Favorite Tools...
As I reflected on my journey through 11 tools, I think my favorite tool was DropBox. I learned how to use this tool, as well as, how it applies to what I do in my position. I plan to use DropBox for photo documenting components of the One Way Dual Language Program. These pictures will be used for presentation purposes, and the entire department will be able to have access to this folder.
Transformed Thinking...
As leaders in staff development, it is our job to model, model, model! :) The more we model the "tech tools," the more teachers will be willing to try something new. My plan is to incorporate technology into my presentations, so that others will see me as a leader both in the area of bilingual/ESL and the area of technology!
Unexpected Outcomes...
One of the biggest aha's that I had in taking the 11 Tools course is that we do not have to know everything. Our students may know more than we do about how programs and tools work. That's okay! We need to let our kids take the lead if they know how to. In some ways, they may teach us! :)
Tuesday, May 1, 2012
Friday, April 27, 2012
Tool #10: Digital Citizenship
Students should know...
1) Being a good digital citizen means using "netiquette." Be polite.
2) A good digital citizen understands that there is a purpose for asking students to be safe.
3) Good digital citizens are empowered, able to access information, collaborate with others, and immerse themselves in topics of interest...safely.
Netiquette...
Teaching digital citizenship should be taught to students so that students are aware of what to do and what not to do. I would first teach the topic of citizenship. Then I would move into how citizenship relates to technology and the internet. I would use the video on Atomic Learning called "Netiquette." It offers some good advice for do's and don'ts of using etiquette on the internet. It is a brief, very simple, easy to understand video that demonstrates how to behave responsibly on the internet. The video from BrainPop could also be shown to students and parents at Open House or Back to School Night so that parents are aware of safety issues and they can discuss this will their children. The acceptable use policy could be signed at this event.
1) Being a good digital citizen means using "netiquette." Be polite.
2) A good digital citizen understands that there is a purpose for asking students to be safe.
3) Good digital citizens are empowered, able to access information, collaborate with others, and immerse themselves in topics of interest...safely.
Netiquette...
Teaching digital citizenship should be taught to students so that students are aware of what to do and what not to do. I would first teach the topic of citizenship. Then I would move into how citizenship relates to technology and the internet. I would use the video on Atomic Learning called "Netiquette." It offers some good advice for do's and don'ts of using etiquette on the internet. It is a brief, very simple, easy to understand video that demonstrates how to behave responsibly on the internet. The video from BrainPop could also be shown to students and parents at Open House or Back to School Night so that parents are aware of safety issues and they can discuss this will their children. The acceptable use policy could be signed at this event.
Tool #9: Incorporating Classroom-Based Devices as Tools for Learning
It is important to tie the technology to the objective because otherwise there is no learning outcome. We must focus on what it is that we want students to learn. Then we can integrate the technology into that content objective. We need to hold students accountable for their stations/centers so that we are aware of what they have learned while there. If there is no accountability, then we don't know if students are really learning and meeting the learning objective.
Here are some of my favorite websites!
Glogster-This website allows students to create a poster. Students could produce a poster based on content learning. It would allow ESL students to express what they've learned in a visual way.
MakeBeleifsComix-This would be a super tool to use for showing the sequence of a beginning, middle, and end to a story!
PBSKids-PBSKids is a fantastic and FUN website for learning across the content areas. It uses kids' favorite characters to teach science, social studies, reading, and math concepts.
Here are some of my favorite apps for learning!
Dragon Dictation-It would be great for our ESL students to speak in English using the app. Writing is especially difficult for these students. It would work very well for our kids to speak in English, and then Dragon Dictation could create the words for them to write. This would make writing a breeze!
MeeGenius or iBooks-It is good for our second language learners to listen to good models of language. This could be accomplished by using MeeGenius or iBooks where students listen to stories read aloud.
Discovery Channel-This app would be quite useful for teaching more complex academic science language. It would give English language learners visuals in order to make the input by teachers comprehensible.
For accountability...
Students could record the name of the website or app that they used on a piece of paper or in a notebook and record one new idea that they learned. Sharing what has been learned with the group increases the accountability!
Other ways to use the iPad or iPod Touch could be...
-Allow students to use the camera tool to take pictures of things that interest them. Have student write about their pictures or create a narrative about their picture.
-Students could use the video recorder to make mini-movies about content learned or to create plays for production.
-Students could use the clock tool (timer, stopwatch) to learn about elapsed time.
Here are some of my favorite websites!
Glogster-This website allows students to create a poster. Students could produce a poster based on content learning. It would allow ESL students to express what they've learned in a visual way.
MakeBeleifsComix-This would be a super tool to use for showing the sequence of a beginning, middle, and end to a story!
PBSKids-PBSKids is a fantastic and FUN website for learning across the content areas. It uses kids' favorite characters to teach science, social studies, reading, and math concepts.
Here are some of my favorite apps for learning!
Dragon Dictation-It would be great for our ESL students to speak in English using the app. Writing is especially difficult for these students. It would work very well for our kids to speak in English, and then Dragon Dictation could create the words for them to write. This would make writing a breeze!
MeeGenius or iBooks-It is good for our second language learners to listen to good models of language. This could be accomplished by using MeeGenius or iBooks where students listen to stories read aloud.
