Assignment 14: Wallwisher

A Wallwisher is a great tool to share information. I personally used a Wallwisher to post book recommendations for when I am a teacher. Students often get stumped on what they would like to read. If the child can easily access a book list in a fun format, then they can more easily look for books without becoming bored. Wallwishers could also be used to collaborate with teachers and other colleagues; informations, pictures, and ideas can be shared in an easily accessible format. In a way, it reminds me of a wall of twitter messages. Pictures can be posted with a short amount of text for anyone to read. A Wallwisher is a wonderful tool for sharing with students and other teachers in a fun way.

Assignment 13: Voki

A Voki is a fun tool to relay information to students. Young children generally love technology, especially if it is as silly as a Voki can be. Information can be told through many different people and creatures as well. The information told through the Voki, in my opinion, should not be very serious. It should just dabble on a bit for entertainment value. However, a teacher could use it to discuss and list homework assignments in a fun way for students who have the internet.

Assignment 12: Animoto

Make your own slide show at Animoto.

Animotos are a great way to share pictures about the classroom with parents. The teacher can show different activities that the previous classes have done to show what may be done during the next school year. Another way to use an Animoto is to introduce a subject as I have done with the Animoto above. The books that we are going to be reading and a few of the standards are covered in the short thirty second video. Animotos are a great tool to share information in a high quality format.

Assignment 11: Mindmap

This type of technology could be used as simple organization for teachers. The mind map could show an entire week for a teacher. For example, a teacher could post topics for discussion as different bubbles. The bubbles can lead to different parts of the topic. For example, worksheets, discussion times, and other parts of the lesson can be listed. In this way, the schedule is never lost. The map can be followed in order. If the map shows discussion time followed by a worksheet, and the worksheet does not get done, then the teacher still knows that the students still have to do the worksheet. This is only one way to use the mind map. The uses are almost limitless.

Assignment 10: Wikis

Wikis can be used in classrooms in several ways. One that I found the most interesting is to list projects under different tabs. Each tab shows students works as examples for future classes. The most interesting thing about this is that students from all around the world contribute to this style of wiki. Students can see what their same age peers have worked on from around the world. I find this an incredible way to use technology; my future students could be able to communicate with their peers from around the world.
Sample Wiki

Another amazing way to use a wiki is to communicate with other teachers across the United States. Teachers can use wikis to discuss curriculum examples and share ideas from around the nation. I found this to be an interesting way to use a wiki as well. In this way, the wiki is not for archiving, but more for discussion. In this way, these ideas could be archived for future use for future teachers as well. For the time, however, it is more for discussion than a stockpile of information.

Assignment 9: Blogs I Follow

Education: NPR

The New York Times: Education

United States Department of Education

Teaching Ideas UK

Elbows, Knees, Dreams

I found all of these blogs by searching the Google Reader site for different educational blogs. Most of these are for news, but the last two are for lesson plan ideas and teacher experiences respectively. As far as how I read them, I only do so on their websites and through my Google Reader account. I enjoy reading them through Google Reader, as it has a easily navigable interface and streamlines the news for me.

Assignment 8: Altered Image

Yearbook yourself makes it easy to alter an image of yourself. I simply clicked on the site and took a picture of myself through the webcam. The website zoomed into my face automatically. It then gives you lines so that you can line up your eyes and mouth to. After you have aligned the image, you can choose which frame to use. After that, you are done!

To try this website: Yearbook Yourself

Assignement 7: Spell With Flickr

Assignment 6: Flickr

(Click on the image above to be taken to flickr)

Flickr is a great tool to use in the classroom. I find that searching on google is unreliable and usually does not give the results that I am looking for. With Flickr, I am able to find many photographs that I find interesting and that show the attribution as well. Flickr makes it easy to find older photographs as well. The only problem that I have with Flickr is that many of the photos are edited. I do not like this, as I would like to see the photos as they were taken. This however is just a pet peeve; I personally love Flickr and will hopefully be able to use it in my classroom someday.

As far as the picture above, I found it fascinating. A child in America would have groaned and shuffled their feet if they had to write their spelling words on the blackboard at the front of the classroom; however, this young man in Africa is so ecstatic to participate in school that he is scribbling his words as fast as he can with his mouth open. I find it inspiring to say the least. Most children in American schools take school for granted and do not appreciate the work that their teachers put in to make their day fun. As a future teacher, I hope to teach students that they are lucky to have such a great classroom to be taught in and that school is not a waste of time.

Assignment 5: Video

I personally didn't know that youtube had a spot on their site for educational videos. I mean, half of youtube is cat videos; what else are we supposed to expect? I found this video simply by browsing through all the educational videos and found it fascinating. The images captured by the spacecraft can only be seen by a spacecraft. No one will ever be able to see these sights unless they were in a spacecraft themselves.
As far as videos in the classroom are concerned, I think that they are a wonderful idea. I remember that I was always excited when my teacher turned on the television when I was in elementary school. Students are more engaged when they are allowed to watch a video; it is a rarity to them. It gives the students a chance to get a rest from their textbooks and allows the teacher to rest as well. Videos should not be overused, but using them is a great idea.

Assignment 4: Blogging

At first, I thought that this blog would not help me as a teacher in the slightest. This blog is just a waste time, I thought. Then I dropped my "student" persona and put on my "teacher" persona. Suddenly, it became clear that this blog could actually help me. I could use this blog as a way to communicate with my colleagues and just generally to keep track of my years teaching. In a way, it would be like an online journal that shows my journey to figure out the crazy world of teaching. My first year teaching will not be sunshine and roses; it will have ups and downs. It would be shame for any of these memories to fade. If they were recorded, then they could be viewed at any time. If I have a student that is rather troublesome, I could refer back to any older entry and see how I may have dealt with another student that caused me trouble in the past. The blog will be a self help manual that I have written myself.