I feel that I am very fortunate to be in the school that I am. We have a foundation that pays for many technologies for our school to use! Web 2.0 in my school is using remotes for test instead of pencil and paper. Web 2.0 is weekly blogs informing parents of what we are learning, homework they may have, and any important reminders we may have. We also use the SmartBoard to incorporate many websites in our lessons. My first graders love the games or activities that we do as review or practice in class. I also really like just being able to access a picture of something from Google Images to show to my class what something looked liked 100 years ago! It really helps them make a connection to what they are learning when they can see an actual picture of Harriet Tubman and the routes that she took to get to freedom!
I thought that the article was very interesting. It's hard to imagine how much technology has changed, and will continue to change the way we teach. Now parents can be more involved in what is going on in their child's classroom. I liked the idea of having the students create podcasts and create and wikis to show what they have learned. It allows them to take ownership of their work, and feel proud of what they have done by publishing it to the Internet! Because kids today are spending more and more time on the Internet, using Web 2.0 tools are a great way to get kids engaged in learning. Because technology is changing we, as educators, must change with it in order to keep kids engaged. From a personal experience, I know that whenever I introduce a new technology (xtra normal, voki, etc...) my students are really excited and they stop and pay attention. It's almost like when you put in a video on, and they all are enthralled with whatever is on the TV. Except now it can be more interactive and involve the students to show what they have learned. I like that things are changing in this way. In order to keep educators relevant we must change as technology changes. Many of these changes help us, and are a great resource for the classroom! I am looking forward to what is next!
It sounds like you have some good technology resources as a foundation for your school. Using blogs as a communication tool with your parents are a great first step for your teachers. Do the blogs have the ability for the students and parents to post comments? I am glad you are enjoying engaging your students with your smartboard. It definitely brings the world into your classroom.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you mentioned the podcasts. Podcasts are a great Web 2.0 tool to use with young students. They can write their scripts and then record their voice. Then, you could post it on your site to share with everyone.
I agree that in order for us to be relevant we have to adapt with the technology! It sounds like you have good basis of technology use in your school and classroom with SmartBoards, iRespond Systems, and blogging in place. Engaging students seems to be the biggest challenges for educators of all ages and implementing these technology resources could be the key to engagement in the classroom.
ReplyDeleteOverall, I have found that implementing Web 2.0 tools (social networking, blogging, wikis, etc...) can be quite challenging in an elementary level classroom. I know that students need to be given the opportunity to have ownership over the tools and be able to use them themselves for authentic and meaningful learning, but it is hard with younger students. While my students are definitely a part of the "digital" world, they don't have a lot of experience with the Web 2.0 publishing tools. I was wondering if you felt similar challenges with young students. I feel like this a challenge I'm going to have to take on if I want to avoid the "risk of irrelevance."
I love how you are focusing on using the tools for use in your classroom. I see a lot of teachers who find interesting things but are hesitant to actually put them into practice. I would love to be in your class!
ReplyDeleteStephen Rahn