Hey class, here is your blog questions for week 7! There are three questions, so please choose one you would like to answer. Remember to respond to each other's answers and keep the conversation flowing!
This blog was created by Brittany Maloff, Ashley DeVito, Maria Leonardi, Kristen Hess, Becca Harmon, and Iris sittner
Q1 - In regards to OLS (Open Learning Support), why is it important to have a self-managing online community? (Reading 7.1)
Q2 - Understanding the importance of introducing technology early in education, which of the online tools do you think you would use in your classroom? What are some positive effects of these online tools, such as Storybird or blogs? (Reading 7.2)
Q3 - According to the article by James L. Hilton, sharing ones work is an important asset but many feel intimidated to share their ideas. Do you think that it is valid that many professionals, scholars, and students feel this way about sharing their work? What are some suggestions to aid in making individuals comfortable in sharing their work? (Reading 7.3)
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Q3 - According to the article by James L. Hilton, sharing ones work is an important asset but many feel intimidated to share their ideas. Do you think that it is valid that many professionals, scholars, and students feel this way about sharing their work? What are some suggestions to aid in making individuals comfortable in sharing their work? (Reading 7.3)
ReplyDeleteI think people do feel intimidated. They think their ideas only belong to themselves, and they do not want anyone else to take them. Hilton says, "If we want to preserve innovation, we have to begin asking how we can share, rather than how we can protect." I agree with Hilton. One idea can lead to a new idea; this is the great thing about sharing. Work-cited pages are the key to making people comfortable with sharing their work which we do have. Citing a person's work just needs to be used more extensively. Maybe if people are recognized for their work publicly, they would be more anxious to share their work. Also, people have to realize that their ideas may help advance this nation, so they should share their ideas for the common good.
Jen,
ReplyDeleteI think you have made a really strong point about the importance of citing work. I agree with you that if we emphasize the importance of citing work then people will not have to be afraid to publish it with the thought of it being "stolen."
There are many resources on this list that I would incorporate into my classroom. As we have been discussed in class, wikis and blogs are great tools for the classroom. As the article says, class wikis are so versatile and can do almost anything. The class wikis are a great way to have everyone kept up to speed with daily announcements, homework, and many other things. They are also a great way to get parents involved. The class blog is a great tool for students to communicate and interact with each other. Students are not just learning from the teacher, but their peers as well. If students are engaged in conversations about their learning and are receiving feedback from their peers, then they are more likely to succeed.
ReplyDeleteAnother resource that I found very interesting was the Storybird. I think this is an excellent way to integrate ELA with technology. It also promotes student collaboration. I like how the students can create their own stories with a variety of images, and afterwards print it so that they can share it with their class, family, and friends. I was looking at some of the sample stories on the website, and they were all so appealing and colorful. I will definitely use this tool in my future classroom.
I think that Skype is a great tool as well. Students can interact with each other or other classes in their school. This is a great way to promote collaboration among the students. Skype can also connect the children to the real world. I think it would be a great idea to have a weekly Skype session with a class from another state or even another country. This would promote learning about different cultures, traditions, and education systems.
Q2 - Understanding the importance of introducing technology early in education, which of the online tools do you think you would use in your classroom? What are some positive effects of these online tools, such as Storybird or blogs? (Reading 7.2)
ReplyDeleteAfter seeing how easy it was to create and manage my own Wiki and Blog, I would definitely incorporate those into my future classroom. They are great interactive tools that will allow me and my students to communicate after school, stay up-to-date on homework and projects, and publish work for parents and other family members to see. Since I use personally use and love Skype, I would definitely look to use that in the future. I can introduce the program and help all my students create usernames and passwords so that they can talk to each other when working on homework or group projects. It could also be a great way to communicate with busy parents who might not have the time to drive to the school for meetings and conferences. Two tools that I had never heard of before this article but would like to incorporate into my classroom would be Glogster and Storybird. Although I have never used them, they look like great interactive sites that students will easily be able to navigate. Overall, the article provided ten solid ways to incorporate technology in our future classrooms.
