Next Year Tech Plans

The tech class this week definitely forced me to use some new technology tools to be creative.  Many of the tools I had heard of but never tried.  I am usually focused on the content of my websites or plans so I was glad to try more with design.  It is great to use these sites for my own graphics and website communications.  Many of them the students would love to try some of them as well.  There are several factors to consider if I am planning on using these tools with students:

1. Is the site blocked for students?
2. If the site is available, is there a way for students to login to their own account?
3. Is there a cost associated with the tool?

My plans for next year are to continue working on a Google Earth webquest for library time, working on my Vermont webquest, and the animal adaptation webquest, explore having students create animoto videos either as a book project, or internet safety videos, continue working on my Only2Clicks bibliography of sites and tools, and sorting out where and when to teach my lesson plans.  I am working on an Xtranormal intro to the library video to add to an About page on my library site.  I also have another website where I am keeping track of library time activities. 

I also want to create screencasts using Jing of Google Apps how to's for things such as setting up your Google account, how to access your Google apps from home, and more.  I love that the videos live on screencast so I can easily them in my site.

Pains and Success this week

My pains and struggles this week have been the blocked sites and snafu's in the technology through the district.  I worked on my Animoto video at home because I wasn't able to preview it in the lab.  One thing I have thought of this week is that  I want to integrate more differentiated instruction strategies in my lesson plans.  One of the biggest issues when I teach technology to students is the different skill levels the students have and trying to make sure I am scaffolding for all students.  I still need to plan a schedule for the year with students.  I would like to use Weebly to create a portfolio of my lesson plans.  I plan to stick with Google sites for the actual units since it integrates easily with my documents, student documents, etc.  However the design elements in Google are very limited compared to the other Website builders that we tried.

My success this week has been trying new tools such as Animoto and Weebly.  Overall, my immediate plans are finish my wetland animals Webquest, add to the Vermont webquest, make a brief Google Earth webquest, work on my Portfolio page (weebly) and make a loose plan of the units for the year.   I also want to publish my animoto video (DCF books) and make an xtranormal video - I was thinking and introduction about me page. 

Thoughts on being an Edge-ucator

Tom March's article, The Edge-ucators Way is a very inspiring summary of the history of how we have approached education (in an industrial way) and why we need change.  He mentions that today in our new "WWW - Whatever, Whenever, and Wherever" society students are surrounded by media and social networks that are not always conducive to the best learning environment.  I  like how he mentions that students really do love to learn.  If we can show them how they can contribute to a community of learners and add meaning to their lives in a digital world then they will see the value of the web not only as entertainment and social networking, but as a motivator to learn.  When I am teaching I feel that if students are not engaged in my lessons then it is my fault as the teacher because I am not reaching their learning style, including enough interaction, or conveying to them that what they are learning has meaning and is connected to their lives.

1st Day Reflection

My learning goals are to plan my curriculum in a way that meets the different needs of my students at their different levels and comfort zones using technology.  I want my students who are advanced to spend some time teaching other students, however I feel that it is also important that I give them additional exercises and activities that will challenge them to learn more.  

In today's class I had a chance to explore new website builder tools.  I am very used to Google sites and noticed a huge difference in the new web builder sites. I like that the tools we looked at today give you much more contorl over the design of a website.  I think the websites overall are look more professional and cleaner.  However, what I love about using Google Sites is that all of my Google Apps, which students are now using to collaborate on documents and presentations, work seamlessly with my Google Sites.  I am also able to find widget that allow me to upload audio and video files for free. 

Library Programs, Books Projects, and More

Here are a few ideas for what I want to accomplish this summer during the course to prepare for next year.

