Tool #11 - Reflection

1. I like wikis, google tools, and social bookmarking. See my posts about each tool to see how I would use it in my classroom and professionally.
2. I think I have been transformed just because of being forced into having to "get my hands on" some of the tools and use them. Doing that has allowed me to see there are some new things out there that I can use that may make things a bit simpler. That is what I'm striving for...stop reinventing wheels and doing the same thing 10 times...worded differently.
3. It was a bit unexpected to find how much time each tool sometimes took. I think if I were at a different place in life...not having a 2 year old...I would be a little more into it. But, overall it exceeded my expectations.

Tool #11

I feel digital citizenship is important to show/teach to the kids. In kindergarten I find it a little difficult to see them saying anything horrible on someone's blog or purposefully going somewhere inappropriate...but I think it's my job to show them what to do if something like this happens...or if someone posts something not so nice on our blog (since I'm thinking of doing a class blog). The same with wikkis...be honest and try to make something better. I'll repeat...kindergartners don't really have mean bones in them yet...so I think it's just setting the example that all the media is helpful.

Tool #10

I do not have an iphone or itouch but have friends with them. Also, I attended a training this summer and was able to use one and doodle on it. I will use the itouches in learning centers. I'm very excited about using it in my library center as a listening center. I'm going to buy a jack that I can plug into the itouch and it will hold earphones. I'm excited because there is an app that allows you to talk and record your voice. So, I'll read books onto it and the kids can choose the app and listen to the stories while following along in the book. BEST THING...it's easy and my teaching partner can read Spanish stories on it and then the kids will be listening to both English and Spanish stories. A teammate of mine is an expert at finding great apps for K...I look forward to hearing what she has and possibly incorporating some of the ABC apps into my ABC center. Also I found an app "Sightwords Free" that could be used as a warmup in small group.

Tool #9

I'm too frazzled to seriously understand or think about how I can use screencast in my classroom. As for Jing...I think it would be great for capturing images from websites in order to show students or teammates easily...with cutting out having to GO to the website. Sometimes when we're discussing a story or important figure in history...the kids need a visual to help with the learning. Also, so many times I'm looking at websites and see ideas for lessons that I want my teammates to see. This way I don't have to direct them to the sites...I can just capture it and send it in am email. Skype I do like...but more for personal use. I really can't think of a way to use it in the classroom...except to get all parents to have Skype and then we can call parents from the classroom and they can SEE their child's GOOD behaviors or bad. :) But, I do love Skype for talking with my sister-in-law in Denmark.

Tool #8

I've used Youtube before in the classroom. Mostly to support the students in science and social studies (that they learn in Spanish). http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u90qRE2F7CM This is an OLD :) video of a folk singer singing "Inch by Inch"...which is a storybook written by David Mallot. It was a read aloud for the class and I thought it would be fun for them to hear the song. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nTVg4QgHEOs This is a video on Youtube about how to plant a seed...care for it and such. I would use this in my preview for my Spanish language learners before they were to go over to the Spanish class.

Tool #7

So I was trying to think of a way that I could make something I already had...even better. So, I decided to use a powerpoint I made for college week of Texas universities. It was pretty simple to re-save it as a jpg and then load the slides into photostory. I was pretty excited about "talking" on the story...but finally gave up after about 1 1/2 hours to give up trying to get the stinkin' microphone on the computer to work. Also, I was very frustrated with the links provided for use of free downloads for music. I was wanting to find something that was a school fight song or at least marching music...nothing. That also killed another 2 hours browsing through the sites.

But, all in all I guess I could see using this with small group during guided reading. We could make a slideshow with just sight words for the lower groups and allow them to come up with sentence using the word and add that text to the page in the photo story. Also, let them pick the music...which I found making my own music a lot easier and less frustrating.

My last thought is that I sure hope we get our WHOLE flex day with stinkin' 11 tools thing...talk about TIME CONSUMING!!!

So, I've been waiting and hour for the photostory to load "processing video"...I'm just going to post and hopefully find another way to post the photostory.

Tool #6

So I think I like the whole Wiki thing. I definitely think I like it as a class website for me to communicate with parents and add some extras. Since I HATE the district teacher website option...I think a Wiki would be great. I was mostly searching for Kindergarten classes that used wikis for learning...the closest I got was 1st grade. The class created a story map for a story and then others were able to edit and revise the text. I really liked how it can show students how far their ideas for writing can go. I think it went a little far on the wiki I viewed because I can't imagine that the kids were able to stay with the story for as long as it had been added to. Too much text. But, maybe you could use it and have your teammates or other classes in the district help construct the story. I aslo thought it would be neat to use as a KWL. The class could start the wiki with what they know about a topic to be studied and then as they learn...it can be updated and changed.

My biggest concern is how do I remember to use this in the classroom and how do I make sure to give it the attention it will need in order to be effective. I already feel as though I'm trying to keep my head above water...will this drag me under deeper? I realize most people have hand-held devices that allow them to access all of these "new technologies"...but I can't afford to pay for the phone and the monthly usage. How will our district help educators to be able to afford the things that are required in order to have a life outside of school (without staying up to god-awful hours of the night)?