After learning about the RSS feeds and Twitter I am finding myself looking at the way education is going in my school and also my classroom. I feel that there is so much out there that we can use and are learning to use, but I am not sure that the district is keeping up as well. Our district is committed to using technology, but I need guidelines on what is ok to do and use. With that I have found some new tools this week that I am excited to try out and in the very near future.
I have talked a lot in my work for class lately about our 2nd grade zoo at parkway. It is a tradition of 2nd grade and has been done the same way for many many years. There is so much we could do to update the whole process and I think now is the time. Every year we have at least 15 kids with huge disappointment that their parents were not there. Now we can use ScreenCasting to make sure that parents can see what is happening at the zoo. It will take only a few minutes for students to read their reports to the computer and have it narrate to the picture of their diorama. It will be very simple and the students will have, I am sure great success.
I am also working on creating a Wiki for my classroom this week and am finding it very easy to do and create. I do like that I will have the freedom to set the page as I would like to rather than have to follow the "strict" formatting of the district webpage. It is really kind of a pain to try and figure that out. With my Wiki the same info will be there with even greater images, visual appeal, links, and imports. I like the way it is turning out, it is just a matter of playing with it to get the look I want. It should not be to hard--and I am already liking the end product!
It is really great that these tools can bring parents into the classroom. Even besides the emotional side of things- parents want to be there, kids want their parents there- it serves to really educate parents about what is going on in schools. Not to dip my toe into anything too political, but it seems like there is a lot of misunderstanding about what students are doing in school, and how teachers are working with them.
ReplyDeleteMy district has spent a lot of its energy in the past focusing on rules and guidelines regarding technology. I have gotten on several technology committees and have tried to stress the need to stop focusing so much on the potential dangers or problems that technology can bring and focus on the 95% of kids who will use it the right way and it can help.
ReplyDeleteThere are so many families that would love to be able to be apart of the 2nd Grade Zoo through one of the technology tools that we have been introduced to. Some of the digital storytelling tools could also be another great way to make a "book" of all the class animals. It could be a neat way to have examples on file for future years' students to look at before they create their own. Can't wait to see the zoo this year!
ReplyDeleteSometimes I have to remind myself that the tools we are using in this program are probably ahead of 95% of teachers and schools out there in terms of actually applying and implementing them. It can be frustrating to the pioneer in new technologies, but I think our students will be better off for it.
ReplyDeleteI love the idea of allowing the parents to be part of the classroom through screencasting and other 2.0 technologies. From an advocacy standpoint, there is nothing better than a parent being able to see what we do at school rather than simply looking at grades and test scores. Bravo on the Zoo project!
I wonder if parents would be willing to send eyejots to their students
ReplyDelete