LeadingtoLearn

This course has been an affirmation in many ways for me. Our school has been technologically advanced compared to many other independent, elementary schools. We have been very aggressive in our integration of technology and could have done a better job supporting our teachers. This mistake slowed down the process in comparison to the original implementation plan. However, I believe that the teachers have embraced technology and I found this to be evident in the overwhelming participation in this course. Half of our classroom and resource teachers successfully completed this K12 Learning 2.0 course.

finish by Philo Nordlund

We have used Voicethread, blogs, Flickr, Slide, Animoto, Glogster, Mixbook, Slideshare, Wordle, Skype, podcasting and YouTube in projects and/or in conjunction with individual classroom blogs this school year. Through this course I believe our teachers’ efforts have been validated! We model lifelong learning for our students and 21st century learning for the benefit of our future leaders.

The next steps for me are to continue to use my Google Reader and to grow my PLN, personal learning network. I also want to use Google Docs over the summer to collaborate with my colleagues and plan units of study for next year. Further reading and research on wikis and nings will also be a part of my summer professional development.

This K12 Learning 2.0 course has been beneficial to all who participated. As in all endeavors, what you invest is directly proportional to your return. In this case, the exposure to web 2.0 tools and the behaviors of keeping up with your reader and blogging are ones that will serve me well beyond the conclusion of this course.

Web 2.0 Collage v2 by nickrate

Is Powerpoint the Enemy? was an interesting post I was reading from the blog Leadership is a Verb. The analogy of the enemy was drawn because of the post discussing the use of PowerPoint by our military. However, the themes are the same. PowerPoint presentations can be boring, saturated with text and like a lullaby to the audience. This results in a sleeping, texting or daydreaming audience who have not retained any information that was shared.

Our first graders are introduced to PowerPoint each fall and all of our students through sixth grade use this tool. We layer the various functions of the ribbon as the students advance through the grades. Initially, the students want to use multiple backgrounds, transitions, animations and sounds. This exploration is part of learning the tool, but it only scratches the surface.

Presentation skills are integrated into our curriculum as earlier as first grade as well. These skills also develop through the years. In third grade, the students are encouraged to vary their layout, use less text and consider the principle less is more. The presenter needs to consider his audience as he creates his presentation. This group just created PowerPoints on endangered species, considered these elements and relied less on presentation text and more on their individual knowledge base.

This student considered the movement of the moth as it floated into the slide. Unfortunately, these elements were lost in the upload. Our parents are so pleased with our students’ presentations and their skills!

“Ning nong” ~ It feels like a gong in my head! As the school year winds down the anxiety goes up. Students are looking ahead to summer and we, the teachers, are overwhelmed. Despite those feelings, all of these web 2.0 tools  are amazing and I love the concept of a Ning!

ning by jaycross

We have been working on preparing our upper elementary students for middle school by providing opportunities for analyzing how they will deal with the implications of technology once they leave us. How will cell phones, texting, online gaming,  email and social networking affect their lives? What are the rules in place by the providers as well as their current school and middle school? How can the tool be used appropriately and inappropriately? What is the role of cyberbullying? And most importantly, when should parents become involved? I see a Ning as an excellent tool in providing a safe environment to explore these issues as well as ones that the students are already dealing with off campus.

Social networking is still young and the trend is not subsiding, but other tools are popping up all the time. As educators, we have a responsibility to learn about these tools and talk with our students about appropriate usage and behaviors in this environment. I read several discussions and found them applicable and valuable.

My next challenge… further explore a ning… over the summer!

Relaxing on the beach by visualphotographystudio

There are so many web 2.0 tools that are available to use for free and even more choices for educators. Pageflakes was a new one for me. In Thing 21, I explored Pageflakes and looked at some flakes, but tended to gravitate back to flakes that were similar to the widgets I use on my iGoogle page. Here I pull in my RSS feeds, new stories, weather, calendar, bookmarks, etc. I realize the difference is being able to make your Pageflake public and shared with collegues, parents and students but at this point I don’t feel it’s a tool I would utilize.

Septa & Penta Flakes by chrstphre

I understand the course culminates with the exploration of Pageflakes. I enjoyed learning a new tool and will keep it in my Delicious bookmarks in case I may need a tool like it in the future. However, I feel the tool I am currently using is effective and accomplishes a similar goal based upon my needs.

