Blog6 - Class Websites, Teacher Task Technologies, and Wiki

Class Websites
I honestly kind of had a hard time finding class specific websites. I first tried visiting the websites for the elementary and middle schools that I attended, but I couldn't find any links that brought me to teacher websites, only links to teachers' emails. So then I just started searching Google and found a directory of teacher websites for an elementary school in Georgia. I found that most of the sites only had a teacher bio, but I did find one that stood out amongst the rest.
http://myschooldesk.net/clayton/teachersite.aspx#site.3794_pid.14432_mid.23482

This website features the exact information that I was expecting to find on a public teacher website. It has an uplifting message from the teacher to the parents, the teacher's biography, a tidbit about the school, the school calendar, links for sites where kids can study math concepts in fun and interactive ways, and a syllabus for the class. The website is simple and well organized. I think this teacher did a great job creating a website from the template he and the rest of the teachers were given. He definitely went above and beyond the work of almost all of his colleagues.

Teacher Task Technologies
Of the software mentioned in the podcast, I'm sure the one I will use most is Microsoft Office. I already use Word and Powerpoint very often, and I'm sure that won't change once I transition from being a student to a teacher. I don't use Excel much currently, but I anticipate that I'll become more familiar with spreadsheets in my career. I imagine that e-mail will be a very close second to Microsoft Office as my most-used technological tool. Whether I'm using it to communicate with parents, administrators, or other teachers, it will be a main component of my teaching. The podcast also mentioned Diigo, which is a tool that I don't fully understand how to use yet since I haven't spent much time with it. The podcast gave a good description of it though, so I want to get more familiar with using this tool.
The book mentions Microsoft Access as a tool for managing databases. This is a program that I've actually never heard of before. It looks similar to Microsoft Excel, but I guess spreadsheet software is different than database management software. (I just looked up exactly what a spreadsheet is, and apparently it's defined as being used specifically for calculations -- I didn't realize this!) The book introduced me to the fact that there are specific softwares that are for classroom management responsibilities such as creating a roll and seating chart. I always assumed that teachers just did this in Word or something like that, but these programs sounds much more efficient! The book shows a program called ThinkWave, but also includes a "Teacher Task Software Evaluation Sheet" which I think will be very useful to download and keep. A handful of online tools and apps are mentioned in the book.  Standards Toolbox and the 4Teachers Family of Tools are ones that I want to remember. The book brought up something called Appitics which I wanted to check out, but the site doesn't exist anymore. You now have to access that information through the iTunes Store in "Apple Distinguished Educators."

Web Evaluation Wiki Assignment
I enjoyed putting together a rubric for how to decide if a website is appropriate to present to your students (in my case, third graders), but I didn't really enjoy the part of the assignment where we had to set up a Wiki. The rubric my group and I came up with is something that I think I'll keep with me through my journey to becoming a teacher because I think we gathered a good list of things to look out for on various websites. As for the Wiki, I don't think that's something I would personally use again, especially not with my students since I'm aiming to teach younger kids and the site wasn't too simple to use. I also think the site was lacking aesthetically.

Blog5 - Web 2.0

Web 2.0 In The Classroom
First of all, I didn't know that there were distinctions between websites called "Web 1.0" and "Web 2.0," so that was interesting to learn. For use within the classroom, I really like the idea of class blogs. The podcast mentioned a site called 21Classes that seems really neat. Within that site, the teacher is able to create accounts for each of their students and set up the parameters in which their students' blogs can operate. I think the opportunity to learn how to participate in an online community within a closed and safely controlled environment is very neat. I also like the idea of Twitters being used in an educational setting. I've really enjoyed using it for our class so far. As an educator, I think it would be great to maintain a Twitter account to use for connecting with other educators, communicating with parents (I want to teach early elementary school so I think that's who I'd be communicating with more directly than students), and having a platform for your students' parents to connect with each other! I thought it was interesting that the podcast brought up using Wikis for classroom collaboration. Since I'm thinking in the mindset of someone teaching young kids, I don't think Wikis would be useful for my classroom because they seem rather advanced and are very public. They might be more useful for someone teaching high school, though.
To utilize Web 2.0 sites in a classroom, you must obviously have some sort of computer. The computer needs to have up-to-date software to ensure compatibility with basic things such as Java and Flash Player. They also need to have sufficient core processors and RAM capacities. I'm sure this isn't as much of a problem anymore, but when I was in late elementary and middle school, some school computers were hopeless. All computers need a keyboard and a mouse, and probably headphones if students are going to be working with interactive learning activities. Some "peripherals" that are basic but very useful, are flash drives or external hard drives so that teachers are able to back up all of their own work as well as their students' work so that nothing is accidentally lost. Schools must ensure that they have functioning networks so that all of the computers within the school can operate together and all have the correct software/programs throughout the classrooms.

