Can't believe another class in the MEIT program is done as of today! It is good timing since today was our first day of school....I'm exhausted!!
Today I had one of my classes create a collage of 10 pictures that represent themselves that I will have them print off & hang up around the room. Looking at the picture collages gives me a peek into each of their lives & shows me what they like to do and about their personalities. Keeping in mind copyright issues that we talked about last week in class & did assignments on this past week, I had them use Google Images Advanced Search Options to find their pictures. I had them only use pictures "labeled for reuse" in their collages, and we had a quick conversation about copyright. I plan to continue to teach them about copyright issues as I become more familiar with all of the rules myself.
Tomorrow in my Web Tools class I'm going to use the "Four NETS for Better Searching" webquest that was discussed in 'week 2' of class (http://webquest.sdsu.edu/searching/fournets.htm) as an activity to teach them about more effective searches on the Internet prior to having them do a research assignment on the Internet. That's all for now....I'm wiped out after the first day at the grind. :)
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
CED0520 Week #2 Reflection
This week in class we looked at a number of resources. The first resource we examined was Noodle Tools. I have to admit...I was skeptical at first glance but after checking out the site for some time, I've decided that it is a pretty cool site. I'll be sure to share it with other teachers in my school system; I think it will be especially helpful to the middle school teachers/students to help narrow down search results so students don't feel so "lost" when searching the Internet. It might just give them the right amount of guidance to be able to find what they need & in an efficient/effective manner.
Another item we explored for this week was Google Alerts. Like I mentioned in class last week, I've used Google Alerts in the past to gather resources for an entrepreneurship website I used to do work for. It was very helpful to be able to set up the alerts for key words or phrases & let Google do the work in finding the information and delivering it to my email inbox. However, I've migrated away from using Google Alerts because I've become much more active on Twitter. I can just as easily find resources on Twitter and also have a person to then ask questions if I need additional information about something he/she posted about a resource. Besides using Twitter to gather resources, I also rely on my Delicious & Diigo accounts to find me new resources. I've joined a few groups in Diigo and have my account set up to email me any new additions to the group's resources on a daily basis which is essentially like creating a Google alert but with a different site/application.
Finally, the "To Wikipedia or Not To Wikipedia" debate is a good one. I look forward to reading the rest of the responses that are yet to be posted on this topic. It seems like most of the classmates in the MEIT cohort are in agreement that Wikipedia is a good place to start but not a source that should be counted on for correct information/included in any quotes/citations/bibliographies. I think checking out Wikipedia as a springboard for gathering key concepts or areas to research is a good way to use Wikipedia. Once an individual has a few ideas about a topic, he/she can then use other sources to actually find the correct information that was originally discovered on Wikipedia.
One more final thought before I sign off for the night....Last week we were able to create a website evaluation worksheet that we'll be able to use with our students. I felt so good about that assignment while I was completing it - knowing that I'll be able to use the activity with my students/use the activity again in the future besides just creating it to get it done & fulfill the assignment for class. I think wherever activities like that can be put into the courses in the MEIT program would be a great addition to what we are already doing/learning. As we approach the start of school very quickly, I think it will be really neat to hear how people are using the things we are learning about in their classrooms. I think sharing how one is using a resource with others often times creates those "ah ha" moments and connections are then made about how each individual might adapt what was given as an example to fit his/her needs/classroom. I look forward to those types of conversations as the school year approaches.
Another item we explored for this week was Google Alerts. Like I mentioned in class last week, I've used Google Alerts in the past to gather resources for an entrepreneurship website I used to do work for. It was very helpful to be able to set up the alerts for key words or phrases & let Google do the work in finding the information and delivering it to my email inbox. However, I've migrated away from using Google Alerts because I've become much more active on Twitter. I can just as easily find resources on Twitter and also have a person to then ask questions if I need additional information about something he/she posted about a resource. Besides using Twitter to gather resources, I also rely on my Delicious & Diigo accounts to find me new resources. I've joined a few groups in Diigo and have my account set up to email me any new additions to the group's resources on a daily basis which is essentially like creating a Google alert but with a different site/application.