Lori and Erin-Great job validating the types of online tools you would use in your own classroom. Both blogs and storybords are great assessts to use. Wonderful job explaing exactly how you would go about incorporating those tools into your classroom curriculum. I am not too familiar with skype but I do know several people who do use it. Does Skype require any specific softwear to use it. Also, is skype child friendly?
ReplyDeleteErin and Lori,
ReplyDeleteYou girls had excellent points on why you would incorporate certain online resources in your classroom. I have heard of skype before but have never used it myself. I am also curious about if it is child friendly like Ashley had asked previously. It is great that both you girls are going to welcome technology into your classroom and get your students familiar with it. Technology can be intimidating if you do not know how to use it, but if you are introduced to it at an early age and become native to it, it will benefit you for the rest of your life.
Hey section 603! There is not to much action occurring on our blog. Don't be shy, we would love to hear what you have to say:)
ReplyDeleteThese are some great articles! Let's get commenting 603!!
ReplyDeleteQ2 - Understanding the importance of introducing technology early in education, which of the online tools do you think you would use in your classroom? What are some positive effects of these online tools, such as Storybird or blogs? (Reading 7.2)
ReplyDeleteMany resources on the list I plan to and hope to incorporate into my classroom someday! Wiki is one that I will most defiantly include in my classroom. I feel that it is a great way to communicate and keep the parents of my students actively involved with what is happening in the classroom as well as in school. Wiki will also benefit my students a great deal with keeping organized for school outside of class within their home setting.
Class blogs are also a great way to keep up with the students and parents thoughts about what is going on in the classroom. Students also get a chance to interact and reflect with their peers using blogs, which I feel in the long run is crucial to their success in education.
Another tool that I am very excited and hope to get to use in my classroom one day is Storybird. At my placement the other day I got to observe the children actively participating in a lesson done of storybird. The students where to listen and watch a movie on Brain Pop pertaining to the fall of Rome and then take an interactive quiz on the storybird. Rather then the teacher clicking through the review quiz, she had each student come up, read the question and answers aloud and touch the correct answer and then have the student pick the next student to come up and do the same thing. The students were in charge of the technology which was great to see! Storybird is a great way to involve your students in classroom technology!
As time goes on there seems to be more and more ways that technology can be incorporated into the classroom, and teachers should take advantage of this!
Q2 - Understanding the importance of introducing technology early in education, which of the online tools do you think you would use in your classroom? What are some positive effects of these online tools, such as Storybird or blogs? (Reading 7.2)
ReplyDeleteAlong with Lori and Erin, I would incorporate wikis and blogs into my future classroom for the same reasons. There are many great things you can do with class wikis and blogs and I feel they are beneficial to teachers, students, and parents. They provide a great source of communication.
Another tool that I would consider incorporating into my future classroom is Skype. I agree with Lori and thought the same exact thing about connecting with students from other states and countries--it is a great way to promote cultural diversity and for children to learn about different cultures, traditions, and education systems. I also liked the point that Erin made about the children talking to each other while working on homework or group projects, and communicating with parents who might not be able to make parent-teacher conferences, meetings, etc. I never thought of that and I think it is a great thought.
In addition to the tools mentioned above, I would incorporate Storybird and Glogster. I liked the Storybirds provided on the website and I think it would make students interested and eager to learn. I feel that this tool would make children want to read and write and it is a creative way of doing so.
Other tools that I hope to use in my future classroom include FlickrStorm, Kerpoof, and SimplyBox. All of these tools are geared more for younger children (preschool age) and teach them basic, beginning skills. I am going to be certified to teach birth through sixth grade and if I teach preschool-aged children, I think these tools would be a great aide. FlickrStorm provides several vivid visuals and images of whatever word you type in. I could use this tool to show the children various images. For example, if a child wanted to see what a penguin looks like, I could use this and show them several pictures so they have a better understanding of what a penguin is and what it looks like. I was the most impressed with SimplyBox. I have never heard of this before but when I clicked on the link, there were several games to play. It is an educational program where children can learn basic math skills such as number sense, seriation, concept of more/less, etc. I also liked how it gave you a "How to Play" button where if you did not know how to play a certain game, you had to click on the button and they provide directions that are very helpful and easy for children to read and follow. I had a lot of fun exploring on the SimplyBox. In fact, I spent quite some time playing the different games to see what they were all about and I think children would enjoy it too!
