As another class begins for me, I reflect on how the classes are going to be before I start. I can actually say I didn’t realize how in depth this class is. Even though I am not currently a teacher with any school district, I was introduced to most of the technological resources in my undergraduate studies. I won’t be able to implement this into my classroom as I don’t have one just yet, but I plan on using this blog as a future tool to implement technology into my classes by being able to go back and read up on certain resources again.
We also looked at NET standards. NETS for Teachers are the standards for evaluating the skills and knowledge educators need to teach, work, and learn in an every changing digital age. As teachers, we need to be able to keep up with these through regular training and staying up on the times. For my future classroom, facilitating and inspiring student learning and creativity is something that caught my eye. I plan on teaching high school biology which can be challenging to present to students. This biggest challenge will be the ability to keep them motivated. I also plan on teaching at a rural school, where the budget may be very small for hands on classroom resources.
My plan of action is looking at each technology resource and constructing a plan on how I want to use each one in my classroom. Some of the technological resources will depend on the budget of the school district. Since I am looking to teach at a rural school, some of these may not be in the budget. With my student teaching hopefully in the fall at a local rural school, I will be able to use the advice and opinions from veteran teachers for what technologies have worked for them with a limited budget.
Any time you implement technology into the classroom, you run into challenges from operation error to mechanical issues that nobody can control as well as monetary issues. I plan on using my knowledge I have gained from this university as well as the advice from veteran teachers to be able to overcome these challenges and be able to have a successful classroom.
This week we looked over three technology explorations, Wiki-PBworks Education, Tumblebooks and Tikatok, and Podcasts.
One of the first things that I researched was Wiki-PBworks Education. I knew there were such things out there that teachers utilized, but I didn’t know that such a thing existed. This is an amazing tool that allows for open communication among teachers, students, and parents. We live in a technological age where most things are now available on a digital format. This PB works allows for school districts to be able to post meetings, upload curriculum, etc. without all the need of countless piles of paperwork and constant forwarding of emails which eliminates the chance a teacher or important person doesn’t receive an email. Meetings and training can easily be scheduled or conducted without the worry of scheduling conflicts or other issues. You can also use this for your classrooms to upload assignments, post research and projects, and have students be able to upload their work, contribute to a discussion, or be kept up to date on assignments. Parents can also benefit so they can see what their child might have in homework, be able to communicate directly with the teacher, or just see where the classroom is at in their subject matter. This can also be made secure so that students don’t have access to private information as well makes a secure learning environment for students and a place where parents can communicate privately.
I am not currently a teacher, but this is definitely something I would use in my classroom. Since I will be teaching high school biology, this would be very beneficial to my students. I will be able to post discussion homework based assignments where students can communicate among each other as well as other students in the district, not just in their class alone. Parents can communicate and see what their students are learning in my classroom. Global-based projects can be planned with access to videos, discussions, and communication outside the classroom. This could open up many real-world experiences for these students. I am getting excited thinking of the multiple possibilities this could have for my future students. I plan on teaching in a rural district where we may be isolated from people who are hundreds of miles away.
I would highly recommend this for all schools from elementary to college. This allows for very easy access for facility to be able to communicate and train in certain areas without worrying about scheduling conflicts or issues. I see that is very easy to use if you have any sort of technology training with Web 2.0. The fee to me is worth it since you are eliminating paperwork in other avenues as well as securing the site so that students can’t access certain areas and parents can communicate openly about concerns without worrying students will see. This allows for customization based on each teacher or school districts need. This isn’t a one size fits all type of product.
The next resource I researches was Tumblebooks and Tikatok. Tumblebooks is a resource with the ability to look at books online. It has separate sections for elementary (Tumblebooks library), middle school (Tumblebooks cloud Jr), and high school (Tumblebooks Cloud). Libraries or school districts can subscribe for a year to have access to over 400 titles for a fee. This service can also be viewed from a home computer with a link set up to the account with no limit to how many students can view at one time. For elementary students, these books have animation, music, and can be read to you. For middle school and high schools, students can read along with the highlighted text as well as have access to National Geographic videos. There is even a audio book section where students can access. Some books can also be opened up on IPads.
