THE END!

This class has been helpful for a nice overview on modern technology. Now when I hear the words, at least I can recognize what they mean (Podcast, Wiki, RSS) :) Practice makes perfect and the main thing is for me to attempt to utilize some of these ideas and not always rely on the old standby of printed paper in the backpack!

THING 23

I think I will extend my current classroom webpage by using a blog to enhance school to home connections. I am not sure exactly what I will include but I am thinking about child development issues, classroom happenings, important parenting information, etc. I also think it'd be fun to create some podcasts for students to listen to - maybe during vacations or specific themes. I will continue to take tons of pictures and possibly post them on Flickr for easier access (currently use photo album in my classsroom or random posting on class' webpage.

THING 22

I have already signed up on this site for my school. If there's a password, I have no idea what it is and will have to look it up:) I have considered taking the pd online but always elected to attend conferences. I have done some online course work (in college)but it seems with this class, the amount of time required for each project and time of year(summer) made it harder for me to keep at it. I would always like to have professional development in the usual subjects: child development, school to home connection, classroom management, challenging behaviors, etc.

Downloading Videos

I tend to use YouTube for music but occasionally look for videos for teaching tools. I downloaded this video about sugar in our diets.

THING 21

I have already used online videos in my preschool classroom. One Christmas we wanted to know exactly how reindeer sounded so we pulled up a video and small groups listened to the computer. Videos (from the library or online) are always helpful to show children more information about the subject being taught. In a really elementary setting, these videos could be projected for the entire classroom. In my classroom, modern technology is usually just a computer and digital camera:(. Again, the video must be viewed before by the teacher and consideration must be taken to meet approval from all families on all topics. I'm not sure if You Tube is blocked but I'm betting it is. I'll have to check that next time I'm in my room.

Elephants in the storm!

embed src="http://everydayexplorers.nationalgeographic.com/flash/ugc_drop.swf?mediaType=VIDEO&mediaId=737299&pageId=5486&ident=95850&embedded=true&widgetHost=affiliate.kickapps.com" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer" width="420" height="364" allowFullScreen="true" name="video_player" align="middle" />

Dolphin Video

Dolphin Parenting

Another cool video - we all remember!

http://www.teachertube.com/viewVideo.php?video_id=7585&title=Schoolhouse_Rock___A_Noun_is_a_Person_Place_or_Thing

Exciting Videos

http://www.teachertube.com/viewVideo.php?video_id=15395&title=50_States_and_Capitals__cartoon_song_

THING 20

OMG - That is way too cool! I can see myself adding narration to blogs from now on. I think it would be great to have students comment on different topics and then share with their friends. Listening to someone we know puts a new spin on the information we are taking in. It's a simple procedure to create a podcasts so I'm sure students would want to be involved. My favorite podcasts are: http://www.nick.com and other early childhood education sites; www.podfeed.net/podcast/Teach+and+Retire+Rich/8934#. I found that www.podfeed was easier for me to navigate that Apple's site.

My very own podcast (completed on the cell phone)

Discover Simple, Private Sharing at Drop.io

THING 19

Wow! To be caught up in the new century finally. My kids have been doing MP3 Players and Ipods for quite some time and I always wanted to get one to use when walking (I'm getting one soon for sure!) I love the idea that you can download music galore. To download podcasts for the classroom is really exciting. Even in a preschool classroom setting, downloading a podcast about the letter "C" and having a different song to use with the children opens up opportunities for stronger learning. In our elementary schools, this would be a useful medium since they have the equipment to project their computer screens for view by the entire classroom. I think video or audio podcasts are fascinating for children, depending upon the topic discussed or presented. The teacher would have to thoroughly review the entire podcasts before using it as a teaching tool.

I listened to Hooked on Phonics - Letter C; Inside Story with Ana Marie Cox and Real Time with Bill Maher.

Map of visitors

THING 17

A wiki reminds me of a book where you can flip in between the pages, keeping the material organized. A blog has the information there but you have to search for it (either in comments or posting).

I think a blog is good for voicing opinions and relaying information but the wiki is more useful to gathering the information for viewing and response. I like the way the information is placed under certain headings created in the beginning. A person can go directly to that heading and find the referenced material. I might use a blog for feedback about learning taking place in the classroom, field trip suggestions and comments, teacher colleague communications and upcoming events. The Wiki would work well for the beginning of the year to inform parents how learning takes place, child development milestones, and teacher communication about specific topics. It would be great to be used by all of the preschool teachers and each one could add what they wanted.

I could see taking the time to train students about Wiki but some problems might include not having access to a home computer, keeping them focused on the assigned topic, or team work dedication (not just one person doing all of the work.)

THING 13

As an older citizen, I'm accustomed to the traditional method of scrapbooks and photo albums. I am always telling my young adult children to print out their pictures for future generations. They always tell me the Internet will be there forever.

I love the idea of editing the pictures on Picknic and then saving them for publishing, either at Walgreen's or on the web. I have seen family post pictures on Flickr and think it's a great idea for sharing. I feel Flickr is a safe method of sharing with students in the classroom since there is the private setting. It would be great to post pictures of daily activities for families to see.

In my classroom, since I take a huge amount of pictures throughout the year, I can see myself editing the pictures more often and possibly setting up a lengthy photo journal to share with families (to accompany our classroom website)

A humpback whale slapping the surface with its tail.

A humpback whale slapping the surface with its tail.
Originally uploaded by gobears1976

THING ll Additional Comment

Oh yeah, one or two other thoughts. The slide show is a great learning tool because the classroom can talk about what they are seeing,especially with younger children where we want to encourage language development.

