Conclusion

It is amazing how overwhelmed I felt at the beginning of this class and now it is almost over and it was a great experience.  I thought that there was so much work and I would never get it done.  Now, I almost have a full working website!!  How exciting!

I also learned so much about the different technologies on the internet.  Who knew what an RSS was?  Now, I DO!  There are so many different things that could be useful in the classroom and help my students grow and learn.

Now, the challenge is to figure out HOW all of this useful technology will be used in my classroom.  Factors such as access to the internet and computer projectors are my main issue.  Once I overcome those, I will be able to do so much with my students.  

I plan on using my website in the future and creating web-based activities for my students to use in order to incorporate technology into my classroom and engage my students in the many things that are available for them out there.

Social Bookmarking

I learned so much today from the presentation by Alissa and Liz. I had no idea what RSS and social bookmarking was until NOW. Social bookmarking actually sounds pretty interesting and would be a great tool to keep all of your online references available to you in an organized way. I'm all about organization and if I can have all of my favorite websites together using "tag bundles" it would be great.

I'm not sure if I would use in this the classroom as a way for students to collaborate and interact with each other. It would take a lot of time to teach them the purpose of social broadcasting and how to do it, as well as the fact that some students do not even have internet access at home.

Overall, I think this is great for me personally, maybe not in the classroom, but FOR the classroom.

What are SmartBoards?

SmartBoard is a type of interactive White Board that is used in schools. SmartBoard is actually a trademarked name that is now just a common name used to describe the interactive white board. A SmartBoard works using a computer and some type of projector. Once the device is connected, it allows the projector that you are using to become interactive, in the form of a touch screen. This is a great device to allow teachers to work collaboratively and interactively with their students.

My school does not yet have SmartBoards, or if they do they have very little and are hard to obtain. I have always thought about trying to get a SmartBoard for my classroom so that my students could participate in active learning. It is such a great tool to use for your students work work with the information that is given and change and manipulate what is on the screen. It is also shown that retention rates are higher in students that use SmartBoard in the classroom.

It is my goal to try and get approved to have a SmartBoard for my classroom, for next year. Maybe (cross your fingers) it will happen.

(Probably not)

Using Multimedia (Ch. 9)

The internet is a completely different world and language. Multimedia is just taken for granted since we see it everyday on the web. There are so many different formats for pictures and graphics on the web, including .gif and .jpeg. Different programs are used to create images and videos that we see on the internet, Photoshop being the most popular.

I am so happy we do not have to use HTML for our websites. After reading this chapter I have realized that it requires a lot of understanding of the "computer talk" that is out there. It seems so complicated and intricate.

My website is going to have graphics and videos, however, they are not going to be original. I will be using others that I have found on the internet. It is important to have pictures and videos, maybe even sound, on your webpage in order to keep the visitors occupied. Those visiting your site will not be excited and interested if it was just full of words and no colors or images.
I want my webquest to be as appealing as possible and I think images and animations are the way to go. Middle school students need to constantly be entertained and even though they are using the internet you still need to keep there attention.

I hope I can make my website creative and a fun page for all of my students to visit.

Wikis

A wiki is website that allows any user to add and edit the content on that webpage. This is different from a blog because it allows for multiple authors to make entries onto this site. Wikipedia is just one example of a wiki. It is an online encyclopedia where anyone can go and add, change, or edit information on the online encyclopedia.

There are several ways that teachers can incoporate wikis into their classroom:
1. collective glossary
2. a group story
3. group problem solving
4 and more.....

I think wikis are great for the classroom in the sense that they allow students to work with each other, edit each others work, and comment. Student can be creative and contribute to their classmate's work.

After reading about wikis, I am actually considering creating a collaborative glossary and help wiki where students can add and edit definitions of different math terms and explain how to solve certain problems. It is a great way to have a more student-based learning approach to teaching.