I have officially completed my first week of grad school!!! It seems like a daunting task to think of how many more weeks/months we have left, but if I learn as much as I learned this week, every week, I will be overflowing with technological information. I started off the week feeling very overwhelmed by all of the work we had to do, but after starting the homework I felt excited and wanted to do more. I wouldn't say I learned a lot of new information, although I did learn a lot from my peers, but it was more making myself use some of the tools that I already knew were out there. I have known about google docs and blogging for quite some time, but never "found" the time to use them. Now that I have, I can think of numerous ways to use them each day.
I teach 6th graders and even though they know a lot about technology I do feel like it is hard to find the balance at their age between using technology and over exposure. I would love to use blogs in my classroom, but then all of my students need to have e-mail accounts to access them. I am not sure I could convince all of my parents that their child has to have an e-mail account. I do book club with my 6th graders and once a week we sit down to discuss the book. I think blogs would be a great way to discuss the books more frequently. Also, I think some kids today feel more comfortable saying things online (in text) instead of saying in verbally in front of their peers. I could see, by having the option to blog, some of my students might become more active in our book club discussions.
As far as Google Docs, wow what a great tool!! I wish I could've used this while in college!! I can just imagine the collaboration that could've happened if we had this tool! Again, this is something I could really see a use for in my classes, but gaining access, as we discussed in class, is a little tricky for kids. I don't tend to assign a lot of group projects because of the fact that it usually ends up being one student getting stuck doing most of the work. We do do some projects/papers, that this would be really useful for.
I am really excited about the assignments this week. I have never used social bookmarking and am really looking forward to learning more about it. I am also really excited about learning ways to use web cams in the classroom. I have used webcams in my personal life a lot and have always thought they would be a great tool in the classroom, but haven't found the best way to incorporate them.
Overall, week one has left me eager to learn more, excited to implement these tools in my classroom, and motivated to become a better teacher! * I can't believe I just wrote all of that. I never thought I would be the blogging type*
Way to blog, Kristy! Isn't it amazing how well teachers write when blogging? Seems to come naturally.
ReplyDeleteI found it interesting that you are already thinking of ways to incorporate these new technology tools with your teaching and learning with your 6th graders. I teach 7th and 8th graders and have been impressed with how well they blog. You are correct in stating that students who normally are very quiet in class will open up when blogging.
It's too bad that your school doesn't have a blogging option for your students. Hopefully, that will change soon for you. This is our first year with it and students are so engaged in it. I wish we supported Google Docs but so far, it is blocked. We are having some changes in our tech policy, so that might open things up.
Good luck as you begin your grad program. Stritch does a great job with it as I felt the same sense of enthusiasm that you did when I started back in fall of 2007. The two years flew by and I learned so much that I use every day in the classroom.
Jim
Hi Kristy,
ReplyDeleteIt was interesting to read your thoughts on blogging. I too feel that there are some kids who will not participate in class discussions so they need an additional forum to give their thoughts. It will also help some of the kids who participate all the times be able to coherently write their thoughts, which is also an important skill. Not having email is a challenge. The how young is too young for email question is very subjective. Good luck with your pursuit.
This may seem odd, but I never really thought about these courses as grad school until I read your blog. It has been a decade since I've taken any courses and probably 13 years since the whole undergrad thing. Getting on the homework horse again has been a bit shaky.
ReplyDeleteIf you want to skip the email thing for blogging with the 6th graders we schoolfusion. They also have an independent classroom tool for individual teachers that might work for you. sfclassroom.com
The filtering and anonymity tools are top notch and might help you overcome any parental objections.
Hope that helps.
Hi Kristy,
ReplyDeleteMy son will be in 6th grade next year and I would love it if he kept a blog as part of his learning experience. I don't know if that could be an opt-in or part of an advanced reading program, but it would be great if it were available even if not all parents wanted their kids to participate. On a side note, my son and many of his friends already have email addresses, *most* of which their parents helped set up, and especially if it is a school controlled address I think some parents might actually prefer that since they may not know how to set up and filter accounts for their kids they just let them do what they want.