The struggles in my life, my own life experiences, are my strengths. They make me who I am. I know the perspective of a single parent. I am a military spouse. I have been an enlisted wife and I have been an officer’s wife. I have a child with a chronic illness. I have teenagers and I have elementary students. We move every two to three years and have lived on both coasts and many places in between. I grew up in a small family but married into a big one. My parents were divorced. My family was poor. These life experiences are my strengths. I bring with me insight that a younger teacher may not have yet.
Balance will be my biggest hurdle. I know that being the caliber teacher I intend to become, may take away from my family. I foresee myself, and always have, struggling with balancing the needs of my students and classroom with the needs of my family and home.
Currently, my initial goal is to graduate with my degree in hand and family by my side. My oldest daughter will be a freshman at Kansas State when I graduate. My husband may have already moved to our next duty station by then, so I may be moving shortly thereafter. We could be stationed anywhere, even overseas. Depending on his position, I may or may not begin teaching right away. Often a military spouse takes on a “volunteer” position that is vital to her husband’s unit. Substitute teaching may be a way to keep my feet wet. However, if I can teach, I hope to teach in a general education classroom. Ideally, I would get to teach grades 2-4.
Eventually, I would like to continue my education and pursue a graduate degree. Positions that interest me include Reading Specialist, Behavioral Therapy, and School Counselor. Graduate programs that I can see in my future include Family Studies and Behavioral Therapy.
In my opinion, technology can impact student learning by providing a new motivation and tool, opening their minds to the world around them. Technology can provide support for students with special needs (word to speech, typing instead of writing, etc.). Technology can assist ELLs with translation. Technology can create differentiation. For me, technology has created many new avenues to explore when creating my lesson plans.
In a new school, I will continually share my lessons with others and showcase my students work. I will be open to sharing what I know and continue to seek new knowledge. Technology tools that I have become familiar with can be seen and are showcased on my website at www.robinwhitten.info .
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
My WOW moment!!!
Much of what I have been fighting (technology in my house) is what will prepare my own children for in their future. Realizing that, coupled with how easily I could integrate technology in my classroom created my WOW moment. I think the challenge is getting the financial resources to provide technology in the classrooms and open-minded administrators to allow the applications and websites necessary to really make 21st Century skills authentic.
Podcast Favorites
I listened to different podcasts each week but my favorite one was Tech Chicks .
I found their podcast, and subsequent pocasts that I later listened to (but did not blog about) to be simple and straightforward. I liked that they put their information out, was excited about it, and got everything said in a short time. The other podcasts were insightful and informational, but often had technical difficulties and excess discussion unrelated to the topic. All of The Tech Chick show notes are also posted as blog entries on their site which makes them easy to look up. Love it!
I found their podcast, and subsequent pocasts that I later listened to (but did not blog about) to be simple and straightforward. I liked that they put their information out, was excited about it, and got everything said in a short time. The other podcasts were insightful and informational, but often had technical difficulties and excess discussion unrelated to the topic. All of The Tech Chick show notes are also posted as blog entries on their site which makes them easy to look up. Love it!
Semester Favorites
Kan-ed Portal Site
The Kan-Ed Portal has been a huge resource for me in my struggle to find standard based and aligned lesson plans. For as long as I have wanted to be a teacher, I never knew it would be so difficult to make a lesson plan! The sites on Kan-Ed make great stepping stones for me as I plan my own lessons.
The Kansas Education Resource Center contains tools for teachers to use in aligning classroom instruction and assessment to Kansas’ academic standards.
Thinkfinity also provides standard aligned lesson plans.
Some of my favorite classroom tools that perhaps could be the easiest to teach would be Animoto and Glogster. I showed my nine-year old how to use the Animoto and she create a few immediately.
The Kan-Ed Portal has been a huge resource for me in my struggle to find standard based and aligned lesson plans. For as long as I have wanted to be a teacher, I never knew it would be so difficult to make a lesson plan! The sites on Kan-Ed make great stepping stones for me as I plan my own lessons.
The Kansas Education Resource Center contains tools for teachers to use in aligning classroom instruction and assessment to Kansas’ academic standards.
Thinkfinity also provides standard aligned lesson plans.
Some of my favorite classroom tools that perhaps could be the easiest to teach would be Animoto and Glogster. I showed my nine-year old how to use the Animoto and she create a few immediately.
Saturday, April 23, 2011
Podcast Reflection #12 Teaching Technology to Kindergarteners
Teaching Technology to Kindergarteners
"Brad Flickinger has been an elementary, middle, and high school teacher, as well as the director of technology which gives him a perspective of teaching all ages of students and what it is like at both the classroom and district levels. He focuses his experiences on designing technology curriculum for students from kindergarten to 5th grade." (Brad's website)
In this podcast, Brad discussed what he teaches his kindergartners in technology class. He feels that although some schools do not allow younger elementary students in the computer lab, the younger the better to get the students learning 21st century skills. Brad begins the school year by teaching the rules of the computer - turning it on and off, naming parts of the computer (mouse, monitor, etc). Once that is taken care of, students practice keyboarding (Typing Tots) . One struggle Brad finds is gtting the students used to the idea of using the computer as a tool and not as a game to play on. Another application he uses in the lab is a drawing application called Pixie.
