11Tools, #11: Self Assessing and Reflection

I love using wikispace and blogs, but this is not new. A new appreciation for Diigo and Glogster have resulted from this latest escapade with technology. It is overwhelming almost to the point of a mental shutdown, but this upcoming year there will be more of providing not just the instruction and group practice, with maybe some students getting hands-on work with a 21st century tool, but with all students working collaboratively within the classroom and independently to communicate in a global community. Beyond that, critical analysis of online text and thoughtful appropriate response using digital citizenship is also a student objective before June 2013. First, however, I want to see students using the ipad and itouch apps to become more savvy, responsible and self-confident.
This coming year should involve increasing parent awareness of the increased role of technology in the classroom before the signed consent form is turned in. There is also a necessity to carefully evaluate each student early in the year to determine who is ready to assume responsibility for themselves and the devices before using the internet. Immediate modelling of the class blog, wikispace, Glogster and Diigo, along with group creation of products should occur. Starting workstations probably with math activities will allow me to actively monitor the groups in the following areas: digital citizenship, use of devices, appropriate selection of websites and use of learning strategies that reinforce success with an academic skill. I am really giving some thought to parent "visitation"during workstations, specifically during guided reading groups when it is more difficult to monitor student activity in small groups.

The repeated summer projects resemble scaffolding learning. While I have had Google, Glogster and Diigo accounts (and others that are merely acquaintances) for a year or so now, I am just getting around to figuring out possibilities for using them with second grade students. But, the good news is that for some students the online experiences will be an eyeopening and for others they will be a point for take-off into the clouds, or shall I say icloud?

This is a pivotal place to be, as in making us "go outside and play.... Remember to play nice and don't don't come home with your clothes torn." Where am I going to take my students out to? What are we going to do? How will we do it? When will we do it?

   Content objective -- I have joined GlobalSchoolNet.org and requested to participate in a fairy/folk tale cyber dictionary project. Here is the website: http://www.jbarnstable.org/ftcyber/. Here is the objective: Given a story with magical creatures, TLW recreate the story using key vocabulary highlighted and defined in a separate entry.
   When you plan to implement -- I would like to introduce this when we are studying initial sounds, narratives, or main idea and important details somewhere in this next school year.
   What tool(s) you plan to use -- A book with magical creatures has yet to be decided upon. I would like to use Storybird to recreate the book, then share it with the Barnstable project in whatever format can be posted on that website. In addition, the following website for additional resources might be consulted: http://edsitement.neh.gov/lesson-plan/unicorns-dragons-and-other-magical-creatures#sect-activities
   A brief description of the project -- The plan is to read a fairy tale or folk tale with a magical creature, then the class compose a modern-day version of the story by first creating a dictionary of important vocabulary that must be defined separately in highlighted form and then used within the story, also in highlighted form. The storyboard will be created within Storybird and shared there, later to be given to students as independent work on KidPix or Kidspiration (really?) through creation of a student-illustrated page containing text of one page of the story, later compiled into one story. In addition, other teachers will be invited to see the students' work through other websites, such as wikispace or a Blogspot.

11 Tools, Tool #6: Using Web Tools to Communicate

Here is a blogspot I created to encourage participants of the upcoming Recipe-For-Success and Seed-to-Plate after school program we hope to start in the fall. I anticipate lots of interaction throughout the year. This could be for the participants in the after school program as well as the classroom teachers and students. I am so excited! I hope the students are too!

http://woodviews2p.blogspot.com/

I have been working with Diigo for at least three hours now and I still have barely scratched the surface. Suffice it to say that I have applied for an educator account so that I can create accounts for my students to use throughout the year for science and social studies projects, along with reading poetry and narratives that could be part of a unit of study. I am still learning about Diigo and following, being followed. I like being about to capture useful websites and highlighting important information. Previously, for bird studies I would gather information, adding my annotations, using ActivInspire. I would then print out the pages for students to use. It was so much easier than going from computer to computer finding different websites for each student. That sounds so archaic now. I'm not sure how to post or embed anything here to reflect what is to come, hopefully.

I hope to be able to Skype once in a while with other classrooms or experts in a field as a means to enrich my students learning.

11 Tools...Tool #1: The Blog

I am familiar with Voki, but have not yet had children use it in the classroom. Perhaps next year will be THE year for having students create one, if for no other reason, just to have it on their wikispace page. But, truly this will give students some idea of what is out in cyberspace and how to manipulate tools. Also, the practice alone will make students more internet savvy. I wish there had been more time for this last year. With a change in district five-year goals this might be much more doable because there is now less emphasis on standardized academic performance and more on being college-bound. And what kid wouldn't want a Voki tool in their tech toolkit.

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