Final+Examination

Web 2.0 tools are a collection of web based services and tools which makes web creations easier and more accessible to use. Teachers and students are learning to use these tools in order to keep up with __#|technology__ changes happening every day. As of 2012, forty-five states and three territories have adopted the Common Core State Standards. This standards initiative is being led by the National Governors Association Center for Best Practice (NGA Center) and the Council of Chief State __#|School__ Officers (CCSSO), in order to have students prepared and ready __#|for college__. These standards are embedded with __#|technology__ integration in all subject areas.www.corestandards.org Will Richardson stated in his book Blogs, Wikis, and Podcasts, “the world is changing around us, yet we as a system are moving very slow. Our students are out there using a wide variety of technologies that they are told they can’t use at __#|school__. These students are using more complex and flexible digital information without much instruction on how to use it….”(Richardson pg.5) As a teacher we cannot be scared to use technology. This course has given many opportunities to experiment with different Web 2.0 resources. Richardson has discussed weblogs, wikis, RSS, social bookmarking, online photo galleries, and audio/video casting. Weblogs or Blogs are websites which can be easily created by any educator. Blogs can be used to update teachers on various teaching strategies, used for parent communication, used to communicate with students in and out of class, etc. There is an endless number of opportunities to use blogs. Currently, as a second grade teacher there are many uses for blogs. This coming __#|school__ year, I would like to create a class blog where students can post feedback on lessons being taught. Ms. Short, who is a second grade teacher, has an excellent example of a blog at second grade. She has information pertaining to events at the school, as well as everything going on inside of her class. **@http://edublogs.misd.net/mlshort/** I would like to model her ideas of posting any important information for my students as well as posting the wonderful learning happening inside the class. I also like how she allows for comments and feedback on the blog. Using blogs in a classroom has many more pros than cons. First, blogging will encourage reading and writing. Students will read what has been posted and comment. For shy students this is a great way for them to respond to ideas. For our outgoing, talkative students they can write what they want to say. Unfortunately, blogging takes time. Teachers have to continually update their posting. Also, if teachers are using blogging for reading and writing, it may be difficult to grade students on their __#|work__. I do not know if I will commit to blogging this school year, but I know one year this will be a major technology resource for parents and students. @http://www.ehow.com/info_8121319_pros-cons-using-blogging-classroom.html Wikis are webspaces where anyone can add or change content that has been published. (Richardson pg.9) Wikis can be used in a variety of ways. As I begin planning for instruction this school year, I focused on how a wiki could be used. My first idea was to use it with vocabulary words. Students could post their understanding of the definition, then we could discuss the different interpretations. Also, I could post a PowerPoint or video I would like for them to watch and they could respond with what they learned from the video. For this year, I want to try the first idea of this being an online dictionary. Unfortunately, on my level I see more cons with wikis because they are a __#|collaboration__ piece, it may be difficult to have accurate information posted. Wikis would give the students an experience with editing each other ideas. As a professional learning experience, this would be good for the teachers. We could collaborate and communicate across grade levels. Wikis in education website shows how wikis are being used in the classroom as well as with teacher peers. @http://wikisineducation.wetpaint.com/ Real Simple Syndication (RSS) is one piece of technology I will continue to use from now until I die. RSS is a technology which allows teachers to subscribe to syndications, magazines, newspapers, etc. Through RSS anything that is updated on a particular site will be given to you. As an educator this is a way to keep all of your publications together and be able to read what you want from each without having to open each webpage. RSS feeds save time because the articles appear on one page. They also work well because you can opt-in or out of certain parts of the publications. Publications can be tailored to your specific needs. Lastly, if you subscribe to a feed and do not find that it services your interest, it is very easy to unsubscribe. Unfortunately, RSS feeds are not widely used. Many people have not begun using them or do not know about this resource. Also, if you need to cite something from a feed sometimes you may have difficulties finding the original source. @http://www.feedforall.com/pros-and-cons-of-rss-feeds.htm I am going to use RSS to collect publications and be able to save interesting, useful articles. Social Bookmarking sites are another __#|online storage__ of useful websites. Social bookmarking allows users to have a personal internet. A social bookmarking site allows you to save a website and use tags so you can find the site easier at a later time. Throughout this course we used Delicious, I will continue to use Delicious to mark sites. I am not sure how I would like to incorporate this with young children. On the internet, you can save sites under favorites, what makes social bookmarking easier is you can tag sites. Sometimes we save a site under favorites and forget the website when looking for a topic. These sites are easy to setup and you can collaborate with other people. Although it is easier to hit favorites and have a saved site, social bookmarking keeps the sites organized. Collaborating with social bookmarking sites is an easy task, all someone has to do is follow your site. One downfall of social bookmarking sites, would be the tags. Sometimes there are many tag options and other times there are few, so some sites may be harder to tag. Online photo galleries, such as Flickr, are becoming widely used in many classrooms. Using online photo galleries can be scary, but many times you can keep your gallery private. In the classroom, Flickr can be used to post photos and have students respond to different questions regarding the photo. Teachers can also have students find photos and post to a particular class site. As a second grade general education teacher, I do not have any ideas of how to use this with my students in my class. I envision our art teacher incorporating technology into her curriculum through the use of Flickr. The art teacher could have students find photos or she could post a photo and have students respond by looking at different art elements in the photos. Flickr is a useful resource, fortunately it is free and they give you enough space each month where you do not have to pay for anything unless you need extra space. If you are using Flickr to hold personal photos, Flickr is a backup tool. This is also an easy to use resource. Flickr can lend itself to negativity because it is on the internet, so you must be mindful of the photos you post. Last, audio and video casting is one of my favorite resources. There is so many ways to use this in any classroom. This is a resource you can create for your students in order to reinforce or expand on skills. One widely used audio/video cast is through podcasting. Students or teachers can create podcast on any topic. Students can use podcasting to give an oral report. Podcast on any topic and use it in a listening center of the classroom. Also, video casting is where students and teachers can make videos on any subject. Throughout this school year I want to take pictures and videos of the students learning, field trips, activities in and out of class, recess, etc., then use the photos to create a video where the students can narrate the events. Also, I can use video casting as a tool across the curriculum through projects. Using audio and video casting can take plenty of time from the beginning to final product. Being that I work with young students, most of the editing and publishing will be completed by me. This is a video cast, which I am using in order to learn how to knit a scarf. This is one way a video cast can be used.media type="custom" key="20568220" Finally, throughout this course we have learned and experimented with many different tools. Richardson states, “we now have a Read/Reflect/Write/Participate Web which will continue to evolove and grow in ways not yet thought of…..” So, now I will use some of these tools to enhance the integration of technology in my classroom.
 * @http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HeBmvDpVbWc//**

Citations Richardson, W. (2009). __Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts, and other powerful web tools for classrooms__. @http://www.feedforall.com/pros-and-cons-of-rss-feeds.htm @http://wikisineducation.wetpaint.com/ @http://www.ehow.com/info_8121319_pros-cons-using-blogging-classroom.html www.corestandards.org
 * @http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HeBmvDpVbWc//**
 * @http://edublogs.misd.net/mlshort/**