Finally, at the end of class, the one and only website the students are allowed to visit is PBS Kids . This is a great educational site for kids.
"Brad Flickinger has been an elementary, middle, and high school teacher, as well as the director of technology which gives him a perspective of teaching all ages of students and what it is like at both the classroom and district levels. He focuses his experiences on designing technology curriculum for students from kindergarten to 5th grade." (Brad's website)
In this podcast, Brad discussed what he teaches his kindergartners in technology class. He feels that although some schools do not allow younger elementary students in the computer lab, the younger the better to get the students learning 21st century skills. Brad begins the school year by teaching the rules of the computer - turning it on and off, naming parts of the computer (mouse, monitor, etc). Once that is taken care of, students practice keyboarding (Typing Tots) . One struggle Brad finds is gtting the students used to the idea of using the computer as a tool and not as a game to play on. Another application he uses in the lab is a drawing application called Pixie.
Finally, at the end of class, the one and only website the students are allowed to visit is PBS Kids . This is a great educational site for kids.
Challenge Based Learning Reflection
Challenge Based Learning
CBL in a video
As a class we did Challenge Based Learning project but I do not feel it represented what would happen in a real classroom. Our groups were fellow students that we did not know previously and we only had one week to prepare. In the end, I think our presentation was mediocre. I think if I could have presented a project to the class from those I created during this semester, this would have been my last choice.
That being said, Challenge Based Learning can integrate several learning goals in one ongoing lesson by solving a real life problem involving students of all learning levels. This strategy is beneficial for teachers struggling to meet the multitude of standards while keeping her class meaningful.
CBL in a video
As a class we did Challenge Based Learning project but I do not feel it represented what would happen in a real classroom. Our groups were fellow students that we did not know previously and we only had one week to prepare. In the end, I think our presentation was mediocre. I think if I could have presented a project to the class from those I created during this semester, this would have been my last choice.
That being said, Challenge Based Learning can integrate several learning goals in one ongoing lesson by solving a real life problem involving students of all learning levels. This strategy is beneficial for teachers struggling to meet the multitude of standards while keeping her class meaningful.
Monday, April 18, 2011
Podcast Reflection #11 Classroom 2.0 Moodle Mayhem
Moodle Mayhem
Show Hosts: Kim Caise and Peggy George with Lorna Costantini
Special Guests: Miguel Guhlin and Diana Benner
Participants around the world in this Live discussion were polled if they they had ever participated in a Moodle course. 51% had. 50% had created a Moodle course before. 45% of the participant's schools used Moodle as their Learning Management System.
Diana Benner is a co-founder for the Moodle Mayhem website. Miguel Guhlin defines "What is Moodle and 'Moodle Mayhem" as a way for people to connect during campus meetings online so people would not have to drive across town. It is a way to create a virtual classroom online that can facilitate professional learning online in an engaging way. Moodle Mayhem is a sharing community for all things Moodle.
Some extras thoughts on Moodle -
If you want to do a Moodle get district support and work closely with technical support or have a Moodle Partner
Can be used for a variety of settings - businesses (staff development)
Can be small with one teacher and a few students or much bigger than that
This Podcast is pretty long and detailed. Miguel and Diana share Planning Stages and Guidelines for creating a Moodle. If you don't have the time to listen to the podcast, there are several links suggested on the Classroom 2.0 site about Moodle.
Show Hosts: Kim Caise and Peggy George with Lorna Costantini
Special Guests: Miguel Guhlin and Diana Benner
Participants around the world in this Live discussion were polled if they they had ever participated in a Moodle course. 51% had. 50% had created a Moodle course before. 45% of the participant's schools used Moodle as their Learning Management System.
Diana Benner is a co-founder for the Moodle Mayhem website. Miguel Guhlin defines "What is Moodle and 'Moodle Mayhem" as a way for people to connect during campus meetings online so people would not have to drive across town. It is a way to create a virtual classroom online that can facilitate professional learning online in an engaging way. Moodle Mayhem is a sharing community for all things Moodle.
Some extras thoughts on Moodle -
If you want to do a Moodle get district support and work closely with technical support or have a Moodle Partner
Can be used for a variety of settings - businesses (staff development)
Can be small with one teacher and a few students or much bigger than that
This Podcast is pretty long and detailed. Miguel and Diana share Planning Stages and Guidelines for creating a Moodle. If you don't have the time to listen to the podcast, there are several links suggested on the Classroom 2.0 site about Moodle.
Monday, April 4, 2011
Podcast Reflection # 10 ETT21 #148: 1:1 iPads with Peter Smith
Peter Smith, Middle School Head at St. Andrews School in Savannah, Georgia discusses his schools 1:1 iPad program.
St. Andrews School
Technology at St. Andrews
The school uses the iPads as textbooks, as an organizer, for individualized curriculum, apps, tech shares for teachers, emailing assignments to teachers with quick turn around, and creates lighter backpacks. iPads are owned by the schools with classroom sets in the classroom but middle school and up are allowed to take them out very similar to a library book. Still have laptop carts for things iPad can not do.