Discovery Channel-This app would be quite useful for teaching more complex academic science language. It would give English language learners visuals in order to make the input by teachers comprehensible.
For accountability...
Students could record the name of the website or app that they used on a piece of paper or in a notebook and record one new idea that they learned. Sharing what has been learned with the group increases the accountability!
Other ways to use the iPad or iPod Touch could be...
-Allow students to use the camera tool to take pictures of things that interest them. Have student write about their pictures or create a narrative about their picture.
-Students could use the video recorder to make mini-movies about content learned or to create plays for production.
-Students could use the clock tool (timer, stopwatch) to learn about elapsed time.
Tool #8: Taking a Look at the Tools
Here are a few ideas and thoughts that I had as I learned about the "tools."
1. The step by step introduction to the Dell 2120 was useful. It was very thorough.I did not know that you could change the display and writing colors. This was new learning! I could see this as being useful for presentations. I like that it is easily connected to a projector. This makes my job doing staff development much easier!
2. I learned about many new learning apps that I was unaware of before! Kathy Schrock's website was very informative. I would like to visit her site again, and use some of the information in our staff developments.
Management:
In order to manage these new tools, it would be important to model, model, model! Model the preparation for using them, the use of the devices, and the cleaning up or putting away of the devices. Make rules with the class for management. I think it's important for students to know that the tools are "tools for learning, not toys."
1. The step by step introduction to the Dell 2120 was useful. It was very thorough.I did not know that you could change the display and writing colors. This was new learning! I could see this as being useful for presentations. I like that it is easily connected to a projector. This makes my job doing staff development much easier!
2. I learned about many new learning apps that I was unaware of before! Kathy Schrock's website was very informative. I would like to visit her site again, and use some of the information in our staff developments.
Management:
In order to manage these new tools, it would be important to model, model, model! Model the preparation for using them, the use of the devices, and the cleaning up or putting away of the devices. Make rules with the class for management. I think it's important for students to know that the tools are "tools for learning, not toys."
Thursday, April 26, 2012
Tool #7: Collaborative Projects
Curriculum Collaborative Project
Our objective is to align the 1st grade math curriculum with the current math TEKS. This project will be implemented during the Spring of 2012 (currently) and continue until the project is finished (hopefully by Summer 2012). We will use the technology tools DropBox and GoogleDocs to share documents and collaborate on the project. Five district specialists will collaborate using GoogleDocs and DropBox in order to create a curriculum framework for eleven units throughout the school year. A calendar for covering topics will be created in order for teachers to understand and know what content needs to be taught and when. A Year-at-a Glance consisting of each nine weeks' content will be created in order to guide lesson planning.
Our objective is to align the 1st grade math curriculum with the current math TEKS. This project will be implemented during the Spring of 2012 (currently) and continue until the project is finished (hopefully by Summer 2012). We will use the technology tools DropBox and GoogleDocs to share documents and collaborate on the project. Five district specialists will collaborate using GoogleDocs and DropBox in order to create a curriculum framework for eleven units throughout the school year. A calendar for covering topics will be created in order for teachers to understand and know what content needs to be taught and when. A Year-at-a Glance consisting of each nine weeks' content will be created in order to guide lesson planning.
Tuesday, April 24, 2012
Tool #6: Using Web Tools to Promote Discussion in and out of the Classroom
My department and I have used Today's Meet to discuss questions we have regarding meetings we attend. This backchannel helps us to limit our talking, but still get our questions answered. We also tried using Today's Meet during a staff development session in order to make sure the content is understood and how the content applies to us as a department. I would like to follow up and use this tool again at our Teacher U session for bilingual teachers. I have created a room, and will ask teachers to comment during the presentation as a backchannel. Here is the link:
http://www.todaysmeet.com/OWDLRefresher
I created an Edmodo group as a social learning community for 2nd grade bilingual teachers to use in order to exchange ideas and share information. A code was given to the group to access the "2nd Grade Bilingual Teachers" group. We have been sharing ideas all year long regarding teaching language arts in the OWDL program.
Here is a sample conversation:
http://www.todaysmeet.com/OWDLRefresher
I created an Edmodo group as a social learning community for 2nd grade bilingual teachers to use in order to exchange ideas and share information. A code was given to the group to access the "2nd Grade Bilingual Teachers" group. We have been sharing ideas all year long regarding teaching language arts in the OWDL program.
Here is a sample conversation:
2nd Grade Bilingual Teachers
2nd Grade Bilingual Teachers
Post:
type your note here...
- Mrs. Menjivar to2nd Grade Bilingual Teachers
- Me to2nd Grade Bilingual Teachers
- Mrs. Burling to2nd Grade Bilingual Teachers
- Show 2 more replies...
- Mrs. Pena - Great idea!! thanks for sharing
Monday, April 23, 2012
Tool #5: Producing with Web 2.0 Tools
I created a Prezi for a future staff development session. It took me some time to get used to using this website, but the more I used it, the better and faster I got at it! :) See my Prezi at the following link:
Language of the Day Prezi
I created a word cloud using ABCya emphasizing what I think is at the heart of the Bilingual/ESL Department for our district.
Language of the Day Prezi
I created a word cloud using ABCya emphasizing what I think is at the heart of the Bilingual/ESL Department for our district.
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Thanks for sharing !!!