Emerging Technologies

I plan to incorporate a wiki page into my library webpages. I’ve actually started by creating a page for our summer reading program. I’d like the students to post book reviews over the summer, and I plan on inserting podcasts of booktalks. In addition, I’d like to have my library aides create vodcasts to be inserted in SMSLive once a week. One week may be a Technology Tip; another week it may be a video booktalk. With 40 student aides, surely we can talk a few into this!

I’d like the teachers to view the library as a “production” area for these creative projects. The media center is there not just for research and book selection, but as a resource for creation for these projects that go beyond “cut and paste” requirements. We can share our expertise!

John has been great in support all of our technology projects. He is the answer man! The biggest stumbling block has been the access to computers. It would be great to have a few more computers added to each classroom for small group collaboration, and it would be wonderful to add 5-10 computers to the library so each student could have access to a computer for the individual portion of projects, allowing them to work at their own pace.

Of all of the technologies that we have learned about, I believe wikis will be used the most. I hope to use professional development time to produce wiki pages that can be used for my 8th grade unit on cultures, and redevelop my family unit so that students can create a wiki about their family heritage. I think students will find interest in other’s cultures and traditions. I will ask students to read their classmates pages and post a response to what they have learned. For the culture unit, I hope to have students post their gathered information from the country that they researched, so that it may be shared with others. These pages can also be added to by other students as the year moves on. In my 8th grade nutrient unit, I have students create an advertisement for a nutrient. It would be neat to have the students create a podcast for their nutrient and add sounds and effects to their work.
Blogs could be used as more of a discussion board, I’m not sure how i would implement them yet. Perhaps I would have students log on and reflect after a cooking lab. With the restructuring of the 9th grade class, I’m not completely sure exactly what I am teaching yet, however I am sure there are many ways that I could implement blogs, wiki or podcasts. We do talk about the 7 habits of highly effective teens. Groups could be assigned a particular habit and on a wiki they could explain what the habit is and why it is important. Students could also develp a wiki that lists organization methods, and ways to beat stress!

The only bumps in the road I feel I might run into is the access problem. Being able to explain how to create a wiki, how to post, etc is going to take time before being able to actually create a work in progress. I hope that there is less of an access problem in the future so that we are able to use technology more freely. From time to time there might be a few questions that arise that would require tech staff to help, however I do not see that as being a problem. I’m not exactly sure how i will set up the wikis, or what will work best, however I will have to determine that by trial and error.

We enjoyed having the time to learn and explore the various technologies.  Having time to think, discuss and share ideas with one another was also very valuable.  The pacing and amount of material was appropriate and kept us interested. We did not feel overwhelmed with the information presented; however putting it together into our classrooms will take time and commitment and resources.  We liked the podcasts and believe the students will enjoy doing them.  We can see ourselves using this to build reading skills.  It will also work for self editing of written work.  We will need microphones for the classrooms in order for this to take place.  THis can also be used as an electronic portfolio for the kids.  What a neat thing to take to an IEP meeting

We would like to use Wiki to determine prior knowledge, to explore and research a topic, and to share what the students have learned.  This can be used as a running record of the year.  The issue will be access to the computers.  We both feel Wikis are better than blogging.  Wiki allows you to group the material into categories.  We feel the students will take more ownership in the Wikis then with the blogs. 

Professionally, the bloglines and RSS will help us to stay current on topics.  The information is coming to us and we do not have to spend the time searching.  We will then have more time for implementation.

Now that we have the tools to start implementing, it is up to us to step out of the box to incorportate the variuos technologies in our classroom.

Wow!  What a variety of teaching tools avalible to charge into the 21st century! the new technology today is enabling the teacher to break down the walls of the classroom and provide instruction or reflection of learning any time of the day.  These technologies give the capability to all students to have a voice in the classroom.

Wiki pages are a great way to track students’ goals, ideas and learning while sharing their ideas with each another.  The wiki would be an excellent tool to have students summarize their day.  They could also post the nightly homework for all to see if they need to reflect back to the day ‘s activities whether they are absent or not.  Wikis can also keep parents aware of what is going on in the classroom and allowing them to participate in their child’s learning. 

Utilizing podcasts/vodcasts enables students to create visual presentations on their learning using the technology of today. They can have a voice in explaining their learning by inserting audio files to presentations.  They can take pictures of the different aspects of the days.  Giving the student the tools and power to investigate with each other will engage the students in teams to learn differently.

Podcasting could be used in math to discuss how to’s for mathematical procedures.  This allows the student to hear themselves explain the concepts.  It forces them to clarify their ideas and practice essential skills for being successful in the PSSA open-ended questions.  These student-made pod casts can serve as a tutor for future students.  Ecogeeks is an example of a science podcast to enhance my ecology curriculum.

In order to make the above work, it is necessary for me to have more computer access or computers in my classroom.  For whole group instruction and sharing it is important to have a projector for large screen viewing.  The tvs in the classroom right now are not effective in instruction because they are too small.  A video camera would be ideal to share learning experiences on the wiki pages on line. 

The possibilities for these technologies are endless!  For wikispaces, I would like to refine my idea of digital portfolios.  I would like students to complete assessments on their individual wikipages as part of their engagement in the learning process.  I tried a blog this year, but I do not feel I was very successful.  I need to think about how I can more effectively model and implement this technology to promote discussion and collaboration.  I am excited to expand on my knowledge of podcasts.  I would love to have students podcast at the end of a day or a week.  I would love to have them translate the content and process skills they acquired into a podcast.  In addition, this would be a valuable vehicle for communicating interests and questions to develop their learning.  This could be an invaluable digital diary for me as the instructional planner.  Parents could access this resource and develop a strong understanding of their students’ education.

There are many diverse uses for podcasts with students of all ability levels.  Click here for a few ideas Cathy and I developed.

Podcasts can really develop fluency and building confidence in oral reading.  I want to continue to use this technology with my remedial readers. 

I’m interested in developing additional knowledge of the open source web 2.0 software applications.  There are many to investigate! 

To implement these ideas, my classroom needs a projector, a digital video camera, computers, and microphones.  I would love to have a digital smartboard to model these tools and develop additional instructional strategies.  It is essential these tools are readily available for seamless integration into the learning environment.

I plan on using wikkis and blogs with my 9th grade class next year.  All my students will be required to write a weekly blog about computer class.  this will be a great way to communicate with my students outside of the classroom. I do not see them everyday and if they can ask questions at there convience i can accomplish more in my classroom.  I plan on creating lesson plans over the summer so i will be able to start at the beginning of the school year.
I am also willing to work with other teachers on blogging and wikkis.  The way my schedule is set up this shouldn’t be a problem with the 6th grade.  I also plan to talk to the 6th grade teachers about creating blogs for the 6th grade.  I can devote time to working on blogs in my class, this will hopefully free up the computer lab so other assignments can be accomplished. 

I ran across a wiki article on Edutopia....

i enjoyed learning about wikis and book marks i plan on using wikis in my 9th grade next year.  i think it will be a wonderful oppurtunity for students to voice their opinion in there own environment.  after the lesson they have time to formulate questions and respond to others questions.  this is a wonderful tool for a school setting.  kutos to wiki

I would like to investigate furl and blinklist in more depth.  What tool would be the best to utilize if I wish for my students to go to certain math sites I have discovered for their practice.?

I am excited to start using Wiki in my classroom.  I like the idea of the electronic portfolio.  I also think this is another valuable way to communicate with parents.  I came up with numerous ideas on how to use Wiki in my classroom.  I would like to use it as an end of the semester assessment, a tool for research, uploading study guides and journals.