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?

11 Tools, Tool #8: Taking a Look at the Tools

I learned two cool tips for using the itouch: taking a picture of the screen and and creating a direct link on the itouch so students can easily access that site on the internet. These two features will no doubt be used so that students save time when viewing a video. Screen pictures, saved in Dropbox, become instructional tools for me for explaining how to use tools on a website. That same feature becomes a student tool for taking a picture (giving credit to the picture creator) and using it in a classroom project. Creating a project for the life cycle of an insect with complete vs incomplete metamorphosis will look completely different. So could a report on Texas or another great state, or an American hero.

Classroom management ideas are available here http://www.schrockguide.net/ipads-in-the-classroom.html and http://www.netbooks.eun.org/web/acer/classroom-management.I have learned to bring links to my blog so I can easily access them later on. The two links above are probably going to be keeper reference spots. It seems logical to have classroom techies that can help spread troubleshooting know how to other students. Some students are quick to catch on and can responsibly assist others less concerned with being tech savvy. A stationing area for charging and safekeeping are an absolute, as well as guidelines getting the tools from charging station to work stations. 

2Thing #6 ipod Apps

I'll be very lucky to scratch the surface on this topic. The topics will be narrowed down the elementary school: Use of an itouch by multiple students while in a library. Let's see there's Facebook Chat (this amends 2Thing#5), ibluetouch for mind mapping your thoughts while on the go, WeDict for a quick dictionary reference, Ifbyphone to collaborate amongst students, Stanza for digital books, as well as Classics and Bookshelf, Word of the Day, Wikipanion to get to the class's wikispace. Geopedia (finding places) and WorldCat (finding books in a nearby library) are two other freebie tools than can be used in elementary classrooms.

After looking at another section with actual game-like activities in language arts and math I want to conclude that I might just "play around in the sand castle" of the librarian on some of the apps she sees students benefiting from. After a trip to the Apple store to play around with an itouch and education apps, as well as talking with a store salesman, maybe I will have better sea legs.

Further investigation suggests that Stanza and Bookshelf will be helpful to students in that they can enhance literature that is in hard copy in the library. While working on a project in the library, students have greater resources of literature in their hands by using either Stanza or Bookshelf.