Podcasting in the Classroom

For ways that I plan to use podcasting in the classroom click on the podcast below.

Gabcast! Teacher Insights #2 - Podcasting

This podcast describes how I would use podcasts in the classroom.

Image: http://flickr.com/photos/cleverclaire1983/312657062/

License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/deed.en

Tagging, del.icio.us, and Flickr

Tagging websites is a great way to keep track of websites that are visited often. After visiting delicious and tagging my websites, I can easily find what I'm looking for. I think this would also be an effective tool for students to use so they are able to quickly find websites. I liked delicious because it seemed very user friendly. As a teacher, I'm always looking for things that are kid-friendly. I definitly think that this is something that I would use to organize my websites. Sometimes looking around on the internet for websites can really eat up a lot of time. I think this will help to eliminate some of the time spent trying to remember where I found certain activities, games or lesson plans. The other thing that I think is a real advantage of using delicious is that it can be used at home or at school. It will be very nice to have access to my favorites/bookmarks at both places. I'm so excited to begin tagging my websites and organizing them in delicious.

Image: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/deed.en

License: http://flickr.com/photos/kyz/2502624283/

Student and Teacher Use of Wikis

Wikis can be very useful in the classroom. One thing I would love to do is to expose students to more of the world around them. Wikis can help bring the world closer through sharing with students in other countries. By partnering with schools and teachers in other places students can get a better idea of life in places beyond their immediate surroundings. Vicki D. was able to do this by partnering with a teacher from Bangladesh. Wikis can also be great tools to help teachers complie information from students. All information can be written in the wiki and then you have everything in front of you without going through piles of papers. Wikis can decrease the need for the constant paper shuffle teachers often find themselves in. I liked how Mrs. Lowe incorporated wikis into the classroom for her students. She used them to have students respond to questions and she could then see how each student responded. From a teacher perspective I think wikis can help with the collaboration process. I know while I was teaching I often felt like I had to invent a lot of things for the students to do. With the use of wikis and other teachers, websites, cool ideas, and activities could be posted for all to see. I would have loved to have a network of teachers to pull ideas from.

Image: http://flickr.com/photos/julielindsay/382269468/

License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/deed.en

Using Blogging in the Classroom

Blogging can be used in a variety of ways in the classroom. Listed below are several ways I think I would use blogging in the classroom.

1. Post pictures or questions and have students blog responses. http://ecollaborate.blogspot.com/2007/03/red-bird.html

2. Another way I think blogging could be used is to document the life of an animal. This particular class documented the life of a duck and blogged questions and observations as the duck and ducklings developed. http://duckdiaries.edublogs.org/

3. A third way I would use blogging in the classroom is to post assignments, homework, or any other notices for parents.

Lifelong Learning

Lifelong learning is something that is important for everyone whether you are 2 or 100. As teachers it is important to continue learning for several reasons. As technology and the world around us changes, it is important to be informed so we can be an educated member of our society. Things around us change so quickly that it is easy to let things slip by until you find yourself drowning in a sea of newness and it becomes difficult to get back on top. This has kind of been my view of where I'm at right now with technology. I'm afraid I have so much to learn that I'll never catch up. The second reason I think it is important to continue learning is that it is something we ask out students to do on a daily basis...learn. It is good for us as educators to be in their shoes as well, where we are the students learning something new. Challenges are beneficial to teachers as well as students. Challenging our brains and learning more about the world around us and how we can make it a better place will benefit us as well as the people around us.