I do not mind leaving comments, but I did discover something about what I tend to do. (I did post this in a comment to a fellow blogger in this class before replying here on my blog.) I find myself replying with comments of agreement more than carrying on the discussion. Is this because I am a nurturer by nature? Is it because all of us are educators and most of our reflections will be similiar, thus leaving no room for debate? I am not sure. I do know I tend to be social, so maybe I reply this way first and I need to work on replying with more depth. Who knows? More to ponder.
I enjoyed my first comment. It’s nice to know that others take the time to read what you wrote and comment on it.
Commenting becomes very important. Not only is for the social part in all of us, but if you are posting a paper you’ve written or ideas that you have, you want discussions and feedback so you can choose where to go next with it. It is the same for students.
I found that the two articles we read had very important imformation for anyone who replies to anything online. I have this conversation with my own three children quite often. The web becomes a very important tool for teaching appropriate social interaction online.
I do not belong to any online learning community at this time. I do have a Facebook account. I tried creating an account in Second Life, but it was freezing up. I will try again later.
When trying to create a Google account, I realized that my gmail email account was in fact, a Google account that would work. lol I’ve had one for years and years without ever realizing it. Wow. Pretty cool.
Google Docs:
I opened Google docs, and to my surprise, already had a document stored there! I had no clue that a friend had sent it to me to proof read over the summer. Oops, need to send out an apology email! hehe It is a personal way to use it though.
One problem I am having with Google docs is when I uploaded two school documents I made for reading that I could share with other teachers, the documents were not transferred as I had made them. Text boxes were messed up along with the alignment. I am baffled by this and will spend some more time trying to figure out how and why it happened. If I can not create documents in word or publisher to upload to Google docs, I am not sure if I will want to use it or not. I will keep working on it.
Google Maps:
Using Google maps at home has always been useful. I am forever looking up places in Grand Rapids I want to go to or finding soccer fields in other cities for my daughter’s Laker games. I am printing up maps for invitations also. I do find that they are not perfect and not everything is where it should be. I looked up my house and the dot for my address is at another house, close, but still not 100% accurate. Always take that into account when using online maps. All in all though, I don’t know what I’d do without some kind of online mapping site! Oh wait, I do know, I’d be lost a lot. hehe
As far as school goes, I am always coming across lessons in my curriculum where I could show the class on a map where something is or takes place. I use an Elmo for this though. I have not yet taken the class to the computer lab to teach them how to use it. I doubt I will since they are only 8 and 9 years old. I can show them the program on Elmo though so they know what is out there.
This is a picture of my three kids and I from this past summer. We went to Great Wolf Lodge for a couple day vacation. One afternoon, we decided to head north and look for Petosky Stones. It was a gorgeous day! My kids found Petosky stones for the very first time. We had a great trip!
I had a hard time with this one. Each blog had strong points, and it was hard picking only a couple.
“Risley Roarer’s Blog” (http://classblogmeister.com/blog.php?blogger_id=65078) had many great things going on in it. Not only were daily classroom things posted, but the communication going on was amazing! It wasn’t just the class sharing, it was people from everywhere around the world of all backgrounds and ages. Talk about powerful! I was overwhelmed though. I am almost afraid to start something like this. I don’t know if I could keep up! lol It seems like it would be difficult not trying to do too much. I would spread myself too thin trying to respond to everyone, visit all the links posted, keep up with my own ideas of keeping the blog going… Maybe I could try it though and only open it up to other 3rd grade classrooms in the district? I do not know a lot about blogging, so I am unsure if this could be done. I may have to check this out.
The next blog I’d like to comment on is “A Really Different Place” (http://areallydifferentplace.org/node/268). In an earlier post, I commented on the importance of feedback in writing. Not only did I see that going on in this blog, but some book sharing as well. I actually got a couple names of some book series I’d like to purchase for one of my daughter’s for Christmas! Now, if I got that out of 15 min of browsing, imagine what others can pick up too. I am now wondering about all of the categories I could have in my own classroom blog should I decide to try one. Again, overwhelming!
I laughed at myself when I read what “blog” stood for, “web log.” Duh. I have a lot to learn. I knew what a blog was and different ways it could be used, but I never thought of how it got it’s name. lol
As I was reading the article, my head was spinning. I never imagined all of the ways it could be used nor the true importance of them. I have usually seen them used as a personal tool to share what’s going on in one’s life and a teaching tool to post assignments for students or notes to study for a test. Never had I thought of all of the other ways blogs could be used and how powerful of a learning tool it could be. Imagine if a student posted a paper he or she wrote. Friends and classmates comment on it. Teachers and family members post their thoughts as well. Discussions take place, some friendly debating. Not only does that student now have valuable feedback that he or she can now choose to use to edit the writing, but a higher level of thinking has went on to reach that point. And has only the student who posted learned? How easy was that?
I agree that using the wide variety of technology out there in teaching would be very beneficial. It opens up a whole new world. The information that could be accessed is phenomenal. I do use some even at a 3rd grade level. We use the web to find synonyms to use in our writing. We type up personal narratives and image search on Google to insert pictures to go with our narratives. We research Michigan animals to write research reports. We also visit sites to help practice math facts and spelling words. So I do see the value. Could I do more? Of course I could.
My biggest concern is the cost. Many of our families do not even have a computer let alone internet access. Some families lose their cell phones due to not being able to pay their bills. So why I do see the importance of wanting to engage our youth, we also need to take into account some of the financial issues that both our families and school districts share right now in these rough times. Do I wish it could be different? You bet I do.
The song “Unwritten” by Natasha Bedingfield seems to describe me well at this point of my life. Coming across the lyrics to this song in a writing class taught by Amy Oak, to having it pop up as my theme song for life on Facebook all within a year’s time makes me wonder if there is a message there. With the changes that have happened in my life the past two years, this song makes me think of the second chance at life that I have.
“Unwritten”
I am unwritten, can’t read my mind, I’m undefined
I’m just beginning, the pen’s in my hand, ending unplanned
Staring at the blank page before you
Open up the dirty window
Let the sun illuminate the words that you could not find
Reaching for something in the distance
So close you can almost taste it
Release your inhibitions
Feel the rain on your skin
No one else can feel it for you
Only you can let it in
No one else, no one else
Can speak the words on your lips
Drench yourself in words unspoken
Live your life with arms wide open
Today is where your book begins
The rest is still unwritten
I break tradition, sometimes my tries, are outside the lines
We’ve been conditioned to not make mistakes, but I can’t live that way
Pretty cool. 