Lexipedia: A Cool Web 2.0 Tool--NET-S (5)

 This is an example of a word search, using lexipedia. You can see that the word web is displaying synonyms, antonyms, and various parts of speech for the word "green". This is simply a scree shot, so it is not possible to limit or expand this particular search, nor is it possible to access the "say it" feature, as it is on the actual site. However if you're interested in investigating this cool tool, you can visit lexipedia.com through the link on this blog!

Journal #8--Course Management Systems--NET-S (1,3,4)

Course Management:

  I decided to focus on Course Management Systems (CMS) for the Web 2.0 assignment.

  A CMS is basically software that allows an educator to create a web-based virtual classroom. I also found that a CMS is sometimes referred to as a Virtual Learning Environment, or VLE or a Learning Management System (LMS).  CMS's provide students and teachers with tools for both teacher and peer assessment, collaborative learning, collecting, organizing and grading of student's work, communication, content uploading, and tracking tools. New features in some of these VLE's are: blogs, wikis, RSS and 3D virtual learning spaces. 

  I learned that there are many Management Systems available, at varying prices, and with varying teacher reviews. Blackboard and Moodle were the two that came up the most in the Web 2.0 discussions I followed. One of the discussions I followed concerned teachers whose districts were switching from Moodle to Blackboard.  The feedback the teacher got from her peers seemed to indicate that, while Moodle and Blackboard are different programs, they are both effective and fairly easy for students and teachers to learn. In all the discussions I followed, teachers seemed to be either "Blackboard types" or "Moodle types," so I suppose it would be in my best interest, as a future teacher, to become generally familiar with various CMS's, from both the perspectives of teacher and student. 

I gathered this information using a website specifically designed to further educators' professional development.

Inspiration-NET-S (1,2,3 )

I created this web using Inspiration in order to organize information in  a clear and visually interesting way.

Journal Response #7

Bigenho, Chris (2009/March, April). Mining for gold. Learning & Leading with Technology, 36, Retrieved 3/18/2009, from http://www.learningandleading-digital.com/learning_leading/200904/?pg=20&pm=2&u1=friend

In this week's journal article, Chris Bigenho explores RSS technology, and its many uses in education. Bigenho suggests several uses for RSS technology including bookmarking articles for students, and gathering current information for teaching purposes.  The author defines RSS, explaining explaining the concept of RSS, and then the two types of aggregators: internet hosted and client side.  Internet hosted aggregators allow a user to access their information from any computer, while client side aggregators are integrated into operating systems, and limit a user to their personal computer, when accessing their RSS information. 

  Bigenho then suggests ways that teachers can incorporate RSS into their classrooms, such as subscribing to blogs, subscribing to social bookmarks, and feeding content to html pages. Using RSS to monitor student's blogs enables teachers to easily stay up-to-date on student posts, without having to check individual student blogs each day. Social bookmarking is a great way for teachers and students to organize and share information, and is an makes resources easily available to students. Feeding content to html pages enables teachers to make a variety of media resources available to students by allowing the teacher to build in a feed to a web page or site without worrying about html code--the feed takes care of that for the teacher. Again, this makes information more easily accessible to students, because a teacher can post it all on one site, and not spend much time updating it. The author even gives instructions in his article for "Creating a Custom Feed," walking the user through the process, step-by-step. 

  RSS ensures that all new information will be displayed on the site, and updated as it changes, so time is not wasted looking for updated information--the new information comes to the user. This means that teachers can incorporate dynamic content in their lesson plans, without a great amount of extra time and energy spent looking for information and media. Students benefit from RSS because it makes information easier for them to access, and enriches their classroom experience by giving them a greater pool of information to draw from, and ensuring that this information is current and relevant to students. 

Questions:

1. How might I use RSS as a K through 5 teacher?

   As an elementary school teacher, I would be able to use RSS to subscribe to blogs and sites that are relevant to information my class would cover over the course of a year, and also to keep up-to date on professional online sites and journals, such as itse and classroom 2.0.

2. How might I use RSS as a 6 through 12th grade teacher?

  As a middle or high school teacher, I could use RSS to in conjunction with social bookmarking, so that my students could have current articles throughout the year, and from year to year. I could use RSS to keep the curriculum "fresh," following sites and/or blogs that relate to classroom topics. By createing y own classroom blog that utilizes RSS, I could keep students, parents and the community informed about classroom events.  

  

422 power point for grades 3-5--NET-S (1,3)

Check out this presentation on the NETS performance indicators for grades 3-5:

422 power point

View more presentations from piper010.

I created this presentation using powerpoint, and uploaded it using slideshare.

Journal Response #6

Warlick, D. (March/April 2009). Grow Your Personal Learning Network. Learning & Leading, 36, Retrieved March 7, 2009, from http://www.iste.org/Content/NavigationMenu/Publications/LL/Current_Issue/L_L_March_April.htm

In this week's journal article, David Warlick discusses PLN's, or personal learning networks. He points out that, as technology changes, people have more choices about how to connect with one another, and easier ways to access information. Warlick list the three typse of PLN's. First, he discusses personally maintained synchronous connections, which include more traditional methods of communication, such as Skype and Ichat, where the user is basically focused on one way of communicating and/or asking questions. Collaboration happens in real time. Next, he brings up personally and socially maintained semisynchronous connections, which is sort of multi-tasking communication; Warlick uses the example in his article of a kid doing homework while having multiple chat windows open. This means that the user has multiple sources who may answer questions, or communicate with them, but the communication doesn't necessarily happen in real time. Finally, there are dynamically maintained asynchronous connections, such as RSS. With the other two types of PLN, the user has to seek out information, but with RSS, information comes directly to the user.
Warlick follows this summary with a diagram of the ways that multiple PLN paths can affect a learner. He mentions that, as the learner gathers and analyzes information, they add to this information, which is then picked up and added to by still other PLN networks. He mentions that this great connectivity also adds to a person's responsibility, because we are all part of someone else's network. He states that an essential part of education in this era involves teaching students to be self-directed. PLN's help do this, because of the wealth of information they offer, and because they make information quick and easy to access.

Question #1
How can I use PLN's in my future classroom?
Social bookmarking tools and other RSS feeds will greatly enrich my future classroom. Most of my students will have grown up having great familiarity with this type of technology, and so will feel comfortable using it in the classroom. Tools like a social bookmarking and a class blog can help students stay connected to the classroom community while accessing new information to add to the learning community.

Question #2
How can I make better use of my own personal learning networks, as I journey towards becoming a teacher?
I am already comfortable with some networking tools, like ichat and blogger, and of course, I text and email. But I could do so much more. While I was introduced to social bookmarking in class, I feel that I need to continue to practice using it, and get comfortable navigating Delicious. Sometimes, the information-gathering technology we learn about in class is so simple it's hard for me to grasp it. This is the way I felt with Googledocs, but with practice, I realized that technology doesn't have to be scary, and sometimes it really is as easy as it looks. ED 422 is encouraging me to be brave, and experiment on my own with tech tools and resources.