• First, get a solid curriculum plan like this one from Powell Co Schools (I currently use my Google Calendar):
• Skype an author - I think the kids would absolutely love this however it will require a lot of planning and preparation 
• Natalie Kinsey Warnock offers a new curriculum for learning local history through storytelling that I want to look into and our school has some money set aside for programs like this
•  Digital storytelling project 
• Google Earth Webquest for library (maybe students locate and do a small amount of research on famous libraries of the world)
  
• Wordle book ads - and other ideas from this Readingtech wiki:
• Use One True Media or Animoto to create the video/slideshow of this year’s Red Clovers, new books in the library, or DCF books to add to the library website - use this experience to do a project with students to create Book Trailers 
• Set up my 6th Grade class in Edu 2.0 or try a Thinkquest project
• I wanted to use VoiceThread for a poetry project this year, but there is a cost

Essential Questions and Research

I will always need to continue to work and develop my skills at getting students to ask better questions and use higher order thinking skills.  The essential question is about asking a deeper thinking question that constructs meaning for a researcher.  My favorite research theory/book is Guided Inquiry by Carol Kuhlthau.  Her research process focuses on how students need to connect their research to something that has meaning in their lives.  She also stresses the importance of assessing students during each stage of their research.  Using her theory, mixed with Jamie McKenzie's Research Cycle and The Big 6 (a more linear approach but still useful for organization), I developed a process for research.  However, I have struggled trying to include this approach with 4th grade.  I got about as far as the KWL chart and need to move on to finding an Essential Question.  I did have more success with an endangered animal research project with 6th grade, except I gave them their essential question, "what can you do to play a part in the future of your animal's survival?"  The other parts were the typical, "what is your animal's habitat," "provide a description of your animal," "what is their geographic range," etc.  All the students are most excited about how they can be involved in helping the future survival of something they care about.  In the future I would like to work at getting them to develop their own essential question.

The most challenging part of research is the stage of gathering, sifting and sorting information.  This is the frustration stage with any grade level because information may increase uncertainty, additional questions arise, and the focus of the research may change. 

It is also important for schools or school districts to work together to formulate a consistent research model throughout a students secondary education.

Overall, I am glad to be revisiting the topic of the research process because I often get caught up in tasks-at-hand and lose focus on why it is important that students learn and finding what sparks their interest in learning.

The Next 5000 Days

The Next 5000 Days of the Internet TED Talk video by Kevin Kelly (along with listening to a popular REM song) inspired the name of this blog.  Look how fast we got to where we are now.  Where are we headed in the next 5000 days?

What struck me the most about Kevin Kelly's "5000 Days" video was his point that we are all connected to one large machine, how large it is, how fast it developed, and how reliable it is.  Even though I knew the web was one entity I had never thought about how we are all participating into one large collective.  It does seem that we think we all have our own separate devices, yet we are all looking into the same machine. The theory that one day the power of the machine will exceed all human processing power is so interesting.

I agree with a lot of what Kelly thinks will happen in the next 5000 days.  We do embed materials into the digital world and it does seem that ultimately there will be one media platform.   Kelly says the machine will be smarter and more personalized and the price we will pay is complete transparency.  He compares it to the alphabet and writing, however they alphabet and writing never required that I share my information with the world.  Yes, it is like an organism or volvox, but it is not alive... yet?  The reliance on this one machine worries me.  You would guess I am concerned by the last 3 books that I recently added to my wishlist: 

I Know Who You Are and I Saw What You Did: Social Networks and the Death of Privacy by Lori B. Andrews 

The Filter Bubble: What the Internet Is Hiding from You by Eli Pariser and

 The Googlization of Everything: (And Why We Should Worry) by Siva Vaidhyanathan.

As for the future for my students I wonder if they really do have a choice about whether they contribute to social media.  Kevin Kelly says no.  What are their rights to privacy?  Will social media be the only way to communicate?  It is true that kids do not use email, they use text, Facebook, and Twitter.

Finally, will they have to rely on the machine for all their work? Probably.  If so, they still need to be information literate and I feel it is our responsibility to protect their right to intellectual freedom and to privacy of their identity.