Some of the few things that Peter Smith has learned through this process are:
1 - The discovery model is very important - not sure where it will lead but we will find our way together.
2 - There is a challenge with the distribution to students
3 - Teacher professional development. There are benefits to giving iPads to teachers to take home and explore and find problems to share with one another.
I am curious as to whether Apple gives schools a discount for this technology?
St. Andrews School
Technology at St. Andrews
The school uses the iPads as textbooks, as an organizer, for individualized curriculum, apps, tech shares for teachers, emailing assignments to teachers with quick turn around, and creates lighter backpacks. iPads are owned by the schools with classroom sets in the classroom but middle school and up are allowed to take them out very similar to a library book. Still have laptop carts for things iPad can not do.
Some of the few things that Peter Smith has learned through this process are:
1 - The discovery model is very important - not sure where it will lead but we will find our way together.
2 - There is a challenge with the distribution to students
3 - Teacher professional development. There are benefits to giving iPads to teachers to take home and explore and find problems to share with one another.
I am curious as to whether Apple gives schools a discount for this technology?
Podcast Reflection #9 Ed Tech Talk Conversations Episode 95 March 21, 2011
Maria, Lisa and Sheila discussed the topic the UDL (universal design learning) approach to learning and how it can help us accept differences among behavior, both social and academic. UDL gives the students the tools, comfort, conversation, and help they need to meet with success without dumbing down the curriculum. It gives students alternative ways to demonstrate their knowledge and learn through use of video, audio, reading alone or with others.
Lisa discussed the merits of rules. Why do we have arbitrary rules? What are these rules in place for? It is important to explain why a rule was in place to begin with so that the issue doesn't become a problem. A good classroom rule would be -
"Anything goes as long as it is not disruptive to yourself or others."
Hats
Gum/candy - sucking on candy stimulates the brain
Music
Snacks - allowed to eat all day but not share or with crunchy bag
These rule breakers may need permission from the principal and parents and may only be broken in class.
Lisa discussed the merits of rules. Why do we have arbitrary rules? What are these rules in place for? It is important to explain why a rule was in place to begin with so that the issue doesn't become a problem. A good classroom rule would be -
"Anything goes as long as it is not disruptive to yourself or others."
Hats
Gum/candy - sucking on candy stimulates the brain
Music
Snacks - allowed to eat all day but not share or with crunchy bag
These rule breakers may need permission from the principal and parents and may only be broken in class.
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
Classroom 2.0
Classroom 2.0
Classroom 2.0 is a social media for educators to collaborate with one another on. I like the ability to send out an S.O.S. that someone across the country can give insight on or look over other issues and ideas. One teacher was so excited she HAD to share SortFix , (a search engine for kids). What really led me to the site was not her review, but the responses to her review concurring with her.
Classroom 2.0 is a social media for educators to collaborate with one another on. I like the ability to send out an S.O.S. that someone across the country can give insight on or look over other issues and ideas. One teacher was so excited she HAD to share SortFix , (a search engine for kids). What really led me to the site was not her review, but the responses to her review concurring with her.
Monday, March 7, 2011
Kan-ed portal site reflection
This is an incredible resource for Kansas teachers to utilize. Thinkfinity, KERC, and Nettrekker all provide lesson plans and ideas that are aligned with state standards. This is a huge bonus for pre-service educators that are just learning the ropes. I also appreciate the sites with the teacher and student recommendations.
Fun with Text
Wordle has many applications in any grade level. For the early elementary, Wordle can be used as a class poll. Simple example - each child types in their favorite color into the text box - produces a Wordle where the most popular 'color' stands out - great for 'how do you feel today', 'favorite animal' 'what month is your birthday' etc. As students get older, classroom rules, subject concepts, comparison projects, character strength and more can be incorporated. This is also a FREE tool that can be used to help decorate the classroom.
Saturday, March 5, 2011
Edutecher site reflection
Altapedia Online
This online encyclopedia provides facts, figures and statistical information about such topics as the history, people, geography, language, and religion of countries around the world. The site also offers political and physical maps of regions of the world. This website is an interactive and information packed website for any type of country report assignment.
Brain Flips
Brain Flips offers a 2.0 way to create, study, and share flashcards. You can include text images, audio and video files and the variety of practice modes and features allows you to choose the way you learn. There are levels that vary from elementary to college level. If I can find any flash cards on information I need currently I will, and I will certainly share this with my own kids. For some reason "playing" on the computer seems to be more fun than actual paper flashcards...
BrainPOP
BrainPOP creates animated, curriculum-based content that supports educators and engages students. Resources include movies, quizzes, experiments, timelines, activity pages, and more covering hundreds of topics within Math, Science, Social Studies, English, Technology, Arts & Music, and Health. All content is aligned to and searchable by state standards. I would highly recommend watching the tour video. It explains all of the incredible things this site offers. I particularly like that you can search for lessons based on your state standards. Unfortunately, many of the resources on the site cost. Classroom Access for use by a teacher and students in a single classroom on up to three computers, projectors, or interactive whiteboards in an elementary school ranges between $125-$195. I know many PTO and PTA boards help teachers with some of the costs of things like this and I would certainly take the opportunity in a school if offered.
