Webquests are activities that teachers set up for kids that encourages student centered learning.  I found that this is a program that teachers of all ages can use and set up for their students.  Students can go through the steps at their own pace.  I think the younger students would benefit from working in groups of with a learning buddy from a grade level above their own. 

The set up of this activity is fairly simple for the teacher as well.  The most time consuming part of creating a webquest is finding the sites or materials that you are going to use.  I think that something that is important for all teachers to remember is the age and ability of their students.  This is something that we discussed in class.  Many teachers create webquest and put information on there that the students are unable to read (the material is way to difficult).  Anything on a webquest should be student friendly so that they can move through the quest on their own.  This is the whole purpose of the quest (in my opinion)….for the students to be able to complete the quest on their own and at their own pace.

I think that this would a great activity to use with students when teaching science and social studies topics.  Many teachers find that they don’t have time to really teach science and social studies in the depth that they would like to teach the material.  Creating a webquest would be a way for teachers to set up the material that they want their students to learn, give a timeline, and then dicuss at a later date.  This would save the teacher time (that she/he thinks they don’t have) and leave more time avaliable for hands on activities.  The background knowledge and “leg work” would be done by the students in advance of the classroom learning!

Every time that you open the internet a webpage appears.  Maybe its google or a school homepage, but how great would it be to open the internet to your own webpage.  Having your own webpage allows you to store information that is important to you and your needs.  I created a pageflakes account.  I love the idea that I can have multiple pages for different needs.  I also love the idea that I can set some of the pages to private and leave the others open for viewing. 

I could use this in many ways in my classroom.  I could make my own page as a way to keep parents informed about what is going on in class and places that the students can go to that will re-inforce things that they have learned in class.  I also think that it would be a great project for students of the upper grades.  Think about the possibilities of creating a page for a book study that students have been working on for several weeks.  This would provide a way to assess students as well as a way for the students to show their parents what they are doing.  The students have a purpose for learning and tend to invest more time in what they are creating.  I also think that the students would be able to access this and update the page from home (if they are sick).

I teach younger students.  I think the way that I would use this in my classroom would be as a means to communicate with parents.  I currently have a webpage through our school, but the page is limited to the things that you can do or use.  This would allow me to create links and use tools that could be beneficial to my students and parents.  I think that there will be more ways to use this, but I have not had enough time to use webpage.   This is definately something that I will continue to explore over the next few weeks or months!

I loved using Movie Maker and Photo Story this week.  I found that both programs can be valuable to the classroom (teachers and students alike)!

Photo Story is a way to take photos and then create a slide or story.  I took several pictures of me and my husband and put into the program.  Then I added captions to the pictures so that I had a story.  Movie Maker was similar.  I really think the great thing about movie maker is that you can use pictures or video to create your product. 

I think that both programs are great to use.  As a teacher I could use this in many different ways.  I would be able to use this to create a slide show of my students doing different activities or on fieldtrip.  This would allow parents to find out what their child is doing in class.  It would also be something that could be used at awards days or class celebrations.  This is also a great way to have documentation of things that the students are doing in class.  The teacher could use the photos to remember how students worked on a project before giving them a final grade.

I think that these programs are also student friendly.  The students could easily use a flip camera or digital camera to record information for a project (or share about their life….star student).  Getting the information into the program from their is very simple (especially when the students are shown what to do prior to using the program).  Students that were successful at using the program could be used as experts for students that still have trouble and need additional help.

I would definately use these programs in my class.  I find that these are great way to document things that the students are doing.  I also think this is a great way to have the students be active members of learning!

Threaded discussions boards are a way for students to communicate in class.  This is a great way for students to work on projects.  Threaded discussions allow students the opportunity to communicate with members of their group just as they would in a classroom discussion but without speaking.  This allows other students the chance to think about what they are doing or saying without being interupted of feeling the need to speak over someone else that is speaking to loudly. 

I enjoyed using the discussion board in class.  I think that a discussion board is a valuable way for group members to communicate (in or out of school) about a project they are working on for a teacher.  I also think that this is a way that students can communicate when there is misunderstanding about their project and work they might be responsible.

