be private and not shared. They need to know to tell their parents/teacher if they see something that upsets them. Even though some websites look interesting and fun, they do need to check before visiting. I did find this great website to show our kids before starting our new technology. It suggests viewing as a class and could be downloaded at home as well free. I loved it!

http://www.cybersmart.gov.au/

2. Digital etiquette- I think kids need to understand what is said in text or social situations might be misunderstood or seen by others. I think they need learn to be respectful to each other as well. But of course, we must model proper digital etiquette ourselves. They must always be nice to people they talk to on the internet. Being mean is not COOL!



3. Digital Literacy- I think our children need know when and how to use technology. They need to be instructed on appropriate and inappropriate uses. I think this is vital for our kids to get the most out what we are trying to teach them.

I believe with all of the technology coming into our schools, we as teachers have a responsibility to teach students to use technology in a responsible manner.




I did find these great contracts/pledges for kids and parents:

http://digitalcitizenship.net/uploads/ParentContract.pdf

http://digitalcitizenship.net/uploads/KidPledge1.pdf

Tool #10 Mobile Technology and Apps

1. Discuss free educational apps you reviewed.

I love the word "apps". itouch apps can be so much fun and funny!

I did enjoy looking for various apps and here are a few I plan to use:
Math drills lite and Read me stories-children's books.
The math app went from addition to division. It tracked students progress with accuracy and speed graphs. Second graders need to know their addition and subtraction math facts before going into 3rd grade.
The reading stories teaches new words and new concepts.

2. Discuss ways your students could use the iTouch or iPad and appropriate apps in your class.
I plan to use these in small groups during reading instruction. There are sight word apps and this could be used in a stations as well. This is really going to motivate the kids to keep them interested in the lessons. You can't go wrong with this piece of technology. I love that there are so many free apps.

Tool #9 Sharing Information through Jing and Skype

Jing- I can see how Jing would be very helpful. It could be used in the classroom when explaining stations to my class. I'm thinking it will be enough to show this Jing video instead of repeating instructions. It seems that kids could even record themselves working on a specific problem, giving a report, or even narrating a story.

Skype- This seems it would help share information online. Students would be able to chat with kids from other schools and even states. I love the idea of possibly meeting authors and a chance to share our love for books.

Tool # 8 Using Video Resources

Water Cycle Song

I found this on Discovery Education with United Streaming. In second grade we study weather and I think the kids really enjoy learning so much more with videos and songs. Yea! A little corny but to the point.




This video I found on Youtube. It shows great monuments in Washington D.C. I need to find more video monuments because we study these as well in Social Studies.

Tool # 7 Digital Storytelling

Making this photostory was really fun. It was easy too, surprising for me :) This video is just various pictures taken from my son's BarMitzvah this summer. However, I did have problems uploading this onto my blog. Thanks to Mario for his help!
I would love to have my students create stories, even in social studies or science about something they have learned. I'm hoping finding the right pictures will be just as easy.

Tool # 6 Wikis

Discuss how students might use wikis to aid in their learning. Did any of the sample wikis you viewed give you any particular ideas for using a wiki in your classroom for students?

In looking through different wikis, they seem to be useful for teachers sharing and storing information. It seems to be a great place for students to work together within the classroom. It would also be nice to set up a Wiki for my class on units such as weather and heroes that we study in 2nd grade for research. I like it because everyone can add to it.

Tool #5 Tagging and Social Bookmarking

I created an account with Diigo. It allows you to highlight the text and attach sticky notes with your comments. I added it to my toolbar and bookmarked lots of wonderful sites. This will be very helpful in my classroom. I will be able to find these in one place. Cool!!

One website I loved was:
ABCya! Educational Computer Games & Activities | Site Map
This had a lot great activities and computer games. There's something for every grade level.

Another site I bookmarked was : http://writingfix.com/traits_primary.htm#forkids



This website had a lot of interactive prompts, lessons, and resources. There are daily writing prompts. Easy to use. I love anything that makes writing fun.

Tool #4 Cool Google Tools

Google Docs is a great way to share documents with our teammates and our kids. Setting up a document could be started and finished at a different time. The kids could do this as well with publishing a story or poem. They usually don’t finish in one day and it seems like it would be easy to continue another day as it saves the information and any changes made. Two kids could even work on this at one time by adding to it. Cool!

Google Reader is going to be helpful to stay up to date on blogs we are following. I’m hoping to put blogs up for the kids so they can see new things happening and keep them up to date as well.
Anyone that knows me knows that I am not that technology savvy. This is slowly beginning to make sense but continues to be challenging. I have enjoyed exploring and I am looking forward to learning more as I continue my journey.

cont. Tool #3 Nouns wordle

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Tool #3

Tool #3 Image Generators & Mashups

Choose two different image generators or mashups and create a sample of each.
I have chosen Spell with Flickr. It seems a great way to work with sight words and spelling words. The teacher would also get a chance to see the creativity of the student. Fun!
My sample should be here on the side. I hope this works.

I really liked Wordle. My class got a taste of this last year. This could be implemented in all subjects. One example given was used for creating covers for notebooks. We study so many units in Science and Social Studies, that I can see it fitting in nicely.

Tool #2 Building Community & Comments

1. I think it's going to be important to blog and read others to learn new ideas as well as build our own ideas. Having students creating blogs about what they are learning and reading in class would be helpful to us as teachers as well as parents.
2. The commenting advice I read was all very appropriate. Newbies should not be afraid to comment. (being a newbie myself I will definitely keep that in mind)
I have realized this is all very time consuming though. Two Hours flew by just visiting various sites, clicking here and there. I learned a lot and enjoyed reading, but I am going to have time myself.
3. The 5 blogs that I selected for my comments were: SharpTool;SuperThorn3;What a cinch;Aggie Mom's Blog; and Live2Learn&Learn2Live

Tool#1

Creating an Avatar was a lot of fun. I am looking forward to blog and learn more with my kids.