Web 2.0 - LiveBinders
I wanted to find a new website that I hadn't heard of before to use for this section, so I googled "Web 2.0 tools for teachers" and I found a website with a list of some really cool websites. Just about every one of them you had to sign up and pay for to even find out anything about how it works, but I found a really cool website call LiveBinders. LiveBinders.com is a website that allows you to compile "binders" that are more than just words, like in traditional binders. You can compile digital resources like youtube videos, twitter feeds, etc. LiveBinder gives you the ability to neatly organize all of your digital materials in one place. It's extremely helpful that LiveBinder could be accessed from anywhere as long as you have your computer with you, so you don't have to worry about carrying around a ton of binders, or forgetting a certain one.
LiveBinder is also sharable which makes it an even better tool. You can use it to collaborate with other teachers to build lesson plans and/or compile resources that your students' parents can use with them at home. You can use it for professional development and constantly update your toolbox with new things you find and learn. The website even mentioned the idea of using it as a place to keep all the information a substitute teacher would need for your classroom -- the instant sharing capabilities would be extremely useful in the case of being absent for an emergency. I'm so glad I found this website, and I will definitely keep it on the back burner for when I have a classroom of my own. In fact, it might even be useful to start keeping a LiveBinder now with all of the tips we're learning in this class!

Concept Map
I have a pretty split opinion on the website that we used to create the concept map. I think Webspiration gave us all a lot of problems with not being able to log in to the accounts we just created, and requiring us to make a new password two or three times before we successfully got into our accounts for the first time. In theory, I like Webspiration's collaboration possibilities, but I don't think the website has a particularly user-friendly interface. I actually had a lot of trouble in the beginning figuring out how to use the site to create a concept map. Even when I figured most of it out, I didn't particularly enjoy using it. If I use it again, I don't think I'll run into as many hiccups (hopefully), but I'm not really sure if I will use it again. I would like to seek out a website that has the same concept but a better design in the future. I also think that concept maps should be used for subjects with a smaller amount of ideas because I was pretty frustrated with how cluttered my concept map was getting. I think less is more with concept maps because the less information you need to include, the cleaner your map will look and the easier it will be to read and study.

Blog4 - Education and the World Wide Web

CPALMs Standard + Online Tool
I chose a standard from the science category for 2nd grade. The standard I chose is SC.2.P.8 and it deals with properties of matter. The standard says "A. All objects and substances in the world are made of matter. Matter has two fundamental properties: matter takes up space and matter has mass.B. Objects and substances can be classified by their physical and chemical properties.

Mass is the amount of matter (or "stuff") in an object. Weight, on the other hand, is the measure of force of attraction (gravitational force) between an object and Earth." Some of the access points for this standard discuss identifying matter as solids, liquids, or gases, so I decided to find an online activity involving this topic. I found an interactive lesson with an assessment game at the end here: http://www.abcya.com/states_of_matter.htm. I would use this site after my initial lesson so the students have a fun and more individually engaging way of reinforcing the material in the lesson. I enjoy the assessment at the end because the students get to interact with a webpage to drag and drop the different examples into their correct category instead of simply circling a multiple choice answer. I imagine that students will enjoy this version of an assessment because of the positive feedback they get visually and audibly from the website when they get an answer right. This online activity falls under the category of 'academic software,' and more specifically 'educational games.'

