Glogster, Twitter, Delicious, Oh My!

In the past week, we have learned about so many different web resources that, as educators, we will be able to implement into our classroom. These include Glogster, as you can see in my previous post. Glogster allows students or faculty to create posters about themselves, book projects, and many other tools. In addition to Glogster, our classmates also introduced us to Twitter. Although Twitter has grown in popularity recently as a social networking tool, it is also great for the classroom. It allows teachers and parents to stay connected outside of telephone and email communication. It can also be used as a tool to improve students' understanding of the "main idea" in a story by limting them to the use of 50 characters or less. Twitter also allows formatting and utilization of safety settings. In addition we learned about the website Delicious. The snapshot to the left is of the Delicious homepage. Delicious is a bookmarking tool that allows the user to customize their bookmarks and borrow from others. It is a community of the greatest bookmarks. I have used this tool to find lesson plans as well as navigate through the most efficient sites for educators. It is a great tool for educators and students alike. It would also be great to use in the classroom because it would allow for easy web navigation for the students if the teacher has previously bookmarked the sites he/she intends to use.

Of all of these tools, for my students I enjoy Glogster the most and for myself as an educator, I enjoy Delicious the most. That is what is important in navigating through these tools is determining how you can make the best use of them. 

Glogster

Workin' With Wordle

Today in class, Amy showed us how to use the Web 2.0 tool, Wordle. I have created one "All About Me." I took a snapshot by clicking ctrl, command, 4 on my Mac computer as you can see to the right. Notice that Ghana, family, travel, are the largest words. I was able to make these larger by including each word more than once upon creation.

This tool would be great to use in the classroom. I could use it to outline classroom rules, or create folder labels. In addition, I might use it in a lesson about different time periods. An example of this might be grouping Romaticism authors, 18th Century British Literature authors, Harlem Renaissance Authors, and others. I might include an author in each of these Wordles that does not fit and have the students identify which one and why.

I am excited about experimenting with this tool and discovering different ways to use it.

A Renaissance WebQuester

Following our discussion in class today about WebQuest, I came to the realization of the importance of making sure that each specific Quest is designed with a group in mind. In order for these activities to be successful, a group must be created, and a class collaboration must be the essence. In addition to this, it is important to monitor the aesthetic side of the website as well as the facilitation of critical thinking. My group agreed that our favorite WebQuest of the group that we reviewed is the Land Fills WebQuest. It forces students to consider their personal experiences and translate their pre-existing knowledge to true application cooperatively with their classmates. Rachel, Whitney, Tiffani and I decided that the site needs to include more links and to further critical thinking, the addition of a real-world example within the students' own town would be a progressive and positive addition.

I have found a particularly successful WebQuest amidst my search for one that I can use in my classroom. Though I am an English major, my minor is in the sciences which opens up a plethora of opportunities for my teaching of various subject areas. In an effort to become familiar with and further my knowledge about the content of middle grades science classes, I decided to research and obtain a WebQuest on the sustainability of Fossil Fuels. This webquest is designed for a seventh grade classroom. It provides the opportunity for students to gain a deeper knowledge and understanding about energy and photosynthesis. In addition, some background knowledge about cells, potential and kinetic energy, and different forms of energy would be useful before beginning this WebQuest which provides an opportunity to review and retain the prior understanding. The activity allows the students to collaborate through groups of four. Each student has a specific role: The Energy Engineer, The Biologist, The Enviornmentalist and The Ecologist. The way that I will be able to evaluate the students' understanding is through their presentation of the information gathered to the class who will serve as the Board of Directors at the imagined "GreenTech."

I have also posted on the sidebar an additional VoiceThread that I have created. Voicethread is an excellent tool that can be utilized in and out of the classroom. I have created one as an example and also as a potential tool to provide the audience or my students with a better understanding of the country of Ghana. My favorite aspects of VoiceThread are the drawing tool, where you can trace the item within the image that you wish to focus upon and the simplicity of creating and sharing on the site. It does not hurt that is completely free! It is an alternative approach to topics that might other wise be just another lecture, it allows the audience to engage visually and intellectually. It might also provide a great segue into a reflective journal entry or group discussion!

Let's Go on A Quest!

How exciting this week has been discovering new internet resources, specifically the Voicethread that I have added to the sidebar of my blog. To learn about Voicethread is interesting, and also thrilling because I can use it in many various ways within my own Middle School classroom. In addition, our class has created another Wiki for discovering, revealing, and teaching about many of the teacher tools on the Web.

I have also been working on a WebQuest, analyzing the depth of critical thinking that each WebQuest encourages and to what extent in order to determine the efficienc and effectiveness of each WebQuest. These Quests are exciting tools. I have already completed the Quests on learning and understanding about John Wilkes Booth, as a person and his impacts. I will use these in my classroom in order for students to connect to topics that they would otherwise ignore or find unimportant, personally.

The most important aspect to focus on now with these various web tools is their reliability and efffectiveness. As an educator, it is my responsibility to monitor the web sources utilized, how they can contribute to successes in my class, and how I can incorporate them within lessons to facilitate the most learning.

So Many Websites, So little time

One of the most important aspects of Website Browsing is being able to discern which sites are the most effective and efficient. In order to determine this, we must put pay attention to details and call ourselves Website Evaluators.

The most important part of being a Website Evaluator is knowing what sets the website apart and what makes it accredited. Today, I looked at the site by Glencoe/ Mcgraw-Hill with the URL http://www.glencoe.com/sec/teachingtoday/tiparchive.phtml/4. The website is aesthetically pleasing and easy to navigate. Although I was worried about it possibly promoting its products, I was pleased to find that there were no advertisements, just contributions by various people within the Academic Field. The contributors were from a wide-variety of positions within education, all accredited.

I learned different tools for classroom management, as well as numerous ideas for Virtual Field trips. I also enjoyed and took confidence in the fact that the website is frequently changing. As the viewer, you are able to access posts from last week, last month, or today. Most importantly, though, in order to be an informed Website Evaluator, I need to continue to evaluate other websites to draw informed conclusions about which sites I should use for my classroom.