Tikatok is an online publishing tool where students can write, illustrate, and publish their writing into books. Teachers can help take a child’s story and turn into a nice keepsake. This is now owned by Pearson as Tikatok was closed in October 2012. They are currently working on updating things.
I am not currently a teacher, but the Tumblebooks would be a good resource for a small school where they are unable to have an adequate library. This would give the children access to a number of books without having to purchase or order more books for a library. Students can even read a book from home. This would allow children access to books who couldn’t make it to a library or who are home sick and need to finish reading something for a classroom assignment. I find this resource would be very helpful to a special education students since these books can read automatically read to you. As for Tikatok, this would be a good project for younger students who could piece together a story, upload an illustration, and have the book presented to their parents as a present. You could also use this as a getting to know you for children to present the story about who they are to their fellow students.
I am on the fence about recommending Tumblebooks to other educators. Although it is a great resource for students, it can be costly for a small district that doesn’t have the budget to have this. This resource starts at $499 per school and only goes up as you add Tumblebooks Cloud and Tumblebooks Cloud Jr. It is very easy to use, but I can see being very costly as you add more schools. I find this would be beneficial for a library setting. Tikatok I would recommend for educators. Although I could not access all the information I wanted without a subscription due to the buyout by Pearson, it seems that it would be a unique keepsake to make for students to be able to give to their parents.
The last technology exploration I looked at was Podcasts. I personally have seen podcasts, but haven’t utilized them in the education place, just for recreational enjoyment. Podcasts are a method of making audio or video content available readily through the World Wide Web. You can record your voice or yourself doing your favorite hobby, reading a poem or blogging about your life. Since podcasts aren’t necessarily screened for content, some maybe inappropriate for students and should be viewed before presented to students. Here are some questions you need to ask yourself when determining if podcasts are right for you and your classroom. You should make sure they add or enhancement to the lesson plan, are they acceptable to view according to school policy, is the podcast easy to follow, does it grab the students attention, is the digital format compatible to your equipment, is the podcast produced by a credible source, is the podcast the best method, is the podcast supported by additional content, and make sure you understand the usage rights. If you should decide to construct your own podcast, I suggest asking for help first as these can be time consuming to do. The epnweb.org site was not working at the time that this class was started even with the help of my Navy IT husband who determined that the site was down. As for Mr.Langhorst site, I can’t believe how through his site is compares to others that I have seen. He uses his podcasts as study guides for his students to review on their tests which are called Studycasts and then he post them to his page for his students which can be heard through the internet or downloaded to an MP3 player! He even goes on to explain how easy it is for him to do this and that you don’t need an MP3 player to make podcasts.
I am not currently a teacher, but this is something that maybe beneficial to my students. With end of course exams, using a podcast to go over some of the important topics maybe a good idea for my future high school students. I could also use it just like Mr. Langhorst and post audio study guides for my students or find podcasts from credible sources to use to enhance my lesson plans. I will need to make sure that it grabs the attention of my students and is appropriate for the classroom so this may take time to find ones that I feel are useful for my classroom.
I would recommend this for educators to use in the classroom. It could be very useful with all grade levels. It could be very useful as a tool for students who are verbal learners and remember things better who it is spoken to them versus written down in a note or PowerPoint form. I see that is it very easy to use, there is no fee that I could see except maybe for the teacher to upgrade the equipment or the possible investment of an MP3 player. The only downside is that you need internet access to be able to download these to your computer or MP3 player. Not all students may have internet access at home and most school computers will not let you download files to their computers. Also, the utilization of Podcasts in the classroom maybe contingent on whether you have internet access in the classroom. I assume there are still school districts out there that don’t have the money or resources to provide every classroom with internet.
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