The website provided the top ten tools for young learners. I have not heard of a lot of them but after exploring them and seeing what they are all about, I know more about them and what they have to offer for children. In addition, I believe they would be great tools to use in the future!
Q2 - Understanding the importance of introducing technology early in education, which of the online tools do you think you would use in your classroom? What are some positive effects of these online tools, such as Storybird or blogs? (Reading 7.2)
ReplyDeleteThere are many positive effects of using online tools in the classroom setting. For one, online tools can help teachers communicate with their students when they are not in the classroom. Also, they could help the teacher communicate with the parents about what is going on in their child's classroom. Online tools such as wikis and blogs could allow students to post their own work, which in turn can give them a sense of accomplishment. In elementary classrooms, students usually feel privileged when they are allowed to use the computer. Because of this, it would be a great idea to use online technology as a positive reinforcement.
As a future teacher, I plan to incorporate a number of different technology sources into my teaching. Not only will it help keep things organized, it will also be beneficial for the students. Some online resources that I would use are blogs, wikis, and youtube. Blogs and wikis would be a great resource for students to post their own work. This would help students with their school work, yet also help them with their character education. By having their own blog or wiki, they would be responsible for what they put on their websites. Although I would moderate these sites, I would still instill into the students that they are responsible for what they put on these sites. Youtube would be another great resource to use in the classroom to show students videos relevant to what they are learning. Instead of always watching boring, long videos, I could use a short clip to show my students the main points.
All in all, it will be extremely important to incorporate as many online tools into my classroom setting as possible. I know that it is my duty as a future teacher to learn more about the online resources available to teachers and students.
I think I would try to incorporate as many online tools in my classroom as possible. I think I could find a use for all of the online tools listed in the Top Ten For Young Learners. The Vocaroo would be a great tool for differentiation for students who are English Language Learners in your classroom as well as using it for children who are not as fluent as others in your class in reading. The Flikrstorm website is a perfect tool for what we were discussing last week, having safe searches on the internet without having to block certain things from showing up. I think this is a great tool so that the students may perform research on their own and share it with others. Storybird would be a great way for all the students to create books that other students in the class may access on their own computers to read and share with one another and would be a more eco friendly way to share stories rather than using so much paper. Kerpoof sounds like a great movie making tool for young children to use and understand without having to use more complex programs to make movies. I have actually used Skype many times and even in my classes here at Cortland to talk with a professor overseas in a politics class. I think it would be fun to have students from all over talk and connect with one another on skype. They could have a class discussion with students who are learning the same things in other areas. The use of Voicethread was very interesting to me. Using images and concepts through voice or writing would be a different way of communicating an idea to the students. We have already talked about how beneficial blogs and wikis would be to the students in your classroom. They are very multidimensional and could be used beneficially in a variety of ways. All of these programs would be valuable in the classroom as online tools.
ReplyDeleteGreat posts so far! Victoria, I'm so glad you got to see Storybird being used! I think it could be a really useful tool for teachers, especially if they use it the way your teacher did. I think one of the most important thing in using technology is letting the CHILDREN use the technology too.
ReplyDeleteSarah, I'm really glad you took the time to explore some of these tools. I also think Simply Box is a really great way to get children interested in technology and education! Children obviously love games so incorporating something they like with technology and educational information is a great idea.
Myriah- I really like your point about the sense of accomplishment students may feel once they've posted their work. Most children I know get extremely excited if their work is put up anywhere in the classroom. I can only imagine how excited they would be if their work was available on the computer. Good job!