Finally, the "To Wikipedia or Not To Wikipedia" debate is a good one. I look forward to reading the rest of the responses that are yet to be posted on this topic. It seems like most of the classmates in the MEIT cohort are in agreement that Wikipedia is a good place to start but not a source that should be counted on for correct information/included in any quotes/citations/bibliographies. I think checking out Wikipedia as a springboard for gathering key concepts or areas to research is a good way to use Wikipedia. Once an individual has a few ideas about a topic, he/she can then use other sources to actually find the correct information that was originally discovered on Wikipedia.
One more final thought before I sign off for the night....Last week we were able to create a website evaluation worksheet that we'll be able to use with our students. I felt so good about that assignment while I was completing it - knowing that I'll be able to use the activity with my students/use the activity again in the future besides just creating it to get it done & fulfill the assignment for class. I think wherever activities like that can be put into the courses in the MEIT program would be a great addition to what we are already doing/learning. As we approach the start of school very quickly, I think it will be really neat to hear how people are using the things we are learning about in their classrooms. I think sharing how one is using a resource with others often times creates those "ah ha" moments and connections are then made about how each individual might adapt what was given as an example to fit his/her needs/classroom. I look forward to those types of conversations as the school year approaches.
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
CED0520 Weekly Reflection #1
After completing all of the tasks assigned for 'Week 1' I'm able to take a few minutes to reflect. This past week we looked at Internet Learning Resources; we were to define the term & identify one resource that we currently use. Here was my response to the question, "What does the term Internet Learning Resources mean to you at present?"
The term "Internet Learning Resources" to me is such an open-ended concept. In simple terms I'd say it means anything on the Internet that you can use to learn from. It can include anything from a reference website you use to gather information to an interactive site where web-based simulations take place to Web 2.0 applications to social networking sites. I know it says identify ONE resource that I use but I'm going to list two because they go hand-in-hand for me. I don't know what I'd do without Twitter and my "Personal Learning Network" AND Delicious. I gather so many resources daily from my Twitter connections and then keep them all organized with my Delicious social bookmarking account. These 2 resources have really changed the way I teach and grow as an educator. Just the other day I needed advice about which platform to use for my class (Ning, Edmodo, wiki, etc) and within minutes, I have so many responses from my PLN - amazing!
In addition to looking into Internet Learning Resources, we also were given the task to create an Internet Resource Site Evaluation Form & evaluate 2 sites that we consider to be valuable learning resources. I found Kathy Schrock's Guide For Educators - Critical Evaluation Surveys extremely helpful. On the website there are evaluation surveys broken down by various categories (elementary, middle school, high school, teacher, blogs, etc); here is the website where the eval surveys are located - http://school.discoveryeducation.com/schrockguide/eval.html. I will certainly use these evaluation surveys in the future!
The term "Internet Learning Resources" to me is such an open-ended concept. In simple terms I'd say it means anything on the Internet that you can use to learn from. It can include anything from a reference website you use to gather information to an interactive site where web-based simulations take place to Web 2.0 applications to social networking sites. I know it says identify ONE resource that I use but I'm going to list two because they go hand-in-hand for me. I don't know what I'd do without Twitter and my "Personal Learning Network" AND Delicious. I gather so many resources daily from my Twitter connections and then keep them all organized with my Delicious social bookmarking account. These 2 resources have really changed the way I teach and grow as an educator. Just the other day I needed advice about which platform to use for my class (Ning, Edmodo, wiki, etc) and within minutes, I have so many responses from my PLN - amazing!
In addition to looking into Internet Learning Resources, we also were given the task to create an Internet Resource Site Evaluation Form & evaluate 2 sites that we consider to be valuable learning resources. I found Kathy Schrock's Guide For Educators - Critical Evaluation Surveys extremely helpful. On the website there are evaluation surveys broken down by various categories (elementary, middle school, high school, teacher, blogs, etc); here is the website where the eval surveys are located - http://school.discoveryeducation.com/schrockguide/eval.html. I will certainly use these evaluation surveys in the future!
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