educator

Web 2.0 was challenging, but well worth the effort.  I learned so much about the latest tools available to educators to help improve the way we teach, research, and collaborate.  My favorite tool was Page-flakes.  I plan to use it personally and professionally.  It is a great way to save different resources in one place.  I am very thankful for the exposure I’ve recieved over the last four months. 

Not sure how I would use this with my fifth grade class.  We have to be very careful when using Social Networking with young students.  However, I do see the benefit for educators.  I really enjoyed the “Learning 2.0 site and the video about “Teaching Density”.  I think its great that there is a place where teachers can go and share ideas, and get creative.  Its also a great way to build professional relationships.

This was the most time consuming task for me, however it was time well spent.  I will definitely use this tool professionally.  It is a great way to manage varies resources.  I like having everything on one page and right at my finger tips. The bookmarks are my favorite.  I plan to seek out other educational websites to add to my bookmarks.  I am always looking for ways to get organized,  save time, and share interesting facts and resources with students  and peers.   I believe I have found what I need.  

I listened to “Obstacles to Opportunities Keynote 2007, Whys and Wherefores”, by Brian Crosby a 5th grade teacher.  He has taught school for 26 years.  Mr. Crosby is clearly in tune with how technology can enhance learning.  He uses blogging to improve student confidence and writing.  He also uses Digital Video in many ways.  The one I found most interesting was enabling a student who was home bound to participate in classroom instruction. 

 His main focus seems to be helping students to feel good about their work, thereby creating in students a commitment to their own learning.  I really see the benefit in what’s being done with technology in the classroom.  Thanks Mr. Crosby!

I think I might take a stab at digital video in the classroom.

Listen to my Podcast!

Setting up a Podcast is easy, but deciding what to record is not.  I think my students will  use Pod-casting.  I probably will not create my own Podcast very often.

Podcasting can be a powerful tool.  You have access to educators and other experts from all over the world.  You can hear information on several subjects from several sources.  You can also listen to audio books.  In the elementary directory the reader acts out the books, making them of high interest to young readers.  I also listened to the Education Podcast Network: Missouri Teacher of the Year 2008 Pod #139.  At this time  I’m not sure how I would use Podcasts in the classroom, but I definitely believe they are useful.

43 Things is interesting, however I don’t think I will use it.  I think students might enjoy it as they are searching for their place in life.  They will see how many people share their goals, and  recieve some affirmation from the “cheering ”.  I do think writing down goals is helpful, but not in a public format.

This site could be used to access many book titles as well as list my books for future reference or to share with others.

Information from the site:

• LibraryThing is an online service to help people catalog their books easily. You can access your catalog from anywhere—even on your mobile phone. Because everyone catalogs together, LibraryThing also connects people with the same books, comes up with suggestions for what to read next, and so forth.

• LibraryThing is a full-powered cataloging application, searching the Library of Congress, all five national Amazon sites, and more than 80 world libraries. You can edit your information, search and sort it, “tag” books with your own subjects, or use the Library of Congress.

• You can check out other people’s libraries, see who has the most similar library to yours, swap reading suggestions and so forth.

Del.icio.us is a great way to find and share educational web sites.  I’ve enjoyed searching the site for new and interesting websites. I plan to use this information to share websites with students and colleagues.  This will help to extend lessons beyond the classroom. Here are a few of the sites I found most beneficial:

• Rainforest maths offers excellent interactive games and a math dictionary.
• bibme countless titles of books, films, newspapers, journals, etc
• brainpop funny and informative, animated lessons for all subjects
• FunBrain educational games, family education, movie reviews
• reader2  social book list, share book interest with others

I chose the “Ta-da List“.  I am always looking for new ways to organize.  This site had a wealth of ideas.  You can create a to do list for:

• planning your day 
• planning a trip
• an agenda
• a reminder list
• prioritizing
• a calender

These are a few of the list you can create.  I liked the calender reminder list, because you can make it public and colleagues can share their schedules, or keep it private.  This tool seems very helpful. I plan to use it in the near future.