5-A-1 Flickr in the Classroom 

I have never officially used Flickr in the classroom, however I have used the theory in my classroom. At the beginning of the school year, as an ice breaker,  I post a variety of images (clouds, inspiring, beach, motivational, etc) on the SmartBoard and have students tell me what they see.  (Just imagine the ink blot test, but with pictures that actually look like something).  I mainly do this just to get the students talking and find out a little bit about them.  

I can see myself using Flickr in class especially during the geometry unit.  Students can search Flickr or better yet upload pictures to Flickr that show symmetry, or have geometrical shapes in them.  I usually have the students walk around the school looking for geometrical shapes, however the students would have more fun using Flickr.  

The following image: 

I used in class this morning and asked the students what would they title this image.  Some students had simple answers: waves, beach scene, white caps, relaxing, etc. One student really looked at this image from a different angle and titled it: Rough Start Smooth Finish.  He went on to explain that if you were walking into the waves they would be rough and knock you around.  If you look past the waves you will see that the ocean is calm with no waves.  He said the beginning would rough, but once you got based the waves it would a smooth finish.  I was amazed!! 

Citation of photography:

Flickr Link

4-D-1 Wikis In Your Classroom

About 6 years ago my district was really big on using Wikis when collaborating with fellow teachers, grade level or team, parents, and students. The district supplied many trainings on how to use them, incorporate them into teaching lessons and how to communicate with parents.  Then all of a sudden Wikis kinda fizzled out and then the district moved on to Google Docs.  

One of the most challenging part of the collaborative Wiki is getting every team member on the same page.  I will admit that I was the last one to get on board and I apologize to my teammates if I caused any type of stress for them.  I just had some unforeseen circumstances come up and I could not be the team member that I could have been.  Once everyone is on board things run a lot, A LOT smoother.  

As for my own classroom, I will not use Wikis because personally to me it is a technology that is a little outdated.  There are a number of things that I would like to change about Wikis, for starters make it more user friendly.  Now with all the newer Web 2.0 tools, i.e. Weebly,  a lot of sites offer drag & drop feature to make less stress on the user.  The main reason I will not use Wikis is because our entire district, including students, as a Google Doc account and it is much easier and more user friendly to share, and collaborate ideas.  

BLOGICAL DISCUSSION FORM 

Why should education leaders/teachers embrace digital technologies in their schools/classrooms?

If you are in a state that adopted the “Common Core State Standards” (CCSS) you really don’t have a choice. There are many English Language Arts standards alone that require students as young as kindergarten to use technology to read, produce and publish digital content and to collaborate in doing so. 

Here a few examples from the CCSS:

K – 12 - Use technology, including the Internet, to produce and publish writing and to interact and collaborate with others.

With guidance and support from adults, explore a variety of digital tools to produce and publish writing, including in collaboration with peers.

5th grade –  Analyze how visual and multimedia elements contribute to the meaning, tone, or beauty of a text (e.g., graphic novel, multimedia presentation of fiction, folktale, myth, poem).

6th grade – Use technology, including the Internet, to produce and publish writing as well as to interact and collaborate with others; demonstrate sufficient command of keyboarding skills to type a minimum of three pages in a single sitting.

Programming and design – 3D printing, software development, engineering, graphics, architecture, transportation, art, medicine and much more all rely on programming and design skills.

So you think children are already mastering these skills and technologies on their own by using their smart phones and other technology?  Where is the money coming from to attain these standards?  Are schools going to create a new position to reach all these goals or is it going to fall back on the classroom teacher to make these attainable?  Where is the extra time coming from to make sure the students master these standards?  

I look forward to reading your feedback and hearing your take on these new digital technology standards.  

Have a great week! 

PS - Sometimes the blog requires me to to approve your response. So, please be patient I will approve your response.  

3-D-2 Social Bookmarking Lesson Plan 

Diigo Lesson Plan - Invention Research

Brief Description:  Students will work together in groups to learn information about inventions/inventors.  Diigo will be used to organize and share their information with classmates. 

Grade Level: 5th Graders

Major Objectives:
1.  The student will research and become familiar with an invention that they are familiar with.
2.  The student will research and become familiar with an invention that is new to them.
3.  The student will use Diigo to organize and collect the information that will be needed to complete their project. 
4.  The student will utilize bookmarks, capture and highlights in order to organize information.

Equipment: Use of one computer for each student, worksheet to help students follow the needed process and ensure they are collecting proper information, pencil/pen, paper

Procedure:

1. You have been assigned to research 2 famous inventions. You must pick 1 invention that you do not know anything about, and 1 invention that you are familiar with.

2.  All research must be completed on the Internet.  Use Diigo.com to compile your research and share with teammates.  

3. You must share materials with others in the class.

4. You can work with others in your group to research the inventions or you can work alone.

5. You must answer the questions that are listed on the separate Google Doc.

6. If you have questions, (C3B4Me)

7. Work quickly, quietly, carefully.

8. This project will need to be completed by the end of the period. 

Assessment:  Check for understanding by having the students collaborate with each other in their groups.  They will need to begin preparing their group presentation to present to the class. 

3-E-3 Diigo thd107

    Diigo is a great resource and I see benefits using the site, however, personally, I am not a huge fan of the site.  There is not one thing against the site, I just prefer to use the RSS feeder over Diigo. Diigo is just one more tool out there and sometimes I think people use the site just to say they use technology.  I had had an account for awhile, however I don't always check it and sometimes forget that I even have the account.  

  This could benefit me as a teacher getting updates on new articles, tools, software and other useful sites, but to me it is just one more thing to check as a teacher.  There is a lot of things that teachers have to check - Diigo is just one more thing to check for updates.  I would prefer to just use the RSS feeder rather than both, RSS feeder and Diigo.  

3 - B - 2 RSS Aggregator 

    I used an RSS Aggregator in a previous grad class and while involved in PLP, however once those two experiences were over I did not really keep up with the feeder.  While I was using the RSS feeder it was very beneficial for keeping blogs, websites, and resources very organized.  With all the great Web 2.0 tools out on the Internet using the RSS feeder is a great way to keep up-to-date with everything new.  Once I started using the RSS feeder for this weeks assignment it was nice to get back to using Diigo.  I realized that using this tool is going to enhance my teaching because I can reference this site anytime I need an idea, or want to incorporate a new lesson into my arsenal.  I am looking forward to seeing the fellow students links to get some new material to use while teaching.   

Davis 2-C-1

Davis 2-C-1 

    I see the Read/Write Web as having a positive and a negative effect on my classroom.  The positives out weight the negatives....by a landslide, however the Read/Write Web is not the end all be all.  

    A few positives of the Web are unlimited access to information at your fingertips, a variety of media streaming into the classroom, up to the minute news and information.  Students are more involved in lessons that involve the Web in some aspect,  the Web engages students in games that offer instant feedback or gratification, the Web makes learning more fun!

    A few drawbacks from the Web is that not everything is filtered for the appropriate age groups, students can get 'lured' into inappropriate sites, using the Web in the classroom unhumanizes the art of teaching.  The Web replaces the teacher as the educator and students become 'immune' to what the teacher says.

  Those are just a few positives and negatives about the Web.  As an educator for a little over a decade I would use precaution when teaching with the Web in the classroom.  The Web offers great many resources, however it should not be used to replace the teacher.