If Parcheesi, Sorry, dice, cards, Hi Ho
Cherry Oh, Yahtzee, Quiddler and Chess (for example) help children to learn in a fun way, does it follow that computer and video games have a similar value and effect? Is the learning as valuable academically? Do we follow the students interests in this regard or lead them? And when does the speed and stimulation become a negative?
Returning to the public school classroom full time after a decade is not an easy transition, but it is a worthy challenge. It is rewarding, exhausting, exhilarating, expanding, and often amusing. I realize over and over again that I am one lucky person to have the opportunity to spend my days teaching, learning, and laughing with children. They have changed my way of thinking, and have taught me to think of uncertainty as a time of great possibilities. I thank the 21 students with whom I currently share a space, for many hours of growing and learning together.
Web 2.0 tools have impacted my thinking about teaching and learning primarily through my realization that this is a whole new way for students to construct knowledge. Students contruct their resources, interactions, and their understandings. I am so excited about the possibilities for the students to be self-directed learners, sharing in an ever growing community.
Expanding the audience is going to be a huge motivator for my students and me as we begin to write this September. I began to enjoy writing again this week and I know that these tools will keep me going and reaching out for more ideas and connections, which is what I want for my students.
This is such a comprehensive blog that I just better make sure that I have nothing in the oven when I sit down in front of it. I find his entries interesting, informative, and insightful. What a del.icio.us list!
I will definitely be checking into his blogs from time to time for ideas and professional sharing. I have missed the kinds of discussions that were a huge part of my teaching practice for years. Now I can have online conversations and motivation to keep up my professional journal.
Literature Circles and News are two areas that I would like to expand to, and David’s blogs on those subjects will be a great help to me. His sites will be like having a converstion with someone in my building so that I can these things started. This will help the kids with fewer stumbles because we won”t have to invent everything. I can also show them the sites for inspiration and example. This will give them ideas and confidence.
These technology tools certainly make teaching easier in some ways, but it appears that this level of technology integration will be increasing the time spent with planning, inplementing and sharing due to the vast possibilities. It’s not easier that is important, here but richer.
What an easy way to connect with people around the world to read their thoughts and share conversation. I like the format. It’ll be fun and enlightening to tap into this resource.
First, I will use this myself to gain insights and understanding.
I can find specific stories to share with students, integrating geography and cultural studies in discussions and stories. I hope to find stories to bring deeper meaning to our literature.
This is a terrific resource, and one which I will be visiting often this summer. There’s a wealth of information that suits me, as well as inspiration to keep going on this new journey on which I’ve embarked.
I loved the entry about saving top posts from kids. I may do this for long term keeping. There are some great entries which I appreciate getting a chance to see before I begin a class blog.
The Cool Kid Blog looks good too. I will be looking at her samples to use, show kids .
The more I learn from sites like this, the more prepared I will be to promote student learning through project ideas, methods, and rubrics.
Learning to write, research, and share science information
This is a new extension of an old project, developed for elementary school students who have a new set of strengths and interests that I intend to engage fully.
This a long term project that will begin with handwritten observations of nature, extend to a classroom blog, and culminate with individual projects researched with the help of social bookmarking.
September:
I will introduce observation journals from day one with specific journals and guidelines. We’ll probably begin observing the complete metamorphosis of butterflies, others insects, and some outdoor environments.
Next, the students will be allowed to create their own paper journals that suit their needs and style as we continue to observe outside and also using Audubon animal mounts.
October:
I will read to my students from Saving Birds Heroes Around the World by Pete Salmonsohn and Stephen Cress and discuss the how individuals can make a difference.
Students will be encouraged to look for life science information in books and at specific web sites.
I’ll introduce Puffins with photos of my late July trip to Eastern Egg Rock, the book Project Puffin: How We Brought Puffins Back to Egg Rock, by Salmonsoln and Cress and related the web site, complete with web cams.
Hopefully we are ready to begin our blog in late October, after an overview of behavioral guidelines and expectations. Students will be asked to write their observations based on the puffin cam, our borrowed puffin mount, and their responses to photos and readings of puffins and of heroes right in Maine who are working to save birds.
November/December
November will bring us to a combination of weekly blog posts about whatever we are observing as a group at the time, and the beginning of individual project research with the help of del.icio.us and the school mobile computer lab. I have tagged several nature sites that students will be able use to gain text and photo information so that they can create finished research papers and displays.
Success will be marked by enthusiasm, sharing, high quality writing entries that improve over time, and responsible collaborative behavior. Students will be able to find at least three sources of information and print it with photos if they choose.
I will develop rubrics for both teacher and self evaluation for journal/blog entries and their final project/presentation.
http://edublogs.org hamelchinstudy blog
http://audubon.org/bird/puffin.html Project Puffin website
http://kaizen95.learnerblogs.org Technokid
http://del.icio.us my del.icio.us and Mrs. Del.icio.us
What worked?
Your enthusiasm and flexibility worked to make this an entirely fabulous class. Although my head is spinning, your presentation of a multitude of applications and ideas quickly ignited my imagination and the possibilities of blending nature and technology. The readings were well selected with plenty of choice. Giving us optional lessons was right for this class and the range of experiences, as well as tapping into the expertise of some students. All the things that you do well with kids worked well for me and, it seemed, the class as a whole.
What didn’t work? At times I was overloaded by the pace and the homework. After a while I was overwelmed with information and I began to mix up the information. I needed a little more time to try out new things before I went on to the next. Wednesday, I realized that I had reached the point of saturation and I chose to pursue my own readings,reponses, and project planning. That ultimately worked, and I continued to decide along the way where I should skip optional lessons. Thankyou for your flexibility.
What can I suggest for this class in the future?
The make up of each class is different, and I can see that your flexibility is crucial. If many other classmates were as saturated as I was, a little less ambitious schedule would help, as long as you are able to keep the excitement and the range of possibilities intact.
The tools of Web 1 and 2 will bring enthusiam and possibilities to my classroom that will surely engage students. Working on my del.icio.us today was so exciting because I found a wealth of information that can be used for a variety of purposes. I have photos, clubs, research info, and fun publications. This will not only help the students research individually, but help us to easily retrieve info for discussions, journals, project ideas, newsletters…
So, these tools will put information at our fingertips, help us to share within the class and beyond, and open the door to a stream of ideas. Students will be able to find information that is age appropiate, cutting down on frustration and optimizing time spent researching. Sharing photos will help them to create exciting illustrations and displays. I love it!
My experience with blogging this week has shown me how this medium inspires both the desire to write and the creativity to help it expand. I am certain the motivation will not be an issue, and that is a big help to me.
Over the past four years, I spent a fair amount of time researching cancer treatments online due to family members’ diagnoses. I ran into the very issue that Varmus fights to change, a noble cause in my mind.
There is an increasing amount of information out there, but obviously not enough, especially outside of the medical community. Many sites restrict viewers without a subscription. Many sites filter information drastically for patients. As I gained information, I had more and more questions. I wanted to dig deeper, and I kept finding the same basic information.
Many clinical trials are published, but mostly when they are seeking new patients. If you aren’t already in the loop, it’s hard to get there. Results of the trials were most helpful, but often categorized by means that were not helpful to me, so that I had to work longer and harder than I had time for.
I am appreciative to Varmus for his efforts and I hope that he is able to get through to more scientists in all areas of research so that the public can gain the information that the researchers are guarding so well.