Using the discussion board also allows the teacher to have a way to monitor student progress on their projects without having to interrupt the students collaboration or thinking.  The teacher can check the threads and comment or guide when needed.  In a way this would be a great way for the teacher to facilitate!!

I am unsure how I could use this with students in the lower grades.  I know that they could probably partner with an older student, have the T.A. help them or even a parent volunteer but would the use still be as effective???  These are things that I believe teachers must find out through use.  I would be willing to try a threaded discussion in my room, if the situation would arise where it would be beneficial.

Twitter is a microblog.  Twitter is similar to blogging because you are posting your thoughts and responding to others.  Twitter is just a way to blog without going into so much detail.  I would compare Twitter to Facebook or Myspace because it allows for the short posts and replys but still offers other tools that you can use to communicate in more detail.

Twitter is a program that I still feel like I need more experience using!  No matter how much I have used the program, I have not seen a value of it in the classroom.  I don’t know how much it would benefit students using Twitter but I would be open to suggestions.  As for communicating with parents, I think that blogging allows for the teacher and parents to have more communication and blogging would make it easier to find parent comments because they would be linked to the specific post.

For me, I have found Twitter as a way to network.  I thought that this would be a great way to communicate among other educators and what they are doing.  I could really see using this as a way to share experiences and great ideas among educators!  Many teachers (as well as myself) complain about the lack of grade level planning or time to work with another teacher in the same grade.  This would be a way for teachers of similar grade levels or skill areas to communicate about the things that are going on in their classroom (and possible help someone else). 

After talking to Zandra, she recommended that you use it as a way to communicate with parents by posting reminders, funny things that the kids might say and things like that.  I think that this is a possibility but I would definitely have to try using the program in this manner before I can make a final judgement.  I am sure that there are many other ways to use Twitter in the classroom, but for me I believe that blogging would be more beneficial for classroom use. 

We have been exploring different multimedia tools during class for the past two days.  What a wake up call!  I never knew there were so many things and programs avaliable for teachers to use (and even the students). 

I have experimented with slide and captiontube.  Slide is a wonderful way to use pictures.  I think that slide is not only teacher friendly but also students friendly.  I would love to capture moments throughout the year and then create a slideshow for parents at the end of the year.  I also think that it would be a great way to keep parents in the loop about what is going on in the class.  Teachers could make a monthly or weekly slide and post the link to their webpage. 

Captiontube was another tool that I tried.  I think that this is a great way to show kids a video and add your own thoughts.  I did find captiontube limiting because you can only use a youtube/teachertube video.  I also had serious problems when I attempted to jing (video my video) the caption video.  I think that this is something that I would definately be able to use in my classroom but trying to share this with others would not be something that I would have time to finish.  I do think that teachers would benefit from knowing about the program (I would help with this) but I also think that the teacher must be willing to spend time searching for good tools to use.  The teacher would have to be dedicated to their job…and not all teachers are that dedicated!

Social bookmarks are ways for people to link important sites to a web based program.  Most of us use the bookmarks on our computer but are unable to manage those links from other computers.  Social bookmarks help to resolve this issue.

I love the idea of social bookmarking pages that are important to me and my work.  I bookmark sites on a regular basis and this past year I lost most of them because the school I was working at closed.  The computers were removed and all that wonderful information that I had spent the last four years linking…gone!  If I would have known then about social bookmarking, all of those valuable sites could have been saved. 

I also love the idea that students can get to the bookmarks easier and work through folders for projects.  That is a great tool when teaching older students.  For the younger students that I teach, it really saves me steps when working on a unit study.  I can put everything that I need in a file and find it instantly. 

I think that this is a great tool for teachers because it saves valuable instructional time.  Administrators are always looking for their teachers to transition quickly and use all the instructional time that they have and here is the perfect way to do that!  I will definately use social bookmarking for my class and for my personal life!

I have found a new use for the computer…Skype! I have been meaning to take the time and try to understand how to use this wonderful tool.  I always thought that I was too busy and would never have time to figure out everything that I would need in order to use the program.  How crazy! This was one of the easiest tools that I have tried to use this week and I can use it in my classroom and at home!