This online encyclopedia provides facts, figures and statistical information about such topics as the history, people, geography, language, and religion of countries around the world. The site also offers political and physical maps of regions of the world. This website is an interactive and information packed website for any type of country report assignment.
Brain Flips
Brain Flips offers a 2.0 way to create, study, and share flashcards. You can include text images, audio and video files and the variety of practice modes and features allows you to choose the way you learn. There are levels that vary from elementary to college level. If I can find any flash cards on information I need currently I will, and I will certainly share this with my own kids. For some reason "playing" on the computer seems to be more fun than actual paper flashcards...
BrainPOP
BrainPOP creates animated, curriculum-based content that supports educators and engages students. Resources include movies, quizzes, experiments, timelines, activity pages, and more covering hundreds of topics within Math, Science, Social Studies, English, Technology, Arts & Music, and Health. All content is aligned to and searchable by state standards. I would highly recommend watching the tour video. It explains all of the incredible things this site offers. I particularly like that you can search for lessons based on your state standards. Unfortunately, many of the resources on the site cost. Classroom Access for use by a teacher and students in a single classroom on up to three computers, projectors, or interactive whiteboards in an elementary school ranges between $125-$195. I know many PTO and PTA boards help teachers with some of the costs of things like this and I would certainly take the opportunity in a school if offered.
Podcast Reflection #8 Tony Vincent's Learning at Hand #24: "Project Based Learning"
Tony Vincent's Learning at Hand #24
Tony Vincent shares the benefits of using an iPad or iPod Touch for Project Based Learning in the classroom in this podcast. He shares multiple apps that assist the learner in the various steps of a project that could take days, weeks of months to complete. I look forward to the day when all schools have the budget for these tools. I have an iPod touch but have not used it except to listen to downloaded books, I think I need to explore it a little more now...
Tony Vincent shares the benefits of using an iPad or iPod Touch for Project Based Learning in the classroom in this podcast. He shares multiple apps that assist the learner in the various steps of a project that could take days, weeks of months to complete. I look forward to the day when all schools have the budget for these tools. I have an iPod touch but have not used it except to listen to downloaded books, I think I need to explore it a little more now...
Podcast Reflection #7 Moving at the Sped of Creativity - Wesley Fryer "Where Good Ideas Come From: The Natural History of Innovation "
Steven Johnson Video
Wesley Fryer discusses a new book he has read "Where Good Ideas Come From: The Natural History of Innovation" by Steven Johnson. In the beginning of the podcast he shares that he had just gotten an audible account and that our thoughts shape the spaces of our minds. By varying the media we listen to and read, we can open that space up. After that part of the discussion, Wesley sort of lost me and kind of wandered around from topic to topic (in my opinion).
Wesley Fryer discusses a new book he has read "Where Good Ideas Come From: The Natural History of Innovation" by Steven Johnson. In the beginning of the podcast he shares that he had just gotten an audible account and that our thoughts shape the spaces of our minds. By varying the media we listen to and read, we can open that space up. After that part of the discussion, Wesley sort of lost me and kind of wandered around from topic to topic (in my opinion).
Podcast Reflection #6 Kevin Honeycutt - Driving Questions 2.0 "Story Chasers and more with Wesley Fryer
Kevin and Wesley discuss Wesley's story chaser concept in this podcast where he likens the story chasing to storm chasing. Both require technology, tools, an sharing an experience with others. The result of this digital storytelling is empowerment as a student shares life experiences, documents someones life and combine image with voice. The integration of technology, history, and literacy is something any teacher should consider facilitating in their classroom.
I wish I had documented an interview that I did of my husband's grandfather last year. He died in January.
Kevin's Website
I wish I had documented an interview that I did of my husband's grandfather last year. He died in January.
Kevin's Website
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
Sunday, February 27, 2011
Animoto in My Classroom
Animoto is a fun and easy tool for a teacher and students to use. As a teacher I will use it to captivate my class and introduce new material and create slideshows of events (field trips, parties). Once students are taught how to use this easy tool, they will present projects digitally in a creative way. My own children quickly picked up how to use Animoto and went to work right away creating numerous projects. My daughter made an Animoto about pets in our family and I made two, one about myself and one I could use to introduce a lesson teaching Manhattan, KS geography.
Twitter in the Classroom
Below are two articles I found about using Twitter in the classroom. It is far more informational and creative than I am! The first article describes what resource Twitter can be for the teacher and the second one shares how to use Twitter in the classroom. I think Twitter in the classroom is definitely applicable in a college setting and in the right high school settings. For an elementary class, each student would HAVE to have access to a computer or ipad. I am not sure it would be as necessary in a small class setting but certainly a benefit to students that have a hard time speaking out.
25 ways to teach with Twitter by Sonja Cole
June 4, 2009
Here are 25 ways that teachers can use Twitter to ask for help, get lesson plan ideas, book and professional resource recommendations, connect with other professionals, and even host an online book club.
First, a guide to Twitter shorthand. You will see examples of these in the sample tweets that follow:
@username: creates a link to that user in your post.
RT: Retweet, to copy someone else's post in a new update. Give them credit by adding their @username.