from abcya.com

Experience with Internet-based Resources
Throughout my educational career, especially in middle school and beyond, navigating the internet on my own to find resources became a central point of my work. When looking for news articles, the first thing I do is look for a website name I recognize as a reputable source (i.e. New York Times, Huffington Post, etc.). When I'm looking for information that isn't necessarily from a news source, I always pay attention to the layout of a website before reading further into its information. A website that is poorly designed and hard to read is a red flag for me because I feel like any place with high quality information will have a team member (or the ability to hire someone) who can create a well-designed web page. The ABCDT acronym from the podcast is something that brought more great tools for evaluation to my attention. 'A' stands for author and the podcast brings up the point "Can you contact the author if you have questions?" which I have never thought about when looking at online sources before. 'B' stands for bias which isn't something that I always pay attention to, but when I've worked on persuasive essays in the past I looked for biased articles on both sides of the issue for supporting my own side and having a good counterargument, as well as making sure I have neutral resources for understanding the issue. 'C' stands for content and the podcast mentions looking for content with correct grammar and spelling and content that is current. These are both things that I always look for. 'D' stands for design, which is something I definitely pay attention to, as I mentioned in the beginning. 'T' stands for technical elements which I believe ties in to my comment at the beginning about a well-designed site. I website that is well designed will have functioning links and an easily navigable layout. The podcast also brings up the importance of making sure a URL matches the type of site you're looking to visit, For example, if you're looking to end up on the website of a government group, make you type or click the address including .gov, because sometimes the same URL name with a different domain extension could be something very different than what you're looking for!
The one thing that stood out to me while working on the Webhunt assignment was the Google search tool of being able to set a custom range of publishing dates for the results that show up. That's something I've never noticed on Google before, but is very useful to know about!
1. You want to find an interactive lesson about volcanoes for your students. Can you find a website that will provide this?

Webhunt

My Webhunt Challenge

2. Find an article about the cultural effects of the Harry Potter franchise. 

3. You want your students to find a piece of news about the effects of global warming. 

Blog3 - Standards, Software, Skills

ELA Technology Standards
While reading the ELA technology standards, I realized that most of the standards are geared toward grades beyond the level of school I aim to teach. I feel pretty confident in my ability to teach those standards that are meant for kindergarten to third grade students, because they are, of course, rather basic concepts. The standards for 11-12 under W/WHST.8 "Use Multiple Sources" are something I feel I would need more preparation with before teaching them to students. These standards are for building the ability to "assess the strengths and limitations of sources in terms of task, purpose, and audience; avoid over-reliance on any one source." I find that I sometimes have a hard trouble following these standards in my own schoolwork, so I wouldn't feel confident teaching these habits to students without more guidance first. The podcast for this week provided a good tool to keep in mind for judging the strengths and weaknesses of an online source. The acronym ABCDT stands for Author, Bias, Content, Design, and Technical Elements, which are all important things to consider before using a website as an academic resource.

Classroom Software/Applications and Digital Citizenship 
I was honestly surprised by the amount of websites/applications that I found in the book -- I've gotten in the habit of not expecting much relevant information from a textbook. The application that jumped out at me most was ClassDojo. I loved finding that in the book because the elementary school classroom that I mentored in last semester utilized this program and I'd forgotten the name of it. I think ClassDojo is an awesome way to keep students' behavior in line because the visual and auditory elements of the point system involved give students incentive for staying on task. The teacher I worked with last semester created a reward system with ClassDojo where students who earned a certain amount of points by the end of the grading period got to participate in a small party (we all know kids go crazy for a party). I also liked the idea of using the programs Edmodo and Kidblog. Edmodo sounds like a great way to keep up a network with all of your students' parents. The ability to house digital homework, calendars, and announcements all in one place is very helpful! I think that Kidblog sounds extremely cool because it creates a place for students to journal or practice creative writing, while also giving teachers a place to teach "netiquette" to their students. If the students are commenting on each other's posts, you can teach them how to be respectful and polite in an online community. Kidblog could be used to teach many other aspects of digital citizenship as well, such as teaching students to credit any pictures they want to include in the journal post, reminding them to "think before posting," and helping them learn how to navigate the web. I think perhaps the most useful part of using Kidblog would be the opportunity to help students learn how to create a safe online presence (i.e. not giving out any personal information) within a closed network.

Newsletter Design Skills
This assignment definitely allowed me to become better acquainted with aspects of MS Word that I rarely use. It also reinforced my detest for some of the ways MS Word functions. Some things are really made more difficult than they should be. Nevertheless, all of the trial and error I went through with formatting different parts of my newsletter was a great learning experience and now I should be able to do it quicker and easier the next time I create one. I really don't like the fact that it won't let you simply format columns within a text box; that was frustrating, but I found a way around it. I also don't like that it won't give you the option to wrap text around an inserted photo in a text box, but I found a way around that as well. I was annoyed, but not defeated by Word. Getting through this assignment will help my in the future because, when I need to make a newsletter for my actual classroom, I will have undergone the necessary practice for creating an aesthetically pleasing newsletter.