Q1 - In regards to OLS (Open Learning Support), why is it important to have a self-managing online community? (Reading 7.1)
ReplyDeleteBy having a self-managing online community, anyone in the world that shares a common interest can link together to share information and discuss certain topics.It is a great free resource that allows people to come together and connect. By the "community" focusing their time and effort more on creating the materials posted rather then on the people using it,there will be access to sufficient information and will serve as a good resource for every one that is participating. I really like the fact that there is a self-police application on the OLS. I think it is very important to have a "safty net" to prevent inappropriate comments due to the openness of allowing anyone to join.
In response to Brittany and Ashley, I would say Skype is very user and child friendly. By simply going to skype.com and clicking download, the software will be installed and you can create your username and password and start chatting! What most people don't know is that Skype can be video chats or audio chats, and that you can use your computer to call landlines by using Skype, too. It has it's own built-in games and icons, it allows the users to take pictures of the people they are chatting with, and it also allows the chatters to Instant Message in case the sound quality is bad and they can't hear each other that well. I have Skype'd with my 6-year-old neighbor so I am confident that children can definitely use this program.
ReplyDeleteQ3 - According to the article by James L. Hilton, sharing ones work is an important asset but many feel intimidated to share their ideas. Do you think that it is valid that many professionals, scholars, and students feel this way about sharing their work? What are some suggestions to aid in making individuals comfortable in sharing their work?
ReplyDeleteYes, I think this is valid. Even now I am intimidated to share my ideas. Especially in college some professors will put your ideas down or not like them. Plus your peers could not like your ideas and can be rude about it. A suggestion that is working for me is this blog idea or the e-learning type thing because students and professionals can put their ideas down on paper because you don't see peoples reactions so it's easier to get your ideas across. Another suggestion is have a teachers mailbox and students can put ideas down that they are afraid to say verbally and the teacher can respond to that.
Q2 - Understanding the importance of introducing technology early in education, which of the online tools do you think you would use in your classroom? What are some positive effects of these online tools, such as Storybird or blogs? (Reading 7.2)
ReplyDeleteIf I could incorporate all ten of the online tools in my classroom I would, however my top choice is Wiki. I think wikis are good forms of communication for both parent and child and it is a good way to communicate with your classroom. A wiki can be used to transfer information to parents that a child would normally not tell their parents. A class schedule can be posted, homework, due dates, etc. Also, wikis are a good way to communicate with parents and students, a discussion page can be available in order to have an easier access of communication.
The positive effect of all the online tools is that it allows for easier communication between parents, students, and teachers. In today’s society we rely on the internet for everything we do, so all these online sources are necessary for means of communication. It is important to get yourself familiar with all the sources in order to choose which one you think with suit the needs of the parents and students in your classroom.
Q2 - Understanding the importance of introducing technology early in education, which of the online tools do you think you would use in your classroom? What are some positive effects of these online tools, such as Storybird or blogs? (Reading 7.2)
ReplyDeleteI think that there are so many different tools that I would love to encorporate into my classroom in the future. I love the WikiSpaces! I think that it is a great site for the students and the parents to be able to turn to for classroom information. If a child forgets their homework, they can go on the site to see what it was. It is a great way to get the parents more involved in the classroom as well. They can always turn to the site to see what their children are doing in the classroom, and they can see the upcoming events. I also want to have a classroom blog. This is a great way to get children to discuss things back and forth and to be able to see everyones' inputs on the topics being discussed. I think the Storybird is a great tool that I would use as well. I think the students would love to create stories with images. Their drawings could be used to create a story. This would excite the students to be able to see their work displayed in book form. The positive effects of using all of these tools is that it is getting the students to get good use of all of the technology that is offered. It makes learning a lot more fun and engaging for the students. With parents being so busy with work it's sometimes hard for them to get involved in the classroom. Using online resorces like a Wiki helps the parents stay involved. The blogs are a great tool because it gets the students to interact more with their peers and to give their opinions. Overall, I want to encorporate as many online tools that I can into my classrooom.
Evelyn - I completely agree! Our generation is already very technologically savvy, can you image how the next few generations will be? Incorporating online tools into our classrooms will be a great way to involve students who can organize best through technology. I love the idea of having a class wiki where the students and parents can both see what is going on for the following weeks in the class. Forgotten homework, class trips, due dates, tests, etc can all be put into the class wiki. Also, the students can help us design our class wikis! Everyone has some great ideas, and technology is going to be very useful in our futures.