I was amazed that when I embedded the code for the slide show, the slide show was on my blog instead of all of the codes. Too cool!

THING ll

Again, how easy it is with the right instructions! This is definitely an amazing tool to enhance any blog! The amount of information a teacher can provide for families is completely unlimited! I maintain an annual classroom photo album and am thrilled at the thoughts of downloading a slide show for parents to look at and share with friends and relatives. What a great school to home connection, along with fabulous public relations and enticing future enrollment. The one concern that comes to mind, after the initial elation, is again putting private information (student pictures) online. The slide show would have to be generic without any private information. We don't want to share anything with the world, only with our families and friends!

Yellowstone National Park Slide Show

Amazing The Yellowstone National Park

View more presentations from Dinisha .

THING l0

Creating a place for document viewing/interaction is quite simple. Google Docs will allow me to post several types of information online. It would make a great media for family reunion feedback or ideas, classroom volunteering or surveying, gathering any type of information from colleagues, or just a general document editing format. I think the most helpful use for me is for document editing. The staff in our building usually meet on plan day to develop and edit forms for family distribution and this could be done much easier on Google Docs, allowing each staff member to see the revisions as they occur. The work could be done at the teacher's convenience and not always on the run during a meeting. This is definitely one part of technology I plan to take advantage of, even before school begins.

THING 8

Using a social bookmarking system only makes sense in education. Teachers survive in their daily classroom by sharing information , teaching methods, and materials. This system allows easy access to so many types of information for everyone involved.

I can see this being used as a school to home connection tool where the teacher could list sites for child development, improving academic skills, or presenting fun family activities. Families could access the site and read all the information the teacher would like to share with them or they could post materials for the teacher or other families in the classroom or building.

Teachers can save time by viewing the sites when their schedule allows instead of discussing the materials with each other at lunch or quickly in the hallway. New ideas can be utilized and available with a keystroke. I have seen many occasions where I've been in my classroom and wishing I had a certain website listed on my home computer favorites.

I think it's a great organizational tool and everyone knows that good teachers have to be organized!

THING 6 AND 7

WHEW! I know this is good for my middle-aged brain, but what a challenge! It's information easily learned, especially with practice, and I'm thrilled to be entering into the modern world of technology! Noticing that my blog was not listed on the class roster, I searched online to verify it had been preserved. After stressing and retyping passwords, user names and code words, I finally figured out I had made one small substitution, using a slash mark instead of the number one, therefore reminding me of a basic lesson in life, write neat enough so it can be read! No modern technology in the world can save you time if you don't have the basics down. It was enlightening to read that others in the class were a little apprehensive in the beginning and also I was impressed with some blog pages designs :)

THING 5

I'm suddenly feeling as if I just stepped out of the spaceship into a new world and am wondering how I could ever orchestrate the use of the new technology available. The MP3 Player sounds familiar only because I have two college kids. I've always wanted to get one but just haven't taken the time. Maybe I'll do that soon.

After reading the information, I can see how useful the Podcasts and wiki sites can be for educators, students, parents, etc. I love the idea of having the classroom environment available for parents to participate in via the podcast. Also, having everyone involved in the student's education connected (peer to peer, teacher to teacher, teacher to administrator, librarian to school calendar) only can make learning stronger and easier.

I think that after I am comfortable with creating podcasts, blogs and whatever wiki sites are, I probably will try to take advantage to enhance communication and learning. In the past, I have put into practice new ideas (classroom webpage) once I understood them so I'm looking forward to learning more about all of this.

THING 4

My most common memory of education is of a teacher usually standing in the front of the room while the students compile page after page of notes and then later take the weekly test to see what we memorized. I can still hear the clicking of the projector as the movie reel turns around and lulls me to sleep. We spent a lot of time sitting in our desks, pulling out the next textbook and turning the pages. Normally we were encouraged to remain silent and always raise our hands with comments. Once in a while we were able to work as a group or create something spectacular using the material we were studying. We relied heavily on dictionaries and encyclopedias when looking up correct spellings or studying the countries of the world.

Teachers today realize the importance of movement being included in the curriculum and delivering materials in a diversified manner, meeting the needs of all individual learners. Students are exposed to materials using different methods of delivery and synthesizing such as hands-on manipulation, small and large groups, visually and auditory, and so on. Modern technology has enabled them to experience vast amounts of information from computer sources and utilize equipment for further learning (digital cameras, smart boards, phonic ears, cd's and dvd's, etc.). When reporting on countries around the world, students today can speak with citizens from that country, conduct speedy research, and access tons of current information.

Education has truly been enhanced with the additional modern technology, but the basic premise of education is still the same. Students need to comprehend, understand and utilize the information, they need to problem solve and be able to synthesize materials, memorize, and carry the knowledge with them for future learning.

THING 3

Okay, creating the blog up was easy. Next would be the fun challenge of composing material to place into that space. I have read blogs before and enjoyed the information presented in them. At one time, my son had a blog where he expressed his political opinions. Another teacher in my district recently constructed and maintained a blog about her tremendous weight loss.

Since I am a person who LOVES to talk, the opportunity to write down thoughts and ideas is very appealing. I would worry that I might get too comfortable and release too much information and I also consider the fact that what gets on the web, stays on the web.

Otherwise, it's an exciting adventure and I am looking forward to using it as an educational and communication tool.

Wow! Blogging is so much easier than one could imagine!!! This would be a great resource for printing child development information or parent tips.