#: hashtag, helps to organize your tweets into categories for easier searching.
DM: Direct message, send a tweeter a private message instead of an update that all your followers can read.
1) Ask for recommended books, lesson ideas, or teaching tools.
Sample tweet: Can anyone share their successful SMART board lessons for 2nd grade?
Sample tweet: What are some good books to read aloud to 4th graders? I switched grade levels this year and need some ideas!
2) Be sure to thank the people who respond.
Sample tweet: @RickToone @evelynsaenz Very cool digital stories! Thanks for pointing me to them. http://www.squidoo.com
3) Ask for help or advice about a professional question.
Sample tweet: Is there a way to find out when your teaching certificate expires?
4) Write a book list one tweet at a time, or link to a book list on the web.
Sample tweet: Grade 3 #summerreading: Clementine by Sara Pennypacker, the most lovable troublemaker since Ramona Quimby
Sample tweet: #kidlit Updated list of China books for kids. Thanks for all your rec's. http://tinyurl.com/clt683
5) Tweet about a useful web resource, a particular blog post, video, website, book, product or service that teachers would find useful.
Sample tweet: Fantastic edublog giving teachers practical tips for integrating technology into the classroom. www.iLearntechnology.com
6) Provide a daily tip like a word of the day, book of the day, random trivia, useful fact, teacher tip or helpful resource.
Sample tweet: Summer Reading Tweetfest coming June 1. A daily summer book recommendation for kids. #kidlit
7) Share new studies of interest to other teachers.
Sample tweet: Supporting Struggling Writers Using Technology: Evidence-Based Instruction and Decision Making http://tinyurl.com/qzzq6q #edtech #education
8) Celebrate timely events. Recognize author birthdays, African American History Month, and other holidays or events.
Sample tweet: May 5th - Happy Teacher Appreciation Day!
9) Tweet about your school's website, blog and/or podcast. Add a new tweet to let your followers know when you make updates.
Sample tweet: A link to ESL Summer School Information can be found on the home page http://bit.ly/14DHwX
10) Link to a book trailer or video booktalk you create.
Sample tweet: New video booktalk for Chu Ju's House is up on Bookwink.com. http://www.bookwink.com
11) Start a Twitter book club and tweet your reactions to the book as you read.
Sample tweet: Just finished chapter 1 of Graceling and I'm hooked. What do you think is going to happen next? #reading
12) Invite followers to an event (online or offline). Events can include open-house programs, author visits, extracurricular activities, meetings, your online book club, webchat, etc.
Sample tweet: Live Chat: Helping Students Find Their Inner Reader. Today at 4EST. http://www.edweek.org
13) Link to photos of your classroom.
Sample tweet: K-3 Teacher Resources Photo Gallery - Share and Browse Classroom Photos http://tinyurl.com/px7so4
14) Share teaching humor.
Sample tweet: Funny teacher videos because we could all use a good laugh. http://bit.ly/SbG7u
15) Retweet someone else's post that you found interesting.
Sample retweet: RT @charlottetracks Great podcasts for kids on our new podcast page: http://tinyurl.com/cq9q4wet
Sample retweet: RT @Bookwink Great #summerreading video review of "Museum Mysteries for Kids" similar to Elise Broach's MASTERPIECE http://bit.ly/dt5MD
16) Say thanks when someone retweets you or mentions you in their tweets.
Sample tweet:@KateMessner Thanks for the RT. I have a video of Masterpiece as well http://bit.ly/zHTsD
17) On Fridays, recommend other tweeters that your followers should check out.
Sample tweet: #followfriday @kidderlit Twittering the first lines of children's books. I love it!
18) Answer someone else's general question, and reply to those who ask you a direct question.
Sample tweet: @LizB Occasionally booktalk books I haven't read or didn't like but always explain why. Too scary for me might be perfect for someone else.
19) Schedule to meet fellow teachers at a conference, or organize a professional tweet-up in your area.
Sample tweet: Trying to plan a tweetup to coincide with a big technology and education conference (NECC) and all are welcome!
20) Make a personal connection by sharing your favorite teaching resource, lesson idea, new book, blog post, etc.
Sample tweet: The most exciting fiction book I've read this year is The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. Recommend it to everyone age 12 and up.
21) Ask others for favorites.
Sample tweet: What are your favorite Twitter tools for teachers?
22) Post requests for people to come and speak at your events.
Sample tweet: Sign language experts needed for Deaf Awareness Assembly at our school.
23) Find summer work or school employment postings. If you see someone else looking for a job, retweet their request.
Sample tweet: Anyone in the Orlando area in need of a tutor or summer babysitter? Certified teacher in need of a job with great recommendations!!
Sample tweet: Anne Arundel County Public Sch is #hiring a TEACHER ASSISTANT-Annapolis,MD http://tinyurl.com/qnzje4 #job #tweetmyjobs #jobs
24) Ask for something free. Post your classroom wish-list or tweet about your school fund drive and request online donations.