ReplyDeleteQ2 - Understanding the importance of introducing technology early in education, which of the online tools do you think you would use in your classroom? What are some positive effects of these online tools, such as Storybird or blogs? (Reading 7.2)
ReplyDeleteI feel that it is highly important to introduce technology early in education. Teachers today have many useful tools that are available to them that they can use to teach technology. As a future teacher I think that one of the online tools I would like to incorporate into my classroom would be number 8, Storybird. I feel that some positive effects of this online tool are things like cooperative learning, and creative thinking. Students can work in groups to create different stories, and have fun thinking of different ways that they can make the story stand out. They can use color, pictures and a wide variety of illustrations in their stories. I also feel that number 10 Vocaroo is another useful online tool that I would incorporate into my classroom. I think that students would enjoy recording things and listening to other students voice recordings as well. Some positive effects that this tool could have in the classroom would be things like interactive learning. They could take turns doing shared reading stories and putting them online for others to listen to. Another positive effect would be if a student was a slow reader they could pace themselves and pause it to practice the next lines that they need to read. This would decrease the embarrassment of students having to read in front of the class, but it still keeps them participating in the activities. I feel that blogs, and Storybird, as well as the other tools all incorporate interactive learning with technology, and each gives students specific skills that they can learn from technology use.
Krista,
ReplyDeleteI think you made some fantastic points in your entry. I really enjoyed how many suggestions you had to offer on how you would actually go about incorporating specific online tools into your curriculum. Were there any online tools that you were familiar with before reading the article?
Q1 - In regards to OLS (Open Learning Support), why is it important to have a self-managing online community? (Reading 7.1)
ReplyDeleteSince Open Learning Support has been opened worldwide I feel it is important to have a self-managing online community because everyone will bring their own values and beliefs and it is essential for everyone to take that into consideration before they make a post. I think that having the self-managing online community and “panic button” may encourage people to think about that before making an inappropriate post. Also, because so many people will be making posts, it isn’t practical that every post will be beneficial or of interest to every user. Therefore, I think that the self-managing online community is important because as the article states it will not require a new member to read all the posts, but the mechanism will give the reader the most informative ones.
Q2 - Understanding the importance of introducing technology early in education, which of the online tools do you think you would use in your classroom? What are some positive effects of these online tools, such as Storybird or blogs? (Reading 7.2)
ReplyDeleteI would agree with what Erin said before about using wikispaces and creating our own blogs. I never thought I would participate in a blog or have my own wikispace before this class. I think that both sites are very user friendly and easy to operate by both children and adults. It is for this reason that both tools can be very useful in our future classrooms. The time in class when we had to look up other schools and teachers class wiki's really opened my eyes to this new web 2.0 kind of site and I think that I will definitely use one in my classroom. Blogs can be an excellent way for students to share their thoughts and comments inside and outside the classroom. Also another benefit of having a class website or blog is that it can be an effective communication tool between parents and teachers in addition to email or in place of email if perhaps a parent or caregiver does not have an email address. Another online tool that can be effective in the classroom would be glogster because it could be part of an interactive learning center in the classroom, the teacher could post videos and have the students watch them and then write a response. I also thought that Kerpoof looked interesting and could be used in the classroom as part of a learning center that included making short videos or stories, because it is always important for children to use their imaginations. I would like to incorporate all of these things into my future classroom and I am happy we have so many educational technology choices today.
Katy,
ReplyDeleteYour post was very good and well thought out. It's apparent that you read the article and thought about each different idea that was presented. Well done!
Q3 - According to the article by James L. Hilton, sharing ones work is an important asset but many feel intimidated to share their ideas. Do you think that it is valid that many professionals, scholars, and students feel this way about sharing their work? What are some suggestions to aid in making individuals comfortable in sharing their work? (Reading 7.3)
ReplyDeleteI agree with what Kyle said, I sometimes feel intimated as well to share my ideas. I also think that the majority of people feel intimated to share there work also. We are afraid to share out work to avoid the negative criticism that we might receive. Also some students might have shared their work and have been told they were wrong, or had a stupid idea. In this case the student would not want to share their work in fear of embarrassment again. A lot of students do not like to feel that they are wrong, and in showing their work, they might get negative feedback and then not be willing to share.
