This class was great! Fun. Informative. Challenging. Great pace. Awesome instructor.
The best part of this class was being open to learning about technology. Time to let go of control issues. Time to spend a little time (productively) researching what is out there and available for me to use with my students. Time to enter the 21st century. Time to be a true advocate to address the issue of the digital divide...
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
"Survey says..."
Check out the muy basic survey that I created during class:
http://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?formkey=dDc3OVpRNnd1cG40QnlIaENJYk00bkE6MA
http://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?formkey=dDc3OVpRNnd1cG40QnlIaENJYk00bkE6MA
Flip Video Workshop-HW for 11/10
Originally, I tried to register for the Flip It video workshop for 11/2-however, this was full. I was put on a wait list. Fortunately, there was enough of us from my school that showed interest, and we will be attending this session on 11/30 at our school site! I am hoping to use this session towards my homework credit for 11/10.
LOC workshop-HW for 11/04
I attended the Library of Congress workshop on Tuesday, November 10th. Due to the fact that it was the evening before a holiday, only three of us attended the class-and one of the teachers in attendance was my planning partner, Kate Ferro. Lucky for us, we enjoyed the workshop and Kathleen's ability to show us around the LOC site.
One lesson that we WILL do in the future is an activity with the contents of Abraham Lincoln's pockets (on the evening of his assassination). This activity could be used for introducting primary sources, a stepping stone for inquiry based learning, or a "getting to know you" activity.
In addition, I believe that the Library's video lesson on primary sources (for teachers) would be perfect to show my students. While I could give the same info-there is something to be said about "showing" the students the material in video format.
Overall it was an informative session, one that made me think about what I am teaching and how I am teaching it!
One lesson that we WILL do in the future is an activity with the contents of Abraham Lincoln's pockets (on the evening of his assassination). This activity could be used for introducting primary sources, a stepping stone for inquiry based learning, or a "getting to know you" activity.
In addition, I believe that the Library's video lesson on primary sources (for teachers) would be perfect to show my students. While I could give the same info-there is something to be said about "showing" the students the material in video format.
Overall it was an informative session, one that made me think about what I am teaching and how I am teaching it!
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Homework, 10/27
1. I had a hard time reading this article online. I wanted to print it out-but my darn printer kept giving me an "error" message. I felt frustrated that I couldn't highlight key ideas or write in the margins. Where am I supposed to log my ideas? On binder paper as I'm reading online? Awkward.
2. How much time do I have before I need to get rid of my pen and paper? I hate when I sound like a "Negative Nelly." I really need to get over myself and embrace this online business. I tell you what I have embraced online-shopping. However, that is a different matter...back to the homework. Online.
One idea from the article that made an impression on me is that online reading is a challenging process that requires people to understand how search engines work. I don't believe that many students really know how search engines work. I'm still impressed by last session's google search homework. I think one of the first lessons I would do with students would be to explain this process. In addition, I believe it is important to teach how information is organized within web sites. I'm going to bet most of my students don't realize when they have entered a page within a site or a new site. Although many of us believe that our students know more than we do, I bet all students would benefit from a web "foundations" lesson. This knowledge could help them determine the value of information.
Figures #1 and #2 provide great examples of what can be done with students to help them navigate online information. I think I'll steal these ideas.
As I conclude, I keep wondering about our struggling readers. How can we help these students from falling further behind in this digital age? How wide will the digital divide become in the next few years?
2. How much time do I have before I need to get rid of my pen and paper? I hate when I sound like a "Negative Nelly." I really need to get over myself and embrace this online business. I tell you what I have embraced online-shopping. However, that is a different matter...back to the homework. Online.
One idea from the article that made an impression on me is that online reading is a challenging process that requires people to understand how search engines work. I don't believe that many students really know how search engines work. I'm still impressed by last session's google search homework. I think one of the first lessons I would do with students would be to explain this process. In addition, I believe it is important to teach how information is organized within web sites. I'm going to bet most of my students don't realize when they have entered a page within a site or a new site. Although many of us believe that our students know more than we do, I bet all students would benefit from a web "foundations" lesson. This knowledge could help them determine the value of information.
Figures #1 and #2 provide great examples of what can be done with students to help them navigate online information. I think I'll steal these ideas.
As I conclude, I keep wondering about our struggling readers. How can we help these students from falling further behind in this digital age? How wide will the digital divide become in the next few years?
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Still Searching...HW 10/13
What surprised me most about this week's assignment was how long it took me to complete the "search strategies" quiz! Was it me? Or did anyone else have a hard time finding the answers? I found myself trying to "google" the answers! Perhaps this was the point? In addition, I spent too much time going back and forth between pages-searching, copying, pasting, etc. Uggh. I'll admit it, I'm stuck in the StoneAge-give me a paper and pencil test, please!
However, during this experience, I can't believe how much I learned about searching. For example, I almost screamed when I discovered the advanced features such as the minus sign(-) to exclude words during a search-genious! The CommonCraft videos are awesome, I could become addicted to those. How about a CommonCraft video to review the French Revolution? I'll have to do a "search" for that in the future...when I haven't reached my maximum capacity for searching!
All in all, this experience was a positive one. I think that investing time to become an "expert searcher" could pay off in the long run. I know that I've logged many hours searching for items that I could have found in a fraction of the time. My students would benefit greatly from learning some of the advanced search techniques--become more efficient searchers. Finally, teaching students to be critical of websites is key. I'm going to use that lesson with my students in the near future.
However, during this experience, I can't believe how much I learned about searching. For example, I almost screamed when I discovered the advanced features such as the minus sign(-) to exclude words during a search-genious! The CommonCraft videos are awesome, I could become addicted to those. How about a CommonCraft video to review the French Revolution? I'll have to do a "search" for that in the future...when I haven't reached my maximum capacity for searching!
All in all, this experience was a positive one. I think that investing time to become an "expert searcher" could pay off in the long run. I know that I've logged many hours searching for items that I could have found in a fraction of the time. My students would benefit greatly from learning some of the advanced search techniques--become more efficient searchers. Finally, teaching students to be critical of websites is key. I'm going to use that lesson with my students in the near future.
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
Homework, 10/6
I really enjoyed the video introduction of the Library of Congress. Wouldn't it be fun to jump on a flight to DC, and take a tour? Unfortunately, a trans-continental trip is not in the works at the moment, so I'll settled on a "video" tour. The analyzing primary source lesson on photographs and prints was well done. I would love to show the first part of the presentation to students because it gave a clear definition and examples of these types of sources. In addition, I appreciated the idea of questioning primary sources in terms of the motives and audience of the artists. Too often, my students believe that primary sources are the "end all, be all" sources, and they don't think about questioning the value and limitations of these sources.
After experiencing the interactive piece of this assignment, I attempted to do my own research within the loc site. I discovered that I need help with my researching skills, and/or I need more patience and time! I finally found an interesting picture title, the "Darkest Africa." (I was attempting to find pieces to use in a unit on European imperialism). However, once I found the image, I couldn't see it in a larger format. Clicking, cutting, pasting, etc. didn't help. I took down the bibliographic information and quit. Patience needed. I'll try again when I have someone nearby to help!
After experiencing the interactive piece of this assignment, I attempted to do my own research within the loc site. I discovered that I need help with my researching skills, and/or I need more patience and time! I finally found an interesting picture title, the "Darkest Africa." (I was attempting to find pieces to use in a unit on European imperialism). However, once I found the image, I couldn't see it in a larger format. Clicking, cutting, pasting, etc. didn't help. I took down the bibliographic information and quit. Patience needed. I'll try again when I have someone nearby to help!
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)