Sample tweet: Fundraiser for Solidarity School win a $600k villa + $100,000 cash for $50 ticket - http://bit.ly/8NwNJ
25) Join a Twibe. A twibe allows you to follow a group of like-minded people. As I'm writing there are 333 Education twibes for all kinds of people tweeting about education, but new twibes are forming all the time. To see the list of Education twibes, visit http://www.twibes.com/category/education.
Sample tweet: Just joined a twibe. Visit http://twibes.com/edtech to join.
A former teacher and Middle School Librarian, Sonja Cole now hosts Bookwink.com, video booktalks for kids. She is also an active Tweeter @bookwink.
Rankin uses a weekly hashtag to organize comments, questions and feedback posted by students to Twitter during class. Some of the students have downloaded Tweetdeck to their computers, others post by SMS or by writing questions on a piece of paper. Rankin then projects a giant image of live Tweets in the front of the class for discussion and suggests that students refer back to the messages later when studying. The Professor's results so far have been mixed but it is clear that more students are participating in classroom discussions than they used to. A video about Rankin's classroom experiment follows.
It's funny to hear this history professor admit that "there are some topics we discuss that need more information" than Twitter's 140 character limit allows. Some! Said like a true Twitter convert. It's also nice to hear a teacher talk about technology and say, "it's going to be messy but that doesn't mean bad." Welcome to the social web, where that's a great attitude.
Rankin wrote a few pages of thoughts about "The Twitter Experiment" on her school web page as well. "Most educators would agree that large classes set in the auditorium-style classrooms limit teaching options to lecture, lecture, and more lecture," she wrote. "And most educators would also agree that this is not the most effective way to teach. I wanted to find a way to incorporate more student-centered learning techniques and involve the students more fully into the material."
Rankin's experiment is similar to another effort at Pennsylvania State University at University Park, written up this Spring in The Chronicle of Higher Education. Another related example is available from Marquette University. Education consultant Jane Heart maintains a directory of more than 1000 learning professionals on Twitter.
Twitter truly is a paradigm shaking technology platform, but Rankin's use of it at the University of Texas also illustrates some of its shortcomings. Most importantly, Twitter search and archiving are notoriously short-lived. The service was really intended for fleeting tweets about casual activities, and it seems to have been architected that way. Short lines of poetry, ruminating about the history of the world, penned by young scholars standing in the doorway to the rest of their intellectual lives? Not so much. These students will be lucky if they can retrieve their earliest Tweets at the end of the term.
Asking students to discuss their classes in a very public forum has got to raise concerns for some people as well. Rankin says participation isn't required, but it's because of these kinds of concerns that private, education focused services like EdModo have a market. That closed communication comes at the expense of public knowledge sharing, but classroom innovators may not be able to have it both ways in the long term.
The tide certainly seems to be turning though, in favor of education augmented by these kinds of technologies. A March draft proposal for UK primary school education guidelines, for example, includes nationwide instruction in the use of tools like Wikipedia and Twitter.
For many other ideas about how to use Twitter in the classroom, check out this presentation deck on the topic.
You can find ReadWriteWeb on Twitter, as well as the entire RWW Team: Marshall Kirkpatrick, Bernard Lunn, Alex Iskold, Sarah Perez, Frederic Lardinois, Sean Ammirati, Doug Coleman Dana Oshiro, Steven Walling and Lidija Davis.
25 ways to teach with Twitter by Sonja Cole
June 4, 2009
Here are 25 ways that teachers can use Twitter to ask for help, get lesson plan ideas, book and professional resource recommendations, connect with other professionals, and even host an online book club.
First, a guide to Twitter shorthand. You will see examples of these in the sample tweets that follow:
@username: creates a link to that user in your post.
RT: Retweet, to copy someone else's post in a new update. Give them credit by adding their @username.
#: hashtag, helps to organize your tweets into categories for easier searching.
DM: Direct message, send a tweeter a private message instead of an update that all your followers can read.
1) Ask for recommended books, lesson ideas, or teaching tools.
Sample tweet: Can anyone share their successful SMART board lessons for 2nd grade?
Sample tweet: What are some good books to read aloud to 4th graders? I switched grade levels this year and need some ideas!
2) Be sure to thank the people who respond.
Sample tweet: @RickToone @evelynsaenz Very cool digital stories! Thanks for pointing me to them. http://www.squidoo.com
3) Ask for help or advice about a professional question.
Sample tweet: Is there a way to find out when your teaching certificate expires?
4) Write a book list one tweet at a time, or link to a book list on the web.
Sample tweet: Grade 3 #summerreading: Clementine by Sara Pennypacker, the most lovable troublemaker since Ramona Quimby
Sample tweet: #kidlit Updated list of China books for kids. Thanks for all your rec's. http://tinyurl.com/clt683
5) Tweet about a useful web resource, a particular blog post, video, website, book, product or service that teachers would find useful.
Sample tweet: Fantastic edublog giving teachers practical tips for integrating technology into the classroom. www.iLearntechnology.com
6) Provide a daily tip like a word of the day, book of the day, random trivia, useful fact, teacher tip or helpful resource.
Sample tweet: Summer Reading Tweetfest coming June 1. A daily summer book recommendation for kids. #kidlit
7) Share new studies of interest to other teachers.