Kyle had a good idea to incorporate the blog into the classroom. It is an easy way for students to share their ideas, without feeling the pressure of being "right". He also says that "you don't see peoples reactions so it's easier to get your ideas across" this could be beneficial for a variety of students.
Another idea is to use sandwich feedback, where you offer positive, constructive, and then positive feedback. However, the constructive feedback is ways in which they could improve, not what they did wrong. This still allows students to have positive input on their work, as well as constructive feedback to further help them.
Jen offers a good point when she says that "Maybe if people are recognized for their work publicly, they would be more anxious to share their work". A way to do this is for example to create a class library, if a student writes a story, they can publish it in the class library for all students to read and enjoy. That way they feel proud of their work to know that it is important enough that other people will want to read it.
Becky,
ReplyDeleteYou're post is very well written and explained. I liked that you related to previous posts as well as used quotes from the article throughout your writing. It is clear that you have read the article and read everyone's responses. I also liked that you showed your own opinion. Good work. Your entry was excellent!
Danielle,
ReplyDeleteYes I felt the same way about wiki's and blogs, and all of these tools that we are now learning about. I had never thought about incorporating these into my classroom, and it has really opened my eyes too. Great post and it's good to see that you like and will use these tools in your classroom.
Q2 - Understanding the importance of introducing technology early in education, which of the online tools do you think you would use in your classroom? What are some positive effects of these online tools, such as Storybird or blogs? (Reading 7.2)
ReplyDeleteI think it is just as important in the younger grades to incorporate this technology. These tools all seemed very useful. I agree with many of you who talked about how this classes opened your eyes to the ways to use technology. I will definitely use a class blog and wiki. I think these tools are useful with all grade levels. It allows parents to be more involved in their children's education. I also think that skype could be a great tool to use in the classroom. It can help connect classrooms and guests speakers from around the world. Storybird was also interesting and is a great tool for the younger grades. Younger children always surprise me with their ability to use technology so teachers should not hold back from using it in their classrooms.
Sara-
ReplyDeleteGreat idea using skype, especially for guest speakers around the world! I love that idea, and I never thought of it. What a great way to utilize skype in a positive way for your classroom!
Q1 It is very common to try to find answers online, and be bombarded with people posting absurd and irrelevant responses to legitimate posts. In a self-managing community, inappropriate posts are reviewed and banned by the network manager. This would prove to be very helpful when seeking help online. When organized correctly self-managing online communities seem to add a level of convenience for many users. When people can effectively collaborate in order to produce clear communication on specific topics, a quality resource has been created. This resource can be tapped into by those in need of information on a vast selection of different topics. Allowing different information and opinions to be shared over the internet creates a wider range of understanding of a subject. People from all over the world can come together in these communities and share their thoughts.
ReplyDeleteQ2 - Understanding the importance of introducing technology early in education, which of the online tools do you think you would use in your classroom? What are some positive effects of these online tools, such as Storybird or blogs? (Reading 7.2)
ReplyDeleteLooking at the website, my favorite tool was the storybird. I would use this in the classroom by having the students each make their own story, and each week have a different student read their story to their classmates and explain how and why they came up with their story. In doing so, each student will feel like they've accomplished something important. The positive effects of storybird are students can use their creativity in an educational way and students can learn more about the technology.
Q3. I agree with Kyle and Becky that you can feel intimidated to share your ideas with people because of the risk of being wrong. Even though young children like to be recognized for their accomplishments there is the risk of being judged by your peers for your views. While a blog is a good way around this the student still is not anonymous so they still risk being judged. If the teacher was to give out anonymous blog names so only the teacher and that student knows its them then the students maybe more willing to express their views without risk of negative criticism.
ReplyDelete