For me personally, I would love to use Skype at home.  My husband and I have family all over the US.  Most of the time we only get to see them for a week (maybe two) each year.  Now we can chat with them whenever we want (for FREE).  No more wondering about how the kids have changed from the last visit….you can see it all through the touch of a few buttons.

In my classroom, I could find many ways to use the program.  Not only would this be a great way to meet students from other parts of the world, but think about the possibilities of a somewhat virtual fieldtrip.  I would love to set up something with a teacher from another area of the world and share fieldtrips.  How great would it be to talk with a class in Ireland and find out they were taking a fieldtrip to a castle.  With a request to the teacher to video tape the trip…you could share this with students in your room without ever leaving.  How many students do you think would have the opportunity to visit castles in another country.

Blogs are ways to record your thought and information in a community setting.  I guess that you could say that a blog is an online journal where people can comment on your thoughts.  Now people are not writing to themselves, but they are writing to an audience and with a purpose!

Who ever would have thought that you could use a blog in an elementary school classroom! I never thought about using a blog to communicate with parents or have my little first or second grade students write about something they are learning.  I don’t remember having those skills when I was that age.  In class today we discussed the different ways that blogging could be used in the classroom. 

I loved the idea of having parents communicate through blogs rather than them calling you and disrupting your teaching.  I really think that this will be something that I set up for my parents for next year.  What a wonderful way to communicate about homework, class projects, student absences and so much more. 

I also really found it interesting that young students can do literature responses on blogs.  I think that first and second grade students could really benefit from blogs if they learn what to do and what not to do.  I think this would be a wonderful way to use a parent volunteer.  If a teacher took the time to sit down with the volunteer in advance and explain what they want and how to use it…then the parent can take over and class time would not be wasted.  HOW FANTASTIC!!!!

I am definately going to start using blogs in my classroom.  I would like to use the blog with my students and have another one to use with my parents.  I think the best way to use it with my students (2nd grade) would be as a journal or response to questions that I post.  I think that this would help the students follow a path and reason for writing and posting.  This would also cut down on the issues that are not related to class and learning.  I also want to use this as a way to communicate with my parents.  Using a blog will allow me to update parents through the day and in the afternoon after I have left school.  This also helps me to keep my personal information…personal.  So many teachers give out their phone numbers.  I think this is a great way to help parents and students stay up to date, but I also find this as a major problem.  I don’t want parents calling me at home when I am with my family.  This is a time that I get to relax and prepare for the next day.  I know that most parents understand this and don’t abuse the benefits of having the teachers phone number.  I just like to have a seperation of work and home (as do most people).  Having a blog to communicate with parents would help to make this happen!

What a week this has been.  I have spent so much time learning about technology and how to use this in my classroom to support literacy.  There are so many things that you can do with students that I never knew about before attending this class.   We have been asked to give our definition of literacy and technology.  I think that everyone could give a different meaning for both but still capture the important things!

For me, literacy has always revolved around reading and writing.  I guess what changes about literacy is not the what it is but the how we view the end results.  Literacy just being about reading books and writing are now a thing of the past.  Literacy still involves reading and writing but now expands to so many other things.  I think that literacy can be found in telling a story through a video that a person took, adding a story line to photos that you never knew what to do with them other than putting them into an album (that gets looked at every once in a while).  This class helped me to understand that literacy can include writing in a blog, using networking tools such as skype, facebook and twitter to communicate, and using a voice thread for students to communicate about projects.

Technology is a big part of how we view the changes in literacy.  Technology changes and updates so quickly, where books take so much longer to update.  Using technology in literacy is a way to keep students learning at an updated pace.  The students can learn about issues that are happening now instead of things that happened five years ago.  Technology also allows this learning to take place in a community setting where students are engaged.  Students have to work to get their product and then value what they have learned.  I believe that the extra advantage to using technology with literacy is that many times the students are unaware that they are learning.  I think that they find it as a game or fun activity instead of a learning experience.

 Books can be read online (full text), research is at the push of a button, and now people can talk on the computer instead of picking up the phone.  I guess that most of this technology isn’t so much new as it is becoming mainstream!