Sample tweet: Supporting Struggling Writers Using Technology: Evidence-Based Instruction and Decision Making http://tinyurl.com/qzzq6q #edtech #education
8) Celebrate timely events. Recognize author birthdays, African American History Month, and other holidays or events.
Sample tweet: May 5th - Happy Teacher Appreciation Day!
9) Tweet about your school's website, blog and/or podcast. Add a new tweet to let your followers know when you make updates.
Sample tweet: A link to ESL Summer School Information can be found on the home page http://bit.ly/14DHwX
10) Link to a book trailer or video booktalk you create.
Sample tweet: New video booktalk for Chu Ju's House is up on Bookwink.com. http://www.bookwink.com
11) Start a Twitter book club and tweet your reactions to the book as you read.
Sample tweet: Just finished chapter 1 of Graceling and I'm hooked. What do you think is going to happen next? #reading
12) Invite followers to an event (online or offline). Events can include open-house programs, author visits, extracurricular activities, meetings, your online book club, webchat, etc.
Sample tweet: Live Chat: Helping Students Find Their Inner Reader. Today at 4EST. http://www.edweek.org
13) Link to photos of your classroom.
Sample tweet: K-3 Teacher Resources Photo Gallery - Share and Browse Classroom Photos http://tinyurl.com/px7so4
14) Share teaching humor.
Sample tweet: Funny teacher videos because we could all use a good laugh. http://bit.ly/SbG7u
15) Retweet someone else's post that you found interesting.
Sample retweet: RT @charlottetracks Great podcasts for kids on our new podcast page: http://tinyurl.com/cq9q4wet
Sample retweet: RT @Bookwink Great #summerreading video review of "Museum Mysteries for Kids" similar to Elise Broach's MASTERPIECE http://bit.ly/dt5MD
16) Say thanks when someone retweets you or mentions you in their tweets.
Sample tweet:@KateMessner Thanks for the RT. I have a video of Masterpiece as well http://bit.ly/zHTsD
17) On Fridays, recommend other tweeters that your followers should check out.
Sample tweet: #followfriday @kidderlit Twittering the first lines of children's books. I love it!
18) Answer someone else's general question, and reply to those who ask you a direct question.
Sample tweet: @LizB Occasionally booktalk books I haven't read or didn't like but always explain why. Too scary for me might be perfect for someone else.
19) Schedule to meet fellow teachers at a conference, or organize a professional tweet-up in your area.
Sample tweet: Trying to plan a tweetup to coincide with a big technology and education conference (NECC) and all are welcome!
20) Make a personal connection by sharing your favorite teaching resource, lesson idea, new book, blog post, etc.
Sample tweet: The most exciting fiction book I've read this year is The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. Recommend it to everyone age 12 and up.
21) Ask others for favorites.
Sample tweet: What are your favorite Twitter tools for teachers?
22) Post requests for people to come and speak at your events.
Sample tweet: Sign language experts needed for Deaf Awareness Assembly at our school.
23) Find summer work or school employment postings. If you see someone else looking for a job, retweet their request.
Sample tweet: Anyone in the Orlando area in need of a tutor or summer babysitter? Certified teacher in need of a job with great recommendations!!
Sample tweet: Anne Arundel County Public Sch is #hiring a TEACHER ASSISTANT-Annapolis,MD http://tinyurl.com/qnzje4 #job #tweetmyjobs #jobs
24) Ask for something free. Post your classroom wish-list or tweet about your school fund drive and request online donations.
Sample tweet: Fundraiser for Solidarity School win a $600k villa + $100,000 cash for $50 ticket - http://bit.ly/8NwNJ
25) Join a Twibe. A twibe allows you to follow a group of like-minded people. As I'm writing there are 333 Education twibes for all kinds of people tweeting about education, but new twibes are forming all the time. To see the list of Education twibes, visit http://www.twibes.com/category/education.
Sample tweet: Just joined a twibe. Visit http://twibes.com/edtech to join.
A former teacher and Middle School Librarian, Sonja Cole now hosts Bookwink.com, video booktalks for kids. She is also an active Tweeter @bookwink.
How One Teacher Uses Twitter in the Classroom
By Marshall Kirkpatrick / June 1, 2009 4:04 PM /Teachers are always trying to combat student apathy and University of Texas at Dallas History Professor, Monica Rankin, has found an interesting way to do it using Twitter in the classroom.Rankin uses a weekly hashtag to organize comments, questions and feedback posted by students to Twitter during class. Some of the students have downloaded Tweetdeck to their computers, others post by SMS or by writing questions on a piece of paper. Rankin then projects a giant image of live Tweets in the front of the class for discussion and suggests that students refer back to the messages later when studying. The Professor's results so far have been mixed but it is clear that more students are participating in classroom discussions than they used to. A video about Rankin's classroom experiment follows.
It's funny to hear this history professor admit that "there are some topics we discuss that need more information" than Twitter's 140 character limit allows. Some! Said like a true Twitter convert. It's also nice to hear a teacher talk about technology and say, "it's going to be messy but that doesn't mean bad." Welcome to the social web, where that's a great attitude.