Google Docs is yet another feather in the Google cap!

Molly Dancer by Dave-F

Google Docs has been an asset to my professional toolbox. It has enabled me to collaborate with my colleagues when planning presentations, planning and revising technology projects, assessing knowledge at the beginning and end of a unit of study and evaluating via a form.

The flexibility of working at school or home with others has changed the way I structure my professional time. Sometimes it enables me to work too much at home when I am excited about a project to the dismay of my family. However, I am able to be home, collaborate with others and continue working rather than staying late at school.

Google Docs can be a blessing and a curse and the key is balance. As in all aspects of life balancing work and play is crucial and with the advancement of technology these lines are becoming increasingly blurred.

Find your balance…

Balancing Act by *clairity*

I have often explored YouTube and TeacherTube with specific goals in mind. This task however took me on a journey of discovery that I hadn’t even considered. I began exploring YouTube looking for videos on copyright for students, copyright for teachers, curriculum and found myself linking and linking until too much time had slipped away.

I was not as successful on YouTube when searching for copyright videos for students.  TeacherTube is more focused on education but was frustrating because it loaded slowly and is riddled with advertisements. Yet, I found a video I liked, Technology Fear Factor in Education.

My professional discoveries included videos on curriculum, curriculum mapping and interviews with Dr. Heidi Hayes Jacobs. I enjoy all opportunities to learn, but since I am a visual learner I feel videos are a good resource for me. I think they will also be good resources for teachers from a professional development perspective.

It was when I went searching for a “how to” that I really went “wow”! I decided to search for genealogy and found an awesome resource. This is a hobby that I have put on the back burner and online resources have popped up since I was researching my family’s history. I am looking forward to picking this hobby back up this summer.

If you are intrigued by the adventure of discovering your family history through online research then you will enjoy this video.

Selecting the content for this podcast was more challenging than the production of the podcast itself. The actual recording was easy using Audacity. We use this tool quite often with students in kindergarten through sixth grade and beginning in second grade students have used Audacity independently.

Today I was sitting in a reading curriculum meeting when an idea came to me that is a professional application of podcasting. We were discussing the importance of reading aloud to students of all ages, as frequently as possible. Our discussion included reminiscing about the old cassette tapes as well as the less than exciting readers chosen for our current audio resources.

Photo Credit: shuttermonkey

Light bulb… using digital tools have various teachers and administrators read and record stories that can be saved in a shared depository on our server and accessed by all teachers. This could even be taken a step further and the mp3 files could be downloaded onto our ipod cart for individual student use. The idea was well received and I hope that this media library will flourish.

Podcasting in education supports Howard Gardner‘s Multiple Intelligence and the concept of Differentiated Instruction. It is also an avenue to appeal to the students of today who are so stimulated by electronics and it connects their world in school to their world outside of school. They can relate to a teacher using an mp3 player rather than a cassette player any day!

Which one looks more engaging to you?

Photo Credits: phunkstarr and CLF

I have used podcasts professionally for students to share what they have learned with others. They were more engaged than if they were writing a report and it provided the platform for students to demonstrate what they had learned with a theatrical feel. The parents love to listen to them and share them with other family members.

In preparation for traveling, I have discovered podcasts that provide the history of an area, walking tours and much more. They are great to listen to before I travel and revisit while I am actually on vacation. I will be searching for new ones soon as I prepare for my summer adventures!

Although as adults, we can often feel inadequate when it comes to learning how to use the latest techie tools. However, as educators who are lifelong learners we should strive to learn what is new and connect with our students because we know our students are hungry for it.

Photo Credit: karindalziel

Library Thing is a cool collaborative tool. I love to read now… as an adult. As I child I never developed a love for reading, but only read what was assigned in school. Once I completed college, I finally began reading for pleasure. Now I enjoy being in a book group with other women and having stimulating conversations about literary elements.

I use a similar tool, Shelfari, for tracking what I have read, am reading and will read, recommendations and sharing with others. I use it for both my personal and professional reading. This tool meets my needs and right now another one would only require me to update in two places.

Loving reading is something that I am trying to instill in my children. We read together daily and I try to model reading for them. I don’t want them to say I always harped on them to read, but they never saw me reading when they’re adults.

Photo Credit: deardarling,