WEEK FIVE'S READINGS
Week five's readings focused on the various types of online communication tools. I was interested to see that there were some that I knew, and some that I had never heard of. The technology explorations this week were another set of wonderful and informational resources that I can, as always, see myself using in my future classroom.
As stated above, the reading provided for this week focused on online communication tools. I had heard of the common ones such as email, chat, blog and wiki. I had of course heard of Skype as well, but never knew the term VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol). I love the idea that this tool can be used to communicate with other classrooms, including ones that are all over the world! I am the type of person that loves to learn about other cultures. What do they do on a typical Friday night? What are their Christmas celebrations like? I just love to learn about other regions of the world and want to pass along to my students that it is important to know about the world, not just the corner that we live in! VoIPs would enhance that learning process and make it so much cooler than the typical pen pal communication.
I also knew of Twitter, but not under the umbrella of microblogging. I love the idea of using educational microblogging resources such as Edmodo. It creates a platform and a space for students to be engaged in what is going on in the classroom as well as a safe space to place comments that they would not necessarily be comfortable saying out loud in the classroom. I also love that it brings in a sense of social media such as Facebook and Twitter. For this generation, this style of communication is perfect!
An online communication tool that I had never heard of in this week's reading was Virtual Worlds. I suppose that I have heard of video games like this, but never in an educational setting. I think that would be a very interesting way to target students' attention!
TECHNOLOGY EXPLORATIONS
The first technology exploration from this week led us to Prezi. Prezi is
an online resource that allows users to create innovative presentations that
are like a new and creative twist on the traditional Powerpoint presentation.
It allows viewers to move across the presentation, sometimes taking twists,
turns, and full circles around the board. I like that it is innovative and
different, but it can often give me a headache quickly the way it moves around
so much! However, this can be controlled by the user.In
a school setting, Prezi would be a wonderful addition for projects that require
presentations. When students are required to teach their
peers about different topics, this would be an awesome resource to use.
Spicy Nodes was also an interesting resource from the first technology exploration. This one confused me a little, especially since I
had never heard of it before. Spicy Nodes allows users to create nodemaps
for their websites, or for other purposes such as idea mapping. It seems to be
pretty easy to use, and even has a separate section for educational uses of it.
The website is super easy to view and very aesthetically appealing. Students
would love it!
In
a school setting, this would be a wonderful resource for students to create
maps about topics that they can teach their peers about. It would really excite
students and offers a lot of help and information, making it easy to use. This
could also be used to organize ideas, helping students to see ideas in a visual
sense.
The second resource was Edmodo.
I
receive emails at school about Emodo
at least three times a week, even when school is on break for summer!! Until
researching it, I had never known what it was. Emodo is a resource for classrooms
that allows everyone to connect with each other. I picture it as a facebook or
other social media account for school. It allows teachers and students to
connect over things at school, assignments, questions, etc.
In
a school setting, this is perfect, especially since it is designed for a
classroom setting! Classrooms could use it to discuss things learned in class,
the homework for the day, or even just a little introductory assignment to get
to know everyone. It also has a feature for students to use apps to measure how
students are learning in the class. It is a perfect addition for classrooms! Math Dictionary was another fantastic resource from the second technology exploration. To
say that it is
wonderful is an understatement. I only wish that I had known this when I had
math classes! This resource gives definitions of math terms in a fun and
colorful way. It is amazing! It is grouped alphabetically allowing users to
quickly and easily find definitions of terms. Best of all, when you select a
term, there are visual and interactive examples and activities so that you can
better understand the definition. Genius!!! I love this site, and even find it
helpful for myself!
The third technology exploration led us to Glogster. Much
like Edmodo, I had heard of Glogster,
but never really knew what it was. I must say, I was very impressed! Glogster
is an online tool that allows users to create online posters, or Glogs. It is
created specifically for educational purposes and it a very graphic oriented
resource. It seems easy to use and provides many options for users. In
a classroom setting, this could be used in so many different ways! I envision
giving students a topic and having them create a poster, or Glog, to teach
their peers. It is geared toward students, so it seems that it should be pretty
easy for students to use. It offers many options for students as well, so that
is an awesome addition! Jing was also included in the third tech exploration.
Jing is
a resource that allows users to capture screenshots and even create tutorials
that can be sent to other users. It can be used for many things such as
teaching students how to use a program, or simply edit a document. You can send
students or other users the things that you have captured in a simple and easy
way.
In
a school setting, Jing could be used to teach students how to use programs such
as Edmodo, or even simply Microsoft programs. It may also be used to show
students how to safely use the Internet or simply use email.
The fourth and final technology exploration for week five began with You Tube for Education. I
never knew that there were other facets of You Tube such as You Tube for Education! You Tube EDU is
a site for strictly educational content. It is categorized by educational
subjects ranging from math to engineering. I also love that it has videos
categorized by age group as well. It seems very easy to use for both students
and teachers.
In
an school setting, this resource could be very helpful. There are many times
that we as teachers would love to use a visual representation of something that
we are teaching but just are not sure where to find a reliable source. This
resource solves that problem, and even gives resources by categories!
As with the weeks before, these technology explorations were fantastic resources. Many of them are making their way to my list! I cannot wait to put these into use in my (hopefully soon) future classroom.
As with the weeks before, these technology explorations were fantastic resources. Many of them are making their way to my list! I cannot wait to put these into use in my (hopefully soon) future classroom.
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