Rankin wrote a few pages of thoughts about "The Twitter Experiment" on her school web page as well. "Most educators would agree that large classes set in the auditorium-style classrooms limit teaching options to lecture, lecture, and more lecture," she wrote. "And most educators would also agree that this is not the most effective way to teach. I wanted to find a way to incorporate more student-centered learning techniques and involve the students more fully into the material."
Rankin's experiment is similar to another effort at Pennsylvania State University at University Park, written up this Spring in The Chronicle of Higher Education. Another related example is available from Marquette University. Education consultant Jane Heart maintains a directory of more than 1000 learning professionals on Twitter.
Twitter truly is a paradigm shaking technology platform, but Rankin's use of it at the University of Texas also illustrates some of its shortcomings. Most importantly, Twitter search and archiving are notoriously short-lived. The service was really intended for fleeting tweets about casual activities, and it seems to have been architected that way. Short lines of poetry, ruminating about the history of the world, penned by young scholars standing in the doorway to the rest of their intellectual lives? Not so much. These students will be lucky if they can retrieve their earliest Tweets at the end of the term.
Asking students to discuss their classes in a very public forum has got to raise concerns for some people as well. Rankin says participation isn't required, but it's because of these kinds of concerns that private, education focused services like EdModo have a market. That closed communication comes at the expense of public knowledge sharing, but classroom innovators may not be able to have it both ways in the long term.
The tide certainly seems to be turning though, in favor of education augmented by these kinds of technologies. A March draft proposal for UK primary school education guidelines, for example, includes nationwide instruction in the use of tools like Wikipedia and Twitter.
For many other ideas about how to use Twitter in the classroom, check out this presentation deck on the topic.
You can find ReadWriteWeb on Twitter, as well as the entire RWW Team: Marshall Kirkpatrick, Bernard Lunn, Alex Iskold, Sarah Perez, Frederic Lardinois, Sean Ammirati, Doug Coleman Dana Oshiro, Steven Walling and Lidija Davis.
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
Podcast Reflection #5 K-12 Online Waiting for Superman Fact or Fiction?
"Waiting for Superman" came out last semester. My Foundations class watched clips on YouTube, I read a huge Newsweek article about it and we discussed it in class. Politically I lean to the right but struggle as my new profession seems to lean to the left. Finding my place somewhere in the middle I must educate myself on issues. This podcast is a good way for me to fulfill that need. Commentators discuss the merits and faults of the documentary.
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
Podcast Reflection # 4 Podcast Ms. Rose's Class Podcast Page
Wow! This is the teacher I want my children to have! This is the kind of teacher that gets me excited to be a teacher. Having a class read/directed podcast weekly instills pride in the class and a sense of community not to mention fostering teamwork. I know that personally, our family living long distance and my husband that deploys occasionally would also appreciate the weekly updates.
I can see the podcast idea being expanded to personal podcasts for the children where they read their journal entries or something they have written in class.
Podcast page: http://msrosesclass.pbworks.com/w/page/29734448/podcast-page
I can see the podcast idea being expanded to personal podcasts for the children where they read their journal entries or something they have written in class.
Podcast page: http://msrosesclass.pbworks.com/w/page/29734448/podcast-page
Monday, February 7, 2011
Podcast Reflection #3 Tech Chick Tips - 0080 TCT – Happy New Year!
Listening to the Tech Chicks gets me excited to explore and plan for my future classroom. I listened to their New Year's podcast and went to the various websites they shared as they podcasted from inside of a car! I think the calendar site http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/20-free-printable-calendars-planners-2011/ will be a fun resource personally and could see it implementing it in the classroom by having small groups make calendars in themes. Maybe a multicultural unit? Another site I am anxious to utilize is http://www.knoword.org/ .
Friday, January 28, 2011
Podcast Reflection #2: CDK’s Education Technology Place
Why Celebrate Kansas Voices
I discovered several blogs on your website that I found interesting and will provide resources in the future. The link to the interview about your "Why Celebrate Kansas Voices" project particularly struck a cord with me because of previous discussions we have had. My husband's grandfather passed away in early January and I had interviewed him for a project two semesters ago. I only wished I had recorded the interview.
http://celebratekansas.ning.com/
I discovered several blogs on your website that I found interesting and will provide resources in the future. The link to the interview about your "Why Celebrate Kansas Voices" project particularly struck a cord with me because of previous discussions we have had. My husband's grandfather passed away in early January and I had interviewed him for a project two semesters ago. I only wished I had recorded the interview.
http://celebratekansas.ning.com/
Thursday, January 27, 2011
Podcast Reflection #1: Technology Bits, Bytes & Nibbles
http://www.arts-impact.org/
This website is a great resource for student teachers and active teachers alike. The website has an easy to use search engine that integrates the arts into each lesson includes clear learning targets, assessments, resource materials, teaching strategies, and examples of prompts. The integration of the arts is one of my primary goals as a future teacher and I will definitely put this website in my arsenal for future use.
This website is a great resource for student teachers and active teachers alike. The website has an easy to use search engine that integrates the arts into each lesson includes clear learning targets, assessments, resource materials, teaching strategies, and examples of prompts. The integration of the arts is one of my primary goals as a future teacher and I will definitely put this website in my arsenal for future use.
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